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laborer presented himself before a magistrate with the purse, and claimed of the merchant (who was summoned) the reward which belonged to him. The merchant, rejoiced at finding his money, thought to avoid payment of the reward, by declaring that the purse contained, in addition to the money, an emerald of great value, which the finder must be compelled to restore. The poor laborer was overwhelmed by this assertion, and the magistrate appeared at a loss, but the caliph, who was present in disguise, advanced and decided the case. "Since," said he, "the merchant declares that the purse which he lost, contained a sum of money and an emerald, and since the finder of this purse swears, and the seal upon the purse proves, that he has taken no precious gem, this cannot be the purse which the merchant has lost. Let then its present holder endeavor to discover the real owner, and, failing to do so, appropriate the prize; and let the merchant make diligent search for the money and the emerald which he has lost; the present property being, as he has proved, none of his."

Haroun was an ardent lover of learning, and caused it to be disseminated throughout his realms. He was a warm admirer of the ancient classics, and translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, with other works of antiquity, made his people acquainted with the beauties of Greek and Roman literature. He invaded the Greek empire no fewer than eight times, conquering in 802, the emperor Nicephorus, who had refused to pay him the customary tribute. The Greek monarch was compelled to pay a heavier tribute to the caliph, and promise not to rebuild the frontier towns which had been ruined and plundered. The caliph's destruction of the family of the Barmecides displays the stern resolution of a despot. He had experienced the cares of Yahia, the head of the Barmecide family, who had superintended his education, and the eldest of Yahia's sons was a general who had served his country well; the second was Giaffer, the caliph's prime vizier, and the two other sons were in responsible and dignified stations. The Barmecides were in favor with all classes, and Giaffer stood high in the graces of the caliph. Indeed, so warmly attached was the latter to his vizier, that, for the sake of enjoying his company with that of his beloved sister Abassa, he united them in marriage, but placed capricious restrictions upon their intimacy. On the disobedience of the pair, all the violent passions of the caliph were aroused. He publicly sacrificed Giaffer to his resentment,

and impoverished the whole family. Haroun, at the height of splendor and fame, sent an embassy to the emperor Charlemagne, bearing, among other presents, a water-clock, an elephant, and the keys of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. The caliph was seized with a mortal illness while preparing to depart upon a military expedition, and died at Tous, in Khorassan, in the 47th year of his age, and the 23d of his reign. None of the caliphs of the Saracens ever attained the height of power and popularity which Haroun al Raschid gained, and, although some of his acts are inexcusable, yet, considering the examples furnished by his age, and the preceding, we cannot withhold from him a large share of praise. Haroun is one of those characters, which are equally the delight of history and romance, and while the graver acts of his reign employ the pen of the rigid annalist, his varied adventures are themes for the gay eloquence of such works as the Arabian Nights Entertainments.

ABAUZIT, Firmin, a Protestant author of celebrity and learning, was born in Languedoc, 1679, and died in 1767, having for a long time. filled the office of public librarian at Geneva. His writings are principally upon theological subjects, and he was distinguished for accuracy and penetration. His knowledge was great and embraced the whole circle of the sciences. Wise and modest, he was pronounced a "great man" by Voltaire, himself as learned as Abauzit, although destitute of that unaffected piety which formed so bright an ornament to the character of the latter.

ABBAS, Shah, the Great, ascended the throne of Persia in 1589, and distinguished himself in arms, wresting Ormus from the Portuguese in 1622, aided, however, by the British. During his reign, Ispahan became the capital of Persia. His death took place in 1629.

ABBASSIDES. The caliphs, who, during the 8th and 9th centuries, made Bagdad their capital, are distinguished in history as the Abassides. Their sway extended over Persia, Arabia, and Syria. The caliph Al-Mansur, in 762, built Bagdad, and raised the Saracenic empire to its highest point of splendor and fame. Al-Modi, to whom the empire was transmitted, did not permit its reputation to wane, and, under Haroun al Raschid, the dignity of the Caliphate was preserved and adorned. After Haroun, reigned Al-Amin, and Al-Mamun. Under Al Motasser the governors of several provinces asserted their independence, and Bagdad alone was governed by the caliph.

ABBEY, or monastery, is a house erected for the dwelling of males or females who have taken the monastic vow, which binds them to relinquish all worldly interests, and devote themselves to the performance of religious duties, living in a state of celibacy. St. Anthony, in the 4th century, instituted the monastic life, and, in the same century, St. Pachomius founded regular. communities of religious professors. A monastery receives its title from that of the ecclesiastic governing it. An abbey is governed by an abbot, or abbess, a priory, by a prior, or prioress, &c. The term nunnery, is applied to a religious house inhabited by females.

The buildings inhabited by different religious communities, were originally of the plainest kind, but increased in extent and splendor with their revenues, until, from the humble dwellings of unpretending ecclesiastics, they became the abodes of luxury, brilliant with costly architectural decorations, and hiding, within their lofty walls, the revels of men whose piety was but a cloak for unlimited indulgence. The buildings constituting an Abbey or monastery, consisted principally of churches, cloisters, refectories, chapters, parlors, dormitories, courts, gardens, &c. The choir and interior buildings of convents were, and are still, fenced in by grates, and inaccessible to visiters. The churches consisted of the choir, an altar, a nave, isles, chapels, and a tower. The cloister comprehends the galleries or covered porticoes of a monastery in which the monks take their exercise, and surrounds an open space, which is generally devoted to the cultivation of flowers, neatly distributed in parterres, interspersed with grassplots, and refreshed by careful irrigation. The cloisters were sometimes adorned with valuable paintings, and were generally finished specimens of art. The refectory of an abbey, is the hall in which the fathers eat. The refectory furnished at first frugal fare, and the holy fathers did not tarry long in it, but with the declension of ecclesiastical simplicity, the character of their meals was changed, and they made the walls of their eating-room ring with the merriment created by high living and rich wines. The refectory of the Abbey of Saint Dennis at Paris, has been celebrated for its architectural beauty.

The chapter is a place of greater or less extent, built for the reception of assemblies to discuss the private affairs of the house, and provided with seats, and a great table. The chapters are ordinarily ornamented with splendid pictures. The parlor is a kind of cabinet,

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where visitors converse with the monks or nuns through a kind of grated window. Formerly convents contained parlors, in which novices were allowed the privilege of conversing together, at hours of recreation, but even then they were overheard by their superiors, who were provided with places for eaves-dropping. The dormitories are wings in the building, which contain the cells of its inhabitants. They are generally commodious, and have broad and well-lighted staircases, from regard to the weakness of the aged, and are situated in the second story, in order to render them airy and healthy. Here the monks enjoy their brief repose, from which they are awakened to acts of devotion, or to bend in solitude before the crucifix, with its accompanying mementoes of mortality, appearing lost in the reveries of religious enthusi

asm.

The gardens of monasteries, generally exhibit neatness, and are not the least favorite appendage to the dwellings of the monks.

The monks, in the ages of general darkness, that is from 600 to 1500, preserved in their monasteries many valuable volumes, and kept alive the spark of learning, which, but for their exertions, would have been extinguished. Religious houses were, for ages, the sole depositories of literature and science, and their inhabitants were actively employed in the duties of education. In England, one person or more in each convent, was appointed to instruct pupils, and these were the children of those neighbors who chose to send them. They were instructed in grammar and church music, free of expense. In the nunneries, females were taught to read and work, and the daughters of noblemen and gentlemen, as well as of the poorer people, were indebted to the nuns for a large part of whatever knowledge they possess ed. Many poor descendants of noble families looked to monasteries for refuge, and having taken the vow, made use of the influence of friends, to gain high ecclesiastical offices. Many of the monks were men driven to enter religious houses by the pangs of remorse, and who hoped to expiate a career of crimes, by seclusion from the world, and the observance of the most austere rites of the church. These as well as some who were unaffectedly pious, lived a blameless life, but there were others whose profligacy was unrepressed, because hidden by that veil of hypocrisy which they closely drew. around them. Many monks were skilful painters, as the richly illuminated manuscripts of other days prove, and numerous were the legends of saints, gorgeously blazoned upon pages

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of vellum, that filled the shelves of the holy fathers. Living a life of undisturbed seclusion, those who possessed a literary turn, had ample time to indulge their propensity, though very few literary works of any merit have issued

from the monasteries.

The year 306 is that in which the earliest monasteries were established in Egypt, under the conduct of St. Anthony, and hence sprang shortly afterwards, many others in various places. In 369, the earliest monastery in France, that of Saint Martin, was established. In the beginning monasteries were inhabited by laymen. For more than six centuries all the eastern monasteries were independent of each other, and governed by abbots who were answerable to their bishops only. In the ninth century under Louis the Mild, many monasteries were united under the government of St. Benedict, but on the death of this abbot, the houses again separated, and remained independent of each other. In the tenth century St. Odo, bishop of Cluny, united to this abbey many monasteries, placing them under the conduct of the abbot of Cluny. The first monasteries, in times of trouble and darkness, preserved the spirit of religion, and were sanctuaries in which piety and learning sought refuge from the ignorance, irreligion and persecutions of the world. A mild light, denied to the rest of mankind, was shed upon those who took upon themselves the fulfilment of monastic vows. duct of the monks was regulated by the plain commands of the Scriptures, and antiquity was followed in the celebration of religious ceremonies, and the practice of Christian virtues. The monks, as remarked above, were, for many centuries, the preservers of literature, many valuable works of the present day having been rescued from destruction by monastic libraries.

The con

Since the revival of letters, and the triumph of the Reformation, monasteries have ceased to be aught but burdensome to the Catholic countries in which they still exist. A comparative glance at a Catholic and a Protestant country, will at once expose the evil effects of these establishments at present. The enormous abuses of the monastic system in England, called loudly for reform, when Henry VIII applied himself to the work with an unsparing hand, and in 1534 destroyed all the monasteries in England. At this time the hospitality of the monks was unlimited, and a multitude of idle gentry subsisted wholly upon it, passing their lives in going from one religious house to another. The change made by Henry, proved of incalculable

advantage to the state and the country in general. The suppression of the greater houses produced the king a yearly income of 100,000, in addition to an immense treasure in plate and jewels. Before their dissolution, the monks had a greater revenue than that seized by the king, part of which, accruing from pensions, he did not immediately secure. The number of monks at this time in England, in the monasteries, and in chapels and hospitals belonging to them, was computed at 50,000.

The council of Castile, in the project for reform, which was presented to Philip III in 1619, supplicated the king to obtain from the pope a diminution of the number of religious orders aud monasteries which were daily increasing, and producing the most mischievous results. They encouraged idleness, said the council, because the majority sought the monasteries less as a pious retreat, than as affording opportunity for idleness, and a shelter from want. The strength and preservation of the kingdom depended on the number of useful and industrious men, which was diminished by the monastic institutions. Meanwhile the expenses of state fell wholly upon secular shoulders, while the monks were exempt from taxes, and retained with a firm grasp the immense wealth which they accumulated. The destruction of monasteries, was felt at the time as a serious evil, but every nation which has converted them to the use of the public, has been a gainer, and at the expense of temporary evil, has enjoyed a lasting good. "It is an undeniable fact," says Voltaire, that there is no catholic kingdom in which a proposal has not been often made to restore to the state a portion of those citizens of which monasteries have deprived it, but statesmen are rarely struck with a distant utility, sensible though it may be, particularly when the future advantage is balanced by present difficulty." At this enlightened period there is but one opinion with regard to the destruction of monasteries, and that is, that they were unworthy of approbation in the beginning, and that their continuance would have been a very serious obstacle to the improvement and prosperity of those countries, which have risen to opulence and happiness since their downfall.

The age for the admission into the monastic state, was fixed at sixteen years, by the Council of Trent, the decrees of which were issued, in successive sessions, from 1545 to 1563. The diminution of the papal power, and the enlightened spirit of the age, in the 18th century, exerted a strong influence upon the public mind with

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regard to monasteries in Catholic countries, and they lost many of their privileges and much of the protection previously given them by law. Joseph II. of Austria, in 1781, abolished some orders of monasteries, and limited the number of inmates in others. In France they were all abolished in 1790. During the reign of Napoleon, all the states incorporated with France, as well as other Catholic countries of Europe, abolished them, with the exception of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Austria, Poland, and Russia. Recent events have contributed to improve their condition in Italy, and Pius VII. procured means for the maintenance of old, and the foundation of new ones in France, Bavaria, and Naples, while in Austria they have become

extinct.

ABBOT. The word abbot is derived from the Hebrew ab, father, and signifies the Superior of a monastery erected into an abbey. The abbots were one degree above the laymen. They were originally subject to the bishops, but attempting to obtain independence, were punished by the enactment of some severe laws by the council of Chalcedon. They were not, however, wholly unsuccessful, many of them obtaining the title of lord, the privilege of wearing the mitre, and other badges of distinction. The different classes are thus named,-Abbots, mitred and not mitred; croziered and not croziered; œcumenical, cardinal, &c. The mitred abbots were ordered by Pope Clement IV. to wear only a mitre adorned with gold, leaving jewels to the bishops. The croziered abbots bear the crozier, or pastoral staff. The œcumenical, or universal abbots are known only to the Greeks. At present, abbots are distinguished into regular and commendatory, the former of whom are actual monks, while the latter are seculars who have previously undergone the tonsure, or shaving of the crown of the head, and bind themselves to take orders when they come of age. The monks under his jurisdiction pay unconditional obedience to the abbot, whose office requires him to manage the affairs of the abbey, regulate the conduct of the brotherhood, and see that the rules of the order are not infringed. From the 6th century the bishops were priests, and from the year 787, had the power of conferring the lower orders of priesthood. ABBOT, George, born in 1562, and made archbishop of Canterbury in 1610. He strenuously opposed some measures of King James, thereby disproving the assertion that he owed his rise to acts more worthy of a courtier than an ecclesiastic. Having the misfortune to kill a

game-keeper of lord Zouch, he ever afterwards fasted upon Tuesday, the day on which the unhappy event took place. Though deprived of his office by Charles I. in consequence of his opposition to a project of the king, he was restored to it by parliament, and died at the age of seventy-one in 1633.

ABBOT, Charles, viscount Colchester, a man of considerable talent as an author and orator, was speaker of the British House of Commons, from 1802 to 1817. He was born in 1775, and

died in 1829.

ABBESS. An abbess is the superior of a convent of nuns, and has the authority of an abbot. The abbesses are incapacitated from performing the spiritual functions of the priesthood, although some abbesses, in former times, confessed their nuns, a privilege which they are said to have forfeited by the unwarrantable curiosity which they displayed. The institution of abbots was prior to that of abbesses, since the first virgins who devoted themselves to the service of God, remained in their paternal dwellings. In the 4th century they assembled in monasteries, but it was not until the time of Pope Gregory that they had buildings appropriated exclusively to them. The abbess was anciently chosen by the community from among the oldest and most talented nuns: she received the blessing of the bishop, and her authority was perpetual. Some abbesses enjoyed the privilege of selecting a priest to perform the spiritual duties, the exercise of which was denied to themselves. These were the power of ordaining, the administration of the sacraments, baptism, confirmation, the eucharist or Lord's supper, penance, extreme unction, and matrimony. Extreme unction in cases of mortal disease, is performed by anointing the head, hands, and feet with consecrated oil, at the same time offering up prayers for the soul of the dying.

ABBT, Thomas, a German philosophical writer, of great merit, born at Ulm in Suabia, 1738. and died in 1766.

ABDALLEE, Shah, emperor of Eastern Persia, was the determined opponent of the Great Mogul, and victorious at Panniput in 1761.

ABDALONIMUS, a descendant of the Sidonian kings, but so poor as to be compelled to cul- ' tivate the soil for subsistence. The excellence of his character and conduct, induced Alexander, on taking Sidon, to place him upon the throne, from which Strato was banished, and extend his dominions.

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ABEL, the twin brother of Cain and the second son of Adam. The character and occupations of the brothers were different. Abel was keeper of a flock of sheep, while Cain was a husbandman, and tilled the earth for a support. In process of time Abel brought to the Lord an offering of the firstlings of his flock, which proved acceptable in his eyes. Cain's offering of the fruit of the ground was displeasing to his Maker, and his anger at being rejected, was unrepressed. It was not without cause that the Lord slighted the offering of Cain, for, observing his displeasure, he said; "Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." From the moment of his rejection, a dark project occupied the mind of Cain, and he regarded his brother with eyes of hatred and menace. When they were in the field together, the fierce Cain sprang upon his gentler brother, and slew him. This was the first murder committed on the earth. A moment after the commission of the evil deed, fear fell upon the murderer, and the voice of God, asking for his brother Abel, smote upon his heart, like a tone of thunder. He endeavored to evade the inquiry, but drew down upon his head the just denunciation of the offended Deity. For the sake of Cain, the earth was cursed, and forbidden to yield him its fruits without intense labor, and the criminal was made a fugitive and vagabond on the face of the earth. Yet, that his life might be spared, a mark was fixed upon him, and the Lord said, "Whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.'

The belief of some of the fathers of the Christian church that Abel died unmarried, gave rise to the sect of Abelites, Abelians, or Abelonians, who remained single, but adopted children and educated them after their own manner and in their own principles. Near Hippo, in Africa, this society flourished in the latter part of the 4th century, and their followers at the present day, are found in the persons of the Shakers.

ABEL, son of Valdimir II. king of Denmark, gained the sceptre by assassinating his brother Eric in 1250. A revolt of the Frisons caused the loss of his life. His appellation was certainly a misnomer.

ABELARD, Peter, properly Abailard, a monk who was famous for his learning and his unfortunate love for the beautiful Heloise. He was born in 1079, in the village of Palais, near

Nantes. He early relinquished his claims to his father's estates, in favor of his brothers, and devoted himself to the study of literature and the sciences. At Paris his fame was great, and here he established a school, lecturing on rhetoric and other subjects to large and admiring audiences. When his fame was greatest, he forgot his duty and his character in the society of Heloise, the niece of Fulbert, a canon of the city. He atoned for his misconduct by marry ing the object of his affections; but her removal to the convent of Argenteuil, exasperated Fulbert and drew down upon Abelard, his fierce vengeance. Heloise finally took the veil at Argenteuil, a ceremony by which a nun renounces the world, and pledges herself to the observance of religious vows. She afterwards became abbess of the Paraclete, a religious house founded by Abelard. Abelard was accused by his enemies of promulgating heretical doctrines, but succeeded in vindicating himself. After his refutation of the charges of his adversaries, he lived in strict seclusion, when the pangs of grief, acting upon a constitution broken by injury and the severity of monastic discipline, put an end to his existence. He died at the abbey of San Marcel at Châlons-Sur-Saône, at the age of 63, in 1142. His body, at the request of Heloise, was buried in the Paraclete, where she contemplated being laid by his side in death. She survived him many years, and a popular tradition asserts that when she was removed into the funeral vault the dead monk unclosed his arms, and received her in their gaunt embrace. The ashes of the unhappy pair repose, at present, in a chapel at Paris, where they were deposited in 1817.

ABENSBERG, a district and town in Bavaria, situated on the Abens, 83 miles from Ratisbon; population, 1,080. Here Napoleon gained a brilliant victory over the Austrians, in 1809, which led to the affairs of Landshut and Eck muhl, and the taking of Ratisbon.

In

ABERCROMBIE, Sir Ralph, a British officer of distinction, born in 1738, at Tillibodie in Clackmannanshire. His military talents raised him from a cornetcy, to the rank of General. In the battle of Cateau he led the advanced guard. His masterly retreat from Holland has been highly commended by military men. 1795 he was appointed to the chief command of the forces in the West Indies, and took Demerara, Essequibo, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad. He met his death at Alexandria in 1801, while engaged in repelling the French. In that action, fatal for him, he dis