Pompeii, its Life and Art (2nd ed. 1904), chap. 30; for the Colos | technical term sometimes denoting the lower part of the capsule seum, Middleton, Remains of Ancient Rome, ii. pp. 78-110, and called pyxidium, attached to the flower stalk in the form of an Huelsen's art. Flavium Amphitheatrum in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie. urn. (H. S. J.) AMPHITRITE, in ancient Greek mythology, a sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus (or Oceanus) and wife of Poseidon. She was so entirely confined in her authority to the sea and the creatures in it, that she was never associated with her husband either for purposes of worship or in works of art, except when he was to be distinctly regarded as the god who controlled the sea. She was one of the Nereids, and distinguishable from the others only by her queenly attributes. It was said that Poseidon saw her first dancing at Naxos among the other Nereids, and carried her off (Schol. on Od. iii. 91). But in another version of the myth, she then fled from him to the farthest ends of the sea, where the dolphin of Poseidon found her, and was rewarded by being placed among the stars (Eratosthenes, Catast. 31). In works of art she is represented either enthroned beside him, or driving with him in a chariot drawn by sea-horses or other fabulous creatures of the deep, and attended by Tritons and Nereids. In poetry her name is often used for the sea. AMPHITRYON, in Greek mythology, son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. Having accidentally killed his uncle Electryon, king of Mycenae, he was driven out by another uncle, Sthenelus, He fled with Alcmene, Electryon's daughter, to Thebes, where he was cleansed from the guilt of blood by Creon, his maternal uncle, king of Thebes. Alcmene, who had been betrothed to Amphitryon by her father, refused to marry him until he had avenged the death of her brothers, all of whom except one had fallen in battle against the Taphians. It was on his return from this expedition that Electryon had been killed. Amphitryon accordingly took the field against the Taphians, accompanied by Creon, who had agreed to assist him on condition that he slew the Teumessian fox which had been sent by Dionysus to ravage the country. The Taphians, however, remained invincible until Comaetho, the king's daughter, out of love for Amphitryon cut off her father's golden hair, the possession of which rendered him immortal. Having defeated the enemy, Amphitryon put Comaetho to death and handed over the kingdom of the Taphians to Cephalus. On his return to Thebes he married Alcmene, who gave birth to twin sons, Iphicles being the son of Amphitryon, Heracles of Zeus, who had visited her during Amphitryon's absence. He fell in battle against the Minyans, against whom he had undertaken an expedition, accompanied by the youthful Heracles, to deliver Thebes from a disgraceful tribute. According to Euripides (Hercules Furens) he survived this expedition, and was slain by his son in his madness. Amphitryon was the title of a lost tragedy of Sophocles; the episode of Zeus and Alcmene forms the subject of comedies by Plautus and Molière. From Molière's line "Le véritable Amphitryon est l'Amphitryon où l'on dîne" (Amphitryon, iii. 5), the name Amphitryon has come to be used in the sense of a generous entertainer, a good host. Apollodorus ii. 4; Herodotus v. 59; Pausanias viii. 14, ix, 10, 11, 17; Hesiod, Shield, 1-56; Pindar, Pythia, ix. 81. AMPHORA (a Latin word from Gr. ȧupopeus, derived from audi, on both sides, and pépeiv, to bear), a large big-bellied vessel used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for preserving wine, oil, honey, and fruits; and in later times as a cinerary urn. It was so named from usually having an ear or handle on each side of the neck (diōta). It was commonly made of earthenware, but sometimes of stone, glass or even more costly materials. Amphorae either rested on a foot, or ended in a point so that they had to be fixed in the ground. The older amphorae were oval-shaped, such as the vases filled with oil for prizes at the Panathenaic festival, having on one side a figure of Athena, on the other a representation of the contest; the latter were tall and slender, with voluted handles. The first class exhibits black figures on a reddish background, the second red figures on a black | ground. The amphora was a standard measure of capacity among both Greeks and Romans, the Attic containing nearly nine gallons, and the Roman about six. In modern botany it is a AMPLIATIVE (from Lat. ampliare, to enlarge), an adjective used mainly in logic, meaning "extending" or "adding to that which is already known." In Norman law an ampliation was a postponement of a sentence in order to obtain further evidence. AMPLITUDE (from Lat. amplus, large), in astronomy, the angular distance of the rising or setting sun, or other heavenly body, from the east or west point of the horizon; used mostly by navigators in finding the variation of the compass by the setting sun. In algebra, if a be a real positive quantity and w a root of unity, then a is the amplitude of the product aw. In elliptic integrals, the amplitude is the limit of integration when the integral is expressed in the form√1-N3 sin2 o do. The hyperbolic or Gudermannian amplitude of the quantity x is tan (sinh x). In mechanics, the amplitude of a wave is the maximum ordinate. (See Wave.) -1 AMPSANCTUS, or AMSANCTUS (mod. Sorgente Mefita), a small lake in the territory of the Hirpini, 10 m. S.E. of Aeclanum, close to the Via Appia. There are now two small pools which exhale carbonic acid gas and sulphuretted hydrogen. Close by was a temple of the goddess Mephitis, with a cave from which suffocating vapours rose, and for this reason the place was brought into connexion with the legends of the infernal regions. Virgil's description (Aeneid, vii. 563) is not, however, very accurate. AMPTHILL, ODO WILLIAM LEOPOLD RUSSELL, IST Baron (1829-1884), British diplomatist and ambassador, was born in Florence on the 20th of February 1829. He was the son of MajorGeneral Lord George William Russell, by Elizabeth Ann, niece of the marquess of Hastings, who was governor-general of India during the final struggle with the Mahrattas. His education, like that of his two brothers-Hastings, who became eventually 9th duke of Bedford, and Arthur, who sat for a generation in the House of Commons as member for Tavistock-was carried on entirely at home, under the general direction of his mother, whose beauty was celebrated by Byron in Beppo. Lady William Russell was as strong-willed as she was beautiful, and certainly deserved to be described as she was by Disraeli, who said in conversation, "I think she is the most fortunate woman in England, for she has the three nicest sons." If it had not been for her strong will it is as likely as not that all the three would have gone through the usual mill of a public school, and have lost half their very peculiar charm. In March 1849 Odo was appointed by Lord Malmesbury attaché at Vienna. From 1850 to 1852 he was temporarily employed in the foreign office, whence he passed to Paris. He remained there, however, only about two months, when he was transferred to Vienna. In 1853 he became second paid attaché at Paris, and in August 1854 he was transferred as first paid attaché to Constantinople, where he served under Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. He had charge of the embassy during his chief's two visits to the Crimea in 1855, but left the East to work under Lord Napier at Washington in 1857. In the following year he became secretary of legation at Florence, but was detached from that place to reside in Rome, where he remained for twelve years, till August 1870. During all that period he was the real though unofficial representative of England at the Vatican, and his consummate tact enabled him to do all, and more than all, that an ordinary man could have done in a stronger position. A reference, however, to his evidence before a committee of the House of Commons in 1871 will make it clear to any unprejudiced reader that those were right who, during the early 'fifties, urged so strongly the importance of having a duly accredited agent at the papal court. The line taken by him during the Vatican council has been criticized, but no fault can justly be found with it. Abreast as he was of the best thought of his time-the brother of Arthur Russell, who, more perhaps than any other man, was its most ideal representative in London society-he sympathized strongly with the views of those who He was succeeded as 2nd baron by his son, Arthur OliVER VILLIERS RUSSELL (b. 1869), who rowed in the Oxford eight (1889, 1890, 1891) and became a prominent Unionist politician. He was private secretary to Mr Chamberlain, 1895-1897, and governor of Madras, 1899-1906. In 1904 he acted temporarily as Viceroy of India. (M. G. D.) laboured to prevent the extreme partisans of papal infallibility | did not hesitate to withstand when his unscrupulousness went from having everything their own way. But in his capacity of the length of deliberately attempting to deceive. clear-headed observer, whose business it was to reflect the actual truth upon the mind of his government, he was obliged to make it quite clear that they had no chance whatever, and in conversing with those whose opinions were quite unlike his own, such as Cardinal Manning, he seems to have shown that he had no illusions about the result of the long debate. In 1868 Odo Russell married Lady Emily Theresa Villiers, the daughter of Lord Clarendon. In 1870 he was appointed assistant under-secretary at the foreign office, and in November of that year was sent on a special mission to the headquarters of the German army, where he remained till 1871. 66 It was in connexion with this mission that an episode occurred which at the time threw much discredit upon Gladstone's government. Russia had taken advantage of the collapse of France and her own cordial relations with Prussia to denounce the Black Sea clauses of the treaty of Paris of 1856. Russell, in an interview with Bismarck, pointed out that unless Russia withdrew from an attitude which involved the destruction of a treaty solemnly guaranteed by the powers, Great Britain would be forced to go to war with or without allies." This strong attitude was effective, and the question was ultimately referred to and settled by the conference which met at London in 1871. Though the result was to score a distinct diplomatic success for the Liberal government, the bellicose method employed wounded Liberal sentiment and threatened to create trouble for the ministry in parliament. On the 16th of February 1871, accordingly, Gladstone, in answer to a question, said that "the argument used by Mr Odo Russell was not one which had been directed by her Majesty's government," that it was used by him "without any specific instructions or authority from the government," but that, at the same time, no blame was to be attached to him, as it was "perfectly well known that the duty of diplomatic agents requires them to express themselves in that mode in which they think they can best support and recommend the propositions of which they wish to procure acceptance." This Gladstonian explanation was widely criticized as an illegitimate attack on Russell. What is certain is that the foreign office and the country profited by Russell's firmness. (See Morley's Gladstone, ii. 534.) A little later in the same year he received the well-deserved reward of his labours by being made ambassador at Berlin. During the months he passed at the foreign office he was examined before the committee of the House of Commons, already alluded to, and had an opportunity of stating very distinctly in public some of his views with regard to his profession. "If you could only organize diplomacy properly," he said, "you would create a body of men who might influence the destinies of mankind and ensure the peace of the world." In these words we have the key to the thought and habitual action of one of the best and wisest public servants of the time. Russell remained at Berlin, with only brief intervals of absence, from the 16th of October 1871 till his death at Potsdam on the 25th of August 1884. He was third plenipotentiary at the Berlin congress, and is generally credited with having prevented, by his tact and good sense, the British prime minister from making a speech in French, which he knew very imperfectly and pronounced abominably. In 1874 Odo Russell received a patent of precedence raising him to the rank of a duke's son, and after the congress of Berlin he was offered a peerage by the Conservative government. This he naturally declined, but accepted the honour in 1881 when it was offered by the Liberals, taking the title of Baron Ampthill. He became a privy councillor in 1872 and was made a G.C.B. somewhat later. At the conference about the Greek frontier, which followed the congress of Berlin, he was the only British representative. During all his long sojourn in the Prussian capital, he did everything that in him lay to bring about close and friendly relations between Great Britain and Germany. He kept on the best of terms with Bismarck, carefully avoiding everything that could give any cause of offence to that most jealous and most unscrupulous minister, whom he, however, AMPTHILL, a market town in the northern parliamentary division of Bedfordshire, England, 44 m. N.N.W. of London by the Midland railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 2177. It lies on the southern slope of a low range of hills, in a well-wooded district. The church of St Andrew ranges in date from Early English to Perpendicular. It contains a monument to Richard Nicolls (1624-1672), who, under the patronage of the duke of York, brother to Charles II., to whom the king had granted the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland, received the submission of its chief town, New Amsterdam, in 1664, and became its first English governor, the town taking the name of New York. Nicolls perished in the action between the English and Dutch fleets at Solebay, and the ball which killed him is preserved on his tomb. Houghton Park, in the vicinity, contains the ruins of Houghton House, built by Mary, countess of Pembroke, in the time of James I. To this countess Sir Philip Sidney dedicated the Arcadia. Ampthill Park became in 1818 the seat of that Lord Holland in whose time Holland House, in Kensington, London, became famous as a resort of the most distinguished intellectual society. In the park a cross marks the site of Ampthill Castle, the residence of Catherine of Aragon while her divorce from Henry VIII. was pending. A commemorative inscription on the cross was written by Horace Walpole. Brewing, strawplaiting and lace-making are carried on in Ampthill. AMPULLA (either a diminutive of amphora, or from Lat. ambo, both, and olla, a pot), a small, narrow-necked, round-bodied vase for holding liquids, especially oil and perfumes. It is the Latin term equivalent to the Greek λnkulos. It was used in ancient times for toilet purposes and anointing the bodies of the dead, being then buried with them. Gildas mentions the use of ampullae as established among the Britons in his time, and St Columba is said to have employed one in the coronation of King Aidan. Both the name and the function of the ampulla have survived in the Western Church, where it still signifies the vessel containing the oil consecrated by the bishop for ritual uses, especially in the sacraments of Confirmation, Orders and Extreme Unction. The word occurs repeatedly in the service of coronation of the English sovereign in connexion with the ancient ceremony of anointing by the archbishop of Canterbury, which is still observed. The ampulla of the regalia of England takes the form of a golden eagle with outspread wings. The most celebrated ampulla in history was that known as la sainte ampoule, in the abbey of St Remi at Reims, from which the kings of France were anointed. According to the legend it had been brought from heaven by a dove for the coronation of Clovis, and at one period the kings of France claimed precedence over all other sovereigns on account of it. It was destroyed at the Revolution. The word "ampulla " is used in biology, by analogy from the shape, for a certain portion of the anatomy of a plant or animal. AMRAM (d. 875), a famous gaon or head of the Jewish Academy of Sura (Persia) in the 9th century. He was author of many Responsa," but his chief work was liturgical. He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue, and his Prayer-Book (Siddur Rab ‘Amram) was the foundation of most of the extant rites in use among the Jews. The Siddur was published in Warsaw in two parts (1865). AMRAOTI, or UMRAWATTEE, a town and district of India, in Berar, Central Provinces. The district was reconstituted in 1905, when that of Ellichpur was incorporated with it. The town has a station 6 m. from Badnera junction on the Great Indian Peninsula line. Pop. (1901) 34,216, showing an increase of 22% in the decade. It is the richest town of Berar, with the most numerous and substantial commercial population. It possesses a branch of the Bank of Bombay, and has the largest The district of Amraoti has an area of 4754 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 630,245, showing a decrease of 4% in the decade; on the area as now constituted it was 809,499. The district is an extensive plain, about 800 ft. above sea-level, the general flatness being only broken by a small chain of hills, running in a north-westerly direction between Amraoti and Chandor, with an average height from 400 to 500 ft. above the lowlands. The principal towns, besides Amraoti, are Karinja, Kolapur, and Badnera, which lies on the Great Indian Peninsula railway, the main line of which crosses the district. Severe drought visited Amraoti in 1899-1900. cotton mart, where an average of 80,593 bojas of cotton are bought | made prisoners or put to the sword. On the same spot 'Amr and sold annually. It has also a large grain market, cotton built a city named Fostat (" the encampment "), the ruins of presses, ginning factories and oil mills. Amraoti raw cotton is which are known by the name of Old Cairo. The mosque which quoted on the Liverpool Exchange. he erected and called by his own name is described in Asiatic Journal (1890), p. 759. 'Amr pursued the Greeks to Alexandria, but finding that it was impossible to take the place by storm, he contented himself with blockading it with the greater part of his army, and reducing the Delta to submission with the rest. At the end of twelve months Alexandria sued for peace, and a treaty was signed on the 8th of November 641. To 'Amr acting on Omar's command has been attributed the burning of the famous Alexandrian library. (See LIBRARIES and ALEXANDRIA.) Not only is this act of barbarism inconsistent with the characters of Omar and his general, but the earliest authority for the story is Abulfaragius (Barhebraeus), a Christian writer, who lived six centuries later. After the conquest of Egypt 'Amr carried his conquests eastward along the North African coast as far as Barca and even Tripolis. His administration of Egypt was moderate and statesmanlike, and under his rule the produce of the Nile Valley was a constant source of supply to the cities of Arabia. He even reopened a canal at least 80 m. long from the Nile to the Red Sea with the object of renewing communication by sea. Removed from his office by Othman in 647, who replaced him by Ibn abi Sarh, he sided with Moawiya in the contest for the caliphate, and was largely responsible for the deposition of Ali (q.v.) and the establishment of the Omayyad dynasty. (See CALIPHATE, section B.) In 658 he reconquered Egypt in Moawiya's interest, and governed it till his death on the 6th of January 664. In a pathetic speech to his children on his deathbed, he bitterly lamented his youthful offence in opposing the prophet, although Mahomet had forgiven him and had frequently affirmed that "there was no Mussulman more sincere and steadfast in the faith than 'Amr." AMRAVATI, or AMARAVATI, a ruined city of India in the Guntur district of the Madras presidency, on the south bank of the Kistna river, 62 m. from its mouth. The town is of great interest for the antiquary as one of the chief centres of the Buddhist kingdom of Vengi, and for its stupa (sepulchral monument). Amravati has been identified with Hsüan Tsang's To-na-kie-tse-kia and with the Rahmi of Arab geographers. Subsequent to the disappearance of Buddhism from this region the town became a centre of the Sivaite faith. When Hsüan Tsang visited Amravati in A.D. 639 it had already been deserted for a century, but he speaks in glowing terms of its magnificence and beauty. Very careful and artistic representations of the stupa with its daghoba and interesting rail, pillars and sculptures will be found in Fergusson's Tree and Serpent Worship, and in his History of Indian Architecture (1876). Its elaborate carvings illustrate the life of Buddha. Some are preserved in the British Museum; others in the museum at Madras. An account by Dr James Burgess was published in 1877 as one of the volumes of the Archaeological Survey of Southern India. ‘AMR-IBN-EL-ASS, or 'AMR (strictly 'AMR B. 'ĀS), one of the most famous of the first race of the Saracen leaders, was of the tribe of Koreish (Qureish). In his youth he was an antagonist of Mahomet. His zeal prompted him to undertake an embassy to the king of Ethiopia, in order to stimulate him against the converts whom he had taken under his protection, but he returned a convert to the Mahommedan faith and joined the fugitive prophet at Medina. When Abu Bekr resolved to invade Syria, he entrusted 'Amr with a high command. 'Amr soon perceived that his troops were not sufficient for a serious battle. Reinforced by Khalid b. al-Walid, whom Abu Bekr sent in all haste from Irak to Syria, he defeated the imperial troops, commanded by Theodorus, the brother of Heraclius, not far from Ramleh in Palestine, on the 31st of July 634. When Omar became caliph he made Khalid chief commander of the Syrian armies, 'Amr remaining in Palestine to complete the submission of that province. It is not certain that 'Amr assisted Khalid in the siege of Damascus, but very probable that he took part in the decisive battle of Yarmuk, 20th of August 636. After this battle he laid siege to Jerusalem, in which enterprise he was seconded a year later by Abu Obeida, then chief commander. After the surrender of Jerusalem 'Amr began the siege of Caesarea, which, however, was brought to a successful end in September or October 640 by Moawiya, 'Amr having obtained Omar's sanction for an expedition against Egypt. Towards the end of 639 he led an army of 4000 Arabs into that country. During his march a messenger from Omar arrived with a letter containing directions to return if he should have received it in Syria, but if in Egypt to advance, in which case all needful assistance would be instantly sent to him. The contents of the letter were not made known to his officers until he was assured that the army was on Egyptian soil, so that the expedition might be continued under the sanction of Omar's orders. Having taken Farama (Pelusium), he advanced to Misr, north of the ancient Memphis, and besieged it and the strong fortress of Babylon for seven months. Although numerous reinforcements arrived, he would have found it very difficult to storm the place previous to the inundation of the Nile but for treachery within the citadel; the Greeks who remained there were either Sir W. Muir, The Caliphate (London, 1891); E. Gibbon's Decline and Fall; M. J. de Goeje, Mémoire sur la conquête de la Syrie (Leiden, 1900); Butler, Arab Conquest of Egypt (Oxford, 1902); art. EGYPT, History, Mahommedan Period. 'AMR IBN KULTHÜM, Arabian poet, author of one of the Mo'allakāt. Little or nothing is known of his life save that he was a member of the tribe of Taghlib and that he is said to have died of excessive wine-drinking. Some stories of him are told in the Book of Songs (see ABULFARAJ), vol. ix. pp. 181-185. AMRITSAR, or UMRITSAR, a city and district of British India, in the Lahore division of the Punjab. The city has a station on the North Western railway 32 m. E. of Lahore, its position on which has greatly assisted its development. Amritsar is chiefly notable as the centre of the Sikh religion and the site of the Golden Temple, the chief worshipping place of the Sikhs. Ram Das, the fourth guru, laid the foundations of the city upon a site granted by the emperor Akbar. He also excavated the holy tank from which the town derives its name of Amrita Turas, or Pool of Immortality. It is upon a small island in the middle of this tank that the Golden Temple is now situated. About two centuries afterwards, in the course of the struggle between the Sikhs and the Mahommedans, Ahmad Shah Durani routed the Sikhs at the great battle of Panipat, and on his homeward march he destroyed the town of Amritsar, blew up the temple with gunpowder, filled in the sacred tank with mud, and defiled the holy place by the slaughter of cows. But when Ahmad Shah returned to Kabul the Sikhs rose once more and re-established their religion. Finally the city and surrounding district fell under the sway of Ranjit Singh at Lahore, and passed with the rest of the Punjab into the possession of the British after the second Sikh war. The Golden Temple is so called on account of its copper dome, covered with gold foil, which shines brilliantly in the rays of the Indian sun, and is reflected back from the waters of the lake; but the building as a whole is too squat to have much architectural merit apart from its ornamentation. Marble terraces and balustrades surround the tank, and a marble causeway leads across the water to the temple, whose gilded walls, roof, dome and cupolas, with vivid touches of red curtains, are reflected in the still water. The temple was considerably enriched by the spoils taken by Ranjit Singh in his conquests. | Augustinian doctrine of grace. Throughout his life he remained The population of Amritsar in 1901 was 162,429. A Sikh college one of Luther's most determined supporters; was with him at for university education was opened in 1897. The other public the Leipzig conference (1519), and the diet of Worms (1521); buildings include two churches, a town hall and a hospital. and was in the secret of his Wartburg seclusion. He assisted the Amritsar is famous for its carpet-weaving industry. It was the first efforts of the Reformation at Magdeburg (1524), at Goslar first mission station of the church of England in the Punjab. (1531) and at Einbeck (1534); took an active part in the debates The district is bounded on the N.W. by the river Ravi, on the at Schmalkalden (1537), where he defended the use of the sacraS.E. by the river Beas, on the N.E. by the district of Gurdaspur, ment by the unbelieving; and (1539) spoke out strongly against and on the S.W. by the district of Lahore. Amritsar district is a the bigamy of the landgrave of Hesse. After the death of the nearly level plain, with a very slight slope from east to west. count palatine, bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz, he was installed The banks of the Beas are high, and on this side of the district there (January 20, 1542), though in opposition to the chapter, by well-water is not found except at 50 ft. below the surface; while the elector of Saxony and Luther. His position was a painful one, towards the Ravi wells are less than 20 ft. in depth. The only and he longed to get back to Magdeburg, but was persuaded stream passing through the district is the Kirni or Saki, which by Luther to stay. After Luther's death (1546) and the battle of takes its rise in a marsh in the Gurdaspur district, and after Mühlberg (1547) he had to yield to his rival, Julius von Pflug, and traversing part of the district empties itself into the Ravi. retire to the protection of the young duke of Weimar. Here he Numerous canals intersect the district, affording ample means of took part in founding Jena University (1548); opposed the irrigation. The Sind, Punjab and Delhi railway (North Western)" Augsburg Interim " (1548); superintended the publication of and Grand Trunk road, which runs parallel with it, afford the principal means of land communication and traffic. The area of the district is 1601 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 1,023,828, showing an increase of 3% on the previous decade. It is the headquarters of the Sikh religion, containing 264,329 Sikhs as against 280,985 Hindus and 474,976 Mahommedans. The principal crops are wheat, pulse, maize, millet, with some cotton and sugar-cane. There are factories for ginning and pressing cotton. AMROHA, a town of British India, in the Moradabad district of the United Provinces. It contains the tomb of a Mahommedan saint, Shaikh Saddu, and has been for many centuries a Mahommedan centre. Pop. (1901) 40,077. AMRUM, or AMROM, a German island in the North Sea, off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein to the south of Sylt. Pop. (1900) 900. It is 6 m. long and 3 m. broad, with an area of ro sq. m., and is reached from the mainland by a regular steamboat service to Wittdün, a favourite sea-bathing resort; or at low water by carriage from Föhr. The larger part of Amrum consists of a treeless sandy expanse, but a fringe of rich marshes affords good pasture-land. The principal place is Nebel, connected by a light railway with Wittdün. (See also FRISIAN ISLANDS.) AMRU'-UL-QAIS, or IMRU-UL QAIS, IBN HUJR, Arabian poet of the 6th century, the author of one of the Mo'allaķāt (q.v.), was regarded by Mahomet and others as the most distinguished poet of pre-Islamic times. He was of the kingly family of Kinda, and his mother was of the tribe of Taghlib. While he was still young, his father was killed by the Bani Asad. After this his life was devoted to the attempt to avenge his father's death. He wandered from tribe to tribe to gain assistance, but his attempts were always foiled by the persistent following of the messengers of Mundhir of Hira (Hira). At last he went to the Jewish Arabian prince, Samu'al, left his daughter and treasure with him, and by means of Harith of Ghassan procured an introduction to the Byzantine emperor Justinian. After a long stay in Constantinople he was named phylarth of Palestine, and received a body of troops from Justin II. With these he started on his way to Arabia. It is said that a man of Asad, who had followed him to Constantinople, charged him before the emperor with the seduction of a princess, and that Justin sent him a poisoned cloak, which caused his death at Ancyra. His poems are contained in W. Ahlwardt's The Divans of the six ancient Arabic Poets (London, 1870), and have been published separately in M'G. de Slane's Le Diwan d'Amro'lkais (Paris, 1837); a German version with life and notes in F. Rückert's Amrilkais der AMSDORF, NICOLAUS VON (1483-1565), German Protestant reformer, was born on the 3rd of December 1483 at Torgau, on the Elbe. He was educated at Leipzig, and then at Wittenberg, where he was one of the first who matriculated (1502) in the recently founded university. He soon obtained various academical honours, and became professor of theology in 1511. Like Andreas Carlstadt, he was at first a leading exponent of the older type of scholastic theology, but under the influence of Luther abandoned his Aristotelian positions for a theology based on the the Jena edition of Luther's works; and debated on the freedom of the will, original sin, and, more noticeably, on the Christian value of good works, in regard to which he held that they were not only useless, but prejudicial. He urged the separation of the High Lutheran party from Melanchthon (1557), got the Saxon dukes to oppose the Frankfort Recess (1558) and continued to fight for the purity of Lutheran doctrine. He died at Eisenach on the 14th of May 1565, and was buried in the church of St George there, where his effigy shows a well-knit frame and sharp-cut features. He was a man of strong will, of great aptitude for controversy, and considerable learning, and thus exercised a decided influence on the Reformation. Many letters and other short productions of his pen are extant in MS., especially five thick volumes of Amsdorfiana, in the Weimar library. They are a valuable source for our knowledge of Luther. A small sect, which adopted his opinion on good works, was called after him; but it is now of mere historical interest. BIBLIOGRAPHY.-Life, in Th. Pressel, Leben u. ausgewählte Schrift. der Väter der luth. Kirche, vol. viii. (published separately Elberfeld, 1862, 8vo); J. Meier in Das Leben der Altväter der luth. Kirche, vol. iii. ed. M. Meurer (1863); art. by G. Kawerau in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyk. für prot. Theologie (3rd ed., Leipzig, 1896). AMSLER, SAMUEL (1791-1849), Swiss engraver, was born at Schinznach, in the canton of Aargau. He studied his art under Johan Heinrich Lips (1758-1817) and Karl Ernst Hess, at Munich, and from 1816 pursued it in Italy, and chiefly at Rome, till in 1829 he succeeded his former master Hess as professor of copper engraving in the Munich academy. The works he designed and engraved are remarkable for the grace of the figures, and for the wonderful skill with which he retains and expresses the characteristics of the original paintings and statues. He was a passionate admirer of Raphael, and had great success in reproducing his works. Amsler's principal engravings are: "The Triumphal March of Alexander the Great," and a full-length "Christ," after the sculptures of Thorwaldsen and Dannecker; the "Entombment of Christ," and two "Madonnas" after Raphael; and the " Union between Religion and the Arts," after Overbeck, his last work, on which he spent six years. AMSTERDAM, the chief city of Holland, in the province of North Holland, on the south side of the Y or Ij, an arm of the Zuider Zee, in 52° 22′ N. and 4° 53′ E. Pop. (1900) 523,557. It has communication by railway and canal in every direction; steam-tramways connect it with Edam, Purmerend, Alkmaar and Hilversum, and electric railways with Haarlem and the seaside resort of Zandvoort. Amsterdam, the "dam or dyke of the Amstel," is so called from the Amstel, the canalized river which passes through the city to the Y. Towards the land the city is surrounded by a semicircular fosse or canal, and was at one time regularly fortified; but the ramparts have been demolished and are replaced by fine gardens and houses, and only one gateway, the Muiderpoort, is still standing. Within the city are four similar canals (grachten) with their ends resting on the Y, extending in the form of polygonal crescents nearly parallel to each other and to the outer canal. Each of these canals marks the interior is mostly by the same artist, and there are a few interestline of the city walls and moat at different periods. Lesser ing pictures, as well as some realistic wall paintings by the 18thcanals intersect the others radially, thus virtually dividing the century artist Jacob de Wit similar to those in the Huis ten city into a number of islands; whence it has been compared with Bosch near the Hague. The great hall is one of the most splendid Venice. The nucleus of the town lies within the innermost of its kind in Europe. Like most of the lesser apartments, it is crescent canal, and, with the large square, the Dam, in the centre, lined with white Italian marble, and in spite of its enormous represents the area of Amsterdam about the middle of the 14th dimensions the roof is unsupported by pillars. Ancient flags century. At one extremity of the enclosing canal is the Schrei- captured in war decorate the walls, and in the middle of the marble jerstoren (1482) or "Weepers' Tower," so called on account of floor is a representation of the firmament inlaid in copper. The its being at the head of the ancient harbour, and the scene in Nieuwe Kerk (St Catherine's), in which the sovereigns of Holland former days of sorrowful leave-takings. Between this and the are crowned, is a fine Gothic building dating from 1408. Internext crescent of the Heeren Gracht sprang up, on the east, the nally it is remarkable for its remains of ancient stained glass, labyrinthine quarter where for more than three centuries the fine carvings and interesting monuments, including one to large Jewish population has been located, and in the middle of the famous Admiral de Ruyter (d. 1676). A large stained-glass which the painter Rembrandt lived (1640-1656) and the philo-window commemorates the taking of the oath by Queen Wilhel sopher Spinoza was born (1632). Beyond the Heeren Gracht lie mina in 1898. The new exchange (1901) is a striking building the Keizers Gracht and the Prinsen Gracht respectively, and these in red brick and stone, and lies a short distance away between the three celebrated canals, with their tree-bordered quays and plain Dam and the fine central station (1889). The Oude Kerk (St. but stately old-fashioned houses, form the principal thorough- Nicholaas), so called, was built about the year 1300, and contains fares of the city. West of the Prinsen Gracht lies the region some beautiful stained glass of the 16th and 17th centuries, by called De Jordaan, a corruption of Le Jardin, the name which it Pieter Aertsen of Amsterdam (1508-1575) and others. One: acquired from the fact of its streets being called after various window contains the arms of the burgomasters of Amsterdam flowers. It was formed by the settlement of French refugees here from 1578 to 1767. Among the monuments are those to various after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. The outermost naval heroes, including Admirals van Heemskerk (d. 1607), crescent canal is called the Singel Gracht (girdle canal), and Sweers (d. 1673) and van der Hulst (d. 1666). The North marks the boundary of the city at the end of the 17th century. Church was the last work of the architect Hendrik de Keyser The streets in the oldest part of Amsterdam are often narrow and (1565-1621) of Utrecht. The Roman Catholic church of St irregular, and the sky-line is picturesquely broken by fantastic Nicholaas (1886) was built to replace the accommodation gables, roofs and towers. The site of the city being originally a previously afforded by a common dwelling-house, now the peat bog, the foundations of the houses have to be secured by Museum Amstelkring of ecclesiastical 'antiquities. Among the driving long piles (4-20 yds.) into the firm clay below, the palace numerous Jewish synagogues, the largest is that of the Portuguese on the Dam being supported on nearly 14,000 piles. As late Jews (1670), which is said to be an imitation of the temple of as 1822, however, an overladen corn magazine sank into the Solomon. Other buildings of interest are the St Antonieswaag, mud. Modern Amsterdam extends southward beyond the Singel built as a town gate in 1488-1585, and now containing the city Gracht, and here the houses are often very handsome, while archives; the Trippenhuis, built as a private house in 1662, and the broad streets are planted with rows of large trees. In the now the home of the Royal Society of Science, Letters and Fine middle of this new region lies the Vondel Park, named after the Arts; the Netherlands Bank (1865-1869), built by the architect great national poet Joost van den Vondel (d. 1679), whose statue W. A. Froger; the new building (1860) of the Seamen's Institute, stands in the park. The Willems Park adjoining was added founded in 1785; the cellular prison; and the so-called Paleis in later times. In the older part of the town the chief open space van Volksvlijt, an immense building of iron and glass with a fine is the Zoological Gardens in the north-eastern corner. They garden, built by Dr Samuel Sarphati, and used for industrial belong to a private society called Natura Artis Magistra, and came exhibitions, the performance of operas, &c. The museums and into existence in 1838. They have, however, been much enlarged picture galleries of Amsterdam are of great interest. The Ryks since then, and bear a high reputation. In connexion with the Museum, or state museum, is the first in Holland. It is a large, gardens there are an aquarium (1882), a library, and an ethno-handsome and finely situated building designed by Dr P. J. H. graphical and natural history museum. Concerts are given here in summer as well as in the Vondel Park. Close to the Zoological Gardens are the Botanical Gardens, and a small park, also the property of a private society, in which there is a variety theatre. The public squares of the city include the Sophiaplein, with the picturesque old mint-tower; the Rembrandtplein, with a monument (1852) to the painter by Lodswyk Royer; the Thorbeckeplein, with a monument to the statesman, J. R. Thorbecke (1798-1872), and the Leidscheplein, with the large town theatre, rebuilt in 1890-1894 after a fire. Buildings and Institutions.-The Dam is the vital centre of Amsterdam. All the tramways meet here, and some of the busiest streets, and here too are situated the Nieuwe Kerk and the palace. In the middle of the Dam stands a monument to those who fell in the Belgian revolution of 1830-1831, and called the Metal Cross after the war medals struck at that time. The palace is an imposing building in the classical style, originally built as a town-hall in 1648-1655 by the architect Jacob van Kempen. It was first given up to royalty on the occasion of the visit of the Stadtholder William V. in 1768, and forty years later was appropriated as a royal palace by Louis Bonaparte, king of Holland. But King William I. afterwards formally returned the palace to the city, and the sovereign is therefore actually the city's guest when residing in it. Beautifully decorated on the exterior with gable reliefs by Artus Quellinus (1609-1668) of Antwerp, its great external defect is the absence of a grand entrance. The architectural and ornamental sculpture of the I. 29 Cuyper in the Dutch Renaissance style, and erected in 1876-1885. The exterior is decorated with sculptures and tile-work, and internally it is divided, broadly speaking, into a museum of general antiquities below, and the large gallery of pictures of the Dutch and Flemish schools above. The nucleus of this unsurpassed national collection of pictures was formed out of the collections removed hither from the Pavilion at Haarlem, consisting of modern paintings, and from the town-hall, the van der Hoop Museum and the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. The important van der Hoop collection arose out of bequests by Adrian van der Hoop and his widow in 1854 and 1880; but the most famous pictures in the Ryks Museum are perhaps the three which come from the Trippenhuis, namely, the so-called “ Nightwatch" and the "Syndics of the Cloth Hall" by Rembrandt, and the "Banquet of the Civic Guard,” by van der Helst. The Trippenhuis gallery consisted of the pictures brought from the Hague by Louis Bonaparte, king of Holland, and belonging to the collection of the Orange family dispersed during the Napoleonic period. The municipal museum contains a collection of furniture, paintings, &c., bequeathed by Sophia Lopez-Suasso (1890), a medico-pharmaceutical collection, and the National Guard Museum. The Joseph Fodor Museum (1860) contains modern French and Dutch pictures. The private collection founded by Burgomaster Jan Six (d. 1702), the friend and patron of Rembrandt, was sold to the state in 1907; the pictures, except the family Rembrandts, are in the Ryks Museum. Close to this is the Willet-Holthuysen Museum (1895) of furniture, porcelain, &c. II |