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Alost

fruit centre, and especially famed for 'Manzanilla' olives. Its mineral springs are highly valued. Pop. (1900) 10,325.

Alost (Flem. Aalst), fort. tn., prov. of E. Flanders, Belgium, 16 m. by rail S.E. of Ghent. Linen, silk, and cloth are woven, and there is a trade in hops. Pop. (1900) 29,205.

Aloysius, ST. See GONZAGA, LUIGI.

Alpaca, the Lama pacos, a semidomesticated form of the guanaco (q.v.) smaller than the llama, and domesticated in S. America prior to the Spanish conquest. It is not used as a beast of burden, but is prized for its long, fine fleece,

The Alpaca or Paco.

which is largely imported into Europe. The color is usually black, but there is considerable variation. It lives in guarded flocks on the higher slopes of the Andes, and is there gathered up annually for shearing by the Indian owners. Its wool is used for fine clothing, and for covering umbrellas; the fabric is cool, light, and durable, with a dull shine. Much, however, of the so-called alpaca is a mixture of silk and wool, woven to resemble the texture of true alpaca cloth. Attempts to acclimatize them in other countries have failed.

Alp Arslan, 'Valiant Lion' (1029-72), second sultan of the Seljuk dynasty of Persia, whose name, Mohammed - ibn - Daoud, was assumed on his conversion to Islam, became ruler of Khorassan (1059), and of Persia (1063), his kingdom extending from the Tigris to the Oxus. He captured Cæsarea in Cappadocia (1067-8), and conquered Georgia and Armenia. In his attempts against the Byzantine empire he was thrice defeated by the Emperor Romanus Diogenes, but obtained a decisive victory in 1071, and captured the emperor. Alp Arslan then marched upon Turkestan, but was killed by a prisoner whom he had condemned to death.

Alpena, city, Michigan, co. seat of Alpena co.; is on the E. coast of Lake Huron, on the Detroit and Mackinaw Ry. It has important lumber industries and

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also manufactures machinery, cement, etc. There are besides quarries, tanneries and fishing. The town was founded in 1835 and was incorporated as a city in 1871. Pop. (1910) 12,706.

Alpenhorn, or ALPHORN, a long bugle-horn made of wood used by Swiss peasants, who thus communicated with each other from an astonishing distance.

Alpes Maritimes, the most S.E. dep. (area, 1,482 sq. m.) of France, on the Mediterranean; known as the French Riviera. It surrounds the independent state of Monaco. The dep. is roughly triangular in shape, its most northerly and at the same time its highest point is the Cime de Tinibras. One of the most mountainous districts of France, its climate varies according to locality, the genial winter of the coast contrasting greatly with the severity of the highlands a few miles inland. The mistral (N.N.W. wind), which prevails in the winter months, brings intense cold, except to sheltered places, such as the popular health resorts. Large herds of sheep are pastured in the Alps in summer; olives, vines, and fruits are cultivated on the littoral; in the Plaine de Grasse large quantities of flowers are grown for the manufacture of perfumes. Capital, Nice. Other towns are Cannes, Antibes, and Mentone. The dep. was created in 1860, when the 1. bk. of the Var was ceded to France. Pop. (1901) 293,213.

Alph, 'the sacred river' of Coleridge's Kubla Khan, is an imaginary stream, although placed by the poet in a real locality, the 'Xanadu' mentioned in Purchas his Pilgrimage (1626, p. 418) as the site of the summer palace erected by Kubla, Khan of Tartary, in the 13th century.

Alphand, JEAN CHARLES ADOLPHE (1817-91), French civil engineer, instrumental with Baron Haussmann in improving Paris under the Second Empire; was born at Grenoble, studied at l'Ecole Polytechnique, and in 1843 was city engineer at Bordeaux. When Haussmann became prefect of the Seine, he called Alphand to his assistance in the embellishment of the French capital and he acted as chief engineer for many years. After the siege of Paris by the Germans, Alphand did good service in obliterating all trace of devastation at the period, as well as in transforming and beautifying the city after the destructive work of the Commune. After the Exposition of 1889, he won the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.

Alpha and Omega (the first and the last characters of the Greek alphabet), a name applied to the Deity, who is the 'beginning and the ending' (Rev. 1:8).

Alphabet

Alphabet. Introductory.-Alphabetic characters are almost universally employed by modern peoples, and no other system of writing has had so extensive a history. But this does not imply that alphabets are easily invented, or have originated independently many times over; for the invention of a new alphabet is extremely rare, and nearly every system ís the result of a slow development which is frequently modified in many ways by the influence of neighboring forms of script, which are sometimes only remotely akin. The prevalence of the system is explained by the ease with which it is transmitted and differentiated into new forms. Most alphabets are descended from a common origin, and modern discovery and research are steadily reducing the number of apparently disconnected alphabets. The vast majority of alphabets are descended from the so-called Phoenician, which is the earliest known, and was in existence about 1000 B.C., although it was probably influenced by the still more ancient syllabary script of the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Sumerians on the one hand, and the Egyptian pictographs on the other.

Many causes unite to transform alphabets which have a common origin. Their divergencies may be classified as differences (1) in the number of the letters; (2) in the forms of the letters; (3) in their values or pronunciation.

1. Additions to the letters of a borrowed alphabet are rare. The numerical limitation imposed by the old alphabet is remarkable, so that a single letter may be taken to represent two closely-related sounds. When new letters do appear, sooner or later, they are generally differentiations of others previously in use. The distinction is often made simply by a diacritical point (e.g. CG, IJ, 0, 1), yet instances of actual addition are by no means unknown. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon adds to the Latin alphabet the runic 'thorn' (p), and the Slavonic expressed sounds not represented in the Greek script on which it was based by new letters of uncertain origin, such as X (zh) and ш (sh), the latter character being still further differentiated in Russian to in (shch).

2. Changes in form are the result of a continuous process of variation. Fashion necessarily plays a part, and additions are sometimes made for the sake of ornament. Changes of writing material exert a powerful influence at certain periods. The inscribed surface and the instrument used may be changed. When a pen is employed modifications are caused by the effort to attain speed and convenience. While letters carved on wood (as in the

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Alphabet

on

Norse runes) are angular to avoid splitting the tablet, those palm-leaves (as in Ceylon) are round, and those on clay (as in the Babylonian syllabaries) are straight lines, broad at one end and narrow at the other on account of the stroke of the graving-tool. Letters are also united to one another by ligatures which frequently leave little trace of the component elements. Considerations of convenience often lead to alteration in the point at which a letter is commenced, with the result that it may be speedily transformed; and characters are written as much as possible in a single stroke. Changes in the proportion of a letter, influenced by fashion or convenience, soon alter its appearance (from 2), and it is to be observed that liability to variation increases when an alphabet is transmittted to another people, and so is freed from the conservative influences of the past, this being strikingly shown in such a development as the Phoenician 1 to the Greek 8.

3. Change in phonetic values on a great scale takes place when an alphabet is applied to a new language. It is only in a small proportion of cases that the new sounds exactly coincide with the old. Quite new values may be given to the signs which are not required for their original purpose. Other signs may keep their old value, and receive a new one as well. This is constantly exemplified in the reduction to script of languages previously unwritten, where the transcription, usually in Roman letters, requires the use of numerous diacritical marks. Values also change within the range of national usage, and letters are differently pronounced at different dates. This

arises through the introduction of new sounds which require representation; and through neglect to alter the spelling of a word which has changed its sound.

The Origin of the Alphabet.The earliest alphabetic writing known is Semitic, and the oldest monument on which it occurs, to which a date can be assigned, is the so-called Moabite stone which dates from the beginning of the 9th century B.C. A Phoenician inscription on the fragments of a bowl dedicated to Baal of Lebanon belongs perhaps to the same century, and there are similar Aramaic inscriptions of the 8th century (from Zenjirli). A still more primitive form of the Semitic alphabet, though its earliest inscription is not dated until 715 B.C., is the Sabæan script of southern Arabia. In the earliest stage of its history the alphabet is therefore essentially Semitic. It is written from right to left, expresses consonants only, and consists of twenty-two letters.

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A mixture of alphabetic and pictographic writing existed in Egypt many hundreds of years earlier, and some scholars have sought, with good reason, to trace alphabetiform characters in Egypt at an extremely early date. The Assyro-Babylonian script, on the other hand, is syllabic, i.e. each character represents either a vowel or a consonant in combination

with a vowel. Attempts have been made to show that the Phoenician alphabet was derived from each of these and also from a union of the two. Accidental resemblances are not lacking, but the theory of either a Babylonian or an Egyptian origin cannot be regarded as proved except in isolated instances. The true source of the Phoenician system, therefore, is still undetermined. It may well have been practically an original invention and, to all intents and purposes, an independent development.

It has been argued, from the resemblance of some of the Semitic signs to the objects denoted by their names, that the letters were once pictures used as ideograms. The intrinsic probability of Egyptian or Babylonian influence forbids the postulate of an unknown ideographic system, which, besides, would surely have left a trace of itself. The alphabetic signs, however, may have originated in conventional pictures, as may be implied by the names of some of the letters, such as the Phoenician bêth, which signifies 'house.' The value of each consonant is the first letter of its name (b= bêth, etc.). It would be premature to say what influence was exerted by the recently discovered signs which from an early date were used in Asia Minor, Crete, Egypt, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean.

To this group possibly belong the Hittite characters, which seem to have been partly pictographic and partly alphabetic in type, although their phonetic character is still unknown.

It remains to be said that the great achievement of the inventor of the Semitic alphabet lay in the adoption of a purely alphabetic system, which, moreover, denoted each sound by one sign only.

The absence of vowels from this early alphabet has not been satisfactorily explained. It has been conjectured that the letters at first had a syllabic value, representing a consonant + vowel. It is not impossible that the reason lay in the fact that dialects were to be represented which agreed consonantally, but varied in their vowel systems, so that the inventor left the vowels to be supplied according to local practice. It is more plausible to suggest, however, that since in Semitic languages the

Alphabet

consonants are relatively more characteristic than the vowels, the knowledge of the spoken language, presupposed on the part of the reader of the inscription or other record, would enable him to determine the content of the writing from the consonants, supplying the vowels from his own acquaintance with the speech. It must be borne in mind, moreover, that the Semitic alphabets indicate the semi-vowels y and v, thus aiding in the vocalization of a given text.

The nationality of the inventor of the alphabet is unknown. It is accidental that the earliest monument on which it is employed is Moabite. The clue given by the significance of the traditional names of the letters is too slight, nor is the Aramaic form of these names in Greek decisive evidence. The Aramaic or Hebrew order of the letters is the oldest. There is some appearance of phonetic grouping, although this may be accidental. Some of the letters may be regarded as additions to the first alphabet, since they appear to be differentiations of letters with related sounds, and it is noteworthy that the names of these new letters are the most difficult to interpret.

The Semitic Alphabets.-The distinctive forms of the early alphabet were preserved by the Phoenician script, which was also used by the Carthaginians and by the Hebrews before the exile (Siloam inscription), while the Maccabean princes revived it on their coins. The Samaritan alphabet is its most direct descendant.

The Aramean alphabet is of fundamental importance, because of its numerous descendants. It gradually assumes a distinctive character; by the 5th century B.C. the transformation is complete (inscription of Teima). After the exile the Jews adopted this alphabet, and a distinctive Hebrew variety exists from the Christian era onwards. It is marked by a tendency to bend, final strokes round to the left ( is the same letter as L). This was a step towards cursive writing, which at last comes into use, although never in Bible MSS. The Syriac is another descendant of the Aramean alphabet. As in Hebrew, aspirated consonants were indicated by dots, and points or modifications of Greek vowels were used to indicate vocalization. From it, through the activity of Nestorian missionaries, was developed the Tibetan alphabet. The Hebrew vowels date from the 6th or 7th century A.D., and the innovation may have followed a Syriac model.

From a Nabatean variety of the Aramean alphabet comes the Ar

Alphabet

abic. It has profoundly altered the characters of the parent alphabet, and so confused seven that diacritical marks are required to distinguish them. There are now twenty-eight consonants. The numerical order of the alphabet is the old one, the six new consonants being at the end. The grammatical order is a rearrangement according to the present resemblance of the signs. The vowels are indicated only meagrely.

The Sabæan alphabet of southern Arabia seems to be a development of the early Semitic alphabet. The Ethiopian syllabary is an offshoot from it, and it is also the parent of the Iranian alphabets on the one hand and of the Indian on the other. The former group includes the Avestan script with the closely related Pahlavi alphabet, as well as Armenian and Georgian, while the Indian comprises the Sanskrit characters with all their modifications, such as Pali, Gujarati, and Bengali.

The Genealogy of the English Alphabet.-The Semitic alphabet was transmitted by the Phoenicians to the Greeks (earliest inscriptions, undated, from the island of Thera; Abu-Simbel inscriptions about 600 B.C.). The most remarkable change was the introduction of vowel representation. Five consonantal signs were employed to denote the vowels a, e, u, i, and o; and one of the signs was employed for th. Some of the local alphabets preferred No. 18, and some sigma, No. 21, as the sign for s, while a third sibilant, No. 15, was dormant until revived to represent §. At this stage the Greek alphabet was divided into two classcs; the Ionic, used in Asia Minor, Megara, Corinth, and Argos; and the Chalcidic, found throughout the remainder of the Peloponnesus. The Ionic, eastern, type consisted nominally of twenty-three consonants, as follows: A B TA EFZHOI KAM NEOПIM? PETY.

san,

or

Greek colonists took the Chalcidic, or western, type, which already contained the three additional letters x, , and y, to Italy. Of its twenty-six characters the Latin alphabet adopted twenty-one.,, were not required; was rejected; sigma was preferred to san. The first Latin alphabet was therefore as follows: A B C DEFZHIKL MNOPQRSTVX. Before this alphabet passed to England the principal changes were: (1) Z proved unnecessary. was dropped, and was then restored for employment in Greek words, being placed, like Y (Y), at the end of the alphabet. The older Y in the form V had now a different value (u as in full). (2) C, which is a rounded r, added to the value

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This alphabet was transmitted to England, and the forms in English use may still be called those of the Latin alphabet. (See WRITING.) The number of the letters has increased only by three: w has arisen from uu; u and v, originally variants, have acquired a distinctive use, and jis a modern form of consonantal i. Three other letters were employed for a time, until rejected by Norman-French influence (and the two runic letters, þ, P). Phonetically, however, the Latin alphabet has been transformed by English usage, the values of the

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Clodd, Story of the Alphabet (1900). See also Berger's Histoire de l'Ecriture dans l'Antiquité (1891). For the Semitic scripts see Clarke's Origin and Varieties of the Semitic Alphabets (1887), and Lidzbarski's Handbuch der nordsemitischen Epigraphik(1898). The history of the Sanskrit alphabet is thoroughly discussed in Bühler's Indische Paläographie (1896). For the Greek scripts see Kirchoff, Studien zur Geschichte des griechischen Alphabets (1887), while both Greek and Latin are treated in Müller's Handbuch der klassischen Alterthumswissen

Alpheus

schaft, i. (1892), and, in their later development, by Thompson's Greek and Latin Paleography (1894). Specimens of the chief alphabets are given in Lepsius's Standard Alphabet for Reducing Unwritten Languages and Foreign Graphic Systems (1863), and in Preces Sancti Nerses (1862).

Alpheus, in Greek mythology, the god of the Alpheus, the chief river of the Peloponnesus, which flows past Olympia to the Ionian Sea. The legend of his love for the nymph Arethusa is that the god surprised Arethusa bathing in the river, and pursued her; but Artemis tansformed her into an underground spring, which reappeared as a fountain on the island of Ortygia, close to Syracuse, Sicily. Alpheus, taking a similar form, followed her, and came to the surface of the sea as a freshwater spring near the fountain of Arethusa. (Ovid, Met. v. 572.) The legend is the foundation of Shelley's poem Arethusa.

Alphonsine Tables, improved astronomical tables drawn up by fifty celebrated astronomers at Toledo in 1252, under the patronage of Alfonso x. of Castile, and first printed in 1483.

Alphonso. See ALFONSO.

Alpine Club, a society formed in London in 1857-8 for the purpose of bringing together those interested in mountaineering. Its membership now extends to about 500, and its interests are no longer exclusively centred in the Alps, but extend to wherever there are new peaks to conquer. By the issue of the Alpine Journal, (founded in 1863), by holding an equipment exhibition (1899), and by the issue of maps, etc., the club has done much to popularize the sport all over the world. The headquarters, 23 Savile Row, London, contain an excellent reference library. Other European Alpine clubs are the Austrian (1862), Swiss (1863), Italian (1863), French (1874), and German (1869), the first and the last of which were amalgamated in 1874. In the United States there was formed in 1902 the American Alpine Club, composed of mountaineers who had ascended difficult and hazardous peaks, and explorers of polar regions or of large glaciers. Of a more general character but interested in mountains and mountain climbing are the Appalachian Mountain Club (1876), and the Sierra Club and the 'Mazamas' of the Pacific Coast.

Alpine Plants, which are also, in general, arctic plants, form the flora of regions which, by reason of altitude or latitude, approach the limits of perpetual snow. They are, for the most part, dwarfed plants with large brilliant flowers, and they tend to grow closely, forming carpets of green;

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thus the many kinds of saxifrages are typical alpine plants. Edelweiss, gentians, azaleas, rhododendrons, primulas, and many minute ferns, belong to the vegetation of mountains, but are successfully grown in rock gardens. See Dawson's Geol. Hist. of Plants (Internat. Scient. Series, 1888); Willis's Flowering Plants and Ferns (1897); Robinson's Eng. Flower Garden, ch. x.

Alpini, PROSPERO (1553-1617), Italian botanist, studied medicine at Padua, went in 1580 to Cairo to practise as a physician, served (1584) in the same capacity with the fleet of Andrea Doria; and ultimately became professor of bctany at Padua. He is remembered chiefly for his werk De Plantis Egypti (1592), which included the first accurate description of the coffee pla t. He also published De Medicina Egyptiorum (1591), De Medicina Methodica (1611), and other works.

Alpist. See CANARY GRASS.

Alps, the great mountain range that extends in the form of a crescent, from the gulf of Genoa into Austria. The range is about 650 miles long and from 75 to 150 miles broad. On the N. the focthills reach to just s. of Munich, Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna. The range is usually described as divided into three sections: (1) the W. Alps (Ccl di Tenda to the Simplon), including the Maritime Alps, Cettian Alps, Dauphiné Alps, Graian Alps, and Pennine Alps; (2) the Central Alps (Simplon to Reschen Scheideck and Stelvio), with the Bernese Alps, N. Swiss Alps, Lepontine and Adula Alps, Todi group, Rhætian Alps; (3) the E. Alps (Reschen Scheideck and Stelvio to the Semmering), including Ortler, Adamello, and Brenta groups, Limestone Alps of Bavaria, N. Tyrol and Salzburg, Central Tyrclese Alps, S. Tvrclese Alps or Dolomites, and S.E. Alps or the Carnic, Karawanken, and Julian Alps. The western section is the loftiest. The summit of the range is Mt. Blanc, 15.781 feet, situated in France. The Central Alps culminate in Finsteraarhorn, 14,025 feet, and the Eastern Alps in Mt. Bernina, 13,294 feet.

Politically, the Alps are situated in five countries-France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Bavaria. Railways have been pierced under several passes-the Semmering, Col de Fréjus (nct Mont Cenis, as often stated), St. Gothard, and Arlberg; and tunnels are in progress under the Albula, Simplon (pierced Feb. 25, 1905), Col di Tenda, and Cel de Jaman. Railways pass over the Brenner Pass, Col de la Croix Haute, Brünig, Laret, and Little Scheideck. Light railways ascend the Rigi, Uetliberg, Pilatus, Monte

Alps

Generoso, Monte Salvatore, Brienzer Rothhorn, Rochers de Naye, Grand Revard, Salève, Stanserhorn, Gornergrat, and Gurten. The Jungfrau railway reached 9,800 ft. in July, 1904. The highest carriage roads pass over the Stelvio from Austria to Italy, Col du Galibier, Umbrail from Switzerland to Italy, Great St. Bernard, and Furka.

There are many glaciers (1,155, covering 1,200 to 1,500 sq. m. according to Heim). The Aletsch glacier, in the Bernese Alps, is the largest and covers an area of 50 sq. m. Some of the greatest European rivers rise from these glaciers the Rhone, Rhine, Po, Adige, and Piave-flowing to the Mediterranean, North Sea, Black Sea, and Adriatic. There are many lakes, of which the largest are Geneva, Constance, Garda, Como, Maggiore, and Chiemsee.

The geological history of the Alps is one of successive periods of upheaval, due to pressures from N.W. and S.E., which have folded, broken up, and in some cases even overturned the strata of the earth's crust. In the centre of the range the rocks are chiefly Precambrian -gneiss, granite, mica, schist, etc.; while the outer belts contain principally fossiliferous sedimentary strata. Minerals are abundant in the Austrian part of the range, where coal, iron, lead, gold, silver, copper, and mercury are worked.

The principal Alpine railways are: (1) Geneva to Chamonix. (2) Geneva to Brigue for the Simplon, via St. Maurice (with branch from Visp to Zermatt and Gornergrat). (3) Bern to Interlaken, via Thun; Interlaken by Lauterbrunnen and Mürren for the Jungfrau, with branch for Grindelwald. (4) Lucerne to Brienz, via Meiringen. (5) Lucerne to Alpnach and Mt. Pilatus. (6) Lucerne to Zürich, via Rothkreuz and Zug. (7) Zug, via Arth (for the Rigi), to Vitznau. (8) Lucerne by Arth-Goldau and the St. Gothard Tunnel to Bellinzona and Lugano. (9) Zürich, via Rapperschwil, to Weesen and Glarus for Linththal. (10) Zürich, via Weesen and Lanquart (a) to Davos-Platz, (b) Coire and Thusis and the Albula Pass.

The chief mountain-climbing centres are Grindelwald (for Eiger and Wetterhorn), Chamonix (for Mt. Blanc), Zermatt (for the Matterhorn), Courmayeur, Macugnaga, and Pontresina (for Piz Languard, etc.).

Among the most frequented health resorts are Davos-Platz (E. Switzerland), St. Moritz, Samaden and Sils Maria (in the Upper Engadine), Pontresina, Tarasp, Bergün, St. Beatenberg, Heiden, Urseren, Engelberg, Seelisberg, Mürren. Grindelwald, Interlaken, Gersau, Lugano, Vevey, Lausanne, Bex, Bormio, Faulen, Rotzlach,

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THE MONT BLANC RANGE FROM THE FLEGÉRE.

1, Aiguille du Tour: 2. Aiguille d'Argent; 3. Aiguille Verte; 4 Aiguille du Dru: 5, Aiguille du Moine; 6, Les Grands Jorasses; 7, Aiguille de Charmoz; 8, Aiguille de Blaitière; 9, Aiguille du Plan; 10, Aiguille du Midi; 11, Mont Blanc; 12, Dôme du Gouter; 13, Aiguille du Gouter.

THE JUNGFRAU, ETC., FROM THE FAULHORN.

23, Jungfrau; 24, Breithorn (Lauterbrunnen). 14. Schwarzhorn; 15, Wellhorn; 16, Wetterhorn: 17, Berglistock; 18, Great Schreckhorn; 19, Finsteraarhorn; 20, Eiger; 21, Monch; 22, Aletschhorn;

THE MONTE ROSA RANGE FROM THE GORNERGRAT.

25, Monte Rosa; 26, Lyskamm; 27, 28, Castor and Pollux (Zwillinge); 2, Breithorn; 30, Little Matterhorn: 31, Matterhorn; 32, Tête Blanche.

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