372 



JOMINI, HENRI. 



physical type of the negro. They retain a deep 

 and pathetic attachment to the Holy Land. 

 The word "Falasha" means exile. They speak 

 two languages, belonging to different philologi- 

 cal stocks. One is the vernacular of the dis- 

 trict, the Amharic. But the language which 

 they use in their families is a dialect of the 

 Agaou, which they also employ for their pray- 

 ers. Many of their names are Biblical, and 

 consist of Hebrew words pronounced in Abys- 

 sinian manner. In the place of worship, men 

 and women sit apart, and there is a sanctuary 

 which is only entered by the high-priest on 

 the day of atonement. Sacrifices are per- 

 formed, but these are only commemorative, 

 and are therefore not in accordance with the 

 Mosaic ordinances. There are no sacrifices on 

 Sabbaths. Almost all the manufactories of 

 the country are in the hands of Falashas. 

 They enjoyed civil rights until the accession 

 of the late king. (See ABYSSINIA.) 



At the close of the first Israelite Congress 

 of Hungary, which took place on the 24th of 

 February, after a session of more than two 

 months, a deputation presented the statutes, 

 elaborated by the Congress, to the Minister of 

 Public Worship, requesting him to bring in a 

 bill in the next Diet by which the Israelite con- 

 fession as such should be received in the num- 

 ber of the legally-recognized confessions. Ac- 

 cording to the statute, the 475,000 Israelites 

 of Hungary and Transylvania are formed into 

 free communities, which in their turn are col- 

 lected in twenty-six districts. Rules are drawn 

 up regulating schools, endowments, the posi- 

 tion of rabbins, and other confessional and 

 educational matters. The future Congress is 

 to consist of eighty-six members, and bear, as 

 it were, the supreme authority. 



The condition of the Israelites in the Danubian 

 Principalities is improved, through the ener- 

 getic interposition of the European governments 

 in their behalf. The bitterness of the people 

 against them is very great, however, in Ru- 

 mania, where they have been exposed to vio- 

 lence from mobs. A better state of affairs is 

 hoped from the accession of the new ministry. 

 In Servia, the regime of liberty introduced by 

 the new government will, it is hoped, be fa- 

 vorable to the Jews. Much good is looked for 

 from the establishment of religious liberty in 

 Spain. European and American Jews have 

 been invited to cooperate in erecting a syna- 

 gogue at Madrid. The plan of dollar subscrip- 

 tions has been adopted. 



The success of M. Halevy's mission to the 

 Falashas of Abyssinia has suggested the dis- 

 patch of that gentleman to China, to inquire 

 into the condition of the Jews there, and ascer- 

 tain what can be done for them. The Uni- 

 versal Israelitish Alliance and the Board of 

 Delegates of American Israelites cooperate in 

 this action. 



JOMINI, Baron HENEI,' a Swiss general his- 

 torian and military critic, born in Payerne, 

 Canton de Vaud, Switzerland, March 6, 1779 ; 



died at Passy, near Paris, France, March 24, 

 1869. While still a boy, he served in a Swiss 

 regiment in French pay, from 1789 to 1792. 

 When the foreign troops were disbanded he 

 returned to Switzerland, and studied military 

 science with great assiduity. In 1803 he re- 

 turned to France, and, upon the recommenda- 

 tion of Marshal Ney, secured the opportunity 

 to pursue his commercial avocations in Paris, 

 but in 1804 he entered the French army, ob- 

 taining the grade of chef de lataillon, and he 

 was made colonel in 1805. Before this Jomini 

 had been a laborious student of the art of war, 

 and in 1805 had published his 4k Traite" des 

 grandes operations militaires, ou histoire cri- 

 tique et militaire des guerres de Frederic II. 

 comparers & celles de la Revolution," in five 

 volumes. He published his " Memoire sur les 

 probabilites de la guerre de Prusse " in 1806. 

 While serving on the staff of Marshal Key, in 

 the campaign of 1806 and 1807, he attracted 

 the attention of Napoleon, who bestowed upon 

 him the title of baron. In 1808 he accom- 

 panied Ney into Spain, but, in consequence of 

 a misunderstanding with his superior, he re- 

 mained inactive for two years. About this 

 time he was solicited to enter the service of 

 Russia, and was offered the rank of major-gen- 

 eral, but he refused, and was again restored to 

 favor and made a general of brigade in 1811. 

 He was at the same time made historiographer 

 of France, that office, which had been unoccu- 

 pied since the time of Marmontel, being re- 

 vived for his acceptance. In 1812 he. was 

 made governor of Wilna and Smolensk, and 

 distinguished himself in the well-contested 

 struggle at Bautzen, May 20, 1813, where the 

 allies were worsted and the French general, 

 Duroc, was killed. Ney recommended him 

 for promotion to the rank of general of divis- 

 ion, but Berthier, who was his enemy, not 

 only refused the request but struck his name 

 from the list of promotion, and caused his ar- 

 rest upon some trifling charge of routine irreg- 

 ularity. Jomini never forgave this treatment, 

 and, immediately after the armistice of Plas- 

 witz, he bade farewell to the French army and 

 took service under Alexander, who immedi- 

 ately appointed him an aide-de-camp. Napo- 

 leon caused charges of desertion to be filed 

 against Jomini, and a French court-martial 

 found him guilty and sentenced him to death 

 a sentence which could scarcely be carried into 

 execution while the culprit was in the camp 

 of Alexander. Jomini behaved in the most 

 honorable manner at this time, not only re- 

 fusing to divulge Napoleon's plan t>f opera- 

 tions, with which he was thoroughly familiar, 

 but declining to take part in the campaign 

 against the French. Although his enemies ac- 

 cused him of having betrayed the French to the 

 Russians, Napoleon emphatically denied the 

 statement. In 1815, while visiting Paris with 

 the Czar, Louis XVIII. conferred upon him 

 the cross of the Order of St. Louis. He re- 

 mained several years in Paris, superintending 



