ACADEMY ACAPULCO. 



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Iloyal Society of Edinburgh was established in 1783. 

 Besides these, there are the Society of Antiquaries 

 of London, 1751 ; the Literary and Philosophical 

 Society of Manchester, 1781 ; the literary associa- 

 tions of Haarlem, Flushing, Rotterdam, Brussels, 

 Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Upsal, &c. From Eu- 

 rope they have spread to the other quarters of the 

 globe. In Asia there lias been a society of arts 

 and sciences, at Batavia, since 1778 ; a society of 

 sciences at Calcutta, in Bengal, since 1784 ; and 

 one at Uombay, to which we are indebted for the 

 most important information respecting India and 

 other parts of the East. The principal learned aca- 

 demies and societies in the U. S. of America, are 

 the following : 1. The American Philosophical So- 

 ciety, Philadelphia, founded in 1769. This society 

 Jias published nine volumes, 4to, of Transactions. 

 In 1815, it appointed a large committee to superin- 

 tend an historical department, which has published 

 one vol. 8vo. 2. The Massachusetts Historical 

 Society, Boston, founded in 1791. It has printed 

 22 vols. 8vo, of Collections. 3. The Connecticut 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences, New Haven, 

 founded in 1799, has published one vol. of Transac- 

 tions. 4. The American Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences, Boston, founded in 1780, has published 

 four vols. 4to, of Transactions. 5. The Historical 

 Society of New York, founded in 1809, has pub- 

 lished four vols. 8vo, of Collections. 6. The Liter- 

 ary and Philosophical Society of New York, 

 founded in 1815, has published two vols. 4to, of 

 Transactions. 7. The Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ence, Philadelphia, founded in 1818, has published 

 five vols. 8vo. 8. The Lyceum of Natural History, 

 New York, founded in 1818, has published two 

 vols. 8vo. There are, besides, the Historical So- 

 ciety of Concord,' New Hampshire, the Essex His- 

 torical Society, Salem, Massachusetts, the Colum- 

 bian Institute, at Washington, D. C., and some 

 others ; but their publications have been few. 



Academies devoted to the promotion of the fine arts 

 sprung up in the middle of the 16th century. The 

 academy of Paris has been a model for many subse- 

 quent institutions of a similar character. The ear- 

 liest union of painters, for objects similar to those of 

 modern academies of art, was the fraternity, formed 

 at Venice in 1345, under the name of San Luca, 

 which sprang from a society under the patronage of 

 St Sophia. However, neither this nor the society 

 of San Luca, established at Florence, in 1350, bore 

 the name of an academy. The Accademie di San 

 Luca, founded at Rome in 1593, by Frd. Zucchero, 

 first obtained a settled character in 1715. The aca- 

 demy 'at Milan may have preceded the time of 

 Leonardo da Vinci, who is generally regarded as its 

 founder. The academies ot Bologna, Parma, Pa- 

 dua, Mantua, Turin, are all of recent origin, and 

 have never obtained the importance which such in- 

 stitutions acquire in large capitals, where the finest 

 works of art serve as guides and incentives to genius. 

 The Academy of Painting at Paris was established 

 by Louis XIV. in 1648, and the Academy of Archi- 

 tecture by Colbert, in 1671. This latter now exists 

 under the name of Ecole Speciale des Beaux Arts, 

 and is divided into departments, in a way which 

 might serve as a model. Since 1391, the painters 

 of Paris have been united in a society called the 

 Fraternity of St Luke, which has received cliarters 

 from several kings. Among the towns of France, 

 Bordeaux had the earliest academy. We now find 

 one in almost every town of consequence. The 

 French academy at Rome, in the Villa Medici, is a 

 branch of the academy of Paris. Nuremberg had 

 the first establishment of this kind in Germany. Its 

 academy, founded by Sandrart, 1662, and long con- 



ducted by him, gained new distinction from the ce- 

 lebrity of Preissler. The academy of Berlin waa 

 founded in 1694, was remodelled and received a 

 fresh impulse in '1786 ; tliat of Dresden, established 

 in 1697, was united with those of Leipsic and 

 Meissen in 1764, and has still the form given it by 

 Hagedorn. The academy of Vienna was founded 

 by Joseph I. and completed by Charles VI. in 1726 ; 

 that of Munich was established in 1770; those of 

 Dusseldorff and Manheim are more valuable now 

 than they were originally. Weimar, Cassel, Frank- 

 fort, Berne, should not be omitted in this enumera- 

 tion. The Academy of Painting at Madrid had its 

 origin in 1752 ; the Royal Academy of Painting at 

 London, in 1768. Lately, a branch of the London 

 academy has been established at Rome, which, we 

 have reason to hope, will prove more useful than 

 the parent society. Edinburgh has possessed a 

 similar society since 1754. At Brussels, Amster- 

 dam, Antwerp, there are distinguished academies. 

 Stockholm has had, since 1733, an academy of the 

 fine arts, founded by count Tessin. Since 1738, 

 one has existed at Copenhagen, but its privileges 

 were conferred on it in 1754. This academy lias 

 exercised an important influence. The academy of 

 Petersburg was founded in 1757, and extended in 

 1764. Its influence in awakening diligence and en- 

 terprise among the Russian artists has been lately 

 very apparent. For schools of music, see Conserva- 

 tory. 



ACANTHUS ; the name of an ancient town in 

 Egypt, also one in Caria, and another in Macedonia 

 (near mount Athos), &c. Also, a genus of plants 

 (commonly called bear's-breech), ot the order an- 

 giospermia, class didynamia. The leaves of the A. 

 are large, and very beautiful. It grows wild in 

 Italy. In architecture, an ornament resembling the 

 leaves of the acanthus, used in the capitals of the 

 Corinthian and Composite orders. 



ACAPULCO is the best Mexican harbour on the 

 Pacific ocean ; Ion. 98 50' W., lat. 16 50' N. ; pop. 

 mostly people of colour. Both the harbour and the 

 road-stead are deep, with a secure anchorage from 

 storms. It is the most considerable port on the S. 

 W. side of Mexico. Heavily laden ships can lie at 

 anchor, close to the granite rocks, which environ the 

 road-stead and harbour. On account of the steep- 

 ness of these rocks, the coast has a wild and barren 

 appearance. At the entrance of the harbour is 

 situated an island, Roqueta or Grifo, which fonns a 

 western entrance of 7UO or 800 feet broad, and an 

 eastern, a mile or a mile and a half broad, and from 

 24 to 33 fathoms deep. On the north-west lies the 

 city, defended by fort San Diego, situated on an 

 eminence. It has not more than 4000 inhabitants, 

 mostly people of colour. The number used to in- 

 crease much on the arrival of the galleon from 

 Manilla. Few commercial places have a more un- 

 healthy situation. The usual heat in the day is front 

 86 to 90" Fahrenheit ; in the night, till 3 o'clock, 

 A. M., 78 ; and from that time till sunrise, G4 to 

 62 . The sun's rays are reflected by the white rocks 

 upon the city, where no creature is comfortable ex- 

 cept the musquitoes. To procure fresh air, the 

 Spanish government caused a passage to be cut 

 through the rocks on the east ; but neglected, what 

 was far more necessary, to drain and dike the mo- 

 rass, on the same side, situated most favourable 

 for the culture of sugar cane. About the middle of 

 the dry season, the water disappears, and the efflu- 

 via of putrid substances infect the air. Here the 

 yellow fever of the West Indies, and the cholera 

 morbus of the East Indies, sweep away many 

 strangers, and especially young Europeans. The 

 calms under the line, which frequently continue for 

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