50 



AFFIRMATION AFRAKCKSADOS. 



adopted into the laws of Europe and America. All 

 l.-^-il tapritoents, arising from alVmiiy, cease upon 

 i!ie death of the luisl>ai>d or wife, excepting, of course, 

 thoM- which relate to the nuirriiigc of tin- survivor. 

 Tin table of forbidden decrees uf affinity is, by the 

 ecclesiastical law of England, commanded to be hung 

 up in all churches. The Roman church speaks of 

 spiritual njfinity, which is contracted by the sacra- 

 ments of baptism and confirmation; according to 

 which a god-lather may not marry his god-daughter 

 without a dispensation. 



AFFIRMATION signifies, in one sense, the solemn 

 declarations of Quakers, and members of some oilier 

 sects, in confirmation of their testimony in courts of 

 law, or of their statements on other occasions, on 

 which the sanction of an oath is required of other 

 person*. The Knglish laws did not permit affirma- 

 tions instead of oaths, in criminal cases, until 1828. 

 No distinction lias been made, in any of the United 

 States, between testimonies in civil and criminal 

 cases in this respect, it having been permitted to 

 Quakers generally, and, for the most part, to other 

 persons scrupulous about swearing, to give testimony 

 upon mere solemn affirmation. Even the president 

 of the United States is allowed to affirm instead of 

 taking the usual oath, when inducted into office, if 

 he has conscientious scruples about swearing. The 

 privilege of affirmation is allowed in Prussia only to 

 sects recognised by government, and whose princi- 

 ples do not permit them to make oath. False affir- 

 mation is subjected to the same penalties as perjury in 

 England and elsewhere. 



AFFRY, Lewis Augustinus Philip, count of, first 

 magistrate of Switzerland after Napoleon, had pro- 

 claimed himself the protector of the Helvetic confe- 

 deracy, was born at Freyburg, 1743. He was early 

 destined to a military life, accompanied his father 

 on an embassy to the Hague, soon became adjutant 

 in the Swiss guards, and was finally elevated to the 

 rank of lieutenant-general. At the commencement 

 of the revolution, lie commanded the army on the 

 I'pper Rhine, till Aug. 10, 1792, when the Swiss 

 troops having been disbanded, he returned to his 

 country, and uecame a member of the secret council 

 at Freyburg. Switzerland being menaced, in 1798, 

 with a French invasion and a revolution, he resumed 

 the command of the troops. He acknowledged the 

 uselessness of resistance, conducted himself with un- 

 deviating prudence, and averted as much as possible 

 from his country the evils of war and rebellion. 

 When Freyburg was taken by the French, he be- 

 came a member of the provisional government. He 

 liad no share in the insurrections of 1801 and 1802, 

 but accepted with pleasure the appointment of deputy 

 to Paris, when the first consul invited the Swiss to 

 send delegates thither, and offered them his media- 

 tion. Napoleon distinguished him above the other 

 deputies, and intrusted to him the formation of an 

 administration, which was to ensure the peace and 

 happiness of the ancient allies of France. Feb. 19, 

 1803, A. received from the first consul the act of 

 mediation, was appointed first magistrate for this 

 year, and invested with extraordinary powers, until 

 the convocation of a diet. He sought to promote 

 the views of the first consul, and acted, in every 

 thing, with the ability, the intelligence, and the expe- 

 rience of a thorough statesman. He died June 16, 

 1810. 



AFGHANISTAN, or AFGHAUXISTAUN, the country of 

 the Afghans, or Cabuliste, also called the kingdom 

 of the dbdallians, contains 330,000 square miles, is 

 bounded on the north, towards Budukshan, by mount 

 Hindoo- Koh and Paropamisus ; on the east, towards 

 Hindqstan, by the Indus and mount Solonon; on 

 the south, by the vale of Bolalin and the mountains 



near SisU-.ii ; (, n the west, towards Iran, by the great 

 de.sert. The 1 liiuloo-Koli is a continuation of the 

 Himalaya; many r,ines run in all directions from 

 the I'aroiiamistis and" mount Solomon. The Indus 

 is the principal river. The atmosphere is dry and 

 healthy, and some of the \alleys are very fertile. 

 The nntilled portions serve as pastures for cattle. 

 It abounds in silver, lead, iron, sulphur, lapis lazuli, 

 cotton, horses, asses, dromedaries, camels, oxen, 

 sheep with fat Uiils, goats, \<-., and contains, also, 

 several species of carnivorous animals. Of the 

 14,000,000 of inhabitants, 4.:;(>0,lXX) are Afghans, 

 and .0,700,000 are Hindoos; the remaining part con- 

 sists of TaiMiickv (descendents of the ancient. Per- 

 sians), with Tartars and Bclooches. Their religion 

 is that of Mahomet. Besides the capiUil, C.'sibul, 

 which contains 80,000 inliabiUints, there are other 

 important cities ; as Candahar, a fortress and com- 

 mercial place, of 100,000 inhabitants ; Peshawur, or 

 Peshour, of 100,000 inhabitants, &c. ; Bulkh, or 

 Balk (the ancient Bactria, now inhabited by Us- 

 becks), and Cashmere. These are almost indepen- 

 dent cities on the frontiers. The king is of the house 

 of Saddosei ; the throne is hereditary, but limited by 

 the power of the chiefs of the tribes. The British 

 couriers and travellers, who are going to Bagdad, 

 generally prefer the way by Cabul. In consequence 

 of the influence of the British over the people of A., 

 the Persian court at Tehraun is subjected to an un- 

 willing dependence on the East India company, 

 which acts as protector of Persia and of A., and has 

 contributed much to the preservation of peace be- 

 tween the two nations, as far as the aristocratic cha- 

 racter of the government of A. admits. Private 

 quarrels, however, frequently happen between the 

 Persian governors and the chiefs of A. The great 

 influence of the British in the East, over the na- 

 tions of the lower Indus (Seiks), is continually ex- 

 erted to prevent these powerful nations from weak- 

 ening one another by wars, with a view of advancing 

 the commercial interests of the British company, 

 and of providing a bulwark against the progress of 

 the Russian conquests beyond the Caucasus, in 

 Lower Persia, in Armenia, and on the Caspian sea. 

 But in spite of these precautions, the rajah of La- 

 hore, Rungeet Singh, has usurped the throne of Ca- 

 bul, in A., and, to brave the British, has taken many 

 Russians into his service. The Russians trade with 

 the Afghans by way of Bucharia. 



AFGHANS, or AFGHAUNS, signifying mountaineers, 

 is the name of a powerful nation, called also Patans, 

 in the eastern part of Persia, in the kingdom of Ca- 

 bulistan. They originally lived in the mountains be- 

 tween Persia, Hindustan, and Bactria, and are of 

 Median descent. The A.'s are even now wandering 

 tribes ; both those of the west, who are robbers, ana 

 live in tents, and those of the east, who have more 

 regular settlements. During the revolution in Per- 

 sia, which took place in 1747, after the death of Na- 

 dir Shah, Amed Abdallah, chief of the A.'s in the 

 Persian army, took possession of the provinces ot 

 Candahar and Chorasan, made himself independent 

 of Persia, and founded the kingdom of Afghanistan. 



AFORE (avant, French) ; all that part of a ship 

 which lies forward, or near the stem. 



AFRANCESADOS. This title is used to denote those 

 Spaniards who took the oath of fidelity and allegiance 

 to the constitution of Bayonnc and king Joseph, ex- 

 pecting, from the new order of things introduced by 

 the French into Spain, a regeneration of their coun- 

 try. They were also termed .Josefinos, because they 

 were taken into the Spanish service by Joseph. 

 After the overthrow of the usurper (in triad), his prin- 

 cipal partisans fled to France, to avoid the hatred of 

 their countrymen. When king Ferdinand VII. re- 



