HO 



AI.HA LOST, A ALBANIA. 



\\ > are informed by liaron Tott, who saw tin- cere- 

 mony which accompanied Uie breaking out of a war 

 between Russia anil die porte, Uiat Uie A. consists 

 of a kind of masquerade, in which tlie different 

 tradesmen exhibit the implements of iln-ir rcsi>ective 

 arts, anil their mode of openttions. (A similar ex- 

 hibition of various trades was seen in the procession 

 formed to celebrate the coniinencenieiit ot Uie rail- 

 road at Baltimore, July 4, 1828; and in the more 

 recent reform processions which have taken place in 

 Scotland.) The mechanics are followed by the 

 standard of the prophet Mahomet , brought from t lie 

 seraglio, to be carried to the Ottoman anny. This 

 sacred banner is viewed with fanatical reverence. 

 None but emirs are allowed to touch it ; and Uie 

 very look of an infidel is said to be sufficient to pro- 

 fane it. The A. having been almost forgotten, from 

 the long peace which preceded the war above-men- 

 tioned, the Christians imprudently crowded to wit- 

 ness the exhibition ; the emir, wiio preceded the 

 holy sUindard, cried with a loud voice, " Let no in- 

 fidel profane with liis presence the banner of the 

 prophet ; and let every Mussulman, who perceives 

 an unbeliever, make it known under pain of repro- 

 bation." At these words, the fanaticism of the 

 Turks was roused, and a horrid massacre of the 

 Christians began, in which no age and neither sex 

 was spared. 



ALBA LONG A ; a considerable city of Latium ; ac- 

 cording to tradition, built by Ascanius, the son of 

 -Eneas ; governed, after the death of its founder, 

 by .Knea- Sylvius, Uie second son of ./Eneas. It 

 was the birth-place of Romulus and Remus, the 

 parent of Rome, under whose dominion it fell, in 

 consequence of Uie victory of the Romans in the con- 

 test between the Horatii ami Curiatii. The beautiful 

 lake of Albano, wiUi its canal, and the castle of 

 Gondolfo, still remind us of A. (See Xietmhr's Ro- 

 man Hist.) There was also a city of Alba near the 

 Lacus Fucinus, a town of the Marsi ; an A. Poni- 

 peia in Liguria, and an A. Julia, now Weissemburg, 

 in Transylvania, 



ALBAN, St, lived in the 3d century, and is said to 

 have been the first person who suffered martyrdom 

 for Christianity in Great Britain. He was born 

 near the town which now bears his name, in Hert- 

 fordshire. In his youth, he served seven years as a 

 soldier, under the emperor Diocletian. Returning 

 to Britain, he embraced Christianity, and suffered 

 martyrdom in the great persecution which took place 

 in the time of the above emperor. A number of 

 miracles are attributed to this saint. The celebrated 

 monastery of St Alban's was founded between four 

 and five centuries after his death, by Offa, king of 

 Mercia. 



ALBAM ; a rich and powerful family of Rome, 

 which fled before the Turks in the 16th century, 

 from Albania to Italy. Here it was divided into two 

 branches ; the one constituting Uie family of Berga- 

 mo ; the other, that of Urbino. The Roman branch 

 of the A- owes its splendour to a fortunate circum- 

 stance. It was an A. who announced to Urban 

 VIII. the acquisition of Urbino ; and riches and 

 posts of honour were the reward of his tidings. The 

 influence of the family was very great when Clement 

 XI. ascended the papal chair, in 1700. Of the 

 nephews of this pope, Annibale A., Alessandro A., 

 and Giovanni Francesco A., Annibale lias distin- 

 guished himself by his writings and collections of 

 books and works of art, which have been incorporated 

 with the treasures of the Vatican. Alessandro A., 

 his younger brother, born at Urbino in 1692, took 

 orders at the express desire of pope Clement XI. 

 He was raised to the dignity of cardinal, in 1721, by 

 Innocent XIII. As a member of Uie sacred col- 



lege, as protector of Sardinia, nnd, under Benedict 

 \IV.. as associate protector of the imperial states, 

 he took an active part in all the contests in which 

 the papal court was then engaged, particularly on 

 account of his fjreat friendship for the Jesuits, of 

 which many proofs exist, especially in the journals 

 of father Cordara. In the charms of a quiet, literary 

 life, of agreeable society, and a u ell-filled table, the 

 cardinal found greater enjoyment than in the turmoil 

 of business. One of his greatest pleasures was in a 

 collection of works of art, which he was nested in 

 arranging by Winckelmann, whose collect ions lie 

 inherited? It is known how sincerely Winckelmann 

 was devoted to the cardinal, whose knowledge could 

 appreciate and second the genius of the MdUBOloctat 

 Or Uiis, his splendid villa before Porta Salara, at 

 Rome, notwithstanding many losses, affords striking 

 proof. Morcelli, Marini, Fea, and Zoega combined 

 to make it known, and owe a portion of their uwn 

 reputation to its treasures. It contains the richest 

 modern private collection, and does honour to tin- 

 taste of its founder. It was said in Rome, soon 

 after the deaUi of the cardinal, as a proof of his 

 acquaintance with ancient coins, that he could dis- 

 tinguish the genuine from the counterfeit by the 

 mere touch, without the aid of his eyes. Indefatigai 

 bly active, yet never an author, the cardinal died, 

 Dec. 11, 1779. Dionigio Strocchi lias written his 

 life. 



ALBANI, Francesco, a famous painter, born at 

 Bologna, in 1578, entered the school of Dionysius 

 Calvert, a Flemish painter, who had a great reputa- 

 tion in Bologna. A. was one of his most distin- 

 guished scholars. He laboured here several years, 

 in connexion wiUi Domenichino, to whom he was 

 closely attached by friendship and love of art ; and 

 some resemblance is perceptible in their manner of 

 colouring. But in invention he surpasses his friend, 

 and, indeed, all his rivals of the school of Calvert. 

 His female forms Mengs places above those of all 

 other painters ; an opinion which we cannot assent 

 to unconditionally. Those of his compositions that 

 are most frequently met with are, Uie sleeping 

 Venus ; Diana in the bath ; Danae reclining ; Ga- 

 latea on the sea ; Europa on the bull. Scriptural 

 subjects he has less frequently selected ; when he 

 has, the paintings are principally distinguished for 

 the beauty of the heads of the angels. In general, 

 he was most successful in paintings of a limited 

 character. He had a numerous school in Rome and 

 Bologna. The scholars of Guido, with whom lie 

 vied, accused him of effeminacy and weakness of 

 style, and maintained Uiat he knew not how to give 

 any dignity to male figures. For that reason he 

 avoided subjects which demand fire and spirit, and 

 has been called, not without reason, the Anacreon of 

 painters. The narrowness of his sphere of excel- 

 lence was eventually injurious to him. He outlived 

 his fame, and died in 1660, in the 82d year of his 

 age. He left behind him several writings, which 

 Malvasia has preserved. 



ALBANIA (in the Turkish language, Arnavt ; m 

 the Albanian, Skiperi); (Epirus and Illyria) ; a 

 Turkish province in Arnaut-Wilajeti, extended from 

 the Drino to the Acroceraunian mountains, along 

 the coast of the Adriatic and Ionian seas. It has a 

 delicious climate, and produces in abundance wine, 

 grain, oil, tobacco, cotton, wood, mineral salt, and 

 horned catUe. The principal mountains are Uie 

 Montenegro and the Chimera ; the principal rivers 

 the Drino, Bojana, Somini, &c. The 300,000 inha- 

 bitants are composed of Turks, Greeks, Jews, and 

 Arnauts; the last of which constitute the boldest 

 soldiers in the Turkish armies. The country is 

 divided into the pashalics of Janina, Ilbessan, and 



