122 



ALMANAC-ALMOHEDK& 



ami tin- almanacs most similar to some of those \- 

 tensmly circulated amongst the Knli^li an- pro- 

 duced in Persia. A modern Persian almanac is 

 tluis described in the Eiicycttijitrititi Mi-trajuJidiHH : 

 ' Tlir first jige contuias u list of fortunate days for 

 certain purposes ; as, for example, to buy. to sell, to 

 take medicine, to niarry, &r. ; then follow pn dic- 

 tions of events, as earthquakes, storms, political af- 

 1'aiiN, &c., after the manner of Mcxire's Almanac, ex- 

 cept being apparently more concise." This resem- 

 blance Ix'lween the product ions of a highly-cultivated 

 nation, and one which is noted for its general 

 ignorance, is a remarkable instance of the penna- 

 nt ney of vulgar errors. The first almanac at Con- 

 stantinople is slid to have been printed in 1716, 

 under the direction of Abdonaham. Regioiuontaniis 

 was the first pT>on in Europe \vlio prepared al- 

 manacs in their present form, with the exception of 

 their predictions, which were, in all probability, 

 introduced into Europe from the Persians. Some 

 of tin- almanacs in the United States still contain 

 predictions respecting the weather. There is, per- 

 haps, no class of books, which bear so obviously 

 Uie stomp of the age, and of the spirit of differ- 

 ent countries, as almanacs. At present, they be- 

 i-nnie every year more full of statistical matter. 

 < Mice they were almost entirely filled with sub- 

 jects of a religious character. At another time 

 they overflowed with astrological calculations and 

 predictions. In the time of Napoleon, an almanac 

 was published in France, in which, to every day, an 

 achievement of the emperor, or something else relat- 

 ing to him, was added. Almanacs, in the petty 

 principalities of (iennany, exhibit the endless genea- 

 logical tables of the princes. Some almanacs in 

 modern Greek, printed at Venice, where, formerly, 

 all books in this language were published, we found 

 full of astrological superstition, and matters relating 

 to the Greek church. One of the most curious 

 almanacs which we have seen is an Italian one 

 for 1822, exhibiting, in a striking manner, the 

 Italian vivacity. To the 30th of July is added, 

 Su'luno ancora le ossa ! to the eleventh of August, 

 Oh! chenoja; to July 12, Cascano le braccia ; to 

 January 2, Stivaii e OmbreUo! In Germany, al- 

 manach is the name given to annuals like those which 

 appear in England, and the United States of Ame- 

 rica, under the names of Souvenir, Forget-me-not, &c. 

 In France, a work appears annually under the title 

 of Almanack des Gourmands, which is conducted with 

 much spirit, and is in high repute among epicures. 



ALMANAC, Nautical. An important work of this 

 kind is published in England annually, but two or 

 three years in advance, bearing the name of Nauti- 

 cal Almanac, in which (besides most things essential 

 to general use, that are to be found in other alma- 

 .iacs) are contained many interesting particulars; 

 nore especially, the distances of the moon from the 

 sun, and from certain fixed stars, for every three 

 hours of apparent time, adapted to the meridian of 

 the royal observatory, Greenwich. By comparing 

 these with the distances carefully observed at sea, 

 the mariner may, with comparative ease and cer- 

 tainty, infer his longitude to a degree of accuracy 

 unattainable in any other way, and sufficient for most 

 nautical purposes. This almanac was commenced, 

 in 1767, by I)r Maskelyne, astronomer royal, and has 

 been continued ever since. During forty-eight 

 years Dr Maskelyne devoted the most sedulous at- 

 tention to it, and it was distinguished for accuracy. 

 Since his death, it has not been so well conducted, 

 and the board of longitude, under whose auspices it 

 was published, lias been lately dissolved. The 

 French '( 'renaissance des Terns is published with the 

 same views as the English Nautical Almanac, and 



nearly on the si me plan. It commenced in 1698, 

 and lias been, in one or two instances, discontinued 

 for short intervals. For many years, however, it 

 has In en published with great regularity, and in a 

 inaimei highly -creditable to I he Inirrnn tit' longitude. 

 The most valuable of the nautical almanacs now ex- 

 isiing, is that published at Berlin, under the super- 

 iiitendence of pn>fes-or Kncke, who has, within a 

 short time past, taken charge of it. It is called At- 

 triniiniiitit'lu-s Jahrbuch, and is the same which was 

 conducted for fifty years by professor Mode, wilh 

 great credit to himself. It is distinguished for com- 

 pleteness and accuracy. 



ALME, or ALMA ; girls in llindostan and Egypt, 

 whose profession is to tell stories, dance, sing, play, 

 and appear as improvuatrici. TI.e latter accom 

 plishment is not of very difficult acquisition, as the 

 extempore poetry of the East deals much in repeti- 

 tion, and is little constrained by rule. These arts are 

 lanylit to female slaves, with a view to enhance their 

 price in the market The art of telling stories, of 

 which the Asiatics are so fond, is undoubtedly car- 

 ried to much greater perfection in the East, than 

 with us. The Almes, in their dances, imitate the 

 occurrences and actions of life, and often overstep 

 the bounds of decency. Their singing, like Asiatic 

 singing in general, is extremely poor ; but in their 

 dances, they show the greatest skill. They often 

 amuse rich people at dinner. There are also Almes 

 for the lower classes. 



ALMEIDA, Francisco and Lorenzo ; father and 

 son. Francisco was the first viceroy of India, in 

 1505. After ravaging the coast of Africa in the 

 course of his expedition, he subjected to the Portu- 

 guese dominion Quiloa, Onor, Cananor, wilh other 

 petty states, and, in a desperate struggle, carried by 

 storm and burned the strong fortress of Panama, 

 though defended by a resolute garrison of 4000 men, 

 while his own force scarcely exceeded 700. His 

 son, who accompanied him, being now detached on 

 a separate expedition, subdued the island of Ceylon, 

 carried off 250,000 Ibs. weight of cinnamon as the 

 first fruits of his success, and imposed on the coun- 

 try an annual tribute to the same amount. In a 

 subsequent expedition against the combined fleets of 

 the Arabians and Egyptians, he was slain. His fa- 

 ther revenged his son in a bloody battle at Dabul. 

 He then resigned his command to the famous Al- 

 buquerque, and sailed for Portugal, but was killed 

 on the African coast, near the cape of Good Hope. 

 A Portuguese bishop, a Jesuit, member of the 

 same family, called Apolinarius, suffered martyrdom 

 in Ethiopia, whither he went as a missionary, in 1 568. 



ALMEIDA, one of the strongest fortresses in Portu- 

 gal, is situated in the province of Beira, near the 

 Spanish border, on the Coa, and contains 2750 in- 

 habitants. In 1762, it was taken by the Spaniards, 

 after great loss, but was restored at the peace. 

 When Ney, 24th July, 1810, attempted to pass iner 

 the Coa into Portugal, the British defended the. 

 fortress of A. against marshal Massena, till 27th 

 August, when they were obliged to capitulate. In 

 his retreat from Portugal, March 1811, the evacua- 

 tion of A. cost marshal Massena a bloody battle of 

 two days with Wellington, the 3d and 4th of May, 

 near Fuentes d'Onoro, when the French commander, 

 general Brenier, blew up the fortress on the night 

 of the llth, and made his way through the midst 

 of the besiegers. The British have restored the 

 works. 



ALMENE ; a weight of two pounds, used to weigh 

 saffron in several parts of the East Indies. 



ALMOHEDES ; the name of an African dynasty 

 which succeeded that of the Almoravides, in Bar- 

 bary, in the commencement of the 12th century. 



