ANGLO-SAXON ANGORA. 



173 



Saxons, where he gives many passages of the most 

 eminent writers, both in poetry and prose, of differ- 

 ent ages, with the words of Saxon origin printed in 

 italics. Mr Duponceau, in the article Anglo-Saxon, 

 in the American edition of the Edinburgh Encyclo- 

 paedia, says, " So far as we are able to judge from a 

 superficial investigation of the subject, we are apt to 

 believe that the English words of northern derivation 

 are to those derived from the ancient, as well as the 

 modern languages of southern Europe, in the pro- 

 portion of something more than three, but not quite 

 as much as four, to one." 2. The structure of the 

 verb and the greater part of the grammar is, funda- 

 mentally, Saxoii. 3. A large quantity of Saxon 

 words have disappeared, which were used before the 

 Norman conquest. Mr Turner, in the work already 

 mentioned, says, " I found, in three pages of Al- 

 fred's Orosius, 78 words which have become ob- 

 solete, out of 548, or about one-seventh. In three 

 pages of his Bede, I found 230 obsolete, out of 969, 

 or about one-fifth." 4. In many cases, the Saxon 

 word denotes the raw material, or the thing before 

 it is changed by human art ; e. g., ox, swine, sheep : 

 the English word of Latin or French origin signifies 

 the same thing after changes have been made in it 

 by human labour ; e. g.,beef, pork, mutton. 5. If 

 there exist two synonymous words, one of Saxon, the 

 other of Latin origin, the former, on account of its 

 greater antiquity (as far as regards the English lan- 

 guage), is, generally, more expressive and poetical, 

 though the latter is frequently considered more ele- 

 gant ; e. g., fatherly and paternal, motherly and ma- 

 ternal, happiness and felicity, faithfulness and fidelity, 

 kindred and relations, bereave and deprive, to dwell 

 and to lodge, &c. If the reader will take any fine 

 passage of Shakspeare or the Bible, and change all 

 the Saxon words for which he finds synonymes of 

 French origin, the thoughts will appear deprived of 

 their proper dress. This is also the reason why pas- 

 sages of German writers on common subjects often 

 sound to Englishmen, who begin the study of this 

 kindred language, as if poetically expressed, because 

 the German words correspond to the Saxon and more 

 poetical words of their own language. 6. In the 

 English Bible, the Saxon stock prevails more than 

 in any other English work, not only in respect to the 

 words (many a long passage being wholly com- 

 posed of Saxon words), but also in respect to the con- 

 struction. We may be allowed to close this article 

 with the remarks of Mr Duponceau in the Encyclo- 

 paedia above mentioned. " The peculiar structure of 

 the English language," he says, " is far from having 

 been investigated as yet with that degree of attention 

 and accuracy that it deserves. Among other things, 

 we do not find that any grammarian has been at the 

 pains to take a full comparative view of its two great 

 component parts ; by which we mean, on the one 

 Inn id, those words that are derived from the Saxon, 

 Danish, and other northern languages, and, on the 

 hand, those from the Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, 

 and other idioms of the south of 'Europe. These two 

 sets of vocables are so dissimilar from each other, 

 that they, appear at first view incapable of being 

 amalgamated together, so as to form an harmonious 

 whole ; yet who is there that can read, feel, and un- 

 derstand, and does not admire the sublime harmony 

 which Milton, Dryden, Pope, Shakspeare, Boling- 

 broke, and the other immortal poets and prose writers 

 of Great Britain, have produced out of those discor- 

 dant elements? To analyze, therefore, those ele- 

 ments, from which have resulted such inconceivable 

 effects, is well worth the trouble of the grammarian 

 and philologer ; and the interesting discoveries, to 

 which such an inquiry will lead, will amply repay 

 their learned labours.*' We will only add, that not 



only would such an inquiry lead to interesting and 

 beneficial results, but the trouble of the student 

 would be well repaid, if he would investigate the ten- 

 dency of the language at different periods, and ob- 

 serve how, in some, an inclination to the Saxon stock, 

 in others, to the Latin and its derivative languages, 

 is apparent. At present, the Saxon stock is undoubt- 

 edly most in favour, as may be seen by any one who 

 will look into the writings of Byron, Sir Walter Scott, 

 and other eminent writers of our time, although a 

 disposition to make free use of French and Italian 

 words is very observable in the intercourse of society 

 and among secondary writers in the departments oi 

 light literature. See Low German. 



ANGOLA (formerly called Abonda, or Dongo) ; a 

 country of Western Africa, S. of Congo. In mercan- 

 tile language, it includes all the coast from cape 

 Lopez Gonsalvo to St Phelipe de Benguela, from 

 about lat. 1 to 12 S. The principal object for 

 which this coast is visited is the trade in slaves, of 

 which the number annually obtained is estimated, at 

 least, at 40,000. Loanda, or St Paul de Loanda, 

 is the principal Portuguese establishment for obtain- 

 ing negroes. The Portuguese settled there in the 

 middle ages. A remarkable range of 'mountains 

 commences at the southern limits of Angola, now 

 cape Negro, and runs up the interior in a N. E. di- 

 rection. Large herds of wild cattle and mules adorn 

 the plains, whilst lions, tigers, elephants, &c., infest 

 the surrounding country. Vegetation is extremely 

 luxuriant in A. 



ANGOSTURA (S. Tomas de Angostura) ; a town of 

 South America, in the republic of Colombia, 700 

 miles E. of Santa Fe de Bogota, on the Oronoco river ; 

 known by the congress held here. The second con- 

 gress of Venezuela, commonly called the congress of 

 Angostura, was installed in the city of St Tomas de 

 A., Feb. 15, 1819, and the 9th year of the indepen- 

 dence of Venezuela. Twenty-six deputies assembled 

 at that time, being four short of the number of which 

 it was intended to consist, but sufficient to constitute 

 a quorum. There were five from the province of 

 Caraccas ; four from the province of Varinas ; five 

 from the province of Barcelona ; four from the 

 province of Guiana ; four from the province of 

 Cumana ; and four from the province of Margarita. 

 The session of this congress was opened with an ela- 

 borate address from the supreme chief, Bolivar ; after 

 which, the deputy Francisco Antonio Zea was elect- 

 ed president. This congress had the honour, eventu- 

 ally, of proposing and effecting the union of New 

 Grenada and Venezuela into one government, under 

 the name of Colombia, by the fundamental law of the 

 republic, dated Dec. 17, 1819. Its sessions termi- 

 nated Jan. 15, 1820, arrangements being previously 

 made for assembling the first general congress of 

 Colombia at Rosario de Cucuta, on the 1st of Jan., 

 1821. (See Colombia, Rosario de Cucuta.) 



ANGOULEME ; a city of France, the capital of the 

 department of Charente, 60 miles from Bordeaux. 

 The inhabitants are about 14,000, and carry on a 

 considerable trade in paper. Lon. 9" 14' E. ; lat 45 

 S9 7 N. Before the revolution, it was the capital of 

 Angoumois. Balzac and Ravaillac were born here. 



ANGORA, ANGYRA, or ANGOURA ; a populous city of 

 Natolia, 212 miles from Constantinople, and one ot 

 the neatest and most polished towns of Asia Minor. 

 The inhabitants, the number of whom is not ascer- 

 tained, are composed of Turks and Christians. It 

 formerly was much more extensive, and its popula- 

 tion, perhaps, double that of recent times, having 

 been reckoned at 80,000 souls. The town stands on 

 an eminence, and is surrounded by hills covered with 

 fine gardens. It is fortified, but the walls of the city 

 are suffered to go to decay. A. was, at one time, 



