ABOUKIR 



11 



ABSCESS 



rigines is frequently applied in a general 

 to any native race existing before the white 

 man came. Thus the mound-builders, the cliff- 

 dwellers, the Aztecs and the other Indians of 

 l North and South America are aborigines. The 

 '^study of the conditions under which they lived 

 is a part of archaeology; and that of their 

 relations to other races and to the animal 

 world in general belongs to anthropology. Both 

 of these terms are explained in this work under 

 their titles. See, also, MOUND-BUILDERS; CLIFF- 

 DWELLERS; INDIANS; AZTECS. 

 * ABOUKIR, or ABUKIR, ahbookccr', in 

 Egypt, a small village on the Mediterranean 

 Sea, thirteen miles northeast of Alexandria. 

 In Aboukir Bay, in 1798, occurred the naval 

 Battle of the Nile, in which the English fleet 

 under the command of Lord Nelson annihi- 

 lated a French fleet. Near this place, also, in 

 1799 Napoleon defeated the Turks under Mu- 

 stapha. In 1801 British forces landed here and 

 compelled the French to evacuate Egypt; this 

 is known in history as the Battle of Alexandria. 

 A'BRAHAM, the greatest of the Hebrew 

 patriarchs, the real founder of the Israelites. 

 His name was originally Abram, and his birth- 

 place was Ur of the Chaldees, but according to 

 the Biblical story he heeded the call of God 

 and journeyed toward a new land. When he 

 was an old man God made a covenant with 

 him and gave him a new name, Abraham, sig- 

 nifying that he was to be "a father of many 

 nations." Up to this time Sarah, Abraham's 

 wife, had been childless, though Abraham had 

 had one son, Ishmael, born to him by Hagar; 

 but Sarah afterward gave birth to a son, Isaac, 

 who became the legitimate heir of his father. 

 Abraham died at the age of 175, "an old man 

 and full of years," and was buried at Mach- 

 pelah. His story is told in Genesis, chapters 

 XI to XXV. See, also, ISAAC ; ISHMAEL. 



ABRUZZI, ahbroot' see, PRINCE Luun AMA- 

 DEO, DUKJB or THE (1873- ), an Italian naval 

 officer, mountain-climber and Arctic explorer, 

 son of Amadeus, king of Spain, and first cousin 

 to Victor Emmanuel III, king of Italy. He 

 was the first (1897) to ascend Mount Saint 

 Elias, and in 1900 gained fame by his attempt 

 to reach the North Pole. Though unsuccessful, 

 86 39' N. latitude, the moot 

 northerly point reached up to that time. In 

 1906 ho ascended the peaks of Mount Ruwen- 

 zori, in equatorial Africa, and in 1909 led a 

 mount 1 1 n-< limbing expedition to the Hima- 

 layas, where he established a new record for 

 altitude by reaching the top of Mount Austen, 



24,600 feet above sea-level. The records of 

 these explorations he has published in several 

 books. He is of 

 peculiar interest 

 to the American 

 people because in 

 1912 only the ob- 

 jections of the 

 royal family pre- 

 vented him from 

 marrying a 

 daughter of 

 United States 

 Senator Elkins of 



West Virginia. In DUKE OF THE ABRUZZI 

 1915, when Italy 



joined the allies in the War of the Nations, 

 the Duke of the Abruzzi was placed in com- 

 mand of the Italian fleet. 



AB'SALOM, the third, and favorite, son of 

 David, king of Israel. He was handsome, clever, 

 and possessed of a manner that won him uni- 

 versal love, and 

 he made use of 

 his popularity 

 to stir up a re- 

 bellion against 

 his father. De- 

 feated in battle 

 and fleeing be- 

 fore the soldiers 

 of his fathrr. lu' 

 was swept off 

 his horse by 

 an overhanging 

 branch which 

 held him by his 

 Mowing curls 

 until Joab, one 

 of David's cap- 

 tains, a p- 

 proached and killed him. David was over- 

 whelmed with grief. This tragic story, which 

 is told in // Samuel, is the subject of a 

 very popular poem, The Death of Absalom, 

 by Nathaniel P. Willis. David's love for his 

 son is strikingly shown in the following lines: 



But \hemJom 



For his estranged, misguided Absalom 

 The proud, bright bring who had burst awmy 

 In rtll hlN princely beauty, to defy 

 The heart that chorl^hi him for him he poured. 

 In agony that would not be controlled. 

 Strong supplications, and forgave him there 

 re his Ood. for his deep slnfulnees. 



ABSCESS, ab'set, a result of disease or 

 injury, which may be described as a cavity 



THE TOMB OF ABSALOM 



In the Valley of Jehoah- 

 cloe by the lower 

 bridge over the Kedron. 



