A C H 



A C H 



qviality. The mountains near Acheen pvoduce s fiiuill quan-. 

 tity ot" gold-dull ; but the greatcil pan is broiii^ht from the 

 fouthcni ports of Nalabviu and Soofoo. The fiilphur is 

 eoUeded from a volcano in the ncisjhbonrhood, and, befidcs 

 fupplying their own maniifadnre of gun-powder, admits of a 

 large exportation. The inhabitants are, with rcfpecl to 

 their pcrlons, taller, ilouter, and of a darker complexion 

 than the other LSuniatrans ; and they are fnppofed to be a 

 mixture of Battas, Malays, and Moors from the coail of 

 India. In their dii'poritions and habits, they are more pe- 

 netratnig and lagacious, more aClive and indullrious, and 

 paiTtfs a greater llock of knowledge than their neighbours. 

 With regard to reUgion, they are Maliometans ; and their 

 mofques and priefts are nimierous ; and the forms and cere- 

 monies of then- worfnip are llrirtly obfened. They are ex- 

 pert and bold navigators, and employ a conilderable number 

 ot vefTels for different purpofes. Being deftitute of conve- 

 nient coins, they commonly make their payments in gold- 

 duil, which they carry with them in pieces of bladder ; and 

 they ulc grain or feeds for weights. The government is 

 an hereditary monarchy, and the king has ufually a gmrd 

 ot lOO fcapovs about his palace. The grand council of the 

 nation conlills of the king, four other officers, eight of a 

 lower degree, who lit on his right hand, and fixtcen who fit 

 en his left. The king's plcalure is communicated by means 

 •of a woman, who Iks at his feet, to an eunuch near her, 

 and by him to an officer, -who proclaims it to the whole 

 affembly. Merchants and other ilrangei-s introduce thtm- 

 felves by prefents to the king and his officers. Whenever 

 an European enters the royal palace, he is obliged to take off 

 his {hoes. The royal throne was formerly made of ivory, 

 and tortoife-fhell ; and, when queens governed, a curtain of 

 gauze was hung before it. After the ftranger has been 

 introduced, he is entertained in a feparatc building with 

 the delicacies of the countr)-, and returns in the evening, 

 attended by a prodigious number of lights. On high days 

 the king goes in great ftate, mounted on an elephant richly 

 caparifoned, to the great mofque ; and he is preceded by 

 officers armed very much after the European manner. 



The countiy under the immediate jurifdic^ion of Acheen 

 is divided into three diilrifts ; each of which is governed 

 by a Pangleemo, and fubordinate officers. Crimes are 

 feverely puniflied, and \vithout any commutation by the 

 Achenefe laws. Petty theft incurs the fufpenfion of the 

 criminal from a tree, Avith a heavy weight tied to his feet, 

 or the cutting off a finger, hand, or leg, according to the 

 nature of the offence. Highway robbery, and houfe -breaking 

 are punifhed by drowning, and expofmg the body on 

 a flake for fome days. If an imaum or pried be robbed, 

 the criminal is burned alive. The adulterer is delivered up 

 to the friends and relations of the injured hufband, who form 

 a circle roimd him ; and, if he be not fo fortunate as to 

 make his efcape, he is prefently cut to pieces, and buried 

 without being admitted into any houfe, or the performance 

 of any funeral rites. Notwithftanding thefe difcouran-e- 

 ments to iniquity, the Acheneje are reprefented by travellers 

 as one of the moll difhonell and flagitious nations of the 

 call. 



For other particulars, we muft refer to Mr. Marfden's 

 account of Sumatra. Acheen was vifited by the Portu- 

 guefe in rjog, but thsy could form no eftablifhment in the 

 country. C plain Lancailer was very d'fferently received 

 in t6o2. He made a treaty in behalf of the Englifti Eaft 

 India company, with the king of Acheen, and obtained for 

 the company pccaliar privileges. They had for many years 

 a faftory at Acheen. See Sumatra. 



ACHEIROPOIETA, formed of o^prlv. x»h band, and 



ir-)!'!', to naif, and denoting m/rJe whhout hands, an epithtt 

 given to an image of Chrift in the Lateran church at Rome, 

 which is faid to have been defigncd and iketched by Luke, 

 and linifhcd by angels. 



ACHELOUS, in Lniomoh^y, a fpccics of PhaLvTka, 

 with .ferruginous wings, and the anterior marked with a 

 white point and fafcia : it is large, and found m America. 



Acf, F.LOUS, in Mythology, is faid to have wreilled with 

 Hercules for Deianira, the daughter of king Ocneus, and, 

 affuming the Ihape of a bull, Hercules is faid to have 

 broken oft' one of his horns, which was reflored on condition 

 of his givip.g the vi>ilorthe honi of Amnlthea, the fame with 

 the Cornucopia, or horn of plenty, which Hercules filled 

 with various fruits, and coufLcrated to Jupiter. For the 

 meaning of the fable, fee the next article. 



Ach: LOUS, in Hydrogniply, a river of Acarnania, which 

 rifes in niount Pindus, and, dividing iEtolia from Acarnania, 

 flows from N. to S. into the Sinus Corinthiacus. It was 

 formerly called Thoas on account of its irnpetuofity, and by 

 Homer, (Iliad, 1. xxi. v. 1 94.) the hmg of r'fuers. The 

 epithet AchAohis is ufed by Virgil, (1. i. v. 9.) ior aqueus, 

 the reafon of which, according to Senius (in loc.) is, that 

 Achelons, on account of the u.itiquity oi this river, was ufed 

 by the ancients as a denomination of water in general. 

 Tiie ancient poets called rivers Taurifor:nes, either from the 

 bellowing of their waters, or from their ploughing the earth 

 in their courfe. The fable in the preceding article is ex- 

 plained by fome in this manner. Achelous being a rapid 

 and winding river, roared like a bull, and often overflowed 

 its banks ; but Hercules, by dividing it into two channels, 

 and rellraining its in'.mdations by mounds and ditches, 

 broke off one of the bull's horns, and reflored plenty to the 

 country. See Strabo (Geog. 1. x. vol. 2. p. 703 — 4. Ed. 

 Amft.). There are other rivers of this name in Achaia 

 Propria, Theffaly, and Afia Minor. 



ACHEM, in Geography, a country of Africa, in that 

 part denominated the 'iti.h'^i.-coajl. The extent of this 

 countr)' is unknown : the negroes affert that it reaches to 

 the coaft of Barbary. It is divided into great and little 

 Achem, which were formerly united under one monarchy, 

 but are now two feparate republics : little Achem is denomi- 

 nated Achan'i, or Akann'i. There is a town of the fame name, 

 fometimes called Acmeny. N. lat. 8. 30. E. long. o. 30.. 

 Moll of the gold exported from this country is brought 

 to the European forts at Acra. The negroes of both 

 thefe dillriils are of an infolent and haughty charafter, va- 

 1 ling themfelves on the fuperiority they once maintained 

 in refpeft of their neighbours ; but civil diffenfions have of 

 late ri-ndered them lefs formidable. 



ACHEMENIS, in Botany, an herb mentioned by Pliny 

 (H. N. I. xxi. c. 4. torn. ii. p. 392.) fuppofed by the an- 

 cients to have the property of exciting terror in their armies, 

 and putting them to flight. The fable may probably de- 

 note, that foldiers could not profper in war with plants in 

 their hands. 



ACHEMON, in Entomology, a fpecies of Sphinx, yel- 

 low, with glafs-coloured wings, black at their apex, and 

 the fore wings yellow at their bafe ; found in Jamaica. 



ACHERIjLuKE d', in Biography, s. learned Benedi£line 

 of the congregation of St. Maur, was bom at St. Quintin 

 in Picardy, in 1609, and made himfelf famous by printing 

 feveral works, that exifted in MS. with prefaces and notes ; 

 fuch as Barnabas's Epifl;le, the works of Archbifltop Lan- 

 franc, the Life and Writings of Guibert Abbot of Nogent, 

 and a coUeftion of curious pieces, begun in 165 J, and con- 

 cluded in 1677, under the title of Spicilegium, /'. if. Glean- 

 ings, in <3 volumes 4to. In 1723, it was reprinted by 



M.dc 



