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more books tlian all tlie bifhops of England together. Not- 

 witliftatiding the cx])ence which he incurred in this way, by 

 employing perfons to colleil books for him abroad, and alto 

 binders, illuminators, and writers in his feveral palaces, he 

 was dillingnilhed by his charity and benef cence. He does 

 i:ot fcem to have ci.ntented himfelf merely wiih the pofrcffion 

 of a large library ; for tie was a diligent ihident ; and it was 

 his cuftom for forae of his attendants to read to him at his 

 meals, and afterwards to difcourfe with his chaplains on the 

 f;il)jc(3ts tiiat occurred. His " Philobiblos " was a curious 

 treatile, finiihed at Auckland in 134.5, when he was lixty- 

 three years of age, and containing a declaration in praife of 

 books, with directions concerning tht prefervation and ufe 

 of them. It was printed at Spires in 1483; at Pads, in 

 1500 ; at Oxford, in 1599, 4to. ; and at Leipfic, in 1674, 

 at the clofe of " Phiiologicarum Epiilolarum Centuria una." 

 This work is diftributed into twenty cb.apters ; in which, 

 among other particulars, he aficrts, that books are to be 

 preferred to riches and pleafures ; that they are niifufed 

 only by ignorant people ; that the ancients furpaffed the 

 moderns in hard ftudy ; that learning arrives at perfeftion 

 by degrees, and that he had provided for ftudents Greek 

 and Hebrew grammars in his libi-aries ; that the law and 

 kw books are not properly learning ; that grammar is pecu- 

 liarly ufeful and ncceflary ; that poetry alfo is ufeful ; b'lt 

 he makes an apology for admitting poets into his collection, 

 obferving, " we have not neglcfted tlie fables of the poets." 

 Aungervyle founded a noble Library at Oxford for the ufe 

 of ftudents, and appointed five keepers, to whom he granted 

 yearly falaries. This learned and worthy prelate died at 

 Auckland, in his diocefe of Durham, April 24, 1345. 

 Eiog. Brit. Wharton's Hift. Poet. vol. i. 2d Prcl. Dilf. 



p. 120, 12 1. 



AUNIS, in Geography, a diftrift o£ France, which, be- 

 fore the revolution, was reckoned a part of Saintongc, but 

 is now with Saintonge included in the department of the 

 Lower Charente ; is bounded on the eaft and fouth by Saint- 

 onge, on the weft by the ocean, and on the north by Poi- 

 tou, and comprehends tiie ifles of Re and Oleron. It is 

 watered by the rivers Sevre and Charente, and has feveral 

 good harbours along the coaft. The foil is fertile, and pro- 

 duces great quantities of corn and wine ; the fwaiiipy parts 

 afford good pailurage, and the falt-mar'hcs vield an excel- 

 lent fait, which is a conliderable article of commerce. 



AUNOT. See An NOT. 



AUNOY, Mary Catherine Jumelle De Cerne- 

 viLLE, Countcf of, in Biography, a diftinguifhed writer of 

 fiftion and romance towards the clofe of the fevcnteenth 

 century, was niece of the celebrated Madame Defloges, and 

 wife of the count D'Aunoy. She wrote with fluency of 

 flyle and facility of invention ; and her " Contes des Fees" 

 or merry talcs, and " Aventurss d'Hippolyte Comte de 

 Duglas," or adventures of Hippolytus earl Douglas, are 

 r.ead v.'ith pleafure by tliofe who merely feek amufement. 

 Some of her other pieces, uniting hiilory with fable, fuch 

 as " Hiftorical Memoirs of the moft remarkable Events in 

 Europe from 1672 to 1679," " Memoirs of the Court of 

 Spain," " Hiftory of John of Bourbon, prince de Caren- 

 cy," are lefs valued. She died in 1705. Nouv. Dift. 

 Hift. 



AUNUS, in Entomology, a fpecies of Papilio, of a 

 blue colour with a black border and three fmall tails ; black 

 beneath and ftriped with white. Craner, Gmelin, &c. 



AVOCADO, or AvocATO, Pear, in Botany, a fpecies 

 ©f laurus. See Laurus. 



AVOCATORIA, a mandate of the emperor of Ger- 

 jnauy, dirodled to fo.T.c priacc or fubjcft of the empire, to 



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flop liis unlawfiil proceedings in any caufe brought by way 

 of appeal bi-fore him. 



AVOCETTA, in Ornithology, a fpecies of Recur vi- 

 ROSTRA that is diflinguifhed from two other birds of ihe 

 fame genus, in being variegated only with black and white 

 Einn. Gmel. &c. 



Tlie length of this bird is from eighteen to twenty inches ; 

 it has a fmall body, and legs remarkably long ; iridcs ha- 

 zel ; crown black; front of the neck, breaft, back, belly, 

 and outer part of the wings white ; legs blueil>.-black ; 

 beak black, about th.rce inches and a half in length, and 

 like the reft of the genus, {lender, flexible, turning upwards 

 towards the end, and terminating in a point. 



" This bird is common in winter on the caftcrn coafti of 

 England, particularly thofc of Suffolk and Norfolk ; and 

 fometimes on the lakes of Shropfliirc. They are found in 

 great plenty in the breeding feafon, in the fens about Foff- 

 dyke Wafli in Lincohifliire, and in the fens of Cambridge- 

 fhire. They feed on worms and infeds, whicli they fcoop 

 out of the mud and fand ; and are fometimes obfcrved to 

 wade or fwim, but always clofe to the fhore. 



" They lay two eggs, which are about the fize of 

 thofe of a pigeon. Pennant fays they are white, tinged 

 with green, and marked with large black fpots. In the 

 defcnplion of them given by Latham it is obferved, they 

 are of a cinereous grey, whimfically marked with deep 

 brownifli-black patches of irregular fizcs and fhapes, bcfide* 

 fome under markings of a du(l<y hue. 



" The avocet is far more frequent in fome other parts of 

 Europe than in this country. Albin fays, in Rome and 

 Venice ihcy are common ; and according to Saleme, they 

 are fo plentiful on the coafts of Bas Poictou, that the pea- 

 fants take tiicir eggs by thoufands. They are alfo found 

 iu Ruflia and Sibena, Denmark, Sweden, and other north- 

 ern countries." Donov. Brit. Birds, &c. 



This bird is called a'vofdta f. recti rvirojlra, by Gefner ; 

 avocette, by Buffon ; krumhjchnahl, by Cramer ; Jkcrfacha, 

 Alfit. Linn. Fn. Suec. ; the fcocpcr, by Charlt. ; crooLJ LiU, 

 by Dale ; and avocet, or avofet, by Englifh w riters. 



AVOGLI, in Geography, a town of Perfia, iu the pro. 

 vince of Adirbeitzan, eighteen leagues fouch-eall of Tau- 

 ris. 



A\ OIDANCE, in Laiu, is applied generally to a be- 

 nefice wliich becomes void of an incumbent, and is oppofed 

 to plenarty. Avoidances are either in fad, as by the death 

 of the incumbent ; or in /uw ; and may be by ceflion, de- 

 p:ivation, relignation, &c. See Usurpation. 



AVOIRDUPOIS, or Averdupois n'eigit, a kind of 

 weight ufcd in England ; the pound whereof contains fix- 

 teen ounces. See Weight. 



The proportion of a pound avoirdupois to a pound troy 

 is as 17 to 14; or the avoirdupois pound contains 70:0 

 grains, and the troy pound 5760. 



All the larger and coarfer commodities are weighed by 

 avoirdupois weight ; as groceries, cheefe, wool, lead, hops, 

 &c. 



AVOISE, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Sartc, four leagues from La Fleche. 



A VOL A, or Aula, a town of Sicily, in the valley 

 of Noto, fix miles from Note, and lixtecn from Syracufe. 

 This city, which formerly ftood on a hill, boafted of being 

 the " Hybla Minor," fo celebrated for its honey ; but 

 the juflice of its cla'm, in common with many other cities, 

 cannot be eafily decided. After its deflruftion by the 

 earthquake of 1693, the inhabitants rebuilt it more commo- 

 dioufly in the plain, in a fertile territory, luxuriant in corn 

 and fruits, and principally in almonds, a conliderable artitle 



of 



