ALA 
duces plenty of cotton and grain. The inhabitants are 
faid to be nearly all Mahometans, and there are fix or fe- 
ven mofques, which are all of marble. There are re¬ 
markable infcriptions on marble in feveral parts of the 
town, which are part of the ririns of ancient Thyatira. It 
is feated on the river Hermus, fifty miles from Pergamos. 
E. Ion. 28. 30. N. lat. 38. 50. 
AKOND, an officer of juftice in Perfia, who takes cog¬ 
nizance of the caufes of orphans and widows; of con- 
trafts, and other civil concerns. He is the head of the 
fchool of law, and gives ledtures to the fubaltern officers; 
he has his deputies in all the courts of the kingdom, who, 
with the fecond fadra, makes all contracts, 
-AL,' an Arabic particle prefixed to words, and fignify- 
ing much the fame with the Englifh particle the: Thus 
they fay, alkermes, alkoran, &c. i. e. the kermes, the 
koran, &c. 
Al, or Ai.d, a Saxon term frequently prefixed to the 
names of places, denoting their antiquity; as Aldborough, 
Aldgate, &c. 
ALA, a term ufed by botanifts for the hollow of a 
ftalk, which either the leaf, or the pedicle of the leaf, 
makes with it;' or it is that hollow turning, or linus, placed 
between the ftalk or branch of a plant and the leaf, whence 
a new offspring ufually ilfues. Sometimes it is ufed for 
thofe parts of leaves otherwife called lobes or a tings — 
Thole petals of papilionaceous flowers, placed between 
thofe other petals called the vexjllum and cariva, and which 
make the top and bottom of the flower, are all'o called ala. 
AhJE is likevvife tiled for thofe extremely (lender and 
membranaceous parts of fome feeds, which appear as 
wings placed on them; it likewife fignifies thofe mem¬ 
branaceous expanlions running along the ftems of fome 
plants, which are therefore called alatedJlalks. 
Al^, in anatomy, a term applied to the lobes of the 
liver, the cartilages of the noftrils, See. 
Al£, in the Roman art of war, were the two wings 
or extreme parts of the army drawn up in order of battle. 
ALABA, one of the three fmalleft diftridls of Bifcay 
in Spain, but pretty fertile in rye, barley, and fruits. 
Here are alfo very good mines of iron, and it had former¬ 
ly the title of a kingdom. 
ALABANDA, anciently a town of Caria, near the 
Meander, fituate beneath eminences refembling affes with 
pack-faddles, which gave rife to the jeft; and between 
Amyzo to the v. eft, and Stratonice to the eaft. Under the 
Romans they enjoyed a convention of jurifdiction, by 
Pliny reckoned the fourth in order; hence the proverb in 
Stephanas, expreffing their happinefs. 
ALABARCHA, in antiquity, a kind of magiftrate 
among the Jews of Alexandria, whom the emperors al¬ 
lowed them to eledt, for the fuperintendency of their po¬ 
licy, and to decide their differences and difputes. 
ALABASTER (William), an Englifh divine, born at 
Hadley in the county of Suffolk. He was one of the doc¬ 
tors of Trinity college in Cambridge; and he attended 
the earl of Elfex as his chaplain in the expedition to Cadiz 
in the reign of queen Elizabeth. It is faid, that his firft 
refolution of changing his religion was occafioned by his 
feeing the pomp of the churches of the Roman commu¬ 
nion, and the refpedt with which the priefts Leemed to be 
treated among!! them. He was, however, foon tired of 
the Romilh communion, and he returned to England in 
order to refume his former religion. He obtained a pre¬ 
bend in the cathedral of St. Paul, and after that the rec¬ 
tory of Therfield in Hertfordfhire. He w as well (killed 
in the Hebrew tongue ; but he gave a wrong turn to his 
genius by ftudying the Cabala, with which he was ftrange- 
)y infatuated. 
Alabaster, f [a.‘\a£a.r%ov.'] In natural hiftory, a fpe- 
cies of that genus of ftoncs whole bafe is calcareous earth. 
It differs from marble in being combined, not with the 
aerial, but with vitriolic, acid; therefore, when mixed 
with any acid, no elfervefcence appears. It is foluble in 
about 500 times its, weight of water at the temperature of 
3 . 
ALA 231 
fixty. It is fufible alone in a long-continued porcelain 
heat, or by the blow-pipe. Specific gravity 1 -87. Tex¬ 
ture granular, with fliining particles. In compofition, 
and confequently in its chemical properties, it does not 
differ from gypfum, felenite, and plaifter of Paris. 
There are three fpecies of alabafter. r. The fnow- 
white Alining alabafter, or lygdinum of the ancients, is 
found in Taurus, in pieces large enough to make diffies, 
or the like. It cuts very freely, and is capable of a fine 
polifli. 2. The yellowilh alabafter, orphengites of Pliny, 
found in Greece, Germany, France, and England. 3. 
Variegated, yellow, and reddifti, alabafter; which is the 
common alabafter of the ancients, and fo foft that it may 
be cut with a knife. The alabafters are frequently uTed 
by ftatuaries for fmall ftatues, vafes, and columns. Af¬ 
terbeing calcined and mixed with water, they may be caff 
in any mould like plaifter of Paris. See Gypsum. Ala¬ 
bafter, Mr. Boyle obferves, being finely powdered, and 
thus fet in a bafon over the fire, will, when hot, affume 
the appearance of a fluid, by rolling in waves, yielding to 
the fmalleft touch, and emitting vapour; all which pro¬ 
perties it lofes again on the departure of the heat, and dif-' 
covers itfelf a mere incoherent powder. The finenefs and 
clearnefs of this done render it in fome meaftire tranfpa- 
rent; whence it has been fome times alfo employed for 
windows. There is a church at Florence ftill illuminated 
by alabafter windows. Inftead of panes of glafs, there 
are flabs of alabafter near fifteen feet high, each of which 
forms a fingle window, through which the light is convey¬ 
ed. The countries in Europe which abound molt in ala¬ 
bafter, are Germany, towards Coblentz; the province of 
Maconnois, in the neighbourhood of Cluni in France; Ita¬ 
ly, towards Rome; where that of Montaiout is particu¬ 
larly remarkable not only for its whitenefs, but alfo for the^_ 
bignefs of its blocks, fome of which are fo large, that fta¬ 
tues as bigas the life may eafily be cut out of them. 
A la raster, in antiquity, a term ufed for a vafe where¬ 
in odoriferous liquors were anciently put. The reafon of 
the denomination is, that veffels for this purpofe were 
frequently made of the alabafter done, which Pliny and 
others reprefent as peculiarly proper for the purpofe. 
Alabafter is alfo laid to have been ufed for an ancient li¬ 
quid meafure, containing ten ounces of wine, or nine of 
oil. In this fenfe, the alabafter was equal to half the fex- 
tary. 
ALABASTRUM DENDROIDE, f. a kind of lami¬ 
nated alabafter, beautifully variegated with the figures c£ 
flirtibs, trees, &c. found in great abundance in the province 
of Hohenftein. 
ALACARNES, iflands of New Spain, fo called from 
the number of fcorpions found there. 
ALACK, interj. [This word feems only the corruption 
of albs.'] An ex predion of forrow. 
ALACKADAY, interj. [This, like the former, is for 
alas the. day .] A word noting forrow and melancholy. 
ALACRIOUSLY, adv. [from alacrious, fuppofed to 
be formed from alacn's. ] Cheerfully; without dejection.. 
ALACRITY, f. [hlacritas, Lat.J Cheerfulnefs, ex- 
preffed by fome outward token; fprightlinefs; gaiety; 
livelinefs; cheerful willingnefs. 
ALA DIN I STS, f. a fedt among the Mahometans an- 
fevering to free-thinkers among us. 
ALADULIA, a conliderable province of Turkey in 
Alia, in that part called Natolia. It has the Mediterra¬ 
nean Sea on the fouth ; and the Euphrates, or Frat, on the 
eaft, which divides it from Diarbeker. It is divided into 
two parts: the north, comprehended between Taurus, 
Antitaurus, and the Euphrates, is a beglerbeglic, which 
bears the name of Maralh, the capital town; and the fouth, 
feated between mount Taurus and the Mediterranean, is 
united to the beglerbeglic of Aleppo. The country is 
rough, ragged, and mountainous ; yet there are good pas¬ 
tures, and plenty of horfes and camels. The people are. 
rude and thievifh. The capital is Malatigah. 
-ALAIN (Chartier), fecretary to Charles VII. of France, 
born 
