Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/479

Rh A L A A L A which was opened up in 1819, and yields great quantities of coal and iron, as well as zinc, lead, and manganese. The numerous mines, blast furnaces, and iron foundries, afford employment to many workmen. There are cold mineral springs in the vicinity, which attract large num bers of visitors during the summer months. Population in 1872, 19,230. ALAJUELA, a city in the state of Costa Rica, Central America, 23 miles W.N.W. from Cartago, and midway between it and the west coast. It is a place of consider able trade, and is connected by a mule road with the port of Puntas Arenas, the only good harbour possessed by Costa Rica on the Pacific Ocean. Some parts of the town are well built and beautifully situated; and the detached houses in the environs are embowered by trees and flowering shrubs. The sugar-cane is cultivated in the neighbourhood. Population, 12,575. ALAMANNI, or ALEMANNI, LUIGI, an Italian states man and poet, was born at Florence in 1495. His father was a devoted adherent of the Medici party, but Luigi, smarting under a supposed injustice, joined with others in an unsuccessful conspiracy against Giulio de Medici, after wards Pope Clement VII. He was obliged in consequence to take refuge in Venice, and, on the accession of Clement, to flee to France. When Florence shook off the papal yoke, Alamanni returned, and took a prominent part in the management of the affairs of the republic. On the restora tion of the Medici (1530), he had again to take refuge in France, where he composed the greater part of his works. He was a favourite with Francis I., who sent him as ambas sador to Charles V. after the peace of Crespi in 1544. As an instance of his tact in this capacity, it is related that, when Charles interrupted a complimentary address by quoting from a satirical poem of Alamanni s the words &quot; 1 aquila grifagna, Che per piu devorar, duoi rostri porta,&quot; (Two crooked bills the ravenous eagle bears, The better to devour,) the latter at once replied that he spoke then as a poet, who was permitted to use fictions, but that he spoke now as an ambassador, who was obliged to tell the truth. The ready reply pleased Charles, who added some compli mentary words. After the death of Francis, Alamanni enjoyed the confidence of his successor Henry II., and in 1551 was sent by him as his ambassador to Genoa. He died at Amboise in 1556. He wrote a large number of poems, distinguished by the purity and excellence of their style. The best is a didactic poem, La Coltivazione (1533), written in imitation of Virgil s Georgics. His Opere Toscane (1532) consists of satirical pieces written in blank verse. An unfinished poem, Arvarchide, in imitation of the Iliad, was the work of his old age, and has little merit. It has been said by some that Alamanni was the first to use blank verse in Italian poetry, but the distinction belongs rather to his contemporary Trissino. ALAMOS, Los, a town of Mexico, in the state of Sinaloa, situated on a barren plain 140 miles N.N.W. of Sinaloa. The houses of the town are mostly of stone or brick covered with stucco, and several of the streets are well paved; provisions are dear and water scarce. The surrounding district contains many rich silver mines. Of the population, amounting to about 10,000, a large propor tion are employed in the mines. ALAMOS DE BARRIENTOS, DON BALTHAZAR, a Spanish philologist, born at Medina del Campo, in Castile, about 1550. He was on terms of intimate friendship with Antonio Perez, secretary to Philip II. ; and when- the latter fell into disgrace, Alamos was cast into prison, where he remained nearly twelve years. During this period he pre pared the translation of Tacitus, with a commentary, which gave him his reputation as a classical scholar. On the death of Philip II. Alamos recovered his liberty, and afterwards received various important court appointments through the influence of the Duke de Lerma and the Count d Olivarez. He died at the age of eighty-five. ALAN&quot;, ALLEN, or ALLYN, WILLIAM (1532-94), car dinal, was born at Rossall in Lancashire. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford, and was appointed principal of St Mary s Hall in 1556. Two years later he was made a canon of York; but being opposed to the Reformation, was forced to flee to Louvain on the accession of Elizabeth. He returned to England after a time, and for some years resided chiefly at Oxford ; but his proselytising zeal being discovered, necessitated a second flight. At Douay he received a doctor s degree from the recently-founded univer sity, and he himself established a college there for English Catholics. In 1587 he was made cardinal of St Martin de Montibus, and in 1589 archbishop of Mechlin. The great aim of his life seems to have, been to restore the papal supremacy in England. For this purpose he founded the college at Douay, and sent over the Jesuit priests trained there to his native land. He was, of course, a bitter enemy of Elizabeth, who expelled his emissaries, and even caused some of them to be put to death. One of his pamphlets, prepared for circulation amoag the English people, con tained charges against the queen so foul and scurrilous that they can scarcely be repeated. It was only natural that he should be one of the chief intriguers in the Spanish plot which led to the fitting out of the Armada, especially as the pope had promised him the archbishopric of Canterbury in the event of the expedition being successful. His letters to Philip were full of encouragement, and the failure of the enterprise must have been a severe blow to him. When the fact became known, he lost favour at the papal court, and was refused permission to return to his diocese. ALAND ISLANDS, an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, about 25 miles from the coast of Sweden, and 15 from that of Finland. The group consists of nearly 300 islands, of which about 80 are inhabited, the remainder being desolate rocks. These islands form a continuation of a dangerous granite reef extending along the south coast of Finland. They formerly belonged to Sweden; and in the neighbourhood the first victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedes was gained by Peter the Great in 1714. They finally passed into the possession of Russia in 1809. The inhabitants, amounting to about 16,000, are mostly of Swedish descent, and are hardy sea men and fishermen. The surface of the islands is generally sandy, the soil is thin, and the climate is keen; yet Scotch fir, spruce, and birch are grown; and rye, barley, flax, and vegetables are produced in sufficient quantity for the wants of the people. Great numbers of cattle are reared; and cheese, butter, and hides, as well as salted meat and fish, are exported. The largest island, which gives its name to the group, is 1 8 miles long by 1 4 broad, and contains about two-thirds of the total population. There are several excel lent harbours (notably that of Ytternoes), which are of great importance to Russia from the fact that they are frozen up for a much briefer period than those on the coast of Finland. The fortress of Bomarsund, in one of these islands, was attacked and destroyed by an Anglo-French force in 1854. ALANI, a number of nomadic tribes of eastern origin, who spread themselves over Europe during the decline of the Roman empire. The name was probably at first con fined to one tribe of Tatar race, whose original seat was on the northern shores of the Caspian Sea, and was after wards, as the power of that race extended, applied to other tribes. It is supposed that their first encounter with the Romans was during the Mithridatic war, when Ponipey led an expedition into the Caucasus. Isolated statements in, I. - 56