Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/483

Rh A L A A L B 445 Ebro, and the other rivers are the Zadorra and the Ayuda. The soil in the valleys is fertile, yielding wheat, barley, maize, flax, hemp, and fruits. Oil, and a poor kind of wine called chacoli, are also produced. Many of the mountains are clothed with forests of oak, chestnuts, beeches, and other trees, and contain iron, copper, lead, and marble. Salt is also found in large quantities in the province. The manufactures of Alava are unimportant; toarse cloth, iron ware, earthenware, hats, and shoes being among the chief. The capital of the province is Vitoria. Population in 1870, 102,494. ALAVA, DON MIGUEL RICARDO D, a Spanish general and statesman, born at Vitoria in 1771. He served first in the navy, and had risen to be captain of a frigate when he exchanged into the army, receiving corresponding rank. In politics he followed a very devious course. At the assembly of Bayonne, in 18 )8, he was one of the most prominent of those who accepted the new constitution from Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain. In 1811, when Joseph s position was becoming insecure, Alava joined the national independent party, who were fighting in alliance with the English. The Spanish Cortes appointed him commissary at the English headquarters, and Wellington, who seems to have regarded him with great favour, made him one of his aides-de-camp. Before the close of the campaign he had risen to the rank of brigadier-general. On the restoration of Ferdinand, Alava was cast into prison, but the influence of his uncle Ethenard, the in quisitor, and of Wellington, secured his speedy release. He soon contrived to gain the favour of the king, who ap pointed him iu 1815 ambassador to the Hague. Four years later he was recalled, owing, it is said, to the marked kindness he had shown to his banished fellow-countrymen. On the breaking out of the revolution of 1820 he was chosen by the province of Alava to represent it in the Cortes, where he became conspicuous in the party of the J Jxaltados, and in 1822 was made president. In the latter year he fought with the militia under Ballasteros and Murillo to maintain the authority of the Cortes against the rebels. When the French invested Cadiz, Alava was commissioned by the Cortes to treat with the Due d Angouleme, and the negotiations resulted in the restoration of Ferdinand, who pledged himself to a liberal policy. No sooner had he regained power, however, than he ceased to hold himself bound by his promises, and Alava found it necessary to retire first to Gibraltar and then to Eng land. On the death of Ferdinand, he returned to Spain, and, espousing the cause of Maria Christina against Don Carlos, was appointed ambassador to London in 1834, and to Paris in 1835. After the insurrection of La Granja, lie refused to sign the constitution of 1812, declaring himself tired of taking new oaths, and was consequently obliged to retire to France, where he died at Bareges in 1843. ALAY (lit. a triumphant procession), a Turkish cere mony observed on the assembling of the forces at the out break of war. Its essential feature is the public display of the sacred standard of Mahomet, which may be seen only by Moslems and touched, only by the emirs. On one occasion, when, owing to a long interval of peace, this rule had been forgotten, the Christians, who had witnessed the spectacle in large numbers, were cruelly massacred. The procession in which the standard is carried is headed by artisans bearing the implements of their respective trades. ALB, or ALBE, a vestment of white linen, hanging down to the feet, worn by priests at all the more solemn services of the church. It corresponds to the surplice of the English clergy, the difference being that the alb is closer in the sleeves, and bound at the waist by a girdle. In the ancient church it was customary for the neophytes who were baptized on Easter-day to wear an alb for the eight days following, and hence the Sunday after Easter was called Dominica in Albis. ALBA, the ancient Alba Pompeia, a town of Italy, in the province of Cuneo, situated on the Tanaro, 30 miles S.E. of Turin. It is the seat of a bishop, and contains a cathedral, founded in I486, as well as other churches and religious establishments. It has a large trade in cattle, and the surrounding district is very fertile, producing silk, wine, oil, grain, and fruits, and also marble and rock-salt. Population of the commune (1865), 9687. ALBA LONGA, the most ancient town in Latium, was situated 15 miles S.E. from Rome, on a ridge be tween the mountain and the lake that were both called from it Albanus. It derived its name probably from its elevated or Alpine situation, the story of the ivhite sow discovered by JSneas on landing (Virgil, ^Eneid, iii. 390- 392) being of course mythical. Little beyond the bare fact of its existence for a considerable period as the. foremost town in Latium can be accepted as strictly historical. According to the legendary accounts, it was founded by Ascanius, the son of .^Eneas, 300, or, as a later version has it, 360 years before the foundation of Rome. Four teen kings, whose names are all preserved, are said to have reigned over it in succession. The names, however, are evidently an invention, having probably this substratum of historic truth, that the ruling family belonged to the Silvian gens. The city was destroyed by the Romans under Tullus Hostilius, and its inhabitants removed to Rome. Several of the patrician families, such as the Julii, Curiatii, Servilii, Tullii, Quintii, ascribed their origin to these immigrants from Alba. ALBACETE, one of the new provinces of Spain, was formed in 1833 out of districts taken from Murcia and New Castile. It is bounded on the N. by Cuenca, on the E. by Valencia and Alicant, on the S. by Murcia, and on the W. by Ciudad Real and Jaen. The area is 5971 square miles. The province is generally hilly, some of the peaks of the sierras rising to a height of 5000 feet ; but it contains rich plains and many fertile valleys. The principal rivers are the Mundo in the southern and the Jucar in the northern part of the province ; and there are numerous smaller streams. Some parts of the country have a bare appearance, being destitute of wood, but the neigh bourhood of Alcarez is covered with fruit trees, and pre sents the aspect of a garden. Agriculture is in a tolerably prosperous state, more advanced than in the centre of Castile, but less so than in the rich districts of Murcia and Valencia. Cereals, pulse, and fruits of all kinds are produced, as well as wine of fair quality, and excellent honey. Saffron also is produced in large quantities, and some attention is given to the keeping of silk-wonns. Many of the inhabitants devote themselves to the rearing of cattle, sheep, and goats. The bulls of Albacete are in request for bull-fights ; there is a good breed of mules, and the horses of the province have long mounted the Spanish cavalry. Manufactures are confined to the spin ning of hemp, and the making of coarse cloths, porcelain, earthenware, and cutlery. There are several distilleries, and a considerable trade in wood. The district is rich in minerals, including silver, iron, copper, zinc, sulphur, gypsum, and coal ; but, excepting stones and marble for building purposes, they are little wrought. In addition to agricultural produce, small quantities of zinc, iron, and sulphur are exported. There are numerous mineral springs, chiefly sulphureous, and hot as well as cold, at various places in the province. Among the chief towns are Albacete, Chinchilla, Bonillo, and Alcarez. The rail way from Madrid to Valencia traverses the province, and at Chinchilla a line branches southward to Murcia.