Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/345

Rh A R B A R C 325 179 within the royalty but beyond the parliamentary Loundary, 20,170 inhabitants. Of these 3723 are engaged in manufacturing linen fabrics. Arbroath is a station on the Caledonian Railway. The market day is Saturday; and fairs are held on the last Saturday of January, the first Saturday after Whitsunday, the 18th of July, if that day is a Saturday, or on the first Saturday thereafter, and the first Saturday after Martinmas. About a mile from the town, at St Vigeans Church, is one of the most interesting of the Scottish sculptured stones, containing what has been held to be the only legible inscription left us in the Pictish language (Sculptured Stones of Scotland}. See Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xi., and local histories. ARBUTHNOT, JOHN, a celebrated physician, wit, and man of letters of the age of Queen Anne, was born at Arbuthnot, near Montrose. The date of his birth is some what uncertain; many authorities give 1675, which is scarcely reconcilable with his first appearance in London ; it should probably be 1665 or 1667. His father was a clergyman of the Scotch Episcopal Church, who was com pelled by the Revolution to resign his charge, and whose family were consequently dependent on their own exertions. Young Arbuthnot studied at the University of Aberdeen, where he took the degree of M.D. He proceeded soon after to London, and for a time supported himself there by teaching mathematics. His first published work was a translation, with considerable additions, of a treatise by Huyghens, called Of the Lau s of Chance, or a Method of Calculation of the Hazards of Game, 1692. About this time there was much speculation concerning the geological formation of the earth, and Dr Woodward published an Essay towards a natural histoiy of the earth, in which some curious views were propounded with regard to the deluge. This essay Arbuthnot attacked with great success in his Examination of Dr Woodward s Account of the Deluge, &c., London 1695. By this work he was brought into prominent notice, and not only gained means to extend his practice, but at the same time brought himself into connection with the circle of wits and literary men who formed the. chief glory of the age. He followed up the work on Dr Woodward by another on the usefulness of mathematical learning, and contributed to the Royal Society an interesting memoir, called An Argument for Divine Providence draim from the Equal Number of Births of both Sexes, which procured him, in 1704, admission as a Fellow to the Royal Society. A year later appeared the first edition of a larger work, Tables of the Grecian, Roman, &amp;lt;md Jewish Measures, &c. This is still a work of some value, though in many parts superseded. It was held in considerable estimation on the Continent, and was trans lated into Latin. About this time a happy accident intro duced Arbuthnot to Prince George of Denmark, who was seized with sudden illness when on a visit to Epsom. Arbuthnot, who chanced to be there at the time, was called in, and ever afterwards continued to be physician to the prince. In 1705, at the especial request of the Queen, he was made her physician extraordinary, and four years later he became Royal Physician in ordinary. In the same year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He was now in the very centre of the literary society of the time, and in it his great talents, massive learning, and brilliant wit enabled him to take a prominent place. He was on terms of close intimacy with Pope, Swift, Gay, and Parnell, and quickly became one of the foremost literary men of the Tory party. In 1712 appeared the celebrated political allegory, called the History of John Bull. The object of this admirable piece of satire was to throw- ridicule on the duke of Marlborough, and to excite among the people a feeling of disgust at the protracted war then beins carried on against Louis of France. The nations at war are represented as tradesmen involved in a lawsuit : the origin of the dispute is traced to their selfish and narrow views ; their national characteristics are skilfully hit off, and the various events of the war, with the accom panying political intrigues, are symbolised by the stages in the progress of the suit, the tricks of the lawyers, and the devices of the principal attorney (Marlborough) to pro long the struggle. There have been many imitations of this famous allegory, but few of them have been so happily conceived, or so well sustained. Its immediate effect was very considerable, and it is even now of interest for the lively picture it presents of the politics of the period. At the time of its appearance it was generally attributed to Swift, but passages in Swift s own letters make it quite clear that Arbuthnot was the sole author. The death of the Queen in 1714 was a severe blow to Arbuthnot. He lost his post as court physician, and was much impaired in his means. He appears about this time to have paid a short visit to Paris, and on his return took up his residence in Dover Street. His correspondence shows that after the Queen s death he was at first disposed to be despondent and gloomy, but he soon recovered his natural buoyancy of spirits, and entered with eagerness into the proposed work of the Scriblerus Club. The principal members of this club were Pope, Gay, Swift, Arbuthnot, Parnell, Harley, Atterbury, and Congreve. The work pro jected by them, a comprehensive satire on the abuses of human learning, was never completed. One brilliant frag ment, the first book of the Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, published in Pope s Works, is undoubtedly the work of Arbuthnot, though it is not improbable that some portions are due to Pope and Swift. It is an admirable combination of wit and learning, and is certainly one of the finest pieces of sarcastic humour in the English language. Arbuthnot still continued practice as a physician, and attained great eminence in his profession. In 1723 he was made one of the censors of the Royal College of Physicians, and in 1727 had the honour of delivering the Harveian oration. In 1731 he published an Essay concerning the Nature of Aliments, which has been frequently republished, and has been translated into German. In 1733 he wrote an Essay on the Effects of Air on Human Bodies. He died in February 1735. The scattered writings of Arbuthnot, on which his reputation as a wit rests, are so interwoven with the works of Swift and Pope, that it is difficult to discover what is absolutely his. A collected edition, Mit&amp;gt;~ellaneoiis Works of the late Dr Arbuthnot, Glasgow, 1750-51, contains many pieces that were expressly disclaimed by the i, uthor s son. ARC, JOAN OF. See JOAN OF ARC. ARCADE (Fr. arcade, arcature, Ital. arcata, Ger. JSoi cn- gang), in street architecture a covered way or passage, cither open at the side with a range of pilla r s, or completely covered over. The finest arcades of this description are to be found in Paris. Some have open sides, such as those in the Rue de Rivoli, Palais Royal, and Old Place Royal ; others, such as the Passages des Panarouias, Jouffroy, and de Princes, are covered passages, and form convenient thoroughfares. A few, like the Passages Choiseul and de 1 Opera, are favourite lounges. They are all more or less lined with elegant shops. There are two specimens of covered passage-arcades in London, the Burlington and Lowther, but they are very inferior in style to those in Paris. The arcade which runs round three sides of the Square of St Mark at Venice is the finest of its kind. In Gothic architecture the term signifies a range of arches, supported on columns or piers, and either open or attached to a wall. The word is used in contradistinction to colon- nade, which is a range of columns carrying level entabla tures. The oldest known in England is probably that of