Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/900

826 of his empire. A civil war broke out between the brothers, and, though the details of it are not accurately known, it appears that just about the time when Pizarro was begin ning to move inland from the town of San Miguel, Huascar had been defeated and thrown into prison, and Atahuallpa had become Inca. Pizarro set out in September 1532, and made for Cassamarca, where the Inca was. Messengers passed frequently between them, and the Spaniards on their march were hospitably received by the inhabitants. On the 15th November, Pizarro entered Cassamarca, and sent his brother and Fernando de Soto to request an inter view with the Inca. On the evening of the next day, Atahuallpa entered the great square of Cassamarca, accom panied by some five or six thousand men, who were either unarmed, or armed only with short clubs and slings con cealed under their dresses. Pizarro s artillery and soldiers were planted in readiness in the streets opening off the square. The interview was carried on by the priest Vicente de Valverde, who addressed the Inca through an interpreter. He stated briefly and dogmatically the principal points of the Christian faith and the Roman Catholic policy, and concluded by calling upon Atahuallpa to become a Christian, obey the commands of the Pope, give up the administration of his kingdom, and pay tribute to Charles V., to whom had been granted the conquest of these lands. To this extraordinary harangue, which from its own nature and the faults of the interpreter must have been completely unintelligible, the Inca at first returned a very temperate answer. He pointed out what seemed to him certain difficulties in the Christian religion, and declined to accept as monarch of his dominions this Charles, of whom he knew nothing. He then took a Bible from the priest s hands, and, after looking at it, threw it violently from him, and began a more impassioned speech, in which he exposed the designs of the Spaniards, and upbraided them with the cruelties they had perpetrated. The priest retired, and Pizarro at once gave the signal for attack. The Spaniards rushed out suddenly, and the Peruvians, astonished and defenceless, were cut down in hundreds. Pizarro himself seized the Inca, and in endeavouring to preserve him alive, received, accidentally, on his hand the only wound inflicted that day on a Spaniard. Atahuallpa, thus treacherously captured, offered an enormous sum of money as a ransom, and fulfilled his engagement ; but Pizarro still detained him, until the Spaniards should have arrived in sufficient numbers to secure the country. While in captivity, Atahuallpa gave secret orders for the assassination of his brother Huascar, and also endeavoured to raise an army to expel the invaders. His plans were betrayed, and Pizarro at once brought him to trial. He was condemned to death, and, as being an idolater, to death by fire. Atahuallpa, however, professed himself a Christian, received baptism, and his sentence was then altered into death by strangula tion. His body was afterwards burned, and the ashes conveyed to Quito. From the reports of the Spanish historians, it is impossible to gain an accurate idea of the character and abilities of the Peruvian monarch, and we have no other notices by which to test their account. (See Prescott s Conquest of Peril, and Helps s Spanish Con quest of America.)  ATALANTA, in Greek Legend, (1) was connected with Arcadia, where, at her birth, she had been exposed on a hill, her father Jasion having expected a son. At first she was suckled by a she-bear, and then saved by huntsmen, among whom she grew up to be skilled with the bow, swift, and fond of the chase, like the virgin goddess Artemis. At the hunt of the Calydonian boar her arrows were the first to hit the monster, for which its head and hide were given her by Meleager. At the funeral games of Pelias, she wrestled with Peleus, and won. Melanion, with intense love, followed, fought, and toiled in her service, she despis ing love, and remaining true to Artemis long, but yielding at last. She was the mother of Parthenopseus. But there was (2) another Atalanta in Boeotian legends, who was to be obtained in marriage only by him who could outstrip her in a race, the consequence of failure being death. Hippomenes, before starting, had obtained from Aphrodite three golden apples, which at intervals in the race he dropped, and Atalanta, stopping to pick them up, fell behind. Both were happy at the result ; but forgetting to thank the goddess for the apples, they were led by her to a religious crime, and for this were transformed into lions (Ovid, Met., x. 560-704). Latterly the adventures of these two separate heroines were united and told as of one.  ATAXY, LOCOMOTOR (α priv., τάξις, order—Synonyms, Progressive locomotor ataxy, Tabes dorsalis, Posterior spinal sclerosis), a disease of the nervous system, manifesting itself principally by disordered movements of the limbs in locomotion. This disorder is not, as was once supposed, a form of paralysis (there being no diminution of muscular strength), but is dependent on the loss of the power of co-ordinating the muscles into harmonious action, which is essential to the proper performance of the voluntary movements of the body, and the maintenance of its equilibrium. Although the disease had been previously noticed both by Professor Eomberg and Dr R. B. Todd, it was first fully described and named by Dr Duchenne in 1858. Its pathology has subsequently been investigated by Mr Lockhart Clarke. Locomotor ataxy usually begins insidiously, and advances slowly. Among the earlier symptoms observed are disorders of vision, with occasionally temporary or permanent paralysis of some of the cranial nerves, a feeling of uneasiness in the back, accompanied with violent shooting pains down the limbs, increased or perverted sensibility in various parts of the body, and disturbance of the genito-urinary functions. These initial symptoms may continue without much change for a long period, but generally in the course of time others are superadded, which give more definite intimation of the existence of the disease, and render its diagnosis a matter of little difficulty. The sufferer begins to be aware that he cannot walk with the same freedom as before, and he feels as if some soft substance were interposed between his feet and the ground. His gait assumes a peculiar and characteristic appearance. He begins the act of walking with evident difficulty, and his steps are short and hurried. Each leg is lifted well from the ground ; but as he moves forward it is thrown out from him, and his heel descends forcibly, and is followed at a longer than the normal interval by the sole. In walking he requires the aid of his vision to preserve his equilibrium, and he therefore looks at his feet, or rather at the ground a little in front of them, as he advances. He cannot turn about suddenly without the risk of falling. If asked to stand erect with his feet approximated, and then directed to close his eyes or to look upwards, he immediately begins to sway and totter, and would fall if not supported. These various phenomena are the result, not of any weakness of motor power, but simply of defective muscular co-ordination. Along with this there usually exists markedly diminished tactile and cutaneous sensibility, particularly in the feet and legs. Sometimes the disorder implicates the upper extremities, and then the hands and fingers cease to perform their functions with precision, so that the patient is unable to pick up any small object from the ground, to button or unbutton his clothing, and even sometimes to feed himself, although at the same time there is no weakness in the muscular power of the hand, which is capable of grasping as firmly as before. With the advance of the disease the disorder of movements increases. The patient's efforts 