Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/299

ATT complete. As a member of the Concentores and Harmonists' Societies, he had opportunity for the production of his numerous glees and other concerted pieces of chamber vocal music. He died on the 28th of March, 1838, and is buried in St. Paul's cathedral.—G. A. M.  ATTWOOD,, third son of Matthias Attwood, Esq., ironmaster, of Hales Owen, Salop, was born in 1784. He first became known as a political character by his vigorous opposition to the orders in council in 1812, and condemned the return to cash payments at the end of the war. His letters on currency, published under a fictitious signature in the "Globe" newspaper in 1828, established his reputation as one of the ablest advocates of paper money. In the following year, he joined with the late Messrs. Scholefield and Muntz in forming the Birmingham political union, which largely contributed to the passing of the reform bill. On the enfranchisement of Birmingham under the reform act, Mr. Attwood was chosen one of its members, and continued to represent it down to his retirement from public life in 1840. He died of a paralytic seizure, after several years of illness, at Malvern, March 6, 1856.—E. W.  ATTWOOD,, an English political writer of the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century. Besides a number of controversial works, Attwood published a small volume, entitled "The History and Reasons of the Dependency of Ireland upon the Imperial Crown of the Kingdom of England, rectifying Mr. Molineaux's state of the case of Ireland's being bound by Acts of Parliament in England," 1698; also, a work entitled "The Superiority and direct Dominion of the Imperial Crown of England over the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland, the true foundation of a complete Union, reasserted," 1705, 8vo.—(Watt, Bibliotheca Britannica. Nicolson, English Historical Library, 193-196. Irish Historical Library, 65, 66.)  ATWATER,, an American writer on geology. He has contributed the following papers:—1. Tracts and remarks relating to the climate, diseases, geology, and organized remains of parts of the state of Ohio. (American Journal, vol. xi.) 2. On the prairies and barrens of the West. (Ibid, vol. i.) 3. Notice of the scenery, geology, mineralogy, &c., of Belmont county, Ohio. (Ibid, vol. i.) 4. Tracts relating to certain parts of the state of Ohio. (Ibid, vol. x.) 5. Account of ancient bones and some fossil shells found in Ohio. (Ibid, vol. ii.)—(Bibliographia, Zoologiæ, et Geologiæ.")—E. L.  ATWOOD,, an English philanthropist, born about the beginning of the eighteenth century; died 27th May, 1793. He is said to have been, at one period, chief judge of the island of Dominica, and subsequently of the Bahamas. In 1791 he published an octavo volume of nearly 300 pages, entitled "The History of the Island of Dominica;" and afterwards a little pamphlet, entitled "Observations on the true method of treatment and usage of the Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands." He died in the King's Bench prison, broken down by misfortunes.—(Gentleman's Magazine, lxiii. 576. Literary Memoirs of Living Authors of Great Britain.)—G. M.  ATZEL. See .  ATZYS, a sovereign of Kharisme in Persia, who died in 1155. He succeeded his father, Cothb-Eddyu, in 1127, and extended his kingdom by the conquest of numerous provinces in the neighbourhood of the Caspian sea. He reigned twenty-nine years, and was succeeded by his son Il-Arcola.  AUBAIS,, a French writer, born at Beauvoisin, near Nismes, 20th March, 1686; died 5th March, 1777. Among his published works are:—"Généalogie de la Maison de Gences, originaire de Dauphiné," 1713, in fol.; "Pièces fugitives pour servir à l'histoire de France, avec des notes historiques et geographiques," 1759, 3 vols. 4to. This work was compiled with the co-operation of Leon Menard. "Geographie historique," 1761; "Histoire de la Maison de Narbonne-Pellet," without date.—(Les Trois Siècles de la Litterature Française; Le Long Bibliotheque historique.)—G. M. <section end="299H" /> <section begin="299I" />AUBAN, ., a French general, born about the middle of the seventeenth century; died 14th July, 1713. He served with great distinction, in the campaigns of Louis XIV., and was present at thirty-eight sieges and battles. He was author of the two following works:—"Considérations sur la réforme des armes jugée au conseil de guerre," 1773, in 8vo; "Mémoires sur les nouveaux systémes d'artillerie," 1775, in 8vo.—(Courcelles, Dictionnaire des Généraux Français.) <section end="299I" /> <section begin="299J" />AUBÉ,, a French entomologist. He has distinguished himself more particularly by descriptions of the family of Coleoptera. He has published the following works and papers:—"Iconographie des Coléoptères d'Europe," Paris, 1836, with coloured plates; "Monographia Pselaphiorum cum Synonymia extricata," Paris, 1834, with figures; "Species general des Coléoptères de la Collection de M. le Comte Dejean," Paris, 1838. Besides these he has also published a considerable number of other papers in the Transactions of the French Entomological Society.—E. L. <section end="299J" /> <section begin="299K" />AUBENTON. See . <section end="299K" /> <section begin="299L" />AUBER, a French writer, born at Rouen about the middle of the eighteenth century, died in 1804. He embraced the profession of a schoolmaster, and, in 1795, was appointed professor of belles-lettres in the school of the department of the Lower Seine. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences at Rouen, and was esteemed a man of varied and extensive acquirements. He left, at his death, the following works:—"Mémoire sur le Gisement des côtes du Departement de la Seine-Inférieure, sur l'état actuel de ses Ports tant sur la Manche que sur la Seine, sur les moyens de les perfectionner, et sur les canaux qu'il serait utile d'y établir pour faciliter la navigation intérieure," Rouen, 1795, in 4to; "Rapport sur les moyens d'améliorer les laines," Rouen, 1795, in 4to; "Rapport sur les prix nationaux d'agriculture dans le département de la Seine-Inferieure, avec des notes y relatives," Rouen, 1795, in 4to; "Mémoires sur la nécessité de conserver, de multiplier, de réunir dans les départements les chefs-d'œuvre de l'art et en particulier ceux de la commune de Rouen," Rouen, 1797, in 4to; "Reflexions sur l'étude des belles-lettres dans les republiques," Rouen, in 8vo. <section end="299L" /> <section begin="299Zcontin" />AUBER,, a French musician, was the son of an opulent printseller of Paris, and was born at Caen, in Normandy, during a visit of his parents to that city, on the 29th of January, 1784. His father designed him for a mercantile life, and though he placed him under Mr. Ladurner to learn the pianoforte, it was only for the purpose of giving him an elegant accomplishment that would grace his appearance in society. He was placed in a commercial house in London, and here, in the hours not devoted to his office, he won constant admiration, not only by his playing, but by the little romances he composed with the greatest fluency. His stay in this country was but brief, and on his return to Paris he amused himself with a more serious class of composition, writing a trio for pianoforte, violin, and violoncello, and several other chamber pieces. It was probably about this time that he became a pupil of Boieldieu, for his productions now assumed a more important character than is compatible with the capabilities of an uninstructed amateur. He was an intimate of M. Lamare, the violoncellist, an executive artist, whose fingers picked out original passages on his instrument, but whose wits could not string them together in any form of composition, nor originate melodic phrases of any interest whatever; his friend Auber, therefore, wrote several concertos for him, which he played, and even printed under his own name, and which gained him considerable esteem as a composer. Auber also wrote a concerto for the violin, of which himself received the credit. He set to music an old libretto called "Julie," with quartet accompaniment, which was privately performed at Paris by a party of amateurs; and he wrote another little opera, with accompaniments for a full orchestra, which was represented, also privately, at the residence of the Prince de Chimay. His earnestness in the pursuit of music increased with the admiration he excited, and he now went through a serious course of study under Cherubini, whose theoretical knowledge, practical talent, and experience, eminently fitted him to develop the powers of such a pupil, and under this master he wrote a mass for four voices, besides many less extensive pieces. The high esteem in which, from these various and numerous productions, he was now held in the private musical circles of Paris, at once stimulated his ambition to appear in public, and facilitated his means of gratifying it accordingly, in 1813, he brought out a comic opera, in one act, called "Le Sejour Militaire," which, however, to the great disappointment of his many admirers, proved a total failure. This appears to have put a temporary check upon his musical predilection, for we hear nothing more of his compositions for several years; but the death of his father is said to have made in important change in the state of his affairs, and he then formally abandoned the counting-house, and, abjuring amateurship, took steadily to the practice of his favourite art as a profession. In <section end="299Zcontin" />