Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/24

 AAEHUUS ABACO of whom 107,703 were Protestants, 89,180 Roman Catholics, and 1,542 Jews. The coun- try is diversified by hills, mountains, and valleys, the soil well cultivated, and extensive vineyards abound. It is watered by the rivers Aar, Reuss, and Limmat, the two latter being navigable. Cottons, silks, and linens, woven by hand, are the principal manufactures, and, with straw hats, cheese, corn, wine, and cat- tle, form the chief exports. The canton is divided into the following eleven districts: Aarau (pop. 19,247), Baden (23,462), Brem- garten (18,751), Brugg (17,162), Kulm (20,790), Laufenburg (14,407), Lensburg (18,497), Muri (14,297), Rheinfelden (11,417), Zofingen (26,- 986), and Zurzach (13,861). Capital, Aarau. The canton was organized in 1803. Each of the 50 electoral districts elects a member of the grand council for every 260 voters and for a fraction of over 130 ; state officers and teach- ers of state schools are ineligible. The grand council elects from its number a governing council (Regierungsrath) of eleven members, three of whom at least must be Protestants and three Catholics. On Feb. 13, 1841, all the convents of the canton were abolished and their property confiscated. The protest of several Catholic cantons against this measure was so vigorously supported by the Austrian government, that the government of the can- ton in 1843 reestablished four female convents. Most of the cantons were satisfied with this, but the minority were induced by it to organ- ize the Sonderbund. In 1862 the grand coun- cil declared in favor of the emancipation of the Jews, but the people voted it down. AAKIII I S, a seaport of Denmark, in East Jutland, capital of Aarhuus bailiwick, on the Cattegat, 37 m. S. E. of Viborg; pop. in 1870, 15,025. It contains one of the finest and larg- est cathedrals in Denmark, a library, and a museum. Its commerce is considerable, and it has a regular steam communication with Copenhagen. AARON. I. Son of Amram, of the tribe of Levi, elder brother of Moses, his spokesman in the embassy to the court of Pharaoh, and sub- sequently the first high priest. He was recre- ant to his trust in the absence of Moses upon Mount Sinai, and made the golden calf for the people to worship. He died on Mount Hor at the age of 123 years, and his office descended to Eleazar, his son. II. A physician of Alex- andria, Egypt, who flourished in the 7th cen- tury. He wrote on medicines, and is the first author who mentions the small-pox. AARSEXS, Frans van, a Dutch diplomatist, born at the Hague in 1572, died in 1641. In 1599 he was appointed ambassador at the French court, and concluded (1609) the truce of 12 years between the United Provinces and Spain. He was afterward ambassador to Ven- ice, and sent on numerous special missions, and in 1640 went to England to negotiate the mar- riage between "William prince of Orange and the princess Mary. He was originally a pro- t4ge and partisan of Bameveldt, but turned against him and was the chief instrument in his destruction. AASEN, Ivar Andreas, a Norwegian philol- ogist, born at Oersten, Aug. 5, 1813. The son of a poor farmer, he became well educated through his own efforts. He first devoted him- self to botany, and then studied the different local dialects of his country, producing Let norske Folkesproga Grammatik (Christiania, 1848) and Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog (1850). Among his more recent works is one on Norwegian proverbs (1856). An annuity has been conferred upon him by Norway. AASYAR, a group of small islands, below the arctic polar circle, about 12 m. from the Nor- wegian coast, forming part of the prefecture of Nordre Helgoland and of the parish of Don- naes, in the province of Nordland. They have recently acquired importance as a station for herring fisheries, giving employment to over 10,000 fishermen. The annual value of the exports is estimated at about $1,000,000, and the fish is known as the great Nordland herring. They are 'caught from December to January, and sometimes in quantities exceeding 200,000 tons. During the rest of the year the islands are almost deserted. AB, the eleventh month of the Jewish civil year and the fifth of the ecclesiastical, corre- sponding to a part of July and a part of August. The ninth of the month is one of the principal Jewish fast days, commemorating both the de- struction of the temple of Jerusalem by Nebu- chadnezzar and that by Titus. ABABDEH, or Ababdle, tribes of N. E. Afri- ca, tributary to Egypt, under the jurisdiction of a resident sheik, spread over the N. part of the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, from Kenneh to Asswan and Dera, and, ac- cording to Belzoni, as far as Suez. They are divided into three principal tribes the Fokara, Ashabat, and Melaykab and number about 120,000. Their armed force consists of about 20,000 men. They are often erroneously con- founded with the Bedouin Arabs, but differ from them in appearance, habits, and language. Some of them are agriculturists, but they lead generally a nomadic life, and act as guides to the Sennaar caravans, which start from Daraweh, 40 m. N. of Asswan. They have few horses, but many camels and dromedaries, the latter being especially celebrated in the East. They fight mounted on camels, naked to the waist. Burckhardt, in his " Travels in Nubia," regards them as of Arab stock, but is not supported in this view by other authorities. However, they have intermarried with Arabs, and adopted their religion. To the Romans they are believed to have been known under the name of Blemyes ; but after the Arab con- quest of Egypt they appear under the collective name of Bega, as traders on the Red sea. Nearly on a line with Asswan, in the Ababdeh territory, are the ruins of Berenice. ABACO, Great, a long and crooked island, the