Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/296

 272 ALEMBIC ALEPPO D'Alembert finally withdrew from the editor- ship, but continued to write the mathemati- cal articles. He was a member of most of the learned societies of Europe, and was in intimate personal communication with Fred- erick the Great, who invited him to reside at the court of Berlin. This, however, he de- clined. The empress Catharine offered him the post of tutor or governor to the cezarevitch, with an income of 100,000 livres, but this he also declined. He was a man of singularly independent mind and manners, without de- generating into discourtesy or indifference to the feelings or necessities of others. His con- nection with the Encyclopedic involved him unjustly in the general censure which attached itself to the impiety and intolerance of many of its contributors. D'Alembert's means were limited and insufficient to keep pace with his benevolence ; for when only in the enjoyment of two pensions of about $500 a year, one from Frederick, and the other from his own country, he gave away more than half their amount in charity. His grief on the death of Mile, de 1'Espinasse, for whom he entertained a strong attachment, which she requited with less ar- dent sentiments, is believed to have hastened his death. Among his works not already men- tioned are: Recherches sur different* points important* du systeme du monde (3 vols. 4to, 1754-'6); Opuscules mathematiques (8 vols. 4to, 1761-'80), a rich mine of original materi- als; Elements de musique, upon the system of Rameau ; Melanges de literature et de philo- sophic (5 vols. 12mo); Sur la destruction des Jesuites en France ; and a life of Queen Chris- tina of Sweden. No single collection of his mathematical works has been published, but Bastien collected his literary and philosophi- cal writings in 18 vols., with a full life of the author prefixed (Paris, 1805). A more complete edition was published by Bossange in 5 vols. 8vo (1821), containing several pieces not before published, and the correspondence of D'Alembert with Voltaire and Frederick II. ALEMBIC (Arab, al, the, and Gr. fy/fcf, a cup), one of the oldest forms of vessels used for distillation, and the type of all later kinds of apparatus for the same purpose. It consists of a vessel in the form of a flask with wide neck, on which is fitted a head con- nected with a downward running tube, the whole so arranged that all vapors condensed against the in- side of the head run through a surrounding gutter to the tube and so into a receiver. Our engraving represents a glass alembic on a stand, heated by a spirit lamp, and connected with the receiver, which is supported on a separate stand. Notwithstanding this apparatus is at present little used in its original shape, and is superseded by the retort, it must be confessed that it has its advantages, and was especially adapted for the class of researches with which the alchemists occupied themselves. These ad- vantages are that the head can be separated from the body, which is very convenient for the in- troduction of solid or semi-fluid substances, and also for cleaning out after the operation. In some manufacturing processes alembics are still employed, as in that of hydrocyanic acid. In France they are still more employed than elsewhere; but it must not be forgotten that the French call nearly all kinds of distilling arrangements alembics, so that many of their so-called alembics are very different from the apparatus here described. ALEMTEJO, the largest province of Portugal, bounded by Estremadura, Beira, Spain, Al- garve, and the Atlantic ocean ; area, 9,416 sq. m. ; pop. in 1868, 332,237. The surface on the E. is traversed by irregular chains and groups of hills, which in the western section almost entirely disappear. On the southern border the Algarvian chain rises to the height of 4,000 feet. The principal rivers are the Guadiana, Tagus, and Sadao. The climate on the barren plains of the S. and W. is hot and dry. In the E. it is more salubrious and the soil more fertile, yielding good crops of wheat, barley, rice, and maize. The vine is univer- sally cultivated. The citron, lemon, figs, and pomegranates abound. Attention is paid to the breeding of sheep, hogs, and goats. In a few places there are manufactures of woollen cloths and of earthenware. Alemtejo is di- vided into the three districts of Portalegre, Evora, and Beja, so called after their chief towns. Capital, Evora. AI.KM.OV a town of France, in Normandy, capital of the department of Orne, on the Sarthe, 116 m. W. S. W. of Paris; pop. in 1866, 16,116. It has a considerable inland trade, and is known for the famous lace, point d'Alencon. The fabrication of this costly ar- ticle, however, now gives employment to a comparatively small number of families, in which it is an hereditary occupation. The trade was one of the forced productions of Colbert, who gave a monopoly of it for ten years, and a bounty from the crown. The in- habitants are generally engaged in making muslin, embroidery, leather, glass, and iron. Alencon is mostly built of granite, and has a ca- thedral, library, museum, college, theatre, and annual horse races. Its counts were conspicu- ous in the history of Normandy and of France from the 10th century. In 1219 it was made an apanage of the French crown, with lords of the royal family ; and in the 15th century it was erected into a royal duchy. The second son of the duke de Nemours, born in 1844, now bears the title of duke d'Alencon. ALENCON, Francois, duke of. See ANJOTT. ALEPPO (Arab. Haleb ; anc. Chalybon, afterward Beraa), a city of N. Syria, capital of a Turkish vilayet of the same name, in lat. 36