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 ALYAR ALVARADO 371 other towns, ranged themselves under the standard of the prince of Orange. His triumph, however, was short, for the news of the mas- sacre of St. Bartholomew, in August, fell with frightful effect upon his followers, utterly par- alyzing their hopes and efforts; his armies melted away, the towns forswore their alle- giance to him, and almost in solitude he re- tired to Holland, the province which best pre- served its fidelity. He had but a few days be- fore considered Charles IX. of France as his ally, and was expecting an army of assistance led by Admiral Coligni, when he heard the news of his murder. On many of the offending cities, even those which returned to obedi- ence, Spanish vengeance fell with terrible ret- ribution. At length, at the siege of Alkmaar, after investing the city for seven weeks, the Spaniards were obliged to retreat ; and from that moment a brighter day dawned on the Netherlands. Finally, disgusted with the hopelessness of his cause, and furious at the intrigues of those in power about him, Alva obtained his recall, received his successor, Don Luis de Requesens y Zufiiga, Nov. 17, 1573, and on the 18th of the next month left the provinces for ever. His parting advice was, that every city in the Netherlands should be burned to the ground, except a few to be per- manently garrisoned ; and he boasted that during his six years' rule he had caused 18,000 persons to be executed. But to this immense number must be added those who perished by siege, battle, and merciless slaughter ; and the list defies all computation. Every conceivable mode of death and torture was wreaked upon the victims of his royal master's vengeance. At the sack of Haarlem 300 citizens, tied two and two and back to back, were thrown into the lake ; and at Zutphen 500 more, in the same manner, were drowned in the river Yssel. Thousands of women were publicly violated, and unborn infants ripped from the wombs of their mothers. Yet Alva was always com- plaining to Philip II. of the unjust hatred shown toward him, and the " ingratitude " of the Netherlander in return for his " clemency." He was well received by Philip II., but some time afterward fell into disgrace with the mon- arch, from espousing the cause of his own son, who had debauched a maid of honor. He was imprisoned and banished until required for the conquest of Portugal. This he accomplished in 1580, and died at the age of 74 years. ALYAR, Alwur, or Maehery, a native state of Hindostan, in Rajpootana, between lat. 27 4' and 28 13' N., and Ion. 76 7' and 77 14' E. ; area, 3,573 sq. m. ; pop. about 280,000. It is a hilly district, inhabited by a savage, predatory people known as Mewattis, and long famous for their hostility to Europeans. Under Brit- ish influence, however, their rude character has been greatly modified. The state is gov- erned by a rajah who is under the control of the governor general's agent for the Rajpoot states. Alvar, the capital, is situated at the base of a rocky range, 110 m. S. S. W. of Delhi and 900 m. N. W. of Calcutta. It is a small, ill-built town, surrounded by a wretched mud wall, and overlooked by a fort on the hill. The rajah's palace and some Hindoo temples are the principal buildings. ALVARADO, a river and town in Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz. The town is situ- ated on the left bank of the river, about 3 m. from its mouth, and 35 m. S. E. of Vera Cruz ; pop. about 2,000. It consists mostly of cane cottages roofed with palm leaves. The coun- try south of the river has numerous planta- tions of cacao, and produces much rice, both of which articles are sent to the other states of Mexico. There is a dockyard at Alvarado, and a port capable of admitting vessels not ex- ceeding 13 feet draught; and it has consider- able commerce with Vera Cruz. The climate is very unhealthy. ALVARADO, Pedro de, one of the conquerors of Spanish America, born at Badajoz toward the end of the 15th century, died in 1541. In 1518 he sailed with his four brothers for Cuba, whence he accompanied Grijalva in his explor- ing expedition along the coast of the American continent. Grijalva was so delighted with the aspect of the country that he called it New Spain, and sent Alvarado back to Cuba to re- port to Governor Velasquez what they had seen and ' what they had heard, for the first time, about the immense -empire of Montezu- ma. In February, 1519, he accompanied Cortes in his expedition, and took an active and remarkable part in all the incidents of the conquest of Mexico. Cortes, while engaged in the battle against Narvaez, left the city of Mex- ico under charge of Alvarado, but by his cruel- ty and rapacity the latter caused an insurrec- tion, and narrowly escaped with his life. In the famous retreat of the night of July 1, 1520 (la noche triste), Alvarado distinguished him- self by his gallant exploits, and to commemo- rate his bravery an enormous ditch over which he leaped to escape from the hands of the ene- my is called to this day "el salto de Alvarado." On his return to Spain he was received with great honor by Charles V., and appointed gov- ernor of Guatemala, which he had conquered in 1523. He married a daughter of the illus- trious house of Cueva, from which the dukes of Albuquerque are descended, and returned to America, accompanied by a host of adven- turers. Guatemala became highly prosperous under his government. Having authority to extend his conquests, he embarked on the Pa- cific an expedition of 500 men .to effect the capture of Quito, and landed near Cape San Francisco, whence he marched into the interi- or ; but among the Andes he met the forces of Pizarro, prepared to resist his advance. Dis- claiming any intention to interfere with his countryman's rights, he received 120,000 pieces of eight as an indemnification for his outlay and losses, and, after a friendly meeting with the conquerors of Peru, returned to Gua-