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 20 ABENCERRAGES ABEROROMBY killed at Norridgewock in 1724. Many had emigrated to Canada, where two villages still remain, bearing the name Abenaquis, at St. Francis and Becancour. The remnants in Maine are called Penobscots and Passama- quoddies, from the rivers on which they reside. Another remnant is in New Brunswick, near Fredericton. During the American revolution they embraced the cause of the colonies under their chief Orono. Their language was thor- oughly studied by Father Sebastian Rale, whose dictionary is still highly important. Their his- tory has been written by the Rev. E. Vetro- mile (New York, 1866), and more fully by the Rev. J. A. Maurault (Sorel, 1866). ABENCERRAGES (Arabic, Ibn Serraj or Zer- ragh), the name of a distinguished Moorish family, whose mortal feud with the Zegris, another noble family of Granada, contributed to the fall of the Granadian monarchy. The quarrel originated in the varying fortunes of Mohammed VII. of Granada, in the earlier ]>nrt of the 15th century, who was alternately a monarch and an exile, and whose cause the Abencerrages espoused with unswerving fidel- ity. It is told that one of the youths of the Abencerrages, having loved a lady of the royal house, was climbing to her window when he was discovered and betrayed, and the king, in revenge for the outrage on the sanctity of his harem, shut up the whole family in a tower or court of the Alhambra, and, letting loose the fury of their hereditary enemies, had them butchered in cold blood. This tragical tale has been the foundation of many poetical produc- tions. The inexorable criticism of our century has, however, demonstrated the fictitious char- acter of the romantic story. (See Conde's Hixtoria de la domination de los Arabes en Espafla, Madrid, 1829.) ABENDBERG, one of the secondary elevations of the Bernese Alps, rising from the plateau uf Interlachen or Bernese Oberland, in the lage of Interlachen, its northern base abutting on the lake of Thun. It rises about 3,500 feet above the plateau, and 5,300 above the sea level. Its southern slope is very fertile, and the lower portion heavily wooded. It is re- garded as one of the most salubrious regions of the Alps. In 1842 Dr. Louis Guggenbuhl selected a site on the southern slope, several hundred feet below the summit, for an asylum for cretins, whom he hoped by careful treat- ment and the health-giving influences of the climate to restore to reason and healthful de- velopment. The institution did not accomplish all that was expected from it, and, after being maintained for 18 or 20 years, was on the death of its founder given up. (See GCQOKN- BUHL, Louis.) ABEN EZRA, properly Abraham ben Meir ben Ezra, one of the most esteemed biblical com- mentators among the Jews of the 12th century, i>orn in Toledo, Spain, in 1093, died in Rome in 1167 or 1168. He was ah(O distinguished as a physician, mathematician, astronomer, poet v and gramnuirian. He was poor, and travelled extensively, lecturing before large audiences. His writings, some of which have been trans- lated into Latin, are numerous, and evince originality, boldness, and independence. His style is pithy and often epigrammatic. ABEXSBERG, a small town of Lower Bavaria, 18 m. S. W. of Ratisbon; pop. about 1,600. It is believed to have been the Abasinum of the Romans. It has a thermal spring, and contains the ruins of a fine castle. On April 20, 1809, Napoleon fought and defeated the Austrians near Abensberg, who lost 12 guns and 20,000 men, including the prisoners made on the following day. This was the precursor of the victories of Landshut and Eckmuhl. HI! KlIUOTIIU l< K. See ABBEOATH. ABERCROMBIE, James, a British general, born in Scotland in 1706, died April 28, 1781. He was commander-in-chief in America in 1756, and again in 1758, on the retirement of Lou- doun. He attacked Ticonderoga July 8, at the head of 15,000 men, and was repulsed with a loss of nearly 2,000 killed and wounded. He then retreated to his fortified camp on the south side of Lake George. He was superseded by Sir Jeffery Amherst, who retook Ticonde- roga and Crown Point. In 1759 he returned to England, and was afterward a member of par- liament and deputy governor of Stirling castle. ABERCROMBIE, John, M. D., a Scottish phy- sician, born in Aberdeen, Nov. 11, 1781, died in Edinburgh, Nov. 14, 1844. He contributed valuable papers to the "Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal." His principal works* are : "Pathological and Practical Researches on Diseases of the Brain and Spinal Cord " (Edin- burgh, 1828, 1830) ; " Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers of Man and the Investiga- tion of Truth" (1830); "Philosophy of the Moral Feelings" (1833). The university of Oxford conferred on him the honorary degree of doctor of medicine, and in 1835 Marischal college elected him its lord rector. He was considered the first physician in Scotland. ABERCROMBY, Sir Ralph, a British general, born in 1738, died March 28, 1801. He was descended from a good Scottish family, entered the army, and became major general in 1787. In 1793 he went to Holland in the unsuccess- ful Walcheren expedition, and gained universal esteem by his humanity and soldierlike quali- ties. He was now made commander-in-chief in the West Indies, and took several of the French West India islands. After his recall he was made lieutenant governor of the Isle of Wight, and showed his judgment and pres- ence of mind in suppressing a mutiny of the Highland regiments, who had revolted because they were required to serve as marines. On the breaking out of the rebellion of 1798 in Ireland, he was sent there as commander-in- chief, but his distaste for the service was so decided that he was removed to Scotland. In 1799 he again served in Holland. In 1800 he
 * anton of Bern, Switzerland, S. W. of the vil-