Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/407

 AMBERGER AMBOYNA 383 French under Jourdan was defeated by the archduke Charles, Aug. 24, 1796. AMBERGER, Chiistoph, a famous German painter of Amberg (whence the name), born at Nuremberg about 1490, died at Augsburg in 1568. His best productions are his portraits, in the style of Holbein, whom 1 he imitated. His historical paintings are small, and hard and sharp in style. AMBERGRIS, a perfume, generally used in its alcoholic solution. It is a morbid secretion of the liver of the spermaceti whale, and is prin- cipally found floating upon the seas of warm climates intermixed with remains of the food of whales ; it is also met with in the intestines of the whale. When of good quality it is of a bright gray color, streaked with black and yellow, so soft that it may be flattened in the fingers, and exhaling an agreeable odor if rubbed or heated. Its fracture presents a fine grain, its cut surface a waxy appearance. It is somewhat lighter than water, fuses at 140 to 150 F., and at a higher temperature gives out a white smoke, which condenses into a crystalline fatty matter. It contains about 85 per cent, of a peculiar fatty, fragrant substance called ambreine, which is extracted by boiling in alcohol, and separating the crystals that form in the cooled solution. Persons engaged in whale fishing look for ambergris in the in- testines of the spermaceti whale, and are most successful in finding it in those that appear torpid, sick, and lean ; whence it would seem that the substance is a product of disease. It is in the lower part only of the intestinal canal, mixed with the fasces, that the sub- stance is found. The lumps of it are from 3 inches to a foot in diameter, and from 1 Ib. to 20 or 30 Ibs. in weight. The largest piece known was bought by the Dutch East India company of the king of Tidore; it weighed 182 Ibs. A piece weighing 130 Ibs. was found inside of a whale near the "Windward Islands, and was sold for 500 sterling. Genuine am- bergris emits a fragrant smell when a hot needle is thrust into it. It also melts like fat to a uniform consistence. The counterfeit does not present these peculiarities. AMBIORIX, one of the most famous of the Gallic chiefs who fought against Julius Caesar toward the middle of the first century B. C. Conjointly with the superannuated Cativolcus, he was ruling over the Eburones, on the lower Meuse, when the country was invaded by Caesar, who strove to corrupt him, but only made him dissemble while waiting his opportunity. Dur- ing Caesar's second excursion to England, Ambi- orix organized an extensive conspiracy, which broke out after the Eoman legions had gone into winter quarters. Having by stratagem in- duced one garrison to leave their fort, he mas- sacred them to a man. He was about to at- tack another camp when Caesar marched to its relief, and easily dispersed the assailants. Cativolcus took poison, but Ambiorix, with a few friends, made his escape into the forests. AMBLETEUSE, a small decayed seaport of France, on the English channel, in the depart- ment of Pas-de-Calais, 5 m. N. of Boulogne. Here James II. landed on his flight from Eng- land in 1689. Napoleon, while meditating an invasion of England in 1804, attempted unsuc- cessfully to improve the harbor of Ambleteuse for his flat-bottomed boats. In the vicinity is the famous granite column erected by Napo- leon to the grand army in 1805. AMBOISK, a town of France, in the depart- ment of Indre-et-Loire, on the left bank of the Loire, 14 m. E. of Tours; pop. in 1866, 4,188. The town was rendered conspicuous at the opening of the French religious wars, in the 16th century, by the plot framed there against the Guises, known as the conspiracy of Am- boise. The ancient castle, which has been the residence of several kings of France, stands on a rocky precipice, and is almost inaccessible. It ig of Roman origin, was rebuilt in the 4th century, and lastly renovated by Louis Phi- lippe. Abd-el-Kader was confined here during the greater part of his captivity. The town has manufactures of firearms and files. AMBOISE, George d', a French statesman and cardinal, born at Chaumont-sur-Loire in 1460, died in Lyons, May 25, 1510. As a younger son he was destined for the church, and was titular bishop -of Montauban at the age of 14, and later archbishop of Rouen. During the lifetime of Charles VIII. he belonged to the party of the duke of Orleans ; and when the latter ascended the French throne as Louis XII. in 1498, Amboise at once became prime minis- ter. He prevailed on the court of Rome to annul the marriage of Louis XII. with Jeanne de France, and received from Alexander VI. the cardinal's hat. He accompanied Louis XII. into Italy, and arranged the affairs of Milan af- ter its conquest by the French troops. At the death of Alexander VI. he aspired to be pope, but the Italian cardinals passed him over, and elected first Pius III. and afterward Julius II., in spite of his lively antagonism, which threat- ened a schism. He left a large fortune. AAIBOYNA, or Amboina (Malay, Ambon, dews), an island in the Malay archipelago, the most important though not the largest of the Moluc- cas or Spice Islands, between lat. 3 26' and 3 48' S., and Ion. 127 57' and 128 27' E. ; length 35 m., average breadth 10 m. ; area, about 300 sq. m. ; pop. 32,000. A deep, narrow bay, called the bay of Binnen, 14 m. long, al- most bisects it. The two halves are composed of high hills rising abruptly from the sea, and cov- ered with tall, coarse grass, groves of the co- coa palm near the shore, and thiek forests in the valleys and near some of the summits. The island is of primitive formation. It is sub- ject to earthquakes every year, after which fe- vers commonly prevail, but in other respects the climate is very healthy. There are few animals except the wild hog, deer, and horse. Birds are abundant and of many species, and the coasts have long been famous for multitudes