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 ABRANTES ABRAXAS encampments of the army. At the same time she bore all the fatigues of the war with great fortitude. While at Lyons she paid a visit to Mme. Recamier, and, courting the society of other persons who were not liked by Napoleon, she incurred his displeasure, and was not per- mitted to reside in Paris. Her husband, too, having forfeited the good will of the emperor, was banished from Paris, though he was in a dying condition; and the duchess, while at- tempting to see him at Montbard, where he died, was taken ill. In spite of Napoleon's orders she went to Paris in September, 1813, and her house became once more the centre of distinguished persons, especially after the res- toration of the Bourbons, toward which she had contributed. In 1817 she took up her res- idence at Rome. Having sold the magnifi- cent library and the other valuable legacies of her husband, and being at the end of her re- sources, she entered into a contract for the publication of her writings. At the time of the July re volution, -1830, she lived in retire- j rnent at the Abbaye-aux-Bois, near Paris, and in 1831 began the publication of the Memoires ou Souvenirs historiques sur Napoleon, la Revo- lution, le Directoire, le Conttulat, F Empire et la Restauration (18 vols. 18mo, Paris, 1831- '34). She also wrote memoirs of her expe- rience in France, Spain, and Portugal, and many novels and stories, besides contributing to periodicals; but her literary fame rests chiefly on her brilliant gossip and overflowing anecdotes relating to the court of Napoleon. Notwithstanding her incessant literary ac- tivity, she remained very poor, and died at Chaillot two days after her removal to a pri- vate hospital in that place. Louis Philippe sent some money for her relief, but she died before it reached her. Ignazio Cantu published in 1837 Relazione delta duchessa d Abrantes, and A. D. Roosmalen in 1838 Les demiertt moments de la duchesse d'Abrante*. III. Napo- leon Andoche Jonot, duke of, son of the preced- ing, born in Paris in 1807, died therein March, 1851. Obliged to leave the diplomatic service on account of his scandalous private life, he became known in light literature by a variety of works of ephemeral reputation, the principal among them being Les boudoirs de Paris (6 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1844- 1 5). IV. Adolphe Alfred Mi- chel Jnnot, duke of, brother and heir of the preceding, born at Ciudad Rodrigo, Spain, Nov. 25, 1810, died in July, 1859. He was aide-de-camp of Gen. MacMahon in Algeria (1848), and of Prince Napoleon in the Cri- mea (1854), served with a high rank in the Italian war, and died from a wound received at the battle of Solferino. V. Josephine Jnnot d', sister of the preceding, born in Paris, Jan. 5, 1802, married in 1841 M. James Amet, after having been previously a sister of charity and canoness. She is the author of a number of stories and novels published under her maiden name. The best known of them are : Histoirex morales et edifiantes (1837); La duchesse de Valombray (2 vols., 1838); and nier (2 vols., 1850). VI. Constance Jnnot d', sister of the preceding, born in Paris, May 12, 1803, is the wife of M. Louis Aubert, for SOUR time editor of the National newspaper, and in 1848 prefect in Corsica. Under the name of Constance Aubert she has been connected with periodical literature as a writer on fash- ions, manners, and customs. In 1859 she pub- lished a Manuel d'economie elegante, and in 1865 a little volume on the luxury of women (Encore le luxe des femmes : Les femmes sagen et les femmes folles). ABKAVANEL, Abrabanel, or Abarbanel, Isaac ben .1 ndah. a Jewish author, born in Lisbon in 1437, died in Venice in 1508. His family boasted a lineal descent from the kings of Judah. He re- ceived an excellent education, and was equally successful in the pursuit of knowledge, wealth, and influence. Alfonso V. of Portugal em- ployed him in state affairs; but his son and successor, John II., not only withdrew all favor from him, but, unjustly suspecting him of intrigues with Spain, caused him to fly to that country, and confiscated his property. He sought consolation in study, but after a time entered the service of King Ferdinand of Ara- gon. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain, decreed in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella, again made him an exile. Repairing to Na- ples, he was well received by Ferdinand I., and by his son Alfonso II. ; but the invasion of the French in 1495 drove him with the Nea- politan court to Messina, whence he repaired to Corfu. In 1496 he established himself at Monopoli in Apulia, where he remained till 1503. The last years of his life he spent in Venice, where he once more engaged in state affairs. His works, the principal of which are commentaries on various books of the Scrip- tures, partly of a critical and partly of a doc- trinal character, and a number of philosophical treatises, are marked by a glowing enthusiasm for Judaism, a comparative independence of spirit, vast research, and elegant Hebrew dic- tion. One of his three sons, LEONE (originally Judah) was the author of a philosophical work in Italian, entitled Dialoghi di Amore, which passed through several editions. ABRAXAS (Gr. a/tyafaf or a/3pa<raf), a mystical word employed by the Egyptian Gnostic Basil- ides to signify the Supreme Being as ruler of the 365 heavens of his system, which number is represented by its letters according to Greek numeration ; probably in imitation of the sig- nificance attached to the name of the Persian god Mithras (M0paf), the letters of which have the same numerical value. Some authorities, however, give the word other derivations and different significations as a designation of the Supreme Being. Many ancient stones or me- tallic tablet* called Abraxas gems or images, or Basilidian stones, have been found, chiefly in Egypt, Syria, and Spain. They are generally inscribed with the word Abraxas or Abrasax, and sometimes with others, and bear a great