Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/340

ALBEDO. from any, given planet depends, of course, on the character of that planet's surface. If it were like polished silver, for instance, the albedo would be very high; much higher, indeed, than the power actually possessed by the surface of any known planet. Astronomers designate the albedo of any planet b}' means of a fraction in- dicating the ratio of light reflected to the total quantity of light received. Thus the moon's average albedo is 0.1.3, which means that about one-sixth of the light received by the moon from the sun is again reflected. The albedo of Mer- cury is 0.14; of Venus, 0.76; of the earth (rough- ly), 0.20; of ilars, 0.22; of .Jupiter. 0.02: of Saturn, 0.72; of Uranus, 0.00; and of Xeptune, 0.52.

ALBEMARLE,. See or.

ALBEMARLE, The. A Confederate ram, which, after doing great damage to the Federal shipping, was blown up and completelv destroyed on the night of October 27, 1804, by W. B. dishing. See

ALBEMARLE, or ISABELLA, ISLAND. The largest of the Galapagos Islands (q.v.), lying between lats. 0° 15' N. and 1° 5' S., and longs. 00° 50' W. and 91° 45' W. It is of volcanic origin and irregular in form, its greatest length about 90 miles and its greatest breadth about 60. The surface, which covers an area of 1650 square miles, is elevated, reaching an alti- tude of 4700 feet. Albemarle Point is the north- ernmost extremity of the island.

ALBEMARLE SOUND. An inlet in the coast of North Carolina. 00 miles long and 4 to 15 miles wide, separated from the ocean by an island, and not appreciably alfected by the tides (Map: North Carolina. F 1). It receives the Roanoke, Chowan, Perquimans. Little, and Pasquotauk rivers, and is connected with Currituck and Croatan sounds, the latter of which flows into Pamlico Sound. It is about 12 miles in length, and its greatest depth is IS feet. It is so shallow in some places that it is of little value for navigation.

ALBER, al'bor, M.-vtthaus (1495-1570). A German theologian, one of the promoters of the Reformation. He was born at Rcutlingen. near Stuttgart, was educated at Tiibingen, and in 1521 returned to preach in Reullingen, where he introduced the Reformation. He rejected Latin, and used the native tongue in church services, put out the images, and took a wife. He was summoned before the imperial chambers, and charged with nearly seventy distinct heresies, to all of which, save that of speaking disrespect- fully of the mother of Christ, he confessed guilty. He was tried, but set free without punishment. Alber was a friend and ally of Luther. He has been called, indeed, the "Luther of Swabia." because of the great part ho played in that country. Some of his sermons, a catechism, and a work on Providence have been published. For his life consult .1. Hartmann (Tiibingen, 180.3).

ALBERDINGK THYM, iil'ber-dlnk tim', JosEPitrs Alkeuti's (1820-89). A Dutch author, born at Amsterdam. In 1876 he was appointed ]irofessor of .fsthetics in the Art Academy at Amsterdam. From 1852 he edited the Volhs- almanak voor yrdrrlandschr KatJioUcken, and from 1855 De Pirt.iche Wnrnnde. devoted to the art and literature of the Middle Ages. He published newspaper criticisms, Drie Gedichten (1844), De Klok van Delft (IS46), Palet en Harp (1849), Yerspreide Vcrhalen in Pro^a (3 volumes, 1879-83), and other volumes. His prose fiction is considered his best work. Con- sult the biography by Van der Duys (1889).

ALBERIC I., ril'ber-ik (died 925). An adventurer, of Lombard extraction, who appeared in Rome in 889. He soon joined his fortunes with those of Berengar (q.v.), became Margrave of Camerino. and later Duke of Spoleto. He married ilarozia (q.v.) before 915, and in 916 joined John X. in expelling the Saracens, who had ter- rorized Italy for more than thirty years. For his services he was probably made "Consul of the Romans." Nothing definite is known of his later years; but he is said to have ruled Rome despot- ically for a time, to have been driven from the city, to have summoned the Hungarians to his aid, and to have been slain by the Romans about 925.

ALBERIC II. (?-954). The son of Alberie I. and ilarozia. In 932 he led the Romans in a successful attempt to achieve their indepen- dence, and was elected "prince and senator of all the Romans.'' I'ntil his death, in 954. he ruled the city absolutely, but wisely and mod- erately. He was succeeded by his son Octavian, who became Pope, as John XII., in 955.

ALBERONI, iil'ba-ro'ne, Gitxio, Caedixal I ]0(i4-17.'i2 I . An Italian prelate, minister of Philip V. of Spain. He was the son of a poor vine-dresser, and was born at Firenzuola, in Parma. From a chorister in a churcli at Piacenza, he quickly rose, through his abilities, to the dignity of chaplain and favorite of Count Roncovieri, Bishop of San Donino. After some diplomatic service in Italy and a visit to Paris, he was sent by the Duke of Parma as charge d'affaires to Madrid, where he speedily gained the favor of Philip V. He brought about the king's marriage to Elizabeth Farnese, overthrew the powerful Countess Orsini. and rapidly became grandee, cardinal, and prime minister (17171. Into the languid body of moribund Spain he infused new energy, invigorated her government, revived her commerce and her manufactures, reconstructed her ariny, rebuilt her fleet. But Alberoni was ambitious, and in order to gratify the covetous desires of Elizabeth Farnese, he suddenly invaded Sardinia, in violation of the Peace of Utrecht, cherishing the hope of reestablishing the monarchy of Charles V. and Philip II., and startling Europe by his insolent audacity. The regent of France broke olT his alliance with Spain, and united himself with England and Austria, Alberoni was not dismayed. Even when the Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean was destroyed by an English one, he contemplated an extensive war by land, in which all the European powers were to have been entangled. He patronized the Pretender, to annoy England, and the French Protestants, to annoy France. He sought to unite Peter the Great and Charles XII. with him. to plunge Austria into a war with the Turks. and to stir up an insurrection in Hungary; and, through his influence with one of the parties at the French court, he actually accomplished the arrest of the regent himself (the Duke of Orleans). But so universal became the complaints against Alberoni. that Philip lost courage, and made peace, agreeing to the dismissal of the Cardinal. In 1719 Alberoni