Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/506

AMBER-FISH. anglers. For further discussion and illustration, see.

AMBERG, am'borK. The old capital of the Tapper Palatinate in Bavaria, 35 miles east of Nuremberg and 32 north of Ratisbon (Map: Bavaria, D 4 ). It is situated on both sides of the Vils, and is well built. The ancient walls are noAV transformed into shady avenues. Amberg is the seat of the court of appeal for the district, possesses a library of 34,000 volumes, a lyceura, an agricultural and industrial school, a munici- pal hospital, a house of correction, etc. There is also a royal factory for the manufacture of arms. The Jirincipal products are earthenware, woolen cloths, ironmongery, and beer. Near Am- berg, Archduke Charles defeated the French un- der .lonrdau on August 24, 1796. Pop., 1890, 19,000: in 1900, 22,000.

AMBERGER, -iraljerK-er, Ciiristoph (c. 1500- c. 1501?). A German painter. He was received into the Augsburg guild in 1530, and is best known for his careful portraits of contempora- ries, particularly those of Charles V., Frunds- berg, and the geographer iliinster. Various altar-pieces by hiui are in Augsburg churches.

AMBERGRIS, amTier-gi-es (Fr. ainlre gris, gray amber; Ar. 'anbar). Also spelled amherghse and (tmhergrcase. A fatty secretion formed in the bowels of some sperm whales (q.v.), and valued as a material for perfume. It is taken from whales directly, but more is found floating in waters (especially of the tropics) frequented by these cetaceans, or cast upon the beaches in lumps of all sizes up to a mass exceeding 200 pounds in weight. It is lighter than water, gray marbled with blackish in color, opaque and waxy in consistency, softens readily under heat, melting into resinous liquid at 145° F., and develops on exposure to the air a sweet, "earthy" odor in place of its disagreeable smell when first taken from a whale. Chemically, it is soluble in oils, but resists acids; and it dissolves readily in hot alcohol, yielding a substance termed ambrein. As this is closely related chemically to known biliary secretions, it is further evidence that ambergris is of this nature, perhaps induced by, and partaking of, the squids upon which the" sperm whale largely feeds, remains of whose beaks are frequently found mixed with it. Like other bezoars and substances of mysterious origin, ambergris was formerly regarded as an efHcacious medicine, but its virtues were imaginary, and it is no longer used in pharmacy, nor as a flavor in cookery, except among a few barbarians of the East. It has a high commercial value, however, as a material for the manufacture of various perfumes, and the price is increasing, owing to the increasing rarity of the &perni whale, and a growing demand. Hence it is adulterated and imitated; a test of its genuineness is described as "its solubility in hot alcohol, its fragiant odor, and its uniform fatty con- sistence on being penetrated by a hot wire."

AM'BER ISLANDS, or Electrides. In later Greek gei>j;rai)hy. the islands, famed for their amber, in the North Sea, from Denmark to the mouth of the Rhine. Also certain islands at the mouth of the legendary river Eridanus (the Po).

AMBERT, liN'bAr', Jo.^niiM JIarie .Jean Jacques (1804-90). A French general and writer. He was born at Chillas, near Cahors (Lot), and was educated at St. Cyr. He served in the Spanisli and Belgian campaigns, distin- guished liimself in Algeria, and became brigadier- general in Europe. He traveled extensively in Eurojje and .4merica, and for some time was a contributor to L'Aheille, a French journal pub- lished at New Orleans. Among his numerous writings are: Etudes tactiques (18U5), Bistoire de la guerre cle 1810-71 (1873), Les soldats fraiiQais (1878-82), Claulois et gcnnains, recits militaires ( 1884-80).

AM'BER WITCH, The. An English opera by V. V. Wallace, the text being by H. F. Chor- ley, first presented at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, February 28, 1801. Its incidents are based on those of a German story by Meinhold (1843).

AM'BIGU'ITY (Lat. iimhigiius, going about hither and thither, uncertain, doubtful). In law, the duplicity or uncertainty of meaning of a word, clause, or other part of a written instru- ment. The rule of evidence forbidding the ad- mission of parol evidence to contradict, vary, or explain a written document is subject to the important exception that parol evidence may be introduced for the purpose of explaining an ambiguit.v in a written instrument. Ambiguities are "patent" and "latent." A patent ambigu- ity is one which appears on the face of an in- strument without referring to any intrinsic fact or circumstance. Thiis, if a testator after refer- ring in liis will to two persons named John, made a bequest to John, the term of the bequest would constitute a patent ambiguity. A latent ambigu- ity is one which is disclosed only by the proof of extrinsic facts. TIius, if a testator made a be- (juest to a person, naming or otherwise describ- ing him, and it appeared extrinsically that there were two persons answering the description, the terms of the bequest would constitute a latent ambiguity. It is sometimes said that parol evi- dence cannot be introduced to explain a latent ambiguity. While the judicial decisions are not altogether harmonious, the weight of authority does not favor such a rule. See the authorities named under the titles Contract, ill, and Evidence.

AMBI'ORIX. A chief of the Eburones in Belgic Gaul, who fought against Julius Cfesar in 54 B.C. By cunning and strategy he defeated one important" Roman garrison and massacred every man : but while on the march to another camp, he enc<mntered Csesar himself, who easily defeated him, though Ambiorix with a few men escaped into the forests.

AMBI'TIOXTS STEP'MOTHER, The. A tragedy by Nicholas Rowe, produced and printed in 1700. The scene is laid in Persepolis.

AM'BLER,, (1848-81). An American surgeon, born in Fauquier Co., Va., and educated at the medical college of the University of Maryland. He volunteered as surgeon to the Jeannette Arctic expedition in 1879 (see ), and was in the first cutter with De Long when the officers and crew left the sinking vessel (June 13, 1881). His body was found March 23. 1882, and buried on Mjnument Hill, on the Lena Delta, where a pyramidal structure of stone and timber was erected to the memory of the explorers.

AM'BLESIDE. A town in the heart of the English lake district, Westmoreland; a favorite