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ATAXY. ATAXY, See.

ATBARA, at-ba'ra, or The most northerly tributary of the Nile, rising at the northern end of Lake Tsana, in Abyssinia (Map: Africa, H 3). It flows northwest through the Nubian Desert, and enters the Nile in latitude 17° N., above Berber. Its most important tributaries are the Setit and Mareb. The Atbara is unavailable for navigation, but it is important on account of the large quantity of water it contributes to the Nile during the rainy season. In the dry season the Atbara is almost waterless, except for a few stagnant pools, unfit for drinking.

ATCHAFALAYA, ach'o-fa-U'yik. A river of Louisiana, having its source near the mouth of the Red River in Avoyelles Parish, and serving as an outlet for the Red and the Mississippi rivers during high water (Map: Louisiana, D 3). It flows south, and passing through Grand Lake, empties into Atchafalaya Bay. It is about 225 miles long and navigable for small boats for 218 miles.

ATCHEEN'. See.

ATCHIEVE'MENT. See.

ATCHINSK, a-chensk', or ACHINSK. The chief town of a district in the Yeniseisk Government, southern Siberia, on the Chulym River. It is on the road to Tomsk and on the Trans-Siberian Railway, 108 miles west of Krasnoyarsk. Population, in 1895, 9767.

ATCH'ISON. A city and county-seat of Atchison County, Kan., 49 miles northwest of Kansas City, Mo.; on the Missouri River, and on the Missouri Pacific, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and several other railroads (Map: Kansas, G 2). It is finely situated on the 'Great Bend' of the Missouri; is the seat of a State soldiers' orphans' home, and of Midland College (Lutheran), Saint Benedict's College (Roman Catholic), and Mount Saint Scholastica's Academy (Roman Catholic), and contains a public library, fine county court-house and Government building; Forest, City, and Central parks; and a noteworthy bridge across the river, some 1200 feet long. The Union Depot, erected at a cost of about $140,000, is among the prominent buildings of the city. Its exceptional facilities for transportation by rail and water have made Atchison one of the principal commercial cities of the State; it has an extensive trade in grain, lumber, live-stock, fruit, and general agricultural produce, and large wholesale interests in groceries, drugs, and hardware. Manufactures also are of importance, the industrial establishments including large grain elevators, flouring-mills, railroad shops, foundries, lumber-mills, furniture, broom, and harness factories, carriage works, and brick-yards. The government, under a charter of 1881, is vested in a mayor, elected every two years; a municipal council; and administrative officials, appointed by the mayor, subject to the confirmation of the city council. The school board is independently chosen by popular vote. Atchison was settled by the pro-slavery party in 1854, during the conflict between that party and the anti-slavery party for the control of Kansas, and was named in honor of Senator D. R. Atchison (q.v.). It was incorporated in 1858. Population, in 1890, 13,963; in 1900, 15,722.

ATCHISON, (1807-86). An American politician. He was born in Kentucky, removed to Missouri in 1830 and practiced law. In 1834, and again in 1838, he was a member of the State Legislature, and from 1843 to 1855 sat in the United States Senate, being president pro tempore in 1846-49, and in 1852-54. A slaveholder himself, he soon became conspicuous as a pro-slavery leader in the debates over the organization of Kansas and Nebraska, and in 1854 fought with Douglas for the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which involved the repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Returning to western Missouri in 1855, he there took an active part in the struggle (1856-57) between the pro-slavery and 'free state' parties for the control of Kansas, though for the most part he discountenanced violence and bloodshed.

ATE, a'te (Gk. 'ti^, Ate, bewilderment, in- fatuation, from aaeiv, aaein, to hurt, damage, infatuate). The blindness which leads men "to' ruin. Ate is seldom clearly personified. So in the legend of her deception of Zeus and expul- sion from heaven, Ave have scarcely more than allegory, and even in the Greek tragedy Ate is very rarely more than a quality.

ATELIERS NATIONAUX, a'te-lya' na'syo'-no'. See.

AT'ELLA'NÆ (Lat. Fabulæ Atellanæ, the Atellan fables, farces; also styled Ludi Osci, the Oscan plays). A kind of popular drama in Rome, first introduced from Atella, a town in Campania, between Capua and Naples. After the Greek drama had been brought to Rome by Livius Andronicus, the old Fabulæ Atellanæ were still retained as interludes and after-pieces. They are not to be confounded with the Greek satiric drama, although the character of both was to some extent the same. In the latter, satyrs figured, while the former personated real Oscan characters. The Maccus and Bucco of the Fabulæ Atellanæ may be considered the origin of the modern Italian arlecchino (harlequin), and other characters of the same stamp. They were the favorite characters, spoke the Oscan dialect, and excited laughter by its quaint, old-fashioned words and phrases, the Atellanæ were neither so dignified as the comœdia prætextata, nor so low as the comœdia tabernaria, but indulged in a kind of genial and decent drollery. The caricature was at first always pleasant, and, though quizzical, it did not lapse into obscenity, like the mimi. Respectable Roman youths, who could not appear as actors in the regular Greek drama without losing caste, were allowed to take part in the Atellanæ. A few fragments in these popular farces have been collected by Ribbeck in his Comicorum Romanorum Fragmenta (Leipzig, 1874). Also consult Munk, De Fabuilis Atellanis (Leipzig, 1840).

A TEMPO, ii tem'po (It., to, or in time). A term used in music to denote that, after some short change in the time, the performer must return to the original tempo.

ATEUCHEUS SACER, a-tu'kiis sa'ser. See.

ATH, at, or AATH. A town in the Province of Hainault, Belgium, situated on the navigable Dender, 14 miles northwest of Mons (Map: Belgium. B 4). It has a hospital and college, and