his vocation, and he cannot be anything | these few years that astrological predic else. If he becomes half labourer and half cultivator, he runs a risk of failing in both capacities; and if he becomes a cultivator on a small scale, and with insufficient capital, he must enter into competition in the market with those who can produce cheaper than himself; or he must confine himself to a bare subsistence from his ground, with little or nothing| to give in exchange for those things which he wants and cannot produce himself. ALLOY. [COINAGE.] " ALMANAČ. The derivation of this word has given some trouble to grammarians. The most rational derivation appears to be from the two Arabic words al, the article, and mana or manah, to count. An almanac, in the modern sense of the word, is an annual publication, giving the civil divisions of the year, the moveable and other feasts, and the times of the various astronomical phenomena, including not only those which are remarkable, such as the eclipses of the moon or sun, but also those of a more ordinary and useful character, such as the places of the sun, moon, and planets, the position of the principal fixed stars, the times of high and low water, and such information relative to the weather as observation has hitherto furnished. The agricultural, political, and statistical information which is usually contained in popular almanacs, though as valuable a part of the work as any, is comparatively of modern date. It is impossible that any country in which astronomy was at all cultivated could be long without an almanac of some species. Accordingly we find the first astronomers of every age and country employed, either in their construction or improvement. The belief in astrology, which has prevailed throughout the East from time immemorial, rendered almanacs absolutely necessary, as the very foundation of the pretended science consisted in an accurate knowledge of the state of the heavens. With the almanacs, if indeed they had them not before, the above-mentioned absurdities were introduced into the West, and it is only within tions have not been contained in nine almanacs out of ten. It is not known what were the first almanacs published in Europe. That the Alexandrine Greeks constructed them in or after the time of Ptolemy, appears from an account of Theon, the celebrated commentator upon the Almagest, in a manuscript found by M. Delambre at Paris, in which the method of arranging them is explained, and the proper materials pointed out. It is impossible to suppose that at any period almanacs were uncommon: but in the dearth of books whose names have come down to us, the earliest of which Lalande, an indefatigable bibliographer, could obtain any notice, are those of Solomon Jarchus, published in and about 1150, and of the celebrated Purbach, published 1450-1461. The almanacs of Regiomontanus, said by Bailly, in his History of Astronomy,' to have been the first ever published, but which it might be more correct to say ever printed, appeared between 1475 and 1506, since which time we can trace a continued chain of such productions. (Bibliographie Astronomique of Lalande, and Hutton's Mathematical Dictionary, article Ephemeris.') The almanacs of Regiomontanus, which simply contained the eclipses and the places of the planets, were sold, it is said, for ten crowns of gold. An almanac for 1442, in manuscript, we presume, is preserved in the Bibliothèque du Roi at Paris. The almanacs of Engel of Vienna were published from 1494 to 1500, and those of Bernard de Granolachs of Barcelona, from about 1487. There are various manuscript almanacs of the fourteenth century in the libraries of the British Museum, and of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The first astronomical almanacs published in France were those of Duret de Montbrison, in 1637, which series continued till 1700. But there must have been previous publications of some similar description; for, in 1579, an ordonnance of Henry III. forbade all makers of almanacs to prophesy, directly or indirectly, concerning the affairs either of the state or of individuals. In England James I. granted a monopoly of the trade in almanacs to the Universities and to the Stationers' Company, and under their patronage astrology flourished till beyond the middle of the last century, but not altogether unopposed; the humorous attack of Swift, under the name of Bickerstaff, upon Partridge's almanac, is well known, both from the amusement which the public derived from the controversy and the perpetuation of the assumed surname in the Tatler.' But though Swift stopped the mouth of Partridge, he could not destroy the corporation under whose direction the almanac was published. The Stationers' Company (for the Universities were only passive, having accepted an annuity from their colleagues, and resigned any active exercise of their privilege) found another Partridge, as good a prophet as his predecessor; nor have we been without one to this day. The Stationers' Company appears to have acted from a simple desire to give people that which would sell, whether astrological or not; and not from any peculiar turn for prophecy inherent in the corporation. Thus even in 1624 they issued at the same time the usual predictions in one almanac, and undisguised contempt of them in another, apparently to suit all tastes. The almanac of Allstree, published in the above-mentioned year, calls the supposed influence of the moon upon different members of the body "heathenish," and dissuades from astrology in the following lines, which make up in sense for their want of elegance and rhythm: "Let every philomathy (i. e. mathematician) argument by Erskine in favour of the public, the House rejected the ministerial project by a majority of 45. The absurdity and even indecency of some of these productions were fully exposed by Erskine; but the defeated monopolists managed to regain the exclusive market by purchasing the works of their competitors. The astrological and other predictions still continued; but it is some extenuation that the public, long used to predictions of the deaths of princes and falls of rain, refused to receive any almanacs which did not contain their favourite absurdities. It is said (Baily, Further remarks on the defective state of the Nauticul Almanac, &c., p. 9) that the Stationers' Company once tried the experiment of partially reconciling Francis Moore and common sense, by no greater step than omitting the column of the moon's influence on the parts of the human body, and that most of the copies were returned upon their hands. For more detail upon the contents of former almanacs, see the Companion to the Almanac for 1829, and also the London Magazine of December, 1828, and Journal of Education, No. V. The British Almanac' was published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in 1828. Its success induced the Stationers' Company to believe that the public would no longer refuse a good almanac because it only predicted purely astronomical phenomena, and they accordingly published the Englishman's Almanac,' which is unexceptionable. Other almanacs have diminished the quantity and tone of their objectionable parts. Of the professedly astronomical almaIn 1775 a blow was struck which nacs the most important in England is demolished the legal monopoly. One the Nautical Almanac,' published by Thomas Carnan, a bookseller, whose the Admiralty for the use both of astroname deserves honourable remembrance, nomers and seamen. This work was had some years before detected or pre- projected by Dr. Maskelyne, then Astrosumed the illegality of the exclusive nomer Royal, and first appeared in 1767. right, and invaded it accordingly. The The employment of lunar distances in cause came before the Court of Common finding the longitude, of the efficacy of Pleas in the year above mentioned, and which method Maskelyne had satisfied was there decided against the Company. himself in a voyage to St. Helena, reLord North, in 1779, brought a bill into quired new tables, which should give the the House of Commons to renew and distances of the moon from the sun and legalize the privilege, but, after an able principal fixed stars, for intervals of a few hours at most. By the zeal of Dr. Maskelyne, aided by the government, the project was carried into effect, and it continued under his superintendence for forty-eight years. During this time it received the highest encomiums from all foreign authorities, for which see the French Encyclopædie, art. Almanach,' and the Histories of Montucla and Delambre. From 1774 to 1789 the French 'Connoissance des Tems' borrowed its lunar distances from the English almanac. On the death of Maskelyne it did not continue to improve, and, without absolutely falling off, was inadequate to the wants either of seamen or astronomers. From the year 1820, various complaints were made of it in print. It was latterly stated that officers employed in surveys were obliged to have recourse to foreign almanacs for what could not be obtained in their own; that Berlin, Coimbra, and even Milan were better provided with the helps of navigation; and, finally, that the calculations were not made from the best and most improved tables. In consequence of these complaints, which were almost universally allowed by astronomers to contain a great deal of truth, the government, in 1830, requested the opinion of the Astronomical Society upon the subject, and the Report of the Committee appointed by that body, which may be found in the fourth volume of their Transactions, is a sufficient proof of the opinion of practical astronomers on the previous state of the work. The alterations proposed by the Society were entirely adopted by the government, and the first almanac containing them was that for 1834. The contents of the old "Nautical Almanac' may be found in the Companion to the Almanac for 1829. We subjoin a list of the principal alterations and additions which appear in the new work: 1. The substitution of mean for apparent time throughout, the sun's right ascension and declination being given for both mean and apparent noon. 2. The addition of the mean time of transit of the first point of Aries, or the beginning of the sidereal day. 3. The moon's right ascension and declination given for every hour, instead of every twelve hours. We must mention however that the intervals of twelve hours were diminished to three hours in the 'Nautical Almanac' for 1833, by Mr. Pond, the Astronomer Royal. 4. The distances of the moon from the planets for every three hours. 5. The time of contact of Jupiter's satellites and their shadows with the planet. 6. Logarithms of the quantities which vary from day to day, used in the reduction of the fixed stars. 7. Lists of stars which come on the meridian nearly with the moon; of occultations of the planets and stars by the moon, visible at Greenwich. 8. The places of the old planets for every day at noon, instead of every tenth day; and those of the four small planets for every fourth day, which were previously not mentioned at all. 9. The 60 stars, whose places were given for every ten days, are increased to 100. 10. The number of lunar distances given is very much increased. Besides these principal alterations, there is a large number of minor additions, tending for the most part to save labour in calculation; and the extent to which the results have been carried is materially enlarged. Any errata discovered in any mathematical tables which are generally or even occasionally of use, will be published in the 'Nautical Almanac,' if communicated by the finder. This country was forestalled in most of the important changes just mentioned, by the Berlin Ephemeris,' published under the superintendence of Professor Encke. Its predecessor, the Astronomisches Jahrbuch,' was conducted for fifty years by the celebrated Bode; and was entirely remodelled by Encke in 1830. Of other works of the same kind, published on the Continent, those of Coimbra and Milan are among the most valuable; the latter was commenced in 1755, by M. de Cæsaris; we have not been able to learn the date of the first establishment of the former. The oldest national astronomical almanac is the French Connoissance des Tems,' published at present under the superintendence of the Bureau des Longitudes at Paris. It was commenced in manacs to evade the law, that unstamped alwere circulated in as large numbers as those which paid the tax. It is stated in the Report of the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry that 200 new almanacs were published as soon as the duty was repealed, of some of which upwards of 250,000 copies were sold, although the old ones not only maintained, but, in some cases, doubled their circulation. The most marked effect of the repeal of the duty is perhaps the improvement in the character of almanacs. 1679 by Picard, and continued by him till 1684. It then passed through the hands of various astronomers, till 1760, when the conduct of it was given to Lalande, who, besides other alterations, first introduced the lunar distances, which At prehave been already alluded to. sent the plan is very similar to that of the new 'Nautical Almanac,' with the addition of very valuable original memoirs which appear yearly. In fact we may say generally, that the original contributions to the various continental almanacs are among their most valuable parts; and, as Professor Airy remarks, 'Reports of the British Association,' &c., p. 128, "In fact nearly all the astronomy of the pre-household, whose business it was to dissent century is to be found in these works," that is, in certain periodicals which are mentioned," or in the 'Ephemerides' of Berlin, Paris, or Milan." ALMONER, once written Aumner and Amner, was an officer in a king's, prince's, prelate's, or other great man's tribute alms to the poor. Previous to The Next to the 'Nautical Almanac,' the private publication which is most entitled to notice as an astronomical almanac is White's Ephemeris,' a work which is nearly as old as the monopoly previously described. For many years past, this publication has given astronomical data sufficient to enable the seaman to find his 'Fleta,' a law treatise of the time of latitude and time. The Gentleman's Diary,' commenced in 1741, and the Edward I., describes the duties of the 'Ladies' Diary,' in 1705, have power-high almoner as they then stood in Engfully aided in keeping up a mathematical taste, to a certain extent, throughout the country, by annually proposing problems for competition: several, who have afterwards become celebrated in mathematics, have commenced their career by the solution of these problems. land (ii. c. 23). He had to collect the fragments of the royal table, and distribute them daily to the poor; to visit the sick, poor widows, prisoners, and other persons in distress; he reminded the king about the bestowal of his alms, especially on saints'-days, and was careful that the cast-off robes, which were often of high price, should not be bestowed on players, minstrels, or flatterers, but their value given to increase the king's charity. The duty on almanacs was abolished in August, 1834, by 3 & 4 William IV. c. 57. The stamp was fifteen pence on each almanac. The average number of In modern times the office of lord high stamps issued between 1821 and 1830 inclusive, was about 499,000 yearly, pro-almoner has been long held by the archducing an average revenue of about 31,000l. The largest number of almanacs stamped in any one year during the above period was 528,254 in 1821, and the smallest number was 444,474 in 1830; and in 1833, the year before the duty was abolished, the amount of duty was only 26,1647. The tax prevented the free competition of respectable publishers in almanacs, and tempted so many persons bishops of York. There is also a subalmoner, an office which is at present filled by the dean of Chester. The hereditary grand almoner is the Marquis of Exeter. There is an office appropriated to the business of the almonry in Middle Scotland Yard, Whitehall. Chamberlayne, in the Present State of Great Britain,' octavo, London, 1755, gives an account of the lord almoner's office as it then stood. "The lord almoner disposes of the king's alms, and for that use receives (besides other monies allowed by the king) all deodands and bona felonum de se to be that way disposed. Moreover, the lord almoner hath the privilege to give the king's dish to whatsoever poor men he pleases; that is, the first dish at dinner which is set upon the king's table, or instead thereof 4d. per diem. Next he distributes to twenty-four poor men, nominated by the parishioners of the parish adjacent to the king's palace of residence, to each of them 4d. in money, a twopenny loaf, and a gallon of beer, or, instead thereof, 3d. in money, to be equally divided among them every morning at seven of the clock at the court-gate; and every poor man, before he receives the alms, to repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer in the presence of one of the king's chaplains, deputed by the lord almoner to be his sub-almoner; who is also to scatter new-coined twopences in the towns and places where the king passeth through in his progress, to a certain sum by the year. Besides there are many poor pensioners to the king and queen below stairs, that is, such as are put to pension, either because they are so old that they are unfit for service, or else the widows of such of his majesty's household servants that died poor, and were not able to provide for their wives and children in their lifetimes: every one of these hath a competency duly paid them. Under the lord high almoner there are a sub-almoner, a yeoman, and two grooms of the almonry." The lord almoner's annual distribution is now made in the queen's name, on the Thursday before Easter, called Maundy Thursday. There is at Cambridge the lord almoner's professorship of Arabic, founded in 1770. The professor is appointed by the lord almoner, and is paid out of the almonry funds. The grand almoner of the king of France was once the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in that kingdom. To him belonged the distribution of the royal bounty to the poor, the superintendence of all houses in the kingdom for the reception of poor foreigners, and houses of | lepers; the king received the sacrament from his hand; and he said mass before the king in all great ceremonies and solemnities. At the establishment of the imperial household in 1804, Napoleon restored the office of grand almoner of France in the person of Cardinal Fesch: and the office was continued till the exile of Charles X. Ducange, in his Glossary (Eleemosynarii'), gives other meanings of the word almoner. It was sometimes used for those who distributed the pious bequests of others; sometimes for a person who by testament left alms to the poor; and sometimes for the poor upon whom the alms were bestowed. The eleemosynarii regis, or persons who were supported by the king's bounty, occasionally noticed in the Domesday Survey, were of this last description. Almoner is a name also given in ecclesiastical writers to the deacons of churches. ALMS-HOUSE, an edifice, or collection of tenements, built by a private person, and endowed with a revenue for the maintenance of a certain number of poor, aged, or disabled people. England is the only country which possesses almshouses in abundance, though many such exist in Italy. In England, they appear to have succeeded the incorporated hospitals for the relief of poor and impotent people, which were dissolved by King Henry VIII. The rules for the govern ment of alms-houses are those which the founder has made or empowered others to make. Alms-houses belong to that class of endowments which are comprehended under the name of Charities. AMBASSADOR (directly from the French Ambassadeur), is the term commonly used to designate every kind of diplomatic ininister or agent. The word ambassador is sometimes written with an E, a form which the English always use in the word Embassy. Spelman derives Ambassador from Ambactus, a word used by Cæsar (Gallic War, vi. 15, ⚫ Ambactos clientesque'). The various forms in which the word Ambassador has been written are collected in Webster's English Dictionary, art. Embassador.' An ara bassador may be defined to be a person sent by one sovereign power to another to |