a hospital at Guildford, which bears his name. He was a worthy man, but had neither knowledge, large-heartedness, nor tact suffi

cient for his office.

Heylin, Cyprianus Anglicanus;

Spelman's

Apologie for Archbishop Abbot, 1727; Abbot's Narrative in Rushworth, Historical Collections, vol. i. See also Hook, Lives of the Archbishops, vol. v., new series. There is a good portrait in the hall of University College, Oxford.

[M. C.] Abbott, CHARLES. [TENTERDEN, LORD.] Abdication. [CROWN.]

Abel, THOMAS (d. July 30, 1540), chaplain to Catherine of Arragon, strongly opposed the divorce of that princess; and was attainted for his share in the affair of Elizabeth Barton, and found guilty of misprision of treason. He was subsequently imprisoned and executed for denying the king's supremacy, and affirming the legality of the marriage with Catherine. He carved the famous punning inscription (an A upon a bell) on the walls of the Beauchamp Tower in the Tower of London.

Archeologia, xiii. 93.

Abercorn, PEERAGE OF. In 1603 James Hamilton, Master of Paisley, grandson of James Hamilton, second Earl of Arran and Duke of Chatelherault [DOUGLAS; HAMILTON], was created Baron Abercorn, and in 1606 Larl of Abercorn. John James, ninth Earl, was created Marquis of Abercorn in 1790, and his successor James (b. 1811), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1866-68, and 1874-76; was created Duke of Abercorn and Marquis of Hamilton, Aug. 10, 1868. The title is derived from the CASTLE OF ABERCORN in Linlithgowshire, a stronghold of the Douglases, taken by James II. in the Douglas rebellion of 1455. Abercorn was the seat of one of the earliest monasteries in Scotland, and of a Pictish bishopric.

Abercromby, SIR RALPH (b. 1734, d. 1801), born at Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, entered the army as cornet in a dragoon regiment in 1756, and was gazetted to a colonelcy in 1781. He had, however, seen scarcely any active service, on account of his opposition to the government while in the House of Commons, and the sympathy he manifested for the American Colonies. In 1793 he commanded a brigade under the Duke of York in Holland, and was wounded at Nimeguen. In the winter of 1794-5 he showed great skill in protecting, as far as possible, the British forces during their disastrous retreat. After the close of this expedition, he was appointed commanderin-chief of the forces in the West Indies. He returned in 1797, and held the chief command in Ireland during that and the following year. There he showed much talent in re-organising an undisciplined army, as well as statesmanlike tact. Thwarted, however, by the Irish government, he reluctantly resigned his office,

and accepted the chief command in Scotland, whence he was called to serve again in the disastrous expedition to Holland under the Duke of York. In 1801 he was appointed to command the expedition against the French in Egypt. With wonderful skill and daring he disembarked his forces at Aboukir in the face of the French army. On March 21, the two armies met near Alexandria. Abercromby gained a complete victory; but the battle, which saved Egypt from the French, cost the English the life of their commander. In acknowledgment of Sir Ralph Abercromby's services, his widow was created a Peeress of the United Kingdom, with the style and title of Baroness Abercromby of Aboukir. The Her title descended to her eldest son. third son, James, Judge-Advocate-General, 1827, Speaker of the House of Commons, 1835-39, was created Lord Danfermline of Dunfermline in 1839. [ALEXANDRIA, BATTLE OF.]

Lord Dunfermline, Sir R. Abercromby: a Memoir, 1861; Alison, History of Europe. [W. R. S.] Aberdeen, was an important place even before its elevation to a city in the twelfth century. It was made a royal burgh by William the Lion, and received a charter from Robert Bruce in 1319. The University was founded in 1494 by Bishop Elphinstone, and Marischal College by George Keith, Earl Marischal, about a century later. They were united in 1860. In 1336 the greater portion of the town was burnt by the English, and when rebuilt was called New Aberdeen.

Aberdeen, PEERAGE OF. In 1682 Sir John Gordon of Haddo, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, was created Earl of Aberdeen in the peerage of Scotland. George, fourth Earl, was made a peer of the United Kingdom in 1813, and in 1818, on his marriage with Lady Catherine Hamilton, assumed the additional surname and arms of Hamilton.

Aberdeen, GEORGE HAMILTON-GORDON, 4TH EARL OF (b. 1784, d. 1860), in 1801 began his diplomatic life as attaché to Lord Cornwallis at Paris when engaged in negotiating the peace of Amiens. In 1806 he was elected a representative peer of Scotland. In 1813 he was employed on a mission to induce Austria to break with Napoleon, and in this he was highly successful. He followed the allied armies; was present at Lutzen, Bautzen, and Leipzig; was employed to detach Murat from Napoleon; and was the colleague of Lord Castlereagh at the Congress of Chatillon. He took no further share in public life until 1827-28, when he was offered the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster by the Duke of Wellington with a seat in the Cabinet, and shortly after was promoted to the Foreign Office. In this capacity he took a prominent share in the management of the Greek question, and the formation of the Hellenic Kingdom, recognised by the

Porte in 1829. In general, however, he was in favour of a policy of neutrality in continental questions. He recognised Louis Philippe immediately; he refused to employ the English power to dispossess Don Miguel of the crown of Portugal; and he strongly objected to the Quadruple Alliance which Lord Palmerston negotiated. His first tenure of office ended in 1830. He was Colonial Secretary under Sir R. Peel in 1834-35, and Foreign Secretary to the same statesman in 1841. He assisted in carrying the repeal of the Corn Laws and the commercial reforms of Peel, and on the death of that statesman he became the acknowledged head of his party. When in succession both Whigs and Tories had failed to carry on the government, and there was no course left but to apply to the Peelites, Lord Aberdeen was invited to form a government, 1852. He formed a coalition ministry, embracing "men of all parties, from the extreme Tory to the extreme Radical." It was his misfortune to be met by the complications in foreign politics which led to the Crimean War. It was thought at the time, and the opinion has been frequently expressed since, that a greater display of vigour on the part of the ministry might have averted the war. The mismanagement of the campaign completed the unpopularity of the ministry. On January 25th, 1855, Mr. Roebuck moved for a select committee to inquire into the state of the army and the conduct of the war. On the motion being carried Lord Aberdeen resigned, and during the remainder of his life took no further share in public affairs. In his home policy Lord Aberdeen represented the advanced section of the Conservatives, regarding Catholic Emancipation and the repeal of the Corn Laws as advantageous measures rather than as necessary evils. In foreign politics he was the advocate of the principles of friendship with foreign powers, and non-intervention, which he perhaps attempted to apply too indiscriminately. Lord Aberdeen, "the travelled thane, Athenian Aberdeen," of Byron's English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, was an accomplished scholar, specially learned in Hellenic antiquities.

The policy and administration of Lord Aberdeen are discussed in Kinglake, Invasion of the Crimea, esp. ii. 62.

Aberdeen Doctors, was the name given, in 1638-9, to six clergymen of Aberdeen-John Forbes, Robert Bacon, Alexander Ross, William Leslie, Alexander Scrogie, and James Sibbold-who strenuously opposed the compulsory administration to all persons of the oath to preserve the Solemn League and Covenant.

Spalding, Memorials, i. 98, &c.; and Burton, Hist. of Scotland, vi. cap. lxxii.

Abergavenny, PEERAGE OF. Nov. 23, 1392, William Beauchamp was summoned to Parliament by writ as Lord Bergavenny or Abergavenny. The peerage passed to a

branch of the Neville family on the marriage of Sir Edward Neville (second son of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, by Joan, daughter of John of Gaunt) with Elizabeth, heiress of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, Baron Bergavenny. George, fifteenth Baron, was created Earl in 1784, aud William, fifth Earl, was advanced to the dignity of Marquis in 1876. [NEVILLE.]

Abergavenny, GEORGE NEVILLE, 3rd BARON (d. 1536), was one of the nobles arrested in 1502 on suspicion of being engaged in a conspiracy with Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk. He was, however, soon restored to liberty, and eventually came into great favour with Henry VII. and Henry VIII. During the Cornish revolt of 1497, it was partly owing to Lord Abergavenny's local influence that the insurgents met with no encouragement from the people of Kent.

Abergavenny, HENRY NEVILLE, 4th BARON (d. 1587), who was supposed to favour the insurgents in 1554, finally declared for Mary, and defeated the rebels at Wrotham Heath (q.v.). He was one of the commissioners at the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1586.

Abhorrers (1679), was the name given to the adherents of the court party, who, on petitions being presented to the king, praying him to summon Parliament for January, 1680, signed counter-petitions, expressing abhorrence for those who were attempting to encroach on the royal prerogative. [See PETITIONERS.] It is said that the names Whig and Tory, as party designations, were first used in the disputes between the Petitioners and Abhorrers.

Burnet, History of His Own Time, ii. 238; Rapin, Hist. of Eng. ii. 712; Macaulay, Hist. of Eng. i. 258.

Abingdon Abbey Chronicle, THF, is a well-preserved record which narrates the history of the great Benedictine monastery of Abingdon. It extends from the foundation of the abbey in 675 to the accession of Richard I. in 1189. It is specially useful for the light it throws on social history, on the relations of the clergy to the laity, on the state of society before the Norman Conquest, and on the details of the changes produced by that event.

The Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon has been printed in the Rolls Series, 1858, with valuable introductions by Mr. Stevenson.

Abingdon, PEERAGE OF. In 1572 Sir Henry Norris, who was ambassador to France the preceding year, and son of the Si Henry Norris beheaded in 1536 for alleged criminality with Anne Boleyn, was created Baron Norris of Ryecote. He was the father of the distinguished military commander, Si John Norris. His grandson, Francis, wa created Earl of Berkshire in 1620, but die the same year, and the Berkshire peerage

expired. The Norris peerage descended by the female line to James Bertie, who was created Earl of Abingdon in 1682. This nobleman commanded the Oxfordshire Militia against the Duke of Monmouth on the latter's invasion of England. He, however, opposed James II.'s action in religious matters, and was the first English peer to join William.

Abinger, JAMES SCARLETT, LORD (b. 1769, d. 1844), the second son of Robert Scarlett of Jamaica, after gaining great reputation as an advocate, entered Parliament in 1818 as member for Peterborough. He resisted the plans of Castlereagh and Vansittart for increased taxation, and supported Romilly and Mackintosh in their attempts to ameliorate the Penal Code. He also unsuccessfully endeavoured to bring in a bill for amending the Poor Laws. In 1827, when Mr. Canning sought the assistance of the Whigs, Mr. Scarlett became Attorney-General. He now gradually drifted over to Conservatism. He retained his office under Lord Goderich, and, on the dismissal of Sir Charles Wetherell by the Duke of Wellington, took office again under the latter. In 1830 he resigned with his party. In 1834 he was made Chief Baron by Sir R. Peel, and raised to the peerage.

Foss, The Judges of England.

Abjuration Oath, THE (1701), was a pledge of renunciation of the exiled Stuart dynasty, exacted from time to time after the Revolution of 1688. It first appears in 1690, embodied in a proposed "Act for the further security of his Majesty's person, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales, and all other pretenders and their abettors." Every person who held any office, civil, military, or spiritual, was to solemnly abjure the exiled king; the oath of abjuration might be tendered by any justice of the peace to any subject of their Majesties; and, if it were refused, the recusant might be sent to prison, to lie there as long as he continued obstinate. The influence of William caused this bill to be rejected, as well as a less severe measure, imposing a declaration on all office-holders that they would stand by William and Mary against James and James's adherents. In the last year of the reign, after Louis XIV. had acknowledged the Pretender, it was again introduced in the "Act for the further security of his Majesty's person, and the succession of the crown in the Protestant line." After a long debate in the Commons, the abjuration oath was made compulsory; but the provision was only carried by a majority of one. William gave his assent to the measure on his death-bed. On the accession of Anne a new Act was passed, applying the oath to the new reign. The oath was taken freely by the Tories, and even by noted Jacobites, the Pretender having, it was said, sent instructions to that effect to his adherents. It was renewed on the occasion of the union

with Scotland, when the Scottish clergy petitioned against it, but without result. The bill was subsequently re-introduced on the accession of George I., and on the death of the old Pretender (1766). The oath was not finally abolished until 1858. "The definition of persons required to take the Abjuration Oath," says Mr. Burton, "is an attempt, and a successful attempt, to exhaust the gentry and the educated community." It includes the holders of all public offices, members of the universities, and all teachers, clergymen, and legal practitioners; and as a general remedy of omissions, the oath might be tendered "to any person or persons whatsoever."

Burnet, Hist. of his Own Time; Burton, Reign of Queen Anne; Stanhope, Reign of Queen Anne; Macaulay, Hist. of Eng. [L. C. S.]

66

Abjuration Oath for Scotland, THE (1662), was imposed on all persons holding public office, and consisted, among other abjurations, of a declaration that the Covenant and are of themselves unlawful oaths, League and were taken by and imposed upon the subjects of this kingdom against the fundamental laws and liberties of the same." The oath was modified in 1716, when it became a simple declaration of allegiance to the Hanover settlement and a renunciation of the Stuarts. [COVENANT.]

Abjuration of the Realm, was the oath to quit the country, which might be enforced on any person guilty of felony who had taken advantage of the privilege of sanctuary. Such a person was bound to leave the kingdom within thirty days, and if he returned he might be put to death. The practice was abolished, in company with the privilege of sanctuary, by James I., cap. 28. [SANCTUARY.] By a statute passed in the 35th year of Elizabeth, Protestant Dissenters who had failed to attend divine service, and Roman Catholics, might be compelled to abjure the realm, and if they refused, or returned without license, they were adjudged felons, and might be hanged. Dissenters were relieved of the necessity of abjuration by the Act of Toleration; but so far as regards Roman Catholics, it was not finally removed from the Statute Book till 1791.

to contribute two-thirds of their means to the defence of Ireland. In 1413 all Irishmen were, with the same object, ordered to leave England, and were excluded from the Inns of Court. In Henry VI.'s reign, legislation against absenteeism was also frequent. James II. in 1689 summoned all absentees to join him. Under George I., absenteeism having much increased, in 1729 an absentee-tax of four shillings in the pound was imposed on all moneys paid out of Ireland; but the king being allowed to grant exemptions, it did not do much good. In 1767, this law was renewed, and the exemptions done away with, or, at least, only maintained for members of the royal family and distinguished officers. But an attempt to increase the tax in 1773 had to be given up, owing to the opposition it aroused in England. In 1783, a like attempt failed in Ireland. In 1796, an absentee-tax was defeated in the Irish Parliament by English influence, and after that no such measure was mooted, though the evil continued to increase. In 1779, Arthur Young estimated the amount of rent annually sent out of the country, at £732,000.

Almost every Irish historian, statesman, and economist, has had something to say on the subject of absenteeism. The reader will find it referred to, at some length, in Froude, The English in Ireland, passim; Lecky, Hist, of Eng., vol. ii.; the works of Swift and Arthur Young; and The Report of the Select Committee on the State of Ireland, 1828.

Abyssinian Expedition, THE (1867). Theodore, King of Abyssinia, fancying that he was slighted by the British Government, who had refused to assist him against the Egyptians, had seized and imprisoned in his fortress of Magdala all the British subjects within his reach. Among others was Mr. Cameron, British Consul at Massowah. An embassy was sent to the king, headed by Mr. Rassam, British Assistant-Resident at Aden, to expostulate. The mission was at first well received and cajoled by the crafty king, but eventually seized and imprisoned with the rest. Lord Stanley's remonstrance being disregarded, war was declared. It was waged from India, and the expedition was despatched from Bombay in the winter of 1867 under Sir Robert Napier. The campaign was conducted under difficulties, which arose from the varying nature of the climate and the natural impediments of the ground. The difficult task of transporting the military stores and artillery in a country where roads were unknown, and which bristled with lofty and rugged mountains, was performed with complete success. baggage-elephants were especially useful, and greatly facilitated the progress of the expedition. Little resistance was experienced from the natives. There were one or two straggling skirmishes, and a wild battle was fought, in which the reckless bravery of the Abyssinians proved ineffectual against the

The

serried masses of the English bayonets, and the deadly fire of the English artillery. Theodore, at last, sent back all the prisoners, and offered to treat. Napier, however, refused to listen to any terms short of a total surrender, and to this the king refused to agree. He shut himself up in his citadel of Magdala, which was perched upon a lofty rock, and defended not only by the natural difficulty of the ascent, but also by walls of great thickness, and gateways strongly fortified. The English, with great bravery, surmounted the difficulties of the ascent, forced their way through the gate at the top, and fought from post to post till the position was won. Theodore was found dead inside the gate, slain by his own hand. The town and fortress were destroyed, and within a week the troops were on the sea returning home. Sir Robert Napier for his services was created Lord Napier of Magdala, with a pension, and received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament.

Acadia. [NOVA SCOTIA.]

Accord, THE, is the name given by some Scotch writers to the Treaty of Leith (q.v.).

On

Acre, or ST. JEAN D'ACRE, a town on the coast of Syria, anciently called Ptolemais, is connected with three episodes in English history: (1) THE SIEGE OF ACRE. In June, 1191, Richard I. arrived before the town, which had already been besieged by the Crusaders for more than two years, with the loss, it is said, of over 120,000 men. A series of assaults was immediately made on the town, but these were seriously impeded by the attacks of Saladin on the Christian lines. At length, however, the garrison offered to treat; they were allowed to retain their lives, and (July 12) the Crusaders marched into the town. (2) THE DEFENCE OF ACRE. March 16, 1799, Bonaparte's Egyptian army appeared before Acre. The town was held by a Turkish garrison, under Yussuf Pasha, aided by Sir Sidney Smith, who commanded the English squadron in the roads, and a French engineer, Philippoteaux, who had once been a school-fellow of Bonaparte. Animated by these leaders, the Turks held out with great bravery for sixty days of open trenches; and on May 20 the French were compelled to retreat. "That miserable fort,' as Napoleon called it, was thus the means of causing his Syrian expedition to be abandoned, and his great projects of Oriental conquest to be altogether hopeless. Alluding to Sir Sidney Smith, he is said to have frequently remarked: "That man made me miss my destiny." (3) THE BOMBARDMENT OF ACRE, Nov. 3, 1840. After the refusal of Mehemet Ali to agree to the terms of the Quadrilateral Alliance, 1840, a combined Austrian, Turkish, and British squadron (the latter, consisting of 6 line-of-battle ships, and 10 smaller vessels, commanded by Admiral

Sir R. Stopford) sailed to the coast of Syria, and bombarded Acre, which fell in total ruins after enduring a tremendous fire for three hours.

Act of Parliament. [STATUTE.]

Acton Burnel, PARLIAMENT OF (1283), was the name given to one of the sessions of Edward I.'s great council, reinforced probably by the merchants who had previously met in the Parliament at Shrewsbury. The presence of so many representatives of the commercial classes was taken advantage of by the king to issue the ordinance known as the Statute of Merchants.

Adamnan, Sr. (b. 624, d. 704), Abbot of Iona, was converted, while on a mission to Aldfrid of Northumbria in 688, to the custom of the Roman Church with regard to the observance of Easter-a conversion which embroiled him in disputes with the monks of Iona. In 692 he attended the Synod of Tara, and successfully urged, on part of the Irish Church, the necessity of conformity to the rest of the Church. Between the year 688 and his death, Adamnan wrote the Life of St. Columba, a work which, although containing some elements of legend, still comprises a good deal of valuable historical information. He also wrote a work, De Situ Terræ Sanctæ.

The

Forbes, Kalendar of the Scottish Saints. Life of St. Columba was edited by Dr. Reeves in 1857 for the Irish Archæological Society. Adams, JOHN (b. 1735, d. 1826), second President of the United States, was a lawyer in Boston, and took an active part in the measures of the colonists to defend their rights against the English Government. In the Philadelphia Congress of 1774 he was delegate for Massachusetts, and he was one of the members of the "Continental Congress of 1775. In this assembly he advocated immediate and vigorous hostile measures against the mother country, being convinced that any further attempts at reconciliation were hopeless. Adams was a skilful practical lawyer, as well as an earnest student of the philosophy of politics and jurisprudence; and much of the shape which the national and state constitutions assumed, as well as the curious basis of speculative legal theory on which the acts of the earlier congresses were grounded, was largely due to his influence. He was a declared opponent of the "pure democracy," advocated by a large section of the American leaders, and favoured the system of government by double chambers and "checks and balances," which was often stigmatised as aristocratic. In 1777 he was sent as diplomatic agent of the new government to Paris, and for the greater part of the next ten years was engaged in political and financial missions to the courts of France, Holland, and England. On his return to America in 1788 he was chosen Vice-President of the Union, and was immediately involved

in the bitter party contests between the federalists, who followed Hamilton, and the republicans, who were now led by Jefferson. In 1797 Adams was chosen President by a slight and doubtful federalist majority. His term of office was not altogether a successful one. The southern federalists were only lukewarm supporters, and the republicans bitterly assailed him in public and private. Like Washington, Adams held to the principle of neutrality in the contest between France and the other European states; but this made him very unpopular with the powerful body of republicans within the States. In the presidential election of 1801, Adams was defeated by Jefferson, and retired from public life amidst a storm of very undeserved obloquy. Adams was a voluminous writer of political and quasi-political treatises, and his works are very valuable for a correct understanding of the views and principles which actuated one large section of the founders of the United States.

F. Adams, Life and Works of John Adams, 10 vols., Boston, 1850; J. Q. and C. F. Adams, Life of J. Adams, 2 vols., 1871; Jared Sparks, Diplomatic Correspondence of the Amer. Revolution; Guizot, Washington. [S. J. L.]

Adams, SAMUEL (b. 1722, d. 1803), a distant relation of John Adams, was a leading member of the Boston " Caucus" Club, and took a considerable part in founding similar associations elsewhere. He was one of the first to oppose the measures by which the English Parliament attempted to raise revenue from the trade of the American colonists, and he did, perhaps, more than any other man to rouse the people of Massachusetts to open resistance. In American politics he was by no means a devoted follower of Washington, and was in many respects an opponent of the federalist constitution. In 1797 ho retired from the governorship of Massachusetts, when the federal party were predominant. It is in a (probably spurious) speech of Samuel Adams, printed in London, and purporting to have been delivered at Philadelphia, August 1, 1776, that the famous phrase, "a nation of shopkeepers," is applied to England. The speech was translated into French, and Bonaparte probably borrowed his use of the appellation from it.

W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, Boston,

1865.

Adamson, PATRICK (b. 1543, d. 1591), Archbishop of St. Andrews, was educated in France, and returned to Scotland in 1573, when he entered the ministry. In 1575 he was one of the commissioners employed to settle the constitution of the Church of Scotland, and soon after was appointed by the Regent Morton Archbishop of St. Andrews. His life thenceforward was a long course of opposition to the Presbyterian party, who lost no opportunity of taking proceedings against him, and finally succeeded in getting him excom