a celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher who flourished at Baghdad, and died about A.D. 880. From the extent of his knowledge, he has been styled the Thales and Pythagoras of Mahometans. He was the author of various excellent works on medicine, general philosophy, logic, music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy; and this too at a period when Europe was involved in a cloud of the deepest ignorance.—D'Herbelot Bibl. Orient. Bayle. Moreri.

**ALKMAAR.** See Alcoran.

**ALKANET,** the root of *Anchusa tinctoria*, much used to give a fine red colour to oils and other fatty matters. See Anchusa.

**ALKORAN.** See Alcoran.

**ALL-HALLOW,** or **All-Saints,** a festival celebrated on the first of November, in commemoration of all the saints in general. The number of saints being so excessively multiplied, it was found too burdensome to dedicate a feast-day to each. In reality, there are not days enough, scarce hours enough, in the year, for this purpose. Hence it was found expedient to have an annual aggregate commemoration of such as had not special days for themselves. Pope Boniface IV., in the ninth century, introduced the feast of All-Saints in Italy, which was soon after adopted in the other churches.

**All-Saints,** islands near Guadaloupe, in the West Indies. **All-Saints' Bay,** a captainship in the middle division of Brazil, so called from the harbour of that name; bounded on the north by the Rio Real, on the south by that of Ilheos, on the east by the ocean, and on the west by three unconquered nations of Indians. It is reckoned one of the richest and most fertile captainships in all Brazil, producing great quantities of cotton and sugar. The bay itself is about two and a half leagues wide, interspersed with a number of small but pleasant islands, and is of immense advantage to the whole country. It has several cities and towns, particularly St. Salvador, which is its capital. All-Saints' Bay lies in Lat. 13° 10' S. Long. 38° 50' W.

**All-Souls,** in the Calendar, denotes a feast-day, held on the second of November, in commemoration of all the faithful deceased. The feast of All-Souls was first introduced in the eleventh century by Oidom, abbot of Cluny, who enjoined it on his own order; but it was not long before it became adopted by the neighbouring churches.

**ALLA,** or **ALLAH,** the Mahometan name for the Supreme Being. It is an Arabic word, derived from the verb *alab,* to adore. It is the same with the Hebrew *Elohi,* which signifies the Adorable Being.

**ALLAGNA,** a town in the province of Val Sesia, in the principality of Piedmont, in Italy. It has some rich copper mines, with gold mixed in the same ore. It is on the river Sesia, and contains 1800 inhabitants.

**ALLAHABAD,** a fortified town of Hindustan, and the principal place of the province of the same name, is situated in a dry and healthy soil, on a triangle, at the junction of the two mighty streams, the Ganges and the Jumna. It has been occasionally the residence of royalty, and contains some fine ruins; but notwithstanding its advantageous commercial position, the benefit derived from numerous visitors for devotional purposes, and the support afforded by the civil and military establishments, it is still a small city, with mean houses and narrow and irregular streets, confined to the banks of the Jumna. Its population is however gradually improving, both in character and amount. Hodges, the artist, who visited the place in 1782, describes all the dwellings without the fort as thatched huts. In 1803, the native population was computed at 20,000; in 1834 it had increased Allahabad to 38,000, and a later return brings it up to 45,000. The fort, which is placed at the distance of a quarter of a mile, on a tongue of land washed by the Jumna and the Ganges, is lofty and extensive, and completely commands the navigation of the two rivers. It is strong both by nature and art, and has been a noble castle; but although it has gained in strength, it has lost in appearance, by some modern improvements which it has undergone, by which its lofty towers have been lowered into bastions and ravelins, and its high stone ramparts covered with turf parapets, and obscured by a green sloping glacis. It is still, however, according to Bishop Heber, a striking place, and its principal gate, surmounted by a dome, with a wide hall beneath, surrounded by arcades and galleries, and ornamented with rude, but glowing paintings, forms a fine entrance to a place of arms. The barracks are handsome and neat. On one side is a large range of buildings, which are in the oriental style, and contain some noble vaulted rooms, chiefly occupied as officers' quarters, and overlooking from a considerable height the rapid stream and craggy banks of the Jumna. The principal mosque is in good repair. This building, which is solid and stately, but without much ornament, is advantageously situated on the banks of Jumna, adjoining the city on one side, and an esplanade before the glacis of the fort on the other. It was at one time the residence of the general of the station, but has since been restored to its original destination. Among the finest buildings in the neighbourhood is the Serai of Prince Khoosro, the ill-fated son of the Emperor Jehangir. The structure is a noble quadrangle, with four fine Gothic gateways, surrounded within an embattled wall, by a range of cloisters for the accommodation of travellers. Adjoining the Serai is a garden planted with fine old mango trees, in which are three beautiful tombs raised over two princes and a princess of the imperial family. The houses of the civil and military servants of the company, are at some distance both from the fort and the town. These villas are surrounded by gardens; they are described as handsome and richly fitted-up buildings, and as giving a grand appearance to the neighbourhood.