a city in the arrondissement of Dijon and department of Côte d'Or, in France. It is on the Saône, and is strongly fortified. Pop. 5800. Besides their manufacturers of cloth and serges, the inhabitants carry on by the river considerable traffic with Lyons. Long. 5. 24. E. Lat. 47. 13. N.
AVA, the capital of the Burman empire. It is situated on the Irawaddy, which is here 3282 feet broad, and which, making a bend out of its ordinary course, flows past the city on the N. On the E. it has the river Myit-ngoe, a rapid stream 450 feet broad, which flows into the Irawaddy close under its walls. From this river a canal has been dug, through which its waters flow on the S.E. angle of the city, and are again brought into the same river. On the S. flows the deep and rapid torrent of the Myit-tha, an offset of the Myit-ngoe, which, falling into the Irawaddy, forms the defence both of the S. and W. faces of the town. This place is divided into the upper and lower, or the lesser and the larger town, both of which are fortified. The brick wall that surrounds the city is 15½ feet in height, and 10 feet in thickness, on the inside of which is thrown up a bank of earth forming an angle of 45 degrees. There is a ditch round the outer wall which is inconsiderable, and in the dry season fordable in every part. The lesser town is chiefly occupied by the royal palace, the hall of justice, the council chamber, the arsenal, and the habitations of a few courtiers of distinction. A strong well-built wall of more solid construction than the outer wall of the city, and about 20 feet high, incloses the square in which these buildings are situated, and on the outside is a teak-wood stockade of the same height. The ditch which surrounds the lesser town is moreover deeper and broader than that of the city, and when full is not to be forded. There are, however, three causeways across, which communicate with the adjacent country. The circumference of the city, excluding the suburbs, is about 5½ miles, but over this extensive area the houses are but thinly scattered; some quarters are indeed wholly destitute of habitations, and have the appearance merely of neglected commons. In general the dwellings of the inhabitants are of the most miserable sort, being mere huts thatched with grass. Wretched, however, as are such habitations to European eyes, the poorer classes are perhaps better lodged than in other parts of Asia. Their sleeping places are elevated two or three feet from the ground, which is a convenience not enjoyed by the masses in Bengal. Some of the houses of the chiefs are constructed of planks, and tiled; but there are not, according to Mr Crawford, more than half a dozen houses built of brick and mortar. Ava, like all the other Burmese towns, is adorned with numerous temples, of which the gilded spires rising aloft present on a distant view of the place a splendid and imposing appearance, which is far from being realized on a nearer inspection. The largest of these temples contains two distinct edifices, one in the ancient, the other in the modern form; the former containing an image of Guatama, not of marble as Symes supposes, but of sandstone. It is in a sitting posture, and is 24 feet in height. The head is 8 feet in diameter. There is another very large temple, and a third called the "Beautiful." The one called Maong-Ratna is of great celebrity; it is the one in which the public officers of the government take, with the most solemn forms, the oath of allegiance. The temple called Maha-muni had an addition made to it some years ago, of which Mr Crawford mentions that the numerous and richly-gilded pillars and splendid ceiling exceeded anything that was to be seen without the palace. Ava contains eleven markets or bazaars, composed of thatched huts and sheds, which, however, are well supplied with all that is necessary for the wants of the people. Besides native commodities, there are exposed in these markets the produce of China and of Lao, with British cottons, woollens, glass, and earthenware. The Burman monasteries are mostly built of wood; and of those composed of more solid materials, a few ancient ones are nearly all that are to be seen. The only exception is a monastery built some years ago by the queen, adjoining the palace, an unshapely fabric of immense size, but a very conspicuous object.
The capital of the Burman dominions, according to the political divisions of the empire, comprehends the town of Sagaing on the opposite shore of the Irrawaddy, and the town of Ummarapora or Amarapura, four miles to the E. The town of Sagaing extends along the Irrawaddy for more than a mile and a half, but is of inconsiderable breadth. It consists of mean houses thinly scattered among gardens and orchards; the principal trees in the latter consisting of fine old tamarinds. Over the site of the town and its environs are scattered innumerable temples, some of them old and ruinous, others modern. On the river face it has a brick wall about 10 feet in height, with parapet and embrasures like that of Ava, and extending for above half a mile along the river. Ummarapora is a large place, and was formerly the capital; but Ava, which was twice before the capital, was again made so in 1822. To each of the towns of Ava, Sagaing, and Ummarapora, are attached districts, the two former of which extend 12 miles along the river, and are of equal breadth. The district of Ummarapora is of equal size, so that Ava must be considered as not only the name of the capital, but of a large district around, which includes an area of 288 miles, containing, according to the most accurate estimate, 354,200 inhabitants. But the city of Ava is not supposed to contain more than 50,000 inhabitants; and according to Mr Crawford, half that number would be nearer the truth. The place, taken altogether, affords few or no indications of industry or commercial enterprise.
Lat. 21. 52. Long. 96. 1.
The entire territory subject to the Burmese sovereign is sometimes called Ava, the custom of applying to a country or province the name of its chief place being common in the East. It appears, however, preferable, where a distinct name for a country exists, to class the general information relating to that country under such name. The reader, therefore, is referred in this instance for such information to the article BURMAH.
(D. n.—x.) (E.T.)
AVADOUTAS, a sect of Indian Brahmins, who in austerity surpass all the rest, covering their nakedness with a piece of cloth only, some of them even dispensing with that, and besmeared their bodies with cow-dung. When hungry some enter into houses, and, without speaking, hold out their hands, eating on the spot whatever is given them. Others retire to the sides of holy rivers, and there expect the peasants to bring them provisions, which they generally do very liberally. See HINDUAN.
AVAL. See BABEIN.
AVALANCHE, the name given to a prodigious mass of consolidated snow, which, disengaged from the summits of more elevated peaks, frequently rolls down the sides of the Alps. See ALPS.
AVALLON, an arrondissement in the department of the Yonne, in France, comprehending five cantons and seventy communes. Area, 244,480 acres; pop. 47,524. The capital, of the same name, is a handsome town, finely situated on a granite rock, at the foot of which flows the river Voisin. It has some manufactures of cloth, hats, hosiery, leather, and paper, and a considerable traffic in fire-wood, which is conveyed by the Voisin, the Yonne, and the Seine, to Paris. Pop. in 1851, 5740. Long. 3. 56. E. Lat. 47. 30. N.
AVATAR, a Sanscrit word signifying a descending, applied in Indian mythology to incarnations of Vishnu, and of some of the inferior deities. See HINDUSTAN.
AVATCHA, a bay on the S.E. coast of Kamtschatka, the best on that coast; Lat. 52. 32. N. Long. 158. 47. E. On this bay is situated a small town of the same name; and about 20 miles inland is the volcano of Avatcha, rising to the height of 9055 feet.
AVEBURY, a village of England, in the county of Wilts, 6 miles W. of Marlborough. It occupies the site of a curious ancient structure, supposed to be Druidical. This consisted of a large outer circle formed of 100 stones of from 15 to 17 feet in height, and about 40 feet in circumference, inclosing an area of about 1400 feet in diameter. This circle was surrounded by a broad ditch and lofty rampart. Within its area were two smaller circles, each consisting of a double concentric row of stones; a stone pillar 20 feet high occupying the centre of the one, and a cromlech that of the other. Two avenues of approach, consisting of double rows of stones, branched off from this structure to other circles about a mile distant towards the S. and W. Few traces of this immense structure now remain,—the stones having been broken down and used in the construction of the houses of the village, and for other purposes. In the vicinity are a number of cromlechs and barrows; among the latter is Silbury Hill, said to be the largest barrow in Europe. It is about 2000 feet in circumference at the base, rising in a conical form to the height of 170 feet—the diameter of the summit being 120 feet.
AVEIRO, a town of Portugal, province of Beira, the seat of a bishopric and college. It has a thriving trade in oil, salt, fish, wine, and oranges. Pop. 4500. Long. 8. 34. W. Lat. 40. 40. N.
AVEIRON. See AVEYRON.
AVELLA, a town of Naples, in the province of Terra di Lavoro, in a fine situation, and commanding most extensive prospects. It is distant about 20 miles from Naples, and contains 6000 inhabitants. Near it are the remains of the ancient Abella. See ABELLA.
AVELLINO, the ancient Abellinum, a fortified city of Naples, in the province of Principato Ultra, at the foot of Mount Vergine, and 28 miles E. of Naples. It is the see of a bishop, and has a cathedral, several parish churches, a royal college, &c.—with manufactories of cloth, paper, macaroni, and sausages, and extensive dye-works. It has a considerable trade in corn, chestnuts, and hazel-nuts. This city has at various times suffered severely from earthquakes. Pop. 16,000. See ABELLINUM.
AVE-MARIA (Hail Mary), a form of devotion in the Romish Church, addressed to the Virgin Mary. It is derived from the salutation of the angel in Luke I. The chaplets and rosaries of Roman Catholics are divided into a certain number of ave-marias and pater-nosters.
AVENA, a botanical genus of Gramineae, to which the oat, Avena sativa, belongs.
AVENBRUGGER, LEOPOLD, an ingenious physician of Gratz, in Styria. We owe to him the important mode of investigating diseases of the chest and abdomen by auscultation. His method was to apply the ear to the chest, and to note the sounds it afforded on percussion by the hand, or what is called immediate auscultation. His Latin treatise excited but little attention, until it was translated and illustrated by Corvisart, in 1808; when it soon led the way to Laennec's great improvement of aiding the ear by the stethoscope, or mediate auscultation. This latter practice, which has so greatly aided the diagnosis of inter- Avenches, a small town of Switzerland, in the canton of Vaud, about 1½ miles from Lake Morat or Murten. It is the ancient Aventicum, the chief city of the Helvetii. Many objects of antiquity have been found here; and remains of an amphitheatre, of an aqueduct, and of the ancient walls, still exist. Avenches contains 1100 inhabitants.
AVENORI, in Feudal Law, an officer belonging to the king's stables, who provided oats for the horses.
AVENTINUS (or JOHANN TURMAYER), author of the Annals of Bavaria, was born in the year 1466, at Abensberg. He studied first at Ingolstadt, and afterwards in the university of Paris. In 1503 he privately taught eloquence and poetry at Vienna, and in 1507 he publicly taught Greek at Cracow, in Poland. In 1509 he read lectures on some of Cicero's works at Ingolstadt; and in 1512 was appointed preceptor to Prince Ludwig and Prince Ernst, sons of Albert the Wise, Duke of Bavaria, and travelled with the latter of these princes. He afterwards undertook to write the Annales Boiorum, or Annals of Bavaria, being encouraged by the dukes of that name, who settled a pension upon him, and gave him hopes that they would defray the charges of the book. This work, which gained its author great reputation, was first published in 1554 by Hieronymus Zieglerus, professor of poetry in the university of Ingolstadt; and afterwards at Basil, in 1580, by Nicholas Cisner. Besides his other writings, Gesner attributes to him a curious work, entitled Numerandi per digitos minusque Veterum Consuetudines. Aventinus died in 1534.
AVENTINUS MONS, one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome stood. The origin of the name Aventinus is uncertain; but this hill was also called Murcia, from Murcia (Venus), the goddess of sloth, who had a little chapel there; and Collis Diana, from the temple of Diana; likewise Remonius, from Remus, who was buried there. It was taken within the compass of the city by Ancus Marcius (Liv. i. 33.). To the E. it had the city walls; to the S. the Campus Fugilinus; to the W. the Tiber; and to the N. Mons Palatinus. It was two miles and a quarter in circuit.
AVENUE (ad et venio), a walk planted on each side with trees, and leading to a house, garden-gate, wood, &c. The trees most proper for avenues with us are the English elm, the lime, the horse-chestnut, the common chestnut, the beech, the abele. The English elm will do in all grounds, except such as are very wet and shallow; and this is preferred to all other trees, because it will bear cutting, heading, or lopping in any manner, better than most others. The rough or smooth Dutch elm is approved by some because of its quick growth. This is a tree which will bear removing very well; it is also green almost as soon as any plant whatever in spring, and continues so as long as any; it makes an incomparable hedge, and is preferable to all other trees for lofty espaliers. The lime is valued for its natural growth and fine shade. The horse-chestnut is proper for all places that are not too much exposed to rough winds. The common chestnut will do very well in a good soil, and rises to a considerable height when planted somewhat close, though, when it stands single, it is rather inclined to spread than to grow tall. The beech is a beautiful tree, and naturally grows well with us in its wild state; but it is less to be chosen for avenues than the before-mentioned, because it does not bear transplanting well, and is very subject to miscarry. Lastly, the abele is fit for any soil, and is the quickest grower of any forest tree. It seldom fails in transplanting, and succeeds very well in wet soils, in which the others are apt to fail. The oak is but little used for avenues, because of its slow growth. See Gardening.
AVENZOAR (Abu Merwan Abdalmalec ern Zohr), an eminent Arabian physician, who flourished about the end of the eleventh or the beginning of the twelfth century. He was of noble descent, and born at Seville, the capital of Andalucia, where he exercised his profession with great reputation. He was contemporary with Avicenna, who, according to Leo Africanus, heard his lectures and learned physic of him. This seems the more probable, because Avicenna more than once gives Avenzoar very high and deserved praise, calling him admirable, glorious, the treasure of all knowledge, and the most supreme in physic from the time of Galen to his own. Avenzoar, notwithstanding, is by the generality of writers reckoned an empiric; but Dr Freund observes that this character suits him less than any of the rest of the Arabians. Avenzoar belonged, in fact, to the Dogmatists or Rational Sect, the antipodes of the Empirics. He was a great admirer of Galen; and in his writings inveighs against the quackery of old women, and the superstitious remedies of the astrologers. He shows no inconsiderable knowledge of anatomy in his remarkable description of inflammation and abscess of the mediastinum in his own person, and its diagnosis from common pleuritis as well as from abscess and dropsy of the pericardium. In cases of obstruction or of palsy of the gullet, his three modes of treatment are ingenious. He proposes to support the strength by placing the patient in a tepid bath of nutritious liquids, that might enter by cutaneous imbibition; but does not recommend this. He speaks more favourably of the introduction of food into the stomach by a silver tube; and he strongly recommends the use of nutritive enemata. From his writings it would appear that the offices of physician, surgeon, and apothecary were already considered as distinct professions. He wrote a book entitled The Method of Preparing Medicines and Diet, which was translated into Hebrew in the year 1280, and thence into Latin by Paravicinus, whose version has passed through several editions.
AVERAGE, a term used in maritime commerce to signify damages or expenses resulting from the accidents of navigation. Average is either general or particular. General average arises when sacrifices have been advisedly made, or expenditures incurred, with a view to the preservation of the ship, cargo, and freight from the effects of some extraordinary peril; and it implies a subsequent contribution from all the parties concerned, in order to make good the loss which one or more of them may thus have sustained. Particular average signifies the damage or partial loss happening to the ship, goods, or freight, in consequence of some fortuitous or unavoidable accident; and it is borne by the individual owners of the articles damaged, or by their insurers.
It may be here remarked, that the term Average was originally used to signify what is now distinguished as General Average. The expression "Particular Average" is not strictly accurate, as it does not, in its current acceptation, imply the idea of an equalizing contribution, as originally signified by the word Average. It has, nevertheless, been generally adopted, and is now fully recognised as the distinctive expression for damage or partial loss falling on some one of the individuals interested in a sea adventure.
Petty Average consisted of certain small charges for pilotages, light-dues, &c., which were apportioned one-third
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1 Average is said by Cowell to be derived from the Latin word avergium, from the verb averre, to carry. He supposes it to have been introduced into commerce to show the proportion to be paid by every man according to his goods carried. Locceius, on the other hand, derives it from the French avoir, or the German haben, a port; it being a contribution paid for having goods brought safely to port. (De Jure Maritimo, lib. ii. cap. viii. sect. I.) to the ship and two-thirds to the cargo; but this is now superseded by the agreement that the freight payable for the cargo shall include all such expenses; and the term has consequently become obsolete.
Although nothing can be more simple than the fundamental principle of general average,—which is, that a loss incurred by one party for the advantage of several shall be made good in equitable proportions by all who are benefited by it,—yet the application of this principle to the varied and complicated cases which arise in the course of maritime commerce has occasioned many diversities of usage in different countries, and even in the same country at different periods. Without entering on so wide a field as the discussion of these diversities would open up, we shall endeavour to present a brief summary of the leading principles which have been established in this country, by usage or by legal decisions, in connection with the subject.
All general average losses may be divided into two principal classes—1. Sacrifices of part of the cargo and freight, or of part of the ship, for the general benefit; 2. Extraordinary expenditures, incurred with the same object.
Under the first of these classes we shall begin by noticing the acts which involve sacrifices of part of the cargo and freight.
When a part of the cargo is thrown overboard (or jettisoned, as it is termed) to save the ship from foundering in a storm, or to float her when stranded, or to facilitate her escape from an enemy, the loss of the goods and of the freight attached to them must be made good by average contribution. In like manner, if goods be damaged in the ship by opening the hatches in order to effect a jettison, or by being brought upon deck for that purpose, the damage forms a general average charge. But if goods jettisoned have been originally stowed on deck, no contribution can be demanded for them, unless they are so carried according to the common usage and course of trade on the voyage for which they were shipped.
If, instead of being thrown overboard, the goods are put into boats or lighters, and lost or damaged before reaching the shore, such loss is regarded as a virtual jettison, and gives a claim to average contribution. The same rule applies to damage occasioned by the goods being put ashore on muddy ground, as may sometimes happen, when there is no other place where they can be landed.
But when the goods have been conveyed to a place of ordinary safety, they are no longer at the risk of the general interest; and should they be damaged by fire or other accidents, the loss must be borne by the individual proprietors, or by their insurers.
The loss of corn, salt, guano, or similar goods, arising from their being pumped up or hauled out with the water in the vessel, cannot be recovered by average contribution.
If, in consequence of there being no other means of raising money at a foreign port, a part of the cargo be sold for the purpose of repairing losses or defraying expenses which are themselves of the nature of general average, the loss arising from the sale gives a claim to contribution. But if the funds are required for the purpose of repairing particular average losses on the ship, or of defraying the ordinary expenses of the navigation, the loss must be borne by the shipowner.
The damage done to the cargo by means of water thrown down the hatches to extinguish an accidental fire, or by scuttling the ship for that purpose, is excluded, by usage, from general average. This point seems to have never yet been settled by any legal decision; and the usage referred to is considered by several writers of high authority to be at variance with sound principle. It is sometimes defended on the ground that the damage in question is secondary and incidental, and not primary and intentional. But this reason seems somewhat fanciful for the purposes of equity, and is, besides, inconsistent with the analogy of certain other cases, where an opposite principle is practically recognised; as, for instance, in the case of goods incidentally damaged in effecting a jettison of other goods.
The amount of compensation to be made for goods sacrificed by general average acts is determined by the net market price they would have produced on arrival at the port of destination had they not been sacrificed; but under deduction of the freight attaching to them (which is made good to the shipowners), and of the charges for duties and landing expenses which are saved.
We now proceed to notice the general average acts which involve sacrifices of part of the ship or her materials.
The same principles which regulate the case of goods thrown overboard apply also to the jettison of the ship's chains, anchors, hawsers, spars, boats, or other stores. But if water-casks are stowed on deck, or if chains and hawsers are carried on deck when the vessel is not near the land, so as to render it necessary that they should be so carried, the loss arising from the jettison of these articles falls on the shipowner; and if boats are jettisoned in consequence of their having been broken adrift from their fastenings on deck by the force of the sea, they are excluded from general average, and are charged to particular average on the ship.
The damage done to the ship by cutting holes to effect a jettison of the cargo, or to pour down water to extinguish a fire, or by scuttling her for that purpose, is allowed as a general average charge. The damage arising from cutting or knocking away a portion of the ship's bulwarks in order to prevent the deck from being flooded in a storm, is compensated in the same manner.
When sails or masts are cut away in order to lighten a ship which has been thrown on her beam-ends, or to prevent her from driving on a lee-shore, the loss is made good by average contribution; but if the object in cutting away a sail or spar be merely to save a mast, the loss is not made good in general average.
It frequently happens that masts or yards are sprung and carried away by the force of the wind, and are left entangled in the rigging, or hanging over the ship's side in what is termed "a state of wreck;" in these circumstances it becomes necessary to cut them away, with the sails and rigging attached, and to throw the whole overboard, otherwise they would impede the navigation, and endanger the ship and cargo. On this ground it is held by some authorities that the loss caused by the act of cutting them away should be made good by average contribution. But this act is the direct consequence of the previous accident, which places these articles in a situation where it is impossible to save them without imperilling the ship, cargo, and lives. It would not be reasonable to imperil these for such a purpose; whence it follows that the displaced articles are already virtually irrecoverably lost by means of the original accident, before the loss is actually consummated by cutting them away. And as the general interest ought not to be endangered for the purpose of attempting to save these articles, so neither should it be implicated in the loss resulting from the only remaining alternative of clearing them away. This loss is accordingly excluded, by the usage of this country, from average contribution. On the same principle, no contribution can be demanded for any articles which are sacrificed as having themselves become, through previous accident, the immediate cause of danger to the whole interest.
The loss of sails or spars, in consequence of carrying a press of canvas to avoid a lee-shore, or to escape from an enemy, is not the subject of general average in this country; neither is the damage suffered by the ship from straining, under any such extraordinary press of sail.
When anchors and cables are slipped from in order to work a vessel off a lee-shore, or to avoid collision with another ship, the loss is made good by average contribution; Average, but if the cable is slipped in order that the vessel may join convoy, or because the anchor has become hooked to some object at the bottom and cannot be raised, the loss is borne by the shipowner.
When sails, ropes, or other materials, are cut up and used at sea for the purpose of stopping leaks or to rig jury masts, or when the common benefit requires that they should be applied to some purpose for which they were not originally intended, the loss is made good in general average. The same rule applies to the case of hawsers, cables, anchors, sails, or boats, lost or damaged in attempting to force off a stranded vessel from the shore.
The damage sustained in defending a ship against a pirate or an enemy is not the subject of general average in this country; it is treated as particular average on the ship.
It has been much debated by writers on maritime law, whether the voluntary stranding of a ship, in order to prevent her from foundering, should be treated as a general or as a particular average loss. In the United States it has been settled, by judicial decision, that the loss in question constitutes a general average claim; but the opposite doctrine is acted upon in the usage of our own country, and the point has never been raised before the courts of law.
It appears to us that the argument greatly preponderates against the rule adopted in the United States, and in favour of the usage established in this country. The only reason for regarding this loss as the subject of general average is, that it originates in the intentional act of running the ship aground, for the preservation, as far as possible, of the whole interest concerned. But it can seldom be known beforehand how the different interests at stake will be specially affected by the act in question—whether, for instance, the damage to the cargo may not be more serious than the damage to the ship, or vice versa. Thus no particular part of the interest can be said to be intentionally sacrificed for the benefit of the whole; the intention, indeed, is not to sacrifice any one part, but to place the whole interest in a situation of less peril than it would otherwise have been in.
What particular damages may thereafter ensue to either ship or cargo will depend, in each case, on a variety of circumstances entirely accidental in their character, and therefore in no proper sense the subject of previous intention. The same rule, therefore, which excludes from general average accidental damages in all other cases, ought to exclude them in this case also. Moreover, when the alternatives are, either that the vessel be left to founder, or that she be run ashore with a chance of preservation, there can really be no room for choice; or, at all events, the elements of will and intention are entirely subordinate in the part they must play under the pressure of the existing circumstances; and in this view the stranding is as truly inevitable as if it had been caused by the force of the winds and waves alone.
But, even were these reasons less weighty than we hold them to be, a serious practical objection might be urged against the doctrine that voluntary stranding should be a general average loss, on the ground that it would in most cases be impossible to distinguish between the damages received by the ship and cargo prior to the stranding, and those sustained after or in consequence of it. It is needless to remark, that before a ship can be in such imminent danger of foundering as to render it necessary to run her ashore, she must be presumed to have sustained a very considerable amount of damage; and the probability is, that the cargo also will have suffered to a corresponding extent. Up to this point these damages are confessedly particular average; and were it held that the damages after the stranding were the subject of general average, it would, of course, be necessary to distinguish the separate damages that belonged to each. But in every case these different damages would exist in varying proportions, yet always so incorporated together that justice could never have a more perplexing task than that of discriminating between them. No general rule could be applied that would meet the widely different circumstances of each particular case; and the arbitrary method of adjustment that would alone be possible would doubtless give rise to endless dissatisfaction and dispute. On the ground of expediency, therefore, as well as on that of principle, the usage now established in this country ought to be maintained, notwithstanding the high authorities by whom the opposite practice has been countenanced.
The amount of general average losses on the ship is compensated by allowing to the owners the cost of repairs, or of new materials in place of those sacrificed, subject to the deduction of one-third for the difference of value between old and new; but no deduction is made from the cost of new anchors, and only one-sixth is deducted from the cost of new chain cables. If the ship be on her first voyage (which is held to include the homeward as well as the outward passage), the repairs and new materials are allowed in full.
We now proceed to notice the second principal class of general average losses, consisting of extraordinary expenditures incurred with a view to the common benefit.
When a ship is obliged to put into a port of refuge, in consequence of damage received in the course of the voyage, the usage in this country is to allow as general average all the charges connected with the entrance of the vessel into the port, and with the landing and warehousing of the cargo, when this is necessary to admit of the ship being repaired. Thus the expenses of pilotage or other assistance into the port, the harbour dues and similar charges, the costs of the protest taken by the master and crew, and of the survey held to ascertain whether the cargo requires to be discharged, together with the charges for landing the cargo and conveying it to a warehouse or other place of safety, are all made good as general average. The costs of repairing the ship are charged to general average only in so far as the repairs may refer to damages which are themselves the proper subject of general contribution. If the damages are of the nature of particular average, as is more usually the case, they are charged accordingly; or if they proceed from "wear and tear," they are stated against the shipowner.
The warehouse rent for the cargo at a port of refuge, and any expenses connected with its preservation, form special charges against that particular interest, and are borne by the proprietors of the goods, or by their insurers. When goods are insured "free from particular average, unless the ship be stranded," it is necessary, if the ship has not been stranded, to distinguish the charges for warehouse rent and fire insurance from those incurred in connection with the preservation of the goods from the effects of damage; the underwriters being liable for the former, but not for the latter.
The expenses of reshipping the cargo, and the pilotage or other charges outwards, are borne by the freight. If the entire cargo cannot be taken on board again, from the want, at the port of refuge, of the usual facilities for stowing it, the loss or expenses resulting from the exclusion of part of it are not treated, in this country, as the subject of general contribution.
The wages and provisions of the master and crew during the period of detention at a port of refuge, are not admitted as a charge against general average; it being held that the shipowner is bound to keep a competent crew on board the ship from the commencement to the end of the voyage at his own expense.
The charges for agency at a port of refuge are brought against the general average, even though they may have been originally made in the form of separate charges against the ship and cargo respectively. Commissions on money advanced, maritime interest on bottomry and respondentia, and the loss on exchanges, &c., are apportioned relatively to the gross sums expended on behalf of the several interests concerned.
The expenses incurred in getting a stranded ship off the ground, the hire of extra hands to pump a ship which has sprung a leak, and the sums awarded for salvage or for other services rendered to the ship and cargo under any extraordinary emergencies, are compensated by average contribution. But this rule applies only to the extraordinary assistance that may have been obtained; the crew being bound to do their utmost in the service of the ship on all occasions, without extra remuneration for what they might consider extraordinary exertions on their part.
The costs of reclaiming the ship and cargo after having been captured, are allowed as general average charges; and although ransom to an enemy is prohibited in this country by legal enactment, it seems that this does not apply to the case of money or goods given up by way of composition to pirates for the liberation of the ship and cargo, and that this would also form a subject of average contribution.
When the ship and cargo arrive at the port of destination, it is unnecessary, in ordinary cases, to distinguish, in the adjustment of the general average, between the losses which have arisen from sacrifices, and those which have resulted from expenditures for the common benefit. But if the ship and cargo should be lost before reaching their destination, no contribution is due for the goods or ship's materials which may have been sacrificed at a former stage of the voyage, the owners of these being in no worse position than any of their coadventurers. On the other hand, it is evident that when money has been expended for the common benefit, the subsequent loss of the ship and cargo should not affect the right of the party who has made the advance to recover it in full from all the parties for whose advantage it was originally made. Hence, while sacrifices are made good only in the event of the ship and cargo being ultimately saved, expenditures must be reimbursed whether the ship and cargo be eventually saved or lost; and the contribution for these expenditures must be regulated by the values of the ship, cargo, and freight, as they stood at the time when the advances were made.
If, however, the money required for average expenditures has been raised by means of bottomry, and the ship be lost before completing the voyage, there can be no claim for reimbursement; the risk being assumed by the bottomry lender in consideration of the premium he receives on the sum advanced. It is by no means clear that the average expenditures which have been advanced without any contract of bottomry form a specific insurable interest, according to the law of this country, although in practice they are very frequently insured. When this has been done, and when the amount has been recovered on the subsequent loss of the ship, no claim can be equitably made against the individuals who would otherwise have been liable. But if the expenditures are not insured, either by a bottomry contract, or by a special policy, and if the ship and cargo be totally lost in the subsequent course of the voyage, the parties for whose benefit the expenditures were incurred must reimburse them on the principles already explained. These parties, however, have recourse on their original insurers, not only for the total loss of the interests insured, but also for the previous expenditures, although the insurers may thus be called on to pay a larger sum than the amount of the insurance.
The contribution for general average losses is regulated by the values of the respective interests for the benefit of which they were incurred. The practical rule adopted, in all ordinary cases, is to estimate the ship, cargo, and freight, at their net values to their owners, in the state in which they arrive at the port of destination, but including in these values the sums made good for sacrifices, and to assess the contribution accordingly. The necessity for including the amount of compensation made for sacrifices in the valuations on which the contribution is charged, arises from the principle that all the parties interested in the adventure should bear the ultimate loss in exact proportion to their respective interests, which would not be the case if the owners of the articles sacrificed were to recover their full value without being themselves assessed for the loss thereon in the same manner as their coadventurers.
The contributory value of the ship is accordingly her actual value to her owner in the state in which she arrives, whether damaged or otherwise, including the sum made good in the general average for any sacrifices which may have been made part of the ship or her materials.
The value of the cargo for contribution is its nett market value on arrival, after deducting the charges incurred for freight, duty, and landing expenses, but without deducting the costs of insurance or commission. If goods be damaged, they contribute only according to their deteriorated value; and if special charges have been incurred on the cargo at a port of refuge (as for warehouse rent, &c.), the amount of these charges is deducted. The sum charged to general average for goods sacrificed is of course added to the valuation. All goods carried in the ship for the purposes of traffic must be included in the valuation of the cargo; but the wearing apparel, or personal effects, of the passengers and crew are exempted from contribution.
The value of the freight for contribution is the sum received by the shipowner on the completion of the voyage for the carriage of the cargo, after deducting from that sum the wages then due, the port charges at the place of destination, and the special charges against the freight which may have been incurred at a port of refuge, consisting of the costs of reshipping the cargo, and of outward pilotage, &c. The provisions for the voyage are not deducted, as these are held to have formed part of the original value of the ship. If the freight has been paid in advance, it forms part of the value of the goods, and, consequently, does not contribute as a separate interest. It has been decided, that when a vessel has been originally chartered for a double voyage, the whole freight to be earned under the charter-party must contribute at its nett value, after deducting the wages and other charges which must be incurred in earning it. The effect of this rule is to render the freight attaching to the return voyage, as well as that attaching to the voyage outwards, liable to contribute for average losses arising in the course of the outward passage; a result the equity of which is not always very apparent.
An adjustment of general average made at any foreign port where the voyage may terminate, if proved to be in conformity with the law and usage of the country to which such foreign port belongs, is binding on all the parties interested as coadventurers, although they may be subjects of this country, and although the adjustment may be made on principles different from those sanctioned by the laws or usages of Britain. The reason for this rule is, that the parties engaging in the adventure are held to assent to the known maritime usage according to which general average is adjusted on the arrival of the ship and goods at the port of destination.
The subject of general average is only incidentally connected with that of marine insurance, being itself a distinct branch of maritime law. But the subject of particular average arises directly out of the contract of insurance, and will therefore be best considered in connection with it. (See INSURANCE, MARINE.)
For further information with respect to the subject of average, the reader is referred to the famous work of M. Valin, Commentaire sur l'Ordonnance de 1681, tome ii., p. 147-198, ed. 1760; to Emerigon, Traité des Assurances, tome i. p. 598-674; Park On Insurance, chap. vii.; Marshall On Insurance, book i. chap. xii. sect. 7; Stevens's Avernum Essay on Average; Benecke On the Principles of Indemnity in Marine Insurance; Lord Tenterden's excellent work on the Law of Skipping, part iii. chap. viii., &c.; Arnould On Marine Insurance; Baily On General Average.
AVERNUS, a lake of Campania in Italy, near Baiae; occupying the crater of an extinct volcano, and about a mile and a half in circumference. It is described by Strabo as situated within the Lucrine Bay, deep and darksome, surrounded with steep overhanging banks, and only accessible by the narrow passage through which you sail in. Black aged groves stretched their boughs over the watery abyss, and with impenetrable foliage excluded almost every ray of wholesome light; and mephitic vapours ascending from the hot bowels of the earth, being denied free passage to the upper atmosphere, floated along the surface in poisonous mists. Hence these gloomy shades were regarded as sacred to the infernal gods; while a colony of Cimmerians, as well suited to the rites as the place itself, cut dwellings in the bosom of the surrounding hills, and officiated as priests of Tartarus. Superstition, always delighting in dark ideas, early and eagerly seized upon this noxious spot, and hither she led her trembling votaries to celebrate her dismal orgies. Here she evoked the manes of departed heroes; here she offered sacrifices to the gods of the infernal regions, and attempted to dive into the secrets of futurity. Poets enlarged upon the popular theme, and painted its awful scenery with the strongest colours of their art. Homer brings Ulysses to Avernus, as to the mouth of the infernal abodes; and, in imitation of the Grecian bard, Virgil conducts his hero to the same gloomy regions. Whoever sailed thither, first did sacrifice, and endeavoured to propitiate the infernal powers, with the assistance of some priests, who attended upon the place and directed the mystic performance. Within, a fountain of pure water broke out just over the sea, which was fancied to be a vein of the River Styx. Near this fountain was the oracle; and the hot waters, frequent in those parts, were supposed to be branches of the burning Phlegethon. The poisonous effluvia from this lake were said to be so strong that they proved fatal to birds endeavouring to fly over it. Hence the name is said to be derived from *aquos*, i.e. without birds. Virgil ascribes the exhalation, not to the lake itself, but to the cavern near it, which was called *Avernus*, or Cave of the Sybil, and through which the poets feigned a descent to Orcus. Others say the proper name of the lake is *Lacus Averni*, the lake near the cavern, as it is called by some ancient authors. It is still called *Lago Averno*.
The sanctity of these shades remained unimpeached for many ages. Hannibal marched his army to offer incense at this altar; but, according to Livy, he was led to this act of devotion rather by the hopes of surprising the garrison of Putcoli, than by his piety. After a long reign of undisturbed gloom and celebrity, a sudden glare of light was let in upon Avernus; the horrors were dispelled, and with them vanished the sanctity of the lake. The axe of Agrippa levelled its forest with the ground, disturbed its sleepy waters with ships, and gave room for all its malignant effluvia to escape. The virulence of these exhalations, as described by ancient authors, has appeared so very extraordinary, that some modern writers, who know the place in a cleared state only, charge these accounts with exaggeration; but others think them entitled to more respect, since even now the air is feverish and dangerous, as the jaundiced faces of the vinedressers, who have succeeded the Sybils and Cimmerians in the possession of the temple, most ruefully testify. It would appear that the ancients regarded Avernus as a divinity, to whom they offered sacrifices. (See Servius, ad Virg. Georg. ii. 161.)
AVEROES (a corruption of Ibn-Roshd), the most illustrious of Arabian philosophers, was born, according to El Ansari, in the year of the Hegira 520 (A.D. 1120), at Cordova, one of the best families in Andalucia. His grandfather and father successively held the office of cadi in Cordova, a dignity which Averroes himself also enjoyed for many years. After studying theology and jurisprudence, he applied himself with zeal to mathematics, medicine, and philosophy. His preceptor in the latter was the celebrated Avempace (Ibn-Badja). The sudden overthrow of the dynasty of the Almoravides in 1130 by the Almohades was favourable to the interests of science; and Averroes enjoyed, with his friends Ibn-Tofail and Ibn-Zohar, the patronage successively of Abdal-Mumen, Yusuf, and Almansur. In 1169 he was appointed cadi of Seville, and about this time he began to employ his leisure in the composition of the works to which he owes his celebrity. In 1182 he was called to Marocco, to fill the office of physician to the Sultan Yusuf; but some time after returned to Spain as cadi of Cordova. Under Yusuf's son, Almansur, he long enjoyed the highest favour; but towards the close of his life the jealousy of his enemies procured his banishment to Elisana (Lucena), a town not far from Cordova. The charge brought against him was that he corrupted the minds of his pupils by impious and heterodox doctrines. Another version attributes his disgrace to a careless expression in his commentary on Aristotle's Zoology, which had offended the pride of Almansur. He had called the sultan simply *King of the Berbers*, which was construed into an insult to the sovereign both of Spain and of Marocco. Averroes, however, was soon restored to favour, and returned once more to the court of Marocco, where he died in 1198, at an advanced age.
The fame of Averroes is mainly connected with his commentaries on the works of Aristotle, which procured him the same title bestowed in a former age on Alexander the Aphrodisian, of *The Commentator*. To this distinction, alike by the extent and the quality of his labours, he is well entitled. Without pretending to found a system distinct from that of his great master, he modified with the rest of the Arabian philosophers the Aristotelian doctrines, by the infusion of new elements derived from Neo-Platonism. It may be mentioned, that Averroes wrote also a commentary on the *Republic* of Plato. Though professedly a Mussulman, the tendency of his doctrines was such as not unreasonably to call his orthodoxy in question. Holding that what was true in religion was not necessarily so in philosophy, he seems to have regarded the one as but a system of esoteric doctrine, of which the other was the proper interpreter and the final consummation.
Arabian philosophy attained its culminating point in Averroes, and after him no eminent name is found in its history. His doctrines were long of high authority in the Jewish and even in the Christian schools. They gave rise in the thirteenth century to great contentions, which continued till the sixteenth century, when Leo X. issued a bull against them in 1512. The disputes were carried on principally between the followers of Alexander of Aphrodisias, or Alexandrians, and the Averroists, or professed disciples of the Arabian philosopher. One of the chief points on which the latter laid themselves open to the charge of heresy, was the immortality of the soul. Among others Albert the Great and Aquinas wrote treatises against the principles of Averroes.
Many of the treatises of Averroes have never been printed. The first complete Latin edition of his works, containing also the Latin of the Aristotelian text, is that of Mantinus, a Jewish physician, in 11 vols. fol., Venice, 1552. The first eight volumes contain the *Commentaries*; the ninth, besides two other treatises, the *Destruction of the Destruction*, written in reply to Algazel (see Alghazali); and the tenth is chiefly taken up with his great medical work the *Colliget* (*Kulliyat*). The last contains miscellaneous treatises. There have been numerous Averroes editions of separate treatises of Averroes. (Brucker, Hist. Crit. iv. 62, Leipz.; Tennemann, Geschichte der Philos.; Dict. de Sc. Philos.; Wüstenfeld, Geschichte der Arab. Aertze, Götting, 1840; Renan's Averroes et l'Averroisme, Paris, 1852.)
AVERRUNCI (Del), in Pagan Mythology, a name given to certain gods who were specially invoked to avert misfortunes; as Apollo and Hercules among the Greeks, and Castor and Pollux among the Romans.
AVERSA, a town of Naples, province of Terra di Lavoro, situated in a beautiful plain covered with orange-groves and vineyards, about midway between Naples and Capua. It is the seat of a bishopric, said to be the richest in the kingdom, and its founding hospital and lunatic asylum are very celebrated. Pop. 16,000.
AVESBURY, Robert of, an English historian, of whom little more is known than that he was a keeper of the registry of the court of Canterbury in the reign of Edward III. He wrote a history in Latin of the reign of that prince, ending with the battle of Poictiers, in the year 1356. It was printed at Oxford in 1720 by Hearne.
AVESNES, an arrondissement in the department of Nord, in France, containing 10 cantons and 152 communes. Pop. in 1851, 145,046. The capital, of the same name, is situated in a fertile district on the Greater Helpe. It is generally well built, and is fortified on Vauban's system. Its principal building is the cathedral, surmounted by a tower 330 feet high, which is raised on four columns, and has a fine chime. It is the seat of a sub-prefect, and has a tribunal of primary jurisdiction, an agricultural society, and a communal college. Pop. in 1851, 29,46. The principal manufactures are hosiery, coarse serge, and soap; there are also breweries, tanneries, salt-refineries, and brick and marble works. A great part of the town was destroyed by the explosion of a powder-magazine during the siege by the Prussians in July 1815.
AVESTA, a mining village of Sweden, on the Dal-elf, 35 miles S.E. of Falun. It has extensive copper and iron foundries, cloth factories, and saw-mills. The copper coin of the country was formerly struck here. Pop. 700.
AVEYRON, a department in the S. of France, in the ancient province of Guienne. Area 3429 square miles. It is divided into five arrondissements as follows:
| Arrond. | Canton. | Communes. | Pop., 1851 | |---------|---------|-----------|------------| | Rodez | | | | | Espalion| | | | | Milhau | | | | | St Affrique | | | | | Villefranche | | | |
A portion of this department is mountainous, but about one-half is under cultivation, nearly one-fourth heath, one-tenth woods and forests, and rather more than an eighth part meadow land. Vineyards occupy about one-twelfth part of the cultivated land. It has mines of copper, lead, silver, iron, zinc, and antimony; besides considerable coal-fields of great value. The inhabitants are extensively engaged in the rearing of cattle; and there are manufactures of paper, woollen and cotton goods, and leather, to which water-power is skilfully applied. Aveyron exports corn, chestnuts, almonds, hemp, wool, wax, cheese, timber, and cattle. The capital is Rodez.
AVEZZANO, a town of Naples, in Abruzzo Ulteriore II., containing a castle belonging to the Colonna family. Pop. about 3000. Long. 13. 32. E. Lat. 41. 58. N.
AVIANUS or ANIANUS, Florius, the reputed author of 42 Æsopian fables in Latin elegiac verse. They are of little merit, and apparently belong to the third or fourth century of our era. Editions. By Cannegieter, Amstel. 1731; Nodell, Amstel. 1787; Laehmann, Berol. 1845. They were translated into English by Caxton in 1483.
AVIARY, a place set apart for feeding and breeding birds. Aviaries are of various kinds, being sometimes artificially warmed to adapt them for exotic birds. They are occasionally of great extent, inclosing large trees by means of netting thrown over them.
AVICENNA (a corruption of Ibn-Sina), a celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher, honoured with the title of Sheikkh-al-rais, or the prince of physicians, was born at Afshena, near Kharmeithan, a city of Bokhara, where his father, a native of Balkh in Persia, held the office of governor. After some years his father returned to the city of Bokhara, and here Avicenna was educated with extreme care. At the age of ten he was already perfectly versed in the theology of the Koran, in arithmetic, algebra, and the principles of grammar and law. Abu-Abdallah Nathili, a native of Naplous in Syria, at that time professed philosophy at Bokhara with high reputation. Under him Avicenna studied Porphyry's Introduction to the Categories of Aristotle, Euclid's Elements, and the Almagest of Ptolemy; and having soon surpassed the attainments of his master, he began to study the higher sciences alone. In philosophy he devoted himself chiefly to the works of Aristotle, whose Metaphysics he is said to have read forty times before he fully apprehended the meaning. At the age of 16, he was seized with a passion for natural philosophy and medicine, which he studied under a Christian physician named Ben-Yahya. After some time he resumed his philosophical studies with so much ardour, that for a year and a half he never slept for a whole night at a time. At the age of 18 he had acquired so high a reputation that the Emir Nouk Ibn-Mansur, who was a sufferer from severe disease, put himself under his care, and derived so much benefit from his skill, that Avicenna was loaded with favours. Among these not the least was the use of the rich library of the prince, in which he found opportunity for perfecting himself in scientific knowledge. This library was some time after consumed by fire, an accident which was maliciously attributed to Avicenna, who was accused of wishing to destroy the works by which he had so amply profited. At the age of 21 he composed a complete body of science, with the exception of mathematics, to which he gave the name of the Collection. On the death of his father, whom he had latterly assisted in his public duties, he quitted Bokhara and lived for some time in Djordjan, and other towns of Kharasm and Khorassan. At Djordjan he formed the acquaintance of Abu-Mohammed Schinazi, a powerful patron of science, who gave him a house, in which he delivered public lectures on logic and the Almagest. Here Avicenna wrote several treatises for his friend, and began his great work the Canon of Medicine. On leaving Djordjan he changed his residence several times, and finally settled at Hamadhan, the prince of which, Schems-ed-Daulah, in reward for his medical services, made him his vizier. Having given dissatisfaction to the emir's troops, he was forced to retire into concealment, but was soon recalled, and restored to all his honours. Every evening he gave lessons in philosophy and medicine, at the conclusion of which musicians and dancers were called in, and the rest of the evening was spent in festivity. During this time he composed his great philosophical work the Al-Schafa, and continued to write the Canon. After the death of Schems-ed-Daulah, Avicenna lost favour at court, and having been convicted of secretly corresponding with the prince of Isphahan, he was shut up in a fortress. He succeeded at length in making his escape, and found his way to Isphahan, where he enjoyed an honourable repose during the last fourteen years of his life, during which time he composed the greater part of his numerous works. He accompanied his new master in numerous warlike expeditions, the fatigues of which finally subdued a constitution injured by severe study and excess. Seeing his end approaching, he distributed his goods among the poor, freed his slaves, and betaking himself to devotion, prepared to die as a good Mussulman. He died at Hamadhan in the 428th year of the Hegira (A.D. 1036) in the 57th year of his age. His excesses and infirmities gave rise to the saying, that the profound study of philosophy had not taught him good morals, nor that of medicine the art of preserving his own health.
Avicenna, after his death, enjoyed so great a reputation, that till the twelfth century he was preferred for the study of philosophy and medicine to all his predecessors. Even in the schools of Europe his writings were held in high esteem. Of his works, said to amount to more than a hundred, the principal are his *Canon of Medicine*, which long enjoyed an immense reputation as a body of medical science, and has been often reprinted in a Latin translation; and the *Al-Schefa* or *Healing*, an encyclopedia of philosophy, of which the greater part exists in MS. in the Bodleian library. (Abulfarag. Hist. Orient. ed. Pocock, Oxon. 1672; Ibn-Khallikan, Dict. Biogr. ed. M. de Slane, Paris, 1842; Casiri Biblioth. Arab. Hisp.; Aboulfeida, Annales, Copenhagen, 1789; Mines de l'Orient, t. iii. p. 167.)
AVIENUS, Rufus Festus, a Latin poet, who appears to have flourished in the latter half of the fourth century. He is the author of the following works:—1. *Descriptio Orbis Terrarum*, sometimes called *Metaphrasis Periegesos Dionysii*, being derived from the *περιηγήσεις* of that writer; 2. *Ora Maritima*; 3. *Aratea Phanomena*, and *Aratea Prognostica*, which are paraphrases of two works of Aratus. These poems, with the exception of the last two, are contained in Wernsdorf's *Poetae Latini Minores*, vol. v. pt. ii.
AVIGLIANO, a town of Naples, province of Basilicata, 11 miles N.N.W. of Potenza. It stands on the declivity of a hill, and has a fine collegiate church, several convents, and a royal college. The surrounding country is said to produce the finest cattle in the kingdom. A part of the town was destroyed by a land-slip in 1824. Pop. 9000.
AVIGNON, an arrondissement in the department of Vaucluse, in France, divided into 5 cantons and 20 communes; area 124,304 acres. Pop. in 1851, 78,382. The capital, of the same name, is situated in a beautiful valley on the left bank of the Rhone. It is surrounded by walls planted with trees, which form an agreeable promenade. The houses are old but large, the streets narrow and crooked; but several of the public edifices are magnificent, particularly the cathedral and the ancient palace of the popes. Pop. 31,812. It is the seat of an archbishop, and has tribunals of primary jurisdiction and commerce, a royal college, a theological seminary, a society of arts, a normal school, a public library, theatre, &c. The chief object of industry is the preparation of silk, and the manufacture of silk goods; there are also manufactures of paper, leather, hats, jewellery, &c. Till the French revolution this city belonged to the papal see, and was the residence of the several popes from 1303 to 1376. It was seized by the republicans in 1791, and after some barbarous proceedings was at length united to France. The name of Petrarch is associated with Avignon; and here he first beheld the Laura whom he has immortalized. Long. 4. 52. 20. E. Lat. 43. 56. 58. N.
AVILA, a province of Spain, one of the modern divisions of the kingdom of Old Castile. It is situated between Long. 4.14. and 5.55. W., and Lat. 40. 48. and 41. 18. N.; and is bounded on the N. by Valladolid; E. by Segovia and Madrid; S. by Toledo and Caceres; and W. by Salamanca. Area 277 square leagues; population in 1849, 132,936. It contains one city, 72 towns, 326 villages, and 334 parishes. It is judicially divided into 6 districts or *partidos*; but naturally consists of two sections, differing completely in soil, climate, productions, and social economy. The northern portion, comprehending the Moraña, the district of Arevalo, part of Avila and Piedrahita, and the plain of Pajares, is generally level; the soil is of indifferent quality, strong and marly in a few places, but in all the valleys of the Sierra de Avila, rocky; and the cold of winter is compensated by extreme heat in summer. The population of this part is agricultural. The southern division, comprehending the districts of Arenas de San Pedro, Cebrieros, Barco, and part of Piedrahita and Avila, is one mass of rugged granitic *sierras*, interspersed, however, with sheltered and well-watered valleys, abounding with cattle and rich vegetation. The winter here, especially in the elevated region of the Paramera and the waste lands of Avila, is long and severe, but the climate is not unhealthy. The inhabitants live by the rearing of cattle. The principal mountain chains are the Guadarrama, separating this province from Madrid, and the Sierras de Avila, a continuation of them westward, the Sierra de Gredos, running from the S. of Piedrahita through Barco, Arenos, and part of Cebrieros, and the Paramera, stretching southwards from the city of Avila into Arenas and Cebrieros. The various ridges which ramify from the latter are covered with wood, presenting a striking contrast to the bare peaks of the Sierra de Gredos, and the barren levels in which they rise on the N. The principal rivers are the Alberche, flowing through the districts of Piedrahita and Avila towards Madrid and Toledo; the Tormes, through Piedrahita and Barco into Salamanca; the Corneja, from E. to W., through the valley of the same name and joining the Tormes; the Adaja, rising at the foot of the Pass of Villatoro, flowing through the valley of Ambles, and entering Valladolid; and the Tiétar through Cebrieros and Arenas into Cáceres. The mountains contain silver, copper, iron, and lead, but their mineral wealth has been greatly exaggerated, and has not yet been subjected to any continued trial. Quarries of fine marble and jasper exist in the district of Arenas.
This once flourishing province has gradually declined in wealth and population during the last two centuries, a result due less to the want of activity on the part of the inhabitants than to the oppressive manorial and feudal rights and the strict laws of entail and mortmain, which have acted as barriers to improvement. The principal production is the wool of the Merino sheep, which at one time yielded an immense revenue. Game is plentiful, and the rivers abound in fish, specially trout. There is little trade, and the manufactures are few, consisting chiefly of copper utensils, lime, soap, cloth, paper, combs, &c. The state of elementary education is comparatively good, and the ratio of crime is proportionately low. (Madoz, *Diccionario de España.*)
AVILA (ancient *Abula*), a city of Spain, the capital of the above province, is situated on the right bank of the Adaja, about 3000 feet above the sea-level, at the termination of the Guadarrama Mountains. It is surrounded by an ancient wall still in good preservation, about two miles in circumference, crowned by a breastwork, with towers of great strength. Avila is the seat of a bishop suffragan to Santiago, and has a Gothic cathedral, 8 parish churches, several monasteries and schools, an infirmary and a foundling hospital. It was formerly the seat of a university, and had large woollen manufactures, but its institutions and industry have greatly decayed. The inhabitants now maintain about 15,000 head of sheep. This is the birthplace of Sta Teresa de Jesus, the patroness of Spain. Pop. 4121.
AVILA, Gil Gonzalez d', a Spanish biographer and antiquary, born at Avila about the year 1577, died in his native city in 1658. He was made historiographer of Castile in 1612; in 1641 he was made, in addition, historiographer of the Indies. Among his numerous works, the most valuable are his *Teatro de las Grandezas de Madrid* (Madrid, 1623, fol.), and his *Teatro Eclesiastico*, descriptive of the metropolitan churches and cathedrals of Castile, with lives of the prelates. (Madrid, 1645-53, 4 vols. 4to.)
AVILES, San Nicolas de, a town of Spain, province of Oviedo, about a league from the sea-coast, in Lat. 43.34 N., Long. 5.58 W. It has a considerable trade by means of its port, which affords good anchorage for all classes of vessels; and has been chosen as the terminus for the great North of Spain Railroad to Madrid. A line of steam packets between Falmouth and Aviles will thus bring London and Madrid within four days of each other, should that line ever be completed. There are here some copper works, and in the neighbourhood are veins of iron and coal, which, however, have not been worked. The stone quarries are extensive and productive. Aviles has two parish churches, a theatre, and an excellent public school, with an attendance of 400 pupils. Pop. 5600.
AVISON, CHARLES, an organist at Newcastle-on-Tyne, was a pupil of Geminiani, that able violinist, but dry and uninteresting composer. In 1752, Avison published An Essay on Musical Expression, in which he had the amazing folly to hold up his master as superior to Handel. It appears that this book was not written by himself, but by his friends Dr John Brown and William Mason. Dr William Hayes, Professor of Music at Oxford, published in 1753 Remarks on Avison's Essay, in which he severely criticised the latter, as well as Avison's musical compositions. Avison replied unsatisfactorily in a second edition of his Essay, in the same year. Avison's music has little merit; but he did a service to the art, by pointing out in his essay the excellence of B. Marcello's music to the psalms, and by proposing their republication in England with English words. Mr John Garth, organist at Durham, undertook to do this, and, aided by an extensive subscription, completed the work in eight volumes folio. Avison died at Newcastle in 1700.
AVIZ, a walled town of Portugal, on the river of the same name in Alentejo, and containing about 1500 inhabitants. It is still the headquarters of the knights of the order of Aviz, founded by Alphonso I. in 1146. Its defences are in ruins.
AVLONA or VALONA, a town and seaport of Albania, capital of the pashalic of the same name. It stands on an eminence near the Gulf of Avalona, an inlet of the Adriatic, and has a fort in Lat. 48.27.5 N. Long. 19.26.5 E. The port, which is protected by the island of Sasseno, is the best on the Albanian coast. Population, including suburbs, about 9000, comprising Christians, Turks, and Jews. The Christian population are principally engaged in commerce, and the Turks in the manufacture of woollen stuffs and arms. The material imported into this country for tanning, under the name of Valonia, is the pericarp of an acorn produced in that country.
AVORDUPOIS, the name of a weight, derived from the French, avoir du poise, to have weight. Its pound contains 16 ounces, in distinction to the pound troy which has only 12. This weight is used for groceries and all other commodities except the precious metals, gems, and medicines. The pound avordupois contains 7000 grains troy, and is equal to 8532.5 Paris grains. See WEIGHTS and MEASURES.
AVOLA, a city on the coast of Sicily, in the intendency of Syracuse, with 7000 inhabitants. There are sugar plantations near it; and it has some trade in wine, grain, oil, honey, &c.
AVON, a Celtic word signifying a river, is the name of several rivers in Britain, the principal of which are:—1. UPPER AVON, which rises at Avon-well, near Naseby, in Northamptonshire, flows through the counties of Leicester, Warwick, and Worcester, passing Stratford and Evesham, and falls into the Severn at Tewkesbury. Its length is nearly 100 miles, and it is navigable for barges of 40 tons up to Stratford. Its principal affluents are the Alne, the Leamse, the Stour, the Sow, and the Swift.—2. LOWER AVON rises near Tetbury, flows westward through the counties of Gloucester, Wilts, and Somerset, and passing Bristol enters the Bristol Avon Channel 10 miles below that city, after a course of about 80 miles.—3. AVON, HAMPSHIRE, rises near Devizes, flows generally southward through Wiltsshire and Hampshire, and falls into the English Channel a little below Christchurch, after a course of 65 miles.
AVRANCHES, an arrondissement in the department of Manche, in France, containing 9 cantons and 123 communes. Area 243,292 acres. Pop. in 1851, 117,032. The chief town, Avranches (Abrincæ), was in the time of the Romans an important military station, and has in more modern times sustained several sieges. It stands on a wooded hill, commanding a fine view of the bay and rock of St Michel, about three miles distant. At the foot of the hill flows the River Sezéz, which at high tide is navigable from the sea. The principal trade is in corn, cider, and salt. Avranches was formerly a bishop's see; and its cathedral, destroyed in the time of the first French Revolution, was the finest in Normandy. Its site is now occupied by an open place, called after the celebrated Huet, Bishop of Avranches. The agreeable situation and climate of this town make it a favourite residence of English families. Pop. 8580.