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1822, by a number of learned men. Its honorary president is the duke of Orleans. It opened its sittings April 21, 1823, having already commenced, in July, 1822, the publication of the Journal Asiatique, ou Recueil de Mémoires, d'Extraits et de Notices relatifs à l'Histoire, à la Philosophie, aux Sciences, à la Littérature et aux Langues des Peuples Orientaux. The 2d vol. appeared in 1823. The museum connected with it was established in 1823. The principal members, who are, at the same time, editors of the journal, are Chézy, Cocquebert, de Montbret, Degérando, Fauriel, Grangeret, de Lagrange, Hase, Klaproth, Abel Remusat, SaintMartin, Silvestre de Sacy. The latter is president of the standing committee. In the Asiatic societies at Paris and London, professorships of the Oriental languages are wanting, which are connected with the society at Petersburg. London is particularly deficient in this respect, the professors being confined to Oxford and Cambridge. The newly-established professorships in Haleybury are destined exclusively for the education of young men for the service of the East India company. In Paris, lectures are given on the Arabian, Persian, Turkish, Sanscrit, Chinese and Tartar languages, in the collège royal, and in the royal library.

ASIOLI, Bonifacio; a musical composer, born at Corregio, in Modena, 1769. As early as his 8th year, he composed without instruction; in his 10th, he was instructed in composition by Morigi, in Parma; in his 12th, he gave two concerts at Vicenza. After a residence of four months in Venice, he returned to Corregio, where he was appointed master of the chapel, and composed musical pieces of every description. In his 18th year, he went to Turin, where he resided about nine years, and likewise composed much. In 1796, he again visited Venice, and, in 1799, Milan, where he remained till 1813, was made director of music to the then viceroy, and composed very assiduously. As censore of the conservatory in Milan, he wrote several books of instruction, e. g., Trattato d'Armonia, Principj Elementari, Dialogo sul Trattato, &c., Preparazione al bel Canto, contenente Molti Solfeggi d'Armonia. Since 1813, he has lived in his native place. His greater works are little known beyond Italy, but are said to be very scientific. (For a list of his works, see the Leipsic Musical Journal, 1820, No. 40.)

ASLAN, or ASLANI; in commerce, a name given to the Dutch dollar, in most

parts of the Levant. Sometimes the worl is written asselani. It is of Turkish ori gin, signifying a lion, the figure stamped on these dollars. It is silver, but much alloyed, and is current for 115 to 120 aspers. (See Asper.)

ASMANNSHAUSEN, wine of. The plant which yields this wine grows on the Rhine, below Rüdesheim, a village on the banks of that river, on a soil formed of blue slate. The red kind, the production of a small, red, Burgundy vine, is the more valuable. Its color is peculiar. In some places, an awme (a seventh of an English tun) of the best must often costs from 120 to 160 florins. It retains its value only 3 or 4 years. After this time, it grows worse every year, and precipitates the whole of its red coloring-matter. Many delicate judges of wine prefer the red sort to the best Burgundy. It is distinguished by color and taste from all the other Rhenish wines. We know of instances in which it has borne transportation across the Atlantic.

ASMODAI; according to Hebrew my thology, an evil spirit which slew seven husbands of Sara, daughter of Raguel, at Rages. By the direction of the angel Raphael, the young Tobias drove him away, with the smell of a fish's liver burnt on the coals, into the uttermost parts of Egypt, where the angel bound him.-Asmodai signifies a desolator, a destroying angel; it is also written Abaddon.

ASOPUS; the name of several rivers in Greece. The most celebrated of this name are those in Achaia and Boeotia. (See Egina.)

ASP, ASPIC; a species of viper found in Egypt, resembling the cobra da capel lo, or spectacle serpent of the East Indies, except that the neck of the asp is not so capable of expansion, and its color is greenish, mingled with brown. The asp is the coluber haje, L., vipera haje, Geoff.

This venomous serpent is found in the vicinity of the Nile, and has been celebrated for ages, on account of the quick and easy death resulting from its bite. When approached or disturbed, this viper, like the cobra da capello, elevates its head and body to a considerable degree, extends the sides of its neck, and appears to stand erect to attack the aggressor. This peculiarity gave origin to the ancient Egyptian superstition, that the asps were guardians of the spots they inhabited, and fed to the adoption of the figure of this reptile as an emblem of the protecting genius of the world. Hence, on the por tals of Egyptian temples, it is common to

see, carved on each side of a globe, one of these serpents, in the attitude above described. The same device is also found among the paintings on the coffins of mummies, which also contain representations of the asp in various relations to other hieroglyphics.-The circumstance originating the preceding notion has led to the employment of the asp as a dancing serpent by the African jugglers, either for exhibition as a source of profit, or to impose upon vulgar credulity. The asps for this purpose are carefully deprived of their fangs, which enables their owners to handle them with impunity. When they are to be exhibited, the top of their cage, commonly a wicker-basket, is taken off, and, at the same moment, a flute or pipe is played. The asp immediately assumes the erect position, and the balancing motions, made during its protracted efforts to maintain this attitude, are what is called dancing. A really curious circumstance is stated, on good authority, relative to the asp, which is, that the jugglers know how to throw it into a sort of catalepsy, in which condition the muscles are rigidly contracted, and the whole animal becomes stiff and motionless. This is done by compressing the cervical spine between the finger and thumb.. The trick is called changing the serpent into a rod or stick. In the relation given by Moses of the miracles performed before Pharaoh, to induce him to allow of the departure of the Israelites, we read, that "Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh called also the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments: for they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." Exod. vii. 10, 11, 12. It is possible, that, to keep up their credit with Pharaoh, by appearing to possess equal power with Aaron, the Egyptian jugglers held asps in their hands, in the cataleptic condition above described, as rods, which only required to be thrown down to resume their activity as serpents. The superiority of the real miracle of Aaron's transformed rod over this pretended one of the jugglers, is shown by the swallowing up of the other serpents.-The asp has also acquired a great degree of notoriety in consequence of the use made of it by Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, equally famous for the brilliancy of her charms and the licentiousness of her life. In his Life of

Mark Antony, Plutarch makes the following statement, which shows to what an extent a vicious course of living had corrupted a noble and talented woman :"Antony and Cleopatra had before established a society, called the inimitable livers, of which they were members; but they now instituted another, by no means inferior in splendor or luxury, called the companions in death. Their friends were admitted into this, and the time passed in mutual treats and diversions. Cleopatra, at the same time, was making a collection of poisonous drugs, and, being desirous to know which was least painful in the operation, she tried them on the capital convicts. Such poisons as were quick in their operations, she found to be attended with violent pain and convulsions; such as were milder were slow in their effects. She therefore applied herself to the examination of venomous creatures, and caused different kinds of them to be applied to different persons, under her own inspection. These experiments she repeated daily, and at length she found that the bite of the asp was the most eligible kind of death; for it brought on a gradual lethargy, in which the face was covered with a gentle sweat, and the senses sunk easily into stupefaction. Those who were thus affected showed the same uneasiness at being disturbed or awaked, that people do in the profoundest natural sleep." Langhorne's Plutarch.-It is not surprising that Cleopatra finally resorted to the asp to destroy her own life. This is stated very doubtfully by Plutarch, and is, by Brown, ranked among his popular errors; yet, as the Egyptian queen is known to have committed suicide, we cannot doubt, after what we have cited from Plutarch, that she resorted to the mode of dying which her own experiments had proved most easy. As two small punctures were found on her arm, quite adequate to produce the result, if made by an asp, we conclude, with Shakspeare, that it is

-most probable

That so she died; for her physician tells me She hath pursued conclusions infinite Of easy ways to die. Antony and Cleopatra. -Dreadful as the poison of the asp, and, indeed, of most of the vipers, is, it may be rendered entirely harmless by immediately applying forcible pressure on the side of the wound nearest the heart. In this way the cupping-glass, ligature, &c., produce their beneficial effects, and not by the removal of the poison. For a most satisfactory establishment of this

highly important fact, the scientific world is indebted to Caspar W. Pennock, M. D. of Philadelphia, whose experiments are published in the 1st vol. of the American Journal of the Medical Sciences, where he has shown that simple pressure, how ever applied, sufficient to close the vessels on the side of the wound next the heart, prevents any poison, even that of the rattlesnake, from producing injurious

consequences.

ASPARAGUS. Asparagus officinalis is a well known plant, the young shoots of which are a favorite culinary vegetable. Few circumstances in the phenomena of vegetation are more remarkable than the gradual enlargement of size, and improvement of quality, which have taken place in the cultivation of asparagus. It grows wild on the pebbly beach near Weymouth (England), and in the island of Anglesea; but its stem, in these situations, is not usually thicker than a goose-quill, and its whole height does not exceed a few inches: whereas, in gardens, its stem is sometimes nearly three quarters of an inch thick, and its height, when at maturity, is four or five feet. Asparagus is one of the greatest delicacies which our kitchen gardens afford, and it is particularly valuable from the early season at which it is produced. It is usually raised from seed, in beds formed for the purpose; and the plants should remain three years in the ground before they are cut; after which, for several years, they will continue to afford a regular annual supply. During the winter, they are secured from the effects of frost by the beds being covered some inches thick with straw or litter. In the cutting of asparagus, the knife is passed three or four inches beneath the ground. The plants are cut by sloping the blade upward; and the white part that we see is that which had not previously been exposed to the air. The smallest plants are suffered to grow, for the purpose of producing berries to restock the beds, and keep them continually in a state of supply.

ASPASIA was born at Miletus, in Ionia. Her father's name was Axiochus. She seems to have followed the example of Thargelia, another beautiful woman of Ionia, who united a love for politics and learning with all the graces of her sex. All foreign women, in Athens, were deprived of the benefits of the laws: their children were looked upon as illegitimate, even though they were the offspring of a lawful marriage. To this circumstance it is in a great measure owing, that A.

has been classed among courtesans. She devoted her attention to politics and eloquence. Plato mentions an elegan speech, which she delivered in praise of the Athenians who fell at Lechæum; and she is asserted to have instructed Pericles in eloquence. Her house was the general resort of the most virtuous, learned and distinguished men in Greece, and Socrates often favored her with his company: he was even accused of a sensual passion for her. She inspired the strongest and most enduring affection in the heart of the noble Pericles, who understood the grand secret of being, at the same time, the citizen and the ruler of a republic. The people used to call Pericles Olympian Jupiter, and his companion Aspasia Juno. The orator divorced his former wife to marry A. Plutarch relates, that he constantly evinced the liveliest attachment for her a feeling which could never have been inspired by a low and corrupt courtesan. She is accused of having been the cause of two wars-one between the Athenians and Samians, on account of her native Miletus; the other between the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, on account of Megara. Plutarch acquits her of this charge, and Thucydides does not mention her name, though he relates the minutest circumstances which gave birth to the Peloponnesian war. The accusation alluded to is mentioned only by Aristophanes, whose historical correctness cannot be trusted. When the Athenians were dissatisfied with Pericles, instead of attacking him, they persecuted the objects of his particular favor, and accused A., among others, of contempt of the gods. Pericles burst into tears, in the midst of the areopagus, while advocating her cause, and disarmed the severity of the judges. After his death, A., who had been the friend of Socrates, the companion of Pericles, and the object of Alcibiades' devoted adoration, is said to have attached herself to an obscure individual, of the name of Lysicles, whom she soon made, however, an influential citizen in Athens. I may be said, with safety, that A. had an important influence over the whole nation; for the men who sat at the helm of government were formed in her society. Her name was so celebrated, that the younger Cyrus named his favorite Milto after her; for Aspasia signified the loveliest of women, as Alexander the bravest of heroes.

ASPECT, in astronomy and astrology, denotes the situation of the planets and

stars with respect to each other. There are five different aspects:-1, sextile aspect, when the planets or stars are 60° distant, and marked thus, *; 2, the quartile or quadrate, when they are 90° distant, marked; 3, trine, when 120° distant, marked ; 4, opposition, when 180° distant, marked 8; and, 5, conjunction, when both are in the same degree, marked d. Kepler added 8 more. It is to be observed, that these aspects, being first introduced by astrologers, were distinguished into benign, malignant, and indif ferent; and Kepler's definition of aspect, in consequence, is, "Aspect is the angle formed by the rays of two stars meeting on the earth, whereby their good or bad influence is measured."

-ASPEN. The aspen or trembling poplar (populus tremula), is a tree which grows in moist woods, has nearly circular leaves, toothed and angular at the edges, smooth on both sides, and attached to foot-stalks so long and slender as to be shaken by the slightest wind. There is scarcely any situation in which the aspen will not flourish; but it succeeds best where the soil is moist and gravelly. Its wood is light, porous, soft, and of a white color, and, though inferior in excellence to that of the white poplar, is applicable to many useful purposes. It is used, particularly, for field-gates, the frames of pack-saddles, for milk-pails, clogs, and the wood of pattens. It is improper for bedsteads, as it is liable to be infested by bugs. In some countries, the bark of the young trees is made into torches.

ASPER, ASPRE, or ARKTSHE; the smallest silver coin of Turkey. The common asper, since 1764, has amounted to the 35th part of a drachm of fine silver. 3 make a para, 120 a piaster or dollar. The great or heavy aspers, in which the courtofficers receive their payment, are of double the value and weight of the common asper.

ASPERN and ESSLINGEN; two villages lying east of Vienna, and on the opposite bank. They are celebrated for the battle fought, May 21st and 22d, 1809, between the archduke Charles and the emperor Napoleon. After the fall of the capital, the Austrian general resolved to suffer a part of the enemy's forces to pass the Danube, and then to surround them with his own army, and drive them, if possible, into the river. Every thing seemed to favor this plan; but it was frustrated by the energy of the French general, and the extraordinary valor of his troops. The

archduke now stationed himself behind Gerasdorf, between Bisamberg and Russbach, from which he issued with his army in five columns, consisting of 75,000 men, with 288 pieces of cannon, May 21, at noon, just as Napoleon, with about half his forces, had left the island of Lobau, in the Danube. By a dexterous evolution of his troops, he immediately formed a semi-circle, in which the French army was, in a manner, enclosed. In the narrow plain between Aspern and Esslingen (they are about two miles distant from one another), a bloody engagement now commenced. Every thing depended on the possession of these two villages: Aspern was, at first, taken by the Austrians, again lost and retaken, till they, at length, remained masters of it: from Esslingen they were continually repulsed. Napoleon repeatedly attempted to force the centre of the Austrians, but was frustrated by the firmness of their infantry. At last, the darkness of the night put a temporary stop to the contest. The bridge, connecting the right bank of the Danube with the island of Lobau, had already been destroyed, so that the French reënforcements came up slowly, being compelled to sail over in small parties, and the whole corps of Davoust, on the right bank, were idle spectators of the battle. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the battle was renewed on the 22d; the French army being now increased so as, at least, to equal the Austrians in number. The engagement was of the same exterminating character as on the day before; thousands of lives were sacrificed in vain attempts to capture the villages. Aspern continued to be the strong-hold of the Austrians, and Esslingen of the French. When the army of Napoleon gave up all hopes of gaining the victory by forcing the centre of the Austrians, Esslingen served to secure their retreat to the island of Lobau, which was disturbed only by the cannon of the archduke. It has been said, that the archduke did not make a proper use of his advantage; but this assertion will be shown to be erroneous, if we consider the position of the French on the island, the courage of his adversary, and the want of materials for rebuilding bridges. The loss of the Austriaus, in killed, wounded, &c., was estimated at less than a third of the whole army; that of the French at half. The latter lost, on this occasion, marshal Lannes. (q.v.) The feelings of the combatants were too violent to allow of many prisoners being made.