Few kings have received so noble a heritage as that to which Ali succeeded. The first years of his reign were prosperous, though disturbed by the Almohades, who were preparing the way for the destruction of the Almoravides. Ali was at last obliged to recall from Spain his son Tashfyn, who was using his utmost endeavours to oppose the victorious career of Alphonso of Aragon, surnamed the Fighter. But the valour of Tashfyn was of little avail against the rising power of the Almohades: disaster followed disaster; and when, in 1143, he succeeded to the throne, but a moiety of the kingdom remained. It was in vain that he received succours from Spain, the troops from that soft climate being little fitted for service in the wild regions of Atlas. Driven from Tlemecen, he sought refuge in Ora ; but Abd-el-Mumen appeared before its walls, and by threats so intimidated the inhabitants that Tashfyn was compelled to attempt escape on horseback, with his favourite wife behind him; but being closely pursued, he urged his horse over a precipice, and with his wife was dashed to pieces. With Tashfyn expired the domination of the Almoravides; for although they still remained in possession of the city of Marocco, their power was completely broken. Ishak-Ibrahim, the son of Tashfyn, was taken and put to death at Alcazar in 1147, on the surrender of Marocco by treachery, and with him the dynasty of the Almoravides became extinct. The remnant of the sect, driven from Spain, took refuge in the Balearic Islands, but it was finally suppressed in 1208. (For the history of the Arabians in Spain, see the works of Cardonne, Condé, St Hilaire, D'Herbelot, Al-Makkari, and Dozy.)
ALMQVIST, Karl Jonas Ludwig, one of the most extraordinary figures that the history of literature can produce, was born at Stockholm in 1793. He began life under highly favourable auspices; but becoming tired of a university career, he threw up the position he held in the capital to lead a colony of friends to the wilds of Wermland. This ideal Scandinavian life soon proved a failure; Almqvist found the pen easier to wield than the plough, and in 1829 we find him once more settled in Stockholm. Now began his literary life; and after bringing out several educational works, he made himself suddenly famous by the publication of his great novel, The Book of the Thorn-Rose. The career so begun developed with extraordinary rapidity; few writers have equalled Almqvist in productiveness and versatility; lyrical, epic, and dramatic poems; romances; lectures; philosophical, æsthetical, moral, political, and educational treatises; works of religious edification, studies in lexicography and history, in mathematics and philology, form the most prominent of his countless contributions to modern Swedish literature. So excellent was his style, that in this respect he has been considered the first of Swedish writers. His life was as varied as his work. Unsettled, unstable in all his doings, he passed from one lucrative post to another, at last subsisting entirely on the proceeds of literary and journalistic labour. More and more vehemently he espoused the cause of socialism in his brilliant novels and pamphlets; friends were beginning to leave him, foes beginning to triumph, when suddenly all minor criticism was silenced by the astounding news that Almqvist, convicted of forgery and charged with murder, had fled from Sweden. This occurred in 1851. For many years no more was heard of him; but it is now known that he went over to America, and under a feigned name succeeded in being appointed secretary to Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln's death, Almqvist again fell under the ban of the law; his MSS., including several unprinted novels, were confiscated and destroyed, but he himself escaped to Europe, where under another alias he continued to exist a short time longer. His strange and sinister existence came to a close at Bremen in 1866. It is by his romances, undoubtedly the best in Swedish, that his literary fame will mainly be supported; but his singular history will always point him out as a remarkable figure even when his works are no longer read. He was another Eugene Aram, but of greater genius, and so far more successful that he escaped
the judicial penalty of his crimes. (
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ALMUG or ALGUM TREE. The Hebrew words Almuggim or Algummim are translated Almug or Algum trees in our version of the Bible (see 1 Kings x. 11, 12; 2 Chron. ii. 8, and ix. 10, 11). The wood of the tree was very precious, and was brought from Ophir (probably some part of India), along with gold and precious stones, by Hiram, and was used in the formation of pillars for the temple at Jerusalem, and for the king's house; also for the inlaying of stairs, as well as for harps and psalteries. It is probably the red sandal-wood of India (Pterocarpus santalinus). This tree belongs to the natural order Leguminosæ, sub-order Papilionaceæ. The wood is hard, heavy, close-grained, and of a fine red colour. It is different from the white fragrant sandal-wood, which is the produce of Santalum album, a tree belonging to a distinct natural order.
ALMUNECAR, a small seaport town of Spain, in the province of Granada, about 33 miles south of the town of that name. It is a place of Moorish origin, and is tolerably well built. The harbour is fit for small vessels only, and is much exposed to gales from the east. Sugar, cotton, and fruits are the chief products of Almunecar and the surrounding country, which is naturally very fertile, but the trade is small compared with that of former times. Population, 5000.
ALNWICK, the county town of Northumberland, is situated on the south bank of the river Alne, 310 miles N. of London, 34 N. of Newcastle, and 29 S. of Berwick. There are remains of the old wall which surrounded the town, and one of the four gates still exists; but most of the houses are comparatively modern, and are laid out in well-paved spacious streets. In the market-place there is a large town-hall, and a handsome building containing an assembly-room and a reading-room. Besides the parish church, Alnwick possesses a beautiful district church, a Roman Catholic chapel, and several Protestant dissenting places of worship. The chief employments are brewing, tanning, and brickmaking, but these manufactures are here of little importance. A small export trade is carried on through Alnmouth in corn, pork, and eggs, and a market is held every Saturday chiefly for these articles. The local government consists of a bailiff, nominated by the Duke of Northumberland, and twenty-four common councilmen, four of whom are elected annually as chamberlains; the councilmen fill up vacancies in their body from the freemen, who usually are about 300 in number. The ceremony of making freemen is of a very peculiar kind. The candidates, mounted on horseback, assemble in the market-place very early in the morning of St Mark's day—the 25th April—clad in white from head to foot, with swords by their sides, and attended by the bailiff and chamberlains, who are mounted and armed in the same manner. From the market-place they proceed, with music playing before them, to a large pool called Freeman's Well, where they dismount and draw up in a body at some distance from the water, and, on a given signal from the bailiff, rush into the pool, and scramble through the mud as fast as they can. As the water is generally very foul, they come out in a dirty condition; but they put on dry clothes, remount their horses, and ride at full gallop round the boundaries of the town. According to tradition, the observance of this custom was enjoined by King John to punish the inhabitants for their carelessness, the king having, it is said, lost his way, and been bemired in a bog, from their neglect of the roads near the town. To the
