second double bridge was built, Xerxes poured an offering of wine on the waters and prayed to the sun; then throwing a cup and a Persian sword into the Hellespont he ascended his throne on the heights of Abydos. Here he watched for a whole week the ceaseless march of his army, perhaps a million in number, made up of forty-six different nations, each dressed in its national costume. Abydos is famous also as the scene of the story of Hero and Leander, which see.
Abyssinia (ăb′i-sin′ĭ-ä), a country of eastern Africa, southwest of the Red Sea. It is a tableland, from which rise flat-topped mountains, intersected by deep valleys and gorges. The royal house, which reigned for centuries, traced its lineage back to the Queen of Sheba. In 1850 Theodorus, a military adventurer, revolted and was crowned emperor. He first sent embassies to England and France and received a British consul at his court. It was his imprisonment of the consul and of an embassy sent to inquire into the matter that caused the English government to send Sir Robert Napier from Bombay with a relief expedition. The capital, Magdala, was stormed and captured, Theodorus shooting himself when told that the city gates had given way. This occurred in 1868, and for some time after the English forces withdrew lawlessness prevailed. In 1872 John II was crowned emperor. He was killed in battle in 1889 and was succeeded by his adversary, Menelek, the present king, who reigns under the title of Menelek II. In 1885 Italy occupied the port of Massowah, and sought to acquire territory inland, claiming, by treaty in 1889, a protectorate over Abyssinia. This led to a protracted war, and in 1896 the Italian army of invasion was beaten with great loss. As a result, Italy withdrew her claim to a protectorate over Abyssinia. In 1902 the boundary between Abyssinia and the British Sudan was adjusted by treaty. The area of Abyssinia is over 400,000 square miles, with an estimated population of five and a half millions. There are many small towns, few with a population exceeding 5,000. But little land is cultivated, the chief pursuit of the people being the herding of cattle, sheep and goats. A railway line connects Diré Dawa in southeastern Abyssinia with the port of Jibuti, 186 miles distant. Telegraph and telephone systems are in use. Barley, wheat, millet, hops and tobacco are produced in considerable quantities. The annual product of coffee is about 50,000 bags.
Academy, The French, founded in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, was the great authority in France in all matters of scholarship until it was disbanded during the French Revolution in 1793. Its members were forty of the first scholars of the country, who met three times a week. Its greatest work was the publication of its dictionary of the French language after fifty years of labor. The Academy was reconstructed in 1795, and in its original form it was restored by Louis XVIII in 1816.
Aca′dia (a-kā′dĭ-a) or Acadie. It was in 1497, or thereabouts, that the Cabots visited, if they were not the discoverers of, Nova Scotia. French Colonists came here in 1604. They were driven out by settlers from Virginia who rested their claim on the right of discovery. The French gave the land the name of Acadie. In 1621 it was changed to Nova Scotia. In 1621 James I granted the peninsula to Sir William Alexander. In 1654 the French again established themselves in the colony. The country was ceded to them in 1667, but the English regained it in 1713.
The French Acadians now make one-tenth of the population of Nova Scotia. In only one county (Richmond) have they a majority. They are as one to four of the population of New Brunswick. Their settlements in New Brunswick are compact. One-seventh of the population of Prince Edward Island is Acadian. Their chief center in Prince Edward is at Tignish, on the west coast. There are 140,000 Acadians in the maritime provinces.
Accordion (ăk-kor′dĭ-ŭn), a musical instrument invented by Damian, at Vienna, about 1829. It is made on the principle of a bellows, the sound being produced by the action of wind on metallic reeds. Keys are ranged on each side, which are touched by the fingers as the instrument moves backward and forward. It is manufactured chiefly in Paris.
Acetylene (a-sĕt′ĭ-lēn) (C2 H2), a gas, slightly lighter than air, which is extensively used for illumination. It burns with a brilliant, white flame, which is smoky, except when specially constructed burners are used. It is usually prepared by the action of water upon a calcium carbide, a material made by exposing a mixture of limestone and coke to a very high heat in the electric furnace. With air, acetylene gives explosive mixtures, and when under pressures of two or three atmospheres, or more, it is powerfully explosive by itself. The pure gas is said to be odorless and non-poisonous, but, as usually made, it contains small quantities of strong-smelling and somewhat poisonous gases. Acetylene gas is widely used in villages and country houses not served by ordinary gas systems, consumers installing necessary apparatus and generating their own gas.
Achæan League (ä-kē′ȧn lēg), originally a confederacy of ten cities of Achaia, which grew into power after the fall of the greater Greek powers. Later it included nearly all the Greek cities, and for fifty years resisted the attacks of Rome.
