Astrakhan. Niskney Novogorod, Moscow, and St. Petersburgh, in the year 1824," second edition, 2 vols., 1827; "Narrative of a Journey across the Balcan; also, of a Visit to Azani, and other newly discovered Ruins in Asia Minor, in 1829–30," 2 vols. 1831; "Memoirs of the Marquis of Rockingham and his Contemporaries," 2 vols., 1852; and "Fifty Years of my Life," an autobiography, 2 vols., 1876, third edition, 1877.
ALBERT (Archduke of Austria), Frederick Rodolph, born August 3, 1817, is the son of the late Archduke Charles and the Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. He married, in 1844, the Princess Hildegarde, of Bavaria, who died April 2, 1864. leaving two daughters. At an early age he entered the army, commanded a division in Italy in 1849, took an important part in the battle of Novara, received at the end of the campaign the command of the 3rd Corps d'Armée, and was afterwards appointed Governor-General of Hungary. During a leave of absence accorded to Field-Marshal Benedek, in 1861, he was appointed to the command of the Austrian troops in Lombardy and Venetia. During the campaign of 1866 he gained a victory over the Italian army at Custozza, and, after the battle of Sadowa, he was made (13th July, 1866) Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian army, which title he retained till March, 1869, when he exchanged it for that of Inspector-General of the army. He published, in 1869, a work on "Responsibility in War" (Ueber die Verantwortlichkeit im Kriege). This has been translated into French by L. Dufour, captain of artillery, and an English translation of it is given in Capt. W. J. Wyatt's "Reflections on the Formation of Armies, with a View to the Re-organization of the English Army," 1869.
ALBONI, Maria, was born at Cesena, in the States of the Church, in 1824. Her father, who held a post in the customs department, gave her a good education. Having, at an early age, given proof of possessing an exquisite taste for music and singing, she became the pupil of Rossini, and at fifteen made her début at the Communal Theatre at Bologna. It was a great success, and led to her being engaged at the theatre of La Scala, at Milan, where she established her reputation so firmly that she undertook a professional tour through most of the capitals of Europe, and appeared, in 1846, at Covent Garden Theatre, London, then under the direction of Mr. Delafield. Here she presented a counter attraction to Jenny Lind at the rival house of Her Majesty's Theatre, and was at once enrolled amongst the leading singers of Europe. In 1847 she went to France, and in October gave three or four concerts at the Parisian Opera, and succeeded in attaining the highest position. She accepted an engagement, on her own terms, from M. Vatel, the director of the Italian Opera, and played in succession the parts of Arsace in "Semiramide"; of Malcolm in "Donna del Lago;" and of Orsinia in "Lucrezia Borgia;" besides appearing in "Cenerentola," "Il Barbiere," and other pieces. Madame Alboni has visited America and other countries, in all of which she has experienced an enthusiastic reception, and has appeared during provincial tours at Dublin, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester, and most of the larger cities of the three kingdoms. During the last few seasons of her professional career Madame Alboni was engaged at Her Majesty's Theatre, and there was scarcely an opera of high merit in which she did not appear. Madame Alboni's celebrity as a lyric artiste is chiefly owing to the power, fine quality, flexibility, and compass of her rich contralto voice, which ranges as high as that of a mezzo-soprano; and her florid style
