Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/358

334 ALLOA ALLOTROPISM master) " Reflections upon the Books of Holy Scripture " (1688) ; " Remarks on the Churches of Piedmont" (1690); "Remarks on the An- cient Churches of the Albigenses" (1692), &c. ALLOA, a seaport town of Clackmannanshire, Scotland, 30 m. E. N. E. of Edinburgh, at the head of the frith of Forth; pop. about 7,000. It has an excellent harbor, and a dry dock capable of containing the largest ships ; also a spacious wet dock opened in 1863. In the town and its vicinity are extensive collieries, distilleries, breweries, and iron, glass, brick, and tile works. ALLOBKOGES, a people of Gaul, whose terri- tory comprehended parts of what is now called Dauphiny and Savoy, chiefly between the Isere and the Rh6ne. Their principal town was Vienna, now Vienne, on the left bank of the Rh6ne. They were brought under the domin- ion of Rome in 121 B. C., by Fabius Maximus, and ever after remained faithful to their con- querors, though at times discontented. Their name signified "dwellers on mountains." ALLODIUM, in law, a landed possession freed from all feudal tenure or service. Several ex- planations have been given of the etymology of the word, but they are all only more or less in- genious conjectures. In early ages the allodium was the most desirable property. In process of time the anarchy consequent on the want of a supreme power made the mutual protec- tion and support of lord and vassal more ex- pedient ; and in England all land passed into fee land, the king being suzerain of the whole country. The theory still remains in slight services, or in small fee farm rents, and in the escheat to the sovereign for want of heirs. In France, before the revolution of 1789, the actual services still remained not nominal, but real, unequivocal, and in some cases odious bur- dens ; serfdom, indeed, was only abolished by an express decree of the assembly. Nulle terre sans seigneur was a maxim of law, and the tyranny and monstrous oppressions of the local seigneur proved that it was no dead letter. In Germany the allodium yet remains to be per- fected. The system of man service is not yet exploded, such as the right to several days' work in harvest or at hunting parties; al- though this is much modified, particularly in Prussia, of late years. The conversion of the feudal soil into allodial land is effected either by means of an annual fee rent, or of a fine payable at once, in lieu of all customary ser- vices. Even in 1595 the last traces of bondage and serfdom in England were not obliterated. A patent to Sir Henry Lea was issued by the crown, giving him power as commissioner to enfranchise a limited number of crown villeins, and to seize all the rest of the estates acquired by parties in villenage to his own use. This monstrous commission, which was, like many other similar enormities, a means of enrich- ing a needy or profligate courtier at the ex- pense of the people, could not have operated except in the case of crown serfs ; the doctrine, Nullum tempus occurrit regi, coming Into op- eration against the unfortunate landholders whose title was barred by the impurity of their blood. In the case of subjects, villenage had become obsolete. ALLOM, Thomas, an English architect and landscape painter, born in 1804. His reputa- tion rests chiefly on his published works illus- trating the scenery, architecture, and antiqui- ties of England, France, and the East. ALLOMAKEE. See ALLAMAKEE. ALLOPATHY, a word created by homoeopa- thists to distinguish other systems of medical practice from their own. Having adopted the opinion that "like cures like" (similia simi- libits curantur) as the fundamental princi- ple of his doctrine, Hahnemann gave to his own system the name of "homoeopathy," de- rived from the Greek 6/iowv, like, or similar, and 7r<i0of, disease, and to other systems the name of "allopathy," from A^Aov, other, or different, and ir&Ooc, disease. ALLORI. I. Alessandro, a Florentine painter, born in 1535, died in 1607. He was a nephew and pupil of Agnolo Bronzino, whose name is sometimes given to him. Michel Angelo was his chief model, and he is reputed one of the best artists of the anatomical school. He ex- celled also -as a portrait painter. II. Cristofcno, also called Bronzino, son of the preceding, born in 1577, died in 1621. He painted several im- portant works for the Florentine churches and convents and the palace of the Medici, and excelled in coloring and delicacy of execution. His best known work is "Judith with the Head of Holofernes," in the Pitti palace, but his St. Julian in the same gallery is esteemed superior to it. His works are very rare. ALLOTROPISM (Gr. ahUrpoiros, in another manner), a word first employed by Berzelias to denote the property in virtue of which the same element can have different chemical char- acters. There exists a vast series of phenom- ena, of which polymorphism constitutes the first term, allotropism the intermediate, and isomerism the extreme term. Sulphur, which crystallizes from its solution in octahedra of the fourth system, when crystallized by means of fusion forms prisms having a rhombic base, of the fifth system; this is a polymorphous body. Phosphorus being heated changes its properties ; if we heat it still further, it regains its original condition. It can therefore exist in two different states, but it is always phos- phorus. This is a phenomenon of allotropism. The formiate of ethyl, CHO S , and the acetate of methyl, CHO a , are two perfectly distinct bodies, although they have the same quanti- tative composition ; they are isomeric. To take an illustration from natural history, allo- tropism only makes races, isomerism creates distinct species. Isomeric bodies receive dis- tinct names ; but sulphur, phosphorus, oxygen, carbon, &c., in their modified forms, that is, in their allotropic conditions, are still sulphur, phosphorus, and oxygen. Originally the word