Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/609

ANT LION ANTOMMARCHI 573 who were sent to Antium from time to time. Later, though at exactly what period is not known, it fell entirely into the hands of the Volscians, and for some time vigorously aided them, according to Livy, in their wars against the Romans. In 468 B. C. it was retaken by the latter, and held till 459, when it again re- volted. For a century it was the chief Vol- scian city, but in 338 it was a third time over- come and garrisoned by Rome. The city con- tinued prosperous, partly because of its excel- lent harbor, partly because of its popularity as a summer resort for the citizens of Rome. Cali- gula and Nero were born in Antium, and Cicero had a villa there. A vast circus, and temples of Venus, JSsculapius, Apollo, and Fortuna, as well as one which was the seat of a celebrated oracle, added to the magnificence of the city. Its prosperity declined with the decline of the western empire, and it was laid waste by the Saracens during their incursions, so that by A. D. 950 it had become a petty fishing village. Pope Innocent XII. (1691-1700) made an at- tempt to restore something of its beauty, but with only temporary success ; and the town, known in modern times by the name of Porto d'Anzo, remained almost deserted until the ac- cession of Pius IX. This pope built there a very beautiful church and a villa which was for many years his favorite summer residence. Other beautiful villas have sprung up around it, and Porto d'Anzo is now a town of about 1,000 inhabitants, occupying almost the centre of the site of ancient Antium, the ruins of which are everywhere visible. Among these ruins were found the Apollo Belvedere and the "Fighting Gladiator" of the Borghese collec- tion, with other art treasures. AflfT LION, or Lion Ant, a species of neuropter- ous insect, of the genus myrmeleon (Linn.), which has become celebrated for the singular manner in which the larva obtains a living prey. The perfect insect (M. formicarium, Linn.) resembles a small dragon fly, has a good power of flight, and is generally found in the warmer parts of Europe. The larva is about half an inch long, of an oval depressed form, and grayish sandy color ; the small head is armed with two strong and long mandibles, serrated and pointed, with which it seizes and sucks the juices of its prey. The powers of locomotion being small, it has recourse to arti- fice to entrap insects. It makes a funnel-shaped excavation in sandy soil, with loose and crum- bling sides, and buries itself, all but the head, at the bottom, waiting for a victim. If an ant or small insect approaches the edge, the sand gives way and it rolls down within reach of the expectant jaws ; after the body has been drained it is cast out by a toss of the head. If the insect be large or likely to escape, the ant lion throws repeated showers of sand upon it by means of the head, until it falls exhausted and defenceless to the bottom of the pitfall. Sometimes a revengeful wasp, well-armed bee, or mail-clad beetle falls into the snare, and the sting of the first two or the powerful jaws of the last often prove fatal to the ant lion. The larva state continues about two years, when a cocoon is spun, in which it is changed into an inactive nymph ; the perfect insect comes out in two or three weeks, and lays the eggs for a new brood in dry and sandy places suited for the operations of the larvae. There are other species both in the old world and the new, all with similar habits. ANTOINE DE BOURBON, duke of Vend6me, and afterward kin of Navarre, the father of Henry IV. of France, born in 1518, died Nov. 17, 1562. He married in 1548 Jeanne d'Albret, only child of Henry II., king of Navarre, and assumed the title of king in her right. Like his brother, the duke of Conde he embraced Protestantism. After the accession to the throne of France of the young king Francis II. (1559), he endeavored to obtain the control of the affairs of that country, but failed through his want of energy and perseverance. On the death of Francis in 1560, he was made lieu- tenant general of the kingdom, and adviser to the queen mother (Catharine de' Medici), dur- ing the minority of Charles IX. He then aban- doned his former associates and religion, and allied himself with the duke of Guise and the constable de Montmorency. Upon the break- ing out of the civil war in 1562, he commanded the royal forces, and died of a wound received at the siege of Rouen. ANTOMMARGHI, Carlo Francesco, physician to Napoleon at St. Helena, born in Corsica, died at San Antonio de Cuba, April 3, 1838. He was professor of anatomy at Florence, where in 1818 Letitia Bonaparte sent Cardinal Fesch to induce him to go to St. Helena. The em- peror at first treated him with marked cold- ness, but afterward honored him with implicit confidence, and in his will left him 100,000 francs. On the emperor's death Antommarchi went to Paris, where he published Les dernierl moments de Napoleon (2 vols. 8vo, 1823). Nearly nine years after Napoleon's death An- tommarchi produced a cast of his head, which purported to have been taken after death. The authenticity of this cast was hotly contested, especially by the advocates of phrenology, against whom it was used as an argument.