Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/840

804 ASCENSION worms which infest the intestines of man and animals : the ascaris vermicularis, mawworm or pin worm, which infests the rectum or low- est intestine ; the tricocephalus dispar, or long thread worm, found in the caecum or upper part of the large intestines ; the A. lumbri- coides, or large round worm, mostly found in the small intestines. The body of the large round worm is long, elastic, and fusiform, or tapering at the two extremities ; the anterior being somewhat obtuse and furnished with three tubercles, which surround the mouth. (See ENTOZOA.) ASCENSION, a S. E. parish of Louisiana, inter- sected by the Mississippi river and bounded N. E. by the Amite river and E. by Lake Maure- pas; area, 420 sq.m. ; pop. in 1870, 11,577, of whom 7,310 were colored. The parish consists chiefly of an alluvial plain. A great part of the land is subject to frequent inundations, and is extremely fertile, particularly on the banks of the river. In 1870 the parish produced 160,542 bushels of Indian corn, 981 bales of cotton, 15,926 Ibs. of rice, 6,423 hhds. of sugar, and 308,587 gallons of molasses. Capital, Don- aldsonville. ASCENSION DAY, a festival of the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, kept in com- memoration of the ascension of Jesus, recorded by the evangelist to have happened on the 40th day after his resurrection. It is kept on Thurs- day, and the day is also called Holy Thursday. It has been observed at least since A. D. 68. In the 5th century Mamertus, bishop of Vienne, instituted a three days' preparation for this festival. This occupies the three days imme- diately preceding Holy Thursday, which are called rogation days. ASCENSION ISLAND, an island about 8 m. in length and 6 in width, lying in the south Atlan- tic ocean, in lat. 7 66' S., Ion. 14 25' W. It is of volcanic formation, mountainous, and was barren and uninhabited until the imprisonment of Napoleon at St. Helena, when it was occu- pied by a small British force, who have con- tinued to cultivate and improve it. Its shores supply a vast number of turtles. It serves as a depot and watering place for ships. ASCII, a town of Bohemia, situated near the frontiers of Saxony and Bavaria, 14 m. N. W. of Eger; pop. in 1869, 9,405. It is the seat of an important industry, especially in silk and woollen goods. Formerly the "dominion of Asch," embracing an area of 41 sq. m., was an immediate territory of the German empire ; in 1331 it was made a fief of the Bohemian crown, but received in return a promise of a perpetual exemption from taxes ; its entire incorporation with Bohemia did not take place till 1770. ASCHAFFENBIHG, a city of Bavaria, in the circle of Lower Fnanconia, on the right bank of the river Main, which is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge, 23 m. E. S. E. of Frank- fort ; pop. in 1871, 9,212. It has a fine palace, the Johannisburg, formerly the residence of the electors of Mentz. Among the other nota- ASCHERSLEBEN ble buildings are the Stiffs Kirche, erected in 980, and the Pompejanum or Pompeian house, which Louis I. built from 1842 to 1849 in imi- tation of the house of Castor and Pollux at Pompeii. Aschaffenburg was a town as early as the 8th century, and in the middle ages often appears in history. During the war between Prussia and Austria, in 1866, an engagement took place at Aschaffenburg on July 14, in which the Austrians were defeated, and 2,000 of their troops were cut off from retreat and captured in the city. ASCHAM, Roger, an English scholar, born in Yorkshire in 1515, died Dec. 30, 1568. He was of humble parentage, and was brought up by Sir Anthony Wingfield, with whose sons he was educated. In 1534 he graduated at St. John's college, Oxford, where he gained a fel- lowship. Ascham early embraced Protestant principles. In 1537 he became a college tutor, and was appointed by the university to read Greek in the public schools. When Henry VIII. founded a Greek lectureship Ascham was appointed to it, and in 1544 was made uni- versity orator, a post which obliged him to prepare all addresses and write the complimen- tary and business letters to great men. For this his elegant Latinity particularly qualified him. In 1548 Ascham was appointed teacher of learned languages to the lady Elizabeth, afterward queen. He continued in her house- hold two years, when he quitted her suddenly from a pique against persons in her establish- ment. In 1550 he was appointed secretary to Sir Richard Morysine, the English ambassador to the emperor Charles V., which appointment he retained for three years, until the death of Edward VI. and the ambassador's recall. While abroad, he travelled in Germany, visited Italy, and wrote the results of his travels in " A Report and Discourse of the Affaires of Germa- ny." On his return in 1553 he was appointed Latin secretary to the queen, and on the death of Mary he was continued in his office by Eliz- abeth, who required his services as tutor in the languages, in which he read with her several hours each day. He wrote a small treatise on archery, entitled "Toxophilus," and dedicated it to Henry VIII., who ordered him an annual pension of 10 for it. He also wrote "The Scholemaster," a treatise on the study of languages, which was first published by his widow. His letters to Oxford during his stay abroad were also collected and published. His works were published entire, Oxford, 1703, and his English writings, London, 1815, with a life by Dr. Johnson. ASCHERSLEBEN, a town of Prussia, in the province of Saxony, about 32 m. S. by W. of Magdeburg, on the river Eine; pop. in 1871, 16,734. It has manufactures of woollen and linen. In the middle ages the counts of Asca- nia (a district including the present circles of Aschersleben, Ermsleben, and Ballenstedt) re- sided here, and the ruins of their castle are still in existence on the neighboring Wolfsberg.