include Ritratti (Brescia, 1807; Pisa, 1826); seventeen essays on distinguished contemporaries, and a life of Vittoria Colonna (Venice, 1830).
ALBRU'NA. A German seer of the time of
the Roman Emperor Augustus. She is men-
tioned by Tacitus (Germania, VIII.), and is
supposed to have acquired renown during the
campaigns of Drusus and Tiberius. Albruna is
the same as the Old Norse alfruna. and the
Anglo-Saxon helrun, and is the collective term
for the wise women of the ancient Germans.
AL'BUCA'SIS. See Abulcasim.
ALBUERA, al-bwa'ra. A hamlet in the Spanish province of Badajoz. It is insignificant in itself, but famous for the battle of May 16, 1811, between the combined English, Spanish, and Portuguese forces under General Beresford. and the French under Marshal Soult. who were not so numerous as the allies, but had abundant
artillery. The object of the French was to compel the English to raise the siege of Badajoz. The result was that Soult was obliged to retreat to Seville with the loss of 8000 men : the loss of the allied forces was about 7000. In proportion to the numbers engaged, the battle was the most sanguinary in the whole contest. The
French had at first got possession of a height which commanded the whole position of the allied army, but they were driven from it by 0000 British, only 1500 of whom reached the top unwounded.
ALBUFERA, iil'bon-ffi'ra (Ar. al, the + bu-
haira, coast-lake). A lake near Valencia, in
Spain, about 10 miles in length and the same in
breadth. It is separated from the sea by a nar-
row tongue of land, and a canal connects it with
the city of Valencia (Map: Spain. E 3). It is
rich in fish and fowl, and is said to have been ex-
cavated by the Moors. From it Marshal Suchet
(q.v. ) took the title of duke.
ALBU'GO. See Leucoma.
ALBULA, al'boo-la. A river in the canton
of Grison, or Graubunden. Switzerland (Map:
Switzerland, D 2). The Albula is the largest
tributary of the Hither Rhine, and rises in the
Albula Pass, flowing through the Albula Valley
to empty into the Hither Rhine after a course
of 29 miles. Its outlet is 4500 feet lower than its
source.
ALBULA PASS. A high, rocky pass in which rises the Albula River, Switzerland (Map: Switzerland, D 2). It is situated 7600 feet above sea level, and lies between the peak of Crasta Mora (9600 feet high) and the Pitz Urtsch or Albulahorn (10,700 feet high). Over it runs the road from Tiefenkasten to Ponte, the shortest route into the Engadine. A railroad has recently been constructed.
AL'BUM (Lat. neut. of albus, white). Among the Romans, a wooden tablet whitened with gypsum, on which were written in black letters the Annales Maximi of the pontifex, edicts of the prætor, and public announcements of the magistrates generally. The word was also applied to the contents of such a board, and as lists of corporations had to be published, album came to denote any such catalogue; e.g.. Album Senatorium, the official list of the Senate. In the Middle Ages the word was used to denote any list, catalogue, or register, whether of saints, soldiers, or civil functionaries. In the gymnasia and universities on the Continent, the list of the names of the members is called the album. The name is also applied to the "black board" on which public notifications of lectures, etc., are written up. But its popular signification in modern times is that of a book for containing photographs, or a blank book for a drawing-room table, intended to receive the fugitive pieces of verse, or the signatures of distinguished persons, or sometimes merely drawings.
ALBU'MEN (Lat., the white of an egg, from albus, white). In plants, a name formerly applied to the nutritive tissue of seeds, now commonly known as '"endosperm." See Seed.
ALBUMEN, or ALBUMIN. The most important ingredient in the white of egg. It abounds in the blood and more or less in all the serous fluids of the animal body. It also exists in the sap of vegetables, and in their seeds and edible parts. Albumen is often used as a mordant, to fasten various colors on cotton. It is prepared industrially in considerable quantities by drying the white of egg without allowing it to coagulate. For this purpose the white of egg is placed in shallow vessels and kept at a temperature of about 50° C. (122° F.) in well-ventilated chambers. Unless coagulation has taken place, the dried albumen remains completely soluble in water. Albumen is also used in photographic printing, and its property of coagulating with heat into an insoluble variety renders it useful in clarifying solutions, as in sugar refining. With corrosive sublimate (bichloride of mercury) and other poisonous salts, albumen forms insoluble compounds; it is, therefore, often used in medicine as an antidote. See Albuminuria.
ALBU'MINOIDS. See Proteids.
AL'BUMINU'RIA Lat. albumen + Gk. ovpov,
ouroii, Lat. urina, urine). Generally, a symptom
of disease of the kidneys: notably Bright's disease
(nephritis). It consists of the presence of albu-
men in the urine. Tests for albuminuria: (1)
Pour into a small test tube a little fresh urine,
then gently add about one-half the same amount
of cold nitric acid. The presence of a white
ring at the junction of the liquids indicates
albumen. (2) Partly fill a test tube with fresh
urine: add a few drops of acetic acid; boil the
top of the liquid. Coagulation indicates the
presence of albumen. Physiological albuminuria
occurs in young adults, after muscular exercise,
and also in some people after cold baths and
during indigestion. It may not be present, even
in severe Bright's disease, and it is not always
an indication of disease. See Bright's Disease.
ALBUÑOL, -il'ljoo-nyol'. A town of Spain,
in the province of Granada, 41 miles southeast of
Granada, and about 3 miles from the coast of. the
Mediterranean (Ma]): Spain. D 4). It is a well-
built town, with clean, paved streets. The sur-
rounding district aboiinds in vineyards, and is
also very productive of figs and almonds. The
making of wine and Ijrandy and the drying of
raisin.s are the chief occupations of the inhabit-
ants of the town itself. Pop.. 1000, 9350. The
port of AlbuQol is a small place called Ncgra.
ALBUQUERQUE, al'boo-ker'ka
(Sp. from Lat. albus, while + quercus, oak-tree). A town of Estremadura, Spain, in the province of Badajoz, 24 miles north of Badajoz, and about 10 miles from the Portuguese frontier (Map: Spain, B 3 ) . It was once fortified. Cotton and woolen
