literation is well illustrated by Sydney Smith; for example, when contrasting the conditions of a dignitary of the English Church and of a poor curate, he speaks of them as "the right reverend Dives in the palace, and Lazarus-in-orders at the gate,, doctored by dogs and comforted with crumbs."
In the early part of the seventeenth century the fashion of hunting after alliterations was carried to an extreme; even from the pulpit, the chosen people of God were addressed as "the chickens of the Church, the sparrows of the spir- it, and the sweet swallows of salvation." Ane New-Year Gift, or address, presented to Mary, Queen of Scots, by the poet Alexander Scott, concludes with a stanza running thus:
Fresh, fulgent, flourist, fragrant flower formose, Lantern to love, of ladies lamp and lot. Cherry maist chaste, chief carbuncle and chose, etc.
In the following piece of elaborate trifling, given (but without naming the author) in H. Southgate's Many Thoughts on Many Things, alliteration is combined with acrosticism:
A n Anstrian armv, awfully arrayed. B oldly by battery besieged Belgrade; C ossack "commanders cannonading come, D ealing destruction's devastating doom; E very endeavor engineers essay F or fame, for fortune, forming furious fray. G aunt gunners grapple, giving gashes good; H eaves high his head heroic hardihood; I braham, Islam. Ismael. imps in ill, J ostle John Jarovlitz, Jem, Joe, Jack, Jill: K ick kindling Kntusoff, kings' kinsmen kill L abor low levels loftiest, longest lines; M en march 'mid moles, 'mid mounds, 'mid murd'rous mines. N ow nightfall's near, now needful nature nods, O pposed, opposing, overcoming odds. P oor peasants, partly purchased, partly pressed, Q uite quaking, "Quarter! quarter!" quickly quest. R eason returns, recalls redundant rage, S aves sinking soldiers, softens signiors sage. T ruce. Turkey, truce! truce, treach'rous Tartar train! U nwise, unjust, unmerciful Ukraine, V anish, vile vengeance! vanish, victory vain! W isdom wails war — walls warring words. What were X erxes, Xantippe, Ximenes, Xavier? Y et Yassy's youth, ye yield your youthful yest. Z ealously, zanies, zealously, zeal's zest.
While recent poets, as Tennyson and Swinburne, employ alliteration combined with vowel distribution, for beautiful sound effects, yet prose writers seem to avoid it, or at least to keep it from becoming obvious. Observe from the Passing of Arthur: "And on a sudden, lo! the level lake, and the long glories of the winter moon." Consult: Guest, English Rhythms (London, 1882); and J. Schipper, Grundriss der Englischen Metrik (Leipzig, 1895). See English Literature.
AL'LIUM (Lat., garlic). A genus of plants of the natural order Liliaceæ containing about 250 species of perennial — more rarely biennial — herbaceous plants, with more or less decidedly bulbous roots, natives chiefly of the temperate and colder regions of the northern hemisphere. The flowers are umbellate, with the umbel often bearing also small bulbs along with its flowers. The leaves are generally narrow, although in some species, as Allium ursinum, they are rather broad, and in many species they are rounded and fistulose. Garlic, Allium sativum, Onion (q.v.), Allium cepa, Leek (q.v.). Allium porrum, Shallot (q.v.), Allium ascolonicum, Chive (q.v.), Allium schœnoprasum, and Rocambole (q.v.), are species of this genus in common cultivation. The first four are cultivated in the gardens of India as well as Europe, along with Allium tuberosum; and the hill-people of India
eat the bulbs of Allium leptophyllum, and dry
the leaves, and preserve them as a condiment. A
number of other species are oeeasionallj' used in
different countries. Eight or nine species are
natives of Britain, of which the most common
is Ramsons (Allium ursinum), a species with
much broader leaves than most of its congeners.
It is most frequently found in moist woods and
hedge-banks, but occasionally in pastures, in
which it proves a troublesome weed, communi-
cating its powerful odor of garlic to the whole
dairy produce. Crow garlic, or Wild Onion
{Allium vinealc), another British species, is
sometimes ver,y troublesome in the same way
in drier pastures. Both are perennial, and to
get rid of them their bulbs must be perseveringly
rooted ovit when the leaves begin to appear in
spring. This species has been introduced into
the eastern part of the United States, where it
is troublesome in lawns, parks, and pastures.
A small quantity of carbolic acid injected into
the cluster is said to destroy them. A large
number of species are indigenotis to the United
States, the more common being Allitnn Cana-
dense. Allium cernuum. Allium tricoccum ; which
latter has flat leaves one to two inches broad, and
five to nine inches long; Allium reticulatum,
which has its bulbs covered with a dense fibrous
coat, etc. A number of species are grown in-
doors or as ornamental plants in gardens.
Among these Allium Neapolitanum is one of the
best. If grown out-doors it needs protection in
most localities in the United States.
ALLMAN, nl'man, George James (1812-98).
A Scotch zoölogist. He was born in Ireland, graduated in 1844 at Trinity College, Dublin, and was in the same year appointed regius professor of botany in Dublin University. In 1855 he was appointed regius professor of natural history in Edinburgh University, and having resigned in 1870, was chosen president of the Linnæan Society in 1874, and president of the British Association in 1879. He received numerous medals from the scientific societies, and published Monograph of the Fresh Water Polyzoa (1856), and Monograph of the Gymnoblastic Hydroids (1871-72).
ALLMERS, al'mers, Hermann Ludwig
(1821-1902). A German author, born at Rechten-
fleth. He studied at Berlin, Munich, and Nurem-
berg, and made his first appearance in literature
in his Marschenbuch (1858). This was followed b,y
Dichtungen (1860), and Römische Schlendertage
(1869), containing observations on Italian life.
His drama, Elektra (1872), with music by
A. Dietrichs, was very successful. His further
works include Fromm und Frei (1889), a volume
of verse. His complete works appeared in 1891-
95. Consult L. Bräutigam, Der Marsehendich-
ter Hermann Allmers (Oldenburg, 1891).
ALL'MOUTH. The angler or goosefish. See Angler.
ALLOA, al'16-a. A seaport and the county town of Clackmannanshire, Scotland, at the mouth of the Forth, about miles east of Stirling (Map: Scotland, E 3). It is a town of considerable antiquity, and is an active centre of trade and manufactures. The principal articles manufactured are whisky, ale, cotton, woolen goods, glass and iron. Considerable coal is obtained from the neighboring collieries. Alloa has an excellent harbor, with floating and dry docks. There is regular steamer communication
