half a league distant to the south of the city, and is visible from almost every part of Alexandria and its neighbourhood; it towers above the city, and serves as a signal for vessels. As it is approached, it excites feelings of awe and astonishment, blended with unbounded admiration at the beauty and simplicity of the workmanship. This monumental pillar is composed of red granite, but the object of it, and the person to whose memory it was erected, have occasioned considerable disputes among travellers. Its capital, which is of the Corinthian order, with palm leaves, but not indented, is nine feet high; the shaft, and the upper member of the base, are of one piece, nearly ninety feet long, and nine in diameter; the base is a square of about fifteen feet on each side. This immense block of marble is described as resting on two layers of stone bound together with lead, which, however, has not prevented the Arabs from forcing out several of them in search of imaginary treasure. The whole column is said to be 117 feet high, although the most careful estimates do not make it exceed 95 feet. It is admirably polished, and is only partially shivered on the eastern side. Towards the end of the 18th century, some English sailors in a frolic contrived to ascend to the top of this extraordinary and hitherto inaccessible monunent of antiquity, which they accomplished by ingeniously availing themselves of the movements of a paper kite, by means of which they succeeded in fastening a rope to the summit, and achieved this great exploit, emptying a bowl of punch on the top of the column, without accident of any kind. They found a foot and ancle on the top of the column, the only remains of a gigantic statue by which it had been originally surmounted. We are informed, how-❘ ever, by recent travellers, that the ascent to the top of Pompey's pillar has since been rendered in some measure accessible, and Mr. Madden mentions an English lady who breakfasted and wrote a letter on its summit.

About seventy paces from the pillar is the canal of the Nile, dug by the ancient inhabitants to convey water to the cisterns of the city. It was repaired as an important part of the modern improvements at considerable labour and expense. On the top of a hill near it is a tower, in which a sentinel is placed to give notice by signal of all ships approaching the port. From this hill there is a pleasant prospect of the wide-spread Mediterranean, of the city, and of the adjacent country. "On the sea-coast," says a traveller, "there is a large basin, cut out of the rock which forms the shore, having on its sides two beautiful saloons drawn out by the chisel, with benches across them. A canal of a zig-zag form, for the purpose of stopping the progress of the sand by its different windings, conveys the tide into these saloons, and renders the water as pure and transparent as crystal. The water is made to rise a little above the waist when a person is seated on the stone bench, and the feet rest on a fine sand. The waves of the

sea dash against the rock, and foam in the canal. The swell enters, raises you up, and leaves you; and thus alternately entering and retiring, furnishes a constant supply of fresh water, and a coolness which is grateful and delicious under a burning sky. This place is popularly called the bath of Cleopatra, and some ruins indicate that it was formerly ornamented." Dr. Clarke, in noticing this artificial reservoir, says that, "if it ever was intended for a bath, it was in all probability the place where they washed the bodies of the dead before they were embalmed."

About a mile distant, south-west of the city, are situated the Cryptæ or Catacombs, noticed by Strabo under the name of Necropolis, the ancient burial-place of Alexandria. "Nature," says the Baron Du Tott, "not having furnished this part of Egypt with a ridge of rocks like that which runs parallel with the Nile above Delta, the ancient inhabitants of Alexandria could only have an imitation by digging into a bed of solid rock, and thus they formed a necropolis, or city of the dead. The excavation is from thirty to forty feet wide, two hundred long, and twenty-five deep, and is terminated by gentle declivities at each end. The two sides, cut perpendicularly, contain several openings, about ten or twelve feet in width and height, hollowed horizontally, and which form by their different branches subterranean streets. One of these, which curiosity has disencumbered from the ruins and the sands that render the entrance of others difficult or impossible, contains no mummies, but only the places they occupied. The order in which they were ranged is still to be seen. Niches, twenty inches square, sunk six feet horizontally, narrowed at the bottom, and separated from each other by partitions in the rock, seven or eight inches thick, divided into checkers the two walls of this subterraneous vault. It is natural to suppose, from this disposition, that each mummy was introduced with the feet foremost into the cell intended for its reception, and that new streets were opened in proportion as the dead inhabitants of Necropolis increased."

Dr. Clarke, who personally inspected the necropolis, says, "Among all the antiquities of this once celebrated city, which after the destruction of Carthage ranked next to Rome in magnitude and population, the cryptæ of Necropolis are the least known, and the most wonderful. Enough remains in the severe simplicity of these structures, and in the few Egyptian symbols found within them, to show that they are of earlier antiquity than the foundation of Alexandria by the Macedonians, even if we had not the most decisive evidence to prove that the regal sepulchres of the Alexandrian monarchs were within the city. As repositories of the dead, they were consequently places of worship, whose dark and subterraneous caverns were aptly suited to the ideas entertained of Hades, the invisible abode of departed spirits. Nothing so marvellous as these cryptæ ever fell within our observation; but in Upper

and Mamelukes. They kept possession of it till 1801, when it was taken by General Hutchinson, afterwards earl of Donoughmore. On the 13th and 21st of March that year, Sir Ralph Abercromby gained two brilliant victories on the plain before the city, which, however, were purchased with the life of that gallant and illustrious soldier. The British took possession of Alexandria in 1806, under General Fraser; but it was finally evacuated in 1807. ALGUM. See ALMUG.

some portion of prussic acid, and emit a gentle pleasant odour; and the bark yields a gum, and contains an astringent substance of similar medicinal virtue to Peruvian bark. The almond-tree itself grows to a height of about fifteen feet, carries a profusion of delicate blossoms, and yields the well-known almonds of commerce, which again yield by expression the well-known almond oil. Its name is from a word signifying "to watch," and it is used in this sense in Jeremiah i. 11, 12. The prophet tells us, "The

ALIEN, åle ́-yên, a person born in a foreign country, and not entitled to the privileges of the country in which he resides, Exod. xviii. 3, Job xix. 15. The word is also used in a figurative sense, Eph.

ii. 12.

ALLEGORY, al ́-lè-gðr-rè, a figure of speech understood in all ordinary cases to consist of a string of metaphors illustrative of moral truths, and therefore near akin to the biblical parable or the classical fable, but understood in biblical cases to consist of a series of facts taken either from objects or from history to illustrate moral truths. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory in the ordinary sense, and our Lord's discourses respecting the shepherd in the tenth chapter of John's gospel, and respecting the vine in the fifteenth chapter of that book, are allegories in the biblical sense. The word itself occurs only in Galatians iv. 24, in reference to Hagar and Sarah and their respective offspring; but the translation there ought to be, not "these things are an allegory," but "these things are allegorized;' and the meaning seems to be, not that the events themselves are narrated in the way of allegory, but that they have been used or alluded to in an allegorizing manner, the reference probably being to Isa. liv. 1-10.

ALLELUIA. See HALLELUJAH.

ALLON, al'-lún, son of Jedaiah, of the tribe of Simeon, 1 Chron. iv. 37.

ALLON-BACHUTH, ál ́-lån-båk'-ůth, the spot where Rebekah's nurse was buried, Gen. xxxv. 8. ALMODAD, ál-mo'-dâd, son of Joktan, Gen.

x. 26.

ALMON, ál-můn, a sacerdotal city belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, Josh. xxi. 18.

ALMON-DIBLATHAIM, ál ́-můn-dib-la-thà ́-im, a small town on the borders of the territory of the Moabites, near which the Israelites formed an encampment before crossing the river Jordan, Numb. xxxiii. 46. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Jer. xlviii. 22.

ALMOND-TREE, &'-mind-trèè, the representative of a family of plants which includes the peach, the nectarine, the apricot, the bullace, the plum, the cherry, the common laurel, the Portugal laurel, and some other admired fruit-trees and ornamental shrubs. The blossom of all these plants resembles that of the rose family; the fruit is a drupe; the leaves contain

what seest thou? and I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen it, for I will hasten my word to perform it." The word rendered "hasten " properly signifies "to watch or to be vigilant," and the meaning of the passage is, that Jehovah's wrath against his chosen people when they rebelled against him was always active. The almond-tree is common in most of the oriental countries, and it prevails in Italy and the south of France, where there are large plantations of it. It is chiefly grown in England for the sake of its beautiful vernal flowers; but no fruit of its several species ripens except in unusually fine hot summers which have been preceded by mild and uninterrupted springs.

Pliny, referring to warm southern climates, says that the almond-tree blossoms there in January and brings its fruit to maturity in March; and this observation is confirmed by modern travellers. Its blossoms are white, and hence the analogy in the Ecclesiastes xii. 5, where the whiteness of an old man's hair is compared to the season when the almond-tree flourishes. The blossom resembles a bell, whence an imitation of it was chosen for some of the ornamental parts of the golden candlestick. When the right to the priesthood was claimed by the tribes in opposition to the exclusive appointment of the tribe of Levi, all the rods selected for the trial remained as they were, except that of Aaron, which 'brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds," Numb. xvii. 8. This rod was afterwards preserved in the tabernacle and temple, and seems to have retained its leaves and fruit as a permanent evidence of the miracle. This extraordinary circumstance settled the question, as we hear of no more murmurings among the people. The almond-fruit is gathered in March throughout those districts of Syria in which the tree flourishes. Almonds are mentioned among the productions of Canaan, in the present which Jacob sent to Joseph, when the famine compelled the patriarch to send his sons into Egypt to procure corn, Gen. xliii. 11. The fruit when ripe is of a dark olive colour, with a velvet or downy covering; the bark or peel breaks in a fibrous manner, and by degrees discloses the wellknown nut perforated with small holes.

ALMS. See POOR.

ALMUG or ALGUM-TREES, al'-můg or ál'-gåmtrèès, a timber brought by the Tyrians from Ophir,

and used by Solomon in constructing the temple and making musical instruments, 1 Kings x. 11, 2 Chron. ix. 10, 11. Commentators have differed widely from one another, and indulged largely in criticism, as to what this timber was. Some suppose

it to have been a pine; Shaw contends that it was the cypress; and Calmet argues it to have been the black acacia, or the same as shittim-wood; but all these were common near Jerusalem, and not likely to have been imported from Ophir. The most probable conjecture identifies the almug-tree with that species of the sandal-wood which is celebrated for at once the fineness of its grain, its fragrance, its durability, and the exquisite polish which it takes.

ALOES, al ́-dze, a genus of evergreen plants akin in character to the asphodel and the day-lily, but of very curious appearance similar to that of Adam's needle. The species which yields the best kind of the well-known gum-aloes of commerce and medicine has a round stem, three or four feet high,-swordshaped leaves, nearly two feet long, saw-edged, sharp and rising in clusters from the top of the stem,—and flowers of a red colour tipped with green, and arranged in clusters along the upper part of lofty flower stalks, which soar vertically from among the leaves. The gum yielded by this plant, though very bitter and nauseous, possesses an agreeable odour, and the plant itself is in much repute as a charm among the Mahommedans of Egypt. Some modern botanists, therefore, have thought that this plant and its gum are the aloes of scripture; but they are evidently mistaken, for all the properties of great preciousness and exquisite perfume are awanting, and neither etymology nor history sustains the claim.

The aloes of scripture were the produce of plants of the aquilaria family, which grew only in the warmest parts of India, and in the islands and peninsulas of the Indian ocean. The aloes and the lign-aloes were the same. They are believed to have been produced chiefly or solely by two species, the one called agallochum growing in Silhet, the other called the ovate aquilaria growing in Malacca. The former species is the best known. The Siamese ambassadors to the court of France, in 1686, brought a present of it from their sovereign, and were the first to communicate any minute account of this tree. It is said to be about the height and form of the olive. The trunk is described as being of three colours, and containing three different sorts of wood. The finest part is used to perfume dresses and apartments. It is esteemed worth more than its weight in gold, and is thought to be a complete preservative against fainting fits and other nervous disorders. The peculiar fragrance of aloes is mentioned in the 45th psalm. The woman introduced by Solomon as seducing a "young man devoid of understanding," is made to declare, among her other enticements, that she has "perfumed her bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon," Prov. vii. 17; and it is particularly mentioned in the Song of Songs, iv. 14. Aloes are

always mentioned in the scriptures as costly aromatics, which the Hebrews were accustomed to obtain from the Arabians and others, who must have got them from India. The tree is accounted sacred in some parts of India, Cochin-China, Malacca, and Siam, where it is found, and is never cut down without religious ceremonies. As the Jews believed that the tree yielding the aloes grew in the garden of Eden, a similar notion is entertained of their aloe by the orientals, who designate it "the tree of paradise." The strong fragrance of its wood not only recommended it as a perfume of the first class for clothes and apartments, but caused it to be offered as incense in the pagan idolatrous sacrifices. A branch of the Aquilaria agallochum is figured in the following cut.

ALPHA, al'-fa, the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Christ calls himself "Alpha and Omega;" and, the latter being the last letter of the Greek alphabet, the meaning, as he himself explains it, is "the first and the last, the beginning and the ending," Rev. i. 8, 11, xxi. 6, xxii. 13.

ALPHEUS, al-fè'-ús, father of St. James the Less, Matt. x. 3, Luke vi. 15. Also father of Levi, or St. Matthew, Mark ii. 14.

ALTAR, ål ́-tår, a structure on which sacrifices are offered. The earliest altar on record was one built by Noah after the flood, Gen. viii. 20. All altars previous to the giving of the law from Sinai seem to have been rude formations of earth or stone, Exod. xx. 24. There were two altars in the tabernacle, the altar of burnt-offering or brazen altar for the offering of bloody sacrifices, and the altar of incense or golden altar for the offering of incense. The altar of burnt offering stood nearly in the centre of the outer court, directly opposite the principal entrance, Exod. xl. 29. It was a kind of chest, three cubits high, and five cubits long and broad. It consisted of shittimwood, overlaid with brass. Its lowest part consisted of four short columns to serve as feet, and grates of brass to allow the escape of the blood. Its interior had an earthen hearth with grates for supporting the

viction. The four corners of its summit projected upward in the manner of horns for binding the victim, and had brass rings for admitting two strong poles for carrying the altar from place to place. The altar of incense stood in the holy place, between the table of shewbread and the golden candlestick, Exod. xxx. 1-6. It was two cubits high and one cubit long and broad. It consisted of shittimwood overlaid with gold. Its summit was encircled by a border of gold; and its sides, just below the border, had golden rings for admitting golden rods by which it was carried. The forms of the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense are believed by good scholars to be well represented as in the following cuts.

ALUSH, à-lash, one of the stages of the Israelites in the wilderness of Shur, when they departed from Dophkah, Numb. xxxiii. 13. Eusebius and Jerome fix it in Idumea, about Gabala or Petræ, the capital of Arabia Petreæ.

AMALEK, Am'-a-lek, the son of Eliphaz and Timna, and the grandson of Esau, Gen. xxxvi. 16. He succeeded Gatam in the government of Edom, Gen. xxxviii. 12, 16.

AMALEK, am'-a-lék, a mountain in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, on which the city of Pirathon was built. Abdon, judge of Israel, was of this city, and was buried in it, Judges xii. 13, 15.

AMALEKITES, &m'-a-lêk-ites, a nation who inhabited the country between Idumea and Egypt and

east of Mount Seir,-a country which was called, in reference to its relative situation to Palestine, "the land of the south," 1 Sam. xv. 7, Numb. xiii. 29. They lived, however, in a similar manner to the Arabs; they had no constant dwelling, nor do they appear to have possessed cities, though one is mentioned in 1 Sam. xv. 7; they lived for the most part in tents and booths, and sometimes in caves, migrating from one part of the country to the other; and on this account it is not easy to ascertain the limits of their territory. There were likewise several tribes who went under the general name of Amalekites; and three are specifically mentioned-Amalek the ancient, to whom it is probable Balaam alluded when he termed it the "head of the nations," and which may be placed near the river Jordan, Gen. xiv. 7, Numb. xxiv. 20,-Amalek, a tribe in the countries east of Egypt, between Egypt and Canaan, Exod. xvii. 8, 1 Sam. xv. 5, &c.,-and Amalek, the descendants of Eliphaz.

It was against the second of these tribes that Moses and Joshua fought; and against them perpetual hostility was ordered to be maintained. According to the Arabian account, Amalek, the founder or progenitor of the Amalekites, was the son of Ham and grandson of Noah, and the father of Ad and grandfather of Schedad. This tradition is zealously supported by Calmet, who argues that it is not easy to conceive how the Amalekites, if they were merely the posterity of the son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau, could be so numerous and powerful as they are represented to be, when the Israelites departed out of Egypt. We are informed, Gen. xiv. 5-17, that when Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and the other four confederated kings, attacked the Rephaims, Zuzims, Emims, and Horites, they also attacked the Amalekites; but if these had been merely the descendants of the son of Eliphaz, this, as Dr. Wells observes, must be understood prolepti. cally, namely, that the five confederated kings now alluded to smote the country which was afterwards known by the name of the country of the Amalekites, for there were no such people in the days of Abraham and Chedorlaomer. The best geographers, however, maintain that they were in existence in the time of Abraham and the five confederated kings, and were a numerous and powerful nation; that on this account they are called by Balaam the "first" or beginning of nations;" that they are never styled by Moses the "brethren of Israel" or " Edom;" that the latter never held any friendly intercourse or league with them, but allowed them to be invaded and butchered by Saul, without affording them any assistance; that we find them always mentioned with the Amorites, Philistines, and other Canaanitish nations, and involved in the same anathema pronounced against them by Heaven; and that, therefore, they must be viewed rather as a tribe of those nations than as descendants of Esau, who were pro bably a small tribe.

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