the Andes, the rainfall is excessive; and higher up among the Andes, where it is deficient. The very heavy rains in the upper waters of the basin are responsible for the enormous amount of water supplied to the river, which makes it (and its western tributaries) navigable to such a great distance from its mouth. In most sections there is a rainy season from January to May, and a six months' dry season from June to December. In the Upper Amazon Valley the rainy season begins in November and continues until July, during which time the prevailing wind is northwest; but in the dry season the wind is chiefly from the southeast. The rainfall amounts to over 100 inches a year in this sec

tion.

The alternation of the rainy and dry seasons produces corresponding periods of high and low water in the rivers. Even in the Marañon a rise of 30 feet occurs in the wet season, and throughout the whole length of the Amazon during about half the year its waters are swollen and the adjoining low country inundated. These floods are not by any means of uniform magnitude, and at intervals of every few years abnormally high water occurs. The current of the Amazon averages about 24 miles per hour, but its velocity is much increased during the floods.

The drainage basin of the Amazon is remarkably level, and the slope from the outlying bounding highlands is very gradual. The height of land almost to the very sources of the branch rivers does not exceed 1000 feet, and as falls or rapids east of the Andes are almost unknown, these rivers are navigable for the greater part of their lengths. The Amazon and its tributaries form the most remarkable and extensive system of inland water highways in the world. The possibilities of future development in the chain of South American inland navigation are shown by the fact that on the north, the Amazon has water communication with the Orinoco through the Rio Negro and the Casiquiare, while on the south the navigable waters of the Tapajos lack little of connecting it with the head waters of a tributary of the Plata River.

Within the basin of the Amazon there occur horizontal layers of argillaceous rocks and sandstone, which vary in height from 100 feet to ten times that amount. These and other deposits seem to indicate that at one time a local mediterranean sea covered the present Amazonian lowlands, and the Marañon had for its outlet into the western end of this sea a delta, which has gradually moved eastward as the shallow sea became filled up.

Not only the source streams, but nearly all the tributaries of the Amazon, experience a succession of falls where their waters enter upon the floor of the main stream, and some branches have falls higher up. Above these falls, which vary from a succession of rapids to falls of 50 feet, or more, navigation is again resumed. On the Lower Amazon these rapids occur at a distance of only from 200 to 300 miles from the main stream; but the distance increases toward the west, so that on the Madeira and Rio Negro rivers the falls are far removed from the mouths, while most of the southern branch rivers west of the Madeira lie almost entirely within the unobstructed low belt.

Where the Amazon enters Brazil its elevation is less than 300 feet above sea-level. Even at its low stage its usual depth in its lower course

VOL. I.-29.

is about 150 feet, and in places it is said to be much deeper still. It has been estimated that the Amazon discharges between four and five million cubic feet of water per second; and with this enormous outflowing water there is carried every twenty-four hours a quantity of sediment sufficient to form a solid cube measuring 500 feet on each edge.

The Amazon is navigable by steamers for a distance of about 2200 miles, and for smaller boats to points considerably beyond; but at the entrance to the gorges of the eastern Andes, navigation is practically suspended, on account of the rapids occurring there. Steamboat navigation of the Amazon began in 1853, but it was not until 1867 that the navigation of the river was thrown open to the world. Now regular lines of steamers ply from the mouth of the Amazon to Yurimaguas on the Huallaga River in north central Peru. Vessels enter the Amazon through the estuary of the Para River, since the main mouth of the Amazon north of Marajo Island is shoal water filled with rocky islands. At the mouth of the Amazon there is a continual battling of the river current, the tides, and the winds. The tidal influence is felt up the river to a distance of about 400 miles. The tidal bore is at times so pronounced as to form successive walls of water ten to fifteen feet in height, which noisily sweep everything before them in their mad rush against the river current. The latter is perceptible at a distance of fully 200 miles seaward from the mouth of the river.

The importance of the Amazon as a highway of foreign commerce will become greater and greater as the economic development of Brazil proceeds, when in exchange for the ever-increasing quantities of tropical products exported from the Amazon basin, there will be returned the manufactures and products of the temperate

zones.

FAUNA. The Amazon Valley is covered with thick forests of lofty growth, which are thinly inhabited by numerous independent savage tribes. The animal life is exceedingly rich in numbers, but the flood conditions which so generally compel arboreal habits in unaquatic animals greatly limit at least the species of mammals. The principal animals are the tapir, jaguar, panther, cavy, armadillo, sloth, peccary, ant-eater, and monkey. Birds are exceedingly numerous; many of them are songless, but bedecked with gorgeously colored feathers; such are the humming birds and parrots. Among the snakes, the giant anaconda is the best known, and of the lizards the iguana attains formidable size. Numerous alligators and turtles, and the great water mammal, the manatee, frequent the river and its branches. Of fishes there is a greater variety than in any other stream, and in fact a large proportion of the present known species are found in the Amazon. Insects exist in the forests in countless numbers. Neither the fauna nor the flora of the Amazon has been more than partly studied, and that mostly by visiting naturalists.

FLORA. The flora of the immediate vicinity of the river is that which flourishes in a watery soil, and which will survive the long-continued annual inundation which occurs in midsummer. There is no suspension of plant activity, and the leaves remain green throughout the year, and no month is without its bloom or fruit. Aquatic plants grow in great profusion and attain enor

mous size, a prominent example being the giant lily, Victoria regia. In the undergrowth occur rubias, myrtles, leguminosa, epiphytic orchids, bromelia, and ferns.

The Amazonian forest presents to the river a wall-like frontage of trees, interwoven with vines and roots clothed and fringed with moss in the most fantastic manner. A continuous mass of verdure overhead has a secondary flora of its own. Some of the trees grow to a height of even 200 feet; such are the moviatinga, the samauma, and the massaranduba. Palms, bamboos, and ferns grow in profusion; but few tree ferns and almost no cacti grow immediately on the river.

Among the ports on the Amazon (from its mouth upward) are Macapá, Santarem, Obidos, Manãos, Teffe, and Tabatinga. The commercial outlet of the Amazon basin is Pará, on the Rio Pará, the estuary of the Tocantins.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. Bates, The Naturalist on the River Amazon (London, 1892); Wallace, Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro (London, 1870, second edition, 1889); Agassiz, Voyage au Brésil (Paris, 1869); Brown and Lidstone, Fifteen Thousand Miles on the Amazon (London, 1878); Shichtel, Der Amazonenstrom (Strassburg, 1893); Marajó, As Regiões Amazonicas (Lisbon, 1895); Herndon and Gibbon, Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon (Washington, 1853); Expedition into the Valley of the Amazon, 1539, 1540, 1639, translated and edited by Markham, published by the Hakluyt Society (London, 1859); Keller-Leuzinger, The Amazon and Madeira Rivers (New York, 1874); Smith, Brazil, the Amazon and the Coast (New York, 1879); Carvajal, Descubrimiento del rio de las Amazonas, with an introduction by Medina (Seville, 1894); Schütz-Holzhausen, Der Amazonas (Freiburg, 1895).

AMAZONAS, ä'må-thō'nås. A northern department of Peru, bounded by Ecuador on the north, the Peruvian department of Loreto on the east, Libertad on the south, and Cajamarca on the west. Area, 13,943 square miles. It is slightly mountainous and has a fertile soil. The population was officially estimated in 1895 at 70,676. Capital, Chachapoyas.

AMAZONAS, or ALTO AMAZONAS. The northernmost and largest of the Brazilian States, bounded by British Guiana, Venezuela, and Colombia on the north, State of Pará on the east, Bolivia and the State of Matto Grosso on the south, and Colombia and Peru on the west (Map: Brazil, E 4). Its total area is 732,250 square miles. The surface, with the exception of a few mountain chains on the Venezuelan border, is one alluvial plain, covered with impenetrable forests, and intersected by the River Amazon, with its numerous tributaries, including the Rio Negro and Madeira. The climate, although hot, is not unhealthful, and the soil is very fertile. Industrially, the State is very little developed, and its principal articles of trade are food products. With an area three and a half times as large as that of France, an abundance of fertile land, and excellent waterways, Amazonas had (1900) a population of 207,600, or less than one inhabitant for three square miles. Capital, Manãos, which is also the chief port. Amazonas formed a part of the State of Pará, and was constituted a separate State in 1850. Consult: J. Verissimo, Pará e Amazonas (Rio de

Janeiro, 1899); C. L. Temple, The State of Amazonas (London, 1900).

AM'AZONITE, or AMAZON STONE. See MICROCLINE.

AM'AZONS, AMAZ'ONES (from Gk. 'Aualúv, Amazon). In early Greek legends, a race of warlike women, who either suffered no man to live among them, or held men in servitude for the continuance of the race. The earliest accounts place them in northeast Asia Minor, on the River Thermodon; later writers, farther to the north and west, in Scythia and the Caucasus; and finally we hear of Amazons in Libya, at the south of the known world. Their expeditions, undertaken for war and plunder, led them into Scythia and Syria, but especially to the coast of Asia Minor, where we find them in conflict with Priam, Bellerophon, and other heroes. In this region they were said to have founded many cities, notably Ephesus, where they established the temple of Artemis, which furnished them a refuge when defeated by Hercules. They were daughters of Ares, and worshiped him and Artemis as their chief gods. They appear chiefly in three stories: (1) The killing by Achilles of their queen Penthesilea, who led her army to the relief of Troy; (2) the conflict with Hercules, which arose from his endeavor to secure the girdle of their queen, and led, according to some writers, to their annihilation; (3) the war with Athens, which began with the expedition of Theseus to carry off the Amazon queen, and ended with their invasion of Attica, attack on the Acropolis from the Areopagus, and total destruction by Theseus and the Athenians. The origin of these legends is not clear; but if we consider the localities in which the Amazons lived, and that in historic times the Greeks found tribes about the Black Sea in which the women held sway and took part in war, while in Caria, Lycia, and Lydia there is much evidence for descent traced through the mother, it seems not improbable that the Amazons embody a reminiscence of the people and civilization which preceded the Greeks on the east of the Egean. Representations of the Amazons are very common in all periods of Greek art. At first they appear in the costume of Greek hoplites, but later assume the Scythian garb. They are armed with lance, battle axe, or bow, and usually carry a crescent shield. Among the chief ancient representations are the reliefs from Gyõlbaschi, in Vienna, which seem to reflect the painting of Micon at Athens; and the friezes from Phigalia and the mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in the British Museum. Of the statues, three types go back to the best period of Greek art; the "Wounded Amazon," in Berlin, probably by Polycletus; the "Wounded Amazon" of the Capitoline Museum in Rome, and the "Unwounded Amazon" in the Vatican. It was said that in order to be unimpeded in war, they burned off their right breasts; but no work of art shows them thus mutilated, and undoubtedly the story is merely an invention to explain a false etymology, as though the composition of the word Amazon were å priv. and μatós, mazos, breast. Consult: Klugmann, Die Amazonen in der attischen Litteratur und Kunst (Stuttgart, 1875), and Corey, De Amazonum Antiquissimis Figuris (Berlin, 1891).

AM'BAKIS'TA. A Bantu tribe of Amboia, Portuguese West Africa. They were enterprising

traders originally, but were ruined by the Portuguese, and dispersed to other regions.

AMBALA, ȧm-bä'lå, or UMBALLA. A city in India, capital of the district of Ambala in the Punjab (Map: India, C 2), and an important station on the Sindh, Punjab, and Delhi Railway, 150 miles northwest of Delhi. It is a large, walled town, in a level, well-watered, and cultivated country, and has an extensive trade. It contains a fine Gothic church, a Presbyterian church, dispensary, hospital, and leper asylum. The town was founded in the fourteenth century. Here, at a grand durbar, in 1869, Shere Ali, Ameer of Afghanistan, concluded a treaty with Lord Mayo, Governor-General of India. Population, 79,300, including the English military station or cantonment near by.

AMBALEMA, äm'bå-lã'må. A city in the department of Tolima, Colombia, on the left bank of the Magdalena (Map: Colombia, B 2). The city lies 28 miles above Honda in the midst of an excellent tobacco-growing district, and is one of the most modern as well as one of the most thriving towns of Colombia. Pop., 8000. AM'BARI HEMP. See HIBISCUS. AMBAS'SADOR

(Med. Lat. ambasciator, agent, from ambasciare, to go on a mission, earlier ambactiare, from Lat. ambactus, vassal; according to Festus, of Celtic origin; compare Welsh amaeth, husbandman, and Goth. andbahts, servant; Ger. Amt, office). The highest rank of public minister accredited to a foreign court. Though used popularly and sometimes by writers on public law in a loose sense as the equivalent of minister (q.v), the term is strictly appropriately used only of the highest of the four orders of diplomatic agents established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and that of Aix-laChapelle in 1818. The classification then adopted, which has been generally accepted, is as follows: (1) Ambassadors, and legates and nuncios of the Pope. (2) Envoys and ministers plenipotentiary. (3) Ministers resident, accredited to the sovereign. (4) Chargés d'affaires.

The ambassador is supposed to represent directly the person of his sovereign, who signs his credentials, or letters of credence, and the ambassador, therefore, enjoys of right the privilege of personal communication with the sovereign to whom he is accredited. Ministers and chargés d'affaires do not, in theory, possess this right, though in the case of the minister, at least, the privilege is not usually denied. The chargé d'affaires is, in fact, not accredited to the sovereign, but to the minister of foreign affairs, and is regarded merely as an agent of his government to transact the business intrusted to him. Modern methods of carrying on the diplomatic intercourse of states have greatly diminished the relative importance of ambassadors, as compared with other diplomatic agents, and little remains of their primacy excepting a superior dignity and impressiveness and certain rights of precedence on ceremonial occasions. Prior to 1893 the Government of the United States had been represented abroad by no agents of higher rank than ministers resident, who were, in the case of the great Powers, accredited as envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary. But in that year, in order to give our diplomatic representatives at foreign courts an equal dignity and importance with that enjoyed by the representatives of other great Powers, Congress passed an act authoriz

ing the President to accredit ambassadors to represent the United States at certain European courts. The privileges and immunities of ambassadors, which are shared by them with other international representatives, will be dealt with in the article on DIPLOMATIC AGENTS. See also ASYLUM, RIGHT OF; EXTERRITORIALITY; LEGATION.

AMBATO, ȧm-bä'tô, or ASIENTO DE AMBATO, à-syan'tô dã ám-bä'to. A town in the province of Leon, Ecuador, on the northeastern slope of Chimborazo, 78 miles south of Quito, and 8859 feet above the sea (Map: Ecuador, B 4). It was destroyed in 1698 by an eruption of Cotopaxi, but was soon rebuilt, and became more flourishing than before. It carries on an active trade in grain, sugar, and cochineal, the products of the surrounding country. Pop., about 10,000.

AM'BER (From Ar. 'anbar, ambergris; called so from its resemblance to ambergris). A fossil resin of vegetable origin. It is usually of a paleyellow color, sometimes reddish or brownish; it is sometimes transparent, sometimes almost opaque. It occurs in round irregular lumps, grains, or drops; has a perfectly conchoidal fracture, is slightly brittle, emits an agreeable odor when rubbed, melts at 550° F., and burns with a bright flame and pleasant smell. Thales of Miletus was the first to notice that when amber is rubbed it becomes capable of attracting light bodies; this was the first electric phenomenon produced by man. An acid called succinic acid (named from the Lat. succinum, amber) is obtained from it by distillation. Amber had formerly a high reputation as a medicine, but the virtues ascribed to it were almost entirely imaginary. It is employed in the arts for the manufacture of many ornamental articles, and for the preparation of a kind of varnish. Great quantities are consumed in Mohammedan worship at Mecca, and it is in great demand throughout the East. It was obtained by the ancients from the coasts of the Baltic Sea, where it is still found, especially between Königsberg and Memel, in greater abundance than anywhere else in the world. It is there partly cast up by the sea, partly obtained by means of nets, and partly dug out of a bed of carbonized wood. Limited quantities of it are found in the United States. It sometimes occurs in diluvial deposits, as in the gravel near London; but it is very rare in Great Britain. It is obtained in small quantities from the coasts of Sicily and the Adriatic, and is found in different parts of Europe, in Siberia, Greenland, etc. It sometimes incloses insects of species which no longer exist. Leaves have also been found inclosed in it. Specimens which contain insects or leaves being much valued, artificial substitutes are often manufactured and imposed upon collectors. According to an ancient fable, amber is the tears of the sisters of Phaëthon, who, after his death, were changed into poplars. The ancients set upon it. Pieces of amber have occasionally been found of twelve or thirteen pounds weight, but such pieces are extremely rare.

an immense value

AMBER-FISH. Any of several carangoid fishes of the genus Seriola, numerous on both coasts of North America, which are of moderate size, graceful form, often brightly colored and excellent to eat. The commonest species of the Atlantic coast is Seriola lalandi. On the Pacific coast an allied species (Seriola dorsalis), the yellowtail, is highly valued as a food-fish, and by

anglers. For further discussion and illustration, see HORSE MACKEREL.

AMBERG, äm′běrk. The old capital of the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria, 35 miles east of Nuremberg and 32 north of Ratisbon (Map: Bavaria, D 4). It is situated on both sides of the Vils, and is well built. The ancient walls are now transformed into shady avenues. Amberg is the seat of the court of appeal for the district, possesses a library of 34,000 volumes, a lyceum, an agricultural and industrial school, a municipal hospital, a house of correction, etc. There is also a royal factory for the manufacture of arms. The principal products are earthenware, woolen cloths, ironmongery, and beer. Near Amberg, Archduke Charles defeated the French under Jourdan on August 24, 1796. Pop., 1890, 19,000; in 1900, 22,000.

AMBERGER, äm'běrk-er, CHRISTOPH (c. 1500c. 1561?). A German painter. He was received into the Augsburg guild in 1530, and is best known for his careful portraits of contemporaries, particularly those of Charles V., Frundsberg, and the geographer Münster. Various altar-pieces by him are in Augsburg churches. AMBERGRIS, amber-grēs (Fr. ambre gris, gray amber; Ar. 'anbar). Also spelled ambergrise and ambergrease. A fatty secretion formed in the bowels of some sperm whales (q.v.), and valued as a material for perfume. It is taken from whales directly, but more is found floating in waters (especially of the tropics) frequented by these cetaceans, or cast upon the beaches in lumps of all sizes up to a mass exceeding 200 pounds in weight. It is lighter than water, gray marbled with blackish in color, opaque and waxy in consistency, softens readily under heat, melting into resinous liquid at 145° F., and develops on exposure to the air a sweet, "earthy" odor in place of its disagreeable smell when first taken from a whale. Chemically, it is soluble in oils, but resists acids; and it dissolves readily in hot alcohol, yielding a substance termed ambrein. As this is closely related chemically to known biliary secretions, it is further evidence that ambergris is of this nature, perhaps induced by, and partaking of, the squids upon which the sperm whale largely feeds, remains of whose beaks are frequently found mixed with it. Like other bezoars and substances of mys

terious origin, ambergris was formerly regarded

as an efficacious medicine, but its virtues were

imaginary, and it is no longer used in pharmacy, nor as a flavor in cookery, except among a few barbarians of the East. It has a high commercial value, however, as a material for the manufacture of various perfumes, and the price is increasing, owing to the increasing rarity of the sperm whale, and a growing demand. Hence it is adulterated and imitated; a test of its genuineness is described as "its solubility in hot alcohol, its fragrant odor, and its uniform fatty consistence on being penetrated by a hot wire."

AM'BER ISLANDS, or ELECTRIDES. In later Greek geography, the islands, famed for their amber, in the North Sea, from Denmark to the mouth of the Rhine. Also certain islands at the mouth of the legendary river Eridanus (the Po).

AMBERT, N'bar', JOACHIM MARIE JEAN JACQUES (1804-90). A French general and writer. He was born at Chillas, near Cahors

(Lot), and was educated at St. Cyr. He served in the Spanish and Belgian campaigns, distinguished himself in Algeria, and became brigadiergeneral in Europe. He traveled extensively in Europe and America, and for some time was a contributor to L'Abeille, a French journal published at New Orleans. Among his numerous writings are: Etudes tactiques (1865), Histoire de la guerre de 1870-71 (1873), Les soldats français (1878-82), Gaulois et germains, récits militaires (1884-86).

AM'BER WITCH, THE. An English opera by W. V. Wallace, the text being by H. F. Chorley, first presented at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, February 28, 1861. Its incidents are based on those of a German story by Meinhold (1843).

AM'BIGU'ITY (Lat. ambiguus, going about hither and thither, uncertain, doubtful). In law, the duplicity or uncertainty of meaning of a word, clause, or other part of a written instrument. The rule of evidence forbidding the admission of parol evidence to contradict, vary, or explain a written document is subject to the important exception that parol evidence may be introduced for the purpose of explaining an ambiguity in a written instrument. Ambiguities are "patent" and "latent." A patent ambiguity is one which appears on the face of an instrument without referring to any intrinsic fact or circumstance. Thus, if a testator after referring in his will to two persons named John, made a bequest to John, the term of the bequest would constitute a patent ambiguity. A latent ambigu ity is one which is disclosed only by the proof of extrinsic facts. Thus, if a testator made a bequest to a person, naming or otherwise describing him, and it appeared extrinsically that there were two persons answering the description, the terms of the bequest would constitute a latent ambiguity. It is sometimes said that parol evidence cannot be introduced to explain a latent ambiguity. While the judicial decisions are not altogether harmonious, the weight of authority does not favor such a rule. See the authorities named under the titles CONTRACT, WILL, and EVIDENCE.

AMBI ORIX. A chief of the Eburones in

Belgic Gaul, who fought against Julius Cæsar in 54 B.C. By cunning and strategy he defeated one important Roman garrison and massacred every man; but while on the march to another camp, feated him, though Ambiorix with a few men eshe encountered Cæsar himself, who easily decaped into the forests.

A

AMBITIOUS STEP'MOTHER, THE. tragedy by Nicholas Rowe, produced and printed in 1700. The scene is laid in Persepolis.

AM'BLER, JAMES MARKHAM MARSHALL (1848-81). An American surgeon, born in Fauquier Co., Va., and educated at the medical college of the University of Maryland. He volunteered as surgeon to the Jeannette Arctic expedition in 1879 (see DE LONG, GEORGE W.), and was in the first cutter with De Long when the officers and crew left the sinking vessel (June 13, 1881). His body was found March 23, 1882, and buried on Monument Hill, on the Lena Delta, where a pyramidal structure of stone and timber was erected to the memory of the explorers.

AM'BLESIDE. A town in the heart of the English lake district, Westmoreland; a favorite

resort for tourists on account of its scenery and its nearness to points of historic interest, the homes of Wordsworth, Dr. Arnold, and others. Fragments of Roman buildings have been found in the neighborhood. Stock Gill Force is a waterfall in the hills near the town. Pop., 1901, 2536. AMBLETEUSE, äN'bl'-tez. A seacoast village of France, in the department of Pas-deCalais, on the English Channel, about 15 miles southwest of Calais and six miles north of Boulogne. It is famous as the landing place of James II. after his flight from England in 1689. There is a monument erected by Napoleon to the Grand Army in 1805. Pop., 1901, 685.

may

AM'BLYO'PIA (Gk. μẞhvária, dim-sightedness, from außhús, amblys, blunt, dull + 5, ops, eye). A name given to diminished acuteness of vision not relieved by the use of glasses, and not accompanied by any visible ocular changes. The term is, however, sometimes more loosely used to include other forms of imperfect sight. Congenital amblyopia of one or both eyes is often due to hyperopia, myopia, or astigmatism. These prevent perfect vision, and although the use of proper glasses may eventually cause an improvement in young persons, this is impossible if the lack of proper vision has lasted long. Congenital amblyopia for colors (see COLOR BLINDNESS) may occur with a contraction of the field. Hysterical amblyopia, usually unilateral, amount to total blindness. There is contraction concentrically of the field of vision for white and colors, and the fields for colors do not maintain the relative sizes which they normally possess. There are generally other hysterical symptoms. Simulated amblyopia is simply a pretense of blindness in one or both eyes, and is usually readily detected. Toxic amblyopia is produced at times by large doses of quinine, or excessive and continual use of tobacco, alcohol, opium, and other drugs. If the drug is entirely given up recovery usually occurs after a long time. Malarial amblyopia of one or both eyes is usually relieved by quinine. Uræmic amblyopia sometimes appears suddenly in both eyes during an attack of uræmia, without retinal changes, though at times accompanying an albuminuric retinitis. It is generally very transitory. See SIGHT, DEFECTS OF.

AM'BLYOP'SIDÆ (Gk. áμßλúç, amblys, dull + óvų, opsis, the look, eyesight). A family of small fishes allied to the cyprinodonts, mostly living underground, and having their eyes in varying degrees of degeneration. See CAVE ANI

MALS.

AMBLYS TOMA (Gk. außλbs, amblys, blunt, dulloróμa, stoma, mouth). A genus of salamanders ranging over Mexico and the United States. They generally prefer damp climates, for the fifteen or more species are grouped in the watered regions on either side of the arid plains. Only one species (Amblystoma tigrinum) ranges over all of the United States and into Mexico. The eastern examples transform early and while yet small. The larval or "axolotl" stage of the western forms grows large, transforms late, and may even become sexually mature while still bearing external gills. One Mexican form has never been observed to metamorphose. See AXOLOTL, and SALAMANDER.

AM BO (Lat. ambo, Gk. åμ3wv, from avaẞaíVELV, to ascend). The pulpit or reading-desk

used in the early Christian churches. There were usually two of them, placed on either side of the raised choir for the lower clergy, which occupied the upper part of the middle nave, below the altar. These ambones were entered from within the choir, and stood on its outside edge, toward the aisles, connected with the encircling parapet or screen. They had usually a double staircase on either side, and three levels; the upper for the reading of the Gospels and for preaching, confessions of faith, and important ecclesiastical announcements; the middle one for the reading of the Epistles; the lower for other parts of the Bible. Usually one ambo was devoted to the reading of the Gospels, and near it stood the paschal candlestick, while the second ambo was for the Epistles. The earliest ambones are at Ravenna (cathedral and Sant' Apollinare). Those at Rome are medieval (San Clemente, San Lorenzo), but are better preserved. They were of marble, merely carved in the earliest examples; inlaid with mosaics in later times. To the form with a single stairway the term "pulpit" is more appropriate. See PULPIT.

AMBOISE, äN'bwäz'. A town on the left bank of the Loire, in the department of Indreet-Loire, France (Map: France, H 4). It is 15 miles by railway east of Tours, and lies in a region so rich in vineyards that it has been called "the garden of France." The town has considerable steel manufactures and a trade in leather and cloth. It possesses a castle, in which several of the French kings have resided. Charles VIII. was born here. It was also the scene of his death. The town owes much of its importance to the renown of the great churchmen and statesmen, Cardinal Georges and François Charles d'Amboise. The town is memorable as the place in which the religious wars which devastated the kingdom during the sixteenth century broke out, and where the word "Huguenot" was first applied to the Protestant Party. The castle of Amboise was much improved by Louis Philippe, and was the

residence of the Arab chief Abd-el-Kader dur ing his captivity in France. Pop., 1901, 4538. Consult Chevalier, Inventaire analytique des archives d'Amboise, 1421-1789 (Tours, 1874).

communales

AMBOISE, GEORGES D' (1460-1510). Cardinal and Prime Minister under Louis XII. of France. He was born at Chaumont-sur-Loire. At a very early age he became almoner to Louis XI. It is generally stated that he became Bishop of Montauban at fourteen; but he did not attain to the dignity till the age of twenty-four. In 1493 he was made Archbishop of Rouen, and in 1499 Cardinal. Initiated in early years into the intrigues of the court, he soon, by his zealous services, secured the confidence of Louis of Orleans (Louis XII.), by whom he was made Premier in 1498. From this time Amboise became the prime mover in all the political affairs of France. By his advice the King undertook the conquest of Milan, which had such great influence on the fortunes of France. After the death of Pope Alexander VI., Amboise endeavored to raise himself to the Papal see, and, having failed, became the dangerous enemy of the succeeding popes, Pius III.-who occupied the Papal chair only twenty-seven days— and Julius II. To secure his own election, Amboise encouraged a schism between the French Church and the see of Rome, and convoked a separate council, held first at Pisa, afterward at