each other, and embraced the whole circumference of the mercy-seat with their expanded wings (Ex. xxv. 17, 22, and xxxix. 1-9); between which the Shechinah, or symbol of the divine presence, manifested itself in the appearance of a cloud, hovering, as it were, over the mercy-seat (Lev. xvi. 2). From hence the divine oracles were given (2 Kings xix. 15; Isa. lxxx. 1). The high priest, once every year, on the great day of expiation, appeared before the mercy-seat, to make atonement for the people (Heb. ix. 7). The ark was placed in the sanctuary of the temple of Solomon: before his time, it was kept in the tabernacle, and was moved about as circumstances dictated. At the captivity, it appears to have been either lost or destroyed; for the Jews universally concur in stating that, among the things wanting in the second temple, one was the ark of the covenant.

ARKANSAS; a territory or district of country belonging to the U. States, bounded N. by the territory and state of Missouri, E. by the Mississippi, which separates it from the states of Tennessee and Mississippi, S. by Louisiana and Mexico, and W. by Mexico; length, from E. to W., 550 miles; mean breadth, about 220; square miles, about 120,000; between lon. 90° and 100° W.; lat. 32° 40′ and 36° 30′ N. This is the usual statement of the size of the territory; but the limits of what is properly called A. territory have been lately reduced, so that it now contains about 45,000 square miles. Pop., in 1810, 1062; in 1820, 14,273; slaves, 1,617. It was erected into a territorial government in 1819. The number of counties, in 1820, was 7, and, in 1828, 15. Little Rock is the seat of government. According to a report made in congress, by one of the committees on public lands, the population of Arkansas, probably, will amount, in 1830, to 35,000.-The Arkansas flows through the central part; the Mississippi forms the eastern, and Red river a part of the southern boundary. The other principal rivers are White, St. Francis and Washita or Ouachitta rivers. The Ozark (a provincial corruption of Arkansas) mountains traverse the country from N. E. to S. W. The part of the territory between this range and the Mississippi is, in general, low and level, and, in many places, liable to annual inundation. To the N. W. of the mountains, the country consists mostly of extensive prairies, without trees, except on the borders of the streams of water. The soil, on the rivers, is exceedingly fertile; but, in other parts,

much of it is sterile. Throughout most of the country, there is a great scarcity of water. The climate is subject to great extremes of heat and cold, and is unhealthy to new settlers. Arkansas was discovered and settled by the French, under the chevalier de Tonti, as early as 1685. In the various transfers of territory, it followed the fate of other parts of Louisiana, until February, 1819, when, by a law of congress, that part of Louisiana between the state of Louisiana, or N. lat. 33°, and the southern boundary of Missouri, was erected into a separate territorial government, and such it continues to the present day.-Cotton and Indian corn are the staple productions. The country is exceedingly well adapted to the raising of cattle. Wild animals and fowls are abundant, as the buffalo, deer, elk, otter, beaver, rabbit, raccoon, wildcat, catamount, wolf, bear, &c.; wild geese, turkeys, quails, &c. Of minerals, there are iron, lead, coal, salt, &c. There are several salt springs, and, 1300 or 1400 miles up the Arkansas, is a tract called the salt prairie, which, according to governor Miller, is covered, for many miles, from 4 to 6 inches deep, with pure, white, crystallized salt. About 150 miles N. W. Arkansas are the famous hot springs. They are much resorted to by invalids, and are useful in chronic and paralytic affections. The temperature, in the driest seasons, is at the boiling point, but subject to considerable variation. The principal tribes of Indians, in this territory, are the Osages, Cherokees, Quapas, Choctaws, Cadoes, Camanches, &c.- Arkansas; a river of North America, which rises in the Rocky mountains, about N. lat. 40°, near the sources of the rio del Norte, and near the borders of the territory of the U. States and Mexico. It forms a part of the boundary between the Missouri territory and Mexico, flows through the central part of Arkansas territory, and unites with the Mississippi, lat. 33° 40′ N. Its course is E. S. E. It is navigable for boats, at some seasons, 1980 miles; its whole length, following its windings, is 2170 miles. Its channel is broad, and its navigation safe, unobstructed by rocks, shoals or rapids. Silver is found on this river, and much of the land on its banks is of the first quality.

ARKEBUSS. (See Harquebuss.)

ARKWRIGHT, Sir Richard; at first a poor barber, afterwards inventor of the spinning jenny, and thereby the real founder of a branch of manufactures, to which Great Britain owes an immense increase

of her exports, and which affords employment to millions of hands. Some esteem this remarkable man as a genius of the first order, gifted with an extraordinary power of invention; others, as an artful contriver, who understood how to appropriate to himself the discoveries of others. It is certain that A. raised himself by his talents from low circumstances, that he had a great influence on the improvement of the spinning machines in England, and that he thus obtained honors and wealth. He left his barber's shop in 1767, and came to the village of Warrington, where he began his career of mechanical invention, with a kind of perpetual motion. A watch-maker, named Kay, advised him to persevere, and induced him to employ his talents on machinery for spinning wool. Kay had himself attempted to contrive a machine for that purpose, but without much success. As their united means were not sufficient to carry their design into execution, they applied for assistance to a Mr. Atherton, of Liverpool. Although the poverty of A.'s appearance promised but little, Mr. Atherton took the two projectors under his patronage, and a machine was at length completed. A. took out a patent for it in 1769, which was renewed in 1775, but was set aside, in 1785, by the king's bench. After procuring the patent, he formed, in connexion with a Mr. Smalley, an establishment which soon fell through. He then went to Nottingham, where his attempts were more successful. There he connected himself with a Scotchman, named Dale, and, as he was attacked, about this time, by other English manufacturers, he was accustomed to say, that he would put into the hands of a Scotchman a razor that would effectually shave them all. A. separated also from Dale, carried on his works alone, and soon became one of the richest manufacturers in the kingdom. When he died, in 1792, at his great establishment at Crumford bridge, his property amounted to at least £500,000. If the first conception of the spinning jenny cannot be refused to Kay, still we must not forget, that he who matures a crude idea, and understands how to apply it, deserves more credit than the inventor or projector. Since A.'s time, no important discovery or improvement has been made in the method of spinning cotton by water machinery. To give an idea of the immense influence which his invention has had upon the increase of cotton fabrics, it is sufficient to observe, that, from 1771 to 1780, only 5,735,000

pounds of raw cotton, on an average, were annually imported; but, from 1817 to 1821, about 144,000,000, of which 130,000,000 pounds were worked up in England, or, at least, spun there.

ARMADA (Spanish); a fleet of ships of war. This term is applied particularly to that great naval armament, which was called the invincible armada, fitted out, in 1588, by Philip II, against queen Elizabeth. It consisted of 150 ships, most of which were of a remarkable size, carrying 2650 guns, and having on board about 20,000 soldiers, and 8000 sailors, besides 2000 volunteers of the most distinguished families. This force was to be joined by 34,000 men, assembled in the neighborhood of Dunkirk. The English navy, at that time, consisted of 30 ships of war; but it was reinforced by the voluntary exertions of the citizens, commanded by Howard, Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher, and manned by the most skilful seamen in the world. The loss of their admiral, and a violent tempest, the day after they sailed, retarded, for some time, the operations of the Spaniards; and, on the voyage, they were harassed by the flying attacks of the English. They arrived on the coast of the Netherlands in July, were thrown into disorder by a stratagem of lord Howard, and, in this situation, were attacked with such impetuosity, that it became necessary to attempt to return. Contrary winds obliged the Spanish admiral to make the circuit of the island, with the wreck of this magnificent armament. In passing the Orkneys, it was attacked by a violent storm, and only a feeble remnant returned to Spain. Elizabeth struck medals with the mottoAflavit Deus et dissipantur.

ARMADILLO (dasypus, L.); a genus of mammiferous quadrupeds, belonging to the order edentata, inhabiting the hotter regions of the American continent. The species comprised within this genus are provided with a very remarkable, hard shell, consisting of scales or plates, arranged somewhat like a tessellated pavement or coat of mail, covering the head, body, and, in some species, the tail. This shell forms a sort of shield on the head; a second, very convex, protects the shoulders, and a third is extended over the rump; while the space intermediate to the two last is occupied by a number of parallel plates, united by a strong, flexible membrane, which allows of the necessary flexions of the body. When the animal places the head between the forefeet, and brings the tail and posterior ex

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tremities close together, a ball is formed, which offers an uniform, solid surface, not pervious to the attacks of birds of prey, nor small quadrupeds. The inferior surface of the body, not covered by the shell, is clothed with a coarse, scattered hair, some of which, also, appears at different points between the plates or bands of the shell. All the armadillos have a rather pointed snout, long ears and stout claws; of the latter, some species have four on the anterior feet, others five; all, however, have five on the posterior feet. They have no incisive or canine teeth, but seven or eight separate, cylindrical jaw-teeth, which are only enamelled on the outside. They feed on vegetables, insects and carrion, have a simple stomach, and no cæcum.-But for their peculiar fecundity, the armadillos would be speedily exterminated, as they are sought with great avidity in Guiana, Paraguay, Brazil, &c., on account of their flesh, which is regarded as a great luxury. To obtain these animals, is not so easy as might be supposed, since they burrow with astonishing rapidity, so that it is almost impossible to get at them by digging. The hunters are obliged to smoke them out of their dens. When they appear on the surface, they are easily captured, as they roll themselves into a ball, and remain motionless as soon as approached by a dog or man. If near a precipice, however, they sometimes elude pursuit by thus rolling themselves up and falling from the top, which they do without receiving any obvious injury. The Indians make use of the shell or covering of these animals, especially of the larger species, in the fabrication of baskets, &c.-Like all the animals belonging to this order, the armadillos are slow-motioned and harmless; sometimes they are troublesome in gardens, both from the destruction of plants, and the number and extent of the excavations which they form. The species are distinguished from each other, principally, by the number of bands on the trunk of the body, between the shield on the fore shoulders and that on the rump.The species enumerated by Cuvier are -dasypus tricinctus, L. (3 banded A.), of middling size, found in Brazil and Paraguay; D. 6 cinctus et 18 cinctus, L. (6 banded A.), having the borders of the posterior shield serrated, and the parts not covered by shell furnished with longer and thicker hair than the other species; D. 7, 8 et 9 cinctus, L. (9 banded A.), having a body 15 inches long, with a tail of the same length; and the D. gigas, C., or giant ar

madillo, which has 12 or 13 intermediate bands, and grows to the length of 3 feet, exclusive of the tail. We have good reason to believe that this species attains to a much larger size, or that there is another species, to which the epithet gigantic is still more applicable than to this.

ARMAGH; a county of Ireland, in the province of Ulster, containing, on 459 square miles, 141,381 souls. The linen manufacture flourishes in this country. The chief city of this county is Armagh, which was formerly the metropolis of Ireland; lon. 6° 37′ W.; lat. 54° 21′ N. It contains 1268 houses, and 7010 inhabitants; 2000 of the established church, 3413 Catholics, and 1596 Dissenters. In the middle ages, it was an extensive and populous city, and celebrated for its learning, having, at one period, according to Irish historians, 7000 students at its college. It is, at present, the seat of the consistorial court of the archbishop of Armagh, who is lord primate of all Ireland.

ARMATOLIC (from the modern Greek Apparodov, i. e., territory of arms); a district in the mountains of Greece, assigned to a capitani for protection. They were the last refuge of liberty in Greece. These armatolics are very numerous in the mountains of Macedon, Epirus and Thessaly; and the freedom of the Mainotes, Suliotes, inhabitants of Montenegro, &c., is supported almost entirely by them. When Mohammed II finished the conquest of Greece, he was satisfied with possessing the plains, the fortified places and the seaports. The natural fortresses of the country seemed unimportant to him, as well as to his successors, whose efforts were directed, in preference, against Hungary and Poland. To these fastnesses, unconquered by the Turks, fled the independent part of the Greeks, in order to continue the war in detail, under their bold leaders, called capitanis. A capitani collected, generally, a troop of 50-200 men, who remained true to him through every variety of fortune, and attacked the enemy every where, on the roads and in the towns. They said, "We never have made peace with Turkey." Thus involved in an endless struggle with the oppressors, their war soon degenerated into robberies. A large number of them were careful to confine their depredations to Mussulmans; but this was not the case with all, and many instances occurred, as may easily be imagined, in which Greeks were attacked when the booty expected was con

siderable. The pachas, unable to subdue these enterprising warriors, generally treated with them. The capitanis received, on condition of remaining quiet, money or stores, and the government of the district which was defended by their arms. Such a district was then called armatolion. Very recently, the capitanis Odysseus, Perrhæos, Tzonko, Tasios, Pisko, &c., made themselves feared by Ali Pacha, (q. v.) as well as by the pachas sent against him, and most of them took part against the Porte in the struggle for the liberty of Greece.

ARMED SHIP; a name used, in England, to signify a vessel occasionally taken into the service of the government in time of war, and employed to guard some particular coast, or to attend on a fleet. She is therefore armed and equipped, in all respects, like a ship of war, and commanded by an officer of the navy, who has the rank of a master and commander. All ships of this sort are upon the establishment of the king's sloops, having a lieutenant, master, purser, surgeon, &c.

ARMENIA; an Asiatic country, containing 106,000 square miles, formerly divided into Armenia Major and Minor. The first, which is the modern Turcomania, and is still sometimes called Armenia, lies south of mount Caucasus, and comprehends the Turkish pachalics Erzerum, Kars and Van (which extend over 33,770 square miles, and have 950,000 inhabitants), and also the Persian province Iran, or Erivan. Armenia Minor, now called Aladulia or Pegian, belongs to the Turks, and is divided between the pachalics Merashe and Sivas. Armenia is a rough, mountainous country, which has Caucasus for its northern boundary, and, in the centre, is traversed by branches of the Taurus, to which belongs mount Ararat. (q. v.) Here the two great rivers Euphrates and Tigris take their rise; likewise the Kur, and other less considerable streams. The lakes Van and Geuk-sha are also in this part of the country. The climate is rather cold than warm; the soil, in general, moderately fertile, and better fitted for grazing than for agriculture; it produces, however, the finest southern fruits. The mountains are rich in iron and copper. The inhabitants consist of genuine Armenians, of Turcomans, who pass a wandering life in the plains, and of a few Turks, Greeks and Jews. Of the ancient history of this country but little is known. It appears to have been subjected, in turn, by the Assyrians, Medes, Persians and Macedonians. After the

death of Alexander, it became part of the kingdom of Syria, and so remained till the overthrow of Antiochus the Great, when it fell into the hands of different rulers, and was divided into Armenia Major and Minor.—Armenia Major was exposed to many attacks. The Romans and Parthians fought a long time for the right of giving a successor to the throne, and it was governed at one period by Parthian princes, at another, by those whom the Romans favored, until Trajan made it a Roman province. Armenia afterwards recovered its independence, and was under the rule of its own kings. Sapor, king of Persia, attempted its subjugation in vain, and it remained free until 650, when it was conquered by the Arabians. After this, it several times changed its masters, among whom were Gengis-Khan and Tamerlane. In 1552, Selim II conquered it from the Persians, and the greater part has since remained under the Turkish dominion. Armenia Minor has also had several rulers, among whom Mithridates was first distinguished. From him Pompey took the kingdom, and gave it to Dejotarus, &c. On the decline of the Roman empire in the East, it was conquered by the Persians, and, in 950, fell into the hands of the Arabians, since which time it has shared the same fate as Armenia Major, and was made, in 1514, a Turkish province, by Selim I. Of the cities of ancient Armenia, some ruins are yet to be seen, which display a good style in architecture; e. g., the ruins of the old capital Ani, which was destroyed, in 1319, by an earthquake; and those of the ancient city Armavir, which, during 1800 years, was the residence of the kings; some families still reside here. After Armavir, Artaxarta (Artaschad) on the Araxes, built in the time of the Seleucidæ, became the capital, but sunk into decay before the end of the 8th century.-The Armenians, a sober and temperate nation, are chiefly occupied in commerce, which, in Turkey, is almost entirely in their hands; and in all Asia, except China, merchants of their nation are to be found. Their religion has facilitated their entrance into Eastern Europe; accordingly they are numerous in Russia. Jaubert says of the domestic life of the Christian Armenians, that, in their native country, they are good agriculturists; that old age is highly honored; and that the wife looks up to her husband, and the son to his father, as in the time of the patriarchs. They prefer permanent habitations, whereever the eternal feuds of the pachas and

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Curds permit them to remain quiet. The Armenians received Christianity as early as the 4th century. During the Monophysitic disputes, being dissatisfied with the decisions of the council of Chalcedon, they separated from the Greek church, in 536. The popes have at different times, when they requested protection against the Mohammedans, attempted to gain them over to the Catholic faith, but have not been able to unite them permanently and generally with the Roman church. Only in Italy, Poland, Gallicia, Persia, under the archbishop of Nachitschevan (a new town on the Don, in the Russian government Ekaterinoslav, of which the inhabitants are mostly Armenians), and in Marseilles, there are United Armenians, who acknowledge the spiritual supremacy of the pope, agree in their doctrines with the Catholics, but retain their peculiar ceremonies and discipline. The case is the same with the United Armenian monasteries upon mount Lebanon in Syria. At the Persian invasion, in the beginning of the 17th century, many of them were obliged to become Mohammedans, but the far greater part are yet Monophysites, and have remained faithful to their old religion and worship. The Porte has constantly protected them against the attempts of the Catholics. Their doctrine differs from the orthodox chiefly in their admitting only one nature in Christ, and believing the Holy Spirit to issue from the Father alone. In their 7 sacraments, which they call mysteries, there are these peculiarities, that, in baptism, they sprinkle thrice, and dip thrice, and this is immediately followed by confirmation; that, in the Lord's supper, they mix no water with the wine, and use leavened bread, which they distribute dipped in wine; and that they allow extreme unction only to divines, immediately after their death. They adore saints and their images, but do not believe in purgatory. In fasting, they surpass the Greeks. Their feasts are fewer than those of the Greeks, but they celebrate them more devoutly. They worship, in Turkey, mostly in the night time; the mass is said in the ancient Armenian, the sermon is preached in the modern. Their hierarchy differs little from that of the Greeks. The catholicos, or head of the church, has his seat at Etschmiazim, a monastery near Erivan, the capital of the Persian Armenia, on mount Ararat. The holy oil, which he prepares and sells to the clergy, and the frequent pilgrimages of the Armenians to Etschmiazim, supply him

with means for the support of a magnificent style of worship, and of establishments for education. He maintains, in his residence, a seminary for the education of divines. The patriarchs, bishops and archbishops of the Armenians are invested by him, and every three years confirmed in their offices, or recalled. The remainder of the clergy resemble the priests of the orthodox church in rank and duties. The monks follow the rule of St. Basil. The vertabets, who live like monks, cultivate the sciences, take degrees, which may be compared with our academical honors, and are the vicars of the bishops, form a class of divines peculiar to the Armenian church. The secular priests must be married once, but are not permitted to take a second wife. In superstition, and attachment to old forms, the Armenians resemble the Greeks, but are distinguished by better morals. In general, they surpass all the kindred Monophysitic sects in information; allow the people to read the Bible; study the theological, historical and mathematical sciences; possess a respectable national literature, and, at Etschmiazim, have a printing office, which produces splendid copies of the Bible. Besides the religious societies of the Armenians in their own country and in Turkey, where they are very numerous (their patriarch at Constantinople maintains the same relation as the Greek patriarch_towards the Porte), there are others in Persia, at Ispahan, Schiras and Nerinkale; in Russia, at Petersburg, Moscow, Astrachan, and in the Caucasian governments; also, small ones at London and Amsterdam. (See Ker Porter's Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia ancient, Babylon, etc., in the years 1817-20 (London, 1821, 4to. with copperplates), and the travels of a Frenchman (Amad. Jaubert) through Armenia and Persia, in 1805, 1806.)

ARMENIAN LITERATURE. The Armenians, one of the most ancient nations of the civilized world, have maintained themselves as a cultivated people, amidst all those revolutions which barbarism, despotism and war have occasioned, in Western Asia, from the days of Assyria, Greece and Rome, down to the period of Mongolian, Turkish and Persian do minion. During so many ages, they have faithfully preserved, not only their historical traditions, reaching back to the period of the ancient Hebrew histories, but also their national character, in a physical and moral point of view. Their first abode, mount Ararat, is, even at the