e first _beaux esprits_ of the age," according to Wilhelmina,
Frederick's sister. Except his wit, it does not appear Frederick got much
good out of him, for the want of the due practical faculty, all the
faculty he had having evaporated in talk (1712-1764).

ALGAR`VE (240), the southernmost province of Portugal, hilly, but
traversed with rich valleys, which yield olives, vines, oranges, &c.

ALGEBRA, a universal arithmetic of Arabian origin or Arabian
transmission, in which symbols are employed to denote operations, and
letters to represent number and quantity.

ALGE`RIA, in the N. of Africa, belongs to France, stretches between
Morocco on the W. and Tripoli and Tunis on the E., the country being
divided into the Tell along the sea-coast, which is fertile, the Atlas
Highlands overlooking it on the S., on the southern slopes of which are
marshy lakes called "shotts," on which alfa grows wild, and the Sahara
beyond, rendered habitable here and there by the creation of artesian
wells; its extent nearly equal in area to that of France, and the
population numbers about four millions, of which only a quarter of a
million is French. The country is divided into Departments, of which
Algiers, Oran, and Constantine are the respective capitals. It has been
successively under the sway of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the
Vandals, the Arabs, the Byzantines, and the Berbers, which last were in
the 16th century supplanted by the Turks. At the end of this period it
became a nest of pirates, against whom a succession of expeditions were
sent from several countries of Europe, but it was only with the conquest
of it by the French in 1830 that this state of things was brought to an
end.

ALGESI`RAS (12), a town and port in Spain on the Bay of Gibraltar, 5
m. across the bay; for centuries a stronghold of the Moors, but taken
from them by Alfonso IX. after a siege of twenty months.

ALGIERS` (75), the capital of Algeria, founded by the Arabs in 935,
called the "silver city," from the glistening white of its buildings as
seen sloping up from the sea, presenting a striking appearance, was for
centuries under its Bey the head-quarters of piracy in the Mediterranean,
which only began to cease when Lord Exmouth bombarded the town and
destroyed the fleet in the harbour. Since it fell into the hands of the
French the city has been greatly improved, the fortifications
strengthened, and its neighbourhood has become a frequent resort of