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ALTENBURG—ALTO.
Hondschooten. He was first lieutenant in 1800, but
on account of the unhappy capitulation at Lauen-
burg, found it advisable to leave Hanover, and came
to England. Here he was made commander of the
first light battalion in the German Legion (1803).
In 1808 he assisted, as general of brigade, in
covering the retreat of General Moore to Corunna,
and in the following year commanded the troops
stationed in Sussex. In 1811, he took part, under
‘General Beresford, in the siege of Badajoz and the
battle of Albuera, and in the following year was
promoted ' by the Duke of Wellington. In almost
all the engagements of the Spanish war of libera-
tion—at Salamanca, Vittoria, the Pyrences, Nivelle,
Nive, Orthez, Toulouse, &c., A. took a prominent
part, and had the command of a corps of 30,000
men, stationed near Madrid, in 1812. He fought
with great distinction at Quatre-Bras and at
‘Waterloo, where he was severely wounded ; his
efforts greatly contributed to the decision of the
battle. After his return to Hanover, he was made
minister of war, and in this capacity died, April
£0, 1840.
A'LTENBURG, the capital of the duchy of
Saxe-Altenburg, is situated in a fertile country
about 24 miles from Leipsic, and contains 16,000
inhabitants. Standing on an almost perpendicular
rock of porphyry, the old castle of A. forms a
:striking feature i the landscape. Its foundations
are probably as old as the 11th c. It is remarkable
as the scene of the historical incident known as the
Prinzenraub (q. v.). Brushes, gloves, and cigars are
among the chief manufactures carried on in A., and
-the book-trade is considerable. A railway connects
it with Leipsic and Bavaria.
A'LTENGAARD, or ALTEN, a seaport town in
the province of Finmarken, Norway, situated at the
mouth of the river Alten, in lat. 69° 55 N., and
long. 23° 4 . Beyond this point, no cultivation is
attempted ; and even here, potatoes and barley alone
are produced. A. has a harbour and considerable
trade. It is visited principally by Russian and
Norwegian vessels.
ALTEN-OTTING, or ALTOTTING, a place of
pilgrimage not far from the Inn, is situated in one
of the most beautiful and fertile plains of Upper
Bavaria. It is frequented by thousands of Roman
Catholics from Austria, Bavaria, and Swabia, on
account of a famous image of the Virgin Mary
(the © Black Virgin’) which it possesses, and may
be called the Loretto of Germany. The Redemp-
torist fathers, who were invited hither in 1838,
have built an educational institution, which may
be held as a.virtual revival of the old Jesuit col-
lege erected in 1773. A. was originally a villa regia.
Beveral German emperors, such as Henry III. and
Henry IV., held their court here. The emperor
Leopold I., and other princes of the House of
Hapsburg, made pilgrimages to it. It also con-
tains the tomb of Count Tilly, who was buried
here, at his own request. This tomb is called Tilly’s
Chapel, and is held in such high veneration, that
Maximilian I., and numerous other princes and
princesses of the Bavarian family, have had their
hearts interred in it.
A'LTERATIVES, in Medicine, a term applied to
remedies that have the power of changing the state
of the living solids of the body, and consequently
altering the functions which they perform. It is
generally applied, however, to medicines which are
mrritant 1 full doses, but which almost imperceptibly
alter disordered actions or secretions; acting speci-
ally on certain glands, or upon absorption in general,
when they are given in comparatively small doses,
the treatment being continued for a considerable
a
length of time. For example, mercury is an irritant
in some of its preparations ; but when small doses of
blue pill, Plummer’s pill, or corrosive sublimate are
given at intervals for some length of time, they pro-
duce alteration in disordered actions, so as to cause an
improvement in the nutrient and digestive functions,
the disappearance of eruptions, and the removal of
thickening of the skin or of other tissues’ (Royle) ;
and they will effect these changes without otherwise
affecting the constitution or inducing salivation. So
iodine, also an irritant in concentrated doses, and
poisonous in some forms, is most useful, when given
in small doses, in effecting the removal of enlarged
glandular organs, and need not cause iodism, if
carefully given.
The preparations of gold are likewise stimulants
of the absorbents, and are used in cases of scrofula.
Some preparations of arsenic are powerful A. in cases
of skin-disease. So also are the decoctions of the
woods and their substitutes, such as decoction of
sarsaparilla, and the like, which, when taken in large
quantities of water, must operate partly by their
diluting and solvent properties, and partly by the
stimulant effect of the active principles of the
several ingredients in these diet-drinks, conveyed
into the capillaries.
It will be seen, therefore, that the term A. rather
implies the method in which some drugs are admin-
istered, than any special alterative action possessed
by them. The most useful, it may be added, are
also the most dangerous in unskilled hands.
ALTE'RNATE, in Botany. See LEAVES.
ALTHZA'A. See MarsH Marrows and Horry-
HOCK.
A'LTITUDE, in Astronomy, is the height of a
heavenly body above the horizon. It is measured,
not by linear distance, but by the angle which a line
drawn from the eye to the heavenly body makes
with the horizontal line, or by the arc of a vertical
circle intercepted between the body and the horizon.
Altitudes are taken in observatories by means of a
telescope attached to a graduated circle (see CIRCLE),
which is fixed vertically. The telescope being
directed towards the body to be observed, the angle
which it makes with the horizon is read off the
graduated circle. The A. thus observed must
receive various corrections—the chief being for
parallax (q. v.) and refraction (q. v.)—in order to get
the true A. At sea, the A. is taken by means of a
sextant (q. v.), and then it has further to be cor-
rected for the dip of the visible horizon below the
true horizon (see Horizox). The correct determina-
tion of altitudes is of great importance in most of
the problems of astronomy and navigation. See
LoNGITUDE.—An ArTIiTUDE and AzIMUTH INSTRU-
MENT consists essentially of a vertical circle with its
telescope so arranged as to be capable of being
turned round horizontally to any point of the
compass. It thus differs from a Transit Circle (q. v.),
which is fixed in the meridian. See AZIMUTH.
A'LTO (contralto deciso) is the deepest or lowest
species of musical voice in boys, in eunuchs, and
best of all in females, where its beauty of tone
gives it the preference. This quality of the human
voice has been too much neglected by modern com-
posers and singing-masters. The powers of expres-
sion which it possesses are quite peculiar, and
cannot be supplied by any other kind of voice. Its
tone-character (timbre) is serious, spiritual, tender,
and romantic. The low A. in particular has a fulness
of tone combined with power in the lower range. No
other voice expresses so decidedly dignity, greatness,
and religious resignation: it can also represent
youthful manly power as well as romantic heroism.
The high A. has generally the same rall'xpge of
