32

ACTA MARTYRUM ET SANCTORUM-ACTON.

order Passeres; equivalent to Oscines, or singing birds. |
The acromyodian birds are so named from the insertion
of the intrinsic muscles of the voice-organ (lower larynx
or syrinx) into the extremities of the upper bronchial
half-rings. The construction results in a rocking or ro-
tating movement of the syringeal pieces, and consequent
infinite degrees of tension and modes of vibration of
the vocal membranes, perfecting a musical instrument
which gives forth the endlessly varied songs of birds.
Opposed to Mesomyodi, or Clamatores, which have a
much simpler and less effective vocal organ, with the
muscle or muscles inserted into the middle of the upper
bronchial half-rings.

(E. C.)
ACTA MARTYRUM ET SANCTORUM. These
are, literally, the record of the lives of the martyrs and
other saints. The Catholic Church was careful from
the earliest times to gather details of the last days of
those who gave their lives to bear witness in their
blood to the faith which they professed. St. Clement,
a disciple of St. Peter, is said to have instituted a body of
notaries in Rome, whose duty it was to commit to writ-
ing and preserve these interesting memorials. Their
collections formed an important part of the ancient
St. Anterus, who
archives of the Roman Church.
became pope in A. D. 238, was particularly zealous on
this point, and it was in supervising the discharge of
this pious office by his clerics that he was himself put
to death. The example of the Roman Church was
followed throughout the Christian world. On account
of the vehemence of the persecutions and of other cir-
cumstances, sometimes only the names and bare dates,
sometimes only a few meagre indications, could be
given; but in more favorable cases full biographical
It soon became a matter of
notices were recorded.
difficulty and danger to gather the acts of the martyrs,
and recourse was often had to bribes to the officials of
the courts of justice and to executioners in order to
evade it. The pagans perceived as early as the reign
of Domitian that the Christians set great value on au-
thentic relations of the trials and persecutions of their
brethren, and therefore they made these acts an object
of minute research, so that many copies were de-
stroyed either by their captors, or by their possessors
to hinder them from falling into the hands of the
heathen. But a small part of the acts of the martyrs
has outlived the persecutions of the Roman empire,
the invasion of the barbarians, and the neglect of liter-
ature during the Middle Ages.

Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea in the fourth century,
was the first writer to undertake a complete collection
of these acts in all the different churches; but his work
was already lost by the sixth century, although a spe-
cial treatise composed by him on the martyrs of Pales-
tine has been preserved. Towards the end of the sev-
enteenth century a learned Benedictine, Dom Ruinart,
made the most perfect collection then possible of these
He used only
early but long-neglected documents.
original manuscripts, which, moreover, he subjected to
a rigid criticism, so as to justify the title which he gave
to his work of genuine acts of the martyrs-Acta Sanc-
It was published at Paris
torum Martyrum Sincera.
in 1689. Ruinart limited his researches to the acts of
the early martyrs, but the Jesuit Rosweyd had long
before conceived the design of publishing the lives of
He died before
he could do more than announce his project to the
learned world, which he did in an erudite Latin work
published at Antwerp in 1607. Two of his literary
disciples, Jesuits like himself, Fathers Bollandus and
Henschen, commencing with the materials which he had
collected, and industriously adding thereto, were able to
begin the grand undertaking which he had planned by
publishing in 1643 the first two volumes of that colossal
work which has since been called, as superseding every-
thing else on the subject, the Acta Sanctorum. The
work has been continued by successive writers of the
order of Jesuits, with a long intermission occasioned by
the suppression of the Society in the last century, down

all the saints of the Roman calendar.

see Vol. I.

to our own day, and is still far from finished, although
(R. S.)
more than seventy folio volumes have been published.
The writers who have been engaged on the work are
ACTION. In many of the United States the old
called Bollandists, from Father Bollandus.
forms of action as they existed in England
Edin. ed.).
p. 122 Am. prior to the Judicature Act of 1873 have
United States courts. In many States, how-
ed. (P. 132 been retained, and this is also the case in the
ever, the distinction between the various forms of action
has been abolished, and, as in England, but one form
vate rights or the redress of private wrongs is recog-
of civil action for the enforcement or protection of pri-
nized. Such is now the law in New York, Ohio, Mis-
But although, in these States,
souri, Indiana, California, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah,
Louisiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Nevada,
and South Carolina.
all actions are now brought in the same form, yet there
are many intrinsic differences in actions which no law
can abolish. Mere formal differences have been anni-
hilated; the substantial differences remain as before.
The same proof, for example, is required in each partic-
ular kind of action as before the abolition of the formal
differences, in order to entitle the plaintiff to the relief
which he seeks. The principles, therefore, by which
(L. L., JR.)
the former actions were governed may be still said to re-
main, and to control as much now as formerly in deter-
mining the rights of the parties.

ACT OF GOD, or ACTUS DEI, in law, any accident
due to natural causes directly and exclusively without
human intervention, such as could not have been pre-
vented by any amount of foresight and pains and care
reasonably to be expected. Lord Mansfield said the
act of God means something in opposition to the act
The term includes therefore an earthquake
of man.
or tempest, a severe snowstorm which impedes travel,
On the other hand, an ordi-
the freezing of a river, a frost of extraordinary severity,
or a sudden failure of it.
an unprecedented flood or freshet, a sudden gust of wind
nary fire is not considered as the act of God, while a fire
driven by a tornado or caused by lightning is. Nor does
the term include the shifting of a buoy by some sup-
posed natural cause, or the freezing of perishable arti-
cles which might have been prevented by due care, or
theft by an employé or other person. The legal max-
ims applicable are Actus Dei nemini facit injuriam (the
act of God is so treated by the law as to affect no one
injuriously), and the similar one, Lex non cogit ad im-
possibilia (the law does not compel a man to do that
which he cannot possibly perform). Where the law
creates a duty or charge, and the party is disabled to
perform it without any default of his own, and has no
mon carriers, in accordance with this principle, are not
remedy over, the law will in general excuse him. Com-
liable for loss arising from the act of God or the king's
enemies. The Roman law made no distinction between
the act of God and inevitable accident arising from other
causes, but gave immunity wherever the loss resulted
from casus fortuitus or damnum fatale or vis major,
which are synonymous terms; and in like manner by
the Scotch law not only storms and pirates, but also
housebreaking and fire, constitute damnum fatale
which will exonerate the innkeeper or carrier. The
theory of the common law, on the contrary, regarded
the liability of the carrier as dependent upon his rem-
As bailee and possessor he had a remedy at law
edy.
against the violence or negligence of others, but as he
could have no redress against the acts of God or the
Sir William Jones has endeavored to substitute for
public enemy, he was not liable over to his bailor.
"act of God," as more proper and more reverent, the
term "inevitable or unavoidable accident." In accord-
(J. M. G.)
ance with his opinion, this term and "the act of nature"
act of God.
are frequently but improperly used as equivalent to the

ACTON, SIR JOHN EMERICH EDWARD DALBERG, LORD, was born at Naples, Jan. 10, 1834, and succeeded to the baronetcy when about three years of age.

tion, a notable and historic convocation, that assembled in Buffalo, N. Y. This convention nominated Martin Van Buren for President and Charles Francis Adams for Vice-President. Seventeen States were represented by delegates, and the party subsequently threw 300,000 votes, the Whig candidate, Gen. Zachary Taylor, being elected by a large majority.

Kept in a minority by New England conservatism, Mr. Adams remained in private life, although devoting himself, by various means, to the dissemination of those ideas of human rights and political responsibility which he thought most needful for the enlightenment of his fellow-citizens. In 1858 he was elected to Congress for the first time, from the third district of Massachusetts. He made few speeches in Congress, but a speech which he delivered during the second year of his term attracted marked attention on account of its purpose and ability. It was a defence of the Republican party, and its cogency of statement, logical directness, and masterly exposition of the principles and purposes of the Republicans made it a remarkable contribution to the controversy then agitating the republic.

sition so forcibly that he won the cordial and emphatic acknowledgments of the Government with whose representatives he had so long contended. His preeminent skill was recognized by the publicists of the world, the proceedings of the tribunal having attracted universal attention. Mr. Adams's satisfaction with the result of the arbitration removed any feeling of disappointment which his fellow-countrymen may have felt.

Returning home, he retired once more to private life, but kept himself thoroughly informed of public affairs. In 1872, when the Liberal" movement began, he entered into it with his usual earnestness, and was pressed for the presidential nomination by some of his zealous friends. Mr. Horace Greeley was nominated, and the absorption of the new party by the Democrats served to alienate from the organization many sincere men, among whom was Mr. Adams. In 1876 he was nominated for governor of Massachusetts by the Democrats, but he took no active part in the campaign, and he accepted his defeat with indiffer

ence.

ADAMS, CHARLES FRANCIS, JR., second son of the preceding, was born at Boston, May 27, 1835. After graduating at Harvard College in 1856, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1858. On the outbreak of the Civil War he entered the Union service as lieutenant in the First Massachusetts cavalry. After more than two years of service in this regiment he became lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Massachusetts cavalry, a negro regiment. He was afterwards promoted to the colonelcy, and on the capture of Richmond entered it at the head of his troops. He has since devoted much attention to social and economic questions, and especially the railroad system of the United States. He first published the results of his investigations in articles in the North American Review. In 1869 he was appointed by the governor of Massachusetts a member of the State board of railroad commissioners. Several of his articles on railroad management, together with some by his brother, Prof. Henry B. Adams, were revised and published under the title Chapters of Erie (1871). His later volume on Railroads, their Origin and Problems (1879), is a condensation of the more important parts of numerous articles and of his reports as commissioner. When his term of office expired in 1879, he declined a reappointment. An organization was then formed by the principal railroad companies, whose roads lay north of the Potomac and the Ohio and west of the Mississippi, and this joint executive committee selected Mr. Adams, together with Messrs. D. A. Wells and J. S. Wright, as a permanent board of arbitrators to settle disputes arising among the companies. In 1882, Mr. Adams was selected as sole arbitrator.

Mr. Adams's contributions to the literature of his During the Congressional recess of 1860, Mr. Adams country are voluminous. He edited and published The accompanied Mr. Seward on his Vestern tour, and Works of John Adams, in 9 vols., the opening volume frequently spoke in defence of the principles and policy of the series containing "A Life of John Adams, by of the Republican party. In Jan., 1861, he supported his Grandson, Charles Francis Adams. He also the compromise measures of "the committee of thirty-edited the letters of Mrs. John Adams, and of John three," of which he was a member. These measures Adams to his wife. The Diary of John Quincy Adams, were based on a proposed constitutional amendment in 12 vols. 4to, is another of the historical works with forbidding interference with slavery in the States in which his name, as editor, is connected. (N. B.) which it already existed, and the admission of New Mexico as a State, with or without slavery as the people might elect. Devices like these proved ineffectual to stay the rising tide. War soon began, and the conflict which Mr. Adams had seen was inevitable was now precipitated upon the republic. His appointment as U. S. minister to the court of St. James was among the very first determined upon by the Lincoln Administration, which came into power. Mr. Adams reached England immediately after the issuing of the queen's proclamation of neutrality, and at a time when the controlling influences of English politics and society were unmistakably manifested in favor of the new Confederacy of the South. The Confederates had been recognized as belligerents, and there were very few Englishmen in public life who did not expect and believe in the ultimate triumph of the Confederate cause. The British authorities were apparently unable to enforce their own neutrality laws, and they depended upon the American minister, aided by the American consul at Liverpool, Mr. Dudley, to procure evidence needed to secure governmental interference with the numerous enterprises against the United States that were planned in British dominions. For this task Mr. Adams was admirably fitted. With unremitting patience and unyielding firmness he applied a steady pressure to the British Government day after day and for several years. He addressed to unwilling ears his convincing protests and unanswerable reasoning. Never dismayed or disturbed by the almost contemptuous indifference of those to whom he directed his complaints, and with absolute confidence in the justice of his cause, he maintained his ground without flinching and without bravado. With rare wisdom and tact he won his way in society, making friends where his country had none. When, in 1868, after a residence of seven years in England, Mr. Adams returned to his native land, he received the unusual tribute of a letter testifying to the esteem with which he was regarded by the signers, among whom were the men most eminent in the British nation, members of the Government and of both the great political parties.

The crowning honor of Mr. Adams's life, as well as his most notable opportunity to prove his great abilities, was his appointment as arbitrator at the Geneva tribunal of arbitration on the Alabama claims. His learning and impartiality were now brought into requi

ADAMS, NEHEMIAH, D. D. (1806-1878), an American Congregational minister and author, was born at Salem, Mass., Feb. 19, 1806. While he was a child, his father, Nehemiah Adams, Sr., a cabinetmaker, lost all his property, and the son while acquiring an education was obliged to work for his living. While a student at Harvard College he taught school at North Beverly in the winter. Having graduated in 1826, he studied theology at Andover, and on Dec. 17, 1829, was ordained colleague with the venerable Rev. Dr. Abiel Holmes, pastor of the First Congregational Church, Cambridge, Mass. In 1831, Dr. Holmes having resigned his charge, Mr. Adams became sole pastor, but in 1834 he removed to Boston, where he was installed

pastor of the Union Congregational Church on Essex Street. In the early part of his ministerial career he engaged in the controversy with the Unitarians, and was a frequent contributor to the Spirit of the Pilgrims. He was always an earnest, eloquent preacher, a tenderhearted pastor, devoted to his congregation and beloved by them. Several of his publications grew out of his Fastoral experience. In 1853, on account of his wife's failing health, he accompanied her to Georgia, and spent three months on the plantation of a wealthy slaveholder. As the agitation produced by the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin was then at its height, Dr. Adams carefully examined Southern slavery as he found it, and on his return to Boston gave his views in a volume called A South-side View of Slavery. He maintained that with proper regulations the institution was beneficial to both master and slave. He also had a public correspondence with Gov. Wise of Virginia on the same subject, and in 1861 published The Sable Cloud, a Southern Tale with Northern Comments. In 1869, having had an attack of apoplexy, he obtained leave of absence from his congregation, and sailed from Boston Oct. 4, in the ship Golden Flame, commanded by his youngest His voyage extended around the world, and an account of it was published in a volume called Under the Mizzen-mast. Returning May 16, 1871, he was unable to resume his former work, and was made pastor emeritus, Rev. H. M. Parsons being active pastor. After a gradual decline, Dr. Adams died at Boston, Oct. 6, 1878. His publications were generally of a devotional character; besides those already mentioned the principal were The Baptized Child (1834), Remarks on the Unitarian Belief (1832), Life of John Eliot (1847), The Friends of Christ in the New Testament (1855), Christ a Friend (1855), Communion Sabbath (1856), Bertha and her Baptism (1857), Catherine (1859), The Great Concern (1860), Evenings with the Doctrines (1861), Broadcast (1863), Agnes and the Little Key (1863), The Cross in the Cell (1866), Walks to Emmaus (1879). At the request of several ministers he published in 1877 a selection from his later sermons under the title At Eventide, and in 1882 a second edition of this volume was issued, with a brief biographical sketch by his son, R. C. Adams.

son.

ADAMS, WILLIAM, D. D. (1807-1880), an eloquent Presbyterian minister, was born at Colchester, Conn., Jan. 25, 1807. He was taught by his father, John Adams, LL.D., in Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated at Yale College in 1827. He studied theology at Andover, and in 1831 was ordained as pastor of a Congregational church at Brighton, Mass. In 1834 he was called to New York as pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church, which in 1853 was removed to another site and became known as the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. When his denomination was divided in 1838, he adhered to the New School branch, and soon became prominent in it, as well as in the various undenominational societies, religious and benevolent, which had their head-quarters at New York. In 1852 he was moderator of the General Assembly, and afterwards took an active part in the reunion of the Presbyterian Church, which was accomplished in 1870. In 1873 his son-in-law, Mr. J. C. Brown, offered to endow the Union Theological Seminary with $100,000, on condition that Dr. Adams should take the presidency of that institution. Although reluctant to part with the congregation to which he had ministered for thirty-nine years, he felt it his duty to accept the position, which he held till his death. He was a delegate to the First Presbyterian Council, which met at Edinburgh in September, 1876, and was appointed to preach the opening sermon at its next session in Philadelphia in September, 1880, but had scarcely begun to write the sermon when he died, August 31, 1880, at Orange Mountain, N. J. His principal books are The Three Gardens: Eden, Gethsemane, and Paradise, 1859; Conversations of Jesus Christ with Representative Men, 1868; Thanksgiving, Memories of the Day

and Helps to the Habit; he also published many sermons and orations and contributed articles to several religious reviews. In a course of lectures on the Catacombs of Rome he made important corrections in the current translation of several inscriptions.

ADEMPTION, in law, the extinction or withdrawal of a legacy in consequence of some act of the testator which, though not directly a revocation of the bequest, is considered in law as equivalent thereto. A legacy of any specific chattel will be adeemed by the testator's selling or otherwise disposing of it in his lifetime, or by a conversion of it at his order or request into such a form as will alter the specification of it. So, too, a mere removal of chattels will sometimes operate to adeem a bequest of them. Thus, where a testator bequeathed all his books in a certain place, the removal of the books by his command elsewhere prior to his death was held to extinguish the legacy. Ademption by removal can only take place, however, where the removal is with the testator's knowledge and approval.

A specific legacy of a debt or security for money will be adeemed by the receipt of the amount due by the testator in his lifetime, no matter whether his acceptance of the same was compulsory or voluntary. So a partial receipt by the testator of a debt specifically bequeathed will operate as an ademption pro tanto.

Where stock is specifically bequeathed, and does not exist, either in whole or in part, at the time of the testator's death, the legacy will be considered to be totally or partially adeemed, as the case may be, unless, indeed, the stock has been exchanged or converted by operation of law, in which case no such result follows. Such a legacy is irretrievably adeemed by the sale of the stock, and will not be revived by a new purchase of similar stock by the testator.

General and demonstrative legacies are usually not subject to ademption. They may, however, be thus extinguished in certain cases. Where a parent, or one who stands in loco parentis, gives a legacy to a child, that will be deemed to constitute a portion, and if subsequently the testator makes an advancement of property to the child, either greater, equal to, or less in value than the legacy, said legacy will be considered adeemed in whole or in part accordingly. It will make no difference in the application of this rule that the property advanced is of a wholly different sort from that bequeathed or that it is settled with entirely different limitations. If, however, it can be clearly shown by evidence that the intention of the testator in making the advancement was not to adeem the prior legacy, that result will not follow. (L. L., JR.)

ADLERBETH, GUDMUND GÖRAN (1751-1818), a Swedish author, was born in 1751. He wrote some good tragedies and made excellent translations of Virgil, Horace, and Ovid. His greatest merit consists ir his having called attention to old Norse poetry by his translation of Eving Skaldespiller's poem on King Hakon. His Historical Notes, published after his death, are a valuable contribution to the history of Sweden from 1771 to 1807.

ADLERCREUTZ, CARL JOHAN (1757-1815), a Swedish general, was born April 27, 1757, in Finland. He entered the military service in early youth, and distinguished himself in the war with Russia (1788–90). He was a colonel when the war of 1808 began, and soon afterwards became chief of the staff of the Finnish army. In the victory of Siikajoki he compelled the Russians advancing under Tutschkoff to halt, and in the battles of Lappo and Alavo against Rajewski he forced them to retreat still farther; but when the Russians under the command of Kamenski were reinforced, he was obliged to leave Finland after the bloody battle of Oravais. In Stockholm he joined the enemies of the imprudent policy of Gustaf IV., and it was he that took the king prisoner. Adlercreutz became lieutenant-general in 1809, cabinet officer in 1810, and general in 1811. He took part in the wars in Germany in 1813, and the invasion of Norway in 1814. He died Aug. 21, 1815.

36

creutz.

ADLERSPARRE-ADOBE.

ADLERSFARRE, GEORG (1760-1835), a Swedish statesman and author, was born March 28, 1760, and entered the army in 1775. He took part in the war against Russia (1788-90), but resigned in 1794, and devoted many years to literature. He published several works on political economy, history, and military tactics, and a prominent periodical for that time, Läsning i blandade ämnen (1797-1801). In 1808 he again entered the army, and marched in 1809 against Stockholm, and thus caused the imprisonment of Gustaf IV. by AdlerHe served the state in various high positions until 1824, when he resigned and edited his work in nine volumes, Handlingar rörande Sveriges äldre och nyare historia. His death occurred Sept. 23, 1835. ADLERSPARRE, KARL AUGUST (1810-1862), eldest son of Georg Adlersparre, was born June 7, 1810. He gained his first popularity by a volume of poems, His repuwhich were followed by other poems and novels, published under the nom-de-plume "Albano." tation, however, is chiefly based on his historical works1809 Ars Revolutionen och dess män (2 vols., Stockholm, 1849); 1809 och 1810, Tidstaflor (3 vols., Stockholm, 1850); and Anteckningar om bortgångna Samtida (3 vols., Stockholm, 1859-62). He died May 5, 1862. ADMINISTRATOR, a person duly authorized by law to attend to the settlement of the estate In the of one who dies intestate, or of a testator of whose will there is no executor. ed. (p. 154 Edin. ed.). latter case the administration is cum testaBy the Scottish law, "administrator' is the general term used as the title of any one acting for one incapacitated by law to act in person.

See Vol. I.

p. 141 Am.

mento annexo.

Administrators were known to the civil law, but did not exist in England prior to the 31st year of Edward III. Prior to that time the duty of administering to the estates of decedents devolved upon the king, and was by him entrusted to the bishop or ordinary. Hence we find that the administration of intestates' estates became part of the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts in England. The general theory of the law as to the distribution of the estates of intestates in this country is that, in the absence of any expressed intention on the part of the decedent, his estate should go in such channels as, in the exercise of natural love and affection, it would have been likely to be directed by will. In all the States of the Union there are laws regulating the disposition of intestates' estates, both as to real and personal property. (See INTESTATES, INTESTACY, INHERITANCE.) Under the operation of these laws the real estate passes directly to specified heirs, and provision is made for the administration of the personal property, generally by the appointment of the nearest relation of the decedent as administrator. Thus, the husband has the administration of his wife's property, and the widow of that of her husband. After that the appointment is made in the order of kinship, computed in some States by the rule of the civil law, and in others by the English rule. In most States the order is-husband or wife, children, father or mother, brothers or sisters, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, etc. When two or more are in the same degree of kinship, the probate judge or surrogate decides between them. If there are no relatives, the creditors of the decedent have the right of administration.

(s. w.)
in the law as devastavit. In all the States of the Union
a reasonable compensation for his services.
an administrator properly discharging his duty is allowed
ADMISSION, in law, a concession or voluntary ac-
knowledgment, made by a party, of the existence or
truth of certain facts. The term is employed only in
civil cases, the corresponding expression in criminal
Admissions are sometimes made by deed under seal,
practice being "confession.
and in such cases are conclusive as against parties mak-
Admissions not under seal are either judicial in their
ing them.
are solemnly made by a party to a cause either in the
nature or not judicial. Judicial admissions are such as
pleadings or subsequently. These are conclusive in
their effect upon the rights of the party making them.
Admissions other than judicial consist of such statements
by him of the truth of certain facts. Admissions of
or conduct of a party in a suit as amount to a concession
this character, when proved, will be submitted to the
jury as evidence, but are not conclusive as against the
party making them unless, in consequence of their be-
to act in some manner which has proved to be to his
ing made, the other party to the suit has been induced
prejudice. Admissions made by some other person
than a party to the suit are sometimes allowed in evi-
missions of privies in estate, agents, etc. are received.
dence against him. It is on this principle that the ad-
petent evidence.
The admissions of a mere stranger are not usually com

The admission of one party to a suit is not receivable
in evidence as against other parties on the same side,
unless there be some joint interest or privity of design
between them. A mere community of interest is not
enough to warrant this result. Admissions made under
circumstances of constraint or compulsion are receivable
in evidence, provided that the compulsion was legal and
Admissions not only consist of direct or incidental
Much care
the party was not imposed upon nor under duress.
statements, but may also be implied in certain cases
from unusual conduct or from silence.
must, however, be taken in regard to admissions in-
ferred from silence, the weight of authority being that
(L. L., JR.)
they never ought to be received at all unless there be
evidence of some declaration made to the party with
respect to his right which is of such a character as
naturally to call for contradiction.

ADOBE. The adobe, or sun-dried brick, is probably
one of the oldest forms of materials used in the con-
struction of buildings of all kinds. From the days of
Nineveh to the present its use has been constant, and
Under the term adobe, however, are generally
the limit of its area dependent only upon climatic influ
ences.
included only the modern constructions in those parts
of America inhabited by the descendants of Spanish
colonists. The ruins of Assyria show the same form
and the same mode of construction and protection; and
the Spaniards found in America the same method in
use by the native races of the dry or "rainless" areas
of their colonization field. To ensure success in the use
of partially indurated clay as a building material, it
seems to be necessary that the rainfall shall be not over
fall may be guarded against. It seems necessary also
20 inches, although occasional heavy storms or greater
The duties of an administrator are to collect all claims that there shall be no continued frost of long duration
due to the estate, to pay all the debts of the decedent, and no heavy fall of snow for long periods. The mate-
and to distribute the balance remaining in his hands rial from which the bricks are made must be principally
according to the order of the proper court having juris- clay, but must contain sand or pebbly gravel in such
diction of his account. In the payment of debts he proportion that the shrinkage shall not be violent,
must first pay all those caused by the decedent's last Adobes are, however, made of any kind of clay or soil
illness and funeral expenses. In most of the States that will hold together, and when carefully used and
there are provisions giving priority also to debts due the well protected from the weather will stand almost as
United States and the State in which the decedent was well as better material. Their use and the spread of
domiciled at the time of his death. Beyond his respon- their employment appear to have been purely empirical,
sibility to see to the proper administration of the estate and if found to fail other material was adopted, simply
according to the law, an administrator is not liable ex-because the first tried did not succeed. There are rea
cept for misconduct or gross negligence in managing the sons to believe that some of the constructions of the
property entrusted to him. Such misconduct is known Mound-builders were of adobes, and that they were