impossible to repress the disturbances, and he was relieved
from a post which brought much unpopularity and was not suitable
to be held by a member of the imperial family. He went at
once to the seat of war in Italy, and fought under Radetzky
as a volunteer throughout the campaign of 1848, being present
at the action of bastrengo and the battles of Santa Lucia and
Custozza. In the following campaign he applied for and
obtained the command of a division in the II. corps (FZM.
d'Aspre), though his previous grade had been that of a general
commanding-in-chief. The splendid fighting of the corps at
Novara was decisive of the war, and Radetzky named d'Aspre,
Count Thurn, and the archduke as the general officers
worthy of the greatest rewards. The field-marshal indeed
recommended, and almost insisted, that Albert should receive
the much-prized order of Maria Theresa. In 1850 he became a
general of cavalry, and in 1851 military and civil governor of
Hungary. In this important and difficult position he
remained until 1860, when he was relieved at his own request.
Shortly afterwards he was appointed to succeed Radetzky as
commander-in-chief in Italy, and in 1863 he was promoted
field-marshal. In the following year the archduke lost his
wife, soon after the marriage of their elder daughter to
Duke Philip of Wurttemberg. In 1859 and 1864 he was sent on
important military and diplomatic missions to Berlin. When
war became imminent in 1866, the archduke took command of
the field army in Italy. The story of the campaign of 1866
in Italy will be found under ITALIAN WARS (1848-1870); the
operations of the archduke, who disposed of greatly inferior
forces, were crowned with success in the brilliant victory of
Custozza (June 23), and his reputation as a general-in-chief
was firmly established by only eight days of field
operations, though it is possible that his chief of staff,
Lieut. Field-Marshal von John, contributed not a little to
the success of the Austrian arms. The result of Custozza was
the retreat and complete immobilization of the whole Italian
army, so that Albert was able to despatch the greater part of
his troops to reinforce the Bohemian army, when, after being
defeated by the Prussians, it fell back on Vienna. On the 10th
of July the archduke was summoned to Vienna to take supreme
command of the forces which were being collected to defend the
capital, but peace was made before further hostilities took
place. From this time, under various titles, he acted as
inspector-general of the army. Like his father, and with
better fortune, he was called upon to reorganize the military
system of his country on an entirely new pian, learned, as
before, by defeat. The principle of universal short service,
and the theory of the armed nation, were necessarily the
groundwork of the reforms, and the consequent preparation
of all the national resources for their task in war, by
the superintendence of peace administration, by the skilful
conduct of man0-uvres, was thenceforward the task of his
lifetime. In 1870 he conducted the military negotiatio:1s
preparatory to an alliance with France, which, however, was
not concluded. The tragic death of his daughter, Princess
Mathilde, in 1867, and the death of his brother, Archduke Karl
Ferdinand, in 1874, narrowed still further his family circle,
and impelled him to even greater activity in his military duties,
and to effective participation in the work of many military
charities. IUe retained personal control of the army until his
last illness, which he contracted at the funeral of his nephew
Francis, ex-king of Naples. His only remaining brother, the
archduke Wilhelm, had died a few months before, as the result
of an accident. He himself died on the 18th of February
1895. His only son died in childhood, and his nephew Archduke
Frederick (born 1856) inherited his great possessions, including
the Albertina, a famous collection of books, manuscripts,
engravings and maps, founded by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen.
Amongst the military works of the Archduke Albert may be
named Uber die Verantworllichkeil im Kriege (a work which
created a great sensation, and was translated into English
and French), Gledanken uber dem Militargeist, Uber die
hohere Heitung im Kriege, and Kritische Betrachtunger
uber den Feldzug 1866 in Italien. He also was the
principal editor of the military works of his father.
See Duncker, F. M. Erzherzog Albrecht (Vienna and Prague,
189; Mathes v. Bilabruck, ``Gedenkrede auf Weiland Sr. K.
u. K. H. Erzh. Albrecht,'' Mil.-Wissenschaftl. Verein, 1895;
Teuber, F. M. Erzh. Albrecht, ein Lebensbild (Vienna, 1895).
ALBERT, MADAME (c. 1805-1846), French actress, whose
maiden name was Theresc Vernet, was born of a family of
players. She first appeared in children's and ingenile
parts, and in comic opera, and it was not until 1827, two
years after her Paris debut, that her great talents
were seen and appreciated. In Caleb Valentine, Henry
V., Madame Dubarry, Catherine II., Leontine,, Un duel sous
le cardinal de Richelieu, and many other plays, her grace,
beauty and distinction of manner made her the idol of Paris,
and her circle of admirers was widened by long tours of the
provinces and abroad. Ill-health compelled her to retire in
1846. She was twice married, about 1825 to Albert Rodrigues,
an actor who played under his Christian name, and in 1846
to Eugene Bignon (1812-1858), the actor and playwright.
ALBERT OF AIX (fl. c. A.D. 1100), historian of the first
crusade, was born during the later part of the 11th century,
and afterwards became canon and custos of the church of
Aix-la-Chapelle. Nothing else is known of his life except
that he was the author of a Historia Hierosolymitanae
expeditionis, or Chronicon Hierosolymitanum de bello
sacro, a work in twelve books, written between 1125 and
1150. This history begins at the time of the council of
Clermont, deals with the fortunes of the first crusade and
the earlier history of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, and
ends somewhat abruptly in 1121. It was well known during the
middle ages, and was largely used by William, archbishop of
Tyre, for the first six books of his Belli sacri historia.
In modern times its historical value has been seriously
impugned, but the verdict of the best scholarship seems
to be that in general it forms a true record of the events
of the first crusade, although containing some legendary
matter. Albert never visited the Holy Land, but he appears
to have had a considerable amount of intercourse with
returned crusaders, and to have had access to valuable
correspondence. The first edition of the history was published
at Helmstadt in 1584, and a good edition is in the Recueil
des historiens des croisades, tome iv. (Paris, 1841-1887).
See F. Krebs, Zur Kritik Alberts von Aachen (Munster,
1881); B. Kugler, Albert von Aachen (Stuttgart, 1885);
M. Figeonneau, Le Cycle de la croisade et de la famine
de Bouillon (Paris, 1877); H. von Sybel, Geschichte des
ersten Kreuzzuges (Leipzig, 1881): F. Vercruysse, Essai
critique sur la chronique d'Albert d'Aix (Liege, 1889).
ALBERTA, a province of western Canada, established in
1905. Area 260,000 sq. m. It is bounded S. by the United
States boundary line, 49 deg. N.; E. by 110 deg. W., vhich divides
it from the province of Saskatchewan; N. by 60 deg. N., which
separates it from the North-West Territories; and W. by
the line of peaks of the Rocky Mountains range, vhich runs
northwesterly, and divides it from British Columbia. A
fertile province, in the eastern and southern portions
its surface consists chiefly of plains almost entirely
treeless. As the slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the west
are reached 1rore trees are found, until in the foot-hills of
the mountains bcdies of forest timber occur. Trees become more
numerous also northward in the province, until in the region
north of the North Saskatchewan river forests are again met
with.. From the southern boundary line for two and a half
degrees north the prairie is dry, but of good soil, which
grows excellent crops when irrigated. North of this region
the surface of the province is of itost fertile soil, the
ordinary rainfall sufficing for agriculture. The appearance
of the prairie section of the province is that cf undulating
meadows, with rounded sloping ridges covered with shorter .
grasses, which serve for the support of great herds of cattle and
horses. The.wooded portions of the terrain are dotted with
clumps and belts of trees of moderate size, giving them a
parklike appearance. In winter the snowfall is very light,
and even this is frequently removed by warm winds from the
west. Within a hundred miles of the mountains there is
constanlly in view, in clear weather, the beautiful line
of snowy peaks along the western horizon. This continues
for hundreds of miles north-westward. The Rocky Mountains,
vhich give its charm to Alberta, are ascended by a gradual
approach from the east, but are exceedingly abrupt on their
transalpine slope in British Columbia. The peaks of these
mountains are 1rajestic, many of them reaching a height of
more than two niles above the sea. Among the more notable
of these are Lcbscn peak, 13,700 ft.; Athabasca, 13,700;
Assiniboine, 11,8s0; Fyell, 12,000; Mummery, 12,000;
Temple, 11,658; and Geikie, 11,000. Mt. Brown reaches 9050.
Through these Rocky Mountains the explorers and furtraders, by
ascending the streams running down the eastern declivities of
the mountains, and crossing by short portages to the streams
of the western slope, have succeeded in discovering passes
by which the mountain chain can be crossed, the range rarely
exceeding 60 m. in breadth. The most noted of the Alberta
passes are (1) the Crow's Nest Pass, near the southern boundary
line, through which a branch of the Canadian I,acific'
railway runs; (2) the Kicking Horse Pass, through which the
main line of the Canadian Pacific railway is built; 80 m.
from the eastern end of this pass is the Rocky Mountains
Park, with the famous watering-place of Banff as its centre;
(3) the Yellow Head Pass, running west from the northern
branch of the Saskatchewan river; this pass was discovered by
Capt. Pallise1 (1858), was crossed by Lord Milton and Dr
W. B. Cheadle (1861), and by Sandford Fleming (1871-1872) in
the Ocean to Ocean expedition; (4) Peace River Pass. By this
pass Alexander Mackenzie made his celebrated voyage. There
are other minor passes, and no doubt more to be discovered.
With the exception of the southern section, the province of
Alberta may be said to be well watered. Rising from numerous
valleys on the Alberta declivity of the Rocky Mountains between
the international boundary line and 52 deg. N. are streams which
unite to form the Belly river, and farther north the Bow
river. Running eastward these two rivers unite about 112 deg.
W;, and flow on under the name of the South Saskatchewan
river. North of 52 deg. N. many small streams unite to form
the Red Deer river, which flowing south-eastward joins the
South Saskatchewan near 110 deg. W. Between 52 deg. and 53 deg. N.
rises the great river, the North Saskatchewan. It receives
a southern tributary, the Battle river, which joins it
about 108 deg. W. Pursuing their courses eastward the North
and South Saskatchewan rivers unite in the Saskatchewan
(Cree, rapid-flowing river), which finds its way to Lake
Winnipeg, and thence by way of Nelson river to Hudson
Bay. It is one of the mightiest rivers of the continent.
Between 53 deg. and 54 deg. N. begins the height of land running
