ALFORD, HENRY, vicar of Wymeswold and afterwards Dean of Canterbury; his works and writings were numerous, and included poems and hymns.  His great work, however, was an edition of the Greek New Testament, with notes, various readings, and comments (1810-1871).

ALFORD, MICHAEL, a learned English Jesuit, left two great works, “Britannia Illustrata” and “Annales Ecclesiastici et Civiles Britannorum.”

ALFRED, DUKE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA, son of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria; b. 1844.

ALFRED THE GREAT, king of the West Saxons, and the most celebrated and greatest of all the Saxon kings.  His troubles were with the Danes, who at the time of his accession infested the whole country north of the Thames; with these he fought nine battles with varied success, till after a lull of some years he was surprised by Gunthrum, then king, in 878, and driven to seek refuge on the island of Athelney.  Not long after this he left his retreat and engaged Gunthrum at Edington, and after defeating him formed a treaty with him, which he never showed any disposition to break.  After this Alfred devoted himself to legislation, the administration of government, and the encouragement of learning, being a man of letters himself.  England owes much to him both as a man and a ruler, and it was he who in the creation of a fleet laid the first foundation of her greatness as monarch of the deep.  His literary works were translations of the “General History” of Orosius, the “Ecclesiastical History” of Bede, Boethius’s “Consolations of Philosophy,” and the “Cura Pastoralis” of Pope Gregory, all executed for the edification of his subjects (849-901).

ALGAE, sea-weeds and plants of the same order under fresh water as well as salt; they are flowerless, stemless, and cellular throughout.

ALGAR`DI, an Italian sculptor of note, born at Bologna; his greatest work is an alto-relievo, the largest existing, of Pope Leo restraining Attila from marching on Rome (1602-1654).

ALGARO`TTI, FRANCESCO, a clever Italian author, born at Venice, whom, for his wit, Frederick the Great was attached to and patronised, “one of the 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.