1739. the sixteenth century. ANDREINI, ISABELLA, Was born at Padua, in 1653. She became an actress of great fame, and was flattered by the applauses of men of wit and learning of her time. The Italian theatre was considered, in that day, a literary institution. She is described as a woman of elegant figure, beautiful countenance, and melodious voice; of taste in her profession, and conversant with the French and Spanish languages; nor was she unacquainted with philosophy and the sciences. She was a votary of the muses, and cultivated poetry with ardour and success. The Intenti academicians of Pavia, conferred upon her the honours of their society, and the title of Isabella Andreini, Comica Gelosa, Academica Intenta, detta l'Accesa. She dedicated her works to car VIII.) by whom she was greatly esteemed, and for whom many of her poems were composed. In France, whither she made a tour, she met with a most flattering reception from the king, the queen, and the court. She died in 1604, at Lyons, in the forty-second year of her age. Her husband was overwhelmed with affliction at her loss, and erected a monument to her memory, in the city in which she expired, inscribed with an epitaph commemorative of her virtues. The learned strove to outdo each other in pronouncing panegyrics on her character. Even a medal was struck, with this inscription, "Eterna Fama." At the age of seventeen, she was married | She is considered one of the best Italian poets of to the duke of Weimar, who left her a widow, after a union of about two years. The commencement of the seven years' war, which then took place, rendered her situation peculiarly embarrassing, as, while herself a minor, she was called to the guardianship of her infant son, the sovereign of the little state over which she presided. To add to her difficulties, she found herself obliged, as a princess of the empire, to take part against her uncle, the great Frederick. But he treated her personally with great respect, and though her provinces suffered severely, they were preserved from absolute ruin. When peace was established, she directed her cares to the education of her sons, and the public affairs of the duchy. Her regency was attended with great advantages to the country. In the administration of justice, the management of the revenue, in public establishments, she was alike sedulous; and under her fos-dinal Aldobrandini, (nephew to pope Clement tering patronage a new spirit sprang up among her people, and diffused its influence over the north of Germany. Foreigners of distinction, artists, and men of learning, were attracted to her court, either as visitors or fixed residents. The use of a large library was given to the public; a new theatre erected, and provision was made for the improved education of youth. The university of Jena underwent a revision, and the liberality of the princess was exerted in modifying and extending the establishment. She delighted in the society of men of talents and literature, and succeeded in drawing within the circle of her influence many individuals of high celebrity. The city of Weimar became the resort of the most distinguished literary men of Germany, whom the duchess encouraged, by her liberal patronage, to come and reside at her court. Wieland, Herder, Schiller, and Goethe, formed a constellation of genius of which any city might be proud. They all held some distinguished office about her court. The duchess withdrew, in 1775, from public life, having given up the sovereign authority to her eldest son, then of age. Her health, which had suffered from a recent severe attack of illness, made this retirement desirable; and she also anticipated great gratification from the study of those arts to which she had always been attached, especially music, with which she was intimately acquainted. The conclusion of her life was clouded by misfortune; and the deaths of several of her relatives, the ruin of royal houses with which she was connected, and the miseries occasioned by the French invasion of Germany, contributed to embitter the last moments of her existence. She died in April, 1807, and was interred on the 19th of that month at Weimar. AMMANATI, LAURA BATTIFERRI, WIFE of Bartholemew Ammanati, a Florentine sculptor and architect, was daughter of John Anthony Battiferri, and born at Urbino, in 1513. She became celebrated for her genius and learning. Her poems are highly esteemed. She was one of the members of the Introvati Academy at Sienna; and died at Florence, in 1589, aged seventy-six. Her works are numerous, and still much admired by the lovers of Italian literature; they are readily found in print. She left a son, born in 1578, who was also a poet; he wrote, among other things, "Adamo," a sacred drama, in five acts, with chorusses, &c., Milan, 1613, and 1617, with prints, designed by Carlo Antonio Proccachini, a celebrated landscape painter of his time, and of the school of the Carracci; but in a wretched style, Paradise being represented as full of clipt hedges, squares, parterres, straight walks, &c. But what is more interesting, Voltaire, in his visit to England, in 1727, suggested that Milton took his hint of his Paradise Lost from this drama. This obtained little credit at the time, and was contemptuously rejected by Dr. Johnson, in his Life of Milton. Mr. Hayley, however, has revived the question, and with considerable advantage to Voltaire's supposition; and it seems now to be the opinion, that the coincidence between Andreini's plan and Milton's, is too great to be the effect of chance. But the "Adamo" is here only of importance as showing the influence of the talents of the mother in forming the mind of her son. "Eterna Fama" was his inspiration. Her ANGUSCIOLA, SOPHONISBA, BETTER known by the name of Sophonisba, an Italian painter of great eminence, both in portrait and historical painting, was born at Cremona in 1533, and died at Genoa in 1626. She was twice married. She was of a very distinguished family, and was first taught by Bernardino Campo of Cre mona, and afterwards learned perspective and colouring from Bernardo Gatti, called Soraio. Her principal works are portraits, yet she executed several historical subjects with great spirit; the attitudes of her figures are easy, natural, and graceful. She became blind through over-application to her profession, but she enjoyed the friendship of some of the greatest characters of the day. Vandyck acknowledged himself more benefited by her than by all his other studies. Some of the principal works by this artist are the "Marriage of St. Catharine," and a portrait of herself, playing on the harpsichord with an old female attendant in waiting. ANGUSCIOLA, LUCIA, SISTER of the above-mentioned, was an artist of considerable skill. She obtained a reputation equal to Sophonisba's, by her portraits, as well for truth and delicacy of colouring, as for ease of attitude and correctness of resemblance. ANNA IWANOWNA, EMPRESS of Russia, was the second daughter of the czar Iwan, or John, the elder brother, and for some time the associate of Peter the Great. She was born February 8th, 1694. In 1710 she married Frederic William, duke of Courland, who died in 1711. On the death of the emperor Peter II., in 1730, she was declared empress by the council of state, the senate, and the principal military officers at Moscow. They passed over her elder sister, the duchess of Mecklenburg, and the princess Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, and afterwards empress, thinking that, with Anna for an empress, they might reduce the government to a limited monarchy; but they were unsuccessful in their intrigues, for though she consented to all the required conditions, yet when she felt her position secure, she annulled her promises, and declared herself empress and autocrat of all the Russias. The empress Anna had a good share of the ability which has long distinguished the imperial family of Russia; and managed the affairs of the empire with superior judgment. She was not, however, a very popular sovereign, owing to the many oppressive acts of her favourite Biron, a minion whom she had raised from a low condition to be duke of Courland. She discountenanced the drunkenness in which both sexes used to indulge; only one nobleman was allowed, as a special favour, to drink as much as he pleased; and she also discouraged gaming. Her favourite amusements were music and the theatre. The first Italian opera was played at St. Petersburg, in her reign. She also directed the famous palace of ice to be built. She died in 1740. ANN AMELIA, PRINCESS of Prussia, sister to Frederick the Great, born in 1723, died 1787. She distinguished herself by her taste for the arts. She set to music "The Death of the Messiah" by Romler. She was a decided friend to the far-famed baron Trenck; and there can be no doubt, that this ANNE OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN of Louis XIII. of France, and regent during the minority of Louis XIV., was daughter of Philip II. of Spain, and was married to Louis XIII. in 1615. Anne found a powerful enemy in cardinal Richelieu, who had great influence over the king, and she was compelled to yield, as long as he lived, to the great minister. Had Anne possessed greater talents, or been more agreeable, the case might have been different; but her coldness and gravity of demeanour, which only covered frivolity, alienated Louis XIII. Her attachment to her native country was also represented as a crime by the cardinal, and his whispers as to her betraying intelligence, brought upon Anne the ignominy of having her person searched, and her papers seized. When it was known that the queen was in disgrace, the malcontent nobles, with Gaston, the king's brother, at their head, rallied around her, and she was implicated in a conspiracy against Louis XIII. Richelieu took advantage of this, to represent her as wishing to get rid of Louis to marry Gaston; and Anne was compelled to appear before the king's counsel to answer this grave charge. Her dignity here came to her aid, and, scorning to make a direct reply, she merely observed, contemptuously, "That too little was to be gained by the change, to render such a design on her part probable." The duke of Buckingham's open court to the neglected queen, also gave rise to malicious reports. On the death of Louis XIII., Anne, as mother of the infant king, held the undisputed reins; and she gave one great proof of wisdom in her choice of cardinal Mazarin as a minister. However, some oppressive acts of Mazarin gave birth to a popular insurrection, which terminated in a civil war, called the war of the Fronde, in which Anne, her minister, and their adherents, were opposed to the nobility, the citizens, and the people of Paris. But Anne and Mazarin came off triumphant. The result of this rebellion, and of Anne of Austria's administration, was, that the nobles and middle classes, vanquished in the field, were never afterwards able to resist the royal power, up to the great revolution. Anne's influence over the court of France continued a long time; her Spanish haughtiness, her love of ceremonial, and of power, were impressed on the mind of her son, Louis XIV. Some modern French writers have pretended to find reasons for believing this proud queen was secretly married to cardinal Mazarin, her favourite adviser and friend. But no sufficient testimony, to establish the fact of such a strange union, has been adduced. The queen died in 1666, aged sixty-four. She was a very handsome woman, and celebrated for the beauty of her hands and arms. Anne of Austria appears to have been estimable for the goodness and kindness of her heart, rather than for extraordinary capacity; for the attractions of the woman rather than the virtues of the queen; a propensity to personal attachments, and an amiable and forgiving temper, were her distinguishing characteristics. A woman who procured her subsistence by singing infamous songs, exposed to sale one grossly reflecting on the queen. This woman, after having exercised her odious profession for some time, was committed to prison. Anne, hearing of the miserable situation to which the wretch who had defamed her was abandoned, secretly sent to her abundant relief. The last favour which the queen-mother exacted from her son, was to recal a gentleman by whom she had been libelled. In a history of the press of Caille, an anecdote appears, by which it may be seen that Anne of Austria loved literature, and sustained its freedom and dignity. Antoine Berthier, librarian of Paris, having formed a design to add to the life of Cardinal Richelieu two volumes of letters and memoirs, which he had carefully collected, addressed himself to the regent, to whom he intimated that, without a powerful protection, he dared not hazard the publication, as many persons still living and received with favour at court, were freely treated in this collection. "Proceed without fear," replied she, and make so many blush for vice, that, for the future, virtue only may find repose in France." The life of this queen had been marked with vicissitude, and clouded by disquiet. At one period, subjected by an imperious minister, whose yoke she had not the resolution to throw off, she became an object of compassion even to those who caballed and revolted against her; yet her affections were never alienated from France, in favour of which she interested herself, with spirit and zeal, in the war against her native country. The French, at length, relinquished their prejudices, and did her justice. The latter years of her life were passed in tranquillity, in retirement, and in the exercise of benevolence. The following curious portrait, in which, with an affectation of antithesis, some malice and prejudice seem manifested, is drawn of her by Cardinal de Retz: "The queen had, beyond any person I have ever seen, that kind of wit which is necessary not to appear a fool to those unacquainted with her. She possessed more sharpness than pride, more pride than grandeur, more of manner than solidity, more avidity for money than liberality, more liberality than selfishness, more attachment than passion, more of hardness than fierceness, a memory more retentive of injuries than benefits, more desire of being pious than piety, more obstinacy than firmness, and more of incapacity than of any of the foregoing qualities." Anne of Austria was interred at St. Denis; her heart was carried to Le Val de Grace, of which she had been the foundress; and the following epitaph was made on her: "Sister, wife, mother, daughter of kings! Never was any more worthy of these illustrious titles." QUEEN of England, second daughter of James II. by his first wife Anne Hyde, was born at Twickenham on the 6th of February, 1664. She was educated in the religion of the church of England; and, in 1683, married prince George, brother of Christian V., king of Denmark. At the revolution in 1688, Anne and her husband adhered to the dominant party of her brother-in-law William III.; and, by act of settlement, the English crown was guaranteed to her and her children in default of issue to William and Mary. But all her children died in infancy or early youth. Anne ascended the throne on the death of William in 1702; and two months afterwards, England, the Empire, and Holland, declared war against France and Spain; in which Marlborough and Peterborough, the English generals, and Leake, Rooke, Shovel, and Stanhope, the English admirals, greatly distinguished themselves. During the brilliant course of Marlborough's conquests, the spirit of political intrigue, which was perhaps never more fully developed than in the latter years of the reign of Anne, was stifled by the enthusiasm of the people. But as the war of the succession proceeded with few indications of its being brought to an end, the great commander of the English forces gradually lost his popularity, from the belief that his own avarice and ambition were the principal causes of the burdens which the war necessarily entailed upon the nation. A formidable party, too, had arisen, who asserted the supremacy of the church and the doctrine of the right divine of kings and the passive obedience of subjects- opinions which had expelled James II. from his kingdom, and had placed his childless daughter upon the throne. These opinions, however, were supposed to be indirectly encouraged by the queen, and were exceedingly popular amongst a passionate and unreasoning people. In July, 1706, the legislative union of Scotland and England was completed, which was mainly owing to the earnest and steady efforts of the queen in favour of the union. Anne was all her life under the control of her favourites, first of the duchess of Marlborough, and afterwards of Mrs. Masham. The duchess of Marlborough, a woman of the most imperious, ambitious, avaricious, and disagreeable character, kept the queen in a state of subjection or terror for more than twenty years. The detail of the scenes occurring between them would hardly be believed, were it not authenticated by careful writers. Miss Strickland, in her "History of the Queens of England," has given this curious subject a thorough examination. Anne was mother of seventeen children, all of whom died young. When left a widow, she would not listen to the entreaties of the parliament (although but forty-four years old at the time) to conclude another marriage, which might throw new obstacles in the way of the restoration of her own family. She now intended to put all power into the hands of the tories, who were then the majority in the three kingdoms. The duchess of Marlborough lost her influence; Godolphin, Sunderland, Somers, Devonshire, Walpole, Cowper, were superseded by Harley, earl of Oxford; Bolingbroke, Rochester, Buckingham, George Grenville, and Sir Simon Harcourt; and the parliament was dissolved. Peace was resolved upon. Marlborough was accused, suspended and banished. Meanwhile Anne, notwithstanding the measures which she publicly took against her brother, seems not to have given up the hope of securing to him the succession; but the irreconcileable enmity of Oxford and Bolingbroke, the former of whom accused the latter of favouring the Pretender, was an insurmountable obstacle. Grieved at the disappointment of her secret wishes, the queen fell into a state of weakness and lethargy, and died July 20th, 1714. The words, "O, my dear brother, how I pity thee!" which she pronounced on her death-bed, unveiled the secret of her whole life. The reign of Anne was distinguished not only by the brilliant successes of the British arms, but also as the golden age of English literature, on account of the number of admirable and excellent writers who flou rished at this time; among whom were Pope and Addison. It may be considered the triumph of the English high-church party, owing to her strong predilection for the principles by which it has always been actuated. Her private character was amiable; but her good sense was rendered ineffectual from the want of energy. The kindness of her disposition obtained for her the title of the good queen Anne. She was an excellent wife and mother, and a kind mistress. The common people loved her well, a sure proof of her real worth as a woman and a sovereign. So strong was this feeling of veneration for her character and memory, that for many years after her death her name had power to agitate or excite them. In the reign of George I., Edmund Curl was set in the pillory for some of his libellous publications, and told the mob, who surrounded him, "that he was put there for speaking well of the memory of good queen Anne." Upon hearing this, the people (mob in English parlance) not only laid aside the missiles with which they had come prepared to pelt him, but they waited patiently till he had stood his appointed time, and then "escorted him to his own house with great respect." Anne deserved this love of her people, because in all her conduct she showed that her wish was to do them good. Unhappily for them, she had not the energy to do what she would willingly have had done. The education of the poor was at that time utterly neglected. The queen endeavoured to have the abuses of the "charity schools" rectified; but her appeal to the archbishop of Canterbury, though she wrote a letter to him herself, was unavailing. One remarkable feature in the literary progress of that age must not be forgotten. Miss Strickland thus describes it: "In the first year of the reign of Anne, an annual was established called the Ladies' Diary, or Women's almanack; according to its prospectus containing directions for love, marriage, preserving (not hearts, but plums and gooseberries), cookery, perfumery, bills of fare, and many other concerns peculiar to the fair sex.' The editor's description of this unique performance throws some light on the domestic customs of an age little known though very near. There was a copy of verses in praise of queen Anne, which were actually spoken in the lord-mayor's parlor by one of the blue-coat boys (at the last thanksgiving-day, about the Vigo business), with universal applause.' Then the calendar, with the common notes of the year, the times when marriage comes in and out, and the eclipses all in one page. A picture of the queen in copper' (that is, a copperplate engraving), very well performed. The rest of the literature consisted of delightful tales.' The preface was a dissertation on the happiness of England, enjoyed under the reign of queen Elizabeth and the present queen (Anne). Many ardent aspirations the worthy editor made to obtain the lives of celebrated queens, more particularly queens of England, and he even names Margaret of Anjou on his list, but gives up the undertaking on the most solemn conviction that no dates of birth or death can be found for any queen excepting queen Elizabeth and queen Anne.' This being the first almanac printed for the use of the fair sex, and under the reign of a glorious woman,' saith Mr. Tipper, some would advise me to dedicate it to the queen, with some such dedication as this: "To the queen's most excellent majesty. This Ladies' Diary, or Woman's Almanack, being the first ever published for the peculiar use of the fair sex, is, with all humility, dedicated to your most sacred majesty.'" The work was successful; the oldest of all English annuals by at least a hundred years, it is the survivor of most of them. The "Ladies' Diary" is published to this day-the only mathematical periodical in Great Britain. Thus the "good queen Anne" deserves that her memory be kindly regarded by her own sex, for the encouragement she gave to female talent, when so little estimation was awarded it. Two celebrated women flourished in her reign, Mary Astell, and Elizabeth Elstob. ANNE OF FERRARA, DAUGHTER of Hercules II., duke of Ferrara, married, in 1549, Francis duke of Guise, and behaved with great spirit and courage during the wars of the League. She was imprisoned for some time at Blois. ANNE DE GONZAGUE, WIFE of Edward count Palatine, died at Paris, in 1684, aged sixty-eight; and was honoured with an eulogium by the celebrated Bossuet. ARBLAY, MADAME D', BETTER known to the world as Frances Burney, was the second daughter of Dr. Burney, author of a "History of Music." She was born at LynnRegis, in the county of Norfolk, England, on the 13th of June, 1752. Her father was organist at Lynn, but in 1760 he removed to London, his former residence; where he numbered among his familiar friends Garrick, Barry the artist, the poets Mason and Armstrong, and other celebrated characters. Fanny, though at the age of eight she did not know her letters, yet was shrewd and observant; and as soon as she could read, commenced to scribble. At fifteen she had written several tales, unknown to any one but her sister. The only regular instruction she ever received, was when she was, together with her sister Susanna, placed for a short period at a boarding-school in Queen Square, that they might be out of the way during their mother's last illness; and when the melancholy tidings of this lady's death were communicated to them, the agony of Frances, though then but nine years of age, was so great that the governess declared she had never met with a child of such intense feelings. But though she received little regular education, there was no want of industry and application on her part; for, at an early age, she became acquainted with the best authors in her father's library, of which she had the uncontrolled range; and she was accustomed to write extracts from, and remarks upon, the books she read, some of which it is said would not have disgraced her maturer judgment. She had also the advantage of the example of her father's own industry and perseverance, to stimulate her to exertion; for Dr. Burney, notwithstanding his numerous professional engagement as a teacher of music, studied and acquired the French and Italian languages on horseback, from pocket grammars and vocabularies he had written out for the purpose. In the French language his daughter Frances received some instructions from her sister Susanna, who was educated in France; and in Latin, at a later period, she had some lessons from Dr. Johnson himself, though it must be confessed, she does not seem to have taken much delight in this study -applying to that learned language rather to please her tutor than herself. Dr. Burney had, at the period of her youth, a large circle of intellectual and even literary acquaintance, and at his house often congregated an agreeable but miscellaneous society, including, besides many eminent for literature, several accomplished foreigners, together with native artists and scientific men; and his children, emancipated from the restraints of a school-room, were allowed to be present at, and often to take a share in, the conversation of their father's guests; by which their minds were opened, their judgments enlightened, and their attention turned to intellectual pursuits; perhaps in a far greater degree than if they had regularly undergone all the drudgery of the usual routine of what is termed "education." The following is a comparative sketch of the character of Miss Frances Burney, drawn about this period by her younger sister, Susanna, afterwards Mrs. Phillips,-to whom her diary was subsequently addressed. "Sister Fanny is unlike her [Hester Burney, the eldest daughter] in almost everything, yet both are very amiable, and love each other as sincerely as ever sisters did. The characteristics of Hetty seem to be wit, generosity, and openness of |