116 AUGUSTUS I. AUK the latter part of his life much generosity. See the life of Augustus in Suetonius, Plu- tarch's life of Antony, and the histories of Ar- nold, Merivale, and Ihne. Al'Gl'STl'S I. (as king, II.) FREDERICK, sur- named the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, second son of the elector John George III., bora in Dresden, May 12, 1670, died in Warsaw, Feb. 1, 1733. After a careful educa- tion he visited all the countries and courts of Europe, Rome alone excepted. During these journeys he began the collection of pictures and other objects of art composing the gallery in Dresden, which, increased by his son, became one of the most celebrated in Europe. After the death of his father hi 1691, and of his elder brother, John George IV., in 1694, he became sovereign of Saxony ; and after the death of John Sobieski, king of Poland, in 1696, he was elected as his successor by the nobil- ity of that country. To obtain this election he changed his religion from Protestantism to Catholicism. To restore to Poland some prov- inces wrested by Sweden, Augustus attacked Charles XII. jointly with Denmark and with Peter the Great of Russia ; but after a long struggle, in which both Poland and Saxony suf- fered terribly, he was obliged at the bidding of Charles XII. to give up the royal crown, which the victor gave to Stanislas Leszczynski (July 12, 1704), and to give his own consent formally to this act, in the peace of Altranstadt (Sept. 24, 1706). When Charles was defeated at Pol- tava, July 8, 1709, Augustus renewed his alli- ance with Peter the Great, broke the peace with Sweden, entered Poland with an army, expelled Leszczynski, and recovered the crown. His reign was one of great luxury and splen- dor, his court a scene of uninterrupted festiv- ity, with artists, adventurers, alchemists, and numberless beautiful women, one of whom, the celebrated Countess Konigsmark, was by Au- gustus the mother of that Maurice so celebrated at the court of Versailles and in the history of France under the name of Marshal Saxe. Au- gustus was elegant, affable, and of extraor- dinary bodily strength, but without any trait of real excellence. He impoverished Saxony and corrupted Poland. Augustus II. (III.) Fred- erick, son of the preceding, born in 1696, died Oct. 5, 1763. He succeeded his father in both Saxony and Poland, in the first by inheritance, in the second by election, though he was op- posed by Stanislas Leszczynski, whose claims were supported by Louis XV. and a portion of the Polish nobles. Augustus continued the gorgeous reign of his father, his greatest pas- sion being hunting and festivities. His reign over Poland was quiet, but in every respect demoralizing. Count Bruhl, his favorite, ruled in the sovereign's name. Augustus, being married to an Austrian princess, had no other policy than subserviency to Austria, and he be- came entangled in the wars against Frederick the Great of Prussia. In 1742 he concluded an alliance offensive and defensive with Maria Theresa, and promised afterward to bring into the field 50,000 men. This army, united with the Austrians, was beaten at the battle of Hohenfriedberg in Silesia, June 4, 1745, when Frederick invaded Saxony and entered Dres- den, while Augustus fled to Poland, which was at peace with Prussia. By a treaty concluded at the close of the same year he was restored to his electorate. In the seven years' war, however, Augustus, as elector of Saxony, again participated on the side of Austria. At the beginning his Saxon army was compelled to surrender to Frederick (October, 1756), and he himself fled to Warsaw, persisting in his alliance with Austria, and resided there until the pacification by the treaty of Hubertsburg (1763), when he returned to Dresden. AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, prince of Great Brit- ain and Ireland, duke of Sussex, the 6th son of George III. of England, born in Bucking- ham palace, Jan. 27, 1773, died in Kensington palace, April 21, 1843. He studied at Gottin- gen, and subsequently travelled in Italy. While at Rome in 1 793 he married Lady Augusta Mur- ray, daughter of the Catholic earl of Dunmore ; but as there were some doubts as to the valid- ity of the marriage, the wedding ceremony was repeated in London, Dec. 5, 1793. This mar- riage was annulled, however, by the preroga- tive court of Canterbury, as contrary to the act 12 George III., cap. 3, which declared that no descendant of George II. should marry with- out the consent of the crown. Lady Augusta separated from the duke immediately after the publication of this sentence, having borne him a son and daughter, who took the name D'Este. In 1801 the prince was made a peer, and received a parliamentary grant of 12,000 per annum, which was subsequently increased by the addition of 9,000. In the house of lords the duke took the liberal side on most public questions, as the abolition of the slave trade, Catholic and Jewish emancipation, the reform bill, and free trade. In 1810 he was elected grand master of the freemasons ; in 1816, president of the society for the encourage- ment of the useful arts; and in 1830, president of the royal society. He was a munificent patron of literature and art, and possessed one of the finest libraries of England. His lib- eral opinions in politics, and the part which he took in favor of Queen Caroline, made him unpopular at court, but before the death of George IV. a reconciliation took place between them. AUK, the name of certain sea birds of the family aleadce, including the subgenera alca, Jratercula, mergulus, and phaleru. The true auks (alca) are strictly ocean birds, and scarcely ever leave the water, except to build their nests and breed in immense flocks in caverns and crannies of rocks, laying one disproportionately large egg. The young are fed from the crops of their parents, even after they can move about freely and shift for themselves. This genus contains but two species, the great auk
