Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/139

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AUSTIN 127 and Russian forces were concentrated near Olmutz, and tinder command of the pz&r ad- vanced upon Napoleon, whose forced were ranged in a semicircle having its centre near Brunn. The allies chose their position wrongly ; and Napoleon, perceiving their error, ordered an instant attack, and routed them after a most severe contest. The allies lost about 30,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners. Austria was compelled to make the peace of Presbnrg ; the emperor of Russia to return to his dominions ; and the campaign ended leaving a large part of central Europe subject to Napoleon. The news of this disastrous battle is said to have hastened the death of William Pitt. AUSTIN, a S. E. county of Texas, intersected by Brazos river ; area, 1,024 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 15,087, of whom 6,574 were colored. The Texas Central railroad passes through the county. Stock-raising is carried on to a largo extent. Timber is abundant. In 1870 the county produced 444,544 bushels of Indian corn, 65,745 of sweet potatoes, 11, 967 bales of cotton, and 19,362 Ibs. of wool. There were 60,058 cattle, 5,768 horses, 7,554 sheep, and 15,657 hogs. Capital, Bellville. AUSTIN, a city of Texas, capital of the state and of Travis county, on the Colorado river, 160 m. (direct) from its mouth, and 200 m. N. W. of Galveston ; pop. in 1860, 3,494 ; in 1870, 4,428, of whom 1,615 were colored. The Colorado is navigable to this point in winter by steamboats. Austin is built on an amphithea- tre of hills, and overlooks the valley of the Col- orado and the rich prairies beyond. The pub- lic buildings are of a white stone called marble, but too soft to admit of polish. An artesian well has been sunk just north of the capitol, to the depth of 1,300 feet, from which a small stream constantly issues. The water is im- pregnated with lime, and has some medicinal qualities. It has been proposed to supply the city with water from the Colorado by an aque- duct. There are 8 or 10 churches in the city, and about 20 schools. The first free public schools in Texas were opened at Austin in 1871 . There are 2 weekly newspapers published here, 1 tri- weekly, and 3 daily. The western division of the Houston and Texas Central railroad con- nects the city by way of Hempstead with Houston and the diverging railroads. AUSTIN, Jonathan Luring, secretary and treas- urer of Massachusetts, born in Boston, Jan. 2, 1748, died May 10, 1826. He graduated at Harvard college in 1766, was a merchant and secretary of the board of war in Massachusetts, and in 1777 was sent to Paris to the American commissioners with the news of Burgoyne's capture. Dr. Franklin made him an additional private secretary, and sent him as his agent to England, where he resided in the family of Lord Shelburne. On his return with de- spatches in May, 1779, he was liberally re- warded by congress. In 1780, in his passage to Spain as agent of the state, he was taken and carried to England, but soon liberated. 61 VOL. ii. 9 He was afterward state secretary and treasurer of Massachusetts. AUSTIN, Moses, an American pioneer, born in Durham, Conn., died June 10, 1821. He led an adventurous life, engaged in lead-mining in Virginia and Missouri, and in 1820 went to Bexar, Texas, where he obtained from the Mexican authorities permission to colonize 300 families in some part of Texas. He died soon after, and the plan was carried out by his son. (See AUSTIN, STEPHEN F.) AUSTIN, Samuel, D. D., an American clergy- man, born at New Haven, Conn., Oct. 7, 1760, died at Glastenbury, Dec. 4, 1830. He gradu- ated at Yale college in 1783, and, after study- ing divinity two years, was ordained as pastor of the church in Fairhaven, Conn. In 1790 he became the minister of the first Congregational society in Worcester, and in 1815 president of the university of Vermont. After holding that office for six years, he removed to Newport, R. I., and thence at the end of four years re- turned to Worcester. During the last three years of his life his reason was clouded. He left several controversial and other works. AUSTIN, Sarah, an English authoress, born in 1793, died at Weybridge, Aug. 8, 1867. She was one of the famous Taylor family of Nor- wich, and the wife of Mr. John Austin, a Lon- don barrister. Her reputation rests upon the unusual ability of her translations from Ger- man authors. Her first and most remarkable achievement in this kind was her version of the travels of Prince Pflckler-Muskau, pub- lished under the title of " The Travels of a Ger- man Prince in England." The idiomatic paint- ing and fluent ease of this translation were so admirable that for a long time it was difficult to persuade many persons that the work was not the composition of an English author. The first work which Mrs. Austin gave to the world under her own name was a translation of Falk's " Characteristics of Goethe " (1833), with many additions by herself. This book won an imme- diate and deserved success. She afterward published translations of Carov6's " Story with- out an End," and Ranke's "History of the Popes," a "Collection of Fragments from the German Prose Writers," an excellent treatise on "Education," and "Sketches of Germany from 1760 to 1814." AUSTIN, Stephen F., founder of the first Ameri- can colony in Texas, son of Moses Austin, died Dec. 27, 1836. Setting out from Natchitpches, July 5, 1821, to follow up the grant previously issued to his father authorizing the formation of a colony, he went to the city of Mexico,- where it was specially confirmed Feb. 18, 1823. By it he was clothed with almost abso- lute power over the colonists, and only obliged to report to the captain general. The colony, since become Austin, the capital of Texas, of which he selected the site after a careful re- connoitring of the country, had been previ- ously organized by him upon the basis of giving to each man 640 acres of land, 820 for a