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 plan, 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 manœuvres, was thenceforward the task of his lifetime. In 1870 he conducted the military negotiations 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. He 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 Über die Verantwortlichkeit im Kriege (a work which created a great sensation, and was translated into English and French), Gedanken über dem Militärgeist, Über die höhere Leitung im Kriege, and Kritische Betrachtungen über 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. Bilabrück, “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 Thérèse Vernet, was born of a family of players. She first appeared in children’s and ingénue parts, and in comic opera, and it was not until 1827, two years after her Paris début, 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 Eugène 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 (Münster, 1881); B. Kugler, Albert von Aachen (Stuttgart, 1885); M. Pigeonneau, Le Cycle de la croisade et de la famille 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° N.; E. by 110° W., which divides it from the province of Saskatchewan; N. by 60° N., which separates it from the North-West Territories; and W. by the line of peaks of the Rocky Mountains range, which runs north-westerly, 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 more trees are found, until in the foot-hills of the mountains bodies 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 most fertile soil, the ordinary rainfall sufficing for agriculture. The appearance of the prairie section of the province is that of 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 constantly 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, which 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 majestic, many of them reaching a height of more than two miles above the sea. Among the more notable of these are Robson peak, 13,700 ft.; Athabasca, 13,700; Assiniboine, 11,830; Fyell, 12,000; Mummery, 12,000; Temple, 11,658; and Geikie, 11,000. Mt. Brown reaches 9050.
Through these Rocky Mountains the explorers and fur-traders, 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 Pacific 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. Palliser (1858), was crossed by Lord Milton and Dr W. B. Cheadle (1861), and by Sandford Fleming (1871–1872) in the Ocean to Ocean
