and in her last painful malady, their assiduity and filial affection softened the pangs of death, and smoothed her passage to the tomb.
ALDRUDE,
Countess de Bertinoro, in Italy, of the illustrious house of Frangipani, is celebrated, by the writers of her time, for her beauty, magnificence, courtesy, and generosity. She was left a widow in the bloom of her youth, and her court became the resort of all the Italian chivalry. When Ancona was besieged by the imperial troops, in 1172, and was reduced to extremity, the Anconians appealed for assistance to William degli Adelardi, a noble and powerful citizen of Ferrara, and to the countess de Bertinoro, who immediately hastened to their relief.
The combined forces reached Ancona at the close of day, and encamped on a height which overlooked the tents of the besiegers. William then assembled the forces, and having harangued them, Aldrude rose and addressed the soldiers in a speech which was received by them with unbounded applause, mingled with the clashing of arms. The enemy, alarmed at the approach of so large a force, retreated during the night, so that the assailants had no opportunity of proving their bravery.
After this bloodless victory, the combined troops remained encamped near Ancona, till it was no longer endangered by the vicinity of its enemies, and until an abundant supply of provisions was brought into the city. The Anconians came out to thank their gallant deliverers, to whom they offered magnificent presents. Aldrude, with her army, on her return to her dominions, encountered parties of the retreating enemy, whom they engaged in skirmishes, in all of which they came off victorious. The time of her death is not recorded.
ALEXANDRA,
Queen of Judea, widow and successor of Alexander Jannæus, a wise and virtuous princess, who, contrary to the example of her husband, studied to please her subjects, and preserved peace and prosperity during her reign of seven years. She died in the seventy-third year of her age, B. C. 70. She was the mother of Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, and the latter years of her reign were disturbed by the attempt of her younger son, Aristobulus, to obtain the sovereignty, as he had been exasperated by the favour his mother showed to the sect of the Pharisees, and the authority she allowed them.
ALEXANDRA,
Daughter of Hyrcanus, and mother of Aristobulus and Mariamne, wife of Herod the Great, was a woman of superior powers of mind. When Herod appointed Ananel, a person of obscure birth, high-priest, instead of her son Aristobulus, who had a right to that office, her spirited conduct caused him to depose Ananel in favour of Aristobulus. Herod, displeased at her interference, had her confined and guarded in her own palace; but Alexandra, receiving an invitation from Cleopatra to come to Egypt, with her son, attempted to escape with him, in two coffins; they were discovered, however, and brought back. Herod, jealous of the affection of the Jews for Aristobidus, had him drowned, which so much affected
