The manner of using the stone is to draw a streak upon it with the auriferous article ; and from the color of the streak the richness of the gold can be very accurately determined by the jiraeticed assayer. The subsequent action of nitric acid on the golden streak serves still fur- ther as a means of determining the puritj' of the metal, as the acid readily dissolves the cop- |ier and silver and leaves the gold. For a con- cise treatise on assaying see H. Van F. Fur- man. A Mrniual of Practical Assaying (Glasgow, 1893).
ASSAY' OF'FICE. A government bureau
where gold and silver bullion is assayed and re-
fined. (See Ass.^yiNG.) The assay offices of the
United States are included in the Mint Service
of the Treasury Department, and are located at
the coinage mints of Philadelphia. San Fran-
cisco, and New Orleans; at the mints at Carson,
Nev. ; and Denver, Colo. : and at New York,
N. Y.; Helena, Mont.; Charlotte, N. C. ; St.
Louis, Mo. ; Deadwood, S. D. ; and at Seattle,
Wash. From the gold and silver deposited at
the mints and assay offices, bars are manufac-
tured, which are graded as follows: Fine bars,
mint bars, standard bars, and unparted bars.
The New York assay office is the largest, and
more than half the gold and the greater part of
the silver refined by the mint service is manu-
factured there. See Mint.
ASSE, as. A fennec. See Caama.
ASSEGAI, as'se-ga (Sp. azagaya, Ar. az-
zagJii'ifinh, from ul, the + Berber za ghay ah, spear) A short spear used by natives of South Africa, especially the warlike Zulus, with a very thin shaft of hard wood of about live feet in length, and an iron blade secured by a strip of raw-hide.
When used for throwing, the blade is convex on
one side and concave on the other, for the pur-
pose of transmitting a rotary motion.
ASSELYN, as'se-lln, ,Tam (1610-60). A
Dutch painter, pupil of Isaiah Van der Velde,
and ert'ective in landscape and animal pictures.
He was one of the first Dutch artists to adopt
Claude Lorraine's style.
ASSEMANI, iis'ss-mil'ne (Arabic, Al-Sam-
ANi). Glu.SEPl'E SiMOKE (1087-1708). A Syrian
Orientalist. He was born at Taralnilus, Syria.
He collected a large number of Oriental manu-
scrijits in Egypt and Syria for the library
of the Vatican, of which he was the custodian.
His principal works are: Bihliotheca Orientalis
Clementino-Vaticana (4 vols., Rome, 1719-28),
containing the Syrian manuscripts of the library
of the Vatican; Opcm Ephracmi Syri (6 vols.,
ib. 1732-40) ; Kalundaria Ecclesiw Vniversw
(6 vols., ib. 17.5.5-.57); Bihliotheca Juris Orien-
talis Canonici et Cirilis (5 vols., ib. 1762-66).
ASSEMANI, Simone (17.52-1821). An Ori-
ental scholar, a relative of Giuseppe Assemani.
He was born at Tarabulus, Syria. Avas educated
at Borne, and in 1785 was appointed professor
of Oriental languages at Padua. His principal
works are: Museo cufico ?aniano illiistrato
(2 vols., Padua, 1787) — an imjiortant contribu-
tion to numismatics; and l^aggio sulV originc,
riiUo. Icttcrahiru, e costnmi (Icgli Anihi arnnti
Maoiiirttii (Padua, 1787).
ASSEMANI, Stefano Evonio (1707-82). A
Syrian Oricntnlisl. He followed the studies of
his uncle, Giuseppe Simone Assemani. whom he
succeeded as custodian of the Vatican Library.
He was titular Archbishop of Apamæa. He published works on Oriental manuscript literature.
ASSEM'BLY (Fr. asscmbtce, ultimately from Lat. afl, to -f sinitil, together, Any drum-beat or bugle-call designated to bring troops into ranks or to appointed stations. See Bugle and Trumpet Calls; and Drum.
ASSEMBLY, General. See Presbyterianism ; also Leglslatuee.
ASSEMBLY, National (France). The
States-General ( q.v. ) , convoked by Louis XVI.
of France, and opened May 5, 1789, consisted of
the two privileged orders, the clergy and the
nobles, and of the tiers-^tat, or commons. The
Third Estate, composed of representatives from
the towns and rural communities, outnumbered
the other orders, and demanded that the voting
should be by heads, in united assembly, and not
by orders sitting separately. Upon the refusal
of the privileged orders to concede this demand
the Third Estate, on June 17, assumed the title
of Assemhlce Xationale, and the right to .act in
the name of France. The court attempted to
annul this i-esolution in a royal sitting, June 23,
but the deputies of the Third Estate, together
with the liberal members of the other two orders,
had bound themselves three days before by tlie
so-called Oath of the Tennis Court not to sepa-
rate until they had given France a constitu-
tion, and declared every attempt at violence on
the part of the court treason. The King yielded,
commanding the nobles and clergy to join the
National Assembly. The Revolution had begun.
The Assembly proceeded with astounding rapid-
ity to metamorphose old France. Feudal rights
and hereditary privileges were abolished on Au-
gust 4, and the Declaration of the Rights ot Man
followed. In February, 1790, succession by primo-
geniture was abolished; in March, lettres de
cacliet and the oppressive salt tiix were abol-
ished; in June all ^orders and titles of nobility
were annulled. In .July the civil constitution of
the clergy was decreed : at the same time non-
Catliolics were reinvested with the property for-
feited by their ancestors on account of their
faith ; Jews were relieved from personal taxa-
tion, and the game-laws done away with. In
September the Parliaments were suppressed. A
decree of October IS abolished the cruel criminal
penalties of Louis XIV. In January, 1791. all
corporations and guilds were abolished and free
trade introduced. In February political rights
were conceded to Quakers. In September all
citizens, of whatever color or religion, received
political rights.
The principles on which the Assembly proceeded were the sovereignty of the people, the limitation of the royal power through a conditional veto (q.v.), the separation of the legislative and the executive powers, and the responsibility of ministers. Accordingly, the Assembly, shortly after it was constituted, declared that to it alone, subject to the Royal veto, belonged the legislative power. Several decrees in September, 1789, determined that the legislative body should form only one chamber, and should be renewed every two years; other decrees declared that the King was inviidable and the throne inalienable. .V decree of November 7 forbade the deputies to luidertake the place of ministers; and in December the new organization
