Ailsa Craig, a rocky islet in the Firth of Clyde, 10 miles from the coast of Ayr, of a conical form, 1097 feet high, and about 2 miles in circumference, precipitous on all sides except the north-east, where alone it is accessible, frequented by innumerable sea-fowl, including solan-geese, and covered with grass. On it is a lighthouse.
Ailu′rus. See Panda.
Aimard (ā-mär), Gustave, French novelist, born 1818, died 1883. He lived for ten years among the Indians of North America, and wrote a number of stories dealing with Indian life, such as Les Trappeurs de l'Arkansas (1858), La Loi de Lynch (1859), Les Nuits Mexicaines (1863), Les Bohèmes de la Mer (1865), which have been popular in English translations. His work is not unlike that of Fenimore Cooper.
Ain (an˙), a south-eastern frontier department of France, mountainous in the east (ridges of the Jura), flat or undulating in the west, divided into two nearly equal parts by the River Ain, a tributary of the Rhône; area, 2248 sq. miles; pop. (1921), 315,757. Capital, Bourg.
Ainger (ān′jėr), Rev. Alfred, born in 1837, died in 1904, was educated at King's College, London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, took orders after gaining his degree, and in 1866 was appointed reader of the Temple Church, London. He was made Master of the Temple in 1893, while holding also a canonry in Bristol Cathedral, to which he had been appointed in 1887. He was highly successful as a preacher, but is chiefly known by his literary labours, especially those connected with Lamb and Hood, whose works he edited. The volumes on Lamb and on Crabbe in the 'English Men of Letters' series are by him, and he wrote a memoir of Hood for his edition of the works. A volume of his sermons under the title of The Gospel of Human Life was published after his death in 1904. Cf. Edith Sichel, Life and Letters of Canon Ainger.
Ainmiller (īn′mil-er), Max Emanuel, a German artist who may be regarded as the restorer of the art of glass-painting, born 1807, died 1870. As inspector of the State institute of glass-painting at Munich he raised this art to a high degree of perfection by the new or improved processes introduced by him. Under his supervision this establishment (which afterwards became his own) produced a vast number of painted windows for ecclesiastical and other buildings, among the principal being a series of
forty windows, containing a hundred historical and scriptural pictures, in Glasgow Cathedral. Some of his work is in St. Paul's Cathedral, and his finest productions are the windows in the Cathedrals of Cologne and Regensburg.
Ainos (ī′nōz; that is, men), the native name of an uncivilized race of people inhabiting the Japanese island of Yesso, as also Sakhalien, and the Kurile Islands, and believed to be the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan. They do not average over 5 feet in height, but are strong and active. They are very hairy, wear matted beards, and have black hair which they allow to grow till it falls over their shoulders. Their complexion is dark brown, approaching to black. They support themselves by hunting and fishing. There are numerous legends relating to the Ainos. According to one of these, of Japanese origin, they descended from the constellation of the Bear, whilst another mentions as their ancestor a certain Okikurumi who came down from heaven. The Ainos call themselves Ainu Utara, and the Chinese refer to them as the Tungi (barbarians of the East). They are very superstitious, and worship a number of gods, such as the universal god (Opitta-Kamui), the sun (Tsup-Kamui), the bear (Isho-Kamui), &c. Cf. J. Batchelor, The Ainu and their Folklore.
Ainsworth, Henry, a Puritan divine and scholar, born 1571, died 1622. He passed great part of his life in Amsterdam, being from 1610 pastor of a 'Brownist' church there (the Brownists being forerunners of the Independents). He was a voluminous writer, a controversialist and commentator, and a thorough Hebrew scholar.
Ainsworth, Robert, born in Lancashire, 1660, earned his living by keeping a private school in or near London, and died there in 1743. Among other learned works he compiled the well-known Latin and English Dictionary, first published in 1736, which passed through many editions, but is now entirely superseded.