AUBE (255), a dep. in France, formed of Champagne and a small part of Burgundy, with Troyes for capital.

AU`BER, a popular French composer of operas, born at Caen; his operas included “La Muette de Portici,” “Le Domino Noir,” “Fra Diavolo,” &c. (1782-1871).

AU`BERT, THE ABBE, a French fabulist, born at Paris (1731-1814).

AUB`REY, JOHN, an eminent antiquary, a friend of Anthony Wood’s; inherited estates in Wilts, Hereford, and Wales, all of which he lost by lawsuits and bad management; was intimate with all the literary men of the day; left a vast number of MSS.; published one work, “Miscellanies,” being a collection of popular superstitions; preserved a good deal of the gossip of the period (1624-1697).

AUB`RIOT, a French statesman, born at Dijon, provost of Paris under Charles V.:  built the famous Bastille; was imprisoned in it for heresy, but released by a mob; died at Dijon, 1382.

AUBRY DE MONTDIDIER, French knight murdered by ROBERT MACAIRE (q. v.), the sole witness of the crime and the avenger of it being his dog.

AUBUSSON, a French town on the Creuse, manufactures carpets and tapestry.

AUBUSSON, PIERRE D’, grand-master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, of French descent, who in 1480 gallantly defended Rhodes when besieged by Mahomet II., and drove the assailants back, amounting to no fewer than 100,000 men (1423-1503).

AUCH (12), capital of the dep. of Gers, France, 14 m.  W. of Toulouse, with a splendid cathedral perched on a hill, and accessible only by a flight of 200 steps; has a trade in wine and brandy.

AUCHINLECK, a village 15 m.  E. of Ayr, with the mansion of the Boswell family.

AUCHTERAR`DER, a village in Perthshire, where the forcing of a presentee by a patron on an unwilling congregation awoke a large section in the Established Church to a sense of the wrong, and the assertion of the rights of the people and led to the disruption of the community, and the creation of the Free Church in 1843.

AUCK`LAND (60), the largest town in New Zealand, in the N. island, with an excellent harbour in the Gulf of Hauraki, and the capital of a district of the name, 400 m. long, and 200 m. broad, with a fertile soil and a fine climate, rich in natural products of all kinds; was the capital of New Zealand till the seat of government was transferred to Wellington.

AUCKLAND, BISHOP (11), a town on the Wear, 10 m.  SW. of Durham and in the county of Durham, with the palace of the bishop.

AUCKLAND, GEORGE EDEN, LORD, son of the following, a Whig in politics, First Lord of the Admiralty, Governor-General of India; gave name to Auckland; returned afterwards to his post in the Admiralty (1784-1849).

AUCKLAND, WILLIAM EDEN, LORD, diplomatist, and an authority on criminal law (1744-1814).

AUCKLAND ISLANDS, a group of small islands 180 m.  S. of New Zealand, with some good harbours, and rich in vegetation.