AIN, a department on the eastern frontier of France, bounded on the N. by the departments of Jura and Saône-et-Loire, on the W. by Saône-et-Loire and Rhône, on the S. by Isère, and on the E. by the departments of Savoie and Haute Savoie and the Swiss cantons Geneva and Vaud. It extends at the widest points 52 miles from N. to S., and about the same distance from E. to W., with an area of 2241 square miles. The east of the department is very mountainous, being traversed by the southern portion of the Jura range, but in the north-west the surface is comparatively level, and in the south-west flat and marshy. Ain is wholly within the basin of the Rhône, that river itself being the boundary on the east and south, while it receives the Ain, which passes southward through the centre, and the Saône, which forms the western boundary of the department. The climate is usually cold, but on the whole healthy, except in the damp marshy districts on the west. The soil in the valleys and plains of the department is fertile, producing wheat, barley, maize, rye, and fruits of various kinds, as well as wine of excellent quality; the tops of many of the mountains are covered with forests of fir and oak, and the lower slopes yield excellent pasture for sheep and cattle. The chief mineral product is asphalt, besides which potter’s clay, iron, building-stone, and the best lithographic stone in France, are produced in the department. There are many corn and saw mills on the mountain streams; and cotton, linen, and silk fabrics, coarse woollen cloth, paper, and clocks, are manufactured to a limited extent. Ain, which formed a part of the ancient province of Burgundy, is divided into five arrondissements—Bourg and Trévoux in the west, and Gex, Nantua, and Belley in the east; ...

AINAD, a town of Arabia, in the province of Hadramaut, about 207 miles N.E. of Aden. Near it is the tomb of a Moslem prophet much frequented by pilgrims, at which a great annual fair is also held. The population is said to be about 10,000.

AINMULLER, Maximilian Emmanuel, founder of a new school of glass - painting, was born at Munich on the 14th February 1807. He was induced, by the advice of Gartner, director of the royal porcelain manufactory, to devote himself to the study of glass-painting, both as a mechanical process and as an art, and he made such progress that in 1828 he was appointed director of the newly-founded royal painted-glass manufactory at Munich. The method which he gradually perfected there was a development of the enamel process adopted in the Renaissance, and consisted in actually painting the design upon the glass, which was subjected, as each colour was laid on, to carefully-adjusted heating. The fault of this new style is its production of transparent pictures seen by transmitted and not by reflected light; but the popular verdict in its favour has been, notwithstanding, proved by the extent to which it has been adopted. The earliest specimens of Ainmüller's work are to be found in the cathedral of Ratisbon. With a few exceptions, all the windows in Glasgow cathedral are from his hand. Specimens may also be seen in St Paul’s cathedral and St Peter’s College, Cambridge. On the Continent it must suffice to mention Cologne cathedral as containing some of his finest productions. Ainmüller had considerable skill as an oilpainter, especially in interiors; and his pictures of the Chapel Royal at Windsor and of Westminster Abbey have been much admired. He died 9th December 1870.

AINOS, the name of a small but remarkable tribe in Japan, found chiefly in the island of Yesso. They are different in race and character from the ordinary Japanese, and seem to have been the earliest inhabitants of the country. Since the invasion of the islands by the Japanese, however, the Ainos have been gradually supplanted by the invaders, and are now completely subject to them, although they still preserve the appearance of internal self-government, living in societies of from ten to twenty families, under a hereditary chief. Their language is quite distinct from the Japanese, and intercourse between the two peoples is carried on by a sort of mongrel dialect. The Ainos are not tall, averaging a little over 5 feet; but they are well-proportioned and strongly-built, with a type of countenance European rather than Asiatic. They are distinguished by an exuberance of hair on the head and body, a circumstance which has given rise to their name of “Hairy Kuriles.” The women are ugly, and are much addicted to tattooing. The dress of the Ainos consists of a robe of skin or cotton, reaching to the knees and secured by a girdle; their huts are small and uncomfortable, with little or no furniture; and their food is mostly the produce of fishing and hunting, together with rice got by barter from the Japanese. They are probably less than 50,000 in number.

AINSWORTH, Henry, divine and scholar, was born “about 1560” at Pleasington, near Blackburn, Lancashire, having been second son of Lawrence Ainsworth of Pleasington Hall. Young Henry Ainsworth is believed to have received his education at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn, of which his father was an original founder. According to tradition, he was a Roman Catholic, and a younger brother, John, a Protestant; and the two brothers, entering into a written controversy, mutually converted each other—Henry having embraced Protestantism, and John, Popery. The subsequent earlier history of Ainsworth is still obscure. No record survives; but various authorities concur in stating that he passed from Blackburn to Cambridge. He associated with the Puritan party in the Church of England, and eventually adopted the platform of the Independents as represented by the Brownists. He was driven from his native country by the state proscription of the sectaries before the year 1593. He is found resident in “ablind lane at Amsterdam” about 1595-6. His exile must have reduced him to extreme poverty. He is stated to have been a “porter” to a scholarly bookseller in Amsterdam, who, on discovering his skill in the Hebrew language, made him known to his countrymen. Roger Williams, in one of his fiery tractates, reproaches Ainsworth as “living upon ninepence a week and some boiled roots.” When the Brownists erected a church in Amsterdam, Francis Johnson was chosen for their pastor, and Henry Ainsworth for their doctor or teacher. In 1596 these two divines drew up a confession of their faith (in Latin), which was reprinted in 1598, and dedicated to the various universities of Europe (including St Andrews, Scotland). The separations and controversies which ensued at ...

AINTAB, a large garrison town on the northern frontier of Syria, 65 miles N.N.E. of Aleppo, in 36° 58’ N. lat., 37° 13' E. long. It has a considerable trade, chiefly in hides and leather, and cotton of coarse quality is grown in the district. Population, about 20,000.