Apt

[Fr. apte; Lat. apt us, from apo, to fasten, join, or tie, from the root ap, whence apto; Gr. hap to, to join, to tie.] Fit by nature or contrivance; suitable; prepared; inclined; liable. "All that were strong and apt for war."-2 Kings xxiv. 16. Herod" is common in Germany, to signify sending about | Apsley Strait, a channel between Melville and Bath unnece arily. The reason of choosing the first of April for the exhibition of this scene was, that the feast of Easter frequently falls in this month, and the events connected with this period of the life of Jesus would naturally afford subjects for the spectacles of the season. The tricks of the first of April may, however, be the remains of some Roman custom derived from the East, and spread over Europe, like so many other customs, by these conquerors. It is certain that the Hindoos practise precisely similar artifices at the time of the Huli feast, on the 31st of March. - One of the best tricks of this description is that of Rabelais, who, being at Marseilles without money, and desirous of going to Paris, filled some phials with brick-dust or ashes, labelled them as containing poison for the royal family of France, and put them where he knew they would be discovered. The bait took, and he was conveyed as a traitor to the capital, where the discovery of the jest occasioned universal mirth. In France, the unlucky party who may be fooled is called un poi on (fish) d'Avril ; in Scotland, a gowk (cuckoo); in England and America, an April -fool. A prío'ri. [Lat., from the former.] ( Log .) A term applied to any argument in which a consequent conclusion is drawn from an antecedent fact, whether the consequence be in the order of time, or in the nece ary relation of cause and effect:-e.g., "The mercury sinks, therefore it will rain." This is an argument drawn from an antecedent in time, not from a cause to an effect. A murder has been committed; a party falls under suspicion as having had an interest in the death of the deceased, or a quarrel with him; this suspicion is founded on the argument à prior i , from cause to effect; because the fact of his enmity or interest would afford a cause for his committing the murder. On the other hand, another party falls under suspicion as having been seen to quit the house at a particular time, having marks of blood on his clothes; these are arguments à posterior i , in which we reason either from consequent in the order of time to antecedent, or from effect to antecedent cause. A'pron, n. [Fr. aprun , probably from O. Fr. naperon , diminutive of nappe , a table-cloth.] A cloth worn on the fore part of the body, as a protection to the clothes. A piece of leather spread over a person's legs when in a gig. The fat skin over the belly of a goose. A cover for the vent of a cannon, . -The name is applied to various other things, from a supposed resemblance. ( Arch .) The platform raised at the entrance of a dock, a little higher than the bottom, to form an abutment against which the gates may shut.-Also the sill or lower part of a window. ( Ship - building .) - A piece of curved timber fixed behind the lower part of the stem, immediately above the foremost end of the keel. A'proned, a. Wearing an apron. Apropos', adv . [Fr. from à , to the, and propos , purpose.] To the purpose; opportunely; by the way. Ap's heron, or APCHERON, a peninsula of Asia, running for 40 m. into the Caspian Sea, and terminating in Cape A. , which forms the E. part of the Caucasian chain. This place is famous as being the spot of the sacred flame, whence the fire-worshippers of Asia drew their religious veneration. Sulphur and inflammable gases so impregnate the soil that immense quantities of black and white naphtha are annually taken from it. Saffron, salt, and madder are also produced. On its S. coast is the port of Bakou; Lat. of Cape A. 40° 12′ N.; Lon. 50° 20′ E. Ap's idal, a . Pertaining to the apsides. Ap's is, n.; pl . APSIDES, sometimes improperly written APSES. [Gr. haps is, from hap to, hap so, to connect.] (Astron.) The two points of the orbit of a planet or sat- ellite, at which it is moving at right angles to the straight line joining it with the