Balzac, Jean
BALZAC, JEAN Louts GUEZ DE, a celebrated French writer, was born at Angouleme in 1594. His father was possessed of considerable property, and he himself was early befriended by the Cardinal de la Palette, who took him in his train to Rome. His letters written from that place to his acquaintances and to many who held a high position at the French court, were expressed so admirably, and showed such …
Bamberg
BAMBERG, a town of Bavaria, in the circle of Upper Franconia, on the River Regnitz, 3 miles above its junction with the Maine, and 33 miles N. of Nuremberg, with which it is connected by. railway. It is partially surrounded by walls and ditches, and is divided by the river and Ludwig's canal into three districts, which are connected by handsome bridges. The town is well built, and the streets are …
Bamboo
BAMBOO, a genus (Bambusa) of arbore: cent grasses very generally distributed throughout the tropical lands of the globe, but found and cultivated especially in India, China, and the East Indian Archipelago. There is a large number of species enumerated ; but, as is the case with most plants under cultivation, much difficulty is found in distinguishing species from varieties produced by artificial …
Bamborough
BAMBOROUGH, a village in Northumberland, on the sea-coast, 14 miles N. of Alnwiek. It was a royal borough previous to the Norman Conquest, and returned two members to parliament in the 23d year of Edward I. Its ancient castle stands close to the sea on au almost perpendicular rock, 150 feet in height, and is accessible only on the south-east side. The first erection is ascribed by the Saxon chroni…
Bambouk
BAMBOUK, a country in the interior of Western Africa, situated between the Senegal and its tributary the Faleme, and extending from lat. 12? 30' to 14' N., and from long. 10? to 120 30' W. It is traversed from N. W. to S.E. by the steep and wall-like range of the Tamba-Ura Mountains. The soil in a large part of the country is of remarkable fertility ; rice, maize, millet, melons, manioc, grapes, b…
Bampton, Rev
BAMPTON, REV. JOHN, founder of the series of divinity lectures at Oxford known as the Bampton Lectures, appears to have been born in 1689 and to have died in 1751. He was a member of Trinity College, Oxford, and for some time canon of Salisbury. His will directs that eight lectures shall be delivered annually on as many Sunday mornings in full term, " between the commencement of the last month in …
Banana
BANANA (3lusa sapientum), a gigantic herbaceous plant belonging to the natural order 2fusacece, originally a native of the tropical parts of the East, but now cultivated in all tropical and sub-tropical climates. It forms a spurious kind of stem, rising 15 or 20 feet by the sheathing bases of the leaves, the blades of which sometimes measure as much as 10 feet in length by 2 feet across. The stem …
Banat
BANAT, a district in the south-east of Hungary, consisting of the three counties of Thorontal, Temeswar, and Krasso, which has strangely acquired this title, though it was never governed by a "ban." It is bounded by the Theiss, the Maros, and the Danube, forming almost a regular parallelogram. The soil is in many parts a remarkably rich alluvial deposit. Under the Turkish yoke it was allowed to li…
Banbridge
BANBRIDGE, a town of Ireland, county of Down, on the Bann, 23 miles S.W. of Belfast, standing on the summit of an eminence.
Banbury
BANBURY, a market-town, municipal and parliamentary borough, and railway junction, in the county of Oxford, gives its name to a kind of cake of considerable repute.
Banca, Banka, Or Bangka
BANCA, BANKA, or BANGKA, an island off the east coast of Sumatra, and separated from it by the Strait of Banca, lies between lat. 1? 30' and 3? 7' S., and long. 105? 9' and 106? 54' E. It varies from 8 to 20 miles in breadth, and has an area of 5000 English square miles. Its mines of tin, which were discovered in 1710, are remarkably productive, and in 1872 yielded no less than 68,148 piculs, the …
Bancroft, Richard
BANCROFT, RICHARD, Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of James I., distinguished as an inflexible opponent of Puritanism, was born at Farnworth in Lancashire in 1544. He was educated at Cambridge University, studying first at Christ's College, and afterwards at Jesus College. He took his degree of B.A. in 1567, and that of M.A. in 1570. Ordained about that time, he was named chaplain to Dr Cox,…
Banda Islands
BANDA ISLANDS, a group in the East Indian Archipelago, lying to the S. of Ceram, in lat. 4? 30' S. and long. 129' '50' E. They are ten or twelve in number, and have an area of about 7150 square miles. Their volcanic origin is distinctly marked. Banda Lantoir, which derives its name from the lontar or Palmyra palm, is the largest of the group. From the sea this island appears lofty, - its sides bei…
Bandello, Matte
BANDELLO, MATTE?, an Italian novelist, was born at Castelnuovo, near Tortona, about the year 1480. He received a very careful education, and entered the church, though he does not seem to have prosecuted his theological course with great zeal. For many years he resided at Mantua, and superintended the education of the celebrated Lucrezia Gonzaga., in whose honour he composed a long poem. The decis…
Bandini, Angelo Maria
BANDINI, ANGELO MARIA, an Italian author, was born at Florence on the 25th Sept. 1726. Having been left an orphan in his infancy, he was supported by his uncle, Joseph Bandini, a lawyer of some note. He received his education among the Jesuits, and showed a special inclination for the study of antiquities. His first work was is dissertation, Be Veteru?z Saltat?onibus, published in 1749. In 1747 he…
Bandon, Or Ba
BANDON, or BA.NDONBRIDGE, an inland town and parliamentary borough of Ireland, in the county of Cork, and twenty miles by rail from the county town, is situated on both sides of the River Bandon, which is here crossed by a bridge of six arches.
Banff
BANFF, the county town of Banffshire, is a place of great antiquity ; according to tradition, it was at times the residence of Malcolm Canmore. It was visited by David I. and his son Henry ; and there is a charter of Malcolm IV., signed at Banff the eleventh year of his reign, which corresponds with 1163. The church was given to the monastery of Arbroath by William the Lion, and a convent of Carme…
Bangalore
BANGALORE, the administrative capital and most important town of the chief commissionership of Mysore, also a large military cantonment., situated in 12' 58' N. lat., and 77' 38' E. long. In 1872 the total population of the Bangalore municipality amounted to 191,300; municipal income in 1872-73, ?19,090 ; expenditure, ?17,496; average rate of taxation, 2s. per head of the population. For the prote…
Bangkok
BANGKOK, a city of Siam, which was raised to the rank of capital in 1769. It is situated on both sides of the River Menam, about 20 miles from the sea, in lat. 13? 38' N. and long. 100? 34' E. The river is navigable to the city for vessels of 350 tons, but there is a bar at its mouth, which at the lowest ebbs has only six feet of water, and at no time has more than fourteen. The general appearance…
Bangor
BANGOR, a seaport and market-town of Ireland, county Down, on the south side of Belfast Lough, 12 miles E.N.E. of Belfast.
Bangor
BANGOR, a seaport town in the state of Maine, North America, capital of the county of Penobscot, on the river of that name, at its junction with the Kenduskeag, 60 miles from the sea.
Bangor
BANGOR, a parliamentary borough and market-town of Carnarvonshire, North Wales, nine miles N.E. of Calmar-von, to which it is a contributory borough. It consists mainly of one narrow crooked street of nearly a mile in length, stretching N.E. and S.W. through a romantic valley between two ridges of rock. It stands near the northern entrance of the Menai Strait, and the beauty of its scenery attract…
Banialuka
BANIALUKA, a town and fortress of Turkey, in the eyelet of Bosnia, situated on the Verbas or Verbitza, a navigable tributary of the Save.
Banim
BANIM, Joins-, an Irish novelist of great power and ability, was born at Kilkenny in 1798. He received a good education, and at a very early age gave evidence of remarkable genius. In his thirteenth year he entered Kilkenny College, where many other eminent Irishmen have received their training, and devoted himself specially to drawing and painting, in which he became so proficient that he resolve…
Ban, Jean Antoine De
BAN, JEAN ANTOINE DE, poet of the French Penaiss same and member of the Pleiad, was the natural son of Lazare de Balf and an Italian girl. He was born in 1532 at Venice, where his father was residing as French ambassador. Thanks, perhaps, to the surroundings of his childhood, he grew up a fanatic for the fine arts, and surpassed in zeal all the leaders of the Renaissance in France. Besides writing…
Banks
BANKS, Six JOSEPH, for upwards of forty years president of the Royal Society of London, was born in Argyle Street, London, on the 13th of February 1743. He was the only son of William Banks, a gentleman of considerable landed property, whose father had derived his fortune principally from successful practice as a physician in Lincolnshire, bad been on one occasion sheriff of that county, and had f…
Bann
BANN, a considerable river of Ireland, which rises in the Mourne Mountains, County Down, and falls into Lough Upper Bann is navigable for vessels of 50 tons to its junction with the Newry canal, a little above Portadown.
Bannerets
BANNERETS. In the early ages of chivalry there were two kinds of knights, called respectively Bachelors and Bannerets. The former carried pennons terminating in a point or points; the latter, banners, - that is to say, pennons rendered square by having the points cut off. This process of converting the pennon into the banner was done by the sovereign himself on the field of battle, standing beneat…
Bannockburn
BANNOCKBURN, a village of Scotland, on the Bannock, an affluent of the Forth, three miles S. of Stirling.
Banswara
BANSWARA (literally, the forest country), a Rajput feudatory state under the Me war agency in Rajputana, extends from 23? 10' to 23? 48' N. lat., and from 74? 2' to 74? 41' E. long. It borders on Gujarat, and is bounded on the N. by the native states of Dungarpur and Udaipur or Mewar; on the N.E. and E. by Pratabgarh; on the S. by the dominions of Holkar and the state of Jabua ; and on the W. by t…
Bantam
BANTAM, a decayed town of Java, formerly capital of a district of the same name, at the north-western extremity of the island, situated on the Bay of Bantam, near the mouth of a river which falls into the bay. It was once a large, rich, and flourishing city, but is now mostly in ruins. It is about 61 miles W. of Batavia, and is situated on a low, swampy beach, surrounded by jungle, and intersected…
Bantry
BANTRY, a small seaport situated on Bantry Bay, on the S.W. coast of Ireland, in the county of Cork.
Banu
BANU, a district of British India, under the Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjab, lies between 33? 15' 30" and 32? 10' 30" N. lat., and 72? 1' and 70? 27' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Khatabi hills, separating it from the district of Kohat, and by a corner of the Rawal Puidf district; on the E. by the districts of Jhilam and Shahpur; on the S. by the district of Dera Ismail Khan; and on t…
Banyan Tree
BANYAN TREE (Ficus indica, Linn., Urostigma benghalense, Gaspar.) is a native of several parts of the East Indies and Ceylon. It has a woody stem, branching to a great height and vast extent, with heart-shaped entire leaves terminating in acute points. Every branch from the main body throws out its own roots, at first in small tender fibres, several yards from the ground ; but these continually gr…
Baphomet
BAPHOMET, the imaginary symbol or idol which the Knights Templars were accused of worshipping in their secret rites.
Baptism
BAPTISM. Christian baptism is the sacrament by which a person is initiated into the Christian Church. The word is derived from the Greek Paz-Tito), the frequentative form of 13a7rrw, to dip or wash, which is the term used in the New Testament when the sacrament is described. In discussing what is meant by baptism, three things have to be inquired into - (1) the origin of the rite, (2) its meaning,…
Baptistery
BAPTISTERY (Baptisterium, in the Greek Church 445 COTUTTI)pLOV) was a hall or chapel in which the catechumens were instructed and the sacrament of baptism administered. It was commonly a circular building, although sometimes it had eight and sometimes twelve sides, and consisted of an ante-room (irpoaaLos axes) where the catechumens were instructed, and where before baptism they made their confess…
Baptists
BAPTISTS, a denomination of Christians, distinguished, as their name imports, from other denominations by the views they hold respecting the ordinance of baptism. The early history of the Baptists, both in this country and on the Continent, is very obscure. In the great awakening of religious thought' and feeling which characterized the beginning of the 16th century, it was inevitable that amongst…
Bara
BARA.SAT, a subdivisional town in the district of the 24 Parganis, under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, situated in 22' 43' 24" N. lat. and 88? 31' 45" E. long.
Bara Banki
BARA BANKI, a district of British India under the jurisdiction of the Chief Commissioner of Oudh, lies between 26? and 28? of N. lat. and 81? and 82? of E. long. It is bounded on the N.W. by the district of Sitapur ; on the N. by Bharaich ; on the N.E. by Gonda ; on the E. by Faiziabad ; on the S. by Sultinpur and Rai Buell; and on the W. by Lucknow. The district stretches out in a level plain int…
Barahat
BARAHAT, a town of northern Hindustan, situated in the Himalayas, and within the native state of Garhival, in 30? 43' N. lat.. and 78? 29' E. long.
Barante, Amable
BARANTE, AMABLE GuinnumE Paosna, Baron de Brugiere, an eminent French statesman, and the learned historian of the dukes of Burgundy, was the son of an advocate, and was born at Riom, June 10, 1782. At the age of sixteen he entered the Ecole Polytechnique at Paris, and at twenty obtained his first appointment in the civil service. His abilities secured him rapid promotion, and in 1806 the post of a…
Baranya
BARANYA, a province in the kingdom of Hungary, extending over 1960 square miles.
Baranzano, Jean Antoine
BARANZANO, JEAN ANTOINE, surnamed Redemptus, an eminent natural philosopher and mathematician, was born in Piedmont in 1590, and died at Montargis in 1622.
Baratiere, Or Barettiep
BARATIERE, or BARETTIEP., JOHN Pullar, a very remarkable instance of precocious genius, was born at Schwabach near Nuremberg on the l 0th January 1721. His early education was most carefully conducted by his father, Francis Bamtiere, pastor of the French church at Schwabach, and so rapid was his progress that by the time he was five years of age he could speak French, Latin, and Dutch with ease, a…
Barbacena
BARBACENA, a town of Brazil, in the province of Minas-Geraes, situated, at the height of about 3500 feet above the sea, in the Sierra Mantiqueira, 150 miles N.W. of Rio de Janeiro.
Barbados, Or Balbadoes
BARBADOS, or BALBADOES, the most windward of the Caribbean Islands, is situated in lat. 13? 4' N. and long. 59? 37' W., 78 miles E. of St Vincent, the island nearest to it in the Caribbean chain. It lies in the track of vessels, and is well adapted to be an Myer& of commerce. It has nearly the size and proportions of the Isle of Wight, being 21 miles in length, and about 14i miles in its broadest…
Barbarossa
BARBAROSSA, meaning red-beard, the name of two celebrated Turkish corsairs of the 1Gth century. They were the sons of a Roumelian sipahi who had settled in Mitylene after the capture of that island by Mahomet and who appears to have embraced Islamism. The cider of the two is generally called Aruch, Horuk, or Ouradjh ; the name of the younger was Khizr, but he was afterwards called by the sultan Kh…
Barbary
BARBARY, the general designation of that part of Northern Africa which is bounded on the E. by Egypt, W. by the Atlantic, S. by the Sahara, and N. by the Mediterranean, and comprises the states of .
Barbastro
BARBASTRO, a fortified city of Spain, in the province of Huesca, on the River Vero, near its junction with the Ciao..
Barbauld, Mrs Anna Letitia
BARBAULD, MRS ANNA LETITIA, was born at Kibworth-Harcourt, in Leicestershire, on the 20th June 1743. Her father, the Rev. John Aikin, was a Presbyterian clergyman, who conducted a private school at that place. He instructed his daughter very carefully, and besides the usual female accomplishments she acquired a good knowledge of Latin and a fair knowledge of Greek. In 1758 Mr Aikin removed his fam…
Barber
BARBER, one whose occupation it is to shave or trim beards. In former times the barber's craft was dignified with the title of a profession, being conjoined with the art of surgery. In France the barber-surgeons were separated from the perruquiers, and incorporated as a distinct body in the reign of Louis X1V. In England barbers first received incorporation from Edward IV. in 1461. By 32 Henry VII…
Barbeyrac, Jean
BARBEYRAC, JEAN, an able writer on the principles of natural law, was the nephew of Charles Barbeyrac, a distinguished physician of Montpellier, and was born at 136ziers in Lower Languedoc, in 1674. He removed, along with his family, into Switzerland after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and there studied jurisprudence. After spending some time at Geneva and Frankfort-on-theMain, he became …
Barbieri, Giovaini Francesco
BARBIERI, GIOVAINI FRANCESCO (otherwise called GUEECINO, fro:NH:MS squinting), an eminent historical painter, was born at Cento, a village not far from Bologna, in 1590. His artistic powers were developed very rapidly, and at the age of seventeen he was associated with Benedetto Gennari, a well-known painter of the Bolognese school. The fame of the young painter spread beyond his native village, a…
Barbour, John
BARBOUR, JOHN, the author of the great Scottish national poem The Bruce, was born, probably in Aberdeenshire, about the beginning of the 14th century. He was a contemporary of Chaucer and Gower; ? but so little is known of his life, that the very date of his birth can be only approximately given as about 1316. In 1357, as we learn from a safe-conduct permitting him to visit Oxford for the purpose …
Barbuda
BARBUDA, one of the lesser Antilles or -Caribbean islands, is 10 miles in length by about 8 in breadth, presenting a very flat surface, covered to a great extent with woods, in which deer abound.
Barca
BARCA, a maritime district of Northern Africa, which formerly belonged to Tripoli, but was raised in 1869 to be a separate province immediately dependent on Constantinople.
Barca
BARCA, an ancient city in Cyrenaica, and within the above district, to which it gave name. Its ruins are now known as E1-Medinah. It was situated between Cyrene (now Grennah) and Hesperides (now Bengazi), about 11 miles distant from the sea; on the top of the rising ground that overlooks the Syrtes. It was founded about 554 u.c. by a colony from Cyrene, who fled from the ill-treatment of Arcesilau…
Barcelona
BARCELONA, formerly the capital of the kingdom of Catalonia, and now the chief town of the Spanish province to which it gives its name, is a flourishing city and seaport on the shore of the Mediterranean, in lat. 41? 22' N. and long. 2? 9' E., between the rivers B6sos (Bcetulo) on the north and the Llobregat (Rubricatus) on the south. It stands on the sloping edge of a small but fertile plain now …
Barclay, Alexander
BARCLAY, ALEXANDER, an English poet, was born probably about 1476. His nationality has been matter of much literary dispute, but the evidence on the whole seems to point to the conclusion that, though he spent the greater part of his life in England, he was a native of Scotland. The place of his education is equally doubtful ; he studied at one of the great English universities, but at which has n…
Barclay De Tolly
BARCLAY DE TOLLY, MICHAEL, a Russian prince and general, highly distinguished in the wars with Napoleon, was born in Livonia in 1759. He was a descendant of the old Scotch family of Barclay, a branch of whom had settled in Russia in the 17th century. He was adopted by General Vermoulen, and entered a Russian cuirassier regiment when very young. In 1788 and 1789 he served against the Turks, and in …
Barclay, John
BARCLAY, JOHN, founder of a small sect in the Scotch Church called Bereans or Barclayites, was born in Perthshire in 1734, and died at Edinburgh in 1798. He graduated at St Andrews, and after being licensed became assistant to the parish minister of Errol in Perthshire. He developed some very peculiar views, which led to a difference with the minister ; and in 1763 he left and was appointed assist…
Barclay, John
BARCLAY, JOHN, M.D., an eminent anatomist, was born in Perthshire in 1760, and died at Edinburgh in 1826. After the usual routine of parochial education, he completed his academical course at the United College of St Andrews. He subsequently studied divinity there, and was licensed as a preacher by the Presbytery of Dunkeld. Having repaired to Edinburgh in 1789, as tutor to the family of Sir James…
Barclay, Robert
BARCLAY, ROBERT, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Society of Friends, or Quakers, was born in 1648 at Gordonstown in Morayshire. He was sent to finish his education in Paris, and it appears he was at one time inclined to accept the Roman Catholic faith. In 1667, however, he followed the example of his father, Colonel Barclay of Urie, and joined the recently formed Society of Friend…
Barclay, 'William, Ll
BARCLAY, 'WILLIAM, LL.D., a writer on civil law, was born in Aberdeenshire in the year 1541. He spent the early part of his life, and much of his fortune, at the court of Mary queen of Scots, from whose favour he had reason to expect preferment. In 1573 he went over to France, and at Bourges began to study civil law under the famous Cujas. He continued some years in that seminary, where he took hi…
Bard
BARD, from the Welsh bardd, is the name applied to the ancient Celtic poets, though the word is sometimes loosely used as synonymous with poet in general. So far as can be ascertained, the title bards, and some of the privileges peculiar to that class of poets, are to be found only among Celtic peoples. The name itself is not used by Caesar in his account of the manners and customs of Gaul and Bri…
Bardesanes, Or Bar
BARDESANES, or BAR DmsAN, a celebrated Gnostic, was a native of Edessa in Mesopotamia, and appears to have flourished during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Very little is known of his life. He is said to have held a disputation with Apollonius, a philosopher in the train of Lucius Verus, and he is known to have written against the Marcionite and other heresies. There is considerable doubt whether h…
Bardili, Christoph Gottfried
BARDILI, CHRISTOPH GOTTFRIED, a German metaphysician, distinguished by his opposition to the system of Kant, was born at Blaubeuren in Wiirtemberg, in 1761, and died at Stuttgart in 1808. Of his numerous works the principal is his Elements of Logic (Grundriss der ersten Logik, Stuttgart, 1800). His system has had but little influence in Germany, the celebrated Reinhold being the only adherent of a…
Bardsey
BARDSEY (i.e., Bard's Island), or in Welsh YNYS ENLLI, the Island of the Current, is situated at the northern extremity of Cardigan Bay.
Bardwan
BARDWAN (sometimes spelled Burdwan), a division or commissionership in India under the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, comprising the districts of Bardwan, Hfiglf with Howrah, Miclnapur, Bankuth or West Bardwan, and Erbil-Lim, lies between 23? and 25? N. lat. and between 86? and 89? E. long.
Bardwin
BARDwIN, an important district in the division of the same name, under the Lieutenant-Governor of Benfrom which it is separated by the River Ajai ; on the E. by the districts of Nadi)/ and Hfiglf, the River Bhdgirathi separating it from the former ; on the S. by the districts of Hugli and Midnapur ; and on the W. by the districts of Bankura and Manblram. For fiscal purposes the houses. Persons per…
Bareges
BAREGES, a small town situated between two mountain chains in the department of Hautes Pyrenees in Prance, about 25 miles from Bagneres de Bigorre.
Bareli, Or Bareilly
BARELI, or BAREILLY, a district of British India in the Rohilkhand division, under the jurisdiction of the Lt.-Governor of the North-Western Provinces, situated between 28? 2' and 29? 2' N. lat., and 79? 2' 30' and 80? 13' 15" E. long. It is bounded on the N. by Kiimo,on district and the independent state of Nepal ; on the E. by a portion of the district of Shahjah4npur, and the district of Lakhim…
Barere De Vieuzac
BARERE DE VIEUZAC, BERTRAND, one of the most notorious members of the French National Convention, was born at Tarbes in Gascony, September 10, 1755. He was brought up to the profession of the law, and was admitted advocate to the parliament of Toulouse. He wrote several trivial pieces, panegyrics of Louis XVI., Montesquieu, J. J. Rousseau, and others, which obtained prizes from provincial academie…
Baretti, Giuseppe
BARETTI, GIUSEPPE, an Italian critic of some distinction, was born at Turin in 1716. He was intended by his father for the profession of law, but at the age of sixteen fled from Turin and went to Guastalla, where he was for some time employed in a mercantile house. His leisure hours he devoted to literature and criticism, in which he became expert. For many years he led a wandering life, supportin…
Barfleur
BARFLEUR, called formerly Barbeflot, and in the Latin chroniclers Barbatus Fluctus, an ancient town of Normandy, in France, now in the department of Manche, 15 miles E. of Cherbourg.
Barham, Richard
BARHAM, RICHARD HAnnrs, a celebrated humourist, better known by his nom de plume of THOMAS INGOLDSBY, was born at Canterbury, December 6, 1788. At seven years of age he lost his father, who left him a small estate, part of vr hich was the manor of Tappington, so frequently mentioned in the Legends. At nine he was sent to St Paul's school, but his studies were interrupted by an accident which shatt…
Bari
BARI, the ancient Barium, capital of the above province and seat of an archbishop, is situated on a tongue of laud projecting into the Adriatic, in lat. 41? 7' N., and long. 16? 53' E. It is defended by various fortifications, among which the most important is the citadel, which is about a mile in circumference, and dates from the Norman possession. The general character of the older part of the t…
Bari, Terra Di
BARI, TERRA DI, a province of Italy, in the district of Apulia, bounded on the N. by the Adriatic, E. and S.E. by the province of Otranto, S.W. by Basilicata, and W. by Capitanata. It has an area of 1782 geographical square miles, and is divided into the three districts of Bari, Barletta, and Altamura. Except in the S. and S.W., where branches of the Apennines occur, the surface is generally level…
Barking
BARKING, a town of England, county of Essex, 7 miles E.N.E. of London, on the River Roding, not far from the Thames.
Barla
BARLA.AM AND JOSAPHAT, Saints. These two saints appear in both the Greek and the Roman Martyrology, in the former under 26th August, in the latter under 27th November. Their story is in the highest degree worthy of note, because it is, in fact, a Christianized version of the Indian legendary history of the Buddha, Sakya Muth. The remarkable parallel between Buddhistic ritual, costume, and discipli…
Bar-le-duc, Or Bar-sur-ornain
BAR-LE-DUC, or BAR-SUR-ORNAIN, the chief town of the department of Meuse in France. It occupies the declivity and base of a hill, in lat. 48? 46' 8" N., long. 5? 9' 47" E.,ron the River ()main, a tributary of the Marne, 125 miles E. of Paris, and consists of an upper and lower town, the latter being the more modern and respectable of the two. It is a railway station on the Paris-and-Strasburg line…
Barletta
BARLETTA, the ancient Bardidum, called in the Middle Ages Baroluni, a fortified seaport town of Italy, the scat )f an archbishop, in the province of Terra di Bari. It is 33 .piles N.W. of Bari, in lat.41? 19' 26" N., long. 16? 18' 10' E. Rho town is well built and handsome ; the houses are large, and the streets wide and well paved. It has a fine Gothic cathedral (S. Maria Maggiore) with a lofty s…
Barley
BARLEY (IIordeum), a most important genus of the cereal plants which belongs peculiarly to temperate regions. Four distinct species of barley, cultivated for the production of grain, are commonly enumerated, - lst, common or two-rowed barley, Hordeum distichum ; 2d, here or Bigg, H. vulyare ; 3d, six-rowed barley, H. hextastichum ; and 4th, fan, spratt, or battledore barley, II. zeocriton. Of thes…
Barlow, Joel
BARLOW, JOEL, an Alnercian poet and politician, born in 1755 at Reading in Connecticut. In 1774, some years after his father's death, he was entered at Yale College, New Haven, where he soon began to manifest considerable taste for poetry and power of composition. A few small pieces published by him were received with some degree of public favour. During his vacations he had taken part with the co…
Barlow, Peter
BARLOW, PETER, an able writer on pure and applied mathematics, was born at Norwich in 1776, and died in 18G2. He received a very ordinary education, but improved himself by his own exertions. In 1806 he was appointed mathematical master in the Woolwich Academy, and filled t'iat post for forty-one years. In 1823 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and two years later received the Copley meda…
Barmecides
BARMECIDES, or descendants of Barmak, were a noble Persian family, who attained great power under the Abbaside caliphs. Barmak, the first of them, was a Ghebre, or Persian fire-worshipper, and is supposed to have been a native of the district of Khorassan. He was introduced to the caliph Abd-ul-Malik, and acquired great power under him. His family prospered, and his grandson, Yahya, was vizier to …
Barmen
BARMEN, a town of Rhenish Prussia, in the government of Dusseldorf and circle of Elberfeld, on the BergischMarkisch railway. It is formed by the combination of a large number of separate villages, which stretch along the northern valley of the-Wupper for a distance of six miles in almost perfect continuity with Elberfeld. The first of these to obtain a separate civic organization was Gemarke, whic…
Barnabas
BARNABAS (r1l$12?-1;) was the surname given by the apostles to Joses, "a Levite, of the country of Cyprus," who, though like Paul not of the twelve, was with him recognized among the number of the apostles. The name (vicis rrapalArjcrain), translated "son of consolation " in the authorized version (Acts iv. 36), would be better rendered " son of exhortation " or " of prophecy." Barnabas is first m…
Barnard Castle
BARNARD CASTLE, a market and manufacturing town and parish in the county of Durham, on the banks of the Tees, 246 miles from London. It consists of one main street, about a mile long, with a number of smaller ones branching off on each side. The principal building in the high street is the town-hall, an octagonal structure dating from 1747. St Mary's church, built in the 12th century, and restored…
Barnaul
BARNAUL, a town of Asiatic Russia, in the government of Tomsk, and capital of a circle to which it gives its name.
Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie
BARNAVE, ANTOINE PIERRE JOSEPH MARIE, one of the greatest orators and noblest actors and victims of the first French Revolution, was born at Grenoble in Dauphiny, October 22, 1761. He was of a Protestant family. his father was an advocate to the parliament of Grenoble, and his mother was a woman of high birth, superior ability, and noble character. He was at once thoughtful and passionate, studiou…
Barnes, Albert
BARNES, ALBERT, a theologian of America, specially distinguished as a Biblical expositor, was born at Rome in the state of New York, 1st December 1798, and died at Philadelphia 24th December 1870. In 1820 he graduated at Hamilton College, and in the same year commenced his studies for the ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary. Soon after taking licence he was called to the Presbyterian church…
Barnes, Joshua
BARNES, JOSHUA, an English scholar, born in 1654.
Barnet, Or Chipping Barnet
BARNET, or CHIPPING BARNET, a market-town in the county of Hertford, 11 miles from London, on the great northern road.
Bar Neveldt, Jan Van Olden
BAR NEVELDT, JAN VAN OLDEN, Grand Pensionary of Holland, who played a great part and rendered the most signal services to his country in the long conflict with Philip II. of Spain, was born in 1547. He was a native of Ainersfoort in the province of Utrecht, and could boast of a long line of noble ancestors. Endowed with superior abilities, lie was educated for the profession of the law, and commen…
Barnsley
BARNSLEY, or Bnacx BARNSLEY, mentioned in Domesday Book as Bernesleye, a town and municipal borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 171 miles from London and about 11 north of Sheffield. It is situated on rising ground to the west of the River Dearne, in a district of considerable natural beauty. The manufacture of iron and steel, and the weaving of linen and other cloth, are the two principal in…
Barnstaple
BARNSTAPLE, a market and borough town of England, county of Devon, 40 miles N.W. of Exeter. It is situated on the River Taw, 6 miles from its mouth, but has always been considered a seaport. The stream, which is only navigable for small craft, is here crossed by an ancient stone bridge of 16 arches, and by a railway bridge on the Ilfracombe line. The town is handsome and well built ; it was incor…
Barocchio, Or Bar0zzi
BAROCCHIO, or BAR0ZZI, GIAC0110 DA VIGNOLA, architect, born at Vignola in the .Modenese territory, in 1507.
Barocci, Or Baroccio
BAROCCI, or BAROCCIO, FEDERIGO, painter, was born in 1528 at Urbino, where the genius of Raphael inspired him.
Baroda
BARODA, a city of British India, the capital of the native state known as the Gaikwar's dominions, is situated near the River Biswamintri, in 22? 16' N. lat., and 73? 14' E. long. The Government of Bombay exercises a political superintendence over the Gaikwar, and a British political agent resides at Baroda. The town is fortified, but has no great strength. Thornton states the population at 140,00…
Barometer
BAROMETER, the instrument by which the weight or pressure of the atmosphere is estimated, The barometer was invented by Torricelli, a pupil of Galileo, in 1613. It had shortly before been found, in attempting to raise water from a very deep well near Florence, that, in spite of all the pains taken in fitting the piston and valves, the water could by no effort be made to rise higher in the pump tha…
Baron
BARON. The origin and primary import of this term have been much contested. Menage derives it from the Latin baro, a word which we find used in classical Latin to signify "a simple" or " foolish man " (Cic. Fin., ii. 23). Another form of the same word appears to be ?aro, to which Lucilius gives the meaning "a stupid man," "a. blockhead," Forcellini observing that its primary sense is " a block of …
Baronet
BARONET, a name originally given to the lesser barons mentioned in the preceding article, but now confined to the lowest grade of our hereditary nobility. The order was instituted by King James T. in 1611, at the suggestion of Sir Robert Cotton, to whom the plan had been submitted by Sir Thomas Shaky of Wiston, its actual inventor. Originally, the creation of this order was merely an expedient to …
Baronius, Cesar
BARONIUS, CESAR, the great church historian, was born on the 31st October 1538 in the district of Naples. His parents, Camillo de Barouo or Baronio and Porcia, Trebonia, were of noble birth. He was educated at Veroli and Naples, where his favourite studies were theology and jurisprudence. In 1557 he accompanied his father to Rome, and found himself in the midst of the reactionary enthusiasm which …
Barquisimeto
BARQUISIMETO, a city of Venezuela, and since 1830 the capital of the province of Nueva Segovia, is situated on a confluent of the Portuguesa, which belongs to the northern part of the Orinoco system. The surrounding district is fertile, and produces excellent coffee, cocoa, and sugar ; and the climate is healthy and pleasant. Barquisimeto was founded in 1522 by Juan de Villegas, principally for th…
Barr
BARR, a town in Alsace, IS miles S.W. of Strasburg, situated on the eastern slope of the Vosges, at the month of the Ulrichthal. Wool and cotton spinning, and the manufacture of pottery, crystal, and soap, are its principal industries ; and an active trade is carried on in wine, brandy, vinegar, cattle, and wood. The town is mentioned as early as the 8th century. It was burned by the troops of the…
Barrackpur
BARRACKPUR, a magisterial subdivision and town of British India, in the district of 24 Parganas, under the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. Barrackpur SUBDIVISION was formed in 1858. It consists of the single police circle of .Nawabganj, and contains an area of 42 square miles, with 51 villages, 16,057 houses, and a total population of 68,629, of whom 47,709, or 69.5 per cent., are Hindus; 19,600, o…
Barracks
BARRACKS are groups of buildings constructed for the accommodation of soldiers. The word, N, Lich was formerly spelt "baracks " or "baraques," is derived from the Spanish " barracas," meaning the little huts or cabins used by the fishermen on the seashore, or for soldiers in the field. The French call them " casernes," meaning lodgings for soldiers. Barracks of a temporary character, commonly call…
Barrhead
BARRHEAD, a town of Scotland, county of Renfrew, three miles S. of Paisley, and S miles S.W. of Glasgow on the Caledonian Railway line between that city and Kilmarnock.
Barri, Girald De
BARRI, GIRALD DE, commonly called Ciraldus Cambrensis, an historian and ecclesiastic of the 12th and 13th centuries, was born at the castle of Maenor Pyrr near Pembroke, probably in 1147. By his mother he was descended from the princes of South Wales, and the De Barris were one of the most powerful Welsh families. Being a younger brother, and intended for the church, be was sent to St David's, and…
Barrington, John Saute
BARRINGTON, JOHN SAUTE, FIRST VISCOUNT, a nobleman distinguished for theological learning, was the youngest son of Benjamin Shute, merchant, and was born at Theobald, in Hertfordshire, in 1678. He received part of his education at the University of Utrecht ; and, after returning to England, studied law in the Inner Temple. In 1701 he published several pamphlets in favour of the civil rights of Pro…
Barristers
BARRISTERS, in England, are the highest class of lawyers who have exclusive audience in all the superior courts. Every barrister must be a member of one of the four ancient societies called Inns of Court, viz., Lincoln's Inn, the Inner and Middle Temples, and Gray's Inn. The existence of these societies as schools can be traced back to the 13th century, and their rise is attributed to the clause i…
Barrow
BARROW, IsAAc,.an eminent mathematician and divine, was the son of Thomas Barrow, a linen draper in London, where he was born in 1630. He was at first placed for two or three years at the Charter-house school. There, however, his conduct gave but little hopes of his ever succeeding as a scholar, for he was inattentive and extremely fond of fighting. But after his removal from this establishment, h…
Barrow
BARROW, Silt JouN, Bart., was born near Ulverston, in Lancashire, June 19, 1764. His early opportunities of instruction were limited ; but by self-education he matured those powers which eventually were turned to so good an account. He displayed at an early age a decided inclination for mathematical pursuits. He passed some years of his youth as superintending clerk of an iron foundry at Liverpool…
Barrow-in-furn'ess
BARROW-IN-FURN'ESS, a borough, port, and parish in the hundred of Lonsdale, North-West Lancashire, situated opposite the island of Walney, at the extreme point of the peninsula of Furness, which lies between Morecambe Bay and the estuary of the Duddon. It is distant 35 miles from Lancaster and 91 from Carlisle. The area of the borough, which includes Walney and the islets at its south end, is 17,0…
Barrows
BARROWS, The custom of constructing barrows, or mounds of stones or earth, over the remains of the dead was the most characteristic feature of the sepulchral systems of primitive times. Originating in the common sentiment of humanity, which desires by some visible memorial to honour and perpetuate the memory of the dead, it was practised alike by nations of high and of low development, and continu…
Barrow's Straits
BARROW'S STRAITS, a portion of the channel which runs W. from Baffin's Bay through the islands of the Arctic archipelago to Melville Sound.
Barry
BARRY, Sin CHARLES, a distinguished English architect, was born at Westminster, May 23, 1795. After pursuing his elementary professional studios for six years as apprentice to a firm of architects at Lambeth, he set out, in 1817, on the customary foreign tour, visiting Greece and Italy, Egypt and Palestine, and enriching his memory and imagination by the study of the great buildings and remains of…
Barry, James
BARRY, JAMES, an eminent painter, was born at Cork on the 11th October 1741. His father had been a builder, and, at one time of his life, a coasting trader between the two countries of England and Ireland. To this business of trader James was destined, and he actually made, when a boy, several voyages"; but these being forced upon him, he on one occasion ran away from the ship, and on all others m…
Bars
BARS, a county of Hungary, in the district watered by the Neutra, Gran, and Zsitva, which belong to the northern part of the system of the Danube.
Bar-sur-aube
BAR-SUR-AUBE, the chief town of an arrondissement in the department of Aube, in France.
Bar-sur-seine
BAR-SUR-SEINE, the chief town of an arrondissement in the department of the Aube, in France.
Bartan
BARTAN, a town in Asiatic Turkey, situated near the mouth of the Bartan-su, which was known to the Greeks as the Parthenius, and formed part of the boundary between Bithynia and Paphlagonia.
Bartas, Guillaume De Salluste Du
BARTAS, GUILLAUME DE SALLUSTE DU, a French poet, was born in 1544, and died in 1590 of wounds received in the battle of Ivry. He was employed by Henry IV. of France in England, Denmark, and Scotland ; and he commanded a troop of horse in Gascony, under the Marshal de Martingan. His principal work, La Sepmaine, a poem on the creation of the world, which has long since fallen into oblivion, once enj…
Barteiolinus
BARTEIOLINUS, GAsplxD, a learned Swede, born in 1585, at Malmoe. His precocity was extraordinary; at three years of age he was able to read, and in his thirteenth year he composed Greek and Latin orations, and delivered them in public. When he was about eighteen he went to the University of Copenhagen, and he afterwards studied at Rostock and Wittemberg. He then travelled through Germany, the Neth…
Ba Rtfeld, Or Bartfa
BA RTFELD, or BARTFA, a town of Hungary, county of Saros, on the River Tepla.
Barthelemy, Auguste Marseille
BARTHELEMY, AUGUSTE MARSEILLE, a French satirical poet, was born at Marseilles in 1796, and died in 1867, After having established some local reputation as a poet he went to Paris, where by one of his first efforts, Le ,Sacre de Charles X., 1825, he gained the favour of the court. His energies, however, were soon enlisted in the service of the opposition party. In 1826 appeared the clever politica…
Barthelemy, Jean Jacques
BARTHELEMY, JEAN JACQUES, a celebrated French writer, was born on the 20th January 1716, at Cassis, a little seaport on the shores of the Mediterranean. He was educated, first at the college of the Oratory in Marseilles, and afterwards at that of the Jesuits in the same city. While completing the course of study requisite for the church, which he intended to join, he devoted much attention to Orie…
Barthez
BARTHEZ, or BAimihs, PAUL JOSEPH, one of the most celebrated physicians of France, was born on the 11th tained his nineteenth year, he received his doctor's degree. He afterwards occasionally visited Paris, where he attracted the notice and acquired the friendship of the most distinguished literati of the period. In 1756 he obtained the appointment of physician to the military hospital in Normandy…
Barth, Heinrich
BARTH, HEINRICH, a distinguished African explorer, was born at Hamburg, February 16, 1821. At the age of eighteen he went to Berlin, and completed his education at the university of that city. After a year of study he set out to travel in Italy and Sicily, returning to Berlin in 1841, and continuing his studies for three years. He took his degree in 1844, and yielding to a desire, which had long p…
Bartholinus
BARTHOLINUS, TaoMAS, a physician, son of the above, was born at Copenhagen in 1619. He studied medicine at Leyden for three years (1637-40). He then travelled into France, and resided two years at Paris add _Montpellier, in order to improve himself under the distinguished physicians of thoso universities; after which he visited Italy, remained three years at Padua, and then went to Basel, where he…
Bartholomew, St
BARTHOLOMEW, ST ('n5n ~?, son of Talmai), one of the twelve apostles, generally supposed to have been the same as Nathanael (John i. 45). He was a native of Cana in Galilee (John xxi. 2), and was introduced by Philip to Jesus, who, on seeing him approach, at once pronounced that eulogy on his character which has made the name Nathanael almost synonymous with sincerity. He was a witness of the resu…
Barth, Or Bart
BARTH, or BART, JEAN, son of a fisherman of Dunkirk, was born in 1651 and died in 1702.
Bartolini
BARTOLINI, Lonnnzo, an Italian sculptor, was born in 1777, of very humble parents, at Vernio in Tuscany. After various vicissitudes in his youth, during which he had acquired great skill and reputation as a modeller in alabaster, he came to Paris in 1797. He there studied painting under Desmarets, and afterwards sculpture under Lemot. The bas-relief Cleobis and Biton, with which he gained the seco…
Bartolozzi, Francesco
BARTOLOZZI, FRANCESCO, a distinguished engraver, was born at Florence in 1725, or, according to some authorities, in 1730. He was originally destined to follow out the profession of his father, who was a silversmith; but he manifested so much skill and taste in designing that he was placed under the superintendence of two Florentine artists, who instructed him in painting. After devoting three yea…
Bartolus
BARTOLUS, professor of the civil law at the University of Perugia, and the most famous master of the dialectical school of jurists, was born in 1314, at Sasso Ferrato, in the duchy of Urbino, and hence is generally styled Bartolus de Saxo Ferrato. His father was Franciscus Severn, and his mother was of the family of the Alfani. He studied the civil law first of all under Cinus at Perugia, and afte…
Barton, Benjamin Smith
BARTON, BENJAMIN SMITH, M.D., an American naturalist, who was the first professor of botany and natural history in a college in the United States.
Barton, Elizabeth
BARTON, ELIZABETH, the "Maid of Kent," belonged to the village of Aldington in Kent. She was a pious, nervous, and enthusiastic person, subject to epilepsy ; and her enthusiasm, unfortunately for herself, took a political turn at a somewhat critical period in English history. When all England was excited with the attempts made by Henry VIII. to obtain a divorce from Queen Catherine, Elizabeth Bart…
Baruch
BARUCH, son of Neriah, was the friend and amanuensis of the prophet Jeremiah. After the temple at Jerusalem had been plundered by Nebuchadnezzar, he wrote down Jeremiah's prophecies respecting the return of the Babylonians to destroy the state, and read them in the temple before the assembled people at the risk of his life. The roll having been burned by the king's command, Jeremiah dictated the s…
Barytes, Or Baxyta
BARYTES, or BAxYTA, an oxide (Ba0) of the metal barium, usually prepared from the two most common ores of the substance, the sulphate and the carbonate of baryta. It is a highly caustic alkaline poisonous body, which with water forms a hydrate of baryta. On a commercial scale baryta is prepared from the native carbonate (Witherite) by exposing the mineral, mixed with one-tenth of its weight of lam…
Base Ball
BASE BALL, a game which holds the same position in the United States of America as cricket does in Great Britain. It was founded on the old British game of rounders, though many additions and alterations have been made. Americans do not appreciate the patience of Englishmen, and do not care to witness a cricket match which may extend to three days, and then remain undecided, whereas the average ti…
Basedow, Johann Lernhard
BASEDOW, JOHANN LERNHARD, a German author, born at Hamburg 11th September 1723, was the son of a hairdresser. He was educated at the Johanneum in that town, where he came under the influence of the well-known rationalist, H. S. Reimarus, author of the Wolfenbuttel Fragments. In 1744 he went to Leipsic to study theology, and gave himself up entirely to the instructions of Professor Crusius, and to …
Basel, Bale, Or Basle
BASEL, BALE, or BASLE (the first being the German, the others the French and Old French forms of the name), a canton in the N.W. of Switzerland, with an area of 184 English square miles. It is bounded on the N.W. by Alsace, N. by the grand-duchy of Baden, E. by the canton of Aargau, and S. and S.W. by those of Solothurn and Berne. The canton is traversed by the Jura chain, the highest peaks of whi…
Basel, Or Bale
BASEL, or BALE, the capital of the above canton, and, next to Geneva, the largest city in Switzerland, is situated on both sides of the Rhine, 43 miles N. of Berne, in lat. 47? 33' N., and long. 7? 35' E. Great Basel, or the city proper, lies on the south side of the river, and is connected with Little Basel on the north side by a handsome bridge 800 feet long, which was originally erected in 1229…
Basel, The Council Of
BASEL, THE COUNCIL OF (1431-1443), was the last of the three great reforming councils of the 15th century, coming after the councils of Pisa (1409) and Constance (1414-18). In these three councils the aim of the majority was to reform the church by destroying the absolute supremacy of the Pope, and by curbing the rule of the Roman curia ; and the acts of these councils were all designed to re-esta…
Bash Age, Jacques
BASH AGE, JACQUES, pastor of the Walloon Church at the Hague, was born at Rouen in Normandy on the 8th of August 1653. He was the son of Henri Basnage, one of the ablest advocates in the parliament of Normandy. At the age of seventeen, having acquired a good knowledge of the Greek and Latin authors, as well as of the English, Spanish, and Italian languages, he went to Geneva, where he hegau his th…
Bashkirs
BASHKIRS, a people who inhabit the Russian governments of Orenburg, Perm, and Samar, and parts_.of Viatka, especially on the slopes and confines of the Ural, and in the neighbouring plains. The Bashkirs are a Tatarized Finnish race, and are called Eestyak by the Kirghiz, in allusion to their origin from a mixture of Ostyaks and Tatars. The name Bashkir or Bash-kart appears for the first time in th…
Basilica
BASILICA, a code of law, drawn up in the Greek language, with a view to put an end to the uncertainty which prevailed throughout the empire of the East in the 9th century as to the authorized sources of law. This uncertainty had been brought about by the conflicting opinions of the jurists of the Gth century as to the pi .p& interpretation to be given to the legislation of the Emperor Justinian, f…
Basilica
BASILICA, a term denoting (1) in civil architecture, a court of law, or merchants' exchange, and (2) in ecclesiastical architecture, a church of similar form and arrangement. The name basilica, flacrAcKrj (sc. CrT00. or ai,X?0, "a royal portico," or "hall," is evidence of a Greek origin. The portico at Athens in which the second archon, apxew paonAck, sat to adjudicate on matters touching religion…
Basilicata
BASILICATA, or, as it is also called, POTENZA, a province of Italy, bounded on the N. by Capitanata, N.E. by Terra di Bari, E. by Otranto and the Gulf of Taranto, S.. by Calabria Citra, S.W. by the Mediterranean, W. by Principato Citra, and N.W. by Principato Ultra.
Basilides
BASILIDES, one of the most celebrated of the Gnostics, flourished probably about 120 A.D. Extremely little is known of his life. He is said to have been born in Syria and to have studied at Alexandria, and this is probably correct. There is, to some extent, a corresponding uncertainty with regard to the precise doctrines held by him. Of these there are two distinct expositions, the one given chief…
Basilisk
BASILISK, - (3acraco-Kos of the Greeks, and Tsepha (cockatrice) of the Hebrews, - a name applied by the ancients to a horrid monster of their own imagination, to which they attributed the most malignant powers and an equally fiendish appearance.
Basil The Great
BASIL THE GREAT, an eminent ecclesiastic in the 4th century. He was a leader in the Arian controversy, a distinguished theologian, a liturgical reformer ; and his letters to his friends, especially those to Gregory of Naziauzus, give a great amount of information about the stirring period in which he lived. Basil came of a somewhat famous family, which gave a number of distinguished supporters to …
Basingstoke
BASINGSTOKE, a market and borough town in the county of Hants, 45 miles from London.
Baskerville
BASKERVILLE, Joalc, a celebrated printer, and the introducer of many improvements in type-founding, was born at Wolverley in Worcestershire in 1706, and died in 1775. About the age of twenty he became a writing-master at Birmingham, and he seems to have had a great talent for caligraphy and carving in stone. While at Birmingham his attention was attracted to the business of japanning, which he too…
Basket
BASKET, a utensil made of twigs, rushes, or strips of wood, as well as of a variety of other materials, interwoven together, and used for holding or carrying any commodity. Modern ingenuity has applied many substances before unthought of to the construction of baskets, such as iron and even glass. But wicker-work being the oldest as well as the most universal invention, it alone will be treated of…
Basque Provinces
BASQUE PROVINCES (Pr,A.ineias Vascongadas). The three Spanish provinces known by this name, which are distinguished from all the other divisions of Spain by the character, language, and manners of the inhabitants, and by the enjoyment of political privileges which make the form of their government nearly republican, are Biscay (Vizcaya), Guipuzcoa, and Alava. The territory occupied by them is in t…
Bassahir
BASSAHIR, a Ptajput hill state in Hindustan, under the political superintendence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjab, situated between 30' 5G' and 32' 8' N. lat., and 77' 34' and 78' 52' E. long.
Bassano
BASSANO, a city of Italy in the province of Vicenza.
Bassano, Giacomo Da Ponte
BASSANO, GIACOMO DA PONTE, a Venetian painter, born in 1510 at Bassano. He was educated by his father, who was himself an artist, and then completed his studies at Venice. On the death of his father he returned to Bassano, and settled there. His subjects were generally peasants and villagers, cattle, and landscapes, with some portraits and historical designs. His figures are well designed, and his…
Bassein
BASSEIN, the principal place of the district of the same name, situated in 16? 45' N. lat,, and 94? 50' E. long., on the eastern bank of the Bassein River, one of the main arteries by which the waters of the Irawadi discharge themselves into the sea.
Basselin, Olivier
BASSELIN, OLIVIER, an old French poet or writer of verses, was born in the Val-de-Vire in Normandy about the middle of the 14th century, and died about 1418 or 1419.
Basse-terre
BASSE-TERRE, formerly the capital of Guadeloupe, one of the French West India Islands. Population, 9480. See GUADELOUPE. BASSEIN, a British district on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, under the jurisdiction of the Chief Commissioner of Burmah, lies between 15' and 18? N. lat.., and 94? and 96' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the districts of Kyouk Phoo and Myanoung, on the E. by the di…
Bassianus, Joannes
BASSIANUS, JOANNES, a distinguished professor in the law school of Bologna, the pupil of Bulgarus and the master of Azo. Little is known of his origin, but he is said by Carolus de Tocco to have been a native of Cremona. The most important of his writings which have been preserved is his Summary on the Authentica, which Savigny regards as one of the most precious works of the school of the Gloss-w…
Bassi, Laura Maria Caterina
BASSI, LAURA MARIA CATERINA, an Italian lady, eminently distinguished for her learning, was born at Bologna in 1711.
Bass Rock
BASS ROCK, an islet of greenstone and trap tuff, about a mile in circumference, on the coast of East Lothian near the entrance of the Firth of Forth, in 56? 4' N. lat., and 2? 37' W. long.
Bass's Straits
BASS'S STRAITS, the channel -which separates Tasmania from Victoria.
Bastar
BASTAR, a feudatory state in the Central Provinces of British India, situated between 20? 10' and 17? 40' of N. lat., and 80? 30' and 82? 15' of E. long., bounded on the by the Kanker zamindri-ri and the Raipur district ; on the E. by the Bendra Nawrigarh zamindarf arid Patipur, Jaipur state, and Sabari River ? on the S. by the Sironcha district ; and on the W. by the Indravatf River and the Aherf…
Bastard
BASTARD is a person born out of lawful wedlock, i.e., whose parents have not been married previous to his birth. The rules by which legitimacy is determined vary chiefly as to the effect to be assigned to the subsequent marriage of the bastard's parents. The law of Scotland, and of most Continental countries, following the rules of the civil and canon law, legitimizes the bastard whose parents aft…
Bastia
BASTIA, a fortified town and seaport on the eastern coast of the island of Corsica, and the capital of an arrondissement. Lat. 42? 41' 36" N., long. 9? 27' 22" E. It occupies a very picturesque situation, rising from the sea in the form of an amphitheatre ; but the town itself is ill-built, and the streets are narrow and crooked. The harbour, which is defended by a citadel, has a narrow and diffic…
Bastian
BASTIAN, a country lying on the east side of the Jordan valley, towards its northern extremity, often mentioned in Jewish history The Hebrew form of the name is i',7; or 10r.), represented in Greek by Bacrc, and BacrariTts (LXX. and Epiphanius), or more frequently by BaTaraia (Josephus, Ptolemy, Eusebius, &c.). The name is understood to be derived from a root signifying fertile, or, according to s…
Bastiat, Frederic
BASTIAT, FREDERIC, the son of a merchant of Bayonne, was born in that town on the 19th of June 1801. After being educated at the Colleges of Saint-Sever and of SorZ!ze, he entered in 1818 the counting-house of his uncle at Bayonne. Here his intensely active mind soon began to interest itself in the study of the principles of commerce, but he felt no enjoyment in the practical routine of mercantile…
Bastille
BASTILLE (from bastir, now bc2tir, to build), in the earlier use of the word, was any fortified building forming part of a system of defence or attack ; and the name was especially applied to several of the principal points in the ancient fortifications of Paris. In the reign of king John, or even earlier, the gate of Saint Antoine was flanked by two towers ; and in 1369 Hugues Aubriot, at the com…
Bastwick, Dr John
BASTWICK, DR JoHN, born at Writtle, in Essex, in 1593, was a physician at Colchester, whose celebrity rests on his strong opposition to the Roman Catholic ceremonial. About 1633 he printed in Holland a Latin treatise, entitled Elenchus Religionis Papistime, with Flagellum Pontificis et Episcoporum Latialium ; and as the English prelates thought themselves aimed at, he was finedX1000 in the High Co…
Batavia
BATAVIA, a large city and seaport on the north coast of the island of Java, and the capital of all the Dutch settlements in the East. It is situated on both sides of the river Jacatra or Tjiliwong, in a swampy plain at the head of a capacious bay. The streets are for the most part straight and regular, and many of them have a breadth of from 100 to 200 feet. In several cases there is a canal in th…
Bates
BATES,WiLmAm, D.
Bath
BATH, a city and port of the United States of North America, chief town of the county of Sagadahock irr Maine.
Bath
BATH, the chief town of Somersctshire, and, from the elegance of its buildings and the beauty of its situation, one of the finest cities in England, is situated mainly on the right bank of the river Avon, though a considerable extension has also taken place on the left. Communication between the two portions is afforded by several bridges, of which the most important are the Pulteney, the North Pa…
Baths
BATHS. In the ordinary acceptation of the word a bath is the immersion of the body in a medium different from the ordinary one of atmospheric air, which medium is usually common water in some form. In another sense it includes the nature of the different media that may be used, and of the various arrangements by which they are applied. Perhaps the simplestmethod of presenting a general view of the…
Bathurst
BATHURST, a town of New South Wales, on the Macquarie River, 122 miles W.S.W. of Sydney, with which it is connected by railway.
Bathurst, Allen Bathurst
BATHURST, ALLEN BATHURST, EARL OF, a distinguished statesman in Queen Anne's reign, was born in the year 1684. After completing his education at Cambridge, he was elected in 1705 to represent the borough of Cirencester. He distinguished himself particularly in the struggles and debates relative to the union of England and Scotland, firmly supporting a measure which he thought calculated to strengt…
Bathurst, Ralph
BATHURST, RALPH, uncle of the preceding, was born in the year 1620. He studied divinity in Trinity College, Oxford ; but, on the breaking out of the civil war, he changed the course of his studies, and, applying himself to medicine, took the degree of doctor in that faculty. By dint of assiduous application, he soon rose to eminence in Ids profession ; and in the time of the Commonwealth was appoi…
Bathycles
BATHYCLES, a Greek sculptor, born at Magnesia on the Mmander, known for his sculptures on the throne of the statue of Apollo at Arnyclm near Sparta, which Pausanias saw and describes (iii. 18, 6).
Batoni, Pompeo Girolamo
BATONI, POMPEO GIROLAMO, a native of Lucca, who was regarded in Italy as a great painter in the 18th century, and who unquestionably did much to rescue the art from the intense mannerism into which it had fallen during the century preceding.
Baton-rouge
BATON-ROUGE, a town in the state of Louisiana, North America, situated on a bluff on the left bank of the Mississippi, 120 miles above New Orleans.
Batrachus
BATRACHUS, according to Pliny (xxxvi. 42), the name of a Greek architect who, along with Sauras (both natives of Sparta), was employed by Metellus in the construction of certain temples in Rome.
Battalion
BATTALION is the tactical unit of infantry.
Battas
BATTAS, a people in the northern portion of Sumatra, which regards itself as the oldest in the island, and is distinguished by a pertinacious adherence to ancient customs. The Batta is of middle height, his colour is a light brown, and his hair is black and is worn long. He is dirty in his dress and dwelling, and eats any kind of food that presents itself, though he lives chiefly- on rice. A littl…
Battering Ram
BATTERING RAM (Aries), a military engine used before the invention of gunpowder, for beating down the walls of besieged fortresses. It consisted of a long heavy beam of timber, armed at the extremity with iron fashioned something like the head of a rain. In its simplest form the beam was carried in the hands of the soliders, who assailed the walls with it by main force. The improved ram was compos…
Battery
BATTERY is the tactical unit of artillery. It is the term applied to the largest number of fully equipped mobile guns which can be personally superintended by one man. Batteries may be divided into the four classes of horse, field, mountain, and position artillery batteries. In England, France, and Germany batteries consist of six guns; in Austria and Russia of eight guns each. The guns of horse f…
Batteux, Charles
BATTEUX, CHARLES, a French writer on philosophy and the principles of literature, was born near Fouziem in 1713, and died in 1780. In 1739 he came to Paris, and after having taught with success in the colleges of Lisieux and Navarre, was appointed to the chair of Greek and Roman philosophy in the College of France. In 1746 he published his treatise Beaux Arts ricluits a une mime Principe, in which…
Battle
BATTLE, a market-town in the county of Sussex, on the South-Eastern Railway, 56 miles from London.
Battle
BATTLE, an engagement between two armies, as distinguished from the skirmishes, or minor actions, fought between their smaller sections. A battle is said to be general, where the whole, or the greater part, of each army is brought into action ; and partial, where only brigades, divisions, or some corps &armee out of several upon the ground, are engaged. However the numbers may vary, the great prin…
Battus
BATTUS, the founder of the Greek colony of Cyrene in Libya, whither he had been directed by the oracle at Delphi (about 650 n.c.). The Greeks who accompanied him were, like himself, natives of Thera (Santorin), and partly descended from the race of the Minyce. The origin of the colony as told in Thera (FIsrodotits, iv. 150) was as follows : - Grinus, king of that island, had gone attended by Battu…
Bauhin, Jean
BAUHIN, JEAN, brother of the above, was born at Basel in 1541. He studied at Tiibingen under the celebrated botanist Fuchs, and afterwards travelled with Conrad Gesner, and collected plants in the Alps, in France, and in Italy. He first practised medicine at Basel, where ho was elected professor of rhetoric in 1566. He then resided for some time at Yverdun, and in 1570 was invited to be physician …
Baumgarten, Alexander Gottlieb
BAUMGARTEN, ALEXANDER GOTTLIEB, a German philosopher, born at Berlin in 1714. He'studied at Halle, and afterwards became professor of philosophy at Frankfort on the Oder, in which city he died in the year 1762. He was a disciple of Leibnitz and Wolff, and was particularly distinguished for his arsthetica1 speculations, having been the first to develop and establish the Theory of the Beautiful as a…
Baumgarten-crusius, Ludwig Friedrich Otto
BAUMGARTEN-CRUSIUS, LUDWIG FRIEDRICH OTTO, a distinguished German theologian, was born in July 178S at Merseburg. In 1805 he entered the university of Leipsic, and studied theology and philosophy. In 1812 he was appointed extraordinary professor of theology at Jena, where he remained to the end of his life, rising gradually to the head of the theological faculty. In the midst of his labours as pro…
Baur, Ferdinand Christian
BAUR, FERDINAND CHRISTIAN, the distinguished leader of the Modern Tubingen School of Theology, was born in the neighbourhood of Cannstadt on the 21st June 1792. The son of a Wurtemberg pastor he entered, at the age of thirteen, the well-known seminary at Blaubeuren, to which his father had some years before been transferred as deacon. Thence he passed, in the year 1809, to the university at Tubing…
Bautain
BAUTAIN, Louis EtiokNE MARIE, a French philosopher and theologian, was born at Paris in February 1796, and died in October 1867 At the Ecole Normale he came under the influence of Cousin, whose views on most philosophic points he at first accepted. In 1816 he adopted the profession of higher teaching, and was soon after called to the chair of philosophy in the University of Strasburg. He continued…
Bavaria
BAVARIA (in German, Bayern), a kingdom of Southern Germany, forming part of the German Empire, consists of two distinct portions, Bavaria proper and the Palatinate of the Rhine, which are separated by the grand duchies of Baden and Hesse. Bavaria proper contains an area of about 26,895 miles, and the Palatinate rather less than 2282, making the whole extent of the kingdom about 29,177 square miles…
Baxar, Or Mixar
BAXAR, or MIXAR, a town of HindustAn, in the province of Behar, district of Shah:Thad, on the south bank of the Ganges, in 25?32' N.lat., 84'3' E. long. The fort, though of small size, was important from its commanding the Ganges, but is now dismantled. The place is distinguished by a celebrated victory gained on the 23d October 1764 by the British forces under Major (afterwards Sir Hector) Munro,…
Baxter, Andrew
BAXTER, ANDREW, an able metaphysician, the son of a merchant in Old Aberdeen, was born in 1686 or 1687, and educated at King's College there. After leaving the university he acted for some years as tutor to various young gentlemen, among others to Lord Gray, Lord Blantyre, and Mr Hay of Drummelzier. In 1733 he published, in quarto, but without date, An Inquiry into the lv'ature of the Human Soul, …
Baxter, Richard
BAXTER, RICHARD, one of the most eminent of English divines, styled by Dean Stanley "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen," was born at Rowton in Shropshire, at the house of his maternal grandfather, on November 12, 1615. His family connections were favourable to the growth of piety. But his early education was much neglected, and he did not study at any university, a circumstance worthy of n…
Bayard, Pierre Du Terrail
BAYARD, PIERRE DU TERRAIL, CHEVALIER DE, 1V9,9 born, of a noble family, at the chateau Bayard, Dauphine, in 1476. He served as a page to the duke of Savoy until Charles VIII., attracted by his graceful bearing, placed him among the royal followers under the count de Ligny. As a youth he was distinguished for comeliness, affability of manner, and skill in the tilt-yard. In 1494 he accompanied Charl…
Bay Azid, Or Bajazid
BAY AZID, or BAJAZID, a city of Turkish Armenia, in the pashalic of Erzeroum, 50 miles S.S.W. of Erivan, situated on the side of a rugged mountain that forms, as it were, a bastion of the Ala-dagh chain.
Bayeux
BAYEUX, formerly the capital of the Bessin, and now the chief town of an arrondissement in the department of Calvados, in France. It is situated in a fruitful valley on the River Aure, 17 miles W.N.W. of Caen. Many of its houses are of considerable antiquity, especially in the Rue St Male and Rue St Nicholas, one in the former street being a fine specimen of the woodwork of the 15th century. The c…
Bayle, Pierre
BAYLE, PIERRE, author of the famous Historical and Critical Dictionary, was born on the 18th November 1647, at Carlat-le-Comte, near Foil, in the south of France. lle was educated at first by his father, a Calvinist minister, and was afterwards sent to an academy at Puy-Laurens, where he studied with such assiduity as seriously to injure his health. After a short residence at home he entered a Jes…
Bayonne
BAYONNE, probably the ancient Lapurdum, Baiotium civitas, or Baioticum, a first-class fortified city of France, and the capital of an arrondissement, in the department of the Lower Pyrenees. It is well built, and agreeably situated at the confluence of the Nive and Adour, about three miles from the sea. A bar at the mouth of the river, with 13 or 15 feet of water at spring tides and 9 to 11 feet a…
Baza
BAZA (the medieval Bastiana), a city of Spain in the province of Granada, situated in a fruitful valley in the Sierra Nevada, not far from the river of its own name.
Bazard
BAZARD, Arim4.-sn, a French socialist, the founder of a secret political society in France, corresponding to the Carbonari of Italy, and a warm adherent of St Simon, was born at Paris in 1791. He took part in the defence of Paris in 1815, and afterwards occupied a subordinate situation in the prefecture of the Seine. About the year 1820 he united some patriotic friends into a society, which was ca…
Bazigars
BAZIGARS, a tribe of Indians, inhabiting different parts of the peninsula of Hindustan. They are recognised by several appellations, as Bazigars, Panchpiri, Kuujra, or Nate ; they follow a mode of life distinguishing them from the Hindus, among whom they dwell ; they abstain from intermixing their families with the Hindus, and from any intercourse by which they can be united. They are dispersed th…
Bceotia
BCEOTIA (BotoeTio.) a country of Central Greece, bounded on the S. by the Gulf of Corinth, Megaris, and Attica ; on the E. by Attica and the Euripus, which separates it from Eubwa ; on the N. by the territory of the Locri Opuntii ; and on the W. by Phoeis. Its surface is estimated at 1119 English square miles. Surrounded nearly on all sides by mountains, it divides itself naturally into three part…
Bdellium
BDELLIUM, a fragrant gum-resin of a dark-reddish colour, bitter and pungent to the taste.
Be Achy Head
BE ACHY HEAD, a promontory on the coast of Sussex, between Hastings and Brighton, near which the French defeated the English and Dutch fleet in 1690.
Beaconsfield
BEACONSFIELD, a market-town in the county of Buckingham, 23 miles from London, on the road to Oxford.
Bead
BEAD, a small globule or ball used in necklaces, and made of different materials, as pearl, steel, garnet, coral, diamond, amber, glass, rook-crystal, and seeds. The Roman Catholics make great use of beads in rehearsing their Ave-liarias and Pater-nosters, and a similar custom obtains among the religious orders of the East. A string of such beads is called a rosary. Glass.beads were used by the Sp…
Bean
BEAN, the seed of certain leguminous plants cultivated for food all over the world, and furnished chiefly by the genera Faba, Phaseolus, Dolichos, Cajanvs, and Sofa. The common bean, in all its varieties, as cultivated in Britain and on the continents of Europe and America, is the produce of the _Paha vulgaris. The French bean, kidney bean, or haricot, is the seed of the Phaseolus vulgaris; but in…
Bear
BEAR, the common name of the Ursidte, a typical family of Plantigrade Mammals, distinguished by their massive bodies, short limbs, and almost rudimentary tails. With the single exception of the Honey Bear, all the species have forty-two teeth, of-which the incisors and canines closely resemble those of the purely carnivorous mammals ; while the molars, and especially that known as the " carnassial…
Beard
BEARD. The tradition that Adam was created with a beard (which may be described as bushy rather than flowing), is recorded on ancient monuments, and especially on an antique sarcophagus, which is one of the ornaments of the Vatican. The Jews, with the Orientals generally, seem to have accepted the tradition for a law, The beard was a cherished and a sacred thing. Israel brought it safe out of the …
Bear Lake, Great
BEAR LAKE, GREAT, an extensive sheet of fresh water in the north-west of Canada, between 65? and 67' N. lat., and 117? and 123? W. long.
Bearn
BEARN, formerly a small frontier province in the south of France, now included within the department of Basses-Pyrenees, was bounded on the W. by Soule and Lower Navarre, on the N. by Chalosse, Tursan, and Astarac, E. by Bigorre, and S. by the Pyrenees. Its Dame can be traced back to the town of Beneharnum, which first appears in the Antonine Itinerary. The population is mainly of Basque origin, w…
Beaton, David
BEATON, DAVID, archbishop of St Andrews and cardinal, was a younger son of John Beaton of Balfour in the county of Fife, and is said to have been born in the year 1494. He was educated at the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow[and afterwards studied at Paris. His first preferment was the parsonage of Campsie and the chancellorship of the church of Glasgow, to which he was presented in the year…
Beattie, James
BEATTIE, JAMES, a Scottish poet and writer on philosophy, was born at I aurencekirk on the 25th October 1735. His father, a small farmer and shopkeeper, died when he was very young ; but an elder brother took charge of the boy, and observing his aptitude for learning sent him to Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he gained a bursary. In 1753 he was appointed schoolmaster of Fordoun, at the foot of…
Beaucaire
BEAUCAIRE Bellum Quadrum, the beautiful crooked. Its ancient castle of Bellicadro is now in ruins. It gives name to the canal which communicates with the sea, and also connects it with the Languedoc canal, forming part of the line of communication between the Rhone and the Garonne. It is also connected with Nimes and Alais the 13th (or 14th) century, and to which merchants conic the banks of the R…
Beauchamp, Alphonse
BEAUCHAMP, ALPHONSE D; French historian and man of letters, was born at Monaco in 1767, and died in to resign on the Restoration, but was rewarded with a small pension, which was continued to his widow after his death.
Beauharnais, Eugene
BEAUHARNAIS, EUGENE. DE, step-son of Napoleon 1., was born at Paris, September 3, 1781. His father, the Vicomte Alexander de Beauharnais, had been a member of the field, however, brought him under the suspicion of Hu: Revolutionary leaders ; he was tried on a charge of treason, and was executed on 23d June 1794. After the marriage of Napoleon with the ViconitesseJosephine Beauharnais, her son Euge…
Beaumanoir, Philippe De
BEAUMANOIR, PHILIPPE DE, a distinguished writer on French law, was born in the early part of the 13ta century, and died in 1296.
Beaumarchais
BEAUMARCHAIS. PIERRE AUGUSTIN CARON, better known by his acquired title DE BEAUMARCHAIS, the most distinguished French comic dramatist next to Moliere, a,ndaman of much importance during the pre-Revolutionary period, was born at Paris in 1732. His father, who was a watchmaker, brought him up to the same trade. He was an unusually precocious and lively boy, shrewd, sagacious, and, like his sisters,…
Beaumaris
BEAUMARIS (formerly Bornovor, and deriving its present French name of Beau Marais from Edward I.), a borough and market-town of Anglesea, North Wales. It is situated on the Bay of Beaumaris, at the northern entrance of the Menai Straits, in lat. 53? 16' N., long. 4' 5' W. The town consists of several streets ; and at the extremity of the principal one stands the castle. This fortress was built by …
Beaune
BEAUNE, the chief town of an arrondissement in France, in the department of Cote-d'Or, situated on the River Bourzeoise, twenty-three miles S.S.W. of Dijon, on the railway from Paris to Lyons. The town is of poor appearance, but has several buildings of interest, such as the churches of Notre Dame and Saint Pierre, both of the 12th century, the hospital, founded by Nicholas Rollin in 1443, and the…
Beauvais
BEAUVAIS, a town of France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Oise, situated in 49? 26' N. lat. and 2' 14' E. long., about 45 miles N. of Paris, in a valley at the junction of the Avelon and the Therain. The town is irregularly built, but possesses several edifices of historical and architectural interest. Chief among these is the cathedral of Saint Pierre, begun in 1225, continued…
Beaver
BEAVER, the English name of a genus of Mammals belonging to the order Rodentia, the two known species of which are among the largest members of that group. Both beavers, European and American, measure about 2 feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is about 10 inches long, and are covered with the fur to which they owe their chief commercial value. This consists of two kinds of hair, - the on…
Beccafumi, Domenico
BECCAFUMI, DOMENICO, was a distinguished painter of the school of Siena at the beginning of the 16th century. In the early days of the Tuscan republics Siena had been in artistic genius, and almost in political importance, the rival of Florence. But after the great plague in 1348 the city declined ; and though her population always comprised an immense number of skilled artists and artificers, yet…
Beccaria, Cesar Bonesana
BECCARIA, CESAR BONESANA, MARQUIS, a celebrated. writer on the principles of jurisprudence and national economy, was born at Milan in the year 1735. He was educated in the Jesuit College at Parma, and showed at first a great fondness and aptitude for mathematics. The study of Montesquieu seems to have directed his attention towards economical questions ; and his first publication (in 1762) was a t…
Beccaria, Giovanni Battista
BECCARIA, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, a distinguished electrician and practical astronomer, was born at Mondovi on the 2d of October 1716, and entered the religious order of the Pious Schools in 1732. He became professor of experimental physics, first at Palermo and then at Rome, and was appointed to a similar situation at Turin in 1748. lie was afterwards made tutor to the young princes de Chablais and de…
Beccles
BECCLES, a market-town and municipal borough, in the county of Suffolk, on the right bank of the River Waveney, 32 miles N.N.E. of Ipswich.
Becerra, Gaspar
BECERRA, GASPAR, a distinguished Spanish painter and sculptor, was born at Balza in 1520.
Beche-de-mer, Or Trepang
BECHE-DE-MER, or TREPANG, an important food luxury among the Chinese, Japanese, and other Eastern peoples, connected with the production of which a very considerable commerce exists in the Eastern Archipelago, the coasts of New Guinea, and generally on the coral reefs of the Pacific. It consists of several species of echinoderms, generally referred to the genus Holothuria ; but very many varieties…
Becher, Johann Joachim
BECHER, JOHANN JOACHIM, a celebrated chemist, born at Spire in 1635. His father, a Lutheran clergyman, died while he was very young, and the boy was compelled to support himself by teaching. He was a diligent student, and acquired a very extensive acquaintance with chemistry and allied sciences. In 1606, after having travelled through some parts of Europe, he was made professor of medicine at Ment…
Bechwana, Or Betjuana
BECHWANA, or BETJUANA, the name of a nation extending over a large tract of the interior of South Africa, lying between 22? and 28? S. lat. and 22? and 29? E. long. There are remains as well as traditions indicating that they once occupied lands further to the south and north of their present boundaries. The country is bounded on the W. by what may be called the southern Sahara ; on the E. by the …
Becker, Wilhelm Adolf
BECKER, WILHELM ADOLF, a classical archmologist of distinction, was born at Dresden in 1796. He was at first destined for a commercial life, but was, in 1812, sent to the celebrated school at Pforta, whence, in 1816, he passed to the University of Leipsic. Here he had the good fortune to study under the famous Hermann. After holding subordinate posts at Zcrbst and Meissen, he was, in 1836, appoint…
Beckford, William
BECKFORD, WILLIAM, an English author, the son of Alderman Beckford, who was noted for his manly reply to George III. on the presentation of an address from the city of London, was born in 1761. At the age of nine he inherited a large fortune from his father ; and in early life he travelled in Italy, Sicily, Spain, and Portugal, and resided some time near Gin tra, where he had a princely residence.…
Beckmann, Johann
BECKMANN, JOHANN, the author of the history of Inventions, was born in 1739 at Hoy-a in Hanover, where his father was postmaster and receiver of taxes. His mother, who was left a widow before he was seven years of age, sent him to school at Stade; and in 1759 he repaired to the University of Gottiugen with the intention of studying theology, which, however, he soon abandoned in favour of natural s…
Beck, Or Beek
BECK, or BEEK, DAVID, an eminent portrait painter, born in 1621, at Arnheim iii Guelderland.
Bedarrieux
BEDARRIEUX, a town of France, in the department of Herault, situated on the River Orb, with a station on the branch railway from Beziers to Gra issesac.
Beddoes, Thomas
BEDDOES, THOMAS, a physician and scientific writer, was born at Shiffnall, in Shropshire, 13th April 1760. From his infancy he was remarkable for his love of books. His father, who was a tanner, wished him to follow the same calling ; but, mainly through his grandfather's recognition of his abilities, he was educated for one of the learned professions. After studying at Bridgnorth grammar school a…
Beddoes, Thomas Lovell
BEDDOES, THOMAS LOVELL, a modern English dramatist of peculiar and almost unique genius, was the son of the preceding, and was born at Clifton, 20th July 1803. He received his education at the Charter House, and subsequently at Pembroke College, Oxford, at both of which places he displayed a rugged independence of character, combined with eccentricity of demeanour and an aversion to the ordinary c…
Bede, Beda, Or Beda
BEDE, BEDA, or BEDA (commonly called The Venerable Bede), the father of English history, the most learned Englishman and most eminent writer of his age, was born about the year 673, in the neighbourhood of Monkwearmouth, in the N.E. of the county of Durham. The story of his life is told by himself at the conclusion of his most famous and most important work : " Thus much of the Ecclesiastical Hist…
Bedell, William
BEDELL, WILLIAM, bishop of Kilinore and Ardagh, in Ireland, was born at Black Notley, in Essex, in 1570. He was educated at Cambridge, took orders, and, after leaving i the university, settled for some years as clergyman in Bury St Edmunds. He was then appointed chaplain to Sir H. Wotton, English ambassador at Venice. In that town Bedell remained for eight years, acquiring great reputation as a sc…
Bedford
BEDFORD, the county town of Bedfordshire, a municipal and parliamentary borough and market-town, situated in a fertile vale on both sides of the River Ouse, which is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge of five arches. It is 50 miles N.W. of London, and has excellent railway accommodation as well as a navigable river. It is a station on the main line of the Midland Railway. The town consists ch…
Bedford Level
BEDFORD LEVEL, the name given to a flat district on the eastern coast of England, comprising the greater part (amounting to 450,000 acres) of the marshy district called the Fens, the whole Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, and a portion of the north of that county, 30,000 acres of Suffolk, 63,000 acres of Norfolk, 57,000 of Huntingdon, about 8000 of Northamptonshire, and the south-eastern portion of …
Bedfordshire
BEDFORDSHIRE, one of the south midland counties of England, surrounded by the counties of Buckingham, Northampton, Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Hertford. It is the fourth smallest county, containing only 295,509 acres or 461 square miles. Its extreme length from north to south is about 47 miles, and its width 21 miles. The great Ouse, which flows through the county eastward, is navigable from Bedfor…
Bednor
BEDNOR, a town of Hindustan, in the territories of the Raja of Mysore, situated in 13? 50' N. lat., and 75? 6' E. long. In 1645 the seat of government of the Rajas of Ikeri was transferred to this place ; as the inhabitants of the former capital removed with the court, Bednor became a city of great importance, containing, it is said, 20,000 houses, besides huts. It was taken and plundered by Haida…
Beech
BEECH, a well-known tree, the Fergus sylvatwa. For the cultivation and properties of it see ARBORICULTISTRE, vol. ii. p. 317. The name beech is from the Anglo-Saxon boc, bece, or beoce (Ger. Buche, Swedish, bok), words meaning at once a book and a beech-tree. The connection of the beech with the graphic arts is supposed to have originated in the fact that the ancient Runic tablets were formed of t…
Beechey
BEECHEY, Sin WILLI M, R.A., a fashionable portrait-painter, born at Burford in December 1753, was originally bred as a conveyancer, but a strong love for painting induced him to become a pupil at the Royal Academy in 1772. Some of his smaller portraits gained him considerable reputation ; he began to be employed by the nobility, and in 1793 became associate of the Academy. In the same year he was …
Beechey, Frederick William
BEECHEY, FREDERICK WILLIAM, a distinguished naval officer and navigator, son of Sir William Beechey, R.A., was born in London, in 1796. In 1806, at the age of ten, he entered the navy, and was for several years engaged in active service during the wars with France and America. In 1818 he served under Franklin in Buchan's Arctic expedition, of which at a later period he published a narrative ; and …
Beersheba
BEERSHEBA, now BIR-Es-SEBA, a place in the southernmost part of Canaan, 27 miles S.E. from Gaza, celebrated for the sojourn of the patriarchs.
Beet
BEET, A considerable number of varieties of the genus Beta (Nat. Ord. Chenopodiacea) are cultivated for use on account of their large fleshy roots. The beets which are grown as root-plants, under the names of mangel-wurzel or marigold, field-beet, and garden beet, are generally supposed to be cultivated varieties of the sea-beet (B. maritima). The cultivation of beet as a field crop is treated und…
Beethoven, Ludwig Van
BEETHOVEN, LUDWIG VAN, is in music what Shakespeare is in poetry, a name before the greatness of which all other names, however great, seem to dwindle. Ile stands at the end of an epoch in musical history, marking its climax ; but his works at the same time have ushered in a new phase of progress, from which everything that is great in modern music has taken its rise. This historic side of his gen…
Beetle
BEETLE, a name commonly applied to those insects which form the order Coleoptera (" sheathwinged"), and which are readily distinguished from all others by the nature of the two ui per wings. These are formed of a hard, horny substance known as chitin ; and, although useless in flight, they serve as shields for the protection of the delicate wings underneath, while in many cases their hardness prot…
Begas, Karl
BEGAS, KARL, a distinguished German historical painter, was born at Heinsberg in 1794, and died in 1854. His father, a retired judge, destined him for the legal profession, but the boy's tastes pointed definitely in another direction. Even at school he was remarked for his wonderful skill in drawing and painting, and in 1810 he was permitted to visit Paris in order to perfect himself in his art. H…
Begbazaar, Or Beipaz Aar
BEGBAZAAR, or BEIPAZ AAR, a town of Asiatic Turkey, in the _Anatolian province of Angora, situated on the Sangarius or Sakaria, about 52 miles W. of the provincial capital.
Beghards And Beguines
BEGHARDS AND BEGUINES. The nature and history of the Beghards is one of the obscurest problems in medimval times, and nothing very certain has been ascertained. During the Middle Ages there were formed, alongside of the regular orders, companies of men and women who devoted themselves to a religious life, but did not bind themselves by strict vows. The design was to enable men and women, who did n…
Behar
BEHAR, a province of British India, under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, situated between 24? and 28' N. lat., and S3? and 89? E. long. It comprises the districts of Champaran, Tirhut, Shahabad, Saran, Patna, Purniah, Bhdgalpur, and the Santal parganas ; and is bounded on the N. by the independent, kingdom of Nepal ; on the E. by the Rajshalif and Bardwan divisions of Benga…
Behar
BEHAR, a magisterial subdivision, and a town of Patna district.
Behbehan
BEHBEHAN, a town of Persia, in the province of Fars, pleasantly situated in the middle of a highly-cultivated plain, which is watered by the Rivers Zab and Jerahi.
Be Hem, Or Behai31
BE HEM, or BEHAI31, MARTIN, a well-known navigator and cartographer, was born at Nuremberg about 1436. Having entered the service of Portugal, he was appointed, in 1484, to act as geographer in the expedition of Diego Cam to the western coast of Africa, and on his return to Lisbon received the honour of knighthood in reward for his services. He was afterwards employed by the king in various capaci…
Behist Un, Biiiseten
BEHIST UN, BIIISETEN, or BISUTErN, the ancient Paghistan (Mons Baylstanus), a precipitous mountain or rock in Persia, remarkable for the extensive inscriptions of a very early date still preserved on some parts of its escarpment. It lies 27 miles E. of Kirmanshah, in the province of Trek Ajemi. The principal inscription is cuneiform, and relates to the victories of Darius Hystaspes, who is represe…
Behmen, Jacob
BEHMEN, JACOB. See BOEIDIE. BEHN, APHRA, an English authoress of some celebrity, was born of a good family in Canterbury in the reign of Charles I., probably in 1642. Her father, whose name was Johnson, having received the appointment of lieutenant-general of Surinam, proceeded to the West Indies, taking with him his whole family. Mr Johnson died on the voyage; hut his family reached Surinam, and …
Behring's Island
BEHRING'S ISLAND, the most westerly of the Aleutian group in the North Pacific, in 55? 22' N. lat., 166? E. long.
Behring's Strait
BEHRING'S STRAIT, the narrow sea between the N.E. part of Asia and the N.W. part of North America, connecting the North Pacific with the Arctic Ocean. Ott the narrowest part, East. Cape in Asia approaches within about 36 miles of Cape Prince of Wales on the American shore. The former is in 66? 6' N. let., 169? 38' W. long.; and the latter in 65? 46' N. lat., 168' 15' W. long. North and south of th…
Beia
BEIA.W.A.LPUR, a feudatory state in North-Western India, under the political jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjab, lying between 27? 41' and 30? 25' N. tat., and 69? 30' and 73? 58' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by Sind and Panjab, on the E. and S.E. by the British district of Hissar and the Pajput states of Bikaiiir and Jasalmir, and on the S.W. by Sind. The state contains an …
Beira
BEIRA, a province of Portugal, bounded on the N. by the provinces of Traz-os-Montes and Minho, E. by Spain, S. by Alemtejo and Portuguese Estremadura, and W. by the Atlantic. Area about 8586 square miles. Population in 1871, 1,294,282. It is administratively divided into the districts of Aveiro, Coilnbra, Vizeu, C uarda, and Castello Branco, while it is popularly regarded as consisting of the thre…
Beit El Fakih
BEIT EL FAKIH (i.e., House of time Saint), an unwalled town in Arabia, in the province of Yemen, 77 miles N.E. of Mocha, and about 17 from the coast, in 43? 23' E. long., 13' 32' N. lat. It is situated on a barren, sandy plain, protected against the predatory incursions of the Arabs by a castle, in which the governor resides. It was founded in the 17th century by the inhabitants of the seaboard to…
Bejar
BEJAR, a fortified town of Spain, in the province of Salamanca, situated on the River Cuerpo de Hombre, in a deep and fertile valley of the Sierra de Bejar, about 45 miles S. of the provincial capital.
Beke, Charles Tilstone
BEKE, CHARLES TILSTONE, a distinguished English traveller, geographer, and Biblical critic, was born in London, October 10, 1800. Educated for the pursuits of commerce, he afterwards studied law for a short time at Lincoln's Inn, but finally devoted himself to the study of historical, geographical, and ethnographical subjects. The first-fruits of his researches appeared in his work entitled Oriyin…
Bekes
BEKES, a market-town of Hungary, formerly a royal free city, and the capital of the county of the same name, situated at the confluence of the White and Black Kiirbs, 14 miles N.N.W. of Gyula, which is now the capital.
Bekker, B-althazar
BEKKER, B-ALTHAZAR, a celebrated Dutch divine, was born in Friesland in 1634.
Bekker, Ialilanuel
BEKKER, IALILANUEL, a distinguished philologist, was born at Berlin in 1785, and died 7th June 1871. He completed his classical education at the university of Halle under the famous F. A. Wolf, who was accustomed to speak of him as his most promising pupil. In 1810 he was appointed to a professorship in the university of Berlin. For several years, between 1810 and 1821, he travelled in France, Ita…
Bekker, Or Wolff
BEKKER, or WOLFF, ELIZABETH, a Dutch novelist, was born in 1738.
Bela, Or Beyla
BELA, or BEYLA, a town of Baluchistan, capital of the province of Lus, on the north-eastern bank of the River Poor-ally, 293 miles N. of Khelat.
Belbeis, Or Belbeys
BELBEIS, or BELBEYS, a town of Upper Egypt, in the province of Kelyubieh, on the eastern arm of the Nile, 28 miles N.N.E. of Cairo.
Belfast
BELFAST, the chief manufacturing and commercial town of Ireland, a municipal and parliamentary borough, the capital of Ulster, and, since 1850, the county town of Antrim, in which, with the exception of the large suburb of Ballymacarret on the other side of the river, it is mainly comprised. It is situated in lat. 54? 36' 8.5" N., and long. 5? 55' 53.7" W., at the mouth of the Lagan, which flows …
Belfort
BELFORT, BtFonT, or BEDFORT, a second-class fortified town of France, was formerly in the department of Upper Rhine, and capital of an arrondissement ; but since the peace of 1871, it has given name to a separate territory not as yet incorporated with any department. It is situated on the left bank of the Sauvoureuse, 38 miles S.S.W. of Colmar, at the intersection of several important roads and ra…
Belgam
BELGAM [BELGAum], a district of British India in the Bombay Presidency, extending from 15? 30' to 16? 15' N. lat., and 74? to 76' 30' E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the state of Miraj, on the N.E. by the Raladgi collectorate, on the E. by the states of Jamkhandi and Mudho], on the S. by the collectorates of Dharwar and Kanara, on the S.W. by the Portuguese territory of Goa, and on the IV. by …
Belgium
BELGIUM (Fr. Belgique, Ger. Belgien), is one of the smaller of the European states, among which it ranks and 6? 7' E. ; and is bounded on the N. by Holland, E. by Dutch Limbourg, Luxembourg, and Rhenish Prussia, S. and S.W. by France, and N.W. by the North Sea. It is somewhat triangular in form, the longest side - that which adjoins France - being 384 miles in length. The length of its other boun…
Belgrade
BELGRADE (in Servian, Bielyorocl, or White Town), the capital of the Servian principality, situated at the confluence of the Save and the Danube, on the right bank of the latter stream, opposite the Austrian town and fortress of Semlin. Lat. 44' 47' N., long. 20? 28' E. It is built both on, and at the side of, a northern spur of the Avala heights, the rocky summit being crowned by its once famous …
Belief
BELIEF (7ricrrts, Fides, Foi, Glaztbe), with its synonyms Assurance, Confidence, Conviction, Credence, Trust, Persuasion, Faith, is in popular language taken to mean the acceptation of something as true which is not known to be true, the mental attitude being a conviction that is not so strong as certainty, but is stronger than mere opinion. For the grounds of such conviction, ordinary language re…
Belisarius
BELISARIUS (Sclavonic, Beli-tzar, " White-Prince "), the greatest general of the Byzantine empire, was born about 505 A.D., at Germania, on the borders of Illyria. As a youth he served in the body-guard of Justinian, who appointed him commander of the Eastern army. He won a signal victory over the Persians in 530, and successfully conducted a campaign against them, until forced, by the rashness of…
Belize
BELIZE, the capital of British Honduras, and the only trading-port in the colony.
Belknap, Jeremy
BELKNAP, JEREMY, an American clergyman and author, was born at Boston in 1744 and died in 1798.
Bell
BELL (from Ang. Sax. bellan, to resound, akin to peol),an open percussion instrument varying in shape and Material, but usually cup-like or globular and metallic, so constructed. as to yield one dominant note. This definition excludes on the score of sound the cauldrons of Dodona (Dodoncei lebetcs of the Greek oracular temples), and also the Chinese or Indian gongs, and, on the score of shape, all…
Bell
BELL, Sin CHARLES, K.H., the youngest son of the Rev. William Bell, a clergyman of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, was born at Edinburgh, November 1774. His mother. .Margaret Morice, the elder daughter of an Episcopal clergyman, was remarkable for her piety and general accomplishments, and she exercised a powerful influence over her gifted sons. The father, William Bell, after a life of contendi…
Belladonna, Dwale, Or Deadly Nightshade
BELLADONNA, DWALE, or DEADLY NIGHTSHADE (Atropa Belladonna), a tall bushy herb of the natural order Solanaceea, growing to a height of 4 or 5 feet, having leaves of a dull green colour, with a black shining berry fruit about the size of a cherry, and a large tapering root. The plant is a native of Central and South Europe, extending into Asia, and it is also found in waste places and hedgerows of …
Bellai, Or Bellay
BELLAI, or BELLAY, GUILLAUME DU, lord of Langey, a French general, who signalized himself in the service of Francis I., was born at Glatigny in 1491. He was considered the ablest captain of the time, and his great abilities as a negotiator occasioned the remark of the Emperor Charles V., that " Langey's pen had fought more against him than all the lances in France." He was sent in 1537 as viceroy …
Bellamy, Jacobus
BELLAMY, JACOBUS, a Dutch poet, was born at Flushing in 1757.
Bellarmine
BELLARMINE (Ital. BELLA.RMINO), ROBERT FRANCIS RomuLus, Cardinal, Catholic theologian and polemic, was born, October 4, 1542, at Montepulciano, in Tuscany. He was destined by his father for state service, but his inclinations were too strong to be restrained, and at the age of eighteen he entered the Society of Jesus. After studying in various colleges for some years, he was appointed by the order…
Bella, Stefano De La
BELLA, STEFANO DE LA, engraver, was born at Florence in 1610.
Bellay, Joachim
BELLAY, JOACHIM nu, an eminent French poet and member of the Pleiad, was born late in 1524, at Lyre, on the left bank of the Loire, not far from Angers. In the absence of documents we are thrown upon the autobiographical passages in his poems for information about the events of his life, and these, fortunately, are copious. From these, and especially from the beautiful Latin elegy addressed to his…
Bell, Dr
BELL, DR AximEw, a clergyman of the Church of England well known for his philanthropic efforts in the I cause of education, and more particularly for his success in extending the monitorial system of instruction in schools, was born at St Andrews in 1753. He graduated at the university of that town, and afterwards spent some years in America. In 1789 he was chaplain at Fort St George, and minister…
Belleau, Remy
BELLEAU, REMY, French poet of the Renaissance, and member of the Pleiad, was born at Nogent-le-Rotrou in 1528. He became attached to the Elbceufs, and accompanied the head of the family in the expedition against Naples in 1557, where he did good military service. On Iris return he was made tutor to the young Charles, marquis d'Elbceuf, who, under Belleau's training, became a great patron of the mu…
Belle-isle-en-mer
BELLE-ISLE-EN-MER, an island on the W. coast of France, belonging to the department of Morbihan. It is about 10 miles in length by 4 or 5 in breath, and is divided into the four communes of Palais, Bangor, Porte Philippe, and Locmaria. The inhabitants are principally engaged in agriculture and the fisheries, and in the preservation of sardines, anchovies, Six. The breed of draught horses in the is…
Bellenden, John
BELLENDEN, JOHN, a Scotch poet, and the translator of Boece's History, was born about the beginning of the 16th century, probably in East Lothian. He appears to have been educated, first at the University of St Andrews and then at that of Paris, where he took the degree of doctor. From his own statement we learn that he had been in the service of James V. from the king's earliest years, and that t…
Bellenden, William
BELLENDEN, WILLIAM, a distinguished classical scholar, who flourished during the early part of the 17th century, is said to have been a professor at the University of Paris. Nothing is known with certainty of his life, except that he held the office, probably a sinecure, of Master of Requests. The first of the works by which he is known was published in 1608, with the title Ciceronis Princeps, Rat…
Bellerophon
BELLEROPHON (13EXXrpoq5(7.a, or BEXXEpo4KIvrqs.), in Greek Legend, a local hero of Corinth, but partly also connected with, and partly similar to, Perseus, the local hero of the neighbouring Argos, the points of likeness being such as to suggest that they had originally been one and the same hero, while the difference in their exploits might result from the rivalry of the two towns. Both are conne…
Belleville
BELLEVILLE, a city of the United States of America, capital of the county of St Clair in Illinois, situated about 14 miles S.E. of St Louis on a rising ground, in the midst of a fertile district.
Belley
BELLEY, the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Ain, France, is situated near the Rhone, 39 miles east of Lyons.
Bell, Henry Glassford
BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD, was born at Glasgow in II. 1805, and received his education at the High School of that city. He afterwards studied at Edinburgh and became intimate with Moir, Hogg, Wilson, and others of the brilliant staff of Blackwood's Magazine, to which he was drawn by his political sympathies. In 1828 he became editor of the Edinburgh Literary Journal, which proved unsuccessful. He pass…
Bellini
BELLINI, the name of an honourable Venetian family. Three members of this family fill a great place in the history of the Venetian school of painting in the 15th century and at the beginning of the 16th. In their hands the art of Venice was developed from a condition more primitive and archaic than that of any other school in Italy, and advanced to the final perfection of Giorgione and of Titian. …
