The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
by
Edited by Rev. James Wood

Part 8 out of 53



BOEHME, JACOB, a celebrated German mystic, born at Goerlitz; of an
imaginatively meditative turn from boyhood as a neat-herd, and afterwards
in his stall as a shoemaker; spent his whole life in meditation on divine
things; saw in the Bible a revelation of these as in no other book;
seemed to have eyes given him to see visions of these things himself, for
which he felt he had no organ to express, and which he conveyed to others
in mystical, apocalyptical speech; a thinker very fascinating to all
minds of the seer class. He was subject to persecution, as all of his
stamp are, by the men of the letter, and bore up with the meekness which
all men of his elevation of character ever do--"quiet, gentle, and
modest," as they all are to the very core, in his way of thinking; and
his philosophy would seem to have anticipated the secret of Hegel, who
acknowledges him as one of the fathers of German philosophy. He left
writings which embody a scheme of mystical theology, setting forth the
trinity in unity of the Hegelian system, that is, viewing the divine as
it is in itself, as it comes out in nature, and as it returns to itself
in the human soul (1575-1624).


BOEHMER, a German historian, born at Frankfort; author of works on
the Carlovingian period of history (1795-1863).


BOEO`TIA, a country of ancient Greece, N. of the Gulf of Corinth;
the natives, though brave, were mere tillers of the soil under a heavy
atmosphere, innocent of culture, and regarded as boors and dullards by
the educated classes of Greece, and particularly of Athens, and yet
Hesiod, Pindar, and Plutarch were natives of Boeotia.


BOERHAAVE, a great physician, born near Leyden, and son of a pastor;
ultimately professor of Medicine and Botany there, as well as of
Chemistry; chairs of which he filled and adorned with the greatest
distinction; his reputation spread over Europe, and even as far as
China--a letter from which bore the simple address, "To M. Boerhaave,
Europe," and found him; his system was adopted by the profession, and
patients from far and wide came to consult him--among others, Pope
Benedict VIII. and Peter the Great; his character was as noble as his
abilities were great; his principal works were "Institutiones Medicae,"
"Aphorismi de Cognoscendis et Curandis Morbis," "Libellus de Materia
Medica," and "Institutiones Chemicae" (1668-1738).


BOERS (i. e. peasants engaged in tillage), Dutch colonists of an
independent republican temper, who in the 17th century squatted in S.
Africa; gave themselves to agriculture and cattle-rearing; settled at
length in the Transvaal in a self-governed community by themselves.


BOETHIUS, ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS, a Roman statesman, born at
Rome, of Consular rank, a profoundly learned man, held the highest
offices, Consul among others, under Theodoric the Goth; his integrity and
opposition to injustice procured him enemies, who accused him of treason;
he was cast into prison, and finally put to death; wrote in prison his
"De Consolatione Philosophiae," in five parts, employing verse and prose
alternately, which King Alfred translated into Anglo-Saxon; he was
canonised as a martyr, and his influence was great during the Middle Ages
(470-524).


BOEUF, FRONT DE, a character in "Ivanhoe."


BOGATZKY, KARL HEINRICH VON, religious writer; wrote hymns and an
autobiography; is best known as the author of the "Golden Treasury"
(1690-1744).


BOGDANOVITCH, a Russian poet, called by his countrymen the "Russian
Anacreon"; his best-known poem "Psyche" (1743-1803).


BOGERMANN, JOHANN, Dutch divine, translated the Bible into Dutch,
and was President of the Synod of Dort (1576-1633).


BOGOTA` (100), capital of the United State of Colombia, situated on
a remarkable, almost mountain-encircled, plateau, on the river Bogota, 65
m. SE. of its port, Honda, the highest navigable point of the Magdalena,
is 8600 ft. above sea-level, and has a spring-like climate. It is
regularly built, with innumerable churches, a mint, university, library,
and observatory, and several schools. Though the country is fertile and
the mountains rich in coal, iron, salt, and precious metals, its
situation and the want of a railway hinder trade.


BOG-TROTTER, a name given to the Scottish moss-troopers, now to
certain Irish for their agility in escaping over bogs.


BOGUE, DAVID, born in Berwickshire, a Congregational minister; one
of the founders of the London Foreign Missionary, the Foreign Bible, and
the Religious Tract Societies (1750-1825).


BOHEMIA (5,843), the most northerly province in Austria, two-thirds
the size of Scotland; is encircled by mountains, and drained by the upper
Elbe and its tributaries. The Erzgebirge separate it from Saxony; the
Riesengebirge, from Prussia; the Boehmerwald, from Bavaria; and the
Moravian Mountains, from Moravia. The mineral wealth is varied and great,
including coal, the most useful metals, silver, sulphur, and porcelain
clay. The climate is mild in the valleys, the soil fertile; flax and hops
the chief products; forests are extensive. Dyeing, calico-printing, linen
and woollen manufactures, are the chief industries. The glassware is
widely celebrated; there are iron-works and sugar-refineries. The transit
trade is very valuable. The people are mostly Czechs, of the Slavonic
race, Roman Catholics in religion; there is a large and influential
German minority of about two millions, with whom the Czechs, who are
twice as numerous, do not amalgamate; the former being riled at the
official use of the Czech language, and the latter agitating for the
elevation of the province to the same status as that of Hungary.
Education is better than elsewhere in Austria; there is a university at
Prague, the capital. In the 16th century the crown was united with the
Austrian, but in 1608 religious questions led to the election of the
Protestant Frederick V. This was followed by the Thirty Years' War, the
extermination of the Protestants, and the restoration of the Austrian
House.


BOHEMIAN, name given to one who lives by his wits and shuns
conventionality.


BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, a fraternity of an extreme sect of the Hussites,
organised as United Brethren in 1455; broken up in the Thirty Years' War,
met in secret, and were invited, under the name of Moravians or
Herrnhuters, by Count Zinzendorf to settle on his estate.


BOHEMOND, first prince of Antioch, son of Robert Guiscard; set out
on the first crusade; besieged and took Antioch; was besieged in turn by
the Saracens, and imprisoned for two years; liberated, he collected
troops and recaptured the city (1056-1111).


BOHLEN, VON, a German Orientalist, professor at Koenigsberg
(1796-1840).


BONN, HENRY GEORGE, an enterprising publisher, a German, born in
London; issued a series of works identified with his name (1796-1884).


BOeHTLINGK, OTTO, Sanskrit scholar, a German, born in St. Petersburg;
author, among other works, of a Sanskrit dictionary in 7 vols.; _b_.1815.


BOIARDO, MATTEO MARIA, Count of Scandiano, surnamed the "Flower of
Chivalry"; an Italian poet, courtier, diplomatist, and statesman; author
of "Orlando Innamorato" (1456), the model of Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso,"
which eclipsed it (1434-1494).


BOIELDIEU, ADRIEN FRANCOIS, a distinguished French musical composer
of operas; author of the "Calife de Bagdad," "Telemaque," and "La Dame
Blanche," reckoned his masterpiece; called the French Mozart (1775-1834).


BOIGNE, COUNT DE, a French soldier of fortune, born at Chambery;
served under France, Russia, East India Company, and the prince of the
Mahrattas, to whom he rendered signal service; amassed wealth, which he
dealt out generously and for the benefit of his country (1751-1830).


BOII, an ancient people of Gaul, occupying territory between the
Allier and the Loire.


BOILEAU, NICOLAS (surnamed Despreaux, to distinguish him from his
brother), poet and critic, born in Paris; brought up to the law, but
devoted to letters, associating himself with La Fontaine, Racine, and
Moliere; author of "Satires" and "Epistles," "L'Art Poetique," "Le
Lutrin," &c., in which he attached and employed his wit against the bad
taste of his time; did much to reform French poetry, as Pascal did to
reform the prose, and was for long the law-giver of Parnassus; was an
imitator of Pope, but especially of Horace (1636-1711).


BOISARD, a French fabulist of remarkable fecundity (1743-1831).


BOIS-GUILLEBERT, a French economist, cousin of Vauban; advocate of
free trade; _d_. 1714.


BOIS-LE-DUC (27), capital of North Brabant, 45 m. SE. of Amsterdam,
and with a fine cathedral; seat of an archbishop.


BOISMONT, THE ABBE, one of the best French pulpit orators of the
18th century (1715-1786).


BOISROBERT, THE ABBE, a French poet, one of the first members of the
French Academy; patronised by Richelieu (1592-1662).


BOISSONADE, JEAN FRANCOIS, a French Greek scholar; for a time
carried away by the revolutionary movement, but abandoned politics for
letters (1774-1857).


BOISSIERE, a French lexicographer (1806-1885).


BOISSY D'ANGLAS, COUNT, a member and president of the Convention in
Paris, noted for his firmness and coolness during the frenzy of the
Revolution: one day the Parisian mob burst in upon the Convention, shot
dead a young deputy, Feraud, "sweeping the members of it before them to
the upper-bench ... covered, the president sat unyielding, like a rock in
the beating of seas; they menaced him, levelled muskets at him, he
yielded not; they held up Feraud's bloody head to him; with grave, stern
air he bowed to it, and yielded not"; became a senator and commander of
the Legion of Honour under Napoleon; was made a peer by Louis XVIII.
(1756-1826).


BOISTE, a French lexicographer (1765-1824).


BOKHA`RA (1,800), a Mohammedan State in Central Asia, N. of
Afghanistan, nominally independent; but the Khan is a vassal of the Czar.
The surface is arid, and cultivation possible only near the rivers-the
Oxus, Zarafshan, and Karshi. In the sands of the Oxus, gold and salt are
found. Rice, cotton, and cereals are grown; silk, cotton-thread,
jewellery, cutlery, and firearms are manufactured. The people are of Turk
and Persian origin. The capital, Bokhara (70), is on the plain of the
Zarafshan, a walled, mud-built city, 8 or 9 m. in circumference, with
numerous colleges and mosques, the centre of learning and religious life
in Central Asia. It has important trade and large slave markets.


BOLAN` PASS, a high-lying, deep, narrow gorge, extending between
Quetta (Beluchistan) and Kandahar (Afghanistan), sloping upwards at an
inclination of 90 ft. a mile; is traversed by a torrent.


BOLESLAUS, the name of several dukes of Poland, of whom the most
famous is Boleslaus I. the Great, who ruled from 992 to 1025.


BOLEYN, ANNE, or BULLEN, second wife of Henry VIII. and mother
of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thoman Bullen (afterwards Earl of
Wiltshire); after a three years' residence at the French Court became
maid of honour to Queen Katherine; attracted the admiration of Henry; was
married to him, and became queen; charged with adultery and conspiracy,
was found guilty and beheaded; was of the Reformed faith; her marriage
with Henry had important bearings on the English Reformation (1507-1536).


BOLINGBROKE, HENRY ST. JOHN, VISCOUNT, English statesman, orator,
and political writer, born at Battersea; Prime Minister of Queen Anne in
the Tory interest, after her dismissal of the Whigs; on the accession of
George I. fled to France and joined the Pretender; was impeached and
attainted; returned in 1723 to his estates, but denied a seat in the
House of Lords, an indignity which he resented by working the overthrow
of Walpole; was the friend of Pope and Swift, and the author of "Letters"
bearing upon politics and literature. "Bolingbroke," says Prof.
Saintsbury, "is a rhetorician pure and simple, but the subjects of his
rhetoric were not the great and perennial subjects, but puny ephemeral
forms of them--the partisan and personal politics of his day, the
singularly shallow form of infidelity called Deism and the like; and his
time deprived him of many, if not most, of the rhetorician's most telling
weapons. The 'Letter to Windham,' a sort of apologia, and the 'Ideal of a
Patriot King,' exhibit him at his best." It was he who suggested to Pope
his "Essay on Man" (1678-1751).


BOLIVAR, SIMON, surnamed the Liberator, general and statesman, born
at Caracas; a man of good birth and liberal education; seized with the
passion for freedom during a visit to Madrid and Paris, devoted himself
to the cause of S. American independence; freed from the yoke of Spain
Venezuela and New Grenada, which, in 1819, he erected into a republic
under the name of Colombia; achieved in 1824 the same for Upper Peru,
henceforth called Bolivia, after his name; accused of aspiring to the
Dictatorship, he abdicated, and was preparing to leave the country when
he died of fever, with the sage reflection on his lips, "The presence of
a soldier, however disinterested he may be, is always dangerous in a
State that is new to freedom"; he has been called the Washington of S.
America (1783-1830).


BOLIVIA (1,500), an inland republic of S. America, occupying lofty
tablelands E. of the Andes, and surrounded by Peru, Brazil, Paraguay,
Argentina, and Chili. The S. is chiefly desert; in the N. are Lake
Titicaca and many well-watered valleys. The very varied heights afford
all kinds of vegetation, from wheat and maize to tropical fruits. In the
lower plains coffee, tobacco, cotton, and cinchona are cultivated. The
most important industry is mining: gold, silver, copper, and tin. Trade
is hampered by want of navigable rivers, but helped by railways from
Chili, Peru, and Argentina. Silver is the chief export; manufactured
goods are imported. The country has been independent since 1825; it lost
its sea provinces in the war with Chili, 1879-83. The capital is Sucre
(12), but La Pay (45) and Cochabamba (14) are larger towns.


BOLLAND, JOHN, a Jesuit of Antwerp, born in Belgium; compiled five
vols. of the Lives of the Saints called "Acta Sanctorum," which was
continued by others, called after him "Bollandists."


BOLLANDISTS, a succession of Jesuits who produced the Lives of the
Saints, now extended to sixty vols.


BOLOGNA (147), an ancient walled city of Italy, on a fertile plain,
at the foot of the Lower Apennines, 83 m. N. of Florence; has many fine
buildings, a university, one of the oldest in Europe, schools of music
and art, libraries, and art collections. There are some silk and other
industries, and considerable trade.


BOLOGNA, JOHN OF, one of the most celebrated sculptors of art in his
time, born at Douai, settled at Florence (1524-1608).


BOLOR-TAGH, a high tableland in Central Asia, stretching from the
Hindu Kush mountains northwards to the Tian Shan.


BOLSE`NA, a small town in Italy, on the E. shore of Lake Bolsena.


BOLSENA, a lake with clear water in a hollow crater of a volcano,
and abounding with fish, but with an unwholesome atmosphere.


BOLTON (115), manufacturing town of Lancashire.


BOLTON ABBEY, an old abbey in Yorkshire, 6 m. E. of Skipton; was
founded by the Augustinian canons.


BOMA, a station on the Lower Congo, in the Congo Independent State;
once a great slave mart.


BOMARSUND, a fortress of the island of Aland occupied by Russia,
destroyed by the Anglo-French fleet in 1854; the Russians bound not to
restore it.


BOMBA, nickname of Ferdinand II., late king of the Two Sicilies,
given him, it is alleged, from his calling upon his soldiers to bombard
his people during an insurrection.


BOMBASTES FURIOSO, an opera by Thomas Rhodes in ridicule of the
bombastic style of certain tragedies in vogue.


BOMBAY (26,960), the western Presidency of India, embraces 26
British districts and 19 feudatory states. N. of the Nerbudda River the
country is flat and fertile; S. of it are mountain ranges and tablelands.
In the fertile N. cotton, opium, and wheat are the staple products. In
the S., salt, iron, and gold are mined; but coal is wanting. The climate
is hot and moist on the coast and in the plains, but pleasant on the
plateaux. Cotton manufacture has developed extensively and cotton cloths,
with sugar, tea, wool, and drugs are exported. Machinery, oil, coal, and
liquors are imported. BOMBAY (822), the chief city, stands on an
island, connected with the coast by a causeway, and has a magnificent
harbour and noble docks. It is rapidly surpassing Calcutta in trade, and
is one of the greatest of seaports; its position promises to make it the
most important commercial centre in the East, as it already is in the
cotton trade of the world. It swarms with people of every clime, and its
merchandise is mainly in the hands of the Parsees, the descendants of the
ancient fire-worshippers. It is the most English town in India. It came
to England from Portugal as dowry with Catherine of Braganza, wife of
Charles II., who leased it to the East India Company for L10 a year. Its
prosperity began when the Civil War in America afforded it an opening for
its cotton.


BON GAULTIER, _nom de plume_ assumed by Professor Aytoun and Sir
Theodore Martin.


BONA (30), a seaport in Algeria, in the province of Constantine, on
a bay of the Mediterranean, with an excellent harbour and a growing
trade; is much improved since its occupation by the French in 1832. Near
it are the ruins of Hippo, the episcopal city of Augustine.


BONA, an ascetic writer, surnamed the Fenelon of Italy, one of
feuillant order of monks (1609-1674).


BONA DEA (the good goddess), a Roman goddess of fertility,
worshipped by women; her priests vestals and her worship by rites from
which men were excluded. Her symbol was a serpent, but the name under
which she was worshipped is not known.


BONALD, VICOMTE DE, a French publicist, a violent royalist and
ultramontanist; looked upon the Catholic religion and the royal authority
as fundamental to the stability of the social fabric, and was opposed to
the law of divorce, which led to its alteration. He denied that language
was innate, but revealed, and that causation was inherent in matter
(1758-1840).


BONAPARTE, name of a celebrated family of Italian origin settled in
Corsica; the principal members of it were: CHARLES MARIE, born at
Ajaccio, 1744; died at Montpellier, 1785; married, 1767. MARIE-LAETITIA
RAMOLINO, born at Ajaccio, 1750; died at Rome, 1836; of this union were
born eight children: JOSEPH, became king of Naples, 1806; king of Spain
from 1808 to 1813; retired to United States after Waterloo; returned to
Europe, and died at Florence, 1844. NAPOLEON I. (q. v.). LUCIEN, _b_.
1775; became president of the Council of the Five Hundred, and prince of
Canino; died in Viterbo, 1840. MARIE-ANNE-ELIZA, _b_. 1777; married Felix
Bacciochi, who became prince of Lucca; died at Trieste, 1826. LOUIS, _b_.
1778; married Hortense de Beauharnais; father of Napoleon III.; king of
Holland (from 1806 to 1810); died at Leghorn, 1846. MARIE PAULINE, _b_.
1780; married General Leclerc, 1801; afterwards, in 1803, Prince Camille
Borghese; became Duchess of Guastalla; died at Florence, 1825.
CAROLINE-MARIE, _b_. 1782; married Marat in 1800; became Grand-duchess of
Berg and Cleves, then queen of Naples; died at Florence, 1839. Jerome,
_b_. 1784, king of Westphalia (from 1807 to 1813); marshal of France in
1850; married, by second marriage, Princess Catherine of Wuertemburg; died
in 1860; his daughter, the Princess Mathilde, _b_. 1820, and his son,
Prince Napoleon, called Jerome, _b_. 1822, married Princess Clothilde,
daughter of Victor Emmanuel, of which marriage was born Prince Victor
Napoleon in 1862.


BONAR, HORATIUS, a clergyman of the Free Church of Scotland, and a
celebrated hymn writer, born at Edinburgh (1808-1889).


BONAVENTURA, ST., cardinal, surnamed the Seraphic Doctor, his real
name John Fidenza, born in Tuscany; entered the Franciscan Order; was
chosen general of the Order and papal legate at the Council of Lyons in
1274, during the session of which he died; was a mystic in theology;
ascribed knowledge of the truth to union with God, such as existed
between man and his Maker prior to the Fall, a state which could be
recovered only by a life of purity and prayer; his writings were admired
by Luther (1221-1274).


BONCHAMP, CHARLES, MARQUIS DE, French general, born in Anjou, served
in the American war; became one of the chiefs of the Vendean army; fell
at the battle of Cholet, and when dying, relented over the blood already
shed; ordered the release of 5000 prisoners which his party, in their
revenge, was about to massacre; _d_. 1793.


BOND, WILLIAM, a distinguished American astronomer (1789-1815), who
with his son, GEORGE PHILLIPS, discovered a satellite of Neptune and
an eighth satellite of Saturn (1826-1865).


BONDU (30), a country of Senegambia, a dependency of France; yields
maize, cotton, fruits.


BONE, HENRY, a celebrated enamel painter, especially in miniature on
ivory; born at Truro (1755-1834).


BONER, ULRICH, a German fabulist and Dominican monk of the 14th
century, author of "Der Edelstein" (The Jewel), a book of fables.


BONHEUR, ROSA, a celebrated French animal painter, born at Bordeaux;
brought up in poverty from ill-fortune; taught by her father; exhibited
when she was 19; her best-known works are the "Horse Fair" and the "Hay
Harvest in Auvergne," "Ploughing with Oxen," considered her masterpiece;
through the Empress Eugenie she received the Cross of the Legion of
Honour; during the siege of Paris her studio was spared by order of the
Crown Prince; _b_. 1822.


BONHOMME, JACQUES, a name of contempt given by the nobility of
France to the peasants in the 14th century.


BONIFACE, the name of nine popes. B. I., pope from 418 to 422, assumed
the title of First Bishop of Christendom; B. II., pope from 530 to 532;
B. III., pope for 10 months, from 607 to 608; B. IV., pope from 608 to
614; B. V., pope from 617 to 625; B. VI., pope in 896; B. VII., pope from
974 to 985; B. VIII., pope from 1294 to 1303, a strenuous assertor of the
papal supremacy over all princes, and a cause of much turmoil in Europe,
provoked a war with Philip the Fair of France, who arrested him at
Anagni, and though liberated by the citizens died on his way to Rome; B.
IX., pope from 1389 to 1405, the first pope to wear the Triple Crown.


BONIFACE, ST., the Apostle of Germany, born in Devonshire, his real
name Winfried; consecrated Pepin le Bref; was made Primate of Germany;
was, with 53 companions, massacred by the barbarians of Friesland, whom
he sought to convert (680-755).


BONIN`, a group of rocky islands SE. of Japan, and since 1878
subject to it.


BONINGTON, RICHARD, an eminent English landscape painter of
exceptional precocity, born near Nottingham; painted the "Ducal Palace"
and "Grand Canal" at Venice, his masterpieces (1801-1828).


BONIVARD, FRANCOIS DE, a Genevese patriot and historian, twice
imprisoned by Charles III., a Duke of Savoy, for his sympathy with the
struggles of the Genevese against his tyranny, the second time for six
years in the Castle of Chillon; immortalised by Lord Byron in his
"Prisoner of Chillon"; he was released at the Reformation, and adopted
Protestantism (1496-1571).


BONN (38), a Prussian town on the Rhine, SE. of Cologne, an old
Roman station, with a famous university; the birthplace of Beethoven,
with a monument to his memory; it is a stronghold of the old Catholics.


BONNAT, JOSEPH LEON, a French painter, born at Bayonne; imitated for
a time the religious paintings of the old masters, but since 1862 has
followed a style of his own; "Christ at the Cross" in the Palais de
Justice, Paris, is his work; _b_. 1833.


BONNER, EDMUND, bishop of London, born at Worcester; was chaplain to
Wolsey; sided with Henry VIII. against the Pope; fell into disgrace under
Edward VI.; was restored by Mary, whom he served in her Anti-Protestant
zeal; affected to welcome Elizabeth to the throne; was again deposed and
imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of supremacy under Elizabeth;
died in the Marshalsea Prison: he does not deserve all the odium that has
been heaped on his memory; he was faithful as a bishop, consistent in his
conduct, and bore the indignities done him with manly fortitude
(1495-1569).


BONNET, CHARLES DE, Swiss naturalist and philosopher, born at
Geneva; his studies as a naturalist gave a materialistic cast to his
philosophy; though he did not deny the existence of mind, still less that
of its sovereign Author, he gave to material impressions a dominant
influence in determining its manifestations (1720-1793).


BONNET-PIECE, a gold coin of James V. of Scotland, so called from
the king being represented on it as wearing a bonnet instead of a crown.


BONNEVAL, CLAUDE-ALEXANDRE, COMTE DE. See ACHMED PASHA.


BONNIE DUNDEE, Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee.


BONPLAND, AIME, a French botanist and traveller, born at Rochelle;
companion of Alexander von Humboldt in his S. American scientific
explorations; brought home a large collection of plants, thousands of
species of them new to Europe; went out again to America, arrested by Dr.
Francia in Paraguay as a spy, kept prisoner there for about nine years;
released, settled in the prov. of Corrientes, where he died; wrote
several works bearing on plants (1773-1858).


BONSTETTEN, CHARLES VICTOR DE, a Swiss publicist and judge, born at
Berne; wrote on anthropology, psychology, &c. (1745-1832).


BONTEMPS, ROGER, a French personification of a state of leisure and
freedom from care.


BONZE, a Buddhist priest in China, Japan, Burmah, &c.


BOOLE, English mathematician, born at Lincoln; mathematical
professor at Cork; author of "Laws of Thought," an original work, and
"Differential Equations" (1815-1864).


BOOMERANG, a missile of hard curved wood used by the Australian
aborigines of 21/2 ft. long; a deadly weapon, so constructed that, though
thrown forward, it takes a whirling course upwards till it stops, when it
returns with a swoop and falls in the rear of the thrower.


BOONE, DANIEL, a famous American backwoodsman; _d_. 1822, aged 84.


BOOeTES (the ox-driver or waggoner), a son of Ceres; inventor of the
plough in the Greek mythology; translated along with his ox to become a
constellation in the northern sky, the brightest star in which is
Arcturus.


BOOTH, BARTON, English actor, acted Shakespearean, characters and
Hamlet's ghost (1681-1733).


BOOTH, JOHN WILKES, son of an actor, assassinated Lincoln, and was
shot by his captors (1839-1865).


BOOTH, WILLIAM, founder and general of the Salvation Army, born in
Nottingham; published "In Darkest England"; a man of singular
self-devotion to the religious and social welfare of the race; _b_. 1839.


BOOTHIA, a peninsula of British N. America, W. of the Gulf of
Boothia, and in which the N. magnetic pole of the earth is situated;
discovered by Sir John Boss in 1830.


BOOTON, an island in the Malay Archipelago, SE. of Celebes; subject
to the Dutch.


BOPP, FRANZ, a celebrated German philologist and Sanskrit scholar,
born at Mayence; was professor of Oriental Literature and General
Philology at Berlin; his greatest work, "A Comparative Grammar of
Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Old Slave, Gothic, and German";
translated portions of the "MAHABHARATA," q. v. (1791-1867).


BORA, KATHARINA, the wife of Luther, born in Meissen, originally a
nun, who, with eight others, was at Luther's instance released from her
convent; proved "a pious and faithful wife" to Luther, as he says of her,
and became the mother to him of six children, three sons and three
daughters (1499-1552).


BORDA, a French mathematician and physicist, born at Dax, in the
dep. of Landes, served in both army and navy; one of those employed in
measuring an arc of the meridian to establish the metric system in France
(1733-1799).


BORDEAUX (256), a great industrial and commercial city, and chief
seat of the wine trade in France and the third seaport on the Garonne;
cap. of the dep. of Gironde; the birthplace of Rosa Bonheur and Richard
II., his father, the Black Prince, having had his seat here as governor
of Aquitaine. There are sugar-refineries, potteries, foundries, glass and
chemical works. The cod-fishing industry has its base here. A cathedral
dates from the 11th century. There are schools of science, art, theology,
medicine, and navigation, a library, museum, and rich picture-gallery.


BORDER MINSTREL, Sir Walter Scott.


BORDERS, THE, the shifting boundary between Scotland and England
before the Union, a centre of endless fighting and marauding on the
opposite sides for centuries.


BORDONE, an Italian painter, born at Treviso, a pupil of Titian and
Giorgione; his most celebrated picture, "The Gondolier presenting the
Ring of St. Mark to the Doge" (1500-1570).


BORE, a watery ridge rushing violently up an estuary, due to a
strong tidal wave travelling up a gradually narrowing channel. Bores are
common in the estuary of the Ganges and other Asiatic rivers, in those of
Brazil, and at the mouth of the Severn, in England.


BOREAS, the god of the north wind, and son of the Titan Astraeus and
of Aurora.


BORGHESE, name of a family of high position and great wealth in
Rome: Camillo, having become Pope in 1605 under the title of Paul V.; and
Prince Borghese having married Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, who
separated himself from her on the fall of her brother (1775-1832); the
palace of the family one of the finest in Rome, and has a rich collection
of paintings.


BORGHESI, COUNT, an Italian savant skilled in numismatics
(1781-1860).


BORGIA, CAESAR, fourth son of Pope Alexander VI.; was made cardinal
at the age of 17, an honour he relinquished to become a soldier, in which
capacity it is alleged he gave himself up to deeds of inhumanity, which
have made his name a synonym for every action that is most crafty,
revolting, and cruel; a portrait of him by Raphael, in the Borghese
gallery, is a masterpiece. Notwithstanding the execration in which his
memory is held, he is reputed to have been just as a ruler in his own
domain, and a patron of art and literature; _d_. 1507.


BORGIA, FRANCESO, third general of the Order of the Jesuits, a post
he filled with great zeal as well as prudent management; was beatified by
Urban VIII., and canonised by Clement IX., 1671 (1510-1572).


BORGIA, LUCRETIA, sister of Caesar Borgia, born at Rome; her father
annulled her first marriage, and gave her to a nephew of the king of
Naples, who was murdered by her brother's assassins, when she married the
Duke of Ferrara; was celebrated for her beauty and her patronage of
letters, though she has been accused of enormities as well as her brother
(1480-1523).


BORGU, fertile and densely-peopled state in Africa, traversed by the
Niger, subject to the Royal Niger Company, in one of the chief towns of
which Mungo Park lost his life.


BORLASE, WILLIAM, antiquary and naturalist, born in St. Just,
Cornwall; author of "Observations on the Antiquities of Cornwall" and
"Natural History of Cornwall"; was vicar in his native parish
(1696-1772).


BORN, BERTRAND, one of the most celebrated troubadours of the 12th
century, born in Perigord; aggravated the quarrel between Henry II. of
England and his sons; is placed by Dante in the "Inferno."


BORNE, LUDWIG, a political writer, born at Frankfort, of Jewish
parentage; disgusted with the state of things in Germany, went to Paris
after the Revolution there of 1830; was disappointed with the result, and
turned Radical; he and Heine were at deadly feud (1787-1837).


BORNEO (1,800), an island in the Malay Archipelago, the third
largest in the globe, Australia and New Guinea being larger; its length
800 m., and its breadth 700, covered with mountains in the interior,
Kinabalu the highest (13,000 ft.); has no volcanoes; bordered all round
with wide plains and low marshy ground; rich in vegetation and in
minerals, in gold and precious stones; its forests abound with valuable
timber, teak, ebony, &c.; all tropical crops and spices are cultivated;
the population is Dyak, Malay, and Chinese; possessed in great part by
the Dutch, and in the north part by the British.


BORNHOLM (35), an island belonging to Denmark, in the Baltic; has no
good harbour; agriculture, cattle-breeding, and fishing the occupation of
the inhabitants.


BORNU (5,000), a Mohammedan State in the Central Soudan, W. and S.
of Lake Tehad; famed for a breed of horses; population mostly negroes;
the ruling race of Arab descent, called Shuwas; climate hot and unhealthy
in the low ground, but temperate in the high.


BORO BUDOR, the ruin of a magnificent Buddhist temple in Java,
ornamented with figures of Buddha and scenes in his life, with
representations of battles, processions, chariot races, &c.


BORODINO, a village 70 m. W. of Moscow; the scene of a bloody battle
between Napoleon and the Russians, Sept. 7, 1812.


BORORO, a large Brazilian nation between Cuyaba and Goyaz.


BOROUGH, in Scotland BURGH, is in its modern sense primarily a
town that sends a representative to Parliament; but it is further an area
of local government, exercising police, sanitary, and sometimes
educational, supervision, and deriving its income from rates levied on
property within its bounds, and in Scotland sometimes from "common good"
and petty customs. Its charter may be held from the Crown or granted by
Parliament.


BOROUGH ENGLISH, descent of lands to a youngest son.


BOROWLASKI, COUNT, a Polish dwarf, of perfect symmetry, though only
three feet in height; attained the age of 98.


BORROME`AN ISLANDS, four islands in Lago Maggiore, of which three
were converted into gardens by Count Borromeo in 1671, on one of which
stands a palace of the Borromeos, enriched with fine paintings and other
works of art.


BORROME`O, ST. CARLO, cardinal and archbishop of Milan, a prominent
member of the Council of Trent, and contributed to the Tridentine
Catechism; conspicuous by his self-sacrificing offices during a plague in
the city of which he was the archbishop (1538-1584).


BORROMEO, FREDERIGO, nephew and successor of the preceding, of equal
status in the Church, and similar character (1584-1631).


BORROW, GEORGE HENRY, traveller and philologist, born in Norfolk;
showed early a passion for adventure and a facility in languages; was
appointed agent for the Bible Society in Russia and Spain; in his
fondness for open-air life, associated much with the gipsies; wrote an
account of those in Spain, and a famous book, entitled "The Bible In
Spain"; wrote "Lavengro," his masterpiece (a gipsy designation applied to
him, meaning "word-master," which he was), which is chiefly
autobiography (1803-1831).


BORROWDALE, a valley in the Lake District, W. Cumberland, celebrated
for its beautiful scenery.


BORTHWICK CASTLE, a ruined peel tower, 13 m. SE. of Edinburgh, where
Queen Mary and Bothwell spent four days together in June 1567.


BORY DE SAINT-VINCENT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French traveller and
naturalist (1780-1846).


BOSCAWEN, EDWARD, a British admiral, known from his fearlessness as
"Old Dreadnought"; distinguished himself in engagements at Puerto Bello,
Cathagena, Cape Finisterre, and the Bay of Lagos, where, after a "sea
hunt" of 24 hours, he wrecked and ruined a fine French fleet, eager to
elude his grasp (1711-1761).


BOSCOVICH, ROGER JOSEPH, an Italian mathematician and astronomer,
born at Ragusa; entered the Order of the Jesuits; was professor in Pavia,
and afterwards at Milan; discovered the equator of the sun and the period
of its rotation; advocated the molecular theory of physics, with which
his name is associated; died insane (1701-1787).


BOSIO, BARON, a celebrated Italian sculptor; patronised in France
(1769-1845).


BOSNA-SERAI (38), capital of Bosnia, and seat of authority.


BOSNIA (1,200), a province in NW. of the Balkan Peninsula, under
Austria-Hungary; the inhabitants of Servian nationality.


BOS`PHORUS (Ox-ford), a channel 17 m. long and from 3 to 1/2 m. broad,
and about 30 fathoms deep, strongly defended by forts, extending from the
Sea of Marmora to the Black Sea; subject to Turkey. It derives its name
from the channel which, according to the Greek myth, Zeus, in the form of
an ox, crossed into Europe with Europa on his back.


BOS`QUET, PIERRE FRANCOIS JOSEPH, a marshal of France, distinguished
in Algiers and the Crimea; was wounded at the storming of the Malakoff
(1810-1861).


BOS`SUET, JACQUES BENIGNE, bishop of Meaux, born at Dijon, surnamed
the "Eagle of Meaux," of the see of which he became bishop; one of the
greatest of French pulpit orators, and one of the ablest defenders of the
doctrines of the Catholic Church; the great aim of his life the
conversion of Protestants back to the Catholic faith; took a leading part
in establishing the rights of the Gallican clergy, or rather of the
Crown, as against the claims of the Pope; proved himself more a
time-server than a bold, outspoken champion of the truth; conceived a
violent dislike to Madame Guyon, and to Fenelon for his defence of her
and her Quietists; and he is not clear of the guilt of the Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes; wrote largely; his "Discourse on Universal History"
is on approved lines, and the first attempt at a philosophy of history;
his Funeral Orations are monuments of the most sublime eloquence; while
his "Politique founded on Holy Scripture" is a defence of the divine
right of kings. "Bossuet," says Professor Saintsbury, "was more of a
speaker than a writer. His excellence lies in his wonderful survey and
grasp of the subject, in the contagious enthusiasm and energy with which
he attacks his point, and in his inexhaustible metaphors and
comparisons.... Though he is always aiming at the sublime, he scarcely
ever oversteps it, or falls into the bombastic or ridiculous.... The most
unfortunate incident of his life was his controversy with Fenelon"
(1627-1704).


BOSSUT, CHARLES, French mathematician, born near Lyons, _confrere_
of the Encyclopaedists; his chief work "L'Histoire Generale des
Mathematiques"; edited Pascal's works (1730-1814).


BOSTON (19), a Lincolnshire seaport, on the Witham, 30 m. SE. of
Lincoln; exports coal, machinery, corn, and wool, and imports timber and
general goods. There is a large cattle and sheep market, also canvas and
sail-cloth works. Fox, the martyrologist, was a native. It has a spacious
church, which is a conspicuous landmark and beacon at sea.


BOSTON (561), on Massachusetts Bay, is the capital of Massachusetts
and the chief city of New England, one of the best-built and
best-appointed cities of the Union. With an excellent harbour and eight
converging railways it is an emporium of trade, and very wealthy. Sugar,
wool, hides, and chemicals are imported; farm produce, cattle, cotton,
and tobacco exported; boot and shoe making is one of many varied
industries. The many educational institutions and its interest in
literature and art have won for it the title of American Athens. Among
famous natives were Franklin, Poe, and Emerson; while most American men
of letters have been associated with it. The Boston riots of 1770 and
1773 were the heralds of the revolution, and the first battle was fought
at Bunker Hill, not far off, now included in it.


BOSTON, THOMAS, a Scottish divine, born at Duns, educated at
Edinburgh, became minister of Ettrick; author of the "Fourfold State," a
popular exposition of Calvinism, and "The Crook in the Lot," both at one
time much read and studied by the pious Presbyterian burghers and
peasantry of Scotland; the former an account of the state of man, first
in innocence, second as fallen, third as redeemed, and fourth as in
glory. He was a shrewd man and a quaint writer; exercised a great
influence on the religious views of the most pious-minded of his
countrymen (1676-1732).


BOSTON TEA-PARTY, the insurgent American colonists who, disguised as
Indians, boarded, on Dec. 16, 1773, three English ships laden with tea,
and hurled several hundred chests of it into Boston harbour, "making it
black with unexpected tea."


BOSWELL, JAMES, the biographer of Johnson, born at Edinburgh, showed
early a penchant for writing and an admiration for literary men; fell in
with Johnson on a visit to London in 1763, and conceived for him the most
devoted regard; made a tour with him to the Hebrides in 1773, the
"Journal" of which he afterwards published; settled in London, and was
called to the English bar; succeeded, in 1782, to his father's estate,
Auchinleck, in Ayrshire, with an income of L1600 a year. Johnson dying in
1784, Boswell's "Life" of him appeared five years after, a work unique in
biography, and such as no man could have written who was not a
hero-worshipper to the backbone. He succumbed in the end to intemperate
habits, aggravated by the death of his wife (1740-1795).


BOSWELL, SIR ALEXANDER, son and heir of the preceding, an antiquary;
mortally wounded in a duel with James Stuart of Dunearn, who had impugned
his character, for which the latter was tried, but acquitted (1775-1822).


BOSWORTH, a town in Leicestershire, near which Richard III. lost
both crown and life in 1485, an event which terminated the Wars of the
Roses and led to the accession of the Tudor dynasty to the throne of
England in the person of Henry VII.


BOSWORTH, JOSEPH, an Anglo-Saxon scholar, born in Derbyshire; became
professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford; was the author of an Anglo-Saxon
Grammar and Dictionary (1789-1876).


BOTANY BAY, an inlet in New South Wales, 5 m. S. of Sydney;
discovered by Captain Cook in 1770; so called, by Sir Joseph Banks, from
the variety and beauty of its flora; was once an English convict
settlement.


BOTH, JOHN AND ANDREW, Flemish painters of the 17th century, the
former a landscape and the latter a figure painter; worked frequently on
the same canvas.


BOTHNIA, a prov. of Sweden, divided into E. and W. by a gulf of the
name.


BOTHWELL, a village in Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 8 m. SE. of
Glasgow; scene of a battle between Monmouth and the Covenanters in 1679.


BOTHWELL, JAMES HEPBURN, Earl of, one of the envoys sent in 1560 to
convey Mary, Queen of Scots, from France home; was made Privy Councillor
the year after; had to flee to France for an act of conspiracy; was
recalled by Mary on her marriage with Darnley; was a great favourite with
the queen; was believed to have murdered Darnley, though when tried, was
acquitted; carried off Mary to Dunbar Castle; pardoned; was made Duke of
Orkney, and married to her at Holyrood; parted with her at Carberry Hill;
fled to Norway, and was kept captive there at Malmoee; after ten years of
misery he died, insane, as is believed (1525-1577).


BOTOCUDOS, a wandering wild tribe in the forests of Brazil, near the
coast; a very low type of men, and at a very low stage of civilisation;
are demon-worshippers, and are said to have no numerals beyond _one_.


BO-TREE, a species of Ficus, sacred to the Buddhists as the tree
under which Buddha sat when the light of life first dawned on him. See
BUDDHA.


BOTTA, CARLO GIUSEPPE, an Italian political historian, born in
Piedmont; his most important work is his "History of Italy from 1789 to
1814"; was the author of some poems (1766-1837).


BOTTA, PAUL EMILE, Assyriologist, born at Turin, son of the
preceding; when consul at Mosul, in 1843, discovered the ruins of
Nineveh; made further explorations, published in the "Memoire de
l'Ecriture Cuneiform Assyrienne" and "Monuments de Ninive" (1802-1870).


BOeTTGER, an alchemist who, in his experiments on porcelain, invented
the celebrated Meissen porcelain (1682-1719).


BOTTICELLI, SANDRO, or ALESSANDRO, a celebrated painter of the
Florentine school; began as a goldsmith's apprentice; a pupil of Fra
Lippo Lippi; the best-known examples of his art are on religious
subjects, though he was no less fascinated with classical--mythological
conceptions; is distinguished for his attention to details and for
delicacy, particularly in the drawing of flowers; and it is a rose on the
petticoat of one of his figures, the figure of Spring, which Ruskin has
reproduced on the title-page of his recent books, remarking that "no one
has ever yet drawn, or is likely to draw, roses as he has done;... he
understood," he adds, "the thoughts of heathens and Christians equally,
and could in a measure paint both Aphrodite and the Madonna" (1447-1515).


BOeTTIGER, KARL AUGUSTE, German archaeologist, was a voluminous writer
on antiquities, especially classical (1760-1835).


BOTTOM, a weaver in the interlude in "Midsummer-Night's Dream,"
whom, with his ass's head, Titania falls in love with under the influence
of a love-potion.


BOTZARIS, one of the heroes of the war of Greek independence
(1789-1823).


BOUCHARDON, a celebrated French sculptor (1698-1762).


BOUCHER, a French painter, born at Paris (1703-1770).


BOUCHER DE PERTHES, French naturalist and anthropologist, born in
Ardennes (1783-1868).


BOUCICAULT, DION, a dramatic writer, author of popular Irish pieces,
as "The Colleen Bawn" and "The Shaughraun" (1822-1890).


BOUCICAUT, MARSHAL DE, one of the bravest and noblest of French
soldiers, born at Tours; distinguished in several famous battles; was
taken captive by the English at Agincourt; died in England (1364-1421).


BOUFFLERS, CHEVALIER DE, field-marshal of France, courtier and
author (1737-1815).


BOUFFLERS, MARQUIS DE, marshal of France, distinguished for his
defence of Namur (1695) and of Lille (1708), and his masterly retreat
from Malplaquet (1645-1711).


BOUGAINVILLE, LOUIS ANTOINE DE, a French navigator, born in Paris;
voyaged round the world, which occupied him two years and a half; his
"Travels" had a remarkably stimulating effect on the imaginations of the
"philosophies," as described by him in "Un Voyage autour du Monde"
(1729-1811).


BOUGH, SAM, landscape painter, born at Carlisle, and settled in
Edinburgh for 20 years (1822-1878).


BOUGUER, PIERRE, French physicist, born in Brittany; wrote on optics
and the figure of the earth (1698-1758).


BOUGUEREAU, ADOLPHE, a distinguished French painter, born at
Rochelle in 1825; his subjects both classical and religious, as well as
portraits.


BOUHOUR, LE PERE, French litterateur, born at Paris (1628-1702).


BOUILLE, MARQUIS DE, a French general, born in Auvergne, distinguished in
the Seven Years' War, in the West Indies and during the Revolution; "last
refuge of royalty in all straits"; favoured the flight of Louis XVI.; a
"quick, choleric, sharp-discerning, stubbornly-endeavouring man, with
suppressed-explosive resolution, with valour, nay, headlong audacity;
muzzled and fettered by diplomatic pack-threads,... an intrepid,
adamantine man"; did his utmost for royalty, failed, and quitted France;
died in London, and left "Memoirs of the French Revolution" (1759-1800).
See for the part he played in it, CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION."


BOUILLON, district in Belgium, originally a German duchy; belonged
to Godfrey, the crusader, who pledged it to raise funds for the crusade.


BOUILLY, JEAN NICOLAS, a French dramatist, born near Tours,
nicknamed, from his sentimentality "poete lacrymal" (1763-1842).


BOULAINVILLIERS, a French historian, author of a "History of
Mahomet" (1658-1722).


BOULAK (20), the port of Cairo, on the Nile.


BOULAN`GER, JEAN MARIE, a French general, born at Rennes; of note
for the political intrigues with which he was mixed up during the last
years of his life, and the dangerous popular enthusiasm which he excited;
accused of peculation; fled the country, and committed suicide at
Brussels (1837-1891).


BOULAY DE LA MEURTHE, a French statesman, distinguished as an
orator; took part in the redaction of the Civil Code; was a faithful
adherent of Napoleon (1761-1840). Henri, a son, vice-president of the
Republic from 1849 to 1851 (1797-1858).


BOULDER, a large mass or block of rock found in localities often far
removed from the place of its formation, and transported thither on the
ice of the Glacial Age.


BOULEVARD, the rampart of a fortified city converted into a
promenade flanked by rows of trees and a feature of Paris in particular,
though the boulevard is not always on the line of a rampart.


BOULOGNE, BOIS DE, a promenade between Paris and St. Cloud, much
frequented by people of fashion, and a favourite place of recreation; it
rivals that of the Champs Elysees.


BOULOGNE-SUR-MER (46), a fortified seaport in France, on the English
Channel, in the dep. of Pas-de-Calais, 27 m. SW. of Calais, one of the
principal ports for debarkation from England; where Napoleon collected in
1803 a flotilla to invade England; is connected by steamer with
Folkestone, and a favourite watering-place; the chief station of the
North Sea fisheries; is the centre of an important coasting trade, and
likely to become a naval station.


BOULOGNE-SUR-SEINE (32), a town on the right bank of the Seine, 5 m.
SW. of Paris, from which it is separated by the Bois-de-Boulogne.


BOULTON, MATTHEW, an eminent engineer, born at Birmingham; entered
into partnership with James Watt, and established with him a manufactory
of steam-engines at Soho, on a barren heath near his native place;
contributed to the improvement of the coinage (1728-1809).


"BOUNTY," MUTINY OF THE, a mutiny which took place on the ship
_Bounty_, on the 28th April 1789, bound from Otaheite to the West Indies,
on the part of 25 of the crew, who returned to Otaheite after setting the
captain (Bligh) adrift with others in an open boat. Bligh reached England
after a time, reported the crime, to the seizure at length of certain of
the offenders and the execution of others. Those who escaped founded a
colony on Pitcairn Island.


BOURBAKI, CHARLES DENIS SOTER, a French general, born at Pau, served
in the Crimean War and in Italy, suffered disastrously in the
Franco-German War, and attempted suicide; served for a time under
Gambetta, afterwards retired; _b_. 1816.


BOURBON, a family of French origin, hailing from Bourbonnais,
members of which occupied for generations the thrones of France, Naples,
and Spain, and who severally ruled their territories under a more or less
overweening sense of their rights as born to reign. Two branches, both of
which trace back to Henry IV., held sway in France, one beginning with
Louis XIV., eldest son of Louis XIII., and the other, called the Orleans,
with Philip of Orleans, second son of Louis XIII., the former ending with
Charles X. and his family, and the latter ending with Louis Philippe and
his line. The branches of the family ruling in Spain and Naples began
with Philip VI., grandson of Louis XIV., the former branch still (1899)
in power, the latter ending with Francis II. in 1860.


BOURBON, CHARLES DE, styled the Constable de Bourbon, acquired
immense wealth by the death of an elder brother and by his marriage, and
lived in royal state; was for his daring in the field named Constable of
France by Francis I.; offended at some, perhaps imaginary, injustice
Francis did him, he clandestinely entered the service of the Emperor
Charles V., defeated the French at Pavia, and took Francis captive;
parted from Charles, laid siege to Rome, and fell in the assault,
mortally wounded, it is said, by Benvenuto Cellini (1489-1527).


BOURBONNAIS, ancient province in the centre of France, being the
duchy of Bourbon; united to the crown in 1531; cap. Moulins.


BOURDALOUE, LOUIS, a French Jesuit, born at Bourges, called the
"king of preachers, and preacher of kings"; one of the most eloquent
pulpit orators of France; did not suffer by comparison with Bossuet, his
contemporary, though junior; one of the most earnest and powerful of his
sermons, the one entitled "The Passion," is deemed the greatest. His
sermons are ethical in their matter from a Christian standpoint,
carefully reasoned, and free from ornament, but fearless and
uncompromising (1632-1704).


BOURDON, SEBASTIAN, a French painter, born at Montpellier; his
_chef-d'oeuvre_ "The Crucifixion of St. Peter," executed for the church
of Notre Dame (1616-1671).


BOURDON DE L'OISE, a French revolutionist, member of the Convention;
banished to Guiana, where he died in 1791.


BOURGELAT, a famous French veterinary surgeon, born at Lyons, and
founder of veterinary colleges at Lyons in 1762; was an authority on
horse management, and often consulted on the matter (1712-1779).


BOURGEOIS, SIR FRANCIS, painter to George III.; left his collection
to Dulwich College, and L10,000 to build a gallery for them (1756-1811).


BOURGEOISIE, the name given in France to the middle class,
professional people, and merchants, as distinguished from the nobles and
the peasants, but applied by the Socialists to the capitalists as
distinct from the workers.


BOURGES (43), a French town in the dep. of Cher; birthplace of Louis
XI. and Bourdaloue.


BOURGET, PAUL, an eminent French novelist and essayist, born at
Amiens; a subtle analyst of character, with a clear and elegant style, on
which he bestows great pains; his novels are what he calls
"psychological," and distinct from the romantist and naturalistic; _b_.
1852.


BOURIGNON, ANTOINETTE, a Flemish visionary and fanatic; resolved
religion into emotion; brought herself into trouble by the wild fancies
she promulgated, to the derangement of others as well as herself
(1615-1680).


BOURMONT, LOUIS AUGUSTE VICTOR, COMTE DE, a French marshal; at the
Revolution joined the Bourbons on the frontiers; served the royal cause
in La Vendee; held high commands under Napoleon; commanded under Ney on
Napoleon's return from Elba; deserted on the eve of Waterloo to Louis
XVIII.; gave evidence against Ney to his execution; commanded the
expedition against Algiers; refused allegiance to Louis Philippe on his
accession, and was dismissed the service (1773-1846).


BOURNE, HUGH, founder of the Primitive Methodists, and a zealous
propagator of their principles; he was a carpenter by trade, and he
appears to have wrought at his trade while prosecuting his mission, which
he did extensively both in Britain and America (1772-1852).


BOURNEMOUTH (38), a town in Hants, on Poole Bay, 37 m. SW. of
Southampton, with a fine sandy beach; a great health resort; is of
recent, and has been of rapid, growth.


BOURRIENNE, LOUIS ANTOINE FAUVELET, secretary of Napoleon, and a
school friend, born at Sens; held the post for five years, but dismissed
for being implicated in disgraceful money transactions; joined the
Bourbons at the Restoration; the Revolution of 1830 and the loss of his
fortune affected his mind, and he died a lunatic at Caen; wrote "Memoirs"
disparaging to Napoleon (1769-1834).


BOUSSA, a town in Central Africa, capital of a State of the same
name, where Mungo Park lost his life as he was going up the Niger.


BOUSTROPHE`DON, an ancient mode of writing from right to left, and
then from left to right, as in ploughing a field.


BOUTERWEK, FRIEDRICH, a German philosopher and professor of
Philosophy at Goettingen; a disciple of Kant, then of Jacobi, and
expounder of their doctrines; wrote "History of Poetry and Eloquence
among the Modern Races" (1766-1828).


BOWDICH, THOMAS EDWARD, an English traveller, born at Bristol; sent
on a mission to Guinea, and penetrated as far as Coomassie; wrote an
interesting account of it in his "Mission to Ashanti" (1791-1824).


BOWDITCH, NATHANIEL, American mathematician, born at Salem,
Massachusetts; a practical scientist; published "Practical Navigation,"
translated the "Mecanique Celeste" of Laplace, accompanied with an
elaborate commentary (1773-1838).


BOWDLER, THOMAS, an English physician; edited expurgated editions of
Shakespeare and Gibbon in the interest of moral purity; added in
consequence a new term to the English language, Bowdlerism (1754-1825).


BOWDOIN, JAMES, an American statesman, born in Boston, of French
extraction; a zealous advocate of American independence; author of
"Discourse on the Constitution of the United States" (1727-1790).


BOWEN, RICHARD, a gallant British naval commander, distinguished
himself in several engagements, and by his captures of the enemy's ships;
killed by grape-shot at the storming of Santa Cruz, at the moment when
Nelson was wounded (1761-1797).


BOWER, WALTER, abbot of Inchcolm, Scottish chronicler; continued
Fordun's History down to the death of James I. in 1437 from 1153
(1385-1449).


BOWLES, WILLIAM LISLE, a poet, born in Northamptonshire; his
sonnets, by their "linking," as Professor Saintsbury has it, "of nature's
aspect to human feeling," were much admired by Coleridge, and their
appearance is believed to have inaugurated a new era in English poetry,
as developed in the Lake School (1762-1850).


BOWLING, TOM, a typical British sailor in "Roderick Random."


BOWLING, SIR JOHN, linguist and political writer, born at Exeter;
friend and disciple of Bentham as well as editor of his works; first
editor of _Westminster Review_; at the instance of the English Government
visited the Continental States to report on their commercial relations;
became governor of Hong-Kong; ordered the bombardment of Canton, which
caused dissatisfaction at home (1792-1872).


BOWYER, WILLIAM, printer and scholar, born in London; wrote on the
origin of printing, and published an edition of the Greek New Testament
with notes (1699-1777).


"BOX AND COX," a farce by J. M. Morton, remarkable for a successful
run such as is said to have brought the author L7000.


BOY BISHOP, a boy chosen on 6th December, St. Nicholas' Day,
generally out of the choir, to act as bishop and do all his episcopal
duties, except celebrate mass. For the term of his office, which varied,
he was treated as bishop, and if he died during his tenure of it was
buried with episcopal honours. The term of office was limited in 1279 to
24 hours.


BOYARS, the old nobility of Russia, whose undue influence in the
State was broken by Peter the Great; also the landed aristocracy of
Roumania.


BOYCE, WILLIAM, composer, chiefly of church music, born in London;
published a collection of the "Cathedral Music of the Old English
Masters"; composed "Hearts of Oak," a naval song sung by ships' crews at
one time before going into action (1710-1779).


BOYCOTT, CAPTAIN, an Irish landlord's agent in Connemara, with whom
the population of the district in 1880 refused to have any dealings on
account of disagreements with the tenantry.


BOYD, ANDREW KENNEDY HUTCHISON, a Scottish clergyman and writer;
bred for the bar, but entered the Church; known to fame as A. K. H. B.;
author of "Recreations of a Country Parson," which was widely read, and
of Reminiscences of his life; died at Bournemouth by mischance of
swallowing a lotion instead of a sleeping-draught (1825-1899).


BOYD, ZACHARY, a Scottish divine; regent of a Protestant college at
Samur, in France; returned to Scotland in consequence of the persecution
of the Huguenots; became minister of Barony Parish, Glasgow, and rector
of the University; preached before Cromwell after the battle of Dunbar;
author of the "Last Battell of the Soule in Death" and "Zion's Flowers,"
being mainly metrical versions of Scripture, called "Boyd's Bible"
(1585-1653).


BOYDELL, JOHN, an English engraver and print-seller, famous for his
"Shakespeare Gallery," with 96 plates in illustration of Shakespeare, and
the encouragement he gave to native artists; he issued also Hume's
"History of England," with 196 plates in illustration (1719-1804).


BOYER, BARON, French anatomist and surgeon; attendant on Napoleon,
afterwards professor in the University of Paris; wrote works on anatomy
and surgical diseases, which continued for long text-books on those
subjects; was a man of very conservative opinions (1757-1833).


BOYER, JEAN PIERRE, president of Hayti, born at Port-au-Prince of a
negress and a Creole father; secured the independence of the country;
held the presidency for 25 years from 1818, but suspected of consulting
his own advantage more than that of the country, was driven from power by
a revolution in 1843; retired to Paris, where he spent the rest of his
life and died (1776-1850).


BOYLE, CHARLES, fourth Earl of Orrery, distinguished for the
connection of his name with the Bentley controversy, and for its
connection with an astronomical contrivance by one Graham to illustrate
the planetary system (1676-1731).


BOYLE, RICHARD, first and great Earl of Cork, distinguished among
Irish patriots and landlords for what he did to improve his estates and
develop manufactures and the mechanical arts in Ireland, also for the
honours conferred upon him for his patriotism; when Cromwell saw how his
estates were managed he remarked, that had there been one like him in
every province in Ireland rebellion would have been impossible
(1566-1643).


BOYLE, THE HON. ROBERT, a distinguished natural philosopher, born at
Lismore, of the Orrery family; devoted his life and contributed greatly
to science, especially chemistry, as well as pneumatics; was one of the
originators of the "Royal Society"; being a student of theology, founded
by his will an endowment for the "Boyle Lectures" in defence of
Christianity against its opponents and rivals; refused the presidentship
of the Royal Society, and declined a peerage (1626-1691).


BOYLE LECTURES, the lectureship founded by the Hon. Robert Boyle in
1691, and held for a tenure of three years, the endowment being L50 per
annum; the lecturer must deliver eight lectures in defence of
Christianity, and some of the most eminent men have held the post.


BOYLE'S LAW, that the volume of a gas is inversely as the pressure.


BOYNE, a river in Ireland, which flows through Meath into the Irish
Sea; gives name to the battle in which William III. defeated the forces
of James II. on 30th July 1690.


BOZ, a _nom de plume_ under which Dickens wrote at first, being his
nickname when a boy for a little brother.


BOZZY, Johnson's familiar name for Boswell.


BRABANT, in mediaeval times was an important prov. of the Low
Countries, inhabitants Dutch, cap. Breda; is now divided between Holland
and Belgium. It comprises three provs., the N. or Dutch Brabant; Antwerp,
a Belgian prov., inhabitants Flemings, cap. Antwerp; and S. Brabant, also
Belgian, inhabitants Walloons, cap. Brussels; the whole mostly a plain.


BRACTON, HENRY DE, an English "justice itinerant," a writer on
English law of the 13th century; author of "De Legibus et Consuetudinibus
Angliae," a "Treatise on the Laws and Customs of England," and the first
attempt of the kind; _d_. 1268.


BRADAMANTE, sister to Rinaldo, and one of the heroines in "Orlando
Furioso"; had a lance which unhorsed every one it touched.


BRADDOCK, EDWARD, British general, born in Perthshire; entered the
Coldstream Guards, and became major-general in 1754; commanded a body of
troops against the French in America, fell in an attempt to invest Fort
Duquesue, and lost nearly all his men (1695-1755).


BRADDON, MISS (Mrs. John Maxwell), a popular novelist, born in
London; authoress of "Lady Audley's Secret," "Aurora Floyd," and some 50
other novels; contributed largely to magazines; _b_. 1837.


BRADFORD (216), a Yorkshire manufacturing town, on a tributary of
the Aire, 9 m. W. of Leeds; it is the chief seat of worsted spinning and
weaving in England, and has an important wool market; coal and iron mines
are at hand, and iron-works and machinery-making are its other industries.
Also the name of a manufacturing town on the Avon, in Wilts.


BRADLAUGH, CHARLES, a social reformer on secularist lines, born in
London; had a chequered career; had for associate in the advocacy of his
views Mrs. Annie Besant; elected M.P. for Northampton thrice over, but
not allowed to sit till he took the oath, which he did in 1886; died
respected by all parties in the House of Commons; wrote the "Impeachment
of the House of Brunswick" (1833-1891).


BRADLEY, JAMES, astronomer, born in Gloucestershire; professor of
Astronomy at Oxford, and astronomer-royal at Greenwich; discovered the
aberration of light and the nutation of the earth's axis; made 60,000
astronomical observations (1693-1762).


BRADSHAW, GEORGE, an engraver of maps in Manchester; published maps
illustrative of certain canal systems, and did the same service for
railways, which developed into the well-known "Railway Guide"
(1830-1863).


BRADSHAW, JOHN, president of the High Court of Justice for trial of
Charles I., born at Stockport; bred for the bar; a friend of Milton; a
thorough republican, and opposed to the Protectorate; became president of
the Council on Cromwell's death; was buried in Westminster; his body was
exhumed and hung in chains at the Restoration (1586-1659).


BRADWARDIN, THOMAS, archbishop of Canterbury, surnamed "Doctor
Profundus" from his treatise "De Causa Dei" against Pelagianism; chaplain
to Edward III.; was present at Crecy and at the taking of Calais; died of
the black death shortly after his consecration (1290-1348).


BRADWARDINE, the name of a baron and his daughter, the heroine of
"Waverley."


BRAEMAR`, a Scottish Highland district SW. of Aberdeenshire; much
frequented by tourists, and resorted to for summer country quarters.


BRAG, JACK, a pretender who ingratiates himself with people above
him.


BRAGA (23), a city, 34 m. NE. of Oporto, Portugal; the residence of
the Primate; the capital of Minho.


BRAGANZA, capital of Traz-os-Montes, in Portugal; gives name to the
ruling dynasty of Portugal, called the House of Braganza, the eighth duke
of Braganza having ascended the throne in 1640, on the liberation of
Portugal from the yoke of Spain.


BRAGI, the Norse god of poetry and eloquence, son of Odin and
Frigga; represented as an old man with a long flowing beard and
unwrinkled brow, with a mild expression of face; received in Valhalla the
heroes who fell in battle.


BRAHAM, JOHN, a celebrated tenor singer, the most so in Europe of
his day, and known all over Europe; was particularly effective in
rendering the national songs; born in London, of Jewish parents; composed
operas, which, however, were only dramas interspersed with songs. Scott
described him as "a beast of an actor, but an angel of a singer"
(1774-1856).


BRAHE, TYCHO, a Swedish astronomer, of noble birth; spent his life
in the study of the stars; discovered a new star in Cassiopeia; had an
observatory provided for him on an island in the Sound by the king, where
he made observations for 20 years; he was, on the king's death, compelled
to retire under persecution at the hand of the nobles; accepted an
invitation of the Kaiser Rudolf II. to Prague, where he continued his
work and had Kepler for assistant and pupil (1546-1601).


BRAHMA, in the Hindu religion and philosophy at one time the formless
spirit of the Universe, from which all beings issue and into which they
all merge, and as such is not an object of worship, but a subject of
meditation; and at another the creator of all things, of which VISHNU (q.
v.) is the preserver AND SIVA (q. v.) the destroyer, killing that he may
make alive. See TRIMURTI.


BRAHMAN, or BRAHMIN, one of the sacred caste of the Hindus that
boasts of direct descent from, or immediate relationship with, Brahma,
the custodians and mediators of religion, and therefore of high-priestly
rank.


BRAHMANAS, treatises on the ceremonial system of Brahminism, with
prescriptions bearing upon ritual, and abounding in legends and
speculations.


BRAHMAPUTRA (i. e. son of Brahma), a river which rises in Tibet,
circles round the E. of the Himalayas, and, after a course of some 1800
m., joins the Ganges, called the Sampo in Tibet, the Dihong in Assam, and
the Brahmaputra in British India; it has numerous tributaries, brings
down twice as much mud as the Ganges, and in the lower part of its course
overflows the land, particularly Assam, like an inland sea.


BRAHMINISM, the creed and ritual of the Brahmans, or that social,
political, and religious organisation which developed among the Aryans in
the valley of the Ganges under the influence of the Brahmans. According
to the religious conception of this class, Brahma, or the universal
spirit, takes form or incarnates himself successively as Brahma, Vishnu,
and Siva, which triple incarnation constitutes a trimurti or trinity. In
this way Brahma, the first incarnation of the universal spirit, had four
sons, from whom issued the four castes of India--Brahmans, Kshatriyas,
Vaisyas, and Sudras--all the rest being outcasts or pariahs. See
CASTE.


BRAHMO-SOMAJ (i. e. church of God), a secession from traditional
Hinduism, originated in 1830 by Rammohun Roy, and developed by Chunder
Sen; founded on theistic, or rather monotheistic, i. e. unitarian,
principles, and the rational ideas and philosophy of Europe, as well as a
profession of a sense of the brotherhood of man no less than the unity of
God.


BRAHMS, JOHANNES, a distinguished composer, born at Hamburg; of
great promise from a boy; settled in Vienna; has no living rival; the
appearance of compositions of his an event in the musical world;
approaches Beethoven as no other does; distinguished as a performer as
well as a composer; _b_. 1833.


BRAIDWOOD, JAMES, born in Edinburgh; director of the London fire
brigade; distinguished for his heroism on the occasion of great fires
both in Edinburgh and London (1790-1861).


BRAILLE, a blind Frenchman, invented printing in relief for the
blind (1809-1852).


BRAINERD, American missionary to the Red Indians, born in
Connecticut; his Life was written by Jonathan Edwards, in whose house he
died (1718-1747).


BRAMAH, JOSEPH, an engineer, born in Barnsley, Yorkshire; author of
many mechanical inventions, 18 of which were patented, among others the
hydraulic press, named after him (1748-1814).


BRAMANTE, DONATO, architect; laid the foundation of St. Peter's at
Rome, which he did not live to complete (1444-1514).


BRAMBLE, MATTHEW, a gouty humorist in "Humphrey Clinker"; of a
fretful temper, yet generous and kind, who has a sister, MISS
TABITHA, an ungainly maiden at forty-five, and of anything but a
sweet temper.


BRAMHALL, JOHN, archbishop of Armagh, born in Yorkshire, a
high-handed Churchman and imitator of Laud; was foolhardy enough once to
engage, nowise to his credit, in public debate with such a dialectician
as Thomas Hobbes on the questions of necessity and free-will (1594-1663).


BRAMWELL, SIR FREDERICK, civil engineer, president of the British
Association in 1888, and previously of Association of Engineers; _b_.
1818.


BRAN, name given to Fingal's dog.


BRAND, JOHN, antiquary, born in Durham, wrote a "Popular
Antiquities" (1744-1784).


BRANDAN, ST., ISLAND OF, an island reported of by St. Brandan as
lying W. of the Canary Islands, and that figured on charts as late as
1755, in quest of which voyages of discovery were undertaken as recently
as the beginning of the 18th century, up to which time it was believed to
exist.


BRANDE, chemist, born in London; author of "Manual of Chemistry" and
other works (1788-1866).


BRANDENBURG (2,542), in the great northern plain of Germany, is a
central Prussian province, and the nucleus of the Prussian kingdom; most
of it a sandy plain, with fertile districts and woodlands here and there.


BRANDENBURG, THE HOUSE OF, an illustrious German family dating from
the 10th century, from which descended the kings of Prussia.


BRANDES, GEORGE, a literary critic, born at Copenhagen, of Jewish
parents; his views of the present tendency of literature in Europe
provoked at first much opposition in Denmark, though they were received
with more favour afterwards; the opposition to his views were such that
he was forced to leave Copenhagen, but, after a stay in Berlin, he
returned to it in 1862, with the support of a strong party in his favour.


BRANDT, a Swedish chemist; chanced on the discovery in 1669 of
phosphorus while in quest of a solvent to transmute metals, such as
silver, into gold; _d_. 1692.


BRANDT, SEBASTIAN, a satirical writer, born at Strassburg; author of
the "Narrenschiff" or "Ship of Fools," of which there have been many
translations and not a few imitations (1458-1521).


BRANDY NAN, a nickname for Queen Anne, from her fondness for brandy.


BRANDYWINE CREEK, a small river in Delaware; scene of a victory of
the British over the Americans in 1777.


BRANGTONS, THE, a vulgar, evil-spoken family in Miss Burney's
"Evelina."


BRANT, JOSEPH, Indian chief who sided with the British in the
American war; a brave and good man; _d_. 1807.


BRANTOME, PIERRE DE BOURDEILLES, a French chronicler, contemporary
of Montaigne, born in Perigord; led the life of a knight-errant, and
wrote Memoirs remarkable for the free-and-easy, faithful, and vivid
delineations of the characters of the most celebrated of his
contemporaries (1527-1614).


BRASIDAS, a Spartan general, distinguished in the Peloponnesian war;
his most celebrated action, the defeat at the expense of his life, in 422
B.C., of the flower of the Athenian army at Amphipolis, with a small
body of helots and mercenaries.


BRASS, SAMPSON, a knavish attorney in "Old Curiosity Shop"; affected
feeling for his clients, whom he fleeced.


BRASSES, sepulchral tablets of a mixed metal, called latten, inlaid
in a slab of stone, and insculpt with figures and inscriptions of a
monumental character; the oldest in England is at Stoke d'Abernon, in
Surrey.


BRASSEY, THOMAS, a great railway contractor, born in Cheshire;
contracted for the construction of railways in all parts of the world
(1805-1870).


BRAUN, AUGUSTE EMIL, German archaeologist, born at Gotha; works
numerous, and of value (1809-1856).


BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE, Marshal Ney, so called from his fearlessness
in battle; Napoleon had on one occasion said, "That man is a lion."


BRAXY, an inflammatory disease in sheep, due to a change in food
from succulent to dry; and the name given to the mutton of sheep affected
with it.


BRAY, a Berkshire village, famous for Simon Aleyn, its vicar from
1540 to 1588, who, to retain his living, never scrupled to change his
principles; he lived in the reigns of Charles II., James II., William
III., Queen Anne, and George I.


BRAZEN AGE, in the Greek mythology the age of violence, that
succeeded the weak Silver Age. See AGES.


BRAZIL (14,000), the largest South American State, almost equal to
Europe, occupies the eastern angle of the continent, and comprises the
Amazon basin, the tablelands of Matto Grosso, the upper basin of the
Paraguay, and the maritime highlands, with the valleys of the Parana and
San Francisco. Great stretches of the interior are uninhabitable swamp
and forest lands; forests tenanted by an endless variety of
brilliant-plumed birds and insects; the coasts are often humid and
unhealthy, but the upper levels have a fine climate. Almost all the
country is within the tropics. The population at the seaports is mostly
white; inland it is negro, mulatto, and Indian. Vegetable products are
indescribably rich and varied; timber of all kinds, rubber, cotton, and
fruit are exported; coffee and sugar are the chief crops. The vast
mineral wealth includes diamonds, gold, mercury, and copper. Most of the
trade is with Britain and America. The language is Portuguese; the
religion, Roman Catholic; education is very backward, and government
unsettled. Discovered in 1500, and annexed by Portugal; the Portuguese
king, expelled by the French in 1808, fled to his colony, which was made
a kingdom 1815, and an empire in 1822. The emperor, Pedro II., was driven
out in 1889, and a republic established on the federal system, which has
been harassed ever since by desultory civil war. The capital is Rio
Janeiro; Bahia and Pernambuco, the other seaports.


BRAZIL-WOOD, a wood found in Brazil, of great value for dyeing red,
the colouring principle being named Brasilin.


BRAZZA (22), an island in the Adriatic, belonging to Austria; is
richly wooded; noted for its wines; yields marble.


BRAZZA, PIERRE SAVORGNAN DE, explorer, born in Rome; acquired land
N. of the Congo for France, and obtained a governorship; _b_. 1852.


BREADFRUIT-TREE, a South Sea island tree producing a fruit which,
when roasted, is used as bread.


BREAL, MICHEL, a French philologist, born at Landau; translator into
French of Bopp's "Comparative Grammar"; _b_. 1832.


BRECHE-DE-ROLAND, a gorge in the dep. of the Haute-Pyrenees, which,
according to tradition, Charlemagne's Paladin of the name of Roland cleft
with one stroke of his sword when he was beset by the Gascons.


BRECHIN, a town in Forfarshire, W. of Montrose, on the S. Esk, with
a cathedral and an old round tower near it, 85 ft. high, the only one of
the kind in Scotland besides being at Abernethy.


BREDA (23), fortified town, the capital of N. Brabant; a place of
historical interest; Charles II. resided here for a time during his
exile, and issued hence his declaration prior to his restoration.


BREECHES BIBLE, the Geneva Bible, so called from its rendering in
Gen. iii. 7, in which "aprons" is rendered "breeches."


BREECHES REVIEW, the _Westminster_, so called at one time, from one
Place, an authority in it, who had been a leather-breeches maker at
Charing Cross.


BREGNET, a French chronometer-maker, born at Neuchatel; a famous
inventor of astronomical instruments (1747-1823).


BREHM, ALFRED EDMUND, German naturalist; his chief work
"Illustrirtes Thierleben" (1829-1884).


BREHON LAWS, a body of judge-created laws that for long formed the
common law of Ireland, existed from prehistoric times till Cromwell's
conquest. The origin of the code is unknown, and whether it was at first
traditional; many manuscript redactions of portions exist still.


BREMEN (126), the chief seaport of Germany, after Hamburg; is on the
Weser, 50 m. from its mouth, and is a free city, with a territory less
than Rutlandshire. Its export and import trade is very varied; half the
total of emigrants sail from its docks; it is the head-quarters of the
North German Lloyd Steamship Company. Textiles, tobacco, and paper
industries add to its prosperity; was one of the principal cities of the
Hanseatic League.


BREMER, FREDRIKA, a highly popular Swedish novelist, born in
Finland; "The Neighbours," "The President's Daughter," and "Strife and
Peace," are perhaps her best stories; has been called the Jane Austen of
Sweden.


BREMER, SIR JAMES, rear-admiral; distinguished in the Burmese and
Chinese wars (1786-1850).


BREMERHAVEN, the port of Bremen, on the estuary of the Weser,
founded for the accommodation of large vessels in 1830, with a large
hospice for emigrants.


BRENDAN, ST., an Irish saint, born at Tralee, celebrated for his
voyages in quest of "a land beyond human ken" and his discovery of "a
paradise amid the waves of the sea"; founded a monastery at Clonfert;
died in 577, in his ninety-fourth year.


BRENNER PASS, pass on the central Tyrolese Alps, 6853 ft. high,
between Innsbruck and Botzen, crossed by a railway, which facilitates
trade between Venice, Germany, and Austria.


BRENNUS, a Gallic chief, who, 300 B.C., after taking and pillaging
Rome, invested the Capitol for so long that the Romans offered him a
thousand pounds' weight of gold to retire; as the gold was being weighed
out he threw his sword and helmet into the opposite scale, adding _Vae
victis_, "Woe to the conquered," an insolence which so roused Camillus,
that he turned his back and offered battle to him and to his army, and
totally routed the whole host.


BRENTA, an Italian river; rises in the Tyrol, waters Bassano, and
debouches near Venice.


BRENTANO, CLEMENS, poet of the romanticist school, born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, brother of Goethe's Bettina von Arnim; was a
roving genius (1778-1849).


BRENTFORD, market-town in Middlesex, on the Brent, 10 m. W. of
London, that figures in history and literature.


BRENZ, JOHANN, the reformer of Wuertemberg, and one of the authors of
the Wuertemberg Confession, as well as a catechism extensively used
(1499-1570).


BRESCIA (43), a city of Lombardy, on the Mella and Garza, 50 m. E.
of Milan; has two cathedrals, an art gallery and library, a Roman temple
excavated in 1822, and now a classical museum; its manufactures are
woollens, silks, leather, and wine.


BRESLAU (335), the capital of Silesia, second city in Prussia; an
important commercial and manufacturing centre, and has a first-class
fortress; is on the Oder, 150 m. by rail SE. of Frankfort; it stands in
the centre of the Baltic, North Sea, and Danube trade, and has a large
woollen industry and grain market; there are a cathedral, university, and
library.


BRESSAY, one of the Shetland Isles, near Lerwick, with one of the
best natural harbours in the world.


BREST (76), a strongly-fortified naval station in the extreme NW. of
France; one of the chief naval stations in France, with a magnificent
harbour, and one of the safest, first made a marine arsenal by Richelieu;
has large shipbuilding yards and arsenal; its industries are chiefly
related to naval equipment, with leather, waxcloth, and paper
manufactures.


BRETON, JULES ADOLPHE, a French _genre_ and landscape painter, born
at Courrieres, in Pas-de-Calais, 1827.


BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, Spanish poet and dramatist; wrote comedies
and satires in an easy, flowing style (1800-1873).


BRETEUIL, BARON DE, an ex-secretary of Louis XVI. (1733-1807).


BRETHREN OF THE COMMON LIFE, a Dutch branch of the "Friends of God,"
founded at Deventer by Gerard Groote.


BRETSCHNEIDER, HENRY GOTTFRIED VON, a German satirical writer, born
at Gera; led a bohemian life; served in the army; held political posts;
composed, besides satirical writings, "Almanach der Heiligen auf das
Jahr, 1788," "Wallers Leben und Sitten," and the comic epic, "Graf Esau"
(1739-1810).


BRETSCHNEIDER, KARL GOTTLIEB, a German rationalistic theologian;
much regarded for his sound judgment in critical matters; his theological
writings are of permanent value; his chief works, "Handbuch der
Dogmatik," and an edition of Melanchthon's works.


BRETWALDA, a title apparently of some kind of acknowledged supremacy
among the Anglo-Saxon kings, and the leader in war.


BREUGHEL, a family of Butch painters, a father and two sons, the
father, Peter, called "OLD" B. (1510-1570); a son, John, "VELVET"
B., either from his dress or from the vivid freshness of his colours
(1560-1625); and the other, Peter, "HELLISH" B., from his fondness
for horrible subjects (1559-1637).


BREVET`, a commission entitling an officer in the army to a nominal
rank above his real rank.


BREVIARY, a book containing the daily services in the Roman Catholic
Church and corresponding to the English Prayer-Book; differs from the
"Missal," which gives the services connected with the celebration of the
Eucharist, and the "Pontifical," which gives those for special occasions.


BREWER, JOHN SHERREN, historian, professor of English Literature in
King's College, London; author of "Calendar of Letters and Papers of
Henry VIII.'s Reign," his work the sole authority on Henry's early reign
(1810-1879).


BREWER OF GHENT, Jacob Arteveld.


BREWSTER, SIR DAVID, an eminent Scottish natural philosopher, born
at Jedburgh; edited the "Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," in the pages of which
Carlyle served his apprenticeship; specially distinguished for his
discoveries in light, his studies in optics, and for his optical
inventions, such as the kaleidoscope and the stereoscope; connected with
most scientific associations of his time; wrote largely on scientific and
other subjects, e. g., a Life of Newton, as well as Lives of Euler,
Kepler, and others of the class; Principal of the United Colleges of St.


 


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