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- the
^atory,
y Jord car-
the clergy -y
-lounced—Aiks
tvhen Edward VI,
x'roteftant j and for¬
th at
t
BAR
  I
Balk-kind- ;ng} as well as for the fetching fea-water to make fait
lnJ> of. Thev h nVP q I,     .
Barley.
of. I hey have a deck, and are (filled with water un to
the deck.
BARK-Baiding, a diftemper incident to trees; cured
by flitting the bark, dr cutting along the grain.
Ba r k - Galling,. is when the trees are galled with
thorns, &c. It is cured by binding clay on the Q-alled
places.
^ Bari.-Longue, or Barcn Longa, a fmall low fharp-
built, but very long, veffel without a deck. It goes
Vvith fails and oars, and is very common in Spain.
BARK HAMS I E AD, or Berkhamstead, a town
of Hertfordihire in England, feems to have been the
nte of a Roman town. It had formerly a ftrong caftle
built by the Normans, but it has been longfince demo-
lifhed. W. Long. o. 35. N. Lat. 45. 49.
BARKING, a town of Eflex in England, feated
-on the river Roding, not far from the Thames, in a
very unwholefome air. It has been chiefly noted for a
large monaflery, now in ruins 5 there being nothing
eft Handing but a fmall part of the walls and a gate^
houfe. E. Long. c. 13. N. Lat. $1. 30.
Barking of Trees, the peeling off the rind or bark,
l his muff be done, in our climate, in the month of
May, becaufe at that time the fap of the tree feparates
the bark from the wood. It would be very difficult
to perform it at any other time of the year, unlefs the
feafon was extremely wet and rainy j for heat and dry-
ne.s are. a very great hindrance to it.
^ By the French laws, all dealers are forbid to bark
tueir wood while growing, on the penalty of 500 livres.
1 his law was the refult of ignorance ; it being now
found that barking of trees, and letting them die, in-
creafes the ftreng A of timber.
^ Ai\I\LL v , a town of Gloucefferfhire in England,
feated on a branch of the river Severn. It was for¬
merly of fome note for a nunnery, and has ftill the title
of a barony. W. Long. 2. 30.' N. Lat. 51. 40.
BARKWAY, a town of Hertfordfliire in Eng¬
land, on the great road from London to York. W,
Long. o. 5. N. Lat. 52.
BARLuEUS, Caspar, profeffor of philofophy.at
Amrterdam, and one of the beft Latin poets of the
t 7th century. There was fcarce any thing great that
happened in the world, while he lived, but he made a
pompous elegy upon it, when reafons of ftate were no
obftacle to it. He was a great defender of Arminius •
and fhowed his abilities in hiftory by his relation of
what paffed in Brafil during the government of Count
Maurice of Naffau, publiflied 1647. He died the year
alter. ■ ^
BARLERIA, Snap-Dragon. See Botany Ln-
aex.
BARLETTA, a handfome and ftrong town of
Italy, in the kingdom of Naples, and in the Terra dl
r TT 3 ^^10P’S fee* It is fituated on the gulf
of Venice, m E._ Long. 16. 32. N. Lat. 41. 30.
BARLEY, in Botany. See Hordeum, Botany
and Agriculture Index.
I he principal ufe of barley among us is for making
beer 5 in order to which it is firft malted. See the ar¬
ticle Beer.
I he Spaniards, among whom malt liquors are little
known, feed their horfes with barley as we do with
cats. In Scotland barley is a common ingredient in
V OL. in. Part II.
r 401 1 bar
broths ; and the confumpt of it for that purpofe is
very confiderable, barley-broth being a dilh as frequent
there as that of foup in h ranee.
Pearl Barley, and French Barley ; barley freed of
the hulk by a mill; thq difthiftion between the two
being, that the pearl barley is reduced to the fize of
fmall fhot, all but the very heart of the grain beincr
ground away. . *■’
BARLEY-lVater, is a decoftion of either of thefe, re¬
puted foft and lubricating, of frequent ufe in phyfic.
I his well known decodlion is a very ufeful drink in
many diforders ; and'is recommended^ with nitre by
fome authors of reputation, in flow fevers. ’
BARLEY-Corn is ufed to denote a long meafure, con¬
taining in length tha third part of an inch, and in
breadth the eighth. The French carpenters alfo ufe
barley-corn, gram d'orge, as equivalent to a line, or
the twelfth part of an inch.
BARLEY-Corn (gram d'orge), is alfo ufed in building
tor a little cavity between the mouldings of ioinerl
work, forving to feparate or keep them afunder : thus
called becaifle made of a kind of plane of the fame
name.
Pearl-Ear-
ley
II
-Barlow.
r William, biflrop of Chicheffer, de-
icended of an ancient family in Wales, was born in the
county of Eflex. In his youth he favoured the Refor¬
mation 5 and travelled to Germany to be inftrucled by
Luther, and other preachers of the new dodrine.
How long he continued a Proteftant is uncertain : but
from his letter to King Henry VIII. quoted below, it
appears that he wrote feveral books againft the church
of Rome. However, he was a regular canon in the
Auguftme monaftery of St Ofith in the county of Ef¬
lex and ftudied fome time at Oxford with the brothers
of that order, where he took the degree of dodor in.
divimty. He was then made prior of the convent at
Bifliam in Berkfhire ; and afterwards fucceeded to the
ieveral priories of Blackmore, Typtree, Lega, Brom-
hole, and Haverford-weft. On the diffolution of ab-
beys, he refigned not only with a good grace, but per-
luaded feveral other abbots to follow his example
King Henry was fo pleafed with his ready obedience
on this occafion, that he fent him, in on an
embafly to Scotland; in the fame year, made him bi-
ihop of St Afaph ; m two months after, tranflated him
1 turn0 S* Da.Vld’3 and in r547 to that of Bath
and Wells. During this time, our good bilhop, as
appears from the following epiflle to the king, was or
pretended to be a {launch Papift : it was written in
1 , Prayfe be to God, who of his infynyte good¬
ness and mercy ineftymable hath brought me out of
arknefs into light, and from deadly ignorance into the
r,k k"ow;ledSc the truth. From which, through
the Fend s mftigation and falfe perfuafion, I have great¬
ly fworved.-In fo much that I have made certayn
bokes, and have foffred them to be emprinted, as the
tretife of the Bury a 11 of the Mafs, &c. In thefe tre-
tffes I perceive and acknowledge myfelf grievoufly to
have erred namely againft the bleffed facrament of the
altare ; difallowing the maffe and denying purgatory
with flanderous infamy of the pope and my lo?d car-
dinal, and outrageous rayling againft the clergy;
Whl.ch 1loriaken and utterly renounced—Aiks
pardon,V ilham Barlow.” However, when Edward VI
came to the crown, he was again a Proteftant j and for
3 L that
BAR
Barlow, that reafon, on Queen Mary’s acceffion,
■"—/——' 0f jjjs blfhopric, and fent prifoner to the Fleet, where
he continued 1’orae time. At length he found means
to el'cape, and immediately joined the other Englilh
Proteflants in Germany. When Queen Elizabeth af-
cended the throne, our prelate was raifed to the fee of
Chichefter, and loon after made firft prebendary of the
collegiate church of Weftminfter. He died in 1568,
and was buried in the cathedral at Chichefter. He
had five daughters, each of which married a bithop.
He wrote, 1. The Buryal of the mafle. 2. The climb¬
ing up of Fryers and religious Perfons, portred with Fi¬
gures. 3. Chriftian Homilies. 4. A book upon Colmo-
grapby. 5. The godly and pious Inftitution of a Chri¬
ftian Man, commonly called the Bifhop's Book; and
feveral other works. He is faid to be the tranflator of
the i^pocrypha as far as the book of Wildom. His
letters to M. Parker are in manufeript in Corpus Chriiti
college, Cambridge, Mifc. i. 445.
Barlow, William, a mathematician and divine, the
fon of the biftiop of Chichefter, was born in Pem-
brokelhire whilft his father w^as bilhop of St David’s.
In 1560, he was entered commoner of Baliol college in
Oxford 5 and in 1564, took a degree in arts, which
having completed by determination, he left the uni-
verfity and went to fea \ but in what capacity is un¬
certain : however, he acquired confiderable knowdedge
in the art of navigation. About the year 1573, he
entered into orders \ and became prebendary of Win-
chefter and re&or of Eafton near that city. In 1588,
he was made prebendary of Litchfield, which he ex¬
changed for the place of treafurer of that church. Some
years after, he was made chaplain to Prince Henry,
the fon of King James I. \ and in 1614, archdeacon of
Salilhury. He was the firft writer on the nature and
properties of the magnet. Barlow^ died in the year
1623, and was buried in the church at Eafton. His
wmrks are, 1. “ The Navigator’s Supply, containing
many things of principal importance belonging to na¬
vigation, and ufe of diverfe inftruments framed chief¬
ly for that purpofe.” London, 1597? 4to, Dedicated
to Robert earl of Effex. 2. “ Magnetical Advertife-
ments, or diverfe pertinent Obfervations and approved
Experiments concerning the Nature and Properties of
the Loadftone.” London, 1616, 4to. 3. “ A brief
Difcovery of the idle Animadverfions of Mark Ridley,
M. D. upon a Treatife entitled Magnetical Advertife-
ments.” London, 1618, 4to.
Barlow, Thomas, born in 1607, wfas appointed
fellow of Queen’s college in Oxford in 1633 ; and two
years after was chofen reader of metaphyfics to the uni-
verfity. He was keeper of the Bodleian library, and
in 1657 was chofen provoft of Queen’s college. After
the reftoration of King Charles II. he was nominated
one of the commiffioners for reftoring the members un-
juftly expelled in 1648. He wrote at that time The
Cafe ‘ f Toleration in Matters of Religion, to Mr R.
Boyle. In 1675, he was made biftiop of Lincoln.
After the popiih plot, he publifhed feveral trafts
againft; the Roman catholic religion j -in which he
{hows an uncommon extent of learning, and {kill in
polemical divinity. Neverthelefs, when the duke of
York was proclaimed king, he took all opportunities
of exprefling his affection toward him m, but after the
revolution he as readily voted that the king had abdi-
[ 402 ] BAR
as deprived cated his kingdom and was very vigorous in exclud¬
ing thofe of the clergy who refufed the oaths, from
their benefices.
Mr Granger obferves, that “ this learned prelate,
whom nature defigned for a fcholar, and who a£ted in
conformity with the bent of nature, wras perhaps as
great a roafter of the learned languages, and of the
works of the celebrated authors who have written in
thofe languages, as any man in his age. The greateft
part of his writings, of which Mr Wood has given us
a catalogue, are againft Popery •, and his conduct for
fome time, like that of other Calvinifts, appeared to
be in direct oppofition to the church of Rome. But
after James afeended the throne, he feemed to approach
much nearer to Popery than Re ever did before. He
fent the king an addrefs of thanks for his declaration
for liberty of confcience, and is laid to have written
reafons for reading that declaration. His compliance*
w7ere much the lame after the revolution. His mo¬
deration, to call it by the fofteft name, was very great;
indeed fo great as to bring the firmnefs of his charac¬
ter in queltion. But cafuiftry, which was his moll
diftinguilhed talent, not only reconciles feeming con-
tradiftions, but has alfo been known to admit contra-
diftions themfelves. He was, abftra&ed from this lax¬
ity of principles, a very great and worthy man.” He
died at Buckden, in Huntingdonlhire, on the 8th of
October 1691, in the 85th year of bis age.
Barlow, Francis, an Englilh painter, was born
in Lincolnlhire. On his coming to London, he was
placed with one Shephard, a limner; but his ge¬
nius led him chiefly to drawing of birds, filh, and
other animals. There are fix books of animals from
his drawings, and he painted fome ceilings with birds
for noblemen and gentlemen in .the country. His
etchings are numerous; his iiluftration of Eibp is his
greateft wmrk. He died in 1702. There is fome-
thing pleafing in the compofition and manner of this
mafter, though neither is excellent. His drawing
too is very indifferent; nor does he characterize any
animal juftly. His birds in general are better than his
beafts.
BARM, the fame with yeft. See Yest.—Barra
is faid to have been firft ufed by the Celtae in the '
compofition of bread. About the time of Agricola’s
entrance into Lancaftiire, a new fort of loaf had been
introduced at Rome ; which was formed only of wa¬
ter and flour, and much efteemed for its lightnefs;
and it was called the water cake from its Ample com¬
pofition, and the Parthian roll trom its original inven¬
tors. But even this w as not comparable to the French
or Spanilh bread for its lightnefs. The ufe of curmi*, * See A!‘->
and the knowledge of brewing, had acquainted the
Celtes with an ingredient for their bread, which was
much better calculated to render it light and pleafant,
than the leaven, the eggs, the milk, or the wine and
honey, of other nations. This was the fpume which
arofe on the furface of their curmi in fermentation, and
w hich the Welch denominate burm and we barm. The
Celtes of Gaul, of Spain, and moft probably therefore
of South-Britain, had long ufed it; and their bread
was, in confequence of this,, fuperior in lightnefs to
that of any other nation in the world f. See the ar¬
ticles Baking and Bread.
BARMAS, an Eaft Indian people, who in 1515
poffeffed
■ f Pliny, HE
xviii, c. 7*
11.
BAR [4
Bam poflefled all the coaft extending from Bengal to Pegu.
Barnabas’ ^ aPPears a^°’ were fornierly mafters of
W_^w' Ava, the dominions of which extended as far as China;
and of confequence the Barmas were mafters of moft
of the northern part of the peninfula beyond the Gan¬
ges. Their dominions, however, were afterwards re¬
duced to very narrow bounds, and their king became
tributary to the king of Pegu ; but by degrees they not
only recovered their former empire, but conquered the
kingdoms of Pegu, Siam, and feveral others. By the
lateft accounts, their kingdom extends from the pro¬
vince of Yun-nan in China, about 800 miles in length
from north to fouth, and 250 in breadth from eaft to
weft. See Asia and Pegu.
BARN, in Hufbandry, a covered place or houfe,
with air-holes in the fides, for laying up any fort of
grain, hay, or ftraw.
St BARNABAS’S Day, a Chriftian feftival, cele¬
brated on the 1 ith of June.—St Barnabas was born at
Cyprus, and defcended of the tribe of Levi, whofe
Jewifti anceftors are thought to have retired thither to
fecure themfelves from violence during the troublefome
times in Judea. His proper name -wasjofes; to which,
after his converfion to Chriftianity, the apoftles added
that of Barnabas, fignifying either the fon of prophecy,
or the fon of conflation; the firft refpe&ing his eminent
prophetic gifts, the other his great charity in felling
Ids eftate for the comfort and relief of the poor Chri-
ftians. He w^as educated at Jerufalem, under the great
Jewifti dosftor Gamaliel; which might probably lay
the foundation of that intimate friendftiip which was
afterwards contra&ed between this apoftle and St Paul.
The time of his converfion is uncertain ; but he is ge¬
nerally efteemed one of the feventy difciples chofen by
our Saviour himfelf.
At Antioch, St Paul and St Barnabas had a con-
teft, wTich ended in their feparation : but what fol¬
lowed it with refpefi: to St Barnabas is not related in
the ABs of the Apofles. Some fay, he went into Ita¬
ly, and founded a church at Milan. At Salamis, we
are told, he fuffered martyrdom •, whither fome jews,
being come out of Syria, let upon him, as he was dif-
puting in the fynagogue, and ftoned him to death.
He was buried by his kinfman Mark, whom he had
taken with him, in a cave near that city. The re¬
mains of his body are faid to have been difcovered in
the reign of the emperor Zeno, together with a copy
of St Matthew’s gofpel, written with his own hand,
and lying on his breaft.
St Barnabas's Epi/l/e, an apocryphal work afcribed
to St Barnabas, and frequently cited by St Clement
of Alexandria and Origen. It was firft publifhed in
Greek, from a copy of Father Hugh Menard a Bene-
di<ftine monk. Ah ancient verfion of it was found in
a manufcript of the abbey of Coebey, near a thoufand
years old. Voflius publiihed it, in the year 1656, to-
. gether wdth the epiftles of St Ignatius.
^ St Barnabas's Gofpel, another apocryphal work,
afcribed to St Barnabas the apoftle, wherein the hi-
ftory of Jefus Chrift is related in a manner very different
from the account given us by the four Evangelifts.
The Mahometans have this gofpel in Arabic, and it
correfponds very well with thofe traditions which Ma¬
homet followed in his Koran. It was, probably, a
forgery of fome nominal Chriftians; and afterwards
>3 ] BAR
altered and interpolated by the Mahometans, the better Barnabites
to ferve their purpofe. ||
BARNABITES, a religious order, founded in the Barn<"veMt,‘
16th century by three Italian gentlemen, who had been
advifed by a famous preacher of thofe days to read
carefully the epiftles of St Paul. Hence they were
called clerks of St Paul; and Barnabites, becaufe they
performed their firft exercife in a church of St Barna¬
bas at Milan. Their habit is black ; and their office
is to inftrua, cathechife, and ferve in miffion.
BARNACLE, a fpecies of goofe. See Anas, Or¬
nithology Index.
BARNACLES, in Farriery, an inftrument com-
pofed of two branches joined at one end with a hinge,
to put upon hories nofes when they will not Hand quiet¬
ly to be ffiod, blooded, or dreffed.
BARNADESIA. See BoPany Index.
BARNARD, or Bernard, John, the fon of John
Barnard gent, was born at Caftor in Lincolnfture, and
educated at Cambridge. After feveral preferments, he
was made a prebendary of the church of Lincoln. lie
wrote Cenfura Clerior, againft fcandalous minifters not
fit to be reftored to church livings ; the Life of Dr
Heylyn; and a few other works. He died at Newark
Auguft 17. 1683. ?
Barnard Cafle, feated on the river Tees in the
■county of Durham, is a town and barony belonging to
Vane earl of Darlington. It is indifferently large, and
has a manufa&ure of ftockings. W. Long. 1. 4c.
N. Lat. 54.35.
P ARNES, Jo s h u A, profeffor of the Greek language
at Cambridge, in the beginning of the 18th century.
He was chofen queen’s profeffor of Greek in 1699, a
language he wrote and fpoke with the utmoft facility.
His firft publication was a whimfical traft, entitled,
Gerama, or a new Difcovery of the little fort of people
called Pygmies. After that appeared his Life of Ed¬
ward III. in which he introduces his hero making
long and elaborate fpeeches.—In the year T700, when
he publiftied many of his works, Mrs Mafon," of Hem-
mingford, in Huntingdonffiire, a widow lady of be¬
tween 40 and 50, with a jointure of 200I. per annum,
who had been for fome time a great admirer of him’
came to Cambridge, and defired leave to fettle 100I.
a year upon him after her death ; which he politely
refufed, unlefs {he would likewife condefcend to make
him happy with her perfon, which was not very enga¬
ging. The lady was too obliging to refufe any thing
to Joftiua, for whom {he faid, “ the fun flood ftill
and they were accordingly married. Mr Barnes wrote
feveral other books befides thofe abovementioned, par¬
ticularly, Sacred Poems ; The life of Oliver Cromwell,
the Tyrant ; feveral dramatic pieces ; a poetical Para¬
ph/ afe on the Ilifory of Ffher, m Greek verfe, with a
Latin tranflation, &c.: and he publiftied editions of
Euripides, Anacreon, and Homer's Iliad and Odyjfey,
v\ith notes and a Latin ■ tranflation. He wrote wdth
greater eaie in Greek than even in Engliffi, and yet is
generally allowed not to have underftood the delicacies
of that language. He was of fuch a humane difpofi-
tion, and fo unacquainted wfith the world, that he gave
his only coat to a vagrant begging at his door. This
excellent man died on the 3d of Auguft 1712, in the
58th year of bis age.
BARNEVELDi , John d’Olden, the celebrated
3 P 2 Dutch
BAR [ 404 ] BAR
Barnet Dutch ft ate (roan, and one of the founders of the civil
liberty of Holland. His patriotic zeal inducing him
" " ~ , to limit the authority of Maurice prince of Orange
. the fecond ftadtholder of Holland, the partizans of that>
prince fallely accufed him of a defign to deliver his
country into the hands of the Spaniih monarch. On
this abfurd charge he was tried by 26 commiiTaries
deputed fVom the feven provinces, condemned, and be¬
headed in 1619. His fans William and Rene, with
a view of revenging their father’s death, formed a con-
fpiracy againft the ftadtholder, which was difcovered.
William fled : but Rene was taken and condemned to
die ; which fatal circumftance has immortalized the
memory of his mother, of whom the following anecdote
is recorded. She folicited a pardon for Rene •, upon
which Maurice expreffed his furprife that fhe fliould do
that for her fon which the had refufed for her hulband.
To this remark, ftie replied with indignation, “ 1
would not alk a pardon for my hufband, becaufe he was
innocent. I folicit it for my fon, becaufe he is guilty.”
BARNET, a town partly in Middlefex and partly
in Hertfordihire. It is a great thoroughfare, and the ,
market is very remarkable for hogs. W. Long. o. 5.
N. Lat. 51. 42.
BARNSLEY, or Black Barnsley, a town of the
weft riding of Yorkihire, feated on the fide of a hill,
and Eve furlongs in length. W. Long. 1. 20. N. Lat.
53- 35-
BARNSTABLE, a fea-port town of Devcnftiire,
feated on the river Tau, over which there is a good
bridge. It is a corporation town, and fends two mem¬
bers to parliament. W. Long. 4. 5. N. Lat. 51. 15.
BARO, or Baron, Peter, profeflbr of divinity in
the univerfity of Cambridge, in the 16th century, was
born at Eftampes in France, and educated in the uni¬
verfity of Bourges, where he was admitted a licentiate
in the law but being of the Proteftant religion, he
was obliged to leave his native country to avoid perfe-
cutionj and withdrawing into England, was kindly en¬
tertained by Lord Burleigh. Fie afterwards fettled at
Cambridge ; and by the recommendation of his noble
patron, was, in 1574, chofen Lady Margaret’s profeflbr
there. For fome years he quietly enjoyed his profef-
forftiip •, but there was at laft railed a reftlefs faeftion
againft him, by his oppofing the doctrine of abfolute
predeftination ; which rendered his place fo uneafy to
him, that he chofe to leave the univerfity, and to fettle
in London. Fie wrote, 1. In Jonatn Prophetam Prce¬
lt Eliones xxxix. 2. De PrcrJIantia et Dignitate Divine?
Legis ; and other pieces. He died in London, about
the year 1600.
BAROCCI, Frederic, a celebrated painter, was
born at Urbino, where the genius of Raphael infpired
him. In his early youth he travelled to Rome; where
he painted feveral things in frefco. He then returned
to Urbino ; and giving himfelf up to intenie ftudy,
acquired a great name in painting. His genius parti¬
cularly led him to religious fubjeils. At his leilure
hours, he etched a few prints from his own defigns ;
» which are highly finiihed, and executed with great
foftnefs and delicacy. The Salutation is his capital
performance in that way : of which we feldom meet
with any impreflions, but thofe taken from the retouched
plate, which are very harfli. He died at Urbino in
1612, aged 84.
BAROCHE, a town of Cambaya, in the domi- Baroche
nions of the Great Mogul; it is walled round, and w as gar(Jjctcr
formerly a place of'great trade. It is now inhabited f ..C
by weavers and fuch mechanics as manufaclure cotton
cloth. Plere they have the beft cotton in the world,
and of confequence the beft baftas are manufa&ured in
this place. The Englilh and Dutch had formerly fac¬
tories here, which are now abandoned. ,E. Long. 72.
5. N. Lat. 22. 15.
BAROCO, in Logic, a term given to the fourth
mode of the fecond figure of fyllogifms. A fyllogifm
in baroco has the firft propofition univerfal and affirma¬
tive, but the fecond and third particular and negative,
and the middle term is the predicate in the two firft:
propofitions. For example,
Nullus homo non ejl hipes :
Non omne animal ejl hipes :
Non omne animal ejl homo.
BAROMETER, (from weight, and
meafure), an inftrument for rneafuring the weight of
the atmofphere, and of ufe in foretelling the changes of
the weather, and alfo for meafuring the height of
mountains, &c. j
The common barometer confifts of a glafs tube her-Principles
meticaliy fealed at one end, and filled with quickfilver of the ba-
well defecated and purged of its air. The finger beingrometer'
then placed on the open end, in immediate contadl wdth
the mercury, fo as not to admit the leaft particle of air,
the tube is inverted, and the lower end plunged into a
bafon of the fame prepared mercury ; then upon re¬
moving the finger, the mercury in the tube w ill join
that in the bafon, and the mercurial column in the tube
will fubfide to the height of 29 or 30 inches, according
to the ftate of the atmofphere at that time. This is the
principle on which all barometers are couftrucled. Of
their invention, the different kinds of them, and the
theories by which their phenomena are folved, we ffiall
proceed to give an hiftorical account.
In the beginning of the laft century, when the doc- Difco2vered
trine of a plenum was in vogue, philofophers were of Galila-o,
opinion, that the afeent of water in pumps was owing and im-
to the abhorrence of a vacuum ; and that by means of proved by
fudlion, fluids might be raifed to any height whatever.Ioulce x'
But Galilseo, who flouriffied about that time, difcover¬
ed that water could not afeend in a pump unlefs the
fucker reached within 33 feet of its furface in the well.
From hence he concluded, that not the power of fuftion,
but the preflure of the atmofphere, w as the caufc of the
afeent of water in pumps; that a column of water 33
feet high was a counterpoife to cne of air of an equal
bafe, whofe height extended to the top of the atmo¬
fphere ; and that for this reafon the water would not
follow the fucker any farther. From this Torricelli,
Galilseo’s difciple, took the hint ; and confidered, that
if a column of water of about 33 feet in height w as
equal in weight to one of air having the fame bafe, a
column of mercury no longer than about 294 inches
would be fo too, becaufe mercury being about 14 times
heavier than water, a column of mercury muft be 14
times ffiorter than one of water equally heavy. Ac¬
cordingly, having filled a glafs tube with mercury, and
inverted it into a bafon of the fame, he found the mer¬
cury in the tube to defeend till it flood about 29' in¬
ches above the furface. of that in the bafon..
Notwithftanding
BAR [4
Barometer. Not with (landing this clear proof of the preflure of
'—1 the atmofphere, however, the affertors of a plenum left
3 , ^ no means untried to folve the phenomena of the Tor-
Sri'.ii/'..,- 1 r ii ,
pothefis of ncelhan experiment by iome other hypothehs.
Linus.
The
4
Experi¬
ments in
confirma¬
tion of it.
5
Refuted.
naoft ridiculous folution, and which at the fame time
gave the adverfe party the greateft difficulty to over¬
throw it, was that of Linus. He contended, that in the
upper part of the tube, there is a film, or rope of mer¬
cury, extended through the feeming vacuity j and that,
by this rope, the reft of the mercury was fulpended,
and kept from falling into the bafon. Even this fo ab-
furd hypothefis he pretended to confirm by the follow¬
ing experiments. Take, fays he, a fmall tube, open at
both ends, fuppofe about 20 inches long ; fill this tube
with mercury, flopping the lower orifice with your
thumb : Then clofing the upper end with your finger,
and immerging the lower in ftagnant mercury, you lhall
perceive, upon the removal of your thumb, a manifeft
fudlion of your finger into the tube j and the tube and
mercury will both flick fo clofe to it, that you may
carry them about the room. Therefore, fays he, the
internal cylinder of mercury in the tube is not held up
by the preponderate air without ; for if fo, whence
comes fo flrong a fuftion, and fo firm an adhefion of
the tube to the finger r—The fame efifedl follows,
though the tube be not quite filled with mercury j for
if a little fpace of air is left at the top, after the tube
is immerged in the ftagnant mercury, there will be a
conflderable fuction as before.
Thefe experiments, which are themfelves clear proofs
of the preflure of the air, fupported for fome time the
funicular hypothefis, as it was called, of Linus. But
when it was difcovered, that if the tube was carried to
the top of a high mountain the mercury flood lower
than on the plain, and that if removed into the vacuum
of an air-pump it fell out altogether, the hypothefis of
Linus was rejected by every body.—There are, how-
able experi-ever, two experiments which create a confiderable dif-
ments by ficulty. One is mentioned by Mr Huygens, viz. that
if a glafs tube 7 $ inches long, or perhaps longer, is
filled with mercury well purged of its air, and then in¬
verted, the whole will remain fufpended •, whereas, ac¬
cording to the Torricellian experiment, it ought to fub-
fide immediately to the height of 29 or 30 inches. It
is true indeed, that, upon fhaking the tube, the mer¬
cury prefently fubfides to that height ; but why it
fhould remain fufpended at all, more than twice the
height to which it can be raifed by the preffure of the
moil denfe atmofphere, feems not eafily accounted for;
I nf itisfac anc^ accordingly, in the Philofophical Tranfaflions, we
torily ac- And attempts to account for it by the preflure of a me-
counted for dium more fubtile than the common air, and capable
In the Phi- Gf pervading both the mercury and glafi. We find
there alfo another very furprifing faff of the fame kind
mentioned •, viz. that a pretty large tube under 29 in¬
ches in length, filled with mercury, and inverted into
a bafon of the fame, will remain full, though there be
a fmall hole in the top. This too, is there accounted
for by the preflure of a medium more fubtile than com¬
mon air 5 but by no means in a fatisfadlory manner. Mr
6
Retnark-
IVlr Huy¬
gens,
lofophical
Tranfac
tions
8
Mr Row-
ning’s folu- Rowming, who mentions the phenomenon of the 75
twn. inch tube, accounts for it in the following manner.
“ The caufe of this phenomenon feems to be, that by
the great weight of fo long a column of mercury, it
was prelfed into fo clofe contaft with the glafs in pour-
>5 1 bar
ing in, that, by the mutual attraction of cohefion be- barometer,
tween the mercury and the glafs, the whole column
was fuftained after the tube was inverted.’—Here,infugj„
however, we mull obferve, that this folution feems cient.
equally unfatisfacfory with that of the fubtile medium
already mentioned ; becauie it is only one end of the
column which fuftains fo great a prefiure from the
weight of the mercury 5 and therefore, though five or
fix inches of the upper part of the tube, where the pref¬
lure had been ftnongeft, might thus remain full of mer¬
cury, yet the reft ought to fall down. Befides, it is
only the outfide of the mercurial column that is in con-
tadl with the glafs, and confequently thele parts only
ought to be attrafted. Therefore, even granting the prel-
fure to be equally violent, on the inverfion of the tube,
all the -way from 29 to 75 inches, yet the glafs ought
to be only as it were filvered over by a very thin film
of mercury, while the middle parts of the column ought
to fall out by reafon of their fluidity. 10
The other experiment hinted at, is with regard to Another
fiphons ; which though it belongs more properly to the^xf^njPlCh'
article Hydrostatics, yet feems neceflary to be men-p|10ns>
tioned here. It is this: That a liphon, once fet a run¬
ning, wdll continue to do fo though fet under the re¬
ceiver of an air-pump and the air exhaufted in the moil
perfedl manner } or if a fiphon is filled, and then let
under a receiver and the air exhaufted, if by any con¬
trivance the end of the lower leg is opened, it will im¬
mediately begin to run, and difeharge the water of any
veflel in which the other leg is placed, as though it was
in the open air. The caufe of this phenomenon, as
well as the former, feems very difficult to be invefti-
gated. Some philofophers have attempted a folution ir
on a principle fomething fimilar to that of the luni- Another
cular hypothefis of Linus above-mentioned j namely, folution.
that “ fluids in fiphons feem as it w’ere to form one con¬
tinued body ; fo that the heavier part, defeending, like
a chain pulls the lighter after it.” This might be
deemed a fufficient explanation, if the fiphon were on¬
ly to empty the water it at firft contains in itfelf: Is
but when we confider that the water in the veflel, InfufTi-
which much exceeds the quantity contained in thecienU
fiphon, isi likewife evacuated, this hypothefis can
by no means be admitted $ becauie this would be
like the lighter part of a chain pulling the heavier af¬
ter it. 13
Concerning the caufe of thefe lingular phenomena, Another
w’e can only oflfer the following conjecture. The ex-|°lutl“’1>
iftence of a medium much more fubtile than air, and n 0f
which pervades the vacuum of an air-pump with the eic(qnc;t^
utmoll facility, is nowT fufficiently afeertained in the
phenomena of eleftricity. It is alfo well known, that
this fluid furrounds the whole earth to an indeterminate
height. If therefore this fluid either is the power of
gravity itfelf, or is aCted upon by that pow er, it mull
neceflarily prefs upon all terreftrial bodies in a man¬
ner fimilar to the preflure of the atmofphere. If then
we could from any vefiel entirely'exclude this fubtile
fluid, and form an eleftrical vacuum, as well as we can
do an aerial one by means of the air-pump, w e would
in that cafe fee fluids as evidently raifed by the prelfure
of the eleftric matter, as w’e now fee them raifed by
that of the air. But though this cannot be done, we-
are allured that there are certain fubftances, of which,
glafs is one; through which the ele&iic matter cannot
pa& ■
BAR [406
• pafs but with difficulty. We are likewife certain, that
though the ele&ric matter paffes through the pores of wa¬
ter, metals, &c. with very great facility, yet it ftill muft
meet with fome refiftance from their folid and impene¬
trable parts, which cannot be pervaded by any material
fubftance. We know alfo, that all fubftances do na¬
turally contain a certain quantity of this ele&ric mat¬
ter, which they are not always ready to part with j and
when by any means the fluid they contain is fet in mo¬
tion, they are then faid to ele&njied. Now, though
we are certain, that the fridlion of glafs by mercury
does fet in riiotion the elefhic fluid contained in the
mercury or in the glafs \ yet when the tube is filled
wdth the metallic fluid, whatever quantity has been
extricated either from the glafs or mercury during
the time of filling, will be reabforbed again by the me¬
tal and conveyed to the earth during the time of in-
verfion; and confequently, the mercurial tube, when
inverted, will not be electrified, but both glafs and
mercury will be in their natural ftate. Here, then, the
preffure of the electrical fluid is kept off in fome mea-
fure from the upper part of the mercury by the glafs,
which it cannot penetrate eafily at leaft. To the
mercury in the balon it has free accefs, and therefore
preffes more upon the lower than the upper part; the
confequence of which is a fufpenfion of the mercury.
It is true, this fluid very eafily penetrates the metallic
matter*, but it muft be confidered, that the eleClric fluid
itfelf is in fome meafure entangled in the particles of
the quickfilver, and cannot be extricated without mo¬
tion. As foon therefore as the tube is (haken, fome
part of the eleClricity is extricated, and the mercury
begins to defcend. The fubtilty of the medium is fuch,
that no fooner has it begun to extricate itfelf, than, by
the motion of the metal downwards, it iffues forth in
great quantities, fo as to become vifible, like a blue
flame, in the dark. The equilibrium is therefore de-
ftroyed in an inftant, as it would be were we to admit
air to the top of the barometer 5 nay, in a more effec¬
tual manner. For if a fmall quantity of air was ad¬
mitted to the top of a barometer, the mercury wrould
only defcend in proportion to the quantity of air ad¬
mitted ; but here, no fooner is a quantity of elecffric
matter admitted, than it procures admiffion for a vaft
deal more, and confequently the mercury defcends with
accelerated velocity.—On this principle the afcent of
water in the fiphon wffiile in vacuo is fo eafily accounted
for, that we need not take up time in explaining it far¬
ther.—But why an inverted glafs tube Ihould remain
full of mercury when it has a hole either great or fmall
in the top, is more difficult to be accounted for, and
requires this farther circumftance to be taken into con-
fideration, viz. that though all folid bodies wall, by
the aftion of gravity, or by any other impulfe, eafily
approach very near to one another, yet they cannot be
brought into abfolute contact without a very confider-
able force, much greater than is fufficient to overcome
their gravity ; and thus it appears from fome experi¬
ments, that the links of a chain are by no means in
conta£l with one another, till the chain has a confider-
able weight appended to it. This may be the cafe
\vith the tube in queftion. The air by its gravity de-
fcends upon it, and is ready to enter the fmall hole in the
top *, but, by a repulfive power from the glafs, its ac¬
tion is prevented, fo that the mercury cannot fall.
] BAR
It was, however, fome time after the Torricellian ex-Barometer,
periment had been made, and even after it had been \
univerfally agreed that the fufpenfion of the mercury J4
was owing to the weight of the atmofphere, before it^j31^161,
was difcovered that this preffure of the air was different prognofti_
at different times though the tube was kept in the fame eating the
place. But the variations of altitude in the mercurial weatfier-
column wrere too obvious to remain long unobferved ;
and accordingly philofophers foon became careful
enough to mark them. When this was done, it w*as
impoffible to avoid obferving alfo, that the changes in
the height of the mercury were accompanied, or very
quickly fucceeded, by changes in the weather. Hence
the. inftrument obtained the name of the weather-glafs,
and rvas generally made ufe of with a view to the fore¬
knowledge of the weather. In this character, its prin¬
cipal phenomena are as follow :
1. The riling of the mercury prefages, in general, fair Its phenou.
weather; and its falling, foul weather, as rain, fnow, menaasa
high winds, and ftorms. weatlier-
2. In very hot weather, the falling of the mercury
foreffiows thunder.
3. In winter, the riling prefages froft j and in frofty
weather, if the mercury falls three or four divifions,
there will certainly follow a thaw. But in a continued
froft, if the mercury rifes, it will certainly fnow.
4. When foul weather happens foon after the falling
of the mercury, expect but little of it j and, on the
contrary, expe£t but little fair weather when it proves
fair Ihortly after the mercury has rifen.
5. In foul weather, when the mercury rifes much
and high, and thus continues for two or three days be¬
fore the foul v*eather is quite over, then expert a con¬
tinuance of fair weather to follow.
6. In fair weather, when the mercury falls much and
low, and thus continues for two or three days before
the rain comes, then expeft a great deal of wet, and
probably high winds.
7. The unfettled motion of the mercury denotes un¬
certain and changeable weather.
8. You are not fo ftriftly to obferve the words en¬
graven on the plates (though in general it will agree
with them), as the mercury’s r//f«§* andfalling. For if
it ftand at much rain, and then rifes up to changeable,
it prefages fair weather ; though not to continue fo long
as if the mercury had rifen higher: and fo, on the con¬
trary, if the mercury ftood at fair, and falls to change¬
able, it prefages foul weather } though not fo much of
it as if it had funk lower. I(^
Thefe are the obfervations of Mr Patrick, on w hich Remarks
Mr Rowming makes the following remarks: “ From by Mr
thefe obfervations it appears, that it is not fo much ^own’“?*.
the height of the mercury in the tube that indicates
the weather, as the motion of it up and down : where¬
fore, in order to pafs a right judgment of wffiat weather
is to be expecled, we ought to know whether the mer¬
cury is aftually rifing or falling j to which end the fol¬
lowing rules are of ufe.
“ 1. If the furface of the mercury is convex, ftand*
• ing higher in the middle of the tube than at the fides,
it is generally a fign that the mercury is then rifing.
“ 2. If the furface is concave, it is then finking :
and,
“ 3. If it is plain, the mercury is flationary j or ra¬
ther, if it is a little convex : lor mercury being.put into
BAR
and frigid
zones.
* Philof.
‘TranfaSi.
Is!0 320.
Barometer, a gJafs tube, efpecially a {mall one, will naturally have
its furface a little convex, becaufe the particles of mer¬
cury attract one another more forcibly than they are
attracted by glafs. Further,
“ 4. If the glafs is fmall, (hake the tube ; and if
the air is grown heavier, the mercury will rife about
half the tenth of an inch higher than it ftood before ;
if it is grown lighter, it will fink as much. This pro¬
ceeds from the mercury’s flicking to the fides of the
tube, which prevents the free motion of it till it is dif-
engaged by the Ihqck : and therefore, when an obfer-
vation is to be made with fuch a tube, it ought always
to be {haken firft • for fometimes the mercury will not
vary of its own accord, till the weather it ought to have
indicated is prefent.
Thefe phe Here we niuft obferve, that _the above-mention«d
nomena pC-phenomena are peculiar to places lying at a confider-
culiarto the able dillance from the equator ; for, in the torrid zone,
temperate the mercury in the barometer feldom either rifes or
falls much. In Jamaica, it is obferved by Sir Wil¬
liam Beelton that the mercury in the morning con-
ftantly Hood at one degree below changeable and at
noon funk to one degree above rain ; fo that the whole
fcale of variation there was only of an inch. At
St Helena, too, where Dr Halley made his obfervations,
he found the mercury to remain wholly flationary
whatever weather happened. Of thefe phenomena,
their caufes, and wThy the barometer indicates an ap¬
proaching change of w7eather, the Dodlor gives us the
following account:
“ I. In calm weather, when the air is inclined to
Phenomena rain, the mercury is commonly low.
meter fol-°* ** 2‘ ^erene> S00^» and fettled weater, the mer¬
cury is generally high.
“ 3. Upon very great winds, though they be not
accompanied with rain, the mercury finks lowell of all,
■with relation to the point of the compafs the wind blows
upon.
“ 4. Cceterisparibus, the greateft heights of the mer¬
cury are found upon eallerly, or north-eafterly, winds.
“ 5. In calm frolly weather, the mercury generally
flands high.
“ 6. After very great {forms of wind, when the
mercury has been very low, it generally rifes again
very fall.
“ 7. The more northerly places have greater altera¬
tions of the barometer than the more foutherly.
“ 8. Within the tropics, and near them, thofe ac¬
counts we have had from others, and my owm obferva¬
tions at St Helena, make very little or no variation of
the height of the mercury in all w’eathers.
“ Hence I conceive, that the principal caufe of the
rife and fall of the mercury is from the variable winds
which are found in the temperate zones, and whofe great
inconftancy here in England is notorious.
“ A fecond caufe is, the uncertain exhalation and
precipitation of the vapours lodging in the air, where¬
by it comes to be at one time much more crowded than
at another, and confequently heavier j but this latter
depends in a great meafure upon the former. Now
from thefe principles I fhall endeavour to explicate the
feveral phenomena of the barometer, taking them in the
fame order I have laid them down. Thus,
“ 1. The mercury’s being lower inclines it to rain
becaufe the air being light, the vapours are no longer
[ 407 1
BAR
18
ved by Dr
Halley.
fupported thereby, being become fpecifically heavier Barometer,
than the medium wherein they floated ; fo that they
defcend towards the earth, and, in their fall, meeting
with other aqueous particles, they incorporate toge¬
ther, and form little drops of rain : but the mercury’s
being at one time lower than another, is the effe^l of
two contrary winds blowing from the place where the
barometer Hands ; whereby the air of that place is car¬
ried both ways from it, and confequently the incumbent
cylinder of air is diminiihed, and accordingly the mer¬
cury finks : As, for inftance, if in the German ocean it
Ihould blow a gale ot wefterly wind, and, at the fame
time, an eallerly w ind in the Irilh fea ; or, if in France
it fhould blow7 a northerly wind, and in Scotland a
foutherly ; it mull be granted, that that part of the
atmofphere impendant over England would thereby be
exhauited and attenuated, and the mercury wmuld fub-
fide, and the vapours which before floated in thefe parts
of the air of equal gravity with themfelves would fink
to the earth.
“ 2. The greater height of the barometer is occa-
fioned by two contrary wdnds blowing towards the
place of obfervation, whereby the air of other places is
brought thither and accumulated ; fo that the incum¬
bent cylinder of air being increafed both in height and
weight, the mercury preJfed thereby mull needs Hand
high, as long as the winds continue fo to blow; and
then the air being fpecifically heavier, the vapours arc
better kept fufpended, fo that they have no inclination
to precipitate and fall down in drops, wdiich is the rea-
fon of the ferene good weather which attends the greater
heights of the mercury.
“ 3. The mercury finks the lowed: of all by the very
rapid motion of the air in llorms of wdnd. For the
tradl or region of the earth’s furface, wherein the winds
rage, not extending all round the globe, that ftagnant
air which is left behind, as likewife that on the fides,
cannot come in fo fall as to fupply the evacuation made
by fo fwift a current •, fo that the air mull neceffarily
be attenuated when and wdiere the faid winds continue
to blow, and that more or lefs according to their vio¬
lence : add to which, that the horizontal motion of the
air being fo quick as it is, may in all probability take
oflf fome part of the perpendicular preffure thereof j
and the great agitation of its particles is the reafon
why the vapours are diffipated, and do not condenfe
into drops fo as to form rain, otherwife the natural con-
fequence of the air’s rarefadlion.
“ 4. The mercury {lands highefi: upon the eafterly
and north-eallerly wdnd ; becaufe in the great Atlantic
ocean, on this fide the 35th degree of north latitude,
the winds are almoil ahvays wellerly or fouth-weflerly y
fo that whenever here the wind comes up at eaft and
north-eaft, it is fure to be checked by a contrary gale
as foon as it reaches the ocean j wherefore,, according
to our fecond remark, the air mull needs be heaped
over this ifland, and confequently the mercury mull
Hand high as often as thefe wdnds blow. This holds
true in this country; but is not a general rule for others,
where the winds are under different circumftances :
and I have fometimes feen the mercury here as low7 as
29 inches upon an eafterly wind ; but then it blew7 ex¬
ceedingly hard, and fo comes -to be accounted for by
what was obferved in the third remark.
“ 5. In calm frofty w7eather the mercury generally
Hands
BAR [408
Barometer, {lands high ; becaufe (as I conceive) it feldom freezes fore
but when the winds come out of the northern and
north-eaftern quarters, or at leaft unlefs thofe xvinds
blow at no great diftance off. For the north parts of
Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and all that
tra£l from whence north-eaftern winds come, are fub-
je£l: to almoft continual froft all the winter : and there¬
by the lower air is very much condenfed, and in that
ftate is brought hitherward by thofe winds, and, being
accumulated by the oppofition of the wefterly wind
blowing in the ocean, the mercury muft needs be pref-
fed to a more than ordinary height •, and as a concur¬
ring caufe, the fhrinking of the lower parts of the air
into leffer room by cold, muft needs caufe a defcent of
the upper parts of the atmofphere, to reduce the cavity
made by this contraction to an equilibrium.
“ 6. After great (forms, when the mercury has been
very low, it generally rifes again very fail: I once ob-
ferved it to rife one inch and a half in lefs than fix
hours after a long-continued ftorm of fouth-weft wind.
The reafon is, becaufe the air being very much rare¬
fied by the great evacuations which fuch continued
{forms make thereof, the neighbouring air runs in the
more fwiftly to bring it to an equilibrium ; as wTe
fee water runs the fafter for having a greater decli¬
vity.
“ 7. The variations are greater in the more north¬
erly places, as at Stockholm greater than at Paris
(compared by M. Pafchal) ; becaufe the more north¬
erly parts have ufually greater (forms of wind than the
more fouthcrly, wdiereby the mercury fhould fink low¬
er in that extreme; and then the northerly winds
bringing in the more denfe and ponderous air from the
neighbourhood of the pole, and that again being chec¬
ked by a foutherly wind at no great diftance, and fo
heaped, muft of neceflity make the mercury in fuch
cafe (land higher in the other extreme.
“ 8. Laftly, this remark, that there is little or no
variation near the equinodfial, does above all others
confirm the hypothefis of the variable winds being the
caufe of thefe variations of the height of the mercury ;
for in the places above named there is always an eafy
gale of wind blowing nearly upon the fame point, viz.
F. N. E. at Barbadoes, and E. S. E. at St Plelena $
fo that there being no contrary currents of air to ex-
hauft or accumulate it, the atmofphere continues much
in the fame ftate: however, upon hurricanes, the
moft violent of ftorms, the mercury has been obferv-
ed very low; but this is but once in twro or three
vears, and it foon recovers its fettled ftate, about 294-
inches.”
This theory has been controverted, and the princi¬
pal objedfions are, “ That if the wind was the foie
agent in railing or deprefling the mercury, the altera¬
tions of its height in the barometer would be only re¬
lative or topical; there would (fill be the fame quanti¬
ty fupported at feveral places taken colledfiveiy : thus
- what a tube at London loft, another at Paris, Pifa, or
Zurich, &c. would gain. But the contrary is found
to be the cafe •, for, from all the obfervations hitherto
made, the barometers in feveral diftant parts of the
globe rife and fall together. This is a very furprifing
fiadl •, and deferves to be wTell examined. Again, fet-
ting afide all other objedlions, it is impoflible, on Dr
(Halley’s hypothefis, to explain the mercury’s fall be-
19
'Objections
to this
theory.
] BAR
and rife after, rain. For fuppofe txvo Contrary Barometer,
winds fweeping the air from over London : We know ~v Jn“~'
that few if any of the winds reach above a mile high ;
all therefore they can do will be to cut oft a certain
part of the column of air over London : if the confe-
quence of this be the fall of the mercury, yet there is
no apparent reafon for the rains following it. The ,
vapours indeed may be let lower } but it will only be
till they come into an air of the fame fpecific gravity
with themfelves, -and there they will flick as before.
Laftly, it is impoflible, according to the laws of fluids,
that the air above any place could be exhaufted by the
blowing of two contrary winds from it < for, fuppofe a
nortb-eaft and fouth-Weft wind both blow from Lon¬
don at the fame time, there will be two others at the
fame time blowing toxvards it from oppofite points, viz.
a north-weft and !outh-eaft one, which will ex^ery mo¬
ment reftore the equilibrium, fo that it can never be
loft in any confiderable degree at leaft.” 20
Mr Leibnitz accounted for the finking of the mer-Hypotheffe
cury before rain upon another principle, viz. I hat asot Mr
a body fpecifically lighter than a fluid, while it is fllT
fpended by it, adds more weight to that fluid than
when, by being reduced in its bulk, it becomes fpe¬
cifically heavier, and defeends ; fo.the vapour, after
it is reduced into the form of clouds, and defeends,
adds lefs weight to the air than before } and therefore
the mercury falls. To which it is anfwered, 1. T hat
when a body defeends in a fluid, its motion in a very .
little time becomes uniform, or nearly fo, a farther
acceleration of it being prevented by the refiftance of
the fluid 5 and then, by the third laxv of nature, it t
forces the fluid downwards with a force equal to that
whereby it tends to be farther accelerated, that is,
with a force equal to its whole weight. 2. 1 he mer¬
cury by its defcent foretels rain a much longer time
before it comes, than the vapour after it is condenfed
into clouds can be fuppoled to take up in falling.
3. Suppofing that as many vapours as fall in rain du¬
ring a whole year were at once to be condenfed into
clouds, and even quite ceafe to gravitate upon the air,
its gravity would fcarce be diminiftied thereby fo much
as is equivalent to the defcent of txvo inches of mercu¬
ry in the barometer. Befides, in many places be¬
tween the tropics, the rains fall at certain feafons in
very great quantities, and yet the barometer fhows
there very little or no alteration in the weight of the
atmofphere. ai
Another hypothefis fomewhat fimilar to that of Leib- Another
nitz has been given 1 but as it is liable to the objec-hypothehs
tions juft now mentioned, efpecially the laft, we for-
bear to give any particular account of it ; and (hall at¬
tempt, upon other principles, to give a fatisfa&ory fo-
lution of this phenomenon. 2,
The neceflary preliminaries to our hyprthefis are, Anothet
1. That vapour is formed by an intimate union between theory,
the element of fire and that of water, by which the
fire or heat is fo totally enveloped, and its action fo
entirely fufpended by the xvatery particles, that it not
only lofes its properties of giving light and of burning,
but becomes incapable of afifeffing the moft fenfible
thermometer •, in which cafe, it is faid by Dr Black,
the author of this theory, to be in a latent ftate. For .
the proofs of this, fee the articles Evaporation,
Cold, Congelation, &c. 2. If the atmofphere is
v ' affected
BAR
[ 4^9 ]
BAR
Bartmeter. affected by any unufual degree of beat, it thence be-
1 v ' comes incapable of fupporting fo long a column of
mercury as before, for which reafon that in the baro¬
meter finks. This appears from the obfervations of Sir
William Beefton already mentioned ; and likev/ife from
thofe of De Luc, which fiiall be afterwards taken no¬
tice of.
Thefe axioms being eftablifhed, it thence follows,
that as vapofir is formed by an union of fire wdth wa¬
ter, or if we pleafe to call it an eletlive attraction be¬
tween them, or folution of the w7ater in the fire, it is
impoflxble that the vapour can be condenfed until this
union, attraction, or folution, be at an end. The be¬
ginning of the condenfation of the vapour then, or the
firlt fymptoms of an approaching rain, mult be the fe-
paration of the fire which lies hid in the vapour. This
may be at firft flow and partial, or it may be hidden
and violent J in the firft cafe, the rain will come on
(lowly, and after a confiderable interval ; and in the
other, it will be Very quick, and in great quantity.
But Dr Black hath proved, that when fire quits its
latent date, however long it may have lain dormant
and infenfible, it always affumes its proper qualities
again, and afteCts the thermometer as though it had
never been abforbed. The confequence of this muft
be, that in proportion as the latent heat is difcharged
from the vapour, it muft fenfibly affeCt thofe parts of
the atmofphere into which it is difcharged *, and in pro¬
portion to the heat communicated to thefe, they will
become fpecifically lighter, and the mercury fink of
courfe. Neither are we to imagine that the quantity
of heat difcharged by the vapour is inconfiderable ;
for Dr Black hath fhown, that when any quantity of
water, a pound for inftance, is condenfed from the
vapour of a common ftill, as much heat is communi¬
cated to the head and refrigeratory as would have been
fufficient to heat the pound of water red hot, could it
have borne that degree of fenfible heat.
The caufes by wdiich this reparation between the fire
and water is, or may be effected, come to be confider-
ed under the articles Rain, Condensation, Vapour,
&c. Here we have only to obferve, that as the repa¬
ration may be gradual and flow, the barometer may
indicate rain for a confiderable time before it happens:
or if the fenfible heat communicated from J»ke vapour
to the atmofphere fhall be abforbed by*Trie colder
parts, or by any unknown' means carried off, or pre¬
vented from affetfling the fpecific gravity of the air,
the barometer will not be affefted ; and yet the water
being deprived of the heat neceffary to fuftain it, muft
defcend in rain ; and thus it is found that the indica¬
tions of the barometer do not always hold true. Hence
alfo it appears, that though the fpecific gravity of the
sir is diminifhed, unlefs that diminution proceeds from
a difcharge of the latent heat contained in the vapours,
no rain will follow *, and thus the finking of the baro¬
meter may prognofticate wind as w7ell as rain, or fome-
times nothing at all.
The difficulty, however, on this hypothefis, is to
account for the barometer being ftationary in all wea¬
thers between the tropics ; whereas it ought to move
up and down there as wrell as here, only more fudden-
ly, as the changes of weather there are more hidden
than here. But it muft be confidered, that in thefe
climates, during the daytime, the a&ion of the fun’s
Vol. HI. Part IL
rays is fo violent, that -what is gained by the difcharge Barometer,
of latent heat from the vapour, is loft by the interpofi- v—~"V"
tion of the clouds betwixt the fun and earth, or by the
great evaporation which is conftantly going on j and
in the night, the cold of the atmofphere is fo much in-
creafed, that it abforbs the heat as faft as the vapour
difcharges it, fo that no fenfible effect can be produ¬
ced ; for in warm climates, though the day is excef-
lively hot, the night is obferved to be vaftly colder in
proportion than it is with us. This, however, does
not prevent the barometer from being affefted by other
caufes, as well as with us 5 for Dr Halley obferves, that
in the time of hurricanes it finks very low. The caufe
of this is moft probably a great commotion in the elec¬
tric fluid, by which the air is internally agitated, and
its power of gravitation in part fulpended.—A confir¬
mation of the above hypothefis, however, is taken from
the different heights at which the mercury arrives in
different climates. The barometer range, for inftance,
at the latitude of 450 is the greateft of all $ becaufe
here the evaporation and condenfation of the vapours
are both very confiderable, at the fame time that the
latent heat difcharged cannot be abforbed fo fuddenly
as in the torrid zone, the difference betwixt the length
of the days and nights beiug greater, and confequently
the nights warmer in fummer and colder in winter.
Farther to the northward the range is lefs, and in the
latitude of 6o° only two inches, by reafon of the great¬
er cold and length of the days and nights ; whence the
quantity of vapour condenfed, or of latent heat expel¬
led, becomes proportionably lefs.
Having thus given an account of the feveral pheno-different
mena of the barometer confidered as a weather-glafs, kin(^s °*
and likewife endeavoured to account for them in the
moft fatisfadlory manner, we now proceed to give a
particular defcription of the barometers moft common¬
ly made ufe of, with various fchemes for their improve¬
ment.
Fig. I. reprefents the common barometer, fuch as Plate
was invented by Torricelli, and fuch as we have al- BXXXV,
ready given a general defcription of. AB reprefents
a tube of glafs, a quarter of an inch in diameter, and
3 4 inches lon^, hermetically fealed at A. This tube
being fuppofed to be filled with mercury, is then in¬
verted into the bafon CD ; upon which the mercury
in the tube falls down to GH, fomewhat above 28
inches, while that in the bafon rifes to CF. The low-
eft ftation of the mercury in this country is found to
be 28 inches, and the higheft 31. From the furface
of the mercury CF, therefore, 28 inches are to be mea-
fured on the tube AB, which fuppofe to reach to the
point K. This point, therefore, is the loweft of the
fcale of variation, and in the common barometers is
marked Jiormy. In like manner, the higheft point of
the fcale of variation I, is placed 31 inches above EF j
and is marked very dry on one fide for the fummer,
and very hard frojl on the other for the winter. The
next half inch below is marked yL? ^/h/r on the one fide,
and fet frojl on the other. At 30 inches from CF is
marked the word fair on one fide, and frof on the
other. Half an inch below that, is wrote the wmrd
changeable, which anfwers both for fummer and winter.
At 29 inches is rain on the one fide, and fnow on the
other ; and at 28^- are the -woxds tnuch rain on the one
fide, and much fnow on the other. Each of thefe
3 F large
BAR [41
Barometer, large divifions is ufually fubdivided into 10 and there
—'v is a fraall Aiding index fitted to the inftrument, by
which the afcent or defcent of the mercury to any
number of divifions is pointed out. Each of thefe tenths
is fometimes divided into ten more, or hundredths of an
an inch, by means of a Aiding Aip of brafs with a ver¬
nier fcale on it, which fhall be hereafter defcribed and
explained. This kind of barometer is the molt com¬
mon, and perhaps the molt ufeful and accurate, of any
that has yet been invented, from the following circum-
ftance, that the natural fimplicity of its conftrudtion,
in preference to others hereafter delcribed, does not
admit of any kind of refiftance to the free motion of
the column of mercury in the tube. The fcale of va¬
riation being only three inches, and it being naturally
wiAied to difcover more minute variations than can
thus be perceived, feveral improvements have been
thought of.
The improvement moft generally adopted is the dia¬
gonal barometer reprefented fig. 2. in which the fcale
of variation, inftead of three inches, may be made as
many feet, by bending the tube fo as to make the up¬
per part of it the diagonal of a parallelogram of which
the fhortefi: fide is the three-inches fcale of variation of
the common barometer. This, however, has a very
great inconvenience : for not only is the fridtion of the
mercury upon the glafs fo much increafed that the
height doth not vary with every Aight change of air j
but the column of mercury is apt to break in the tube,
and part of it to be left behind, upon any confiderable
defcent.
Fig. 3. is the rectangular barometer; where AC re-
prefents a pretty wide cylinder of glafs, from which
proceeds the tube CDF bent into a right angle at D.
Suppofe now the cylinder AC to be four times larger
than the tube CD, fo that every inch of the cylinder
from C to A Aiould be equal in capacity to four inches
of the tube CD. The whole being then filled with
mercury, and inverted, the mercury will fubfide from
A to B, at the fame time that it cannot run out at the
open orifice F, becaufe the air preffes in that wTay. If
any alteration then happens in the weight of the air,
fuppofe fuch as would be fuAicient to raife the mer¬
cury an inch from B towards A, it is evident that
this could not be done wdthout the mercury in the ho¬
rizontal leg retiring four inches from E towards D j
and thus the fcale of variation counted on the horizon¬
tal leg would be 12 inches. But the inconveniences
of frittion are much greater here than in the diagonal
barometer j and befides, by the leaft accident the mer¬
cury is apt to be driven out at the open orifice F.
The pendant barometer (fig. 4.) confifts of a fingle
tube, fufper.ded by a firing faftened to the end A.
This tube is of a conical or tapering figure, the end
A being fomewhat lefs than the end B. It is herme¬
tically fealed at A, and filled with mercury : then will
the mercury fink to its common Aation, and admit of
a length of altitude CD, equal to that in the common
barometers. But from the conical bore of the tube,
the mercury will defcend as the air grows lighter, till
it reaches its lowed: altitude, •when the mercury will
Hand from the lower part of the tube B to E, fo that
BE wdll be equal to 28 inches : confequently the mer¬
cury will, in fuch a tube, move from A to E, or 3 2
inches, if the tube be five feet, or 60 inches) and
0 ]* BAR
therefore the fcale AE is here above ten times greater Barometer,
than in the common barometer : but the fault of this ——
barometer is, that the tube being of a very (mail bore,
the friclion will be confiderable, and prevent its mov¬
ing freely ; and if the tube is made of a wider bore,
the mercury will be apt to fall out.
Fig. 5. is an invention of Mr Rowning, by which
the fcale of variation may be increafed to any length,
or even become infinite. ABC is a compound tube
hermetically fealed at A, and open at C, empty from
A to D, filled with mercury from thence to B, and
from thence to E with water. Let GBH be a hori¬
zontal line j then it is plain from the nature of the
fiphon, that all the compound Auid contained in the
part from H to G, will be always in (equilibria with
itfelf, be the weight of the air what it will, becaufe
the prdTure at H and G muft be equal. Whence it
is evident, that the column of mercury DH is in ce-
quilibrio with the column of water GE, and a column
of air taken conjointly, and will therefore vary with
the fum of the variations of thefe. That the variation
in this barometer may be infinite, will appear from the
following computation. Let the proportion between
the bores of the tube AF and FC be fuch, that when
HD, the difference of the legs wherein the mercury is
contained, is augmented one inch, GE, the difterence
of the legs wherein the water is contained, fiiall be di-
minifiied 14: then, as much as the prefiure of the mer- -
cury is augmented, that of the water will be diminifihed,
and" fo the prefiure of both taken together will remain
as it was ; and confequently, after it has begun to rife,
it will have the fame tendency to rife on, without ever
coming to an equilibrium with the air.
Fig. 6. reprefents Dr Hook’s wheel-barometer. Here
ACDG is a glafs tube, having a large round head at
A, and turned up at the lower end F. Upon the fur-
face of the mercury in the bent leg is an iron ball G,
wuth a firing going over a pulley CD. To the other
end of the firing is faftened a fmaller ball H, which as
the mercury rifes in the leg FG, turns the index KL
from N towards M, on the graduated circle MNOP )
as it rifes in the other leg, the index is carried the con¬
trary way by the defcent of the heavier ball G, along
with the mercury. The fri&ion of this machine, how¬
ever, unlefs it is made with very great accuracy, ren¬
ders it ufelefs.
Fig. 7. is another barometer, invented by Mr Rowm-
ing, in which alfo the fcale may be infinite. ABCD is
a cylindrical veflel, filled with a fluid to the height W,
in which is immerged the barometer SP confifiing of
the following parts: The principal one is the glafs
tube TP (reprefented feparately at //>), whofe upper
end T is hermetically fealed : this end does not appear
to the eye, being received into the lower end of a tin
pipe GH, which in its other end G receives a cylin-
dric rod or tube ST, and thus fixes it to the tube TP.
This rod ST may be taken off, in order to put in its
ftead a larger or a leffer as occafion requires. S is a
ftar at the top of the rod ST *, and ferves as an index
by pointing to the graduated Icale LA, which is fixed
to the cover of the veffel ABCD. MN is a large cy¬
lindrical tube made of tin (reprefented feparately at
mn), which receives in its cavity the fmaller part of the
tube TP, and is well cemented to it at both ends, that
none of the fluid may get in. The tube TP, with this
apparatus,
BAR [41
Barometer, apparatus, being filled with mercury, and plunged into
bafon MP, which hangs by two or more wires upon
the lower end of the tube MN, muft be fo poifed as to
float in the liquor contained in the veffel ABCD 5 and
then the whole machine rifes when the atmofphere be¬
comes lighter, and vice verfa. Let it npw be fuppofed,
that the fluid made ufe of is water 5 that the given
variation in the weight of the atmofphere is fuch, that,
by nrefling upon the furface of the water at W, the
furface of the mercury at X may be raifed an inch
higher (meafuring from its furface at P) than before ;
and that the breadth of the cavity of the tube at X,
and of the bafon at P, are fuch, that by this afcent of
the mercury, there may be a cubic inch of it in the
cavity X more than before, and confequently in the
bafon a cubic inch lefs. Now, upon this fuppofition,
there will be a cubic inch of water in the bafon more
than there was before j becaufe the water will fucceed
the mercury, to fill up its place. Upon this account
the whole machine wTill be rendered heavier than before
by the weight of a cubic inch of water ; and therefore
wfill fink, according to the laws of hydroftatics, till
a cubic inch of that part of the rod WS, which was
above the furface of the w ater at W, comes under it.
Then, if w7e fuppofe this rod fo fmall, that a cubic
inch of it {hall be 14 inches in length, the whole ma¬
chine will fink T4 inches lower into the fluid than be¬
fore 5 and confequently the furface of the mercury in
the bafon wdll be prefled, more than it was before, by
a column of water 14 inches high. But the preflure of
14 inches of water is equivalent to one of mercury; this
additional preflure will make the mercury afcend at X
as much as the fuppofed variation in the weight of the
air did at firft. This afcent will give room for a
fecond cubic inch of water to enter the bafon ; the ma¬
chine will therefore be again rendered fo much heavier,
and will fubfide 14 inches farther, and fo on in infini¬
tum. If the rod wras fo fmall that more than fourteen
inches of it were required to make a cubic inch, the
variation of this machine would be negative wdth refpect
to the common barometer; and inftead of coming nearer
to an equilibrium with the air by its afcent or defcent,
it W’ould continually recede farther from it : but if lefs
than 14 inches of rod were required to make a cubic
inch, the fcale of variation wTould be finite, and might
be made in any proportion to the common one. Neither
this nor the other infinite barometer have ever been
tried, fo that how far they would anfwer the purpofes
■of a barometer is as yet unknown.
Fig. 8. reprefents another contrivance for enlarging
'"the fcale of the barometer to any fize.—AB is the
tube of a common barometer open at B and fealed at
A, fufpended at the end of the lever wduch moves on
the fulcrum E.—CD is a fixt glafs tube, which ferves
in place of the ciftern. This laft tube mull be fo
w'ide as to allow the tube AB to play up and down
within it.— AB being filled with mercury, is nearly
counterbalanced by the long end of the lever. When
the atmofphere becomes lighter, the mercury defcends
in the long tube, and the furface of the mercury rifing
in the ciftern puihes up the tube AB, which at the
fame time becoming lighter, the lever preponderates,
and points out the moft minute variations. Here too
ihe iridion occafions inconveniences ; but this may be
i ] BAR
in fome meafure remedied by a Imall {hake of the ap- Barometer,
paratus at each infpeclion. v 1
In the Philofophical Tranfa&ions, Mr Cafwell givC5
the following account of a barometer, which has been
commended as a very accurate one : “ Let ABCD
(Fig. 9.) reprefent a bucket of water, in which is the
barometer e r e z 0 s m, which conlifts of a body ersm,
and a tube e-zy 0 : the body and tube are both concave
cylinders communicating with one another, and made
of tin : the bottom of the tube zy, has a lead weight
to fink it fo that the top of the body may juft fwim
even with the furface of- the water by the addition of
fome grain weights on the top. The water, when the
inftrument is forced with its mouth downwards, gets
up into the tube to the height j/z/. There is added on
the top a fmall concave cylinder, which I call the pipe,
to diftinguilh it from the bottom fmall cylinder which I
call the tube. This pipe is to fuftain the inftrument
from finking to the bottom : in is a wire ; ms, de,
are two threads oblique to the furface of the water,
which threads perform the office of diagonals : for that
while the inftrument finks more or lefs by the attrac¬
tion of the gravity of the air, there, where the furface
of the water cuts the thread, is formed a fmall bubble ;
W’hich bubble afcends up the thread, -as the mercury in
the common barometer afcends.”
The dimenfions of this inftrument given there are,
21 inches for the circumference of the body, the alti¬
tude 4, each bafe having a convexity of inches. The
inner circumference of the tube is 5.14 inches, and its
length 44 ; fo that the whole body and tube will con¬
tain almoft 2^ quarts. The circumference of the pipe,
that the machine may not go to the bottom on every
fmall alteration of the gravity of the air, is 2.14 inches;
according to which dimenfions, he calculates that it
will require 44 grains to fink the body to the bottom,
allowing it only four inches to defcend ; at the fame
time that it is evident, that the fewer grains that are
required to fink it to this depth, the more nice the
barometer will be. He alfo calculates, that when
the mercury in the common barometer is 304- inches
high, the body with a weight of 44 grains on its
top wrill be kept in (equilibria with the water ; but
when the mercury ftands at 28 inches, only 19 grains
can be fupported : and laftly, by computing the lengths
of the diagonal threads, See. he finds, that his initru-
ment is 1200 times more exaft than the common ba¬
rometer. The following are his obfervations on the
ufe of it. 2,
“ 1. While the mercury of the common barometer Mr Caf-
is often known to be ftationary 24 hours together, thewefi’sot>-
bubble of the new barometer is rarely found to ftand i£Tv,at,'?ns
ftill one minute. . . „ barometer.
“ 2. Suppofe the air’s gravity mcreafing, and ac¬
cordingly the bubble afeending ; during the time that
it afcends 20 inches, it will have many fhort defeents
of the quantity of half an inch, one, two, three, or
more inches; each of which being over, it will afcend
again. Thefe retroceffions are frequent, and of all va¬
rieties in quantity and duration ; fo that there is no
judging of the general courfe of the bubble by a fingle
infpeftion, though you fee it moving, but by waiting
a little time.
“ 3. A fmall blaft of wind will make the bubble
3 F 2 defcend;
BAR [41
Barometer, defcend ; a blaft that cannot be heard in a chamber of
w“''* ' the town will fenlibly force the bubble downward.
The blafts of wind fenfible abroad, caufe many of the
above-mentioned retroceffions or accelerations in the ge¬
neral courfe 5 as I found by carrying my barometer to
a place where the wind was perceptible.
“ 4. Clouds make the bubble defcend. A fmall
cloud approaching the zenith, works more than a
great cloud near the horizon. In cloudy weather,
the bubble defcending, a break of the clouds (or
clear place) approaching to the zenith, has made the
bubble to afcend : and after that break had palled
the zenith a conliderable fpace, the bubble again de-
fcended.
“ 5. All clouds (except one) hitherto by me ob-
ferved, have made the bubble to defcend. But the o-
ther day, the wind being north, and the courfe of
the bubble defcending, I law to the windward a large
thick cloud near the horizon, and the bubble Hill
delcended : but as the cloud drew near the zenith, it
turned the way of the bubble, making it to afcend *,
and the bubble continued afcending till the cloud was
all palled, after which it relumed its former defcent.
It was a cloud that yielded a cold Ihower of fmall
hail.”
Thefe are the moll remarkable contrivances for the
improvement of the common barometer : the lall, on
account of its being fo exceedingly fenfible, and like-
wife eafy of confhu£lion and portable, feems to de-
ferve attention much more than the others, which are
always the more inaccurate, and the lefs eafily moved,
2(j according to the enlargement of their fcale ; whereas
Marine ba- this is feemingly fubjeft to no fuch inconvenience. It
rometer by is evident, however, that none of thefe could be ufed
Mr Hook. fea? on account of the undeady motion of the Ihip :
for which reafon Dr Hook thought of conllrufting a
barometer upon other principles.
His contrivance was no other than two thermome¬
ters. The one was the common fpirit-of-wine thermo¬
meter, which is affedled only by the warmth of the
air: the other, which adls by the expanlion of a
bubble of air included, is afifedled not only by the ex¬
ternal warmth, but by the various weight of the atmo-
fphere. Therefore, keeping the fpirit thermometer as
a llandard, the excefs of the afcent or defcent of the
other above it would point out the increafe or decreafe
of the fpecific gravity of the atmofphere. This in-
ftrument is recommended by Dr Halley, who fpeaks
follows. “ It has been obferved by fome,
that, in long keeping this indrument, the air includ¬
ed either finds a means to efcape, or depolites fome
vapours mixed with it, or elfe for fome other caufe
becomes lefs eladic, whereby in procefs of time it
gives the height of the mercury fomewhat greater than
it ought : but this, if it Ihould happen in fome of
them, hinders not the ufefulnefs thereof, for that it
may at any time very eafily be correfled by experi¬
ment, and the riling and falling thereof are the things
chiefly remarkable in it, the jufl height being barely a
curiolity.
“ I had one of thele barometers with me in my late
fouthern voyage, and it never failed to prognofiicate
and give early notice of all the bad wreather we had,
fo that I depended thereon, and made provifion ac¬
cordingly 3 and from my own experience I conclude.
27
Recom¬
mended
by Dr Hal-
ley. of 11 as
2 ] BAR
that a more ufeful contrivance hath not for this long Barometer,
time been offered for the benefit of navigation.” ——y——j
Fig. 10. reprefents a kind of Chamber Barometer,
or a complete inftrument for obferving in a fixed place, barometer
fuch as a room, &x. the changes in the atmofphere. by Mr Wil-
It is conftrudled by Mr W. Jones optician, London 3 ^am Jones*
and confills of a barometer </, thermometer aa, and hy¬
grometer c, all in one mahogany frame. One advan¬
tage of this inftrument is, that either the thermo¬
meter or hygrometer may be taken from the frame,
and occafionally made ufe of in another place if re¬
quired. The thermometer is feparated by only un-
ferewing two fcrewTs a, a; and the hygrometer, by
unferewing a brafs pin at the back of the frame, not
feen in this figure. The index of the hygrometer is
at any time fet, by only moving with your finger the
brafs wheel feen at c; the two Hiding indexes of the
barometer and thermometer are moved by a rack-w-ork
motion, fet in aftion by the key g placed in the holes
h and z. The divifions of the barometer plate b are in
tenths of an inch, from 28 to 31 inches; thefe again
fubdivided into hundredths by means of the vernier fcale,
placed oppofitely on a Hiding flip of brafs fimilar to
the common barometers, moft of which are now made
with this vernier. On this vernier are ten equal parts,
or divifions 3 (fee A, fig. 11. which for the fake of per- Method of
fpicuity is drawn larger). All of thefe together are ufing the
equal juft to 11 of thole on the fcale of inches 5 that ^er,nier
is, to eleven tenths. By this artifice the height of the
mercury at E is evident by infpe&ion only, to the one
hundredth part of an inch. To underftand this, no¬
thing more is neceffary than to confider, that one tenth
part of a tenth of an inch is the one hundredth part of
an inch. Now every tenth of an inch in the icale B
is divided into ten equal parts by the flip or vernier A :
for fince ten divifions on that exceed ten on the Icale
by one divifion, that is, by one-tenth of an inch; there¬
fore one divifion on the vernier will exceed one divifion
on the fcale by one-tenth part; and two divifions on
the vernier will exceed two on the fcale by two
tenths, and fo on : Therefore every divifion on the
vernier wull exceed the fame number of divifions in
the fcale by fo many tenths of a tenth, or by fo many
hundredth parts of an inch. Therefore the ten equal
divifions of an inch on the fcale B, muft be looked
upon as fo many ten hundredth parts of an inch, and
numbered thus, 10, 20, 30, 40, &c. parts of an inch 3
then the vernier gives the unit to each ten, thus : Set
the index C very nicely to the top of the furface of
the mercury E 3 and if at the fame time the beginning
of the divifions at C coincides with a line of divifion
in the fcale B, then it (hows the altitude of the mer¬
cury in inches and tenths of an inch exaflly. But fup-
pofe the index line C of the vernier falls between twro
divifions or tenths on the fcale B, then there will be a
coincidence of lines in both at that number of the ver¬
nier, w'hich (hows how many tenth parts of that tenth
the index of the vernier has palled the laft decimal di¬
vifion of the fcale. Thus, for example, fuppofe the
index of the vernier were to point fomewhere between
the fixth and feventh tenth above 30 on the fcale :
then if, by looking down the vernier, you obferve the
coincidence at number 8, it (hows that the altitude of
the mercury is 30 inches and 68 parts of a hundredth
of another inch 3 or limply thus, 30.68 inches.
The
Barometer.
30
Marine ba¬
rometer by
IVIr N airne
31
By Pafle-
ciente.
32
Barometer
applied to
the menfu-
ration of
altitudes.
33
Statical ba
rii.neter.
BAR [4
The fcretv at fig. 10. ferves to prefs the mercury
quite up into the tube, when required to be much mo¬
ved or carried about, thereby rendering the barometer
of the kind called portable. To the lower extremity
of the tube (fee fig. 14.) is cemented a wmoden refer-
voir A, with a kind of leathern bag at bottom, the
whole containing the mercury, but not quite full : and
though the external air cannot get into the bag to
fufpend the mercury in the tube, by preffing on its
furface, as in the common one ; yet it has the fame
effect by prefling on the outfide of the bag j which be¬
ing flexible, yields to the preffure, and keeps the mer¬
cury fufpended in the tube to its proper height.
Through the under part of the frame paffes the fcrew
f, with a flat round plate at its end ; by turning of this
fcrew, the bag may be fo comprefled as to force the
mercury up to the top of the tube, which keeps it
Heady, and hinders the tube from breaking by the mer¬
cury dafhing againft the top when carried about, which
it is otherwife apt to do.
A new kind of marine barometer has lately been
invented by Mr Nairne. It differs from the common
one in having the bore of the tube fmall for about twro
feet in its lower part; but above that height it is en¬
larged to the common fize. Through the fmall part
of the inftrument the mercury is prevented from afcend-
ing too haflily by the motion of the fhip ; and the mo¬
tion of the mercury in the upper wide part is confe-
quently leffened. Much is found to depend on the
proper fufpenfion of this inftrument; and Mr Nairne
has fince found, by experiment, the point from which
it may be fufpended fo as not to be affeded by the
motion of the fhip.
Another marine barometer has been invented by one
Paffemente, a French artift. It is only a common one
having the middle of the tube twifted into a fpiral con¬
fining of two revolutions. By this contrivance, the im-
pulfes which the mercury receives from the motions of
the fhip are deilroyed by being tranfmitted in contrary
diredions.
We muft now fpeak of the barometer in its fecond
charader, namely, as an inftrument for meafuring ac-
ceflible altitudes. This method was firft propofed by
M. Pafcal $ and fucceeding philofophers have been at
no fmall pains to afcertain the proportion between the
finking of the mercury and the height to which it is
carried. For this purpofe, however, a new improve¬
ment in the barometer became neceffary, viz. the ma¬
king of it eafily portable from one place to another,
without danger of its being broken by the motion of
the mercury in the tube; which was effeded by the
contrivance already mentioned.
Among the number of portable barometers we may
perhaps reckon what Mr Boyle called his Statical Ba¬
rometer. It confifted of a glafs bubble, about the fize
of a large orange, and blown very thin, fo as to weigh
only 70 grains. This being counterpoifed by brafs
weights in a pair of fcales that Would turn with the
30th part of a grain, was found to ad as a barometer.
1 he reafon of this was, that the furface of the bubble
was oppofed to a vaftly larger portion of air than that
of the brafs weight, and confequently liable to be
affeded by the various fpecific gravity of the atmo-
fphere : thus, when the air became fpecifically light,
the bubble defcended, and vice verfa; and thus, he
13 ] BAR
fays, he could have perceived variations of the atmo- Barometer,
fphere no greater than wnuld have been fufficient to ' v
raife or lower the mercury in the common barometer
an eighth part of an inch. -4
To thefe we may add an account of a new and very Method o f
fingular barometer mentioned by M. Lazowlki in his meafuring-
tour through Switzerland. “ A cure, fhortfighted, of^he air ^
wrho neverthelefs amufed himfelf with firing at a mark, by the
thought of ftretching a wire in fuch a manner as to found of
draw the mark to him, in order to fee how he had a whe>
aimed. He obferved, that the ware fometimes found¬
ed as if it had been ofcillatory ; and that this happen¬
ed when a change was about to enfue in the atmo-
fphere ; fo that he came to predid with confiderable
accuracy when there was to be rain or fine weather.
On making further experiments, it wms obferved, that «
this w-ire was more exad, and its founds more diftind,
when extended in the plane of the meridian than in
other pofitions. The founds were more or lefs foft,
and more or lefs continued, according t® the changes
of wreather that were to follow 5 though the matter
was not reduced to any accuracy, and probably is not
capable of much. Fine weather, however, was faid to
be announced by the founds of counter tenor, and rain
by thofe of bafs. M. Volta was faid to have mounted
15 chords at Pavia, in order to bring this method to
fome perfedion j but there are as yet no accounts of
his fuccefs. ^
The portable barometer, as" already obferved, has Difficulties
long been in ufe for the menfuration of acceflible alti- |n meafur-
tudes ; and, in fmall heights, was found to be more ex-
ad than a trigonometrical calculation, the mercury de- rometerf"
fcending at the rate of about one inch for 8co feet of
height to which it was carried : but, in great heights,
the moft unaccountable differences wrere found betw-een
the calculations of the moft: accurate obfervers ; fo that
the fame mountain would fometimes have been made
thoufands of feet higher by one perfon than another;
nay, by the fame perfon at different times. All thefe 35
anomalies M. de Luc of Geneva undertook to account Removed
for, and to remove ; and in this undertaking he per- b>' M- de
filled with incredible patience for 20 years. The refult LuC‘
of his labour is as follow-s.
The firft: caufe of irregularity obferved was a fault
in the barometer itfelf. M. de Luc found, that two
barometers, though perfedly alike in their appearance,
did not ccrrefpond in their adion. This was owing
to air contained in the tube. The air was expelled by
boiling the mercury in them ; after which, the motions 37
of both became perfedly confonant. That the tubes MercuI7»
may bear boiling, they muft not be very thick, the h°tT bt01ie<!
thicknefs of the glafs not above half a line, and the wh^the ^
diameter of the bore ought to be from two and a half efftds.
to three lines. The operation is performed in the fol¬
lowing manner : A chaffing difti with burning coals is
placed on a table 5 the tube hermetically fealed at one
end, is inverted, and filled with mercury within two
• inches of the top ; the tube is gradually brought near
the fire, moving it obliquely up and down/that the
whole length of it may be heated 5. and advancing it
nearer and nearer, till it is adually in the flame, the
globules of air begin to move vifibly towards the top.
The boiling at laft commences; and it is eafy to make
it take place from one end to the other, by caufing the
feveral parts of the tube iucceffively pafs with rapidity
through
1
Barometer,
BAR- [ 414 ] ' BA
By this operation the mercury is fpace parallel to the ftraight part.
R
38.
Variation
of the
height of
the mercu-
sy by heat.
39
M. de
Luc’s port¬
able baro-
jaieter.
through the flame,
freed from all aerial particles, particularly thofe which
line the infide of the tube, and which cannot eafily be
got clear of by any other method. When this lafl ftra-
tum of air is difeharged, the tube may be afterwards
emptied, and filled even with cold mercury, when it
will be found nearly as free of air as before. The mer¬
cury -in the tube thus prepared by a determinate quan¬
tity of heat, will rife higher than thofe in the common
fort, and the barometers will more nearly correfpond
with each other ; whereas there will be a difference of
fix or eight lines in the afeent of mercury in the com¬
mon barometers. Inflruments of this kind rile uni¬
formly in a heated room, whilft thofe of the common
kind defeend in different proportions. On cooling the
room, the former defeend uniformly, while the latter
defeend unequally, by reafon of the unequal propor¬
tions of air in them.
The next caufe of variation was a difference of tem¬
perature. To difeover the effeffs of heat on the mer¬
cury, feyeral barometers were chofen that for a long
time had been perfedtly conlbnant in their motions.
One of thefe was placed in an apartment by itfelf, to
mark the change in the external air, if any fhould hap¬
pen. The reil were fituated in another apartment,
along with three thermometers, graduated according
to the fcale of M. de Reaumur, and exaffly corre-
fpondent with one another. The point at which the
mercury flood when the experiment began, was care¬
fully noted, and alfo the precife height of the thermo¬
meters. The latter apartment then was gradually
heated ; and with fo much uniformity, that the ther¬
mometers continued ftill to agree. When the heat had
been augmented as much as poflible, the altitudes both
of the barometers and thermometers were again accu¬
rately marked, to afeertain the differences that cor-
refponded to one another. This experiment was re¬
peated feveral times with next to no variation ; and
from the barometer in the firfl apartment it appeared,
that no fenfible alteration had taken place in the ex¬
ternal air. Hence M. de Luc found, that an increafe
of heat fufficient to raife the thermometer from the
point of melting ice to that of boiling water, aug¬
ments the height of the mercury in the barometer pre-
cifely fix lines; and, therefore, dividing the diftance
between thefe two points on the thermometer into 96
equal parts, there will be -rV^ a line to add to, or
fubtradl from, the height of the mercury in the baro¬
meter, for every degree of variation of the thermometer
fo graduated. A fcale of this kind, continued above
boiling or below freezing water, accompanies his port¬
able barometer and thermometer.—So accurate, he
fays, did long practice make him in barometrical ob-
fervations, that he could diflinguifh a variation of -fW of
a line in the height of the mercury. He allows of no
inclination of the tube, or other means to augment the
fcale, as all thefe methods diminifh the accuracy of the
inftrument. Two obfervations are always required to •
meafure the altitude of a mountain : one with a baro¬
meter left on the plain, and another on the fummit j
and both muft be accompanied with a thermometer.
His portable barometer confifts of two tubes, one
of 34 French inches in length ; and from the top, for
this length, perfectly llraight; but below this, it is
bent round, fo that the lower end turns up for a fliort
I
On this open endBaremeter
is fixed a cock ; and on the upper fide of this cock is " v
placed another tube, of the fame diameter with the
former, eight inches in length, open at both ends, and
communicating with the long tube, through the cock.
When the barometer is carried from one place to an¬
other, it is inverted very flowly, to hinder any air get¬
ting in j the quickfilver retires into the long tube on
which the key of the cock is turned •, and to preferve
the cock from too great prefifure of the mercury, the
barometer is conveyed about in this inverted pofture.
When an obfervation is to be made, the cock is firll
opened ; the-tube is then turned upright, very flowly,
to prevent, as much as poffible, all the vibration of the
mercury, which difturbs the obfervation j and ac¬
cording to the weight of the atmofphere, the mercury
falls in the longer branch, and rifes up through the
cock, into the Ihorter.
The whole of the cock is made of ivory, except the
key. The extremities of the tubes are wrapped round
with the membrane employed by the gold-beaters, done
over with filh glue, in order to fix them tight, the one
in the lower, and the other in the upper, end of the
perpendicular canal of the cock. The part of the key
that moves within the cock is of cork, and the outward
part or the handle is of ivory. The cork is fafiened firm¬
ly to the ivory by means of a broad thin plate of fteel,
which cuts both the ivory and cork, lengthwile, through
the centre, and reaches inward to the hole of the key.
This plate alfo counteradls the flexibility of the cork,
and makes it obey the motion of the handle, notwith-
ftandlng it is very confiderably comprefied by the ivo¬
ry, to render it tight. That this comprefiion may not
abridge the diameter of the hole of the key, it is lined
with a thin hollow ivory cylinder, of the fame diameter
with the tubes.
On the upper end of the fhorter tube is fixed, in the
intervals of obfervation, a kind of funnel, with a fmall
hole in it, which is fhut with an ivory itopple. The
ufe of it is to keep the tube clean j to replace the mer¬
cury that may have made its way through the cock in
confequence of any dilatation j and likewife to replace
the mercury taken out of the fhorter tube ; after Glut¬
ting the cock, on finifhing an obfervation ; becaufe,
when the mercury is left expofed to the air, it con¬
tracts a dark pellicle on its furface, that fullies both it-
felf and the tube. The fhorter tube fhould be wiped
from time to time, by a little brufh of fponge fixed on
the end of a wire.
The barometer, thus conflrufted, is placed in a long
box of fir, the two ends of which are lined on the in¬
fide with cufhions of cotton covered with leather.
This box may be carried on a man’s back, like a qui¬
ver, either walking or riding *, and fhould have a cover
of wax-cloth to defend it againft rain. It fhould be
kept at fome diilance from the body of the man, and
be proteCled from the fun by an umbrella, when near
the place of obfervation, to prevent its being affefted
by any undue degree of heat. The barometer fhould,
farther, be attended with a plummet, to determine
the perpendicular pofition of it ; and a tripod to
fupport it firm in that pofition at the time of obfer-
vation.
The fcale of the barometer begins on the long tube,
at a point on a level with the upper end of the fhort one;
and
BAR [4
barometer, and riles, in the natural order of the numbers, to 21
inches. Below the above point, the fcale is transferred
to the Ihort tube ; and defcends on it, in the natural
order of the numbers, to 7 inches. The whole length
of the fcale is 28 French inches; and fince, as the
mercury falls in the one tube, it muft rife in the other,
the total altitude will always be found by adding that
part of the fcale, which the mercury occupies in the long
tube, to that part of it wdiich the mercury does not
occupy in the Ihort one. In eftimating, however, the
total fall or rife on the long tube, every fpace muft be
reckoned twice ; becaufe, of barometers of this con-
ftru&ion, half the real variation only appears in one of
the branches.
Near the middle of the greater tube is placed the
thermometer abovementioned, for afcertaining the cor-
reftions to be made on the altitude of the mercury in
confequence of any change in the temperature of the
air. It is placed about the middle of the barometer,
that it may partake as much as poflible of its mean
heat. The ball is nearly of the fame diameter with
the tube of the barometer, that the dilatations or con-
denfations of the fluids they contain may more exactly
cori'efpond. The fcale is divided into 96 parts 5 be¬
tween the points of boiling water and melting ice, and
the term of o is placed one-eighth part of this interval
above the lower point j fo that there are 12 degrees
below, and 84 above, it. The reafon for placing o here
is, that as 27 French inches are about the mean height
of the barometer, fo the 1 2th degree above freezing is
nearly the mean altitude of the thermometer. Hence,
by taking thefe two points, the one for the mean altia
tude, and the other for the mean heat, there will be
fewer corre&ions neceflary to reduce all obfervations to
the lame ftate, than if any higher or lower points had
been fixed upon.
If then the barometer remains at 27 inches, and'the
thermometer at o, there are no correflions whatever to
be made. But if, while the barometer continues at 27
inches, the thermometer lhall rife any number of de¬
grees above o, fo many fixteenths of a line muft be
fubtra&ed from the 27 inches, to obtain the true height
of the barometer produced by the weight of the at-
mofphere, and to reduce this obfervation to the ftate
of the common temperature. If, on the other hand,
the thermometer Ihall fall any number of degrees be¬
low o, while the barometer ftill hands at 27 inches, fo
many fixteenths muft be added to that height, to ob¬
tain the true altitude.
Nothing is more fimple than thefe corre&ions, when
the barometer is at or near 27 inches of height. If,
however, it fall feveral inches below this point, as the
portable barometer very frequently muft, the dilata¬
tions will no longer keep pace with the degrees of heat,
after the rate of of a line for every degree of the
thermometer j becaufe the columns of mercury being
ftiortened, the quantity of fluid to be dilated will be di-
minilhed. The truth is, the quantity of the dilata¬
tions for the fame degree of heat is juft as much dimi-
nilhed as the column is ftiortened. If, then, it fhall
ftill be found convenient to reckon the dilatations by
fixteenths of a line, thefe fixteenths muft be counted on
a Icale, of which the degrees {hall be as much longer
tnan the degrees of the firft fcale, as the ftiortened co-
]
BAR
lumn of mercury is iefs than 27 inches, the height to Barometer*
which the length of the degrees of the firft fcale wras
adapted. For inftance, let the mercury defeend to 1 34
inches half the mean column, and let the thermome¬
ter afeend to degrees above the mean heat; 10 fix¬
teenths fliould be deduced from the mean column, for
this temperature, according to the rule ; but 10 half-
fixteenths only, or 5 whole fixteenths, muft be iubtrac-
ted from the column of 134 inches, becaufe the fum
of its dilatations will be half that of the former, the
quantities of fluid being to one another in that propor¬
tion.
It would caufe confiderable embarrafiment if the fix¬
teenths of corre&ion were always to be fubdivided into
lefs fractions, proportional to every half inch of de-
feent of the barometer ; and the fame end is obtained
in a very eafy manner, by reckoning the corrections on
different feales of the fame length, but of which the
degrees are longer according as the columns of the
barometer are Ihorter. For example, the degrees of
correction on the fcale applicable to the column of
134 inches, ivill be double in length what the tame
degrees are for the column of 27 inches ; and of
courfe the number of corrections will be reduced like-
wife one half, wrhich w^e have feen by the rule they
ought to be.
The author conftruCted, on a piece of vellum, feales
with thefe properties, for no lefs than 23 columns of
mercury, being all thofe between 18 inches and 29 in-
clufive, counting from half inch to half inch ; within
which extremes, every practical cafe will be compre¬
hended. He wrapped this vellum on a fmall hollow
cylinder, including a fpring, like a fpring-curtain, and
fixed it on the right fide of the thermometer. The vel¬
lum is made to pafs from right to left, behind the
tube of the thermometer, and to gra2e along its fur-
face. The obferver, to find the correClions to be
made, pulls out the vellum till the fcale correfponding
to the obferved altitude of the barometer comes to
touch the thermometer, and on that fcale he counts
them. The vellum is then let go, and the ferew gent¬
ly furls it up. _ 40
The author having now, as he imagined, completely His opera-
finifhed the inftruments neceflary for the accurate men-tions on t5ie
furation of heights, proceeded to eftablifti, by expe- ™outjtam
riment, the altitudes correfponding to the different cje.of Salevei
feents of the mercury. Much had been written, and
many rules had been given, on this fubjeft, by different
eminent philofophers, fince the days of Pafcal, who
firft; broached it: but thefe difagreed fo much w ith one
another, and prefented fo little good reafon why any
one of them fliould be preferred, that no conclufion
could with confidence be deduced from them. It be¬
came requifite, therefore, to lay them all afide, and to
endeavour to difeover by pra&ice wdiat could not be af-
certained by theory. Saleve, a mountain near Geneva,
was chofen for the feene of thefe operations. This
mountain is near 3000 French feet high. The height
of it w'as twice meafured by levelling, and the refult
of the menfurations differed only 104 inches ; though
there intervened fix months betiveen them, and the
total altitude was fo confiderable. On this mountain
wrere chofen no lefs than 15 different ftations, rifing af¬
ter the rate of 200 feet, one above another, as nearly
as
Barometer.
4T
Strange a-
nomaliesof
the baro¬
meter at
different
times of
the day#
42
Accounted
for.
BAR [41
as tlie ground would admit. At tLefe ftations, it wras
propofed to make fuch a number of obfervations as
might be a good foundation either for eftablidiing a
new rule of proportion between the height of places
and the defcents of the mercury, or for preferring fome
one of thofe formerly difcovered.
Little progrefs was made in this plan, when a phe¬
nomenon, altogether unexpeffed, prefented itfelf. The
barometer being obferved, at one of the ftations, twice
in one day, was found to hand higher in the latter ob-
fervation than in the former. This alteration gave
little furprife, becaufe it was naturally imputed to a
change of the weight of the atmofphere, which would
afFeff the barometer on the plain in the fame manner.
But it produced a degree of aftonifhment, when on
examining the ftate of the latter, it was found, inftead
of correfponding with the motions of the former, to
have held an oppofite courfe, and to have fallen while
the other rofe. This difference could not proceed from
any inaccuracy in the obfervations, which had been
taken with all imaginable care 5 and it was fo confider-
able as to deftroy all hopes of fuccefs, fhould the caufe
not be detected and compenfated.
The experiment was repeated feveral times, at in¬
tervals, that no material circumftance might efcape no¬
tice. An obferver on the mountain, and another on
the plain, took their refpeftive ftations at the riling of
the fun, and continued to mark an obfervation, every
quarter of an hour, till it fet. It was found, that the
lower barometer gradually defcended for the firft three
quarters of the day ; after which it reafcended, till in
the evening it flood at nearly the fame height as in the
morning. While the higher barometer afcended for
the firft three-fourths of the day ; and then defcended,
fo as to regain likewife, about fun-fet, the altitude of
the morning.
The following theory feems to account in a fatis-
faflory manner for this phenomenon. When the fun
rifes above the horizon of any place, his beams pene¬
trate the whole of the feftion of the atmofphere of
which that horizon is the bafe. They fall, however,
very obliquely on the greater part of it, communicate
little heat to it, and confequently produce little dila¬
tation of its air. As the fun advances, the rays be¬
come more diredl, and the heat and rarefaftion of courfe
increafe. But the greateft heat of the day is not felt
even when the rays are moft direft, and the fun is in
the meridian. It increafes while the place receives
more rays than it lofes, which it will do for a confider-
able time after mid-day 5 in like manner as the tide
attains not its higheft altitude till the moon has ad¬
vanced a confiderable way to the weft of the meridian.
The heat of the atmofphere is greateft at the furface of
the earth, and feems not to afcend to any great di-
ftance above it. The dilatations, for this reafon, of
the air, produced by the fun, will be found chiefly, if
not folely, near the earth. A motion muft take place,
in all diredlions, of the adjacent air, to allow the
heated air to expand itfelf. The heated columns ex¬
tending themfelves vertically, will become longer, and
at the fame time fpecifically lighter, in confequence of
the rarefadlion of their inferior parts. The motion of
air, till it rifes into wind, is not rapid : thefe length¬
ened columns, therefore, will take fome time to difli-
2
6 ] BAR
pate their fummits among the adjacent lefs rarefied co- Barcmetff.
lumns that are not fo high ; at leaft, they 'will not do -v-—^
this as fall as their length is increafed by the rarefac¬
tion of their bafes.
The reader, we p^efume, anticipates the application
of this theory to the folution of the phenomenon in
queftion. The barometer on the plain begins to fall
a little after morning, becaufe the column of air that
fupports it becomes fpecifically lighter on account of
the rarefaftioh ariling from the heat of the fun. It
continues to fall for the firft three quarters of the day ;
becaufe, during that time, the heat, and confequently
the rarefaftion, are gradually increafing. It rifes again,
after this period; becaufe the cold, and of courfe the
condenfation, coming on, the fpecific gravity is aug¬
mented by the rufhing in of the adjacent air. The
equilibrium is reftored, and the mercury returns to the
altitude of the morning.
The barometer on the eminence rifes after morning,
and continues to do fo for three-fourths of the day,
for two reafons. The denfity of the columns of air
is greateft near the earth, and decreafes as the diftance
from it increafes* The higher, for this reafon, we
afcend in the atmofphere, we meet with air fpecifically
lighter. But by the rarefaftion of the bafe of the co¬
lumn that fupports the mercury of the barometer on
the eminence, the denfer parts of that column are raifed
higher than naturally they would be if left to the ope¬
ration of their own gravity. On this account, the
higher barometer is prefled with a weight, nearly as
great as it -would fuftain, were it brought down, in
the atmofphere, to the natural place of that denfer air
now raifed above it by the prolongation of the bafe of
the column. The other reafon is, that as the rarefac¬
tion does not take place at any great diftance from the
earth, little change is produced in the fpecific gravity
of the portion of the column that prefles on the higher
barometer, and the fummit of that column diflipates
itfelf more flowly than it increafes. Thus, we fee
how this barometer muft afcend during the firft three-
fourths of the day, and purfue a courfe the reverfe
of that on the plain. The condenfations returning af¬
ter this time, the denfer air fubfides, the equilibrium
takes place, and the mercury defeends to its firft pofi-
tion. ^
This phenomenon prompted the idea of a fecond pair Ren{]er afl-
of thermometers, to meafure the mean heat of the co- other pair
lumn of air intercepted between the barometers. Thefe
thermometers are extremely delicate and fenfible. 1'he rn n\ers ne'‘
tubes are the fineft capillary, the glafs very thin, and
the diameters of the balls only three lines. The balls
are infulated, or detached from the feales, wdiich are
fixed to the tubes only, by ligatures of fine brafs-wire
covered with filk. The air, by this contrivance, has
free communication with the balls on all fides 5 and, if
the diredft rays of the fun be intercepted at fome di¬
ftance by a bit of paper, or even the leaf of a tree, the
thermometers will quickly mark the Jtrue temperature
of the air. ^
The reader, perhaps, will afk here, Could not this Method of
end have been gained by the firft pair of thermome- computing
ters ? But we muft requeft him to fufpend his judge-
ment till we have explained the theory of computing
the altitudes from the defcents of the mercury. He
will
BAR f 4
Barometer, will then find the fcales of thefe thermometers fo dif-
- ‘ ferent, that neither of them could, without much incon-
veniency, ferve the purpofe of the other.
The altitudes are computed by logarithms. A table
of logarithms contains two feries of numbers, running
parallel to one another. The firft has its terms in geo¬
metrical progredion, and the fecond its terms in arith¬
metical. The natural numbers r, 2, 3, 4, &c. form
the firft feries •, which, though in arithmetical progref-
fton when Handing detached, are in geometrical in
regard of the fecond feries ; whole terms are in arith¬
metical progreflion, and are called logarit/fons, becaufe
they exprefs the diftance of their correfpondent terms
of the geometrical progreflion from the beginning of
the feries.
To apply this table to the prefent purpofe : let us
fuppofe the whole atmofphere divided into concentric
fpherical lections, whofe common centre is that of the
earth. Suppofe alfo all thefe fedtions of equal thick-
nefs, namely, 12.497 toifes, which is found to be the
thicknefs of the loweft fe£tion, and balances a line of
mercury, when the barometer Hands at 348 lines or
29 inches. Add, then, all thefe feftions together ; and
we (hall have the total altitude of the atmofphere ex-
prefled in an arithmetical progreflion, whofe common
difference is 12.497 toifes. Confequently, in this view,
the heights are proportioned to the logarithms.
It remains only to find the defeents of the mercury,
which meafures the weights of the refpedlive fedlions,
in geometrical proportion, in order to juliify the ap¬
plication of the logarithmic table to the computation
of the altitudes. Now, it is eafy to prove, in a very
fatisfaftory manner, that the mean denfities of thefe fec-
tions, which are in proportion of their weights, muft
be in geometrical progreflion, when the altitudes are
in arithmetical 5 confequently, it is with great propriety
and convenience that the logarithms are employed in
the computation of the altitudes correfponding to the
defeents of the mercury. For, to find the vertical di¬
ftance between two barometers, at different heights, no
more is neceffary than to look, in a table of logarithms,
for the numbers that exprefs in lines, or fixteenths of a
line, the altitudes of the two columns of mercury, and
take the logarithms of thefe numbers, whofe difference
will give this diftance accurately, in thoufandth parts
of a toife. Pffultiply the toifes by 6, which will furnilh
the altitudes in French feet.
The author made about 500 different obfervations at
the feveral ftations on the mountain of Saleve, which
- both fuggefted and verified the computation by loga¬
rithms. Many, however, of thefe obfervations, pro¬
duced conclufions that deviated confiderably from the
refults of the actual menfuration, on account of the dif¬
ferent temperatures in which they were taken. It was
the defign of the fecond pair of thermometers to point
out the corre&ions of thefe deviations. In fettling the
fcales neceffary for this end, the firft objeft was, to
mark the temperature of all the obft-rvations where
the logarithms gave the altitudes exactly, or nearly
equal to what they were found to be by levelling. This
temperature correfponded to i6-j: on the fcale of Reau¬
mur, and to 70 on that of Fahrenheit, and as it was fixed
the term o. The next ftep w<as, to determine the cor-
reflions of the heights that became neceffary, accord¬
ing as the ftate of the air was warmer or colder than
Vol. III. Part II.
17 ] BAR
the fixed point. With this view, all the remaining ob-Barometer,
fervations were colieiled, and compared with the dif-
ferent temperatures in which they were taken ; and
from an attentive examination of thefe circumftanc.es,
it was difeovered, that for every 2 15 feet of height fur-
niihed by the logarithms, one foot of correflion muft
be added or fubtratled, for every degree of the ther¬
mometer, according as it flood above or below the
term o.
The fcale of Reaumur did not conveniently exprefs
this correclion of 1 to 215. The author wifhed to adopt
the ratio of x to xooo, in forming a new fcale for that
purpofe ■; but the divifions would have been too fmall.
He employed, therefore, that of 1 to 500 : becaufe,
by doubling the degrees of the higher thermometer
above or below o ; or, which amounted nearly to the
fame thing, by doubling the mean heat of the column
of air in taking the fum of the degrees of both thermo¬
meters, there refulted the ratio of x to icoo. The new
fcale, then, was divided by the following proportion t
As 215, the laft term of the ratio found by Reaumur’s-
fcale, is to 500, the laft term of the ratio to be applied
on the new fcale : fo is 80, the parts between the fixed
points of the firft fcale, to 186, the number of parts be¬
tween the fame points on the fecond. And as 80 is to
186 ; fo is 16^, the point on Reaumur’s fcale at which
the logarithms give the altitudes without corredlicn,
to 39, the point at which they give them on the new
fcale. The term o is placed at this point, 39 at melt¬
ing ice, and 147 at that of boiling water. To reduce
all obfervations to the fame temperature by this fcale,
nothing more is neceffary than to multiply the heights
found from the logarithms by the fum of the degrees
of both thermometers above or below o, and to divide
the produft by 1000. The quotient muft be added to,
or fubtradled from-, the logarithmic height, according
as the temperature is pofitive or negative.
As a Tpecimen of the author’s method, we {hall now Specimen
prefent our readers with the refult of his operations atoft^s lTie~
the. 15 ftations on Saleve. In one column are marked
the heights found by levelling, and oppofite to them tion.
the fame heights found by the barometer ; to the latter
are prefixed the number of obfervations of which they
are the mean.
Stations.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1 x
12
x3
14
Heights by
Levelling.
Feet. Inches.
216 2
428
586
728
917
1218
1420
1800
1965
221 I
2333
2582
270°
2742
2926
IO
O
8
o
8
o
o
3
o
o
4
o
o
o
'Number of
Obfervations.
I 2
I3
*3
21
24
27
23
*7
*7
J7
16
‘5
10
II
Heights by
Barometer.
Feet.
23°!
435 >t
5 91 f r
'732t
919^
1 221 At
14184-f
1798A
19624
22X0
2 331 A
2583H
27°3tt
274it
2924^
From thi$ table we prefume the reader will be in¬
clined to entertain the mod: favourable opinion of the
3 G abilities
BAR ' [ 418 1 BAR
.barometer abilities and induftry of M. de Luc. Notwithftand-
ing the amazing pains, however, which he has taken to
T)cfcript;on remove every inaccuracy in the barometer, it did not
of the molt remain entirely free from error ; nor in many inftances
improved have the oblervations made by different perfons exactly
vetlm/ent con'e^Pon^eh* Coniiderable improvements have been
cd, ^ fuggefted by Colonel Roy and Sir George Shuck-
burgh, &c. (fee Phi/. Pranf. vol. 67. and 68.) ; and
put in execution, with improvements, by Mr Ramf-
den, and other ingenious inftrument-makers in Lon¬
don. The following is a defeription of a very port¬
able one conftru£led by Mr William Jones of Holborn,
which, from its principle, comprehends every advan¬
tage that M. de Luc’s inftrument poffeffes; in many
particulars is exempted from the errors to which his is
liable ; and is not fubjeft to be deranged by carriage
or other motion.
Fig. T2. is a reprefentation of the inftrument as en-
clofed in its mahogany cafe by means of three metallic
rings bbb : This cafe is in the form of a hollow cone
divided into three arms or legs from a to c, and is fo
carved in the inftde as to contain fteadily the body of
the barometer : The arms, when feparated, form three
firm legs or fupports for the barometer when making
obfervations (fee ng. 13.): The inftrument is fufpended
at the part g of the cafe, by a kind of improved gim¬
bals ; and therefrom, with its own weight, is fufficient-
ly fteady in expofed weather. In that part of the frame
where the barometer tube is feen (r?e), there is a long
flit or opening made, fo that the altitude of the mer¬
cury may be feen againft the light, and the vernier
piece a brought dowm to coincide with the edge of the
mercury to the greateft poftible exaflnefs. When the
inftrument is placed on its fupport, the ferew j6is to be
let down in order that the mercury may fubfide to its
proper height; and alfo a peg at /> muft be loofened, to
give admiflion to the a£Hon of the external air upon
the mercury contained in the box b. The adjuftment
or mode of obferving what is called the %ero, or o,
divifton of the column of mercury, is by the mercury
being feen in the tranfparent part of the box b; the
infide of which is a glafs tube or refervoir for the
mercury, and an edge piece of metal fixed on the ex¬
ternal part of the box. The mercury is to be brought
into contafl with the edge by turning the ferew^ to¬
wards the right or left as neceffary. The vernier
piece at a that determines the altitude of the column
of mercury, is to be brought down by the hand to a
near contact, and then accurately adjufted by turning
the ferew b at top of the inftrument. This barometer
has ufually two dift’erent forts of feales inferted on it :
that on the right at a e, \$ z. fcale of French inches
from 19 to 31, meafured from the furface or Kero of
the mercury in the box below, divided into 12th parts
or lines, and each line fubdivided by the vernier into
ten parts, fo that the height of the column of mercury
may be afeertained to the 120th part of a French inch.
The fcale which is on the other fide, or left of obferva-
tion, is of the fame length 5 but divided into Englifh
v inches, each of which is fubdivided into 20ths of an
inch, and the vernier fubdivides each 20th into 25 parts;
lo that the height of the mercury is hereby afeertained
to the yoodth part of an Englifti inch (viz. 20 x 25=:
500). But this vernier is figured double for the con-
veniency of calculation, viz. The firft 5 divifions are mar- Barometer,
ked 10, the 20 marked 40, and the 25 marked 50 : then —v—^
each exaft divifion is reckoned as the two thoufandths of
an inch, which amounts to the fame j for is the
fame in value as —^o 0 °f an inch. A thermometer is
always attached to the barometer, and indeed is indi-
fpenfably neceffary : it is.faftened to the body at r, conn- '
terfunk beneath the furfac^ of the frame, which makes
it lefs liable to be broken : the degrees of the thermo¬
meter are marked on two feales, one on each fide, viz.
that of Fahrenheit and Reaumur, feales generally known:
the freezing point of the former being at 32 and the
latter at o. On the right-hand fide of thefe two feales
there is a third, called a fcale of correction ; it is placed
oppofitely to that of Fahrenheit, with the werds add
and fubtraB : it ferves as a neceffary correction to the
obierved altitude of the mercury at any given tempe¬
rature of the air Ihown by the thermometer. There
are feveral other valuable pieces of mechanifm about
the inftrument that cannot clearly be reprefented in
the figure \ but what has already been faid, we pre¬
fume, is fufticient for the reader’s general information.
For the manner of making the neceffary obfervations,
and calculating the neceffary particulars deducible
therefrom, a full information may be obtained from M.
De Luc, Recherches fur les Modifications de I'Atmo-
fphere, and the Philofophical Tranfa&ions, vol. 67.
and 68. before cited.
It may be neceffary to add here, that by very fmall
additional contrivances to this inftrument, Mr Jones
renders it equally ufeful for making obfervations at fea
with any marine barometer that has hitherto been in¬
vented.
This article may not be improperly concluded by an
obfervation of Mr Magellan *, relative to a principal* Magd-
caufe of error in barometrical meafurements. This Yitlans edition
ftates to be owing to the inattention ofobfervers to the1^ cpn~
fipecifiic gravity of the mercury with w hich their baro-^‘*f Mt~
meters were made. If two barometers were both at Nor/fon
30 inches high, - and equally circumftanced in every Mercury.
other refpedt, excepting only their fpecific gravity of
the quickfilver •, fo that one be filled with the firft kind
I have tried, viz. whofe fpecific gravity was—13,62
and the other rr 13,45. In this cafe, and in all pro¬
bability many of this kind have often occurred, the er¬
ror muft have been no lefs than 327 feet; becaufe
the heights of the mercurial columns in each barome¬
ter muft: be in the inverfe ratio of their fpecific gravities :
viz. 13,45 : 1362 : : 30: 30,379.
Now the logarithm of 30:00477.1.2 T
ditto of 30,379—4825.73
the difference is — 54-52
which difference ftiows, that there are 54.52 fathoms
between one place and another, or 327 reel ; though
in reality both places are on the fame level.
“ But if the fpecific gravity of the mercury, in the
two barometers, were as the two above alluded to of
Bergman and Fourcroy ; viz. one of 14,110, and the
other of 13,000, which may happen to be the cafe, as
the heavieft is commonly reputed the pureft mercury ;
on this fuppofition the error muft have amounted to
35,576 tcifes, or above 2134 feet and a half; becaufe
j 3,000 : 14,110 : : 30 : 32,561.
Now
Barometer .
Plate EXXX V.
ca. JCf.
15ASALTES .
-V
• //<
*4-
*
BAR [41
"Baron. Usfort' the logaiithm of 30—4771,21
and that of 32,561=5126,97
the difference 15=355,76 ; which fhows that
the error ihouid amount to io many fathoms, or
3134.5 feet.
BARON, a perfon who holds a barony. The ori¬
gin and primary import of this term is much con-
tefted.
Menage derives it from the Latin baro, wdiich w-e -
find ufed in the pure age of that language for vir, aJlout
or valia?it man ; whence, according to. this author, it
was, that thofe placed next the king in battles were
called bar ones, as being the braved; men in the army j
and as princes frequently rewarded the bravery and fi¬
delity of thofe about them with fees, the word came to
be ufed for any noble perfon who holds a fee imme¬
diately of the king. Ifidore, and after him Camden,
take the word in its original fenfe, to fignify a mercen¬
ary foldier. Meflieurs of the Port Royal derive it
from weight or authority. Cicero ufes the word
baro for a ftupid brutal man ; and the old Germans
make mention of bujfetting a baron, i. e. a villain ; as
the Italians ufe the word barone to fignify a beggar.
M. de Marca derives baron from the German bar, man,
or freeman ; others derive it from the old Gaulifh,
Celtic, and Hebrew languages } but the mod probable
opinion is, that it comes from the Spanifh varo, n.fout,
nobleperfon ; whence wives ufed to call their hufbands,
and princes their tenants, barons. In the Salic lawr, as
well as the lawrs of the Lombards, the word baron fig-
nifies a man in the general \ and the old gloffary of
Philomenes tranilates baron by man.
Baron is more particularly ufed, among us, for a
lord or peer of the lowed clafs 5 or a degree of nobi¬
lity next belowr that of a vifcount, and above that of
a knight or baronet. In ancient records the wTord
baron included all the nobility of England, becaufe re¬
gularly all noblemen were barons, though they had alfo
a higher dignity. But it hath fometimes happened,
that, when an ancient baron hath been raifed to a new
degree of peerage, in the courfe of a few generations
the two titles have defeended differently 5 one perhaps
to the male defeendants, the other to the heirs general;
whereby the earldom or other fuperior title hath fub-
fided without a barony : and there are alfo modern in-
dances, where earls and vifeounts have been created
without annexing a barony to their other honours: fo
that now the rule doth not hold univerfally that all
peers are barons.
The original and antiquity of barons has occafioned
great inquiries among our Englidi antiquarians. The
mod probable opinion is fuppofed to be, that they were
the fame with our prefent lords of manors ; to which
the name of court baron (which is the lord’s court, and
incident to every manor) gives feme countenance. It
js laid the original name of this dignity in England was
vavaJJour^nMioh. by the Saxons was changed Xo thane, and
by the Normans into baron. It may be colledled from
John’s magna charta, that originally all lords of
manors, or barons, had feats in the great council or
parliament: but fuch is the deficiency of public records,
that the fird precept to be found is of no higher date
tnan the 49th year of King Henry III.; which, al¬
though it was iffued out in the king’s name, was nei-
9 ] BAR
ther by his authority nor by his diredlion: for, not on- Baron,
ly the king himfelf, but his fon Prince Edward, and *"v~“
mod of the nobility who dood loyal to him, were then
prifoners in the hands of the rebellious barons ; having
been fo made in the month of May preceding, at
the battle of Lewes, and fo continued until the memor¬
able battle of Evelham, which happened in Augud
the year following ; when, by the happy efcape of
Prince Edward, he refeued the king and his adherents
out of the hands of Simon Mountfort earl of Leiceder.
It cannot be doubted but that feveral parliaments were
held by King Henry III. and King Edward L; yet
no record is to be found giving any account thereof
(except the 5th of King Edward L), until the 22d
year of the reign of the lad mentioned king.
Before the 49th of Henry III. the ancient parlia¬
ments confided of the archbilhops, bilhops, abbots, earls,
and barons. Of thefe barons there were two forts :
the greater barons, or the king’s chief tenants, who
held of him in capite by barony; and the leffer barons,
who held of the fird military fervice in capite. The
fornfer had fummons to parliament by feveral w rits ;
and the latter (i. e. all thofe who were poffeffed of
thirteen knights fees and a quarter) had a general fum¬
mons from the dieriff in each county. Thus things
continued till the 49th of Henry HI. But then, in¬
dead of keeping to the old form, the prevailing powers
thought fit to fummon, not all, but only thofe of the
greater barons who were of their party ; and, indead
of the leffer barons who came wdth large retinues, to
fend their precepts to the dieriff of each county, to
caufe two knights in every {hire to be chofen, and one
or two burgeffes for each borough, to reprefent the
body of the people refiding in thefe counties and
boroughs ; which gave rife to the feparation into two
houfes of parliament. By degrees the title came to be
confined to the greater barons, or lords of parliament
only j and there were no other barons among the peer¬
age but fuch as Were fummoued by writ, in refpeft of
the tenure of their lands or baronies, till Richard IL
fird made it a mere title of honour, by conferring it on
divers perfons by his letters patent. See further on this .
fubjeft the article Law.
When a baron is called up to the houfe of peers by
writ of fummons, the w'rit is in the king’s name, and
he is directed to come to the parliament appointed to
be held at a certain time and place, and there to treat
and advife with his majedy, the prelates, and nobility,
about the weighty affairs of the nation. The ceremo¬
ny of the admiffion of a baron into the houfe of peers
is thus : He is brought into the houfe between two
barons, who conduft him up to the lord chancellor,
his patent or writ of fummons being carried by a king
at arms, who prefents it kneeling to the lord chan¬
cellor, who reads it, and then congratulates him on
his becoming a member of the houfe of peers, and in
veds him with his parliamentary robe. The patent is
then delivered to the clerk of the parliament, and the
oaths are adminidered to the new peer, who is then
condudted to his feat on the barons bench. Some ba¬
rons hold their feats by tenure. The fird w’ho was
raifed to this dignity by patent was John de Beau¬
champ of Holt Cadle, created baron of Kiddermin-
der in Worcederfliire, to him and his heirs male, by
King Richard II. in the nth year of his reign. He
3 G 2 inveded
BAR [ 420 ] BAR
Barons, inverted him with a mantle and cap. The covonation-
^aron- , robes of a baron are the fame as an earl’s, except
that he has only two rows of fpots on each flioulder.
In like manner, his parliamentary robes have but two
guards of white fur, with rows of gold lace. In other
refpefts they are the fame as other peers. King
Charles II. granted a coronet to the barons. It has
fix pearls, fet at equal diftances on the chaplet. His
cap is the fame as a vifcount’s. His rtyle is Right
Honourable ; and he is ftyled by the king or queen,
Right Trujly and Well Beloved.
Borons by ancient tenure were thofe who held
certain territories of the king, who ftill referved the
tenure in chief to himfeif. We alfo read of barons by
temporal tenure ; who are fuch as hold honours, caliles,
manors, as heads of their barony, that is by grand fer-
geanty ; by which tenure they w’ere anciently fum-
moned to parliament. But at prefent a baron by te¬
nure is no lord of parliament, till he be called thither
by wrrit.
The barons by tenure after the Conqueft, were di¬
vided into tnajores and minores, and w ere fummoned
accordingly to parliament ", the tnajores or greater ba¬
rons, by immediate writ from the king *, the tmnores,
or leffer barons, by general writ from the high ftieriff,
■ at the king’s command.
Anciently they diftinguifhed the greater barons from
the lefs, by attributing high, and even fovereign jurif-
diflion, to the former, and only inferior jurifdi&ion
over fmaller matters to the latter.
Barons of the Exchequer, the four judges to wdiom
the adminiftration of jullice is committed, in caules be¬
tween the king and his fubjefts relating to matters
concerning the revenue. They w-ere formerly barons
of the realm, but of late are generally perfons learned
in the laws. Their office is alfo to look into the ac¬
counts of the king, for wffiich reafon they have audi¬
tors under them. See Exchecluer.
Barons of the Cinque-ports are members of the houfe
of commons, eledled by the five ports, two for each
port. See the article Cinque-ports.
Baron and Feme, in the Englifh Lave, a term ufed
for huffiaud and wufe, in relation to each other : and
they are deemed but one perfon ; fo that a wife can¬
not be witnefs for or againft her hufband, nor he for
or againft his wife, except in cafes of high treafon.
Baron and Feme, in Heraldry, is when the coats of
arms of a man and his wife are borne par pale in the
fame efcutcheon, the man’s being always on the dexter
fide, and the woman’s on the finifter •, but here the
woman is fuppofed not an heirefs, for then her coat
muft be borne by the hufband on an efcutcheon of pre¬
tence.
BARON, Robert, a dramatic author, avho lived
during the reign of Charles I. and the proteftorfhip of
Oliver Cromwell. He received the earlier paits of his
education at Cambridge, after which he became a
member of the honourable fociety of Gray’s Inn. Du¬
ring his refidence at the univerfity, he wrote a novel
called the Cyprian Academy, in which he introduced
the two firft of the dramatic pieces mentioned below.
The third of them is a much more regular and perfect
play, and was probably written when the author had
attained a riper age. The names of them are, 1. Dco-
rum Dona, a mafque. 2. Gripus and llegio, a pafto-
ral. 3. Mir%a, a tragedy. Mr Baron had a great Baronet,
intimacy with the celebrated Mr James Howell, the Baronets.
great traveller, in wffiofe colleftions of Letters * there ^ Voj —
is one to this gentleman, who was at that time at Pa-LCt 41S.
ris. To Mr Howell in particular, and to all the la¬
dies and gentlewomen in England in general, he has
dedicated his romance.
BARONET, a dignity or degree of honour next
beneath a baron, and above a knight-, having prece¬
dency of all knights excepting thofe of the garter, and
being the only knighthood that is hereditary.
The dignity of baronet is given by patent, and is
the loweft degree of honour that is hereditary. The
order -was founded by King James I. at the fuggeflion
of Sir Robert Cotton, in 1611, when 200 baronets
were created at once •, to which number it was intend¬
ed they fhould always be reftrained : but it is now en¬
larged at the.king’s pleafure, without limitation.
They had feveral confiderable privileges given them,
with an habendam to them and their heirs male. They
were allowed to charge their coat with the arms of
Ulfter, which are, in a field argent, a finifter hand,
gules; and that upon condition of their defending the
province of Ulfter in Ireland againft the rebels, who
then harafled it extremely : to which end they were
each to raife and keep up 30 foldiers at their own ex¬
pence for three years together, or to pay into the ex¬
chequer a fum fufficient to do it ; which, at 8d. per
day per head, was 1095I.' So that, including fees,
the expence of this dignity may be about 1 200I. fter-
ling. To be qualified for it, one muft be a gentle¬
man born, and have a clear eftate of 1000I. per an¬
num.
Baronets take place according to the dates of their
patents \ by the terms of which no honour is to be
erebled between barons and baronets. The title Sir is
granted them by a peculiar claufe in their patents,
though they be not dubbed knights : but both a baro¬
net, and his eldeft fon, being of full age, may claim
knighthood.—The firft baronet who was created was
Sir Nicholas Bacon of Redgrave in Suffolk, whofe
fucceffor is therefore ftyled Primus Baronetorum An-
gliee.
Baronets of Scotland, called alfo Baronets of Nova
Scotia. The order of knights baronets was alfo de-
figned to be effabliftied in Scotland in the year 1621,
by King James I. for the plantation and cultivation of
the province of Nova Scotia in America but it was
not actually inftituted till the year 1625 by his fon
Charles I. when the firft perfon dignified with this title
was Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonftone, a younger fon
of the earl of Sutherland. The king granted a cer¬
tain portion of land in Acadia or New Scotland, to
each of them, which they were to hold of Sir William
Alexander (afterwards earl of Stirling), for their en¬
couragement who fhould hazard their lives for the good
and increafe of that plantation, with precedency to
them, and their heirs-male for ever, before all knights
called equites aurati, and all leffer batons called lairds,
and all other gentlemen, except Sir William Alexan¬
der his majefty’s lieutenant in Nova Scotia, his heirs,
their wives and children 5 that the title of Sir Ihould
be prefixed to their Chriftian name, and Baronet added
to their furnarne } and that their own and their eldeft:
fons wives Ihould enjoy the title of Lady, Madam, or
Dame.
BAR [42
Baronets, Dame.—His majefty was fo defirous of adding every
Baroni. mar]^ 0f dignity to this his favourite order, that, four
years after its inftitution, he iffued a royal warrant,
granting them the privilege of wearing an orange rib¬
bon and a medal •, which laid was prefeuted to each of
them by the king himfelf, according to the words of
the warrant. All the privileges of the order, particu¬
larly this of wearing the medal, were confirmed at the
king’s requefl by the convention of eftates in the year
16^0 ; and in order to eflablifh them on the molt fo-
lid foundation, they were again confirmed by an aft of
the parliament of Scotland in the year 1633. This
mark of diftinftion fell to the ground with all the
other honours of Scotland during the ufurpation of the
long parliament and of Oliver Cromwell. It conti¬
nued in general, though not total, difufe after the Re-
ftoration. There have been former meetings of the or¬
der to revive the ufe of it, one in the year and
another in 1734. Thefe meetings proved ineffeftual,
becaufe the proper Heps towards its revival were not
taken ■, but, under the aufpices of our illuflrious mo¬
narch George III. fuch meafures were concerted in the
year 1775 as have effeftuaily eftablifhed this honour¬
able dignity.
Baronets of Ireland. This order was likewife in-
flituted by King James I. in the 18th year of his reign
for the fame purpofe and with the fame privileges with¬
in the kingdom of Ireland, as he had conferred on the
like order in England ; for which the Irifh baronets
paid the fame fees into the treafury of Ireland. The
fir ft of that kingdom who was advanced to this here¬
ditary dignity was Sir Francis Blundell, then fecreta-
ry for the affairs of Ireland. Since his time, feveral
have been created, no number being limited.
BARONI, Leonora, a celebrated finger and com-
pofer, was born at Naples, but fpent the greateft part
of her life at Rome. She was daughter of Adriana
Baroni of Mantua, baronefs of Pian-caretta ; a lady
alfo diftinguiihed for her mufical talents, and for her
beauty furnamed the fair. Leonora had lefs beauty
than her mother ; but excelled her in her profound
Ikill in mufic, the finenefs of her voice, and the charm-
ingnefs of her manner. She is faid by Mr Bayle to
have been one of the fineft fingers in the world. She
was, as well as her mother, celebrated by the wits,
who ftrove to excel each other in recording her prai-
fes ; and in 1639 there was publiftied, at Bracciano, a
colleftion of Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanifti, and
French poems addreffed to h.er, under this title, At>-
plaufi Poetici alle Gloria della Signora Leonora Baroni.
Among the Latin poems of Milton are no fewer than
three entitled Ad Leonoram Romce canentem, wherein
this lady is celebrated for her finging, with an allufion
to her mother’s exquifite performance on the lute. A
fine eulogium on this accompliftred woman is contain¬
ed in a difeourfe on the Mufic of the Italians, printed
with the life of Malherbe, and fome ether treatifes at
Paris, 1672, in 1 2tno. This difeourfe was compofed
by M. Maugars prior of St Peter de Mac, the king’s
interpreter of the Englifti language, and befides io fa¬
mous a performer on the viol, that the king of Spain
and fever;d other fovereign princes of Europe defired
to hear him. The charafter given by this perfon of
Leonora Baroni is as follows : “ She is endowed with
fine parts) fire has a very good judgment to diftinguifh
i ] BAR
good -from bad mufic •, (he underftands it perfeftly vvell, Baromus, ,
and even compofes 5 which makes her ablolute miftrefs . ^ i.
of what ihe fings, and gives her the moft exaft pro¬
nunciation and expreftion of the fenfe ol her words.
She does not pretend to beauty, neither is fhe difa-
greeable or a coquet. She fings with a bold and ge¬
nerous moAfty, and an agreeable gravity j her voice
reaches a large compafs of notes, and is exaft, loud,
and harmonious; Ihe foftens and raifes it without
{training or making grimaces. Her raptures and fighs
are not lafeivious ; her lookshaving nothing impudent,
nor does fhe tranfgrefs a virgin modefty in her geftures.
In palling from one key to another, (lie {hows fome-
times the divifions of the enharmonic and chromatic
kind with fo much art and fweetnefs, that every body
is raviihed with that fine and difficult method of fing¬
ing. She has no need of any perfon to aflift her with
a theorbo or viol, one of which is neceffary to make
her finging complete 5 for file plays perfeftly well her-
felf on both thefe inftruments. In fihort, 1 have had
the good fortune to hear her fing feveral times above-
go different airs, with fecond and third ftanzas com¬
pofed by herfelf. I muft not forget to tell you, that
one day ftie did me the particular favour to fing with
her mother and her lifter. Pier mother played upon
the lute, her lifter upon the harp, and herfelf upon
the theorbo. This concert, compoled of three fine
voices, and of three different inftruments, fo powerful¬
ly tranfported my fenfes, and threw me into fuch rap¬
tures, that I forgot my mortality, and thought myfelf
already among the angels enjoying the felicity of the
bleffed.”
B ARONIUS, Cajsar, a pious and learned cardi¬
nal, was born at Sore in 1538. He ftudied at Rome, -
and put himfelf under the dilcipline of St Philip de Ne-
ri. In 1593, he was made general of the congregation
of the Oratory by the refignatien of the founder Philip
de Neri. Pope Clement VIII. made him his confeffor,
and created him a cardinal in 159^* was after*
wards made librarian to the Vatican j and died in 1605,
at 68 years of age. He wrote feveral works, the prin¬
cipal of which is his Annales Ecclefiafici, from A. D. I
to 1198, in 12 vols folio 5 which has been abridged
by feveral perfons, particularly by Henry Spondfeus,
Bzovius, and Ludovico Arelio.
BARONY, Baron 1 a, or Baronaginm, the lord-
fhip or fee of a baron, either temporal or fpiritual: In
which fenfe barony amounts to the fame with what is
otherwife called honour.
A barony may be confidered as a lordlhip held by
fome fervice in chief of the king, coinciding with what
is otherwife called grandfedgeanty. Baronies, in their
firft creation, moved from the king himfelf, the chief
lord of the whole realm, and could be holden imme¬
diately of no other lord. For example, the king en¬
feoffed a man of a great feigneurie in land, to hold to
the perfon enfeoffed and his heirs, of the king and his
heirs, by baronial fervice \ to wit, by the lervice of
20, 40, 60 knights, or of fuch other number of
knights, either more or fewer, as the king by his en¬
feoffment limited or appointed.—In the ages next after
the Conqueft, when a great lord was enfeoffed by the
king of a large feigneurie, fuch feigneurie was called a
barony, but more commonly an honour; as, the honour
of Gloucefterftiire, the honour of Wallingford, the ho¬
nour
barony
II
'Barraba.
BAR [ 42
nuur of Lancafter,^ the honour of Richmond, and the
like. I here were in England certain honours, which
'vere. often called by Norman or other foreign names •
that is to fay, fometimes by the Englilh and'fometimes’
by the foreign name. This happened when the fame
penon was lord of an honour in Normandy, or feme
other foreign country, and alfo of an honfflir in En°-.
land. For example, William de Forz, de Force, or
de Fortibus, was lord of the honour of Albemarle in
Normandy he was alfo lord of two honours in Eng¬
land ; to wit, the honour of Holdernefs. and the ho¬
nour of Skipton in Cravene. Thefe honours in Eng¬
land were fometimes called by the Norman name, the
honour of Albemarle, or the honour of the earl of
Albemarle. In like manner, the earl of Britannic was
ord or the honour of Britannic in France, and alfo of
the honour of Richmond in England: the honour of
Richmond was fometimes called by the foreign name
the honour of Britannic, or the honour of the earl of
britanme. This ferveth to explain the terms “honour
of Albemarle in England,” honor Albemarlice, or cornu
fis Albemarlice rn Anglia ; honor Brit an nice, or com it is
bn tan nice in Athglia, “ the honour of Britannic,” or
the earl of Britannic in England.” Not that Al-
bemarle or Britannic were in England, but that the
fame perfon refpeaively was lord of each of the faid
honours abroad and of each of the faid honours in
England. The baronies belonging to bifhops are by
iome called regalia, as being held folely on the kina’s
liberality. 1 hefe do not confilf in one barony alone,
but in many j for tot erant baronice, quot tnaiora pree-
dia. 1
_ barony, according to Brafton, is a right indivi-
fible. Wherefore, if an inheritance be to be divided
among coparceners, though fome capital mefluages may
be divided, yet if the capital meffuage be the "head of
a county or barony, it may not be parcelled : and the
reafon is, left by this divifion many of the rights of
counties and baronies by degrees come to nothing, to
the prejudice of the realm, which is faid to be com-
pofed of counties and baronies.
BARRA, or Barray, ifland of. See Bar.ray.
Barra, in Commerce, a long-meafure ufed in Por¬
tugal and fome parts of Spain, to meafure woollen
cloths, linen cloths, and ferges. There are three forts-
the barra of Valencia, 13 of which make 12^ yards
Englilh meafure; the barra of Caftile, 7 of which make
£4 yards; and the barra of Aragon, 3 of which make
24 yards Englilh.
. BARRABA, Desert of; a traft of land in Sibe-
ria, lying between the rivers Irtis and Oby, in the pro¬
vince of Tobollk. It is uninhabited, but not through
any deficiency of the foil ; for that is excellent for
Ullage, and part of it might alfo be laid out in mea¬
dows and paftures.^ . It is interfperfed with a great
number lakes, which abound with a fpecies of earn
called by the neighbouring people harawfehen; and
the country produces great numbers of elks, deer,
foxes, ermine, and fquirrels. Between the Irtis and
Oby are fome rich copper-mines; particularly on a
mountain called Piblowa, from the piEla or white firs
that grow upon it. Every hundred weight of the ore
found here yields 12 pounds of pure copper; and there
iS no occafion for digging deep in order to come at it.
t‘lefe ores5 befides being very rich in copper,
B array.
] BAR
yield a great deal of filver, which affords fo much gold Barracan
as makes rich returns for the trouble and expence of ^
extrafting it.
BARRACAN, in Commerce, a fort of ftuff, not dia¬
pered, fomething like camblet, but of a coarfer grain.
It is ufed to make cloaks, furtouts, and fuch other gar¬
ments, to keep oft the rain.-—The cities where the moft
barracans are made in France are Valenciennes, Lille,
Abbeville, Amiens, and Roan. Thofe of-Valenciennes
are the moft valued : they are all of wool, both the
warp and the woof.
BARRACIDA, a fpecies of pike. See Esox, Ich¬
thyology Index.
BARRACKS, or Baracks, places for foldiers to
lodge in, efpecially in garrifons.—Barracks, when damp,
are greatly prejudicial to the health of the foldiers
lodged in them ; occafioning dyfenteries, intermitting
evers, coughs, rheumatic pains, &c. For which rea-
fon, quarter-mafters ought to be careful in examining
every barrack offered by the magiftrates of a place;
rejeding all ground-floors in houfes that have either
been uninhabited, or have any figns of moifture.
BARRA I OR, or Barretor, in Law, a perfon
guilty of barretry. See Barretry.
Lambert derives the word barretor from the Latin
balatro, a vile knave ;” but the proper derivation
is from the French barrateur, i. e. “ a deceiver;” and
this agrees with the defeription of a common barretor
in my Lord Coke’s report, viz. that he is a com¬
mon mover and maintainer of fuits in difturbance of
the peace, and in taking and detaining the pofleflion
of houfes and lands or goods by falfe inventions, &c.
And therefore it was adjudged that the indidment a-
gainft him ought to be in thefe words, viz. That he is
communis malefaRor, calumniator, et feminator litium
et difeordiarum inter vicinos fuos, et pads regis pertur-
bator, &c. And there it is faid that a common barre¬
tor is the moft dangerous oppreffor in the law-, for he
opprefleth the innocent by colour of law, which w as
made to proted them from oppreftion.
BARRATRY, in Law. See Barretry.
Barratry, in a fhipmafter, is his cheating the
owm'ers. If goods delivered on fhip-board are em¬
bezzled, all the mariners ought to contribute to the
fatisfadion of the party that loft his goods, by the
maritime law; and the caufe is to be tried in the ad¬
miralty. In a cafe where a fhip was infured againft the
barratry of the mafter, &c. and the jury found that
the fhip was loft by the fraud and negligence of the
mafter, the court agreed, that the fraud w>as barratry,
though not named in the covenant; but that negli¬
gence wras not.
BARRAUX, a fortrefs of Dauphiny, belonging to
France. It ftands in the valley of Giefivaudan, and
w-as built by a duke of Savoy in 1597. The French
took it in 1598, and have kept it ever fince. It is
feated on the river Ifer, in E. Long. 4. 35. N. Lat.
45. o.
BARRAY, or Barra, one of the Weftern iftes,
in the county of Invernefs, Scotland; is eight miles in
length, and four in breadth. The foil in general is
thin and fit only for pafture, but in fome places it pro¬
duces corn and. potatoes. The population amounts
to 1604. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the
cod and ling filhery, which is here very fuccefsful. In
the
BAR [ 423 ] BAR
Barre tlie year 1787 they carried 30,000 ling to the Glafgow
I! market. The fifh ;s carried to market in the fame
, boat in which it is taken, either by going round the
mull of Cantire, or drawing the boat by horfes acrofs
the ifthmus of Tarbet. There is a good harbour in the
north-eaft fide. Some cattle are reared in the ifiand,
and a little kelp is burned on the fhore.
BARRE, Louis Francois Joseph de la, of
Tournay, author of feveral works printed at Paris.
Amongft others, Imper. Orienta/e, Recucil des Medail-
les des Empereurs, “ Memoirs for the hiftory of France,”
&c. He died in 1738.
BARREL, in Commerce, a round veffel, extending
more in length than in breadth, made of wood, in
form of a little tun. It ferves for holding feveral forts
of merchandife.
Barrel is alfo a meafure of liquids. The Englifir
barrel, wine meafure, contains the eighth part of a tun,
the fourth part of a pipe, and one half of a hogfiiead ;
that is to fay, it contains 31^ gallons: a barrel, beer-
meafure, contains 36 gallons*, and ale-meafure 32 gal¬
lons. The barrel of beer, vinegar, or liquor preparing
for vinegar, ought to contain 34 gallons, according to
the fiandard of the ale-quart.
Barrel alfo denotes a certain weight of feveral
merchandifes, which differs according to the feveral
commodities. A barrel of Effex batter weighs 106
pounds; and of Suffolk butter, 256 pounds. The
barrel of herrings ought to contain 32 gallons wine
meafure, which amount to about 28 gallons old ftand-
ard, containing about 1000 herrings. The barrel of
falmon mull contain 42 gallons ; the barrel of eels the
fame. The barrel of foap muff weigh 2 $;61b.
Barrel, in Mechanics, a term given by watch¬
makers to the cylinder about which the fpring is
wrapped 5 and by gunfmiths to the cylindrical tube
of a gun, piffol, &c. through which the ball is dif-
charged.
Barrel, in Anatomy, a pretty large cavity behind
the tympanum of the ear, about four or five lines deep,
and five or fix wide.
Fire Barrels. See Fire Ship.
_ Thundering Barrels, in the military art, are filled
with bombs, grenades, and other fire-works to be roll¬
ed down a breach.
BARRENNESS, the fame with fterility. See Ste¬
rility.
BARRETRY , in Taw, is the offence of frequently
exciting and ftirring up fuits and quarrels between his
Majefty’s fubjects, either at law or otherwife. The
punilhment for this offence, in a common perfon, is by
fine and imprifonment: but if the offender (as is too
trequently the cafe) belongs to the profefiion of the
law*, a barretor who is thus able as well as willing to
do mifchief ought alfo to be difabled from praftifing
lor the future. And indeed it is enacted by ftatute
12 Geo. I. c. 29. that if any one, who hath been
convicted of forgery, perjury, Subornation of per¬
jury, or common barretry, fhall pradtife as an attor¬
ney, folicitor, or agent, in any fuit ; the court, upon
complaint, fhail examine it in a fummary way ; and, if
proved, fhall airedt the offender to be tranfported for
feven jears. Hereunto alfo may be referred another
offence, of equal malignity and audacioufnefs ; that of
fuing another in the name of a fiaiticus plaintiff, ei¬
ther one not in being at all, or one who is ignorant of Barricade
the fuit. This offence, if committed in any of the ^ .1!
king’s fuperior courts, is left, as a high contempt, to f1'irr!llgton°
be punifhed at their diferetion : but in courts of a ^
lower degree, where the crime is equally pernicious,
but the authority of the judges not equally extenfive, it
is directed by ftatute 8 Eliz. c. 2. to be punifhed by fix
months imprifonment, and treble damages to the party
injured.
BARRICADE, or Barricado, a military term
for a fence formed in hafte with veffels, bafkets of
earth, trees, pallifades, or the like, to preftrve an ar¬
my from the fhot or affault of the enemy.—The moft
ufual materials for barricades confift of pales or flakes,
croffed with batoons, and fhod with iron at the feet,
ufually fet up in paffuges or breaches.
Barricade, in Isavai ArchiteClurc, a ftrong wood¬
en rail, fupported by ftanchions, extending acrofs the
foremoft part of the quarter-deck. In a veffel of war,
the vacant fpaces between the ftanchions are common¬
ly filled with rope-matts, cork, or pieces of old cable ;
and the upper part, which contains a double rope¬
netting above the rail, is fluffed with full hammocks
to intercept the motion, and prevent the execution of
fmall-fhot in the time of battle.
BARRIER, in Fortification, a kind of fence made
at a paffage, retrenchment, &c. to flop up the entry
thereof. It is compofed of great flakes, about four or
five feet high, placed at the diftance of eight or ten feet
from one another, with tranfums, or overthwart raft¬
ers, to flop either horfe or foot, that would enter or
rufh in with violence : in the middle is a moveable bar
of wood, that opens or fhuts at pleafure. A barrier is
commonly fet up in a void fpace, between the citadel
and the town, in half moons, &c.
Barriers, fignifies that which the French calf jeu-'
de barres, i. e. pal&flra ; a martial exercife of men
armed and fighting together with fhort fwords, within,
certain bars or rails which feparated them from the
fpeffators : it is now difufed in this country.
BARRING a vein, in Farmery, an operation per¬
formed upon the veins of a horfe’s legs, and other
parts of his body, with intent to flop the courfe, and
leffen the quantity, of the malignant humours that pre¬
vail there.
BARRINGTON, John Shute, Lord Vifcount
Barrington, a nobleman diftinguifhed for theological
learning, was the youngeft fon of Benjamin Shute,
merchant, and was born in 1678. He received part
of his education at the univerfity of Utrecht ; and, af¬
ter returning to England, ftudied law in the Inner
I emple. In 1701 he commenced writer in favour of
the civil rights of Proteftant diffenters, to which body
he belonged. At the recommendation of Lord So¬
mers he was employed to engage the Prefbyterians in
Scotland to favour the union of the two kingdoms y
and in 1708, for this fervice, was appointed to the
place of commiflioner of the cuftoms. From this he
was removed by the Tory miniftry of Queen Anne ;
but his fortune was, in the mean time, improved by
the bequeft of two confiderable eftates ; one of them
left him by Francis Barrington of Tofts, Efq. whofe-
name he affumed by a£l of parliament. Mr Barring¬
ton now flood at the head of the Diffenters. On the-
acceffion of George I. he was returned member o£
parliament
BAR [ 424 ] BAR
Barrington, parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed; and in 17^0
w“—   the king railed him to the Irifh peerage, by the ityle
of Vilcount Barrrington of Ardglals. He w7as unfortu¬
nately engaged as fub-governor in one of the bubbles
of the time, the Harburgh lottery, and underwent the
difgrace of expulfion from the houfe of commons, in
1723; a cenfure which was thought greatly too feyere,
and altogether unmerited on his part. In 1725 he pub-
lilhed his principal work, entitled Mifcellanea Sc era,
or a new Method of confidering fo much of the Hiftory
of the Apoftles as is contained in Scripture, in an ab-
ftradf of their hiftory, an abftradt of that abftraft, and
four critical effays ; 2 vols. 8vo. This work traces
the methods taken by the firft preachers of the gofpel
for propagating Chriftianity, and explains the feveral
gifts of the Spirit, by which they were enabled to dil-
charge their office. It has always been reckoned a
valuable and judicious defence of the Chriftian cauie ;
and w7as reprinted w'ith additions and eorre&ions, in
3 vols. 8vo, 1770, by his fon, afterwards bifhop of
Durham. In the fame year he publiftied “ An Eflay
on the feveral Difpenfations of God to Mankind, in
the Order in which they lie in the Bible, &c.” 8vo,
1725. He wrote various other tradls, chiefly on fub-
je6ts relative to toleration in matters of religion. He
died in 1734, in his 56th year, leaving feveral chil¬
dren, of W’hom five fons had the uncommon fortune
of riling to high ftations in the church, the law, the
army, and the navy. Lord Barrington was a friend
and difciple of Locke, and adopted his fentiments as to
the right and advantage of free enquiry, and the va¬
lue of civil and religious liberty. He contributed
greatly to the riling fpirit of liberal fcriptural criti-
cifm among thofe who wffftied to render religion ra-
lional. He rvas a man of great moderation, and, though
chiefly connefted with the Diflenters, he occafionally
frequented and communicated with the eftablilhed
church. Gen. Biog.
Barrington, Dames, fourth fon of Lord Vif-
count Barrington, diftinguilhed as an antiquarian and
naturalift, w7as educated for the profeflion of the law ;
and, after poffefling various polls, was appointed a
Welfti judge in 1757, and afterwards fecond juftice of
Chefter. He never rofe to much eminence at the bar,
but he fhowed his knowledge of the law as an objeft
of liberal ftudy, by a valuable publication entitled
“ Obfervations on the Statutes, chiefly the more an¬
cient, from Magna Charta to 21 James I. c. 27 ; with
an Appendix, being a Propofal for new-modelling the
Statutes,” 410, 1766. This work has been quoted
with great refpefl by many of our hiftorians and con-
ftitutional antiquaries. In 1773 he publilhed an edi¬
tion of Orojhts, wfith Alfred’s Saxon verlion, and an
Englilh tranflation and notes of his own, which met
with fome fevere animadverfion from the critics. His
“ Trafts on the Probability of reaching the North
Pole,” 1775, 4to> were written in confequence of the
northern voyage of difeovery undertaken by Captain
Phipps (now Lord Mulgrave). He accumulates in
them a variety of evidence favourable to his own opi¬
nion of the practicability of attaining the object in
which that voyage failed ; but there is little proba¬
bility that the attempt will be renewed. Mr Bar¬
rington’s other writings, which are numerous, arc
chieflv to be found in the publications of the Royal
1
and Antiquarian Societies, of both of which he was Barringto-
long an afliduous member, and of the latter, vice pre- nia
fident. They relate to a variety of topics in natural parj0S
hiftory and antiquities, and (how great induftry and * - - - ■
extent of relearch, though w'ith an occafional leaning
to Angularity and paradox. Many of his traffs were
collefted by hirn in a qto volume entitled “ MifceL
lanies on various Subjefts,” 1781. His “ Experiments
and Obfervations on the Singing of Birds,” and his
“ Eflay on the Language of Birds, are among the
moft curious and ingenious of his papers. Thefe,
and many others, prove that he was not only deeply
converfant in books, but was a very attentive and fa-
gacious obferver of nature. In private lite he was a
man of wrorth and integrity, unambitious, and devoted
to ftudy and literary converfation. He refigned his
office of juftice of Chefter in 1785, and afterwards
lived in retirement in his chambers in King’s-bench-
walks, Inner-temple, aflbeiating chiefly with his bro¬
ther benchers, and amufing himfelf with fuperintend-
ing the improvements of the gardens. Lie died March
'14. 1800, and was buried in the Temple church.
BARRINGTONIA.' See Botany Index.
BARRISTER, is a counfellor learned in the law,
admitted to plead at the bar, and there to take upon
him the protection and defence of clients. They are
termed jurifconfulti; and in other countries called li-
centiati in jure : and anciently barrifters at law were
called apprentices of the law7, in Latin apprentic'd juris
nobilicres. The time before they ought to be called
to the bar, by the ancient orders, was eight years,
now reduced to five ; and the exercifes done by them
(if they w7ere not called ex gratia) wmre twelve grand
moots performed in the inns of Chancery in the time
of the grand readings, and 24 petty moots in the
term times, before the readers of the refpedive inns :
and a barrifter newly called is to attend the fix (or
four) next long vacations the exercife of the houfe, viz.
in Lent and Summer, and is thereupon for thofe three
(or turn) years ftyled a vacation barrjler. Alfo they
are called utter barrijlers, i. e. pleaders oujier the bar,
to diftinguifh them from benchers, or thofe that have
been readers, who are fometimes admitted to -plead
within the bar, as the king, queen, or prince’s counfel
are.
BARRITUS is a wmrd of German original, adopt¬
ed by the Romans to fignify the general fliout ufually
given by the foldiers of their armies on their firft en¬
counter after the clajjicum or alarm. This cuftom,
however, of fetting up a general (bout was not pecu-
liartothe Romans, but prevailed amongft theTrojnnsac-
cording to Homer, amongft the Germans, the Gauls,
Macedonians, and Perfians. See Classicum.
BARROS, John, a celebrated Portuguefe hiftori-
an, born at Vifco in 1496. He was educated at the
court of King Emanuel, among the princes of the
blood, and made a great progrefs in Greek and Latin.
The Infant John, to wLom he attached himfelf, and
became preceptor, having fucceeded the king his fa¬
ther in l 521, Barros obtained a place in this prince’s
hou fell old ; and in 1522, was made governor of St
George del Mina, on the coe.ft of Guinea. Three
years after, the king having recalled him to court,
made him treafurerof the Indies, and this poft infpired
him with the thought of WTiting this hiftory, for which
purpofe
Barrow.
BAR f 425 ] BAR
purpofe he retired to Pompas, where he died in 1570. -
His hiftory of Afia and the Indies is divided into de¬
cades ; the firft of which he publifhed in 1552, the
fecond in 1553, and the third in 1563 •, but the
fourth decade was not publiihed till the year 1615,
when it appeared by order of King Philip III. who
had the manufcript purchafed of the heirs of John Bar-
ros. Several authors have continued it, fo that we
have at prefent 12 decades. He left many other
works 5 feme of which have been printed, and others
remain in manufcript.
BARROW, Isaac, an eminent mathematician and
divine of the laft century, was the fon of Mr Thomas
Barrow a linen draper in London, where he w'as born
in 1630. He w^as at firft placed at the charter-houfe
fchool for twro or three years 5 where his behaviour af¬
forded but little hopes of fuccefs in the profeflion of
a fcholar, he being fond of fighting, and promoting
it among his fchoolfellowTs : but being removed from
thence, his difpofition took a happier turn •, and hav¬
ing foon made a great progrefs in learning, he was
admitted a penfioner of Peter-houfe in Cambridge.
He now applied himfelf with great diligence to the
ftudy of all parts of literature, efpecially to that of
natural philofophy. He afterwards turned his thoughts
to the profeffion of phyfic, and made a confiderable
progrefs in anatomy, botany, and chemiftry ; after
this he ftudied chronology, aftronomy, and geometry.
He then travelled into France and Italy, and in a
voyage from Leghorn to Smyrna gave a proof of
his bravery j for the ftiip being attacked by an Al¬
gerine pirate, he ftaid upon deck, and with the great-
eft intrepidity fought, till the pirate, perceiving the
ftout refiftance the {hip made, fheered off and left
her (a).
At Smyrna he met with a moft kind reception from
Mr Bretton the Englifti conful, upon whofe death he
afterwards wrote a Latin elegy. From thence he pro¬
ceeded to Conftantinople, where he receive^ the like
civilities from Sir Thomas Bendilh the Englifh ambaf-
fador, and Sir Thomas Dawes, with whom he after¬
wards preferved an intimate friendftiip. At Conftan¬
tinople he read over the wmrks of St Chryfoftom, once
bifhop of that fee, whom he preferred to all the other
fathers. When he had been in Turkey fomewhat
more than a year, he returned to Venice. From
thence he came home in 1659, through Germany and
Holland •, and was epifcopally ordained by Bithop
Brownrig. In 1660, he was chofen to the Greek
profefforfhip at Cambridge. When he entered upon
this province, he intended to have read upon the tra-
Vol. III. Part II.
gedies of Sophocles 5 but he altered his intention, and
made choice of Ariftotle’s rhetoric. Thefe ledlures
having been lent to a friend who never returned them,
are irrecoverably loft. July the 16th 1662, he was
eletfted profeffor of geometry in Grelham-college, by
the recommendation of Dr Wilkins, mailer of Trinity-
college, and afterwmrds bifhop of Chefter. Upon the
20th of May 1663 he was elefted a fellow of the
Royal Society, in the firft choice made by the council
after their charter. The fame year the executors of
Mr Lucas having, according to his appointment,
founded a mathematical lefture at Cambridge, they fix¬
ed upon Mr Barrow for the firft profeffor ; and though
his tw'o profefforfhips wrere not inconfiftent with each
other, he chofe to refign that of Greftiam-college,
'which he did May the 20th 1664. In 1669 he re-
figned his mathematical chair to his learned friend
Mr Ifaac Newton, being now determined to give up
the ftudy of mathematics for that of divinity. Upon
quitting his profefforfhip, he was only a fellow' of
Trinity-college, till his uncle gave him a fmall fine-
cure in Wales, and Dr Seth Ward bifhop of Salif-
bury conferred upon him a prebend in his church.
In the year 1670 he was created doflor in divinity by-
mandate ; and, upon the promotion of Dr Pearfon
mafter of Trinity-college to the fee of Chefter, he was
appointed to fucceed him by the king’s patent, bear¬
ing date the 13th of February 1672. When the king
advanced him to this dignity, he wTas pleafed to fay,
“ he had given it to the beft fcholar in England.”
His majefty did not fpeak from report, but from his
own knowledge : the doftor being then his chaplain,
fee ufed often to converfe wuth him, and in his humour¬
ous way, to call him an “ unfair preacher,” becaufe
he exhaufted every fubjeft, and left no room for others
to come after him. In 1675 he was chofen vice-chan¬
cellor of the univerfity. The doftor’s works are very
numerous, and fuch as do honour to the Englilh nation.
They are, 1. Euclid’s Elements. 2. Euclid’s Data.
3. Optical Leftures, read in the public fchool of Cam¬
bridge. 4. Thirteen Geometrical Leftures. 5. The
W7orks of Archimedes, the four Books of Apollonius’s
Conic Sedtions, and Theodofius’s Spherics explained
in a newr Method. 6. A Ledlure, in wftuch Archi¬
medes’s Theorems of the Sphere and Cylinder are in-
veftigated and briefly demonftrated. 7. Mathematical
Leftures, read in the public fchools of the univerfity of
Cambridge : the above were all printed in Latin ; and
as to his Englifti w'orks, they are printed together in
four volumes folio.—“ The name of Dr Barrow (fays
the reverend and learned Mr Granger) will ever be il-
. 3 luftrious
Barren
(a) There is another anecdote told of him, which not only ftiow'ed his intrepidity, but an uncommon good-
nefs of difpofition, in cireumftances where an ordinary {hare of it would have been probably extinguifhed. He
wras once in a gentleman’s hq#& in the country, where the neceffary was at the end of a long garden, and con-
fequently at a great diftance from the room wftiere he lodged : as he was going to it before day, for he wras a
very early rifer, a fierce maftiff, wrho ufed to be chained up all day, and let loofe at night for the fecurity of the
houle, perceiving a ftrange perfon in the garden at that unfeafonable time, fet upon him with great fury. The
do<ftor catched him by the throat, threw7 him, and lay upon him 5 and whilft he kept him down, confidered what
he fhould do in that exigence ; once he had a mind to kill him ; but he altered this refolution, upon recolle<5ling
that it would be unjuft, fince the dog did only his duty, and he himfelf w'as in fault for rambling out of his room
before it was light. At length he called out fo loud, that he was heard by fome of the houfe, who came pre-
fently out, and freed the dodlor and the dog from the danger they w7ere both in.
BAR [4
s- ^ luftrious for a ftrength of mind and a compafs of know-
ledge that did honour to his country. Pie was unri¬
valled in mathematical learning, and efpecially in the
fublime geometry ; in which he has been excelled only
by one man, and that man was his pupil, the great Sir
Ifaac N ewton. The fame genius that feemed to be
born only to bring hidden truths to light, to rife to
the heights or defcend to the depths of fcience, would
fometimes amufe itfelf in the flowery paths of poetrv,
and he compofed verfes both in Greek and Latin.
He at length gave himfelf up entirely to divinity 5 and
particularly to the moll ufef'ul part of it, that which
has a tendency to make men wifer and better. He
has, in his excellent fermons on the Creed, folved every
difficulty and removed every obllacle that oppofed itfelf
to our faith, and made divine revelation as clear as the
demonftrations in his own Euclid. In his fermons he
knew not how to leave off writing till he had exhauffed
his fubjeft j and his admirable difcourfe on the Duty
and Reward of Bounty to the Poor, took him up three
hours and a half in preaching. This excellent per-
fon, who was a bright example of Chriftian virtue, as
well as a prodigy of learning, died on the 4th of May
1677, in the 47th year of his age j” and was interred
in Weft min Her abbey, where a monument, adorned
with his buft, was foon after eredted, by the contribu¬
tion of his friends.
BARROWS, in Ancient Topography, artificial hil¬
locks or mounts, met with in many parts of the world,
intended as repofitories for the dead, and formed ei¬
ther of ilones heaped up, or of earth. For the former,
more generally known by the name of cairns, fee
Cairns.—Of the latter Dr Plott takes notice of two
forts in Oxfordlhire : one placed on the military ways •,
the other in the fields, meadows, or woods ; the firft
fort doubtlefs of Roman erecfion, the other more pro¬
bably erected by the Britons or Danes. We have an
examination of the barrows in Cornwall by Dr Wil¬
liams, in the Phil. Tranf. N° 458. from whofe obfer-
vations we find that they are compofed of foreign or
adventitious earth ; that is, fuch as does not rife on the
place, but is fetched from fome diftance.—Monuments
of this kind are alfo very frequent in Scotland. Chi
digging into the barrows, urns have been found in
fome of them, made of calcined earth, and containing
burnt bones and allies •, in others, ftone chefts contain¬
ing bones entire •, in others, bones neither lodged in
chefts nor depofited in urns. Thefe tumuli are round,
not greatly elevated, and generally at their bafes fur-
rounded with a fofs. They are of different fizes 5 in
proportion, it is fuppofed, to the greatnefs, rank, and
power, of the deceafed perfon. The links or fands of
Skail, in Sandwich, one of the Orkneys, abound in
round barrows. Some are formed of earth alone,
others of ftone covered with earth. In the former was
found a coffin, made of fix flat ftones. They are too
ihort to receive a body at full length : the fkeletons
found in them lie with the knees prefled to the breaft,
and the legs doubled along the thighs. A bag, made
of ruffles, has been found at the feet of xfome of thefe
fkeletons, containing the bones, moft probably, of an¬
other of the family. In one were to be feen multi¬
tudes of fmall beetles 5 and as fimilar infefls have been
difcovered in the bag which enclofed the facred Ills,
we may fuppofe that the EgyptianSj and the nation to
g ] BAR
whom tnefe tumuli did belong, might have had the Barrows.
fame fuperftition refpefting them. On fome of the V—
corpfes interred in this ifland, the mode of burning
was obferved. The allies, depofited in an urn which
was covered on the top with a flat ftone, have been
found in the cell of one of the barrows*. This coffin
or cell was placed on the ground, then covered with a
heap of ftones, and that again cafed with earth and
fods. Both barrow and contents evince them to be of
a different age from the former. Thefe tumuli were
in the nature of family vaults : in them have been
found two tiers of coffins. It is probable, that on the
death of any one of the family, the tumulus was open¬
ed, and the body interred near its kindred bones.
Ancient Greece and Latium concurred in the fame
practice with the natives of this ifland. Patroclus
among the Greeks, and Hedtor among the Trojans,
received but the fame funeral honours with our Cale¬
donian heroes; and the allies of Dercennus the Lau-
rentine monarch had the fame Ample protection. The
urn and pall of the Trojan warrior might perhaps be
more fuperb than thole of a Britiffi leader: the riling
monument of each had the common materials from our
mother earth.
The fnowy bones his friends and brothers place, -
With tears colle&ed, in a golden vafe.
The golden vafe in purple palls they roll’d
Of fofteft texture and inwrought with gold.
Laft o’er the urn the facred earth they fpread,
And rais’d a tqmb, memorial of the dead.
Pope's Hornet''s Iliad, xxiv. 1003.
Or, as it is more ftrongly exprefled by the fame ele¬
gant tranffator, in the account of the funeral of Pa¬
troclus ;
High in the midft they heap the fwelling bed
Of riling earth, memorial of the dead.
Ib. xxiii. 319.
The Grecian barrows, however, do not feem to have
been all equally fimple. The barrow^ of Alyattes, fa¬
ther of Croefus king of Lydia, is deferibed by Hero¬
dotus as a moft fuperb monument, inferior only to the
works of the Egyptians and Babylonians. It was a
vaft mound of earth heaped on a bafement of large
ftones by three clafles of the people ; one of w hich
was compofed of girls who were proftitutes. Alyat¬
tes died, after a long reign, in the year 562 before
the Chriftian era. Above a century intervened, but
the hiftorian relates, that to his time five ftones (fcgoq
termini or JleLe') on which letters were engraved, had
remained on the top, recording what each clafs had
performed ; and from the meafurement it had appear¬
ed, that the greater portion was done by the girls.
Strabo likewife has mentioned it as a huge mound rai-
fed on a lofty bafement by the multitude of the citv.
The circumference was fix ftadia or three quarters of a
mile ; the height two plethra or two hundred feet ;
and the width thirteen plethra. It was cuftomary
among the Greeks to place on barrows either the
image of fome animal, or Jlelce, commonly round pil¬
lars with inferiptions. The famous barrow^ of the A-
thenians in the plain of Marathon, deferibed by Pau-
fanias, is an inftance of the latter ufage. An ancient
monument in Italy by the Appian-way, called without,
leafon
BAR [ 427 ]
Harrows, reafon the fepulchre of the Curiatii, has the fame num- the foot in
  her of termini as remained on the barrow of Alyattes 5
the bafement, which is fquare, fupporting five round
pyramids.—Of the barrow of Alyattes the apparent
magnitude is deferibed by travellers as now much di-
minifhed, and the bottom rendered wider and lefs di-
ftindl than before, by the gradual increafe of the foil
below. It ftands in the midft of others by the lake
Gygseus \ where the burying-place of the Lydian
princes was fituated. The barrows are of various fizes,
the fmaller made perhaps for children of the younger
branches of the royal family. Four or five are diftin-
guifhed by their fuperior magnitude, and are vifible as
hills at a great diflance. That of Alyattes is greatly
fupereminent. The lake it is likely furnifhed the
foil. All of them are covered with green turf; and
all retain their conical form without any finking in of
the top.
Barrows, or fimilar tumuli, are alfo found in great
numoers in America. 1 hefe are of different fizes, ac-
m Notes on cording to Mr Jefferfon’s * account ; feme of them
the State of conftruAed of earth, and fome of loofe ftones. That
i). 1-6^ * tlley were repofitories of the dead has been obvious to
all ; but on what particular occafion conftrudfed, was
matter of doubt. Some have thought they covered the
bones oi thofe who have fallen in battles fought on the
fpot of interment. Some aferibed them to the cuftom
faid to prevail among the Indians, of colle&ing at cer¬
tain periods the bones of all their dead, wherefoever
depofited at the time of death. Others again fuppofed
tiiem the general fepulchres for towns, conjedlured to
have been on or near thefe grounds ; and this opinion
was fupported by the quality of the lands in which they
are found (thofe conftruffed of earth being generally
m the fofteft and moft fertile meadow grounds on river
fides), and by a tradition faid to be handed down from
the aboriginal Indians, that when they fettled in a
town, the firit perfon who died was placed eredi, and
earth put about him, (o as to cover and fupport him ;
that when another died, a narrow' paflage was dug to
the fir if, the fecond reclined againif him, and the co-
tur of eaith replaced, and fo on. “ There being one
of thefe barrows in my neighbourhood (fays Mr Jeffer-
fim), I fvidied to fatisfy myfelf whether any, and which
of. thefe opinions were julf. For this purpofe I deter¬
mined to open and examine it thoroughly. It was fi¬
tuated on the. low grounds of the Rivanna, about two
miles above its principal fork, and oppofite to fome
hills, on which had been an Indian town. It was of a
fpheroidical form, of about 40 feet diameter at the
bafe, and had been of about 12 feet altitude, though
now reduced by the plough to feven and a half, hav¬
ing been under cultivation about a dozen years. Be¬
fore this it was covered with trees of 1 2 inches diame¬
ter, and round the bale w’as an excavation of five feet
depth and .width, from whence the earth had been ta¬
ken, of which the hillock wfas formed. I firff dug fu-
perficially in feveral parts of it, and came to collec¬
tions of human bones, at different depths, from fix
inches to three feet below the furface. Thefe were ly-
ing m the utmoft cbnfufion, fome vertical, fome ob-
ique, iome horizontal, and dire&ed to every point of
the compafs, entangled, and held together in clufters
by the earth. Bones of the moft diftant parts were
found together; as, for inftance, the fmall bones of
BAR
the hollow' of a fkull, many fkulls would Barrow^
fometimes be in contaff, lying on the face, on the fide,
on the back, top or bottom, lo as on the whole to give
the idea of bones emptied promifcuoufly from a bag or
bafket, and covered over with earth, without anv5at¬
tention to their order. The bones of which the great-
eft numbers remained, were fkulls, jaw-bones, teeth,
the bones of the arms, the thighs, legs, feet, and hands!
A. few ribs remained, fome vertebrae of the neck and
fpine, without their proceffes, and one inftance only of
the bone which ferves as a bafe to the vertebral column.
The fkulls were fo tender, that they generally fell to
pieces on being touched. The other bones were
ftronger. There were fome teeth which were judged
to be fmaller than thofe of an adult; a fkull which,
on a flight, view, appeared to be that of an infant, but
it fell to pieces on being taken out, fo as to prevent
fatisiaefory examination ; a rib, and a fragment of the
under-jaw of a perfon about half-grown ; another rib
of an infant; and part of the jaw of a child, which
had. not yet cut its teeth. This laft furnifhing the moft
decifive proof of the burial of children here, I was par¬
ticular in my attention to it. It was part of the right
half of the under jaw. The proceffes by which it was
articulated to the temporal bones were entire ; and the
bone itfelf firm to where it had been broken off, wfiiich,
as nearly as I could judge, was about the place of the
eye-tooth. Its upper edge, wherein would have been
the. lockets, of the teeth, was perfedlly fmooth. Mea-
furing it with that of an adult, by placing their hinder
piocehes together, its broken end extended to the pen¬
ultimate grinder of the adult. This-bone wTas white,
all. the others of a fand colour. I he bones of infants
being foft, they probably decay fooner, which might
be the caufe fo few were found here. I proceeded
then to make a perpendicular cut through the body of
the barrow, that I might examine its internal ftruc-
tuie. I his palled about three feet from its centre, was
opened to the former furface of the earth, and was
wide enough for a man to walk through and examine
its fides. At the bottom, that is, on the level of the
circumjacent plain, I found bones ; above thefe a few
hones, brought from a cliff a quarter of a mile off, and
from the river one-eighth of a mile off; then a large
interval of earth, then a ftratum of bones, and fo on.
At. one end of the fection were four ftrata of bones
plainly diftinguiftiable ; at the other, three ; the ftrata
in one part not ranging with thofe in another. The
bones neareft the furface were leaft decayed. No holes
v'ere difeovered in any of them, as if made with bul¬
lets, arrows, or other weapons. I conje&ured that in
this barrow might have been a thoufand fkeletons.
Every one will readily feize the circumftances above
related, which militate againft the opinion that it co¬
vered the bones only of perfons fallen in battle ; and
againft the tradition alfo which would make it the com¬
mon fepulchre of a town, in which the bodies were
placed upright, and touching each other. Appear¬
ances certainly indicate that it has derived both ori¬
gin and growth from the accuftomary colleaion of
bones, and depofition of them together ; that the firft
colleaion had been depofited on the common fur¬
face ot the earth, a few ftones put over it, and then a
covering of earth ; that the fecond had been laid on
this, had covered more or lefs of it in proportion to.
3H2 the
Barrows
BAR [ 428 ]
BAR
the number of bones, and was then alfo covered with
earth, and fo on. The following are the particular
circumftances which give it this aipeft. 1. The num¬
ber of bones. 2. Their confufed pofition. 3. Their
being in different ftrata. 4. The flrata in one part
having no correfpondence with thofe in another. 5.
The different Hates of decay in thefe ftrata, which feem
to indicate a difference in the time of inhumation. 6.
The exiftence of infant bones among them. But on
whatever occafion they may have, been made, they are
of confiderable notoriety among the Indians : for a
party paftmg, about thirty years ago, through the part
of the country where this barrow is, went through the
woods dire&ly to it, without any inftruftions or' en¬
quiry ; and having ftaid about it feme time, with ex-
preffions which were conftrued to be thofe of foirow,
they returned to the high road, which they had left
about half a dozen miles to pay this vifit, and purfued
their journey. There is another barrow, much refem-
bling this in the low grounds of the fouth branch of
Shenandoah, where it is croffed by the road leading
from the Rock-fifh gap to Staunton. Both of thefe
have, wdthin thefe dozen years, been cleared of their
trees and put under cultivation, are much reduced in
their height, and fpread in width, by the plough, and
will probably difappear in time. There is another on
a hill in the Blue ridge of mountains, a few miles north
of Wood’s gap, which is made up of fmall ftones
thrown together. This has been opened and found to
contain human bones as the others do. T here are alfo
many others in other parts of the country.”
Barrow, in the falt-works, are wicker cafes, almoft
in the fhape of a fugar-loaf, wherein the fait is put to
drain. • ’
BAR R ULETj, in Heraldry, the fourth part of the
bar, or the one half of the cloffet ; an ufual bearing in
coat-armour.
BARRULY, in Heraldry, is when the field is di¬
vided bar-wrays, that is, acrofs from fide to fide, into
feveral parts.
BARRY, Girard, commonly called GiralduiCam-
brenjis, i. e. Girald of Wales, an hiftorian and eccle-
fiaftic in the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I. was
born at the caftle of Mainarper, near Pembroke, A.D.
1146. By his mother he v>as defeended from the prin¬
ces of South Wales ; and his father, William Barry,
was one of the chief men of that principality. Being
a younger brother, and intended for the church, he
was fent to St David’s and educated in the family of
his uncle, who was bxftiop of that fee. He acknow¬
ledges, in his hiftory of his own life and a£lions, that in
his early youth he was too playful'^ but being feverely
reproached for it by his preceptors, he became a very
hard Undent, and greatly excelled all his fchool fellows
in learning. When he was about 20 years of age, he
■was fent A.D. 1166, for his further improvement, to
the univerfity of Paris; where he continued for three
years, and became, according to his own account, a
moft excellent rhetorician *, which rendered him very
famous. On bis return into Britain, he entered into
holy orders, and obtained feveral benefices both in
England and Wales. Obferving, with much concern,
that bis countrymen, the Welch, were very backward
in paying the tithes of wool and cheefe, which he was
afraid would involve them in eternal damnation, he
applied to Richard archbiftiop of Canterbury, and was
appointed his legate in Wales for rectifying that dil-
order,' and for other purpofes. He executed this com-
miflion with great fpirit ; excommunicating all, with¬
out diftinCtion, rvho refuted to fave their fouls by fur¬
rendering the tithes of their cheefe and wool. Not
fatisfied with enriching, he alfo attempted to reform,
the clergy •, and dilated the archdeacon of Brecon to
the archbifhop, for the unpardonable crime of matri¬
mony 5 and the poor old man, refufing to put away his
wife, was deprived of his archdeaconry 5 which was be¬
llowed upon cur zealous legate. In difeharging the
duties of this new office, he adled with great vigour,
which involved him in many quarrels *, but, if we may
believe himfeif, he was always in the right, and always
viflorious. His uncle, ihe biftiop of St David’s, dying
A. D. 1176, he was elecled his fucceffor by the chap¬
ter : but this eledlion having been made without the
permiffion, and contrary to the inclination of Henry II.
our author prudently declined to infill upon it, and
went again to Paris to profecute his ftudies, particular¬
ly in the civil and canon law, and theology. He fpeaks
with great raptures of the prodigious fame he acquired
by his eloquent declamations in the fchools, and of the
croxvded audiences who attended them, who were at a
lofs to know whether the fweetnefs of his voice, the
beauty of his language, or the irrefiftible force of his
arguments, were moft to be admired. Having fpent
about four years at Paris, he returned to St David’s }
where he found every thing in confufion j and the bi-
ftiop being expelled by the people, he was appointed
adminiftrator by the archbilhop of Canterbury, and go¬
verned the diocefe in that capacity to A.D. 1184,
when the bilhop was reftored. About the fame time he
was called to court by Henry II. appointed one of his
chaplains, and fent into Ireland A.D. 1x85, with Prince
John. By this prince he was offered the united bi-
fhoprics of Femes and Leighlin , but declined them,
and employed his time in collefting materials for his
Topography of Ireland, and his Hiftory of the conqueft
of that ifland. Having finilhed his Topography, which
conlifted of three books, he publifhed it at Oxford,
A.D. 1187, in the following manner, in three days.
On the fir 11 day he read the firll book to a great con-
courfe of people, and afterwards entertained all the
poor of the town; on the fecond day he read the fe-
cond book, and entertained all the doftors and chief
fcholars •, and, on the third day, he read the third book,
and entertained the young fcholars, foldiers, and bur-
geffes. “ A moft glorious fpeftacle ! (fays he) which
revived the ancient times of the poets, and of which
no example had been feen in England.” He attend¬
ed Baldwin archbilhop of Canterbury, in his progrefs
through Wales, A. D. 1186, in preaching a croifade
for the recovery of the Holy Land 5 in which, he tells
us, he was far more fuccefsful than the primate *, and
particularly, that the people were prodigioufly affedled
with his Latin fermons, which they did not underftand,
melting into tears, and coming in crowds to take the
crofs. Although Henry II. as our author affures us,
entertained the higheft opinion of his virtues and abili¬
ties ; yet he would never advance him to any higher
dignity in the church, on account of his relation to the
princes and great men of Wales. But on the acceflion
of Richard I. (A. D. 1189), his projedls of preferment
became
BAR
[ 429 1
BAR
Barry
i!
Barfalli.
became better: for he was fent for by that prince into
Wales to preferve the peace of that country, and was
( even joined in commillion with William Longchamp, •
bilhop of Ely, as one of the regents of the kingdom.
He did not, however, improve this favourable oppor¬
tunity •, refilling the bilhopric of Bangor in A. D.
1190, and that of Landafr the year after, having fixed
his heart on the fee of St David’s, the bilhop of which
was very old and infirm. In A. D. 1 i()Z, the ftate of
public affairs, and the courfe of intereft at court, be¬
came fo unfavourable to our author’s views, that he de¬
termined to retire. At firff he refolved to return to
Paris to profecute his ftudies; but meeting with fome
difficulties in this, he went to Lincoln, where William
de Monte read le&ures in theology with great applaufe.
Here he fpent about fix years in the ftudy of divinity,
and in compoling feveral works. I he fee of St Da¬
vid’s, which had long been the great objeft of his am¬
bition, became vacant, A. D. 1198, and brought him
again upon the ffage. He was unanimoufiy ele&ed by
the chapter ; but met with fo powerful an adverfary in
Hubert archbilhop of Canterbury (uffio oppofed his
promotion writh great violence), that it invblved him
in a litigation which lafted five years, coll him three
journeys to Rome, at a great expence, and in which
he was at lall defeated, A. D. 1203. Soon after this
he retired from the wnrld, and fpent the lall 17 years
of his life in a ftudious privacy, compofing many
books, of which we have a very corredt catalogue in
the Biographia Britannica. That Girald of Wales was
a man of uncommon aclivity, genius, and learning, is
undeniable ; but thefe and his other good qualities
were much tarniffied by his infufferable vanity, winch
mull have been very offenlive to his contemporaries, as
it is highly difgufting to his readers.
BARRY, in Heraldry, is when an efcutcheon is di¬
vided bar-ways, that is, acrofs from fide to fide, into
an even number of partitions, confiding of two or more
tindlures, interchangeably difpofed : it is to be expref-
fed in the blazon by the word harry, and the number
of pieces mull be fpecified but if the divifions be odd,
the field mull be firll named, and the number of «bars
expreffed.
BAKRy-Bendy is wffien an efcutcheon is divided even¬
ly, bar and bend-ways, by lines drawn tranfverfe and
diagonal, interchangeably varying the tinflures of
which it confilts.
BARRr-Pify is wffien a coat is divided by feveral lines
drawn obliquely from fide to fide, where they form
acute angles.
BARBA, in Ancient Geography, an illand on the
coall of France, in the Englilli channel, (Itinerary):
Bafepool according to fome; but according to others,
Bardfey.
BARSALLI, a kingdom of Africa, bordering on
the river Gambia, inhabited by a tribe of negroes cal¬
led Jaloffs. The government of this kingdom is a
moll defpotic monarchy : all people being obliged to
proftrate themfelves on the earth when any of the roy¬
al family makes his appearance. In time of war, every
foldier has his lhare of the booty, and the king but a
certain proportion, which is moderate, confidering that
if he pleafed he might keep the whole. The kingdom
is divided into a number of provinces, over which go¬
vernors called lumcys are appointed by the king. Thefe
bumeys are abfolute within their jurifdi£fions $ but they Barfanti.
feklom carry their prerogative lb far as to incur the —v~~
diiiike of the people, which would quickly prove fatal
to them. The Mahometan religion is profeffed by the
king and his court 5 though little regard is paid to that
part of the impollor’s creed which forbids the ufe of
wine for the king cannot live without brandy, nor is
he ever more devout than when he is drunk. When his
majelly is in want of brandy or other neceffaries, he
fends to beg of the governor of James-fort that he will
defpatch a boat with the merchandife he has occafion
for 5 and to purchafe this he plunders the neighbour¬
ing towns, and feizes a certain number of iris iubjebls,
whom he fells for Haves to the Europeans in exchange
for their commodities. This is his method of Apply¬
ing himfelf if he happens to be at peace with his
neighbours 5 for which reafon the people are never io
happy as when at war ; and hence they purfue war
with great vigour, and continue it with obllinacy.—-
The general drefs of the people is a kind of loofe cali¬
co furplice, that hangs dowm below the knee 5 which
they fometimes plait about the waift in a very agree¬
able manner. They wear a great number of gold
trinkets in their hair, ears, nofes, and round their necks,
arms, and legs *, but the women efpecially are fond of
thefe ornaments. The king of Barfalli, whom Moor
faw in 17 32, had a prodigious number of women : but
wffien he went abroad he wras feldom attended by more
than two, who feemed to be dreffed out in the whole
finery and jew-els of the feraglio. He had likewife a
number of brethren ; but it was feldom that he deigned
to fpeak to them : if ever he did them that honour,
they were forced to treat him with the fame refped as
other fubjefts, and fall proftrate on the earth the mo¬
ment they came into his prefence, notwithftanding
they wrere the prefumptive heirs of the crown. It is
indeed ufual for the king’s children to difpute the right
of fucceffion with his brethren, and the longeft fword
generally carries away the prize.
BARSANTI, Francisco, an eminent mufical per¬
former and compofer, was born at Lucca about the
year 1690. He ftudied the civil law in the univerfity
of Padua ; but, after a ftiort flay there, dmfe mufic
for his profeffion. Accordingly he put himfelf under
the tuition of fome of the ableit mailers in Italy ; and
having attained to a confiderable degree of proficiency
in the fcience of pra&ical compofition, took a refolu-
tion to fettle in England, and came thither with Ge-
miniani, wffio was alfo a Luccefe, in the year
He wTas a good performer on the hautboy, and alio
on the flute j in the former capacity he found employ¬
ment in the opera band, and in the latter derived
confiderable advantages by teaching. He publilhed,
with a dedication to the earl of Burlington, fix folos
for a flute with a thorough-bafs, and afterwards fix fo¬
los for a German flute and a bafs. He alfo made in¬
to fonatas, for two violins and a bafs, the firft fix folos
of Geminiani. He continued many years a performer
at the opera houfe : at length, refleding that there was
a profpedl of advantage for one of his profeflion in
Scotland, he went thither-, and, with greater truth
than the fame is afferted of David Rizzio, may be laid
to have meliorated the mufic of this country, by col-
le&ing and making baffes to a great number of the
moft oopular Scots tunes. About the year 1750 Bar-
fan ti_
Sai'tas,
Bartar.
■. BAR [ 43o
lantx returned to England ; but, being 'advanced in
years, he was glad to be taken into the opera band as
a performer on the tenor violin; and in the fummer
feaion into that of Vauxhall. At this time he pub-
lidmd 12 concertos for violins; and fhortly after, Sei
Antifone, in which lie endeavoured to imitate the Ityle
ot Paleftrina, and the old compofers of motets ; but
from theft publications fo little profit refulted, that,
towards the end of his life, the induilry ’and econo¬
my of an excellent wife, whom he had.married in
Scotland, and the ftudies and labours of a daughter,
whom he had qualified for the profeffion of a finger’
but who is now an aftrefs at Covent-Garden, were his
chief fupport.
BARTAS, William de Salluste du, a French
^et, who lived in the 16th century. He was employ-
ed by Henry IV. of France, in England, Denmark,
and Scotland ; and commanded a troop of horft in
Gafcony, under the marlhal de Martignan. He was
a Calvinift ; and died in 1560, aged 46. He wrote a
gieat number ol poems ; the moll famous of which are
1. The Week, or the Creation of the World, in ftven
books. . 2. The Poem of Judith ; and 3. the battle of
Ivry, gained by Henry IV. in 1590. Du Bartas wrote
in a bombaft ftyle.
BARTAR, or Truck, is the exchanging of one
commodity for another. The word comes from the
Spanilh barator, to deceive or circumvent in bargain¬
ing, perhaps becauft thoft who deal this way ulually
endeavour to over-reach one another.
1 o.tranfacl properly, the price of one of the com¬
modities and an. equivalent quantity of the other,
mult be found either by praftice or by the rule of
three.
i- How many pounds of cotton, at pd. per
lb. mull be given in bartar for 13 C. 3. Q. 14. lb of
pepper, at 2I. 16s. per C. ?
FirJI. Find the price or value of the commodity
whole quantity is given as follows:
C. /b. L. s.
13 3 14 at 2 16
C.
If
z.
2.8
E
c.
A R
1 IIOOO
27750
•°375)38-850(
37-5 ••
• lb. C.
>(1036=9
-t-
Anf.
1125
2250
2250
2l.
16s.
2CE
I Qc
i4ib.
26
10
8
8
H
7
L.38 17
Secondly, Find how much cotton, at 9d. per lb 3 81.
17s- will purchaft as under :
d.
If 9
lb.
L.
•• 38
20
777
12
*7
9)9324(
C.
Anf. \o%flb. =9 „
If the above quellion be wrought decimally, the
operation may Hand as follows :
'Sarf*!,
Barthelc*
my.
The value or price of the goods received and deli,
vered in bartar being always equal, it is obvious that
the product of the quantities received and delivered
multiplied in their refpe&ive rates, will be equal.
Hence arifts a rule which may be ufed with advan¬
tage in working ftveral queltions; namely, Multiply
the given quantity and rate of the one commodity, and
the product divided by the rate of the other commodity
quotes the quantity fought 5 or divided by the quantity
quotes the rate. J
%uejt. 2. How many yards of linen, at 4s. per
yard, Ihould I have in barter for 1 20 yards of velvet
at 15s. 6d. ?
, 27/r, Slxp. Sixp. Yds.
120X 31 = 3720, and 8)3720(459 Anf
BARTH or Bart, John, a brave filherman of
Dunkirk, who roft to the rank of an admiral: and is
celebrated for his fignal valour and naval exploits, in
the annals of France. He died in 1702, acred C1
BARTHELEMY, John James, a celebrated
literary charafter, born at Caffis, a little fta-port on
the Ihores of the Mediterranean, January 1716.
. ^ t^1ye years age he was ftnt to fchool at Mar-
leilles. Being admitted into the college of the oratory
he was put under the care of Father Renaud, a perfon
of tafte and wit, who foon difcqvered fimilar qualities
in his pupil, and became uncommonly attentive to his
prog refs. M. de Viftlede, a man of letters, and friend
to the former, alfo concurred with him in his endeavours
and young Barthelemy’s career foon became equally
rapid and brilliant. * ^ /
He had refolved to dedicate himftlf tt> the church ■
but, in order to prepare for this, it became neceffary
to change his place of refidence, for M. de Belzunce
then bilhop of Marftilles, being adluated by a narrow
jealoufy, refufed to admit the {Indents of the oratory to
holy orders. Barthelemy, therefore, quitting his old
mailers with regret, found himftlf under the neceffity
of iludying philofophy and theology with the Jefuits.
As he had not at firll the good fortune to'fall into
able hands, he determined to follow a private plan of
education^independent of the profeflbrs. He accord-
ingiy applied himfelf to the ancient languages, and was
indefatigable in obtaining a knowledge of the Greek
Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syriac. ^His pafiion for
learning had, however, nearly cofl him his life, for he
fell dangeroufly ill, and did not recover his ilrcngth
until be had entered the feminary where he received
the tonfure.
In
Earthele-
my.
B A. R [ 431 ]
In this retreat he dedicated his leifure hours to the little preferabl
^ ftudy of Arabic. A young Maronxte, who had been
educated at Rome, aft'orded him his affiitance, and
enabled him not only to read, but even to fpeak it.
On this, his new friend propoied to him to render all
the fervices in his power to the Maronites, Armenians,
and other catholic Arabians, who were but flightly
acquainted with the language of the country in which
they relided •, in other words, he wifhed that he would
announce the word of God to them in their native
tongue, and accordingly prefented .him with fome
Arabic fermons, compofed by a Jefuit who belonged
to the propaganda.
Barthelemy got one or two of them by heart, and
pronounced them in a fpacious hall belonging to the
feminary, to the entire fatisfaftion of his oriental audi¬
tors.
His reputation now rofe high, and he began to be
conlidered as a youth of uncommon promife, when a
trifling incident occurred which tended not a little to
increale it. Ten or twelve of the principal merchants
of Marfeilles one day introduced a perfon to him who
had implored their charity on the exchange, obferving
that he w^as by birth a Jew, and had been railed, on
account of his great learning, to the dignity of a rabbin j
but having perceived, in confequence of his lludies,
that the Chriftian was the true religion, he had become
a convert. He at the fame time added, that he was
profoundly inllrufted in the oriental languages, and
demanded to be put to the proof, by being confronted
with fome learned man.
. Barthelemy, not then 21 years of age, was imme¬
diately pitched upon. It w'as in vain he affured them,
that although he could read, he was unable to fpeak
the languages in queftion ; they preffed him to enter
into converfation with the native of the eaft ; and the
llranger himfelf entreated that the conference might
immediately commence.
I he challenge Was at length accepted, and the
foreigner began the conteft, from which Barthelemy
retired with the chara&er of a prodigy of eailern eru¬
dition.
Barthelemy having now finifhed his education at the
feminary, retired to Aubagne, and fpent fome time in
the bofom of his amily, by* all the members of which
he was greatly beloved. He was accuftomed, how¬
ever, to repair frequently to Murfeilles, on purpofe to
vifit the academicians, and other learned men refiding
there.. Among thofe to whom he attached himfelf in
a particular manner, was a M. Cary, the pofleflfor of a
fine cabinet of medals and a valuable
books, which were quite analogous to
fubjeft of his purfuits and ftudies.
whole days together in converfing on
jefts ; after which, Barthelemy, as if   
knowledge, would retire to the Minims, where Father
Sigaloux, a correfpondent of the academy of fciences,
was employed in making aftronomical obfervations.
In thefe labours the young Abbe became his affb-
ciafe, for he was ambitious of improving in every
kind of knowledge.
But he began at length to perceive, that in order to
rendei his {Indies profitable, it would be neceffary to
circumfcribe them, as mediocrity of knowledge, the in¬
evitable refult of a diverlity of applications^ was but
BAR
to ignorance itfelf. Occupied with Barthele-
colle<fIion of
the favourite
They fpent
literary fub-
infatiable of
thefe fentiments, he repaired to Paris in 1744, with a
view to devote himfelf entirely to literature. Fie wTas
furnifhed with a letter to M. de Boze, keeper of the
medals, and perpetual fecretary of infcriptions and
belies lettres. This learned man, fo eftimable in every
point of view, received him with great politenefs, and
introduced him to the acquaintance of the moft di-
ftinguifhed members of the three academies, who dined
twnce a week at his apartments. Mixing with fociety
of this kind, Barthelemy became more deeply enamour¬
ed than ever with a love of letters, and a refpecf for
thofe who cultivated them.
M. de Boze, in the mean time, carefully ftudied
the charafter and difpofition of the young man, and
at. length favoured him with his friendfhip, and even
with his. confidence 5 at lead he conferred as much of
thefe as it wras poffible for a man of fo much circum-
fpeftion and referve.
As the increafing age, and declining health, of M.
de Boze wTould not permit him to apply any longer
with the intenfe inveftigation neceflary for the com¬
pletion of the cabinet of medals, he had entertained
feme thoughts of affociating M. de Baftie, a learned
antiquary belonging to the academy of infcriptions, as
a partner in his labours. That gentleman loft the ap¬
pointment, however, in confequence of an unlucky ex-
preffion, and Barthelemy was felefted a few months
afterwmrds : this nomination was approved both by M.
Bignon the librarian, and Maurepas the minifter of the
department. , From that moment the Abbe dedicated
both his days and nights to the ftudy of thofe medals
which his colleague had been prevented, by his in¬
firmities, from arranging.
Amidft his multiplied occupations, Barthelemy be¬
gan to. enjoy a mode of life fo conformable to his tafte
and his talents, when he beheld with affright a new
career prefent itfelf. In the courfe of his journey to
the capital he had feen M. de Bauffet, then a canon,
at Aix. . They were friends and countrymen ; for M.
de Bauffet was born at Aubagne, where his family had
been long eftabliftied. As he was a young man of
confiderable expeftations, he had promifed that Barthe-
Itmy ftiould become his vicar-general the moment he
himfelf was decorated with the mitre. Such a flatter¬
ing oiler wTas not to be rejected ; and as the canon
was now nominated to the bilhopric of Bezieres, he
did not fail to remind his old acquaintance of their mu¬
tual engagement. The forrow of the medalift on this
occafion was too great to be concealed : he was, how¬
ever, too fcrupulous an obferver of his word to break
his. promife ; but the prelate, who faw and felt for the
embarraffment of Barthelemy, immediately defifted
from his importunities.
^ On the death of M. de Boze, keeper of the cabinet
of medals, in. 1753, Barthelemy, who had been his*
colleague during feven years, of courfe expecfted to fuc-
ceed him in that honourable fituation. One perfon,.
horvever, flatted as a candidate y but notwithftanding
the Abbe, relying on the juftice of his pretenfions,,
took no ftep whatever to obtain the appointment, yet
the zeal of his friends rendered all felicitation on his-
part unneceffary, for they were both numerous and
powerful. M. de Malefherbes, wfeofe unfortunate and.
tragical death all worthy men deplore y M. de Stain-
ville>
my.
.Birthele-
-my.
BAR [ 43
ville, afterwards a duke and minlfter ; and M. de Gon-
taut, brother of the laft Marflial de Biron, fupported
his pretenfions, and he was accoi'dingly nominated fuc-
ceflbr to his friend in 1753-
M. de Stainviile, afterwards better known during
his adminiftration by the title of duke de Choifeul,
in 17 ^4 was appointed ambaflador to Rome. Madame
de Stainviile, a lady both young and beautiful, being
paffxonately attached to learning and learned men, con¬
ceived a particular regard for the Abbe, and it rvas
propofed that he Ihould occupy a place in their car¬
riage, on this .occafion, and make the tour of Italy
along with them. Such a propofition could not fail
to be highly flattering j but he was obliged, from prin¬
ciples of duty, to refrain for a time from complying
with their wiihes. He fet out foon after, however,
and arrived in November -at Rome, where he and his
companion were received and treated in the kindeil
manner by the French plenipotentiary, who lived in-a
magnificent ftyle. Pope Benedidl XIV. who then
wore the tiara, being a learned man himfelf, did not
fail to diftinguifh Barthelemy by the moft courteous
reception. But his flay at Rome was not long, for he
was defirous of vifiting Naples, rendered particularly
interefling to an antiquary, at that period, by the re¬
cent difcoveries made in its neighbourhood. He ahd
his fellow-traveller wTere occupied during a whole
month in admiring the curiofities of that capital, and
in ftudying ancient literature •, after which they took a
iourney of 30 leagues, to behold the monuments of
Grecian architecture, flill exifting on the fite of the an¬
cient city of Paeftum.
The fpacious apartments of the palace of Portici,
containing the antiquities of Herculaneum and Pom-
peia, were ftill more interefting, and excited a far
greater degree of curiofity in the breads of the French
philofophers. There they beheld an immenfe quantity
of paintings, flatues, bulls, vales, and utenfils of every
kind j objects peculiarly calculated to engage their at¬
tention and excite their applaufe. It was not, however,
without a certain mixture of grief and furprife that
they noticed the four or five hundred manufcripts,
faved from the ruins of Herculaneum, lying in the
fame forlorn date in which they were difcovered. Two
or three only had been unrolled, of which the learned
Mazocchi has given an explanation : as thefe contained
nothing important the operation was abandoned.
But Barthelemy wras not fo eafily difcouraged, for
he unceadngly folicited, he almod condefcended to in¬
trigue, with a view to engage the poffelfors of thefe
tireafures to turn them to the bed advantage. He, at
length, perceived his labours about to be crowned with
fuccefs a few years afterwards, but he was finally dif-
appointed by the death of the marquis Caraccioli, the
minider of Naples, wdio had entered moft cordially in¬
to his views.
Another fubjefl about this time alfo engaged the
attention of the Abbe. He was exceedingly dedrous
of prefenting the learned men of France with a fpe-
ciraen of the ancient writing employed in the Greek
manufcripts. He accordingly addrefled himfelf, on
this fubjedt, to his friend Mazocchi, and alfo to M.
Paderno, who fuperintended the treafures of Portici :
both, however, replied that they were exprefsly enjoin-
I
2 ] BAR
ed not to communicate any thing. On this he folicit¬
ed permidion to look, for a few minutes only, on a
page of a manufcript which had been cut from top to
bottom dnce its difcovery. It contained 28 lines, and
Barthelemy read it over fix difierent times with ex¬
treme attention *, after this he retired to a corner and
tranfcribed the precious fragment, on a piece of paper,
from memory. He then returned, and having made
a mental collation between the copy and the original,
he corredled two or three trifling errors that had efcaped
his attention.
Having thus rendered himfelf mailer of a fac-Jimile
of the MS. which related to the perfecution; of the
Greek philofophers during the time of Pericles, he
tranfmitted the literary plunder, in the courfe of that
very day, to the academy of belles lettres, driftly en¬
joining fecrecy, however, that Mazocchi and Paderno
might efcape all manner of blame.
M. de Stainviile having been appointed ambaffador
to the court of Vienna, in 1757, the Abbe accom¬
panied his lady thither. On his arrival he found that
his friend and proteclor had made certain arrangements
with the French miniftry, on purpofe to gratify his
paflion for antiquities. In confequence of this heTad
leave to vifit Greece and the fea ports of the Mediter¬
ranean, at the king’s expence, where he was to amafs
new treafures, and return with them to his native coun¬
try by Marfeilles. But, notwithftanding all the at-
traflions that this projeft prefented, his fcrupulous at¬
tachment to his duty prevailed over his paflion for
knowledge $ as he deemed it highly improper that the
cabinet of medals IhoulcFbe fo long Unit.
At length, towards the end of 1758, M. de Stainville,
now become duke de Choifeul, was nominated mini-
fter for foreign affairs in the room of the Abbe de Ber-
nis, who had retired with a cardinal’s hat. No fooner
did this event take place, than both he and his lady
determined to provide for their friend. They accord¬
ingly requefted Barthelemy to ftate the fum that would
make him eafy for life, and he inftantly mentioned
6000 livres a-year ; blulhing at the fame time at the
largenefs of the demand.
As the purfe of the nation was now open to the pa¬
tron, he diftributed his. favours with a liberal hand j
and it muft be owned that, on this occafion, an objeft
worthy of remuneration prefented itfelf in the perfon
of the learned-Abbe. Accordingly, in 1759, he pre¬
fented him with a penfion on the archbiftiopric of Al-
by ; in 1765 he conferred on him the treafurerlhip of
St Martin de Tours, and in 1768 he made him fecre-
tary-general to the Swifs guards. In addition to thefe
the Abbe alfo enjoyed a penfion of 5000 livres on the
Mercury. His income was now very large, but he em¬
ployed it nobly j for he diftributed the furplus, which
was confiderable, among indigent men of letters.
In 1771 M. de Choifeul was difgraced, being fuc-
ceeded in his office by his enemy the duke d’Aiguillon,
and exiled to his eftate at Chanteloupe. On this oc¬
cafion he was forfaken as ufual by the courtiers, who
had bafleed in the funftiine of his favour •, but he was
not deferted by the grateful antiquary, who inftantly
repaired thither to pay his refpefts; nay, when the
king demanded the duke’s refignation of the poll of
colonel-general of the Swifs guards, the Abbe, with a
fpirk
BAR [433
tTartliele- fpiiit'that does honour to h:s memory, infifted on iend-
m>'-. ing in his own refignation of the fecretaryihip j but the
ex-minifter interfered, and prevailed upon him not to
deliver it up without an indemnification, which thould
be fandlioned by the great feal, and authorized by let¬
ters patent enregiftered in parliaments
Barthelemy was now in poffefiion of more than
1200I. fterling per annum j of this he diftributed be¬
tween three and four hundred in the manner before
related 5 the remainder wras not diffipated in pomp and
oftentation, but employed in fuch a manner as to en¬
able him to enjoy philofophic eafe. He alfo educa¬
ted and eftabliflied three nephews in life, one of whom
has been fucceffively ambaiTador and diretflor ; he at
the fame time fupported the reft of his family in Pro¬
vence, and felecled a noble library, wdiich he difpofed
cf fome years before his death.
After having thus pofiefled an ample income during
more than twenty years, the abbe Barthelemy found
himfelf, towards the latter end of his exiftence, re¬
duced to live on a pittance calculated merely to furnifh
the indifpenfable neceflaries of life, in confequence of
the fupprefiion of places and appointments that enfued
immediately after the revolution. He was never heard,
however, to complain 5 nay, he did not feem to per¬
ceive the change ; and, while he was ftill permitted by
his age and infirmities to w^alk from one end of Paris
to the other, to pay his refpefts to Madame de Choi-
feul, he feemed to the full as happy as before.
In 1788 appeared his celebrated work, entitled
Voyage du jeune Anacharjls cn Grece, dans le milieu du
quatneme Jiecle avant Vere Chretienne. He had begun
it in 1757, and, during an uninterrupted fucceflion of
30 years, occupied his leifure hours in bringing it to
maturity.
His hero, a young Scythian, defeended from the
famous philofopher Anacharfis, whofe name he bears,
is fuppofed to repair to Greece, for his inftruftion, in
his early youth, and, after making a tour of her repub¬
lics, her colonies, and her iilands, he returns to his
native country and whites this book, in his old age,
after the hero cf Macedon had overturned the Perfian
empire. In the manner of modern travellers, he gives
an account of the cuftoms, government, and antiquities,
of the country he has vifited; a copious introdu&ion
fupplies whatever may be wanting in refpeft to hiftori-
cal details ; while various diflertations on the mufic of
the Greeks, on the library of the Athenians, and on
the economy, purfuits, ruling paftions, manners and
cuftoms, of all the furrounding ftates, afford ample
gratification to the reader of tafte.
In 1789 the author became a candidate for a chair
in the French academy j and fuch was the reputation
he had obtained by his labours, that this learned body
became particularly anxious to enrol him among its
-members; he was accordingly elefted by acclamation.
The fpeech delivered by the Abbe on his inauguration
has been equally celebrated for its fimplicity and mo-
derty.
In 179° de St Prieft, minifter of the depart¬
ment ol Paris, made him an offer of the place of lib¬
rarian to the king, then vacant by the refignation of M.
le Noir. I his w7as, at that period, a very flattering
propofal, but it was not accepted 5 for the Abbe ima¬
gined that it might interfere with his literary occupa-
Voi. III. Part II.
BAR
tions, and therefore, after exprefling his gratitude, he
declined the intended favour.
In the mean time, while Barthelemy was thus refu-
fing one of the moft honourable offices that a man of
letters could at that time afpire to, he did not negle£t
the department which had fo long been confided to his
charge. His ardour, in refpeift to every thing that
concerned the cabinet of medals, remained unabated
and unaltered through life, and he now found means
to have his nephew, Barthelemy Courgy, affociated
with him in his labours. This grand collection had re¬
ceived a confiderable increafe, and been embelliftied
with a number of fine fpecimens fince it was confided
to his care. To enrich it ftill more he carried on a
correfpondence, not only with the various provinces of
France, but alfo with all parts of Europe.
In the mean time, the health of the learned medal-
lift declined daily, and, in 1792, his ftrength began
to fail him. Towards the beginning of the next year
he became fubjeCt to fainting fits, which deprived him
of the exercife of his faculties for feveral hours toge¬
ther. Being naturally calm and courageous, he did
not appear, however, to be in the leaft affeCled by thefe
accidents, but his friends confidered them as fymptoms
of a fpeedy diffolution.
He was now feventy-eight years of age, fixty of
which had been fpent in literary toils, when an event
occurred, calculated to excite the moft bitter indigna¬
tion. On the 30th Auguft, 1793, this feeble old man
was denounced as an ariftocrat, and his nephew and fe¬
veral other young men employed about the library were
included in the fuppofed guilt. The accufation pro¬
ceeded from a perfon of the name of Duby, a clerk in
the library, and was conveyed in a letter written by
him to a perfon of the name of Chretien, a paftry-
cook, who happened to be a member of the feflion,
before which it was firft read, and then tranfmitted to
the municipality. It ought not to be omitted here
that Duby did not know7 Chretien, or Chretien Duby,
and that Barthelemy was not acquainted with either of
them !
A warrant was immediately iffued againft the fup¬
pofed culprits, and this was fignified by the officers of
juftice to the Abbe, who happened to be at Madame de
Choifeul’s, on ^he morning of the 2d of September. On
this he inftantly arofe, and, without difeovering any
fymptoms of fear, took his leave of that lady, and was
conduced to the Magdelonettes, wdrere he found his
nephew Cour^y. Such, however, tvas the refpefl paid
to his virtues and his talents, even within the walls of
a prifon, that, on entering the gate, he was received
with every expreffion of regard by the inhabitants of
this dreary manfion, and the gaoler, whofe name was
Vanbertrand, paid the utmoft attention to him. He
Was accordingly lodged in a little apartment along with
his relation, and in the courfe of that evening he re¬
ceived a vifit from Madame de Choifeul, who had ta¬
ken care to intimate the event to the government. No
fooner was the committee informed that the Abbe Bar¬
thelemy had been included in the order that was meant
only to extend to fome of the fubaltems employed in
the library, than orders were inftantly iffued for his re-
leafe, and we are affured by his friend the duke de Ni-
vernois, that the clerks in the public offices difplayed
the utmoft zeal in forwarding the neceffary papers for his
3 I liberations
BAR
Bartliclc-
my,
Barthius.
beration : accordingly at eleven o’clock at night he
was awaked from his deep, and conducted to the houfe
of his fair friend.
But the attention of the government did not flop
here ; for in a few weeks afterwards, the place of na¬
tional librarian being vacant by the death of Carra, and
the refign&tion of Chamfort, who had held it jointly, it
was offered to the Abbe, with the molt flattering marks
of attention. His age and infirmities, however, af¬
forded but too good a pretext for his refufal.
In 1794 his approaching diffolution was apparent to
every one but himfelf, for his fainting fits became
longer and more frequent 5 however, as he did not re¬
tain any remembrance of them, he occupied his time
as ufual ; in other words, he devoted all his hours to
friendfliip and literature.
lie had now reached the eightieth year of a life
which had been entirely fpent in a laborious and incef-
iant application to ftudy, which had fecretly rveakened
the fprings of exiftence. The rigour of the winter of
\l95i againft which he had adopted no precautions, is
luppofed to have haflened the cataftrophej this did not
occur, however, until the fpring.
On the 25th of April he dined with Madame de
Choifeul. In the courfe of the night he became fo
weak that he was unable to ring his bell; and in the
morning, when his fervant entered, he was found with
his feet in the bed and his head on the floor, entirely
deprived of fenfation. After being replaced, his re-
colledion returned, but he grew gradually worfe, and
he was carried off without experiencing any pain.
April 30. 1795.
He retained full poffeflion of all his fenfes until the
very laft moment. At one o’clock he read Horace as
if nothing extraordinary had occurred ; but his hands
turning cold, in confequence of the approach of death,
became unable to fupport the book, which fell to the
ground. Pits head foon after w'as feen to incline on
one fide, he appeared to fleep, and it was believed by
his nephew and his attendants that this tvas really the
cate; but it was foon difeovered that his refpiration had
ceafed, and that this learned man veas no more !
Thus died, without any of the ufual ftruggles that
accompany death, John James Barthelemy, one of the
greatetl ornaments of hi’s age, regretted by all his re¬
lations as if he had been their common father, wdiofe
life prefented an example, and wdiofe wmrks form a
model for literary men. In perfon he w’as above the
middle fize, and, if wre are to give credit to his ad¬
mirers, his countenance difplayed an air of antiquity
wonderfully correfpondent to his ft tidies. His bull,
carved by the chiffel of Houdon, is allowed to be a
mafterpiece of art, and that able fculptor has con¬
trived to infufe into the phyfiognomy a mixture of the
mildnefs, fimplicity, good-nature, and grandeur, fo vi-i
fible in the original.
BARTHIUS, Caspar, a very learned and copi¬
ous writer, born at Cuttrin in Brandenburg, the 22d
of June 1576. Mr Baillet has inferted him in his En-
fatis Celebres ; where he tells us, that at 12 years of
age he tranflated David’s Pfalms into Latin verfe of
every meaiure, and publifned feveral Latin poems. Up¬
on the death of his father (who wras profefibr of civil
law7 at Francfort, counfellor to the eledlor of Branden-
burgj and his chancellor at Cuftrin), he was fent to
t 434 1
BAR
Gotha, then to Eifenach, and afterwards, according to Bartholin?,
cuftom, went through all the different univerfities in ■
Germany. W hen he had finiftied his ftudies, he began
his travels ; he vifited Italy, France, Spain, England,
and Holland, improving himfelf by the converlation
and works of the learned in every country. Pie llu-
died the modern as well as ancient languages, and his
tranflations from the Spanifh and French Ihow that he
was not content with a fuperficial knowledge. Upon
his return to Germany, he took up his relidence at
Leipfic, where he led a retired life, his paflion for ftu¬
dy having made him renounce all fort of employment.
He w7rote a vaft number of books; the principal of
which are, I. His Advcrfana, a large volume in folio;
the fecond and third volumes of which he left in manu-
feript. 2. A Tranflation of Alneas Gazteus. 3. A
large volume of Notes upon Claudian, in qto. 4. Three
large volumes upon Statius ; &c. He died at Leipfic,
in 1658, aged 71.
BAR I HOP.INUS Caspar, a learned phyfician
and anatomift in the 17th century, was born at Malmoe,
a town in the province of Schonen, which then be¬
longed to Denmark. At three years of age he had
fuch a quick capacity, that in 14 days he learned to
read; and in his 13th year he compofed Greek and
Latin orations, and pronounced them in public. W hen
he w7as about 18 he went to the univerfity of Copen¬
hagen, and afterwards ftudied at Rollock and Wirtem-
berg. He next fet out upon his travels ; during which
he neglefted no opportunity of improving himfelf at
the different univerfities to w’hich he came, and every¬
where receiving marks of refpeft. He was in 1613
chofen profeflbr of phyfic in that univerfity, which he
enjoyed 11 years; when, falling into a dangerous ill-
nefs, he made a vow, that if it (hould pleafe God to
reftore him, he wTould folely apply himfelf to the ftudy
of divinity. Pie recovered, and kept his word ; and
foon after obtained the profefforfliip of divinity, and
the canonry of Rofchild. He died on the 13th of
July 1629, after having written feveral fmall works
chiefly on metaphyfics, logic, and rhetoric.
Bartholinus, Thomas, a celebrated phyfician, fon
of the former, u7as born at Copenhagen in 1616. Af¬
ter ftudying feme years in his own country, he in 1637
w7ent to Leyden, where he ftudied phyfic during three
years. He then travelled into France ; and refided
two years at Paris and Montpelier, in order to improve
himfelf under the famous phyficians ofthofe univerfities.
Afterwards going to Italy, he continued three years
at. Padua ; and at length went to Bafil, where he ob¬
tained the degree of do&or of philofophy. Soon after
he returned to Copenhagen ; where in 1647 he w7as
appointed profeffor of the mathematics ; and next year
was nominated to the anatomical chair, an employment
better fuited to his genius and inclination ; which he
difeharged with great afliduity for 13 years, and dif-
tinguiflied himfelf by making feveral difeoveries with
refpefl to the ladleal veins and lymphatic veffels. Plis
clofe application, however, having rendered his con-
ftitution very infirm, he, in 1661, refigned his chair ;
but the king of Denmark allowed him the title of
honorary profejfor. He now retired to a‘ little eftate he
had purchafed at Hagefted, near Copenhagen, where
he hoped to have, fpent the remainder of his days in
peace and tranquillity; but his houfe being burnt in
1650,
BAR [ 435 ] BAS
St BartTio' 1650, his library, with all his books and manufcripts,
lomew’s was deftroyed. In confideration of this lofs the king
‘ |ljy appointed him his phyfjcian with a handfome falary,
Bartolo- an^ exempted his land from all taxes ; the univerfity of
rneo. Copenhagen alfo appointed him their librarian ■, and,
' in 1675, the king did him the honour to give him a
feat in the grand council of Denmark. He wrote,
I. Anatomia Cafpan Barthohm Parentis, novis Obfer-
vationibus primum locupletata, 8vo. 2. De Mon/Iris in
Natura et Medicina, 410. 3. De Armillis Veterum, prce-
J'ertim Danorum Sc bed ion, 8vo; and feveral other works.
This great man died on the 4th of December 1680.
St BARTHOLOMEW’S day, a feftival of the
Chriftian church, celebrated on the 24th of Auguft.
St Bartholomew was one of the twelve apollles ; and
is efteemed to be the fame as Nathanael, one of the
firll: difciples that came to Chrift.
It is thought this apoftle travelled as far as India,
to propagate the gofpel ; for Eufebius relates, that a
famous philofopher and Chriltian, named Patitanus,
defiring to imitate the apottolical zeal in propagating
the faith, and travelling for that purpofe as far as In¬
dia, found there, among thole who yet retained the
knowledge of Chrift, the gofpel of St Matthew, writ¬
ten, as the tradition afierts, by St Bartholomew, one
of the twelve apoftles, when he preached the gofpel in
that country. From thence he returned to the more
northern and weftern parts of Afia, and preached to the
people of Hierapolis 5 then in Lycaonia ; and laftly at
Albania, a city upon the Cafpian fea, wftiere his en¬
deavours to reclaim the people from idolatry were
crowmed w-ith martyrdom, he being (according to fome
writers) flayed alive, and crucified with his head down-
rvards.—-There is mention made of a Gofpel of St Bar-
tholomew, in the preface to Origen’s Homilies on St
Luke, and in the preface to St Jerome’s Commentary
on St Matthew : but it is generally looked upon as
fpurious, and is placed by Pope Gelafius among the
apocryphal books.
Bartholomew, St, one of the Caribbee iflands,
belonging to the Freuch, who fent a colony thither in
1648. It is about 24 miles in compafs, and has a
good haven. W. Long. 62. 15. N. Lat. 18. 16.
BARTHOLOMITES, a religious order founded
at Genoa in the year 1307 j but the monks leading
very irregular lives, the order was fuppreffed by Pope
Innocent X. in 1650, and their effe&s were confifca-
ted. In the church of the monaftery of this order at
Genoa is preferved the image which it is pretended
Chrift fent to King Abgarus. See Abgarus.
BAR FOLOCCI, Julius, a learned monk, and
profeflbr of Hebrew at Rome, was born at Celeno, in
1613-, and diftinguifhed himfelf by writing an ex¬
cellent Hebrew and Latin catalogue of the Hebrew
writers and writings, in 4 vols folio, a continuation of
which was performed by Imbonati his difciple. He
died in 1687.
BAR I OLOMEO, Francisco, a celebrated pain¬
ter, born at Savignano, a village 10 miles from Flo¬
rence, in the year 1469, was the difciple of Cofimo
Roflelli, but was much more beholden to the works of
Leonardo da \inci for his extraordinary fkill in pain¬
ting. He was well verfed in the fundamentals of defign.
Raphael, after quitting the fchool of Perugino, ap¬
plied to this mailer 5 and under him ftudied the rules
of peripe<ffive, with the art of managing and Uniting Bartoi.
his colours. In the year 1 _oo, he turned Dominican H
friar; and fome time after was fent by his fuperiors to , Baialte;
the convent of St Martin, in Florence. He painted
both portraits and hiftories ; but his fcmpulous con-
fcience would hardly ever fuffer him to draw naked fi¬
gures, though nobody underftood them better. He
died in 1517, aged 48.
BARTON, a town of Lincolnfhire, feated on the
river Humber, where there is a confiderable ferry to
pafs over into Yorkfhire. W. Long. o. 10. N. Lat.
53- 40-
BARTSIA, painted CUP : See Botany Index.
BARUCH, the Prophecy of, one of the apocry¬
phal books, fubjoined to the canon of the Old Tefta-
ment. Baruch was the fon of Neriah, who was the dif¬
ciple and amanuenfis of the prophet Jeremiah. It has
been reckoned part of Jeremiah’s prophecy, and is oft¬
en cited by the ancient fathers as fueb. jofephus tells
us, Baruch was defeended of a noble family j and it is
laid in the book itfelf, that he wrote this prophecy at
Babylon ; but at what time is uncertain. It is difficult
to determine in what language this prophecy was ori¬
ginally written. There are extant three copies of it ;
one in Greek, the other two in Syriac ; but which of
thefe, or whether any one of them, be the original, is
uncertain.
BARULES, in church hiftory, certain heretics,
who held, that the Son of God had only a phantom of
a body; that fouls were created before the world, and
that they lived all at one time.
BARUTH, an ancient town of Turkey in Syria,
with a Chriftian church of the Neftorian "perfuafion.
It is fituated in a fine fertile foil, but is inconfiderable
now to what it was formerly. E. Long. 34. 20. N.
Lat. 33. 30.
Baruth, an Indian meafure, containing 17 gantans:
It ought to weigh about three pounds and a half En-
glilh avoirdupois.
BARY1 ONUM, in the Greek grammar, denotes
a verb, which having no accent marked on the laft fyl-
lable, a grave accent is to be underftood. In Italian
mufic, barytona anfwers to our common pitch of bafs.
BAS ch evalier. See Bachelor.
BA$-Re/ief. See BASSO-Re/ievo.
Bas, James Philip le, a modern French engraver,
by whom we have fome excellent prints. His great
force feems to lie in landfcapes and fmall figures, which
he executed in a fuperior manner. His ftyle of en¬
graving is extremely neat 5 but yet he proves the free¬
dom of the etching, and harmonizes the whole with
the graver and dry point. We have alfo a variety of
pretty vignettes by this artift. He flourilhed about
the middle of the prefent century ; but wc have no
account of the time of his birth or death.
BASALTES, (from bafa/, “ iron,” or /WA<*, Nam* df
at/tgenter exatmn0), va Natural Hiftory, a heavy, hard Hvation,
If one, chiefiy black or green, confifting of prifmatic 5ic.
cryftals, the number of whofe fides is uncertain. The
Englifn miners call it cockle; the German fchoerl. Its
fpecific gravity is to that of water as 3000 or upwards
to 1000. It frequently contains iron ; and confifts
either of particles of an indeterminate figure, or of a
fparry, ftriated, or fibrous texture. It has a flinty
hardnefs, is inloluble by acids, and is fufible by fire.
S 1 2 The
BAS
Bafaltes.
[ 436 ]
BAS
The following is an analyfis of fome bafaltes by Mr
Bergman ; and as the refemblance of it to lava will be
frequently mentioned in the fucceeding part of this ar¬
ticle, we fliall here contrail this analyiis with that of
lava by the fame author.
Compara¬
tive analy¬
fis of bafal-
tesand lava.
Bafaltes, 100
tains
Siliceous earth
Argillaceous
Calcareous
Magneiia
Iron
parts con-
50
15
8
25
Lava, 100 parts contains
Siliceous earth
Argillaceous
Calcareous
Iron
49
35
4
12
Phil. ePran,
■Edin. vol. v.
Dr Kennedy, an ingenious chemiil, analyzed feveral
fpecies of bafalt, whinftone, and lava, of which the fol¬
lowing are the refults.
Bafalt from StafFa contains, in 100 parts,
Silex
Argil
Oxyd of iron - - .
Lime
Moifture and other volatile matter
Soda, about
Muriatic acid about
48
16
16
9
5
4
1
99
Whinftone of Saliibury rock near Edinburgh contains,
in 100 parts,
Silex
Argil
Oxyd of iron
Lime
Moifture and other volatile matter
Soda, about
Muriatic acid about
46
19
8
4
3-5
1
98.5
Whinftone from Caltonhill near Edinburgh contains,
in zoo parts,
Silex
Argil
Oxyd of iron
Carbonate of lime
Moifture and other volatile matter
Soda, about
Muriatic acid, about * -
5°
18.5
16.75
3
5
4
1
98.25
Lava from Catania, Mount j^Etna, contains in
parts
Silex - - 51
Argil - - 19
Oxyd of iron - - 14.5
Lime - - 9.5
Soda, about - - 4
Muriatic acid, about _ . i
100
99
Lava from Sta Venere, ALtna, contains in zoo parts, Bafahrti
Silex
Argil
Oxyd of iron
Lime
Soda, about
Muriatic acid, about
50.75
17-5
14.25
10
4
1
97-5
its
The moft remarkable property of this fubftance is
figure, being never found in ftrata, like other
marbles, but always Handing up in the form of regular
angular columns, compofed of a number of joints, one
placed upon, and nicely fitted to another, as if formed
by the hands of a fkilful workman. See Plate
LXXXV. fig. 15. 3
Bafaltes was originally found in columns in Ethio- Bafaftei,
pia, and fragments of it in the river Tmolus, and where
fome other places. We nowr have it frequently, both^0111^*
in columns and fmall pieces, in Spain, Ruffia, Poland,
near Drefden, and in Silefia j but the nobleft ftore in
the world feems to be that called the Giant’s Caufe-
way in Ireland, and StafFa, one of the wreftern ifles of
Scotland *. Great quantities of bafaltes are likewife * See
found in the neighbourhood of Mount iEtna in Sicily, Giant'i
of Hecla in Iceland, and of the volcano in the ifland Caufe-way
of Bourbon. Thefe are the only three aftive volcanoes ancl '^‘1^
in whofe neighbourhood it is to be met with ; but it
is alfo found in the extinguiftied volcanoes in Italy,
though not in the neighbourhood of Vefuvius.
In Ireland the bafaltes rifes far up the country, runs of the
into the fea, croffes at the bottom, and rifes again on Giant’s
the oppofite land. In Staffa the whole end of the Caufeway
iiland is fupported by natural ranges of pillars, moftly ^re*an^’
above 50 feet high, Handing in natural colonnades,
according as the bays and points of land have formed
themfelves, upon a firm bafis of folid unformed rock.
Above thefe, the ftratum, which reaches to the foil or
furface of the ifland, varies in thicknefs, as the ifland
itfelf is formed into hills or valleys, each hill, which
hangs over the valleys below, forming an ample pedi¬
ment. Some of thefe, above 60 feet in thicknefs from
the bafe to the point, are formed by the floping of the
hill on each fide, almoft into the ftiape of thole ufed in
architefture.
The pillars of the Giant’s Caufewray have been very
particularly defcribed and examined. The moft ac¬
curate account of them is to be met wuth in a work
entitled, “ Letters concerning the northern coaft of the
county of Antrim from which the following parti¬
culars relative to the prefent fubjeft are extra£led.
“ z. The pillars of the Caufeway are fmall, not very part|^uiar
much exceeding z foot in breadth and 30 in length ; account of
fharply defined, neat in their articulation, with con-the pillars,
cave or convex terminations to each point. In many
of the capes and hills they are of a larger fize ^ more Plate
imperfefl and irregular in their figure and articulation, PXXXYL
having often flat terminations to their joints. At ‘s' I"
Fairhead they are of a gigantic magnitude, fometimes
exceeding 5 feet in breadth and zoo in length ; often¬
times apparently deftitute of joints altogether. Through
many parts of the country, this fpecies of ftone is en¬
tirely rude and unformed, feparating in loofe blocks \
BAS
Bafaltes. in which ftate, it refembles the ftone known in Sweden
by the name of trappe.
“ 2. The pillars of the Giant’s CaufewTay Hand on
the level of the beach ; from whence they may be tra¬
ced through all degrees of elevation to the fummit of
the higheft grounds in the neighbourhood.
“ 3. At the Caufeway, and in mod other places,
they ftand perpendicular to the horizon. In fome of
the capes, and particularly near Ufhet harbour, in the
ille of Baghery, they lie in an oblique pofition. At
Doon point in the fame ifland, and along the Balintoy
Chore, they form a variety of regular curves.
“ 4. The done is black, clofe, and uniform 5 the
varieties of colour are blue, reddifh, and gray ; and of
all kinds of grain, from extreme finenefs to the coarfe
granulated appearance of a done which refembles im-
perfeft granite, abounding in crydals of fcliorl chiedy
black, though fometimes of various colours.
“ 5* Though the done of the Giant’s Caufeway be
in general compact and homogeneous \ yet it is re¬
markable, that the upper joint of each pillar, where it
can be afcertained with any certainty, is always rude¬
ly formed and cellular. The grofs pillars alfo in the
capes and mountains frequently abound in thefe air¬
holes through all their parts, which fometimes contain
fine clay, and other apparently foreign bodies : and the
irregular bafaltes beginning where the pillars ceafe, or
lying over them, is in general extremely honey-comb¬
ed ; containing in its cells crydals of zeolite, little
morfels of fine brown clay, fometimes very pure deatite,
, and in a few indances bits of agate.”
Sir Jofeph Banks obferves, that the bending pillars
of Staffa differ confiderably from thofe of the Giant’s
Caufeway. In Staffa they lie down on their fides,
each forming the fegment of a circle ; and in one
place, a fmall mafs of them very much refembles the
ribs of a diip. Fhofe of the Giant’s Caufewuy which
he faw, ran along the face of a high cliff, bent drangely
in the middle, as if unable, at their fird formation,
while in a foft date, to fupport the mafs of incumbent
earth.
The rocks of the Cyclops, in the neighbourhood of
d A£tna> exhibit very magnificent bafaltic pillars. A
L U*C ' general view of them is given on Plate LXXXVI. fig.
2. wdiere a, b, c, are the three principal rocks ; e is
the extremity of an idand, one half of which is compo-
fed of lava, on a bafe of bafaltes, of no uncommon na¬
ture ; above which there is a crud of pozzolana, com¬
bined with a certain white calcareous matter, which is
pretty hard and compaft ; and which, as it is compo-
fed by the a&ion of the air, appears like a piece of
knotty porous wood. That rock, at fome former pe¬
riod, became fo hard as to fplit; and the clefts w^ere
then filled up with a very hard and porous matter like
fcoriue. This matter afterwards acquiring new hard-
nefs, alfo fplit, leaving large interdices, which in their
turn have been filled up with a fpecies of compound
yellow matter. The ifland w-as formerly inhabited 5
and there dill remains a flight of deps leading from the
fhore to the ruins of fome houfes which appear to have
been hewn in the rock.
The rock b has the draighted and mod regular co¬
lumns of any. It is reprefented didin&ly in Plate
LXXXVII. fig. 1. and likewife a general view of c
*nd di with the foot of iEtna leading to Catanea.
[ 437 1
BAS
Account of
thofe in
Staffa.
7
Rocks of
Thefe bafaltic columns, at fird view, fecm to refembl£ Bafaltes.
thofe of the Giant’s Caufeway, and others commonly“"-v'-—
met w'ith : but on a nearer infpe&ion, we find a re¬
markable difference } being aflernbled in groups of
five or fix about one, which ferves as their common
centrev They are of various fizes and forms j fome
fquare, others hexagonal, heptagonal, or oftagonal.
One half of this rock is compofed of perpendicular co¬
lumns 5 the other of another fpecies of bafaltes difpofed
in inclined, and almod reftilinear, layers. Thefe are
in contadf with the columns, and are as clofely con-
nefted with them as they are with one another. The
layers are longer at the bafe than towards the top of
the rock. It is further to be remarked, that mod of
thefe layers are fubdivided as they rife upwards \ fo
that towards thefe upper extremities, one layer prefents
to the eye fometimes one, fometimcs two, and fome¬
times three, divifions. The fragments of bafaltes ta¬
ken off from thefe layers are of a rhomboidal figure,
becaufe the layers break obliquely.
Thefe layers, though inclined towards the bafe, be¬
come almod perpendicular towards the upper part of
the rock, where they appear united in a point, and
overtop mod of the vifible and elevated parts of the
prifmatic columns. Thefe columns terminate in fuch
a manner as to form a kind of daircafe. They appear
even to rife under a fpecies of clay with which they are
covered at one extremity, till they reunite themfelves
with the point which is formed by the mod elevated
parts of the layers of bafaltes befide them.
This extraneous matter with which thefe columns
are covered, and of which the fummit of this pyramid
confids, appears to be of the fame fpecies with the
former, compofing the upper part of the idand already
defcribed.
The bafaltes of that ifland has one particularity, viz.
that it is full of fmall cryflals of about the fize of
peas. Thefe appear no lefs beautiful than rock-cry dal ;
but they are much fofter, and yield even to the a£Hon
of the air. We fee here large fragments of bafaltes
which were formerly full of crydals, but dedroyed by
time. They are now not unlike a fponge, from the
great number of holes which appear all over their fur-
face. Thofe pieces of bafaltes which contain mod of
thefe crydals are not fo hard as thofe which contain
fewer of them.
The promontory of Cadel dTaci, which terminatesB p u,
the bafis of iEtna, is almod entirely compofed of ba-the pro-^
faltes, but of a kind very different from the former. It mortory of
confids of a great number of cylinders, from the dia-t5.ie c.aft«d
meter of fix inches to that of twenty feet. Some °f?<ie~
thefe are folid, others hollow like cannon 5 fome ex- ^(
tended in layers, others fimilar to carrots of tobacco
confiding of a number of pieces fqueezed together.
Some of thefe cylinders are draight, others curved into
a variety of forms. Some look like globes enelofed in
the rocks; and in the fradlures of thefe globes we per¬
ceive the drata of which they are compofed.
Fig. 2. reprefents the bafaltes at the foot of this
promontory on the fouth fide. The little mounts in¬
to which it appears to be collefted, are fometimes on¬
ly one French foot in diameter, fometimes fix. They
are compofed of fmali prifms or needles, or of cubic
trapezoids, and confid of a matter didinguidied by the
name of dirty lava. It made up of poizolana, con-
fblidated.
'fisfaltes.
BAS [438
folidated by a certain liquid, which, while it has com¬
municated folidity to the pozzolano, has at the fame
time fuffered that fubftance to Ihrink confiderably, in
Inch a manner rs to leave large chinks between the
pieces of bafaltes, which are thus formed by the opera¬
tion of the liquid on the pozzolana. It appears alio
to have infinuated itfelf into the clay with which the
promontory is covered j which is become hard in its
turn, and w'hich has alfo fplit into chinks that appear
ic contain a kind of hard matter.
Thefe deferiptions and figures will ferve to give an
idea of the appearance of the bafaltes, which is now
generally accounted a kind of marble. Wallerius con-
fiders it as a fpecies of the corneous or horn-rock; and
Cronftedt enumerates it among thofe fubftances which
he calls garnet earths. The largeft block of this done
9
Bafaltes
ferentan." that eTer ^ ^'ee^, was Placed according to Pliny, by
rientworks. ^e^pahan .n the temple of Peace, It reprefented the
figure of Nilus, with 16 children playing about it, de¬
noting as many cubits of the rife of the river. The
ftatue of Meranon, in the temple of Serapis at Thebes,
which founded at the rifing of the fun, was alfo made
ot the fame material, if we may believe this author.
Mod of the Egyptian figures are likewife made of ba-
ialtes. Some of the ancients call it lapis Lydius, from
Lydia, wdiere it feems it was formerly found in great-
ed abundance. The moderns denominate it the touch-
Jlone, as being ufed for the trial of gold and diver.
•Subftances! Various fubdances are found intermixed with bafal-
mixed tes ; of which Mr Hamilton, in the letters above-men-
<Tltejba' t’oned» enumerates the following : 1. Extendve layers
of red ochre, varying in all degrees from a dull fer¬
ruginous colour to a bright red, anfwering very well
for coarfe painting, 2. Veins of iron ore, fometimes
very rich, commonly of a very brown or reddidr cad,
at other times of a blue colour, 3. Steatites, gene¬
rally of a greenidi foapy appearance, more rarely of a
pure wdiite, and raifing an imperfect faponaceous froth
-when agitated wuth water. 4. Zeolite, of a bright
and pure white colour; in mafles, varying in weight
from a grain to a pound ; generally difpofed in cavities
of the cellular bafaltes; often aftefting a crydallization,
in which the fibres proceed as rays from a centre ; and
in forae indances have a beautiful fpangled appearance,
refembling that of thidle-down. The mod remarkable
property of this fubdance is, that with any of the mi¬
neral acids, but efpecially with that of nitre, it forms
a gelatinous mixture in the courfe of a few hours.
5. Peperino done, a friable matrix of indurated clay
and iron, dudded with little bits of zeolite or other
fubdances; and w’hich is often of a reddidi burnt co¬
lour. 6. Pumice-done of a black colour, containing
iron not entirely dephlogidicated, but dill a&ing on
■it the magnetical needle.
Of the na- Thefe fubdances are met with among the bafaltes
fa]re 0t ba* t^ie ^ant’s Caufeway in Ireland. In other places
its attendants may perhaps vary according to circum-
dances. The bafaltes itl’elf has been confidered by
JZ fame as a crydallization from water; but others dre-
Mt Hamil- nuoufly maintain that it is only a fpecies of lava, and
ton’s ftate in defence of thefe opinions very confiderable difputes
have been carried on. The following is a date of the
arguments on both Tides from Mr Hamilton’s treatife
already mentioned.
1
of the ar
guntents
.concerning
it.
] BA S
In fupport of the volcanic origin of the bafaltes it Bafaltes,
has oeen argued, ——
1. That it agrees almod entirely with lava in its ele¬
mentary principles, in its grain, the fpecies of the fo-
reign bodies it includes, and all the diverfities of its
texture.
2. I he non of the bafaltes is found to be in a me¬
tallic date, capable of acting on the magnetical needle
which is alfo the cale with that found in compact
lava.
3. The bafaltes is fudbleperfe} a property which
has in common with lavas.
4. 1 he balaltes is a foreign fubdance fuperinduced
on the original limedone-foil of the country, in a date
of foftnefs capable of allowing the flints to penetrate
confiderably within its lower lurface.
5. Thofe extenfive beds of red ochre which abound
among our baialtes are fuppofed to be an iron earth re¬
duced to that date by the powerful adtion of heat; for
inch a change may be produced on iron in our com¬
mon furnaces, provided there be a fufficient afflux of
fredr air ; and the bafaltes nfelf, in fuch circumdances,
is eafily reducible to an impure ochre. This is alfo
found to take place in the living volcanoes, particular¬
ly within their craters ; and is therefore fuppofed to af¬
ford a prefumptive argument of the action of fire in
the neighbourhood of bafaltes.
6. Though zeolite is not yet proved to be the actual
production of a volcano, yet its prefence is always fup¬
pofed to give countenance to this hypothefis; becaufe
zeolite is found in countries where the aCtion of fub-
terraneous fire is dill vifible, and where there is reafon
to believe that the whole fail has been ravaged by that
principle. Thus it abounds in Iceland, where the
dames of Heclfeyet continue to blaze ; and in the ifle
of Bourbon, where there is dill a volcano in force.
It is therefore fuppofed to arife from the decompofition
of the produCls of a volcano, wTere the fires have been
long extinct.
7. Cry dais of fchorl appear in great plenty among
many kinds of our bafaltes ; and tbefe, though not ab-
folutely limited to volcanic countries, yet being found
in great abundance among the Italian lavas, in circum¬
dances exaCtly correfponding to thofe of our bafaltes,
are thought to fupply a good probable argument in the
prefent cafe.
8. The peperino done is thought to be undoubted¬
ly of a volcanic origin. It has frequently the burnt
and fpongy appearance of many of the volcanic pro¬
ducts ; and that of the Giant’s Caufeway agrees exact¬
ly with the peperino of Iceland and Bourbon.
9. Puzzolane earth is met with among the bafaltes
of France ; and there is very little reafon to doubt that
our bafaltes, if pulverized, would agree with it in every
refpeCt; that is, it would produce a fine diarp powder,
containing the fame elementary parts, and probably
agreeing with it in its valuable ufes as a cement. This
earth is alfo found in the Canary idands, which are
thought to have other marks of fire; it is met with
in all the vulcanized parts of Italy, and is never found
excepting where there are other evident marks of
fire.
10. Pumice done is univerfally allowed to be produ¬
ced by fire, and indeed bears the refemblance of a cin-
dej:
BAS
Bafaltes.
13
Of the
bafaltes
der fo obvioufly, that one muft be inftantly convinced
’ of its original. This is alfo found among the bafaltes
of Ireland.
it. There are three living volcanoes, within vvhofe
neighbourhood the bafaltes and moll of its ufual at¬
tendant^ foffils have been obferved, viz. ./Etna in Sicily,
Hecla in Iceland, and the illand of Bourbon on the
coall of Africa. To which it may be added, that it
is found throughout all the volcanized parts of Italy,
though not anywhere immediately in the neighbour¬
hood of Vefuvius. Sir William Hamilton, however,
informs us, that in the year 1779 he “ picked up fome
thrown out fragments of large and regular cryftals of clofe-grained
by Vefuvius lava or bafalt; the diameter of which, when the prifms
are complete, might have been eight or nine inches.”
He obferves, that Vefuvius does not exhibit any lavas
regularly cryftallized, and forming what are called
Giants Caufeways, except a lava that ran into the fea,
near Torre del Graeco, in the year 1631, which has a
fmall degree of fuch an appearance. As the fragments
of bafaltes which he found on this mountain, however,
had been evidently thrown out of the crater in their
proper form, he puts the queftion, “ May not lavas
be more ready to cryftallize within the bowels of a vol¬
cano than after their emiflion > And may not many
of the Giants Caufeways already difcovered be the nu¬
clei of volcanic mountains, whofe lighter and lefs fold
parts may have been worn away by the hand of time ?'
Mr Faujas de St Fond gives an example of bafalt co¬
lumns placed deep within the crater of an extinguilhed
volcano.
12. It is well afertained by experience, that there
are vaft beds of pyrites difperfed through the interior
parts of the earth at all depths ; and it is alfo a certain
fadf, that this compound Jubilance may be decom¬
pounded by the accidental effufion of water, in fuch a
manner as to become hot, and at laft to burn with great
fury. This acceflion of pyrites is by many fuppofed
to be the true origin of the volcanic fire ; and an ar¬
gument for this is, that the prefent volcanoes do pour
forth great quantities of the component parts of py¬
rites, particularly fulphur, iron, and clay. Notv, among
the fuperinduced fubftances of the county of An¬
trim, and the fame may probably be faid of every
other bafaltic country, it is certain that the quantity
of iron and clay diffufed through almoft every fpecies
of foflil, amounts to more than one-half of the whole
material 5 fo that two of the pricipal elements of the
pyrites are dill found there, reduced in many indances
to a dag or fcona. The third principle, viz. the ful¬
phur cannot be expe/ded to remain j becaufe fulphur
is totally confumed by combudion ; and what might
perhaps efcape and be fublimed would no doubt have
fince peridied by decompofition, in confequence of be¬
ing expofed to the air.
[ 4S9 1
BAS
Glafs fome-
timesap- Anotller argument, which to Sir William Ha-
pears in the mi^on  * ' ’ '
form of
prifmatic
cryftals.
appears very convincing, is, that glafs fome-
times takes on the appearance of prifms, or crydalli-
zes in cooling. He received fome fpecimens of this
kind from Mr Parker of Fleet-ftreet, who informed
him that a quantity of his glafs had been rendered un-
Jerviceable by taking fuch a form. Some of thefe
were in laminae which may be eafily feparated, and
otheis refemble bafaltic columns in miniature, having
regular faces. “ Many of the rocks of lava in the
illand of Ponza (fays he) are, with refpefl to their Bafaltes-.
configurations, drikingly like the fpecimens qf Mr r" v
Parker’s glafs above mentioned j none being v\iiy re¬
gularly formed bafaltes, but all having a tendency to¬
wards it. Mr Parker could not account for the acci¬
dent that occafioned his glafs to take the bafaltic form ,
but I have remarked, both in Naples and Sicily, that
fuch lavas as have run into the fea are either formed LaY*J
into regular bafaltes, or have a great tendency towards which runs
inch a form. The lavas of Mount dEtna, which ran mto the fea
into the fea near Jacic, are perfefl bafaltes 5 and a la-have a ten-
va that ran into the fea from Vefuvius, near Torre deldency to
Graico in 1631, has an evident tendency to the bafal-bafalte?
tic form.”
In opposition to thefe arguments it is urged, that in Amunenf
inany of the countries where _ bafaltes mod abound,in oppofi./
there are none of the charafleriltics of volcanic moun-P°n 10 the
tains. They affert, therefore, that the balaltes is avoicanic
foffil, very extenfively fpread over the furface of thetheor>’‘
earth ; and that, where it is found in the neighbour¬
hood of volcanic mountains, we ought to fuppofe thefe
to be accidentally raifed on a bafaltic foil rather than
to have created it. But the advocates for the volca¬
nic fyftem are not much embarralfed with this argu¬
ment. According to them, the bafaltes has been AJ/erefr
formed under the earth itfelf, and within the bowels
of thefe very mountains j where it could never have
been expofed to view until, by length of time or fome
violent fliock of nature, the incumbent mafs muft have
undergone a very confiderable alteration, fuch as fliould
go near to deftroy every exterior volcanic feature. In
fupport of this it may alfo be obferved, that the pro¬
montories of Antrim do bear evident marks of fome
very violent convulfion, which has left them in their
prefent fituation ; and that the illand of Bagherry, and
iome of the weftern illes of Scotland, do really appear
like the furyiving fragments of a country, great part
of which might have been buried in the ocean. It is
further added, that though the exterior volcanic cha-
rafter be in a great meafure loft in the bafaltic coun¬
tries ; yet this negative evidence can be of little weight
when we confider, that the few inftances where the
features have been preferyed afford a fufficient anfwer
to this objeftion. Thus the Montague de la Coupe in
France Itill bears the marks of its having been former¬
ly a volcano : and this mountain is obferved to Hand
on a bafe of bafaltic pillars, not difpofed in the tumul¬
tuary heap into which they muft have been thrown b,v
the furious affion of a volcanic eruption, tearing up
the natural foil of the country ; but arranged in all
the regularity of a Giant’s Caufewav, fuch as might be
fuppofed to refult from the cryftaliizauon of a bed of
melted lava, w here reft and a gradual refrigeration con¬
tributed to render the phenomenon as perfeft as pof-
fible. t
To thefe arguments ftated by Mr Hamilton we fhallMr Fer-
add another from Mr Ferber : viz. That at the time ber’s argu-
he went from Rome to Oftia they were paving the road rr,ent from
with a fpecies of black lava. In fome of the brokenthe cr-vftals
pieces he obferved little empty holes, of the bignefs of Sack iTva.
a walnut, mcruftated all around their fides by w hite or
amethyftine, femipellucid, pointed, or truncated pyra¬
midal cryftallizations, entirely refembling the agate
nodules or geodes, which are commonly'filled with
quartz cryftallizations, There was no crack or fiffure
BAS
t 440 1
BAS
19
Mr Berg¬
man’s the¬
ory.
20
Both fire
and water
contribute
to form ba-
faltes.
21
Of the me¬
thods by
which mi¬
neral cry-
ftals are
naturally
formed.
in the ambient compaft lava ; the cryflal fherls were
pretty hard, and might rather be called quarts. Some
fine bfownilh dull lay in the reft of the holes, as im¬
palpable and light as alhes. He tells us alfo, that in
the greateft part of the Paduan, Veronefe, and Vicen-
tine lavas, we meet with an infinite quantity of white
polygonal Iherl cryftallizations, whofe figure is as re¬
gular, and ftill more polygonal, than the bafaltes.
Thefe may be confidered as the principal arguments
in favour of the volcanic theory of bafaltes. On the
other hand, the late celebrated Mr Bergman expreffes
himfelf to the following purpofe.
“ Ten years ago it was a general opinion, that t}ie
furface of the earth, together with the mountains, had
been produced by moifture. It is true that fome de¬
clared fire to be the firft original caufe, but the greater
number paid little attention to this opinion. Now,
on the contrary, the opinion that fubterraneous fire had
been the principal agent gains ground daMy j and eve¬
ry thing is fuppdfed to have been melted, even to the
granite. It is not improbable, that both the fire and
Water have contributed their (hare in this operation ;
though in fuch a proportion, that the force of the for¬
mer extends much farther than the latter •, and, on the
contrary, that the fire has only worked in fome parts
of the furface of the earth. It cannot be doubted that
there has been fome connexion betwixt the bafaltic
pillars and fubterraneous fire ; as they are found in
places where the marks of fire are yet vifible ; and as
they are even found mixed with lava, tophus, and
other fubftances produced by fire.
“ As far as we know, nature makes ufe of three
methods to produce regular forms in the mineral king¬
dom. 1. That of cryftallization or precipitation ;
2. The crufting or fettling of the external furface of a
liquid mafs while it is cooling 5 and, 3. The burfting
of a moift fubftance while it is drying.
“ The firft method is the moft common ; but to all
appearance, nature has not made ufe of it in the pre-
fent cafe. Cryftals are feldom or never found in any
quantity running in the fame diredtion ; but either in¬
clining from one another, or, what is ftill more com¬
mon, placed towards one another in {loping direffions.
They are alfo generally feparated a little from one ano¬
ther when they are regular. The nature of the thing
requires this, becaufe the feveral particles of which the
cryftals are compofed muft have the liberty of obeying
that power which affetfts their conftitution. The ba¬
faltic columns, on the contrary, whofe height is fre¬
quently from 30 to 40 feet, are placed parallel to one
another in confiderable numbers, and fo clofe together
that the point of a knife can hardly be introduced be¬
tween them. Befides, in moft places, each pillar is
divided into feveral parts or joints, which feem to be
placed on one another. And indeed it is not uncom¬
mon for cryftals to be formed above one another in
different layers, while the folvent has been vifibly di-
miniftted at different times: but then the upper cry¬
ftals never fit fo exaflly upon one another as to pro¬
duce connected prifms of the fame length or depth in
all the ftrata taken together ; but each ftratum, fepa-
rately taken, produces its own cryftals.
“ Precipitation, both in the rvet and dry way, re¬
quires that the particles {hould be free enough to ar¬
range themfelves in a certain order j and as this is not
z
practicable in a large melted mafs, no cryftallizations Baialte*.
appear, excepting on its furface or in its cavities. Add a
to this, that the bafaltes in a freth fraCture do not ftiow
a plain fmooth furface under the microfcope ; but ap¬
pear fometimes like grains of different magnitude, and
at other times referable fine rays running in different
directions, which does not correfpond with the inter¬
nal ftruCture of cryftals.
“ Hence the opinion of bafaltes being formed by
cryftallization either in the Wet or dry method muft
become lefs probable ; but it muft not be omitted, that
the fpars exhibit a kind of cryftallization, which at
firft fight refembles a heap of bafaltes, but upon a de¬
fer examination a very great difference is to be found.
The form of the fpar is everywhere alike, but the ba¬
faltes differ from one another in fize and the number
of their fides. The former, when broken, confifts of
many fmall unequal cubes j but the bafalt does not fe-
parate in regular parts, &c. Sec.
“ Nature’s fecond method of producing regular forms
is that of crufting the outer furface of a melted mafs.
By a fudden refrigeration, nature, to effeCl this pur¬
pofe, makes ufe of polyhedrous and irregular form$.
If we fuppofe a confiderable bed which is made fluid
by fire, and fpread over a plain, it evidently appears,
that the furface muft firft of all lofe the degree of heat
requifite for melting, and begin to congeal. But the
cold requifite for this purpofe likewife contracts the
uppermoft congealed ftratum into a narrower fpace j
and confequently caufes it to feparate from the remain¬
ing liquid mafs, as the fide expofed to the air is alrea¬
dy too ftiff to give way. In this manner a ftratum is
produced, running in a parallel direction with the
whole mafs 5 others are ftill produced by the fame ^
caufe in proportion as the refrigeration penetrates deep¬
er. Hence w’e may very plainly fee how a bed may
be divided into ftrata. ’ In the fame manner the refri¬
geration advances on the fides 5 w'hich confequently
divides the ftrata into polyhedrous pillars, ’which can
hardly ever be exaCUy fquare, as the ftrongeft refrige¬
ration in the inner parts of the mafs advances almoft
in a diagonal line from the comers. If we add to this,
that a large mafs cannot be equal through its compofi-
tion, nor everywhere liquid in the fame degree, it will
be eafy to difeover the caufe of feveral irregularities.
If the depth of the bed be very confiderable in propor¬
tion to its breadth, prifmatic pillars without crofs divi-
fions will be formed at leaft lengthwife from the up¬
permoft furface down-wards.
“ The third way is perfeClly fimilar to the prece¬
ding in its effeCI j but it is different from it by the
mafs being foaked in water, and by the burfting of it
afunder, being the effeCt of the contraClion while it is
drying. If we fuppofe fuch a bed to be fpread over a
level fpace, the drying advances in the fame manner
as the refrigeration in the former cafe. This fepara-
tion into ftrata properly happens when a confiderable
quantity of clay enters into the whole compofition, be¬
caufe the clay decreafes more than any other kind of
earth in drying. <
“ It is moft probable, therefore, that the pillars How the
have been produced out of the bafaltic fubftance while bafaltes
it was yet foft, or at leaft not too hard to be foftened
by exhalations. If we therefore fuppofe a bed to becor(]in^to
fpread over a place where a volcano begins to work, this theory.
it
BAS
„23
Reafons for
fup poling
that the ba-
faltes has
not been
tnelted.
24
Mr Kir-
tvan’s opi¬
nion.
25
Mr Hou-
el’s theory
it is evident that a great quantity of the water always
prefent on fuch Occafions muft be driven upwards in
exhalations or vapours ; which, it is well known, pof-
fefs a penetrating foftening power, by means of which
they produce their firft effea : but when they are in-
creafed to a fufficient quantity, they force this tough
moift fubhance upwards ; which then gradually falls,
and during this time burlts in the manner above de-
fcribed. \
“ i he reafons for this fuppofition are as follows :
i. W e do not find the internal fubllance of the bafaltes
melted or vitrified 5 which, however, foon happens by
fufion ; and for which only a very fmall degree of fire
is requifite. It is of confequence very hard to explain
how this fubllance could have been fo fluid that no
traces of bubbles appear in it ; and yet, when broken,
feem dull and uneven. Lava is feldom vitrified with¬
in ; but the great number of bubbles and pores which
are found in the whole mafs, are more than fufficient
proofs, that it has not been perfectly melted to its
Imallelt parts, out has only been brought to be near
fluid. Secondly, the bafaltes fo much refemble the
finer trapp, both in their grain and original compofi-
tion, that they can hardly be diftinguifhed in fmall
fragments.”
Mr Kirwan is of opinion, that the bafaltes owe their
origin both to fire and water : they feem to have been
at firft a lava 5 but this, while immerfed in water, was
fo diffufed or ffiffolved in it with the affiftance of heat,
as to cryftallize when cold, or coalefce into regular
forms. That bafaltes is not the effett of mere fufion
he concludes from comparing its form with its texture.
Its form, if produced by fufion, ought to be the effeft
of having flowed very thin ; but in that cafe its tex¬
ture Ihould be glafly : whereas it is merely earthy and
devoid of cavities. Hence we may underftand how it
comes to pafs that lava perfe&ly vitrified, and even
water, have been found enclofed in bafaltes.
Mr Houel in his Voyage Pittorefque, is at confider-
able, pains to account for the origin of the different
fpecies of bafaltes he met with in the neighbourhood
of iEtna. “ Some modem writers (fays he) attribute
tbe configuration of the bafaltes to the fudden cooling
of the lava in confequence of the effects produced up¬
on it by the coldnefs of fea-water, when it reaches
tlie (ea in.a ftate of fufion. They fuppofe that the
ihock, which it then receives, is the caufe of thofe dif¬
ferent configurations which this fubftance affumes ; the
molt remarkable of which have been already mention¬
ed. This affertion, however, feems to be ill founded.
By confidering the bafaltic rock, the firft of the Cy¬
clops reprefented in the plate, we find that the pile is
not in its original ftate, and that the feries of columns
is at. prefent incomplete. It is very probable, that the
pecies of clay found there, and which is extraneous
to the bafaltes, has by fome means taken poffeffion of
its place and it likewife appears, that not one of the
bafaltes here defcribed is entire.
It feems incredible, however, that a mafs of mat-
tei reduced by fire to a ftate of liquefa&ion, and flow¬
ing into the fea, fliould be fuddenly changed into regu¬
lar figures by the Ihock of coming into contaft with
cold water; and that all the figures which are thus
formed ffiould be difpofed in the fame manner with
regard to one another. For if we fuppofe that the
Vox.. Ill, Part II.
[ 441 ]
BAS
water made its way into the cavity of the lava at the
inftant when it retreated backwards, then might the
fame quantity of water penetrate into the moft remote
parts of the mafs j and by that means prolong the ca¬
vity which it had begun to form when it firft entered
the mals. I he water then being lodged within this
burning mafs, and being in a ftate of dilatation, would
have expelled whatever oppofed it, and fwelled the
whole.mafs in fuch a manner as to form much larger
interftices than thofe which appear between the bafal¬
tic columns 5 fince thefe are everywhere in clofe con-
taft with one another. Befides, how could the fudden
cooling of the lava divide the upper part and fides of
fuch an enormous mafs as exadlly as if they had been
caft in a mould made on purpofe ?
It remains alfo for thole who adopt the hypothefis
in queftion to explain how the ftiock occafioned by the
cold water ihould make itielf felt beyond a certain
depth 5 fince the very firft moment it comes into con-
taft with the liquid lava, it muft ceafe to be cold ; for
the lava cannot but communicate to it a greater de¬
gree of heat than it communicates of cold in return, as
the water is more eafily penetrable by the burning la¬
va than the mafs of lava by the iurrounding water.
But farther, if at the firft moment after the lava enters
the water it were cooled and contrafted, the water
would foon prevent, by the contraaion of its whole
furface, any continuation of the effea which it had firit
occafioned.
“ T his feems to be the great difficulty : for how is
it thus poffible for the water to extend its influence to
the centre of any very confiderable mafs j and even
fuppofmg it to aa at the centre, how could it be
able to fix the common centre of all the different co¬
lumns ?"
“ Bet us next confider what a degree of ebullition
muft take place in the water when it receives fuch a
vaft quantity of lava heated not only more intenfely
than common fire, but than red-hot iron ! Though
that mafs, 100 fathoms m diameter, were to proceed
fi om the bottom of the lea 5 or though it were immer-
fed in it, the degree of ebullition would ftill be the
fame j and it is difficult to conceive what fliock can be
occafioned by a cold which does not exift, on a mafs
■which burns, or caufes to boil, whatever comes near
it.
“ One peculiarity attending the bafaltes is, that it
remains fixed in the recefs which it has once occupied.
Another, not lefs effential, is its power of dividing it-
felf in the midft of any one of its hardeft parts, and to
form two diftindrt pieces, one of which is alwTays con¬
cave, and the other convex ; a divifion which feems
the moft lingular curiofity of the whole.
“ A third peculiarity might ftill be found in the in¬
terior part of thefe columns, if we W’ere to meet with
any that had fufthred more by the lapfe of time than
thofe already defcribed ; but it is impoffible for all this
to be effeaed by water. How can water, which is
everywffiere the fame, and wffiich may be expeaed al¬
ways to produce the fame effeas, produce fuch a va¬
riety on bafaltes by mere contaa ?
“ The caufe of all thefe varieties, therefore, feems
to be this, that thefe lavas are originally compofed of
materials extremely different in their natures, and from
which fuch a variety of effcas naturally proceed. The
3 K fame
BAS
Ba4ultes. fame fpecies of matter, when actuated by the fame
* caufe, will conftantly produce the fame efteCts. This
variety of effeffs therefore is much lels owing to the
influence of the water, than to the variety ol materi¬
als of which thole lavas are compofed •, and thefe are
combined in different forms and quantities, according
to the nature and quantity of the various materials
which have been reduced by the volcano to a date of
fufion.
“ The forms of the bafiltes therefore proceed from
two caufes. One of them, viz. the cooling, belongs
indifferently to every fpecies, independent of its meet¬
ing with water. The other is the diverlity of the quan¬
tities and of the materials of which the lava is compo¬
fed. From thefe caufes alone proceed all the beauties
and varieties which are beheld with admiration in this
clafs of bodies. Thefe take place, from the mod irre¬
gular fraftures in the lava, to thofe which difplay the
greated exatfnefs and fymmetry. Every new erupted
lava differs from thofe which preceded it, and from
thofe which will follow. In the various principles of
thefe lavas we mud feek for the caufes of thofe cavities
difcoverable in the bafaltes, and for the caufes which
produce thofe bafaltes, at the time when the matter of
which it is compofed contrafted itfelf, and confolidat-
ed all its parts. In the aft of condenfation, it ap¬
pears to have formed various foci, around which we
may didinguifh the line which fets bounds to the pow¬
er of each of them ; and this is the line which marks
the fpaces intervening between the different pieces ;
becaufe all of them are poflelfed of the fame attraftive
force. The fire emitted by the lava, at the time the
bafaltes is formed, produces upon it the fame effeft
that is produced by the evaporation of the aqueous
moidure from thofe bodies where water forms a part
of the original conditution 5 which bodies harden in
proportion as they become dry, by reafon of the ap¬
proach of their condituent parts to one another. The
abdraftion of fife produces the fame effeft upon ba-
1'altes, by fuffering its component parts-to come into
elofer union.
“ A new proof of this theory is deducible from the
form of the bafaltes reprefented Plate LXXXVII.
fig. 2. The interdices there are pretty numerous; be¬
caufe the lava being of that fpecies denominated dirty,
and confiding of parts, mod of which have but little
folidity, they have left much larger fpaces between
them at their contraftion. From this want of folidity
we may perceive how much the bafaltic mafs lod of
the fire by which it was dilated while in a date of
fufion.
“ The void fpaces left by the contraftion of the ba¬
faltes, are filled with a fpongy matter, which by dry¬
ing has alfo left large interdices; and thefe have been
filled in their turn with a kind of yellow matter fi-
milar to that which covers the promontory of Cadel
d’laci.
“ Whatever variety of forms we meet with among
the bafaltes, and whatever di ’ifions and fubdivifions
may be obfervable among thef’e varieties, they are
owing, 1. To the minutenefs, 2. To the homogeneous
nature, or, 3. To the diverfity among the particles
which compole the bafaltes. Among the varieties al¬
ready enumerated, we find reddidr, earthy, foft and
porous fubdances, together with the zeolite crydals.
[442 1
BAS
We fee others extremely hard and compaft, very fine¬
ly grained, and containing likewife fchoerl and zeolite
crydals. Others are very hard and denfe, which ap¬
pear to be a mixture of fmall gray and white bodies ;
and of each of thefe colours many different fhades,
from light to darker, containing alfo zeolite crydals.
Ladly, we find fome confiding of a matter fimilar to
clay, mixed with round black fand.
“ It may be objefted, that the late eruptions of
.fEtna afford no baialtcs, nor have they any divifions
fimilar to thofe above mentioned. But to this rve mav
reply, that if they afford neither fuch bafaltes, nor
fuch regular divifions, the reafon is, that neither their
quantity, nor the ingredients of which they are com¬
pofed, are fuch as are neceffary for the produftion of
bafaltes : and for a proof of this we may refer to lavas
of the mod remote antiquity, which have no more re-
femblance to bafaltes than thofe that are more mo¬
dern.
“ Ladly, an argument, to which no plaufible reply
can be made, that the bafaltes are not formed by fea-
water, is, that in the year 1669, the lava of Mount
zEtna ran into the fea for two leagues and a half,
without having the lead appearance of being converted
into bafaltes.”
BASAN, or Bash an in Ancient Orography, a ter¬
ritory beyond Jordan, mentioned in Scripture. By
Jofephus, Eufebius, and Jerome, it is called Batana-a.
On the entering of the Ifraelites into the land of Ca¬
naan, the whole of the country beyond Jordan, from
that of the Moabites, or Arabia, as far as Mount Her-
mon and Lebanon, was divided into two kingdoms,
viz. that of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og
king of Bafan or Bafhan; the former to the fouth, and
the latter to the north. The kingdom of Sihon ex¬
tended from the river Arnon and the country of Moab,
to the river Jabbok 5 wEich running in an oblique
courfe from the ead, was at the fame time the boundary
of the Ammonites, as appears from Numb. xxi. 24.
and Deut. ii. 37. and iii. 16. The kingdom of Sihon
fell to the lot of the Reubenites and Gadites, and Ba¬
fan to the half-tribe of Manaffeth. To this was an¬
nexed a part of the hilly country of Gilead, and the
didrift of Argob ; yet fo that Bafan continued to be
the principal and greated part : but, after the Babylo-
nifh captivity, Bafan was fubdivided ; fo that only a
part wras called Batanea or Bafan, another Trachonitis,
a third Auranitis or Ituraa, and fome part alfo Gau/o-
nitis ; but to fettle the limits of each of thefe parts is a
thing now impoffible.*—Badian was a country famous
for its paflures and breed of large cattle.
BASARTSCH1K, a confiderable town of Roma¬
nia, in Turkey in Europe. It is pretty well built, and
hath clean and broad dreets} has a great trade j and is
fituated on the river Meritz, in E. Long. 24. 30.
N. Lat. 41. 49.
BASARUCO in Commerce, a fmall bafe coin in
the Ead Indies, being made only of very bad tin.
There are, however, two forts of this coin, a good
and a bad ) the bad is one-fixth in value lower than the.
good.
BASE, in Geometry, the lowed fide of the perime¬
ter of a figure : Thus, the bafe of the triangle may be
faid of any of its fides, but more properly of the lowed,
or that which is parallel to the horizon. In reftang-
led
Bafan
!!.
Bale.
Plate X. XX X VI .
BA sAL TKS.
0izS\M
(\
BAS [ 443 1 BAS
Bafe led triangles, the bafe is properly that tide oppofite to
II the right angle.
lafh.uv. ^ Base of a Solid Figure, the lowefl fide, or that on
which it hands.
Base of a Conic Seclion, a right line in the hyperbo¬
la and parabola, arifing l'rom the common interfedlion
of the fecant plane and the bafe of the cone.
Base, in Architecture, is uled for any body which
bears another, but particularly for the lower part of a
column and pedeftal.—The ancients, in the early times
of architecture, ufed no bafes. The Doric columns
in the temple of Minerva at Athens have none, but
hand immediately upon the door of the porch. Co¬
lumns afterwards came to be fupported on fquare pieces
called plinths, and after that on pedeltals. When we
fee a column, of whatfoever order, on a pedeftal, the
bafe is that part which comes between the top of the
pedeftal and the bottom of the fhaft of the column ;
when there is no pedeftal, it is the part between the
bottom of the column and the plinth : fome have in¬
cluded the plinth as a part of the bafe ; but it is pro¬
perly the piece on which the bafe hands, as the column
hands upon that.—The pedeftal alfo has its bafe as
well as the column, and the pilafter. The bafe of co¬
lumns is differently formed in the different orders j but
in general it is compofed of certain fpires or circles, and
was thence in early times called the fpire of a column.
Thefie circles were in this cafe fuppofed to reprefent the
folds of a fnake as it lies rolled up j but they are pro¬
perly the reprefentations of feveral larger and fmaller
rings or circles of iron, with which the trunk of trees,
which were the ancient columns, were furrounded to
prevent their burfting : thefe were rude and irregular,
but the fculptor who imitated them in ftone found the
way to make them elegant.
Base, in Fortification,\S\z exterior fide of the po¬
lygon, or that imaginary line which is drawn from
the flanked angle of a baftion to the angle oppofite
to it.
BbSEfin Gunnery, the leaft fort of ordnance, the
diameter of whofe bore is inch, weight 200 pound,
length 4 feet, load 5 pound, idiot id- pound weight, and
diameter 1 g-inch.
Base, in Chemifry. See Basis.
Base, in Law. Bafe efate, fuch as bafe tenants
have in their hands. Bafe tenure, the holding by vil-
lenage, or other cuftomary fervices ; as diftinguifhed
from the higher tenures in capite, or by military fer-
vice. Bafe fee, is to hold in fee at the will of the lord,
as diftinguilhed from foccage tenure. Bafe court, any
court not of record.
BASELLA, climbing nightshade. See Bo¬
tany Index.
BASEMENT, in See Architec¬
ture.
BASHAR IANS, a fe<ff of Mahometans, being a
branch or fubdivifion of the Motazalites. The Baftia-
rians are thofe who maintain the tenets of Balhar Ebn
Motamer, a principal man among the Motazalites,
who varied, in fome points, from the general tenets
of the fetft, as carrying man’s free agency to a great
length, and even to the making him independent.
BASHAW, a Turkilh governor of a provice, city,
or other diftrift.
A baftiaw is made with the folemnity of carrying a
flag or banner before him, accompanied with mtvfic
and fongs, by the mirialem, an officer on purpofe for
the inveftiture ofbaftiaws. Bafhaw, ufed absolutely,
denotes the prime vizier j the reft of the denomination
being diftinguifhed by the addition of the province,
city, or the like, which they have the command of j
as the bafhaw of Egypt, of Paleftine, &c. I he ba-
fhaws are the emperor’s fponges. We find loud com¬
plaints among Chriftians of their avarice and extortions.
As they buy their governments, every thing is venal
with them. When glutted with wealth, the emperor
frequently makes them a prefent of a bow firing, and
becomes heir to all their fpoils.
The appellation Bajhaw is given by way of courtefy
to almoft. every perfon of any figure at the grand fig-
nior’s court.
BASIL, St, the Great, one of the moft learned
and eloquent dodlors of the church, was born at Cas-
farea, in Cappadocia, about the year 328 5 and went
to finifh his ffudies at Athens, where he contracted a
flriCl fnendfhip with St Gregory Nazianzen. He re¬
turned to his native country in 355, where he taught
rhetoric. Some time after, he travelled into Syria, E-
gypt, and Lybia, to vifit the monafteries of thefe coun¬
tries ; and the monaftic life fo much luited his difpo-
fition, that upon his return home he refolved to follow
it, and he wTas the firft inftitutor thereof in Pontus and
Cappadocia. His reputation became fo great, that,
upon the death of Euiebius bifhop of Caefarea, in 370,
he was chofen his fucceffor. It was with fome diffi¬
culty that he accepted of this dignity •, and no fooner
was he raifed to it, than the emperor Valens began to
perfecute him becaufe he refufed to embrace the doc¬
trine of the Arians. Being at length let alone, he be¬
gan to ufe his utmoft endeavours to bring about a re¬
union betwixt the eaftern and weftern churches, who
were then much divided about fome points of faith, and
in regard to Meletius and Paulinus two bilhops of An-
tiochia. But all his efforts were ineffectual, this dif-
pute not being terminated till nine months after his
death. Bafil hadafhare in all the difputes which hap¬
pened in his time in the eaft in regard to the doCtrine
of the church j and died the firft of January, 379—.
There have been feveral editions of his works in Greek
and Latin. The beft is that of Father Gamier, print¬
ed in Greek and Latin, in three volumes folio. St Ba-
fil’s ftyle is pure and elegant, his expreffions are grand
and fublime, and. his thoughts noble and full of ma-
jefty. Erafmus places him among the greateft orators
of antiquity.
Basil, a canton of Switzerland, which joined the
confederacy in 1 $;ci. It is bounded on the fouth by
the canton of Solothurn ; on the north by part of the
margravate of Badtn Dourlach, and the territory cf
Rheinfelden •, on the eaA by Frickthal ; and on the wreft
by part of Solothurn, the diocefe of Bafil, and the
Sundgare; being upwmrds of 20 miles in length, and
about 18 in breadth. It is entirely proteftant; and
contains 27 parifhes, and feven bailiwics. The lower
parts of it are fruitful in corn and wine, and alfo fit for
pafture ; but the mountains are extremely barren. Here
are many medicinal fprings and baths, and the air is
wholefome and temperate. Both men and women for
the moll part wear the French drefs 5 but the language
commonly fpoken is the High-Dutch, though the
3 K 2 French
B
Bafil. Frencli is alfo much ufed.
cratical 5 and its revenues ariie chiefly from fecularized
abbeys, and impofts on goods carried through the
country, to and from France, Italy, and Germany.
Befldes the military ellablifliment of the city of Bafil,
there are two provincial regiments, confiding each of
ten companies, and a troop of dragoons.—The places
of mod note are Bafil the capital, Wallenburg, St Ja¬
cob, Neue-Haus, &c.
Basil, the capital of the canton of that name, is the
larged city in all Switzerland, having 220 dreets, and
fix market-places or fquares. Its environs are exceed¬
ing beautiful, confiding of a fine level traft of fields
and meadows. The city is divided into two parts by
the Rhine, over which there is a handfome bridge. It
it is thought by fome to have rifen on the ruins of the
eld Auguda Rauracorum. For its name of Bafdia it
is indebted to Julian the Apodate, who would have it
fo called in honour of his mother Bafilina. It is forti¬
fied with walls, moats, towers, and badions, and con¬
tains feveral churches, befides the cathedral, which is
an old Gothic dru&ure j a commandery of the order
of St John, and another of the Teutonic order ; a pu¬
blic granary and arfenal j a dately townhoufe, in
which is an exquifite piece of the fud'erings of Chrid,
by Holbein, and a datue of Munatius Plancus, a Ro¬
man general, who about 50 years before Chrid, built
the ancient city of Auguda Rauracorum-, an univerfity,
which wras founded in 1459, and has a curious phyfic-
garden, library, and mufeum \ a gymnafium 5 a dately
palace, belonging to the margrave of Baden-Dourlach;
befides a chamber of curiofities, feveral hofpitals, &c.
In the arfenal is drown the armour in which Charles
the Bald lod his lifej with the furniture of his horfe,
and the kettle-drums and trumpets of his army. On
the dair-cafe of the council-houle, is a picture of the
lad judgment, in which, though drawn before the re¬
formation, popes, cardinals, monks, and prieds, are re-
prefented in the torments of hell. Over-againd the
French church, on a long covered wall, is painted the
dance of death 5 where the king of terrors is reprefent-
ed as mixing with all ranks and ages, and compli¬
menting them, in German verfes, on their arrival at
the grave. St Peter’s fquare, planted with elm and
lime-trees, makes a pleafant walk ; but a fpot regular¬
ly planted with trees, clofe by the river, and near the
minder, makes dill a finer, as commanding a mod
beautiful and extenfive profpe£I. The celebrated Eraf-
mus died here in 1536, in the 70th year of his age,
and was buried in the great church. He left his lib¬
rary and cabinet of rarities to one Amberbach, a learn¬
ed lawyer of this city, of whofe heirs they were pur-
chafed by the univerfity. Befides this cabipet, there
are feveral other curious private ones. The clocks of
this city go an hour fader than elfewhere, except at
Condance a circumdance which fome afcribe to the
famous councils held there, when it was thought the
bed expedient to bring the fathers early to the af-
fembly, for the quicker defpatch of bufinefs; but others
fay, that, in Bafil, it was owing to an affault being de¬
feated by that means. About 400 years ago, accord¬
ing to the dory, the city was threatened with an alfault
by furprife. The enemy was to begin the attack when
ihe large clock of the tower at one end of the bridge
fheuld drike one after midnight. The artift who had
3 [ 444 ] BAS
Jhe government is arido- the care of the clock, being informed that this was the
expefted fignal, caufed the clock to be altered, and it
druck two indead of one \ fo the enemy thinking they
were an hour too late, gave up the attempt : and in
commemoration of this deliverance, all the clocks in
Bafil have ever fince druck two at one o’clock, and fo
on. In cafe this account of the matter diould not be
fatsfa&pry, they fhow, by way of confirmation, a head,
which is placed near to this patriotic clock, with the
face turned to the road by which the enemv was to
have entered. This fame head lolls out its tongue
Bafil
II.
Bafilian.
every minute, in the mod infulting manner poffible.
I his was originally a piece of mechanical wit of the
famous clockmakei’s who faved the town. He framed
it in the derifion of the enemy, whom he had fo dexte-
roufly deceived. It has been repaired, renewed, and
enabled to thrud out its tongue every minute for thefe
four hundred years, by the care of the magidrates, who
think fo excellent a joke cannot be too often repeated.
Trade dill Houridies here, efpccially in filk, ribbons,
and wines ; and the police is under excellent regula¬
tions. Mod of the offices are bedowed by lot among
well qualified perfons. No perfon, without the city,
mud wear lace of gold or filver. All young women
are prohibited from wearing filks 5 and the neared re¬
lations only are to be invited to a marriage-fead. For
the government of the city there are feveral councils
or colleges, and officers. Of the lad, the two burgo-
maders, and two-wardens of trades, are the chief. The
great council is compofed of the reprefentatives of the
feveral companies of the greater and leffer city. Bafil
was the lee of a bilhop till the Reformation; but though
there is one that dill bears the title, he has now no
jurifdidlion here, and lives at Porentru, near the Up¬
per Allace. The two Buxtorffs, father and fon, and
the famous painter Holbein, were natives of this place.
The council held here, in 1431, fat in the vedry of the
cathedral.
Basil, in Botany. See Ocymum, Botany In¬
dex.
Basil, among joiners, the doping edge of a chifiel,
or of the iron of a plane, to work on foft wood : they
ufually make the bafil 12 degrees, and for hard wood
18} it being remarked, that the more acute the bafil
is, the better the indrument cuts \ and the more cb-
tufe, the dronger, and fitter it is for fervice.
BASILEUS, (Zcta-ttevf, a title affumed by the em¬
perors of Conftantinople, exclufive of all other princes,
to whom they give the title rex, “ king.” The fame
quality was afterwards given by them to the kings of
Bulgaria, and to Charlemagne, from the fucceflors of
which lad they endeavoured to wred it back again.
The title bafileus has been fince affumed by other
kings, particularly the kings of England, Ego Edgar
totius Anglia laJUeus confirtnavi. Hence alfo the
queen of England was entitled Bafdca and BaJi/iJJ'a.
BASILIAN monks ; religious of the order of St
Bafil. That faint, having retired into a defert, in the
province of Pontus, founded a monadery for the con¬
venience of himlelf and his numerous followers : and
for the better regulation of this new fociety, he drew
up in writing the orders and rules he would have them
follow. This new order foon fpread all over the ead ;
nor was it long before it pafled into the wed. The rule,
of St JBafil was approved by Pope Tiberius, the fame
• year.
BAS [ 445 ] BA S
Eafilic. year in which it was written and pubhfhed; and after-
—V wards by feveral other popes j and, in thefe laft ages,
by Pope Gregory XIII. who approved the abridge¬
ment made of it by Cardinal Beffarion, in the pontifi¬
cate of Eugenius IV.—Some atithors pretend, that St
Bafil, before he died, fatv himfelf the fpiritual father
of more than 90,000 monks, in the eaft only. Bat
this order, which flouriihed fo greatly for more than
three centuries, was afterwards confiderably diminifhed
by herefy, fchifm, and a change of empire. The
greateft ftorm it felt, was in the reign of Conftantine
Copronymus •, -who perfecuted the monks of St Bafil,
imprifoning fome, and banifhing others-, infomuch that
the monafteries -were abandoned and fpoiled of all their
goods.
The hiftorians of this order tell us, that it has pro¬
duced 1805 bifhops} and beatified, or acknowledged
as faints, 3010 abbots, 11,805 martyrs, and an infinite
number of confeffbrs and virgins. They likewife place
among the religious of the order of St Bafil 14 popes,
fome cardinals, and a very great number of patri¬
archs, archbifirops, and bifhops. This order likewife
boafts of feveral emperors and emprefles, kings and
queens, princes and princefles, who have embraced its
rule.
This order was introduced in the weft in 1057; and
was reformed in 1569, by Pope Gregory XIII. who
united the religious of this order in Italy, Spain, and
Sicily, into one congregation •, of which the monaftery
of St Saviour at Medina is the chief, and enjoys pre¬
eminence over the reft. Each community has its par¬
ticular rule, befides the rule of St Bafil, which is very
general, and prefcribes little more than the common
duties of a Chriftian life.
BASILIC, or Basilica, in the ancient architec¬
ture, denotes a kind of public hall or court of judica¬
ture, where the princes or magiftrates fat to adminifter
juftice. The word is originally Greek, q. d.
royal houfe, palace.
The bafilics confifted of a great hall, with ailes,
porticos, tribunes, and tribunals. The bankers too
had one part of the bafilica allotted for their refidence.
The fcholars alfo went thither to make their declama¬
tions, according to the teftimony of Quintilian. In
after-times the denomination bafilica was alfo given to
other buildings of public ufe, as town-houfes, exchanges,
burfes, and the like. The Roman bajilicce were cover¬
ed, by which they were diftinguidied from the fora,
which were public places open to the air. The firft
bafilica was built at Rome by Cato the elder, whence
it was called Porcia : the fecond was called Opimia ;
the third was that of Paulus, built with a great ex¬
pence, and with much magnificence, whence it w-a.s
called by fome reina Pauli; another wTas built by Ju¬
lius Caefar, called baflica Julia; of which Vitruvius
tells us he had the direflion. There w-ere others alfo,
to the number of eighteen or tw-enty. The baflica
Julia not only ferved for the hearing of caufes, but
for the reception and audience of foreign ambafladors.
It wras fupported by a hundred marble pillars in four
rows, and enriched wfith decorations of gold and pre¬
cious {tones. In it were 13 tribunals or judgment-
feats, w'here the praetors fat to defpatch caufes.
Basilic is alfo ufed, in ecclefiaftical writers, for a
church. In which fenfe, this name frequently occurs Bafilc
in St Ambrofe, St Auftin, St Jerome, Sidonius Apol- ^ t )
linaris, and other writers of the fourth and fifth cen- . “ ' ‘ T
turies. It is thought that the name was thus applied,
from many of the ancient churches having been formed
of the Roman halls mentioned in the preceding article.
In reality, on the converfion of Conftantine, many of
the ancient bafliccc were given to the church, and
turned to another ufe, viz. for Chriftian aflemblies to
meet in, as may be collefted from that pafiage of Aufo-
nius, where fpeaking to the emperor Gratian, he tells
him, the bafliccc, which heretofore were wont to be
filled with men of bufinefs, wrere now thronged wfith
votaries praying for his fafety. By which he muft needs
mean, that the Roman halls or courts w'ere turned into
Chriftian churches : and hence, w-e conceive, the name
bafliccc came to be a general name for churches in after
ages.
Basilic is chiefly applied, in modern times, to
churches of royal foundation j as thofe of St John de
Lateran, and St Peter of the Vatican at Rome, found¬
ed by the emperor Conftantine.
Basilics w-ere alfo little chapels built by the ancient
Franks over the tombs of their great men, fo called,
as refembling the figure of the facred baflica or church¬
es. Perfons of inferior condition had only tumbce or
porticuli erefled over them. By an article in the
Salic law, he that robbed a tumba or porticulus, was to
be fined fifteen folidi; but he that robbed a bafilica,
thirty folidi.
Basilics, in literary hiftory, a name fuppofed to
have been given by the emperor Leo to a colleflion of
law-s in honour of his father Bafilius Macedo, who be¬
gan it in the year 867, and in the execution chiefly
made ufe of Sabbathius Protofpatharius, who carried
the wrork as far as 40 books. Leo added 20 books
more, and publifned the w-ork in 880. The wfiiole, 30
years after, was correfted and improved by Conftan-
tin Porphyrogenitus, fon of Leo ; whence many have
held him the author of the Bafilica. Six books of the
Bafilica were tranfiated into Latin in 1557, by Gentian
Hervetus. An edition of the Greek Bafilics, with a
Latin verfion, has been fince publifhed at Paris, in 1647,
by Annib. Fabrottus, in 7 volumes. There areftill want¬
ing 19 books, which are fuppofed to be loft. Fabrottus
has endeavoured to fupply in fome meafure the defeft
from the fynopfis of the Bafilica, and thegloffes ; of which
feveral had been made under the fucceeding emperors,
and contained the whole Juftinian law, excepting the
fuperfluities, in a new and more confiftent order, toge¬
ther with the later conftitutions of the emperors pofte-
rior to Juftinian.
BASILICA, in Anatomy, the interior branch of
the axillary vein, running the w’hole length of the.
arm.
BASILICATA, a territory of Italy, bounded on
the north by the Otranto, Bari, and Capitanata ; 011
the weft by the Principato, and a fmall part of the
Tufcan fea on the fouth by Calabria ; and on the eaft
by the gulf of Taranto. It is watered by feveral ri¬
vers : but as it is almoft all occupied by the Apennine
mountains, it is neither very populous nor fertile 5 how'-
ever it produces enough to maintain its inhabitants,
and has a fraall quantity of cotton. The principal?
town:
B A S
liafilici
II.
Bniiiiilc.
towns are Cirenza the capital, Mefi, Turfi, Rapollo,
Muro, Lavello, Tracarico, Monte Pelofe, and Venefo*
i which are all epifcopal fees.
BASILICI, a denomination given in the Greek em¬
pire to thofe w'ho carried the emperor’s orders and com¬
mands.
[ 446 ]
BAS
Bails.
BASILICON, in Pharmacy, a name given to fe-
veral compofitions to be found ‘in ancient medicinal
writers. At prefent it is confined to three officinal
ointments, diftinguiffied by the epithets black, yellow,
and green. See Pharmacy.
BASILIDIANS, ancient heretics, the followers of
Bafilides, an Egyptian, who lived near the beginning
of the fecond century. He was educated in the Gno-
fiic fchool, over which Simon Magus prefided ; with
whom he agreed that Chrift was a man in appearance,
that his body was a phantom, and that he gave his’
iorm to Simon the Cyrenian, who wras crucified in his
dead. We learn from Eufebius, that this herefiarch
wrote 24 books upon the gofpel, and that he forged
ieveral prophets to twTo of which he gave the names
Barcaha md Barcoph. We have dill the fragment of
-a Bafilidian. gofpel. His difciples fuppofed there were
particular virtues in names 5 and taught with Pytha¬
goras and Plato, that names w*ere not formed by chance,
but naturally fignified fomething.—Bafilides, to imi¬
tate Pythagoras, made his difciples keep filence for five
years.
_ In general, the Bafilidians held much the fame opi¬
nions ^ with the Valentinians, another branch of the
Gnoftic family. They afferted, that all the aftions of
men are neceffary; that faith is a natural gift, to which
men are forcibly determined, and ffiould therefore be
laved though their lives wrere ever fo irregular. Irenceus
and others affure us, they afted confidently with their
principle ; committing all manner of villanies and im¬
purities, in confidence of their natural eleftion. They
had a particular hierarchy of divine perfons, or ^ons.
Under the name Abraxas, they are faid to have wor-
diipped the fupreme God, from whom as a principle,
all other things proceeded. There are feveral gems dill
fudfiding, infcribed wuth the name Abraxas, which were
ufed by the Bafilidians as amulets againd difeafes and
evil fpirits. See Abrasax and Abrax.
BASILIPPUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Baetica in Spain ; now Cantillana, \ citadel of Anda-
lufia, above Seville, on the Guadalquivir.
BASILISCUS, in Zoo/ogy, the trivial name of a
fpecies of lacerta. See Lacerta, Erpetology In¬
dex.
BASILISK, a fabulous kind of ferpent, faid to kill
by its breath or fight only. Galen fays, that it is of
a colour inclining to yellowy and that it has three little
eminences upon its head, fpeckled with whitifh fpots,
which have the appearance of a fort of crown. ^Elian
fays, that its poifon is fo penetrating, as to kill the
larged ferpents with its vapour only; and that if it but
bite the end of any man’s dick, it kills him. It drives
away all other ferpents by the noife of its hiding.
Pliny fays, it kills thofe who look upon it.—The ge¬
neration of the bafililk is not lefs marvellous, being faid
to be produced from a cock’s egg, brooded on by a
ferpent. Thefe, and other things equally ridiculous,
mre related by Matthiolus, Galen, Diofcondes, Pliny,
apd Erafidratus. Hirchmayer and Vander Wiel have
given the hidory of the bafililk, and dctecled the folly Bafilift
and impodure of the traditions concerning it.—In fome
apothecaries diops there are little dead ferpents (hown,
which are laid to be bafililks. But thefe leem rather
to be a kind of Imall bird, aimed like a cock, but with¬
out feathers: its head is lofty, its wings are almod
like a bat’s, its eyes large, and its neck is very diort.
.As to thofe which are ihown and fold at Venice, and
in other places, they are nothing but little thornbacks
artificially put into a form like that of a young cock,
by dretching out their fins, and contriving them with
a little head and hollow eyes: and this, Calmet fays, he
has in reality obferved in a fuppofed bafilifk, at an
apothecary’s diop at Paris, and in another at the Je-
fuits of Pont-a-Mouffon.-
Basilxsk, in military affairs, a large piece of ord¬
nance, thus denominated from its refemblance to the
fuppofed ferpent of that name. The bafililk throws
an iron ball of 200 pound weight. It w'as much talked
of in the time of Solyman emperor of the Turks, in
the wars of Hungary ; but feems now out of ufe.
Paulus jovius relates the terrible daughter made by a
fingle ball from one of thefe bafililks in a Spanidi Ihip;
after penetrating the boards and planks in the Ihip’s
head, it killed above 30 men. Maffeus fpeaks of ba¬
fililks made of brafs, which were drawn each by 100
yoke of oxen.—Modern writers alfo give the name ba-
Jtltfk to a much fmaller and fizeable piece of ordnance,
which the Dutch make 15 feet long, and the French
only 10. It carries 48 pounds.
BASILIUS, furnamed the Macedonian, emperor
of the Greeks. He was a common foldier, and of an
obfeure family in Macedonia, and yet raifed himfelf to
the throne; for having pleafed the emperor Michael by
his addrefs in the management of his horfes, he became
his firft equerry, and then his great chamberlain. He
at length affaffinated the famous Bardas, and was af-
fociated to the empire in 849. He held the eighth
general council at Conftantinople; depofed the partriarch
Photius, but in 858 reftored him to the patriarchate ;
and declared againlt the popes, who refufed to admit
him into their communion. He was dreaded by his
enemies the Saracens, whom he frequently vanquiffied;
and loved by his fubje&s, for his juftice and clemency.
He died in 886. Under his reign the Ruffians em¬
braced Chriftianity, and the doftrine of the Greek
church. He ought not to be confounded with Bafilius
the Younger, who fucceeded Zemifces in 975, and after
a reign of $0 years died in 1025.
BASINGSTOKE, a corporation town of Hamp-
fhire in England, and a great thoroughfare on the
wreftern road. It is feated on a fmall brook, in W,
Long. 1. 10. N. Lat. 51. 20.
BASIOGLOSSUS, a mufcle arifing from the bafe
of the os hyoides. See Anatomy, Table of the Muf-
cles.
BASIS, or bafe, in Geometry. See Base.
Basis, or Bafe, in Chemifry. Any body w'hich is
diffolved by another body, which it receives and fixes,
and with wffiich it forms a compound, may be called
the bafs of that compound. Thus, for example, the
balls of neutral falls are the alkaline, earthy, and me¬
tallic matters which are faturated by the feveral acids,
and form with them thefe neutral falts. In this fenfe
it is that thefe neutral falts are called falts with earthy
9 bafts%
Baiki t
B A s [ 447
Bdi'kerville bufes, falls with alkaline kafes, falls with metallic bafcs;
I! alfo the appellations baf t of alum, bafis of nitre, bafis
, Ralket' . of Glauber1 s fait, bafis of vitriol, &c. fignify the argil-
v laceous earth, which, with the fulphuric acid, forms
alum; the vegetable alkali, which, with the nitric acid,
forms nitre ; the mineral alkali, which, with the ful¬
phuric acid, forms Glauber’s fait; and the metal which
with the fulphuric acid, f^ms a fulphate ; becaufe thefe
fubftances are fuppofed to be fixed, unaflive, and only
yielding to the action of the acids, which they fix, and
to which they give a body and confidence.
Basis, among Phyficians, denotes the principal in¬
gredients in compound medicines.
BASKERVILLE, John, an eminent artift, efpe-
cially in letter-founding and printing, of the prefent
century. He was born in 1706 at Woverley in Wor-
celterfiiire, and was heir to an eftate of about 60I.
a-year; the whole of which income he allowed to his
parents till their deaths. In his early years he con¬
ceived a love for fine writing and cutting in (lone ;
and being brought up to no particular profeflion, he
commenced writing mafter in Birmingham when about
20 years of age. The improvements in different ma-
nufadlures there foon drew his attention, and he ap¬
plied to the japan bufinefs, which he carried on for a
long time with diftinguilhed excellence and fuccefs.
In 1752 he applied himfelf to letter founding, the
bringing of which to perfeflion coil him much labour
and expence. In a few years he proceeded to print¬
ing : and his firft work was an edition of Virgil on
royal quarto, which now fells for three guineas. In
a fhort time he obtained leave from the univerfity of
Cambridge to print a Bible in royal folio, and edi¬
tions of the Common Prayer in three fixes : for which
he paid a large fum to the univerfity. He afterwards
printed Horace, Terence, Catullus, Lucretius, Juve¬
nal, Salluft, and Florus, in royal quarto ; Virgil in
oflavo; and feveral books in duodecimo. He publiih-
ed likewife fome of the Englilh claffics. The beft tef-
timonies of the merit of thefe performances are them-
felves; and Mr Bafkerville’s name is defervedly ranked
among thofe who, in modern times, have brought the
art of printing to its greateft perfection. Not meet¬
ing, however, with that encouragement from the book-
fellers which he expected, he fet up his letter-foundery
for fale a little before his death. He died without if-
fue in July 1776.
BASKET, an utenfil made of twigs interwoven
together, in order to hold fruit, earth, &c. As a
mealure, it denotes an uncertain quantity; as, a balket
of medlars is two bufiiels, of afafoetida from 20 to 50
pound weight. The ancient Britons were noted for
their ingenuity in making bafkets, wdfich they export¬
ed in large quantities. Thefe bafkets were of very
elegant workmanlhip, and bore a high price ; and are
mentioned by Juvenal among the extravagant expenfive
furniture of the Roman tables in his time,
./Iclde et bafeaudas et mille efcaria.
Add bafkets, and a thoufand other difiies.
I hat thefe bafkets were manufaClured in Britain, we
learn from the following epigram of Martial : '
Barbara de piclis veni bafeauda Britannis, „
Sed me jam mavult dicere Roma fuam.
] BAS
A bafket I, by painted Britons wrought,
And now to Rome’s imperial city brought.
6 Eafnage.
Baskets of Earth, in the Military Art, called by
the French corbeillers, are fmall bafkets ufed in fieges,
on the parapet of a trench, being filled with earth.
1 hey are about a foot and a half high, about a foot and
a half in diameter at the top, and 8 or to inches at
bottom ; fo that, being fet together, there is a fort of
embrafures left at their bottoms, through which the
foldiers fire, without expofing themfelves.
Basket-Fiji.), a fpecies of fea-flar. See Aste-
RIA S.
BASKET-Salt, that made from falt-fprings, being
purer, whiter, and compofed of finer grains than the
common brine-falt. See Salt.
BASKING-shar k, or SuN-Fifh of the Irifb. Set
Squalus.
BASNAGE, James, a learned and accompIifLed
author, and pallor of the Walloon church at the
Hague, was born at Rouen in Normandy, Augull 8.
1653. He was the fon of Henry Bafnage, one of the
able it advocates in the parliament of Normandy. At
1 7 years of age, after he had made himfelf mailer of
the Greek and Latin authors, as well as the Englilh,
Spanilli, and Italian languages, he went to Geneva,
where he began his divinity Itudies under Meltrezat,
Turretin, and Tronchin ; and finilhed them at Sedan,
under the profefibrs Jurieu and Le Blanc de Beaulieu.
He then returned to Rouen, where he was received as
minilter, September 1676; in which capacity he re¬
mained till the year 1685, when, the exercife of the
Proteflant religion being lupprefied at Rouen, he ob¬
tained leave of the king to retire to Holland. He
fettled at Rotterdam, and wras a miniller penfionary
there till 1691, when he wras chofen pallor of the Wal¬
loon church of that city. In 1709 Penfionary Hein-
fius got him chofen one of the pallors of the Walloon
church at the Hague, intending not only to employ
him in religious but in Hate affairs. He was employed
in a fecret negociation with Marlhal d’Uxelles, plenipo¬
tentiary of France at the congrefs of Utrecht ; and he
executed it with fo much fuccefs, that he was after¬
wards entruffed with feveral important commiffions, all
wdiich he difeharged in fuch a manner as to gain a
great charadler for his abilities and addrefs ; a cele¬
brated modern wuiter has therefore faid of him, that he
was fitter to be miniller of Hate than of a parifh. The
Abbe du Bois, who wfas at the Hague in 1716, as am-
baffador plenipotentiary from his moll Chrillian maje-
lly, to negociate a defenfive alliance between France.,
England, and the States General, was ordered by the
duke of Orleans, regent of France, to apply himfelf
to M. Bafnage, and to follow his advice : they accord¬
ingly a died in concert, and the alliance was concluded
in January 1717. He kept an epillolary correfpon-
dence with feveral princes, noblemen of high rank, and
minifters of Hate, both Catholic and Protellant, and
with a great many learned men in France, Italy, Ger¬
many, and England. The Catholics elleemed him no
lefs than the Protellants; and the works he wrote,
which are mollly in French, fpread his reputation al-
moft all over Europe : among thefe are, 1. The Hilto-
ry of the Religion of the Reformed Churches. 2. Jewr-
ilh Antiquities. 3. The Hiltory of the Old and New
Teft ament)
BAS f 44S
Luioti Teftameiit j and many others. He died September
'Bar,. 22* 1723-
-— - . ■ Basnage, Henry, Sieur cle Beauval, fecond fon to
Henry Bainage, and brother to James mentioned in the
iatt article. He applied himfelf to the ftudy of the
law, and was admitted advocate in the parliament of
Rouen in the year 1679. He did not follow the bar
immediately upon his admiflion but went to Valencia,
• where he ftudied under M. de Marville. Upon his re¬
turn from thence, he praflifed with great reputation
till the year 1687, when the revocation of the edidl of
Nantz obliged him to fly to Holland, where he com-
pofed the greateft prrt of his works, and died there
the 29th of March 1710. His chief work is Hifloire
des Ouvrages des S^avans. Rotterd'. 24 vol. in duode¬
cimo. This work was begun in the month of Septem¬
ber 1687, and continued till June 1709. When he ar¬
rived in Holland, Mr Bayle, through indifpofltion, had
been obliged to drop his Nouvelles de la Republique des
Lettres, which induced Mr Bafnage to undertake a
work of the fame kind under a different title.
BASON, in Hydraulics, a refervoir of water, ufed
for various purpofes : thus we fay, The bafon of a jet
d'eau, the bafon of a fountain, and likewife the bafon of
a port or harbour.
Bason, in Jewiffi antiquities, the laver of the taber¬
nacle, made of the brafs looking-glafles belonging to
thofe devout women who watched and flood centinels
at the door of the tabernacle.
Bason, or Difle, among glafs-grinders. Thefe ar¬
tificers ufe various kinds of bafons, of copper, iron,
&c. and of various forms, fome deeper, others fhal-
lower, according to the focus of the glafles that are to
be ground. In thefe bafons is is that convex glafles
are formed, as concave ones are formed on fpheres or
bowls.
Glafles are worked in bafons two ways. In the
. firft, the bafon is fitted to the arbor or tree of a lath,
and the glafs (fixed with cement to a handle of wood)
prefented and held faft in the right hand within the
bafon, while the proper motion is given by the foot
to the bafon. In the other, the baion is fixed to a
itand or block, and the glafs with its wooden handle
moved. The moveable bafons are very fmall, feldom
exceeding five or fix inches in diameter ; the others
are larger, fometimes above ten feet diameter. After
the glafs has been ground in the bafon, it is brought
Smoother with greafe and emery ; and poliffied firft
with tripoli, and finiflred with paper cemented to the
bottom of the bafon.
Bason, among hatters, is a large round ftiell or cafe,
ordinarily of iron, placed over a furnace ; wherein the
matter of the hat is moulded into form. The hatters
have alfo bafons for the brims of hats, ufually of lead,
having an aperture in the middle, of a diameter fuffi-
eient for the largeft block to go through.
BASQUES, a fmall territory of France, towards
the Pyrenean mountains. It comprehends Labourd,
Lower Navarre, and the diftridl of Soule, which, with
Bearn, form the department of the Lower Pyrenees.
BASS, the loweft in the four parts of mufic : of
uncertain etymology \ whether from the Greek word
iiotrts, “ a foundation or from the Italian adje&ive
bajjb, fignifying “ low.” Of all the parts it is the moft
important, and it is upon this that the chords proper
2
BAS
a particular harmony are determined,
maxim among muficians, that when the
Baf?
II
Baflari.
to conftitute
Hence the
bafs is properly formed, the harmony can fcarcely be
bad. '
Bafles are of different kinds. Of which in their
order.
Thorough-BA$s is the harmony made bv the bafs-
viols, or theorbos, continuii^f to play both while the
voices fing and the other inftruments perform their
parts, and alfo filling up the intervals when any of the
other parts flop. It is played by figures marked over
the notes, on the organ, fpinet, harpfichord, &c. and
frequently Amply and without figures on the bafs-viol
and baffoon.
Countcr-BASS is a fecond or double bafs, where there
are feveral in the fame concert.
Bass-VIoI, a rqufical inftrument of the like form
with that of a violin, but much larger. It is ftruck
with a bowT as that is } has the fame number of firings j
and has eight flops, which are lubdivided into femi-
flops. Its found, is grave, and has a much nobler ef¬
fect in a concert than that of the violin.
Bass, Ife of, a rock, about a mile in circumfe¬
rence, in the mouth of the Frith of Forth, at a fmall
diftance from the town of North Berwick in Eaft Lo¬
thian. It is fteep and inacceflible on all fides, except
to the fouth-w^eft ; and even there it is with great diffi¬
culty that a Angle man can climb up with the help of
a rope or ladder. It W’as formerly kept as a garrifon.
A party of King James’s adherents furprifed it at the
Revolution, and it wras the laft place in the three king¬
doms that fubmitted to the new government; upon
w'hich its fortifications were ordered to be neglefted.
In fummer, this remarkable rock, which rifes to a great
height above the wTater, in form of a cone, is quite co¬
vered with fea-fowd which come hither to breed. The
chief of thefe are the folan geefe *, which arrive in June, * see p,^
and retire in September. It alfo contains a fmall w'ar- canus, Or-
ren for rabbits, and affords pafture for a few fheep. nithology
The force of the tides has nowr almoft worn a hole
quite through this rock. W. Long. 2. 15. N. Lat.
56- 3-
BASSAN, Giacomo de Pont, or Le Bassan,
a celebrated Venetian painter, was born in 1510. His
fubje&s generally were peafants and villagers, bufy at
their different rural occupations, according to the va¬
rious feafons of the year ; cattle, landfcapes, and hifto-
rical defigns j and in all thofe fubjedls the figures were
well defigned, and the animals and landfcapes have an
agreeable refemblance of Ample nature. His compofi-
tions cannot boaft of much elegance or grandeur of
tafte, not even thofe which are hiftorical; but they have
abundance of force and truth. His local colours aie
very Well obferved, his carnations are frefh and bril¬
liant, and the chiaro-fcuro and perfpeftive well under-
flood. His touch is free and fpirited ; and the diflan-
ces in his landfcapes are always true, if not fometimes
too dark in the nearer parts. His wmrks are fpread
all over Europe : many of them W’ere purchafed by
Titian 5 and there are feveral in the French king’s ca¬
binet, the royal palace, and the Hotel de Touloufe.
They are more readily known than thofe of moft other
painters 5 from the fimilitude of characters and counte¬
nances in the figures and animals} from the tafte in
the buildings, utenfils, and draperies 5 and, befides,
from
BAS [ 449 ] BAS
oan.ini, irom a violet or purple tint that predominates in every
. Ilantm. one of his pictures. But the genuine pictures of his
hand are not fo eafily afcertained ; 'becaufe he frequent¬
ly repeated the fame deiign, and his fons were moftly
employed in copying the works of their father, which
he fometimes retouched. As he lived to be very old,
he finilhed a great number of piftures; yet notwith-
ftanding his application and years, the real pictures of
(jiacomo are not commonly met with. Many of thofe
which are called originals by purchafers as well as
dealers, being at beft no more than copies by the fons
of Bafifan, who were far inferior to him ; or perhaps
by fome painter of ftill meaner abilities. But the true
pictures of Giacomo always bear a confiderable price
if they happen to be undamaged. He died in 1592,
aged 82.—Francis and Leander, his fons, diftinguilh-
ed themfelves in the fame art ; but inheriting a fpecies
of lunacy from their mother, both came to an untimely
end.
BASSANI, G sovanni Battista, maeftro di cap-
pella of the cathedral church of Bologna about the
middle of the laft century, was a very voluminous com-
pofer of mufic, having given to the world no fewer than
31 different works. He is equally celebrated both as
a compofer for the church and for concerts; and was
befides a celebrated performer on the violin, and, as it
is laid, taught Coi'felli on that inftrument. His compo-
litions conlift of maffes, pfalms, motets with inftru-
mental parts, and fonatas for violins: his fifth opera in
particular, containing 1 2 fonatas for two violins and a
bafs, is molt elteemed ; it is written in a Ityle wonder¬
fully grave and pathetic, and abounds with evidences of
great learning and fine invention. The firft and third
operas of Corelli are apparently formed after the model
of this work. Baffani was one of the firft who com-
pofed motets for a fingle voice, with accompaniments
of violins ; a practice which is liable to objection, as it
allimilates chur'ch-mufic too nearly to that of the cham¬
ber ; and of' his folo-motets it mult be confelfed that
they differ in ftyle but little from opera airs and can¬
tatas : two operas of them, viz. the eighth and thir¬
teenth, were printed in London by Pearfon above 50
years ago, with the title of Harmonia FeJHva.
BASS AN PIN, James, a Scotch aftronomer, fon
of the laird of Baffantin in Mers, was born in the reign
of James IV. He was educated at the univerfity of
Glafgow, travelled through Germany and Italy, and
then fixed his abode in the univerfity of Paris, where
he taught mathematics with great applaufe. Having
acquired fome fortune in this occupation, in 1562 he
returned to Scotland, where he died in the year iy68.
from his writings, he appears to have been no con¬
temptible aftronomer, confidering the times ; but, like
moft of the mathematicians of that age, he was not a
little addi£Ied to judicial aftrology. Sir James Melvil,
m his Memoirs, fays that his brother Sir Robert, when
he was exerting his abilities to reconcile the two queens
Elizabeth and Mary, met with one Baffantin, a man
learned in the high iciences, who told him, “ that all
his travel would be in vain ; for, faid he, they will ne¬
ver meet together ; and next, there will never be any
thing but diffembling and lecret hatred for a while, and
at length captivity and utter wreck to our queen from
England.” He added, “ that the kingdom of Eng¬
land at length (hall fall of right, to the crown of Scot-
Vol. III. Pfrt II.
land : but it ftiall coft many bloody battles 5 and the Baffe,
Spaniards lhall be helpers, and take a part to themfelves
for their labour.” Sir James Melvil is an author of^ v
credit; therefore it is probable that our aftrologer ven¬
tured to utter his prediction : but, as it proved true
only in part, either he mifunderftood the ftars, or they
deceived the aftrologer. His works are, 1. Ajlrono-
mia Jacobi Bajfantim Scoti, opus abfolutifjimum, ib-'c. ter
editum Latine et Gallics. Genev. 1599. fol. This is
the title given it by Tornaefius, who tranflated it into
Latin from the French, in which language it was firft
publiihed. 2. Paraphrafe de PAJlrolabe, avec un am¬
plification de Puf age de F AJlrolabe. Lyons I <155. Paris
1617, 8 vo. 3. Mathematic, gene thhaca. ^.Arithmeti¬
cal 5. Mujica fecundum Platonem. 6. De Matheji in
getiere.
BASSE, or Bass, a town of the French Nether¬
lands, in the county of Flanders, on the confines of Ar¬
tois, remarkable on account of the many fieges it has
fuftained j but its fortifications are now demoliftied. It
is feated on a canal which runs as far as Deule. E.
Long. 3. o. N. Lat. 50. 53.
Basse Terre, part of the ifland of St Chriftopher’s,
one of the Caribbee iftands, formerly occupied by the
ftrench, but ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of
Utrecht in 1713.
BASSET, or Basett’e, a game with cards, faid
to have been invented by a noble Venetian, for which
he was baniftied. It was firft introduced in France
by Signior Juftiniani, ambaffador of Venice, in 1674.
Severe laws were made againft it by Louis XIV. to
■elude which they difguifed ballet under the name of
pour et contre, that is, “ for and againft,” which oc-
cafioned new arrets and prohibitions of parliament.
The parties concerned in it are, a dealer or banker >
his affiftant, who fupervifes the lofing cards 5 and the
punter, or any one who plays againft the banker.
Befides thefe, there are other terms ufed in this
game ; as, I. The fafe or face, which is the firft card
turned up by the tailleur belonging to the pack, by
which he gains half the value of the money laid down
on every card of that fort by the punters. 2. The
couch, or firrt money which every punter puts on each
card ; each perfon that plays having a book of 13 fe-
veral cards before him, on which he may lay his mo¬
ney, more or lefs, at difcretion. 3. The paroli;
which is, when a punter having won the firft 1^6*
and having a mind to purfue his good fortune, crooks
the corner of his card, and lets his prize lie, aiming at
nfeptetle va. 4. ft he rnajfe; when having won the
firft ftake, the punter is willing to venture more money
on the fame card. 3. The pay; when the punter ha¬
ving won the firft ftake, be it a (hilling, half crown,
guinea, or whatever he laid dowa on his card, and not
caring to hazard the paroli, leaves off, or goes the pay:
in which cale, if the card turn up wrong, he lofes no¬
thing^ having won the couch before ; whereas, if it
turn right, he by this adventure wons double the mo¬
ney flaked. 6. The alpiexv; much the fame with
paroli, and ufed when a couch is won by turning up
or crooking the corner of the winning card. 7. Sept
et le va, the firft great chance or prize, when the pun¬
ter, having won the couch, makes a paroli, and goes'
on to a fecond chance ; fo that if his winning card turns
up again, it comes to fept et le va, which is (even
3 times
BAS
Baffet. times as mucli as he laid down on his card. 8. Quinze
— y-   et ie va js tjle next hjgher pnzef when the 7)00161 ha¬
ving won the former, is refolved to puih his fortune,
and lay his money a fecond time on the fame card by
crooking another corner j in which cafe, if it comes
up, he wins fifteen times the money he laid down.
9. Trent et le va is the next higher prize, when the
punter, crooking the fourth corner of his winning card,
if it turn up, w ins 33 times the money he firil flaked.
10. Soixant et le va is the higheft prize, and entitles
the winner to 67 times his firft money ; which, if it
- were confiderable, {lands a chance to break the bank :
but the bank ftands many chances firfl of breaking
the punter. This cannot be won but by the tailleur’s
dealing the cards over again.
The rules of the game of bafiet are as follow: 1. The
banker holds a pack of 52 cards, and having fhuffled
them he turns the whole pack at once, fo as to dif-
cover the lafl card j after which he lays down all the
cards by couples. 2. The punter has his book of 13
cards in his hand, from the king to the ace j out of
thefe he takes one card, or more at pleafure, upon
wdiich he lays a flake. 3. The punter may, at his
choice, either lay dowm his flake before the pack is
turned, or immediately after it is turned, or after any
number of couples are down. 4. Suppofing the pun¬
ter to lay down his flake after the pack is turned,, and
calling 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. the places of thofe cards
which follow the card in view, either immediately after
the pack is turned, or after any number of couples are
.drawn. Then, 5. If the card upon which the punter
has laid a flake comes out in any even place, except
the firft, he w7ins a flake equal to his owm. 6. If the
card upon which the punter has laid a flake comes out
in any even place, except the fecond, he lofes his flake.
7. If the card of the punter comes out in the firfl place,
he neither wins nor lofes, but takes his own flake again.
8. If the card of the punter comes out in the fecond
place, he does not lofe his w'hole flake, but only one
half; and this is the cafe in which the punter is faid to
be faced. 9. When the punter choofes to come in
after any number of couples are dowm, if his card hap¬
pens to be but once in the pack, and is the lafl of all,
there is an exception from the general rule *, for though
it comes out in an odd place, which fhould entitle him
to win a flake equal to his own, yet he neither wins
nor lofes from that circumflance, but takes back his
own flake.
This game has been the obje£l of mathematical cal¬
culations. M. de Moivre folves this problem j to efli-
mate at baffct the lofs of the punter under any circum¬
flance of cards remaining in the flock when he lays his
flake, and of any number of times that his card is re¬
peated in the flock. From this folution he has formed
a table fhowing the feveral Ioffes of the punter in what-
foever circumflances he may happen to be. From this
table it appears, 1. That the fewer thq cards are in
the flock, the greater is the lofs of the punter. 2. That
the leafl lofs of the punter, under the fame circum¬
flances of cards remaining in the flock, is when his card
is but twice in it ; the next greater when but three
times ; flill greater when four times ; and the greatefl
when but once. The gain of the banker upon all the
money adventured at baffet is 15s. 3d. per cent.
Basset, Pc/cr, a gentleman of a good family, was
[ 450 ] BAS
chamberlain or gentleman of the privy chamber to
King Henry V. a conflant attendant on that brave
prince, and an eye-witnefs of his molt glorious aflions t
both at home and abroad ; all which he particularly de-
fcribed in a volume entitled, The Adis of King Henry
V. which remains in MS. in the college of heralds.
BASSET1NG, in the coal mines, denotes the rife
of the vein of coal towards the furnace of the earth, till
it come within twTo or three feet of the furface itfelf.
This is alfo called by the workmen croping ; and Hands
oppofed to dipping, which is the defcent of the vein to
fuch a depth that it is rarely, if ever, followed to the
end.
BASSIA. See Botany Index.
BASSO relievo, or Bass relief j a piece of
fculpture, w'here the figures or images do not protube-
rate, jet, or Hand out, far above the plane on w'hich
they are formed.—Whatever figures or reprefentations
are thus cut, flamped, or otherwife wrought, fo that not
the entire body, but only part of it, is raifed above the
plane, arc faid to be done in relief ox relievo : and when
that w7ork is low, flat, and but little raifed, it is called
low relief. When a piece of fculpture, a coin, or a me¬
dal, has its figure raifed fo as to be well diflinguifhed,
it is called bold, and we fay its relief is frong.
BASSOON, a mufical inflrument of the w’ind-fort,
blowm w ith a reed, furnifhed with 11 holes, and ufed as
a bafs in a concert of hautboys, flutes, &c. To render
this inflrument more portable, it is divided into twyo
parts, wdience it is alfo called a fagot. Its diameter at
bottom is nine inches, and its holes are flopped like
thofe of a large flute.
BASSORA, Balsora, or Bafrah, a city between
Arabia and Perfia, fituated in the extremity of the
deferts of Irak, a little to the weft of the Tigris, in
about 570 eaft longitude, and 30° north latitude. It
w7as built by the command of the caliph Omar, in
the 15th year of the Hegira, for the fake of carrying
on more commodioufly an extenfive commerce between
the Syrians, Arabians, Perfians, and Indians. It is at
prefent a very famous empory of the Eaft $ and Hands
upon a thick flony foil, as the word bafra imports,
about a day and a half’s journey from one of the mouths
of the Tigris, W’here it empties itfelf into the Perfian
gulf, denominated likewife from this tow’n the Bay of
Bafra. The circumjacent tra£l is looked upon by the
Arabs to be one of the moft, delightful fpots in Alia,
and even as one of the moft beautiful gardens in the
wmrld ; how-ever, the hot wunds that frequently blow
there are very troublefome to travellers, and fometimes
overwhelm them with fand driven by the force of thefe
winds out of the neighbouring deferts. The city is in¬
habited by Jacobites, Neftorians, Jews, Mahometans,
and Chaldean Chriftians, commonly called Chriflians of
St John, which laft are pretty numerous here.
T he Abbe Raynal values the merchandife annually
brought to Baflbra at 525,000!.: of w'hich the Eng-
lifh furnifh i75,o»ol. j the Dutch 87,5001.7 and the
Moors, Banians, Armenians, and Arabs, furniftr the
remainder. “ The cargoes of thefe nations (fays he)
confift of rice, fugar 7 plain, ftriped, and flowered muf¬
fins from Bengal 7 fpices from Ceylon and the Molucca
iflands; coarfe, white, and blue cottons from Coro¬
mandel 7 cardamum, pepper, fanders wood, from Ma¬
labar 7 gold and filver Huffs, turbans, fliawls, indigo,
* from
Baflia
I!
Balibra,
BAS [ 45i 1 BAS
P,?,fl.arc!. from Surat j pearls from Baharan, and coffee from Mo-
j cha, iron> lead, and woollen cloth, from Europe.
Other articles of lefs confequence are imported from dif¬
ferent places. Some of thefe commodities are (hipped
on board fmall Arabian veffels but the greater part is
brought by European (hips, which have the advantage
of a confxderable freight.
“ This merchandife is fold for ready money j and
paffes through the hands of the Greeks, Jews, and Ar¬
menians. The Banians are employed in changing the
coin current at Baffora, for that which is of higher va¬
lue in India.
“ The different commodities colle&ed at Baffora are
diftributed into three channels. One half of them goes
to Perfia, whither they are conveyed by the caravans j
there being no navigable river in the whole empire.
The chief confumption is in the northern provinces,
which have not been fo much ravaged as thofe of the
fouth. Both of them formerly made their payments
in precious Hones, which were become common by the
plunder of India. They had afterwards recourfe to
copper utenfils, which had been exceedingly multiplied
from the great abundance of copper mines. At laft they
gave gold and filver in exchange, which had been con¬
cealed during a long feene of tyranny, and are conti¬
nually dug out of the bowels of the earth. If they do
not allow time for the trees that produce gum, and
have been cut to make frefh (hoots ; if they neglect to
multiply the breed of goats xvhich afford fuch fine wmol,
and if the filks, which are hardly fufficient to fupply
the few manufactures remaining in Perfia, continue in
be fo fcarce in a word, if this empire does not rife
again from its allies, the mines will be exhaufted, and
this fource of commerce muff be given up.
BASTARD, a natural child, or one begotten and
born ouf of lawful wedlock.
Si'ackji. 'J’hg civJl an(|
canon laws do not allow a child to re-
',mtaen ■ main a bafiard, if the parents afterwards intermarry 5
and herein they differ moft materially from our law 5
which, though not fo ftriCl as to require that a child
(hall be begotten, yet makes it an indifpenfible condi¬
tion that it (hall be born, after lawful wedlock. And
the reafon of our lawr is furely much fuperior to that of
the Roman, if we confider the principal end and de-
(ign of ellablilhing the contrad: of marriage, taken in a
civil light $ abftraCledly from aay religious views, which
has nothing to do w ith the legitimacy or illegitimacy of
the children. The main end and defign of marriage,
therefore, being to afeertain and fix upon fome certain
perfon, to whom the care, the proteftion, the main¬
tenance, and the education of the children, (liould be¬
long : this end is undoubtedly better anfw'ered by legi¬
timating all iffue born after w'edlock, than by legiti¬
mating all iffue of the fame parties, even born before
tvedlock, fo as wedlock afterwards enfues : 1. Becaufe
of the very great uncertainty there will generally be,
in the proof that the iffue was really begotten by the
fame man; whereas, by confining the proof to the
birth, and not to the begetting, our law has rendered
it perfeftly certain, what child is legitimate, and who
is to take care of the child. 2. Becaufe, by the Ro¬
man law, a child may be continued a baftard, or made
legitimate, at the option of the father and mother, by
a marriage ex pqfl faElo; thereby opening a door to
many frauds and partialities, which by our law are pre¬
vented. 3. Becaufe by thofe laws a man may remain Bafcard.
a baftard till 40 years of age, and then become legiti-
mate by the fublequent marriage of his parents j where¬
by the main end of marriage, the protection of infants,
is totally fruftrated. 4. Becaufe this rule of the Ro¬
man law admits of no limitation as to the time, or num ¬
ber of baltards to be fo legitimated $ but a dozen of
them may, 20 years after their birth, by the fubfequent
marriage of their parents, be admitted to all the privi¬
leges of legitimate children. This, is plainly a great
difeouragement to the matrimonial (fate to which one ;
main inducement is ufually not only the defire of having
children, but alfo the defire of procreating lawful heirs.
Whereas, our conftitution guards againft this indecency,
and, at the fame time, gives fuflicient allowance to the
frailties of human nature. For if a child be begotten
while the parents are (ingle, and they will endeavour to
make an early reparation for the offence, by marrying
within a few months after, our law is fo indulgent as
not to baftardize the child, if it be born, though not
begotten, in lawful wedlock ; for this is an incident
that can happen but once •, fince all future children
will be begotten, as well as born, within the rules of
honour and civil fociety.
From what has been faid it appears, that all children
born before matrimony are baftards by our law : and
fo it is of all children born fo long after the death of
the hulband, that by the ufual courfe of geftation,
they could not be begotten by him. But this being a
matter of fome uncertainty, the law is not exaft as to
a few days. But if a man dies, and his wndow foon
after marries again, and a child is born within fuch a
time as that by the courfe of nature it might have been
the child of either hufband : in this cafe, he is faid to be
more than ordinarily legitimate } for he may, when he
arrives to years of diferetion, choofe which of the fa¬
thers he pleafes. To prevent this, among other incon¬
veniences, the civil law ordained that no widow? (hould
marry infra annum luEius; a rule which obtained (o
early as the reign of Auguftus, if not of Romulus: and
the fame conftitution was probably handed dowm to our
early anceftors from the Romans, during their ftay in
this ifland *, for we find it eftablilhed under the Saxon
and Daniftr governments.
As baftards may be born before the coverture or
marriage-ftate is begun, or after it is determined, fo al¬
fo children born during wedlock may in fome circum-
ftanccs be battards. As if the hulband be out of the
kingdom of England (or as the law loofely phrafes it,
extra quatuor maria) for above nine months, fo that no
acceTs to his wTife can be prefumed, her iffue during
that period (hall be baftards. But generally during the
coverture, accefs of the huffarid (hall be prefumed, un-
lefs the contrary (hall be fhown 5 which is fuch a ne¬
gative as can only be proved by (bowing him to be elfe-
where 5 for the general rule is, preefumitur pro legitima-
tione. In a divorce a men fa et thoro, if the w7ife breeds
children, they are baftards *, for the law will prefume
the hufband and wrife conformable to the fentence of
feparation, unlefs accefs be proved : but in a voluntary
feparation by agreement, the law will fuppofe accefs,
unlefs the negative be (howm. So alfp, if there is an
apparent impoflibility of procreation on the part of the
hulband, as if he be only eight years old, or the like,
there the iffue of the wife (hall be baftard. Likewife,
3 L 2 in
B A S
Baftard.
m cafe of divorce in the fpiritua Icourt a vinculo matri-
tnotiti) all the ii^ue born during the coverture are ha¬
zards •, becaufe fuel! divorce is always upon fome caufe
that rendered the marriage unlawful and null from the
beginning.
As to the duty of parents to their baftard children,
by our law, it is principally that of maintenance. For
though baftards are not looked upon as children to any
civil purpofes, yet the ties of nature, of which mainte¬
nance is one, are not fo ealily diilolved ; and they hold
indeed as to many other intentions; as particularly
that a man {hall not marry his baftard ftfter or daugh¬
ter. The method in which the Englifh law provides
maintenance for them is as follows: When a woman is
delivered, or declares heri'elf with child, of a baftard,
and will by oath before a juftice of the peace charge
any perfon having got her with child, the juftice ftiali
caufe fuch perfon to be apprehended, and commit him
till he gives fecurity, either to maintain the child, or
appear at the next quarter feftions to difpute and try
the faei. But, if the woman dies, or is married, before
delivery, or mifearries, or proves not to have been wuth
child, the perfon {hall be difeharged \ otherwife the fef-
lions, or two jurtices out of feflions, upon original ap¬
plication to them, may take order for the keeping of
the baftard, by charging the mother or the reputed
father with the payment of money or other fuften-
tation for that purpofe. And if fuch putative father,
or lewd mother, run away from the parifti, the over-
feers, by direffion of two juftices, may feize their rent,
goods, and chattels, in order to bring up the faid ba¬
ftard child. Yet fuch is the humanity of our laws,
that no rvoman can be compulfively queftioned concern¬
ing the father of her child till one month after her de¬
livery ; which indulgence is, however, very frequently
a hardftiip upon parifties, by giving the parents oppor¬
tunity to efcape.
As to the rights and incapacities which appertain to a
baftard : The former are very few, being only fuch as
he can acquire; for he can inherit nothing, being look¬
ed upon as the fon of nobody, and fometimes called
films nullius, fometimes films populi. Yet he may gain
a furname by reputation, though he has none by inhe¬
ritance. All other children have their primary fettle-
ment in their father’s parith •, but a baftard in the parifh
where born, for he hath no father. However, in cafe
of fraud, as if a women either be fent by order of ju¬
ftices, or comes to beg as a vagrant, to a parifh which
fire does not belong to, and drops her baftard there j
the baftard {hall, in the firft cafe, be fettled in the pa¬
rifti from whence the was illegally removed ; or in the
latter cafe, in the mother’s own parifh, if the mother
be apprehended for her vagrancy. Baftards alfo, born
in any licenfed hofpital for pregnant women, are fettled
in the parifties to which the mothers belong.—The in¬
capacity of a baftard coniifts principally in this, that he
cannot be heir to any one ; for being nullius filius, he
is therefore of kin to nobody, and has no anceftor from
whom any inheritable blood can be derived : Therefore,
if there be no other claimant upon an inheritance than
fuch illegitimate child, it fhall efeheat to the lord. And
as baftards cannot be heirs themfelves, fo neither can
they have any heirs but thofe of their own bodies. For
as all collateral kindred confifts in being derived from
[ 452 ]
BAS
the fame common anceftor, and as a baftard has no !e- Eaflari.
gal anceftor, he can have no collateral kindred 5 and —r—•
confequently can have no legal heirs, but fuch as claim
by a lineal defeent from himfelf. And therefore, if a
baftard purchafes land, and dies feized thereof without
iflue, andinteftate, the land ftiall efeheat to the lord of
the fee. A baftard was alfo, in ftri&nefs, incapable of
holy orders j and though that were difpenfed wuth,
yet he was utterly difqualified from holding any dig¬
nity in the church j but this do£trine feems now obfo-
lete \ and in all other refpe&s there is no diftimftion
between a baftard and another man. And reallv any
other diftinftion but that of not inheriting, which civil
policy renders neceflary, would, with regard to the in¬
nocent offspring of his parent’s crimes, be odious, un¬
juft, and cruel, to the laft degree; and yet the civil law,
fo boafted of for its equitable decifions, made baftards
in fome cafes incapable even of a gift from their pa¬
rents. A baftard may, laftly, be made legitimate, and
capable of inheriting, by the tranfeendant power of an
adf of parliament, and not otherwife : as was done in
the cale of John of Gaunt’s baftard children, by a fta-
tute of jlichard II.
As to thepunijhment for having baftard children: By
the ftafute 18 Eliz. c. 3. tw7o juftices may take order
for the puniftiment of the mother and reputed father:
but what that puniftiment ftiall be is not therein afeer-
tained : though the cotemporary expofition was, that
a corporeal puniftiment was intended. By ftatute
7 Jac. I. c. 4. a fpecific punilhment (viz. commitment
to the houfe of corredlion) is inflicted on the wo¬
man only. But in both cafes it feems that the pe¬
nalty can only be inflicted, if the baftard becomes
chargeable to the parith ; for otherwife the very main¬
tenance of the child is confidered as a degree of pu¬
nilhment. By the laft mentioned ftatute the juftices
may commit the mother to the houfe of correhlion, there
to be puniftied and fet On w7ork for one year : and in
cafe of a fecond offence, till ihe find fureties never to
to offend again.
He that gets a baftard in the hundred of Middleton
forfeits all his goods and chattels to the
* Chaml.
got under the umbrage of a certain-Pi#,
oak in Knollwood in Staffordftiire, belonging to the
manor of Terley-caftle, no puniftiment can be inflihl-
ed, nor can the lord nor the biftiop take cognizance
of it f. f Pht. Nat.
It is enabled by ftatute 21 Jac. I, c. 27. that if any H'J*- StaJF'
woman be delivered of a child, which, if born alive,
ftiould by law7 be a baftard ; and endeavours privately
to conceal its death, by burying the child or the like j
the mother fo offending {hall fufter death, as in the cafe
of murder, unlefs fhe can prove by one w itnefs at leaft
that the child was adlually born dead. This law, which
favours pretty ftrongly of feverity, in making the con¬
cealment of the death almoft conclufive evidence of
the child’s being murdered by the mother, is never-
thelefs to be alfo met with in the criminal codes of
many other nations of Europe ; as the Danes, the
Swedes, and the French ; but it has of late years
been ufual with us, upon trials for this offence, to
require fome fort of prefumptive evidence that the child-
was born alive, before the other conftrained prefump-
Uon
Rent,
king *.
If a baftard be
BAS f -453 J BAS
Baton!, tion (that the child, whofe death is concealed, was
Baftardy. therefore killed by its parent) is admitted to convidl
the prifoner.
Concerning baftards in Scotland, and the laws with
regard to them, fee Law.
Bastard, in refpeft of artillery, is applied to thofe
pieces which are of an unufual or illegitimate make or
proportion. Thefe are of two kinds, long and Ihort,
according as the defeft is on the redundant or defective
fide. The long baftards again, are either common or
uncommon. To the common kind belong the double
culverin extraordinary, half culverin extraordinary,
quarter culverin extraordinary, falcon extraordinary,
&c. The ordinary baltard culverin carries a ball of
eight pounds.
Bastards are alfo an appellation given to a kind
of fadtion or troop of banditti who rofe in Guienne
about the beginning of the fourteenth century, and
joining with fome Englilh parties, ravaged the coun¬
try, and let fire to the towns. Mezeray (uppofes
them to have confifted of the natural fons of the no¬
bility of Guienne, who being excluded the right of
inheriting from their fathers, put themfelves at the
head of robbers and plunderers to maintain them¬
felves.
Bastard Flower-fence. See A den anther a.—
The flowers of this plant bruifed and fteeped in milk
are faid to be gently anodyne ; for which purpofe they
are often given in the Welt Indies to quiet very young
children. The leaves are ufed inltead of fena in Bar-
badoes and the Leeward Iflands. In Jamaica, the plant
is called fena.
Bastard Hemp. See Datisca, Botany Index.
Bastard Rochet, Dyers Weed, or IVi/d Woad. See
Reseda Botany Index.
Bastard Star-of-Bethlehem. See Albuca, Botany
Index.
BASTARD-Scar/et is a name given to red dyed with
bale madder, as coming nearelt the bow-dye, or new
fcarlet.
BASTARDY, is a defedt of birth objedted to one
born out of wedlock. Euftathius will have baftards
among the Greeks to have been in equal favour wuth
legitimate children, as low as the Trojan w^ar ; but the
courfe of antiquity feems againft him. Potter and
others fhow, that there never w7as a time when baftar-
dy was not in difgrace.
In the time of William the Conqueror, however, ba-
ftardy feems not to have implied any reproach, if we
may judge from the circumftance of that monarch him-
felf not fcrupling to afiume the appellation of baftard.
His epiftle to Alan count of Bretagne begins, Ego
* T>u Cange, IVillielmus cognomento bafardus *.
Olofl.Lat. Bastardy, in relation to its trial in law, is diftin-
* l-P-502 guifhed into general and fpecial. General baftardy is
a certificate from the biftiop of the diocefe, to the
king’s juftices, after inquiry made, whether the party is
a baftard or not, upon fome queftion of inheritance.
Baftardy fpecial is a fuit commenced in the king’s
courts againft a perfon that calls another a baftard.
Arms of Bastardy Ihould be crofted with a bar,
fillet, or traverfe, from the left to the right. They wrere
not formerly allowed to carry the arms of their father,
and therefore they invented arms for themlelyes j and
this is Itill done by the natural fons of a king.
Right of Bastardy, Droit de batardife, in the French Batornac
Laws, is a right, in virtue w'hereof the eftedts of ba- |
ftards dying inteftate devolve to the king or the lord. ,
BASTARN/E, or Easterns, a people of German
original, manners, and language j who extended them¬
felves a great way to the eaft of the Viftula, the eaft:
boundary of Germany, among the Sarmatte, as far as
the mouth of the liter and the Euxine ; and were di¬
vided into feveral nations.
BASTARNICfE alpes, in Ancient Geography,
mountains extending between Poland, Hungary, and
Tranfylvania, called alfo the Carpates, and now the
Carpathian mountains.
BASTI, in Ancient Geography, a town of the pro¬
vince of Baetica in Spain, fituated to the wTeft of the
Campus Spartarius. Now Baxa in Granada.
BASTIA, a fea-port town of Albania in Turkey
in Europe, over againft the ifland of Corfu, at thef
mouth of the river Calamu. E. Long. lb. 35. N. Lat.
39. 40.
Bastia, the capital of the ifland of Corfica in the
Mediterranean. It has a good harbour, and is ftrong-
ly fortified. It is fituated on the eaftern part of-the
coaft, 70 miles fouth-louth-weft of Leghorn, in E.
Long. 9. 42. N. Lat. 42. 35.
BAS FILE, denotes a fmall antique caftle, fortified
W’ith turrets. Such wTas the Baltile of Paris, w'hich
feems to have been the laft caftle that retained the
name: it was begun to be built in 1369 by order of
Charles V. and was finilhed in 13 S3 under the reign
of his fucceftbr.—Its chief ule wras for the cuftody of
ftate prifoners ; or, more properly {peaking, for th«*
clandeftine purpofes of unfeeling d-efpotifm.
The lieutenant-general of the police of Paris was
the fub-delegate of the miniftry for the department of
the Baftile. He had under him a titular commiflary,.
who was called the commiftary of the Baftile. He
had a fixed falary for drawing up w-hat w7ere called in^
ftrudfions, but he did not do this exclufively. He had
no infpection or fundtion but in cafes where he receiv¬
ed orders : the reafon of which was that all that was/
done in this eaftle was arbitrary,.
Each prifoner on coming to the Baftile had an in¬
ventory made of every thing about him. Plis trunks,
clothes, linens, and pockets w^ere fearched, to difco-
ver whether there were any papers in them relative ter
the matter for which he was apprehended. It was not
ufual to fearch perfons of a certain rank 5 but they
were alked for their knives, razors,, feiflars, watches,
canes, jewels, and money. After this examination,
the prifoner was conduced into an apartment, where
he was locked up wfithin three doors. They who had
no fervants made their own bed and fire. The hour oi
dining was eleven, and of flipping fix.-
At the beginning of their confinement they had nei¬
ther books, ink, or paper; they went neither to mails,
nor on the wTalks j they wTere not allowed to write to
any one, not even to the lieutenant of the police, on
whom all depended, and of whom permiflion muft firli
have been afked by means of the major, who feldom-
refufed. At firft they w7ent to mafs only every other
Sunday. When a perfon had obtained leave to w-rite-
to the lieutenant of the police, he might have alked
his permiflion to write to his family, and to receivo*
their anfwers j to have with him his fervant or an at-
teudanlr,,
Bailile,
‘ BAS [ 454
tendant, See. which requefts were either granted or
^ refufed according to circumftances. Nothing could be
obtained but through this channel.
The officers of the ftaff took the charge of convey¬
ing the letters of the prifoners to the police. Tuey
■were fent regularly at noon and at night : but if they
deiired it, their letters were fent at any hour by ex-
prelfes, who were paid out of the money of thofe who
were confined. The anfwers were always addreffed to
the major, who communicated them to the priioner.
It no notice was taken of any requefi: contained in the
-letter of the prifoner, it was a refufal. The attend¬
ants whom they appointed for thofe who were not al¬
lowed their own fervants, or who had none of their
own, were commonly invalid foldiers.
Sometimes a prifoner obtained permiffion of having
books, his watch, knife, and razors, and even paper
and ink. He might have afked to fee the lieutenant
of the police when he came to the Baftile. This offi¬
cer commonly czufed prifoners to be brought down
fome days after their arrival. Sometimes he went to
vifit them in their chambers.
When the lieutenant of the police faw a prifoner,
the converfation turned upon the caufe of his confine¬
ment. He fometimes alked for written and figned de¬
clarations. In general, as much circumfpeftion was
neceffary in thefe conferences as in the examination it-
felf, fince nothing that a perfon might have faid or writ¬
ten was forgotten.
When a prifoner wanted to tranfmit any thing to
the lieutenant of the police, it was always by means of
the major. Notes might have been fent to this offi¬
cer by the turnkeys. A perfon w7as never anticipated
in any thing-—he muft have afked for every thing j
even for permiffion to be ffiaved. This office was per¬
formed by the furgeon ; who alfo furnilhed fick or in*
difpofed prifoners with fugar, coffee, tea, chocolate,
confections, and the neceffary remedies.
The time for walking was an hour a-day ; fbme-
-limes an hour in the morning and an hour in the even¬
ing, in the great court.
A prifoner might have been interrogated a few days
after his entrance into the Baftile, but frequently this
was not done till after fome weeks. Sometimes he was
previoufiy informed of the day when this was to be
done j often he was only acquainted wfith it the mo¬
ment he was brought down to the council-chamber.
This commiffion of interrogatory wras executed by the
lieutenant of the police, a counfellor of'ftate, a mafter
of requefts, a counfellor or a commiffioner of the Cha-
telet. When the lieutenant of the police did not him-
felf interrogate, he ufually came at the end of the exa¬
mination.
Thefe commiffioners were purely paffive beings. Fre¬
quently they attempted to frighten a prifoner; they
laid fnares for him, and employed the meaneft artifi¬
ces to get a confeffion from him. They pretended
proofs, exhibited papers, without fuffering him to read
them : afferting that they w7ere inftruments of unavoid¬
able conviction. Their interrogatories were always
vague. They turned not only on the prifoner’s words
and aCtions, but on his moft fecret thoughts, and on
the dbeourfe and conduCI of perfons of his acquaint¬
ance, whom it was wifhed to bring into queftion.
The examiners told a prifoner that his life was at
i
] BAS
ftake j that lus fate depended upon himfelf j that if he
would make a fair declaration, they were authorized to
Bafhle.
promife him a fpeedy releafe; but if he refufed to can-
fefs, he would be given up to a fpecial commiffion :
that they were in poffeffion of decifive documents, of
authentic proofs, mure than fufficient to ruin him $ that
his accomplices had dilcovered all ^ that the govern¬
ment had unknown refources, of which he could have
no fufpicion. They fatigued prifoners by varied and
infinitely multiplied interrogatories. According to
the pertons, they employed promiies, carefies, and me¬
naces. Sometimes they ufed iniults, and treated the
unhappy fufferers with an infolence that filled up the
meafure of that tyranny of which they were the bafe
inftruments.
If the prifoner made the1 required confeffion, the
commiffioners then told him that they had no precife
authority for his enlargement, but that they had every
reafon to expeft it ; that they were going to folicit it,
&c. The prifoner’s confeffions, far from bettering
his condition, gave occafion to new interrogatories,
often lengthened his confinement, drew in the perfons
with whom he had connexions, and expofed himfeli to
new vexations.
Although there wrere rules for all occafions, yet eve¬
ry thing wTas fubjeCt to exceptions arifing from influ¬
ence, recommendations, protection, intrigue, &.c. be-
caufe the firft principle in this place was arbitrary will.
Very frequently, perfons confined on the fame account
were treated very differently, according as their re¬
commendations w'ere more or lefs confiderable.
There xvas a library, founded by a foreign prifoner
who died in the Baftile in the beginning of the laft
century. Some prifoners obtained leave to go to it $
others, to have the books carried to their chambers.
The falfeft things were told the prifoners with an air
of fincerity and concern. “ It is very unfortunate that
the king has been prejudiced againft you. His ma-
jefty cannot hear your name mentioned without being
irritated. The affair for which you have loft your li¬
berty is only a pretext—they had defigns againft you
before—you have powerful enemies.” Thefe difeour-
fes were the etiquette of the place.
It would have been in vain for a prifoner to afk
leave to write to the king—he could never obtain it.
The perpetual and moft infupportable torment of
this cruel and odious inquifition, were vague, indeter¬
minate, falfe, or equivocal promifes, inexhauftible and
conftantly deceitful hopes of a fpeedy releafe, exhor¬
tations to patience, and blind conjeClures, of which
the lieutenant of the police and officers were very la-
vifh.
To cover the odium of the barbarities exercifed here,
and ftacken the zeal of relations or patrons, the moft
abfurd and contradiflory flanders againft a prifoner
were frequently publiffied. The true caufes of impri-
fonment, and real obftacles to releafe, were concealed.
Thefe refources, which were infinitely varied, were in¬
exhauftible.
When a prifoner who was known and prote&ed had
entirely loft his health, and his life was thought in
danger, he was always fent out. The miniftry did
not choofe that perfons well known ftiould die in the
Baftile. , It a prifoner did die there, he was interred
in the paxifti of St Paul, under the name of a domef-
tic ;
BAS
Baltile. tic *, and this falfity was written
—~v—J deaths, in order to deceive pofterity. There was ano¬
ther regifter in which the true names of the deceafed
were entered 5 but it wras not without great difficulty
that extracts could be procured from it. The commil-
fary of the Baftile muft hrft have been informed of the
ufe the family intended to make of the extra#.
In 1674 bag£a£e of Louis chevalier de Rohan,
grand huntfman of France, having been taken and
rummaged in a fkirmifh, fome letters were found which
caufed a fufpicion that he had treated with the Englifh
for the furrender of Havre de Grace. He was arreft-
ed and put into the Baftile. The Sieur de la Tuan-
derie his agent, concealed himfelf. I he proof wras
not fufficient. A commiffion was named to proceed
againft the accufed for treafon. La Tuanderie was
difcovered at Rouen : an attempt was made to arreft
him ; but he fired on the afiailaiits, and obliged them to
kill him on the fpot. Perfons attached to the chevalier
de Rohan went every evening round the Baftile, cry¬
ing through a fpeaking trumpet, “ La Tuanderie is
dead, and has faid nothing }” but the chevalier did
not hear them. The commiflioners, not being able
to get any thing from him, told him, “ that the king
knew all, that they had proofs, but only wifhed for his
own confeffion, and that they were authorized to pro-
mife him pardon if he would declare the truth.” The
chevalier, too credulous, confeflcd the whole. 1 hen
the perfidious commiflioners changed their language.
They faid, “ that with refpe# to the pardon, they
could not anfwxr for it 5 but that they had hopes of ob¬
taining it, and would go and folicit it,” This they
troubled themfelves very little about, and condemned
the criminal to lofe his head. He was condu#ed on
a platform to the fcaffbld, by means of a gallery raif-
ed to the height of the window of the armoury in the
arfenal, which looks towards the little fquare at the end
of the Rue des Tournelles. He was beheaded on No¬
vember 27. 1674.
The fefuits of the college of Clermont, in the
Rue St 'Jacques, Paris, having this fame year (1674)
invited the king (Louis XIV.) to honour with his
prefence a tragedy to be performed by their fcfrolars,
that prince accepted the invitation. Thefe able cour¬
tiers took care to infert in the piece feveral ftrokes of
flattery, with which the monarch, greedy of fuch in-
cenfe, was greatly pleafed. When the re#or of the
college was conducting the king home, a nobleman in
the train applauded the fuccefs of the tragedy. Louis
faid, “ Do you wonder at it ? this is my co/legey The
Jefuits did not lofe a w'ord* of this. The very fame
night they got engraved in large golden letters on
black marble, Collegium Lodovici Magni, inftead of
the former infcription which was placed beneath the
name of Jefus on the principal gate of the college
C Collegium Claramontanum Societatis Jefus); and in
the morning the new infcription wTas put up in place
of the old one. A young fcholar of quality, aged 13,
who was witnefs to the zeal of the reverend fathers,
made the two following verfes, which he polled up at
night on the college gate :
Akjlulit hinc Jefum, pofuitque infignia regis
Impia gens : ahum non colit ilia Deum.
The Jefuits did not fail to cry out facrilege : the
[ 455 1 B A S
the regifter of young author was difcovered, taken up, and put into
the Baftile. The implacable fociety caufed him, as a
matter of favour, to be condemned to perpetual im-
prifonment 5 and he wTas transferred to the citadel of
the ifle St Marguerite. Several years after, he was
brought back to the Baftile. In 1705 he had been a
prifoner 31 years. Having become heir to all his fa¬
mily, who pofleffed great property, the Jefuit Rique-
let, then confeffor of the Baftile, remonftrated to his
brethren on the necefflty of reftoring the prifoner to
liberty. The golden ihower wThich forced the tow'er
of Danae had the fame effe# on the caftle of the
Baftile. The Jefuits made a merit with the prifoner
of the proteClion they granted him ; and this man of
rank, whofe family would have become extinCl with¬
out the aid of the lociety, did not fail to give them ex-
tenfive proofs of his gratitude.
Nowhere elfe on earth, perhaps, has human mifery,
by human means, been rendered fo lafting, fo com¬
plete, or fo remedilefs. This the following cafe may
fuffice to evince ; the particulars of which are traaf-
lated from that elegant and energetic writer M. Mer-
cier. The heinous offence which merited an imprifon-
ment fur palling torture and rendering death a bleffing,
though for obvious reafons not fpecified by our author,
is known from other fources to have confifted in fome
unguarded expreflions implying difrefpeft concerning
the late Gallic monarch Louis XV.
Upon the acceflion of Louis XVI. to the throne, the
minifters then in office, moved by humanity, began their
adminiftration with an aCt of clemency and juftice ;
they infpeCted the regifters of the Baftile, and let many
prifoners at liberty. Among thofe there was an old
man w7ho had groaned in confinement for 47 years be¬
tween four thick and cold ftone-walls. Hardened
by adverfity, which ftrengthens both the mind and the
conftitution, when they are ^ot overpowered by it, he
had refilled the horrors of his long imprifonment with
an invincible and manly fpirit. His locks white, thin,
and fcattered, had almoft acquired the rigidity of iron 5.
whilft his body, environed for fo long a time by a cof¬
fin of ftone, had borrowed from it a firm and compa#
habit. The narrow door of his tomb, turning upon
its grating hinges, opened not as ufual by halves ; and
an unknown voice announced his liberty, and bade him
depart. Believing this to be a dream, he hefitated 5
but at length rofe up arid walked forth with trembling
fteps, amazed at the fpace he traverfed : The flairs of
the prifon, the halls, the court, feemed to him vaft, im-
menfe, and almoft; without bounds. He flopped from
time to time, and gazed around like a bewildered tra¬
veller : His vifton w'as with difficulty reconciled to the
clear light of day : He contemplated the heavens as a
new objeft: His eyes remained fixed, and he could not
even wreep. Stupified with the newly acquired power
of changing his pofition, his limbs, like his tongue, re-
fufed, in fpite of bis efforts, to perform their office ; at
length he got through the formidable gate.
When he felt the motion of the carriage prepared to
tranfport him to his former habitation, he fereamed cut,
and uttered fome inarticulate founds ; and as he could
not bear this new movement, he was obliged to de-
feend. Supported by a benevolent arm, he fought
out the ftreet where he had formerly refided : he foun4
it, but no trace of his houfe remained 5 one of the pub¬
lic
Ballile.
BAS [
iic edifices occupied the fpot where it had flood.
now faw nothing that brought to his recollection, either
that particular quarter, the city itfelf, or the objects
with which he had formerly been acquainted. The
houfes of his neareft neighbours, which were frefli in his
memory, had aflumed a new appearance. In vain were
his looks direfted to all the objeCts around him ; he
•could difcover nothing of which he had the fmalleft re-
■membrancfe. Terrified, he flopped and fetched a deep
digh. To him, what did it import that the city was
peopled with living creatures > None of them were alive
to him; he w^as unknown to all the world, and he knew
nobody : And whilft he wept, he regretted his dun¬
geon.
At the name of the Baftile, which he often pro¬
nounced and even claimed as an afylum, and the fight
of his clothes that marked a former age, the crowd
gathered round him : curiofity, blended wfith pity ex¬
cited their attention. The moft aged alked him many
queftions, but had no remembrance of the circumftances
he recapitulated. At length accident brought in his
way an ancient domeftic, now a fuperannuated porter,
who, confined to his lodge for 15 years, had barely
fufficient ftrength to open the gate :—Even he did not
know the mafter he had ferved; but informed him that
grief and misfortune had brought his wife to the grave
30 years before, that his children were gone abroad to
diftant climes, and that of all his relations and friends
none now remained. This recital was made with the
indifference which people difcover for events long paf-
fed, and almoff forgot. The miferable man groaned,
and groaned alone. The crowd around, oft'ering on¬
ly unknown features to his view, made him feel the ex¬
cels of his calamities even more than he would have
done in the dreadful folitude that he had left.
Overcome with forrow, he prefented himfelf before
the minifter to whofe humanity he owed that liberty
which was now a burden to him. Bowing down, he
faid, “ Reftore me again to that prifon from which
you have taken me : I cannot furvive the lofs of my
neareft relations; of my friends ; and, in one word, of
a whole generation : Is it poflible in the fame moment
to be informed of this univerfal deftnnftion, and not
to wilh for death ? This general mortality, which to
the reft of mankind comes flowly and by degrees, has
to me been inftantaneous, the operation of a moment.
Whilft fecluded from fociety, I lived with myfelf only;
but here I neither can live with rnyfelf nor with this
new race, to whom my anguith and defpair appear on¬
ly as a dream. 1 here is nothing terrible in dying;
but it is dreadful indeed to be the laft.” The minifter
was melted ; he caufed the old domeftic to attend this
unfortunate perfon, as only he could talk to him of his
family.^ This difcourfe was the Angle confolation that
he received : for he fhunned all intercourfe with a new
race, born fince he had been exiled from the world ;
and he paffed his time in the midft of Paris in the fame
iolitude as he had done whilft confined in a dungeon
for almoft hall a century. But the chagrin and morti¬
fication of meeting no perfon who could fay to him, We
were formerly known to one another, foon put an end
to his exiftence.
Such was the nature of this celebrated fortrefs.
Many of our readers will probably recoiled! that it was
attacked and taken by the Parifian mob on the 14th
456 ]
He July 1789.
B A S
At that time only feven prifoners were Baftimen.
found in it, and it did not appear that any of them were
the victims of tyranny or wanton oppreffion.
BAS PIMENTOS, the name of fome fmall ifiands <
near Terra Firma in South America, at the mouth of
the bay of Nombre de Dios.
BASTINADO. See Bastonado.
BASTION, in the modern fortification, a huge
mafs of earth, faced ufually with fods, fometimes with
brick, and rarely with ftone, Handing out from a ram¬
part whereof it is a principal part, and is what, in the
ancient fortification, was called a bulwark.
Solid Bastions, are thofe that have the void fpace
within them filled up entirely, and railed of an equal
height with the rampart.
Void and Hollow Bastions, are thofe that are only
furrounded with a rampart and parapet, having the
fpace within void and empty, where the ground is fo
low, that, if the rampait be taken, no retrenchment can
be made in the centre, but what will lie.under the fire
of the befieged.
Flat Bastion, is a baftion built in the middle of the
curtain, when it is too long to be defended by the ba¬
ftion at its extremes.
Cut Bastion, is that whofe point is cut off, and in-
ftead thereof has a re-entering angle, or an angle in¬
wards, with two points outwards; and is ufed either
when without fuch a contrivance the angle would be
too acute, or when water or fome other impediment
hinders the carrying on the baftion to its full extent.
Cotnpofed Bastion, is when two fides of the interior
polygon are very unequal, which makes the gorges alfo
unequal.
Deformed Bastion, is when the irregularity of the
lines and angles makes the baftion out of Ihape; as w hen
it Wyants one of its demigorges, one fide of the interior
polygon being too ftiort.
Demi Bastion, is compofed of one face only, and
but one flank, and a demigorge.
Double Bastion, is that which is raifed on the plane
of another baftion.
Regular Bastion, is that which has its true propor¬
tion of faces, flanks, and gorges.
Bastion of France, a fortrefs on the coaft of Bar¬
bary, belonging to the French.
BAST1TANI, in Ancient Geography, a people of
the province of Baetica in Spain. See Bastica.
BASTOIGNE, a fmall towm of the Netherlands,
in the duchy of Luxemburgh. E. Long. 6. o. N. Lat.
JO. 10.
BASTON, in Law, one of the fervants to the war¬
den of the Fleet-prifon, who attended the king’s courts
with a red ftaff, for taking into cuftody fuch as are
committed by the court. He alfo attends on fuch pri¬
foners as are permitted to go at large by licenfe.
Easton, or Battoon, in Archite&ure, a moulding in
the bale of a column, called alfo a tore.
Easton, Baton, or Batune. This word is French,
and fignifies a ftaff or cudgel: it ftiould be fpelt Baton;
but is, by moft Englilh waiters, corruptly fpelt as
above. It is only borne in Englifh coats of arms, as
a badge of illegitimacy ; but French heralds intro¬
duce it in arms as a difference, or mark of confan-
guinity. _
BASTON, Robert, a Carmelite monk, afterwards
prior
tos
II
Ballon.
BAT [ 4J7 ] BAT
thftonado piriof of the convent of that order at Scarborough,
i! and alfo poet laureat and public orator at Oxford,
Lat-Fowl- flouriflied jn t]ie fourteenth century. King Edward I.
t In^‘- . in his expedition into Scotland in 1304, took Ro¬
bert Ballon wdth him, in order to celebrate his vic¬
tories over the Scots 5 but our poet being taken pri-
foner, was obliged to change his note, and ling the
fucceffes of Robert Bruce. Pie wrote feveral books
in Latin, on the Wars of Scotland, the Luxury of
Pi lefts, Synodical Sermons, &c.*, and alfo a volume of
tragedies and comedies, in Englifli. He died about
the year 1310.
BASTONADO, Bastonade, the puniftiment of
beating or drubbing a criminal with a flick. The wmrd
is formed of the French bajlon, a “ flick” or “ ftaff.”
The baftonade was a puniftiment ufed both among the
ancient Greeks, Romans, and Jews, and ftill obtains
among the Turks. The Romans called it fi/JHgatio,
fujliutn adthonitio, or fujiibus aedi; which difl'ered from
the Jlagellatio, as the former was done with a flick, the
latter with a rod, or fcourge. The fuftigation was* a
lighter puniftiment, and inflifted on freemen 5 the fla¬
gellation a feverer, and referved for Haves. It was alfo
called tympanum, becaufe the patient here was beat rvith
flicks, like a drum.-^-The puniftiment is much in ufe in
the eaft to this day. The method there pradlifed is
thus : the criminal being laid on his belly, his feet are
raifed, and tied to a flake, held fall by ofticers for the
purpofe ; in wftiich pollute he is beaten by a cudgel on
the foies of his feet, back, chin, &c. to the number of
100 or riiore blows.
BASTWICK, Dr John, born at Writtle in Eflex,
in 159.3 » pradlifed phyfic at Colchefter ; but being a
Inan of warm imagination, and a good Latin fcholar,
applied himfelf to writing books againft popery. A-
bout the year 1633, he printed in Holland a Latin
treatife, entitled, Elehchus religionis Pcpijlicce, with
Flagellum pontijicis et epifcoparutn Latialium, in which
the Englifti prelates thinking themfelves alio aimed at,
he was fined 1000I. in the high commiflion court* ex¬
communicated, prohibited pradliling phyfic, his books
ordered to be burnt, and himfelf to remain in prifon
Until he made a recantation. Inflead of recanting, he
wrote in prifon, Apologeticus ad prcefules Anglicanos;
and another book called, Fhe Litany ; wherein he fe-
verely exclaimed agaiiill the proceedings of that court,
and taxed the biftiops wdth an inclination towards
popery. Prynne and Burton coming under the lafti of
the ftar-chamber court at the fame time, they were all
Cenfured as fcandalous feditious perfons, condemned to
a fine of 5000I. each, to be pilloried, to lofe their
ears, and to perpetual imprifonment in three remote
parts of the kingdom* The parliament in 1640 rever-
fed thefe proceedings ; and ordered Dr Baft wick a re¬
paration of 5000I. out of the eftates of the commiflion-
ers and lords who had profecuted him, W'hich the en-
fuirvg confufions prevented his receiving : howTever, his
wufe had, in 1644, an allowance ordered for her and
her hufband’s maintenance. What became of him af¬
terward is not known.
BAT, [nZoolpgy. See Vespertilio, Mammalia
Index.
Bat-Fowling, a method of catching birds in the
night, by lighting fome ftraw', or torches, near the
place where they are at rooft; j for upon beating them
Vol. HI. Part II.
up, they fly to the flame, where, being amazed, they
are eafily caught in nets, or beat down with bufttes
fixed to the end of poles, &c.
Bat, Bate, or Batu,, a fmall copper coin, mixed
with a little filver, current in feveral cities of Germa¬
ny : it is worth four crutzers* It is alfo a coin in
Switzerland, current at five livres, or 100 fols, French
money.
EATABLE, or Debatable, ground, that land
wdtich lay between Scotland and England, when the
kingdoms were diftindl, to which both nations pre¬
tended a right*
BATACALA, a fmall kingdom on the coaft of
Malabar in the Eaft Indies. It had a very large tow n
of the fame name j but there is nothing now left, ex¬
cept 11 or 12 fmall pagods covered with copper and
ftone. The country produces a good deal of pepper :
the Englifti formerly had a faftory here ; but were all
maffacred by the natives, becaufe one of their bull¬
dogs had killed a confecrated cowv
Batacala, a fortified towm and caftle on the eaft:
coaft of the ifland of Ceylon in the Eaft Indies. The
Dutch drove awTaythe Portuguefe, and poffefled them¬
felves of part of the adjacent country. E. Long. 18,
3. N. Lat. 7. 55.
BATANISTS, orBATENiTEs. See Batenites*
BATASEK, a towm of Lowrer Hungary, feated on
the Danube, in E. Long. 19. 50. N. Lat. 46. 30.
BATAVA (Cajlra underftood), a citadel of Vin-
delicia, fo called from the Cohors Batava, in garrifon
under the commander in Rhaetia i nowr Paffau: being
firft called Batnu, from the Batavi; then Bajfau, and
Pajfiau ; fituated in Bavaria, at the confluence of the
Danube, Inn, and Ills. See Passau.
BATAVIA, the capital of the Dutch fettlements
in the Eaft Indies; a city of the kingdom of Bantam
in the ifland of Java. See Java.
BATAVORUM insula, the ifland of the Bata¬
vians, in Ancient Geography. Of this ifland Tacitus
gives the following defcription. “ The Rhine flowing
in one channel, or only broken by fmall iflands, is divi¬
ded at its entering Batavia, as it were into twro rivers.
One continues its courfe through Germany, retaining
the fame name, and violent current, till it falls into the
ocean. The other w-aftiing the coaft of Gaul, with a
broader and more gentle ftteam, is called by the inha¬
bitants Vahalis ; w hich name it foon changes for that
of Mofa, by the immenfe mouth of which river it dif-
charges itfelf into the fame ocean.” According to
Tacitus, therefore, the ifland of the Batavians was
bounded by the ocean, the Rhine, and the Vahalis,
now the Wale. Casfar extends it to the Mofa, or
Meufe ; but Pliny agrees with Tacitus. However, this
illand was of greater extent in Tacitus’s time than in
Caefar’s ; Drufus, the father of Germanicus, having by
a new canal conveyed the waters of the Rhine into
the ocean a confiderable way north of the former mouth
of that river. The Batavi were a branch pf the Catti,
who in a domellic fedition, being expelled their coun¬
try, occupied the extremity of the coaft of Gaul, at
that time uninhabited, together wdth this ifland fituated
among ftioals. Their name Batavi they carried with
them from Germany ; there being fome towns in the
territory of the Catti called Battenberg, and Batten-
haufen. The bravery of the Batavi, efpecially the
3 M horfe*
bat [ 458 ] B A
Batavorum hone, procured them not pnly great honour from the printed in one volume in folio.
Bates. R°mans» being called their brothers and friends ; but
ari exemption from taxes, being obliged only to fur nidi
men and arms. The modern name of this illand is
Beta, or Betaw.
Batavorvm Oppidum, in Slncient Geography, a town
in the ifland of the Batavi, mentioned by Tacitus,
■without any particular name j which has given rife to
ieveral furmifes about it, fome fuppcfing it to be Nime-
g’len, but Cluverius, Batavadurum or Batetnburg, both
without the ifland ; which fituation renders both thefe
places inadmiflible, fince Tacitus places this namelefs
town within the ifland.
BATCHELOR. See Bachelor.
BATE, George, an eminent phyfician, born at
Maid’s Morton, near Buckingham, in the year 1608.
In 1629 he obtained a licenfe, and for fome years
pra&ifed in and about Oxford : his pra&ice was chiefly
amongft the Puritans, who at that time confidered him
as one of their party. In 1637, he took his degree
of dodlor in phyfic, and became very eminent in his
profeflion, fo that when King Charles kept his court at
Oxford, he was his principal phyfician. When the
king’s affairs declined, Dr Bate removed to London,
where he accommodated himfelf fo well to the times, that
he became phyfician to the Charter-houfe, fellow of the
college of phyficians, and afterwards principal phyfician
to Oliver Cromwell. Upon the Reftoration, he got into
favour with the royal party, was made principal phy¬
fician to the king, and fellow of the Royal Society j
and this, we are told, was owing to a report railed on
purpofe by his friends, according to Mr Wood, that
he gave the proteflor a dofe which haftened his death.
Dr Bate wrote in Latin an account of the late commo¬
tions in England, and fome other pieces. He died
at his houfe in Hatton-garden, and was buried at
Kingfton upon Thames in Surry.—There was another
George Bate, who wrote a w ork entitled, “ The Lives,
Adlions, and Execution, of the prime A flors and prin¬
cipal Contrivers of that horrid Murther of our late
pious and facred King Charles I.”
BATEN1TES, a fe<5t of apoftates from Mahome-
tanifm difperfed through the Eaft, who profeffed the
fame abominable praftices with the Ifmaelians and
Karmatians. The wmrd properly fignifies efoteric, or
people of inward or hidden light.
BATES, William, D. D. an eminent Prelbyterian
divine, born in November 1625. He was admitted in
Emanuel college, Cambridge, and from thence removed
to King’s college in 1644. He was one of the com-
xniflioners, at the conference in the Savoy, for review¬
ing the public liturgy, and was concerned in drawung
up the exceptions againft the common Prayer : how¬
ever, foon after the Reftoration, he was appointed chap¬
lain to King Charles II. and became minifter of St
Dunllan’s in the weft, but was deprived of that benefice
for nonconformity. Dr Bates bore a good and amiable
chara&er; and was honoured with the friendfhip of
the lord keeper Bridgman, the lord chancellor Finch,
the earl of Nottingham, and Archbiftiop Tillotfon. He
was offered, at the Reftoration, the deanery of Litch¬
field j which he refufed. He publifhed Seleft Lives of
illuftrious and pious perfons, in Latin ; and fince his
death, all his works, except his Select Lives, have been
He died in July 24.
1699, in the 74th year of his age. '
BA I H, a city of Somerfetftiire in England, feated
in W. Long. 2. 30. N. Lat. 51. 27. All the different
names that this city has borne in different ages and
languages have been taken from its medicinal waters,
as the v^etrec or “ hot waters,” of Ptolemy j the
sdquce So/is, or “ waters of the fun,” of Antoninus;
the Caer Baden, and Caer Ennant, i. e. “ the city of
baths,” and “ the city of ointment,” of the Britons j
and the Achnwnchejler, i. e. “ the city of valetudina¬
rians,” of the Saxons. The baths confift of the King’s
bath, the Queen’s bath, the Crofs-bath, the Hot-bath,
the Leper’s bath, and the duke of Kingfton’s bath.
This place w’as of old a refort only for cripples and
difeaied perfons j but now it is more frequented by the
found for pleafure than by the fick for health. The
waters are very pleafant to the tafte ; and impregnated
with a vitriolic principle, yielding, upon evaporation,
a little neutral fait, and a calcareous earth and iron.
They are very efficacious in ftrengthening the bowels
and ftomach, bracing the relaxed fibres, and invigora¬
ting the circulation. In bilious complaints they are
counted fpecific ; and prove feiviceable in moft ner¬
vous, paralytic, rheumatic, and gouty, complaints. At
the King’s bath is a handfome pump-room, where the
gentlemen and ladies go in a morning to drink the wa¬
ters ; and there is a band of mufic that plays all the
the time. In the Crofs-bath is a monument of marble,
reprefenting the defcent of the Holy Ghoft attended
by angels, erefted by the earl of Melfort (who was fe-
cretary of ftate for Scotland) when King James II.
met his queen here. The King’s bath is a large bafon
of 65 feet 10 inches by 40 feet 10 inches, containing
346 tons 2 hogftieads and 36 gallons of w’ater when
filled to its ufual height. In the middle is a wooden
building wdth niches and feats for the acccmmodation
of the bathers. There are alfo iron rings all round
for them to hold by j and guides, both male and fe¬
male, to attend them in the bath. The perfon intend¬
ing to bathe puts on, at his own lodgings, a bathing
drefs of brown canvas hired for the purpofe } and is
carried in a clofe chair, of a particular make, to one of
the flips which open into the bath. There he defcends
by fteps into the water, where he is attended by a
guide. Having ftaid his ftated time in the bath, he
afcends again into the flip, where he puts off his ba-
thing-drefs, and being wrapt up in blankets, is carried
home to bed, w here he lies for fome time to encourage
perfpiration. The King’s-bath is overlooked by the
company in the pump-room ; and adjoining to it are
places furniftied with pumps to pour the hot ftreams on
any particular part of the body. The Queen’s-bath
communicates with the King’s, from which it is filled j
therefore the w'ater of it is not fo hot, being at a great¬
er diftance from the fource. As the heat is here more
moderate, the bathers defcend firft into the Queen’s-
bath, and advance gradually to the centre of the other.
In the year 1755, the abbey-houfe, or priory, belong¬
ing to the duke of Kingfton, was taken dow n, in order
to ereft a more commodious pile of building ; and in
digging for the foundation, the workmen difcovered,
about twenty feet below the furface of the earth, the
remains of Roman baths and fudatories conftru£led up¬
on
BatJk
B, A T [ 459 J ' BAT
Bath, on an elegant plan, with floors fufpended on pillars,
■—-y—■■■' and furrounded with tubulated bricks, for the convey¬
ance of heat and vapour. Thefe were fupplied by a
fpring of hot water, of the fame properties and tempe¬
rature with thofe of the King’s-bath j and the fewer
was found ftill entire, that conveyed the wafte water
into the river. The duke, having cleared the fpring
and the fewer, has erefted feveral convenient baths and
fudatories on the fpot, where invalids may be accommo¬
dated at all hours, by night as well as by day. The
two fealons are the fpring and fall •, but thofe w;ho take
the waters purely for their health do not regard the
feafons, but drink them all the year round. There are
a number of genteel fedan chairs, which carry people
to any diftance, not exceeding half a mile, for iixpence.
The company affemble in the afternoon alternately at
two ftately rooms, to converfe together, or play at
cards. At a very pretty new theatre near the parades,
plays are ailed every other night j and there are balls
twice a-wreek *, for w’hich and the rooms, and books at
the libraries, the gentry generally fubfcribe. The ci¬
ty is furrounded with hills on all fides, except a little
opening to the eaft and weft, through which the Avon
runs. This river, which has been made navigable to
Briftol by ait of parliament, wadies the city on the
eaft and fouth fldes, and there is an elegant bridge over
it. This city hath formerly had a flight wrall, of which
fome part ftill remains, as well as one or two of its
gates y but almoft all the new buildings, and much the
greateft and fineft part of the city, is without the walls,
particularly the fine fquare called ^ueen's-fquarey in
the middle of ivhich is a fmall garden, with gravel
walks, and an obelifk in the centre. But the greateft
ornament at Bath is the circus : it is of a circular
form, confifting of houfes built on an uniform plan,
with three openings at equal diftances to the fouth,
cart, and -weft, leading into as many ftreets. The
fronts of the houfes, which are all three ftories high,
are adorned with three rows of columns in pairs, of the
23oric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, the frize em-
belliftied with fculpture. The whole has an air of mag¬
nificence, which cannot fail to ftrike the moft indifferent
fpeftator. In the centre of the area is a refervoir, or
bafon, filled by two or three fprings rifing in the neigh¬
bouring hills $ wdience the ftreets in this diftrift are
Supplied with water. On the fouth fide of the town
are the north and fouth parades, two noble walks,
paved with hewn ftone, raifed upon arches, facing each
an elegant row of houfes on one fide, and having a ftone
baluftrade on the other. Thefe, wfith the two ftreets
that join them, were planned and executed by one
Mr Wood, an able architeft, who likewife built the
fquare and proje&ed the circus. The two public
rooms (land betwixt the north parade and Orange-
grove which laft is a fquare planted with trees, hav¬
ing in the middle a ftone obelifk, infcribed in Latin
to the late prince of Orange, w ho recovered his health
in confequence of drinking the Bath waters, and gave
his name to this part of the town. Several newr ftreets
and row's have of late years been built on the north
fide of Bath, in the neighbourhood of the fquare, fuch
as Gay-ftreet, Milfom-ftreet, Edgar-row, Harlequin-
row, Bladud’s-buildings, King’s-mead-ftreet, and
Brock-ftreet. Their advantages for building here are
very great, having excellent freeftone, limeftone, and
flate, in the neighbourhood. One fort of their lime is Bath,
as white as fnow. The guild-hall of Bath Hands in y~~
the market-place, and is faid to be built on a plan of
Inigo Jones, which, however, exhibits nothing wTorthy
of that great architeft : befides, one end of it has been
rebuilt in a different ftyle. The hall is ornamented with
fome portraits of the late prince of Wales and other re¬
markable perfonages : but the greateft curiofity of the
place is a Minerva’s head in bronze, a real antique, dug
up in Stall-ftreet, in the year 1725. Bath boafts a
noble infirmary, or general hofpital, for the reception
of the fick and lame from all parts of the three king¬
doms. It extends 100 feet in front, and 90 in depth,
being capable of receiving 150 patients. Here was
anciently a monaftery, of which the prefent cathedral
was the church. It is a veriferable pile j the principal
front of which is adorned with angels afeending and
defeending. There are three other churches in Bath,
and feveral chapels and meeting-houfes. Befides the
infirmary, there are feveral other hofpitals, alms-
houfes, and charity fchools. The corporation confifts
of a mayor j eight aldermen, of whom two are juftices
of the peace 5 and 24 common-council men. The
city is extremely well provided with ftage coaches,
poll coaches, chaifes, machines, and waggons. Bath
is the general hofpital of the nation, and a great num¬
ber of invalids find benefit from the waters : but as the
city lies in a bottom furrounded by very high hills, the
air is conftantly furcharged with damps $ and indeed
this place is more fubjeft to rain than any other part in
England. The markets are remarkably well fupplied
with provifions of all kinds at reafonable rates, parti¬
cularly fiftt and poultry. They alfo afford excellent
mutton fed upon Lanfdowm, one of the higheft hills
that overlook the city. This down, remarkable for its
pure air, extends about three miles j and at the extre¬
mity of it there is a ftone monument, with an inferip-
tion, eredled to the memory of Sir Beville Granville,
who was here killed in a battle which he fought with
the parliament’s army in the reign of Charles I. Bath
fends two members to parliament. The earldom of
Bath was beftowed on William Pultney in the end of
Sir Robert Walpole’s adminiftration as a reward for
his patriotifm, but is now extindl for want of heirs-
male.
Bath is joined with Wells to form a bifhopric, called
the diocefe of Bath and Wells. The bifliop’s feat is at
Wells, whofe cathedral church was built by Ina, king
of the Weft Saxons in 704, and by him dedicated to
St Andrew. Several other of the Weft Saxon kings
endowed it, and it was erefled into a bifhopric in 90 c,
during the reign of King Edward the Elder. The
prefent church was begun by Robert the 18th biftiop
of this fee, and completed by his immediate fucceffork
John de Villula, the 16th biftiop, having purchafed the
city of Bath for 500 merks of King Henry I. tranf-
ferred his feat to that city in 1088. From this, dif-
putes arofe between the monks of Bath and the canons
of Wells, about the eleflion of a bifhop ; but they were
at laft compromifed by Robert the 18th biftiop, who
decreed, that from henceforw'ard the biftiop ftiould be
ftyled from both places, and that the precedency ftiould
be given to Bath 5 that in the vacancy of the fee, the
bifliop ftiould be defied by a certain number of dele¬
gates from both churches ; and that he ftiould be in-
3 M 2 flailed
Bath.
BAT [ 460
ftalled in them both ; both of them to conftitute the
biihop’s chapter *, and all his grants and patents to be
confirmed in both. So it Hood till the reformation.
But in the 35th of King Henry VIII. an act of par¬
liament pafled for the dean and chapter of Wells to
make one foie cha’pter for the bifhop. This diocefe
hath yielded to the church of Rome one cardinal, and
to the civil date of England fix lord chancellors, five
lord treafurers, one lord privy feal, one lord prefident
of Wales, and principal fecretary of Hate. The dio¬
cefe contains the whole county of Somerfet, except a
few churches in the city of Briftol j the number of pa-
rilhes amounting to 388, and the churches and cha¬
pels to 503. Of the parilhes 160 are impropriate. It
is valued in the king’s books at 535I. is. 3d, and
computed to be rvorth annually 2200I. The clergy’s
tenth is 353I. 18s. o^d. To the cathedral belong a
biihop, a dean, three archdeacons, a chancellor, a trea-
furer, a fub-dean, fifty-nine prebendaries, four prielf-
vicars, eight lay vicars, an organift, fix ehorilters, and
other officers.
Knights of the Bath, a military order in England,
concerning the origin of which antiquaries differ in
their accounts. The molt probable deduction feems
to be the following.
The knighthood of the Bath is fuppofed to have
been pradtifed by the ancient Franks, the inhabitants
of Lower Germany, with whom it is highly probable
the Saxons, who invaded England, had the fame com¬
mon defcent, and, with other cuitoms, upon their fet¬
tling here, introduced the fame method of knighthood.
Thefe ancient Franks, when they conferred knight¬
hood, obferved, amongft other folemn rites, bathing
before they performed their vigils ; which cuftom con¬
tinues to be pradlifed in England : they were from
thence denominated Knights of the Bath.
In the reign of Henry IV. there rvas a degree of
knighthood fpecified under the exprefs appellation of
the Bath. That king, on the day of his coronation
in the tower of London, conferred the fame upon 46
efquires, who had watched all the night before, and
had bathed themfelves. From that time it was cufto-
mary with our kings to confer this dignity preceding
their coronations, the coronations of their queens, the
birth and marriage of the royal iffue, and their firlt
advancement to honours, upon their defigned expedi¬
tions againft their foreign enemies, upon inftallations
of knights of the garter, and when feme grand anni-
verfary feftivals were celebrated. The laft knights of
the Bath fo made were at the coronation of King
Charles II. in 1661 ; after which the order was ne¬
glected until the year 1725, when George I. was plea-
led to revive it, and to order a book of ftatutes'for the
government of the order. By this the number of
knights is fixed to 38, viz. the fovereign, and 37
knights-companions.
The apparel of a knight of the Bath is a red fur-
coat, lined and edged with white, girded about with
a white girdle, without any ornament thereon; the
mantle is of the fame colour and lining, made faff a-
bout the neck with a lace of white filk, having a pair
of white gloves tied therein, with taffels of filk and
gold at the end ; which mantles are adorned upon the
left (boulders with the enfign of the order, being three
imperial crowns cr, furrounded with the ancient mot-
] B A T
to of this knighthood, Tria junEla in uno, wrought
upon a circle gules, with a glory or rays iffuing from
the centre, and under it the lace of white filk hereto¬
fore worn by the knights of the Bath. They have
red^ breeches and (lockings, and have white hats, with
a plume of white feathers thereon. The king allowed
the chapel of King Henry VII. to be the chapel of
the order, and ordered that each knight’s banner,
with plates of his arms and ftyle, Ihould be placed over
their feveral flails, in l^ke manner as the knights of
the Garter in St George chapel in the caftle of Wind-
for } and he allowed them fupporters to their arms. His
Royal Highnefs Prince William, fecond fon to the
prince of Wales, on this occafion, was made the firit
knight-companion, and his grace the duke of Mon-
tagu grand mafter of the order, the dean of Weftmin-
ffer (for the time being) dean of the order ; the other
officers ot which are, Bath king of arms, a genealo-
gift, regilter and fee rotary, gentleman ufiier, and mef-
fenger.
Bath, Balneum, a convenient receptacle of water
for perfons to wa(h or plunge in, either for health or
pleafure.—Baths are diffinguiffied into hot and cold;
and thefe again are either natural or artificial. The
natural hot baths are formed of the water of hot
fprings, of which there are many in different parts of
the world ; efpecially in thofe countries where there
are or have evidently been volcanoes. The artificial
hot baths confift either of water or of feme other fluid
made hot by art. The cold bath confiffs of water,
either frelh or fait, in its natural degree of heat 5 or it
may be made colder by art, as by a mixture of nitre,
fal-ammoniac, &c. The chief hot baths in our coun¬
try are thofe of Bath and Brirtol, in Somerfetlliire ;
and thofe others of Buxton and Matlock, in Derby-
fliire *, which latter, however, are rather warm or te¬
pid than hot. The ufe of thefe baths is found benefi¬
cial in difeaies of the head, as palfies, &c. in cuticu-
lar difeaies, as leprolies, &c. obffrudtions and confti-
pations of the bowels, the feurvy and ftone, and in
molt difeafes of women and children. The baths have
performed many cures, and are commonly ufed as a
lart remedy in obftinate chronic difeafes ; where they
fucceed well, if they agree with the conffitution of the
patient : but whether they will agree or not, cannot
be known without trial.
As to the origin of thofe hot waters, of which the
natural hot baths are formed, we are very much in the
dark. All that can be affirmed with certainty is, that
where there are volcanoes, there alfo there are hot
fprings in great abundance 5 but how the heat of the
volcano (hould be conftantly communicated to the wa¬
ters of a fpring for many ages, during a great part of
which the volcano itfelf has lain in a dormant ftate,
feems almoft beyond the reach of inveftigation. Ano¬
ther thing that creates a great difficulty is, that the
fire of a volcano muff certainly lie very deep in the
earth, and moft probably (hifts from place to place \
but the waters of a fpring muff always iffue from a
place fituated lower than the origin of the fpring itfelf.
Befides, though we (hould fuppofe the water to come
from the top of a volcano itfelf, and confequently boil¬
ing hot, it could not be fuppofed to percolate far
through cold earth, without lofing all the heat it ac¬
quired from the volcano. From feme obfervations,
however^
Bath.
BAT [ 461 ] BAT
"Batlis. 'however, it certainly does appear, that there are fome
—v ' fpots on the earth which have a powder of producing
heat within themfelves, independent of any thing fo¬
reign ; and that water is fo far from being able to de-
llroy this power, that it feems rather to promote and
continue it. We know that water hath this effect up¬
on a mixture of iron filings and fulphur ; but whatever
quantities of fimilar fubltances we may fuppofe to be
contained in the earth, we muft alfo fuppofe to be de-
11 royed by one great conflagration foon after they have
begun to a£t upon each other, fo that by their means
no lading heat in waters could be produced. Dr Stuke-
ly indeed would folve this, and feveral other pheno¬
mena, by making the fire and fmoke of volcanoes the
effie&s of electricity : but here fufficient proof is want¬
ing $ for eleCtricity, even in its mod powerful date, is
not very apt to fet bodies on fire. The thought, how¬
ever, deferves attention ; for if eleCtricity is capable
of fetting a volcano on fire, it is undoubtedly capable
of producing folfaterras where it meets with proper
materials, and from them fprings of any degree of
heat.
The cold bath is found one of the mod univerfal
and innocent remedies yet difcovered, though dill its
life is not to be adopted without precautions.
Baths in vapour, the fume or deam of fome de-
coCtion is received upon the body to promote a per-
fpiration.—-Fhefe are alfo by fome called Balnea La-
conica.
Vapour baths are, when the patient is not plunged
into what is prepared for the bath, but only receives
its deam upon thofe parts of his body which require
it : as in fome didempers of the fundament and womb,
where the patient fits and receives the fumes of fome
proper fomentation, &c. To thefe may be added the
bagnio j where people are made to fweat by the heat
of a room, and pouring on of hot water j after wdiich
they generally go into a hot bath or bagnio.
A peculiar fort of vapour-bath was much ufed by
the ancient Mexicans, and is dill in ufe among the pre-
fent Indians their defcendants. According to the
Abbe Clavigero, thefe baths are built of raw bricks,
and their form is fimilar to that of ovens for baking
bread : but with this difference, that the pavement of
the bath is a little convex, and lower than the furface
of the earth *, whereas that of mod ovens is plain, and
a little elevated for the accommodation of the baker.
The greated diameter of a bath is about eight feet,
and its greated height fix. The entrance, like the
mouth of an oven, is wide enough to allow a man to
creep eafily in. In the place oppofite to the entrance
- there is a furnace of done or raw bricks, with its mouth
outwards to receive the fire, and a hole above it to
carry off the fmoke. The part which unites the fur¬
nace to the bath, and which is about two feet and a
half fquare, is Ihut with a certain dry done of a porous
texture. In the upper part of the vault there is an air¬
hole, like that to the furnace. This is the ufual itruc-
ture of the temazcalli; but there are others that are
without vault or furnace, mere little fquare chambers,
yet well covered and defended from the air When
any perfon goes to bathe, he fird lays a mat within
the temazcalli, a pitcher of water, and a bunch of
herbs or leaves of maize. He then caufes a fire to be
made in the furnace, which is kept burning until the Bath
dones which join the bath and furnace are quite hot.v
The perfon wdto is to ufe the bath enters commonly
naked, and generally accompanied for the fake of con¬
venience, or on account of infirmity, by one of his do-
medics. As foon as he enters, he fimts the entrance
clofe, but leaves the air-hole at top for a little time
open, to let out any fmoke which may have been in¬
troduced through the chinks of the done ; when it is
all out he likewife dops up the air-hole. He then
throws w*ater upon the hot dones, from which imme¬
diately arifes a thick deam to the top of the temazcal¬
li. While the fick perfon lies upon the mat, the do-
medic drives the vapour downwards, and gently beats
the fick perfon, particularly on the ailing part, wnth
the bunch of herbs wdiich are dipped for a little while
in the wrater of the pitcher, which has then become a
little warm. The fick perfon falls immediately into a
foft and copious fweat, which is increafed or diminidi-
ed at pleafure, according as the cafe requires. When
the evacuation defired is obtained, the vapour is let
off, the entrance is cleared, and the fick perfon clothes
himfelf, or is tranfported on the mat to his chamber ;
as the entrance to the bath is ufually within fome
chamber of his habitation.—This fort of bath, called
tema%calli by the natives, has been regularly ufed in
feveral diforders, particularly in fevers occafioned by
codivenefs. The Indian women ufe it commonly af¬
ter childbirth, and alio thofe perfons who have been
dung or wounded by any poifonous animal.. It is un¬
doubtedly a powerful remedy for all thofe wdro have
occafion to carry off grofs humours ; and certainly It.
would be mod ufeful in Italy, where the rheumatifm
is fo frequent and afflifting. When a very copious-
fweat is defired, the fick perfon is railed up and held
in the vapour ; as he fweats the more nearer he is to
it. The temazcalli is fo common, that in every place'
inhabited by the Indians there are many of them,.
Baths, Dry, are thofe made of alhes, fait, fand,
direds of leather, and the like.—The ancients had di¬
vers ways of fweating by a dry heat 5 as by the means
of a hot fand, dove-rooms, or artificial bagnios, and
certain natural hot deams of the earth, received under
a proper arch, or hot-houfe, as we learn from Celfus.
They alfo had another kind of bath by infolation,
where the body was expofed to the fun for fome time,
in order to draw forth the fuperfluous moidure from
the inward parts •, and to this day it is a praftice in
fome nations to cover the body over with horfe-dung,
efpecially in chronical, difeafes, to diged and breathe
out the humour that caufes the didemper. In New
England they make a kind of doves of turf, wherein
the fick are Ihut up to bathe or fweat.
The fame name is fometimes alfo given to another
kind of bath, made of kindled coals, or burning fpirit
of wine ; the patient being placed in a convenient clofe.
chair for the reception ot the fume, wdiich rifes and
provokes fw-eat in a plentiful manner : care is here ta¬
ken to keep the head out, and to fecure refpiration.
This bath has been found very effeftual in removing
old obdinate pains in the limbs, and venereal com¬
plaints •, and will often complete a cure left unper¬
formed by falivation.
Some authors fpeak of bloody baths, lalnea fanguw
ndentc.y
BAT [ 462 1 BAT
Baths, nolenta, prepared efpecially of the blood of infants,
”""v—anciently fuppofed to be a kind of fpecific for the le-
profy.
BjTtis, Metalline, thofe made of water impregnated
with Bx^ fcorice of metals. The moft common and ufe-
ful of this kind are thofe prepared with the fcoritr of
iron, which abound with the earthy, faline, and ful-
phureous fubftance of the metal; and thefe are of ex¬
cellent fervice for ilrengthening and bracing up the
part to which they are applied, and recovering weak
and decayed limbs j flopping various kinds of bleed¬
ing ; and reftoring the menftrual and hemorrhoidal flux
where obftrufted ; infomuch, that they may well be
fubflituted for the natural iron baths.
Adjacent to the fmelting huts where metals are run
from their ore, are to be found large quantities of the
flag of copper, antimony, and cobalt, which abound¬
ing with fulphur, vitriolic fait, and an earthy principle,
make ferviceable baths for flrengthening the loft tone
of the fibres, and relaxing them when they are too
ftiff. Thefe baths have likewife a deterfive and clean-
fing virtue ; fo that with prudence, and due regard to
circumftances, they may be ufed on many occafions.
The way of making thefe artificial baths is, either to
take the flags as they come hot from the furnace, or
clfe to heat them afrefh, and throw them into hot wa¬
ter *, which is afterwards to be ufed either in the w^ay
of bath, or fomentation, occafionally. There are other
artificial baths, prepared of alum and quicklime, by
boiling them together in fine rain-water. Such baths
are highly ferviceable in paralytic diforders and weak-
nefs of the limbs.
The pepper bath, or peffer waffer, on the Alps, is
one of the moft celebrated in Europe, and has been the
fubjeft of particular treatifes, befides what has been
faid of it occalionally by Scheuchzer and others. It
was firft difcovered in the year 1240, and is of the pe¬
riodical kind. The w'ater breaks forth in a dreadful
place, fcarce acceflible to the funbeams, or indeed to
men, unlefs of the greateft boldnefs, and fuch as are
not in the leaft fubjed to dizzinefs. Thefe baths have
this Angularity above all others, that they commonly
break forth in May, and that with a fort of impetuofi-
ty, bringing with them beech-leaves, crabs, or other
wood-fruit} and t$it their courfe defifts in September
or Odober. Scheuchzer profefles himfelf of opinion,
that thefe waters are not impregnated with any mine¬
rals, or if they do contain any, that their virtues in
curing diftempers and preferving health do not proceed
from them. They are exceeding clear, deftitute of
colour, tafte, or fmell.
Baths, Balnea, in ArchiteBure, denote large
pompous buildings among the ancients, ereded for the
fake of bathing. Baths made a part of the ancient
gymna/ia, though they were frequented more for the
lake of pleafure than health.
The moft magnificent baths were thofe of Titus,
Paulus /Emilius, and Dioclefian, of which there are
fome ruins ftill remaining. It is faid that at Rome
there were 856 public baths. Fabricius adds, that
the exceffive luxury of the Romans appeared in no¬
thing more vifible than in their baths. Seneca com¬
plains, that the baths of plebeians wTere filled from
iilver pumps ; and that the freedmcn trod on gems.
I
Macrobius tells us of one Sergius Or atus, a voluptuary, Bath*,
who had pendant baths hanging in the air. '■"-■■■y,-—
According to Dion, Mcecenas was the firft who made
a bath at Rome : yet there are inftances of public
baths prior to this ; but they were of cold water, fmall,
and poorly decorated. Agrippa, in his aedilate, built
160 places for bathing, where the citizens might be
accommodated, either with hot or cold, gratis. Af¬
ter this example, Nero, Vefpafian, Titus, Domitian,
Severus, Gordian, Aurelian, Maximian, Dioclefian,
and moft of the emperors who ftudied to gain the af-
fedions of the people, ereded baths laid with the
richeft marble, and wrought according to the rules of
the moft delicate architedure. The rich had baths at
home, and frequently very magnificent ones, efpecial¬
ly alter the time that the pradice of pillaging the
provinces had begun ; but they only ufed them on ex¬
traordinary occafions. "Fhe great men, and even em¬
perors themfelves, fometimes bathed in public with
the reft of the people. Alexander Severus was the
firft who allowed the public baths to be opened in the
night-time during the heats of fummer.
The Greek baths were ufually annexed to palejira
or gymnajia, of which they -were confidered as a part,
Thefe baths confifted of feven different apartments,
ufually feparated from each other, and intermixed with
other buildings belonging to the other forts of exter-
cifes. Thefe were, lit, The cold b-dBn, frigid a lavatio ;
2dly, The elceothefum, or room where they were anoint¬
ed wfith oil} 3dly, The frigidarium, or cooling room ;
4thly, The propnigeum, or entrance of the hypocaujlum,
or ftove j jthly, The vaulted room for fweating in, or
vapour-bath, called concamerata fudatio, or tepidarium;
6thly, The laconicum, or dry ftove j 7thly, The hot
bath, called callida lavatio.
As for the baths feparate from the palefrce, they
appear to have been ufually double, one for men, the
other for women ; but fo near, that the fame furnace
heated both. The middle part was pofleffed by a large
bafon that received wrater by feveral pipes, and was
furrounded by a baluftrade, behind which there was
an area for the reception of thofe who waited to ufe
the bath. They were vaulted over, and only received
light from the top.
In the Roman baths, the firft part that appeared
was a large bafon, called in Greek, and na-
tatio or pifcina in Latin. In the middle w’as the hy¬
pocaujlum, which had a row of four apartments on each
fide, called balnearia : thefe w^ere the ftove, the bath,
cold bath, and tepidarium. The turn ftoves, called
laconicum and tepidarium, were circular and joined to¬
gether. Their floor was hollow and fufpended, in or¬
der to receive the heat of a large furnace, which was
communicated to the ftoves through the vacuities of
their floor. This furnace alfo heated another room
called vafarium, in which wTere three large brazen vef-
fels called milliaria, refpedlively containing hot, warm,
and cold water ; which were fo difpofed, that the wa¬
ter might be made to pafs by fyphons and pipes out of
one ©r other of them into the bath, in order to adjuft
its temperature. The defcription is given by Vitruvi¬
us. At three in the afternoon, which is what Pliny
calls hora offava et nona, the Romans all repaired to
the baths, either the public or the private ones this
was
BAT [ 463 1 BAT
■gartis, was called the both hour, hora balnei, •which in winter
Bath, was at nine, in fummer at eight. The public baths
were all opened by the found of a bell, and always at
the fame hour. Thole who came too late, flood a
chance for bathing in cold water.
They began with hot water; after which, as the
pores were now opened, and might give room for too
plentiful a perfpiration, they thought it neceflary for
their health to clofe them again, either with the cold
bath, or at leaft with a fprinkling of cold water. Du¬
ring the bath, the body was fcraped with a kind of
knives, or fmall ftrigils, fuch as are ftill found in the
cabinets of the curious. After bathing fucceeded
unftion and perfuming, from which they went frelh to
fupper.
The Romans, when they found their flomachs over¬
charged with meat, went to the bath, as we learn from
Juvenal, who inveighs againft thofe who, having gor¬
ged themfelves with eating, w7ere forced to go into the
baths to give themfelves relief. They found alfo that a
bath was good to refrefh themfelves after feme confi-
derable fatigue or travel, as Celfus tells us j which
makes Plautus fay, that all the baths in this world were
not fufficient to remove the wearinefs he felt. After
Pompey’s time, the humour of bathing w7as carried to
great excefs, by which many were ruined, feveral ha¬
ving brought themfelves to fuch a pitch, that they could
not bear food without bathing firft. The emperor Ti¬
tus is faid to have loft his life thereby. Hence Pliny
inveighs feverely againft thofe phylicians who held, that
hot baths digefted the food. The emperor Hadrian
firft laid a reftraint on the immoderate humour of ba¬
thing, by a public edi£l, prohibiting all perfons to
bathe before the eighth hour.
Baths of s]grip pa, [t her mat Agrippina,') were built
of brick, but painted in enamel : thole of Nero, thermce
Neroniana, were not only furnilhed with frelh water,
but even had the fea brought into them: thofe of Ca-
racalla were adorned with 200 marble columns, and
furnilhed with 1600 feats of the fame matter. Lipfius
allures us they were fo large, that j8oo perfons might
conveniently bathe in them at the fame time. But the
baths of Dioclefian, thermce Dioc/eJian<e, furpafied all the
reft in magnificence. One hundred and forty thoufand
men were employed many years in building them.
Great part of thefe, as well as thofe of Caracalla, are
ftill Handing \ and with the vaft high arches, the beau¬
tiful and ftately pillars, the extraordinary plenty of fo¬
reign marble, the curious vaulting of the roofs, the pro¬
digious number of fpacious apartments, and a thoufand
other ornaments, make one qf the greateft curiofities
of modern Rome.
Bath, in Chemiftry. Several kinds of apparatus em¬
ployed to tranfmit heat are called baths; but the fub-
ftances moft frequently ufed by chemifts for this pur-
pofe are water and fand. When water is employed, it
is called Balneum Manet, or water bath ; which is very
much ufed, very convenient for many operations, and
may be employed fuccefsfully for all degrees of heat
inferior to that of boiling water. As water, when ex-
pofed to fire in any veflel from which it can evaporate,
does only receive a determinate degree of heat, which
always remains the fame when once it has arrived to
the boiling heat, it follows, that by the water bath, a
degree of heat always equal may be tranfmitted with
certainty. Farther, this degree of heat being Inca- Bath,
pable of burning, or of communicating an empyreu- .Bath-Kob
matic quality to matters fiifceptible of it, the water v
bath has alfo the advantage of not expofing fubftances
to this inconvenience. When veffels in which diftilla-
tions and digeftions are made, are placed in fand, then
a fand bath is formed. This intermediate fubftance of
fand is very convenient, to moderate the too great ac¬
tivity of the naked fire, and to tranfmit any degree of
heat, from the weakeft to a red heat. As this bath
is attended with lefs trouble, and requires lefs appara¬
tus than the water bath, it is much ufed in laborato¬
ries. Nothing is requifite for the fand bath, but an
earthen or iron veffel filled with fine fand, which is fit¬
ted into a furnace, and capable of containing the cu¬
curbits, retorts, matraffes, or other vefi'els containing the
matter to be operated upon.
Bath, in Metallurgy, is ufed to fignify the fufion
of metallic matter in certain operations. In refining
or cupelling, for example, the metals are faid to be in
bath when they are melted. When gold is purified,
by antimony, this femi-metal melted, is called by fome
the bath of gold; alchemifts, who confider gold as the
king of metals, call antimony the bath of the ling only;
becaufe in fa<ft gold only can refift the action of anti¬
mony.
Bath, in Hebrew antiquity, a meafure of capacity,
containing the tenth part of an omar, or feven gallons
and four pints, as a meafure for things liquid ; or three
pecks and three pints, as a meafure for things dry.
Bath-KoI, the daughter of a voice. So the Jews
call one of their oracles, which is frequently mentioned
in their books, efpecially the Talmud ; being a fanta-
ftical way of divination invented by the Jews them¬
felves, though called by them a revelation from God’s
will, which he made to his chofen people, after all ver¬
bal prophecies had ceafed in Ifrael. It was in faft a
method of divination fimilar to the fortes Virgiliance of
the Heathens. For as, with them, the firft w7ords they
happened to dip into, in the works of that poet, were
a kind of oracle whereby they predicted future events $
fo, with the Jews, when they appealed to Bath-kol, the
firft words they heard from any man’s mouth were
looked upon as a voice from heaven, directing them in
the matter they inquired about. The Chriftians were
not quite free from this fuperftition, making the fame
ufe of the book of the Scriptures as the Pagans did of
the works of Virgil. It was praftifed by Heraclius, em¬
peror of the eaft, in the beginning of the feventh cen¬
tury : for, being at war with Chofroes king of Perfia,
and in doubt, after a fuccefsful campaign, where to
take up his winter quarters, he confulted the book of
the feriptures in this way of divination, and was de¬
termined thereby. In France, it was the praftice for
feveral ages to ufe this kind of divination at the con-
fecration of a biftiop, in order to difeover his life, man¬
ners, and future behaviour. This ulage came into
England with the Norman conqueft ; for we are told,
that at the confecration of William the fecond Nor¬
man biftiop of the diocefe of Norwich, the words which
firft occurred on dipping into the Bible were, Not this
man, but Barabbas : foon after which, William died,
and Herbert de Lozinga, chief fimony broker to King
William Rufus, fucceeded him ; at whofe confecration
the words at which the Bible opened were the fame
which
7*
BAA [ 4S4 ] ® A T*
Batlia, wliicli Jefus fpoke to Judas tlie traitor j Friend, where-
liathing. j'Qre ar{ tfJOU
come ? This circumftance fo afFefted Her-
”,r~~ ^ bert, that it brought him t>» a thorough repentance of
his crime j in expiation of which he built the cathe¬
dral church of Norwich, the lirft flone of which he
laid in the year 1096.
BATH A, Bath, or Bachia, a town of Hungary,
and capital of a county of the fame name, feated on the
Danube. E. Long. 20. 40. N. Lat. 46. 40.
BATHING, the a£l of ufing or applying a bath 5
that is, pf immerging the body, or part of it, in water
or other fluid.
Bathing is a praflice of great antiquity. The
Greeks, as eafly as the heroic age, are faid to have ba¬
thed themfelves in the fea, in rivers, &c. We even find
mention in Homer of hot baths in the Trojan times 5
but thefe feexn to have been very rare, and only ufed
on extraordinary occafions. Athenaeus fpeaks of hot
baths as unufual even in his age. In reality, public
baths appear to have been difcouraged, and even pro¬
hibited, by the ancient Greeks, who were contented
to walh themfelves at home in a fort of bathing tubs.
The method of bathing among the ancient Greeks was,
by heating -water in a large veflel with three feet, and
thence pouring it on the head and fhoulders of the per-
fon feated in a tub for that purpofe, who at coming out
was anointed with oil.
The Romans were alfo long before they came into
the ufe of baths j the very name of which, thermce,
fhows they borrowed it from the Greeks. As the an¬
cient Romans w'ere chiefly employed in agriculture,
their cuftom was, every evening after work, to wrafli
their arms and legs, that they might lit down to flip¬
per w'ith more decency : for it is to be obferved, the
ufe of linen was then unknown ; and the people of that
age went with their arms and legs bare, and confe-
quently expofed to dull and filth. But this wTas not
’ all •, for every ninth day, when they repaired to the
city, either to the nundinse or to attend at the aflem-
blies of the people, they bathed all over in the Tiber,
or fome other river wEich happened to be neareft them.
This feems to have been all the bathing known till the
time of Pompey, when the cuftom began of bathing
every day. See Bath.
The Celtic nations w7ere not without the ufe of ba¬
thing : the ancient Germans bathed every day in w7arm
water in winter, and in fummer in cold. In England,
the famous bath in Somerfetlhire is faid by fome to
have been in ufe 800 years before Chift. Of this,
however, it muft be owned, we have but very flender
evidence ; but Dr Mufgrave makes it probable that it
was a place of confiderable refort in Geta’s time ; there
being ftill the remains of a ftatue erected to that ge-
1 neral, in gratitude for fome benefaftions he had con¬
ferred upon it.
Although bathing, among the ancients, made, as
it were, a part of diet, and was ufed as familiarly as
eating or fleep ; yet it w?as in high efteem among their
phyficians for the cure of difeafes, as appears from
Strabo, Plinv, Hinpocrates, and Oribafius; wftience
frequent exhortations to ivafhing in the fea, and plun¬
ging into cold w7ater. The firft inftance of cold bath¬
ing, as a medicine, is Melampus’s bathing the daugh¬
ters of the king of Argos; and the firft inftance of
warm bathing is Medea’s ufe of it, wTho was faid to
2
boil people alive, becaufe Pelias king of Theffaly died Bathing,
in a warm bath under her hands. The cold bath was ' 
ufed wdth fuccefs by Antonius Mufa, phyfician to the
emperor Auguftus, for the recovery of that prince ; but
fell into negleft after the death of Marcellus, who was
thought to have been deftroyed by the improper ufe
of it. It was again brought into requeft towards
the clofe of the reign of Nero, by means of a phyfi¬
cian of Marfeilles named Charmis ; but during the ig¬
norance of the fucceeding ages, the praftice was again
banifhed for a long time.—Both hot and cold bathing
are now prefcribed in many cafes by the phyficians,
though they are not agreed as to the manner in which
they operate on the human body. See Medicinf
Index.
Bathing among the Turks, as among the ancients,
makes a part of diet and luxury ; and in every* town,
and even village, there is a public bath. Indeed, the
neceflity of cleanlinefs, in a climate where one per-
fpires fo copioully, has rendered bathing indifpenfable j
the comfort it produces preferves the ufe of it 5 and
Mahomet, who knew its utility, has reduced it to a
precept. Of thefe baths, and the manner of bathing,
particularly at Cairo, the following account is given
by M. Savary in his Letters on Egypt.
“ The firft apartment one finds in going to the bath,
is a large hall, which rifes in the form of a rotunda.
It is open at the top, to give a free circulation to the
air. A fpacious eftrade, or raifed floor, covered with
a carpet, and divided into compartments, goes round
it, on which one lays one’s clothes. In the middle of
the building, a jet-d’eau fpouts up from a bafon, and
agreeably entertains the eye. When you are undrefled,
you tie a napkin round your loins, take a pair of fan-
dais, and enter into a narrow paflage, where you be¬
gin to be fenfible of the heat. The door fhuts to $
and, at 20 paces off, you open a fecond, and go along
a paffage, which forms a right angle with the former.
Here the heat increafes. They who are afraid of fud-
denly expofing themfelves to a ftronger degree of it,
flop in a marble hall, in the wTay to the bath properly
fo called. The bath is a fpacious and vaulted apart¬
ment, paved and lined with marble, around which there
are four clofets. The vapour inceflantly arifing from a
fountain and ciftern of hot water, mixes itfelf with the
burning perfumes, Thefe, however, are never burnt
except the perfons who are in the bath defire it. They
are mixed with the fleam of the water, and produce a
moft agreeable effect.
“ The bathers are not imprifoned here, as in Europe,
in a fort of tub, where one is never at one’s eafe. Ex¬
tended on a cloth fpread out, the head fupported by a
fmall cufhion, they ftretch themfelves freely in every
pofture, whilft they are wrapped up in a cloud of odo¬
riferous vapours, which penetrate into all their pores.
After repofing there fome time, until there is a gentle
moifture over the whole body, a fefvant comes, preffes
you gently, turns you over, and when the limbs are
become fupple and flexible he makes all the joints crack * (< Mafs„
without any difficulty. He maffes * and feems to knead COmes from
the fleflr without making you feel the fmalleft pain, the Arabic
This operation finiffied, he puts on a fluff’ glove, andverb mafs»
rubs you a long time. During this operation, he de- Ilg*
taches from the body of the patient, wffiich is running touching in
with fweat, a fort of fmall fcales, and removes even a delicate
manner, j
BAT [ 4% ] BAT
'F..:tiling, tlie imperceptible dirt that flops the pores. The fkin
w becomes foft and fmooth like fatin. He then condufls
you into a clofet, pours the lather of perfumed foap
Upon your head, and withdraws. The ancients did
more honour to their guefts, and treated them in a
more voluptuous manner. Whilfl Telemachus was at
the court of Neflor, ‘ the beautiful Polycafla, the
handfomeft of the daughters of the king of Pylos, led
the fon of Ulyffes to the bath 5 waflied him with her
own hands *, and, after anointing his body with preci¬
ous oils, covered him with rich habits and a fplendid
cloak.’ Pififlratus and Telemachus were not worfe
treated in the palace of Menelaus. ‘ When they had
admired its beauties, they wmre conducted to bafons of
marble, where a bath wras prepared : Beautiful fe¬
male (laves wafhed them and, after anointing them
with oil, covered them with rich tunics and fuperb
pellices.
“ The clofet to which one is conduced is furnifhed
with a ciftern and two cocks : one for cold and the
other for hot water. There you w’afh yourfelf. Soon
after the fervant returns with a depilatory pomatum,
which in an inflant makes the hair fall off the places it
is applied to. Both men and women make general ufe
of it in Egypt. It is compofed of a mineral called ruf-
ma, which is of a deep brown. The Egyptians burn
it lightly, knead it with water, mixing it with half the
quantity of flaked lime. This grayifh pafle applied to
the hair, makes it fall off in two or three minutes, with¬
out giving the flighted pain.
“ After being well wafhed and purified, you are
wrapped up in hot linen, and follow the guide through
the windings that lead to the outer apartment. This
infenfible tranfition from heat to cold prevents one. from
differing any inconvenience from it. On arriving at
the eflrade, you find a bed prepared for you ; and
fcarcely are you laid down before a child comes to prcfs
every part of your body with his delicate fingers, in
order to dry you thoroughly. You change linen a fe-
cond time, and the child gently grates the callofity of
your feet with pumice done. He then brings you a
pipe and Moka coffee.
“ Coming out of a dove where one was furround-
ed by a hot and mold fog, where the fweat gufhed from
every limb, and tranfported into a fpacious apartment
open to the external air, the bread dilates, and one
breathes with voluptuoufnefs. Perfeftly maffed, and as
it were regenerated, one experiences an univerfal com¬
fort. 'Fhe blood circulates with freedom; and one feels
as if difengaged from an enormous weight, together
with a fupplenefs and lightnefs to which one has been
hitherto a dranger. A lively fenfation of exidence dif-
fufes itfelf to the very extremities of the body. Whild
it is loff in delicate fenfations, the foul, fympathizing
with the delight, enjoys the mod agreeable ideas. The
imagination, wandering over the univerfe, which it
embellifhes, fees on every fide the mod enchanting pic¬
tures, everywhere the image of happinefs. If life be
nothing but the fuccefiion of our ideas, the rapidity
with which they then recur to the memory, the vigour
with which the mind runs over the extended chain of
them, would induce a belief that in the two hours of
that delicious calm that fucceeds the bath, one has lived
a number of years.”
Such are the baths, the ufe of which were fo ftrong-
Vol. III. Part II.
ly recommended by the ancients, and which are dill Bathing,
the delight of the Egyptians. It is by means of them i Bathurfh
that they prevent or difpel rheumatifms, catarrhs, and v 
fuch cutaneous diforders as are produced by want of
perfpiration. Hence likewife they find a radical cure
for that fatal evil which attacks the fources of genera¬
tion, the remedy for which is fo dangerous in Europe.
By the fame refource they get rid of that uncomfort¬
able feeling fo common to all nations who do not pav
fo much attention to the cleanlinefs of their bodies.  
M. Tournefort, indeed, who had ufed fleam baths at
Conflantinople, where there is lefs refinement in them
than at Cairo, is of opinion that they injure the bread.
But, according to M. Savary, this is an error which
further experience w'ould have corredled. There are
no people who make more frequent ufe of them than
the Egyptians, and there is no country where there
are fewer aflhmatic people. The adhma is fcarcely
known there.
The women are paffionately fond of thefe baths.
They frequent them at lead once a week, and take
with them flaves properly qualified for the purpofe.
More luxurious than the men, after undergoing the
ufual preparations, they wafh their bodies, and above
all their heads, with rofe-water. It is there that fe¬
male head-dreffers form their long black hair into tref-
fes, which they mix wfith precious eflences indead of
powder and pomatum. It is there that they blacken
the edge of their eye-lids, and lengthen their eye¬
brows with cohel, a preparation of tin burnt with gall-
nuts 5 it is there they dain the finger and toe nails with
the leaves of henne, a dirub common in Egypt, and
which gives them a golden colour. The linen and
clothing they make ufe of are paffed through the fweet
deam of the wood of aloes ; and when the wrork of the
toilet is at an end, they remain in the outer apartment,
and pafs the day in entertainments. Females enter¬
tain them with voluptuous fongs and dances, or tell
them tales of love.
BA THURSF, Ralph, M. ID. an eminent phyfi-
cian, poet, and divine, born in the year 1620. lie
dudied divinity in Trinity college, Oxford y but the
times of confufion coming on, he changed the courfe
of his dudies, and applied himfelf to phyfic. He took
a doctor’s degree in that faculty •, in which he rofe to
fuch eminence, that he was, in the time of the ufurpa-
tion, appointed phyfician to the date. Upon the re-
doration, he quitted his profeffion of phyfic ; was eledl-
ed a fellow of the Royal Society, and prefident of his
college 5 and having entered into holy orders, he was
made chaplain to the king, and afterwards dean of
Wells. Soon after, he ferved the office of vice-chan¬
cellor of Oxford, and was nominated by King William
and Queen Mary to the fee of Brifiol; which he refufed
to accept. His learning and talents wTere various. He
was an orator, a philofopher, and a poet : he poffeffed
an inexhaudible fund of wit, and was a facetious com¬
panion at 80 years of age. Ridicule was the weapon
with which he ufed to corredl the delinquents of his
college ; and he was fo abfolute a mader of it, that he
had it always at hand. His poetical pieces in the Mufcc
^Jiglicarue are excellent in their kind. He wrote feve-
ral poems, both in Englifh and Latin ; and died June
14. 1704, in the 84rh year of his age.
Bathurst, Allen, earl of Bathurd, one of the lad
3 N worthies
/
Ikthurft.
\
BAT [ 466 ] BAT
worthies of Queen Anne’s reign, that Paining period
of triumpjrs, tafte, genius, and elegance, was born in
the year 1684. His ftudies and his education were
equally conducive to the brilliant figure he was deftined
to make in focial life and in the fenate, as a polite fcho-
lar, a patriot, and a ftatefman. Thefe talents he had
an opportunity to difplay as early as the year 170^5
when, at the requell of his father Sir Benjamin Ba-
thurft, and the felicitation of the conilituents of Ciren-
cefter, he ferved in parliament for that borough, his
native foil, with reputation and integrity. He diilin-
guilhed hirafelf particularly in the ftruggles and de¬
bates relative to the union between the two kingdoms,
firmly fupporting this mealure, calculated to ftrengthen
the vigour of government by uniting its force. Though
he was contented to aft a fubordinate charafter in the
great oppofition planned by Mr Harley and Mr St
John, his intimate friends, to fap the credit of the
duke of Marlborough and his adherents, he was of in¬
finite fervice to his party in arraigning, with fpirit and
eloquence, the conduft of the general and the earl of
Godolphin, who had long governed the queen, and
lavifhed the treafures of the nation on conquefts more
fplendid than ferviceable. The lofs of the battle of
Almanza feconded his efforts to difpel the intoxica¬
tion of former fucceffes. His perfonal regard for Lord
Somers, prefident of the council, was never altered,
though they were of different opinions in politics ; and
when he was diveiled of his office, Mr Bathurft afted
with fuch tendernefs and delicacy, as to pi'eferve the
eiteem of Lord Somers in a private flation. In confi-
deration of his zeal and fervices, the queen advanced
him, in 17 11, to the dignity of a peer, by the title of
Baron Bathurft, of Battlefden, in Bedfordihire.
His lordfhip continued to fpeak his fentiments with
an undaunted freedom in the upper houfe ; and ftept
forth as a formidable opponent to the court-meafures
in the reign of George I. and during Sir Robert Wal¬
pole’s adminiftration. The acrimony of the profecu-
tion carried on againft the earl of Oxford, Lord Bo-
lingbroke, and the duke of Ormond, ftimulated his in¬
dignation and his eloquence againll fuch vindiftive pro¬
ceedings 5 and he obferved, “ that the king of a fac¬
tion was but the fovereign of half his fubjefts.”
The South-fea fcheme having infefted the whole na¬
tion with a fpirit of avaricious enterprife, the people
awaked from their delirium, and an infinite number of
families was involved in ruin. Lord Bathurft publicly
impeached the direftors, whofe arts had enabled them
by thefe vain expeftations to amafs furprifing fortunes:
he reprefented that the national honour was concerned
in ftripping them of their ill acquired wealth •, and mo¬
ved for having all the direftors of the South-fea com¬
pany punifhed by a forfeiture of their eftates, for fuch
a notorious aft of fordid knavery.
When the bill was brought into the houfe of lords
againft Dr Atterbury bilhop of Rochefter, that learned
prelate, who joined to the graces of ftyle and elocution
all the elegance of a juft delivery ; among the many
.friends the biihop’s eloquence, politenefs, and inge¬
nuity had procured him, was Lord Bathurft. He fpoke
againft the bill with great vehemence and propriety j
obferving, “ that if fuch extraordinary proceedings
were countenanced, he faw nothing remaining for him
and others to do, but to retire to their country-houfes,
and there, if poffible, quietly enjoy their eftates with- Bathurft.
in their own families, fince the leaft correfpondence, or 1 —- y—
intercepted letter, might be made criminal.” Then
turning to the biihops, he faid, he “ could hardly
account for the inveterate hatred and malice fome per-
fons bore the ingenious biihop of Rochefter, unlefs it
wras that they were infatuated like the wild Ameri¬
cans, who fondly believe they inherit not only the
fpoils, but even the abilities, of the man they deftroy.”
He was one of the lords who entered his proteft a-
gainft the bill.
His lordftiip was entirely averfe to continental con-
neftions; and animadverted leverely upon the monarch
whofe thoughts were turned to foreign concerns and
alliances which could never be ufeful j complaining of
the immenfe fums lavifhed in fubfidies to needy and ra-
pacious princes.
The direftors of the charitable corporation having
embezzled 500,000!. of the proprietors capital, Lord
Bathurft declared, in the houfe of lords, his abhor¬
rence of this moft iniquitous feene of fraud } aflerting
that not one {lulling of the money was ever applied to
the proper fervice, but became the reward of avarice
and venality.
His lordftiip concurred, with all his power, in the
oppofition to Sir Robert Walpole, who now tottered
on the brink of ruin. This minifter, after obftinate
ftruggles, having been forced to refign all his employ¬
ments, Lord Bathurft was fworn of the privy-council,
and made captain of the gentlemen-penfioners, which
poll he refigned in 1744. He was appointed treafurer
to the prefent king, then prince of Wales, in 1757,
and continued in the lift of privy-counfellors at his ac-
ceflion to the throne ; but, on account of his great
age, he chofe to enjoy otium cum chgnitate.
Lord Bathurft’s integrity gained him the efteem even
of his opponents 5 and his humanity and benevolence,
the afteftion of all that knew him more intimately. He
added to his public virtues all the good breeding, po¬
litenefs, and elegance, of focial intercourfe. Dr
Freind, Congreve, Vanbrugh, Swift, Prior, Rowe,
Addifon, Pope, Arbuthnot, Gay, and moft men of
genius in his own time, cultivated his friendfliip, and
were proud of his correfpondence.
Pope, in his Epiftle to him on the Ufe of Riches,
thus addreffes him :
The fenfe to value riches, with the art
T’enjoy them, and the virtue to impart;
To balance fortune by a juft expence,
Join with economy magnificence ;
With fplendor, charity; with plenty, health:
O teach us, Bathurft, yet unfpoil’d by wealth !
That, fecret rare, between th’ extremes to move,
Of mad good nature, and of mean felf-love.
And Sterne, in his letters to Eliza, thus fpeaks of
him : “ This nobleman is an old friend of mine : he
was always the proteftor of men of wit and genius ;
and has-had thofe of the laft century always at his table.
The manner in which his notice began of me, was as
fingular as it was polite.—He came up to me one day
as I was at the Princefs of Wales’s court. ‘ I want
to know you, Mr Sterne ; but it is fit you fheuld
know alfo who it is that mufties this pleafure: you have
heard (continued he) of an old Lord Bathurft, of
whom
Butliurft
I!
Batis.
BAT [ 4^7 ] BAT
whom your Popes and Swifts have fung and fpoken fo
much : I have lived my life with geniufes of that caft,
but have furvived them •, and defpairing ever to find
their equals, it is fome years fince I have clofed my ac¬
counts, and lhut up my books, with thoughts of never
opening them again : but you have kindled a defire in
me of opening them once more before I die, w-hich I
now do; fo go home, and dine with me.’ This noble¬
man, I fay, is a prodigy : for at 85 he has all the wit
and promptnefs of a man of 30; a difpofition to be plea-
fed, and a power to pleafe others beyond whatever I
knew! added to which, a man of learning, courtefy,
and feeling.”
His lordihip, in the latter part of his life, preferved
his natural cheerfulnefs and vivacity, always acceffible,
hofpitable, and beneficent. Lately he delighted in
rural amufements ; and enjoyed, with a philofophical
fatisfa&ion, the fhade of the lofty trees he had planted
himfelf. Till within a month of his death he conftant-
ly rode out on horfeback two hours before dinner, and
conftantly drank his bottle of claret or Madeira after
dinner. He ufed to declare, in a jocofe manner, he
never could think of adopting Dr Cadogan’s method,
as Dr Cheyne had affured him, 50 years ago, he would
never live feven years longer unlefs he abridged him-
felf of his wine. Purfuant to this maxim, his lordfhip
having, fome years ago, invited feveral of his friends
to fpend a few cheerful days with him at his feat at
Cirenceffer, and being one evening very loth to part
with them ; on his fon the late chancellor’s objefling
to their fitting up any longer, and adding that health
and long life were bed fecured by regularity, he fufter-
ed him to retire : but, as foon as he was gone, the
cheerful father faid, “ Come, my good friends, fince
the old gentleman is gone to bed, I think we may ven¬
ture to crack another bottle.”
His lordfiiip was advanced to the dignity of earl
in 1772 ; and lived to fee the above nobleman, his el¬
ded fon, feveral years lord high chancellor of Great
Britain, and promoted to the peerage in 177 c by the
title of Baron Apfiey. Lord Bathurd married Ca¬
tharine daughter of Sir Peter Apfiey, by wham he had
twm other fons and five daughters. His death happen¬
ed, after a few days illnefs, at his feat near Cirenceder,
in the 9id year of his age, and on the 16th of Sep¬
tember 177?.
BATHYLLUS and Pylades, inventors of panto¬
mime entertainments on tlie dage. Bathyllus fucceed-
ed in reprefenting comedy ; Pylades in tragedy. The
(art confided in expreding the paffions by gedures, atti¬
tudes, and dumb diowT; not, as in modern times, in
machinery, and the fooleries of Harlequin. They flou-
ridjed at Rome, under Augudus, about A. D. 10.
Each of them kept fcholars, who perpetuated their
mader’s name : for the followers of Bathyllus, who ex¬
celled in the comic part, called themfelves B a thy Hi;
and thofe of Pylades, who excelled in the tragic, called
themfelves Byladx.
BATILLUS, a mufical indrument made of metal,
in the form of a daff, furnifhed with metalline rings,
which being druck, yielded a kind of harmonical
founds j ufed by the Armenians in their church-fer-
vice.
BAITS. See Botany Index„
BATISTE, in Commerce, a fine white kind of linen
cloth, manufaftured in Flanders and Picardy.
There are three kinds of batide ; the fird very thin;
the fecond lefs thin ; and the third much thicker, call¬
ed Holland Bat’fle, as comine very near the goodnefs
of Hollands.
The chief ufe of batide is for neck-clothes, head-
clothes, furplices, &c.
BATMAN, in Commerce, a kind of weight ufed
at Smyrna, containing fix okes of 400 drams each,
which amount to 16 pounds 6 ounces and 15 drams of
Englifh weight.
BATMANSON, John, prior of the Carthufian
monadery, or Charter-houfe in the fuburbs of London.
He was fome time a dudent at Oxford, but it does not
appear that he took any degree in that univerfity. He
w>as intimately acquainted with Edward Lee archbidiop
of York, at whole requed he wrote againd ErafmuS
and Luther. He died in the year 1531, and wTas bu¬
ried in the chapel belonging to the Charter-houfe. Ac¬
cording to Bale, he w^as a proud forward perfon ; and
he fays that Erafmus, in one of his letters to the bidiop
of Winchelter, calls him an ignorant fellow. Pits, on
the contrary, gives him the charafler of a man of
fingtilar genius, zeal, piety, and learning. He wrote,
I. Animadver/iones in annotatwnes Erafnu in Nov. 7e-
Jlamentum. 2. A treatife again]} fomc of Luther's works.
Thefe twro he afterwards retracled. 3. Commentaria
in proverbia Solomonis. 4. In cantica canticorum. 5. De
unica Magdalena. 6. InJUtutiones noviciorum. 7. De
contemptu mundi. 8. De Chriffo duodenm. 9. On the
words, Mifl'us ed, &c.
BATON, or Baston. See Easton.
BATRACHOMYOMACHIA, the battle of the
frogs and the mice, the title of a fine burlefque poem
generally aferibed to Homer.—The fubjefl of the work
is the death of Pfycharpax, a moufe, fon to Toxartes,
who being mounted on the back of Phyfignathus, a
frog, on a voyage to her palace, to which file had in¬
vited him, was feized with fear when he faw himfelf in
the middle of the pond, fo that he tumbled off and
was drowned. Phyfignathus being fufpefted to have
lhaken him off with defign, the mice demanded fa-
tisfaflion, and unanimoufly declared war againd the
frogs.
BATTLE, in Ancient Geography, a people of Ger¬
many, formerly inhabitants of what is now called Hejfe.
Being diffatisfied wuth their fituation there, they fettled
on the ifland formed by the Vahalis and Rhine, which
from them took the name of Batavia, or Batavorum
Infula. Their government was a mixture of monarchy,
aridocracy, and democracy. Their chief was pro¬
perly fpeaking, nothing more than a principal citizen,
wdiofe bufinefs was rather to advife than to commands
The principal men wTho exfercifed jurifdiflion, and
commanded the troops, in their refpefiive didrifts,
w’ete chofen, as well as the kings, in an affembly of the
people. A hundred perfons felefted from among the
people prefided over every county, and afted as chiefs
in the different hamlets. The whole nation wras, in
fome meafure, an army alw’ays in readinefs. Each
family compofed a body of militia, which ferved un¬
der a captain of their ownchoofing. See Batavorum
Infula.
3 N 2
EatiTre
il
Battas-
B ATT ALIA,
Battalia
II
Battel.
BAT
BATTALIA, an army ranged in order of battle,
or ready for engagement. The word feems formed
jfroni the Latin baiualia, fometimes alio written batalia,
denoting a fort of military or gladiatorial exercife, as
fighting with foils, or tilting at a poll. In this fenfe,
we meet with the depth of a battalia ; to march in
battalia, with the baggage in the middle ; to break the
battalia, Cstc. In the K.oman battalia, the hn/iati made
the front.
BATTALION, a fmall body of infantry, ranged
in form of battle, and ready to engage.
A battalion ufually contains from 500 to 800 men •,
but the number it confdls of is not determined. They
are armed with firelocks, fwords, and bayonets 5 and
tiivided into 13 companies, one of whicji is grenadiers.
They are ufually drawn up three men deep. Some re¬
giments confiil of but one battalion, others are divided
into four or five.
BA I 1 A 1 AS, the Indian name of the potato.
See Convolvulus.
BA 1 I ILL, a town of Suflex, five miles north-weft
of Haftings, fituated in E. Long. o. 35. N. Lat. 50.
55. It was formerly called Epitoji; and is the place
where William the Conqueror vanquilhed Harold king
of England on Oclober-iq.. 1066. William, in me¬
mory of this victory, ere&ed an abbey, which he cal¬
led Battel Abbey ; and if a criminal could but reach
tnis abbey, he was difmilTed from thence, and was af¬
terwards in no danger for his paft faults. The abbey
was a large and noble ftrudure, as may be judged by
the gateway which is ftill entire, as well as from the
other remains. This place is noted for making gun¬
powder equal to that of Dantzick $ and the beft goes
by the name of Battel gunpowder.
Battel, in Law, or Trial by wager of battle, a fpe-
cies of trial of great antiquity, but now much difufed.
It feems to have owed its original to the military fpi-
rit of our anceftors, joined to a fuperftitious frame of
mind; it being in the nature of an appeal to Provi-
oence, under an apprehenfion and hope (however pre-
iumptuous and unwarrantable), that heaven would give
the viflory to him who had the right. I he decilion
of fuits, by this appeal to the God of battles, is by fome
faid to have been invented by the Burgundi, one of the
northern or German clans that planted themfelves in
Gaul. And it is true, that the firft written injundlion
°f judiciary combats that we meet with, is in the laws
of Gundebal, A. X). 501, which are preferved in the
Burgundian code. Yet it does not feem to have been
merely a local cuftom of this or that particular tribe,
but to have been the common ufage of all thofe.war¬
like people from the earlieft times'. And it may alfo
leem, from a paftage in Velleius Paterculus, that the
Germans, when firft they became known to the Ro¬
mans, were wont to decide all contefts of right by the
iword : for when Qiiintilius Varus, endeavoured to in¬
troduce among them the Roman laws and method of
trial, it was looked upon (fays the hiftonan) as a ao~
vitas incognitce difciphnce, ut fohta artnis decerni jure
terminarentur. And among the ancient Goths in Swe¬
den we find the pra&ice of judiciary duels eftablilhed
upon much the fame footing as they formerly were in
cur own country.
1 his trial was introduced in England among other
Norman cuftoms by William, the Conqueror 3 but was
[ 46S ]
BAT
only ufed in three cafes, one military, one criminal, ahd
the third civil. 1 he firft in the court martial, or court
of chivalry and honour; the fecond in appeals of fe¬
lony ; and the third upon iffue joined in a writ of right,
the laft and moft folemn decifion of real property. For
in writs of right theyrzr propnetatis, which is frequently
a matter of difficulty, is in queftion ; but other real ac¬
tions being merely queftions of the jus pojjejftonis, which
are ufually more plain and obvious, our anceftors did
not in them appeal to the decifion of Prbvidence. An¬
other pretext for allowing it, upon thefe final writs of
right, was alfo for the fake of fuch claimants as might
have the true right, but yet by the death of witnelfes
or other defeat of evidence be unable to prove it to a
jury. But the moft curious reafon of all is given in
the Mirror, that it is allowable upon warrant of the
combat between David for the people of Ifrael of the
one party, and Goliah for the Philiftines of the other
party: a reafon which Pope Nicholas I. very ferioufiy
decides to be inconclufive. Of battel therefore on a
writ of right we ffiall firft Ipeak : and although the writ
of right itfelf, and of courie this trial thereof, be at
prefent difufed 5 yet, as it is law at this day, it may be
matter of cunofity, at leaft, to inquire into the forms
of this proceeding, as we may gather them from ancient
authors.
1. The laft trial of battel that w*as waged in the
court of common pleas at Weftminfter (though there
was afterwards one in the court of chivalry in 1631,
and another in the county palatine of Durham in
1638) was in the 13th year of Queen Elizabeth, A. D.
1571, as reported by Sir James Dyerj and was held in
Tothill-fields, Weftminfter, “ non fne magna juris con-
fultorum perturbationef faith Sir Henry Spelman, who
was himielf a witnefs of the ceremony. The form, as
appears from the authors before cited, is as follows.
When the tenant in a writ of right pleads the ge¬
neral iflue, viz. that he hath more right to hold than
the demandant hath to recover 3 and ofters to prove it
by the body of his champion, w hich tender is accept¬
ed by the demandant; the tenant in the firft place muft
produce his champion, who, by throwing down his
glove as a gage or pledge, thus wages or ftipulates bat¬
tel with the champion of the demandant 3 who, by ta¬
king up the gage or glove, ftipulates on his part to ac¬
cept the challenge. The reafon why it is waged by
champions, and not by the parties themfelves, in civil
a&ions, is becaufe, if any party to the fuit dies, the
fuit muft abate and be at an end for the prefent 3 and.
theretore no judgment could be given for the lands in-
queftion, if either of the parties were llain in battel :
and alfo that no perfon might claim an exemption from
this trial, as was allow'ed in criminal cafes where the
battel was waged in perfon.
A piece of ground is then in due time fet out, of 60
feet fquare, enclofed with lifts, and on one fide a court
eredled for the judges of the court of common pleas,
wffio attend there in their fcarlet robes 3 and alfo a bar
is prepared for the learned ferjeants at law\ When the
court fits, which ought to be by funrifing, proclama¬
tion is made for the parties and their champions 5 who
are introduced by tw 0 knights, and are drefled in a coat
of armour, with red fandals, barelegged from the knee
downwards, bareheaded, and with bare arms to the
elbows. rIhe weapons allowed them are only batons,
ex
BatteL
BAT [ 469 ] BA T
Battel, or ftaves, of an ell long, and a four-cornered leather
__y-—t target ^ {'o that death very feldom enfued this civil com¬
bat. In the court military, indeed, they fought with
fword and lance, according to Spelman and Ruih-
worth ; as likewife in France: only villeins fought with
the buckler and baton, gentlemen armed at all points.
And upon this, and other circumllances, the prefident
Montefquieu hath wuth great ingenuity not only dedu¬
ced the impious cuftom of private duels upon imagi¬
nary points of honour, but hath alfo traced the heroic
madnefs of knight-errantry from the fame original of
judicial combats. But to proceed :
When the champions, thus armed with batons, ar¬
rive within the lifts or place of combat, the champion
of the tenant then takes his adverfary by the hand, and
makes oath that the tenements in difpute are not the
right of the demandant ; and the champion of the de¬
mandant, then taking the other by the hand, fwears in
the fame manner that they are •, fo that each champion
is, or ought to be, thoroughly perfuaded of the truth
of the caufe he fights for. Next an oath againft for-
cery and enchantment is-to be taken by both the cham¬
pions, in this or a fimilar form : “ Hear this, ye ju-
ftices, that I have this day neither eat, drank, nor have
upon me either bone, ftone, nor grafs ; nor any in-
chantment, forcery, or witchcraft, whereby the lawT of
God may be abafed, or the lawr of the devil exalted.
So help me God and his faints.”
The battel is thus begun, and the combatants are
bound to fight till the ftars appear in the evening: and,
if the champion of tire tenant can defend himfelf till
the ftars appear, the tenant ihall prevail in his caufe 5
for it is fufticient for him to maintain his ground, and
make it a drawn battel, he being already in poffeffion 5
but, if viflory declares itfelf for either party, for him
is judgment finally given. This viftory may arife from
the death of either of the champions: which indeed
hath rarely happened 5 the whole ceremony, to fay the
truth, bearing a near refemblance to certain rural ath¬
letic diverfions, which are probably derived from this
original. Or viiftory is obtained if either champion
proves recreant, that is, yields, , and pronounces the
horrible word of craven ; a word of difgrace and ob¬
loquy, rather than of any determinate meaning. But
a horrible word it indeed is to the vanquilhed champion:
fince, as a puniftiment to him for forfeiting the
land of his principal by pronouncing that (hameful
word, he is condemned as a recreant, amittere liberam
legem, that is, to become infamous, and not to be ac¬
counted liber et legalis homo ; being fuppofed by the
event to be proved forfworn, and therefore never to
be put upon a jury, or admitted as a witnefs in any
caufe.
This is the form of a trial by battel ; a trial which
the tenant, or defendant in a writ of right, has it in his
eleftion at this day to demand j and which was the on¬
ly decifion of fuch writ of right after the Conqueft, till
Henry II. by confent of parliament, introduced the
grand ajjife, a peculiar fpecies of trial by jury, in con¬
currence therewith ; giving the tenant his choice of
either the one or the other. Which example, of dif-
countenancing thefe judicial combats, was imitated
about a century afterwards in France, by an edibt of
Louis the Pious, A. D. 1260, and foon after by the
celt of Europe. The eftabliihment of this alternative,
Glanvil, chief juftice to Henry II. and probably his Batteli
advifer herein, confide:s as a moft noble improvement,—v~—~
as in fabl it was, of the lawn
2. In appeal * of felony, the trial by battel may be * See Aj>-
demanded, at the eleftion of the appellee, in either an/^*
appeal or an improvement) and it is carried on with
equal folemnity as that on a writ of right } but with
this difterence, that there each party hires a champion,
but here they muft fight in their proper perfon's. And
therefore, if the appellant or approver be a woman, a
prieft, an infant, or of the age of 60, or lame, or blind,
he or flie may counterplead and refufe the wrager of bat¬
tel ; and compel the appellee to put himfelf upon the
country. Alfo peers of the realm, bringing, an appeal,
fiiall not be challenged to wage battel, on account of
the dignity of their perfons ; nor the citizens of Lon¬
don, by fpecial charter, becaufe fighting feems foreign
to their education and employment. So likewife, if
the crime be notorious 5 as if the thief be taken with
the mainour, or the murderer in the room with a bloody
knife, the appellant may refufe the tender of battel
from the appellee 3 and it is unreafonable an innocent
man fliould ftake his life againft one who is already
half-convidfted.
The form and manner of waging battel upon ap¬
peals are much the fame as upon a w rit of right 3 only
the oaths of the twm combatants are vaflly more lin¬
king and folemn. The appellee, when appealed of fe¬
lony, pleads not guilty ; and throws down his glove, and
declares he will defend the fame by his body : the ap¬
pellant takes up the gfeve 3 and replies that he is ready
to make good the appeal, body for body. And there¬
upon, the appellee taking the book in his right hand,
and in his left the right hand of his- antagonift, fwears
to this effect : bloc audi, homo, quern per manum te-
neo, &c. “ Hear this, O man, whom I hold by the
hand, who called: thyfelf John by the name of.bap-
tifm, that I, who call myfelf Ihomas by the name of
baptilm, did not felonioully murder thy father, Wil¬
liam by name, nor am any way guilty of the faid fe.-
lony. So help me God, and the faints 3 and this I will
defend againft thee by my body, as this court fhall
award.” To which the appellant replies, holding the
bible and his antagonift’s hand in the fame manner as
the other : “ Hear this, O man, whom I hold by the
hand, -who calleft thyfelf Thomas, by the name of bap-
tifm, that thou art perjured 3 and therefore perjured,
becaufe that thou felonioufly did ft murder my father,
William by name. So help me God, and the faints 3.
and this 1 will prove againft thee by my body, as this
court ftrall award.” The battel is then to be fought,
with the fame weapons, viz. batons, the fame foiem-
nity, and the fame oath againft amulets and forcery,
that are ufed in the civil combat : and if the appellee be.
fo far vanquiihed that he cannot or will not fight any
longer, he fhall be adjudged to be hanged immediate¬
ly 5 and then, as well as if he be killed in battel, Pro¬
vidence is deemed to have determined in favour of the,
truth, and his blood fhall be attainted. But if he kills,
the appellant, or can maintain the fight from funrifing
till the ftars appear in the evening, he fhall be acquit¬
ted. So alfo, if the appellant becomes recreant, and
pronounces the horrible wmrd craven, he fhall lofe his
liberam legem, and become infamous 3 and the appellee.
Ihall recover his damages, and alfo be for ever quit, not.
only
BAT [ 47° 1 BAT
Batten
Battering-
Ram,,
only of tlie appeal, but of all indiflments likevvife for
the fame offence.
BATTEN, a name that workmen give to a fcant-
ling of wooden fluff, from two to four inches broad, and
jfbout one inch thick ; the length is pretty confiderable,
but undetermined.—This term is chiefly ufed in fpeak-
ing of doors and windows of (hops, &c. which are not
framed of whole deal, &.c. with lliles, rails, and pan-
-nels like wainfcot , but are made to appear'as if they
were by means of thefe battens braded on the plain
board round the edges, and fometimes crofs them, and
up and down.
BATTENBURG, a town of Dutch Guelderland,
feated on the north bank of the Meufe, almolt oppofite
to Ravenftein. E Long. 5. 35. N. Lat. 50. cy.
BATTERING, the attacking a place, work, or
the like, with heavy artillery.
To batter in breach, is to play furioufly on a work,
as the angle of a half moon, in order to demolifh and
make a gape therein. In this they obferve never to
Are a piece at the top, but all at the bottom, from
three to fix feet from the ground.
7'he battery of a camp is ufually furrounded with a
trench, and pallifadoes at the bottom, with two re¬
doubts on the wings, or certain places of arms, capable
of covering the troops which are appointed for their
defence. See Battery.
B/nTERiNG-Rom, in Antiquity, a military engine
ufed to batter and beat down the walls of places be-
ffeged. It is faid to have been invented by Artemanes
of Clazomene, a Greek architefl who flouriflied 441
B. C.—The machine is thus defcribed by Jofephus :
It is a vaft beam, like the mart of a fhip, ttrengthened
at the one end with a head of iron, fomething refem-
bling that of a ram, whence it took its name. This
was hung by the middle with ropes to another beam,
which lay acrofs two poffs ; and hanging thus equally
balanced, it was by a great number of men drawn
backwards and pufhed forwards, linking the wall with
its iron head. But this engine did moll execution
when it was mounted on wheels, which is faid to have
been firft done at the fiege of Byzantium under Philip
of Macedon.
Plutarch informs us, that Mark Anthony, in the
Parthian war, made ufe of a ram fourfcore feet long :
and Vitruvius tells us, that they were fometimes 106,
and fometimea 120, feet in length *, and to this perhaps
the force and ftrength of the engine rvas in a great
meafure owing. The ram was managed at one time
by a whole century of foldiers ; and they being fpent
were feconded by another century, fo that it played
continually without any intermiflion.
Plate LXXXVIII. fig. 1. reprefents the battering-
ram fufpended. 1. The ram. 3. The form of its head,
failened to the enormous beam by three or four bands
of iron, four feet in breadth. At the extremity of
each of thefe bands (4) was a chain (5) of the fame
metal, one end of which was faftened to a hook (6),
and at the other extremity of each of thefe chains was
a cable firmly bound to the lafi link. Thefe cables
ran the whole length of the beam to the end of the
ram (7), where they were all bound together as fall
as poilible with fmall ropes. To the end of thefe
cables another was fixed, compofed of feveral ffrong
.cords plaited together to a certain length, and then
1
running Angle (8). At each of thefe feveral men were Battering,
placed, to balance and work rite machine. 10. The R',nis
chain or cable by which it hung to the crofs beam (x 1),
fixed on the top of the frame". 1 2. The bafe of the - lyT
machine.— The unfulpended ram differed from this on¬
ly in the manner of working it : for inftead of being
flung by a chain or cable, it moved on Imall wheels on.
another large beam.
BATTERiNG-Rams, in Heraldry, a bearing or coat
of arms refembiing the military engine of the fame
name.
BATTERY, in the military art, a parapet thrown
up to cover the gunners and men employed about the
guns from the enemy’s Ihot. This parapet is cut into
embrafures, for the cannon to fire through. The height .
of the embrafures on the iniide is about three feet ;
but they go Hoping lower to the outfide. Their wide-'
nefs is two or three feet, but open to fix or feven on the
outfide. The mafs of earth that is betwixt two em¬
brafures, is called the merlon. The platform of a bat¬
tery is a floor of planks and fleepers, to keep the wheels
of the guns from finking into the earth ; and is always
made Hoping towards the embrafures, both to hinder
the reverie, and to facilitate the bringing back of the
gun.
Battery cf Mortars differs from a battery of
guns j for it is funk into the ground, and has no em¬
brafures.
Crofs-BATTERiES, are two batteries which play a-
thwart one another upon the fame objeft, forming there
an angle, and beating with more violence and deftruc-
tion j becaufc what one bullet fliakes, the other beats
down.
Battery, funk ox buried, is when its platform is funk
or let down into the ground, fo that there mull be
trenches cut in the earth, againft the muzzles of the
guns, for them to fire out at, and to ferve for embra¬
fures.
Battery (P Enfilade, is one that fcours or fweeps
the whole length of a ftraight line.
Battery en Echarpe is that which plays obliquely.
Battery de Reverfe, that which plays upon the
enemy’s back.
Camerade Battery, is when feveral guns play at the
fame time upon one place.
Battery, in Law, is the unlawful beating of ano¬
ther. The leaft touching of another’s perfon wilfully,
or in anger, is a battery, for the law cannot draw' the
line between different degrees of violence, and there¬
fore totally prohibits the firll and lowert ftage of it ;
every man’s perfon being facred, and no other having
a right to meddle with it, in any the flighted manner.
And therefore, upon a fimilar principle, the Cornelian
law' de injuriis prohibited pulfation as well as verbera-
tion i diftinguifhing verberation, which was accompa¬
nied with pain, from pulfation wTich was attended with
none. But battery is in feme cafes juftifiable or law¬
ful ; as W'here one who hath authority, a parent or
mailer, gives moderate corre&ion to his child, his fcho-
lar, or his apprentice. So alfo on the principle of
felf-defence : for if one llrikes me firll, or even only
affaults me, I may llrike in my own defence ; and if
fued for it, may plead fon qffault detnefne, or that it >
was the plaintiff’s own original affault that occafioned
it. So likewife in defence of my goods or poffeflion,
if
Plate L XXX VIII.
Batterings It am
Macliuic
.^4- Blocks
BiiinacJe
Wr//
f
BAT C 47‘ ] BAT
Battifta, if a man endeavours to deptive me of them, I may
Battle juftify laying hands upon him to prevent him 5 and in
" cafe he perlifts with violence, I may proceed to beat
him away. Thus too in the exercile of an office, as
that of church-warden or beadle, a man may lay hands
upon another to turn him out of church, and prevent
his difturbing the congregation. And if fued for this
or the like battery, he may let forth the whole cafe,
and plead that he laid hands upon him gently, molliter
manus impofuit, for this purpofe. On account of thefe
caufes of juftification, battery is defined to be the un¬
lawful beating of another ; for which the remedy is,
as for a {fault, by adtion of trepafs vi et armis : wherein
the jury will give adequate damages.
BATTISTA, Franco, a celebrated painter, born
at Venice, was one of the difciples of Michael Angelo,
whofe manner he followed fo clofely, that, in the cor-
reftnefs of his outlines, he furpaffed moll; of the ma¬
ilers of his time. His paintings are pretty numerous,
and difperfed all over Italy and other parts of Europe ;
but his colouring being very dry, they are not much
more elleemed than the prints etched by his hand. He
died in 1561.
BATTLE, a general engagement between two ar¬
mies in a country fufiuciently. open for them to encoun¬
ter in front and at the fame time (fee War). The
word is alfo written battel, battel!, and battail. It is
formed from the French battaille, of the Latin verb
latuere, to fence or exercife with arms : whence batu-
aha and bata/ia, which properly denoted the adlion or
exercife of thofe wffio learned to fence, and who were
hence alfo denominated batuatores,
The ancients never joined battle without much ce¬
remony and preparation •, as taking auguries, offering
, facrifice, haranguing the foldiers, giving the word or
a teffera, &c. The lignals of battle were, founding the
‘ clajjicum or general charge, and difplaying a peculiar
flag called by Plutarch a purple robe. To which may
be added, finging pteans, railing military ffiouts, and the
like. A Roman legion, ranged in order of battle,
confiiled of hafati, placed in the front; of prmcipes,
who Were all old experienced foldiers, placed behind
the former ; and of tnaru, heavy armed with large
bucklers, behind the principes. The hajlati wtse rank¬
ed clofe ; the ranks of the principes were much opener
fo that they could receive the hafati; and thofe of the
Jriarii opener Hill, infomuch that they could receive
both the principes and the hafati within them, with¬
out any diforder, and Hill facing the enemy. When
therefore the hafati found themfelVes unable to Hand
the enemy’s charge, they retired gently within the
principes, where joining with them they renewed the
combat. If thefe found themfelves too weak to fuftain
the enemy, both retired among the triarii, where ral¬
lying, they formed a new corps, and charged with more
vigour than ever. If thefe failed, the battle was loll:
the Romans had no farther refource. The moderns
are unacquainted with this method of inferting or em¬
battling one company into another; without which
the former cannot be well fuccoured or defended, and
their places taken by others j which was a thing the
Romans praflifed with great exadlnefs. For the ve-
lites, and in later times the archers and {lingers, were
not drawm up in this regular manner, but either difpo-
fed of before the front of the hafati, or fcattered up
and down among the void fpaces of the hafati, or Battle,
fometnnes placed in two bodies in the wings. Thefe v 1
always began the combat, Ikirmiihing in dying par¬
ties with the foremoll troops of the enemy. If they were
repulfed, which was ufually the cafe, they fell back to
the Hanks of the army, or retired again in the rear.
When they retired, the hafati advanced to the charge.
As to the cavalry, it wTas polled at the two corners of
the army, like the wings on a body •, and fought fome-
times on foot, fometimes on horfeback. The auxiliary
forces compofed the twTo points of the battle, and co¬
vered the whole body of the Romans.—Other lefs
ufual forms of battle among the Romans were the
cuneus, or wredge j globus, or round form j forfex, or
pair of theers ; turns j or an oblong fquare figure ;
ferra, or faw. The Greeks were inferior to the Ro¬
mans in marffialling their armies for battle, as they
drew up their whole army in a front, and trulled
the fuccefs of the day to a fingle force. They had
three forms of battle for the horfe, viz. the fquare, the
wedge, and the rhombus or diamond form. The firfl
held bell for the defenfive; the latter for the offenfive;
the w^edge being preferred as bringing moil hands to
dgdt-
The Greeks notified the places of their battles and
viclories by adding the word Nntij ; whence Nicomedia
Nicopolis, Theffalonica, &c. The ancient Britons did
the like, by adding the word mais ; whence Maiffe-
veth, Malmailbury, &c. The Engliffi by the word
feld.—The Romans had their particular days, called
prceliares dies, in which alone it was lawful to join bat¬
tle , and others wherein it was unlawful, called dies atri.
The Athenians, by the ancient laws of their country,
were not to draw out their forces for battle till after
the feventh day of the month : And Lucian relates of
the Lacedemonians, that by the laws of Lycurgus, they
were not to fight before full moon. Among the Ger¬
mans, it w'as reputed an impiety to fight in the wane
of the moon •, and Caefar tells us, that Ariovillus was
beaten by him, becaufe, contrary to the laws of his
country, he had fought when the moon was in her
wane. The German foldiers were intimidated with the
apprehenlion, and afforded Caefar an eafy vidlory; acie
commiffa, impeditos religione hofes vie it. It is well known
that Jerufalem was taken by Pompey in an attack on
the Sabbath-day, when by the Jewiffi fuperllitious no¬
tions, they were not allowed to fight, or even to defend
themfelves. The Romans did not carry their fuperlli-
tion fo far : their atri dies were only obferved in refpert
of attacking ; no day was too holy for them to defend
themfelves in. Among the ancients, we find frequent
inllances of battles in the night *, is was by the moon¬
light that Pompey beat Mithridates, and Scipio Afdru-
bal and Syphax.
The firll pitched battle, of which we have any di-
Hindi account, is that between Crcefus and Cyrus,
deferibed by Xenophon, concerning which we have
a differtation exprefsly by M. Freret, wherein feveral
points of the ancient tadlics are well explained. In
the modern war, we find few pitched or fet battles:
the chief view of the great commanders of late days is
rather to harafs or llarve the enemy by frequent alarms,
cutting off his provifions, carrying off his baggage,
feizing his polls, &c. than to join iffue with him, and
put the whole on the event of one day 3 a battle ge-
. nerally
B A V
Bavaria.
a.i e- xe nerally deciding the fate of a campaign, fometimes oi
a whole war. Hence is is a rule, never to venture a
general battle, unlefs either you fight to advantage, or
be forced to it. Joining or giving battle Ihould always
be by defign : a general (hould never fuffer himfelf to
be forced to fight. All the meafures, movements, en¬
campments, he makes, are to lead to the execution of
his great defign, which is to fight to advantage, till by
lome miftake of the enemy, he at length find the fa¬
vourable opportunity. It is in this that a fuperior ge¬
nius will at length prevail over an inferior : in the
courfe of a campaign, he will take a number of advan¬
tages over him, which together are equivalent to a bat¬
tle, the event of which is ever doubtful.
Batlk-SIxe, an ancient military weapon. Axes
were a principal part of the offenfive armour of the
Celtae. At the fiege of the Roman Capitol by the
Gauls under Brennus, tve find one of the moft diftin-
guifhed of their warriors armed with a battle-axe. And
Ammianus IVIarcellinus, many centuries afterwards,
delcribing a body of Gauls, furnifhes them all with
battle-axes and fwords. Some of thele weapons have
been found in the fepulchres of the Britons, on the
downs of Wiltlhire, and in the north of Scotland.
Within thefe four or five centuries the Irifii went con-
ftantly armed with an axe. At the battle of Ban¬
nockburn, King Robert Bruce clave an Englifh
champion down to the chine, at one blow, with a bat¬
tle-axe. I he axe of Lochaber hath remained a for¬
midable implement of deftru&ion in the hands of our
Highlanders, even nearly to the prefent period ; and
it is dill ufed by the city-guard of Edinburgh in quell¬
ing mobs, &c.
TT LEM ENT S, in Archite&ure, are indentures
or notches in the top of a wall or other building, in
the form of embrafures, for the fake of looking through
them. 45
BAT 1 OLOGY, in Grammar, a fuperfluous repe¬
tition of lome words or things.
.BAI TON, in Merck and ife, a name given to cer¬
tain pieces of wood or deal for flooring or other
yurpofes.
BATTORY, a name given by the Hans Towns to
their magazines or faftories abroad. The chief of
thefe batteries are thole at Archangel, Novogrod,
Berghmen, Lilhon, Venice, and Antwerp.
BATUA, Butua, Buthoe, or Buthoece, in Ancient
Geography, a town of Dalmatia fltuated on the Adria¬
tic ; now Budoa ; which fee.
BATTUS, an order of penitents at Avignon and
in Provence, whole piety carries them to exercife fe-
vere difeipline upon theinfelves both in public and pri¬
vate.
BATZ, a copper coin mixed with fome filver, and
current at different rates, according to the alloy, in
Fribourg, Lucerne, and other cities
of Germany and Switzerland.
BAVARIA, a duchy and formerly ele&orate of
Germany. 'Phis duchy was once a kingdom, which
extended from the mountains of Franconia to the fron¬
tiers of Hungary and the Adriatic gulf. It compre¬
hended the countries of Tirol. Cannthia, Carniola,
Stiria, Auftria, and other flates, which are now f tllen
to different princes. At prelent it is • «> -umd on the
eaft by Bohemia and Auftria, on the weft by Suabia.
2
[ 472 ]
B A V
on the north by Franconia, and on the fouth by Tirol.
But the duke of Bavaria is not ablblute mailer of all
this country \ for -within its bounds are fituated many
free cities, among which is Ratilbon, and feveral lord-
fhips both ecclefiaftical and fecular. It is divided into
Upper and Lower Bavaria j and thefe two provinces
confift of 12 counties, which formerly fufficed to make
a duchy,, according to the laws of Franconia. The
country is watered by five navigable rivers, befides-fe-
veral fmall ones, and 16 lakes. It contains 35 cities
of which Munich is the capital; 94 towns ; 7 20 caflles *
4700 villages ; eight great abbeys ; and 75 cloifters or
monafteries, befides thofe of the mendicants. It is di¬
vided into four great bailliages called governments.
Thefe are Munich, Landftmt, Straubing, and Burk-
haufen. The principal cities are Ingolftadt, Donawert,
Landfberg, Freiberg, Straubingen, Wilftiaufen, Waf-
lerberg, Eling, Rain, &c.
Befides thefe two provinces, the duke of Bavaria
poffeffes the upper palatinate of Weflphalia, which has
been united to Bavaria, and comprehends feveral
counties, cities, towns, and villages. On the other
fide of this province is Chamb, the chief city of the
county of the fame name, belonging likewife to the
duke of Bavaria. He alfo poffefles the landgraviate of
Leitchtenber, which fell to him by the death of Maxi¬
milian Adam, in confequence of family padls made
between the houfe of Bavaria and that of Leitch-
tenberg for their mutual fucceflion. In 1567, the
county of Kaag fell to the duke of Bavaria by the death
of Ladiilaus the laft count of that name. There are
likevyife family pads of mutual fucceflion eftablilhed
betwixt the houfe of Bavaria and the Palatine of the
Rhine. The inhabitants of this country are ftrong and
laborious, exercifing themfelves in Ihooting with rilled
mufleets at a mark, in order to render themfelves more
expert in war.
T he houfe of Bavaria is univerfally allowed to be
one of the moft ancient in Germany. The counts of
Scheyren, whofe caftle at prefent is a cloifter, gave them
the name. At that place are ftrown the tombs of more
than 26 lords of Scheyren. The emperor Otho I.
eftablilhed as counts-palatine of Bavaria and landgraves
of Scheyren, Arnolph, and Herman, fons of Arnolph
brother to the duke of Berchtold of Carinthia, mar¬
quis of the county upon the Ens. After the death of
Berchtold, the fame emperor, inftead of giving Ba¬
varia to his fon, gave it to Duke Henry his brother,
who had married Judith lifter to Arnolph and Herman.
This Duke Henry of Bavaria had by his marriage
Henry Hezillon, who was fucceeded by his fon Henry,
afterwards chofen emperor by the name of Flenry II.
'Phis emperor having no children by Saint Cunegond
his wife, Bavaria paffed again to the family of Fran¬
conia, and afterwards to that of Suabia under Henry
IV. who poffeffed it till the year 1071, when this laft
emperor gave that county to Count Wolf, or Guelf, of
Ravenlhurg in Suabia. To this Guelph, who died in
the ifland of Cyprus, fucceeded Guelph II. and to him
his brother Duke Henry IX. who was fucceeded by his
fon Henry the Proud. This laft had married the only-
daughter of the emperor Lotharius, and after the death
of his father-in-law became alfo duke of Saxony 5 but
refufing to deliver up the imperial ornaments of his fa¬
ther-in-law to the emperor Conrad III. duke of Sua-
bia?
Bavay
li
Baudiu1?
B A U
bia, or to ackno^vledge him for emperor,
to the ban of the empire, and loft his ftates. After the
, death of Henry, Conrad made his brother Leopold
marquis of Auftria and duke of Bavaria j who, dying
without iflue, was fucceeded by his brother Henry XL
whom the emperor Frederic I. made duke of Auftria,
ioining together the two counties above and below the
Lns, and declaring them free and independent of the
government of Bavaria. The fame emperor gave Ba¬
varia thus difmembered, with Saxony, to Henry the
Lion, fon of Henry the Proud. But Henry»the Lion
afterwards lofing the favour of this emperor, was
put to the ban of the empire : and loft all his poffeflions
except Brunfrvick and Lunenburg, which ftill remain
to his defendants. In 1180, the duchy of Bavaria was
given by the emperor to Otho the landgrave of Wit-
tellhach, count-palatine of the houfe of Bavaria. In
the time of this Otho, the caftle of Scheyren was
changed into a monaftery, in which the duke w’as bu¬
ried. From him are defended the two great families
that remain to this day in Germany ; viz. the counts-
jralatine of the Rhine, and till lately eieftors of Bava¬
ria. The eledlor of Bavaria is now extincl, and funk
in the ele&or-palatine ; fo that there are now only eight
inftead of nine eleftoral princes in Germany.
BAY AY, a fmall town of the late province of
Plainault, now the department of the North, in France,
which has been often ruined by the wars of the Low
Countries. It was taken by the Auftrians in 1792) but
retaken the fame year. E. Long. 3. 45. N. Lat. 50.
25.
BAUCIS, m fabulous hiftory, an old woman who
lived with Philemon her hulband in a cottage in Phry¬
gia. Jupiter and Mercury, travelling over that country,
were well received by them, after having been refufed
entertainment by every body elf. To punifti the peo¬
ple for their inhumanity, thefc gods laid the country
wafte with water j but took Baucis and Philemon with
them to the top of a mountain, where they faw the
deluge, and their own little hut above the waters
turned into a temple. Having a wifh granted them,
they defired to officiate in this temple as prieft and
prieftefs, and alfo that they might die both together;
which was granted them.
BAUCONLCA, in Ancient Geography, a town of
the Vangiones in Gallia Belgica 5 nine miles from Mo-
gontiacum, and eleven from Borbitomagum •, and there¬
fore fuppofed to be Oppenheim, a town in the palatinate
of the Rhine, and lituated on that river.
BAUDELOT, Charles Caesar, a learned advo¬
cate in the parliament of Paris, diftinguiftied himfelf
by his Ikill in ancient monuments, and was received
into the Academy of Belles Lettres in 1705. He
wrote a Treatife on the Advantages of Travelling;
many Letters and Differtations on Medals, &c ; and
died in 1722, aged 74.
BAUDIER, Michael, a gentleman of Languedoc,
lived in the reign of Louis XIII. and publifhed feveral
books, which procured him the charadler of a copious
and laborious author; among which are, 1. An In¬
ventory ofthe General Hiftory of the Turks. 2. The
Hiftory ofthe Seraglio. 3. That of the Religion of
the Turksv 4. That of the Court of the King of
China. <$. The Life of Cardinal Ximenes, &c.
BAUDIUS, Dominic, profeffor of hiftory in he
Vox.. Ill, Part II. ' •
[ 473 1 B A u .
he was put univerlity of Leyden, born at Lille the 8th of Auguft
1561. He began his ftudies at Aix-la-Chapelle, and
continued them at Leyden. He removed from thence
to Geneva, where he ftudied divinity. After refiding
here fome time, he returned to Ghent, and from thence-
to Leyden, where he applied to the civil law, and was
admitted dodlor of law in June 1585- Soon after his
admiflion, he accompanied the ambaffadors from the
States to England ; and during his refidence here be¬
came acquainted with feveral perfons of diftindtion,
particularly the famous Sir Philip Sidney. He was
admitted advocate at the Hague the 5th of January
I 5S7 ; but being foon tired ol the bar, went to travel
in France, where he remained to years. He was much
efteemed in that kingdom, and gained many friends
there. Achilles de Harlai, firft prefident of the par¬
liament of Paris, got him to be admitted advocate of
the parliament of Paris in the year 1592. In 1602,
he went to England with Chriftopher de Harlai, the
prefident’s fon, who was fent ambaffador to the court
of London by Henry the Great. This fame year Bau-
dius having been named profeffor of eloquence at Ley¬
den, went and fettled in that univerfity. He read lec¬
tures on hiftory after the death of Morula, and was per¬
mitted alfo to do the fame on the civil law. In 1611,
the States conferred upon him the office of hiftoriogra-
pher in conjun&ion with Meurfius ; and in confequence
thereof he wrote The Hiftory of the Truce. Baudius
is an elegant profe writer, as appears from his letters,
many’of which were publilhed after his death. He
was alfo an excellent Latin poet. The firft edition of
his poems was printed in the year 1587 : they confift
of verfes of all the different meafures. He publifhed fe-
parately a book of iambics in 1591, dedicated to Car¬
dinal Bourbon. Some of his poems he dedicated to
the king of England ; others to the prince of Wales,
in the edition of 1607, and went over to England to
prefent them. He died at Leyden in 1613.
BAUDOBR1GA, in Ancient Geography, a town of
the Treviri in Germany ; now Boppart, in the elefto-
rate of Triers. See Boppart.
BAUDRAND, Michael Anthony, a celebrated
geographer, born at Paris July 18. 1633. He tra¬
velled into feveral countries ; and then applied himfelf
to the revifal of Ferrarius’s Geographical DidHonary,
which he enlarged by one half. He wrote, t . Notes
to Papirius Maffo’s defcription of the Rivers of France.
2. A Geographical and Hiftorical Di&ionary. 3. Chri-
ftian Geography, or an Account of the Archbifhoprics
and Bifhoprics of the whole world ; and made feveral
maps. He died at Paris, May 29. 1700.
BAUGE, a drugget manufadlured in Burgundy,
wdth thread fpun thick and coarfe wool.
Bauge, a fmall town of Anjou in France, in the
depa'rtment of Maine and Loire, feated on the river
Coefnon. E. Long. o. 10. N. Lat. 47. 30.
* BAUHIN, John, a diftinguiffied bqtanift, wTas born
at Lyons in the year 1541. He was the fon of an
eminent phyfician, who quitted France, his native
country, on account of religion, and fettled at Bafil. In
early life he travelled with Gefner, the celebrated na-
turalift, and colledled plants in the Alps, in France,
and Italy, for the purpofe of the great botanical wrork
■ which he afterwards accompliffied. He pradtifed me¬
dicine firft at Bafil, where he wras alfo eledted profef-
3 O for
Baudius
11 .
Bauhin.
B A U [
^°r r^et0r^c i566. He refided fome time at
Yverdun ; and was afterwards invited to be phyfician
•to the duke of Wirtemberg at Montbelliard, and in
this fituation he fpent the remaining forty years of his
lite. He devoted his Itudies chietiy to botany, on
which he beftowed great labour, comparing authors
ancient and modern rvith each other, and with nature,
and collefting information from all quarters. He like-
wife profecuted other branches of natural hiftory, and
publifned an account of “ Medicinal Waters through¬
out Europe,” and efpecially in the duchy of Wirtem¬
berg ; and a particular account of the mineral fpring
of Boll, and the natural hiftory of the place. His
great work on plants was not completed at his death,
which happened in 1613. A fociety at Yverdun pu’
blilhed in 1619 the Prodromus of it; but it was not till
1630 and 1651 that the work itfelf appeared in three
vols. fol. entitled Hijloria P/antarum nova et abfolu-
iijjima, cum auBorum confenfu et dijfenfu circa eas.
Bauhin’s fon-in-law, Henry Cherler, was alfo a contri¬
butor to the work. This is a great performance ; and,
with all its defedfs, has been pronounced by Haller to
oe without an equal, ft he plants are numerous, gene¬
rally well defcribed and difcriminated, and many new
fpecies are added. It is ftill confidered as a ftandard
work ; and the names of John Bauhin and his brother
rank high among the founders and firft promoters of
botanical fcience.
Bauhin, Gafpard, brother of the former, was born
in 1560. He was early devoted to phyfic, and pur-
fued his ftudies at Padua, Montpellier, and fome of the
celebrated fchools of Germany. In his journies he col-
lefted a number of plants which had efcaped his
brother’s notice. Returning to Bafil in 1580, he was
admitted to the degree of do<ftor, and gave private
leftures in botany and anatomy. In 1582 he was ap¬
pointed to the Greek profeflbrlhip in that univerfity,
and in 1588, to the anatomical and botanical chairs. He
was at laft made city-phyfician, profeflbr of the prac¬
tice of medicine, redlor of the univerfity, and dean of
his faculty. Thus diftinguiftied and honoured, he ac¬
quired great reputation. He became eminent as a
botanift, and was aided in his refearches by the contri¬
butions of his dilciples and friends in various parts of
Europe. Haller gives him the charafter of being af-
fiduous and laborious in collecting plants, by which he
furpalled his brother in number of them, and alfo in
the accuracy of his figures ; but he poffeffes lefs acute-
nefs of judgment in diftinguilhing varieties, and detec¬
ting the fame fpecies under different names. He pu-
blilhed feveral works relative to botany, of which the
moft valuable is his Pinax Theatri Botanici, feu index
in Tbeophraf 1, Diofcoruhs, Plinu, et botanicorum qui
a feculo fcripferunt opera, p/antarum fere fex millium
nomina cum fynonimiis et dijferentiis. Opus XIV. an-
norum, q-to. ^ The confufion that began to arife at this
time from the number of botanical writers who de¬
fcribed the fame plant under different names, rendered
fuch a talk as this highly neceffary 5 and though there
are many defects in the execution, the Pinax of Bauhin
is ftill a ufeful key to all writers before his time. Ano¬
ther great work which he planned was a Theatrum
Botanicunt, meant to comprife twelve parts, fol. of
which he finifhed three, but only one -was publilhed.
He aifo gave a very copious catalogue of the plants
Eauik.
474 1 B A V
growing in the environs of Bald j and he edited the Baithinij
works of Matthiolus, with confiderable additions.
Gafpard alio wrote on anatomy, which he ftudied
under Hieronymus ab Aquapendente, and puifued with
vigour during his youth. The principal is Theatrum
Anatomicum inf nit is locis auBum, qto. Franhf. 1621 ;
which is a kind of pinax of anatomical fadfts and opi¬
nions. He alfo publilhed a colle&ion of aqatomical
plates. He died in 1613.
BAUHINIA, mountain ebony. See Botany
Index.
BAVINS, in JVar, brufli faggots, made with the
brulh at length. See Fascines j and Fire-ship,
note (d).
BAUM, in Botany. See Melissa, Botany In¬
dex.
BAUME, St, a mountain of Provence in France,
between Marfeilles and Toulon. Here Mary Magda¬
len is faid to have died, on which account it is much
frequented.
BAUME-/es-Nomes, a town of France, in the depart¬
ment of l)oub, which had a rich nunnery, from whence
it takes its name, feated on the river Doux, in E.
Long. 6. 20. N. Lat. 47. 12. Five miles from this
town is a remarkable cavern, w’hofe entrance is 20
paces wide j and after defcending 300 paces, the gate
of a grotto is feen, twice as large as that of a city.
The grotto is 35 paces deep, 60 wide, and is covered
with a kind ol a vaulted roof, from which water con¬
tinually drops. There is alfo a fmall brook, faid to
be frozen in fummer, but not in winter ; and at the
bottom are ftones that exaftly refemble candied citron
peel. When the peafants perceive a mill riling out of
this cave, they affirm that it wdll certainly rain the
next day.
BAUMEN, or Bauman, a cave of Lower Saxony
in Germany, about a mile from Wermigerode, and 18
from Collar. The entrance is through a rock j and fo
narrowq that not above one perfon can pafs at a time.
There are feveral paths in it, which the peafants have
turned up, in fearching for the bones of animals which
they fell for unicorn’s horns. Some think this cave
reaches as far as Collar j but be this as it will, the Ike-
letons of men have been found in it, who are fuppofed
to have been loft in the turnings and windings.
BAUR, William, an eminent Flemilh painter,
was born at Strafburg, and was the difciple of Bren-
del. He was fome time at Rome, where his ftudies
were wholly employed about archite61ure and land-
fcapes, which prevented his ftudying the antique. He
painted fmall figures in diftemper on vellum. He etch¬
ed with great fpirit. His largeft works are in the hi-
ftorical way. He has given us many of the lieges, and
battles, which wafted Flanders in the 16th century.
They may be exaft, and probably they are : but they
are rather plans than pictures ; and have little to re¬
commend them but hiftoric truth, and the freedom of
the execution. His beft prints are fome chara&ers he
has given us of different nations, in which the peculia¬
rities of each are very well preferved. His Ovid is a
poor performance. He died at Vienna in 1640.
BAUSK or Bautko, a fmall but important towTi
in the duchy of Courland, on the frontiers of Poland,
with a ftrong caftle built on a rock. It was taken by
the Swedes in 1625, and by the Ruffians in 1705, af-
• ter
BAX t 475 ] BAX
Bautry ter a bloody battle between them and the Swedes.
II It is feated on the river Mufa, in E. Long-. 24. 44.
Baxter. R Lat> ^ ^
BAUTRY, or Bawtrv, a town in the weft rid¬
ing of Yorklhire, on the road from London to York.
It has long been noted for millftones and grindftones
brought hither by the river Idle, on which it is feated.
W. Long. 1. o. N. Lat. 53. 27.
BAUTZEN, or Budissen, a confiderable town
of Germany, and capital of Upper Lufatia, fubjeft to
the eleftor of Saxony, with a ftrong citadel. The
Proteftants at well as Papifts have here the free exer-
cife of their religion. E. Long. 14. 42. N. Lat. 51.
10.
BAUX, a town of Provence in France, now the
department of the Mouths of the Rhine, with the title
of a marquifate, feated on a rock, at the top of which
is a ftrong caftle. E. Long. 5. o. N. Lat. 43. 42.
BAWD, a perfon tvho keeps a place of proftitu-
tion, or makes a trade of debauching women, and pro¬
curing or condufting criminal intrigues. Some think
the word is derived from the old French Baude, bold
or impudent $ though Verftegan has a conjefture which
would carry it higher, viz. from bathe anciently writ¬
ten bade. In which fenfe bawd originally imported no
more than bath-holder, as if bagnios had anciently
been the chief fcenes of fuch proftitution.
The Romans had their male as well as female
bawds ; the former denominated lenones and proagogi,
among us panders ; the latter, /ence. Donatus, fpeak-
ing of the habits of the ancient chara&ers in comedy,
fays, Lena pa/iis vara coloris utitur. But the ancient
lenones, it is to be obferved, furnifhed boys as well as
girls for venereal fervice. Another fort of thefe mer¬
chants or dealers in human flefti, were called man^o-
nes, by the Greeks who fold eunuchs,
flaves, &c. By a law ot Conftantine, bawds were to
be puniihed by pouring melted lead down their throats.
See the next article.
BAwor-Houfe, a houfe of ill fame, to which lewd
perfons of both fexes refort, and there have criminal
converfation.
'I he keeping a bawdy-houfe is a common nuifa-nce,
not only on account that it endangers the public peace
by drawing together debauched and idle perfons, and
promoting quarrels, but likewife for its tendency to
corrupt the manners of the people. And therefore
perfons convifted of keeping bawdy houfes, are pu-
nithable by fine and imprifonment; alfo liable to ftand
in the pillory, and to fuch other punilhment as the
court at'their difcretion fhall infli&. Perfons reforting
to a bawdy-houfe are likewife puniftiable, and they
may be bound to their good behaviour.—It was al¬
ways held infamous to keep a bawdy-houfe : yet fome
of our hiftorians mention bawdy-houfes publicly al¬
lowed here in former times till the reign of Henry
VIII. and aflign the number to be 18 thus allowed on
the bank-fide in Southwark. See Stews and Bro¬
thel.
Bawdy-howfes are licenfed in Holland, and pay a
confiderable tax to the ftate.
BAWLING, among fportfmen, is fpoke of the
dogs when they are too bufy before they find the fcent
good.
BAXTER, Richard, an eminent divine among
the Nonconformifts, was born at Rowton in Shrop-
fhire, November 12. 1615; and diftinguifhed himfelf
by his exemplary life, his pacific and moderate prin¬
ciples, and his numerous writings. He was remark¬
able for his piety even when he was very young. Up¬
on the opening of the long parliament, he was chofen
vicar of Kidderminfter. Tn the heat of the civil wars
he withdrew from that tow-n to Coventry, and preach¬
ed to the garrifon and inhabitants. When Oliver
Cromwell was made proteftor, he w?ould by no means
comply with his meafures, though he preached once
before him. He came to London juft before the de-
pofmg of Richard Crormvell, and preached before the
parliament the day before they voted the return of
King Charles II. who upon his reftoration appointed
him one of his chaplains in ordinary. He aflhied at
the conference in the Savoy, as one of the commiflion-
ers for fLting the fundamentals in religion, and then
drew up a reformed liturgy. He was offered the biihop-
rick of Hereford 5 which he refufed ; affe&ing no
higher preferment than the liberty of continuing mini-
fter of Kidderminfter j which he could not obtain, for
he was not permitted to preach there above twice or
thrice after the Reftoration. Wliereupon he returned
to London, and preached occafionally about the city,
till the aft of uniformity took place. In 1662, Mr
Baxter was married to Margaret Charleton, daughter
to Francis Charleton, Elq. of the county of Salop,
who was efteemed one of the beft juftices of the peace
in that county. She was a woman of great piety, and
entered thoroughly into her hufhand’s view's concern¬
ing religion. During the-plague in 1665 he retired
into Buckinghamfhire ; but afterwards returned to Ac¬
ton, where he ftaid till the aft againft conventicles ex
pired *, and then his audience was fo large that he
wanted room. Upon this he wTas committed to pri-
fon $ but procuring a habeas corpus, he w as difehar-
ged. After the indulgence in 1672, he returned to
London j and in 1682 he was feized for coming with¬
in five miles of a corporation. In 1684 he was feized
again ; and in the reign of King James II. was com¬
mitted prifoner to the King’s Bench, and tried before
the lord chief juftice Jefferies for his Paraphrafe on the
New Feftament, which wTas called a fcandalous and Je-
ditious book againft the government. He continued
in prifon two years ; from whence he was at laft dif-
charged, and had his fine remitted by the king. He
died December the 8th 1691 ; and w-as buried in
Chrift-church.
Mr Sylvefter fays, that Mr Baxter’s “ perfon was
tall and llender, and ftooped much : his countenance
compofed and grave, fomewhat inclining to fmile. He
had a piercing eye, a very articulate fpeeeh, and de¬
portment rather plain than complimental.” rI here is
an original portrait of him at Dr Williams’s library,
founded for the ufe of Proteftant Diffenting Minifters,
in Red-crofs-llreet. Mr Sylvefter alfo fays, that “ he
had a great command over his thoughts. He had that
happy faculty, fo as to anfwer the charafter that was
given of him by a learned man diffenting from him, af¬
ter difeourfe wuth him 5 which w’as that he could fay
what he would, and he could prove what he faid. He
was moft intent upon the neceffary things. Rational
learning he moft valued, and was a very extraordinary
mailer of. And as to his expreffive faculty, he fpake
3 Q 2 properly,
Baxter
\
Baxter,
BAX [
properly, plainly, pertinently, and pathetically.
could Ipeak luitably, both to men’s capacities and to
the things infilled on. He was a perl'on wonderful at
extemporate preaching.” But his common practice
appears to have been to preach with notes ; though he
laid, “ That he thought it very needful for a minifter
to have a body of divinity in his head.” He was ho¬
noured with the friendihip of fome of the greatell and
belt men in the kingdom (as the earl of Lauderdale,
the earl of Balcarras, Lord Chief jultice Hales, Dr
Tillotfon, &c.) and held correfpondence with fome of
the moll eminent foreign divines.—He wrote above i 20
books, and had above 60 written againft him. The'
former, however, it Ihould feem, were greatly prefe¬
rable to the latter; fince Dr Barrow, an excellent
judge, fays, that “ his practical writings w-ere never
mended, his controverfial feldom confuted.”
Mr Granger’s charafter of him is too Itriking to
be omitted. “ Richard Baxter was a man famous for-
vveaknels of body and ftrength of mind 5 for having
the Itrongelt fenle of religion himfelf, and exciting a
fenie of it in the thoughtleis and prodigate : for preach¬
ing more fermons, engaging in more controveriies, and
writing more books, than any other Nonconformiit of
his age. He fpoke, difputed, and wrote with eafe •,
and dilcovered the fame intrepidity wdien he reproved
Cromw'ell and expoftulated with Charles II. as when
he preached to a congregation of mechanics. His
zeal for religion wras extraordinary ; but it feems never
to have prompted him to faction, or carried him to en-
thufiafm. This champion of the Prelbyterians wras
the common butt of men of every oth^r religion, and
of thofe who w?ere of no religion at all. But this had
very little effect upon him : his prefence and his firm-
nefs of mind on no occalion forfook him. He was
juft the fame man before he wrent into a prifon, while
he was in it, and when he came out of it; and he
maintained an uniformity of character to the laft gafp
of his life. His enemies have placed him in hell ; but
every man who has not ten times the bigotry that Mr
Baxter himfelf had, mult conclude that he is in a bet¬
ter place. This is a very faint and imperfect Iketch
of Mr Baxter’s character : men of his fize are not to
Ire drawn in miniature. His portrait, in full propor¬
tion, is in his Narrative of his oven Life and Times;
which though a rhapfody, compofed in the manner of
a diary, contains a great variety of memorable things,
476 1 BAX
He compofed feveral books. The firft he publifhed was a
Grammar, in 1679, entitled Ue Analogia feu Arte'-
Latina Ltnguce Commentanolus, He alfo publilhed a
new and correct edition of Anacreon, with notes; an
edition of Horace ; a Dictionary of the Britilli anti¬
quities, in Latin : and feveral other books. He was
a great mailer of the ancient Britilh and Irilh tongues,
was particularly Ikilled in the Latin and Greek, and
in the northern and ealtern languages. He died May
31- I723» after being above 20 years mailer of Mer¬
cer’s School in London.
Baxter, Andrevb, a very ingenious metaphyfical
writer, was . born in 1686 or 1687, at Old Aberdeen
(where his father was a merchant), and educated in
King’s College there. His principal employment was
that of a private tutor to young gentlemen ; and a-
mong others of his pupils were Lord Gray, Lord Blan-
tyre, and Mr Hay of Drummelzier. About 1724 he
married the daughter of a clergyman in the liiire of
Berwick. A few years after he publilhed in 410, “An
Inquiry into the Nature of the human Soul, wherein
its immateriality is evinced from the principles of rea-
fon and phrlbfophy without date. In 1741 he went
abroad with Mr Hay, and refided lome years at U-
trecht ; having there alfo Lord Blant) re under his egre.
He made excurlions from thence into Flanders, France,
and Germany ; his wife and family refiding, in the
mean time, chiefly at Berwick-upon-Tweed.^ He re¬
turned to Scotland in 1747, and relided till his death
at Whittingham, in the Ihire of Fait Lothian. He
drew up, for the ufe of his pupils and his fon, a piece
entitled Matho ; fve, Cufmotheoria pueriiis, Dialogus.
In quo pnma elementa de mundi ordine et ornatu propo-
nuntur, b'c. This was afterwards greatly enlarged,
and publilhed in Englifh, in two volumes 8vo. ^ In
1750 was publilhed, “ An Appendix to his Inquiry
into the Nature of the human Soul : wherein he en¬
deavours to remove fome difficulties wFich had been
liarted againft his notions of the vis inertia of matter,
by Maclaurin, in his “ Account of Sir Ifaac New¬
ton’s. Philofophical Difcoveries.” To this piece Mr
Baxter prefixed a dedication to Mr John Wilkes, with
whom he had commenced an acquaintance abroad.
He died April the 23d, 1750, after fuffering for fome
months under a complication of dilorders, of which
the gout was the chief. He left a wife, three daugh¬
ter, and one fon, Mr Alexander Baxter; from which
Baxter.
and is itfelf, as far as it goes, a Hiftory of Noncon- laft the authors of Biographia Britannica received, as
, lormity.”—Among his molt famous works were, 1. they inform us, fundry particulars of his life.
The Saints Everlafting Reft
2. Call to the Uncon¬
verted, of which 20,000 were fold in one year ; and
it was tranflated not only into all the European lan¬
guages, but into the Indian tongue. 3. Poor Man’s
Family Book. 4. Dying Thoughts ; and, 5. A Pa-
raphrafe on the New Teftament. His praftical works
have been printed in four volumes folio.
Ba'xter, William, nephew and heir to the former,
was an eminent fchoolmafter and critic. He was born
at Lanlugany in Shropihire, in the year 16^0 ; and it
is remarkable, that at the age of 18, when he firft went
to fchool, he knew not one letter nor underltood one
word of any language but Welih ; but he fo well im¬
proved his time, that he became a perfen of great and
extenfive knowledge. His genius led him chiefly to
the ftudy of antiquities and philology, in -which he
His learning and abilities are fufficiently difplayed
in his writings. He was extremely ftudious, and
fometimes fat up whole nights in reading and writing.
His temper at the fame time was very cheerful, and he
was a friend to innocent merriment. It is faid of
Mr Baxter, that he entered with much good humour
into the converfation and pleafures of young people,
when they were of an innocent nature : and that he
prefided, all the time of his abode at Utrecht, at the
ordinary which was frequented by all the young Eng¬
lifh gentlemen there, with much gaiety and politenefs,
and in fuch a manner as gave univerfal fatisfactiou.
He alio frequented the molt polite affemblies in that
city, and his company and converfation were parti¬
cularly acceptable to the ladies. So that Mr Baxter
appears to have ftudied the graces, though without
neglecting
BAY [ 477 J BA Y
Baxter,
Bay.
neglecting more valuable acquifitions and accomplitli-
ments. He was at once" the icholar and the gentle¬
man. In conveiTation he was modeft, and not apt to
make much fhow of the extenilve knowledge of which
he was pofleiied. In the dilcharge of the feveral fo-
cial and relative duties of life, his conduct was exem¬
plary. He had the molt reverential fentiments of the
Deity, of wh'ofe prefence and immediate fupport he
had always a llrong impreflion upon his mind 5 and
the general tenor of his life appears to have been con¬
formable to the rules of virtue. Mr Baxter paid a
itriii attention to economy, though he drefled elegant¬
ly, and was not parfimonious in his other expences.
It is known alio, that there were feveral occaiions on
which he a£ted with remarkable difintereitednefs ; and
fo far was he from courting preferment, that he has
repeatedly declined conliderable offers of that kind
which were made him, if he would have taken orders
in the church of England. The French, German, and
Dutch languages were fpoken by him with much eafe,
and the Italian tolerably *, and he wrote and read them
all, together with the Spanilh. Elis friends and cor-
refpondents were numerous and refpeftable ; and a-
mbng them are particularly mentioned Mr Pointz, pre¬
ceptor to the late duke of Cumberland, and Dr War-
burton, bilhop of Gloucefler. Ele w7as a man alfo of
great benevolence and candour; which appears molt
llrikiiigly from this, inafmuch as though Mr Wilkes
had made himfelf fo very obnoxious to the Scotilh na¬
tion in general, yet Mr Baxter kept up with him an
affectionate correfpondence to the laft, even after, he
was unable to write with his own hand. He left ma¬
ny mamifcripts behind him •, he would gladly have
fmifhed his work upon the human foul: “ I own,” fays
he, in a letter to Mr Wilkes, “ if it had been the will
of heaven, I would gladly have lived till I had put in
order the fecond part of the Enquiry, fhowing the im¬
mortality of the human foul ; but Infinite Wiidom
cannot be miltaken in calling me fooner. Our blind-
nefs makes us form wilhes.” It was indeed, what he
cpufidered it, his capital work : a lecond edition of it
was publifhed in two volumes 8vo in 1737, and a third
in 1745. In another letter, fpeaking of his endeavours
to eltablifh the particular providence of the Deity, and
to Ihow his inceffant influence and aftion on all the
parts of matter, through the wide univerfe, from th^
tnaftivity of this dead fubflance ; expreffes his hope,
that when the prefent party-zeal fubfrdes a little, men
will come more eafily in to own fuch a plain truth. “ His
prediction,” the editors of the Biographia Britannica
obferve, “ hath not yet been accompliflied. Several
eminent names feem rather diipofed to increafe than to
leffen the powers of matter ; and they have exprefsly
mlhitained that the foul of man is material. However,
other names equally eminent have afferted the effential
diitinClion between the mind and'the body. Perhaps,
in the revolutions of opinion, the docfrine of immate¬
riality may again obtain the general fuffrage of meta-
phyflcal and philofophical inquiry.
B a Y, in Geography, an arm of the fea lEooting up
into the land, and terminating in a nook. It is a kind
of leffer gulf bigger than a creek, and is larger in its
middle within than at its entrance. The largeft and
moll noted bays in the world are tkofe of Bifcay, Ben¬
gal, Hudfon’s, Panama, See.
Bay denotes likewiie a pond-head made to keep in Bay
ftore of water for driving the wheels of the furnace or ^ - ,
hammer belonging to an iron mill, by the ftream that ,  _."_j
comes thence through a flood-gate called the pen-Jlock.
BAr-Colour denotes a-fort ot red inclining to chef-
nut, chiefly ufed in fpeaking of horfes. In this fenfe,
the word hay is formed irom the Latin haius, or hadius,
and that from the Greek (iutss, a branch ; fo that
badtus or bay properly denotes color phceniceus. Hence
alio, among the ancients, thofe now called bay horfes,
were denominated eqiu palniati. We have divers forts
and degrees of bays ; as a light bay, a dapple bay, &c.
Ail bay hories.are faid to have black manes; which
diftinguilhes them from forrels, which have red or white
manes.
Bay, among huntfmen, is when the dogs have
earthed a vermin, or brought a deer, boar, or the like,
to turn head againft them. In this cafe, not only the
deer, but the dogs, are faid to bay. It is dangerous
going in to a hart at bay, efpecially at rutting-,time ;
for then they are fierceft. There are bays at land, and
others in the water.
Bay-Tree. See Taurus, Botany Index,
BAr-Salt. See Salt.
BAYA, or Baja, a town of Lower Hungary, in
the county of Bath, fituafed near the Danube. E.
Long. 19. 30. N. Lat. 46. 24.
BAYARD, Peter du terrail de, efteemed by
his cotemporaries the model of fbldiers and men of ho¬
nour, and denominated The knight without fear and
without reproach, was defeended from an ancient and
noble family in Dauphine. He was with Charles VIII.
at the conqueft of the kingdom of Naples ; where he
gave remarkable proofs of his valour, efpecially at the
battle of lornoue. He was dangeroufly wounded at
the taking of the city of Brefcia : and there reftored to
the daughters of his hoft 2000 pifloles, which their
mother had directed them to give him in order to pre¬
vent the houfe from being plundered ; an aftion that
has been celebrated by many hiitorians. At. his return
to h ranee, he w7as made lieutenant-general of Dauphine.
He fought by the fide of Francis I. at the battle of
Marignan; and that prince afterwards infifted on being
knighted by his hand, after the manner of the ancient
knights. The chevalier Bayard defended Meziers du¬
ring fix weeks, againft Charles V.’s army. In 1524,
at the retreat of Rebec f (the geneml Borfivet having, I7, „ .
been wounded and obliged to quit the field, the con- churle/sr.
duft of the rear was committed to the chevalier Bayard, book v.
who, though fo much a ftranger to the arts of a court
that he never rofe to the chief command, was always
called, in times of real danger, to the pofts of greateit
difficulty and importance. He put himfelf at the, head
of the men at arms ; and animating them by his pre-
fence and example to fuftain the whole ihock of the ene¬
my’s troops, he gained time for the reft of his .countrv-
men to make good their retreat. But in this fervice
he received a wound which he immediately, perceived
to be mortaland being unable to continue any longer
on horfeback, he ordered one of his attendants to place
him under a tree, with his face towards the enemy .
then fixing his eyes on the guard of his fword, whicij
he held up inftead of a crofs, he addreffed his prayej -
to God ; and in this pofture, which became his cha*
rafter both as a foldier and as a Chriftian, he calmly
BAY
Bayeux,
Bayle.
waited the approach of death.  7
foremoft of the enemy’s troops, found him in this fi
tuation, and expreffed regret and pity at the fight.
“ Pity not me,” cried the high-fpirited chevalier,
“ I die as a man of honour ought, in the difcharge of
fl my duty : they indeed are objefts of pity, who fight
“ againft their king, their country, and their oath.”
I he marquis de Pefcara, paffing foon after, manifefted
his admiration of Bayard’s virtue, as tvell as his forrow
for his fate, with the generofity of a gallant enemy j
and finding that he could not be removed with fafety
from that fpot, ordered a tent to be pitched there, and
appointed proper perfons to attend him. He died,
notwithlfanding their care, as his anceftors for feveral
generations had done, in the field of battle. Pefcara,
ordered his body to be embalmed, and fent to his rela¬
tions ; and fuch was the refpeft paid to military merit
in that age, that the duke of Savoy commanded it to
be received with royal honours in all the cities of his
dominions: in Dauphine, Bayard’s native country, the
people of all ranks came out in a folemn proceihon to
meet it.
BAYEUX, a confiderable town of France in the
department of Calvados, with a rich bilhop’s fee. The
cathedral church is accounted the fineft in that pro¬
vince ; and its front and three high fteeples are faid
to be the bell in France. W. Long. o. 33. N. Lat.
49. 16.
BAYLE, Peter, author of the Hillorical and Cri-
-tical Dictionary, was born November 18. 1657, at
Carla, a village in the county of Foix, in France,
where his father John Bayle was a Proteftant minifter.
In 1 666, he went to the Proteftant univerfity at Puy-
laureus, where he ftudied with the greateft applica¬
tion-, and in 1669, removed to the univerfity of Tou-
loufe, whither the Proteftants at that time frequently
fent their children to ftudy under the Jefuits: but
here, to the great grief of his father, he embraced the
Romilh religion. However, being foon fenfible of his
error, he left that univerfity, and went to ftudy at Ge¬
neva -, after which he was chofen profeflbr of philofo-
phy at Sedan: but that Proteftant univerfity being fup-
prelTed by Louis XIV. in 1681, he was obliged to
leave the city ; and was foon after chofen profeffbr of
philofophy and hiftory at Rotterdam, with a falary of
about 45I. a year. The year following he publilhed
his Letter concerning Comets. And Father Maimbourg
having publifhed about this time his Hiftory of Cal-
vinifm, wherein he endeavours to draw upon the Pro¬
teftants the contempt and refentment of the Catholics,
Mr Bayle wrote a piece to confute his hiftory. The
reputation which he had now acquired, induced the
States of Friezland, in 1684, t0 °ffer him a profeiTor-
Ihip in their univerfity 5 but he wrote them a letter of
thanks, and declined the offer. The fame year he
began to publilh his Nouvel/es de la republique des let*
tres.
In 1686, he was drawn into a difpute in relation to
the famous Chriftina queen of Sweden. In his journal
for April, he took notice of a printed letter, fuppofed
to have been written by her Swediih majefty to the che¬
valier de Terlon, wherein {he condemns the perfecution
of the Proteftants in France. He inferted the letter it-
felf in his Journal for May j and in that of June follow¬
ing he fays, “ What we hinted at in our laft month,
1
[ 478 3 BAY
Bourbon, who led the is confirmed to us from day to day, that Chriftina is
the real author of the letter concerning the perfecu-
tions in Franpe, which is aferibed to her : it is a re¬
mainder of Proteftantilm.” Mr Bayle received an
anonymous letter; the author of which fays, that he
wrote to him of his owm accord, being in duty bound
to it as a fervant of the queen. He complains that
Mr Bayle, fpeaking of her majefty, called her only
Chriftina, without any title j he finds alfo great fault
vyith his calling the Jetter “ a remainder of Proteftan¬
tilm.” He blames him likewife for inferting the w-ords
“ I am,” in the conclufion of the letter, “ Thefe
words ('fays this anonymous writer) are not her maje¬
fty’s j a queen, as Hie is, cannot employ thefe words
but with regard to a very few perfons, and Mr de Ter¬
lon is not of that number.” Mr Bayle wrote a vindi¬
cation of himfelf as to thefe particulars, with which
the author of the anonymous letter declared himfelf fa-
tisfied, excepting what related to “ the remainder of
Proteftantifm.” He would not admit of the defence
with regard to that expreflion ; and in another letter,
advifed him to retraft that expreflion. He adds in a
poftfeript, “ You mention, in your Journal of Auguft,
a fecond letter of the queen, which you fcruple to pub¬
lilh. Her majefty w-ould be glad to fee that letter;
and you will do a thing agreeable to her if you would
fend it to her. You might take this opportunity of
writing to her majefty. This counfel may be of fome
ufe to you j do not negled it.” Mr Bayle took the
hint, and wrrote a letter to her majefty, dated the 14th
of November 1686 ; to which the queen, on the 14th
of December, wrote the following anfwer : “ Mr
Bayle, I have received your excufes \ and am wdlling
you ftiould know by this letter, that I am fatisfied
wdth them. I am obliged to the zeal of the perfon
who gave you occafion of writing to me : for I am ve¬
ry glad to know you. You exprefs fo much refpeft
and affeflion for me, that I pardon you fincerely ; and
I would have you know, that nothing gave me of¬
fence but that remainder of Proteftantifm, of w'hich you
accufed me. I am very delicate on that head, becaufe
nobody can fufpefl me of it, without leffening my glo¬
ry, and injuring me in the moft fenfible manner. You
would do \vell if you ftrould even acquaint the public
with the miftake you have made, and with your re¬
gret for it. This is all that remains to be done by
you, in order to deferve my being entirely fatisfied
with you. As to the letter which you have fent me,
it is mine without doubt $ and fince you tell me that it
is printed, you will do me a pleafure if you fend me
fome copies of it. As I fear nothing in France, fo
neither do I fear any thing at Rome. My fortune,
my blood, and even my life, are entirely devoted to
the fervice of the church but I flatter nobody, and
and will never fpeak any thing but the truth. I am
obliged to thofe who have been pleafed to publiftr my
letter, for I do not at all difguife my fentiments. I
thank God, they are too noble and too honourable to
be difowned. However, it is not true that this letter
w-as written to one of my minifters. As I have every-
W'here enemies and perfons who envy me, fo in all pla¬
ces I have friends and fervants : and I have poflibly as
many in France, notwithftanding of the court, as any¬
where in the world. This is purely the truth, and you
may regulate yourfelf accordingly. But you (hall not
get
Bayle.
BAY [ 479 J
get off 1*0 cheap as you imagine. I will enjoin you a fcheme
penance ; which is, that you will henceforth take the
trouble of fending me all curious books that {hall be
publilhed in Latin, French, Spanifh, or Italian, on
whatever fubjeft or fcience, provided they are worthy
of being looked into ; I do not even except romances
or fatires ", and above all, if there are any books of
chemiftry, I defire you may fend them to me as foon
as potliblc. Do not forget likewife to fend me your
Journal. I (hall order that you be paid for whatever
you lay out, do but lend me an account of it. This
will be the moil: agreeable and molt important fervice
that can be done me. May God profper you.
Christina Alexandra.”
It now only remained that Mr Bayle (hould acquaint
the public with the mUtake he had made, in order to
merit that princefs’s entire fatisfaftion •, and this 1m
did in the beginning of his Journal of the month of
January, 1687.
The perfecution which the Proteftants at this time
fuffered in France affected Mr Bayle extremely. He
made occaftonally feme reflections on their lufferings
in his Journal; and he wrote a pamphlet alfo on the
fubjeCt. Some time afterwards he publilhed his Com-
mentaire Philofophique upon thele words, “ Compel
them to come in but the great application he gave
to this and his other works, threw him into a fit of
ficknefs, which obliged him to difeontinue his Litera
ry Journal. Being advifed to try a change of air, he
left Rotterdam on the 8th of Augulf, and went to
Cleves j whence, after having continued fome time, he
removed to Aix la Chapelle, and from thence return¬
ed to Rotterdam on the 18th of OCtober. In the year
1690, the famous book, entitled, Avis aux Rufugie'Z,
&cc. made its appearance. Mr Jurieu, who took Mr
Bayle for the author thereof, wrote a piece againft it ;
and he prefixed an advice to the public, wherein he
calls Mr Bayle a profane perfon, and a traitor enga¬
ged in a confpiracy againft the ftate. As foon as Mr
Bayle had read this libel againft him, he went to the
grand fchout of Rotterdam, and offered to go to pri-
fon, provided his accufer would accompany him, and
undergo the punhbment he deferved if the accufation
was found unjuft. He publithed alfo an anfwer to Mr
jurieu’s charge •, and as his reputation, nay his very
life, was at ftake in cafe the accufation of trealon was
proved, he therefore thought himfelf not obliged to
keep any terms with his accufer, and attacked him
■with the utmoft feverity. Mr Jurieu loft all patience :
he applied himfelf to the magiftrates of Amfterdam j
w'ho advifed him to a reconciliation with Mr Bayle,
and enjoined them not to publifti any thing againft
each other till it was examined by Mr Boyer, the pen-
fioner of Rotterdam. But notwithftanding this prohi¬
bition, Mr Jurieu attacked Mr Bayle again wdth fo
much paflion, that he forced him to write a new vindi¬
cation of himfelf.
In November 1690, M. de Beauval advertiled in
his journal, A fcheme for a Critical Dictionary. This
was the work of Mr Bayle. The articles of the three
firft letters of the alphabet wrere already prepared ; but
a difpute happening betwixt him and M. de Beauval,
obliged him for fome time to lay afide the work. Nor
did he refume it till May 1692, when he publiftied his
BAY
    . but the public not approving of his plan, he
threw it into a different form j and the firft volume was
publiflied in Auguft 1695? and the fecond in Odlober
following. The work was extremely well received by
the public 5 but it engaged him in frefli difputes, par¬
ticularly with Mr jurieu and the Abbe Renaudot. Mr
Jurieu publiihed a piece, wherein he endeavoured to
engage the ecclefiaftical affembliesto condemn the dic¬
tionary j he prefented it to the fenate fitting at Delft,
but they took no notice of the affair. I he confiftory
of Rotterdam granted Mr Bayle a hearing ; and after
having heard his anfwers to their remarks on his dic¬
tionary, declared themfelves fatisfied, and advifed him
to communicate this to the public. Mr Jurieu made
another attempt with the confiftory in 1698 ; and fo
far he prevailed with them, that they exhorted Mr
Bayle to be more cautious with regard to his princi¬
ples in the fecond edition of his dictionary; which was
publiflied in 1702, wdth many additions and improve¬
ments.
Mr Bayle was a moft laborious and indefatigable
wmiter. In one of his letters to iVIaizeux, he fays,
that fince his 20th year he hardly remembers to have
had any leifure. His intenie application contnbuted-
perhaps to impair his conftitution, for it foon began to
decline. He had a decay of the lungs, which weak¬
ened him confiderably ; and as this w'as a diflemper
which had cut off feveral of his family, he judged it to
be mortal, and would take no remedies. He died the
28th of December 1706, after he had been writing the
greateft part of the day. He wrote feveral books b_e-
fides what we have mentioned, many of wdiich wTere in
his own defence againft attacks he had received from
the abbe Renaudot, Mr Clerk, M. Jaquelot, and o-
thers. Among the produftions which do honour to
the age of Louis XIV. Mr Voltaire has not omitted
the Critical Dictionary of our author : “ It is the firft
work of the kind (he fays) in which a man may learn
to think.” He cenfures indeed thofe articles which
contain only a detail of minute faCts, as unw’orthy ei¬
ther of Bayle, an underftanding reader, or pofterity.
“ In placing him (continues the fame author) amongft
the writers who do honour to the age of Louis XlV.
notwithftanding his being a refugee in Holland, I
only conform to the decree of the parliament of Tho-
loufe, which, when it declared his will valid in France,
notwithftanding the rigour of the laws, exprefsly faidr
that fuch a man could not be conjidered as a foreign--
er.”
BAYLY, Lewis, author of that moft memorable
book, entitled “ The Praaice of Piety.” He was
born at Caermarthen in Wales, educated at Oxford,
made minifter ofEvefhaminWoreefterlhire about 1611,
became chaplain to King James, and was promoted
to the fee of Bangor in 1616. Plis book is dedicated
to the high and mighty prince, Charles prince of
Wales; and the author tells his highnefs, “ that he
had endeavoured to extraCl out of the chaos of endleis
controverfies the old praClice of true piety, which flou-
rifhed before thefe controverfies were hatched.” I he
defign was good ; and the reception this book has met
with may be known from the number of its editions,
that in 8vo, 1734, being the fifty-ninth. This pre¬
late died in 1632.
BAYON, a town of France, in Lorrain, now the
department'
BAY [ 480 ] BAY
Bavoft department of Meurthe, feated on the river Mofelle.
I! E. Long. 14. 42. N. Lat. 48. 30.
fia)onne.^ Bayon, or Bayona, a town of Galicia, in Spain,
feated on a fmall gulf of the Atlantic ocean, about 12
-miles from Tuy. It has a very commodious harbour,
ond the country about it is fertile. W. Long. 9. 30.
N. Lat. 43. 3.
BAYONET, in the military art, a fhort broad
dagger, formerly with a round handle fitted for the
bore of a firelock., to be fixed there after the foldier
'had fired j but they are now made with iron handles
and rings, that go over the muzzle of the firelock, and
are ferewed fait, fo that the foldier fires with his bayo¬
net on the muzzle of his piece, and is ready to a6t
againlt the horfe. This ufe of the bayonet faftened on
the muzzle of the firelock was a great improvement,
firlt introduced by the French, and to which, accord¬
ing to M. Folard, they owed a great part of their vic¬
tories in the laft century j and to the neglecl of this in
the next fucceeding war, and trufling to their fire, the
fame author attributes moll of the Ioffes they fuftain-
ed. At the fiege of Malta, a weapon called pila ignea
was contrived to oppofe the bayonets, being in fome
meafure the converfe thereofas the latter confilts of
a dagger added to a fire-arm, the former confided of
a fire-arm added to a pilum or pike.
Of late the bayonet has come into very general ufe;
and battles have been won by it without firing a (hot.
This way of fighting was chiefly reftored by the late
king of Pruflia, who made his troops ruflr forward at
once wuth bayonets on the enemy.
BAYONNE, a city of Gafcony, in France, now
the department of the Lower Pyrenees •, feated near
the mouth of the river Adour, which forms a good
harbour. It is moderately large, and of great im¬
portance. It is divided into three parts. The great
town is on this fide the river Nive 5 the little town is
between the Nive and the Adour ; and the fuburb of
Saint Efprit is beyond this laft river. Both the former
are furrounded with an old wall and a dry ditch, and
there is a fmall caftle in each. That of Great Bayonne
is flanked with four round towers, and is the place
where the governor refides. The new^ caftle is flanked
with four towers, in the form of baftions. The firft
enclofure is covered with another, compofed of eight
baftions, with a great horn-wrork, and a half-moon; all
which are encompaffed with a ditch, and a covered
way. There is communication between the city and
the fuburbs by ^ bridge, and the fuburbs are well forti¬
fied. The citadel is feated beyond the Adour, on the
fide of the fuburbs abovementioned. The public
buildings have nothing remarkable 5 it is the only ci¬
ty in the kingdom that has the advantage of two ri¬
vers, wherein the tide ebbs and flow^s. The river Nive
is deeper than the Adour, but lefs rapid, by which
means thips come up into the middle of the city. There
are two bridges over the river, by which the old and
new towns communicate with each other. The trade
of this towrn is the more confiderable, on account of
its neighbourhood to Spain, and the great quantity
of wines which are brought hither from the adjacent
country. The Dutch carry off a great number of
pipes in exchange for Ipices and other commodities,
which they bring thither. The inhabitants had for¬
merly the privilege of guarding two of their three
gates, and the third was kept by the king. \\ . Long. Bays.
1. 20. N. Lat. 43. 20.
B AYS, in Commerce, a fort of open woollen fluff, dgW.
having a long nap, fometimes frized, and fometimes * —/—
not. This fluff is without wale 5 and is wrought in a
loom with two treddles, like flannel. It is chiefly ma-
rmfa6lured at Colchefter and Bockin in Eflex, where
there is a hall called the Dutch-bay hall or rauc-halL
Thik manufacture was firft introduced into England,
with that of fays, ferges, &.c. by the Flemings; who
being perfecuted by the duke of Alva for their re¬
ligion, fled thither about the fifth of Queen Eliza¬
beth’s reign •, and had afterwards peculiar privileges
granted them by aCt of parliament 12 Charles II. i'66o,
which the bays-makers in the above places ftill enjoy. ,
The exportation of bays were formerly much more con¬
fiderable than at prefent when the French have learned
to imitate them. However, the Englifh bays are ftill
fent in great quantities to Spain and Portugal, and
even to Italy. Their chief ufe is for drefling the
monks and nuns, and for linings, efpecially in the ar¬
my. The looking-glafs makers alfo ufe them behind
their glafies, to preferve the tiu or quickfilver $ and
the cafemakers to line their cafes. The breadth of
bays is commonly a yard and a half, a yard and three
quarters, or two yards, by 42 to 48 in length. Thofe
of a yard and three quarters are moft proper for the
Spanifh trade.
BAZAR, or Basar, a denomination among the
Turks and Perfians, given to a kind of exchanges, or
places where their fineft fluffs and other wares are
fold. Thefe are alfo called The w-ord r
feems of Arabic origin, where it denotes fale, or ex¬
change of goods. Some of the eaftern bazars are
open, like the market-places in Europe, and ferve for
the fame ufes, more particularly for the -fale of the
bulky and lefs valuable commodities. Others are co¬
vered with lofty ceilings, or even domes, pierced to
give light *, and it is in thefe the jewellers, goldfmiths,
and other dealers in the richer wares, have their {hops.
The bazar or maidan of Ifpahan is one of the fineft;
places in Perfia, and even furpaffes all the exchanges
in Europe ; yet, notwithftanding its magnificence, it
is excelled by the bazar of Tauris, which is the largeft
that is known, having feveral times held 30,000 men
ranged in order of battle. At Conftantinople, there
is the old and the new bazar, which are large fquare
buildings, covered with domes, and fuftained by arches
and pilafters } the former chiefly for arms, haineffes,
and the like; the latter for goldfmiths, jewellers, fur¬
riers, and all forts of manufaftures.
BAZAS, a town of Guienne in France, now the
department of Gironde, and formerly a bifhop’s fee. It
is built on a rock, five, miles from the Garonne, and
42 fouth-eaft of Bourdeaux, in W. Long. o. 30. N.
Lat. 44. 20.
BAZAT, or Baza, in Commerce, a long, fine fpun
cotton, which comes from Jerufalem, whence it is alfo
called ’Jerufalem - cotton.
BAZGENDGES, in Natural Hi/lory, the name of
a fubftance ufed by the Turks and other eaftern nations
in their fcarlet-dying. They mix it for this purpofe
with cochineal and tartar ; the proportions being two
ounces of the bazgendges to one ounce of cochineal.
Thefe are generally efteemed a fort of fruit, that are
produced
B E A
Beacons.
Bdellium produced on certain trees in Syria and other places j
and it is ufually fuppofed, that the fcarcity and dearnefs
of them is the only thing that makes them not ufed in
Europe. But the bazgendges feem to be no other than
the horns of the turpentine tree in the eallern parts of
the world j and it is not only in Syria that they are
found, but China alfo affords them. Many things of
this kind were fent over to Mr Geolfroy at Paris from
China as the fubftances ufed in the fcarlet-dying of
that country, and they all proved wholly the fame with
the Syrian and Turkilh bazgendges, and with the com¬
mon turpentine horns. The lentifk, or maftic tree, is
alfo frequently found producing many horns of a like
kind with thefe, and of the fame origin, all being own¬
ing to the pucerons, which make their wray into the
leaves to breed their young there.
BDELLIUM, a gummy refinous juice, produced
by a tree in the Eafl Indies, of which we have no fa-
tisfaclory account. It is brought into Europe both
from the Eaft Indies and Arabia. It is in pieces of
different fizes and figures, externally of a dark reddifh
brown, fomewhat like myrrh j internally it is clear,
and not unlike to glue ; to the tafte it is flightly bit-
terifh and pungent j its odour is very agreeable. If
held in the mouth, it foon becomes loft and tenacious,
flicking to the teeth. Laid on a red-hot iron, it rea¬
dily catches flame, and burns with a crackling noife,
and in proportion to its goodnefs it is more or lefs
fragrant. Near half of its fubftance diffolves either in
water or in fpirit of wine j but the tin&ure made with
fpirit is fomewhat (Longer, and by much more agree¬
able. Vinegar, or verjuice, dilfolves it wholly. The
limple gum is a better medicine than any preparation
from it. It is one of the weakeft of the deobftruent
gums, but is ufed as a peftoral and an emmena-
gogue.
BE ACHY- head, a promontory on the coaft of Suf-
fex, betwreen Haftings and Shoreham, w'here the French
defeated the Englifh and Dutch fleet in 1690.
BEACON, a fignal for the better fecuring the king¬
dom from foreign inrafions. See Signal.
On certain eminent places of the country are placed
long poles ereft, whereon are faftened pitch-barrels
to be fired by night, and fmoke made by day, to give
notice in a few hours to the w’hole kingdom of an ap¬
proaching invafion. Thefe are commonly called bea¬
cons; whehce alfo comes beaconage.—We find beacons
familiarly in ufe among the primitive Britons and
Weftern Highlanders. The befieged capital of one of
our northern ifles in the third century actually lighted
up a fire upon a tower 5 and Fingal inftantly knew
“ the green flame edged wuth fmoke” to be a token
of attack and diftrefs*. And there are to this day
feveral cairns or heaps of Hones upon the heights along
the coafts of the Harries, on wdiich the inhabitants ufed
to burn heath as a fignal of an approaching enemy.
Beacons are alfo marks and figns erected on the
confls, for guiding and preferving veffels at fea, by
night as tvell as by day.
The ereftion of beacons, light-houfes, and fea-marks,
is a branch of the royal prerogative. The king hath
the exclufive power, by commifTion under his great feal,
to caufe them to be eredled in fit and convenient places,
as well upon the lands of the fubje^f as upon the de-
mefnes of the crown : w hich power is ufually veiled by
Vql. III. Part II.
t 43* 1
B E A
* Of.ae,
vol. i. p
198.
letters patent in the office of lord high admiral. And Beaconage
by ftatute 8 Eliz. c. 1 3. the corporation of the Trinity-„ Jl .
houie are impow'ered to let up any beacons or lea- ,
marks wffierever they (hall think "them neceflary ; and
if the owner of the land or any other perfon (hall de-
ftroy them, or (hall take down any fteeple, tree, or other
know n fea-mark, he fhall forfeit 100I. or, in cafe of in¬
ability to pay it, (hall be ipfo fabio outlawed.
BEACONAGE, money paid towards the mainte¬
nance of a beacon. See Beacon.—The word is de¬
rived from the Saxon beacnian, to nod, or (how by a
fign •, hence alfo the wrord beckon.
BEACONSFIELD, a town of Buckinghamfhire in
England, feated on a hill in the road between London
and Oxford. It has feveral good inns, though not above
IOO houfes. W. Long. o. 25. N. Lat. 51. 36. ^
BEAD, a fmall globule or ball ufed in necklaces;
and made of different materials, as pearl, fteel, garnet,
coral, diamond, amber, cryftal, paftes, glafs, &c.—
The Romanifts make great ufe of beads in rehearfing
their Ave-Marias and Pater-nojiers; and the like
ufage is found among the dervifes and other religious
throughout the Eaft, as well Mahometan as Heathen.
The ancient Druids appear alfo to have had their
beads, many of wfftich are ftill found j at leaft if the
c©nje£lure of an ingenious author may be admitted,
who takes thofe antique glafs globules, having a fnake
painted round them, and called adder-beads, or fnake-
buttons, to have been the beads of our ancient Druids.
See Anguis.
Beads are alfo ufed in fpeaking of thofe glafs glo¬
bules vended to the favages on the coaft of Africa ;
thus denominated, becaufe they are ftrung together for
the convenience of traffic.
The common black glafs of which beads are made
for necklaces, &c. is coloured with manganefe only :
'one part of manganefe is fufficient to give a black co¬
lour to near twenty of glafs.
Bead, in Archite&ure, a round moulding, commbnly
made upon the edge of a piece of fluff, in the Corin¬
thian and Roman orders, cut or carved in fhort embofs-
ments, like beads in necklaces.
BEAD-Makers, called by the Frenchpaternojlriers, are
thofe employed in the, making, ftringing, and felling of
beads. At Paris before the resolution there were three
companies of paternoftriers, or bead-makers j one who
made them of glafs or cryftal $ another in w*ood and
horn *, and the third in amber, coral, jet, &c.
BzAD-Proof, a term ufed by our diftillers to exprefs
that fort of proof of the ftandard (Length of fpiritu-
ous liquors, wFich confifts in their having, when ftiaken
in a phial, or poured from on high into a glafs, a crown,
of bubbles, which (land on the furface fome time after.
This is efteemed a proof that the fpii it^onlifts of equal
parts of rectified fpirits and phlegm. This is a fal¬
lacious rule as to the degree of (Length in the goods j
becaufe any thing that will increafe the tenacity of the
fpirit, will give it this proof, though it be under the
due (Length. Our malt-diftillers fpoil the greater
part of their goods, by leaving too much of the (link¬
ing oil of the malt in their fpirit, in order to give it
this proof when fomew’hat under the ftandard (Length.
But this is a great deceit on the purchafers of malt fpi¬
rits, as they have them by this means not only weaker
than they ought to be, but (linking with an oil that
3 P they
/
B E A
Bead-Roll they are not eafily cleared of afterwards. On the other
Beale ^an^> the dealers in brandy, who ufually have the art
v —-j of fophifticating it to a great nicety, are in the right
when they buy it by the ilrongell bead-proof, as the
grand mark of the bell; for being a proof of the brandy
containing a large quantity of its oil, it is, at the fame
time, a token of its high flavour, and of its being ca¬
pable of bearing a very large addition of the common
fpirits of our own produce, without betraying their fla¬
vour, or loling its owm. We value the French brandy
for the quantity of this effential oil of the grape which
it contains j and that with good reafon, as it is with us
principally ufed for drinking as an agreeably flavoured
cordial: but the French themfelves, when they want it
for. any curious purpofes, are as careful in the reftifi-
cation of it, and take as much pains to clear it from
this oil, as we do to free our malt fpirit from that nau-
leous and fetid oil which it originally contains.
Bead-Roll, among Papifts, a lift of fuch perfons, for
the reft of whofe fouls they are obliged to repeat a cer¬
tain number of prayers, which they count by means of
their beads.
BsAD-Tree. See Melia, Botany Index.
BEADLE, (from the Saxon bydel, a mejfenger^, a
crier or meflenger of a court, who cites perfons to ap¬
pear and anfwer. Called alfo a fummoner or apparitor.
—Beadle is alfo an officer at an univerfity, whofe chief
bulinefs is to walk before the mailers with a mace, at
all public proceffions.—There are alfo church-beadles,
whofe office is well known.
BEAGLES, a fmall fort of hounds or hunting dogs.
Beagles are of divers kinds $ as the fouthern beagle,
fomething lefs and ffiorter, but thicker, than the deep-
mouthed hound j the fleet northern or cat beagle, fmaller,
and of a finer ffiape than the fouthern, and a harder
runner. From the two, by crofting the ftrains, is bred
a third fort held preferable to either. To thefe may
be added a Hill fmaller fort of beagles, fcarce bigger
than lap-dops, which make pretty diverlion in hunting
the coney, or even the fmall hare in dry weather j but
otherwife unferviceable, by reafon of their lize.
BEAK, the bill or nib of a bird. See Ornitho¬
logy.
Beak, or Beak-head, of a ffiip, that part wnthout
the ffiip, before the fore-caftle, which is faftened to the
item, and is fupported by the main knee.
The beak, called by the Greeks by the La¬
tins roflrum, was an important part in the ancient Ihips
of war, which were hence denominated naves roflratce.
The beak was made of wood j but fortified with brafs,
and falfened to the prow, ferving to annoy the enemies
veffels. Its invention is attributed to Pifaeus an Italian.
The firft beaks were made long and high ; but after¬
wards a Corinthian, named Ariflo, contrived to make
them ffiort and llrong, and placed fo low, as to pierce
the enemies veflels under water. By the help of thefe
great havock was made by the Syracufians in the A-
thenian fleet.
BEAKED, in Heraldry, a term ufed to exprefs the
beak or bill of a bird. When the beak and legs of a
fowl are of a different tinfture from the body, we fay
beaked and membered of fuch a tinclure.
BEALE, Mary, particularly diftinguiffied by her
Ikill in painting, -was the daughter of Mr Craddock,
minifter of Waltham upon Thames, and learned the ru-
[ 482 ]
B E A
diments of her art from Sir Peter Lely. She painted
in oil, water-colours, and crayons, and had much bufi-
nefs j her portraits were in the Italian ftyle, which ffie
acquired by copying pi&ures and drawings from Sir
Peter Lely’s and the royal colle&ions. Her mafter,
fays Mr Walpole, was fuppofed to have had a tender
attachment to her 5 but as he was referved in commu¬
nicating to her all the refources of his pencil, it pro¬
bably was a gallant rather than a fuccefsful one. Dr
Woodfall wrote feveral pieces to her honour, under the
name of Belefla. Mrs Beale died in Pall-mall, on the
28th of Dec. 1697, aged 65. Her paintings have
much nature, but the colouring is ftiff and heavy.
BEALT, Bealth, or Builth, a town of Breck-
nockffiire in South Wales, pleafantly feated on the ri¬
ver Wye. It confifts of about 100 houfes. The in¬
habitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of
ftockings. W. Long. 4. 10. N. Lat. 52. 4.
BEAM, in Architecture, the largeft piece of wood
in a building, which lies crofs the walls, and ferves to
fupport the principal rafters of the roof, and into which
the feet of thefe rafters are framed. No building has
lefs than two of thefe beams, viz. one at each end; and
into thefe the girders of the garret roof are alfo framed.
The proportions of beams in or near London, are fixed
by ftatute, as follows : a beam 15 feet long, muft be
7 inches on one fide its fquare, and 5 on the other; if
it be 16 feet long, one fide muft be 8 inches, the other
6, and fo proportionably to their lengths. In the coun¬
try, where wood is more plenty, they ufually make
their beams ftronger.
Beams of a Ship are the great main crofs-timbers
wffiich hold the fides of the ffiip from falling together,
and which alfo fupport the decks and orlops: the main
beam is next the main-maft, and from it they are rec¬
koned by firft, fecond, third beam, &c. the greateft
beam of all is called the tnidjhip beam.
BEAM-Compafs, an inftrument confifting of a fquare
wooden or brafs beam, having Aiding lockets, that
carry fteel or pencil points; they are ufed for deferibing
large circles, where the common compaffes are ufelefs.
BEAM-Bird, or Petty-chaps. See Motacilla.
Beam alfo denotes the lath, or iron, of a pair of
feales ; fometimes the whole apparatus for weighing of
goods is fo called : Thus we lay, it weighs fo much at
the king’s beam.
Beam of a Plough, that in which all the parts of
the plough-tail are fixed. See Plough, Agricul¬
ture Index.
Beam, or Roller, among weavers, a long and thick
wooden cylinder, placed lengthwdfe on the back-part
of the loom of thofe who w;ork with a Ihuttle. That
cylinder, on which the fluff is rolled as it is w^eaved, is
alfo called the beam or roller, and is placed on the fore¬
part of the loom.
BEAMINSTER, a towm of Dorfetffiire in England,
feated on the river Bert, in W. Long. 2. 50. N. Lat. 52.
45-
BEAN, in Botany. See Vicia, Botany Index.
The ancients made ufe of beans in gathering the
votes of the people, and for the eleftion of magi-
ftrates. A white bean fignified abfolution, and a black
one condemnation. Beans had a myfterious ufe in the
lemuraha and parentaha; vffiere the mafter of the
family, after waftiing, was to throw a fort of black
beans
Bealt
il
Bean.
B E A [ 483 1 B E A
Beans, beans over bis head, ftill repeating the words, “ I re-
*    deem myfelf and family by thefe beans.” Ovid * gives
* bb- a lively defcription of the whole ceremony in verfe.—
S- 4- 435* Abilinence from beans was enjoined by Pythagoras, one
of whofe fymbols is, x-votfAuv xTrtryjorixi, nbjhne a fabis.
The Egyptian prietts held it a crime to look at beans,
judging the very fight unclean. The Jiamen dialis was
not permitted even to mention the name. The precept
of Pythagoras has been varioufly interpreted : fome
underftand it of forbearing to meddle in trials and ver-
difts, which were then by throwing beans into an urn :
others, building on the equivoque of the word Kvecftos,
which equally fignifies a bean and a human tejl 'icle, ex¬
plain it by abftaining from venery. Clemens Alexan-
drinus grounds the abllinence from beans on this, that
they render women barren j which is confirmed by
Theophrafius, who extends the effeft even to plants.
Cicero iuggerts another reafon for this abftinence, viz.
that beans are great enemies to tranquillity of mind.
For a reafon of this kind it is, that Amphiaraus is faid
to have abftained from beans, even before Pythagoras,
that he might enjoy a clearer divination by dreams.
Beans, as food for horfes. See Farriery.
BEAN-Caper. See Zygophyllum, Botany Index.
BeAN-Cod, a fmall fifhing veffel, or pilot-boat, com¬
mon on the fea-coafts and in the rivers of Portugal. It
is extremely {harp forward, having its ftem bent inward
above into a great curve : the ftem is alfo plated on the
fore-fide with iron, into which a number of bolts are
driven, to fortify it, and refift the ftroke of another
veffel, which may fall athwart haufe. It is commonly
navigated with a large lateen fail, which extends over
the whole length of the deck, and is accordingly well
fitted to ply to windward.
Be am-Flour, called by the Romans lomentum, was
of fome repute among the ancient ladies as a cof-
metic, wherewith to fmooth the Ikin, and take away
wrinkles.
Bean Fly, in Natural Hi/lory, the name given by-
authors to a very beautiful fly, of a pale purple colour,
frequently found on bean-flowers. It is produced from
the worm or magot called by authors mida.
Bean Goofe. See Anas, Ornithology Index.
Kidney-BEAN. See Phaseolus.
Malacca Beans, or Anacardia, the fruit of a tree
growing in Malabar and other parts of the Eaft Indies,
iuppofed by fome to be the Avicennia tomentofa;
by others, the Bontia germinans. The fruit is of a
fhining black colour, of the Ihape of a heart flattened,
about an inch long, terminating at one end in an ob-
tufe point, and adhering by the other to a wrinkled
ftalk : it contains within two (hells a kernel of a fweet-
ifh tafte : betwixt the (hells is lodged a thick and acrid
juice.
The medicinal virtues of anacardia have been great¬
ly difputed. Many have attributed to them the facul¬
ty of comforting the brain and nerves, fortifying the
memory, and quickening the intellefl : and hence a
confeflion made from them has been dignified with the
title of confeliio fapientum : others think it better de-
ferves the name of confeEho Jlultorum, and mention in-
ftances of its continued ufe having rendered people ma¬
niacal. But the kernel of anacardium is not different
in quality from that of almonds. The ill effedls attri¬
buted to this fruit belong 6nly to the juice contained
betwixt the kernels, whofe acrimony is fo great, that Hear
it is faid to be employed by the Indians as a cauftic. II
This juice is recommended externally for tetters, free- ^eart*
kies, and other cutaneous deformities ; which it re-
moves only by exulcerating or excoriating the part, fo
that a new (kin comes underneath.
BEAR, in Zoology. See Ursus, Mammalia //?-
dex.
Scu-Bear. See Phoca, Mammalia Index.
Bear, in AJlronotny. See Ursa, Astronomy In¬
dex.
Order of the Bear w’as a military order in Switzer¬
land, erefted by the emperor Frederick II. in I 21 3,
by way of acknowledgement for the fervice the Swii's
had done him, and in favour of the abbey of St Gal.
To the collar of the order hung a medal, on which w^as
reprefented a bear raifed on an eminence of earth.
Bear s-Breech. See Acanthus, Botany Index.
Bear s-FleJh was much etteemed by the ancients :
even at this day, the paw of a bear falted and fmoked
is ferved up at the table of princes.
BEAR's-Greafe, w'as formerly efteemed a fovereign re¬
medy againft cold diforders, efpecially rheumatifrns.
It is now much ufed in dreifing ladies and gentlemen’s
hair.
Bear's Shin makes a fur in great efteem, and on
which depends a confiderable article of commerce, being
ufed in houfings, on coach-boxes, &.c. In fome coun¬
tries, clothes are made of it, more efpecially bags
wherein to keep the feet warm in fevere colds. Of
the (kins of bears cubs are made gloves, muffs, and
the like.
BEARALSTON, a fmall town of Devonfhire,
wdfich, however, is a borough by prefeription, and
fends two members to parliament.
BEARD, the hair growdng on the chin and adja¬
cent parts of the face, chiefly of adults and males.
Various have been the ceremonies and cuftoms of moft
nations in regard of the beard. The Tartars, out of
a religious principle, waged a long and bloody war
with the Perfians, declaring them infidels, merely be-
caufe they would not cut their whifkers after the rite
of Tartary : and we find, that a confiderable branch
of the religion of the ancients confided in the manage¬
ment of their beards. The Greeks wmre their beards
till the time of Alexander the Great; that prince ha¬
ving ordered the Macedonians to be (haved, for fear it
(hould give a handle to their enemies. According to
Pliny, the Romans did not begin to (have till the year
of Rome 454, when P. Ticinius brought over a flock
of barbers from Sicily—Perfons of quality had their
children (haved the firft time by others of the fame or
greater quality, who, by this means, became god¬
father or adoptive father of the children. Anciently,
indeed, a perfon became god-father of the child by
barely touching his beard : thus hiftorians relate, that
one of the articles of the treaty betw'een Alaric and
Clovis v-as, that Alaric (hould touch the beard of
Clovis to become his god-father.
As to ecclefiaflics, the difeipline has been very dif¬
ferent on the article of beards: fometimes they have
been enjoined to w-ear them, from a notion of too much
effeminacy in (having, and that a long beard was more
fuitable to the ecclefiaftical gravity 5 and fometimes
again they were forbid it, as imagining pride to lurk
3 P 2 beneath
B E A [ 484 ] B E A
, ^ear^- beneath a venerable beard. The Greek and Roman
churches have been long together by the ears about
their beards : lince the time of their feparation, the
Romanifts feem to have given more into the practice of
{having, by way of oppofition to the Gteeks ; and have
even made fome exprefs conftitutions de radendis barbis.
The Greeks, on the contrary, efpoufe very zealoufly
the caufe of long beards, and are extremely fcandalized
at the beardlefs images of faints in the Roman churches.
By the ftatues of fome monafteries it appears, that the
lay-monks were to let their beards grow, and the priefts
among them to {have ; and that the beards of all that
were received into the monafteries, were blefled with a
great deal of ceremony. There are ftill extant the
prayers ufed in the folemnity of confecrating the beard
to God, when an ecclefiaftic was ftiaven.
Le Comte obferves, that the Chinefe affedl long
beards extravagantly ; but nature has balked them, and
only given them very little ones, which, however,- they
x cultivate with infinite care : the Europeans are ftrange-
ly envied by them on this account, and efteemed the
greateft men in the world. Chryfoftom obferves, that
the kings of Perfia had their beards wove or matted to¬
gether with gold-thread *, and fome of the firft kings of
France had their beards knotted and buttoned with
gold.
Among the Turks, it is more infamous for any one
to have his beard cut off, than among us to be pub-
lickly whipt or branded with a hot iron. There are
. abundance in that country, who would prefer death to
this kind of punifhment. The Arabs make the pre-
fervation of their beards a capital point of religion,
becaufe Mahomet never cut his. Hence the razor is
never drawn over the Grand Signior’s face. The Per-
fians, who clip them, and {have above the jaw, are re¬
puted heretics. It is likewile a mark of authority and
liberty among them, as well as among the Turks. They
who ferve in the feragTio, havre their beards fhaven, as
a fign of their fervitude. They do not fuffer it to
grow till the fultan has fet them at liberty, which is
’ beftowed as a reward upon them, and is always accom¬
panied with fome employment.
The moft celebrated ancient writers, and feveral
modern ones, have fpoken honourably of the fine beards
of antiquity. Homer fpeaks highly of the white beard
of Neftor and that of old King Priam. Virgil de-
fcribes Mezentius’s to us, which was fo thick and long
as to cover all his breaft j Chryfippus praifes the noble
beard of Timothy, a famous player on the flute. Pliny
the younger tells us of the white beard of Euphrates, a
oyrian philofopher ; and he takes pleafure in relating
the refpeft mixed with fear with which it infpired the
people. Plutarch fpeaks of the long white beard of
an old Laconian, who being alked why he let it grow
fo, replied, ’77r thaty feeing continually my white beard,
Imay do nothing unworthy of its whitenefs. Strabo re¬
lates that the Indian philofophers, the Gymnofophifts,
were particularly attentive to make the length of their
beards contribute to captivate the veneration of the
people. Diodorus, after him, gives a very particular
and circumftantial hiftory of the beards of the Indians,
jfuvenal does not forget that of Antiochus the fon of
Neftor. Fenelon, in defcribing a prieft of Apollo in
all his magnificence, tells us that he had a white beard
down to his girdle. But Perftus feems to outdo all
thefe authors : this poet was fo convinced that a beard Beard,
was the fymbol of wifdom, that he thought he could ■'
not beftow a greater encomium on the divine Socrates,
than by calling him the bearded mafter, Magiflrum
barbatum. ‘>J
While the Gauls were under their fovereignty
none but the nobles and Chnftian priefts were per*
mitted to wear long beards. The Franks having
made themfelves mailers of Gaul, affumed the fam®
authority as the Romans: the bondimen wrere ex-
prefsly ordered to {have their chins ; and this law
continued in force until the entire aboliihment of fer¬
vitude in France. So likewife, in the time of the firft
race of kings, a long beard was a fign of nobility and
freedom. ’I he kings, as being the higheft nobles in
their kingdom, were emulous likewife to have the lar-
geft beard : Eginard, fecretary to Charlemagne, fpeak-
ing of ttm laft kings of the firft race, fays, they came
to the affemblies in the Field of Mars in a carriage
drawn by oxen, and fat on the throne with their
hair dilhevelled, and a very long beard, crine profufo,
barba fubmiJJ'a, folio ref derent, et fpeciem dominantis ef-
fngerent.
To touch any one’s beard, or cut off a bit of it,
was, among the firft French, the moft facred pledge of
protection and confidence. For a long time all letters
that came from the fovereign had, for greater fanClion,
three hairs of his beard in the feal. There is ftill in
being a charter of 1121, which concludes with the
following words: fiiod ut ratum et Jlabtle perfeveret in
poferum, prcefentis fcripto fgilli mei robur appofui cum
tribus pihs barba mere.
Several great men have honoured themfelves with
the furname of Bearded. 1’he emperor Conftantine
is diftinguifhed by the epithet of Pogonata, which ftg-
nifies the Bearded. In the time of the Crufades, we '
find there was a Geffrey the Bearded: Baldwin IV.
earl of Flanders, was furnamed Handfome-beard; and,
in the illuftrious houfe of Montmorenci, there was a
famous Bouchard, who took a pride in the furname
of Bearded: he was always the declared enemy of
the monks, without doubt, becaufe of their being
{haved.
In the tenth century, we find, that King Robert
(of France) the rival of Charles the Simple, was not
more famous for his exploits than for his long white
beard. In order that it might be more conlpicuous
to the foldiers when he was in the field, he ufed to let
it hang dowm outfide his cuirafs : this venerable fight
encouraged the troops in battle, and ferved to rally
them when they were defeated.
A celebrated painter in Germany, called fohn Mayo,
had fuch a large beard that he was nicknamed John
the Bearded: it was fo long that he wore it faftened
to his girdle ; and though he was a very tall man, it
w'ould hang upon the ground when he flood upright.
He took the greateft care of this extraordinary beard j
fometimes he would untie it before the emperor
Charles V. who took great pleafure to fee the wind
make it fly againft the faces of the lords of his court.
In England, the famous chancellor Thomas More,
one of the greateft men of his time, being on the point
of falling a viCHm to court intrigues, was able, when
on the fatal fcaftold, to procure refpeCf td his beard in
prefence of all the people, and laved it, as one may
%»
B E A [ 4S5 ] B E A
iearct. fay^ front the fatal ftroke which he could not efcape
““—v himfelf. When he had laid his head on the block, he
perceived that his beard was likely to be hurt by the
axe of the executioner; on which he took it away,
faying, My beard has not been guilty of trcafon; it
would be an injujlice to punijh it.
But let us turn our eyes to a more flattering objefl,
and admire the beard of the bell of kings, the ever
precious beard of the great Henry IV. of France,
which diffufed over the countenance of that prince a
majeftic fweetnefs and amiable opennefs, a beard ever
dear to pollerity, and which fhould ferve as a model
for that of every great king, as the beard of his il-
lultrious minifter fliould for that of every minifter.
But what dependence is there to be put on the liabi¬
lity of the things of this world ? By an event, as fatal
as unforefeen, the beard, which was arrived at its higheft
degree of glory, all of a fudden loll its favour, and was
at length entirely profcribed. The unexpefted death
of Henry the Great, and the youth of his fuccelfor,
were the foie caufes of it.
Louis XIII. mounted the throne of his glorious
anceltors without a beard. Every one concluded im¬
mediately, that the courtiers, feeing their young king
with a fmooth chin, would look upon their own as too
rough. The conjecture proved right; for they pre-
fently reduced their beards to whilkers, and a fmall
tuft of hair under the nether lip.
The people at firlt would not follow this dangerous
example. The duke of Sully never would adopt this
effeminate cullom. This man, great both as a gene¬
ral and a minifter, was likewife fo in his retirement:
he had the courage to keep his long beard, and to ap¬
pear with it at the court of Louis XIII. where he was
called to give his advice in an affair of importance.
The young crop-bearded courtiers laughed at the fight
of his grave look and old-falhioned phiz. The duke,
nettled at the affront put on his fine beard, faid to the
king, “ Sir, when your father, of glorious memory,
did me the honour to confult me on his great and im¬
portant affairs, the firfl: thing he did wTas to fend away
all the buffoons and ftage-dancers of his court.”
The Czar Peter, who had fo many claims to the fur-
name of Great, feems to have been but little worthy of
it on this occafion. He had the boldnefs to lay a tax
on the beards of his fubjefts. He ordered that the
noblemen and gentlemen, tradefmen and artifans (the
prielts and peafants excepted) fliould pay too rubles
to be able to retain their beards ; that the lower clafs
of people fliould pay a copeck for the fame liberty :
and he eftabliflied clerks at the gates of the different
towns to colleH thefe duties. Such a new and Angu¬
lar import troubled the vaft empire of Ruffia. Both
religion and manners were thought in danger. Com¬
plaints were heard from all parts; they even went fo
far as to write libels againft the fovereign ; but he was
inflexible, and at that time powerful. Even the fatal
fcenes of St Bartholomew were renewed againft thefe
unfortunate beards, and the moft unlawful violences
were publicly exercifed. The razor and fciffars were
everywhere made ufe of. A great number, to avoid
thefe cruel extremities, obeyed with reluflant fighs.
Some of them carefully preferved the fad trimmings
of their chins : and, in.order to be never feparated from
thefe dear locks, ordered that they ftiould be placed Bean!,
with them in their coffins.
Example, more powerful than authority, produced
in Spain what it had not been able to bring about in
Ruffia without great difficulty. Philip V. afcended
the throne with a ffiaved chin. The courtiers imitated
the prince, and the people, in turn, the courtiers.
However, though this revolution was brought about
wdthout violence and by degrees, it caufed much la¬
mentation and murmuring; the gravity of the Spaniards
loft by the change. The favourite cuftom of a nation
can never be altered without incurring difpleafure.
They have this old faying in Spain : Defde que no hay
barba, no hay mas alma. “ Since wTe have loft our
beards, wm have loft: our fouls.”
Among the European nations that have been moft.
curious in beards and whilkers, wTe mull diftinguilh
Spain. This grave romantic nation has always regard¬
ed the beard as the ornament which ffiould be moft
prized ; and the Spaniards have often made the lofs of
honour confift in that of their whilkers. The Portu-
guefe, whofe national charadfer is much the fame, are
not the leaft behind them in that refpeci. In the reign
of Catherine queen of Portugal, the brave John de
Caftro had juft taken in India the caftle of Diu : vic¬
torious, but in want of every thing, he found himfelf \ ‘
obliged to alk the inhabitants of Goa to lend him a
thoufand piftoles for the maintenance of his fleet; and,
as a fecurity for that fum, he fent them one of his
whilkers, telling them, “ All the gold in the wmrld
cannot equal the value of this natural ornament of my
valour; and I depofite it in your hands as a fecurity
for the money.” The whole town w'as penetrated
with this heroifm, and every one interefted himfelf a-
bout this invaluable whilker : even the wTomen wrere
defirous to give marks of their zeal for fo brave a man :
feveral fold their bracelets to increafe the fum alked
for ; and the inhabitants of Goa fent him immediately,
both the money and his whilker. A number of other
examples of this kind might be produced, which da
as much honour to whilkers as to the good faith of
thofe days.
In Louis XIII.’s reign, whilkers attained the higheft:..
degree of favour, at the expence of the expiring
beards. In thofe days of gallantry, not yet empoifon-
ed by wit, they became the favourite occupation of
lovers. A fine black wffiilker, elegantly turned up,,
w7as a very powerful mark of dignity w'ith the fair fex.
Whilkers were ftill in faffiion in the beginning of
Louis XIV.’s reign. This king, and all the great
men of his reign, took a pride in wearing them. They
were the ornament of Turenne, Conde, Colbert, Cor¬
neille, Moliere, &c. It was then no uncommon thing
for a favourite lover to have his wdiilkers turned up,
combed, and pomatumed, by his miftrefs ; and, for
this purpofe, a man of faffiion took care to be always
provided with every little neceflary article, efpecially
whifker-wax. It w7as highly flattering to a lady to have
it in her power to praife the beauty of her lover’s whif-
kers; which, far from being difgufting, gave his per-
fon an air of vivacity : feveral even thought them an.
incitement to love. It feems the levity of the French
made them undergo feveral changes both in form and.
name ; there were Spanijh, Turkifh, guard-dagger, <b’c.
whilkers. j:
B E A. [ 48G ]
Bear<J* wliilkers^ in fhort, royal ones, which were the laft oblong, flefhy bodie
their fmallnefs proclaimed their approaching fall.
worn:
CoTjfecration of the Beard was a ceremony among
the Roman youth, who, when they were lhaved the
frft time, kept a day of rejoicing, and were particu¬
larly careful to put the hair of their beard into a fiver
or gold box, and make an offering of it to fome god,
-particularly to Jupiter Capitolinas, as was done by-
Nero, according to Suetonius.
Ki/Jtng the Beard. The Turkifh wives kifs their
hufbands beards, and children their fathers, as often as
they come to falute them. The men kifs one another’s
beards reciprocally on both fides, when they falute in
the ftreets, or come off from any journey.
The Fajhion of the Beard has varied in different
ages and countries ; fome cultivating and entertaining
one part of it, fome another. Thus the Hebrews wear
a beard on their chin •, but not on the upper-lip or
cheeks. Mofes forbids them to cut off entirely the
angle or extremity of their beard j that is, to manage
it after the Egyptian falhion, who left only a little tuft
of beard at the extremity of their chin ; whereas the
Jews to this day fuffer a little fillet of hair to grow
from the lower end of their ears to their chins, where,
as well as on their lower-lips, their beards are in a pretty
long bunch. The Jews, in time of mourning, negleft-
ed to trim their beards, that is, to cut off what grew
fuperfiuous on the upper-lips and cheeks. In time of
grief and great affli&ion they alfo plucked off the hair
of their beards.
Anointing the Beard with unguents was an ancient
praftice both among the Jews and Romans, and ftill
continues in ufe among the Turks *, where one of the
principal ceremonies obferved in ferious vifits is to
throw fweet-fcented water on the beard of the vifi-
tant, and to perfume it afterwards with aloes-wood,
wdrich flicks to this moifture, and gives it an agreeable
imell, &c. In middle-age writers we meet with adlen-
tare barbam, ufed for ffroking and combing it, to
render it foft and flexible. The Turks, when they
comb their beards, hold a handkerchief on their knees,
and gather very carefully the hairs that fall; and when
they have got together a certain quantity, they fold
them up in paper, and carry them to the place where
they bury the dead.
Beard of a Comet, the rays which the comet emits
towards that part of the heaven to which its proper
motion feems to diredff it; in which the beard of a co¬
met is diftinguiffied from the tail, which is underftood
of the rays emitted towards that part from whence its
motion feems to carry it.
Beard of a Horfe, that part underneath the lower
mandiole on the outfide and above the chin, which bears
the curb. It is alfo called the chuck. It Ihould have
but little flefh upon, it, without any chops, hardnefs,
or fwelling ; and be neither too high raifed nor too flat,
but fuch as the curb may reff in its right place.
Beard of a Mufcle, oyfter, or the like, denotes an
affemblage of threads or hairs, by which thofe animals
faften themfelves to flones. The hairs of this beard
terminate in a flat fpongy fubftance, which being ap¬
plied to the furface of a Hone, flicks thereto, like the
wet leather ufed by boys. •
Beards, in the hiftory of infefls, are two fmall,
B E A
. _ . . placed juft above the trunk, as Bearded
m the gnats, and in the moths and butterflies. ||
BEARDED, denotes a perfon or thing with a beard,, ^ ear'ng-
or fome refemblance thereof. The faces on ancient' Y^J
GreeK and Roman medals are generally bearded. Some
are denominated pogcnati, as having long beards, e. g.
the Parthian kings. Others have only a lanugo about
the chin, as the Seleucid family. Adrian was the firft
of- the Roman emperors who nourifhed his beard :
hence all imperial medals before him are beardlefs;
after him, bearded.
Bearded Women have been all obferved to want the
menftrual difcharge ; and feveral inftances are given by
Hippocrates, and other phyficians, of grown women,
efpecially widows, in whom the menfes coming to flop,
beards appeared. Eufebius Nierembergius mentions a
woman who had a beard reaching to her navel.
Of women remarkably bearded we have feveral in¬
ftances. In the cabinet of curiofities of Stutgard in
Germany, there is the portrait of a woman called Bartel
Graetje, whofe chin is covered with a very large beard.
She was drawn in 1587, at which time fhe was but
25 years of age. There is likewife in the fame cabi¬
net another portrait of her when fhe was more advan¬
ced in life, but likewife with a beard.—It is faid, that
the duke of Saxony had the portrait of a poor Swifs
woman taken, remarkable for her long bufhy beard ;
and thofe who were at the carnival at Venice in 1726,
faw a female dancer aftonifh the fpeflators not more by
her talents than by her chin covered with a black bufhy
beard.—Charles XII. had in his army a female grena¬
dier : it was neither courage nor a beard that fhe want¬
ed to be a man. She was taken at the battle of Pul-
towa, and carried to Peterfburg, where file was pre-
fented to the Czar in 1724: her beard meafured a
yard and a half.—We read in the Trevoux Didlionary,
that there was a woman feen at Paris, who had not
only a bufhy beard on her face, but her body likewife
covered all over with hair. Among a number of other
examples of this nature, that of Margaret, the go-
vernefs of the Netherlands, is very remarkable. She
had a very long ftiff beard, which fhe prided herfelf
on ; and being perfuaded that it contributed to give
her an air of majefty, fhe took care not to lofe a hair
of it. This Margaret was a very great woman.—It
is faid, that the Lombard women, when they were at
war, made themfelves beards with the hair of their
heads, which they ingenioufly arranged on their cheeks,
in order that the enemy, deceived by the likenefs,
might take them for men. It is afferted, after Suidas,
that in a fimilar cafe the Athenian women did as much.
Thefe women were more men than our Jemmy-Jeffamy
countrymen.—About a century ago, the French ladies
adopted the mode of drefling their hair in fuch a man¬
ner that curls hung down their cheeks as far as their
bofom. Thefe curls went by the name of whijkers.
This cuftom undoubtedly was not invented, after the
example of the Lombard women, to fright the men.
Neither is it with intention to carry on a very bloodv
war, that in our time they have affefted to bring for¬
ward the hair of the temple on the cheeks.
BE ARERS, in Heraldry. See Supporters.
BEARING, in Navigation, an arch of the horizon
intercepted between the neareft meridian and any di-
ftinft
1
B E A
[ 4S7 1
B E A
Bearn.
Bearing ftinft objeft, eitber difcovered by tbe eye, or refulting
from the finical proportion 5 as in the firft cafe, at
4 P. M. Cape Spado, in the iQe of Candia, bore S. by
W. by the compafs. In the fecond, the longitudes
and latitudes of any two places being given, and con-
fequently the difference of latitude and longitude be¬
tween them, the bearing from one to the other is dif¬
covered by the following analogy :
As the meridional difference of latitude
Is to the difference of longitude }
So is radius
To the tangent bearing.
Bearing is alfo the fituation of any diflant objeft,
eflimated from fome part of the fhip according to her
pofition. In this fenfe, an object fo difcovered mull
be either ahead, aftern, abreaft on the bow, or on the
quarter. Thefe bearings, therefore, which may be
called mechanical, are on the beam, before the beam,
abaft the beam, on the bow, on the quarter, ahead, or
aftern. If the fhip fails with a fide-wind, it alters
the names of fuch bearings in fome meafure, fince a
diftant objedl on the beam is then faid to be to leeward
or to windward 5 on the lee-quarter or bow, and on
the weather-quarter or bow.
Bearing, in the fea-language. When a fhip fails
towards the fhore, before the wind, fhe is faid to bear
in with the land or harbour. To let the fhip fail more
before the wind, is to bear up. To put her right be¬
fore the wind, is to bear round. A fhip that keeps off
from" the land, is faid to bear off". When a fhip that
was to windward comes under a fhip’s ftern, and fo
gives her the wind, fhe is faid to bear under her lee, &c.
There is another fenfe of this word, in reference to the
burden of a fhip ; for they fay a fhip bears, when, hav¬
ing too flender or lean a quarter, fhe will fink too deep
into the water with an overlight freight, and thereby
can carry but a fmall quantity of goods.
Bearings, in Heraldry, a term ufed to exprefs a
coat of arms, or the figures of armories by which the
nobility and gentry are diftinguifhed from the vulgar
and from one another. See Heraldry.
Bearing Claws, among cock-fighters, denote the
foremoft toes, on which the bird goes ; and if they be
hurt or gravelled, he cannot fight.
Bearing of a Stag, is ufed in refpecft of the ftate of
his head, or the croches which he bears on his horns.
If you be a/ked what a flag bears, you are only to rec¬
kon the croches, and never to exprefs an odd number :
as, if he have four croches on his near horn and five
on his far, you muft fay he bears ten j a falfe right on
his near horn : if but four on the near horn and fix on
the far horn, you muft fay he bears twelve 5 a double
falfe right on the near horn.
BEARN, a late province of France, bounded on the
eaft by Bigorre, on the fouth by the mountains of Ar-
ragon, on the weft by Soule and part of Navarre, and
on the north by Gafcony and Armagnac. It lies at the
foot of the Pyrenean mountains, being about 16 leagues
in length and 12 in breadth. It is in general a bar¬
ren country ; yet the plains yield confiderable quanti¬
ties of flax, and a good quantity of Indian corn called
mailloc. The mountains are rich in mines of iron, cop¬
per, and lead ; fome of them alfo are covered with
vines, and others with pine trees 5 and they give rife to
feveral mineral fprings, and two confiderable rivers,
the one called the Gave of Oleron, and the other the
Gave of Bearn. Some wine is exported from this coun¬
try j and the Spaniards buy up great numbers of the
horfes and cattle, together rvith moft of their linen, of
which there is a confiderable manufadlory. The prin¬
cipal places are Pau, Lefcar, Ortez, Novarreins, Sal¬
lies, and Oleron. This province, with Bafques, forms
the department of the Lower Pyrenees.
BEAST, in a general fenfe, an appellation given
to all four-footed animals, fit either for food, labour,
or fport.
Beasts of Burden, in a commercial fenfe, all four-
footed animals which ferve to carry merchandifes on
their backs. The beafts generally ufed for this pur-
pofe are, elephants, dromedaries, camels, horfes, mules,
affes, and the flheep of Mexico and Peru.
Beasts of the Chafe are five, viz. the buck, the doe,
the fox, the roe, and the marten.
Beasts and Yowls of the Warren, are the hare, the
coney, the pheaiant, and partridge.
Beasts of the Forejl, are the hart, hind, hare, boar,
and wolf.
Beast, among gamefters, a game at cards, played in
this manner : The beft cards are the king, queen, &c.
whereof they make three heaps, the king, the play, and
troilet. Three, four, or five, may play ; and to every
one is dealt five cards. However, before the play be¬
gins, every one ftakes to the three heaps. He that wins
moft tricks, takes up the heap called the play ; he that
hath the king takes up the heap fo called ; and he that
hath three of any fort, that is, three fours, three fives,
three fixes, &c. takes up the troilet heap.
BEAT, in a general fignification, lignifies to chaf-
tife, ftrike, knock, or vanquifli.
This word has feveral other fignifications in the ma-
nufaftures, and in the arts and trades. Sometimes it
fignifies to forge and hammer ; in wdiich fenfe fmiths
and farriers fay, to beat iron. Sometimes it means to
pound, to reduce into powder : Thus we fay, to beat
drugs, to beat pepper, to beat fpices ; that is to fay, to
pulverise them.
Beat, in fencing, denotes a blow or ftroke given
wuth the fword. There are two kinds of beats 5 the
firft performed with the foible of a man’s fword on the
foible of his adverfary’s, which in the fchools is com¬
monly called baterie, from the French batre, and is
chiefly ufed in a purfuit, to make an open upon the
adverfary. The fecond and beft kind of beat is per¬
formed with the fort of a man’s fword upon the foible
of his adverfary’s, not with a fpring, as in binding,
but with a jerk or dry beat 5 and is therefore moft pro¬
per for the parades without or within the fword, be-
caufe of the rebound a man’s fword has thereby from his
adverfary’s, whereby he procures to himfelf the better
and furer opportunity of rifpofting.
Beat, in the manege. A horfe is faid to beat the
duf, when at each ftroke or motion he does not take
in ground or way enough with his fore-legs. He is
more particularly faid to beat the duft at terra a terra,
when he does not take in ground enough with his
ftioulders, making his ftrokes or motions too fliort, as
if he made them all in one place. He beats the duf at
curvets, when he does them too precipitately and too
low. He beats upon a wall, when he walks too ftiorr,
and
Be ait
II
Beat.
'Beat
I!
Beating.
B E A
and thus rids but little ground, whether it be in ftraight
lines, rounds, or paflings.
j Beat of Drum, in the military art, is to give notice
by beat of drum of a hidden danger ; or, that fcattered
foldiers may repair to their arms and quarters, is to
beat an alarm, or to arms. Alfo to fignify, by different
manners of founding a drum, that the foldiers are to
fall on the enemy •, to retreat before, in, or after, an
attack ; to move or march from one place to another j
to permit the foldiers to come out of their quarters at
break of day ; to order to repair to their colours, &c. j
is to beat a charge, a retreat, a march, &c.
Beat, in clock-making. See Beats.
Beat, St, a town of France, in the county of Com-
minges, at the confluence of the Garonne and the Pique.
It is feated between two mountains which are clofe to
the town on each fide. The houfes are chiefly built
with marble. W. Long. 1. 6. N. Lat.42. 50.
BEATER is applied, in matters of commerce, to
<livers forts of workmen, whofe bufinefs is to hammer
or flatten certain matters, particularly metals.
Gold-Beaters, are artifans, who, by beating gold
and filver with a hammer on a marble in moulds of vel¬
lum and bullocks guts, reduce them to thin leaves fit
for gilding, or lilvering of copper, iron, fteel, wrood,
&c. Gold-beaters differ from flatters of gold or filver j
as the former bring their metal into leaves by the ham¬
mer, wdiereas the latter only flatten it by preffmg it
through a milhpreparatory to beating.
There are alfo Tin-BEATERs employed in the look-
ing-glafs trade, whole bufinefs is to beat tin on large
blocks of marble till it be reduced to thin leaves fit to
be applied w ith quickfilver behind looking-glaffes. See
Foliating, GoLD-Beating.
BEATIFICATION, an aft by w’hich the pope
declares a perfon beatified or bleffed after his death.
It is the firft ftep towards canonization, or railing any
one to the honour and dignity of a faint. No perfon
can be beatified till 50 years after his or her death.
All certificates or atteftations of virtues and miracles,
the neceflary qualifications for faintfhip, are examined
by the congregation of rites. This examination often
continues for feveral years; after wrhich his holinefs de¬
crees the beatification. The corpfe and relics of the
future faint are from thenceforth expofed to the vene¬
ration of all good Chriftians •, his images are crowned
with 4’ays, and a particular office is fet apart for him ;
but his body and relics are not carried in proceffion :
indulgences likewife, and remiffion of fins, are granted
on the day of his beatification 5 wduch though not fo
pompous as that of canonization, is however very fplen-
did.
BEATING, or Pulsation, in Medicine, the reci¬
procal agitation or palpitation of the heart or pulfe.
Beating Flax or Hemp, is an operation in the drefs-
ing of thefe matters, contrived to render them more
foft and pliant. When hemp has been fwingled a fe-
cond time, and the hurds laid by, they take the ftrikes,
and dividing them into dozens and half dozens, make
them up into large thick rolls, which being broached
on long ftrikes, are fet in the chimney corner to dry ;
after which they lay them in a round trough made for
the purpofe, and there with beetles beat them w7ell till
they handle both without and within as pliant as pof-
fible, without any hardnefs or roughnefs to be felt:
2
[ 488 T B E A
that done, they take them from the trough, open and Beating,
divide the ftrikes as before j and if any be found not-v"*—
fufficiently beaten, they roll them up and beat them
over as before.
Beating hemp is a punilhment inflided on loofe or
diforderly perfons.
Beating, in book-binding, denotes the knocking
a book in quires on a marble block, with a heavy
broad-faced hammer, after folding, and before binding
or Hitching it. On the beating it properly, the ele¬
gance and excellence of the binding, and the eafy open¬
ing of the book, principally depends.
Beating, in the paperworks, fignifies the beating
of paper on a ftone with a heavy hammer, with a large
fmooth head and flrort handle, in order to render it
more fmooth and uniform, and fit for writing.
Beating the Wind, was a pradice in ufe in the an¬
cient method of trial by combat. If either of the com¬
batants did not appear in the field at the time appoint¬
ed, the other was to beat the wind, or make fo many
ftourifties with his weapon •, by which he was entitled
to all the advantages of a conqueror.
Beating the Hands or Feet, byway of praife or ap¬
probation. See Applause.
Beating ‘Time, in Mafic, a method of meafuring
and marking the time for performers in concert, by a
motion of the hand and foot up or dowm fucceffively
and in equal times. Knotting the true time of a crot¬
chet, and fuppofing the meafure adually fubdivided
into four crotchets, and the half meafure into tw;o,
the hand or foot being up, if we put it down with the
very beginning of the firft; note or crotchet,- and then
raife it with the third, and then down with the begin¬
ning of the next meafure $ this is called beating the
time; and, by pra&ice, a habit is acquired of making
this motion very equal. Each down and up is fome-
times called a time or meafure. The general rule is,
to contrive the divifion of the meafure fo, that every
down and up of the beating ftiall end w ith a particular
note, on wdrich very much depends the diftinftnefs,
and, as it were, the fenfe of the melody. Hence the
beginning of every time or beating in the meafure is
reckoned the accented part thereof.
Beating time is denoted, in the Italian mufic, by
the term a battuta, which is ufually put after what
they call recitative, where little or no time is obferved,
to denote, that here they are to begin again to mark
or beat the time exa&ly.
The Romans aimed at fomewhat of harmony in the
ftrokes of their oars j and had an officer called portif-
culus in each galley, whofe bufinefs was to beat time to
the rowers, fometimes by a pole or mallet, and fome-
times by his voice alone.
The ancients marked the rhime in their mufical com-
pofitions; but to make it more obfervable in the prac¬
tice, they beat the meafure or time, and this in differ¬
ent manners. The moft ufual confifted in a motion
of the foot, which was raifed from, and ftruck alter¬
nately againft, the ground, according to the modern
method. Doing this wras commonly the province of
the mailer of the mufic, who tvas thence called fno-o^a-
and x.ee,v(fetioi, becaufe placed in the middle of the
choir of muficians, and in an elevated fituation, to be
feen and heard more eafily by the whole company.
Thefe beaters of meafure were alfo called by tire
Greeks
SEA [ 48a
Seating Greeks ttoSoxIvkoi and becaufe of the noife of
Beaton. t^elr feCt 5 and trv^ovei?eet> becaufe of the uniformity or
—v —' monotony of the rhyme. T he Latins denominated
them pedarii, podarii, and pedicularii. To make the
beats or ftrokes more audible, their feet were general¬
ly fliod with*a fort of fandals either of wood or iron,
called by the Greeks xgjyanjh*,
and by the Latins pedicula, fcabe/la, or fcabilla, be¬
caufe like to little ftools or footftools. Sometimes they
Teat upon fonorous footftools, with the foot Ihod with
a wooden or iron foie.. They beat the meafure not
only with the foot, but alfo with the right hand, all
the fingers whereof they joined together, to ftrike’into
the hollow of the left. He who thus marked the
rnythm, was called manuduElor. The ancients alfo
beat time or meafure with Ihells, as oyfter ftiells and
bones of animals, which they ftruck againft one ano¬
ther, much as the moderns now ufe caftanets, and the
like inftruments. This the Greeks called
as is noted by Hefychius. The fcholiaft on Arifto-
phanes fpeaks much to the fame purpofe. Other noify
tnftruments, as drums, cymbals, citterns, &c. were
alfo ufed on the fame occafion. They beat the mea-
iure generally in two equal or unequal times; at leaft:
this holds, of the ufual rhythm of a piece of mufic,
marked either by the noife of fandals, or the flapping
of the hands. But the other rhythmic inftruments laft-
mentioned, and which wxre ufed principally to excite
and animate the dancers, marked the cadence after
another manner •, that is, £he number of their percuf-
flons equalled, or even iometimes furpaffed, that of
the different founds which compofed the air or fong-
played. 5
Beating, with hunters, a term ufed of a flag,
which runs firft one way and then another. He is
then.faid to beat up and down.—The noife made by co¬
nies in rutting time is alfo called beating or tapping.
Beating, in l\avigation^ the operation of making a
progrefs at fea againft: the direftion of the wdnd, in a
zig-zag line or traverfe, like that in which we afcend
a Iteep hill. See Tacki'ng.
BEAT I FUDE imports the fupreme good, or the
higheft degree of happinefs human nature is fufceptible
of; or the moft perfeft ftate of a rational being, where¬
in the foul, has attained to the utmoft excellency and
dignity it is framed for. In which fenfe, it amounts
to the fame with what we other wife call blejfednefs and
fovereign felicity; by the Greeks, ; and by
the Latins, futnmum bonum, beatitudo, and beatitas.
Beatitude, among divines, denotes the beatific
vifion, or the fruition of God in a future life to all
eternity.
Beatitude is alfo ufed in fpeaking of the thefes
contained in Chrift’s fermon on the mount, whereby
he pronounces bleffed the poor in fpirit, thofe that
mourn, the meek, &c.
BE ATON, David, archbifhop of St Andrew’s, and
a cardinal of Rome, in the early part of the 16th cen¬
tury was born in 1494. Pope Paul III. raifed him
to.tie degree of a cardinal in December 1^85 and
being employed by James V. in negociating his mar-,
nage with the court of F ranee, he was there confe-
•crated bilhop of Mirepoix. Soon after his inftalment
as arc hoi (hop of St Andrew’s, he promoted a furious
perfecution of the reformers in Scotland : when the
Yen,. IIL Part II.
lung’s
] B E A
„ death put a flop, for a time, to his arbitrary
proceedings, he being then excluded from affairs of
government, and confined. He raifed however fo
ftrqng a party, that, upon the coronation of the young
Queen Mary, he was admitted of the council, made
chancellor, and procured commiflion as legate a latere
from the court of Rome. He now began to renew his
perfecution of heretics ; and among the reft, of the fa¬
mous. Proteftant preacher Mr George Wifhart, whefe
bufferings at the flake the cardinal viewed from his
window with apparent exultation. It is pretended,
that Wilhart at his death foretold the murder of Bea¬
ton ; which indeed happened (hortly after, he being
affaflinated in his chamber, May 29. 1547. He was
a haughty bigotted churchman, and thought feverity
the proper method of fupprefling herely j he had great
talents, and vices that vrere no lels conlpicuous. See
Scotland.
BEATORUM INSULA, in Ancient Geography, fg-
ven days journey to the weft of Thebse, a diftiia of
the Nomos Oafttes j called an ijland, becaufe furround-
ed with fand, like an ifland in the fea, (Ulpian) 5 yet
abounding in all the neceffaries of life, though encom-
paffed with vaft landy defects, ^Strabo) j which fome
fuppofe to be a third Oafis, in the Regio Ammoniaca^
and the fite of the temple of Ammon anfwers to the
above defeription, as appears from the writers on A-
lexander’s expedition thither. It was a place of rele¬
gation or banifhment for real or pretended criminals,
from which there was no efcape. (Ulpian).
BE A IS, in a watch or clock, are the flrokes made
by the fangs or pallets of the fpindle of the balance, or
of the pads in a royal pendulum. See Clock and
Watch. •
BEAUCAIRE, a town of France, in the depart¬
ment of Card, on the Rhone, oppofite Tarafcon, with
w hich it has a communication by a bridge of boats.
One of the moft celebrated fairs in Europe is annually
held here. ^ E. Long. 5. 49. N. Lat. 43. 39.
BEAUCE, a late province of France, lying be¬
tween the Ifle of France, Blafois, and Orleannois. It
is fo very fertile in wheat, that it is called the Granary
of Pans. Chartres is the principal town. It now
forms the department of Eure and Loire.
BEA\LR, in Zoology. See Castor, Mamma¬
lia Index.
. Beaver Skins, in Commerce. Of thefe, merchants
diftinguilh three forts j the new, the drv, and the
fat.
The new beaver, which is alfo called the white bea¬
ver, or Mu/covy beaver, becaufe it is commonly kept
to be .fent into.Mufcovy, is that which the favages
catch in their winter hunting. It is the beft, and the
moft proper for making fine furs, becaufe it has loft
none of its hair by (bedding.
The dry beaver, wdiich is fometimes called lean bea¬
ver, comes from the fummer hunting, which is the
time when thefe animals lofe part of their hair.
^ hough this fort of beaver be much inferior to the
former, yet it may alfo be employed in furs j but it is
chiefly ufed in the manufa&ure of hats. The French
call it fummer cafor, or beaver. , •
The fat beaver is that which has contra&ed a cer¬
tain grofs and oily humour, from the fweat which ex¬
hales from the bodies of the favages, who wrear it for
3 fome-
B E A [
Beaufort fome time. Though this fort be better than the dry
II . beaver, yet it is ufed onl) in the making of hats.
Beaumans. gef1(jes hats and furs, in which the beaver’s hair is
commonly ufed, they attempted in France, in the year
1609, to make other manufa£tures of it : and accord¬
ingly they made cloths, flannels, (lockings, &c. partly
of beavers hair, and partly of Segovia wool. This
manufa&ory, which was fet up at Paris, in the fuburb
of St Anthony, fucceeded at firil pretty well; and
according to the genius of the French, the novelty of
the thing brought into fome repute the Huffs, flock-
iUgSj gloves, and cloth, made of beavers hair. But
they went out of faflrion on a hidden, becaufe it was
found, by experience, that they were of a very bad
wear, and befides that the colours faded very much ;
when they had been wet, they became dry and hard,
like felt, which occafioned the mifcarriage of the ma-
nufaflory for that time.
When the hair has been cut off from the beavers
fkins, to be ufed in the manufa&uring of hats, thofe
(kins are flill employed by feveral workmen } namely,
by the trunk-makers, to cover trunks and boxes ^ by
the fhoemakers, to put into flippers j and by turners,
to make fieves for lilting grain and feeds.
BEAUFORT, a town of France, in the depart¬
ment of Maine and Loire, with a caftle, near the ri¬
ver Authion. It contains two parilhes, and formerly
had a convent of Recolets, and yet has not loohoufes.
W. Long. O. 3. N. Lat. 47. 26.
Beaufort gives title of duke in England to the
noble family of Somerfet, who are lineally defcended
from John of Gaunt duke of Lancafter, whofe duchefs
reflded in this town.
Beaufort, a ftrong town of Savoy in Italy, on the
river Oron. E. Long. 6. 48. ISj. Lat. 45. 40.
BEAUGENCY, a town of France, in the depart¬
ment of Loire, feated on the river Loire. It is famous
for its wines. E. Long. I. 46. N. Lat. 47. 48.
BEAU]EU, a town of France, in the department
of Rhone and Loire, with an old caftle. It is feated
on the river Ardieres, at the foot of a mountain, in
. E. Long. 4. 40. N. Lat. 46. 9,
BEAUJOLOIS, a diftrid of France, now includ¬
ed in the department of Rhone and Loire, is bounded
on the fouth by Lyonois Proper, on the weft by Forez,
on the north by Burgundy, and on the call by the
principality of Dombes. It is 25 miles in length, and
20 in breadth : Ville Franche is the capital town.
BEAULIEU, Sebastian de Pontault de, a
celebrated French engineer, and field marlhal under
Louis XIV. He publilhed plans of all the military
expeditions of his mailer, wuth military lectures annex¬
ed. He died in 1674.
BEAUMARIS, a market town of Anglefey m
North Wales, which fends one member to parliament.
W. Long. 4. 15. N. Lat. 53. 25-
It is, as the name implies, pleafantly feated on a low
land at the water’s edge *, is neat and well built, and
one flreet is very handfome. Edward I. created the
place •, for after founding the caftles of Caernarvon
and Conway, he difcovered tnat it was neceilary to
put another curb on the Welch. He therefore built
a fortrefs here in I 295 ’ alld fixed on a marfhy fpot,
near the chapel of St Meugan, fuch as gave him op¬
portunity of forming a great fofs round the caftie?
490 ] BE A
and of filling it with water from the lea. Fie alfo cut Beaumaris.
a canal, in order to permit veffels to difeharge their' ' ~v
lading beneath the walls: and as a proof of the ex-
iftence of fuch a conveniency, there were within this
century iron rings affixed to them, for the purpofe of
mooring the ftiips or boats. The marih was in early
times of far greater extent than at prefent, and covered
with fine bulrulhes. The firft governor was Sir Wil¬
liam Pickmore, a Gafcon knight appointed by Ed¬
ward I. There were a conllable of the caftle, and a
captain of the town. The firft had an annual fee of
forty pounds, the Fall of twelve pounds three (hillings
and four pence j and the porter of the gate of Beau¬
maris had nine pounds two (hillings and fixpence.
Twenty-four foldiers wTere allowed for the guard of the
caftle and town, at fourpence a-day to each. I he
conftable of the caftle was always captain o( the town,
except in one inilance : in the 36th of Henry VI. Sir
John Boteler held the firft office, and Thomas Norreys
the other. The caftle was extremely burthenfome to
the country : quarrels w ere (requent between the gar-
rifon and the country people. In the time of Henry
VI. a bloody fray happened, in which L)avid ap Evan
ap Howel of Llwydiarth, and many others, were (lain.
From the time of Sir Rowland Yilieville, alias Brit-
tayne, reputed bafe fon of Plenry A IL and conftable
of the caftle, the garrifon was withdrawn till the year
1642, when Thomas Cheadle, deputy to the earl of
Dorfet, then conftable, put into it men and ammunition.
In 1643, Thomas Bulkeley, Efq. foon after created
Lord Bulkelcy, fucceeded : his fon Colonel Richard
Bulkeley, and feveral gentlemen of the county, held
it for the king till June 1646, when it furrendered on
honourable terms to General Mytton, who made Cap¬
tain Evans his deputy governor. In 1653, the an¬
nual expence of the garnion was feventeen bundled
and three pounds. Edward I. w’hen he built the
town, furrounded it with walls, made it a corporation,
and endowed it with great privileges, and lands to a
confiderable value. He removed the ancient freehol¬
ders by exchange of property into other counties.
Henllys, near the town, was the feat of Gwerydd _ap
Rhys Goch, one of fifteen tribes, and of his pofterity
till this period, when Edward removed them to Boddle
Wyddan in Flintffiire, and bellowed their ancient pa¬
trimony on the corporation. It fends one member to
parliament. Its firft reprefentative was Maurice Grif-
fydd, who fat in the feventh year of Edward VI.
There is very’good anchorage for (hips in the bay
which lies before the town 5 and has feven fathom wa¬
ter even-at the lowed ebb. Veffels often find fecurity
here in hard gales. The town has no trade of any
kind, yet has its cuftomhoufe for the cafual reception
of goods. The ferry lies near the town, and is pafs-
able at low water. It was granted by charter to the
corporation in the 4^ 0f Qgeeri Elizabeth. Fheie is
an order from Edward II. to Robert Power, chamber-
lain of North Wales, to infpeft into the (late of the
boat, which was then out of repair ; and in cafe it was
feafible, to caufe it to be rhade fit for life, at the ex¬
pence of the baileywick : but if the boat proved pad
repair, a new one was to be built, and the ex pence al¬
lowed by the king. It appeared that the people of
Beaumaris paid annually for the privilege of a ferry-
thirty (hillings into the exchequer} but by tins order;
B E A [ 49J
it Teems that the king was to find the boat. After
paffing the channel, the diftance over the fands to Aber'
in Caernarvonihire, the point the paffenger generally
makes for, is four miles. The fands are called Traetb
lelavan, and Wylcfaen, or the place of weeping, from
the Ihrieks and lamentations of the inhabitants when it
was overwhelmed by the fea, in the days of Helig ap
Clunog. The church is dependant on Llandegvan,
which is in the gift of Lord Bulkeley. The former is
called the chapel of the hleffed virgin; yet in ancient
writings one aile is called St Mary's chapel, and another
that of St Nicholas.
BEAUMONT, Sir John, the elder brother of Mr
Francis Beaumont the famous dramatic poet, was born
in the year 1582, and in 1626 had the dignity of a
baronet conferred upon him by King Charles I. In his
youth he applied himfelf to the Mules with goodTuc^-
cefs •, and w^rote, The Crown of Thorns, a poem, in
eight books : a mifcellany, entitled, Bofworth Field:
Tranfiations from the Latin poets ; and feveral poems
on religious and political fubjedfs } as, On the Feftr-
Vals *, On the Bleffed Trinity, A Dialogue between
the World, a Pilgrim, and Virtue •, Of the miferable
State of Man ; Of Sicknefs. &c. He died in 1628.
His poetic genius was celebrated by Ben Johnfon, Mi¬
chael Drayton, and others.
Beaumont and Fletcher, two celebrated Englifh
dramatic writers, wLo flouriflied in the reign of James I.
and fo clofely conne&ed both as authors and as friends,
that it has been judged not improper to give them un¬
der one article.
Mr Francis Beaumont was defeended from an an¬
cient family of his name at Grace-dieu in Leicefter-
fhire, where he was born about the year 1585 or 1586,
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. His grandfather,
John Beaumont, w'asmafter of the rolls, and his father
Francis Beaumont one of the judges of the common-
pleas. He was educated at Cambridge, and after-
wards admitted of the Inner Temple. It is not, how¬
ever, apparent that he made any great proficiency in
the law', that being a lludy probably too dry and un¬
entertaining to be attended to by a man of his fertile
and fprightly genius. And indeed wre fhould fcarcely be
furprifed to find that he had given no application to
any ftudy but poetry, nor attended on any court but
that of the Mufes: but, on the contrary, our admiration
might fix itfclf in the oppofite extreme, and fill us with
aftonifhment at the extreme affiduity of his genius and
rapidity of his pen, when we look back on the volumi-
noufnefs of his wmrks, and then inquire into the time
allowed him for them ; works that might well have
taken up a long life to have executed. For although,
out of $3 plays which are colledled together as the la¬
bours of thefe united authors, Mr Beaumont wras con¬
cerned in much the greater part of them, yet he did
not live to complete his 30th year, the king of terrors
fummoning him away in the beginning of March 1615,
on the 9th day of which he was interred in the en¬
trance of St Benediff’s chapel in Weftminfter-Abbey.
There is no infeription on his tomb : But there are two
epitaphs to his memory ; one by his elder brother Sir
John Beaumont:
On death, thy murderer, this revenge I take ;
I flight his terrors, and juft queftion make,
] B E A
Which of us two the beft precedence have, Beaumont-
Mine to this wretched world, thine to the grave ? ' v
Thou fliould’ll have followed me 5 but death, to blame,
Mifcounted years, and meafur’d age by fame.
So dearly haft thou bought thy precious lines 5
Their praife grew fwiftly, fo thy life declines.
Thy mufe, the'hearer’s queen, the reader’s love,
All ears, all hearts (but death’s), could pleafe and
move. Bofworth Field, p. 164.
The other is by Bifhop Corbet. (Poems, p. 68.)
He that hath fuch acutenefs and fuch wit,
As would afk ten good heads to hufband it :
He that can write fo well, that no man dare
Refume it for the beft ; let him beware :
Beaumont is dead 5 by w hofe foie death appears,
Wit’s a difeafe confumes men in feWT years.
He left a daughter, Frances Beaumont, who died in
Leicefterftiire fince the year 1700. She had in her
poffeffion feveral poems of her father’s writing ; but
they wTere loft at fea in her voyage from Ireland, where
fire had lived for fome time in the duke of Ormond’s
family.
Mr John Fletcher was not more meanly defeended
than his poetical colleague *, his father, the reverend
Dr Fletcher, having been firft made bilhop of Briftol
by Queen Elizabeth, and afterwards by the fame
monarch, in the year 1593, tranfiated to the rich
fee of London. Our poet wras born in 15765 and
was, as well as his friend, educated at Cambridge,
where he made a great proficiency in his ftudies, and
was accounted a very good fcholar. His natural viva¬
city of wit, for which he was remarkable, foon render¬
ed him a devotee to the mufes *, and his clofe attention
to their fervice, and fortunate connexion with a genius
equal to his own, foon raifed him to one of the higheft
places in the temple of poetical fame. As he was born
near ten years before Mr Beaumont, fo did he alfo fur-
vive him by an equal number of years 5 the general ca¬
lamity of a plague, which happened in the year 162 5",
involved him in its great deftrudlion, he being at that
time 49 years of age.
During the joint lives of thefe two great poets, it
appears that they wrote nothing feparately, excepting
one little piece by each, which feemed of too trivial a
nature for either to require afliftance in, viz. The Faith¬
ful Shepherd, a paftoral, by Fletcher 5 and The Mafquc
of Gray’s-Inn Gentlemen, by Beaumont. Yet what
ftiare each had in the writing or defigning of the pieces
thus compofed by them jointly, there is no poflibility
of determining. It is however generally allowed, that
Fletcher’s peculiar talent was wit, and Beaumont’s,
though much the younger man, judgment. Nay, fo
extraordinary was the latter property in Mr Beaumont,
that it is recorded of the great Ben Johnfon, who feems
moreover to have had a fufficient degree of felf-opinion
of his own abilities, that he conftantly, fo long as this
gentleman lived, fubmitted his own writings to his
cenfure, and, as it is thought, availed himfelf of his
judgment at leaft in the correcling, if not even in the
contriving all his plots. It is probable, therefore, that
the forming the plots and contriving the conduft of
the fable, the writing of the more ferious and pathetic
parts, and lopping the redundant branches of Fletcher’s
3 0^2 wit,
B E A [
Bcaumonh w;t> ■w^ofe luxuriance, we are told, frequently flood m
need of caftigation, might be in general Beaumont’s
portion in the work : while Fletcher, whofe converfa-
tion with the beau moirde (which indeed both of them
from their births and ftations in life had been ever ac-
cuftomed to), added to the volatile and lively turn he
poffeiTed, rendered him perfedlly mailer of dialogue and
polite language, might execute the defigns formed by
the other, and raife the fuperllruflure of thofe lively
and fpirited fcenes which Beaumont had only laid the
foundation of-, and in this he was fo fuccefsful, that
though his wit and raillery were extremely keen and
poignant, yet they were at the fame time fo perfedlly
genteel, that they ufed rather to pleafe than difguft
the very perfons on whom they feemed to refledl. Yet
that Fletcher was not entirely excluded from a (hare
in the condudl of the drama, may be gathered from a
flory related by Winftanley, viz. that our two bards
having concerted the rough draught of a tragedy over
a bottle of wine at a tavern, Fletcher laid, he would
undertake to hill the king ; which wTords being over¬
heard by the waiter, who had not happened to have
been w-itnefs to the context of their converfation, he
lodged an information of treafon againll them. But
on their explanation of it only to mean the deftrudlion
of a theatrical monarch, their loyalty moreover being
unquellioned, the affair ended in a jell.
On the whole, the works of thefe authors have un¬
doubtedly very great merit, and fome of their pieces
defervedly Hand on the lift of the prefent ornaments of
the theatre. The plots are ingenious, interefting, and
well managed ; the characters ftrongly marked 5 and the
dialogue fprightly and natural : yet there is in the latter
a coarfenefs which is not fuitable to the politenefs of
the prefent age ; and a fondnefsof repartee, which fre¬
quently runs into obfcenity ; and which w-e may fup-
pofe was the vice of that time, fince even the delicate
•Shakelpeare himfelf is not entirely free from it. But
as thefe authors have more of that kind of wit than the
laft-mentioned writer, it is not to be wondered if their
works were in the licentious reign of Charles II. pre¬
ferred to his. Now, however, to the honour of the
prefent tafte be it fpcken, the tables are entirely turn¬
ed ; and while Shakefpeare’si immortal works are our
conftant and daily fare, thefe of Beaumont and Flet¬
cher, though delicate in their kind, are only occafion-
allv ferved up : and even then great pains are taken to
clear them of that fumet, which the haul g&ut of their
contemporaries confidered as their fupremeft relilh, but
■which the more undepraved tafte of ours has been juft-
ly taught to look on as, what it really is, no more than
a corrupt and unwholefome taint.
Some of their plays were printed in quarto during
the lives ofthe authors; and in the year 1645 there
was publifhed in folio a colleClion of fuch plays as had
not been printed before, amounting to between thirty
and forty. This collection was publiftied by Mr Shir¬
ley, after the {hutting up of the theatres ; and dedi¬
cated to the earl of Pembroke by ten of the moft fa¬
mous aCtors. In 1679 ^iere was an edition of all
their plays publifhed in folio } another edition in 171 j
by Mr Tonfon in feven volumes 8vo, and the laft in
*75u
Beaumont, a town of the Netherlands, in Hain-
ault, on the confines of the territory of Liege. It was
492 ] B E A
ceded to the French in 1684; and taken in 1691 by the Beaumont
Englilh, who blew up the cattle. It is fituated between II
the rivers Maete and Sambre, in E. Long. 4. I. N. Beauty. ^
Lat. 50. 12. v /
Beaumont le Roger, a town of Upper Normandy in
France. E. Long. o. 56. N. Lat. 49. 2.
Beaumont le Vicomfite, a town of Maine in France.
E. Long. o. 10. N. Lat. 48. 12.
Beaumont fur Oife, a town in the Lie of France,
feated on the declivity of a hill, with a bridge over the
river Oife. E. Long. 2. 29. N. Lat. 49. 9.
BEAUNE, a handfome town of France, in Bur¬
gundy, remarkable for its excellent wine, and for an
hofpital founded here in 1443. Its collegiate church
is alfo one of the fineft in France ; Kthe great altar is
adorned with a table enriched with jewels 5 and its or¬
gans are placed on a piece of architeCIure which is the
admiration of the curious. E. Long. 4. 50. N. Lat.
47. 2.
BEAUSOBRE, Isaac de, a learned Proteftant
writer of French original, was born at Niort in 1659.
He w-as forced into Holland to avoid the execution
of a fentence upon him, which condemned him to make
the amende honourable; and this for having broken
the royal fignet, which was put upon the door of a
church of the Reformed, to prevent the public profef-
fion of their religion. He went to Berlin in 1694*,
was made chaplain to the king of Pruftia, and coun-
fellor of the royal confiftory. He died in 1738, aged
79, after having publilhed feveral works : as, I. De-
fenfede la DoBnne des Reformes. 2. A Translation of
the New Teftament and Notes, jointly with M. Len-
fant j much efteemed by the Reformed. 3. Dijfertation
fur les Adamites de Bohcme ; a curious work. 4. Hftoire
Critique de Manichee et du Manicheifne, 2 tom. in 410.
This has been deemed by philofophers an interefting
queftion, and nobody has developed it better than this
author. 5. Several differtations in the Bibliotheque
Britannique.—Mr Beaufobre had ftrong fenfe w-ith pro¬
found erudition, and w-as one of the beft writers among
the Reformed ; he preached as he w-rote, and he did
both with w-armth and fpirit.
BEAUTY, in its native fignification, is appropri¬
ated to objedls of fight. Objcfts of the other fenfes
may be agreeable, fuch as the founds of mufical inftru-
ments, the fmoothnefs and foftnefs of fome furfaces \
but the agreeablenefs called beauty belongs to objedls of
fight.
Objefts of fight are more complex than thofe of any
other fenfe : in the fimpleft, we perceive colour, figure,
length, breadth, thicknefs. A tree is ccmpofed of a
trunk, branches, and leaves j it has colour, figure, fize,
and fometimes motion : by means of each of thefe par¬
ticulars, feparately confidered, it appears beautiful j
but a complex perception of the whole greatly aug¬
ments the beauty of the objeft. The human body is
a compofition of numberlefs beauties arifing from the
parts and qualities of the objeft, various colours, vari¬
ous rrfotions, figures, fize, &c. all united in one com¬
plex objedf, and ftriking the eye with combined force.
Hence it is, that beauty, a quality fo remarkable in
vifible objedfs, lends its name to every thing that is
eminently agreeable. Thus, by a figure of fpeech, we
fay, a beautiful found, a beautiful thought, a beautiful
difeovery, b'c.
Confidering
B E A [ 493 ] B E A
auty. Confidenng attentively the beauty of vilible objects,
v ‘ two kinds are difcovered. The firft may be termed
intrinfic beauty, becaule it is difcovered in a (ingle ob¬
ject, without relation to any other : the other may be
termed relative, being founded on the relation of ob¬
jects. Intrinfic beauty is a perception of fenfe merely ;
for to perceive the beauty of a fpreading oak, or of a
flowing river, no more is required but fingly an aft of
vifion. Relative beauty is accompanied with an aft of
underftanding and refleftion : for tve perceive not the
relative beauty of a fine inftrument or engine until we
learn its ufe and delfination. In a word, intrinfic
beauty is ultimate 5 and relative beauty is that of means
relating to fome good end or purpofe. Thefe different
beauties agree in one capital circumffance, that both
are equally perceived as belonging to the objeft ; which
will be readily admitted with refpeft to intrinfic beauty,
but is not fo obvious with refpeft to the other. The
utility of the plough, for example, may make it an ob¬
jeft of admiration or of defire ; but why fhould utility
make it beautiful ? A natural propenfity of the human
mind will explain this difficulty : Ry an eafy tranfition
of ideas, the beauty of the eft'eft is transferred to the
caufe, and is perceived as one of the qualities of the
caufe. Thus a fubjeft void of intrinfic beauty appears
beautiful by its utility; a dwelling-houfe void of all
regularity is however beautiful in the view of conve¬
nience ; and the want of fymmetry in a tree will not
prevent its appearing beautiful, if it be known to pro¬
duce good fruit.
When thefe two beauties concur I^any objeft, it ap¬
pears delightful. Every member of the human body
pofiefles both in a high degree.
The beauty of utility, being accurately proportioned
to the degree of utility, requires no illullration : But
intrinfic beauty, being more complex, cannot be handled
diftinftly without being analyzed. If a tree be beau¬
tiful by means of its colour, figure, motion, fize, &c.
it is in reality poflefled of fo many different beauties.
The beauty of colour is too familiar to need explana¬
tion. 1 he beauty of figure is more : for example,
viewing any body as a whole, the beauty of its figure
arifes from regularity and fimplicity ; viewing the parts
wuth relation to each other, uniformity, proportion,
and order, contribute to its beauty. The beauties of
grandeur and motion are confidered feparately. See
Grandeur and Motion.
We fh ill here make a few obfervations on fimplicity,
which may be of ufe in examining the beauty of finple
objefts. A multitude of objefts crowding into the
mind at once, dillurb the attention, and pafs without
making any lading impreffion : In the fame manner,
even a fingle objeft, confiding of a multiplicity of
parts, equals not, in ftrength of impreffion, a more
fimple objeft comprehended in one view. This juflifies
fimplicity in works of art, as oppofed to complicated
circumftances and crowded ornaments.
It would be endlefs to enumerate the effefts that are
produced by the various combinations of the principles
of beauty. A few examples will be fufficient to give
the reader fome idea of this fubjeft. A circle and a
fquare are each perfeftly regular : a fquare, however,
is lefs beautiful than a circle; and the reafon is, that
the attention is divided among the fides and angles of
a fquare ; whereas the circumference of a circle, being
a fingle objeft, makes one entire impreflion : And thus
fimplicity contributes to beauty. For the fame reafon
a Iquare is more beautiful than a hexagon or oftagon.
A fquare is likewife more beautiful than a parallelo¬
gram, becaufe it is more regular and uniform. But
this holds with refpeft to intrinfic beauty only : for in
many inftances, as in the doors and windows of a
dwelling houfe, utility turns the feales on the fide of
the parallelogram.
Again, a parallelogram depends, for its beauty, on
the proportion of its fides : A great inequality of its
fides annihilates its beauty : Approximation toward-
equality hath the fame effeft ; for proportion there de¬
generates into imperfeft uniformity, and the figure ap¬
pears an unfuccefsful attempt toward a fquare. And
hence proportion contributes to beauty.
An equilateral triangle yields not to a fquare in re¬
gularity nor in uniformity of parts, and it is more fim¬
ple. But an equilateral triangle is lefs beautiful than
a fquare ; which muff be owing to inferiority of order
in the pofition of its parts ; the order arifing from the
equal inclination of the fides of fuch an angle is more
obfeure than the parallelifm of the fides of a fquare.
And hence order contributes to beauty not lefs than
fimplicity, regularity, or proportion.
Uniformity is lingular in one circumftance, that it
is apt to difguft by excefs. A number of things def-
tined for the fame ufe, as windows, chairs, &c. can¬
not be too uniform. But a fcrupulous uniformity of
parts in a large garden or field is far from being agree¬
able.
In all the works of nature fimplicity makes a capital
figure. It alfo makes a figure in works of art : Pro-
fufe ornament in painting, gardening, or architefture,
as well as in drefs or in language, (hows a mean or cor¬
rupted tafte. Simplicity in behaviour and manners has'
an enchanting effeft, and never fails to gain our affec¬
tion. Very different are the artificial manners of mo¬
dern times. A gradual progrefs from fimplicity to
complex forms and profufe ornament, feems to be the’
fate of all the fine arts ; refembling behaviour, which
from original candour and fimplicity has degenerated
into duplicity of heart and artificial refinements. At
prefent, literary produftions are crowded with words,
epithets, figures : In mufic, fentiment is neglefted for
the luxury of harmony, and for difficult movement.
With regard to the final caufe of beauty, one thing
is evident, that our relifh of regularity, uniformity,
proportion, order, and fimplicity, contributes greatly
to enhance the beauty of the objefts that furroiind us.
and of courfe tends to our happinefs. We may be
confirmed in this thought, upon reflefting, that our
tafte for thefe particulars is not accidental, but uniform
and univerfal, making a branch of our nature. At the
fame time, regularity, uniformity, order, and fimplicity,
contribute each of them to readinefs of apprehenfion,,
and enable us to form more diftinft ideas of objefts
than can' be done where thefe particulars are wanting.
In fome inftances, as in animals, proportion is evidently
connefted with utility, and is the more agreeable on
that account.
Beauty, in many, inftances, promotes induftry ; and
as it is frequently connefted with utility, it proves an
additional incitement to enrich our fields and improve
our manufaftures. Thefe, however, are but flight
effefts,
Beauty.
B E A f 494 ] B E A
Beauty, effects, compared with the connexions that are formed
v_'’" among individuals in fociety by means of beauty.
The qualifications of the head and heart are undoubt¬
edly the moft folid and molt permanent foundations of
luch connexions: But as external beauty lies more
in view, and is more obvious to the bulk of mankind,
than the qualities now mentioned, the fenfe of beauty
has a more extenfive influence in forming thefe con¬
nexions. At any rate, it concurs in an eminent de¬
gree with mental qualifications, in producing focial in-
tercourfe, mutual good will, and confequently mutual
aid and fupport, which are the life of fociety ; it mult
not however be overlooked, that the fenfe of beauty
does not tend to advance the interelts of fociety, but
when in a due mean with refpeX to itrength. Love,
in particular, arifing from a fenfe of beauty, lofes,
when exceflive, its focial charaXer : the appetite for
gratification, prevailing over affeXion for the beloved
objeX, is ungovernable, and tends violently to its end,
regardlefs of the mifery that mull follow. Love, in
this Hate, is no longer a Iweet agreeable paflion : it
becomes painful, like hunger or thirft j and produceth
no happinefs but in the inftant of fruition. This fug-
gefts an important leffbn, that moderation in our defires
and appetites, which fits us for doing our duty, contri¬
butes at the fame time the moft to happinefs ; even fo¬
cial paflions, when moderate, are more pleafant than
when they fwell beyond proper bounds.
Human or Perfonal Beauty, only flightly touched
upon in the preceding article, merits m6re particular
difcuflion ; and may be confidered under thefe four
heads : Colour, Form, Expreflion, and Grace ;-tbe two
former being, as it were, the Body, the two latter the
Soul, of beauty.
i. Colour. Although this be the loweft of all the
conftituent parts of beauty, yet it is vulgarly the mofl:
ilriking, and the moft; obferved. For which there is
a very obvious reafon to be given ; that “ everybody
can fee, and very few can judge ; the beauties of co¬
lour requiring much lefs of judgment than either of the
other three.
As to the colour "of the body in general, the moft:
beautiful perhaps that ever was imagined, was that
which Apelles exprefled in his famous Venus j and
•which, though the piXure itfelf be loft, Cicero has in
fome degree preferved to us, in his excellent defcription
of it. It wras (as we learn from him) a fine red, beau¬
tifully intermixed and incorporated with white ) and
diffufed, in its due proportions, though each part of
the body. Such are the defcriptions of a moft beauti¬
ful fkin, in feveral of the Roman poets ; and fuch of¬
ten is the colouring of Titian, and particularly in his
fleeping Venus, or whatever other beauty that charm¬
ing piece was meant to reprefent.
The reafon why thefe colours pleafe fo much, is not
only their natural livelinefs, nor the much greater
charms they obtain from their being properly blended
together, but is alfo owing in fome degree to the idea
they carry with them of good health ; without which
all beauty grows languid and lefs engaging ; and with
which it always recovers an additional life and luftre.
As to the colour of the face in particular, a grtfat Beauty,
deal of beauty is owing (befide the caufes already men-
tioned) to variety •, that being defigned by nature for
the greateft concourfe of different colours, of any part
in the human body. Colours pleafe by oppofition ,
and it is in the face that they are the molt diverfified,
and the moft oppofed.
It is an obfervation apparently whimfical, but per¬
haps not unjuft, that the fame thing which makes a fine
evening, makes a fine face j that is, as to the particu¬
lar part of beauty now under confideration.
The beauty of an evening iky, about the fetting of
the fun, is owung to the variety of colours that are
fcattered along the face of the heavens. It is the fine
red clouds, intermixed with white, and fometimes dark¬
er ones, with the azure bottom appearing here and
there between them, which makes all that beautiful
compofition that delights the eye io much, and gives
fuch a ferene pleafure to the heart, In the fame man¬
ner, if you confider fome beautiful faces, you may ob-
ferve, that it is much the fame variety of colours which
gives them that pleafing look ; which is fo apt to at-
traX the eye, and but too often to engage the heart.
For all this fort of beauty is refolvable into a proper
variation of flefh colour and red, w ith the clear blue-
nefs of the veins pleafingly intermixed about the temples
and the going off of the cheeks, and fet off by the
fhades of full eye-brows •, and of the hair, when it falls
in a proper manner round the face.
It is for much the fame reafon that the beft land-
fcape-painters have been generally obferved to choofe
the autumnal part of the year for their pieces, rather
than the fpring. They prefer the variety of fhades
and colours, though in their decline, to all their frefh-
nefs and verdure in their infancy •, and think all the
charms and livelinefs even of the fpring, more than
compenfated by the choice, oppofition, and richnefs of
colours, that appear almoft on every tree in the au¬
tumn.
Though one’s judgment is apt to be guided by par¬
ticular attachments (and that more perhaps in this part
of beauty than any other), yet the general perfuafion
feems wTell founded, that a complete brown beauty is
really preferable to a perfeX fair one 5 the bright brown
giving a luftre to all the other colours, a vivacity to the
eyes, and a' richnefs to the whole look, which one
feeks in vain in the whiteft and moft tranfparent fkins.
Raphael’s moft charming Madonna is a brunette
beauty ; and his earlier Madonnas (or thofe of his
middle ftyle) are generally of a lighter and lefs pleafing
complexion. All the beft artifts in the nobleft age of
painting, about Leo the tenth’s time, ufed this deeper
and richer kind of colouring ) and perhaps one might
add, that the glaring lights introduced by Guido, w ent
a great wTay towards the declenfion of that art} as the
enfeebling of the colours by Carlo Marat (or his fol-
low’ers) hath fince alfo completed the fall of it in Italy,
Under this article colour, it feems doubtful wLether
fome things ought not to be comprehended which are
not perhaps commonly meant by that name : As that
appearing foftnefs or filkinefs of fome fkins j that (a)
Magdalen-
(a) The look here meant is moft frequently expreffed by the beft painters in their Magdalens ; in which, if
there were no tears on the face, you would fee, by the humid rednefs of the fkin, that fire had been tveeping
2 extremely.
B E A [ 495 ] BE A
Beauty. Magdalen-Iook in fome fine faces, after weeping j that
-—V—' brightnefs, as well as tint, of the hair ; that lultre of
health that Ihines forth upon the features ; that lumi-
noufnefs that appears in fome eyes, and that fluid fire,
or gliftening, in others: Some of which are of a na¬
ture fo much fuperior to the common beauties of co¬
lour, that they make it doubtful whether they lliould
not have been ranked under a higher clafs, and refer-
ved for the expreffions of the paflions. They are, how¬
ever, mentioned here ; becaufe even the moft doubtful
of them appear to belong partly to this head, as well as
partly to the other.
2. Form. This takes in the turn of each part, as
well as the fymmetry, of the whole body, even to
the turn of an eye-brow, or the falling of the hair.
Perhaps, too, the attitude, while fixed, ought to be
reckoned under this article : By which is not only
meant the poflure of the perfon, but the pofition of
each part ; as the turning of the neck, the extending
of the hand, the placing of a foot) and fo on to the
molt minute particulars.
The general caufe of beauty in the form or drape in
both fexes is a proportion, or a union and harmony,
in all parts of the body.
The diltinguilhing charafter of beauty in the female
form, is delicacy and foltnefs ; and in the male, either
apparent flrength or agility. The fineft exemplars that
can be feen for the former, is the Venus of Medici; and
for the two latter, the Hercules Farnefe and the Apol¬
lo Belvedere.
There is one thing indeed in the laft: of thefe figures
which exceeds the bounds of our prefent inquiry ;
what an Italian artift called IIfovra umano ; and what
we may call the tranfcendent, or celeftial. It is fome-
thing difllndl from all human beauty, and of a nature Beauty,
greatly fuperior to it ; fomething that feems like an
air of divinity : Which is expreffed, or at leafl: is to be
traced out, in but very few works of the artifts; and
of which fcarce any of the poets have caught any ray
in their defcriptions (or perhaps even in their ima¬
gination), except Homer and Virgil, among the an¬
cients ; and our Shakefpeare and Milton among the
moderns.
The beauty of the mere human form is much fupe¬
rior to that of colour ; and it may be partly for this
reafon, that when one is obferving the finefi: works of
the artifts at Rome (where there is ftill the nobleft col-
ledlion of any in the world), one feels the mind more
ftruck and more charmed with the capital ftatues,
than with the piflures of the greateft mafters.
One of the old Roman poets, in fpeaking of a very
handfome man, who was candidate for the prize in
fome of the public games, fays, that he was much ex-
pefted and much admired by all the fpedlators at his
firft appearance ; but that, when he flung off his robes,
and difcovered the whole beauty of his fhape altoge¬
ther, it wfas fo fuperior, that it quite extinguiihed the
beauties they had before fo much admired in his face.
Much the fame effedl may be felt in viewing the Ve¬
nus of Medici.1 If you obferve the face only, it ap¬
pears extremely beautiful; but if you confider all the
other elegancies of her make, the beauty of her face
becomes lefs ftriking, and is almoft loft in fuch a mul¬
tiplicity of charms.
Whoever would learn what makes the beauty of
each part of the human body, may find it laid dow n-
pretty much at large, by (b) Felibiens ; or may ftudy it
with more pleafure to himfelf, in the fineft pidures and
ftatues ;
extremely. There is a very ftrong inftance of this in a Magdalen by Le Brun, in one of the churches at Paris ;
and feveral by Titian, in Italy ; the very beft of which is at the Barberino palace at Venice. In fpeaking of
which, Rofalba hardly went too far, when flie faid, “ It wept all over or (in the very words (lie uled) “ File
pleure jufqu’ aux bouts de doigts.”
(b) In his Entretiens, vol. ii. p. 14—45. The chief of wdiat he fays there, on the beauty of the different
parts of the female form, is as follows : That the head fliould be well rounded ; and look rather inclining to
fmall than large. The forehead, white, fmooth, and open (not with the hair growing dowm too deep upon it) ;
neither flat nor prominent, but like the head, well rounded ; and rather fmall in proportion than large. The
hair, either bright black or brown ; not thin, but full and waving ; and if it falls in moderate curls the better.
The black is particularly ufeful for fetting oft' the whitenefs of the neck and fkin. The eyes black, chefnut, or
blue ; clear, bright, and lively ; and rather large in proportion than fmall. The eye brows, w’ell divided, rather
full than thin ; femicircular, and broader in the middle than at the ends ; of a neat turn, but not formal. The
cheeks (hould not be wide ; fhould have a degree of plumpnefs, with the red and white finely blended together ;
and (hould look firm and foft. The ear fhould be rather fmall than large ; well folded, and with an agreeable
tinge of red. The nofe (hould be placed fo as to divide the face into twm equal parts ; ffrould be of a moderate
fize, ftraight, and w'ell-fquared ; though fometimes a little rifing in the nofe, which is but juft perceivable, may give
a very graceful look to it. The mouth diould be fmall ; and the lips not of equal thicknefs : They ihould be
well turned, fmall rather than grofs ; loft, even to the eye ; and with a living red in them.. A truly pretty
mouth is like a rofe-bud that is beginning to blow. The teeth (hould be middle-fized,.white, well-ranged, and
even. The chin of a moderate fize ; white, foft, and agreeably rounded. The neck (hould be white, flraight, and
of a foft, eafy, and flexible make, rather long than (hort; lefs above, and increafing gently toward the (houlders :
The whitenefs and delicacy of its (kin fliould be continued, or rather go on improving to the bofom. The fkin
in general (hould be white, properly tinged with red ; with an apparent foftnefs, and a look of thriving health
in it. '{'he (boulders fliould be white, gently fpread, and with a much fofter appearance of ftrength than in thofe of
men. The arm ihould be white, round, firm, and foft ; and more particularly fo from the elbow to the hands.
The hand (hould unite infenfibly with the arm ; juft as it does in the ftatue of the Venus of Medici. They
fhould be long and delicate, and even the joints and nervous parts of them (hould be without either any hard
tuffs or dryneis. The fingers Ihould be fine; long, round, and foft y fmall, and leflening towards the tips of
them,.;
B E A [ 496 3 B E A
Beauty, ftatues *, for in life we commonly fee but a fmall part
v   of the human body, moft of it being either difguifed or
altered by what we call drefs.
In fa£t we do not only thus, in a great meafure,
bide beauty j but even injure, and kill it, by feme parts
of drefs. A child is no looner born into the world,
than it is bound up, almoft as firmly as an old Egyp¬
tian mummy, in feveral folds of linen. It is in vain
for him to give all the figns of diflrefs- that nature has
put in his power, to fhow how much he buffers whilft
they are thus imprifoning his limbs; or all the figns
of joy, every time they are fet at liberty. In a few
minutes, the old witch who prefides over his infirmett
days falls to tormenting him afrefh, and winds him up
again in his deftined confinement. When he comes
to be dreft like a man, he has ligatures applied to his
arms, legs, and middle, in (hort all over him, to pre¬
vent the natural circulation of his blood, and make
him lefs aftive and healthy : and if it be a child of the
tenderer fex, Ihe mull be bound yet more ftraitly a-
bout the wTaiil and ftomach, to acquire a difproportion
that nature never meant in her fhape.
The two other conllituent parts of beauty, are ex-
preflion and grace j the former of which is. common to
all perfons and faces j and the latter is to be met with
In very few.
3. JLxpreJfion. By this is meant the expreflion of
the paffions ; the turns and changes of the mind, fb
far as they are made vifible to the eye by our looks or
geflures.
Though the mind appears principally in the face and
attitudes of the head ; yet every part almofl of the hu¬
man body, on fome occafion or other, may become ex-
preffive. Thus the languifhing hanging of the arm, or
the vehement exertion of it ; the pain expreffed by the
fingers of one of the fons in the famous group of Lao-
coon, and in the toes of the dying gladiator. But this
again is often loft among us by our drefs \ and indeed
is of the lefs concern, becaufe the expreflion of the paf-
iions paffes chiefly in the face, which we (by good
luck) have not as yet concealed.
The parts of the face in which the paflions moft Beauty,
frequently make their appearance, are the eyes and —v"—
mouth 3 but from the eyes they diffufe thcmfelves
very ftrongly about the eye-brows j as, in the other
cafe, they appear often in the parts all round the
mouth.
Philofophers may difpute as much as they pleafe
about the feat of the foul 3 but where-ever it refides,
we are fure that it fpeaks in the eyes. Perhaps it is
injuring the eye-browrs, to make them only dependents
on the eye 3 for they, efpecially in lively faces, have, as
it were, a language of their own 3 and are extremely
varied, according to the different fentiments and paf¬
fions of the mind.
Degree of pleafure may be often difeerned in a la¬
dy’s eye-brow, though ftie have addrefs enough not to
let it appear in her eyes 3 and at other times may be dif-
covered fo much of her thoughts, in the^ne juft: above
her eye-brows, that ftie would probably be amazed how
any body could tell what paffed in her mind, and (as
ftie thought) undilcovered by her face, fo particularly
and diftinftly.
Homer makes the eye-brovrs the feat of (c) majefty,
Virgil of (d) dejeblion, Horace of (e) modefty, and
Juvenal of (f) pride; and it is not certain whether
every one of the paflions be not aftigned, by one or
other of the poets, to the fame part.
Having hitherto fpoken only of the paflions in ge¬
neral, we will nowr confider a little which of them add
to beauty, and which of them take from it.
We may fay, in general, that all the tender and kind
paflions add to beauty 3 and all the cruel and unkind
ones add to deformity : And it is on this account that
good nature may very juflly be faid to be “ the beft
feature even in the fineft: face.”
Mr Pope has included the ptincipal paflion of each
fort in two very pretty lines :
Love, hope, and joy, fair pleafure’s fmiling train 3
Hate, fear, and grief, the family of pain.
The former of which naturally give an additional luftre
and
them : And the nails long, rounded at the ends, and pellucid. Th£ bofom fhould be white and charming ; and
the breafts equal in roundnefs, whitenefs, and firmnefs 3 neither too much elevated nor too much depreffed 3 ri-
fing gently, and very diftin&ly feparated 3 in one word, jufl like thole of the Venus of Medici. The fides fhould
be long, and the hips wdder than the fhoulders 3 and turn off as they do in the fame Venus 3 and go down
rounding and leflening gradually to the knee. The knee fhould be even, and well rounded 3 the legs ftraight,
but varied by a proper rounding of the more fleftiy part of them, and the feet finely turned, white, and
little.
(c) H, xa£< xveenyiFSr ivr oP^vrinvc-i K^ouav’
A^^ocrieti ct^x ftxflxi xvxxlog
Kgxlog xti x6xvxlcto’ ftt'/xv ^’sAs?ui;sv Iliad. i« 528.
It w^as from this paffage that Phidias borrowed all the ideas of that majefty which he had expreffed fo ftrong¬
ly in his famous ftatues of the Jupiter Olympius 3 and Horace, probably, his Cunfta fupercilio moventis.
i.ib. iii. Od. 1.8.
(d) Frons loeta parum, et dejefto lumina vultu. Virgil jiE/i. vi. 863.
(e) Deme fupercilio nubem 3 plerumque modeftus
Occupat obfeuri fpeciem. Horat. lib. i. Epift. 18. 95.
(f) Malo Venufinam, quam te, Cornelia, mater
Graccborum 3 fi cum magnus virtutibus affers
Grande fupercilium, et numeras in dote triumpbos. Juvenal, Sat. vl. 168.
It is here that the Romans ufed the word fuperciliofus (as we do fiom it the word fuperedious) for proud and
arrogant perfons. 1
B E A [ 497 ] B E A
Beauty, and enlivening to beauty ; as the latter are too apt to
v J fling a gloom and cloud over it.
Yet in thefe, and all the other paflions, moderation
ought perhaps to be confldered in a great meafure the
rule of their beauty, almoft as far as moderation in
a£!ions is the rule of virtue. Thus an exceffive joy may
be too boifterous in the face to be pleafing ; and a de¬
gree of grief in fome faces, and on fome occafions,
may be extremely beautiful. Some degrees of anger,
fhame, furprife, fear, and concern, are beautiful •, but
all excefs is hurtful, and all excefs ugly. Dulnefs, au-
fterity, impudence, pride, affeflation, malice, and en¬
vy, are always ugly.
The fineft union of paflions that can perhaps be ob-
ferved in any face, confllts of a juft mixture of modefty,
fenlibility, and fweetnefs \ each of which when taken
fingly is very pleafing : but when they are all blended
together, in fuch a manner as either to enliven or cor¬
rect each other, they give almoft as much attraction
as the paflions are capable of adding to a very pretty
face.
The prevailing paflion in the Venus of Medici is
modefty : It is expreft by each of her hands, in her
looks, and in the turn of her head. And by the way,
it may be queftioned, whether one of the chief reafons
why fide-faces pleafe one more than full ones, be not
from the former having more of the air of modefty than
the latter. This at leaft is certain, that the beft artifts
ufually choofe to give a fide-face rather than a full one;
in which attitude, the turn of the neck too has more
beauty, and the paflions more aflivity and force. Thus,
as to hatred and affedion in particular, the look that
was formerly fuppofed to carry an infeftion with it
from malignant eyes, was a flanting regard j like that
which Milton gives to Satan, when he is viewing the
happinefs of our firft parents in paradife ; and the faf-
cination, or ftroke of love, is moft ufually conveyed, at
firft, in a fide-glance.
It is owing to the great force of pleafingnefs which
attends all the kinder paflions, “ that lovers do not
only feem, but are really, more beautiful to each other
than they are to the reft of the worldbecaufe when
they are together, the moft pleafing paflions are more
frequently exerted in each of their faces than they are
in either before the reft of the world. There is then
(as a certain French wuiter vefy well exprefles it) “ A
foul upon their countenances,” which does not appear
when they are abfent from each other ; or even when
they are together converfing with other perfons, that
are indifferent to them, or rather lay a reftraint upon
their features.
The fuperiority which the beauty of the paflions
has over the two parts of beauty firft mentioned, will
♦ probably be now pretty evident : or if this fhould ap¬
pear ftill problematical to any one, let him confider a
little the following particulars, of which every body
muft have met with feveral inftances in their lifetime :
That there is a great deal of difference in the fame
face, according as a perfon is in a better or worfe
humour, or in a greater or lefs degree of livelinefs :
That the beft complexion, the fineft features, and the
exafteft fhape, without any thing of the mind expreffed
on the face, are as infipid and unmoving as the waxen
figure of the fine duchefs of Richmond in Weftminfter-
Abbey : That the fineft eyes in the world, with an
Vot. III. Part II.
excefs of malice or rage in them, will grow as fliock- Beauty,
ing as they are in that fine face of Medufa on the fa- " ¥*~*"
mous feal in the Strozzi family at Rome : That a face
without any good features in it, and with a very indif¬
ferent complexion, (hall have a very taking air; from
the fenfibility of the eyes, the general good-humoured
turn of the look, and perhaps a 'little agreeable fmile
about the mouth. And thefe three things perhaps
would go a great way toward accounting for the Je ne
fgai quoi, or that inexplicable pleafingnefs of the face
(as they choofe to call it), which is fo often talked of
and fo little underftood; as the greater part, and per¬
haps all the reft of it, would fall under the laft article,
that of grace.
Thus it appears that the paflions can give beauty
without the afliftance of colour or form j and take it
away where they have united the moft ftrongly to give
it. And hence the fuperiority of this part of beauty
to the other two.
This, by the way, may help us to account for the
juftnefs of what Pliny afferts in fpeaking of the famous
ftatue of Laocoon and his- two fons : He fays, it was
the fineft piece of art in Rome ; and to be preferred to
all the other ftatues and pi£fures, of which they had
fo noble a colle&ion in his time. It had no beauties
of colour to vie with the paintings and other ftatues
there; and the Apollo Belvedere and the Venus of Me¬
dici, in particular, were as finely proportioned as the
Laocoon : But this had much greater variety of ex-
preflion even than thofe fine ones; and it muft be on
that account alone that it could have been preferable
to them and all the reft.
Before quitting this head, two things before men¬
tioned deferve to be repeated : That the chief rule of
the beauty of the paflions is moderation ; and that the
part in which they appear moft ftrongly is the eyes.
It is there that love holds all his tendereft language ;
It is there that virtue commands, modefty charms, joy
enlivens, forrow engages, and inclination fires the
hearts of the beholders : It is there that even fear, and
anger, and confufion, can be charming. But all thefe,
to be charming, muft be kept within their due bounds
and limits ; for too fullen an appearance of virtue, a
violent and proftitute fwell of paflion, a ruftic and over¬
whelming modefty, a deep fadnefs, or too wild and
impetuous a joy, become all either oppreflive or difa-
greeable.
4. The laft finilhing and nobleft part of beauty is
Grace ; which every body is accuftomed to fpeak of as
a thing inexplicable ; and in a great meafure perhaps it
is fo. We know that the foul is, but we fcarce know
what it is: every judge of beauty can point out grace;
but no one feems even yet to have fixed upon a defini¬
tion for it.
Grace often depends on fome very little incidents in
a fine face ; and in aftions it confifts more in the man¬
ner of doing things than in the things themfelves. It
is perpetually varying its appearance, and is therefore
much more difficult to be confidered than in any thing
fixed and fteady. While you look upon one, it fteals
from under the eye of the obferver ; and is fucceeded
perhaps by another that flits away as foon and as im¬
perceptibly. It is on this account that grace is better
to be ftudied in Corregio’s, Guido’s, and Raphael’s
pictures, than in real life.
3 R But
B E A [ 498 ] B E A
Beauty. But though one cannot punctually fay what grace is,
1""r ^ ' we may point out the parts and things in which it is
moft apt to appear.
The chief dwelling-place of grace is about the
mouth } though at times it may vifit every limb or
part of the body. But the mouth is the chief feat of
grace, as much as the chief feat for the beauty of the
paflions is in the eyes. Thus, when the French ufe
the expreffion of une louche fort gracieufe, they mean it
properly of grace : but when they fay, des yeux tres
gracieux, it then falls to the (hare of the paflions; and
it means kind or favourable.
In a very graceful face, by which we do not fo much
mean a majeflic as a foft and pleafing one, there is
now and then (for no part of beauty is either fo cn-
gaging or fo uncommon) a certain delicioufnefs that
almofl: always lives about the mouth, in fomething not
quite enough to be called a fmile, but rather an ap¬
proach toward one, which varies gently about the dif¬
ferent lines there like a little fluttering Cupid, and per¬
haps fometimes difcovers a little dimple, that after juft
lightening upon you difappears and appears again by
fits.
The grace of attitudes may belong to the pofition
of each part, as well as to the carriage or difpofition
of the whole body : but howf much more it belongs to
the head than to any other part may be feen in the
pieces of the moft celebrated painters j and particular¬
ly in L..ofe of Guido, who has been rather too lavifli
in beftowing this beauty on almoft all his fine women j
whereas nature has given it in fo high a degree but to
very few7.
The turns of the neck are extremely capable of
grace, and are very eafy to be obferved, though very
difficult to be accounted for.
How7 much of this grace may belong to the arms
and feet, as well as to the neck and head, may be feen
Dc arte A- in dancing. But it is not only in genteel motions that
mandi, ii. a very pretty woman will be graceful ; and Ovid (who
57®- was fo great a mafter in all the parts of beauty) had
very good reafon for faying, That when Venus, to
pleafe her gallant, imitated the hobbling gait of her
hufband, her very lamenefs had a great deal of pretti-
nefs and grace in it.
Tibullus, “ Every motion of a graceful wroman (fays another
lib. iv. writer of the fame age) is full of grace.” She defigns
lr ' 2‘ s' nothing by it perhaps, and may even not be fenfible of
it herfelf: and indeed ffie ffiould not be fo too much j
for the moment that any gefture or aftion appears to
be affefled, it ceafes to be graceful.
Horace and Virgil feem to extend grace fo far as to
the flowing of the hair, and Tibullus even to the drefs
of his miftrefs ; but then he affigns it more to her man¬
ner of putting on and appearing in whatever ffie wears
than to the drefs itfelf. It is true, there is another
wicked poet (Ovid) who has faid (with much lefs
decency) “ that drefs is the better half of the wo¬
man
 Pars minima ejl ipfapuella fui. Ovid.
There are two very diftinft (and, as it rvere, oppo-
fite) forts of grace j the majeftic and the familiar.
The former belongs chiefly to the very fine women,
and the latter to the very pretty ones : That is more
commanding, and this the more delightful and enga-
ging. rI he Grecian painters and fculptors ufed to ex- Beauty,
prefs the former moft ftrongly in the looks and atti-v——v-—'
tudes of their Minervas, and the latter in thole of
Venus.
Xenophon, in his Choice of Hercules (or at leaft
the excellent tranflator of that piece), has made juft
the fame diftinftion in the perfonages of Wifdom and
Pleafure 5 the former of wffiich he defcribes as moving
on to that young hero with the majeftic fort of grace $
and the latter with the familiar :
Graceful, yet each with different grace they move j
This ftriking facred awe,'that fofter w-inning love.
No poet feems to have underftood this part of beau¬
ty fo well as our own Milton. He fpeaks of thefe
two forts of grace very diftinftly ; and gives the ma¬
jeftic to his Adam, and both the familiar and majeftic
to Eve, but the latter in a lefs degree than the for¬
mer :
Two of far nobler ffiape, ere£l and tall,
Godlike ere£l, with native honour clad,
In naked majefty, feem’d lords of all 5
And -worthy feem’d. For in their looks divine
The image of their glorious Maker ffione :
Truth, wifdom, fanftitude fevere and pure j
Severe, but in true filial freedom plac’d ;
Whence true authority in men : Though both
Not equal, as their fex not equal, feem’d.
For contemplation he, and valour, form’d j
For foftnefs ffie, and fweet attra£live grace.
Milton’s Par.Lofi, book iv. 298,
 1 efpy’d thee, fair indeed and tall,
Under a plantain; yet methought lefs fair,
Lefs winning foft, lefs amiably mild,
Than that fmooth wat’ry image 
(£ ve, of Adam and herfelf') lb. ver. 480.
 Her heav’nly form
Angelic, but more loft and feminine j
Her graceful innocence ; her ev’ry air
Of gefture, or leaft aftion.—— B. ix. 461.
Grace was in all her fteps : Heav’n in her eye ;
In every gefture, dignity and love. B. viii. 489.
Speaking or mute, all comelinefs and grace
Attends thee; and each word, each motion, forms.
Ib. 223.
Though grace is fo difficult to be accounted for in
general, yet there are two particular things which feem
to hold univerfally in relation to it.
The firft is, “ That there is no grace without mo¬
tion that is, without fome genteel or pleafing mo¬
tion, either of the whole body or of fome limb, or at
leaft of fome feature. And it may be hence that Lord
Bacon calls grace by the name of decent motion 5 juft
as if they were equivalent terms : “ In beauty, that jyori,
of favour is more than that of colour and that of Vol. iii!
gracious and decent motion, more than that of fa- p. 362.
vour.”
Virgil in one place points out the majefty of Juno, i. 146,
and in another the graceful air of Apollo, by only 1V. 47.
faying that they move j and poflibly he means no
more when he makes the motion of Venus the princi¬
pal thing by which /Eneas difcovers her under all her »• 4c6*
difguife}
B E A [ 499 ]
Bcmty. difguife; though the commentators, as ulual, would fo high a
fain^ find out a more dark and myfterious meaning
for it. 0
All the beft flatues are reprefented as in fome a£lion
or motion j and the molt graceful ftatue in the world
(the Apollo Belvedere) is fo much fo, that when one
faces it at a little diftance, one is almoft apt to ima¬
gine that he is actually going to move on toward you.
All graceful heads, even in the portraits of the beft
punters, are in motion ; and very ftrongly on thofe of
Guido m particular •, which are all either'cafting their
looks up toward heaven, or down toward the ground,
or fide-way, as regarding fome objeft. A head that
is quite unative, and flung flat upon the canvas (like
the faces on medals after the fall of the Roman em¬
pire, or the Gothic heads before the revival of the
arts), will be fo far from having any grace, that it
will not even have any life in it.
The fecond obfervation is, “ That there can be no
grace with impropriety or, in other words, that no¬
thing can be graceful that is not adapted to the cha-
ratters of the perfon.
The graces of a little lively beauty would become
ungraceful in a charafter of majefty ; as the majeftic
airs of an emprefs would quite deftroy the prettinefs of
the former. The vivacity that adds a grace to beauty
in youth would give an additional deformity to old
age } and the very fame airs which would be charming
on fome occafions may be quite (hocking when ex¬
tremely miftimed or extremely mifplaced.
I he infeparable union of propriety and grace leems
to have been the general fenfe of mankind, as we may
guefs from the languages of feveral nations j in which
fome words that anfwer to our proper or becoming,
are uied indifferently for beautiful or graceful. Thus,
among the Greeks the words Tip™ and KctXov, and
among the Romans pulchrum and decent, or decoram,
are ufed indifferently for one another.
It appears wrong, however, to think (as fome have
done) that grace confirts entirely in propriety j becaufe
propnety is a thing eafy enough to be underftood, and
grace (after all we can fay about ip) very difficult.
Propriety, therefore, and grace are no more one and
the fame thing than grace and motion are. It is true,
it cannot lubfift without either ; but then there feems
to be fomething elfe, which cannot be explained, that
goes to the compofition, and which poffibly may give
it its greateft force and pleafingnefs.
Whatever are the caufes of it, this is certain, that
grace is the chief of all the conftituent parts of beau¬
ty ; and fo much fo, that it feems to be the only one
which is abfolutely and univerfally admired : All the
reft are only relative. One likes a brunette beauty
better than a fair one; I may love a little woman, and
you a large one, beft ; a perfon of a mild temper will
be fond of the gentler paffions in the face, afid one of
a bolder caft may choofe to have more vivacity and
more vigorous paffions expreffed there: But grace is
found in few, and is pleafing to all. Grace, like poe¬
try, mull be born with a perfon, and is never wholly
to be acquired by art. The mod celebrated of all the
ancient painters was Apelles j and the mod celebrated
of all the modern Raphael: And it is remarkable,
that the diftinguiffiing charaaer of each of thenT
M'as grace. Indeed, that alone could have given them
B E A
pre-eminence over all their other cornpeti- Beauty,
tors. 1——
Grace has nothing to do with the lowed part of
beauty or colour j very little with lhape, and very much
with the paffions ; for it is (he who gives their higheft
zed, and the moft delicious part of their pleafingnefs
to the expreffions of each of them.
All the other parts of beauty are pleafing in fome
degree, but grace is pleafingnefs itfelf. And the old
Romans in general feem to have had this notion of
it, as may be inferred from the original import of the
names which they ufed for this part of beauty : Gra¬
tia from grains', or “ pleafing j” and decor from decent,
or “ becoming.”
The Greeks as well as the Romans muft have been
of this opinion ; when in fettling their mythology, they
made the Graces the conftant attendants of Venus or
the caufe of love. In fa£t, there is nothing caufes love
fo generally and fo irrefiftibly as grace. It is like the
ceftus of the fame goddefs, which was fuppofed to
comprehend every thing that was winning and enga¬
ging in it ; and befide all, to oblige the heart to love
by a fecret and inexplicable force like that of fome ma¬
gic charm.
She faid : with awe divine, the queen of love
Obey’d the fifter and the wife of Jove :
And from her fragrant bread the zone unbrac’d.
With various (kill and high embroidery grac’d.
In this was every art, and every charm,
To win the wifeft, and the col deft warm :
Fond love, the gentle vow, the gay defire,
The kind deceit, the dill reviving fire.
Perfuafive fpeech, and more perfuafive fighs,
Silence that (poke, and eloquence of eyes.
This on her hand the Cyprian goddefs laid ;
Take this, and with it all thy wiffi, (he faid :
With fmiles (he took the charm ; and finding preft
The powerful Ceftus to her fnovvy bread.
Pope, II. xiv. 256.
. Although people in general are more capable of
judging right of beauty, at lead in fome parts of it,
than they are of moft other things ; yet there are a
great many caufes apt to miflead the generality in their
judgments of beauty. Thus, if the affeclion is entirely
engaged by any one objedl, a man is apt to allow all
perfedlions to that perfon, and very little in compan¬
ion to any body elfe ; or if they ever commend others
highly, it is for fome circumftance in which they bear
fome refemblance to their favourite objedl.
Again, people are very often milled in their judge¬
ments, by a fimilitude either of their own temper or per-
fonage in others. It is hence that a perfon of a mild
temper is more apt to be pleafed with the gentler paf¬
fions in the face of his miftrefs; and one of a very live¬
ly turn would choofe more of fpirit and vivacity in his;
that little people are inclined to prefer pretty women*
and larger people majeftic ones ; and fo on in a great
variety of inftances. This may be called falling in love
with ourfelves at fecond hand} and felf-love (whatever
other love may be) is fometimes fo falfe-fighted, that
it may make the moft plain, and even the moft difa-
greeable things, feem beautiful and pleafing.
Sometimes an idea of ufefulnefs may give a turn to
our ideas of beauty j as the very fame things are rec-
3 R z koned
B E A [ 500
Beauty, koned beauties in a coach horfe which would be fo
"■*J ' many blemifhes in a race-horfe.
But the greatell and moft general mifleader of our
judgments, in relation to beauty, is cuilom, or the dif¬
ferent national taftes for beauty, which turn chieHy on
the two lower parts of it, colour and form.
It was from the moft common ihape of his country¬
women, that Rubens, in his piftures, delights fo much
in plumpnefs ; not to give it a worfe name. When¬
ever he was to reprefent the moft beautiful women, he
is fure to give them a good lhare of corpulence. It
feems as if nobody could be a beauty with him under
two hundred weight. His very Graces are all fat.
But this may go much farther than mere bulk ; it
will reach even to very great deformities; which fome-
times grow into beauties, where they are habitual and
general. One of our own countrymen (who was a
particularly handfome man) in his travelling over the
Alps, was detained by a fever in one of thofe villages,
where every grown perfon has that fort of iwellings in
the neck which they call goitres ; and of which lome
are very near as big as their heads, d he firft Sunday
that he was able, he went to their church (for he was
a Roman catholic) to return thanks to heaven for his
recovery. A man of lo good a figure, and fo well
dreft, had probably never before been within the walls
of that chapel. Every body’s eyes were fixed upon
him: and as they went out, they cried out loud enough
for him to hear them, “ O how completely handfome
would that man be, if he had but a goitre!
In fome of the moft military nations of Africa, no
man is reckoned handfome that has not five or fix tears
in his face. This cuftom might poflibly at firft be in¬
troduced among them to make them lefs afraid of
wounds in that part in battle : but however that was,
it grew at laft to have fo great a {hare in their idea of
beauty, that they now cut and flafh the faces of their
poor "little infants, in order to give them thofe graces,
when they are grown up, which are fo neceffar-y to
win the hearts of their miftreffes $ and which, with,the
afliftance of fome jewels or ingots of gold in their nofes,
ears, and lips, mutt certainly be irrefiftible to the ladies
of that country.
The covering each cheek all over with a burning fort
of red colour, has long been looked upon in a neigh¬
bouring country to be as neceffary to render a fine lady’s
face completely beautiful, as thefe fears are for the beaux
in Africa.
The natural complexion of the Italian ladies is of a
higher glow than ours ufually are; and yet Mr Addi-
fon is very juft, in making a Numidian call the ladies of
vhe fame country pale unripened beauties.
The glowing dames of Zama’s royal court
Have faces fluflit with more exalted charms:
The fun, that rolls his chariot o’er their heads,
Works up more fire and colour in their cheeks :
Were you with thefe, my prince, you’d foon forget
The pale unripen’d beauties of the north !
Syphax to Juba ; in Cato, A£l i. Scene 4.
The prince of Anarnaboo, wdio had been fo long and
latterly fo much ufed to the European complexion,
yet faid of a certain lady a little before he left London,
That (he would be the moft charming woman in the
world if {he was but a negro.”
] B E A
In an account of fome of the fartheft travels that
any of our people have made up the river Gambia, we
are informed, that when they came to fome villages
wdiere probably no Europeans had ever been before, the
women ran frightened and fereaming from them, on
taking them to be devils, merely on account of the
whitenefs of their complexion.
We cannot avoid obferving, however, that heaven is
very good and merciful to mankind, even in making us
capable of all this variety of miftakes. If every perfon
judged exactly right of beauty, every man that was in
love in fuch a diftrift, would be in love with the fame
woman. The fuperior beauty of each hamlet would
be the objeft of the hate and malice of all the reft of
her own fex in it, and the caufe of diffenfion and mur¬
ders among all of the other. If this wmuld hold in one
towm. it would hold for the fame reafons in every other
town or diftridl; and of courfe there would be nothing
more wanting than this univerfal right judgment of
beauty, to render the whole world one continued feene
of blood and mifery.
But now that fancy has perhaps more to do with
beauty than judgment, there is an infinity of taftes,
and confequently an infinity of beauty; for to the
mind of the lover, fuppofed beauty is full as good as
real. Every body may now choofe out what happens
to hit his own turn and caft. This increafes the ex¬
tent of beauty vaftly, and makes it in a manner univer¬
fal : for there are but few people in comparifon that
are truly beautiful; but every body may be beautiful
in the imagination of fome one or other. Some may
delight themfelves in a black Ikin, and others in a white;,
fbme in a gentle natural rofinefs of complexion, others
in a high exalted artificial red ; fome nations in waifts
difproportionably large, and another in w’aifts as difpro-
portionably fmall. In ihort, the moft oppofite things
imaginable may each be looked upon as beautiful in
whole different countries, or by different people in the
fame country.
We fliould perhaps make a diftin&ion here again, as
to the two former parts of beauty and the two latter.
Fancy has much more to do in the articles of form and
colour than in thofe of the paffions and grace. The
good paflions, as they are vifible on the face, are ap¬
parent goodnefs ; and that muft be generally amiable r
and true grace, wherever it appears to any degree, one
ftiould think muft be pleafing to every human crea¬
ture ; or perhaps this may never appear in the women
of any nation, where the men are grown fo favage and
brutal as to have loft all tafte for it.
Yet even as to grace itfelf, under the notion of plea-
fingnefs, it may become almoft univerfal, and be as fub-
jeft to the dominion of fancy as any of the lefs fignifi-
cant parts of beauty. A parent can fee genteelnefs in
the moft awkward child perhaps that ever was born ;
and a perfon who is truly in love, will be pleafed with
every motion and air of the perfon beloved ; which is
the moft diftinguifhing character that belongs to grace.
It is true, this is all a miftaken grace ; but as to that
particular perfon, it has all the effefts of the true.
Beauty, in Architeblure, Painting, and other arts,
is the harmony and juftnefs of the whole comppfition
taken together.
BEAUVAIS, an epifcopal city of France, in the
department of Oife. The cathedral church which
Beauty,
Beauvais.
15
EEC
[ 501 ]
BEG
Becher.
Beauvais Is dedicated to St Peter, is much admired for its fine
architefture. It contains a great number of relics, and
,a library of curious books. There are fever al other
churches, among which is one dedicated to St Stephen,
remarkable for its curious windows. The town was in-
effedfually befieged by the Engliih in 1443, and by the
duke of Burgundy wfith an army of 80,000 men. In
this laft fiege the women fignalized themfelves under
the conduft of Jean Hachette, who fet up a ftandard
yet preferved in the church of the Jacobins. The duke
was obliged to raife the fiege ; and in memory of this
exploit, the women walk firft in a proceffion on the
10th of July, the anniverfary of their deliverance. The
inhabitants carry on a good trade in beautiful tapeftry.
Beauvais is fituated on the river Therin, 42 miles
north of Paris, in E. Long. 2. 15. N. Lat. 49. 26.
Beauvais, a town of France in Upper Languedoc,
feated on the river Tefcou. E. Long. 1. 43> N. Lat.
44. 2. . _
BEAUVIN, a city of Burgundy in France, in E.
Long. 4. 50. N. Lat. 47.
BEAUVOIR fur Mer, a maritime town of France,
in the department of Vendee, 25 miles fouth-weft of
Nantes. W. Long. 1. 5. N. Lat. 46. 45.
BEAUVOISIS, a territory of France, formerly
part of Picardy, now included under the department
of Oife. Beauvais is the capital.
BEBELINGUEN, a town of Suabia, in the duchy
of Wirtemberg in Germany, feated on a lake from
which proceeds the river Worm. E. Long. 9. 8. N.
Lat. 48. 45.
BEBRYCIA, in Ancient Geography, an ancient
name of Bithynia, fo called from the Bebryces its in¬
habitants. The Bebryces were afterwards driven out
by the Thracians, viz. the Bithyni and Thyni: from
whom, in procefs of time, the country took the name
of Bithynia. See Bithynia.
BEC, a town of France, in Normandy, now the
department of Lower Seine, feated on a tongue of
land, at the confluence of two rivers, in E. Long. o.
52. N. Lat. 48. 45.
BECAH, or Bekah, a Jewifh coin, being half a
Ihekel. In Dr Arbuthnot’s table of reduftions, the
bekah amounts to 13-J^d. in Dr Prideaux’s computa¬
tion to is. 6d. Every Ifraelite paid an hundred bekahs
a head annually for the fupport of the temple.
BECALM, in a general fenfe, fignifies to appeafe,
to allay.
Becalm, in the fea language. A Ihip is faid to be
becalmed, when there is not a breath of wund to fill the
fails.
BECANOR, a town of India, in Afia, feated on
the river Ganges, in E. Long. 83. 5. N. Lat. 27. 40.
BECCABUNGA, brooklimej the trivial name
of a fpecies of veronica. See Veronica, Botany
Index.
BECCLES, a large town of Suffolk in England,
in E. Long. 1. 30. N. Lat. 52. 38.
BECHER, John Joachim, a celebrated chemift,
was born at Spires, in 1645. He was connefted with
the moft learned men in Europe j and the emperor, the
eledfors of Mentz and Bavaria, and other perfons of
high rank, furnifhed him with the means of making ex¬
periments in mathematics, natural philofophy, medicine,
and chemiftry. As his thoughts were very judicious and
uncommon with refpeff to economy and to increafing
the revenues of a Hate, he was invited to Vienna, where ^
he contributed greatly to the eftablilhment of leveral
manufa&ures, a chamber of commerce, and an India
company ; but the jealouiy of fome of the miniflers oc-
cafioned his difgrace and ruin. He was not lefs un¬
happy at Mentz, Munich, and Wurtzburg j which de¬
termined him to go to Haerlem, where he invented a
machine for working a great quantity of filk in a little
time, and with few hands : but new misfortunes made
him come to England, and he died at London in 1685.
He wrote many works j the principal of which are,
1. Phyfca Subterranea, which was reprinted at Leipfic
in 1703, and in 1739, in o&avo, with a fmall treatife,
by E. Stahl, entitled Specimen Bechenanum. 2. Expe-
rimentum chymicum novum, 8vo. 3. CharaBerpro No¬
thin Linguarum univerfali. 4. Infitutiones Chymicce,
feu ManuduBio ad Philofophiam Blermeticam, 4to. 5.
Injlitutiones Chymicce prodroma, 1 zmo. 6. Experimen-
tum novum ac curiofum de Miner a arenaria perpetua,
&.c.
BECHIN, a town of Bohemia, in a circle of the
fame name. It was taken and burnt by General Be-
quoi in 1619. It is feated on the river Laufnics, in
E. Long. 15. 12. N. Lat. 49. 14.
BECK, or Beke, a word which imports a Lmall
ftream of water iffuing from fome burn or fpring.
Hence Hell-becks, little brooks in the rough and wild
mountains about Richmond near Lancalhire, fo called
on account of their ghaltlinefs and depth.
Beck is chiefly ufed among us in the compofition of
names of places originally fituated on rivulets ; hence
Walbeck, Bournbeck, &c. The Germans ufe bechiu.
the fame manner.
Beck, David, an eminent portrait-painter,, was
born at Arnheim in Guelderland in 1621, and became
a dlfciple of Vandyck ; from wfliom he acquired a fine
manner of penciling, and that fweet ftyle of colouring
which is peculiar to that great mailer and to all the
difciples trained up under his direftion. He poffeffed
befides, that freedom of hand, and readinefs, or rather
rapidity of execution, for which Vandyck was fo re¬
markably famous; and King Charles I. when he ob-
ferved the expeditious manner of Beck’s painting, w^as
fo exceedingly furprifed, that he told Beck, it was his
opinion, he could paint if he was riding poll. He was
appointed portrait-painter and chamberlain to Queen ,
Chriftina of Sweden; and by her recommendation, .
moll of the illullrious perfons in Europe fat t® him for
their pictures. He was agreeable, handfome, and po¬
lite, and lived in the highell favour with his royal mi-
llrefs : but, having an earnell defire to vifit his friends
in Holland, and leaving the court of Sweden much
againft the queen’s inclination, fhe apprehended that
he intended never to return ; and, as he died foon af¬
ter at the Hague, it was fufpefled that he was poifon-
ed. This happened in 1656, when he w7as aged only
35 years. Avery Angular adventure happened to this
painter as he travelled through Germany* which feems
not unw'orthy of being recited. He was fuddenly and
violently taken ill at the inn wdiere he lodged, and was
laid out as a corpfe* feeming to all appearance quite
dead. His valets expreffed the Itrongelt marks of grief
for the lofs of their mailer, and while they fat befide
his bed, they drank very freely, by way of confclation.
At
Pechin,
Beck.
*
B E C [ 5
^ct:ket' . At tail one of them, who grew much intoxicated, faid
to his companions, our mafter was fond of his glafs
while he was alive, and out of gratitude let us give him
a glafs now he is dead. As the reft of the fervants af-
fented to the propofal, he raifed up the head of his
mafter, and endeavoured to pour fome of the liquor into
his mouth. By the fragrance of the wine, or probably
by a fmall quantity that imperceptibly got down his
throat, Beck opened his eyes 5 and the fervant being
exceflively drunk, and forgetting that his mafter was
confidered as dead, compelled him to fwallow what
wine remained in the glafs. The painter gradually re¬
vived, and by proper management and care recovered
perfedtly, and efcaped a premature interment. How
highly the works of this mafter were efteemed, may
appear from the many marks of diftinftion and honour
which wrere ftiown him ; for he received from different
princes as an acknowledgment of his lingular merit,
nine gold chains, and feveral medals of gold, of a very
large fize.
BECKEF, Thomas, lord chancellor of England,
archbifhop of Canterbury in the x 2th century. The
ftory of his birth is as extraordinary as that of his life.
It is related that his father Gilbert Becket, fome time
fheriff of London, went on a pilgrimage to Jerufalem,
where being furprifed and enflaved by a party of Sara¬
cens, his mafter’s daughter fell in love with him j and
that when he made his efcape fhe followed him to Lon¬
don. So fingular an inftance of heroic affeftion ftruck
him ; and after confulting with fome bifhops, he bap¬
tized her by the name of Matilda, and married her ;
from which marriage proceeded the haughty Thomas'
Becket. Being raifed to the archbifhopric, he began
the great difpute between the crown and the mitre,
snd faded wuth the pope : at which King Henry II. was
greatly offended j and calling an affembly of the bifhops
at Weftminfter, offered fix articles againft papal en¬
croachments, which he urged Becket to affent to.
Becket, at the importunities of feveral lords, figned
them} but relapfing, he was ordered to be tried as a
traitor : upon which he fled into Flanders. The king
banifhed all his relations, and Becket excommunicated
all his oppofers. At laft, after feven years, by the in-
terceflion of the French king and the pope, he return¬
ed ; but refufed to abfolve thefe bifhops and others he
had excommunicated: whereupon the king grew enra¬
ged, and is reported to have dropped thefe expreflions:
“ That he was an unhappy prince, who maintained a
great number of lazy infignificant perfons about him,
none of whom had gratitude or fpirit enough to re¬
venge him on a Angle infolent prelate who gave him fo
much difturbance.” Thefe words of the king put four
gentlemen of his court on forming a defign againft
the archbiftaop’s life, which they executed in the ca¬
thedral church of Canterbury, on the 29th of Decem¬
ber 1171. They endeavoured to drag him out of the
church 5 but finding they could not do this without
difficulty, killed him there. The affaffins being afraid
they had gone too far, durft not return to the king’s
court at'Normandy, but retired to Knarefborough in
Yorkfhire ; where everybody avoided their company,
hardly any perfon even choofing to eat or drink with
them. They at length took a voyage to Rmne, and
being admitted to penance by Pope Alexander III.
jhey went to Jerufalem; where, according to the pope’s
>2 ] B E c
order, they fpent their lives in penitential aufterities, Beck??,
and died in the Black Mountain. They were buried at v~“—
Jerulalem, without the church door belonging to the
Templars. King Henry was, or affe&ed to be, much
difturbed at the news of^Becket’s death, and def-
patched an embaffy to Rome to clear himfelf from
the imputation of being the caufe of it. Immedi¬
ately all divine offices ceafed in the church of Canter¬
bury, and. this for a year, excepting nine days ; at the
end of which, by order of the pope, it was reconfecra-
ted. Two years after, Becket w^as canonized 5 and
the following year, Henry returning to England, went
to Canterbury, where be did penance as a teftimony of
his regret for the murder of Becket. When he came
within fight of the church where the archbiftiop was 0
buried, he alighted off his horfe, and walked barefoot,
in the habit of a pilgrim, till he came to Becket’s
tomb ; avhere, after he had proftrated himfelf and pray¬
ed for a confiderable time, he fubmitted to be fcour-
ged by the monks, and paffed all that day and night
without any refrefhment, and kneeling upon the bare
ftone. In 1221 Becket’s body w'as taken up, 5c years
after his murder, in the prefence of King Henry III.
and a great concourfe of the nobility and others, and
depofited in a rich fhrine, erefted at the expence of
Stephen Langton archbifhop of Canterbury, which was
foon vifited from all parts, and enriched with the moft
coftly gifts and offerings 5 and the miracles faid to be
wrought at his tomb were fo numerous, that Gervafe
of Canterbury tells us, there were two large volumes
of them kept in that church. The monks ufed to
raife his body every year; and the day on which this
ceremony was performed, which was called the t/ay of
his tranjlation, was a general holiday : every 50th year
there was celebrated a jubilee to his honour, which
lafted 15 days: plenary indulgences were then granted
to all that vifited his tomb j and 100,000 pilgrims have
been regiftered at a time in Canterbury. The devo¬
tion towards him had quite effaced in that town the
adoration of the Deity j nay, even that of the virgin.
At God’s altar, for inftance, there were offered in one
year 3I. 2s. 6d. at the Virgin’s, 63I. 5s. 6d. at St Tho¬
mas’s, 832k 12s. 3d. But next year the difpropor-
tion was ftill greater : there was not a penny offered at
God’s altar; the Virgin’s gained only 4I. is. 8d. but
St Thomas had got for his (hare 954I. 6s. 3d. Louis
VII. of France had made a pilgrimage to this mira¬
culous tomb, and had beftowed on the fhrine a jewel
which was efteemed the richeft in Chriftendom. Henry
VIII. to whom it may eafily be imagined how ob¬
noxious a faint of this charafter behoved to appear,
and how much contrary to all his projedts for degra¬
ding the authority of the court of Rome, not only pil¬
laged the rich fhrine dedicated to St Thomas, but
made the faint himfelf be cited to appear in court, and
be tried and condemned as a traitor : he ordered his
name to be ftruck out of the kalendar ; the office for
hi? feftival to be expunged from all breviaries; and his
bones to be burnt, and the allies thrown in the air.
From Mr Thomas War ton we learn, that Becket was
the fubjedl of poetical legends. The Lives of the Saints
in verfe, in Bennet’s library (Number CLXV.),contain
his martyrdom and tranflation. This manufcript is
fuppofed to be of the 14th century. The fame inge¬
nious writer informs us, from Peter de Blois, that the
palace
B E C
Becking.
ham
II
Bed.
palace of Becket was perpetually filled with bifhops
highly accomplilhed m literature, who palled their time
there in reading, difputing, and deciding important
j queftions of the ftate. “ Thefe prelates, though men
of the world, were a fociety of fcholars; yet very dif¬
ferent from thofe who frequented the univerlities, in
which nothing was taught but words and fyllables,’un¬
profitable fubtleties, elementary fpeculations", and trifling
diftin&ions. De Blois was himfelf eminently learned,
and one of the moll diltinguilhed ornaments of Becket’s
attendants. W e know that John of Salifbury, his in¬
timate friend, the companion of his exile, and the
wmer of his life, was fcarcely exceeded by any man of
his time for his knowledge in philological and polite
literature.”
BECK INGHAM, Charles, an Englilh dramatic
writer, was the fon of a linen-draper in London, and
born in 1699. He was educated at that great nurfery
ot learning Merchant-Taylors fchool, under the learned
l)r Smith, where he made a very great proficiency in
all his ftudies, and gave the ftrongeft teftimonials of
very extraordinary abilities. In poetry more particu¬
larly he very early difcovered an uncommon genius, two
dramatic pieces of his writing being reprefented on the
ftage before he had completed his 20th year: and
thole not fuch as required the leaft indulgence or al¬
lowance on account of his years-; but fuch as bore evi¬
dence to a boldnefs of fentiment, an accuracy of dic¬
tion, an ingenuity of conduft, and a maturity of judge¬
ment, which would have done honour to a much more
ripened age. The titles of his plays, both of which
are tragedies, are, 1. Henry IV. of France. 2. Scipjo
Afncanus. At the reprefentation of the laft mentioned
piece, which indeed was the firft he wrote, his fchool-
mafter Dr Smith, as a peculiar mark of diftindlion and
regard to the merit of his pupil, gave all his boys a
holiday on the afternoon of the author’s benefit, in or¬
der to afford an opportunity to fuch of them as plea-
led to pay their compliments to their fchool-fellow on
that occafion. Befides thefe dramatic pieces, he wrote
leveral other poems : but his genius was not permitted
any very long period to expand itfelf in ; for he died
on the 18th of February 1730, in the 32a year of his
age. ^
BECKUM, a town of the bilhopric of Munfter, in
Germany, feated at the fource of tne river Verfe’ in
E. Long. 8. 18. N. Lat. 51. 46.
]B:^:C?ANGIL, anciently Bithynia, a province of
rsatoha in Alia ; bounded on the north by the Black
Jea; on the weft, by the fea of Marmora; on the fouth
by Natoha Proper: and on th* eaft, by the province
oi .do111. The principal town is Burfa.
BECTASSE, an Older or fe& of religious among
“ 1 urksi denominated from their founder BeBaJh,
t 5°3 ]
BED
the
preacher to Sultan Amurath. All the Janizaries be-
ionging to the Porte are of the religion of Be&affe
being even find to have derived their origin from the’
founder of this feft. The habit of the Betfaffe is white :
on their heads they wear white caps of feveral pieces
with turbans of wool twifted rope-faftiion. They ob-
ferve conftantly the hour of prayer, which they perform
m their own affemblies, and make frequent declarations
ot the unity of God.
3 co?venience for ftretching and compofing
^he body on, for cafe, reft, or fleep, confining gene¬
rally of feathers enclofed in a ticken cafe. There are Bed.
varieties of bedr-, as a ftanding-bed, a fettee-bed, a 'v—^
tent-bed, a truckle-bed, &c.
It was univerfally the pra&ice, in the firft ages, for WhittaUr'i
mankind to fleep upon fkins of beafts. It was origi- Hijlory of
nally the cuftom of the Greeks and Romans. It was Mmckejley
particularly the cuftom of the ancient Britons before
the Roman invafion; and thefe fkins were fpread on the
floor of their apartments. Afterwards they were chan¬
ged for loofe rufhes and heath, as the Welfti a few
yeais ago lay on the former, and the Highlanders of
Scotland fleep on the latter to this prefent moment. In
proceis of time, the Romans fuggefted to the interior
Biitons the ufe, and the introduffion of agriculture
fupplied them with the means, of the neater conveni-
ency of ftraw beds. The beds of the * Roman gentry * piin,
at this period were generally filled with feathers, and lib. vnL
thofe ot the inns with the foft down of reeds. But for c- 48- an(i
many ages the beds of the Italians had been conftantly xvi- c’ 36‘
compofed of ftraw; it ftill formed thofe of the foldiers
and officers at the conqueft of Lancafliire ; and from
both, our countrymen learnt their ufe. But it appears
to have been taken up only by the gentlemen, as the
common Welffi had their beds thinly fluffed with ruffies
as late as the conclufion of the 1 2th century; and with
the gentlemen it continued many ages afterwards.
Straw was ufed even in the royal chambers of Eng¬
land as late as the clofe of the 13th. Molt of the pea-
fants about Manchefter lie on chaff at prefent, as do
hkewife the common people all over Scotland In the
Highlands heath alfo is very generally ufed as bedding,
even by the gentry ; and the repofe on a heath bed has
been celebrated by travellers as a peculiar luxury, fu-
penor to that yielded by down : In France and Italy,
ftraw beds remain general to this day. But after the’
above period, beds were no longer liiffered to reft up¬
on the ground. The better mode, that had anciently
prevailed in the eaft, and long before been introduced in¬
to Italy, was adopted in Britain ; and they were now
mounted on pedeftals f. This, however, was equally j. Gen xj-
confined to the gentlemen. The bed ftill continued on
the floor among the common people. And the grofs
cuftom, that had prevailed from the beginning was re¬
tained by the lower Britons to the laft ; and thefe
ground-beds wTere laid along the walls of their houfes
and formed one common dormitory for all the members
or the family. The lalhion continued univerfally among
the inferior ranks of the Welffi within thefe four or five
ages, and with the more uncivilized part of the High¬
landers down to our own times. And even at no great
diftance from Manchefter, in the neighbouring Buxton
and within thele 60 or 70 years, the perfons that re¬
paired to the bath are all faid to have flept in one long
chamber together; the upper part being allotted to the
ladies, and the lower to the gentlemen, and only par¬
titioned from each other by a curtain.
Dimng-BED, lecius tricliniaris, or difeubitorius, that
whereon the ancients lay at meals. The dining or dif-
cubitory beds wTere four or five feet high. Three of
theie beds were ordinarily ranged by a fquare table
(whence both the table and the room wffiere they ate
were called triclimum) in fuch a manner, that one of
the Tides of the table remained open and acceffible to
the waiters. Each bed would hold three or four rarely
five perfons. Thefe beds were unknown before’the fe-
coud
BED [ 504 ] BED
eond Punic war : the Romans, till then, fat down to
eat on plain wooden benches, in imitation of the heroes
‘ of Homer, or, as Varro expreffes it, after the manner
of the Lacedemonians and Cretans. Scipio Africa-
nus firft made an innovation : he had brought from
Carthage fome of thofe little beds called punicani, or
archaici; being of a wood common enough, very low,
ituifed only with ftraw or hay, and covered with goats
or fheep’s ikins, hadinispel/ibus Jlrati. In reality, there
was no. great difference, as to delicacy, between thefe
new beds and the ancient benches 5 but the cuftom of
frequent bathing, which began then to obtain, by fcft-
ening and relaxing the body, put men on trying to reft
themfelves more commodioufly by lying along than by
lilting down. For the ladies, it did not feem at firft
confiftent with their modefty to adopt the mode of ly¬
ing ; accordingly they kept to the old cuftom all the
time of the commonwealth ; but, from the nrft Caefars,
they ate on their beds. For the youth who had not
yet put on the toga virilis, they were long kept to the
ancient difcipline. When they were admitted to table
they only fat on the edge of the beds of their neareft
relations. Never, fays Suetonius, did the young Cse-
fars, Caius and Lucius, eat at the table of Auguftus j
but, they were fet in imo loco, or, as Tacitus expreffes
it, ad letti fulcra. From the greateft ffmplicity, the
Romans by degrees carried their dining-beds to the
moft furpriling magnificence. Pliny allures us, it was
no new thing to fee them covered over with plates of
iilver, adorned with the fofteft mats, and the richeft
counterpanes. Lampridius, fpeaking of Heliogabulus,
fays, he had beds of folid filver, folido argento habmt
le&os et tricliniares, et cubicu/ares. We may add,
that Pompey, in his third triumph, brought in beds of
gold.—The Romans had alfo beds whereon they ftu-
died, and beds whereon the dead were carried to the
funeral pile.
Bed-Moulding, in ArchiteElure, a term ufed for
thofe members of a corniche which are placed below
the coronet j and now ufually confift of an ogee, a
lift, a large boultine, and another lift under the co¬
ronet.
Bed of Jufice, in the old cuftoms of France, a
throne upon which the king fat when he went to the
parliament. The king never held a bed of juftice un-
lefs for affairs that concerned the ftate, and then all
the officers of parliament were clothed in fcarlet robes.
Bed of the Carriage of a Great Gun, a thick plank,
that lies under the piece 5 being, as it were, the body
of the carriage.
Bed, in mafonry, a courfe or range of ftones ; and
the joint of the bed is the mortar between two ftones,
placed over each other.
Bed, in gardening, fquare or oblong pieces of
ground in a garden, raifed a little above the level of
the adjoining ground, and wherein they fow feeds or
plant roots.
Hot Bed. See Hot bed.
Lords of the BED-Chamber, in the Britifh court, are
1 2 noblemen who attend in their turns, each a month j
during which time they lie in the king’s bed chamber,
and wait on him when he dines in private. Their fa-
lary is 1000I. per annum.
BEDA, commonly called Venerable Bede, one of
our moft ancient hiftorians, was born in the year 672,
2
in the neighbouthood of Weremouth, in the bifhopric Beda
of Durham. He was educated by the abbot Benedifl li
in the monaftery of St Peter, near the mouth of the ri-,
ver Wyre. At the age of ic)hew7as ordained deacon,,
and pricft in the year 702. About this time he was
invited to Rome by Pope Sergius 5 but there is no fuf-
ficient reafon to believe that he accepted the invitation.
In the year 731 he publifhed his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory;
a work of fo much merit, notw ithftanding the legendary
tales it contains, that it were alone fufficient to immor¬
talize the author. He died in the year 735 of a lin¬
gering confumption, probably occafioned by a feden-
tary life, and a long uninterrupted application to ftu-
dy and literary compofftions, of which he left an in¬
credible number. He was buried in the church of his
convent at Jarrow : but his bones were afterwards re¬
moved to Durham, and there depofited in the fame
coffin with thofe of St Cuthbert. Bede was undoubt¬
edly a fingular phenomenon in an ignorant and illiterate
age. His learning, for the times, was extenfive, his
application incredible, his piety exemplary, and his
modefty excefiive. He rvas univerfally admired, con-
fulted, and efteemed, during his life ; and his writings
are defervedly confidered as the foundation of our ec¬
clefiaftical hiftory. His language is neither elegant
nor pure, but perfpicuous and eafy.—All his works
are in Latin. The firft general colledtion of them ap¬
peared at Paris in 1544, in three volumes in folio.
They were printed again at the fame place in 1554, in
eight volumes. They were alfo publifhed in the fame
fize and number of volumes at Bafil in 1563, reprinted
at Cologne in 1612, and at the fame place in 1688.
Befides this general colledfion, there are feveral of his
compofitions, which have been printed feparately, or
amongft the colledtions of the writings of ancient au¬
thors 5 and there are feveral manufcripts afcribed to
him, which are preferved in the different libraries in
Oxford and Cambridge.
BEDALL, a town in the north riding of York-
fhire. Through this towm paffes a Roman caufeway
to Richmond, Barnard-caftle, &c. The parts adja¬
cent are noted for hunting and road horfes. W. Long.
I. 40. N. Lat. 54. 30.
BEDAR1EUX, or Bec d’Arieux, a town of Lan¬
guedoc in France, now the department of Herault,
feated on the river Obe, in E. Long. 3. 24. N. Lat.
43. 29.
BEDEL. See Beadle.
Bedel, a fmall town in the north riding of York-
fhire, feated on a little brook, in W. Long. 1. 30
N. Lat. 54. 30.
BEDELL, Dr William, a learned prelate, born
in Effex in 1570. He w7ent wfith Sir Henry Wotton
the Englifh ambaffador to the republic of Venice, as
his chaplain, in 1604* and continuing eight years in
that city, contrafted an intimate acquaintance with the
famous Father Paul, of whom he learned Italian fo w’ell
as to tranflate the Englifh Common Prayer Book into
that language : in return he drew up an Englifh gram¬
mar for Father Paul, who declared he had learned more
from him in all parts of divinity than from any one
befide. He was accordingly much concerned when
Bedell left Venice •, and at his departure prefented him
w'ith his pi&ure, the MSS. of his Hiftory of the Coun¬
cil of Trent, his Hiftory of the Interdift and Inquift-
tion,
BED
Bedell tion, ■with otlier literary donations. In 1629, he ob-
li tained the bifhopric of Kilmore and Adragh in Ireland ;
^ec^Q1(^ and finding thefe diocefes in great diforder, applied
himfelf vigoroufly to reform the abufes there. He
was no perfecutor of Papifts, but laboured with great
fuccefs to convert the better fort of the Popifh clergy :
he procured an Irilli tranflation of the Common Prayer
Book, which he caufed to be read in his cathedral
every Sunday ; and the New Teftament having been
tranflated by Archbifhop Daniel, he procured one of
the Old Teftament j which he having been prevented
from printing himfelf, was afterwards executed at the
expence of the great Mr Robert Boyle. He publifhed,
in 1624, a controverfial book^againft the Roman ca¬
tholics which he dedicated to Charles prince of Wales;
and aflifted the archbifhop of Spalatro in finiftiing his
famous work De Republica Ecclejiq/iica.—When the
bloody rebellion broke out in Ireland in Ohl. 1641, the
biftiop at firft did not feel the violence of its effefts; for
the very rebels had conceived a great veneration for
him, and they declared he ftiould be the laft Englifh-
man they would drive out of Ireland. His was the
only houfe in the county of Cavan that was unviola¬
ted, and it was filled with the people who fled to him
for ftielter. About the middle of December, however,
the rebels, purfuant to orders received from their coun¬
cil of ftate at Kilkenny, required him to difmifs the
people that were with him 5 which he refufed to do,
declaring he would (hare the fame fate with the reft.
Upon this they feized him, his two fons, and Mr
Clogy who had married his daughter-in-law, and car¬
ried them prifoners to the caftle of Cloughbpughter,
furrounded by a deep water, where they put them all,
except the bifhop, in irons j after fome time, however,
this part of their feverity was abated. After being
confined for about three weeks, the biftiop and his two
fons, and Mr Clogy, were exchanged for fome of the
principal rebels : hut the bilhop died foon after, on the
7th of February 1642, his death being chiefly occa-
fioned by his late imprifonment, and the weight of
forrows which lay upon his mind. The Irifti did him
unufual honours at his burial j for the chief of the re¬
bels gathered their forces together, and with them ac¬
companied his body to the church-yard.
BEDER, a ftrong town of Afia, in the dominions of
the Great Mogul. E. Long. 81. 10. N. L. 16. 50.
BEDFORD, the county town of Bedfordftiire in
England, feated on both fides of the river Oufe, over
which there is a ftone bridge 5 in W. Long. o. 20. N.
Lat. 52. 6. It is an ancient town, and pleafantly fi-
tuated, but not very large nor well built, though the
buildings are much improved of late, and the river made
navigable. It fends twro members to parliament, and
gives title of duke to the noble family of Ruflel. At
this place the Britons were overthrown in a great bat¬
tle in 572, by Cuthwulf the Saxon king ; and here was
a ftrong caftle, built in the time of the Normans by
Pagan de Beauchamp, the third baron of Bedford.
It was reduced by King Stephen after a long fiege *,
and afterwards taken by King John, after a fiege of
60 days, from Fulco de Brent, wdio rebelled againft his
fovereign, notwithftanding he had taken this caftle be¬
fore from the barons, and had it beftowed upon him by
the king. I he town is a very ancient corporation, and
has long fent members to parliament. It is governed
Von. III. Part II.
BED
at prefent by a mayor, recorder, twro bailiffs, twelve Eedford-
aldermen, two chamberlains, a towm clerk, and three flme~
ferjeants. The neighbouring country is very fruitful 'v
in wheat, great quantities of which are carried from
hence to Kitchen and Hertford markets, fold, ground,
and conveyed to London. The towm has five churches,
a free fchool, and feveral hofpitals, and enjoys a good
trade in corn by the way of Lynn. When the river
is fwTelled by rains, efpecially in winter, it is ufual in
Cambridgeftiire to fay, the bailiff of Bedford is coming ;
meaning, that it is going to lay their fens under
water.
BEDFORDSHIRE, an inland county of England.
When the Romans landed in Britain, 55 years before
Chrift, it was included in the diftrift inhabited by
the Catieuchlani, whofe chief or governor Caflibelinus
headed the forces of the whole ifland againft Caefar, and
the year following was totally defeated. In 310 the
emperor Conftantine divided Britain into five Roman
provinces, when this county was included in the third
divifion, called F/avia Ccefarienfs; in which ftate it
continued 426 years, when the Romans quitted Britain.
At the eftabliftrment of the kingdom of Mercia ('one
of the divifions of the Saxon heptarchy) it was confi-
dered as part of that kingdom 5 and fo continued from
582 to 827, when with the other petty kingdoms of
the ifland it became fubjeft to the Weft Saxons under
Egbert, and the whole was named England. In 889,
Alfred held the fovereignty; when England was divided
into counties, hundreds, andtythings, and Bedfordftiire
firft received its prefent name. It is in the, Norfolk
circuit, the provincfe of Canterbury, and bifhopric of
Lincoln. Its form is oval, being about 33 miles long,
16 broad, and nearly 73 in circumference ; containing
an area of about 323 fquare miles, or 260,000 fquare
acres. It fupplies 400 men to the national militia.
It contains 124 parifhes, 58 vicarages, and xomarket-
towns, viz. Bedford, Ampthill, Bigglefwade, Dun-
ftable, Leighton, Beaudefart, Luton, Potton, Shefford,
Tuddington, and Woburn, and 55 villages. The in¬
habitants, by computation, are 67,350, and it has 7,294
houfes that pay taxes. It is divided into nine hun¬
dreds, fends two members to parliament, and pays
feven parts of 513 of the land-tax. Its principal river,
the Oufe, is navigable to Bedford ; and ’divides the
county into two parts, of wdiich that to the fouth is
the molt confiderable. In its courfe, which is very
meandering, it receives feveral fmall ftreams; the prin¬
cipal one is the Ivel, which takes its rife in the fouth-
ern part of the county. The air is healthy and the
foil in general a deep clay. The north fide of the Oufe
is fruitful and woody, but the fouth fide is lefs fertile :
yet producing great quantities of wheat and barley, ex¬
cellent in their kind, and woad for dyers. The foil
yields plenty of fullers earth for our woollen manufac¬
tory. The chief manufaftures of the county are thready
lace, and ftraw ware. In this county there are many
remains of Roman, Saxon, and Norman antiquities;
and a few Roman ftations, viz. Sandys near Potton, and
the Magiovinum of Antoninus, by others fuppofed to
be the ancient Salenae, containing 30 acres, where
many urns, coins, &c. have been dug up. Another at
Madining-bowre, or Maiden-bower, one mile from
Dunftable, containing about nine acres, which Camden
fuppofes to have been a Roman ftation, from coins
3 S of
[ s°s 1
BED
Rt:dloe, 0f the emperors having been frequently dug up there,
^ et omns. ancj cajjs jt Magintuni. Leighton Beaudefart is fup-
poled to have been a Roman camp. There is another at
Arlefey near Sheffbrd ; and a Roman amphitheatre may
be traced near Bradford Magna. The Roman road,
Icknield-ftreet, crofles this county, entering at Leigh¬
ton Beaudefart, from whence it paffes Dunftable, where
it inclines northward, over Wardon-hills, to Baldock in
Hertfordlhire. Tlie Watling-ftreet enters this county
near Baton from St Albans, paffes a little north of
Dunftable, where it croffes the Icknield-ftreet, and
from thence to Stoney Stratford in Buckinghamlhire.
A Roman road alfo enters near Potton, paffes Cti to
Sandy, and from thence to Bedford, where it croffes
the Oufe, and proceeds to Newport Pagnell in Buck-
inghamlhire. The following antiquities in this coun¬
ty are worthy of notice : Bedford Bridge and Priory j
Chickfand Abbey near Shefford j Dunftable Priory
near Luton ; Eaton Park Houfe or Eaton Bray ; Five
Knolls near Dunftable 5 Newnham Priory near Bed-
lord 5 Northill Church, three miles from Bigglefwade j
Summetis Tower near Luton 5 Wardon Abbey near
Shefford ; Woburn Abbey ; Woodhill Caftle, or Old-
hill Caftle, near Harewood.
BEDLOE, William, who affumed the title of
Captain, was an infamous adventurer of low birth, who
had travelled over a great part of Europe under differ¬
ent names and difguifes, and had paffed among feveral
ignorant perfons for a man of rank and fortune. En¬
couraged by the fuccefs of Oates, he turned evidence,
gave an account of Godfrey’s murder, and added many
circumftances to the narrative of the former. Thefe vil¬
lains had the boldnefs to accufe the queen of entering
into a confpiracy againrt the king’s life. A reward of
500I. was voted to Bedloe by the commons. He is
faid to have afferted the reality of the plot on his death¬
bed : but it abounds with abfurdity, contradidlion, and
perjury •, and ftill remains one of the greateft problems
in the Britifh annals. He died at Briftol 20th Augurt
1680. Giles Jacob informs us, that he was author of
a play called “ The Excommunicated Prince, or the
Falle Relief,” 1679. The printer of it having, with¬
out the author’s know-ledge, added a fecond title, and
called it “ The Popifti Plot in a Play,” greatly ex¬
cited the curiofity of the public, who were, however,
much difappointed when they found the plan of the
> piece to be founded on a quite different ftory. Anthony
Wood will not allow the captain the merit of this
play ; but afferts that it was written partly, if not en¬
tirely, by one Tho. Walter, M. A. of Tefus college,
Oxford.
BEDOUINS, oFBedouis, a modern name of the
wild Arabs, whether in Alia or Africa. When fpeak-
ing of the Arabs, we fhould diftinguifft whether they
are cultivators or paftors •, for this difference in their
mode of life occafions fo great a one in their manners
and genius, that they become almoft foreign nations
with refpeft to each other. In the former cafe, leading
a fedentary life, attached to the fame foil, and fubject
to regular governments, the focial ftate in which they
live, very nearly refembles our owm. Such are the
inhabitants of Yemen; and fuch alfo are the de-
Icendants of thofe ancient conquerors wdio have either
entirely, or in part, given inhabitants to Syria, Egypt,
and the Barbary ftates. In the fecond inftance, hay.
[ 5°6 1
BED
ing only a tranfient intereft in the foil, perpetually Bedouins,
removing their tents from one place to another, and "v—
under lubje&ion to no laws, their mode of exiftence is
neither that of poliftied nations nor of favages 5 and
therefore more particularly merits our attention. Such
are the Bedouins, or inhabitants pf the vaft delerts
which extend from the confines of Perfia to Morocco,
d hough divided into independent communities or tribes,
not unfrequently hoftile to each other, they may ftill
be confidered as forming one nation. The refemblance
of their language is a manifeft token of this relation-
fhip. The only difference that exifts between them is,
that the African tribes are of a lefs ancient origin,
being pofterior to the conqueft of thefe countries by
the caliphs or fucceffors of Mahomet ; w-hile the tribes
of the'defert of Arabia, properly fo called, have de-
fcended by an upinterrupted iucceflion from the remo-
teft ages. To thele the orientals are accuftomed to
appropriate the name of Arabs, as being the moft an¬
cient and the pureft race. The term Bedaoui is added
as a fynonimous expreflion, fignifying, “ inhabitants of
the Defert.”
It is not without reafon that the inhabitants of the
defert boaft of being th$ pureft and the beft preferved
race of all the Arab tribes : for never have they been
conquered, nor have they mixed with any other people
by making conquefts; for thofe by w-hich the general
name of Arabs has been rendered famous, really be¬
long only to the tribes of Hedjaz and Yemen.
Thofe wdio dwelt in the interior of the country never
emigrated at the time of the revolution effefled by Ma¬
homet j.or if they did take any part in it, it w-as con¬
fined to a few individuals, detached by motives of am¬
bition. Thus we find the prophet in his Koran conti¬
nually fly ling the Arabs of the defert rebels and infidels ;
nor has fo great a length of time produced any very
confiderable change. We may affert they have in
every refpeft retained their primitive independence and
fimplicity. See Arabia,
The wandering life of thefe people arifes from the
very nature of their deferts. To point to himfelf thefe
deferts (fays M. Volney), the reader muft imagine a
fky almoft perpetually inflamed, and without clouds,
immenfe and boundlefs plains, without houfes, trees,
rivulets, or hills, where the eye frequently meets no¬
thing but an extenfive and uniform horizon like the
fea, though in fome places the ground is uneven and
ftony. Almoft invariably naked on every fide, the
earth prefents nothing but a few wdld plants thinly
fcattered, and thickets, whofe folitude is rarely diftur- ^
bed but by antelopes, hares, locufts, and rats. Such is
the nature of nearly the whole country, which extends
fix hundred leagues in length and three hundred in
breadth, and ftretches from Aleppo to the Arabian fea,
and from Egypt to the Perfian gulf. It muft not,
howrever, be imagined that the foil in fo great an ex¬
tent is everywhere the fame •, it varies confiderably in
different places. On the frontiers of Syria, for exam¬
ple, the earth is in general fat and cultivable, nay even
fruitful. It is the fame alfo on the banks of the Eu¬
phrates : but in the internal parts of the country, and
tow-ards the fouth, it becomes white and chalky, as in
the parallel of Damafcus ; rocky, as in the Tih and the
Hedjaz ; and a pure fand, as to the eaftward of Ye¬
men. This variety in the qualities of the foil is pro¬
ductive
BED [ 507 ] BED
Bedouins, du&ive of fome minute differences in the condition of habitable the moff barren foil the world contains. He Bedouins
v ' the Bedouins. For inftance, in the more fterile coun- alone fupplies all his matter’s wants. The milk of the k—
tries, that is, thofe which produce but few plants, the camel nourilhes the family of the Arab under the va-
tnbes are feeble and very diftant; which is the cafe in ried forms of curd, cheefe, and butter ; and they often
the defert of Suez, that of the Red lea, and the inte- feed upon his flelh. Slippers and harnefs are made of
defert called the Najd. When the his fkm, tents and clothing of his hair. Heavy bur-
foil is more fruitful, as between Damafcus and the Eu- dens are tranfported by his means: and when the
phrates, the tribes are more pumerous and lefs remote ^arth denies forage to the horfe, fo valuable to the Be-
from each other *, and, laftly, in the cultivable diftrifts, douin, the Ihe camel fupplies that deficiency by her milk
fuch as the pachalics of Aleppo, the Hauran, and the at no other coft, for fo many advantages, then a few
neighbourhood of Gaza, the camps are frequent and ftalks of brambles or wormwood and pounded date ker-
contiguous. In the former inftances, the Bedouins nels. So great is the importance of the camel to the
are>purely patters, and fubfift only on the produce of defert, that were it deprived of that ufeful animal it
their herds, and on a few dates and flelh meat, which mutt infallibly lofe every inhabitant.
..hey eat either frelh or dried in the fun and reduced to Such is the lituation in which nature has placed the
a povyder. In the latter, they fow fome land, and add Bedouins, to make of them a race of men equally lin-
cheefe, barley, and even rice, to their flelh and milk gulan in their phyfical and moral charader. This fin- ‘
meats.
In thofe diftrids rvhere the foil is ftony and fandy,
as in the Tih, the Hedjaz, and the Najd, the rains make
the feeds of the wild plants fhoot, and revive the thick¬
ets, ranunculi, wormwood, and kali. They caufe
marlhes in the lower grounds, which produce reeds and
grafs ; and the plain affumes a tolerable degree of ver¬
dure. This is the feafon of abundance both for the
herds and their matters j but on the return of the
heats, every thing is parched up, and the earth, con¬
verted into a gray and fine duft, prefents nothing but
dry ftems as hard as wood, on which neither horfes,
oxen, nor even goats can feed. In this ftate the de¬
fert would become uninhabitable, and mutt be totally
abandoned, had not nature formed an animal no lefs
hardy and frugal than the foil is fterile and ungrateful.
No creature feems fo peculiarly fitted to the climate in
which it exifts. Defigning the camel to dwell in a
country where he can find little nourilhment, Nature
(fays M. Vslney) has been Iparing of her materials in
the whole of his formation. She has not beftowed on
him the plump flelhinefs of the ox, horfe, or elephant ;
but limiting herfelf to what is ttri&ly neceffary, (he
has given him a fmall head without ears at the end of
a long neck without flelh. She has taken from his
legs and thighs every mufcle not immediately requi-
flte for motion $ and in fliort, has beftowed on his
withered body only the veffels and tendons neceffary
to conned! its frame together. She has furnilhed him
with a ftrong jaw, that he may grind the hardeft ali¬
ments ; but left he Ihould confume too much, Ihe has
ftraitened his ftomach, and obliged him to chew the
cud. She has lined his foot with a lump of flelh,
which Hiding in the mud, and being no way adapted
to climbing, fits him only for a dry, level, and fandy
foil like th at of Arabia : Ihe has evidently deftined him
likewife to flavery, by refufing him every fort of de¬
fence againft his enemies. Deftitute of the horns of
the bull, the hoof of the horfe, the tooth of the ele¬
phant, and the fwiftnefs of the ftag, how can the ca¬
mel refift or avoid the attacks of the lion, the tiger, or
even the wolf ? To preferve the fpecies, therefore, na¬
ture has concealed him in the depth of the vaft deferts,
where the wTant of vegetables can attradl no game, and
whence the want of game repels every voracious ani¬
mal. Tyranny mutt have expelled man from the ha¬
bitable parts of the earth before the camel could have
loft his liberty. Become domeftic, he has rendered
gularity is fo linking, that even their neighbours the
Syrians regard them as extraordinary beings: efpecially
thofe tribes which dwell in the depths of the deferts,
fuch as the Anaza, Kaibar, Tai, and others, which,
never approach the towns. When in the time of Shaik
Daher, fome of their horfemen came as far as i\.cre,
they excited the fame curiofity there as a vifit from the
favages of America would apaong us. Every body
viewed with furprife thefe men, who were more dimi¬
nutive, meagre, and fwarthy, than any of the known
Bedouins. Their withered legs w-ere only compofed
of tendons, and had no calves. Their bellies feemed to
cling to their backs, and their hair was frizzled almoft
as much as that of the negroes. They on the other hand
were no lefs aftonilhed at every thing they faw; they
could neither conceive how the houfes and minarets
could Hand ereft, nor how men ventured to dwell be¬
neath them, and always in the fame fpot; but above
all, they were in an ecftacy on beholding the fea, nor
could they comprehend what that defert of water
could be.
We may imagine that .the Arabs of the frontiers are
not fuch novices ; there are even feveral fmall tribes of
them, who living in the midft of the country, as in the
velley of Bekaa, that of the Jordan, and in Paleftine,
approach nearer to the condition of the peafants ; but
thefe are defpifed by the others, who look upon them
as baftard Arabs and Rayas, or flaves of the Turks.
In general, the Bedouins are fmall, meagre, and
tawny j more fo, however, in the heart of the defert
than on the frontiers of the cultivated country j but
they are always of a darker hue than the neighbouring
peafants. They alfo differ among themfelves in the
fame camp ; and M. Volney remarked, that the lhaiks,
that is the rich, and their attendants, were always
taller and more corpulent than the common clafs.
He has feen fome of them above five feet five and fix
inches high ; though in general they do not (he fays)
exceed five feet two inches. This difference can only
be attributed to their food, with which the former are
fupplied more abundantly than the latter: And the ef-
fedls of this are equally evident in the Arabian and
Turcoman camels j for thefe latter, dwelling in coun¬
tries rich in forage, are become a fpecies more robuft:
and flelhy than the former. It may likewife be affirm¬
ed, that the lower clafs of Bedouins live in a ftate of
habitual wretchednefs and famine. It will appear al¬
moft incredible to us, but it is an undoubted fa6t, that
3 S '2 the
BED
[ 5°8 1
BED
Bedouins, tlie quantity of food ufually confumed by the greateft
part of them does not exceed fix ounces a day. This
abftinence is moil remarkable among the tribes of the
Najd and the Hedjaz. Six or feven dates foaked in
melted butter, a little fweet milk or curds, ferve a
man a whole day j and he efteems himfelf happy when
he can add a fmall quantity of coarfe flour or a little
ball of rice. Meat is referred for the greatefl: fefti-
vals; and they never kill a kid but for a marriage or
a funeral. A few wealthy and generous ihaiks alone
can kill young camels, and eat baked rice with their
vifluals. In times of dearth, the vulgar, always half
famiflied, do not difdain the mofl: wretched kinds of
food ; and eat locufts, rats, lizards, and ferpents broil¬
ed on briars. Hence are they fuch plunderer's of the
cultivated lands and robbers on the high-roads : hence
alfo their delicate conftitution and their diminutive
and meagre bodies, which are rather active than vi¬
gorous. ItJtnay-be worth while to remark, that their
evacuations of every kind, even perfpiration, are ex¬
tremely fmall ; their blood is fo deflitute of ferofity,
that nothing but the greatefl; heat can preferve its flu¬
idity. This, however, does not prevent them from be¬
ing tolerably healthy in other refpefts ; for maladies
are lefs frequent among them than among the inha¬
bitants of the cultivated country.
From thefe fa&s we are by no means juflified in
concluding that the frugality of the Bedouins is a vir¬
tue purely of choice, or even of climate. The ex¬
treme heat in which they live unqueftionably facilitates
their abftinence, by deftroying that aftivity which
cold gives to the ftomach. Their being habituated
alfo to fo fparing a diet, by hindering the dilatation
of the ftomach, becomes doubtlefs a means of their
fupporting fuch abftemioufnefs ; but the chief and pri¬
mary motive of this habit is with -them, as with the
reft of mankind, the neceflity of the circumftances in
which they are placed, whether from the nature of the
foil, as has been before explained, or that ftate of fo-
ciety in which they live, and which remains now to be
examined.
It has been already remarked, that the Bedouin
Arabs are divided into tribes, which conftitute fo
many diftindft nations. Each of thefe tribes appro¬
priates to itfelf a tra£l of land forming its domain 5 in
this they do not differ from cultivated nations, except
that their territory requires a greater extent, in or¬
der to furnifh fubfiftence for their herds throughout
the year. Each tribe is colledled in one or more
camps, which are difperfed through the country, and
which make a fucceflive progrefs over the whole, in
proportion as it is exhaufted by the cattle ; hence it
is, that within a great extent a few fpots only are in¬
habited, which vary from one day to another ; but as
the entire fpace is neceffary for the annual fubfiftence
of the tribe, whoever encroaches on it is deemed a
violator of property ; this is with them the law of na¬
tions. If, therefore, a tribe, or any of its fubjedfts,
enter upon a foreign territory, they are treated as ene¬
mies and robbers, and a war breaks out. Now, as all
the tribes have affinities with each other by alliances of
blood or conventions, leagues are formed, which ren¬
der thefe wars more or lefs general. The manner of
proceeding on fuch occafions is very fimple. The of¬
fence made known, they mount their horfes and feek
the enemy j when they meet, they enter into a parley, Bedouins,
and the matter is frequently made up ; if not, they at- —1
tack either in fmall bodies, or man to man. They
encounter each other at full fpeed with fixed lances,
which they fometimes dart, notwithftanding their
length, at the flying enemy : the viftory is rarely con-
tefted ; it is decided by the firft fliock, and the vanquifti-
ed take to flight at full gallop over the naked plain of the
defert. Night generally favours their efcape from the
conqueror. The tribe which has loft the battle ftrikes
its tents, removes to a diftance by forced marches, and
feeks an afylum among its allies. The enemy, fatisfied
with their fuccefs, drive their herds farther on, and
the fugitives foon after return to their former fituation.
But the flaughter made in thefe engagements frequent¬
ly fows the feeds of hatreds which perpetuate thefe
diffenfions. The intereft of the common fafety has
for ages eftablilhed a law among them, which decrees
that the blood of every man who is flain muft be
avenged by that of his murderer. This vengeance is
called Thr, or retaliation •, and the right of exacting
it devolves on the neareft of kin to the deceafed. So
nice are the Arabs on this point of honour, that if
any one neglefls to feek his retaliation he is difgraced
for ever. He therefore watches every opportunity of
revenge : if his enemy perifties from any other caufe,
ftill he is not fatisfied, and his vengeance is diredfed
againft the neareft relation. Thefe animofities are
tranfmitted as an inheritance from father to children,
and never ceafe but by the extinftion of one of the
families, unlefs they agree to facriiice the criminal, or
purchafe the blood for a ftated price, in money or in
flocks. Without this fatisfadlion, there is neither peace,
nor truce, nor alliances, betwTeen them, nor fometimes
even between whole tribes : There is blood between
fay they on every occafion ; and this expreffion is an
infurmountable barrier. Such accidents being neceffa-
rily numerous in a long courfe of time, the greater
part of the tribes have ancient quarrels, and live in a
habitual ftate of W'ar ; which, added to their way of
life, renders the Bedouins a military people, though
they have made no great progrefs in war as an art.
Their camps are formed in a kind of irregular circle,
compofed of a Angle row of tents, with greater or lefs
intervals. Thefe tents, made of goat or camels hair,
are black or brown, in which they differ from thofe of
the Turcomans, wffiich are white. They are ftretched
on three or four pickets, only five or fix feet high,
which gives them a very flat appearance j at a diftance,
one of thefe camps feems only like a number of black
fpots 5 but the piercing eye of the Bedouin is not to
be deceived. Each tent inhabited by a family is di¬
vided by a curtain into two apartments, one of which
is appropriated to the women. The empty fpace
within the large circle ferves to fold their cattle every
evening. They never have any intrenchments 5 their
only advanced guards and patroles are! dogs; their
horfes remain faddled and ready to mount on the firft
alarm ; but as there is neither order nor regularity,
thefe camps, always eafy to furprife, afford no defence
in cafe of an attack : accidents, therefore, very fre¬
quently happen, and cattle are carried off every day j
a fpecies of marauding war in which the Arabs are
very experienced.
The tribes which live in the vicinity of the Turks
are
BED f 509 j BED
Bedouins, are ftill more accuftomed to attacks and alarms; for
 1 thefe 11 rangers, arrogating to themfelves, in right of
conqueft, the property of the whole country, treat
the Arabs as rebel vaffals, or as turbulent and danger¬
ous enemies. On this principle, they never ceafe to
wage fecret or open war again!! them. The pachas
yf ftudy every occafion to harafs them. Sometimes they
conteft with them a territory which they had let them,
and at others demand a tribute which they never agreed
to pay. Should a family of lhaiks be divided by in-
tereft or ambition, they alternately fuccour each party,
and conclude by the deftruftion of both. Frequently
too they* poifon or affaffinate thofe chiefs whole cou¬
rage or abilities they dread, though they Ihould even
be their allies. The Arabs, on their fide, regarding
the Turks as ufurpers and treacherous enemies, watch
every opportunity to do them injury. Unfortunately,
their vengeance falls oftener on the innocent than the
guilty. The harmlefs peafant generally fuffers for the
offences of the foldier. On the llightell alarm, the
Arabs cut their harvefts, carry off their flocks, and
intercept their communication and commerce. The
peafant calls them thieves, and with reafon j but the
Bedouins claim the right of war, and perhaps they al-
fo are not in the wrong. However this may be, thefe
depredations occafion a mifunderftanding between the
Bedouins and the inhabitants of the cultivated country,
which renders them mutual enemies.
Such is the external fituation of the Arabs. It is
fubjeft to great viciflitudes, according to the good or
bad conduct of their chiefs. Sometimes a feeble tribe
raifes and aggrandizes itfelf, whilft another, which was
powerful, falls into decay, or perhaps is entirely anni¬
hilated *, not that all its members perilh, but they in¬
corporate themfelves with fome other j and this is the
confequence of the internal conftitution of the tribes.
Each tribe is compofed of one or more principal fa¬
milies, the members of which bear the title of ihaiks,
i. e. chiefs or lords. Thefe families have a great re-
femblance to the patricians of Rome and the nobles of
modern Europe. One of the lhaiks has the fupreme
command over the others. He is the general of their
little army ; and fometiiAes affumes the title of emir,
which fignifies commander and prince. The more
relations, children, and allies, he has, the greater is
his ftrength and pow'er. To thefe he adds particular
adherents, whom he lludioufly attaches to him, by
fupplying all their wants. But befides this, a number
of fmall families, who, not being ftrong enough to live
independent, Hand in need of prote61ion and alliances,
range themfelves under the banners of this chief. Such
an union is called habi/a, or tribe. Thefe tribes are
ditlinguilhed from each other by the name of their re-
fpeftive chiefs, or by that of the ruling family •, and
when they fpeak of any of the individuals who com-
pofe them, they call them the children of fuch a chief,
though they may not be all really of his blood, and
he himfelf may have been long fince dead. I hus they
fay, Beni Temin, Oulad Tai, the children of Femin
and of Tai. This mode of expreflion is even applied,
by metaphor, to the names of countries : the ufual
phrafe for denoting its inhabitants being to call them
the children of fuch a place. Thus the Arabs fay, Ou¬
lad Mafr, the Egyptians; Oulad Sham, the Syrians j
they would alfo fay, Oulad Franfa, the French j Ou¬
lad Mojkou, the Ruffians; a remark which is not unim- Eedou
portant to ancient hiltory. ■« Y"
The government of this fociety is at once republi¬
can, ariitocratical, and even defpotic, without exaftly
correfponding wfith any of thefe forms. It is republi¬
can, inafmuch as the people have a great influence in
all affairs, and as nothing can be tranfa&ed without
the confent of a majority. It is arillocratical, becaufc
the families of the ihaiks poffefs fome of the preroga¬
tives which everywhere accompany power j and, laflly,
It is defpotic, becaufe the principal lhaik has an indefi ¬
nite and almoft abfolute authority, which, wdren he hap
pens to be a man of credit and influence, he may even
abufe 5 but the Hate of thefe tribes confines even this
abufe to very narrow limits: for if a chief ihould com¬
mit an a£l of injuftice j if, for example, he fhould kill
an Arab, it would be almoll impoflible for him to
efcape punilhment •, the refentment of the offended par¬
ty would pay no refpeft to his dignity j the law of re¬
taliation would be put in force ; and, ftiould he not
pay the blood, he would be infallibly affaffinated, which,
from the fimple and private life the lhaiks lead in their
camps, would be no difficult thing to effeft. If he
haraffes his fubje&s by feverity, they abandon him and
go over to another tribe. Plis own relations take ad¬
vantage of his mifeondud! to depofe him and advance
themfelves to his llation. He can have no refource in
foreign troops ; his fubjedfs communicate too eafily
with each other to render it pollible for him to divide
their interefts and form a fadfion in his favour. Be¬
fides, how is he to pay them, fince he receives no kind
of taxes from the tribe j the wealth of the greater
part of his fubjedls being limited to abfolute neceffaries,
and his own confined to very moderate poffeffions, and
thofe too loaded with great expences ?
The principal lhaik in every tribe, in fadi, defrays
the charges-of all who arrive at or leave the camp.
He receives the vifits of the allies, and of every perfon
who has bufinefs with them. Adjoining to his tent
is a large pavilion for the reception of all ftrangers and
paffengers. There are held frequent afferablies of the
lhaiks and principal men, to determine on encampments
and removals j on peace and war j on the differences
with the Turkilh governors and the villages ; and the
litigations and quarrels of individuals. To this crowd,
wffiich enters fucceffively, he mull give coffee, bread
baked on the alhes, rice, and fometimes roafted kid or
camel; in a word, he mult keep open table; and it is
the more important to him to be generous, as this ge-
nerofity is clofely connedled with matters of the great-
ell confequence. On the exercife of this depend his
credit and his power. The familhed Arab ranks the
liberality which feeds him before every virtue : nor is
this prejudice without foundation ; for experience has
proved that covetous chiefs never were men of enlarged
views : hence the proverb, as juff as it is brief, A clofe.
fijl, a narrow heart. To provide for thefe expeiices,
the lhaik has nothing but his herds, a few fpots of
cultivated ground, the profits of his plunder, and the
tribute he levies on the high-roads; the total of which
is very inconfiderable. The lhaik with whom M. Vol-
ney refided in the country of Gaza, about the end of
1784, paffed for one of the moll powerful of thofe
dillridls ; yet it did not appear to our author that his
expenditure was greater than that of an opulent farmer.
'I
BED [ 5
Bedonmi. ^ His perfonal effetls, confifting of a few pelifles, car¬
pets, arms, horfes, and camels, could not be eilimated
at more than 50,000 livres (a little above 2000I.) j
and it muft be obferved, that in this calculation four
mares of the breed of racers are valued at 6000 livres
(2501.), and each camel at 10I. Sterling. We mult
not therefore, when we fpeak of the Bedouins, affix to
the words Prince and Lord the ideas they ufually con¬
vey •, we ffiould come nearer to the truth by comparing
them to fubftantxal farmers in mountainous countries^
whofe fimplicity they referable in their drefs as well as
in their domeftic life and manners. A lhaik who has
the command of 500 horfe does not difdain to faddle
and bridle his own, nor to give him barley and chop¬
ped draw. In his tent, his wife makes the coffee,
kneads the dough, and fuperintends the drefling of
.he victuals. His daughters and kinfwomen wafh the
linen, and go with pitchers on their head and veils
over their faces to draw water from the fountain. Thefe
manners agree precifely with the defcriptions in Homer
and the hiftory of Abraham in Genefis. But it muft be
owned that it is difficult to form a juft idea of them with¬
out having ourfelves been eye-witneffes.
I lie fimplicity, or perhaps more properly the po¬
verty, of the lower clafs of the Bedouins is proportion¬
ate to that of their chiefs. All the wealth of a family
confifts of moveables; of which the following is a pret¬
ty exaft inventory; a few male and female camels }
fome goats and poultry; a mare and her bridle and
laddie ; a tent 5 a lance 16 feet long j a crooked la-
bre ; a rufty mufket, with a flint and matchlock ; a
pipe ; a portable mill ; a pot for cooking j a leathern
bucket) a fmall coffee roafter ; a mat; fome clothes ;
a mantle of black wool: and a few glafs or filver rings,
winch the women wear upon their legs and arms. If
none of thefe are wanting their furniture is complete.
But what the poor man Hands moft in need of, and
what he takes moft pleafure in, is his mare ; for this
animal is his principal fupport. With his mare the
Bedouin makes his excurfions againft hoftile tribes, or
leeks plunder in the country and on the high-ways.
The mare is preferred to thp horfe, becaufe Ihe is
more docile, and yields milk, which on occafion fatis-
fies the thirft and even the hunger of her mafter,
Thus confined to the moft abfolute neceflities of life,
the Arabs have as little induftry as their wants are few j
all their arts confift in weaving their clumfy tents and
in making mats and butter. I heir whole commerce
only extends to the exchanging camels, kids, ftallions,
and milk j for arms, clothing, a little rice or com, and
money, which they bury. They are totally ignorant
of all fcience •, and have not even any idea of aftrono-
my, geometry, or medicine. They have not a fingle
book ‘y and nothing is fo uncommon among the ftiaiks
as to know how to read. All their literature confifts
in reciting tales and hiftories in the manner of the Ara¬
bian Nights Entertainments. They have a peculiar
paffion for fuch ftories, and employ in them almoft all
their leifure, of which they have a great deal. In the
-evening they feat themfelves on the ground, at the
threffiold of their tents, or under cover, if it be cold •
and there, ranged in a circle round a little fire of dung,
their pipes in their mouths, and their legs crofted, they
fit a while in filent meditation, till on a hidden one of
them breaks forth with Once upon a time — md con¬
tinues to recite the adventures of fome young ftiaik
o 3 BED
and female Bedouin : he relates in what manner the Bedouins,
youth firit got a fecret glimpfe of his miftrefs j and
how he became defperately enamoured of her : he mi¬
nutely defcribes the lovely fair j boafts her black eyes,
as large and foft as thofe of the gazelle 5 her languid
and empaffioned looks } her arched eye-browTs, refem-
bUng two bows of ebony ; her waift ftraight and fupple
as a lance : he forgets not her fteps, light as thofe of
the young Jilley ; nor her eye-lafties, blackened with tob/;
nor her lips painted blue 5 nor her nails, tinged with
the golden-coloured henna; nor her breafts refemblinp-
two pomegranates j nor her words fweet as honey!
He recounts the fufferings of the young lovej, fo xca-
Jied with defire andpafion, that his body no longer yields
any /hadow. At length, after detailing his various
attempts to fee his miftrels, the obftacles of the pa¬
rents, the invafions of the enemy, the captivity of the
two lovers, &c. he terminates, to the fatisfaftion of the
audience, by reftoring them, united and happy, to the
paternal tent, and by receiving the tribute paid to his
eloquence, in the Ma cha all ah (an exclamation of
praife, equivalent to admirably wellIs) he has merited.
The Bedouins have likewife their love fongs, which
have more fentiment and nature in them than thofe of
the Turks and inhabitants of the towns ; doubtlefs,
becaufe the former, whofe manners are chafte, know
what love is : while the latter, abandoned to debauch-
ery, are acquainted only with enjoyment.
When we confider how much the condition of the
Bedouins, efpecially in the depths of the defert, re-
fembles in many reipefts that of the favages of Ame¬
rica, we ftiall be inclined to wonder why they have not
the fame ferocity j why, though they fo often expe¬
rience the extremity of hunger, the pra&ice of devour-
ing human flefh was never heard of among them y
and why, in ftiort, their manners are fo much more
fociable and mild. The following reafons are pro-
pofed by M. Volney as the true folution of this diffi¬
culty.
It feems at firft view (he obferves), that America,
being rich in pafturage, lakes, and forefts, is more a!
dapted to the paftoral mode of life than to any other.
But if we confider that thefe forefts, by affording an
eafy refuge to animals, protedf them more furely from
the power of man, we may conclude that the favage
has been induced to become a hunter inftead of a fliep-
herd, by the nature of the country. In this ftate, all
his habits have concurred to give him a ferocity of
charadfer. The great fatigues of the chafe have har¬
dened his body ; frequent and extreme hunger, follow¬
ed by a fudden abundance of game, has rendered him
voracious. I he habit of fhedding blood, and tearing
his prey, has familiarized him to the fight of death
and lufferings. Tormented by hunger, he has defired
fh-ffi ; and finding it eafy to obtain that of his fellow-
creature, he could not long hefitate to kill him to fa-
tisfy the cravings of his appetite. The firft experi¬
ment made, this cruelty degenerates into a habit ; he
becomes a cannibal, fanguinary and atrocious ; and his
mind acquires all the infenfibility of his body.
_ The fituation of the Arab is very different. Amid
his vaft naked plains, without water and without fo¬
refts, he has not been able, tor want of game or fifii,
to become either a hunter cr a filherman. The camel
has determined him fo a paftoral life, the manners of
which have influenced his whole charadter. Finding
at
BED [5
Bedouins, it hand a light, but conftant and fufficient nouriih-
ment, he has acquired the habit of frugality. Content
with his milk and his dates, he has not defired flelh ;
he has Hied no blood : his hands are not accuftomed
to daughter, nor his ears to the cries of fuffering crea¬
tures 5 he has preferved a humane and fenfible heart.
No fooner did the favage fhepherd become acquaint¬
ed with the ufe of the horfe, than his manner of life
was condderably changed. The facility of paffing
rapidly over extenfive trafls of country, rendered him
a wanderer. He was greedy from want, and became
a robber from greedinefs ; and fuch is in fadt his pre-
fent charadler. A plunderer, rather than a warrior,
the Arab pollefies no fanguinary courage j he attacks
only to defpoil; and if he meets with refiftance, never
thinks a fmall booty is to be put in competition with
his life. To irritate him, you muft Hied his blood ; in
which cafe he is found to be as obllinate in his ven¬
geance as he was cautious in avoiding danger.
The Bedouins have often been reproached with this
fpirit of rapine j but without wifhing to defend it, we
may obferve that one circumftance has not been fuffi-
ciently attended to, wdiich is, that it only takes place
towards reputed enemies, and is confequently founded
on the acknowledged law's of almoft all nations. A-
mong themfelves they are remarkable for a good faith,
a diiintereflednefs, a generofity, wdiich would do ho¬
nour to the molt civilized people. What is there more
noble than that right of afylum fo refpefted among
all the tribes ? A itranger, nay even an enemy, touch¬
es the tent of the Bedouin, and from that inftant his
perfon becomes inviolable. It would be reckoned a
difgraceful meannefs, an indelible fliame, to fatisfy
even a juft vengeance at the expence of hofpitality.
Has the Bedouin confented to eat bread and fait with
his gueft, nothing in the world can induce him to be¬
tray him. The power of the fultan himfelf would
not be able to force a refugee from the protedlion of a
tribe, but by its total extermination. The Bedouin,
fo rapacious w'ithout his camp, has no fooner fet his
foot wdthin it, than he becomes liberal and generous.
What little he pofleffes he is ever ready to divide. He
has even the delicacy not to wait till it is alked : when
he takes his repaft, he affe£ts to feat himfelf at the
door of his tent, in order to invite the paffengers ; his
generofity is fo fincere, that he does not look upon it
as a merit, but merely as a duty ; and he therefore
readily takes the fame liberty wuth others. To obferve
the manner in which the Arabs condudl themfelves to¬
wards each other, one w'ould imagine that they pofief-
fed all their goods in common. Neverthelefs they are
no ftrangers to property 5 but it has none of that fel-
fiftmefs which the increafe of the imaginary w'ants of
luxury has given it among polilhed nations. Depriv¬
ed of a multitude of enjoyments w'hich nature has la-
vifhed upon other countries, they are lefs expofed to
temptations which might corrupt and debafe them. It
is more difficult for their fhaiks to form a fadlion to en-
flave and impoverifh the body of the nation. Each indi¬
vidual, capable of fupplying all his w'ants, is better
able to preferve h:s charadler and independence ; and
private poverty becomes at once the foundation and
bulwark of public liberty.
f his liberty extends even to matters of religion.
We obferve a remarkable difference between the Arabs
11 ] BEE
Bee.
of the towns and thofe of the defert 5 fince, while the Bedriacum
former crouch under the double yoke ef political and
religious defpotifm, the latter live in a ftate of perfect (,
freedom from both : it is true, that on the frontiers of
the Turks, the Bedouins, from policy, preferve the
appeairance of Mahometanifm $ but fo relaxed is their
obfervance of its ceremonies, and fo little fervour has
their devotion, that they are generally confidered as
infidels, wffio have neither law nor prophets. They
even make no difficulty in faying that the religion of
Mahomet was not made for them : “ For (add they)
how ihall eve make ablutions who have no water ? How
can we beftow' alms wrho are not rich ? Why fhould we
faft in the Ramadan, fince the whole year with us is
one continual faft ? and what neceffity is there for us
to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, if God be prefent
everywhere ?” In ftrort, every man acts and thinks as
he pleafes, and the moft perfeeff toleration is eftabliffi-
ed among them.
BEDRIACUM, in Ancient Geography a village of
Italy, fituated, according to Tacitus, between Vero¬
na and Cremona, but nearer the latter than the for¬
mer. From the account given by that hiftorian, Clu-
verius conjectures that the ancient Bedriacum flood in
the place where the city of Caneto now ftands. This
village was remarkable for the defeat of the emperor
Galba by Otho, and afterwards of Otho by Vitel-
lius.
BEDWIN magna, a village five miles fouth of
Flungerford in Berkffiire in England. It has neither
market nor fair y but is a bofough by prefeription,
and fends two members to parliament. It is faid to
have been a confiderable place in the time of the Sax¬
ons, and that the traces of its fortifications are ftill ex¬
tant.
BEE, in Natural Hi/lory^ a genus of infeCls, for
the charafters and claffification of which fee Apis,
Entomology Index. The mellifica, or domeftic ho¬
ney-bee, its hiftory and economy, form the fubjeCt of
this article. 2
This fpecies is furniffied with downy hairs ; has a Defcriptlon
dulky-coloured breaft, and brownilh belly 5 the tibiaeof the ho¬
of the hind-legs are ciliated, and tranfverfely ftreaked ney'bee‘
on the infide. Each foot terminates in two hooks,
with their points oppofite to each other ; in the middle
of thefe hooks there is a little thin appendix, which,
when unfolded, enables the ihfeCls to faften themfelves
to glafs or the moft polifhed bodies. This part they
likewife employ for tranfmitting the fmall particles of
crude wax, which they find upon flowers to the cavity
in their thigh, hereafter deferibed. The queen and
drones, who never colled: wax in this manner, have no
fuch cavity. This fpecies is alfo furnilhed with a pro-
bofeis or trunk, which ferves to extraCl the honey from
flow'ers j and has, befides, a real mouth fituated in
the forepart of the head, with which it is able to feed
on the farina of flowers, from which afterwards is
made wax. The belly is divided into fix rings or
joints; wffiich fometimes fhorten the body, by flipping
the one over the other. In the infide of the belly
there is a fmall bladder or refervoir, in which the ho¬
ney is collected, after having paffed through the pro-
bofeis and a narrow' pipe which runs through the head ■
and breaft. This bladder, when full of honey, is a-
bout the fize of a fmall pea.
The-
\i
7
BEE
[ S
Bee.
Its fting.
The fting, which is fttuated at the extremity of the
belly, is a very curious weapon ; and, when examined
by the microfcope, appears of a furprifing ftru&ure.
It has a horny ftieath or fcabbard, which includes two
bearded darts. This fheath ends in a (harp point near
the extremity of which a flit opens, through which, at
the time of flinging, the two bearded darts are pro¬
truded beyond the end of the (heath: one of thefe is
a little longer than the other, and fixes its beard firlt :
and the other inftantly following, they penetrate alter¬
nately deeper and deeper, taking hold of the flefh with
their beards or hooks, till the whole fting is buried
in the flefti j and then a venomous juice is inje&ed
through the fame fheath, from a little bag at the root
of the (ling. Hence the wound occafions an acute pain
and fwelling of the part, which fometimes continues 1'e-
Veral days. Thefe eflefts are beft remedied by enlar¬
ging the wound diredtly to give it fome difcharge.
This poifon feems to owe its mifchievous efficacy to
certain pungent halts. Let a bee be provoked to ftrike
its fting againft a plate of glafs, and there will be a drop
of the poifon difcharged and left upon the glafs. This
being placed under a double microfcope, as the liquor
evaporates, the falts will be feen to concrete, forming
oblong, pointed, clear cryftals.—Mr Derham counted
on the fting of a wafp eight beards on the fide of each
dart, fomewhat like the beards of fifh-hooks; and the
fame number is to be counted on the darts of the bee’s
fting. When thefe beards are ftruck deep in the flefti,
if the wounded perfon ftarts, or difcompofes the bee
before it can difengage them, the fting is left behind
flicking in the wound : but if he have patience to
ftand quiet, the creature brings the hooks down clofe
to the fides of the darts, and withdraws the weapon j
in which cafe, the wmund is always much lefs painful.
The danger of being flung by bees may be in a great
meafure prevented by a quiet compofed behaviour. A
thoufand bees will fly and buzz about a perfon without
hurting him, if he ftand perfectly ftill, and forbear
difturbing them even wffien near his face ; in which
cafe he may obferve them for hours together without
danger 5 but if he molefts or beats them awTay, he ufu-
* See EJin- ally fuffers for it. It has been lately affirmed *, that
Burgh Me- a perfon is in perfedl fafety in the midft of myriads of
bees, if he but carefully keep his mouth (hut, and
breathe gently through the noftrils only •, the human
breath, it wrould feem, being peculiarly offenfive to
their delicate organs : and merely with this precau¬
tion, it is faid, 'the very hives may be turned up, and
even part of the comb cut out, while the bees are at
work.
I. Economy, Instincts, &c. of the Honey-bee.
We may confider a hive of bees as a well-peopled
city, in which are commonly found from 15,000 to
18,000 inhabitants. This city is in itfelf a monar¬
chy 5—compofed of a queen ; of males which are the
drones ; and of working bees, wTich have been fuppo-
fed and called neuters. The combs, which are of pure
uTax, ferve as their magazine of (lores, and for the
nurfing places of their young offspring. There is be¬
tween the combs a fpace fufficient for twro bees to march
abreaft, without embarrafling each other ; and in fome
parts it is more fpacious. There are alfo holes, or nar¬
row pafles, which crofs the combs tranfverfely, and are
2
dical Com¬
mentaries,
vol. iv.
P' 352-
12 ] BEE
intended to fhorten the way when the bees pafs from Bee.
one comb to another. x
The Queen is eafily diftinguiflhed from the other S
bees by the form of her body : (he is longer and lar- Qi?eeri bee'
' ger than they are, and her wings are much fhorter than,
theirs in proportion to her body j for the wings of the
other bees cover their whole body, whereas thofe of
the queen hardly reach beyond her middle, or end at
about the third ring of her belly. Her hinder parts
are more taper than thofe of the other bees, termina¬
ting (harper. Her belly and legs are of a deep yellow,
much refembling the pureft gold. She is unwieldy in
her flight, a reafon for her leldom flying but when (he
leaves the parent-hive to go and fettle a colony. All
the bees form her retinue, and like dutiful fubjedls re¬
pair to the place (he choofes. She is armed wdth a vi¬
gorous fting. Lefs pafllonate however than her fub-
jedls, (he only ufes her fting when long provoked, or
when in conteft for imperial fway. Never more than
one remains in a hive, and that is the conqueror.
A hive of bees cannot fubfift without a queen, as
(lie alone produces their numerous pofterity ; and on At(.a(^
this account their fidelity and attachment to their fo- ment of
vereign is admirable. her fub-
Mr Wildman, by his dexterity in the management
of bees, fome years ago, furprifed the whole kingdom. ^ri.
He can caufe a fwarm to light where he pleafes, al-man^featj
moft inftantaneoufly j he can order them to fettle on by means
his head, then remove them to his hand \ command tbe
them to depart and fettle on a window, table, &c. at rlueeu'
pleafure. We (hall fubjoin his method of performing
thefe feats in his own wrords :
“ Long experience has taught me, that as foon as I
turn up a hive, and give it fome taps on the fides and
bottom, the queen immediately appears, to know' the
caufe of this alarm ; but foon retires again among her
people. Being accuftomed to fee her fo often, I rea¬
dily perceive her at firft glance ; and long practice has
enabled me to feize her inftantly, with a tendernefs
that does not in the leaft endanger her perfon. This is
of the utmoft importance j for the leaft injury done to
her brings immediate deftruftion to the hive, if you
have not a fpare queen to put in her place, as I have
too often experienced in my firft attempts. When
poffeffed of her, I can without injury to her, or excit¬
ing that degree of refentment that may tempt her to
fting me, flip her into my other hand, and, returning
the hive to its place, hold her there, till the bees mif¬
fing her, are all on wing, and in the utmoft confufion.
When the bees are thus diftreffed, I place the queen
wherever I would have the bees to fettle. The mo¬
ment a few of them difeover her, they give notice to
thofe near them, and thofe to the reft ; the knowledge
of which foon becomes fo general, that in a few mi¬
nutes they all colledf themfelves round her *, and are
fo happy in having recovered this foie fupport of their
date, that they will long remain quiet in their fitua-
tion. Nay, the feent of her body is fo attradlive of
them, that the flighteft touch of her, along any place
or fubftance, will attach the bees to it, and induce
them to purfue any path (he takes.” This was the
only witchcraft ufed by Mr Wildman, and is that alone
which is praftifed by others who have fince made fimi-
lar exhibitions. In ftiort, feize on the queen, and you
1
BEE [ 5
are fare of leading all the bees of a hire to any place
^ "1,J you pleafe.
6 When a queen dies by an accident, the bees of her
^Tofher1" ^*ve -ieciiately ceafe working, confume their own
death Vc. honey, fly about their own and other hives at unufual
hours when other bees are at reft, and pine away if
not foon fupplied with another fovereign. Her lofs is
proclaimed by a clear and interrupted humming. This
lign ftiould be a warning to the owner of the bees, to
take what'honey reprains in the hive, or to procure
them another queen. In this laft cafe, the flock in-
flantly' revives; pleafure and activity are apparent
through the whole hive j the prefence of the fovereign
reftores vigour and exertion, and her voice commands
imiverfal refpe£t and obedience : of fuch importance is
the queen to the exiftence and .profperity of the other
members of this community.
The difle&ion of the queen-bee Ihows evidently that
ihe lays many thoufand eggs. It is computed that the
ovaria of a queen-bee contain more than 5000 eggs at
one time *, and therefore it is not difficult to conceive
that a queen-bee may produce 10,000 or 12,000 bees,
^ or even more, in the fpace of two months.
Of the The common Drones are fmaller than the queen,
drones. and larger than the working bees; and in flying they
make a greater noife. The diffeflion of the drone
gives as great proof of its being the male, as that of
the queen does of her being female. In this creature
there is no appearance of ovaries or eggs, nor any thing
of the ftruflure of the common working bees, but the
whole abdomen is filled with tranfparent veffels, wind¬
ing about in various finuofities, and containing a white
or milky fluid. This is plainly analogous to that fluid
in the males of other animals, which is deftined to ren¬
der the eggs of the female prolific ; and this whole ap¬
paratus of veflels, which much refembles the turnings
and windings of the feminal veflels in other animals, is
plainly intended only for the preparation and retention
of this matter, till the deftined time of its being emit¬
ted. On fqueezing the hinder parts alfo, may be for¬
ced out the penis^a fmall and flender fleffiy body, con¬
tained between two horns of a fomewhat harder iub-
ftance, which join at their bafe, but gradually part
afuhder as they are continued in length. Thefe parts,
found in all the drones, and none of them in any other
bees except thefe, feem to prove very evidently the
difference of fex. If a hive is opened in the beginning
of fpring, not a Angle drone will be found in it; from
the middle of May till the end of June, hundreds of
them will be found, commonly from 200 or 300 to
1000 *, and from thence to the following fpring it
■would be in vain to feek for them. They go not out
till x 1 in the morning, and return before fix in the
evening. But their expeditions are not thofe of in-
duftry. They have no fling, their roftrum and feet
are not adapted for collecting wax and honey, nor in¬
deed are they obliged to labour. They only hover
upon flowers to extraCt the fweets, and all their
thoughts are pleafure. Their office is, to impregnate
the eggs of the queen after they are depofited in the
cells. And while their prefence is thus neceffary,
they are fuffered to enjoy the fweets of love and life •,
but as foon as they become ufelefs in the hive, the
working bees declare the moft cruel war againft them,
Vox.. III. Part II.
13 ] BEE
and make terrible flaughter of them. This war affecls ike.
not only the bees already in life, but even the eggs
and maggots j for the law which has pronounced the
deftruttion of the males has no exception, it extends e-
qually to thofe which do not yet breathe and to thofe
which do j the hive is cleared of every egg, maggot,
or nymph ; the whole is torn away and carried off.
After the feafon proper for increafing the number of
bees is paft, and when they ffiould attend only to the
fupplying of their magazines fufficiently with w’inter
ftores, every veftige of the drones is deftroyed, to
make room for honey. Whenever thefe drones are ob-
ferved to remain in a hive late in the autumn, it is
held to be a bad fign of the ftate of the hive.
But befides tbefe larger drones, Maraldi and Reau¬
mur had long ago difcovered that there were others of
a leffer fize, not exceeding that of the common work¬
ing bees. This fa£l:, however, was not fully afcertained
before .the late experiments of Mr Debraw, to be af¬
terwards mentioned. It is well known, as has been
already noticed, that the large drones never appear in
the hive before the middle of April; that they are all
dead before the end of Auguft, when the principal
breeding feafon terminates j and that they are deftroy¬
ed, together with all their worms or nymphs, by the
working bees, probably by order of the queen, to fave
honey : yet it is equally certain, that the bees begin
to breed early in the fpring, fometimes in February, if
the weather is mild ; and that many broods are com¬
pleted before thefe drones appear. But if drones of a
fmaller fize are fuffered to remain, -which in a time of
fcarcity confume lefs honey than the others, thefe will
anfwer the purpofe of fupplying the early broods, and
the larger drones are produced againft a time of greater
plenty. Some obfervers affirm, that the fmaller drones
are all dead before the end of May, when the larger
fpecies appear and fuperfede their ufe. Thefe circum-
ftances accord with the fuggeftion of Abbe le Pluche
in his Spetlacle de la Nature, That a fmall number of
drones are referved to fupply the neceffities of the en-
fuing year; and that thefe drones are very little, if at
all, larger than the common bees. s
1 he Working Bees compofe the greateft body of The work-,
the ftate. Columella informs us, that the ancientsing bees-
diftinguiffied feveral kinds of them. He joins in opi¬
nion with Virgil, who approves of thofe which are
fmall, oblong, ftnooth, bright, and ftiining, of a gentle
and mild difpofition : “ for,” continues he, “ by how
much the larger and rounder the bee is, by fo much
the worfe it is; but if it be fierce and cruel, it is the
worft of all. The angry difpofition of bees of a better
charafter is eafily foftened by the frequent intercourie
of thofe who take care of them, for they grow more
tame when they are often handled.” The experience
of ages has now eftabliffied the fort of bees which have ^
been found to aniwer bell the purpofes of keeping
them.
The working bees have the care of the hive, colleft
the wax and honey, fabricate and work up the wax,
build the cells, feed the young, keep the hive clean,
drive from thence ftrangers, and* employ themfelves in
all other concerns relating to the hive.
The working bee has two ftomachs ; one which con¬
tains the honey, and a fecond in which is contained the
3 T crud«
Bee.
9
Of their
battles.
Their la¬
bours.
BEE . [ 5
crude wax. The working bees have no parts analo-
gous to the ovaria of the queen, or that refemble the
male organs of the drones. Hence they have general¬
ly been fuppofed to be neutral or of neither fex. But
a different doblrine has lately been eftablifhed; which
there will be occafion to notice in the fequel.
The fling is very neceffary for a working bee, both
as an offenfive and as a defenfive weapon : for their ho¬
ney and wax excite the envy of many greedy and lazy
infers 5 and they have alfo to defend themfelves againll
enemies who are fonder of eating them than their ho¬
ney. There is likewife a time when the drones mult be
facrificed and exterminated for the good of thefocietyj
and as they are larger and ftronger than the working
bees, thefe lalt would have a very unequal match, were
it not for this poifonous fling.
There happen alfo among bees, either of the fame
or of different hives, mofl deadly feuds, in which their
flings are their chief weapons. In thefe contefls, great
/kill may be dsfcerned in their manner of pointing the
fling between the fcaly rings which cover their bodies,
or to fome other eafily vulnerable part. The bee which
firft gains the advantage remains the conqueror; though
the victory colls the viblor his life, if he has left his
fling in the body of the enemy ; for, with the fling, fo
much of his body is torn out, that death inevitably
follows. Bees have very fevere conflidls when whole
hives engage in a pitched battle, and many are flain on
both hdes. Their fighting and plundering one another
ought chiefly to be imputed, as Mr Thorley obferves,
either to their perfect abhorrence of floth and idlenefs,
or to their infatiable thirfl for honey ; for when, in
fpring or autumn, the weather is fair, but no honey
can be collected from plants, and is to be found only
in the hives of other bees, they will venture their lives
to get it there.
Dr Warder affigns another caufe of their fighting ;
which is, the neceflity that the bees are reduced to
when their own hive has been plundered, at a feafon
when it is too late for them to repair the lofs by any
induflry in the fields.
Sometimes one of the queens is killed in battle. In
this cafe, the bees of both hives unite as foon as her
death is generally known among them. All then be¬
come one people ; the vanquifhed go off with the rob¬
bers, richly laden with their own fpoils, and return
every day with their new aflbciates to pillage their old
habitation. This caufes a throng, unufual for the fea¬
fon, at the door of the hive they are plundering ; and
if the owner lifts it up at night, when all are gone
Jiome, he will find it empty of inhabitants ; though
there perhaps will remain in it fome honey, which he
takes as his property.
When two fwarms take flight at the fame time, they
fometimes quarrel, and great numbers are deftroyed on
both Tides, till one of the queens is flain. This ends the
conteft, and the bees of both fides unite under the fur-
viving fovereign.
When the bees begin to work in their hives, they
divide themfelves into four companies : one of which
roves in the ficdds in fearch of materials ; another em¬
ploys itfelf in laying out the bottom and partitions of
their cells; a third is employed in making the infide
fmooth from the corners and angles ; and the fourth
company brings food for the reft, or relieves thofe who
14] BEE
return with tneir refpedlive burdens. But they are not Bee.
kept conftant to one employment; they often change l—v—
the talks affigned them : thofe that have been at work
being permitted to go abroad, and thofe that have
been in the fields already take their places. They
feem even to have figns, by which they underhand each
other : for when any of them want food, it bends down
its trunk to the bee from whom it is expe&ed, which
then opens its honey-bag, and lets fome drops fall into
the other’s mouth, which is at that time opened to re¬
ceive it. Their diligence and labour is fo great, that,
in a day’s time, they are able to make cells which lie
upon each other numerous enough to contain 3000
bees.
In the plan and formation of thefe cells they difco-0fthj
ver a moft wonderful fagacity. In conftruaing habita- combs,
tions within a limited compafs, an architeft would have
three objects in view : firft, to ufe the fmalleft quantity
that can be of materials; next, to give to the edifice
the greateft capacity in a determined fpace ; and third¬
ly, to employ the Ipot in fuch a manner that none of
it may be loft. On examination it would be found
that the bees have obtained all thefe advantages in the
hexagonal form of their cells: for, firft, there is an eco¬
nomy of w7ax, as the circumference of one cell makes
part of the circumferences of thofe contiguous to it;
fecondly, the economy of the fpot, as thofe cells which
join to one another leave no void between them ; and
thirdly, the greateft capacity or fpace ; as, of all the
figures w'hich can be contiguous, that wuth fix fides
gives the largeft area. This thriftinefs prompts them
to make the partitions of their cells thin; yet they are
conftru&ed fo as that the folidity may compenfate for
the fcantinefs of materials. The parts moft liable to
injury are the entrance of the cells. Thefe the bees
take care to ftrengthen, by adding quite round the cir¬
cumference of the apertures a fillet of wax, by which
means this mouth is three or four times thicker than
the fides : and they are ftrengthened at the bottom by
the pngle formed by the bottom of three cells falling
in the middle of an oppofite cell. The combs lie pa¬
rallel to each other ; and there is left between every
one of them a fpace which ferves as a ftreet, broad
enough for two bees to pafs by each other. There are
holes wTich go quite through the combs, and ferve as
lanes for the bees to pafs from one comb to another,
without being obliged to go a great way about. When
they begin their combs, they form at the top of the
hive a root or flay to the whole edifice, w-hich is to
hang from it. Though they generally lay the founda¬
tions of the combs fo that there lhall be no more be¬
tween them than what is fufficient for tw’o bees to pafs,
yet they fometimes place thofe beginnings of two combs
too far afunder ; and, in this cafe, in order to fill up
part of the void fpace arifing from that bad difpofition,
they carry their combs on obliquely, to make them
gradually approach each other. This void fpace is
fometimes fo confiderable, that the bees build in it an
intermediate comb, which they terminate as foon as
the original combs have only their due diftances. As
the combs w'ould be apt, when full, to overcome by
their weight all the fecurity which the bees can give
them againft falling, they who prepare hives fet in
them, crofswife, flicks, which ferve as props to the
combs, and faves the bees a great deal of labour. It is
not
BEE [ i'lJ ] BEE
. 12
Of their
building-
materials,
and provi-
fions.
2. Wax.
not eafy to difcover the particular manner of their
working; for, notwithflanding the many contrivances
ufed for this purpsfe, there are fuch numbers in conti¬
nual motion, and fucceed one another with fuch rapi¬
dity, that nothing but confufion appears to the fight.
Some of them, however, have been ebferved carrying
pieces of wax in their talons, and running to the places
where they are at work upon the combs. Thefe they
fallen to the work by means of the fame talons. Each
bee is employed but a very fliort time in this way: but
there is fo great a number of them that go on in a con-
ftant fucceifion, that the comb increafes very percepti¬
bly. Befides thefe, there are others that run about
beating the work with their wings and the hinder part
of their body, probably with a view to make it more
firm and folid.
Whillt part of the bees are occupied in forming the
cells, others are employed in perfeiling and polilhing
thofe that are new modelled. This operation is per¬
formed by theil talons, taking off every thing that is
rough and uneven. Thefe polifhers are not fo deful-
tory in their operations as thofe that make the cells ;
they work long and diligently, never intermitting their
labour, excepting to carry out of the cell the particles
of wax which they take off in polilhing. Thefe par¬
ticles are not allowed to be loll; others are ready to
receive them from the polilhers, and to employ them’
in fome other part of the work.
The balls which we fee attached to the legs of bees
returning to the hives are not wax, but a powder col-
le6led from the llamina of flowers, and yet brought to
the Hate of wax. The fubllance of thefe balls, heated
in any veffel, does not melt as wax would do, but be¬
comes dry, and hardens : it may even be reduced to a
coal. If thrown into water, it will fink; whereas wax
fwims. To reduce this crude fubllance into wax, it
mull firll be digelled in the body of the bee.
Every bee, when it leaves the hive to colle£l this
precious llore, enters into the cup of the flower, par¬
ticularly fuch as feem charged with the greatell quan¬
tity of this yellow farina. As the animal’s body is
covered over with hair, it rolls itfelf within the flower,
and quickly becomes quite covered with the dull, which
it foon after brulhes off with its twTo hind legs, and
kneads into two little balls. In the thighs of the hind¬
legs there are two cavities, edged with hair ; and into
thefe, as into a balket, the animal Hicks its pellets.
hus employed, the bee flits from flower to flower, in-
creafing its ftore, and adding to its Hock of wax, un¬
til the ball upon each thigh becomes as big as a grain
of pepper ; by this time having got a fuflicient load,
it returns, making the bell of its way to the hive.
After the bees have brought home this crude fub-
ffance, they eat it by degrees ; or at other times,
three or four bees come and eafe the loaded bee, by
eating each of them a lhare, the loaded bee giving them
a hint lo to do. Hunger is not the motive of their
thus eating the balls of waxy matter, efpecially when a
iwarm is firit hived ; but it is their defire to provide a
ipeedy fupply of real -wax for making the combs. At
other times, when there is no immediate want of wax,
the bees lay this matter up in repofitories, to keen it
in llore.
When this waxy matter is fwallowed, it is, by the
digeflive powers of the bee, converted into real wax, Bee.
which the bees again difgorge as they wmrk it up into u—v~~
combs; for it is only while thus foft and pliant from
the llomach that they can fabricate it properlv. That
the wax thus employed is taken from their llomachs,
appears from their making a confiderable quantity of
comb foon after they are hived, and even on any tree or
Ihrub wdiere they have relied but a Ihort while before
their being hived, though no balls w ere vifible on their
legs, excepting thofe of a few which may be juft re¬
turned from the field. This is farther confirmed by
wdiat happened in a Iw^arm newly hived: for tw'o days
together from the time of their quitting their former
home it rained conftantly, infomuch that not one bee
was able to ftir out during that time ; yet at the end
of the two days they had made a comb 15 or 16 inches
long, and thick in proportion.
The crude wax, wTen brought home by the bees, is
often of as different colours as are the flowers from
which it is collefled: but the new combs are always of
a white colour, which is afterwards changed only by the
impurities arifing from the fteam, &c. of the bees.
Bees colled crude wax alfo for food; for if this was
not the cafe, there wxmld be no W’ant of wax after the
combs are made : but they are obferved, even in old
hives* to return in great numbers loaded with fuch
matter, wrhich is depofited in particular cells, and is
knov.m by the name of bee-bread. We may guefs that
they confume a great deal of this fubftance in food by
the quantity colleded; which, by computation, may in
fome hives amount to an hundred weight in a fea-
fon, wdiilft the real w^ax in fuch an hive does not per¬
haps exceed twm pounds.
It is well known that the habitation of bees ought 2. TheVa*
to be very clofe ; and what their hives want from the/a/w.
negligence or unlkilfulnefs of man, thefe animals fup¬
ply by their own induftry : fo that it is their principal
care, when firft hived, to flop up all the crannies. For '
this purpofe they make ufe of a refinous gum, which
is more tenacious than wax, and differs greatly from it.
This the ancients called propolis. It will grow confider-
ably hard in the hive, though it will in fome meafure
foften by heat; and is often found different in confift-
ence, colour, and fmell. It has generally an agreeable
aromatic odour when it is warmed ; and by fome it is
confidered as a moft grateful perfume. When the bees
begin to work with it, it is foft; but it acquires a firm¬
er confiftence every day, till at length it affumes a
brown C' lour, and becomes much harder than wax.
The bees carry it on their hinder legs; and fome think
it is met with on the birch, the willow, and poplar.
Hovyever it is procured, it is certain that they plafter
the infide of their Hives with this compofition.
Honey is originally a juice digefted in plants, which 3.The-Jc
fweats through their pores, and chiefly in their flowers wj.
or is contained in refervoirs in which nature ftores it!
The bees fometimes penetrate into thefe ftores, and at
other times find the liquor exuded. This they colleft
in their ftomachs; fo that, when loaded with it, they
feem, to an inattentive eye, to come home without
any booty at all.
Befides the liquor already mentioned, which is ob¬
tained from the flow’ers of plants, another fubftance
called honey-dew *, has been difcovered, of which the
3 T 2
bees nty-de-j).
BEE [ 516 ] BE E
f See tlie
articles A-
fhis and
Monsy-deiu,
Bee. bees are equally fond. Of tliis fubftance there are two
kinds, both deriving their origin from vegetables,
though in very different ways.
The firft kind, the only one known to hulband-
men, and which pafles for a dew that falls on trees,
is no other than a mild fweet juice, which, having cir¬
culated through the veflels of vegetables, is feparated
in proper refervoirs in the flowers, or on the leaves,
where it is properly called the honey-dexv: fometimes
it is depofited in the pith, as in the fugar cane •, and,
at other times, in the juice of pulpy fummer fruit when
ripe. Such is the origin of the manna which is col-
ledffed on the affi and maple of Calabria and Briangon,
where it flows in great plenty from the leaves and
trunks of thefe trees, and thickens into the form in
which it is ufually feen.
The fecond kind of honey-dew, which is the chief
refource of bees after the fpring-flowers and dew by
tranfpiration on the leaves are paft, owes its origin to a
fmall mean inie6l j-, the excrement thrown out by which
makes apart of the moft delicate honey we ever tafte.
From whatever fource the bees have collefled their
honey, the inftant they return home, they feek cells in
which they may difgorge and depoiite their loads.
They have two fort of ftores : one which confifts of
honey laid up for the winter •, and the other of honey
intended for accidental ufe in cafe of bad weather, and
for fuch bees as do not go abroad in fearch of it. Their
method of fecuring each of thefe is different. They
have in each cell a thicker fubftance, which is placed
over the honey,' to prevent its running out of the cell •,
and that fubftance is raifed gradually as the cell is fill¬
ed, till the bees, finding that the cell cannot contain
any more, clofe it with a coveiing of wax, not to be
opened till times of want, or during the winter,
i- It has been already obferved, that the cells are in-
Oftfieman-tended for other purpofes befides being places of ftore
ner in which for honey. One of the chief ufes is, their being nur-
bees breed. fer]es for the young. The cells for thofe which are to
be working bees are commonly half an inch deep j
thofe for drones, three quarters of an inch and thofe
which are intended for keeping of honey only, ftill
deeper. This accounts for the inequalities obferved in
the furface of combs.1
The queen-bee is generally concealed in the moft fe-
cret part of the hive, and is never vifible but when (lie
lays her eggs in inch combs as are expofed to fight.
When ftie does appear, flie is always attended by ten or
a dozen of the common fort, who, form a kind of re¬
tinue, and follow her wherever Are goes with a fedate
and grave tread. Before ftie lays her eggs, {he exa¬
mines the cells where fhe defigns to lay them •, and if
ftie finds that they contain neither honey, wax, nor
any embryo, ftie introduces the pofterior part of her
body into a cell, and fixes to the bottom of it a fmall
white egg, which is compofed of a thin white mem¬
brane, full of a whitifii liquor. In this manner ftie
goes on, till ftie fills as many cells as ftie has eggs to
lay, which are generally many thoufands. Sometimes
more than one egg has been depofited in the fame cetlj
when this is the cafe, the working bees remove the fu-
pernumerary eggs, and leave only one in each cell.
On the firft or fecond day after the egg is lodged in
the cell, the drone bee injedls a finall quantity of whi-
tifti liquid, which, in about a day, is abforbed by the
egg. On the third or fourth day is produced a worm
or maggot j which, when it is grown fo as to touch
the oppofite angle, coils itfelf up in the ftiape of a fe-
micircle, and floats in a proper liquid, whereby it is
nouriflied and enlarged in is dimenfions. This liquor
is of a whitifti colour, of the thickneis of cream, and of
an infipid tafte like flour and water. Naturalifts are
not agreed as to the origin and qualities of this liquid.
Some have fuppofed, that it confifts of feme generative
matter, injedled by the working bees into each cell, in
order to give fecundity to the eggs : but the moft pro¬
bable opinion is, that it is the fame with what fome
writers have called the bee-bread; and that it is a
mixtury of water with the juices of plants and flowers
collected merely for the nutrition of the young, whilft
they are in their weak and helplefs ftate. W hatever
be the nature of this aliment, it is certain that the
common working bees are very induftrious in iupply-
ing the worms with a fuflicient quantity of it. The
worm is fed by the working bees for about eight days,
till one end touches the other in the form of a ring ; and
when it begins to feel itfelf uneafy in its firft pofture^
it ceafes to eat, and begins to unrol itfelf, thrufting
that end forward towards the mouth of the cell which
is to be the head. The attendant bees, ohferving thefe
fympto'ms of approaching transformation, defift from
their labours in carrying proper food, and employ
themfelves in faftening up the top of the cell with a lid
'of wax, formed in concentric circles, and by their na¬
tural heat in cherifhing the brood and haftening the
birth. In this concealed ftate the worm extends itfelf
at full length, and prepares a web of a fort of filk in
the manner of the filk-worm. This web forms a com¬
plete lining for the cell, and affords a convenient recep¬
tacle for the transformation of the worm into a nymph
or chryfalis. Some naturalifts fuppofe, that as each
cell is deftined to the fucceftive breeding of feveral
worms, the whole rveb, which is compofed of many
crufts or doubles, is in reality a colleffion of as many
webs as there have been worms. M. Maraldi appre¬
hends, that this lining is formed of the fkin of the
worms thrown off at its entrance into the nymph flate :
but it is urged, that if the cells are opened when newly
covered by the bees, the worm within will be found in
its own form, and detefled in the a£l of (pinning its
web ; and by means of glaffes it will be found com¬
pofed of fine threads regularly woven together, like
thofe of other fpinning animals. In the fpace of 1 8
or 20 days the whole procefs of transformation is fi~
niftied, and the bee endeavours to difeharge itielf from
confinement by forcing an aperture with its teeth
through the covering of the cell. The paffage is gra¬
dually dilated ; fo that one horn firft appears, then the
head, and afterwards the whole body. This is ufually
the work of three hours, and fbmetir *es of half a day.
The bee, after it has difengaged itfelf, Hands on the
furface of the comb, till it has acquired its natural com¬
plexion, and full maturity and ftrer.gth, fo as to be¬
come fit for labour. The reft of the bees gather round
it in this ftate, congratulate its birth, and offer it ho¬
ney out of their own mouths. The exuviae and fcat-
tered pieces of wax which are left in the cell are re¬
moved by the working bees •, and the matrix is no
fooner cleanfpd an\l fit for new fecundation, but the
queen depofites another egg in it; inforauch that, M»
Maraldi.
BEE •, [5
Maraldi fays, he has feen five bees plocluced in the
fame cell in the fpace of three months. The young
bees are eafily diitinguifhed from the others by their
colour ; they are gray, inftead of the yellowifh brown
of the common bees. The reafon of this is, that their
body is black, and the hairs that grow upon it are
white, from the mixture of which feen together refults
a gray j but this colour forms itfelf into a browniih
yellow by degrees, the rings of the body becoming
more brown and the hairs more yellow.
The eggs from which drones are to proceed, are, as
already obleived, laid in larger cells than thofe of the
working bees. The coverings of thefe cells, when the
drones are the nymph Hate, are convex or fwelling
outward, whilfl the cells of the working bees are flat.
This, with the privilege of leading idle effeminate lives,
and not working for the public flock, is what ditfin-
guifhes the drones.
The bees depart from their ulual ftyle of building
when they are to raife cells for bringing up inch maggots
as are deilined to become queens. Thefe are of a longiih
oblong form, having one end bigger than the other,
with their exterior furface full of little cavities. Wax,
which is employed with fo geometrical a thriftinefs in
the raifing of hexagonal cells, is expended wuth pro-
fufion in the cell which is to be the cradle of a royal
maggot. They fometimes fix it in the middle, and at
other times on one fide of a comb. Several common
cells are facrificed to ferve as a bafis and fupport to it.
It is placed almoff perpendicular to the common cells,
the larged end being uppettnoft. The low'er end is
open till the feafon for clofing it comes, or till the mag¬
got is ready for transformation. It w'ould be difficult
to conceive how a tender maggot can remain in a cell
turned bottom upmoft, if we did not find it buried in
a fubffance fcarcely fluid, and if it was not in itfelf, at
fird, fmall and light enough to be fufpended in this
clammy pade. As it grows it fills all the upper and
larger part of the cell. As foon as the young queen
comes out of her cell, that cell is dedroyed, and its
place is fupplied by common cells j but as the founda¬
tion of the royal cell is left, this part of the comb is
found thicker than any other. There are feveral fuch
cells prepared : for if there w as only one reared in
each hive, the fwarms might often wrant a conduffrefs.
Many accidents may alfo dedroy the little maggot be¬
fore it becomes a bee. It is therefore necefi'ary that a
number of fuch cells ffiould be provided ; and accor-
ingly there are obferved feveral young queens in the
beginning of the fumraer, more^han one of which often
takes flight when a fwarm departs.
A young queen is in a condition to lead a fw^arm
from a hive in which die was born in four or five Says
after fhe has appeared in it with wings. The bees of
a fvvarm are in a great hurry w’hen they know that
their queen is ready to lay. In this cafe, they give to
their new cells but part of the depth they are to have,
and defer the finiddng of them till they have traced
the number of cells requifite for the prefent time. The
cells fird made are intended only for working bees;
thefe being the mod neceffary.
Wh en the hive is become too much crowded by the
addition of the young brood, a part of the bees think
of finding rhemfelves a more commodious habitation,
and with that view fingle out the mod forward of the
17 ] BEE
young queens. A new fwarm is therefore condantly Bee.
compofed of one queen at lead, and of feveral thoufand
working bees, as well as of feme hundreds of drones.
The working bees are feme old, fome young.
Scarce has the colony arrived at its newr habitation,
when the working bees labour with the utmod dili¬
gence to procure materials for food and building.
Their principal aim is not only to have cells in which
they may depofite their honey : a dronger motive feems
to animate them. They feem to know7 that their queen
is in hade to lay her eggs. Their indudry is fuch, that
in 24 hours they w'ill have made combs 20 inches
long, and wide in proportion. They make more w'ax
during the fird fortnight, if the feafon is favourable,
than they do during all the red of the year. Other
bees are at the fame time bufy in dopping all the holts
and crevices they find in their new7 hive, in order to
guard againd the entrance of infedfs which covet their
honey, their wax, or themfelves ; and alfo to exclude
the cold air, for it is indifpenfably neceffary that they
be lodged w7arm.
When the bees firft fettle in fwarming, indeed when
they at any time red; themfelves, there is fomething
very particular in their method of taking their repofe.
It is done by collefting themfelves in a heap, and hang¬
ing to each other by their feet. They fometimes ex¬
tend thefe heaps to a confiderable length. It wmulcl
feem probable to us, that the bees from which the
others hang mud have a confiderable weight fufpended
fo them. All that can be faid is, that the bees mud
find this to be a fituation agreeable to themfelves. They
may perhaps have a method of didending themfelves-
with air, thereby to leffen their fpecific gravity ; in the.
fame manner as fidies do in order to alter their gravity
compared with wrater.
When a fwarm divides into two or more bands,;,
which fettle feparately, this divifion is a fure fign that
there are two or more queens among them. One of
theie cinders is generally larger than the other. The
bees of the fmaller cinder, or cinders, detach them-,
felves by little and little,, till at lad the w'hole, together
with the queen or queens, unite with the larged cinder.
As £bon as the bees are fettled, the fupernumerary
queen or queens mud be facrificed to the peace and
tranquillity of the hive. This execution generally
raifes a confiderable commotion in the hive ; and feve¬
ral other bees, as well as the queen or queens, lofe their
lives. Their bodies, may be obferved on the ground,
near the hive. The queen that is chofen is of a more
reddifh colour than thofe wffiich are dedroyed : fo that
fruitfulnefs feems to be a great motive of preference in
bees 5 for the nearer they are to the time of laying
their eggs, the bigger, larger, and more duning tue
their bodies. The method of hiving thefe fwarms will
be explained hereafter-
Befides the capital indin&s above-mentioned, bees OtherV-
are poffeffed of others, fome of which are equally ne- ftindb.
ceffary for their prefervation and happinefs.—They
anxioufly provide againd the entrance of infedts into
the hive, by gluing up with wax the fmalled holes in
the fkep.. Some dand as centinels at the mouth of the
hive, to prevent infefls of any kind from getting in.
But if a fnail, or other large infeft diould get in,
notwithdanding all refidancc, they ding it to death y
and then cover it over with a coat of propolis, to pre¬
vent;;
Bee.
18
Age ofbees,
BEE [51
vent the bad fmell or maggots which might proceed
from the putrefaction of fuch a large animal. Bees
feem to be warned of the appearance of bad weather
by fotne particular feeling. It fometimes happens,
even when they are very affiduous and bufy, that they
on a fudden ceafe from their work 5 not a fingle one
Itirs out 5 and thofe that are abroad hurry home in fuch
prodigious crowrds, that the doors of their habitations
are too fmall to admit them. On this occafion, lookup
to the Iky, and you wdll foon difcover foijne of thofe
black clouds which denote impending rain. Whether
they fee the clouds gathering for it, as fome imagine,
or whether (as is much more probable) they feel lome
other effefts of it upon their bodies, is not yet deter¬
mined $ but it is alleged, that no bee is ever caught
even in what wre call a fudden fhower, unlefs it have
been at a very great diflance from the hive, or have
been before injured by fome accident, or be fickly and
unable to fly fo fall as'the reft. Cold is a great enemy
to them. To defend themfelves againft its effeCfs du¬
ring a hard wdnter, they crow'd together in the middle
of the hive, and buzz about, and thereby excite a
warmth which is often perceptible by laying the hand
upon the glafs windows of the hive. I hey feem to
underftand one another by the motions of their wings:
When the queen wants to quit the hive, fhe gives a
little buzz ; and all the others immediately follow her
example, and retire along with her.
As to the age of bees, the large drones live but a
little while, being deftroyed without mercy by the
working bees, probably to fave honey, as already noticed.
But of the other fort lately difcovered, no larger than
the working bees, and not ealily to be diftinguifhed
from them, the age has not yet been afcertained. Wri¬
ters are not agreed as to the age of the working bees.
Some maintain that they are annual, and others fuppofe
that they live many years. Many of them, it is w’ell
known, die annually of hard labour ; and though they
may be preferved by fucceflion in hives or colonies for
feveral years, the moft accurate obfervers are of opinion
that their age is but a year, or at the longeft no more
than twm fummers.
_r  Concerning the fex and fecundation ofbees, various
concerning experiments have been made of late years, by wdiich
the fex and new light has been thrown upon the fubjeft, and feve-
oTbees!^1011 ral difficulties which embarraffed the procefs of gene¬
ration among thefe curious infe£Is feem to have been
removed.
SwTammerdam, and after him Maraldi, difcovered in
the ftru&ure of the drones fome refemblance to the
male organs of generation, as has already been defcribed,
and from thence concluded that they were the males :
but neither of thofe accurate and induftrious obfervers
could deteft them in the aft of copulation. Swammer¬
dam, therefore, entertained a notion, that the female
or queen-bee was fecundated without copulation j that
it was fufficient for her to be near the males *, mid that
her eggs were impregnated by a kind 01 vivifying aura,
exhaled from the body of the males, and abforbed by
the female. However, M. Reaumur thought that lie
had difcovered the aftual copulation of the drones with
the female-bee, and he has very minutely defcribed the
*Sarlut procefs of it. A very ingenious naturalift * of the
Genera of prefent day, without taking any notice of recent clii-
Infcfts, p. coveries, feems to have given into the fame idea.
£68. 1
8 ]
B E E
Bee,
. *9
Opinions
“ The office of the males or drones (fays he) is to
render the queen pregnant. One Angle female fhould
in the midft of feven or eight hundred males, one
would think, be inceffantly aflaiied. But nature has
provided againft that inconvenience, by making them
of a conftitution extremely frigid. The female
choofes out one that pleafes her •, fhe is obliged to
make the firft advances, and excite him to love by her
carefles. But this favour proves fatal to him : fcarce
has he ceafed from amorous dalliance, but he is leen
to periffi. The pleafure of thel’e obfervations may
be taken, by putting a female with feveral males into
a bottle.”
Others again, as M. Shirach and M. Hattorf, re-
jeft the drones as bearing no Ihare at all in the bufineis
of propagation, and afiert the queen-bee to be felf-
prolific. But for what purpofe then ftiould wife na¬
ture have furniihed the drones with that large quantity
of feminal liquor ? to what ufe fo large an apparatus of
fecundating organs fo well defcribed by Reaumur and
Maraldi ? "The faft is, that the above gentlemen have
founded their opinion upon obfervations that hives are
peopled at a time of the year when (as they fuppofe)
there are no drones in being. But we have already
noticed, that nature has provided drones of diffe¬
rent fizes for the purpofe of impregnation, adapted
to different times, occafions, and circumftances : And
the miftake of Meffrs Shirach and Hattorff feems to
have proceeded from their miffing the largc-fized
drones, and not being acquainted with or not adverting
to the other fort, fo hardly diftinguiihable from the
working bees.
Laftly, many of the ancients as well as moderns
have fuppofed that the eggs of the female bee are not
impregnated with the male fperm, wffiile in the body of
the creature, but that they are depofited unimpregna¬
ted in the cells 5 and that the male afterwards ejefts
the male fperm on them as they lie in the cells, in the
fame manner as the generation of fifties is fuppofed to
be performed by the males impregnating the fpawn af¬
ter it is caft out by the females. M. Maraldif long
fince conjeftured that this might be the cafe ; and he 171a.
was confirmed in his opinion, by obferving a liquid p.332.
whitiffi fubftance furrounding each egg at the bottom
of the cell a little while after it has been laid, and that
a great number of eggs, which are not encompaffed by
this liquor, remained barren in the cell.
This method of impregnation has been lately efta-
blifhed beyond all contradiftion by the obfcryations of
Mr Debraw of CambridgeJ. Having put fome bees} Phil.
into glafs-hives with a large number of drones, he °b-
ferved on the firft or fecond day (always before the i'7arI(>
thin)) from the time in which the eggs were placed ‘
in the cells, which the queen generally lays on the
fourth or fifth day after they are put into the hive,
that a great number ofbees faftened themielves to one
another, and formed a kind of curtain from the top to
the bottom of the hive, probably in order to conceal ^
the procefs of generation. Mr Debraw, howevef, Mr De-
could foon perceive feveral bees, whole fize he was not braw’s ex-
able to diftinguiflb, inferting the pofterior part °f their Puente
bodies each into a cell, and finking into it •, after a
little while they retired, and he could fee wdth the na¬
ked eye a fmall quantity of whitilh liquor left in the
anode of the bafe of each cell containing an egg ; this
0 liquor
BEE [ 5
liquor was lefs liquid than honey, and had no Tweet
' tafte.
In order to prove further that the eggs are fecun¬
dated by the males, and that their prefence is neceffary
at the time of breeding, Mr Debraw made the hallow¬
ing experiments. They confift in leaving in a hive the
queen, with only the common or working bees, without
any drones, to fee whether the eggs The laid would be
prolific. To this end, he took a fwarm, and fhook all
the bees into a tube of water, leaving them there till
they were quite fenfelefs ; by which means he could
dillinguilh the drones without any danger of being
Hung : Leaving thefe out, therefore, he reilored the
queen and working-bees to their former hate, by
fpreading them on a brown paper in the fun 5 after
this he replaced them in a glafs-hive, where they foon
began to work as ufual. The queen laid eggs, which,
to his great furprife, were impregnated ; for he ima¬
gined he had feparated all the drones or males, and
therefore omitted watching them', at the end of twen¬
ty days he found feveral of his eggs had, in the ufual
courfe of changes, produced bees, while fome had wi¬
thered away, and others were covered with honey.
Hence he inferred, that fome of the males had efcaped
his notice, and impregnated part of the eggs. To
convince himfelf of this, he took away all the brood
comb that was in the hive, in order to oblige the bees
to provide a frefh quantity, being determined to watch
narrowly their motions after new7 eggs fhould be laid
in the cells. On the fecond day after the eggs were
placed in the cells, he perceived the fame operation
that w7as mentioned before ; namely, that of the bees
hanging down in the form of a curtain, while others
thruft the poflerior part of their body into the cells. He
then introduced his hand into the hive, and broke off
a piece of the comb, in which there were two of thefe
infers : he found in neither of them any fling a (cir-
cumftance peculiar to the drones) : upon diffeftion,
with the afiiftance of a microfcope, he difcovered the
four cylindrical bodies which contain the glutinous li¬
quor, of a whitifh colour, as obferved by Maraldi in
the large drones. He was therefore now7 under a ne-
ceflity of repeating his experiments, in deftroying the
males, and even thofe which might be fufpedied to be
fuch.
He once more immerfed the fame bees in water j and
when they appeared in a fenfelefs hate, he gently prefs-
ed every one, in order to diftinguilh thofe armed with
flings from thofe which had none, and which of courfe
he fuppofed to be males : of thofe lalf he found fifty-
feven, and replaced the fwarm in a glafs hive, where
they immediately applied again to the wrork of making
cells •, and on the fourth or fifth day, very early in the
morning, he had the pleafure to fee the queen-bee de-
pofite her eggs in thofe cells : he continued watching
moft part of the enfuing days, but could difcover no¬
thing of what he had feen before.
The eggs after the fourth day, inflead of changing
in the manner of caterpillars, w7ere found in the fame
ftate they were the firft day, except that fome w7ere co¬
vered with honey. A lingular event happened the next
day about noon : all the bees left their owrn hive, and
attempted to get into a neighbouring hive, probably
in fearch of males •, but the queen was found dead, ha¬
ving been killed in the engagement.
19 ] BEE
To be further fatisfied, Mr Debraw took the brood- Be'c.
comb, which had not been impregnated, and divided 4‘ " J
it into two parts : one he placed under a glafs bell,
N° 1. with honey-comb for the bees food, taking care
to leave a queen, but no drones, among the bees con¬
fined in it : the other piece of brood-comb he placed
under another glafs bell, N° 2. with a few drones, a
queen, and a proportionable number of common bees.
The refult was, that in the glafs N° 1. there was no
impregnation, the eggs remained in the fame ftate they
w7ere in when put into the glafs} and on giving the
bees their liberty on the feventh day, they all flew
away, as w7as found to be the cafe in the former expe¬
riment 5 whereas in the glafs N° 2. the very day after
the bees had been put into it, the eggs were impreg¬
nated by the drones, the bees did not leave their hives
on receiving their liberty, the eggs at the ufual time
underw ent the neceffary transformations, and a nume¬
rous young colony was produced.
Naturalifts have obferved, that the queen bees are
produced in a manner peculiar to themfelves, and dif¬
ferent from the drones and wmrking bees. Some have
fuppofed, that the eggs laid by the queen in a hive,
and deftined for the produftion of queen bees, are of a
peculiar kind ; but though this is not the cafe, as
M. Shirach has lately difcovered, yet there are parti¬
cular cells appropriated for this purpofe. Thefe cells
are generally near the edges, and at the bottom of the
combs, and fometimes on the fides of a honey-comb :
they are of an oblong orbicular form, and very ftrongj
and are more or lefs numerous in different hives as oc-
calion feems to require. It has alfo been fuppofed,
that the matter with which they are nourilhed is of a
different kind and quality from that employed for the
nourilhment of the other bees 5 that which has been
colleiffed out of the royal cells being of a gummy glu¬
tinous nature, of a deep tranfparent red, and diffolving
in the fire rather than crumbling to powder.
It has been generally fuppoied, that the queen-bee
is the only female contained in the hive ; and that the
working bees are neutral, or of neither fex. But
M. Shirach * has lately eftablifned a different doc- Nat^de la
trine, which has been alfo confirmed by the later ob- ReiIIC jes
fervations of Mr Debraw f. According to M. Shi- Abeillatfc.
rach, all the working or common bees are females inf pm
difguife \ and the queen-bee lays only twro kinds of Tranf. vol.
eggs, viz. thofe which are to produce the drones, and^T-P^1**
thofe from which the working bees are to proceed ; 21
and from any one or more of thefe, one or more queens ^ ^c^."
may be produced ; fo that every worm of the latter or coveriet'1''"
common kind, which has been hatched about three
days, is capable, under certain circumftances, of be¬
coming the queen, or mother of a hive. In proof of
this dodlrine, new and lingular as it may feem, he al¬
leges a number of fatisfaftory and decilive experiments,
which have been fince verified by thofe of Mr Debraw.
In the early months of the fpring, and in any preceding
month, even fo late as November, he cut off from an old
hive a piece of that part of the comb which contains
the eggs of the working bees1; taking care, however,
that it contained likewife worms which had been hatch¬
ed about three days. He fixed this in an empty hive,
or box, together with a portion of honey-comb, &e.
or, in other words, with a fufficiency of food and build¬
ing material, or wax for the ufe of the intended co¬
lony.
BEE [ 520 j BEE
lony. He then put into, and confined within the fame
box, a fufhcient number of common working bees, ta¬
ken from the fame or any other hive. As foon as the
members of this fmall community found themfelves de-
prived of their liberty, and without a queen, a dread¬
ful uproar enfued, which continued generally, with
fome (hort intervals of filence, for the fpace of about
twenty-four hours j during which time it is to be fup-
pofed they were alternately meditating and holding
council on the future fupport of the new republic. On
the final cefifation of this tumult, the general and al-
mofl: conftant refult was, that they betook themfelves
to work 5 firft proceeding to the conftruftion of a roy¬
al cell, and then taking the proper meafures for hatch¬
ing and feeding the brood enclofed within them. Some¬
times even on the fecond day the foundations,of one or
more royal cells were to be perceived ; the view of
which furnifhed certain indications that they had elect¬
ed one of the enclofed worms to the fovereignty.
The operation has been hitherto conduced in the
houfe. This new colony may now be fafely trufted in
the garden, if the weather be warm, and have the li¬
berty allowed them of palling out of the box ; of which
they inftantly avail themfelves, and are feen in a Ihort
time almoft totally to deiert their new habitation. In
about two hours, however, they begin to re-enter it.
We fhould not neglefl to obferve, that if they fhould
be placed near the old hive, from which they were ta¬
ken, they will very often attempt to enter it, but are
as conftantly repulfed by their former companions and
brethren. It is prudent, therefore, to place them at
a diftance from the mother ftate, in order to avoid the
inconveniences of a civil war. The final refult of the
experiment is, that the colony of working bees thus
fhut up, with a morfel of common brood, not only
hatch it, but are found, at the end of eighteen or
twenty days, to have produced from thence one or twro
queens; which have apparently proceeded trom worms
of the common fort, pitched upon by them for that
purpofe; and which, under other circumftances, that
is, if they had remained in the old hive, there is rea-
-fon to fuppofe would have been changed into com¬
mon working bees. In the prefent inftance, the com¬
mon worm appears to be converted by them into a
queen-bee, merely becaufe the hive wras in want of one.
Hence we may juftly infer, that the kingdom of the
bees is not, if the expreflion may be ufed, '&jure divino
or hereditary monarchy, but an eleddive kingdom 5 in
which the choice of their future ruler is made by the
body of the people, while Ihe is yet in the cradle, or
in embryo 5 and who are determined by motives of
preference which will perhaps for ever elude the pene¬
tration of the molt fagacious naturalilts.
The conclufions drawn by M. Shirach, from expe¬
riments of the preceding kind, often repeated by him-
felf and others with the fame fuccefs, are, that all the
common or working bees were originally of the female
fex} but that when they have undergone their laft me-
tamorphofis, they are condemned to a Hate of perpe¬
tual virginity, and the organs of generation are oblite¬
rated ; merely becaufe they have not been lodged, fed,
and brought up in a particular manner, while they wTere
in the worm ftate. He fuppofes that the worm, de-
figned by the community to be a queen, or mother,
t/wes its metamorphofts into a queen, partly-to the ex¬
traordinary fize of its cell, and its peculiar pofition in
it ; hut principally to a certain appropriate nourilh- ^
merit found there, and carefully adminiftered to it by
the working bees while it was in the worm ftate *, by
which, and poffibly other means unknown, the deve-
lopement and extenlion of the germ of the female or¬
gans, previoufly exifting in the embryo, is eft'e&ed ;
and thofe difterences in its form and fize are produced,
which afterwards fo remarkably diftinguilh it from the
common working bees.
This difcovery is capable of being applied towards
forming artificial fwarms, or new colonies of bees, by
which means their number might be increafed, and
their produce in honey and wax proportionally aug¬
mented.
Explanation of Plate LXXXIX. Fig. 1. is the
queen bee. 2. It the drone. 3. Is the working bee.
4. Reprefents the bees hanging to each other by the feet,
which is the method of taking their repofe. 5. The
probofcis or trunk, which is one of the principal or¬
gans of the bees, wherewith they gather the honey
and take their nourilhment. 6. One of the hind-legs
of a working bee, loaded with wax. 7. A comb, in
which the working bees are bred. The cells are the
fmalleft of any. Two of them have the young bees en¬
clofed. A royal cell is fufpended on one fide. 8. A
comb in which the drones are bred, being larger than
the former j the young drones being included in feve-
ral of them j with two royal cells fufpended on the
fide. 9. A fimilar comb, in which the royal cell is
fixed in the middle of the comb $ and feveral common
cells are facrificed to ferve as a bafis and fupport to it.
In general, the royal cells are fufpended on the fide
of a comb, as in fig. 7, 8. To the fide of fig. 9.
two royal cells are begun, when they refemble pretty
much the cup in which an acorn lies. The other
royal cells have the young queens included in them.
Fig. 10. exhibits the iting and all its parts. The fting
is compofed of a ftieath or cafe, and two ftianks, united
to each other, and terminating in a fharp point, fo as
to look like a fingle part, b, The poifonous bag,
c, The tube that ferves to convey the poifon from its
bag to the thickeft part of the fling’s ftieath. dd. The
two ftianks of the fting, mutually conveying to each
other, e e, The ftieath of the fting. ff The thickeft
end of the ftieath, where the tube opens into it, by
which it receives the infe6l’s poifon. g, The extreme
point of the fting, formed by the two ftianks of that
organ, that are in this place clofely united, h h, The
beards with which the ftianks of the fting are armed
at their extremities. 2", The tube that ferves to fecrete
the poifon, which it difcharges into the poifon-bag*
k k, The two blind extremities of the faid tube. ////,
Two pair of cartilages, of different forms, which are
for the moft part of a deep black, and articulated a-
mong themfelves and with the fhanks of the fting.
mm, Two other cartilages lefs confpicuous than the
former, with one pair of which they are articulated.
Thefe two cartilages m m, are almoft entirely of a
membranaceous fubftance. nnnnnnnn. Eight places
in which the foregoing cartilages are articulated among
themfelves, and with the fhanks of the fting dd. 0000,
Four mufcles ferving to niove-the fting different ways,
by the afliftance of the fame cartilages, pp. Two
mufcles which draw the fhanks of the fting into its
. fheath.
5^1 ] BEE
of which the faid fubftance, viewed with the micro-
fcope, appears to confilt.
Eee.
BEE
Bfte. {heath, q q. Two appendages of the fling which are
‘•v-*— moved along with it, and feem to anfwer no other pur-
pofe but that of ornament.—Fig. il. The ovary.—•
Fig. I 2. Six eggs drawn after nature, and placed on
their ends : Thefe eggs are oblong, very (lender, but
fomewhat thicker on their upper parts.—big. 13. An
egg viewed with a microfcope : it refembles the (kin
of a filh, divetted of its fcales, but ftill retaining the
marks of their infertion.—Fig. 14. Worms of bees
of different fizes, drawn alter nature, tf, A worm
newly hatched, be de. Four worms that have received
more nouridiment, and are more grown, f I wo
worms ftill bigger than the former, having had more
time to make ufe of the nourishment provided for
them. They are here reprefented as they lie doubled
in their cells, h, A worm placed on its belly, fo as to
Ihow on its back a black line, inclining to a light blue
or gray. This line denotes the ftomach, which ap¬
pears in this place through the tranfparent parts that
lie over it. z, A wTorm lyitig on its back, and begin¬
ning to draw in the hinder part of its body, and move
its head.—Fig. 15. A full-grown wTorm, viewed with a
microfcope. a a, Its 14 annular incifions or divifions.
h, The head and eyes, &c. c c c, Ten breathing-
holes Fig. 16. The worm forming its web. <z zz, The
Tides of the cell that contain it. b, The bottom of
the cell, c, The entrance or door of the cell. The
worm is here reprefented as making its web in the pro-
pereft manner to ihut up this entrance.—Fig. 17. Worm
taken out of the web in which it had enclofed itfelf,
and juft ready to call its {kin.—Fig. 18. A cell con¬
taining the w’orm changed into a nymph, and per-
feflly lined with the faid worm’s wreb. Likewife the
faid web entire, with the nymph contained in it, as
they appear on opening the cell, a a, The fides of
the cell, lined with the worm’s web. b, The mouth
of the cell, perfe&ly clofed by the w’eb. c, The
bottom of the cell, d. The web entire, as it appears
on opening the cell, which it greatly refembles in form,
z-, The upper part of the w'eb, of a convex form. This
part (hows its filaments pretty diftinctly. /, The en¬
clofed nymph appearing through the tranfparent Tides
of the w^eb. g, The bottom of the web, anfwering
to that of the wax-cell.—Fig. 19. Worm changed to
a nymph, of its natural fize and form, yet fo as to ex¬
hibit its limbs, which are folded up in a moft wonder¬
ful manner.—Fig. 20. The nymph of the bee viewed
with the microfcope, difplaying in a diftinft manner
all the parts of the enclofed infedl, and the beautiful
manner in which they are laid up. tf, the head,
bloated with humours. bb. The eyes, projedling
confiderably. c c, The horns, or antennae, d, The
lip. e e. The teeth, or jaw-bones, ff. The firft
pair of joints belonging to the probofeis. h, The pro-
bofeis itfelf. z'z, The firft pair of legs, kk, Two
tranfparent ftiff little parts, lying againrt the low-
eft: joints of the firft pair of legs. 1 hefe little parts
are not to be found as they remain in the fkin it fheds
on quitting the nymph ftate. //, The fecond pair of
legs, mm, The wings, tin, The blade-bones. 00,
The laft pair of legs. />/>, The abdominal rings.
q, The hinder part of the body. The fting pro-
jeffs a little in this place, r, Two little parts accom¬
panying the fting. j, The anus.—Fig. 21. zz, A cell
full of bees bread, placed in layers, b, Little grains,
Vol. III. Part II.
II. Of the Management of Bees, and mqft approved In¬
ventions for faving their Lives while we take their
Honey and Wax.
1. Of the apiary, and Hives. Columella diredfs tlie aPi~
that the apiary face the fouth, and be fituated in a ^ ^
place neither too hot nor too much expofed to the
cold : that it be in a valley, in order that the loaded
bees may with the greater eafe defeendto their homes:
that it be near the manfion-houfe, on account of the
conveniency of watching them ; but fo fituated as not
to be expofed to noifome fmells, or to the din of men
or cattle : that it be furrounded with a wall, which
however fhould not rife above three feet high : that, if
poflible, a running ftream be near them ; or, if that
cannot be, that water be brought near them in troughs,
with pebbles or fmall ftones in the water, for the bees
to reft on while they drink ; or that the water be con¬
fined within gently declining banks, in order that the
bees may have fafe accefs to it ) they not being able to
produce either combs, honey, or food for their mag¬
gots, without water : that the neighbourhood of ri¬
vers or bafons of water with high banks be avoided,
becaufe winds may whirl the bees into them, and they
cannot eafily get on flrore from thence to dry them-
felves *, and that the garden in which the apiary ftands
be well furnifhed with fuch plants as afford the bees
plenty of good pafture. The trees in this garden
fhould be of the dwarf kind, and their heads bufhy, in
order that the fwarms which fettle on them may be the
more eafily hived.
The proprietor (hould be particularly attentive that
the bees have alfo in their neighbourhood fuch plants as
yield them plenty of food. Columella enumerates ma¬
ny of thefe fitted to a warm climate : among them he
mentions thyme, the oak, the pine, the fweet-fmelling
cedar, and all fruit-trees. Experience has taught us,
that furze, broom, muftard, clover, heath, &c. are
excellent for this purpofe. Pliny recommends broom,
in particular, as a plant exceedingly grateful and very
profitable to bees. ^
With regard to hives, thofe made of draw are gene- of hives,
rally preferred, on feveral accounts : they are not liable
to be over-heated by the rays of the fun ; they keep
out cold better than wood or atiy other materials 5 and
the cheapnefs renders the purchafe of them eafy. As
the ingenious Mr Wildman’s hives are reckoned to be
of a preferable conftruftion to any other, we (hall give
an account of them in his own words.
“ My hives (fays he) are feven inches in height
and ten in width. The fides are upright, fo that the
top and bottom are of the fame diameter. A hive holds
nearly a peck. In the upper row of ftraw there is a
hoop of about half an inch in breadth,; to which are
nailed five bars of deal, full a quarter of an inch in
thicknefs, and an inch and quarter wide, and half an
inch afunder from-one another ; a narrow ftiort bar is
nailed at each fide, half an inch diftant from the bars
next them, in order to fill up the remaining parts of
the circle ; fo that there are in all feven bars of deal,
to which the bees fix their combs. The fpace of half
an inch between the bars allows a fuffictent and eafy
3 U paffage
BEE [ 5
. Bec‘ paffage for the bees from one comb to another. In or-
v ^er t0 g^ve great fteadinefs to the combs, fo that, up.
on moving the hive, the combs may not fall off, or in¬
cline out of their dire&ion, a ftick fhould be run through
the middle of the hive, in a direction directly acrofs
the bars, or at right angles with them. When the
hives are made, a piece^ of wood Ihould be worked in¬
to the lower row of ftraw, long enough to allow a door
for the bees, of four inches in length, and half an inch
in height.
“ The proprietor of the bees fhould provide himfelf
with feveral flat covers of ftraw, worked of the fame
thicknefs as the hives, and a foot in diameter, that fo
it may be of the fame width as the outfide of the hives.
Before the cover is applied to the hive, a piece of clean
paper, of. the fize of the top of the hive, fhould be
laid over it ; and a coat of cow-dung, which is the leaft
apt to crack of any cement eafily to be obtained, fhould
be laid all round the circumference of the hive. Let
the cover be laid upon this, and made faft to the hive
with a packing-needle and pack-thread, fo that neither
cold nor vermin may enter.
u Each hive fhould ftand fingle on a piece of deal,
or other wood, fomewhat larger than the bottom of
the hive : That part of the ftand which is at the mouth
of the hive fhould projeft f'ome inches, for the bees to
reft on when they return from the field. This ftand
fhould be fupported upon a fingle poft, two and a half
feet high ; to which it fhould be fcrew^ed very fecurely,
that high winds, or other accidents, may not blow
down both ftand and hive. A quantity of foot mixed
with barley draft fhould be ftrewed on the ground round
the poft ; which will effeftuaily prevent ants, flugs, and
other vermin, from rifing up to the hive. The foot
and chaft fhould from time to time be renewed as it
Is blown or wafhed away \ though, as it is fheltered by
the ftand, it remains a confiderable time, efpecially if
care be taken that no weeds rife through it. Weeds,
indeed, fhould not be permitted to rife near the hive ;
for they may give ftielter to vermin which may be hurt¬
ful to the bees.
51 I he ftands for bees ftrould be four yards afunder;
or if the apiary will not admit of fo much, as far
afunder as may be, that the bees of one hive may not
interfere with thofe of another hive, as is fometimes the
cafe when the hives are near one another or on the
fame ftand •, for the bees, miftaking their own hives,
light fometimes at the wrong door, and a fray enfues,
in which one or more may lofe their lives.
Of the pro- “ The perfon who intends to ereft an apiary ftrould
per feafon purchafe a proper number of hives at the latter part of
fing3hives' tIlC year’ when they are cheaPeft- fhould
of bees. ^ combs, and well ftored with bees. The pur-
chafer fhould examine the combs, in order to know the
age of the hives. The combs of that feafon are white,
thofe of the former year are of a darkifh yellow ; and
where the combs are black, the hive ftrould be rejected,
becaufe old hives are moft liable to vermin ami other
accidents.
“ If the number of hives wanted were not purchafed
in the autumn, it will be neceflary to remedy this ne-
gleft after the feverity of the cold is paft in the fpring.
At this feafon, bees which are in good condition will
get into the fields early in the morning, return loaded,
eater boldly, and do not come out of the hive in bad
22 ] EKE
weather; for when they do, this indicates they are in Use-
great want of provifions. They are alert on the leaft
difturbance, and by the loudnefs of their humming we
judge of their ftrength. They preferve their hives free
from ail filth, and are ready to defend it againft every
enemy that approaches.
The iummer is an improper time for buying bees,
becaufe the heat of the weather foftens the wax, and
thereby renders the combs liable to break, if they are
not very well fecured. T. he honey, too, being then
thinner than at other times, is more apt to run out of
the cells 3 which is attended with a double dil'advan-
tage, namely, the lofs of the honey, and the daubing
of the bees, whereby many of them may be defiroyed.
A firft and ftrong Iwarm may indeed be purchafed 3 and,
if leave can be obtained, permitted to ftand in the fame
garden till the autumn 3 but, if leave is not obtained,
it may be carried away in the night after it has been
hived.
“ I fuppofe, that, in the flocks purchafed, the bees
are in hives of the old conftruftion. The only di¬
rection here neceffary is, that the firft fwarm from
thefe flocks ftrould be put into one of my hives ; and
that another of my hives ftrould in a few days be put
under the old flock, in order to prevent its fwarming
again.”
2. Of Hiving. Bees, as has been already obferved, of hi*fn
never Iwarm till the hive be too much crowded by the the fwanas.
young brood. They firft begin to fwarm in May, or
in the end of April, but earlier or later according to
the warmth of the feafon. They feldom fwarm before
ten in the morning, and feldom later than three in the
afternoon. We may know when they are about to
fwarm, by clufters of them banging on the outfide of
the hive, and by the drones appearing abroad more
than ufual : But the moft certain fign is, when the bees
refrain from'flying into the fields, though the feafon be
inviting. Juft before they take flight, there is an un¬
common filence in the hive 3 .after this, as foon as one
takes flight, they all follow. Before the fubfequent
fwarmings, there is a great noife in the hive, which is
fuppofed to be occafioned by a conteft whether the
young or the old queen ftiould go out. When the bees
of a fwarm fly too high, they are made to defcend
lower, by throwing handfuls of fand or duft among
them, which they probably miflake for rain. For the
fame purpofe, it is ufual to beat on a kettle or frying-
pan : This practice may have taken its rife from ob-
ferving that thunder or any great noife prompts luch
bees as are in the fields to return home.
As foon as the fwarm is fettled, the bees which com-
pofe it ftiould be got into a hive with all convenient
ipeed, to prevent their taking wing again. If they
fettle on a fmall branch of a tree, eafy to come at, it
may be cut off and laid upon a cloth ; the hive being
ready immediately to put over them. If the branch
cannot be conveniently cut, the bees may be fwept from
off it into a hive. Lodge but the queen into the hive,
and the reft will foon follow. If the bees muft be con-
fiderably difturbed in order to get them into a hive,
the moft advifable way is to let them remain in the
place where they have pitched till the evening, when
therp is lefs danger of their taking wing. If it be ob-
ferved that they ftill hover about the place they firft:
alighted upon, the branches there may be rubbed with
me,
BEE [ 523 ] BEE
Bee. rue, or alder-leaves, or any other thing diftafteful to
' them, to prevent their returning to it.
The hive employed on this occafton fliould be clean¬
ed with the utmoft care, and its infide be rubbed very
hard with a coarfe cloth, to get off the loofe draws, or
other impurities, which might coil them a great deal of
time and labour to gnaw away. It may then be rubbed
with fragrant herbs or flowers, the fmell of which is
agreeable to the bees} or with honey.
The hive fhould not be immediately fet on the ftool
where it is to remain j but fliould be kept near the place
at which the bees fettled, till the evening, left fome
ftragglers ihould be loft. It fliould be fliaded either with
boughs or with a cloth, that the too great heat of the
fun may not annoy the bees.
We fometimes fee a fwarm of bees, after having left
their hive, and even alighted upon a tree, return to
their firft abode. This never happens but when the
young queen did not come forth with them, for want
of ftrength, or perhaps courage to truft her wings for
the firft time ; or poflibly from a confcioufnefs of her
26 not being impregnated.
Of uniting When a fwarm is too few in number for a hive, an-
{wdims. other may be added. The ufual method of thus unit¬
ing fwarms is very eafy. Spread a cloth at night upon
the ground clofe to the hive in which the two cafts
or fwarms are to be united } lay a ftick acrofs this
cloth j then fetch the hive with the new fwarm, fet
it over the ftick, give a fmart ftroke on the top of the
hive, and all the bees will drop down upon the cloth
in a clufter. This done, throw afide the empty hive,
take the other from off the ftool, and fet this laft over
the bees, who will foon afcend into it, mix with thofe
already there, and become one and the fame family.
Others, inftead of ftriking the bees down upon the
cloth, place with its bottom upmoft the hive in which
the united fwarms are to live, and ftrike the bees of
the other hive down into it. The former of thefe hives
is then rertored to its natural fituation, and the bees of
both hives foon unite. If fome bees ftill adhere to the
other hive, they may be brufhed off on the cloth, and
they will foon join their brethren. Or one may take
the following method, which gives lefs*difturbance to
the bees. Set with its mouth upmoft the hive into
which the young fwarm has been put, and fet upon it
the other hive. The bees in the lower hive, finding
themfelves in an inverted fituation, will foon afcend in¬
to the ujrper.
Though all writers acknowledge, that one of the
queens is conftantly flain on thefe occafions, and gene¬
rally a confiderable number of the working bees ; yet
none of them, Columella excepted, has propofed the
eafy remedy of killing the queen of the latter caft or
fwarm before the union is made •, a means by which
the lives of the working bees may be preferved. This
may be done either by intoxicating them and then
picking her out, or by fearching her out when the
bees are beaten down upon the cloth j for this being
done in the night, to prevent the battle which might
otherwife enfue, there will be no great difficulty in
finding her.
A large fwarm may weigh eight pounds, and fo
gradually lefs, to one pound : confequently a very good
one may weigh five or fix pounds. All fuch as weigh
lefs than four pounds fliould be ftrengthened by uniting
to each of them a lefs numerous fwarm. The fize of the Bee.
hive fliould be proportioned to the number of the bees j U—“'N ~ »
and, as a general rule, it fliould be rather under than
over fized, becaufe bees require to be kept warmer than
a large hive will admit of. 27
In the Letters from an American Farmer, we have Fee-hunt,
the following entertaining account of the fwarming of ing m A
bees, their flight into the woods, and the method of riuri"‘1’
difeovering them there. A little experience renders it
eafy to predift the time of their fwarming : but the
“ difficult point is, when on the wing, to know whe¬
ther they want to go to the woods or not. If they
have previoufly pitched in fome hollow trees, it is
not the allurements of fait and water, of fennel, hic¬
kory leaves, &c. nor the fineft box, that can induce
them to flay. They will prefer thole rude, rough,
habitations, to the beft polilhed mahogany hive. When,
that is the cafe with mine, I feldom thwart their incli¬
nations. It is in freedom that they work. Were I
to confine them, they would dwindle away and quit
their labour. In fuch excurfions we only part for a
while. I am generally fure to find them again the foh
lowfing fall. This elopement of theirs oaly adds to my
recreations. I know' how to deceive even their fuper-
lative inftinft. Nor do I fear lofing them, though 18
miles from my houfe, and lodged in the moft loftv
trees in the moft impervious of our forefts. After I
have done fowing, by way of recreation I prepare for
a week’s jaunt in the woods, not to hunt either the
deer or the bears, as my neighbours do, but to catch
the more harmlefs bees. I cannot boaft that this chafe
is fo noble or fo famous among men : but I find it lefs
fatiguing, and full as profitable \ and the laft confide-
ration is the only one that moves me. I take with me
my dog, as a companion, for he is ufelefs as to this
game ; my gun, for no one ought to enter the woods
without one j my blanket, fome provifions, fome wax,
vermilion, honey, and a fmall pocket-compafs. With
thefe implements I proceed to fuch woods as are at a
confiderable diftance from any fettlements. I careful¬
ly examine wffiether- they abound wnth large trees j if
fo, I make a fmall fire, on fome flat ftones, in a con¬
venient place. On the fire I put fome wax : clofe by
this fire, on another rtone, I drop honey in diftineft
drops, wffiich I furround with fmall quantities of vermi¬
lion, laid on the ftone ; and then I retire carefully to
watch whether any bees appear. If there are any in
that neighbourhood, I reft affured that the fmell of the
burnt wax will unavoidably attraft them. They will
foon find out the honey, for they are fond of preying
on that which is not their own ; and in their approach,
they will neceffarily tinge themfelves with fome parti¬
cles of vermilion, which will adhere long to their bo¬
dies. I next fix my compafs, to find out their courfe ;
which they keep invariably ftraight, vffien they are re¬
turning home loaded. By the affiftance of my watch, I
obferve how long thofe are in returning vffiich are mark¬
ed with vermilion. Thus poflefled of the courfe, and,
in fome meafure, of the diftance, which I can eafily
guefs at, I follow the firft, and feldom fail of coming
to the tree where thofe republicans are lodged. I then
mark it •, and thus, with patience, I have found out
fometimes 11 fwarms in a feafon ; and it is inconceiv¬
able what a quantity of honey thefe trees will fome¬
times afford. It entirely depends on the fize of the
3 U z hollow,
\
BEE [ 524 J BEE
®ee< hollow, as the bees never reft or fwarm till it is reple-
v_ " niflied 5 for, like men, it is only the want of room
that induces them to quit the maternal hive. Next I
proceed to fome of the neareft fettlements, where I
procure proper affiftance to cut down the trees, get all
my prey fecured, and then return home with my
prize. The firft bees I ever procured were thus found
in the woods by mere accident •, for, at that time, I
had no kind of Ikill in this method of tracing them.
The body of the tree being perfectly found, they had
lodged themfelves in the hollow of one of its principal
limbs, which I carefully fawed off, and, with a good
deal of labour and induftry, brought it home, where I
fixed it up in the fame pofition in which I found it
growing. This w?as in April. I had five fwarms that
year, and they have been ever fince very profperous.
This bufinefs generally takes up a week of my time
every fall, and to me it is a week of folitary eafe and
relaxation.”
a8 3. Of fhifting the Abode of Bees. Great improve-
Shifting ments may certainly be made in the effential article of
iiAeaTch Providing plenty of pafture for bees, whenever this
of pa ft u re. ihbjedl (hall be more carefully attended to than it has
hitherto been. A rich corn country is W'ell knowm to
be a barren defert to them during the moft confider-
able part of the year ; and therefore the pradlice of
other nations, in fiiifting the places of abode of their
bees, well deferves our imitation.
Lib. ix. Columella informs us, that, as few places are fo hap-
c. 14. pily fituated as to afford the bees proper pafture both
in the beginning of the feafon and alfo in the autumn,
it was the advice of Celfus, that, after the vernal pa-
ftures are confumed, the bees fhould be tranfported to
places abounding with autumnal flowers •, as was prac-
tifed by conveying the bees from Achaia to Attica,
from Euboea and the Cydad iflands to Scyrus •, and al¬
fo in Sicily, where they were brought to Hybla from
other parts of the ifland.
Lib. xxi. We find by Pliny, that this w^as likewife the prac-
«-u. tice of Italy in his time. “ As foon,” fays he, “ as
the fpring-food for bees has failed in the valleys near
our towns, the hives of bees are put into boats, and
carried up againft the ftream of the river, in the night,
in fearch of better pafture. The bees go out in the
morning in queft of provifions, and return regularly to
their hives in the boats, with the ftores they have col-
le&ed. This method is continued, till the finking of
the boats to a certain depth in the water (hows that
the hives are fufficiently full ; and they are then car¬
ried back to their former homes, where their honey is
taken out of them.” And this is ftill the praftice of
the Italians wrho live near the banks of the Po, (the
river which Pliny inftanced particularly in the above-
quoted paffage).
W. ii. M. Maillet relates, in his curious Defcription of E-
js. 24. gypt, that, “ fpite of the ignorance and rufticity which
have got poffeflion of that country, there yet remain
in it feveral footfteps of the induftry and Ikill of the
ancient Egyptians. One of their moft admirable con¬
trivances is, their fending their bees annually into di-
ftant countries, in order to procure them fuftenance
there, at a time w'hen they could not find any at home \
and their afterwards bringing them back, like fhepherds
who fhould travel with their flock,, and make them feed
as they go. It was obierved by the ancient inhabi¬
tants of Lower Egypt, that all plants bloffomed, and Lee.
the fruits of the earth ripened, above fix weeks earlier L——v—"
in Upper Egypt than with them. They applied this
remark to their bees ; and the means then made ufe of
by them, to enable thefe uiefully induftrious iniedls to
reap advantage from the more forward ftate of nature
there, were exaftly the fame as are now praftifed, for
the like purpofe, in that country. About the end of
O&ober, all fuch inhabitants of Lower Egypt as
have hives of bees, embark them on the Nile, and
convey them up that river quite into Upper Egypt j
obferving to time it fo that they arrive there juft when
the inundation is withdrawn, the lands have been fown,
and the flowers begin to bud. The hives thus fent are
marked and numbered by their refpedive owners, and
placed pyramidically in boats prepared for the purpofe.
After they have remained fome days at their fartheft
ftation, and are fuppofed to have gathered all the wax
and honey they couid find in the fields within two or
three leagues around ; their condutlors convey them
in the fame boats two or three leagues lower down,
and there leave the laborious infeds fo long time as is
neceffary for them to colled all the riches ol this fpot.
Thus, the nearer they come to the place of their more
permanent abode, they find the produdions of the earth,
and the plants which afford them food, forward in pro¬
portion. In fine, about the beginning of February,
after having travelled through the whole length of
Egypt, gathering all the rich produce of the delight¬
ful banks of the Nile, they arrive at the mouth of that
river, towards the ocean ; from whence they fet out,
and from whence they are now returned to their feve-
ral homes : for care is taken to keep an exad regifter
of every diftrid from whence the hives were fent in
the beginning of the feafon, of their numbers, of the
names of the perfons who fent them, and likewife of
the mark or number of the boat in which they were
placed.”
In many parts of France, floating bee-houfes are
very common. They have on board one barge three-
fcore or a hundred bee-hives, well defended from the
inclemency of an accidental ftorm. W ith thefe the
owners fuffer themfelves to float gently down the river,
the bees continually choofing their flowery pafture a-
long the banks of the ftream ; and thus a fingle-ftoat-
ing bee-houfe yields the proprietor a confiderable in¬
come.
They have alfo a method of tranfporting their bees
by land, well worth our imitation in many parts of
this kingdom. Their firft care is, to examine thofe
hives, fome of whofe honey-combs might be broken or
feparated by the jolting of the vehicle 5 they are made
fail one to the other, and againft the fides of the hive,
by means of fmall flicks, which may be difpofed dif¬
ferently as occafion will point out. This being done,
every hive is fet upon a packing-cloth, or fomething
like it, the threads of which are very wide ; the fides
of this cloth are then turned up and laid on the outfide
of each hive, in which ftate they are tied together with
a piece of fmall pack-thread wound feveral times round
the hive. As many hives as a cart built for that pur¬
pofe will hold, are afterwards placed in this vehicle.
The hives are fet two and two, the whole length of
"the cart. Over thefe are placed others ; which make,
as it were, a fecond ftory or bed of hives. Thofe
which.
Bee.
<19
Manage¬
ment of
bees in
winter.
BEE [5
wKlch are flored with combs fhould always be turned
topfy-turvy. It is for the fake of their combs, and to
fix them the better, that they are difpofed in this man¬
ner j for fuch as have but a fmall quantity of combs in
them, are placed in their natural fituation. Care is
taken in this ftowage not to let one hive Hop up ano¬
ther, it being effentially neceffary for the bees to have
air 5^ and it is for this reafon they are xvrapped up in a
coarfe cloth, the threads' of which were wove very
wide, in order that the air may have a free palfage,
and leffen the heat which thefe infe&s raife in their
hives, efpecially when they move about very tpmultu-
ouily, as often happens in thefe carts. Thofe ufed for
this purpofe in Yevre, hold from 30 to 48 hives. As^
foon as all are thus flowed, the caravan fets out. ^ If
the feafon is fultry, they travel only in the night j but
a proper advantage is made of cool days. I hefe cara¬
vans do not go fall. The horfe's mull not be permitted
even to trot : they are led flowly, and through the
fmoothefl roads. When there are not combs in the
hives fufficient to fupport the bees during their jour¬
ney, the owner takes the earliefl opportunity of refling
them wherever they can collefl wax. The hives are
taken out of the cart, then fet upon the ground, and
after removing the cloth from over them, the bees go
forth in fearch of food. The firil field they come to
ferves them as an inn. In the evening, as foon as they
are all returned, the hives are fhut up; and being
placed again in the cart, they proceed on their jour¬
ney. When the caravan is arrived at the journey’s
end, the hives are diflributed in the gardens, or in the
fields adjacent to the houfes of different peafants, who,
for a very fmall rexvard, undertake to look after them.
Thus it is that, in fuch fpots as do not abound in floxv-
ers at all feafons, means are found to fupply the bees
with food during the whole year.
Thefe inflances of the great advantages which at¬
tend fhifting of bees in fearch 01 paflure, afford an ex¬
cellent leffon to many places in this kingdom : they
dire6t particularly the inhabitants of the rich vales,
where the harvefl for bees,ends early, to remove their
flocks to places which abound in heath, this plant con¬
tinuing in bloom during a confiderable part of autumn,
and yielding great plenty of food to bees. Thofe in
the neighbourhood of hills and mountains xvill fave the
bees a great deal of labour, by taking alfo the advan¬
tage of fhifting their places of abode.
4. Of feeding and defending Bees in Winter. Provi¬
dence has ordained, that infedls which feed on leaves,
flowers, and green fucculent plants, are in an infenfible
or torpid ftate from the time that the winter’s cold has
deprived them of the means of fubfiftence. 7 bus the
bees during the winter are in fo lethargic a ftate, that
little food fupports them : but as the weather is very
changeable, and every warm or funny day revives
them, and prompts them to return to exercife, food be¬
comes neceifary on thefe occafions.
Many hives of bees, which are thought to die of cold
in the xvinter, in truth die of famine ; xvhen a rainy
fummer has hindered the bees from laying in a fuffi¬
cient flore of provifions. The hives fliould therefore
be carefully examined in the autumn, and ffiould then
weigh at leaft 18 pounds.
Columella defcribes an annual diftemper xvhich fei-
ses bees in the fpring, when the fpurge bloffoms, and
25 ] BEE
the elm difclofes its feeds ; for that, being allured by Bee.
the firft flowers, they feed fo greedily upon them, that •'
they furfeit themfelves, and die of a loolenefs, it tney
are not fpeedily relieved.
The authors of the Maifon Rujhque impute this pur¬
ging to the bees feeding on pure honey, which does
not form a food fufficiently fubftantial for them, unlels
they have bee-bread to eat at the fame time ; and ad-
vife giving them a honey-comb taken from another
hive, the cells of xvhich are filled with crude wax or
bee-bread.
There is ftill, hoxvex’er, a xvant of experiments to af-
certain both the time and the manner in which bees
fliould be fed. The common practice is to feed them
in the, autumn, giving them as much honey as will
bring the whole weight of the hive to near 20 pounds.
To this end, the honey is diluted with water, and then
put into an empty comb, fplit reeds, or, as Columella
direfts, upon clean wool, which the bees xvill fuck
perfectly dry. But the dilution with water makes
the honey apt to be candied, and honey in that ftate
is prejudicial to bees.
The folloxving directions given in the Maifon Ru- Tom. I.
f ique feem to be very judicious. Replenifh the weak l1, 4-'j*
hives in September with fuch a portion of combs full
of honey taken from other hives as ffiall be judged to
be a fufficient fupply for them. In order to do this,
turn up the weak hive, after taking the precaution of
defending yourfelf with the fmoke of rags, cut out the
empty combs, and put the full ones in their place ;
where fecure them with pieces of wood run acrofs, in
fuch manner that they may not fall down when the
hive is returned to its place. I he bees will foon fix
them more effe&ually. If this method be thought too
troublefome, fet under the hive a plate of liquid ho¬
ney, unmixed with water, with ftraws laid acrofs it,
and over thefe a paper pierced full of holes, through
which the bees xvill fuck the honey xvithout daubing
themfelves. This fliould be done in cloudy or rainy
weather, when the bees ftir leaft abroad ; and the
hive ffiould be covered, to proteft the bees from rob¬
bers, who might be allured to it by the fmell of the
honey.
Another circumftance which may render it very ne-
ceffary to feed the bees is, when fe\reral days of bad
weather enfue immediately after they have fwarmed -,
for then, being deftitute of every fupply beyond what
they carried with them, they may be in great danger
of ftarving. In this cafe, honey ffiould be given them
in proportion to the duration of the bad weather.
The degree of cold which bees can endure has not
been afcertained. We find that they live in the cold
parts of Ruffia, and often in holloxv trees, without any
care being taken of them. Their hives are frequently
made of the bark of trees, xvhich does not afford them
much prote&ion from cold. Mr White, therefore, ju-
dicioufly obferves, that bees xxffiich ftand on the north
fide of a building whofe height intercepts the fun’s
beams all the xvinter, will wafte lefs of their provifions
(almoft by half) than others which ftand in the fun :
for coming feldom forth, they eat little ; and yet in
the fpring are as forward to work and fwarm as thofe
which had twice as much honey in the autumn before.
The owner ffiould, however, examine their rtate in the
xvinter j and if he finds, that, inftead of being cluftered
between .7
BEE
Bee.
between tbe combs, they fall down In numbers on the
ftool or bottom of the hive, the hive fhould be carried
to a warmer place, where they will foon recover. He
muft be cautious in returning them again to the cold,
left the honey be candied.
Where the winters are extremely fevere, the authors
of the Maifon Rujlique advife to lay on the bottom of
an old calk the depth of half a foot of very dry earth
powdered, and prefled down hard, and to fet on this the
flool with the hive ; then, to preferve a communication
with the air, which is abfolutely neceflary, to cut a hole
in the calk, oppofite to the mouth of the hive, and place
a piece of reed, or of alder made hollow, from the mouth
of the hive to the hole in the calk 5 and after this to
cover the hive with more of the fame dry earth. If
there be any room to fear that the bees will not have a
fufficiency of food, a plate with honey, covered as be¬
fore direfted, may be put under the hive. If the num¬
ber of hives be great, boxes may be made of deals nail¬
ed together, deep enough to contain the hives when
covered with dry earth. The bees will thus remain all
the winter free from any danger from cold, hunger, or
enemies.
Methods of 5' Qf ta^ing the Honey and Wax. In this country it
taking the is ufual, in feizing the ftores of thefe little animals, to
the wax!d .r°b them alfo of their !Ives- The common method
Common ’s> That tvhen thofe which are doomed for (laughter
method in have been marked out (which is generally done in
this conn- September), a hole is dug near the hive, and a (tick,
W' at the end of which is a rag that has been dipped
in melted brimftone, being (tuck in that hole, the
rag is fet on fire, the hive is immediately fet over it,
and the earth is inftantly thrown up all around, fo
that none of the fmoke can efcape. In a quarter of
an hour, all the bees are feemingly dead j and they will
foon after be irrecoverably fo, by being buried in the
earth that is returned back into the hole. By this laft
means it is that they are abfolutely killed j for it has
been found by experiment, that all the bees which have
been affefted only by the fume of the brimftone, reco¬
ver again, excepting fuch as have been finged or hurt
by the flame. Hence it is evident, that fume of
brimftone might be ufed for intoxicating the bees, with
fome few precautions. The heavieft and the lighteft
hives are alike treated in this manner : the former, be-
caufe they yield the mort profit, with an immediate re¬
turn ; and the latter, becaufe they wmiild not be able
to (ixrvive the winter. Thofe hives wfhich weigh from
15 to 20 pounds are thought to be the fitteft for
keeping.
More humane and judicious methods w^ere praftifed
♦Vide Co/K by the ancients * •, and the following Ample method is
WWib.ix. at this day pra&ifed in Greece, degenerate as it is.
'valrTdt Re “ Mount Hymethus is celebrated for the beft honey in
Jlufica, Greece. This mountain was not lefs famous in times
lib.iii.c-16.Paft ^or bees and admirable honey; the ancients belie-
31 ving that bees were firft bred here, and that all other
thod offha beCS WerC but colo™es from tllis m°untain ; which if fo,
riiw the ho-we affared cmrfelves that it muft be from this part of
ney with the mountain that the colonies were fent; both becaufe
the bees, the honey here made is the beft, and that'here they
See Wha never deftroy the bees. It is of a good confiftence, of
hr J Jour a fair gold-colour, and the fame quantity fweetens more
Xiruu water than the like quantity of any other doth. I no
p. 411!' {boner knew that they never deftroy or impair /the (lock
1
[ 5^6 ]
BEE
Bee.
Plate
XC.
of bees in taking avTay their honey, but I wTas inquifi-
tive to underftand their method of ordering the bees ;
which being an art fo worthy the knowledge of the cu¬
rious, I (hall not think it befide the purpofe, to relate
what I faw, and was informed of to that effed by fuch
as had (kill in that place.
“ The hives they keep their bees in are made of wil¬
lows or ofiers, faftiioned like our common duft-bafkets,
wide at top and narrow at the bottom, and plaftered
with clay or loam within and without. They are fet
as in fig. 1. with the wide end uppermoft. The tops
are covered with broad flat (licks, which are alfo pla¬
ftered over with clay ; and, to fecure them from the
weather, they cover them with a tuft of draw, as we
do. Along each of thefe flicks, the bees fallen their
combs ; fo that a comb may be taken out whole, with¬
out the lead bruifing, and with the greateft eafe ima¬
ginable. To increafe them in fpring-time, that is in
March or April, until the beginning of May, they di¬
vide them ; firft feparating the (licks on which the
combs and bees are faftened, from one another, with a
knife : fo, taking out the firft comb and bees together
on each fide, they put them into another baiket, in the
fame order as they were taken out, until they have
equally divided them. After this, when they are both
again accommodated with (ticks and plaftered, they fet
the new balket in the place of the old one, and the old
one in fome new place. And all this they do in the
middle of the day, at fuch time as the greateft part of
the bees are abroad ; who at their coming home, with¬
out much difficulty, by this means divide themfelves
equally. This device hinders them from (warming and
flying away. In Auguft, they take out their honey.
This they do in th« day-time alfo, while they are
abroad ; the bees being thereby, fay they, tfifturbed
lead : at which time they take out the combs laden
with honey, as before ; that is, beginning at each out-
fide, and fo taking away, until they have left only fuch
a quantity of combs, in the middle, as they judge will
be fufficient to maintain the bees in winter ; fweeping
thofe bees that are on the combs into the ba(ket again,
and then covering it with new flicks and plafter.”
The Greek method above related was introduced in¬
to France in 1754, as w-e are informed by M. de Reau¬
mur and Du Hamel, in the memoirs of the Royal A-
cademy for that year, p. 331.
Attempts have been made in our own country to
attain the defirable end of getting the honey and wax
without deftroying the bees; the moft approved of
W'hich we (hall now' relate as concifely as poffible.
Mr Thorley, in his Inquiry into the Nature, Order, Mr 'Koi.
and Government of Bees, thinks colonies preferable to ley’s obfer-
hives, for the following reafons : Firf, The more cer-vations)S4c*
tain prefervation of very many thoufands of thefe ufe-
ful creatures. Secondly, Their greater ftrength (which
confifts in numbers), and - confequently their greater
fafety from robbers. Thirdly, Their greater wealth,
arifing from the united labours of the greater number.
He tells us, that he has in fome fummers taken tw'o
boxes filled with hopey/rom one colony ; and yet fuf¬
ficient (lore has been left for their maintenance during
the winter; each box weighing 40 pounds. Add to
thefe advantages, the pleafure of viewing them, with
the greateft fafety, at all feafons, even in their bufieft
time of gathering, and their requiring a much lefs at¬
tendance
*
B E E
Bee. tendance in {vvarming time. The bees thus managed
are alfo more effe&ually fecured from wet and cold,
from mice and other vermin.
His boxes are made of deal, which, being fpongy,
fucks up the breath of the bees fooner than a more fo-
lid wood would do. Yellow dram-deal thoroughly fea-
foned is the beft.
A.n o&agon, being nearer to a fphere, is better than
a fquare form ; for as the bees, in winter, lie in a round
body near the centre of the hive, a due heat is then
conveyed to all the out-parts, and the honey is kept
from candying.
The dimenfions w’hich Mr Thorley, after many years
experience, recommends for the boxes, are xo inches
depth, and 12 or 14 inches breadth in the infide. He
has tried boxes containing a bulhel or more, but found
them not to anfwer the delign like thofe of a lelfer lize.
The larger are much longer in filling ; fo that it is later
ere you come to reap the fruits of the labour of the
bees: nor is the honey there fo good and fine, the ef¬
fluvia even of their own bodies tainting it.
The beft and pureft honey is that which is gathered
in the firft five or fix weeks : and in boxes of lefs di¬
menfions you may take, in a month or little more, pro¬
vided the feafon be favourable, a box full of the fineft
honey.
The top of the box fhould be made of an entire board
a full inch thick after it has been planed ; and it fhould
project on all Tides at leaft an inch beyond the dimen¬
fions of the box. In the middle of this top there muft
be a hole five inches fquare, for a communication be¬
tween the boxes; and this hole fhould be covered with
a Hiding (hutter, of deal or elm, running eafily in a
groove over the back window. The eight pannels,
nine inches deep, and three quarters of an inch thick
when planed, are to be let into the top fo far as to
keep them in their proper places ; to be fecured at the
corners with plates of brafs, and to be cramped with
wires at the bottom to keep them firm j for the heat
in fummer will try their ftrength. There fhould be a
glafs-window behind, fixed in a frame, with a thin
deal-cover, two fmall brafs hinges, and a button to
fallen it. l ifts window' will be fufficient for infpedling
the progrefs of the bees. Tv'o brafs handles, one on
each fide, are neceffary to lift up the box : thefe fftould
be fixed in with two thin plates of iron, near three in¬
ches long, fo as to turn up and down, and put three
inches below the top-board, which is nailed clofe down
with fprigs to the other parts of the box.
Thofe w'ho choofe a frame within, to which the bees
may fallen their combs, need only ufe a couple of deal
flicks of an inch fquare, placed acrofs the box, and
funported by two pins of brafs ; one an inch and half
below the top, and the other two inches below' it ;
by vhich means the combs will quickly find a reft.
One thing more, which perfefts the w'ork, is, a paf-
fage, four or five inches long, and lefs than half an inch
deep, for the bees to go in and out at the bottom of
35 the box.
Manage- j. In keeping bees in colonies, a houfe is neceffary,
bee. in Co '0r at a ’ without which the weather, efpe-
lonies, and heat of the fun, would foon rend the boxes
method ot to pieces.
taking their Your houfe may be made of any boards you pleafe,
and but deal is the beft. Of whatever fort the materials
BEE
-are, the houfe muft be painted, to fecure it from the Bee,
weather. '—--y-*
The length of this houfe, we will fuppofe for fix co¬
lonies, fhould be full 12 feet and a half, and each co¬
lony fhould Hand a foot diftance from the other. It
fhould be three feet and a half high, to admit four
boxes one upon another j but if only three boxes are
employed, twro feet eight inches will be fufficient. Its
breadth in the infide fhould be two feet. The four
corner-pofts ffiould be made of oak, and well fixed in
the ground, that no ftormy winds may overturn it; and
all the rails fhould be of oak, fupported by feveral up¬
rights of the fame, before and behind, that they may
not yield or fmk under 6, 7, or 800 weight, or upwards.
The floor of the houfe (about two feet from the
ground) ffiould be ftrong and fmoolb, that the loweft
box may ftand clofe to it.
This floor may be made with boards or planks of
deal the full length of the bee-houfe j or, which is pre¬
ferable, with a board or plank to each colony, of two
feet four inches long, and fixed down to the rails j and
that part which appears at the front of the houfe may
be cut into a femicircle, as a proper alighting place for
the bees. Plane it to a Hope, that the wet may fall off.
When this floor to a fingle colony wants to be repaired,
it may eafily be removed, and another be placed in its
room, without difturbing the other colonies, or touch¬
ing any other part of the floor.
Upon this floor, at equal diftances, all your colonies
muft be placed, againft a door or paffage cut in the
front of the houfe.
Only obferve farther, to prevent any falfe ftep, that
as the top-board of the box (being a full inch broader
than the other part) will not permit the two mouths
to come together, you muft cut a third in a piece of'
deal of a fufficient breadth, and place it between the
other two, fo clofe that not a bee may get that way
into the houfe. And fixing the laid piece of deal down
to the floor with two lath-nails, you will find after¬
wards to be of fervice, when you have occafion either
to raife a colony, or take a box of honey, and may
prove a means of preventing a great deal of trouble and
mifchief.
The houfe being in this forwardnefs, you may cover
it to your own mind, with boards, fine Hates, or tiles.
But contrive their pofiticn fo as to carry ©ff the wet,
and keep out the cold, rain, fnow, or whatever might
any way hurt and prejudice them.
The back-doors may be made of half-inch deal, two
of them to fhut clofe in a rabbit, cut in an upright pil¬
lar, which may be fo contrived as to take in and out,
by amortoife in the bottom rail, and a notch in the in¬
fide of the upper rail, and faftened with a ftrong hafp.
Place thefe pillars in the fpaces between the colonies.
Concluding your houfe made after this model, with¬
out front doors, a rveather- board will be very neceflary
to carry the water off from the places where the bees
fettle and reft.
Good painting will be a great prefervative. Forget-
not to paint the mouths of your colonies with different
colours, as red, white, blue, yellow, &c. in* form of a
half-moon, or fquare, that the bees may the better
know their own home. Such diverfity will be a direc¬
tion to them.
Thus your bees are kept warm in thfc coldeft winter 3
and
t 527 1
BEE [52
and in tlie hotted fummer greatly refreftied by the cool
air, the back-doors being fet open without any air¬
holes made in the box-es.
Dr Warden obferves, that in June, July, and Au-
guft, when the colonies come to be very full, and the
weather proves very hot, the appearance of a Ihower
drives the bees home in fuch crowds, that preding to
get in, they ftop the paffage fo dole, that thofe with¬
in are almoft fuffocated for want of air ; w-hich makes
thefe lad fo uneafy, that they are like mad things. In
this extremity, he has lifted the whole colony up a little
on one fide ; and by thus giving them air, has foon
quieted them. He has known them, he fays, come
pouring out, on fuch an occafion, in numbers fufficient
to have filled at once two or three quarts ; as if they
had been going to fwarm. To prevent this inconve¬
nience, he advifes cutting a hole two inches fquare in
about the middle of one of the hinder pannels of each
box. Over this hole, nail, in the infide of the box, a
piece of tin-plate punched full of holes fo fmall that a
bee cannot creep through them ; and have over it, On
the outfide, a very thin dider, made to run in grooves;
fo that, when it is thrud home, all may be clofe and
w^arm j and when it is opened, in very hot weather, the
air may pafs through the hole, and prevent the fuffo-
cating heat. Or holes may be bored in the pannels
themfelves, on fuch an emergency, in a colony already
fettled.
Such a thorough paflage for the air may be conve¬
nient in extreme heat, which is fometimes fo great as
to make the honey run out of the combs. The Me¬
moirs of the truly laudable Berne Society, for the year
1 764, give us a particular indance of this, wBen they
fay, that, in 1761, many in SwifTerland were obliged
to fmother their bees, when they faw the honey and
wax trickling down ; not knowing any other remedy
for the lodes they daily fudained. Some (haded thefe
hives from the fun, or covered them with cloths wet
feveral times a-day, and watered the ground all a-
round.
The bed time to plant the colonies is, either in
fpring with new" docks full of bees, or in fummer with
fwarms. If fwarms are ufed, procure, if poffible, twao
of the fame day : hive them either in tw'o boxes or in
a hive and a box : at night, place them in the bee-
houfe, one over the otherand with a knife and a lit¬
tle lime and hair dop clofe the mouth of the hive
or upper box, fo that not a bee may be able to go
in or out but at the front door. This done, you will
in a wTeek or ten days with pleafure fee the combs
appear in the boxes; but if it be a hive, nothing can
be feen till the bees have wrought down into the
box. Never plant a colony wfith a fingle fwarm, as
Mr Thorley fays he has fometimes done, but with lit¬
tle fuccefs.
When the fecond box, or the box under the hive,
appears full of bees and combs, it is time to raife your
colony. This (hould be done in the dulk of the even¬
ing, and in the following manner :
Place your empty box, vuth the Aiding {butter
drawn back, behind the houfe, near the colony that is
to be raifed, and at nearly the height of the fioor : then
lifting up the colony with what expedition you can,
let the empty box be put in the place where it is to
{land, and the colony upon it; and fhut up the mouth
3
8 ] BEE
of the then upper box with lime and hair, as before
directed.
When, by the help of the windows in the back of
the boxes, you find the middle box full of combs, and
a quantity of honey fealed up in it, the lowell box half
full of combs, and few bees in the uppermolt box, pro¬
ceed thus:
About five o’clock in the afternoon, drive clofe with
a mallet the Aiding Aiutter under the hive or box that
is to be taken from the colony. If the combs are newr,
the (butter may be forced home without a mallet) but
be fure it be clofe, that no bees may afcend into the
hive or box to be removed. After this (hut clofe the
doors of your houfe, and leave the bees thus cut o(f
from the reft of their companions for the fpace of half
an hour or more. In this fpace of time, having loft
their queen, they will fill themfelves with honey, and
be impatient to be fet at liberty.
If, in this interval, you examine the box or boxes
beneath, and obferve all to be quiet in them, you may
be confident that the queen is there, and in fafety.
Hereupon,raife the back part of the hive or box fo far,
by a piece of wood dipped under it, as to give the pri-
foners room to come out, and they will return to their
fellows : then lifting the box from off the colony, and
turning its bottom upmoft, cover it with a cloth all
night; and the next morning, when this cloth is remo¬
ved, the bees that have remained in it will return to the
colony. Thus you have a hive or box of honey, and
all your bees fafe.
If the bees do not all come out in this manner, Dr
Warder’s method may be followed, efpecially if it be
with a hive. It is to place the hive with the fmall end
downward in a pail, peck, or fiower-pot, fo as to make
it (land firm *, then to take an empty hive, and fet it
upon the former, and to draw a cloth tight round the
joining of the two hives, fo that none of the bees may
be able to get out : after this, to ftrike the full hive fo
fmartly as to difturb the bees that are in it, but with
fuch paufes between the ftrokes as to allow them time
to afcend into the empty hive, which muft be held fail
wTile this is doing, left it fall off by the {baking of
the other. When you perceive, by the noife of the
bees in the upper hive, that they are got into this laft,
carry it to a cloth fpread for this purpofe before the
colony, with one end faftened to the landing-place,
and knock them out upon it : they will foon crawl up
the cloth, and join their fellows, wdio will gladly receive
them.
Mr Thorley next gives an account of his narcotic,
and of the manner of ufing it.
The method which he has purfued with great fuc¬
cefs for many years, and w’hich he recommends to the
public as the mod effeftual for preferving bees in com¬
mon hives, is incorporation, or uniting two docks into
one, by the help of a peculiar fume or opiate, which
will put them entirely in your power for a time to di¬
vide and difpofe of at pleafure. But as that dominion
over them will be of (hort duration, you muft be expe¬
ditious in this bufinefs.
• The queen is immediately to be fearched for, and
killed. Hives which have fwarmed twice, and are con-
fequently reduced in their numbers, are the fitted to
be joined together, as this will greatly ftrengthen and
improve them. If a hive which you would take is
both
See.
BEE
Bee. both rich in honey and full of bees, it is but dividing
the bees into two parts, and putting them into two
boxes inftead of one. Examine whether the flock to
which you intend to join the bees of another have ho¬
ney enough in it to maintain the bees of both : it fhould
weigh full 20 pounds.
The narcotic, or ftupifying fume, is made with the
fungus maximus or pulverulentus, the large mufhroom,
commonly known by the name of bunt, puchfijl, or
frogcheefe. It is as big as a man’s head, or bigger :
when ripe, it is of a brown colour, turns to powder,
and is exceeding light. Put one of thefe pucks into a
large paper, prefs it therein to two-thirds or near half
the bulk of its former fize, and tie it up very clofe :
then put it into an oven fome time after the houfehold
bread has been drawn, and let it remain there all night \
when it is dry enough to hold fire it is fit for ufe. The
manner of ufmg it is thus :
Cut off a piece of the puck, as large as a hen’s egg,
and fix it in the end of a fmall flick flit for that pur-
pofe, and fliarpened at the other end ; which place fo
that the puck may hang near the middle of an empty
hive. This hive mufl be fet with the mouth upward,
in a pail or bucket which ffiould hold it fteady, near
the flock you intend to take. This done, fet fire to
the puck, and immediately place the flock of bees
over it, tying a cloth round the hives, that no fmoke
may come forth. In a minute’s time, or little more,
you will hear the bees fall like drops of hail into the
empty hive. You may then beat the top of the full
hive gently wfith your hand, to get out as many of them
as you can : after this, loofing the cloth, lift the hive
off to a table, knock it feveral times againft the table,
feveral more bees will tumble out, and perhaps the
queen among them. She often is one of the laft that
falls. If the is not there, fearch for her among the
main body in the empty hive, fpreading them for this
purpofe on a table.
You muft proceed in the fame manner with the other
hive, with the bees of which thefe are to be united.
One of the queens being fecured, you muft put the
bees of both hives together, mingle them thoroughly,
and drop them among the combs of the hive which
they are intended to inhabit. When they are all in,
cover it with a packing or other coarfe cloth which will
admit air, and let them remain (hut up all that night
and the next day. You will foon be fenfible that they
are awaked from this fleep.
The fecond night after their urtion,. in the dulk of
the evening, gently remove the cloth from off the mouth
of the hive (taking care of yourfelf), and the bees will
immediately fally forth with a great noife ; but being
too late, they will foon return : then inferting two
pieces of tobacco-pipes to let in air, keep them confined
for three or four days, after which the door may be left
open.
The beft time for uniting bees is, after their young
brood are all out, and before they begin to lodge in
the empty cells. As to the hour of the day, he ad-
vifes young''pra£Htioners to do it early in the afternoon,
in order that having the longer light, they may the
more eafily find out the queen. He never knew fuch
combined flocks conquered by robbers. They will ei¬
ther fwarm in the next futnmer, or yield a hive full of
honey.
You. III. Part II.
BEE
Mr N. Thornley fon of the above-mentioned clergy- Bee.
man, has added to the edition which he has given of his *r~~J
father’s book, a poftfcript, purporting, that perfons Qtafs hives
who choofe to keep bees in glals hives may, after un¬
covering the hole at the top of a flat-topped ftraw-hive,
or box, place the glafs over it fo clofe that no bee can
go in or out but at the bottom of the hive or box.
The glafs-hive muft be covered with an empty hive or
with a cloth, that too much light may not prevent the
bees from working. As foon as they have filled the
ftrarv-hive or box, they will begin to work up into the
glafs hive. He tells us,*that he himfelf has had one of
thefe glafs-hives filled by the bees in 30 days in a fine
feafon; and that it contained 38 pounds of fine honey.
When the glafs is completely filled, Aide a tin-plate
between it and the hive or box, fo as to cover the paf-
fage, and in half an hour the glafs may be taken off
with fafety. What few bees remain in it, will readily
go to their companions. He has added a glafs win¬
dow to his ftraw-hives, in order to fee what progrefs
bees make ; which is of fome importance, efpecially if
one hive is to be taken away whilft the feafon ftill con¬
tinues favourable for their collefting honey ; for when
the combs are filled with honey, the cells are fealed up,
and the bees forfake them, and refide moftly in the
hive in which their works are chiefly carried on. Ob-
ferving alfo that the bees were apt to extend their combs
through the paffage of communication in the upper hive,
whether glafs or other, which rendered it neceflary to
divide the comb when the upper hive was taken away,
he now puts in that paffage a wire fcreen or netting,
the melhes of which are large enough for a loaded bee
to go eafily through them. This prevents the joining
of the combs from one box to the other, and confe-
quently obviates the neceflity of cutting them, and of
fpilling fome of the honey, which running down among
a crowd of bees, ufed before to incommode them much,
it being difficult for them to clear their wfings of it. Plate XC.
Fig. 2. is a drawing of one of his colonies. 35
2. The reverend Mr White informs us, that his 1)665 m
fondnefs for thefe little animals foon put him upon en-'50*^’^^
deavouring if poffible to fave them from fire and taking t])ejr
fione; that he thought he had reafon to be content to honey and
fhare their labours for the prefent, and great reafon to wax.
rejoice if he could at any time preferve their lives, to
work for him another year j and that the main drift
of his obfervations and experiments has therefore been,
to difcover an eafy and cheap method, fuited to the
abilities of the common people, of taking away fo
much honey as can be fpared, without deftroying or
ftarving the bees; and by the fame means to encourage
feafonable fwarms.
In his diredlions how to make the bee-boxes of his
inventing, he tells us, fpeaking of the manner of con-
ftrutting a Angle one, that it may be made of deal or any
other well feafoned boards which are not apt to warp or
fplit. The boards fhould be near an inch thick ; the
figure of the box fquare, and its height and breadth
nine inches and five eighths, every way meafuring
within. With thefe dimenfions it will contain near a
peck and a half. The front part muft have a door
cut in the middle of the bottom edge, three inches
wide, and near half an inch in height, which wall give
free liberty to the bees to pafs through, yet not be large
enough for their enemy the moufe to enter. In the
3 X back
[ 529 1
/:
BEE
back part you muft cut a bole with a rabbit in it, in
wThich you are to fix a pane of the cleareft and bell
crown-glafs, about five inches in length and three in
breadth, and fallen it with putty ; let the .top of the
glafs be placed as high as the roof, withinfide, that you
may fee the upper part of the combs, where the bees
with their riches are moftly placed. You will by this
means be better able to judge of their Hate and ftrength,
than if your glafs was fixed in the middle. The glafs
mull be covered with a thin piece of board, by way of
{butter, w’hich may be made to hang by a firing, or turn
upon a nail, or Hide fidewife between two mouldings.
Such as are defirous of feeing more of the bees works,
may make the glafs as large as the box will admit
without weakening it too much ; or they may add a
pane of glafs on the top, which muft likewife be cover¬
ed wfith a Ihutter, faftened down with pegs, to prevent
accidents.
The fide of the box which is to be joined to another
box of the fame form and dimenfions, as it will not be
expofed to the internal air, may be made of a piece of
flit deal not half an inch thick. This he calls l\\ejide
of communication, becaufe it is not to be wholly enclo-
fed : a fpace is to be left at the bottom the whole
breadth of the box, and a little more than an inch in
height •, and a hole or paffage is to be made at top,
three inches long, and more than half an inch wide.
Through thefe the bees are to have a communication
from one box to the other. The lower communication
being on the floor, our labourers, wfith their burdens,
may readily and eafily afeend into either of the boxes.
The upper communication is only intended as a paflage
between the boxes, refembling the little holes or nar¬
row paffes which may be obferved in the combs form¬
ed by our fagacious architefls, to fave time and ftiorten
the way w'hen they have occafion to pafs from one comb
to another j juft as in populous cities, there are narrow
lanes and alleys pafling tranfverfely from one large
ftreet to another.
In the next place you are to provide a loofe board,
half an inch thick, and large enough to cover the fide
where you have made the communications. You are
likewife to have in readineis feveral little iron ftaples,
an inch and half long, with the two points or end
bended down more than half an inch. The ufe of thefe
will be feen prefently.
You have nowr only to fix two flicks crofting the box
from fide to fide, and crofting each other, to be a flay
to the combs j one about three inches from the bot¬
tom, the other the fame diftance from the top ; and
when you have painted the whole, to make it more du¬
rable, your box is finilhed.
The judicious bee-mafter will here obferve, that the
form of the box now deferibed is as plain as poflible
for it to be. It is little more than five fquare pieces of
board nailed together j fo that a poor cottager who has
but ingenuity enough to faw a board into the given
dimenfions, and to drive a nail, may make his own
boxes well enough, without the help or expence of a
carpenter.
No dire£lions are neceftary for making the other
box, which muft be of the fame form and dimenfions.
The two boxes differ from each other only in this, that
the fide of communication of the one muft be on your
right hand j of the other on your left. Fig. 3. repre-
BEE
fents two of thefe boxes, with their openings of com- Bee.
munication, ready to join to each other.
Mr White’s manner of hiving a fwaim into one or
both of thefe boxes is thus :
You are to take the loofe board, and fallen it to one
of the boxes, fo as to flop the communications. This
may be done by three of the ftaples before mentioned j
one on the top of the box near the front j the two
others on the back, near the top and near the bottom.
Let one end of the ftaple be thruft into a gimlet-hole
made in the box, fo that the other end may go as tight
as can be over the loofe board, to keep it from flipping
wTen it is handled. The next morning after the bees
have been hived in this box, the other box fhould be
added, and the loofe board fhould be taken away.
This wfill prevent a great deal of labour to the bees,
and fome to the proprietor.
Be careful to faften the fhutter fo clofe to the glafs
that no light may enter through it j for the bees feem
to look upon fuch light as a hole or breach in their
houfe, and on that account may not fo well like their
new' habitation. But the principal thing to be obfer¬
ved at this time is, to cover the box as foon as the bees
are hived wfith a linen cloth thrown clofely over it, or
wfith green boughs to proteft it from the piercing heat
of the fun. Boxes will admit the heat much fboner
than ftraw-hives 5 and if the bees find their houfe too
hot for them, they will be wife enough to leave it. If
the fwarm be larger than ufual, inftead of faftening the
loofe board to one box, you may join two boxes toge¬
ther wfith three ftaples, leaving the communication open
from one to the other, and then hive your bees into
both. In all other refpefts, they are to be hived in
boxes after the fame manner as in common hives.
The door of the fecond box fhould be carefully flop¬
ped up, and be kept conftantly clofed, in order that the
bees may not have an entrance but through the firft box.
When the boxes are fet in the places w here they are
to remain, they muft be fereened from the fummer’s
fun, becaufe the wood will otherwife be heated to a
greater degree than either the bees or their works can
bear 5 and they fhould likewfife be fereened from the
winter’s fun, becaufe the warmth of this will draw the
bees from that lethargic ftate which is natural to them,
as w’ell as many other infebls, in the winter feafon. For
this purpofe, and alfo to fhelter the boxes from rain,
our ingenious clergyman has contrived the following
frame.
Fig. 4. reprefents the front of a frame for twelve co¬
lonies, a,a, are two cells of oak lying flat on the ground,
more than four feet long. In thefe cells are fixed four
oaken polls, about the thicknefs of fuch are as ufed for
drying linen. The two polls b, b, in the front, are
about fix feet two inches above the cells : the other
two, Handing backward, five feet eight inches. You
are next to nail fome boards of flit deal horizontally
from one of the fore-pofts to the other, to fereen the
bees from the fun. Let thefe boards be feven feet fe-
ven inches in length, and nailed to the infide of the
pofts j and be well feafoned that they may not fhrink
or gape in the joints, c, c, Are two fplints of deal, to
keep the boards even, and ftrengthen them.
Fig. 5. reprefents the back of the frame. d,d, d, </,
are four ftrong boards of the fame length with the
frame on which you are to place the boxes. Let tho'
■uppe-s.
[ 53° 1
BEE [53
'Be.It. upper Me of them be very fmooth and even, that the
—y——' boxes may ftand true upon them : or it may be itill
more advifable, to place under every pair of boxes a
fmooth thin board, as long as the boxes, and about a
quarter of an inch wider. The bees will foon fallen
the boxes to this board in fuch a manner that you may
move or weigh the boxes and board together, without
breaking the wax or refin, which for many reafons
ought to be avoided. Thefe floors mull be fupported
by pieces of wood or bearers, which are nailed from
poll to poll at each end. d hey are likewife to be well
nailed to the frame, to keep them from finking with
the weight of the boxes. JrReprefents the roof, which
projects backward about feven or eight inches beyond
the boxes, to flicker them from rain. You have now
only to cut niches or holes in the frame, over againrt
each mouth or entrance into the boxes, at A, h, h, in
fig. 4. Let thefe niches be near four inches long; and
under each you mull; nail a fmall piece of wrood for the
bees to alight upon. The morning or evening fun will
ihine upon one or both ends of the frame, let its aipeft
be what it will: but you may prevent its over-heating
the boxes, by a loofe board let up between the polls,
and kept in by two or three pegs.
The fame gentleman, with great humanity, obferves,
that no true lover of bees ever lighted the fatal match
without much concern : and that it is evidently more
to our advantage, to fpare the lives of our bees, and be
content with part of their llores, than to kill and take
poffeflion of the whole.
About the latter end of Auguft; fays he, by a little
infpeftion through your glaffes, you may eafily difco-
ver which of your colonies you may lay under contri¬
bution. Such as have filled a box and a half with
their works, will pretty readily yield you the half box.
But you are not to depend upon the quantity of combs
without examining how they are itored with honey.
The bees Ihould, according to him, have eight or nine
pounds left them, by w ay of wages for their fummer’s
works.
The moll proper time for this bufinefs is the middle
ef the day •, and as you ftand behind the frame, you
will need no armour, except a pair of gloves. 1 he
operation itlelf is very fimple, and eafily performed,
thus : Open the mouth of the box you intend to take 5
then with a thin knife cut through the refin with
which the bees have joined the boxes t® each other, till
- you find that you have feparated them; and after this,
thrufl a iheet of tin gently in between the boxes. The
communication being hereby flopped, the bees in the
fulled box, where it is moft likely the queen is, wall be
a little difturbed at the operation ; but thofe in the
other box where wTe fuppole the queen is not, will run
to and fro in the utmoft hurry and confufion, and
fend forth a mournful cry, eafily diftinguifhed from
their other notes. They will iffue out at the newly
opened door 5 not in a body as when they fwarm, nor
with fuch calm and cheerful activity as when they go
forth to their labours but by one or two at a time,
with a wild flutter and vifible rage and diforder. This,
however, is foon over : for as loon as they get abroad
and fpy their fellows, they fly to them inftantly and
loin them at the mouth of the other box. By this
means, in an hour or two, for they go out flowly, you
will have a box of pure honey, without leaving a bee
]
BEE
in it to moled: you ; and likewife without dead bees, ^
wThich, when you burn them, are often mixed with ^
your honey, and both wafte and damage it.
Mr White acknowledges, that he has fometime*
found this method fail, when the mouth of the box to
be taken away has not been conftantly and carefully
clofed : the bees will in this cafe get acquainted with’
it as an entrance j and when you open the mouth in
order to their leaving this box, many of them will be
apt to return, and the communication being flopped,
will in a fhort time carry aw7ay all the honey from this
to the other box; fo much do they abhor a feparation.
When this happens, he has recourfe to the following
expedient, which he thinks infallible. He takes a
piece of deal, a little larger than will cover the mouth
of the box, and cuts in it a fquare niche fomewhat more
than half an inch wide. In this niche he hangs a little
trap-door, made of a thin piece of tin, turning upon a
pin, with another pin crofling the niche a little lower,
fo as to prevent the hanging door from opening both
ways. This being placed clofe to the mouth, the bees
which want to get out will eafily thruft open the door-
outwards, but cannot open it the other way to get in.
again ; fo muft, and will readily, make to the other
box, leaving this in about the fpace of two hours, with
all its ftore, juftly due to the tender hearted bee-mafter
as a ranfom for their lives.
What led Mr White to prefer collateral boxes to
thofe before in ufe, was, to ufe his own words, his
“ compaflion for the poor bees, who, after traverfing
the fields, return home weary and heavy laden, and
muft perhaps depofite their burden up two pair of ftairs,
or in the garret. The lower room, it is likely, is not
yet furnifhed with ftairs : for, as is well known, our
little architects lay the foundation of their ftruftures
at the top, and build downward. In this cafe, the
weary little labourer is to drag her load up the fides
of the walls: and when ftie has done this, fhe will tra¬
vel many times backward and forward, as I have fre¬
quently feen, along the roof, before fhe .finds the door
or paffage into the fecond ftory; and here again fhe is
perplexed with a like puzzling labyrinth, before fhe
gets into the third. W'hat a wafte is here of that pre¬
cious time w-hich our bees value fo much, and which
they employ fo well! and what an expence of ftrength
and fpirits, on which their fupport and fuftenance de¬
pend ! In the collateral boxes, the rooms are all on
the ground floor ; and becaufe I know my bees are
wife enough to value convenience more than ftate, I
have made them of fuch a moderate, though decent,
height, that the bees have much lefs way to climb to
the top of them than they have to the crown of a com¬
mon hive.” 35 .
Mr Wildman’s hives have been already deferibed t})e ma-
(N° 23, 24). A good fwarm ■will foon fill one of thefe
hives, and therefore another hive may be put under it wi/d-
the next morning. The larger fpace allowed the beesman’shives.
will excite their induftry in filling them with combs.
The queen will lay fome eggs in the upper hive ; but
fo foon as the lower hive is filled with combs, fhe will
lay moft of them in it. In little more than three weeks,
all the eggs laid in the upper hive will be turned into
bees; and if the feafon is favourable, their cells will be
foon filled with honey.
As foon as they want room, a third hive fhould be
3X2. ' placed
%
Bee.
mves;
SEE [ 532 ]
placed under the two former 5 and in a few days after the winter,
the end of three weeks^from the time the fwarm was
put into the hive, the top hive may be taken away at
noon of a fair day; and if/any bees remain in it, carry
it to a little diftance from the Hand, and turning its
bottom up, and linking it on the Tides, the bees will be
alarmed, take wing, and join their companions in the
lecond and third hives. If it is found that the bees are
very unwilling to quit it, it is probable that the queen
remains among them. In this cafe, the bees mull be
treated in the manner that (hall be dire&ed when we
delcrihe Mr Wildman’s method of taking the honey
and the wax. The upper hive now taken away fliould
be put in a cool place, in which no vermin, mice, &c.
can come at the combs, or other damage can happen
to them, and be thus preferved in referve.
When the hives feem to be again crowded, and the
upper hive is well ilored or filled with honey, a fourth
hive fhould be placed under the third, and the upper
hive be taken off the next fair day at noon, and treated
as already dire£ted. As the honey made during the
fummer is the bell, and as it is needlefs to keep many
full hives in llore, the honey may be taken out of the
combs of this fecond hive for ufe.
If the feafon is very favourable, the bees may Hill fill
a third hive. In this cafe, a fifth hive mull be put under
the fourth, and the third taken away as before. The
bees will then fill the fourth for their winter llore.
As the honey of the firll hive is better than the ho¬
ney colle&ed fo late as that in the third, the honey may
be taken out of the combs of the firll, and the third
may be preferved with the fame care as dire&ed for
that.
In the month of September, the top hive fhould be
examined : if full, it will be a fufficient provifion for
the winter; but if light, that is, not containing 20
pounds of honey, the more the better, then, in the
month of Oftober, the fifth hive Ihould be taken away,
and the hive kept in referve Ihould be put upon the re¬
maining one, to fupply the bees with abundant provi-
fions for the winter. Nor need the owner grudge them
this ample llore ; for they are faithful llewards, and
wi*t be proportionally richer and more forward in the
fpring and fummer, when he wall reap an abundant pro¬
fit. The fifth hive which was taken away Ihould be
carefully preferved during the winter, that it may be
rellored to the fame Hock of bees, rvhen an additional
hive is wanted next fummer ; or the firll fwarm that
comes off may be put into it. The combs in it, if kept
free from filth and vermin, wall fave much labour, and
they will at once go to the collefting of honey.
It is almolt needlefs to obferve, that when the hives
are changed, a cover, as-already direfted (fee N° 23.)
fhould be put upon every upper hive; and that when a
lowrer hive becomes an upper hive, the door of it fhould
be Ihut up, that fo their only paffage out lhall be by
the lower hive ; for otherwife the queen w-ould be apt
to lay eggs in both indifcriminately. The whole of the
above detail of the management of one hive may be ex¬
tended to any number ; it may be proper to keep a re-
giller to each fet ; becaufe, in relloring hives to the
bees, they may be better pleafed at receiving their own
labours than that of other (locks.
If in the autumn the owner has fome weak hives,
which have neither provifion nor number fufficient for
BEE
it is advifable to join the bees to richer
Bee.
37
lor tne greater number of bees will be a mutual1
advantage to one another during the winter, and ac-
ce.eiate their labours much in the fpring. For this pur-
pole, carry a poor and a richer hive into a room a little
before night: then force the bees out of both hives in¬
to two feparate empty hives, in a manner that lhall be
hereafter diredled: lhake upon a cloth the bees out of
the hive which contains the fewell; fearch for the
queen; and as foon as you have fecured her with a fuf¬
ficient retinue, bring the other hive which contains the
greater number, and place it on the cloth on which the
other bees are, with a fupport under one fide, and with
a fpoon Ihovel the bees under it. They will loon afcend •
and, while under this impreffion of fear, will unite
peaceably with the other bees; whereas, had they been
added to the bees of the richer hive, while in poffeffion
of their callle, many of the new-comers mull have paid
with their lives for their intrufion.
It appears from the account of the management of
bees in Mr Wildman’s hives, that there is very little
art wanting to caufe the bees to quit the hives which
are taken away, unlel's a queen happens by chance to
be among them. In that cafe, the fame means may be
ufed as are neceffary when we would rob one of the
common hives t»f part of their wealth. The method is
as follows:
Remove the hive from which you would take the His method
wax and honey into a room, into which admit buto:f tak>ng
little light, that it may at firll appear to the bees asth® hone)r
if it was late in the evening. Gently invert the hive, and
placing it between the frames of a chair or other Heady
fupport, and cover it with an empty hive, keeping that
fide of the empty hive raifed a little, which is next the
window, to give the bees fufficient light to get up in¬
to it. While you hold the empty hive, fleadily ffip-
ported on the edge of the full hive, between your fide
and your left arm, keep llriking with the other hand
all round the full hive from top to bottom, in the man¬
ner of beating a drum, fo that the bees may be fright¬
ened by the continued noife from all quarters; and
they will in confequence mount out of the full hive in¬
to the empty one. Repeat the llrokes rather quick
than llrong round the hive, till all tl*e bees are got out
of it, which in general will be in about five minutes. It
is to be, obferved, that the fuller the hive is of bees, the
fooner they will have left it. As foon as a number of
them have got into the empty hive, it Ihould be railed
a little from the full one, that the bees may not conti¬
nue to run from the one to the other, but rather keep
afcending upon one another.
So loon as all the bees are out of the full hive, the
hive in which the bees are mud be placed on the Hand
from which the other hive was taken, in order to receive
the abfent bees as they return from the fields.
If this is done early in the feafon, the operator
Ihould examine the royal cells, that any of them that
have young in them may be laved, as well as the combs
which have young bees in them, which Ihould on no
account be touched, though by fparing them a good
deal of honey be left behind. Then take out the other
combs with a long, broad, and pliable knife, fuch as
the apothecaries make ufe of. The combs Ihould be
cut from the fides and crown as clean as poffible, to
fave the future labour of the bees, who mull lick up
the
JWLXXXIX.
BEE.
BEE
BeeVbread thc honey fpilt, and remove every remain of wax ;
Beech- a!1<^ t^le of the hive (hould be fcraped with a
[ S33 1
BEE
oil. table fpoon to clear away what was left by the knife.
—v— 1,1 During the whole of this operation, the hive fhould be
placed inclined to the fide from which the combs are
taken, that the honey which is fpilt may not daub the
remaining comos. If fome combs were unavoidably
taken away, in which there are young bees, the parts
of the combs in which they are fhould be returned into
the hive, and iecured by flicks in the befl manner pof-
fible. Place the hive then for fome time upright, that
any remaining honey may drain out. If the combs are
built in a direction oppofite to the entrance, v r at right
angles with it, the combs which are the farthefl from
the entrance are to be preferred 5 becaufe there they
are beft ftored with honey, and have the fewelt young
bees in them.
Having thus finifhed taking the wTax and honey, the
next bufinefs is to return the bees to their old hive ;
and for this purpofe place a table covered with a clean
cloth near the Hand, and giving the hive in which the
bees are a hidden fhake, at the fame time flriking it
pretty forcibly, the bees will be fhaken on the cloth.
Put their own hive over them immediately, raifed a
little on one fide, that the bees may the more eafily en¬
ter ; and when all are entered, place it on the Hand as
before. If the hive in which the bees are be turned
bottom uppermoil, and their own hive be placed over
it, the bees will immediately afcend into it, efpecial-
ly if the lower hive is ftruck 011 the fides to alarm
them.
As the chief objedf of the bees during the fpring
and beginning of the fummer is the propagation of their
kind, honey during that time is not colleded in fuch
quantity as it is afterwards : and on this account it is
fcarcely worth while to rob a hive before the latter end
of June ; nor is it fafe to do it after the middle of July,
left rainy weather may prevent their refioring the combs
they have loft, and laying in a flock of honey fuffici-
ent for the winter, unlefs there is a chance of carrying
, them to a rich pafture.
Bee is alfo ufed figuratively to denote fweetnefs, in-
duftry, &c. Thus Xenophon is called the sltt/c bee,
on account of the great fweetnefs of his ftyle. Anto¬
nins. got the denomination Me/i/fa or Bee, on account
of his colleflion of common places.—Leo Allatius gave
the appellation apes urbane to the illuftrious men at
Rome from the year 1630 to the year 1632.
Bt.F?s Bread. See Bee, N° 12. par. ult.
Bee Eater. See Merops, Ornithology Index.
BEE-Flawer. See Ophrys, Botany Index.
Bf.E-Glue, called by the ancients propolis, is a foft,
unftuous, glutinous matter, employed by bees to ce¬
ment the combs to the hives, and to clofe up the cells.
See Bee, N° 13.
BpR-Hives. See Bee, N° 19, 34, 36.
BEECH-tree. See Fagus, Botany Index.
Beech Mqfl, the fruit of the beech-tree, laid to be
good for fattening hogs, deer, &.c.—It has fometimes,
even to men, proved an uleful fubftitute for bread.
Chios is laid to have endured a memorable fiege by
means of it.
Berch-OU, an oil drawn by expreflion from the maft
of the beech-tree, after it has been fhelled and pounded.
This oil is very common in Picardy, and ufed there
and in other parts of France inftead of butter ; but Beef
moft of thofe who take a great deal of it complain of II
pains and a heavinefs in the ftomach. , ■Beer-
BEEF,, the flefli of black-cattle prepared for food. '
According to Dr Cullen *, beef, though of a more * Lea. cn
firm texture and lefs foluble than mutton, is equally Mat- Met*
alkalefcent, perfpirable, and nutritious : and if in the
fouthern«countries it is not efteemed fo, it is on account
of its imperfedlion there.
BELLE, a kind of pick-axe, ufed by the miners
for feparating the ores from the rocks in which they
lie : this inftrument is called a lubber by the miners of
Cornwall.
BEER, is a fpintuous liquor made from any fari¬
naceous grain, but generally from barley. It is, pro¬
perly fpeaking, the wine of barley. The meals of any
of thefe grains being extraded by a fufficient quantity
of water, and remaining at reft in a degree of heat re~
quifite for the fpirituous fermentation, naturally under¬
go this fermentation, and are changed into a vinous li¬
quor. But as all thefe matters render the water mu¬
cilaginous, fermentation proceeds ilowly and imper-
fe&ly in fuch liquors. On the other fide, if the quan¬
tity of farinaceous matter be fo diminilhed that its ex-
tratt or deco&ion may have a convenient degree of
fluidity, this liquor will be impregnated with fo fmall
a quantity of fermentable matter, that the beer or
wine of the grain will be too weak, and have too little
tafte.
Thefe inconveniences are remedied by preliminary
operations which the grain is made to undergo. Thefe
preparations confift in fteeping it in cold water, that it
may foak and fwell to a certain degree ; and in laying
it in a heap with a fuitable degree of heat, by means
of which, and of the imbibed moifture, a germination
begins, which is to be flopped by a quick drying, as
foon as the bud fhows itfelf. To accelerate this drying,
and render it more complete, the grain is [lightly roaft-
ed, by making it pafs down an inclined canal fufficient-
ly heated. This germination, and this flight roafting,
changes confiderably the nature of the mucilaginous
fermentable matter of the grain. The germination at¬
tenuates much, and in fome meafure totally deftroys,
the vifcofity of the mucilage 5 and it does this, when
not. carried too far, without depriving the grain of any
of its difpofition to ferment. On the contrary, it
changes the grain into a faccharine fubftance, as may
be perceived by mafhing grains beginning to germi¬
nate. The flight roafting contributes alfo to attenuate
the mucilaginous fermentable matter of the grain.
When the grain is thus prepared, it is fit to be ground]
and to impregnate water with much of its fubftance
without forming a glue or vifcous mafs. The grain
thus prepared is called malt. This malt is then to be
ground ; and all its fubftance, which is fermentable and
foluble in water, is to be extricated by means of hot
water. This extraft or infufion is fufficiently evapo¬
rated by boiling in caldrons j and fome plant of an
agreeable bitternefs, fuch as hops, is at that time added,,
to heighten the tafte of the beer, and to render it ca¬
pable of being longer preferved. Laftly, this IRuor is
put into cafks, and allowed to ferment ; nati re per¬
forms the reft of the work, and is only to be aft fled by
the other moft favourable circumftances for the ftp.....
tuous fermentation. See Fermentation.
Fvreignera
BEE [ 534 ] BEE
fceeroth Foreigners have framed divers conjectures to account
B‘f('rt ^°r t^e excellency tlle Srhith beer, and its fuperio-
 " ' i rity to that of other countries, even of Bremen, Mons,
and Roftoch. It has been pretended our brewers
throw dead dogs flayed into their wort, and boil them
till the flefli is all confumed. Others, more equitable,
attribute the excellency of our beer to the quality of
our malt and water, and the {kill of our brewers in
preparing it.
Sour beer may be reftored divers ways 5 as by fait
made of the allies of barley-ftraw, put into the veflel
and ftirred 5 or by three or four handfuls of beech-
ailies thrown into the veffel, and ftirred ; or, where the
liquor is not very four, by a little put in a bag, with¬
out ftirring : chalk calcined, oyfter-lhells, egg-lhells,
burnt fea-fliells, crabs eyes, alkalized coral, &c. do
the fame, as they imbibe the acidity, and unite with
it into a fweetnefs.—Beer, it is faid, may be kept from
turning four in fummer, by hanging into the veflel a bag
containing a new laid egg, pricked full of little pin¬
holes, fome laurel-berries, and a few barley-grains ; or
by a new-laid egg and walnut-tree leaves. Glauber
commends his fal mirabile and fixed nitre, put in a li¬
nen bag, and hung on the top of the calk fo as to reach
the liquor, not only for recovering four beer, but pre-
ferving and ftrengthening it.
Laurel-berries, their {kin being peeled off, will keep
beer from deadnefs ; and beer already dead may be re¬
ftored by impregnating it with fixed air.
Beer tqfting of the cafk may be freed from it by put¬
ting a handful of wheat in a bag, and hanging it in the
veffel.
BEEROTH, a village of Judea, fituated at the
foot of Mount Gabaon, feven miles from ^Elia or Je-
rufalem, on the road to Nicopolis (Jerome).
BEER-SHEBA (Mofes), a city to the fouth of the
tribe of Judah, adjoining to Idumea (Jofephus). See
Bersabe.
BEESTINGS, or Breastinos, a term ufed by
country-people for the firft milk taken from a cow af¬
ter calving—The beeftings are of a thick confiftence,
and yellow colour, feeming impregnated with fulphur.
Dr Morgan imagines them peculiarly fitted and intend¬
ed by nature to cleanfe the young animal from the re¬
crements gathered in its ftomach and inteftines during
its long habitation in utero. The like quality and virtue
he fuppofes in wmmen’s firft milk after delivery j and
hence infers the neceflity of the mother’s fuckling her
own child, rather than committing it to a nurfe whofe
firft milk is gone.
BEET, in Botany. See Beta, Botany Index.
BEETLE. See Scarab^eus, Entomology In¬
dex.
Beetle alfo denotes a wooden inftrument for dri¬
ving piles, &c. It is likewife called a Jiamper, and by
paviors a rammer.
BEEVES, a general name for oxen. See Bos,
Mammalia Index.
BEFORT, a fmall town of France in the depart¬
ment of Upper Rhine. It -was ceded to France by the
treaty of Weftphalia in 1648. There are not above
100 houfes in this town, but it is important on account
of the great road by this place from Franche Compte.
The fortifications were greatly augmented by Louis
2
XIV. It is feated at the foot of a mountain. E. Long. Heg
6. 2. N. Lat. 47. 38. II
BEG, or Bey, in the Turkifti affairs. See Bey.
Beg is more particularly applied to the lord of a
banner, called alfo in the fame language fangiak-beg.
A beg has the command of a certain number of the
fpahis, or horfe, maintained by the province under the
denomination of timariots. All the begs of a pro¬
vince obey one governor-general called be^ler-beg, or
beyler-beg, q. d. lord of lords or of the beys of the
province.
Begs, or Beghs, of Egypt, denote twelve generals,
who have the command of the militia or Handing for¬
ces of the kingdom •, and are to fecure the country from
the infults of Arabs, as well as to proteft the pilgrims
in their annual expeditions to Mecca. The begs, feve-
ral of whom are defeended from the ancient race of the
Mamelukes, are very rich and powerful, maintaining
each 500 fighting men for their own guard, and the
fervice of their court. On difeontents, they have fre¬
quently rifen in rebellion. They are often at variance
with the baftiawq wdiom they have more than once
plundered and imprifoned.
BEGA, Cornelius, painter of landfcapc, cattle,
and converfations, was born at Haerlem in 1620, and
was the difciple of Adrian Oftade. Falling into a dif-
fipated wray of life, he was difinherited by his father :
for wdiich reafon he call: off his father’s name, which
was Begeyn, and affumed that of Bega : his early pic¬
tures being marked with the former, and his latter
wmrks with the other. He had a fine pencil, and a
delicate manner of handling his colours, fo as to give
them a look of neatnefs and tranfparence •, and his per¬
formances are fo much efteemed in the Low7 Countries,
as to be placed among the works of the beft artifts.
He caught the plague from a wToman w ith whom he was
deeply enamoured j and he {howed fo much fincerity
of affeftion, that notwithftanding the expoftulations of
all his friends and phyficians, he wmuld attend her to
the laft moments of her life, and died a few days after,
aged 44.
BEGHARDS. See Beguards.
BEGLEREEG, a governor of one of the principal
governments of the Turkifti empire, and next in dignity
to the grand vizier. To every beglerbeg the grand
fignior gives three enfigns or ftaves, trimmed with a
horfetail j to diftinguilh them from the balhaws, who
have but twro; and from Ample begs, or fangiac begs,
who have but one.
The province or government of beglerbeg is called
beglerbeglik, or beglierbeghk. There are twro forts j
the firft called bajilo beglerbeglik, which have a certain
rent afligned out of the cities, countries, and figniories'
allotted to the principality j the fecond called falianx
beglerbeg/ih, for maintenance of which is annexed a fa-
lary or rent, collefted by the grand fignior’s officers
with the treafure of the empire. The beglerbegs of
the firft fort are in number 22, viz. thofe of Anatolia,
Caramania, Diarbekir, Damafcus, Aleppo, Tripoli,
Trebizond, Buda, Timifwar, &c. The beglerbegs of
the fecond fort are in number fix, viz. thofe of Cairo,
Babylon, &c. Five of the beglerbegs have the title
of viziers^ viz. thofe of Anatolia, Babylon, Cairo, Ro¬
mania, and Buda.
The
BEG [3
Beguanls The beglerbegs appear with great ftate, and a large
Begliines retJnuf’ efPecially in the camp, being obliged to bring
»—. a foldier for every 5000 afpers of rent which they en¬
joy. Thofe of Romania brought j o,coo effe&ive men
into the field.
The beglerbegs are become almoft independent, and
have under their junfdidfion feveral fangiacs or parti¬
cular governments, and begs, agas, and other officers
who obey them.
BEGUARDS, or Beghards, religious of the third
order of St Irancis in Flanders. They were eftablilh-
ed at Antwerp in the year 1228, and took St Begghe
for their patronefs, whence they had their name. From
their firft inftitution they employed themfelves in mak¬
ing linen cloth, each fupporting himfelf by his own la¬
bour, and united only by the bonds of charity, with¬
out having any particular rule. But, when Pope Ni¬
cholas IV. had confirmed that of the third order of St
Francis in 1289, they embraced it the year following.
They were greatly favoured by the dukes of Brabant,
particularly John II. and John III. who exempted
them from all contributions and taxes. In the year
i4255 they began to live in common, and made folemn
vows in 1467, after having taken the habit of the Ter-
ciaries (or religious of the third order of St Francis)
of Liege. At laft, in 1472, they became fubjedt to
the general of the congregation of Zepperen in the
diocefe of Liege, to which they were united by Pope
Sixtus IV. As the convent of Antwerp is fince be¬
come very confiderable, the name of Beguards has been
given to all the other religious of the fame congrega¬
tion. But, in 1650, Pope Innocent X. having fup-
preffed the general of the congregation of Zepperen,
all the convents of the third order of St Francis, in
the diocefes of Liege, Malines, and Antwerp, were
fubmitted to the vilitation, jurifdi£lion, and correftion,
of the general of Italy, and erected into a province,
under the title of the province of Flanders. This pro¬
vince has at prelent 10 or 1 2 convents, the principal of
which are thofe of Antwerp, Bruffels, Maellricht, and
Louvain.
BEGQINES, a congregation of religious or'nuns
founded either by St Begghe, founder likewife of the
Beguards, or by Lambert le Begue ; of whom the
former died about the end of the feventh century, the
latter about the end of the 12th. They were edab-
liffied fir If at Liege, and afterwards at Neville, in 1207;
and from this lalf fettlement fprang the great number
of Begurnages, which are fpread over all Flanders, and
which have palfed from Flanders into Germany. In
the latter country, fome of thefe religious fell into ex¬
travagant errors, perfuading themfelves that it was pof-
fible, in the prefent life, to arrive at the higheft per-
fe6tion, even to impeccability, and a clear view of
God ; in ffiort, to fo eminent a degree of contemplation,
that there was no neceffity, after this, either to obferve
the fads of the church, or fubmit to the direction and
laws of mortal men. The council of Vienna, in 1113,
condemned thefe errors, and abolidied the order of Be-
guines ; permitting, neverthelefs, thofe among them,
who continued in the true faith, to live in chaditv and
penitence, either with or without vows. It is by favour
of this latter claufe, that there dill fubfids fo many
communities of Beguines in Flanders; who, fince the
council of Vienna, have conduced themfelves with fo
35 3 B E H
much wifdom and piety, that Pope John XXII. by his Beheading
decretal, which explains that of his predeceffor made , !1
in the council of Vienna, took them under his protec-, •Bfchn‘ ,
tion 5 and Boniface VIII. in another, exempted them v "‘'J
from the fecular tribunal, and put them under the ju-
rifdidfion of the biffiops.
^ There is fcarcely a town in the Low-Countries, in
which there is not a fociety of Beguines; and, not-
withdanding the change of religion at Amderdam,
there is a very douriffiing one in that city. Thefe fo-
cieties confid of feveral houfes placed together in one
inclofure, with one or more churches, according to
the number of Beguines. I here is in every houfe a
priorefs, or midrefs, without whole leave they dare
not dir out. They make a fort of vow, which is concei¬
ved in the following terms : “ I. N. promife to be o-
bedient and chade as long as I continue in this Begui-
nage.” They obferve a three years noviciate before
they take the habit. The redor of the pariffi is fupe-
rior of the Beguinage ; and he does nothing without
the advice of eight Beguines. They were formerly
habited in different manners; fome in grey, others in
blue j but at prefent they all wear black. When they
go abroad, in Amderdam, they put on a black veil.
Formerly they had as many different datutes as there
were focieties. In the vifitations of the year 1600 and
1601, by the archbiffiop Matthias Hovius, they were
forbidden under the penalty of a fine, to have lapdogs.
The fined Beguinage in Flanders is that of Malines.
That of Antwerp hkewife is very fpacious, and has
two feparate churches.
BEHEADING, a capital puniffiment,.wherein the
head is fevered from the body by the droke of an axe,
fword, or other cutting indrument.
Beheading was a military punidiment among the
Romans, known by the name of decoilatio. Amon-r
them the head was laid on a cippus or block, placed in
a pit dug for the purpofe ; in the army, without the
valium: in the city, without the walls, at a place near
the porta decumana. Preparatory to the droke, the
criminal was tied to a dake, and whipped with rods.
In the early ages the blow was given with an axe j but
in after-times with a fword, which was thought the
more reputable manner of dying. The execution was
but clumfily performed in the fird times 5 but after¬
wards they grew more expert, and took the head off.
clean, with one circular droke.
In England, beheading is the puniffiment of nobles
as it was formerly in France j being reputed not to de¬
rogate from nobility, as hanging does.
In Scotland they do not behead with an axe, as in-
England ; nor with a fword, as in Holland > but with
an edged indrument called the Maiden. With an
indrument fimilar to this, were the bloody executions
perpetrated in France during the late revolution. It
was called guillotine, from the name of the fuppofed
inventor, who was a phyfician.
BEFIEM07H, the hippopotamus or river-horfe.
See Hippopotamus, Mammalia Index.
BEHEN, in Botany. See Cucubalus, Botany
Index.
BEHMEN. See Boehmen.
BEHN, Aphara, a celebrated authorefs, defeend*.
ed from a good family in the city of Canterbury, was-,
born fome time in Charles I.’s reign, but in what
jeaxv
B E H [ 53® ] B E I
year is uncferlain., Her father’s name was Johnfon,
who through the intereft of the Lord Willoughby, to
whom he was related, being appointed lieutenant-ge¬
neral of Surinam and 56 iflands, undertook a journey
to the Welt Indies, taking with him his whole family,
among whom was our poetefs, at that time very young.
Mr Johnfon died in the voyage j but his family reach¬
ing Surinam, fettled there for feme years. Here it
was that fire learned the hillory of, and acquired a per-
fonal intimacy with, the American prince Oroonoko
and his beloved Imoinda, whofe adventures lire hath
fo pathetically related in her celebrated novel of that
name, and which Mr Southerne afterwards made fuch
an admirable ufe of it in adopting it as the ground-
wmrk of one of the belt tragedies in the Englilh lan-
guage.
On her return to London, fhe became the wife of
one Mr Behn, a merchant, refiding in that city, but
of Dutch extraction. How long he lived after their
marriage is not very apparent, probably not very long •,
for her wit and abilities having brought her into high
ellimation at court, King Charles II. fixed on her as a
proper perfon to tranfaCl fome affairs of importance a-
broad during the courfe of the Dutch war. To this
purpofe fire went over to Antwerp, where, by her in¬
trigues and gallantries, {he fo far crept into the fecrets
of itate, as to anfwer the ends propofed by fending her
over. Nay, in the latter end of 1666, by means
of the influence file had over one Vander Albert, a
Dutchman of eminence, whofe heart was warmly at¬
tached to her, {he wormed out of him the defign form¬
ed by De Ruyter, in conjunftion with the family of
the De Wits, of failing up the Thames an$ burning
the Englifti fiiips in their harbours, which they after-
w’ards put in execution at Rochefter. This file imme¬
diately communicated to the Englifh court: but though
the event proved her intelligence to be well grounded,
yet it was at that time only laughed at ; which, toge¬
ther probably with no great inclination fiiown to re¬
ward her for the pains fhe had been at, determined her
to drop all further thoughts of political affairs, and du¬
ring the remainder of her flay at Antwerp to give her-
felf up entirely to the gaiety and gallantries of the
place. Vander Albert continued his addreffes, and
after having made fome unfuccefsful attempts to obtain
the polfeffien of her perfon on eafier terms than matri¬
mony, at length confented to make her his wife 5 but
while he was preparing at Amflerdam for a journey to
England with that intent, a fever carried him off, and
left her free from any amorous engagements. In her
voyage back to England, fire was very near being lofi,
the veffel fhe was in being driven on the coall by a
florin ; but happening to founder within fight of land,
the paffengers were, by the timely afliftance of'boats
from the fhore, all fortunately-preferved.
From this period fhe devoted her life entirely to plea-
fure and the mufes. Her works are extremely nume¬
rous, and all of them have a lively and amorous turn.
It is no wonder then that her wit fhould have gained
her the efteem of Mr Dryden, Southerne, and other
men of genius, as her beauty, of which in her young¬
er part of life file poffeffed a great fhare, did the love
of thofe of gallantry. Nor does fhe appear to have
heen any flranger to the delicate fenfations of that paf-
izon, as appears from fome of her letters to a gentle-
1
man, with whom fhe correfponded under the name of
Lycida, and who feems not to have returned her
flame with equal ardour, or received it with that rap- v
ture her charms might well have been expected to com¬
mand.
She^ubliihed three Volumes of Mifcellany Poems j
tw?> volumes of Hiflories and Novels ; tranflated Fom
tenelle’s Plurality of Worlds, and annexed a Criticifm
on it j and her plays make four volumes. In the dra¬
matic line, the turn of her genius was chiefly to co¬
medy. As to the charafler her plays fhould maintain
in the records of dramatic hiftory, it will be difficult to
determine, fince their faults and perfections Hand in
flrong oppofition to each other. In all, even the moil
indifferent of her pieces, there are flrong marks of ge¬
nius and underftanding. Her plots are full of bufinefs
and ingenuity, and her dialogue fparkles with the daz¬
zling Luftre of genuine wit, which everywhere glitters
among it. But then fhe has been acculed, and that
not without great juilice, of interlarding her comedies
wdth the molt indecent feenes, and givipg an indul¬
gence to her wit in the molt indelicate expreffions. To
this accufation fire has herfelf made fome reply in the
Preface to the Lucky Chance j but the retorting the
charge of prudery and preciienefs on her accuiers, is
far from being a fufficient exculpation of herfelf. The
belt and perhaps the only true excufe that can be
made for it is, that, as fire wrote for a livelihood, fhe
was obliged to comply with the corrupt talte of the
times.
After a life intermingled with orumerous difappoint-
ments, fire departed from this world on the 16th of
April 1689, and lies interred in the cloifters of Weft-
minfter-Abbey.
BEJA, an ancient town of Portugal, in the pro¬
vince of Alentejo. It is feated in a very agreeable and
fruitful plain, remarkable for excellent wine. There
are three gates remaining, which are of Roman archi¬
tecture, and a great many Roman antiquities are dug
out of the earth. The town has a ftrong caftle for its
defence, and is fituated in W. Long. 7. 20. N. Lat. 37.
38. It was taken from the Moors in 1162.
BEJAR, a town of Eftremadura in Spain, famous
for its baths. It is feated in a very agreeable valley
furrounded with high mountains whofe tops are always
covered with fnow. Here the dukes of Bejar have a
handfome palace. In this neighbourhood are forefts
filled with game, and watered by fine fprings j alfo a
lake abounding with excellent fifh, particularly trouts.
They pretend that this lake makes fuch a noife before
a rtorm, that it may be heard 15 miles off.
BEICHLINGEN,'a town of Thuringia in Upper
Saxony, in E. Long. 11. 50. N. Lat. 51. 20.
BEILA, a town of Italy, in Piedmont. E. Long.
7. 45. N. Lat. 45. 2.
BEILSTEIN, a town of the landgraviate of Heffe
in Germany, in E. Long. 8. o. N. Lat. 50. 30.
BELNASCHI, Giovanni Battista, called Ca¬
valier Beinafchi, hiftory painter, was a Piedmontefe,
and born in 1634. He ftudied in Rome, under the
direction. of Pietro del Po ; and fome authors affirm,
that he was afterwards the difciple of Lanfranc. It
was certain that he was peculiarly fond of the works
of Lanfranc, and at laft became fo thoroughly ac¬
quainted with the ftyle, manner, and touch, of that
excellent
Pejah
.11
Beinafchi
BEL - [ m
BM.lK.m excellent mailer, that many of the piflures of Beinaf- gold, 40 feet high
]
Bel. are accounted the work of Lanfranc’s
pwn hand. He was an admirable defigner j his lively
invention furnilhed him with a furprifing variety : his
thought was noble ; he was not only expeditious but
corredt ; and as a public acknowledgment of his me¬
rit, tne honour of knighthood was conferred upon
him.
IdEIlVT, a fort of Alface in France, feated
on the river Sur, near its confluence with the Rhine,
in E. Fong. 8. 12. N. Lat. 4$. 2.
BEIRA, a province of Portugal, bounded on the
weft by the ocean, on the fouth by the Portuguefe E-
itremadura, on the fouth-eaft by the Spanilh province
of the fame name, on the eaft by the province of Tra-
los Montos, and on the north by the river Douro. It
extends in length about 34 leagues, and in breadth a-
bout 30 leagues, and is divided into fix commarcas.
Within this province lies Lamego, where the firft ai-
fcmbly of the ftates wTas held j the chief epifcopal city
of Conimbra, or Coimbra, which is likewife an uni-
verfity 5 and Vifeo, alfo a bilhopric, and formerly the
capital of a dukedom. The country is equally agree¬
able and fruitful, producing corn, wines, &c. in abun¬
dance, and the hills affording excellent pafture to cattle
and fheep. I he fettled militia confifts of about 10,000
men.
BEIRAM, or Bairam. See Ba IRAM.
BEIR ALSTON, a towm in Devonftiire, which
fends two members to parliament.
BEIZA, or Beizath, in Hebrew antiquity, a wmrd
fignifying an egg; as alfo a certain meafure in ufe a-
mong the Jews. The beiza was likewife a gold coin,
weighing 40 drachms, among the Perfians/ who gave
out that Philip of Macedon owed their king Darius
1000 beizaths or golden eggs, for tribute-money; and
that Alexander the Great refufed to pay them, fay-
ing, that the bird which laid thefe eggs was flowm in¬
to the other wmrld.
BEKKER, Balthasar, one of the moft famous
Dutch divines, and author of the celebrated book, The
World Betwitched, an ingenious piece againft the vul¬
gar notion of fpirits. This ’ raifed a terrible clamour
againft him. He was depofed from the office of mini-
fter ; but the magiftrates of Amfterdam continued him
his penfion. He died in 1698.
BEL, Matthias, wTas born in Hungary, and be¬
came a Lutheran minifter at Preftmrg, and hiftoriogra-
pher to the emperor Charles VI. He wrote, among
other w’orks, a Hiftory of Hungary, which was fo
much admired, that the emperor fent him letters of
nobility ; and notwithftanding his being a Lutheran,
the Pope, in 1736, fent him his pifture, and many
large gold medals. He was a member of the Royal
Society of London, and of the academies of Berlin
and Peterftmrg j and died in 1749, at 66 years of
age.
Bel, or Be/us, the fupreme god of the ancient
Chaldeans or Babylonians. He was the founder of
the Babylonian empire ; and is fuppofed to be the Nim¬
rod of Scripture, and the fame ss the Phoenician Baal.
Phis god had a temple eredled to him in the city of
Babylon, on the very uppermoft range of the famous
tower of Babel, or Babylon, wherein were many fta-
k.ues of this deity; and one, among the reft, of maffy
Vol. III. Part II. 7
B E L •
. . „ The whole furniture of this mag- Bel
nificent temple was of the fame metal, and valued at II
800 talents of gold.—-This temple, with its riches, was EeleriuuT
in being till the time of Xerxes, who, returning from
his unfortunate expedition into Greece, demolifhed it,
and carried off the immenfe wealth which it contained.
It was the ftatue of this god which Nebuchadnezzar,
being returned to Babylon after the end of the Jewifh
war, fet up and dedicated in the plain of Dura; the
ftory of which is related at large in the third chapter
of Daniel. '
Bel and the Dragon, the hiftory of; an apocryphal,
and uncanonical book of Scripture. It was always re-
jefted by the Jewiih church, and is extant neither in
the Hebrew7 nor the Chaldee language, nor is there
any proof that it ever w'as fo. St Jerome gives it no
beiter thle than the Fab/e of Btl and the Dragon. It
is however permitted to be read, as well as the other
apocryphal writings, for inftruftion and the improve¬
ment of manners.
BEL AC, a fmall town of France, in the province
of the Lyonnois, now the department of Upper Vienne,
and diftrift of La Marche. It contains about 3000
inhabitants. E. Long. 1. 15. N. Lat. 46. 15.
BELAY, on board a fhip, fignifies the fame as fa-
ften. -Thus they fay, belay the fheet, or tack, that is,
faften it to the kevel, by winding it feveral times round
a laft, &c.
BELCASTRO, an epifcopal city of Italy in the
farther Calabria, and kingdom of Naples. It is feated
on a mountain, in E. Long. 17. 15. N. Lat. 39. 6.
BELCHI PE, a town of Spain, in the kingdom of
Arragon, feated on the river Almonazir, in W. Long.
O. 30. N. Lat. 41. 19. 0
BELCHOE, a town of Ireland, in the province of
Ulfter, and county of Fermanagh, feated on Lough
Nilly, in W. Long. 6. 6. N. Lat. 54. 2.
BELEM, a town of Eftremadura in Portugal, a-
bout a mile from Lifhon. It is feated on the north
fide of the river Tajo, and is defigned to defend the
entrance to Lifbon j and here all the fhips that fail up
the river muft bring to. In this place they inter the
kings and queens of Portugal.
BELEMNITES, vulgarly called thunder-bolts or
thunder-fanes, are compofed of feveral crufts of ftone
encircling each other, of a conical form, and various
fizes $ ufually a little hollow, and fomewhat tranf-
parent, formed of feveral ftriae radiating from the axis
to the furface of the ftone •, and when burnt or rubbed
againft one another, or feraped wdth a knife, yield an
odour like rafped horn. Their fize is various, from a
quarter of an inch to eight inches; and their colour
and ftiape differ. They are fuppofed to be originally
either a part of fome fea produftion ; or a ftone formed
in the cavity of fome worm-fhell, which being of a ten¬
der and brittle nature, has periftied, after giving its
form to the ftone. They are very frequently found in
many parts of England j and the common people have
a notion, that they are always to be met with after a
ftorm. They are often enclofed in, or adhere to, other
ftones ; and are moft frequent amongft gravel, or in
clay j they abound in Gloucefterftiire 5 and are found
near Dedington in Oxfordfliire, where they fometimes
contain the filver marcafite.
BE LERI UM, in Ancient Geography, a promontory
3 Y of
BEL
Beleiis. of the Dumnonli or Damnonii, the weftmoft Britons.
v Now called the Land's End, in Cornwall.
BELESIS, or Nanybrus, is faid to have been the
founder of the ancient Babylonidr empire, and in con¬
junction with Arbaces the Mede to have put an end
to the kingdom of the Affyrians by the defeat and
death of Sardanapalus. This iirft prince is reprefented
as a crafty and mean-fpirited knave ; and at the fame
time, as nothing lefs than a hero. It is faid, he was
bafe enough to circumvent Arbaces his colleague and
friend in the moil; fhameful manner 5 by pretending a
vow he had, in the midrt of the war, made to his god
Belus, That if fuccefs was the event of it, and the pa¬
lace of Sardanapalus was conlumed, as it was, he
would be at the charge and trouble of removing the
allies that were left, to Babylon ; where he would heap
them up into amount near the temple of his god y there
to Hand as a monument to all who fhould navigate the
Euphrates, of the lubverlion of the Aflyrian empire.
He, it leems, had been privately informed, by an eu¬
nuch, of the immenfe treafure which had been confu-
med in the conflagration at Nineveh 5 and knowing it
to be a fecret to Arbaces, his avarice fuggelted to him
this artifice. Arbaces not only granted him his re-
queft ; but appointed him king of Babylon, with an
exemption from all tribute. Belefis, by this artifice,
carried a prodigious treafure with him to Babylon j
but when the fecret was difcovered, he was called to
an account for it, and tried by the other chiefs who
had been afiillant in the war, and who, upon his con-
feffion of the crime, condemned him to lofe his head.
But Arbaces, a munificent and generous prince, free-
ly forgave him, left him in pofieflion of the treafure,
and alfo in the independent government of Babylon,
faying, The good he had done ought to ferve as a veil
to his crime ; and thus he became at once a prince of
great wealth and dominion.
In procefs of time, and under the fucceffbr of Ar¬
baces, he became a man of drels, fhew, and effeminacy,
unworthy of the kingdom or province he held. Nany¬
brus, for fo we mull now call Belefis, underflanding a
certain robuft Mede, called Parfondas, held him in the
utmoft contempt, and had folicited the emperor of the
JVIedes to divert him of his dominions, and to confer
them upon himfelf, offered a very great reward to the
man who Ihould take Parfondas, and bring him to him.
Parfondas hunting fomewhere near Babylon with the
king of the Medes, and draggling from the company,
happened to fall in with fome of the fervants of the Ba¬
bylonian Nanybrus, who had been tempted with the
promifed reward. They were purveyors to the king j
and Parfondas being very thirfty, alked them for a
draught of wine } which they not only granted, but
prevailed upon him to take a meal with them. As he
drank freely, fufpedling no treachery, he was eafily
perfuaded to pafs that night in company with fome
beautiful women, brought on purpofe to detain him.
But, while he was in a profound fleep, the fervants
of Nanybrus ruffling upon him, bound him, and
carried him to their prince ; who bitterly reproached
him for endeavouring to eftrange his mafter the king
of the Medes from him, and by that means place him¬
felf in his room on the throne of Babylon. Parfon¬
das did not deny the charge ; but with great intrepi¬
dity owned, that he thought himfelf more worthy of a
[ 538 ]
BEL
crown than fuch an indolent and effeminate prince as Belefis,
he was. Nanybrus, highly provoked at the liberty he Belefme.
took, fwore by the gods Belus and Molis, or rather '-■“"Y*—”
Mylitta, that Parfondas himfelf fliould in a Ihort time
become fo effeminate as to reproach none with effemi¬
nacy. Accordingly, he ordered the eunuch who had
the charge of his mufic-women, to ffiave, paint, and
drefs him after the manner of thofe women, to teach
him the art, and in fhort to transform him by all pof-
fible means into a wmman. His orders w’ere obeyed j
and the manly Parfondas foon excelled the faircft fe¬
male in finging, playing, and the other arts of allure¬
ment.
In the mean time the king of the Medes, having in
vain fought after his favourite fervant, and in vain of¬
fered great rewards to fuch as ffiould give him any in¬
formation concerning him, concluded he had been de-
ftroyed by fome wild beaff in the chafe. At length,
after feven years, the Mede was informed of his ftate
and condition by an eunuch, who, being cruelly fcour-
ged by Nanybrus’s order, fled, at the inftigation of
Parfondas, into Media j and there difclofed the whole
to the king, who immediately defpatched an officer to
demand him. Nanybrus pretended to know nothing
of any fuch perfon 3 upon wffiich another officer was
fent by the Mede, with a peremptory order to feize on
Nanybrus if he perfiffed in the denial, to bind him with
his girdle, and lead him to immediate execution. This
order had the defired effect: the Babylonian owmed
w'hat he had before denied, promifing to comply, with¬
out further delay, with the king’s demand 3 and in the
mean time invited the officer to a banquet, at which
150 women, among wffiom was Parfondas, made their
appearance, finging and playing upon various inftru-
ments. But, of all, Parfondas appeared by far the moft
charming 3 infomuch, that Nanybrus inquiring of the
Mede which he liked belt, he immediately pointed at
him. At this the Babylonian clapt his hands 3 and,
falling into an immoderate fit of laughter, told him
wffio the perfon was whom he thus preferred to all the
reft 3 adding, that he could anfwer what he had done
before the king of the Medes. The officer wTas no lefs
furprifed at fuch an aftoniffiing change than his mafter
was aftemards, when Parfondas appeared before him.-
The only favour Parfondas begged of the king, for all
his part fervices, was, that he would avenge on the Ba¬
bylonian the bafe and highly injurious treatment he had
met wfith at his hands. The Mede marched accord¬
ingly at his inftigation to Babylon 3 and, notwith-
ftanding the remonftrances of Nanybrus, urging, that
Parfondas had, without the leaft provocation, endea¬
voured to deprive him of both his life and kingdom,
declared that in ten days time he would pafs the fen-
tence on him which he deferved, for prefuming to a£I
as judge in his own caufe, inftead of appealing to him.
But Nanybrus having in the mean time gained with a
large bribe Mitraphernes the Mede’s favourite eunuch, *
the king was by him prevailed upon to fentence the
Babylonian only to a fine 3 which made Parfondas curfe
the man who firft found out gold, for the fake of
which he was to live the fport and derifion of an effe¬
minate Babylonian.
BELESME, a town of Perche in France, in the
department of Orne, in W. Long. o. 16. N. Lat. 48^
*3- BELEZERO*.
BEL
Iklezero BELEZERO, a town of RuiTia, and capital of a
I! province of the fame name. It is lituated on the fouth-
~Belgmm. ^ ea^. 0f ^g White fea, in E. Long. 36. 10. N.
* Lat. 61.50.
BELFAST, a town of Ireland, in the county of
Antrim. It is feated at the bottom of Carrickfergus
bay, and is the chief town and port in this part of Ire¬
land, as well for beauty and the number of its inhabi¬
tants, as for its wealth, trade, and Ihipping. It has a
conliderable trade with Glafgow, and the inhabitants
are moftly Scots, and of the Prefbyterian religion. W.
Long. 6. 15. N. Lat. 54. 38.
BELFRY, Belfredus, is ufed by military writers
of the middle age for 3 fort of tower eredled by befie-
gers to overlook and command the place befieged.
Belfry originally denoted a high tower, whereon fen-
tinels were placed to watch the avenues of a place, and
prevent furprife from parties of the enemies, or to give
notice of fires by ringing a bell. In the cities of Flan¬
ders, where there is no belfry on purpofe, the tower
of the chief church ferves the fame end. The word
belfry is compounded of the Teutonic bell, and freid
“ peace,” becauie the bells were hung for preferving
the peace.
Belfry is alfo ufed for that part of a fteeple where¬
in the bells are hung. This is fometimes called by
middle-age writers campanile, clocaria, and trifte-
gum.
Belfry is more particularly ufed for the timber-
work which fuftains the bells in a fleeple, or that wood¬
en Itrudure to which the bells in church-lteeples are
faftened.
BE LG Ail, in Ancient Geography, a people of Bri¬
tain, to the weft: Now Hamplhire, Wiltfhire, and
Somerfetfhire, (Camden).
BELGICA, a town of the Ubii in Gallia Belgica,
midway between the rivers Rhine and Roer : Now
called Balchufen (Cluverius) j a citadel of Juliers (Bau-
drand).
Bklgica Gallia, one of Caefar’s three divifions of
Gaul, contained between the ocean to the north, the
rivers Seine and Marne to the weft, the Rhine to the
eaft, but on the fouth at different times within different
limits. Auguftus, inftituting everywhere a new par¬
tition of provinces, added the Sequani and Helvetii,
who till then made a part of Celtic Gaul, to the Bel-
gic (Pliny, Ptolemy). The gentilitious name is Belgce,
called by Caefar the braveft of the Gauls, becaufe un¬
tainted by the importation of luxuides. The epithet is
Belgians (Virgil).
BE LG ARDEN, a town of Germany, in Eaft Po¬
merania, in the province of Caffubia, and fubjeft to
Pruftia. E. Long. 16. 5. N. Lat. 54. 10.
BELGINUM, a town of the Treviri, in Gallia
Belgica : Now called Baldenau, in the deflorate of
Triers.
BELGIUM, manifeftly diftinguilhed fxom Belgica,
as a part from the whole (Csefar); who makes Belgium
the country of the Bellovaci j Hirtius adding the Atre-
bates. But as the Ambiani lay between the Bellovacx
and Atrebates, we muft alfo add thefe : and thus Bel¬
gium reached to the fea, becaufe the Ambiani lay up¬
on it: and thefe three people conftituted the proper
and genuine Belgae (all the reft being adventitious, or
BEL
foreigners) ; and thefe were the people of Beauvais, Belgorod
Amiens, and Artois. ||
BELGOROD, a town of Ruflxa, and capital of a , Eel‘dor-
province of the fame name. It is feated on the river V
Donnets, in E. Long. 18. 5. N. Lat. 51. 20.
Belgorod, a ftrongtown of Beffarabia in European
Turkey, feated at the mouth of the river Niefter, on
the Black fca, 80 miles fouth-eaft of Bender. E. Long.
31. o. N. Lat. 46.’ 30.
BELGRADE, a city of Turkey in Europe, and
capital of Servia, feated at the confluence of the Save
and the Danube, in E. Long. 21. 2. N. Lat. 45. 10.
The Danube is very rapid near this city, and its wa¬
ters look whitifli. Belgrade is built on a hill, and was
once large, ftrong, and populous. It was furrounded
with a double wall, flanked with a great number of
towers, and had a caftle fituated on a rifing ground, and
built with fquare Hones. The fuburbs are very exten-
five j and reforted to by Turkilh, Jewilh, Greek, Hun¬
garian, and Sclavonian merchants. The ftreets where
the greateft trade is carried on are covered with wmod,
to (helter the dealers from the fun and rain. The ri¬
vers render it very convenient for commerce; and as the
Danube falls into the Black fea, the trade is eafily ex¬
tended to diftant countries, which renders it the ftaple
town in thefe parts ; and as the Danube runs up to
Vienna, they fend goods from thence with a great deal
of eafe. The Armenians have a church here, and the
Jews a fynagogue, both thefe being employed as fac¬
tors. The Ihops are but fmall; and the fellers fit on
tables, difpofing of their commodities out of a window,
for the buyers never go on the infide. The richeft
merchandife is expofed to fale in two bezelteins or
bazars, built crofswife. There are two exchanges, built
with ftone, and fupported with pillars not unlike the
Royal Exchange at London. There is likewife a cara-
vanfera or public inn, and a college for young Undents.
It has been taken by the Turks and Imperialifts alter¬
nately feveral times; but w^as ceded to the Turks in
1739, and the fine fortifications demolilhed.
BELGRADO, a town of Friuli, in the Venetian
territories m Italy. It Hands near the river Tejamento,
in E. Long. 13. 5. N. Lat. 46. o.
BELIA, in Ancient Geography, a town of hither
Spain : Now Belchite, in the kingdom of Arragon.
See Belchite.
BELIAL, bii'ba, a Hebrew word w'hich fignifies a
wicked w'orthleis man, one who is refolved to endure
no fubjeflion. Thus the inhabitants of Gibeah, who
abufed the Levite’s wife (Judges xix. 22.), have the
name of Belial given them. Hophni and Phineas, the
high prieft Eli’s fons, are likewife called fons of Belial
(1 Sam. ii. 12.), upon account of the feveral crime*
they had committed, and the unbecoming manner in
which they behaved themfelves in the temple of the
Lord. Sometimes the name Belial is taken to denote
the devil. Thus St Paul fays ( 2 Cor. vi. 15.) “ What
concord hath Chrift with Belial ?” Whence it appears,
that in his time the Jews, under the name of Belial,
commonly underftood the devil in the places where this
term occurs in the Old Teftament.
BELIDOR, Bernard Forest de, a Catalonian
engineer in the fervice of France, and member of the
academies of fciences at Paris and Berlin, and of the
3^2. royal
[ 539 ]
BEL [ 540 ] BEL
Belief royal foclety at London j a celebrated mathematician,
Beiifar' an^ aut^j01;:-0f a number of military tradls in which the
l - faience of mathematics is applied to military ufes. Died
in 1765, aged 70.
BELIEF, in its general and natural fenfe, denotes a
perfuafion, or a Itrong affent of the mind to the truth
of any propofition. In which fenfe, belief has no rela¬
tion to any particular kind of means or arguments, but
may be produced by any means whatever. Thus we
are faid to believe our fenfes, to believe our reafon, to
believe a witnefs, &c. And hence, in rhetoric, all
forts of proofs, from whatever topics deduced, are call¬
ed becaufe apt to beget belief or perfuafion touch¬
ing the matter in hand.
Belief, in its more reftrained and technical fenfe,
invented by the fchoolmen, denotes that kind of affent
which is grounded only on the authority or teftimony
of fome perfon or perfons, afferting or attefting the
truth of any matter propofed.
In this fenfe, belief Hands oppofed to knowledge and
fcience. We do not fay we believe that fnow is white,
or that the whole is equal to its parts j but we fee and
know them to be fo. That the three angles of a tri¬
angle are equal to two right angles, or that all motion
is naturally re&ilinear, are not faid to be things cre¬
dible, but fcientifical j and the comprehenfion of fuch
truths is not belief but fcience.
But when a thing propounded to us is neither appa¬
rent to our fenfe, nor evident to our underftanding 5
neither certainly to be collefted from any clear and ne-
ceffary conneftion with the caufe from which it pro¬
ceeds, nor with the effe&s which it naturally produces 5
nor is taken up upon any real arguments, or relation
thereof to other acknowledged truths j and yet, not-
withftanding, appears as true, not by manifeftation,
but by an atteftation of the truth, and moves us to af¬
fent, not of itfelf, but in virtue of a teftimony given to
it—this is faid to be properly credible j and an affent
to this is the proper notion of belief or faith.
BELIEVERS, an appellation given toward the
dole of the firft century to thofe Chriftians who had
been admitted into the church by baptifm, and inftruc-
ted in all the myfteries of religion. They had alfo ac-
cefs to all the parts of divine vorfhip, and were autho.
xized to vote in the ecclefiaftical affemblies. They wTere
thus called in contradiftinffion to the catechumens,
who had not been baptized, and were debarred from
thefe privileges.
BELIO, in Ancient Geography, a river of Lufita-
nia, called otherwufe Limceas, Limeas, Limias, and Le¬
the, or the river of oblivion: the boundary of the expe¬
dition of Decimus Brutus. The foldiers out of fuper-
ftition refufing to crofs, he fnatched an enfign out of
the hands of the bearer, and paffed over, by which his
army was encouraged to follow^ (Livy.) He was the
firft Roman who ever proceeded fo far, and ventured to
crofs. The reafon of the appellation according to
Strabo is, that in a military expedition a fedition arifing
between the Celtici and Turduli, after crofting that ri¬
ver, in which the general was flain, they remained dif-
perfed there ^ and from this circumftance it came to
be called the river of Lethe or oblivion. Now called
El Lima, in Portugal, running weftward into the At¬
lantic, to the fouth of the Minho.
BELISARIUS, general of the emperor Juflinian’s
army, who overthrew the Perfians in the eaft, the Belifariut,
Vandals in Africa, and the Goths in Italy. See Rome. t -^e^-
But after^ all his great exploits, he was falfely accufed » " J
of a confpiracy againft the emperor. The real confpi-
rators had been dete&ed and feized, with daggers hid¬
den under their garments. One of them died by his
own hand, and the other was dragged from the fanc-
tuary. Preffed by remorfe, or tempted by the hopes
of fafety, he accufed two officers of the houfehold of
Belifarius; and torture forced them to declare that
they had a&ed according to the fecret inftruciions of
their patron. Pofterity will not haftily believe, that a
hero who in the vigour of life had difdained the faireft
offers of ambition and revenge, fhould ftoop to the
murder of his prince, whom he could not long expert
to furvive. His followers were impatient to ffy j but
flight muft have been fupported by rebellion, and he
had lived enough for nature and for glory. Belifarius
appeared before the council with lefs fear than indig¬
nation ; after 40 years fervice, the emperor had pre¬
judged his guilt •, and injuftice was fan&ified by the
prefence and authority of the patriarch. The life of
Belifarius was gracioufly fpared : but his fortunes were
fequeftered j and,' from December to July, he was
guarded as a prifoner in his own palace. At length
his innocence was acknowledged ; his freedom and ho¬
nours were reftored j and death, which might be ha-
ftened by refentment and grief, removed him from the
world about eight months after his deliverance. That
he was deprived of his eyes, and reduced by envy to
beg his bread, “ Give a penny to Belifarius the gene¬
ral !” is a fiftion of later times •, which has obtained
credit, or rather favour, as a ftrange example of the
viciflitudes of fortune.—The fource of this idle fable
may be derived from a mifcellaneous work of the 1 2th
century, the Chiliads of John Tzetzes, a monk. He
relates the blindnefs and beggary of Belifarius in ten
vulgar or political verfes (Chiliad iii. N° 88. 339—348.
in Corp. Poet. Graec. tom. ii. p. 311.
'Ex.iruy.u. ifioci ra> ftiXia
BlXicuetn o/ioXov cAe ru tputyiXcitvi
Ov jHEV i^O^ete-U, UTTorvtf Xci ©’<s ^Oovcs.
This moral or romantic tale was imported into Italy
with the language and manuferipts of Greece 5 repeat¬
ed before the end of the 15th century by Crinitus,
Pontanus, and Volaterranus j attacked by Alciat for
the honour of the lauq and defended by Baronins
(A. D. 561, N° 2,- &c.) for the honour of the church.
Yet Tzetzes himfelf had read in other chronicles, that
Belifarius did not lofe his fight, and that he recovered
his fame and fortunes.—The ftatue in the Villa Borg-
hefe at Rome, in a fitting pofture, with an open hand,
which is vulgarly given to Belifarius, may be aferibed
with more propriety to Auguftus in the a£I of propitia¬
ting Nemefis {Winchleman, Hifl. de PArt. tom. iii. p.
266). “ Ex nofturno vifu etiam ftipem, quotanms,
die certo, emendicabat a populo, cavam manum affes
porrigentibus prebens.” (Sueton. m Aug. c. 91.)
BELL, a well known machine ranked by muficians
among the mufical inftruments of percuffion.
The conftituent parts of a bell are the body or barrel,
the clapper on theinfide, and the ear or cannon by which
it hangs to a large beam of wood. The matter of
which it is ufually made is a compofition called bell-
metal.
V BEL
Bell. metal. The thicknefs of a bell’s edges is ufually -i-
—r—' of the diameter, and its height 12 times its thicknefs.
The bell-founders have a diapafon, or bell-fcale, where¬
with they meafure the fize, thicknefs, weight, and tone,
of their bells. For the method of cailing bells, fee’
Founder y.
I he lound of a bell is conje&ured to confift in a vi¬
bratory motion of its parts, much like that of a mufi-
cal chord. The ftroke of the clapper muft neceffarily
change the figure of the bell, and of a round make it
oval : but the metal having a great degree of elaltici-
ty, that part wull return back again which the ftroke
drove fartheft off from the centre, and that even fome
imall matter nearer the centre than before ; fo that the
two parts which before were extremes of the longeft
diameter, do then become thofe of the Ihorteft ; and
thus the external furface of the bell undergoes alternate
changes of figure, and by that means gives that tremu¬
lous motion to the air in which the found confifts.
M. Perrault maintains, that the found of the fame bell
or chord is a compound of the founds of the feveral
parts thereof; fo that where the parts are homogene¬
ous, and the dimenfions of the figure uniform, there is
fuch a perfeft mixture of all thefe founds as conftitutes
one uniform, fmooth, even iound ; and the contrary
circumftances produce harftinefs. This he proves from
the bells differing in tone according to the part you
ftrike ; and yet ftrike it anywhere, there is a motion of
all the parts. Fie therefore confiders bells as a com¬
pound of an infinite number of rings, which accordino-
to their different dimenfions have different tones, as
chords of different lengths have ; and when ftruck, the
vibrations of the parts immediately ftruck determine
the tone, being fupported by a fufficient number of con-
Ibnant tones in the other parts.
Bells are obfervedto be heard farther placed on plains
than on hills ; and ftill farther in valleys than on plains:
the reafon of which will not be difficult to afiign, if it
be confidered that the higher the fonorous body is, the
rarer is its medium : confequently, the lefs impulfe it
receives, and the lefs proper vehicle it is to convey it
to a diftance.
M. Reaumur, in the Memoirs of the Paris Academy,
has the following obfervations relating to the ftiape
moft proper for bells, to give them the loudeft and clear¬
ed found. He obferves, “ that as pots and other vef-
fels more immediately neceffary to the fervice of life
were doubtlefs made before bells, it probably happened
that the obferving thefe veffels to have a found when
ftruck, gave occafion to making bells, intended only
for found, in that form ; but that it does not appear
that this is the moft eligible figure ; for lead, a metal
which is in its common ftate not at all fonorous, yet
becomes greatly fo on its being call into a particular
form, and that very different from the common fliape
of bells. In melting lead for the common occafions of
calling in fmall quantities, it is ufually done in an iron
ladle : and as the whole is feldom poured out, the re¬
mainder, which falls to the bottom of the ladle, cools
into a mafs of the lhape of that bottom. This is con¬
fequently a fegment of a fphere, thickeft in the middle,
and thinner towards the edges ; nor is the ladle any ne-
ceffarv part of the operation, fince if a mafs of lead be
call in that form in a mould of earth or faiid, in any
of thefe cafes it is found to be very fonorous. Now if
BEL
this ftrape alone can give found to a metal which in
other forms is perfeftly mute, how much more muft it
neceffarily give it to other metals naturally fonorous
in whatever form ? It fhould feem, that bells -would
much better perform their office in this than in any
other form : and that it muft particularly be a thing
of great advantage to the fmall bells of common
houfe-clocks, which are required to have a ffirill note,
and yet are not allowed any great fize.” He adds,
“ that had our forefathers had opportunities of being
acquainted with the found of metals in this ffiape, wre
ihould probably have had all our bells at .prefent of
this form.”
The ule of bells is very ancient, as w’ell as exten-
five. We find them among Jew's, Greeks, Romans,
Chriftians, and Heathens, variouily applied ; as on
the necks of men, beafts, birds, horfes, fheep : but
chiefly hung in buildings, either religious, as in
churches, temples, and monafteries; or civil, as in
houfes, markets, baths; or military, as in camps and
frontier towms.
Among the Jew's it was ordained, that the lower
part of the blue tunic which the high prieft wore
when he performed religious ceremonies, Ihould be
adorned with pomegranates and gold bells, intermixed
equally and at equal diftances. As to the number of
the bells worn by the highprieft, the Scriptures are filent;
and authors are not very w'ell agreed : but the facred
hiftorian has let us into the ufe and intent of them in
thefe w'ords (Exod. xxviii. 33—35.), “ And it ftiali
be upon Aaron to minifter, and his found lhall be
heard when he goeth into the holv place before the
Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.”
The kings of Perfia are faid to have the hem of their
robes adorned like the Jewilh high-priefts with pome¬
granates and gold bells. It w'as in the opinion of
Calmet, wdth a defign of giving notice that the high¬
prieft w'as paffing by, that he w’ore little bells on the
hem of his robe ; or rather it was as it w-ere a kind of
public notice that he was going to the fanfluary : for,
as in the king of Perfia’s court, no one was fuffered
to enter the apartments without giving notice thereof
by the found of fomething ; fo the high-prieft, out of
refpefl to the divine prelence refiding in the holy of
holies, did, by the found of little bells faftened to the
bottom of his robe, defire, as it w ere, permiffion to en¬
ter, that the found of the bells might be heard, and he
not be pumlhed with death for an unmannerly intru-
fion. The figure of thefe bells is not known to us.
The prophet Zachariah (xiv. 20.) fpeaks of bells hung
to w'ar horfes. “ In that day (fays the prophet) there
lhall be upon the bells of hcrfes, Holinefs unto the
Lord.”
Among the Greeks, thofe who went the nightly
rounds in camps or garrifons, carried with them a
little bell, which they rung at each centry box to fee
that the foldier on watch were aw'ake. A codono-
phorous or bellman alio walked in funeral proceffions,
at a diftance before the corps, not only to keep off the
crowd, but to advertife the jlamen dialis to keep out of
the W'ay, for fear of being polluted by the fight, or by
the funerary mufic. The prieft of Proferpine at Athens,
called hierophantus, rung a bell to call the people to fa-
crifice.
There were alfo bells in the houfes of great men to
call
[ 541 1
Bell.
. B E L f 542 ]
call up the fervants in a morning. Zonara affures us, long after,
* that bells were hung with whips on the triumphal cha¬
riots of their victorious generals, to put them in mind
that they were Hill liable to public juftice.
Bells were put on the necks of criminals going to
execution, that perfons might be warned by the noife
to get out of the way of fo ill an omen as the fight
of the hangman or the condemned criminal, who was
devoted and juft going to be facrificed to the dii
manes.
For bells on the necks of brutes, exprefs mention is
made of them in Phaedrus,—Ceifa cervice eminens,Cla-
runique collo jacians tintlnnabulum. Taking thefe bells
away was conftrued by the civil law, theft j and if the
beaft was loft by this means, the perfon wTho took away
the bells was to make fatisfaftion.
« Hljlory nf As to the origin of church-bells, Mr Whittaker *
Manchejier. obferves, That bells being ufed, among other purpofes,
by the Romans to fignify the times of bathing, were
naturally applied by the Chriftians of Italy to denote
the hours of devotion, and fummon the people to
church. The fir ft application of them to this purpofe
is, by Polydore Virgil and others, afcribed to Pau-
linus bifhop of Nola, a city of Campania, about the
year 400. Hence, it is faid, the names nohe and cam-
pance were given them j the one referring to the city,
the other to the country. Though others fay they took
the latter of thefe names, not from their being invented
in Campania, but becaufe it wTas here the manner of
hanging and balancing them, now in ufe, was firft
praftifed ; at leaft that they were hung on the model of
a fort of balance invented or ufed in Campania; for
in Latin writers wre find campana Jlatera, for a fteel-
yard j and in the Greek x.x/x7rct)u?uii, and ponder are,
“ to weigh.” In Britain, bells were applied to church-
purpofes, before the conclufion of the feventh century,
in the monaftic focieties of Northumbria, and as early
as the fixth even in thofe of Caledonia. And they
were therefore ufed from the firft ereflion of parilh-
churches among us. Thofe of France and England
appear to have been furnilhed with feveral bells. In
the time of Clothair II. king of France, and in the
year 610, the army of that king was frighted from the
fiege of the city of Sens, by ringing the bells of St
Stephen’s church. The fecond excerption of Egbert,
about the year 750, which is adopted in a French ca¬
pitulary of 801, commands every prieft, at the proper
hours, to found the bells of his church, and then to
go through the facred offices to God. And the coun¬
cil of Enham, in ion, requires all the mulfts for fins
to be expended in the reparation of the church, cloth¬
ing and feeding the minifter of God, and the purchafe
of church-vettments, church-books, and church-bells.
Thefe wrere fometimes compofed of iron in France $
and in England, as formerly at Rome, w^ere frequently
made of brafs. And as early as the ninth century,
there were many caft of a large fize and deep note.
Ingulphus mentions, that Turketulus abbot of Croy-
land, who died about the year 870, gave a great bell
to the church of that abbey, which he named Guth-
lac; and afterwards fix others, viz. two which he call¬
ed Bartholomew and Bettelin, two called Turketul
and Tatwin, and two named Bega and Bega, all which
rang together ; the fame author fays, iVcw erat tunc
tanta confonantia campanarum in'tot a Anglia. Not
2
BEL
Kinfeus archbiffiop of York gave two
great bells to the church of St John at Beverly, and
at the fame time provided that other churches in his
diocefe ffiould be furniffied with bells. Mention is
made by St Aldhem, and William of Malmeftmry, of
bells given by St Dunftan to the churches in the weft.
The number oi bells in every church gave occafion to
the curious and Angular piece of archite&ure in the
campanile or bell-tower; an addition, which is more
fufceptible of the grander beauties of archite&ure than
any other part of the edifice, and is generally there¬
fore the principle or rudiments of it. It was the con-
ftant appendage to every pariffi-church of the Saxons,
and is actually mentioned as fuch in the laws of Athel-
ftan.
The Greek Chriftians are ufually faid to have been
unacquainted with bells till the ninth century, when
their conftru&ion was firft taught them by a Venetian.
Indeed, it is not true that the ufe of bells was entirely
unknown in the ancient eaftern churches, and that thev
called the people to church, as at prefent, with wooden
mallets. Leo Allatius, in his diflertations on the Greek
temples, proves the contrary from feveral ancient wri¬
ters. It is his opinion, that bells firft began to be dif-
ufed among them after the taking of Conftantinople
by the Turks ; who, it feems, prohibited them left
their found ffiould difturb the repofe of fouls, which,
according to them, wander in the air. He adds that
they ftill retain the ufe of bells in places remote from
the intercourfe of the Turks 5 particularly, very ancient
ones in Mount Athos. F. Simon thinks the Turks
prohibited the Chriftians the ufe of bells, rather out of
political than religious reafons j inafmuch as the ring¬
ing of bells might ferve as a fignai for the execution of
revolts, &c.
In the ancient monafteries we find fix kinds of bells
enumerated by Durandus, viz. Squilla, rung in the
refeiloryj cymbalum, in the cloifter; nola, in the choir;
nolula or dupla, in the clock ; campana, in the fteeple;
?w&Jbgnum in the tower. Belethus has much the fame ;
only that for fquilla, he puts tintinnabulum, and places
the campana in the tower, anAcampanella in the cloifter.
Others place the tinlinnabulum or tiniolum, in the refec¬
tory or dormitory ; and add another bell called corri-
giuncula, rung at the time of giving difcipline, to call
the monks to be flogged. The eymbalum is fometimes
alfo faid to have been rung in the cloifter, to call the
monks to meat.
In the funeral monuments of Weever, are the follow¬
ing particulars relating to bells: “ Bells had frequently
thefe infcriptions on them :
“ Funera plango, Tulgura frango, Sabbata pango,
“ Excito lentos, DiJJipo ventos, Paco cruentos.
Bell.
“ In the little fanftuary at Wreftminfter King Ed¬
ward III. erefted a clochier, and placed therein three
bells for the ufe of St Stephen’s chapel : about the
biggeft of them were caft in the metal thefe words :
“ King Edward made mee thirtie thoufand weight and
three.
“ Take me down and wey mee, and more you ffiall
fynd mee.
“ But thefe bells being to be taken down in the reign of
King Henry VIII, one writes underneath with a coale :
“ But
BEL [ 543 1 BEL
Bell. il But Henry the eight
  “ Will bait me of my weight.” Ibid. 492.
This laft diftich alludes to a faft mentioned by Stow
in his furvey of London, ward of Farringdon Within j
to wit, that near to St Paul’s fchool Itood a clochier,
in which were four bells called Jefus’s bells, the greateft
in all England, againft which Sir Miles Partridge flaked
an hundred pounds, and won them of King Henry VIII.
at a calf of dice. Neverthelefs it appears that abroad
there are bells of greater magnitude. In the fteeple of
the great church at Roan in Normandy is a bell with
this infcription :
ye fids George d' Ambois,
df u trente cinque mille pois.
Mats lui qui me pefera,
Trente fix mille me trouvera.
I am George of Ambois.
Thirty five thoufand in pois:
But he that fhall weigh me,
Thirtie fix thoufand fhall find me. Ibid.
And it is a common tradition that the bells of King’s
college chapel, in the univerfity of Cambridge, were
taken by Henry V. from fome church in France, after
the battle of Agincourt. They were taken down fome
years ago, and fold to Phelps the bell-founder in White¬
chapel, who melted them down.
The ufes of bells wTere fummed up in the following
diftich, as well as that firft above mentioned :
Laudo Deum verum, plehem voco, conjugo clerum,
DefunBos ploro, pefiem fugo,fefia decoro.
Matthew Paris obferves, that anciently the ufe of
bells was prohibited in time of mourning j though at
prefent they make one of the principal ceremonies of
mourning. Mabillon adds, that it v?as an ancient cu-
ftom to ring the bells for perfons about to expire, to
advertife the people to pray for them ; wdience our paf-
fing bells. The pafiing-bell, indeed, was anciently
rung for two purpofes : one, to befpeak the prayers of
all good Chrillians for a foul juft departing ; the other,
to drive away the evil fpirits who flood at the bed’s
foot, and about the houfe, ready to feize their prey,
or at leaft to moleft and terrify the foul in its paflage :
but by the ringing of that bell (for Durandus informs
us, evil fpirits are much afraid of bells)r they were
kept aloof; and the foul, like a hunted hare, gained
the ftart, or had what is by fportfmen called laxv.
Hence, perhaps, exclufive of the additional labour.*
was occafioned the high price demanded for tolling the
greateft bell of the church j for that being louder,
the evil fpirits muft go farther off to be clear of its
found, by which the poor foul got fo much more the
ftart of them ; befides, being heard farther off, it
would likewile procure the dying man a greater num¬
ber of prayers.. This diftike of fpirits to bells is men¬
tioned in the Golden Legend, by W. de Worde. “ It
is laid, the evill fpirytes that ben in the regyon of
tliayre, doubte moche when they here the belles ron-
gen : and this is the caufe why the belles ben rongen
whan it thondreth, and whan grete tempefte and out¬
rages of wrether happen, to the ende that the feinds
and wycked fpirytes fliold be abalhed and flee, and
ceafe of the movynge of tempefte.” Lobineau oh- Bell,
lerves, that the cuftom of ringing bells at the ap-'
proach of thunder, is of fome antiquity j but that
the defign was not fo much to lhake the air, and fo
diftipate the thunder, as to call the people to church,
to pray that the parilh might be preferved from that
terrible meteor.
In the times of Popery, bells w7ere baptized and
anointed oleo chrifmatis: they w7ere exorcifed, and blef-
fed by the bifhop; from a belief, that, when thefe cere¬
monies were performed, they had powrer to drive the
devil out of the air, to calm tempefts, to extinguifh
fire, and to recreate even the dead. The ritual for
thefe ceremonies is contained in the Roman pontifi¬
cal j and it w7as ufual in their baptifm to give to bells
the name of fome faint. In Chauncy’s hiftory of
Hertford (hire, page 383, is a relation of the baptifm
of a fet of bells in Italy with great ceremony, a ftiort
time before the writing that book. The bells of the
parilh-church of Winnington in Bedfordfhire had their
names call about the verge of every one in particular,
with thefe rhyming hexameters.
Nomina Campanis hcec indita funt quoque nofiris,
1. Hocfignum Petri pulfatur nomine Chrifii.
2. Nomen Magdalene campana fonat melode.
3. Sit nomen Domini benediclum femper in eum.
4. Mufa Raphaelis fonat auribus Immanuelis.
5. Sum Rofa pulfata mundique Maria vocata.
Weev. Fun. 122.
By an old chartulary, once in the pofleflion of Weever
the antiquary, it appears that the bells of the priory c£
Little Dunmow in Eftex were, anno 1501,. new call,
and baptized by the following names :
Prima in honore SanRi Michaelis Archangeli.
Secunda in honore S. Johannis Evangelfii.
Tertia in honore. S. Johannis Baptijli.
Quarto in honore AJfumptionis beaUe Marice.
Quinta in honore fanchs Trinitatis, et omniumfanRorum..
Ib. 633..
The bells of Ofney abbey near Oxford were very
famous 5 their feveral names were Douce, Clement,
Auftin, Hautedler [potius Hautcleri], Gabriel, and
John.
Nankin in China was anciently famous for the
largenefs of its bells •, but their enormous weight
brought down the tow^er, the whole building fell to ruin,
and the bells have ever finee lain on the ground. One
of thefe bells is near 12 Englifh feet high,, the diame¬
ter feven and a half, and its circumference 235 its fi¬
gure almoft cylindric, except for a fwelling in the
middle y and the thicknefs of the metal about the edges
feven inches. From the dimenfions of this bell, its
weight is computed at 50,000 pounds, w'hich is more
than double the weight of that of Erfort, faid by Fa¬
ther Kircher to be the greateft bell in the- world.
Thefe bells were call by the firft emperor of the pre¬
ceding dynafty, about 300 7 irs ago. They have each
their name 5 the hanger (tchoui), the eater (che), the.
fleeper {choui), the will (yf). Father le Compte adds,
that there are feven other bells in Pekin call in the
reign of Youlo, each of which weighs 120,000 pounds.
But the founds even of their biggeft bells are very
poor5;
BEL [ 544 ] BEL
t poor j being ftruck with a wooden in lieu of an iron
v " ' clapper.
Hawkin's The practice of ringing bells in change, or regular
Pea^s? *s to be peculiar to England $ whence En¬
voi iv. ta^n bas been termed the ringing ijland. The cultom
p. 152. feems to have commenced in the time of the Saxons,
and was common before the Conqueft. The ringing
of bells, though a recreation chiefly of the lower fort,
is in itfelf not incurious. The tolling a bell is nothing
more than the producing a found by a ftroke of the
clapper againft the fide of the bell, the bell itfelf being
in a pendant pofition and at reft. In ringing, the bell,
by means of a wheel and a rope, is elevated to a per¬
pendicular \ in its motion to this fituation the clapper
ftrikes forcibly on one fide, and in its return dowmwards
on the other fide of the bell, producing at each ftroke
a found. There are in London feveral focieties of ring¬
ers, particularly one known by the name of the Col¬
lege Youths : of this it is faid Sir Matthew Hale, lord
chief juftice of the court of King’s Bench, was, in his
youthful days, a member •, and in the life of this learn¬
ed and upright judge, written by Bifhop Burnet, fame
fa&s are mentioned which favour this relation. In
England the practice of ringing is reduced to a fcience,
and peals have been compoied which bear the name of
the inventors. Some of the moft celebrated peals now
known were compofed about 50 years ago by one Pa¬
trick. This man was a maker of barometers : in his
advertifements he ftyled himfelf Torricellian Operator,
from Torricelli, who invented inftruments of this kind.
In the year 1684, one Abraham Rudhall, of the city
of Gloucefter, brought the art of bell-founding to great
perfeflion. His defcendants in fucceflion have conti¬
nued the bufinefs of tailing bells j and by a lift pub-
lilhed by them it appears, that at Lady-day 1774 the
family, in peals and odd bells, had call to the amount
of 3594. The peals of St Dunftan’s in the Eaft, and
St Bride’s, London, and St Martin’s in the Fields
Weftminfter, are in the number.
The mufic of bells is altogether melody ; but the
pleafure arifing from it confifts in the variety of inter¬
change, and the various fucceflion and general predo¬
minance of the confonances in the founds produced.
Mufical authors feem to have written but little upon
this fubjefl.
EleBrical Bells are ufed in a variety of entertain¬
ing experiments by electricians. The apparatus, which
is originally of German invention, confifts of three
fmall bells fufpended from a narrow plate of metal j
the two outermoft by chains, and that in the middle,
from which a chain paffes to the floor, by a filken
firing. Two fmall knobs of brafs are alfo hung by
filken firings, one on each fide of the bell in the mid¬
dle, which ferve for clappers. When this apparatus
is connefted with an eleCtrified conduCtor, the outer-
mod bells fufpended by the chains will be charged, at¬
tract the clappers, and be ftruck by them. The clap¬
pers becoming eleCtrified likewife will be repelled by
thefe bells, and attracted by the middle bell, and dis¬
charge themfelves upon it by means of the chain ex¬
tending to the floor. After this, they will be again
attracted by the outermoft bells ; and thus, by link¬
ing the bells alternately, occafion a ringing, which
may be continued at pleafure. Flafhes of light will be
;leen in the dark between the bells and clappers $ and
1
if the electrification be ftrong, the difcharge ufill be Bell-Ani.
made without aCtual contaCl, and the ringing will mal
ceafe. An apparatus of this kind, conneded with one ^
of thofe conductors that are ereCted for fecuring build- > a>'l ,
ings from lightning, -will ferve to give notice of the
approach and paffage of an eleCtrical cloud.
Bell-Animal. See Animalcule, N° 24—28.
BELL-Metal. See Chemistry Index.
Bell, in Chemijiry, denotes a glafs veflel placed
over fume matter in a ftate of exhalation, either to
colled the vapour or gather the flowers. Chemical
bells are a fort of receptacles chiefly ufed in preparing
the oil or fpirit of fulphur, for gathering and conden-
fing fumes into a liquor.
Diving-Bell. See Diving.
BELL-Foundcry. See Foundery.
BELt-Flower. See Campanula, Botany Index.
BsLL-JVeed. See Jacea, Botany Index.
BELLA, Stefana de la, a moft eminent engra¬
ver, was born at Florence A. D. 1610. His father
was a goldlmith ; and he himfelf began to work at his
father’s bufinefs. But whilft he was learning to draw,
in order to perfeCt himfelf in that profeffion, fome of
the prints of Callot fell by accident into his hands j
with which he was fo delighted, that he prevailed up¬
on his father to permit him to apply himfelf to engrav¬
ing ; and he became the difciple of Canta Gallina, who
was alfo the inftruCtor of Callot. De la Bella at firft
imitated the manner of Callot. His abilities foon be¬
gan to manifeft themfelves •, and as by degrees he ac¬
quired a facility in the handling of the point, he quit¬
ted the ftyle in which he only fhone as an imitator,
and adopted one entirely his own, which in freedom
and fpirit is faid even to have furpaffed that of his fel¬
low difciple. He went to Paris A. D. 1642, where
he formed an acquaintance with Ifrael Silveftre, then
newly returned from Rome ; and he was much employ¬
ed by Henriette the uncle of Silveltre. Some time af¬
ter, Cardinal Richelieu engaged him to go to Arras
and make drawings of the fiege and taking of that
town by the royal army ; which drawings he engraved
at his return. He alfo went to Holland, rvhere, it is
reported, he faw fome of the prints of Rembrandt Ger-
retfz, and attempted to imitate them •, but finding he
did not fucceed to his expectations, he dropped that
defign, and continued to purfue his own manner, as
moft fuitable to his genius. After abiding fome confi-
derable time at Paris, bis family affairs obliged him to
return to Florence ; wThere he obtained a penfion from
the Great Duke, and w7as appointed to inftruCt the
prince Cofmo his fon in the art of defign. Being fub-
jeCt to violent pains in the head, his life was rendered
very uncomfortable by this cruel diforder, which at
laft put an end to it A. D. 1664, when he was only
54 years of age. De la Bella drew very correCtly,
and with great tafte. His works manifeft much ge¬
nius and vaft fertility of invention. The fire and ani¬
mation which appears in them compenfates for their
flightnefs 5 and we may reafonably expeCt to find
them flight when -we are told that he engraved 1400
plates.
BELLAC. See Belac.
BELLADONA, in Botany, the trivial name of a
fpecies of Atropa. See Atropa, Botany Index.
BELLAI, William du, lord of Langey, a French
general,
B E I,
[ 545 ]
BEL
■Bella), general, who fignalized himfelf in the fervice of Fran-
Bellarmin. cjs wag ajf0 an negociator, fo that the em-
peror Charles V. ufed to fay, “ that Langey’s pen had
fought more againft him than all the lances in France.”
He was fent to Piedmont in quality of viceroy, where
he took feveral towns from the Imperialills. His ad-
drefs in penetrating into the enemy’s defigns was fur-
prifing. In this he fpared no expence, and thereby
had intelligence of the moft fecret councils of the em¬
peror and his generals. Fie was extremely aftive in
influencing fome of the univerfities of France to give
their judgment agreeable to the defires of Henry VIII,
king of England, when this prince wanted to divorce
his queen, in order to marry Anne Bullen, It was
then the intereft of France to favour the king of Eng¬
land in this particular, it being an affront to the em¬
peror, and a gratification to Henry, which might ferve
to form a ftridt alliance between him and Francis I.
He was fent feveral times into Germany to the princes
of the Proteffant league, and was made a knight of
■ the order of St Michael. He was alfo a man of
learning, having given proofs of his abilities and ge¬
nius as a writer. He compofed feveral works j the
molt remarkable of which was, the Hiftory of his
Own Times, in Latin ; divided into ogdoades, that is,
feveral parts, each confiding of eight books ; molt of
which, however, have been loft. When Langey was
in Piedmont in 1542 he had fome remarkable intelli¬
gence which he was defirous himfelf to communicate
to the king, and being very infirm, he ordered a litter
for his conveyance j but after having palled the moun¬
tain of Tarara, betwixt Lyons and Roan, he found
himfelf fo extremely bad at St Saphorin that he was
obliged to ftop there, where he died the. 9th of Janu¬
ary, in the year 1543. He was buried in the church
of Mans, and a noble monument was ere£ted to his
memory.
BELLARMIN, Robert, an Italian Jefuit, one of
the beft controverfial writers of his time. In 1576 he
read ledlures at Rome on controverfies ; which he did
with fuch applaufe, that Sixtus V. fending a legate into
France in 1590, appointed him as a divine, in cafe any
difpute in religion Ihould happen to be difeufled. He
returned to Rome, and wTas raifed fucceflively to dif¬
ferent offices, till at laft, in 1599, he was honoured
with a cardinal’s hat; to accept of which dignity, it is
faid, they were obliged to force him by the threats of
an anathema. It is certain, that no Jefuit ever did
greater honour to his order than he ; and that no au¬
thor ever defended the caufe of the Romilh church in
general, and that of the pope in particular, to more
advantage. The Proteftants have owned this fufficient-
ly : for, during the fpace of 50 years, there wTas fcarce-
ly any confiderable divine among them who did not
fix upon this author for the fubjeft of his books of con-
• troverfy. Notwithftanding the zeal with wfliich this
Jefuit maintained the porver of the pope over the tem¬
porality of kings, he difpleafed Sixtus V. in his work
De Romano Poritifice, by not infilling that the power
which Jel'us Chrift gave to his vicegerent w^as direff,
but only indirect *, and had the mortification to fee it
put into the index of the inquifition, though it was
afterwards removed. He left, at his death, to the
Virgin Mary one half of his foul, and to Jefus Chrift
the other.—Bellarmin is faid to have been a man of
Vol. III. Part II.
great chaftity and temperance, and remarkable for his Beliatnr
patience. His ftature was low, and his mien very
indifferent 5 but the excellence of his genius might be , *
difeovered from the traces of his countenance. He
expreffed himfelf with great perfpicuity ; and the words
which he firft made ufe of to explain his thoughts w ere
generally fo proper, that there appeared no ralure in his
writings.
BELLATRIX, in AJlronomy, a ruddy glittering
ftar of the fecond magnitude, in the left ffioulder of
Orion. It takes its name from helium, as being an¬
ciently fuppofed to have a great influence in kindling'"'
wars, and forming wrarriors. Its longitude, according
to Hevelius, for the year 1700, was 16° 47' 20"j and
its latitude foutluvard 160 52' 11".
BELLCLARE, a town of Ireland, in the province
of Connaught, and county of Sligo. W. Long. 9. c.
N. Lat. 53. 56.
BELLE, a town of the French Netherlands, feat-
ed in E. Long. 2. 40. N. Lat. 50. 45.
BELLE AU, Re mi, a French poet, born at No-
gent le Rotrou, in the territory of Perche, and pro¬
vince of Orleanois. He lived in the family of Rena-
tus of Lorrain, marquis of Elbeuf, general of the
French galleys ; and attended him in his expedition in¬
to Italy, in 1557. This prince highly effeemed Bel-
leau for his courage ; and having alfo a high opinion
of his genius and abilities, entrufted him with the edu¬
cation of his fon Charles of Lorrain. Belleau was one
of the feven poets of his time who wrere denominated
the French Pleiades* He w’rote feveral pieces ; and
tranflated the odes of Anacreon into the French lan¬
guage, but in this he is thought not to have preferved
all the natural beauties of the original. His paftoral
pieces are in greateft efteem. His verfes in that w-ay
(according to his eulogifts) are expreffed with fuch
beauty and fimplicity, that they feem to be a living pic¬
ture of w'hat they deferibe. He alfo wnote an excel¬
lent poem on the nature and difference of precious
Hones, which by fome has been reputed his beft per¬
formance. Belleau died at Paris, in the family of the
duke d’Elbeuf, on the 6th of March, 1577. He was
interred in the church De Peres Auguftines, near the
Pont-neuf: feveral eulogiums were made to his me¬
mory.
BELLEFOREST, Francis de, a French author,
born in the province of Guienne, in 1530. He was
but feven years of age when he loft his father ; and his
mother wras left in poor circumftances, but fhe contri¬
buted all in her power to his education. He wras fup-
ported fome years by the queen of Navarre, fifter to
Francis I. Some time after he wxnt to ftudy at Bour-
deaux •, thence he removed to Touloufe ; and at laft
to Paris, where he got acquainted with feveral men of
learning, and w-as honoured with the friendfhip of many
perfons of quality. He wrote, 1. A Hiftory of the
Nine Charles’s of France j 2. Annotations on the
books of St Auguftin ; 3. An univerfal Hiftory of
the World ; 4. The Chronicles of Nicholas Gillet,
augmented ; 5. An univerfal Cofmography j 6. An¬
nals, or a general Hiffory of France : and many other
W’orks. In ftiort, he fupported his family by writing
books on wffiatever fubjeft was propofed to him by the
bookfellers, according to the tafte of the public. He
died in 1583.
3 Z BELLEGARDE,
Belleifle.
BEL [ J4f5 ]
Bellegarcle, BELLEGARDE, a town of France, in tEe depart- after mad
ment of the Eaftern Pyrenees, on the frontiers of Cata¬
lonia. It is an important place on account of its be¬
ing a paffage to the Pyrenean mountains. E. Long.
3. o. N. Eat. 42. 20. v - .
BelLegarde, a town of France, in the department
of Saone and Loire, feated on the river Saone, 15 miles
fouth-eaft of Chalons, in E. Long. 4. o. N. Lat. 46.
57-
BELLEISLE, an ifland of France, on the coaii of
Brittany, 15 miles diftant from it. rPhis ifland is be¬
tween 12 and 13 leagues in circumference. It is a
mixture of craggy rocks and fertile foil 5 but the inha¬
bitants are very poor, and the only trade carried on in
it is the curing of pilchards. There are three harbours
in the illand, viz. Palais, Sauzon, and Goulford •, every
one of which labours under fome capital defect, either
in being expofed, (hallow or dangerous in the entrance.
It contains only one little city called Le Palais, three
country towns, 103 villages, and about 5000 inhabi¬
tants. The illand originally belonged to the earl of
Cornouaille 5 but was afterwards yielded to the king,
who in 1742 eredled it into a duchy, in favour of
Marfhal Belleifle. The town of Palais takes its name
from a caftle which belonged to the duke de Belleide,
which (food in its neighbourhood ; but was afterwards
converted into a citadel fronting the fea, llrongly fortified.
Its fortifications are compofed principally ofhornworksj
and it is provided with two dry ditches, the one next
the counterfcarp, and the other fo contrived as to fecure
the interior fortifications. This citadel is divided from
the larged part of the town by an inlet of,the fea, over
which there is a bridge of communication. From the
other part of the town, and which is mod inhabited,
it is only divided by its own fortifications and a glacis.
In this date was the idand in 1761, when an expedi¬
tion was undertaken againd it by a Britifh deet under
the command of Commodore Keppel, having on board
a confiderabledand force commanded lay General Flodg-
ion. The fieet failed from Spithead on the 29th of
March, and arrived before Belleide on the 7th of April.
The next day it was agreed to attempt a landing on the
fouth-ead part of the idand, in a fandy bay, near Loch-
inana point. Here the enemy were in pofleffion of a
little fort ; they had moreover intrenched themfelves
on a hill excedively deep, the foot of which was (car¬
ped away. The attempt was made in three places with
great refclution ; but the Britiib wrere at lad repulfed
with the lois of 500 men. It w'as not before the 25th
of April that the weather allowed a, fecond attempt.
This was made on a very drong place, where the enemy
were rather lefs attentive, on account of the excefilve
deepnefs and difficulty of climbing up the rocks. Be-
(ides the principal attack, two feints were made at the
fame time to didraft the enemy, whild the men of w^ar
direfted their fire with great fuccefs on the hills. Thefe
manoeuvres gave Brigadier-general Lambert, with a
handful of men, an opportunity of climbing up a very
deep rock without moledation. This little body formed
themfelves in good order without delay, and were im¬
mediately attacked by 300 French. 7'he Britiffi, howT-
ever, fudained this attack until the whole corps of Bri¬
gadier Lambert, wffiich had now likewife afeended,
came to their affidance, with wffiofe help they repulfed
the enemy. The landing of all the forces being foon
BEL
good, the French were driven into the town
of Palais. Plere the chevalier de St Croix who com¬
manded them, a brave and experienced officer, refolved*"
to hold out to tfie lad extremity \ and it was not till
the 7th of June that he capitulated, and the garrifon
marched out with the honours of war. The iiland,
however, w-as redored to the French by the treaty con¬
cluded in 1763.
Belleisle, an iiland of North America, lying at
the mouth of the drait between the country of the
Esquimaux, or New Britain, and the north end of
Newfoundland ; whence the draits take alio the name
of Belleijle. W. Long. 58. 5. N. Lat. 51. 50.
BELLENDEN, or Ballantine, William, a
Scotch writer who douridred in the beginning of the
I 7th century, wTas profeffor of humanity or belles lettres
at Edinburgh, and mailer of the requeds to James I. of
England. But the former is (uppoied to have been only
nominal, or early given up, and the latter alfo to have
confided in the name only, fince he appears to have re¬
dded almod condantly at Paris, w here by the favour of
bis (bvereign he was enabled to live in eaiy circumdan-
ces. There he publidied, in 1608, his Cicero princeps,
a fingular work 3 in which he extracted, from Cicero’s
writings detached pafiages, and comprifed them into
one regular body, containing the rules of monarchical
government, with the line of conduft to be purfued,
and the virtues proper to be encouraged, by the prince
himfelf: And the treatife, when finiihed, he dedicated
from a principle of patiiotifm and gratitude, to the
fon of his mader, Henry, then prince of Wales. Four
years afterwards, namely, in 1612, he proceeded to
publilh another work of a fimilar nature, which be
called Cicero Conful, Senator Senatufque Romanus, in
which he treated, with much perfpicuity, and a fund
of folid information, on the nature of the confular
office, and the conilitution of the Roman fenate.
Finding thefe works received, as they deferved, with
the unanimous approbation of the learned, he con¬
ceived the plan of a third work, lie Statu prifei Orbis,
which was to contain a hidory of the progrefs of go¬
vernment and philofophy, from the times before the
flood to their various degrees of improvement under
the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. He proceeded
fo far as to print a few copies of this work, in the year
1615, when it feems to have been fuggeded that his
treatifes, De Statu Principis, De Statu Reipublicce,
and De Statu Or bis, being on fubjefts fo nearly refem-
bling each other, there might be 3 propriety in uniting
them into one work, by republifhing the two former,
and entitling the wffiole Bellendetius de Statu. With
this view, he recalled the few copies of his lad -work
that were, abroad, and after a delay of fome months,
publiffied the three trealifes together, under their new
title, in 1616. Thefe pieces have been lately reprinted
by an ingenious political editor, who has thought pro¬
per to inferibe them to Mr Burke, Lord North, and
Mr Fox, wffiofe refpeftive portraits are prefixed to each
dedication, and whofe talents and virtues he celebrates
and defends in a preface of 76 pages, containing a ve¬
ry free and bold difeuffion of our public men and mea-
fures hi very claffical language, and a drong and iatiri-
cal reprefentation, under borrowed names of antiquity,
of the chiefs of the other party, or the prefent minidry.
Bellenden wrote another work, publidied after bis
death,
Bclkiflp,
Bellenden.
I
/
BEL [ 547 ] BEL
■Bellcro- death, De tribus Luminibus Romanorum, whom he
phon, conceives to be Cicero, Seneca, and the elder Pliny.
Lettn-s e(^‘tor gives an account of this work, from whence
^  i he took his idea of drawing his chara&ers of the three
luminaries of Great Britain. He marks the proficien¬
cy in Greek and Roman literature which once diftin-
guifiied the Scotch, before the civil diiTenfions drove
their- brighteft geniufes abroad, and celebrates the ar¬
dour for philofophy and literature fo prevalent in North
Britain at prefent. Dr Middleton has been charged
with borrowing not only the matter, but the arrange¬
ment, of his “ Life of Cicero,” from Bellenden, with¬
out the leaft acknowledgment, and the editor con-
feflfes himfelf of this opinion. It is furprifing how lit¬
tle is known of Bellenden or his writings : concerning
his lineage, birth, private life, and death, no notices
have been tranimitted even by tradition.
BELLEROPHON, in fabulous hiftory, the fon of
Glaucus king of Epirus, happening accidentally to kill
his brother, fled to Proetus king of Argos, who gave
him a hofpitable reception: but Sthenobea, his queen,
falling in love with the beautiful ftranger, and finding
that nothing could induce him to injure his benefactor,
(he accufed him to her huiband of an attempt to violate
her honour. Proetus, however, not being willing to
aft contrary to the laws of hofpitality, fent him to lo-
bates king of Lyfia, and the father of Sthenobea, with
letters defiring him to put him to death : whence the
proverb Be/lerophontis literas offeret, equivalent to Li-
terce Urue. That prince, at the receipt of thefe letters,
was celebrating a feitival of nine days, which prevented
Bellerophon’s deftruftion. lobates, how'ever, fent him
in the mean time to fubdue the Solymi, the Amazons,
and Lyfians, and thought to get rid of him by expo-
fing him to the greatefl dangers ; but by his prudence
and courage he came oft’ vifforious. lobates next em¬
ployed him to deftroy the Chimaera ; when Minerva, or
according to others, Neptune, in confideration of his
innocence, furni (lied him with the horfe Pegafus, by
whole afliftance he killed theChimarra. lobates, on his
return, being convinced of his truth and integrity, and
charmed with his heroic virtues, gave him his daughter
Philonoe in marriage, and declared him his fucceffbr }
which w’hen Sthenobea heard, fire killed herfelf. Bel-
lerophon at length growing vain wfith his profperity,
refolved, by the afliftance of Pegafus, to afcend the
Ikies ; when Jupiter checked his prefumption, by lin¬
king him blind in his flight *, on which he fell down to
the earth, and wandered till his death in contempt and
mifery : but Pegafus mounting into heaven, Jupiter
placed him among the conftellations.
BELLES lettres. Whether we confult the vo¬
luminous dictionaries of the French language,, or
thofe treatifes that profefs to point out the method of
ftudying and teaching the belles lettres, we find not, in
the one or the other, either a clear definition, or a fuc-
cinfl explication of the words belles lettres, nor any
fummary of thofe fciences which are comprehended un¬
der that general and colleflive denomination. It ap¬
pears to be a vague term, under which every one may
include whatever he thinks proper. Sometimes we
are told that by the belles lettres is meant, the know¬
ledge of the arts of poetry and oratory \ fometimes
that the true belles lettres are natural philofophy, geo¬
metry, and other effential parts of learning j and fome¬
times, that they comprehend the art of war, by land Belle-wile
and fea : in Ihort, they are made to include all that we ^
know, and whatever we pleafe ; fo that, in treating on ’ .
the belles lettres, they talk of the ufe of the facra-
ments, &c. * Some comprehend under the term, all* Ratlin on
thofe inftruftive and pleafing fciences which occupy the the Belles
memory and the judgment, and do not make part ei- Leitrcs.
ther of the fuperior fciences, of the polite arts\, or off See Arts,
mechanic, profeflions : hence they make hiftory, chro- Polite.
nology,, geography, genealogy, blazonry, philology,
&c. the belles lettres. In a word, it w^ere an endlefs
talk to attempt to enumerate all the parts of literature
which difterent learned men have comprehended under
this title. Nor would it be of any ufe to the reader
for us to pretend to fix the true import of the term.
Whatever arts or fcrences it may be fuppofed to in¬
clude, they are feverally explained in the courfe of
this work.
BELLE-ville, a town of the Beaujolois in France,
feated near the river Saone, E. Long. 4. 46. N. Lat.
AS- 5- . * /
BELLEVOIS, painter of fea-pieces, is known
through all parts of Europe as a good painter, though
t^o particulars have been handed down concerning his
life. lie died in 1684. His fubjedls are view's of ha¬
vens, fea-ports, flrores, calms, and ftorms at fea ; but
in his calms he (hows his peculiar excellence. Pictures
of this mailer are often in public fales ; and fome of
them, which feem of his bell Ityle, are fold for a tole¬
rable price.
BELLEY, or Bell ay, a town of France, and
capital of Bujey, in the department of Ain. It is
feated near the river Rhone. E. Long. 5. 50. N. Lat.
45- 43-
BELLINGHAM, a town of Northumberland in
England. W. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat. 55. 10.
BELLINI, Gentil, a Venetian painter, born in
the year 1421. He was employed by the republic of
Venice ; and to him and his brother the Venetians are
indebted for the noble works which are to be feen in,
the council-hall. We are told that Mahomet II. em¬
peror of the Turks, having feen fome of his perform¬
ances, was fo ftruck with them, that he wrote to the
republic, entreating them to fend him. "The painter
accordingly went to Conftantinople, where he did many
excellent pieces. Amonglt the reft, he painted the de¬
collation of St John the Baptift, whom the Turks re¬
vere as a great prophet. Mahomet admired the pro¬
portion and fhadowing of the work ; but he remarked
one defefl in regard to the fkin of the neck, from
wTich the head w-as feparated ; and in order to prove
the truth of his obfervation, he fent for a Have and or¬
dered his head to be ftruck off. The fight fo ftiocked
the painter, that he could not be eafy till he had ob¬
tained his difmiflion ; which the grand fignicr grant¬
ed, and made him a prefent of a gold chain. The re¬
public fettled a penfion upon him at his return, and
made him a knight of St Mark. He died in 1 cor, in
the 80th year of his age.
John Bellini, his brother, painted with more art and
fweetnefs. He died in 1512, aged go.
Bellini, Laurence, an eminent phyfician, born
at Florence in the year 1643. After having finiihed
his ftudies in polite literature, he went to Pifa, where
he was aflifted by the generofity of the grand duke Fer»
3 Z 2 dinand
BEL
Bdhnzona dinand II. and ftudied under two of the mod learned
Bdlona. irJen that age, Oliva and Borelli. Oliva inftrudled
^him in natural philofophy, and Eorelli taught him ma-
tnematics. At 20 years of age, he was chofen profef-
for of philofophy at Pifa, but did not continue long in
this office ; for he had acquired fuch a reputation for
his fkill in anatomy, that the grand duke procured him
a profefforftxip in that fcience. This prince was often
prefent at his leclures, and was highly fatisfied with
his abilities and performances. Bellini, after having
held his profefforffiip almoft 30 years, accepted of an
invitation to Florence, when he was about 50 years of
age. Here he pra&ifed phyfic with great fuccefs, and
was advanced to be firft phylician to the grand duke
Cofmus III. He wnote the following books in La¬
tin . 1. An Anatomical difcourle on the Structure and
ufe of the Kidneys. 2. A Speech by way of thanks
to the ferene duke of Tufcany. 3. Some Anatomical
Obfervations, and a propofition in Mechanics. 4. Of
the Urine and Pulfe, of Blood-letting, Fevers, and dif-
eafes of the Head and Breads. 5. Several Trads con¬
cerning Urine, the motion of the Heart, and Bile, &c.
He died January 8. 1703, being 60 years of age. His
works were read and explained publicly during his life,
by the famous Scotch phyfician Dr Pitcairn, profeffor
of phyfic in Leyden.
BELLINZONA, a town of Italy, in the Milanefe,
and one of the bailiwicks which the Swifs poffefs in
that country. It is feated on the river Tefino, five miles
above the place where it falls into the Lago Maggiore,
and is fortified with two flrong callles formerly joined
together by a wall flanked with towers ; but the Swifs
have demolifhed a part of the fortifications. E. Long.
9. o. N, Lat. 46. 8.
BELLIS, the daisy. See Botany Index.
Bellis Major. See Chrysanthemum, Botany
Index.
BELLON, a diftemper common in countries where
they fmelt lead-ore. It is attended with languor, in¬
tolerable pains and fenfations of grippings in the bel-
ly, and generally coftivenefs.—Beafts, poultry, &c. as
well as men, are fubjed to this diforder: hence a
certain fpace round the fmelting-houfes is called bellon-
ground, becaufe it is dangerous for an animal to feed
upon it.
BELLONA, in Pagan Mythology, the goddefs of
war, is generally reckoned the filler of Mars, and fome
reprefent her as both his filler and wife. She is faid to
have been the inventrefs of the needle j and from that
inftrument is fuppofed to have taken her name BsAovij,
fignifying a needle. This goddefs was of a cruel and
favage difpofition, delighting in bloodlhed and daugh¬
ter 3 and was not only the attendant of Mars, but took
a pleafure in Iharing his dangers’. She is commonly re-
prefented in an attitude expreffive of fury and diffrac¬
tion, her hair compofed of fnakes clotted with -gore,
and her garments llained with blood : Hie js generally
depidlured driving the chariot of Mars, with a bloody
whip in her hand 3 but fometimes die is drawn holding
a lighted torch or brand, and at others a trumpet. Bel-
lona had a temple at Rome, near the Circus Flaminius,
before which Hood the column of war, from whence
the conful threw his lance when he declared war.
She was alfo wordiipped at Comana, in Cappadocia ;
and Camden obferves, that in the time of the emperor
t 548 1
BEL
Bellows.
Severus, there was a temple of Bellona in the city of Bellonarli
York.
BELLONARII, in Antiquity, prieds of Bellona,,
the goddefs of wars and battles. The bellonarii cut
and mangled their bodies with knives and daggers in a
cruel manner, to pacify the deity. In this they are
Angular, that they offered their own blood, not that of
other creatures, in facrifice. In the fury and enthu-
fiafm wherewith they were feized on tkefe occafions,
they ran about raging, uttering prophecies, and fore¬
telling blood and daughter, devaitations of cities, revo¬
lutions of Hates, and the like : whence Martial calls
them turba entheata Bellonce. In after-times, they
feem to have abated much of their zeal and tranfport,
and to have turned the whole into a kind of farce, con¬
tenting themfelves with making figns and appearances
of cutting and wounds. Lampridius tells us, the em¬
peror Commodus, out of a fpirit of cruelty, turned the
farce again into a tragedy, obliging them to cut and
mangle their bodies really.
BELLONIA (fo named, from the famous Petrus
Bellonius, wffio left many valuable tracts on natural
hiftory, &c.) a genus of the monogynia order, belong¬
ing to the pentandria clafs of plants. Of this genus
there is only one fpecies known, viz. the afpera, with
a rough balm leaf. This is very common in the warm
illands of America.
BELLORI, John Peter, of Rome 3 a celebrated
antiquary and connoiffeur in the polite arts 3 author
of the lives of the modern painters, architedls, and
fculptors, and of other works on antiquities and me¬
dals. He died in 1696.
BELLOVACI, in Ancient Geography, a people of
Gallia Belgica, reckoned the braved of the Belgse ;
now Beauvajis, in the Me of France.
BELLOWS, a machine fo .contrived as to exfpire
and infpire the air by turns, by enlarging and con-
tradfing its capacity. This machine is ufed in cham¬
bers and kitchens, in forges, furnaces, and founderies,
to blow up the fire : it ierves alfo for organs and other
pneumatic indruments, to give them a proper degree
of air. All thefe are of various condruftions, accord¬
ing to their different purpofes 5 but in general they are
compofed of two dat boards, fometimes of an oval,
fometimes of a triangular figure : Two or more hoops,
bent according to the figure of the boards, are placed
between them 3 a piece of leather, broad in the middle,
and narrow at both ends, is nailed on the edges of the
the boards, which it thus unites together 3 as alfo on
the hoops which feparate the boards, that the leather
may the eafier open and fold again : a tube of iron,
brafs, or copper, is fadened to the undermod board,
and there is a valve within, that covers the holes in
the under board to keep in the air.
Anacharfis the Scythian is recorded as the inventor
of bellows. The adlion of bellows bears a near affini¬
ty to that of the lungs 3 and what we call blowing in
the latter, affords a good illudration of what is called
refpiring in the former. Animal life itfelf may on
fome occafions be fubfided by blowing into the lungs
with a pair of bellows. Dr Hooke’s experiment to
this effcd is famous : having laid the thorax of a dog
bare, by cutting away the ribs and diaphragm, pericar¬
dium, &c. and having cut off the afpera arteria below
the epiglottis, and bound it on the nofe of a bellows,
ha
BEL
Bone- he found, that as he Mowed, the dog recovered, and as
Beliows ke ceafe,;^ fell convulfive j and thus was the animal
Belomancy. k6?1 alternately alive and dead above the fpace of an
u—-y—_J hour. There are bellows made wholly of wood, with¬
out any leather about them ; one of which is preferved
in the repofitory of the Royal Society ; and Dr Plot
deferibes another in the copper-works at Ellafton in
Staffordfhire. Ant. della Fruta contrived a fubftitute
for bellows, to fpare the expence thereof in the fufion
of metals. This is called by Kircher camera ceolia,
and in England commonly the water-bellows ; where
water falling through a funnel into a clofe veiTel, fends
from it fo much air .continually as blows the fire. See
the article Furnace, where different blowing machines
of this kind are deferibed.
Smiths and founders bellows, whether fingle or
double, are wrought by means of a rocker, with a
firing or chain faftened thereto, which the workman
pulls. The bellows pipe is fitted into that of the
tewel. One of the boards is fixed, fo as not to play
at all. By drawing down the handle of the rocker,
the moveable board rifes, and by means of a weight
on the top of the upper board, finks again. The
bellows of forges and furnaces of mines ufually re¬
ceive their motion from the wheels of a water-mill.
Others, as the bellows of enamellers, are wrought by
means of one or more fteps or treddles under the work¬
man’s feet. Laftly, the bellows of organs are wrought
by a man called the blower ; and in fmall organs by the
foot of the player. Butchers have alfo a kind of blaft
or bellows of a peculiar make, by which they bloat or
blow up their meat when killed, in order to piecing or
parting it the better.
Bone-BeLLcnrs, pvrlhjgtj o&ivoi, occur in Herodotus
for thole applied by the Scythians to the genitals
of mares, in order to diftend the uterus, and by this
Comprefllon make them yield a greater quantity of.
milk.
HeJJian Brlioips are a contrivance for driving air
into a mine for the refpiration of the miners. This
M. Papin improved, changing its cylindrical form in¬
to a fpiral one ; and with this, working it only with
his foot, he could make a wind to raife two pound
weight.
Hydrqftatic Bf.Li.oirs. See Hydrostatics.
BELLUNESE, a territory of Italy, belonging to
the Venetians. It lies between Friuli, Codorino, Fel-
trino, the bifhopric of Trent and Tirol. It has good
iron mines, but the only confiderable place is Bel-
luno.
_ BELLUNO, a towm of Italy, in the Venetian ter¬
ritories, and capital of the Bellunefe. It is a bifhop’s
fee } and is fituated among the Alps, on the river Piave,
between the towns Cadora and Trevigni, in E. Long-.
12. 15. N. Lat. 46. 9. 8
BELLY, in Anatomy, the fame with what is more
ufually called abdomen. See Anatomy.
BELMON PE, a town of Italy, in the hither Ca¬
labria, and kingdom of Naples. It is fituated on the
coaft of the f ufcan fea. E. Long. 16. 50. N. Lat.
39. 20.
BELOMANCY ; Belomantia, a kind of divina¬
tion by means of arrows, pra&ifed in the eafi, but
chiefly among the Arabians. The word is of Greek
BEL
origin 5 compounded of arrow, and finvruet divi- Beloit,
nation. Belone.
Belomancy has been performed in different manners.
One was to mark a parcel of arrows, and put 11 or
more of them into a bag : thefe weie afterwards drawn
out •, and according as they were marked or not, they
judged of future events.
Another way wras to have three arrows, upon one
of w'hich was wrote, “ God orders it me j” upon a-
nother, “ God forbids it me j” and upon the third
nothing at all. Thefe w-ere put into a quiver, out
of which they drew one of the three at random j if it
happened to be that with the firft infeription, the thing
they confulted about was to be done : if it chanced to
be that with the fecond infeription, it was let alone p
but if it proved that without infeription, they drew
over again.
Belomancy is an ancient pra&ice, and probably that
wdiich Ezekiel mentions, chap. xxi. 21. At leaft Sfc
Jerome underfiands it fo, and obferves that the pra&ice
was frequent among the Affyrians and Babylonians.
Something like it is alfo mentioned in Hofea, chap. iv.
only that Haves are there mentioned infiead of arrows,
which is rather rhabdomancy than belomancy. Gro-
tius, as well as Jerome, confounds the two together,
and (hows that it prevailed much among the Magi,
Chaldeans, and Scythians; whence it paffed to the Scla-
vonians, and thence to the Germans, whom Tacitus
obferves to make ufe of it.
BELON, Peter, of Le Mans, the capital of Le
Maine a province of France, flouriflied about the mid¬
dle of the 16th century. He publifhed feveral books
in Latin. He wrote, in French, of birds, beafts,.
fifhes, ferpents, and the negle&ed culture of plants;
and a book of travels, or obfervations of many Angu¬
larities and memorable things found in Greece, Alia,
Judaea, Egypt, Arabia, and other foreign countries.
He was murdered near Paris by one of his- enemies, in
1564.
BELONE, in Ichthyology, the trivial name of a~
fpecies ofefox. See Esox, Ichthyology Index.
BELSHAZZAR, the lafi king of Babylon, gene¬
rally fuppofed to be the fon of Evil-merodach, and'
grandfon to the great Nebuchadnezzar.—During the
time that Babylon was befieged by Cyrus, Belfhazzar^
made an entertainment for a thoufand of his moft emi¬
nent courtiers (Dan.v. 1. &c.)j and being heated with
wine, ordered that the veffels of gold and filver which
his grandfather Nebuehadnezzar had taken out'of the
temple at Jerufalem might be brought to the banquet-
ing-houfe, that he and his princes, together with hia-
wives and concubines, might drink out of them, which
accordingly was done ; and to add to their profanenefs,
in the midft of their cups, they fang fongs in praife of'
their feveral idols. But it was not long before a damp
was put to the king’s mirth, by a hand appearing,
upon the wall, which in three words wrote the fentence
of his condemnation. The king faw the hand that
wrote j and, being exceedingly affrighted, commanded
all his wife men, magicians, and aftrologers, to be im*
mediately called, that they might read the writing,
and explain its meaning. When, they came, the king
promifed, that whoever fhould expound this writing
Ihould be made the third perfon of his kingdom in place
and;
[ 549 ]
•Belt
' BEL [5
and power. But the Magi could comprehend nothing
Bejts of this writing •, which increafed the diforder and un-
, eahnefs that the king was in, together with his whole
court: whereupon, at the inftance of the queen-mo¬
ther, Daniel was fent for. The king made him the
fame offer of honours and prefents that he had done to
his own magicians if he would explain the writing.
Daniel modeitly refufed thdfe offers: but having un¬
dertaken to perform what he required of him, he firft
reproved the king with great freedom for his ingrati¬
tude to God, who had advanced him to the rank of a
fovereign, »and for the profanation of the veffels which
were confecrated to his fervice ; and then proceeded to
the interpretation of the words, which were thefe,
Mene, Tekel, Ufibarjln. Mene, fays he, which figni-
fies number, intimates, that the days both of your life
and reign are numbered, or that you have but a fhort
time to live •, Teke/, which fignifies weight, intimates,
that you have been weighed in the balance of God’s
juflice, and found too light ; and Upbarjin, (or Peres,
as Daniel has it, and means the fame thing), which
fignifies a fragment, intimates, that your kingdom ihall
be divided and given to the Medes and Perfians. Which
accordingly came to pafs : for that very night, in the
midft of their feafting and revelling, the city was taken
by furprife, Belfhazzar llain, and the kingdom tranfia-
ted to Cyaxares, whom the Scripture calls Darius the
Mecle. See Babylon.
BELT, the Great, a famous flrait of Denmark be¬
tween the ifland of Zeeland and that of Funen, at the
entrance of the Baltic fea. It is not however fo com¬
modious, nor fomuch frequented, as the Sound. In 16 ^8
the whole ftrait was frozen fo hard, that Charles Guita-
vus king of Sweden marched over it with a defign to
take Copenhagen.
Belt, the Lefer, lies to the weft of the Great Belt,
between the illand of Funen and the coaft of Jutland.
It is one of the paflages from the German ocean to the
Baltic, though not three miles in breadth, and very
crooked.
Belt, Baltheus, properly denotes a kind of military
girdle, ufualiy of leather, wherewith the fword or other
weapons are fuftained.—Belts are known among the
ancient and middle-age -writers by divers names, as
'Capa., %ona, cingulum, reminiculum, rinca or ringa, and
haldrellus. The belt was an elTential piece of the an¬
cient armour \ infomuch that wre fometimes find it ufed
to denote the whole armour. In later ages, the belt
w^as given to a perfon when he was raifed to knight¬
hood 5 whence it has alfo been ufed as a badge or mark
of the knightly order.
The denomination belt is alfo applied to a fort of
bandages in ufe among furgeons, &c. Thus we meet
with quickfilver belts, ufed for the itch •, belts for
keeping the belly tight, and difeharging the water in
the operation of tapping, &c.
Belt, is alfo a frequent difeafe in fheep, cured by
cutting their tails off, and laying the fore bare \ then
catling mould on it, and applying tar and goofe
greafe.
Belts, in Aflronorny, two zones or girdles fur¬
rounding the body of the planet Jupiter. See A-
■■ STRONOMY.
Belts, in Geography, certain ftraits between the
German ocean and the Baltic. The Belts belong to
5° ] BEL
the king of Denmark, wrho exarits a toll from all fhips Bel-tein
which pafs through them, excepting thofe of Sweden, li
which are exempted. CJUS'
BEL-tein, a luperftitious cuftom obferved in the
Highlands of Scotland. It is a kind of rural facrifice,
performed by the herdfmen of every village on the firft
of May. They cut a fquare trench in the ground, Pennant's
leaving a turf in the middle : on that they make a fire Tawr.
of rvood, on which they drefs a large caudle of eggs,
butter, oatmeal, and milk ; and bring, befides the in¬
gredients of the caudle, plenty of beer and whifkyj for
each of the company muft contribute"fomethmg. The
rites begin with fpilling fome of the caudle on the
ground, by way of libation : on that, every one takes
a cake of oatmeal, upon which are raifed nine fquare
knobs, each dedicated to fome particular being, the
fuppofed preferver of their flocks and herds, or to fome
particular animal, the real deftroyer of them : each
perfon then turns his face to the fire, breaks off a knob,
and flinging it over his fhoukler, fays, ’This I give to
thee, preferve thou my horfes ; this to thee, preferve thou
my Jheep; and fo on. After that, they ule the fame
ceremony to the noxious animal : This I give to thee,
Ofox l [pare thou my lambs ; this to thee, 0 hooded crow l
this to thee, 0 eagle ! When the ceremony is over, they
dine on the caudle; and after the feaft is finifhed, what
is left jis hid by two perfons deputed for that purpofe ;
but prf the next Sunday they re-affemble and finifh the
reliques of the firft entertainment.
BELTURBET, a town of Ireland in the county
of Cavan, and province of Differ, fituated on the river
Earn, in W. Long. 7. 35. N. Lat. 94. 7.
BELTZ, or Belzo, a province of Red Ruffia in
Poland, bounded by Leopold on the fouth, by Chelm
on the north, Little Poland on the eaft, and Volhynia
on the W'eft. Its capital town is Beltz.
Beltz, or Bel%o, a town of Poland, and capital of
the province of the fame name, feated on the confines
of Upper Volhynia, among marfhes, in E. Lbng. 25.
15. N. Lat. 50 5.
BELVEDERE, in the Italian Achiteffure, &c.
denotes either a pavilion on the top of a building, or an
artificial eminence in a garden ) the w’ord literally fig-
nifying a fneprofpefi.
Belvedere, a confiderable town of Greece, and ca¬
pital of a province of the fame name in the Morea.
The province lies on the weftern coaft : it is the moft
fertile and rich in all the Morea*, and from it the raifins
called Belvederes take their name. The town is fituated
in E. Long. 22. o. N. Lat. 38. 5.
BELVEDERE. See Cheno podium, Botany In¬
dex.
BELUNUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Rhsetia, above Feltria, in the territory of the Veneti;
now Belluno, capital of the Bellunefe in the territory
of Venice. See Belluno.
BEL US, in Ancient Geography, a fmall river of
Galilee, at the diftance of two ftadia from Ptolemais,
running from the foot of Mount Carmel out of the lake
Cendevia. Near this place, according to Jofephus,
was a round hollow or valley, where was a kind of
fand fit for making glafs 5 which, though exported in
great quantities, was found to be inexhauftible. Strabo
fays, the whole of the coaft from Tyre to Ptolemais
has a fand fit for making glafs; but that the fand of
the
Benares
Bench,
BEN [55
the rivulet Belus and its neiglibourliood is a better
fort 5 and here, according to Pliny, the making of
glafs was Hr(t difcovered.
BEMA, in Antiquity, denotes a flep or pace. The
bema made a- kind of itinerary meafure among the
Greeks, the length of which was equivalent to one cubit
and two thirds, or to ten palms. Whence alio the term
bcmatiKem, /Svfcxltfytv, to meafuve a road.
Bema, in ecclefiahical writers, denotes the altar or
fancluary in the ancient churches. In which fenfe be-
tna made the third or imiermoft part of the church,
anlwering to the chancel among us.
Bema was alfo ufed for the bilhop’s chair, feat, or
throne, placed in the fanftuary. It was called bema
from the Heps by which it was to be afcended.
Bema was alfo ufed for the reader’s deik. This in
the Greek church was denominated yvof*))/, in the
Latin church ambo.
Bema is more peculiarly ufed for the Manichees al¬
tar, which was in a different place from that of the
Catholics.
Bema was alfo a denomination given by this feci to
the anniverfary of the day when Manes was killed,
which with them was a folemn feall and day of rejoi¬
cing. One of the chiet ceremonies of the feaft con¬
fided in fetting out and adorning their bema or altar
with great magnificence.
BEMBEA, a province of the kingdom of Angola
in Africa. It is divided into Higher and Lower j and
extends on one fide along the fea, and on the other di¬
vides Angola from the foreign dates on the fouth. The
country is large, populous, and abounding with cattle 5
with the fat of which the inhabitants anoint their heads
and bodies, and clothe themfelves with their hides
coarfely dreffed. They are addicted to the fame idola¬
trous fuperditions with the red of the natives, but
fpeak a quite different language. The province is wa¬
tered by a river called Lutano or San Francifco, which
abounds with crocodiles, fea horfes, and mondrous fer-
pents, that do a great deal of mifchief.
BEMBO, Peter, a noble Venetian, fecretary to
Leo X. and afterwards cardinal, was one of the bell
writers of the 16th century. *hle was a good poet both
in Italian and Latin j but he is judly cenfured for the
loofenefs and immodedy of fome of his poems. He pub-
lifired, befides thefe, A Hidory of Venice; Letters ;
and a book in praife of the Duke and Duchefs of Ur-
bino. He died in 1 ^47, in the 7 2d year of his age.
BEMSTER, or Be Mister, a town of Dorfetfhire
in England, feated on the river Bert, in W. Long. 3.
15* N- Lat. 50. 45.
BEN. See Behn.
Ben, in Pharmacy, the name of an exotic purgative
fruit, of the fize and figure of a nut 5 whence it is alfo
called the ben-nut, fometimes balanus myrep/ica, or plans
unguentaria.
Naturalids didinguiffi two kinds of bens *, viz. the
great, ben magnum, which refembles the filbert, and
is by fome called avel/ana purgatfix, brought from
America; and the fmall, ben parvum, brought from
Ethiopia.
Ben-nuts yield, by expreffion, much oil,- which
from its property of not becoming rancid, at lead for
years, is ufed as a mendruum for the extraflion of the
odoriferous parts^of flowers of jeffamin, violets, rofes,
i ] 'BEN
hyacinths, lilies of the valley, tuberofes, jonquils,
clove julyflowers, and others, which like thefe yield
little or no effential oil by didillation, but impart their
fragrance to expreffed oils. I he method of impregna¬
ting oil of ben with the odour of flowers is this: Some
fine carded cotton is dipped in the oil, and put in the
bottom of a proper veffel. On this is fpread a thick layer
of frelh flowers, above which more cotton dipt in oil
is placed ; and thus alternately flowers and cotton are
difpofed, till the veflel (which may be made of tin,
with a cover to be fcrewed on to it, or of porcelain) is
full. . By digeflion during 24 hours in a water-bath,
the oil will receive the odour of the flowers.
BENARES, a didrift of Uindodan Proper in the
Ead Indies, which lies between Bahar and Oude ; and
comprehends the circars of Benares, Jionpour, Ghunar,
and Gazypour. This didricl was ceded to the Englifli
in 1775 > an(i yields, it is faid, a clear revenue of
380,000!. annually.
Benares, a populous city in the Ead Indies, and
capital of the didrift of the fame name. It is .fituated'
on the north fide of the Ganges which is here very
broad and the banks are very high. Benares has been
much celebrated as the ancient feat of Braminical
learning. Several Hindoo temples embellifli the banks
of the river; and many other of the public and private
buildings are extremely magnificent. The dreets how¬
ever are narrow, and the houfes high, fome of them even
five dories, which are inhabited by different families.
The more opulent inhabitants live in detached houfes
which have an open court, and are furrounded by a
wall. In the centre of the city there is a large Maho¬
metan mofque which was built by the emperor Aureng-
zebe, who dedroyed a magnificent Hindoo temple
which, had been erefled on the fame fpot. Many of
the Hindoo temples were demolilhed by the Mahome¬
tans, the ruins of which are dill vifible in different places
round the city. The fame manners and culloms dill
prevail among thefe people, as at the remoted period
which hidory has traced. No innovations either in
civil or religious matters have been admitted. An in-
furreflion was excited here in 1781, and by the formi¬
dable appearance which it affumed, threatened to prove
fatal to the Englidi intered in Hindodan. It was at
length fuppreffed, and the Rajah Cheyt Sing was depo-
fed in 1783. Benares has been alfo long celebrated
for its obfervatory. See Observatory/ It is 42 j
miles fouth-ead of Delhi, and 400 miles north-
wed of Calcutta, in 83. 10. E Long, and 25. 20. N.
Lat.
BENAVARRI, a town of the kingdom of Arra-
gon in Spain, feated on the frontiers of Catalonia.  
E. Long. o. 40. N. Lat. 41. 55.
BENAVENTO, a town of Spain, in the kingdom
of Leon, and Terra di Campos, with the title of a
duchy. It is feated on the river Ela, in W. Lone. c o
N. Lat. 42. 4. b ^ *
BENAVIDUS, or Bonavitus (Marcus Mantua),
a celebrated civilian, taught civil law with reputation,
during 60 years, at Padua, the place of his birth ; and
died in 1582, aged 93. Elis principal works are,
I. Col/eBanea fuper Jus Cafareum. 2. Conjiliqrum, ,
tom. ii. Problematum legalium. 4. De illujlribus lu~
rifconfultis, &c.
BENCH, or Banc, in Law. See Banw
Tree
Bema
I!
-Ben.
, ' B. E N [,-5
Free-BENCH fignifies that eftate in copyhold-lands
~1K ’* . 'which the wife beihg efpoufed a virgin, has, after the
deceafe of her hufband, for her dower, according to the
cuftom of the manor. As to this free-bench, feveral
manors have feveral cuftoms •, and in the manors of Eaft
and Weft Enbourne, in the county of Berks, and other
parts of England, there is a cuftom, that when a copy-
hold tenant dies, the widow ftiall have her free bench
in all the deceafed hufband’s lands, whilft llie lives Angle
and chafte ; but if fne commits incontinency, {he {hall
forfeit her eftate : neverthelefs, upon her coming into
the court of the manor, riding on a black ram, and
having his tail in her hand, and at the fame time re¬
peating a form of words prefcribed, the fteward is ob¬
liged, by the cuftom of the manor, to re-admit her to
her free-bench.
King's Bench, a court in which the king w^as for¬
merly accuftomed to fit in perfon, and on that account
w'as moved with the king’s houfehold. This was ori¬
ginally,. the only court in Weftminfter-hall, and from
this it is thought that the courts of common pleas and
exchequer were derived. As the king in perfon is ftill
prefumed in law to fit in this court, though only repre-
fented by his judges, it is faid to have fupreme autho¬
rity : and the proceedings in it are fuppofed to be co-
ram nobis, that is, before the king. This court con-
fifts of a lord chief juftice and three other juftices or
judges, who are invefted wuth a fovereign jurifdi&ion
over all matters wdiether of a criminal or public na¬
ture. The chief juftice has a falary of 55C0I. and the
other judges 2400I. each.
All crimes againft the public good, though they do
not injure any particular perfon, are under the cogni¬
zance of this court; and no private lubjefl can fuffer
any unlawful violence or injury againft his perfon, li¬
berty, or poflfefiions, but a proper remedy is afforded
him here j not only for fatisfaflion of damages fullained,
but for the puniftiment of the offender j and wdrerever
this court meets with an offence contrary to the firft
principles of juftice, it may punilh it. It frequently
proceeds on indi&ments found before other courts, and
removed by certiorari into this. Perfons illegally com¬
mitted to prifon, though by the king and council, or
either of the houfes of parliament, may be bailed in it;
and in fome cafes even upon legal commitments.—
Writs of mandamus are iffued by this court, for the
reftoring of officers in corporations, &c. unjuftly turned
out, and freemen wrongfully disfranchifed.
The court of King’s Bench is now divided into a
crown fide and plea fide; the one determining criminal,
and the other, civil caufes.
On die croxyn fide, or crown office, it takes cogni¬
zance of all criminal caufes, from high treafon down to
the moft trivial mifdemeanour or breach of the peace.
Into this court alfo indidftments from all inferior courts
may be removed by writ of certiorari; and tried either
at bar, or at nijiprius, by a jury of the county out of
which the indiftment is brought. The judges of this
court are the fupreme coroners of the kingdom. And
the court itfelf is the principal court of criminal jurif-
diflion known to the laws of England. For which
reafon, by the coming of the court of King’s Bench
into any county (as it was removed to Oxford on ac¬
count of the ficknefs in 1665), all former commiffions
of oyer and terminer, and general gaol-delivery, are at
2
2 ] BEN
once abforbed and determined ipfo faSio : in the fame Amicabte
manner as, by the old Gothic and Saxon conftitutions, Bench
Jure vetujlo obtinwt, qmevijje omnia inferiora jvdicia Ben^a
dicentejus rege. Into this court of King’s Bench hath ^
reverted all that was good and falutary of the Rar-
chamber.
On the plea fide, this court determines all perfonal
aftions commenced by bill or writ; as adlions of debt,
upon the cafe, detinue, trover, ejeflment, trefpafs, -
Wrafte, &c. againft any perfon in the cuftody of the
marftial of the court, as every perfon fued here is fup¬
pofed to be by law.
The officers on the crown fide are the clerk and fe-
condary of the crown ; and on the fide of the pleas
there are two chief clerks or prothonotaries, and their
fecondary and deputy, the cuftos brevium, two clerks
of the papers, the clerk of the declarations, the figner
and fealer of bills, the clerk of the rules, cleric of the
errors, and clerk of the bails ; to which may be added
the filazers, the marfhal of the court, and the crier.
Amicable Bench. See Amicable.
BENCHERS, in the inns of court, the fenior mem¬
bers of the fociety, who are invefted with the govern¬
ment thereof.
BENCOOLEN, a fort and town of Alia, on the
fputh-weft coaft of the illand of Sumatra, belonging to
the Britilh. The place is known at fea by a {lender
mountain called the Sugar Loaf, which rifes about 20
miles inland. About a quarter of a mile from the fea
ftands an Indian village, whofe houfes are fmall and
low, and built on polls. The country about Ben-
coolen is mountainous and woody, and the air unwhole-
fome, the mountains being continually covered with
thick heavy clouds that produce lightning, thunder,
and rain. There is no beef to be had, except that of
buffaloes, which is not very palatable ; and indeed pro-*
vifions of all kinds, except fruit, are pretty fcarce.
The chief trade is in pepper, of which great quantities
grow on the ifland. There are frequent bickerings be¬
twixt the natives and the fadtory, to the no fmall in¬
jury of the Eaft India Company. The fadlory was once
entirely deferted ; and had not the natives found that
trade decreafed by reafon of their abfence, it is fcarcely
probable that ever the Engliih would have been invited
there again. E. Long. 101. 5. S. Lat. 4. 5.
BEND, in Heraldry, one of the nine honourable or- -
dinaries, containing a third part of the field when
charged, and a fifth when plain. It is fometimes, like
other ordinaries, indented, ingrailed, &c. and is either
dexter or finifter. See Heraldry.
In Bend, is when any things, borne in arms, are
placed obliquely from the upper corner to the oppofite
lower, as the bend lies.
BENDER, a town of Beffarabia in European Tur¬
key, feated on the river Niefter, in E. Long. 29. 5. N.
Lat. 46. 40. It is remarkable for being the place of
retreat of Charles XII. after he was defeated by the
Ruffians at the battle of Pultowa in 1709.
BENDERMASSEN, a town of the ifland of Boi-
neo in Afia, and capital of a kingdom of the fame
name. It has a good harbour ; and ftands in E. Long.
113. 50. S. Lat. 2. 40.
BENDIDA, in Antiquity, a feftival, not unlike the
Bacchanalia, celebrated by the Athenians in honour of
Plana,
BENDING,
Eending
II.
Benedict
BEN ' [
BENDING, in a general fenfe, the reducing a
ftraight body into a curve, or giving it a crooked
^ form.
The bending of timber-boards, &c. is effetfed by
means of heat, whereby their fibres are fo relaxed that
you may bend them into any figure.
Bending, in the fea language, the tying two ropes
or cables together : thus they fay, bend the cable, that
is, make it fafi. to the ring of the anchor ; bend the fail,
make it fait to the yard.
BENDS, in a Ihip, the fame with what is called
wails, or wales ; the utmoft timbers of a fhip’s fide,
on which men fet their feet in climbing up. They are
reckoned from the water, and are called the firjl, fe-
cond, or third bend. They are the chief lirength of a
fhip’s fides ; and have the beams, knees, and foot-
hooks, bolted to them.
BENDY, in Heraldry, is the field divided into four,
fix, or more parts, diagonally, and varying in metal
and colour.—The general cuftom of England is to make
an even number ; but in other countries they regard it
not, whether even or odd.
BENCAPED, among failors. A {hip is faid to be
beticaped when the water does not flow high enough to
bring her off the ground, out of the dock or over the
bar.
BENEDE ETO, Sr, a confiderable town of the
Mantuan, in Italy, in E. Long. 11. 25. N. Lat. 45. o.
BENEDICITE, among ecclefiaftical writers, an ap¬
pellation given to the long of the three children in the
fiery furnace, on account of its beginning with the
word benedicite. The ufe of this fong in Chriflian wror-
ihip is very ancient, it appearing to have been lung in
all the churches as early as St Chryfoftom’s time.
BENEDICT XIV. Pope, (Profper Lambertini
of Bologna), celebrated for his learning and mode¬
ration, which gained him the efleem of all fenfible
Proteftants. He was the patron of learned men and
celebrated artifts ; and an elaborate writer on theolo¬
gical fubjefts. His works made x 2 vols in folio. He
-died in 1758.
Benedict, St, the founder of the order of the Be-
nedi&in monks, w-as born in Italy about the year 480.
He was fent to Rome when he was very young, and
there received the firft part of his education. At 14
years of age he was removed from thence to Sublaco,
about 40 miles diftant. Here he lived a moft afcetic
life, and Ihut himfelf up in a cavern, where nobody
knew any thing of him except St Romanus, who, we
are told, ufed to defcend to him by a rope, and to
fupply him with provifions. But being afterwards dif-
covered by the monks of a neighbouring monaftery,
they chofe him.for their abbot. Their manners, how¬
ever, not agreeing with thofe of Benedift, he returned
to his folitude ; wdiither many perfons followed him,
and put themfelves under his dire&ion, fo that in a fliort
time he built 12 monafleries. In the year 528, or the
following, he retired to Mount Cafiino, where idolatry
was rtill prevalent, there being a temple of Apollo
crefted here. He inflru&ed the people in the adjacent
country, and having converted them, he broke the
image of Apollo, and built two chapels on the moun¬
tain. Here he. founded alfo a monaftery, and inftituted
the order of his name, which in time became fo fa¬
mous and extended all over Europe- It was here too
Vox.. III. Part II.
553 ] BEN
that he compofed his Regula Monachorum, which Gre- Benedidl,
gory the Great fpeaks of- as the moft fenfible and beft Benedic-
written piece of that kind ever publiftied. The time , tins~ ,
of his death is uncertain, but is placed between 540
and 550. He was looked upon as the Elilha of his
time j and is reported to have wrought a great number
of miracles, which are recorded in the fecond book of
the Dialogues of St Gregory the Great.
Benedict, abbot of Peterborough, was educated
at Oxford, became a monk in the monaftery of Chrift’s
church in Canterbury, and fome time after was chofen
prior by the members of that fociety. Though he had
been a great admirer of Archbifliop Becker, and wrote
a life of that prelate, he was fo much efteemed by
Henry II. that by the influence of that prince he was
defied abbot of Peterborough, A. D. 1177. He af-
fifted at the coronation of Richard I. A. D. 1189; and
was advanced to be keeper of the great feal, A.D. x 191.
But he did not long enjoy this high dignity, as he died
on Michaelmas-day, A. D. 1193. Befides his Life of
Archbifliop Becket, he compofed a Hiftory of Henry II.
and Richard I. from A. D. 1170 to A. D. 1192; which
hath been much and juftly efteemed by many of our -
greateft antiquaries, as containing one of the beft ac¬
counts of the tranfaflions of thofe times. A beautiful
edition of this work was publifhed at Oxford, in two
volumes, by Mr Hearne, A. D. 1735.
BENEDICTINS, in Church Hijlory, an order
of monks, who profefs to follow the rules of St Be-
nedifl.
The Benediflins, being thofe only that are properly
called monks, wear a loofe black gown, with large wide
fleeves, and a capuche, or cowl, on their heads, ending
in a point behind. In the canon law, they are ftyled
black friars, from the colour of their habit.
The rules of St Benedict, as obferved by the Englifh
monks before the diflblution of the monafteries, were
as follows : They were obliged to perform their devo¬
tions feven times in 24 hours, the whole circle of which
devotions had a refpedl to the.paflion and death of
Chrift : they were obliged always to go two and two
together : every day in lent they were obliged to fall
till fix in the evening, and abated of their ufual <ime
of lleeping and eating $ but they were not allowed to
pradlife any voluntary aufterity without le^ive of their
fuperior : they never converfed in their refedlory at
meals, but were obliged to attend to the reading of the
Scriptures: they all flept in the fame dormitory, but
not twro in a bed ; they lay in their clothes : for fin all
faults they w-ere ftmt out from meals ; for greater they
were debarred religious commerce, and excluded from
the chapel; and as to incorrigible offenders, they were
excluded from the monafteries. Every monk had two
coats, two cowls, a table-book, a knife, a needle, and
a handkerchief; and the furniture of their bed w'as a
mat, a blanket, a xmg, and a pillow.
The time when this order came into England is well
known j for to it the Englifti owe their converfion
from idolatry. In the year 596, Pope Gregory fent
hither Auguftine, prior of the monaftery of St Andrew
at Rome, with feveral other Benedidlin monks. St
Auguftine became archbiftiop of Canterbury, and the
Benedidlins founded leveral monafteries in England,
as alfo the metropolitan church of Canterbury, and all
the cathedrals that were afterwards creeled.
4 A Pope
BEN - [ 554 ]
BEN
Pope John XXII. who died in 1334, after an exa£I
inquiry, found, that, fince the firft rife of the order,
there had been of it 24 popes, near 200 cardinals, 7000
archbilhops, 15,000 bifhops, 15,000 abbots of re¬
nown, above 4000 faints, and upwards of 37,000
monafteries. There have been likewife of this order
20 emperors and 10 empreffes, 47 kings and above 50
queens, 20 fons of emperors, and 48 fons of kings j
about 100 princeffes, daughters of kings and emperors 5
belides dukes, marquifes, earls, countefles, &c. innu¬
merable. The- order has produced a valf number of
eminent writers and other learned men. Their Raba-
nus fet up the fchool of Germany. Their Alcuinus
founded the univerfity of Paris. Their Dionyfius Ex-
iguus perfected the eecleliaftical computation. Their
Guido invented the fcale of mufic ; and their Sylvefter,
the organ. They boaft to have produced Anfelmus,
Ildephonfus, Venerable Bede, &c.
There are nuns likewife who follow the rule of St
Benedift j among whom thofe who call themfelves mi¬
tigated, eat flefh three times a-week, on Sundays, Tuef-
days, and Thurfdays ; the others obferve the rule of
St Benedift in its rigour, and eat no flelh, unlefs they
are lick.
BENEDICTION, in a general fenfe, the act of
blefTmg, or giving praife to God, or returning thanks
for his favours. Hence alfo benedidtion is Hill applied
to the adt of faying grace before or after meals. Nei¬
ther the ancient Jews nor Chriftians ever ate without
a fhort prayer. The Jews are obliged to rehearfe 100
benedictions per day ; of which 80 are to be fpoken in
the morning. The firft treatife of the firft order in
the Taliilud, entitled Seraim, contains the form and
order of the daily benedidlions. It was ufual to give
benediction to travellers on their taking leave 5 a prac¬
tice which is ftill preferved among the monks. Bene-
didfions were likewife given among the ancient Jews, as
rvell as Chriftians, by impofition of hands. And when
at length the primitive fimplicity of the Chriftian wor-
ftftp began to give way to ceremony, they added the
fign of the crofs, which was made with the fame hand,
as before, only elevated, or extended. Hence benedic¬
tion, in the modern Romilh church, is ufed, in a
more particular manner, to denote the fign of the crofs
made by a hifhop, or prelate, as conferring fome grace
on the people. The cuftom of receiving benedidfion,
by bowing the head before the biftiops, is very ancient j
and was fo univerfal, that emperors themfelves did not
decline this mark of fubmiflion. Under the name be-
nediEhon, the Hebrews alfo frequently underftand the
prefents which friends make to one another, in all pro¬
bability becaufe they are generally attended with blef-
fings and compliments, both from thofe wmo give and
thofe who receive them.
Nuptial Bbnediction, the external ceremony per¬
formed by the prieft in the office of matrimony. This
is alfo called facerdotal and matrimonial benediHion, by
the Greeks li^oXoyia and kgSliteo-ict. The nuptial bene-
didfion is net effential to, but the confirmation of, a
marriage in the civil law\
Beatic Benediction, {benedidiob eatica), is the viati¬
cum given to dying perfons. The pope begins all
his bulls with this form : Salutem vt apojlolicam benedic¬
tion em.
Benediction is alfo ufed for an ecclefiaftical cere¬
mony, whereby a thing is rendered facred or venerable.
In this fenfe benedidlion differs from confecration,
as in the latter undfion is applied, which is not in the
former : 1 bus the chalice is confecrated, and the pix
blefled ; as the former, not the latter, is anointed :
though, in the common ufage, thefe twTo words are ap¬
plied promifeuoufiy.—The fpirit of piety, or rather of
fuperftition, has introduced into the Romifti church
benedidlions for almoft every thing. Wc read of forms
of benedidlions for wax-candles, for boughs, for affies,
for church-veffels, and ornaments ; for flags or enfigns,
arms, firft fruits, houfes, ffiips, pafeal eggs, cilicium
or the hair-cloth of penitents, church-yards, &c. In
general, thele benedidtions are performed by afper-
fions of holy w^ater, figns of the crofs, and prayers
fuitable to the nature of the ceremony. The forms of
thefe benedidlions are found in the Roman pontifical,
in the Roman miffal, in the book of ecclefiaftical cere¬
monies printed in Pope Leo X.’s time, and in the ri¬
tuals and ceremonies of the different churches which
are found colledled in Father Martene’s work on the
rites and difeipline of the church.
BENEFICE [benejicium ), in middle-age writers, is
ufed for a fee, fometimes denominated more peculiarly
beneficium militare. In this fenfe, benefice was an eftate
in land, at firft granted for life only j fo called, becaufe
it was held ex mero benejicio of the donor : and the te¬
nants were bound to fwear fealty to the lord, and to
ferve him in the wars. In after-times, as thefe tenures
became perpetual and hereditary, they left their name
of benejicia to the livings of the clergy 5 and retained
to themfelves the name of feuds.
Benefice, in an ecclefiaftical fenfe, a church en¬
dowed with a revenue for the performance of divine
fervice ; or the revenue itfelf affigned to an ecclefiafti¬
cal perfon, by way of ftipend, for the fervice he is to
do that church.
All church-preferments, except biffioprics, are called
benefices ; and all benefices are, by the canonifts, fome¬
times ftyled dignities : but w-e now ordinarily diftinguiffi
between benefice and dignity 5 applying dignity to bi-
ffioprics, deaneries, archdeaconries, and prebendaries}
and benefice to parfonages, vicarages, and donatives.
Benefices are divided by the canonifts into fimple
and facerdotal. In the firft there is no obligation but
to read prayers, fing, &c. fuch as canonries, chaplain-
ffiips, chantries, &c. : the fecond'are charged with the
cure of fouls, or the diredlion and guidance of con-
fciences; fuch as vicarages, redftories, &c.
The Romanifts again diftinguiffi benefices into re¬
gular and fecular. Regular or titular benefices are thofe
held by a religious, or a regular, wffio has made pro-
feffion of fome religious order ; fuch are abbeys, prio¬
ries, conventuals, &c. j or rather, a regular benefice is
that which cannot be conferred on any but a religious,
either by its foundation, by the inftitution of fome fu-
perior, or by prefeription : for prefeription, forty years
poffeffion by a religious makes the benefice regular.
Secular benefices are only fuch as are to be given to fe¬
cular priefts, i. e. to fuch as live in the world, and are
not engaged in any monaftic order. All benefices are
reputed fecular, till the contrary is made to appear.
They are called fecular benefices, becaufe held by fecu-
lars; of wffiich kind are almoft all cures.
The cemonifts diftinguiffi three manners of vacating
a
Benefice.
BEN r J BEN
Benc-Sce a benefice, viz. i. De jure, when the perfon enjoying
li it is guilty of certain crimes exprefled in thofe laws, as
Beneficiary. jierefy^ fimony, &c. 2. De fa&o, as well as de jure, by
the natural death or the refignation of the incumbent;
which refignation may be either exprefs or tacit, as
when he engages in a Hate, &c. inconfiftent with it,
as, among the Romanifts, by marrying, entering into
a religious order, or the like. 3. By the fcnteuce of a
judge, by way of punilhment for certain crimes, as con¬
cubinage, perjury, &c.
Benefices began about $00. The following account
of thofe in England is given as the fa£! by Dr Burn,
viz. that there are 1071 livings not exceeding xol. per
annum ; 1467 livings above rol. and not exceeding
20I. per annum ; 1126 livings above 20I. and not ex¬
ceeding 30I. per annum ; 1049 livings above 30I. and
not exceeding 40I. per annum •, 884 livings above 40I.
and not exceeding 50I. per annum 5 5 ^97 livings un¬
der 50I. per annum. It muft be 500 years before
every living can be raifed to 60I. a-year by Queen
Anne’s bounty, and 339 years before any of them can
exceed 50I. a-year. On the whole, there are above
ir,ooo church-preferments in England, exclufive of
bilhoprics, deaneries, canonries, prebendaries, prieft-
vicars, lay-vicars, fecondaries, &c. belonging to cathe¬
drals, or choriflers, or even curates to well beneficed
clergymen.
Benkfice in commendam is that, the direction and
management of which, upon a vacancy, is given or re¬
commended to an ecclefiaftic, fora certain time, till he
may be conveniently provided for.
BENEFICIARII, in Roman Antiquity, denote fol-
diers who attended the chief officers of the army, be¬
ing exempted from other duty. Benenciarii were alfo
foldiers difeharged from the military fervice or duty,
and provided with beneficia to fubfift on. Thefe were
probably the fame with the former, and both might be
comprifed in the fame definition. They were old ex¬
perienced foldiers, who, having ferved out their legal
time, or received a difeharge as a particular mark of
honour, were invited again to the fervice, where they
were held in great efteem, exempted from all military
drudgery, and appointed to guard the ftandard, &c.
Thefe, when thus recalled to fervice, were alfo deno¬
minated evocati; before their recal, emeriti.
Beneficiar.ii was alfo ufed for thofe raifed to a
higher rank by the favour of the tribunes or other ma-
giflrates. The word beneficiarius frequently occurs in
the Roman inferiptions found in Britain, where confulis
is always joined with it ; but befides beneficiarius con¬
fulis, we find in Guitar beneficiarius tribuni, preetorii,
legali, prcefeRi, proconfulls, &c.
BENEFICIARY, in general, fomething that re¬
lates to benefices.
Beneficiary, Beneficiarius, is more particularly
ufed for a beneficed perfon, or him who receives and
enjoys one or more benefices. A beneficiary is not
the proprietor of the revenues of his church 5 he has
only the adminillration of them, though unaccountable
for the fame to any but God.
Beneficiary is alfo ufed, in middle-age writers,
for a feudatory or vaffal. The denomination was alfo
given to the clerks or officers who kept the accounts
of the beneficia, and made the 'writings neceffary thereto.
BENEFICI UM, in military matters among the
Romans, denoted a promotion to a higher rank by the Benefield
favour of fome perfon in authority. ^
BENEFIELD, Sebastian, an eminent divine of. emyn
the 17th century, was born in 1559, -at Preftonbury in
Gloucefterfhire, and educated at Corpus Chrifti college
in Oxford. In 1608 he took the degree of dodlor in
divinity, and five years after was chofen Margaret pro-
feffor in that univerfity. He had been prefented fe-
veral years before to the reftory of Meyfey-Hampton,
in Gloucefterfhire. He publifned Commentaries upon
the firft, fecond, and third chapters of Amos ; a con-
fiderable number of fermons j and fome Latin treatifes.
He died in 1630.
BENEFIT of clergy. See Clergy.
BENESOEUF, a town of Egypt, feated on the
weftern fhore of the Nile, and remarkable for its hemp
and flax. E. Long. 31. o. N. Lat. 29. 10.
BENEVENTE, a town of the province of Leon,
in Spain, feated on the river Efla, in W. Long. 5.5.
N. Lat. 42. 4.
BENEVENTO, a city of Italy, in the kingdom of
Naples, with an archbifhop’s fee. It is fituated near
the confluence of the rivers Sabato and Galore, in a
fertile valley called fat Strait of Benevento, full of gen¬
tlemen’s feats and houfes of-pleafure. This town hath
frequently fuffered terribly by earthquakes •, particu¬
larly in 1703, when a great part of it was overturned,
and the reft much damaged. E. Long. 14. C7. N»
Lat. 41. 6.
The arch of Trajan, now called the Porta A urea,
forms one of the entrances to the city. This arch,
though it appears to great difadvantage from the walls
and houfes that hem it in on both fides, is in tolerable
prefervation, and one of the moft magnificent remains
of Roman grandeur to be met with out of Rome.
The architefture and fculpture are both Angularly
beautiful. This elegant monument was erefted in the
year of Chrift 114, about the commencement of the
Parthian war, and after the fubmiffion of Decebalus
had entitled Trajan to the furname of Dacicus. The
order is Compofite 5 the materials, white marble j the
height, 60 palms; length, 37 and a half; and depth
24. It confifts of a Angle arch, the fpan of which is
20 palms, the height 35. On each fide of it, two
fluted columns, upon a joint pedeftal, fupport an en¬
tablement and an attic. The intercolumniations and
frize are covered with bafib-relievos, reprefenting the
battles and triumphs of the Dacian war. In the attic
is the infeription. As the fixth year of Trajan’s con-
fulate, marked on this arch, is alfo to be feen on all the
milliary columns he erefled along his new road to
Brundufium, it is probable that the arch w>as built to
commemorate fo beneficial an undertaking. Except
the old metropolis of the world, no city in Italy can
boaft of fo many remains of ancient fculpture as are to
be found in Benevento. Scarce a wall is built of any
thing but altars, tombs, columns, and remains of en¬
tablatures.
The cathedral is a clumfy edifice, in a ftyle of Go¬
thic, or rather Lombard, archite&ure. This church,
dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was built in the fixth
century, enlarged in the nth, and altered confiderably
in the 13th, when Archbiihop Roger adorned it wfith
a new front. To obtain a fufficient quantity of mar¬
ble for .this purpofe, he. fpared neither farcophagus,
4 A 2 altar,
SEN [ 556
Benevento. altar, nor infcriptionj but fixed them promifcuoufly and
““ '''' "V irregularly in the walls of his barbarous ftrudure.
Three doors (a type of the Trinity, according to the
rules eftablifhed by the myflical Vitruvii of thofe ages)
opened into this facade. That in the centre is of bronze,
embofied with the life of Chrift, and the effigies of the
JBeneventine metropolitan, with all his fuffragan bi-
ffiops. The infide offers nothing to the curious obfer-
ver but columns, altars, and other decorations, execu¬
ted in the moft inelegant ftyle that any of the church¬
building barbarians ever adopted. In the court Hands
a fraall Egyptian obelilk, of red granite, crowded with
hieroglyphics. In the adjoining fquare are a fountain
and a very indifferent ftatue of Benedict XIII. long
archbiffiop of Benevento.
Of the Beneventine hiftory the following abftradt is
given by Mr Swinburne, in his ’Travels in Sicily. Ac¬
cording to fome authors (he informs us), Diomed was
the founder of Beneventum j whence its origin mult
be referred to the “ years that immediately fucceeded
the Trojan war. Other writers affign it to the Sam-
nites, who made it one of their principal towns, where
they frequently took refuge when worfted by the Ro¬
mans. In their time its name was Maleventum, a word
of uncertain etymology ; however, it founded fo ill in
the Latin tongue, that the fuperftitious Romans, after
achieving the conqueft of Samnium, changed it into
Beneventum, in order to introduce their colony under
fortunate aufpices. Near this place, in the 479th year
of Rome, Pyrrhus was defeated by Curius Dentatus.
In the war againft Hannibal, Beneventum fignalized
its attachment to Rome, by liberal tenders of fuccour
and real fervices. Its reception of Gracchus, after his
defeat of Hanno, is extolled by Livy ; and, from the
gratitude of the fenate, many foiid advantages accrued
to the Beneventines. As they long partook, in a di-
llinguiffied manner, of the glories and profperity of the
Roman empire, they alfo feverely felt the effedls of its
decline, and lhared in a large proportion the horrors
of devaftation that attended the irruption of the nor¬
thern nations.
“ The modern hiftory of this city will appear inte-
refting to thofe readers who do not defpife the events
of ages which we ufually and juftly call dark and bar¬
barous. They certainly are of importance to all the
prefent ftates of Europe j for *at that period origi¬
nated the original exiftence of moft; of them. Had
no northern favages defcended from their fnowy
mountains, to overturn the Roman coloffus, and break
afunder the fetters of mankind, few of thofe powers,
which now make fo formidable a figure, would ever
have been fo much as heard of. The avengers of the
general wrongs were, no doubt, the deftroyers of arts
and literature, and brought on the thick clouds of ig¬
norance, ^vhich for many centuries no gleam of light
could penetrate •, but it is to be remembered, alfo,
that the Romans themfelves had already made great
progrefs in baniffiing true tafte and knowledge, and
would very foon have been a barbarous nation, though
neither Goths nor Vandals had ever approached the
frontier.
“ The Lombards came the laft of the Scythian
cr Scandinavian hordes to invade Italy. After fixing
the feat of their empire at Pavia, they fent a detach¬
ment to poffefs the fouthern provinces. In 371, Zotto
] BEN
was appointed duke of Benevento, as a feudatory of Beneventa
the king of Lombardy •, and feems to have confined his II
rule to the city alone, from which he fallied forth to , Fenfeld.
feek for booty. The fecond duke, whole name was T
Arechis, conquered almoft the whole country that now
conilitutes the kingdom of Naples. His fucceffors ap¬
pear long to have remained fatisfied with the extent of
dominion he had tranfmitted to them. Grimwald, one
of them, ufurped the crown of Lombardy •, but his fon
Romwald, though a very fuccefsful warrior, contented
himfelf with the ducal title. The fall of Defiderius,
laft; king of the Lombards, did not affedl the ftate of
Benevento. By an effort of policy or refolution,
Arechis the fecond kept poffeffion ; and availing him¬
felf of the favourable conjumfture, afferted his indepen¬
dence,—threw off all feudal fubmiffion,—affumed the
ftyle of prince,—and coined money with his own image
upon it j a prerogative exercifed by none of his prede-
cellors as dukes of Benevento. During four) reigns,
this ftate maintained itfelf on a refpedtable footing ^
and might long have continued fo, had not civil war,
added to very powerful affaults from abroad, haftened
its ruin. Radelchis and Siconulph afpired to the prin¬
cipality '■> and each of them invited the Saracens to his
aid. The defolation caufed by this conftift is fcarcely
to be defcribed. No better method for terminating
thefe fatal diffenfions could be devifed than dividing
the dominions into two diftind fovereignties. In 851,
Radelchis reigned as prince at Benevento ; and his ad-
verfary fixed his court wuth the fame title at Salerno.
From this treaty of partition, the ruin of the Lombards
became inevitable : a want of union undermined their
ftrength,—foreigners gained an afcendant over them,
irrefolution and weaknefs pervaded their whole fyftem
of government. The erection of Capua into a third
principality was another deftrudive operation : and
now the inroads of the Saracens, the attacks of the
eaftern and weftern emperors, anarchy and animofity at
home, reduced the Lombard ftates to fuch wretched-
nefs, that they were able to make a very feeble refift-
ance to the Norman arms. The city of Benevento alone
efcaped their fway, by a grant which the emperor
Henry II. had made of it to the bifhop of Rome, in.
exchange for the territory of Bamberg in Germany,
where the popes enjoyed a kind of fovereignty. ‘ From
the year 1054 to this day, the Roman fee, with fome
ffiort interruptions of poffeffion, has exercifed temporal
dominion over this city. Benevento has given three
popes to the chair of St Peter 5 viz. Felix III. Vidor
III. and Gregory VIII. and, what it is much proud¬
er of, reckons St Januarius in the lift of its bifhops.”
BENEVENTUM, in Ancient Geography, a town
of the Samnites, formerly called Maleventum from the
umvholefomenefs of the wind, and under that appella^
tion k is mentioned by Livy ; but after a Roman co¬
lony wras led thither in the 485th year of the city, it
came to have the name of Beneventum, as a more auf-
picious title. It is mentioned by Horace as an ancient
city, faid to have been built by Diomedes before the
Trojan rvar. Now Benevento.
BENEVOLENCE, in morals, fignifies the love of
mankind in general, accompanied with a defire to pro¬
mote their happinefs. See Morals-.
BENFIELD, a tow-n of France, in the department
of the Lower Rhine, whofe fortifications
were demo-
liftted
BEN
Bengal.
Climate ex
tremely un
healthy.
Extreme
heat of the
land wind,
and its fur.
prifing ef¬
fects.
lifhed in confequence of the treaty of Weftphalia. E.
Long. 7. 4J. N. Lat. 48. 14.
BENGAL, a county of Hindoftan in Afia, bounded
on the eafi: by the kingdoms of Affem, Tipra, and Ar-
xacan •, on the weft by Malva and Berar 5 on the north
by Gehud, Rotas, Benares, and Jefuat ; and on the
fouth by Orixa and the bay of Bengal. Its greateft
length from weft to eaft is about 720 miles, and its
breadth from fouth to north, where greateft, is not lefs
than 300 •, though in fome places, not above 150; ex¬
tending from 21 to 25 degrees of north latitude, and
from 80 to g 1 of eaft longitude.
As this country lies almoft entirely within the torrid
■ zone, and in the middle of a very extenfive continent,
it is fometimes fubjedf to fuch extremes of heat as ren¬
der it very fatal to European conftitutions. Dr Lind
is of opinion, that the climate of Bengal is the moft
dangerous in this refpeft of any of the Englilh territo¬
ries, excepting Bencoolen on the coaft of Sumatra.
Part of this unhealthinefs arifes from the mere circum-
ftance of heat •, for in all the fouthern parts of India,
when the wind blows over land, it is fo extremely hot
and fuffocating as fcarcely to be borne. The reafon
of this is evident from the mere infpeflion of a map of
Afia, where it is evident, that whatever wind blows over
land, efpecially in the fouthern parts, muft pafs over an
immenfe trafk of country ftrongly heated by the fun ;
and as in every part of this extenlive continent there
are fandy deferts of very conliderable magnitude, the
heat is thus prodigioufly increafed. This becomes very
evident on the falling of a fhower of rain at the time
the land-wind prevails y for if the wind in its way
paffes through the fhower, the air is agreeably cooled
though the Iky fhould be ever fo clear j while thofe
who refide only at a few miles diftance, but out of the
direft line of the fhower, will be fainting under the
cxceffive heat. Here, indeed, when the air is clear,
the fun-beams are much more powerful than in our cli¬
mate, infomuch that the light at noon-day is too power¬
ful for the eyes to bear j and the large ftars, as Venus
and Jupiter, fhine with a furprifing luftre. Thus the
reflection of the funbeams from the earth muft necef-
farily occaiion an extraordinary degree of heat in the
atmofphere ; fo that from the winds above mentioned
very great inconveniences fometimes arife, fimilar to
thofe which are occafioned by the Harmattan in
Africa. Mr Ives tells us, that it is affirmed they will
fnap glafs if it be too ranch expofed to them ; he has
feen the veneering ftripped off from a cheft of drawers
by their means 5 and they will certainly crack and
chap almoft every piece of wood that is not well fea-
foned. In certain places they are fo loaded with fand,
that the horizon appears quite hazy where they blow',
and it is almoft impoffible to prevent the eyes from be¬
ing thus greatly injured. They have likewife a very
pernicious effeCi on fuch people as are expofed to them
while fleeping. This feldom fails to bring on a fit of
the barbiers, a kind of paralytic diftemper attended
with a total deprivation of the ufe of the limbs, and
which the patient never gets the better of but by re¬
moving to fome other climate. Thefe hot winds are
made ufe of with great fuccefs for cooling liquors, by
wrapping a wet cloth round the bottles and expofing
it to the air. The reafon of this is explained under
the article Evaporation. Mr Ives remarks, that it
[ 557 1
BEN
will thus cool much fooner than by being expofed to Bengak ^
the cool fea-breeze. "" v J
The great caufe of the unhealthinefs of Bengal,
however, is owing to the inundations of the Ganges tj0RS
and Burrampooter, by which fuch quantities of pu- Ganges,&c*.
trefcible matters are brought down as infeft the air dtfcribed.
with the moft malignant vapours when the waters re¬
tire. Though the rainy feafon begins in Bengal only
in the month of June, the river begins to fwell in the
mountains of Thibet early in April, and by the latter
end of that month in Bengal alfo. The reafon of this
is partly the melting of the fnow on the mountains of
Thibet, and partly the vaft colleCHon of vapours brought
by the foutherly or fouth-weft monfoon, which are fud-
denly flopped by the high mountains of Thibet.
Hence it is obvious, that the accumulation and con-
denfation of thefe vapours muft firft take place in the
neighbourhood of the mountains which oppofe them ;
and thus the rainy feafon commences iooneft in thofe.
places which lie neareft the mountains.
The rivers in Bengal begin to rife at firft very fiowly,
the increafe being only at the rate of one inch per
day for the firft fortnight. It then gradually augments
to two and three inches before any quantity of rain
falls in the lowr countries j and when the rain becomes
general, the increafe at a medium is five inches per
day. By the latter end of July, all the lower parts of
Bengal, contiguous to the Ganges and Burrampooter,
are overflowed, and prefent a furface of water more
than IOO miles wide. This vaft colleflion of fluid,
however, is owing in a great mealure to the rains which
fall on the low country itfelf; for the lands in the
neighbourhood are overflowed fome time before the
bed of the river is filled. It muft be obferved, that the
ground on the bank of the river, and even to fome
miles diftance, is higher than that which is more re¬
mote } and thus a feparation is made for a confiderable
time betwixt the waters of the land-flood and thofe of
the river. 4
As fome of the lands in Bengal would receive da-Some lands'
mage from fuch a copious inundation, they muft for guar(le|i
this reafon be guarded by ftrong dykes to refift thenomtot>
waters, and admit only a certain quantity. 1 heie, inundation-
colleflively taken, are faid to be more than loco miles
in length, and are kept up at an enormous expence :
yet they do not always anfwer the purpofe, on account
of the loofenefs of the earth of which they are compo-
fed, even though fome are of the thicknefs of an or¬
dinary rampart, at the bafe. One particular branch of
the Ganges (navigable only in the rainy feafon, and
then equal in lize to the Thames at Chelfea) is con¬
duced for 70 miles between dykes : and when full,
the paffengers look down upon the adjacent country as
from an eminence..
As the tide lofes its power of counteraCing fuch an
impetuous torrent of frelh water,, the height of the in¬
undation gradually diminifhes as it approaches the fea,
and totally vanifhes at the point of confluence ; which
is owing to the facility with which the waters of. the
inundation fpread over the level of the ocean. But
when the force of winds confpires with that of the <;
tide, the waters are retarded in fuch a manner as fome - I^fafters
times to raife the inundation two feet above the ordi- ”ccafi°neft
nary level ; which has been known to occafion the lofs
oi whole crops oi nee. In the year 1703, a melan-undatieiu,
choly
BEN
■Bengal.
Bangerous
effe<5ls of
the north-
wefl winds
Of the in¬
land navi¬
gation in
Bengal.
^ See Gan-
£et.
clioly accident happened at Luckipour, when a ftrong
gale of wind, confpiring with a high fpring-tide, at a
feafon when the periodical flood was within a foot and
an half of its higheft pitch, the waters are faid to have
rifen fix feet above their ordinary level. Thus the in¬
habitants of a particular diftridt w’ere fwept away with
their houfes and cattle ; and to aggravate the diftrefs,
it happened in a part of the country where it was
fcarce poflible to find a tree for a drowning man to
efcape to.
For fome days before the middle of Auguft the in¬
undation is at a (land, and then begins to abate by a
ceflation of rains in the mountains, though great quan¬
tities tlill continue to fall on the low country. The
inundation does not, however, in its decreafe, always
Keep pace with that of the river, by reafon of the
height of the banks} but after the beginning of Oc¬
tober, when the rain has nearly ceafed, the remainder
goes off quickly by evaporation, leaving the ground
exceedingly fertilized.
f rom the time that the monfoon changes in Octo¬
ber to the middle of March, the rivers are in a ftate
of tranquillity ; when the north-weft winds begin, and
may be expedled once in three or four days till the
commencement of the rainy feafon. Thefe are the
moft formidable enemies of the inland navigation car¬
ried on by the large rivers. They are hidden and vio¬
lent fqualls, attended with rain; and though their
duration is commonly but ftiort, fometimes produce
fatal effefls, whole fleets of trading boats having been
funk by them almoft inftantaneoufly. They are more
frequent in the eaftern than the weftern part of Ben¬
gal, and happen oftener towards the clofe of the day
than at any other time j but as they are indicated fome
time before they approach by the rifing and Angular
appearance of the clouds, the traveller has commonly
time enough to feek for a place of (belter. It is in
the great rivers alone that they are fo formidable, and
that about the end of May or beginning of June,
when the rivers are much increafed in width. After
the commencement of the rainy feafon, which varies
in different parts from the middle to the end of June,
tempeftuous weather occafionally happens. At this
feafon places of ihelter are more common than at any
other time by the filling up of the creeks and inlets
as the river increafes: and on the other hand, the bad
weather, when it happens, is of longer continuance
than during the feafon of the north-wefters. The ri¬
vers being now fpread to the diftance of feveral miles,
large wraves are raifed on them, particularly w'hen blow¬
ing in a dire£Iion contrary to the rapid parts of the
ftream, which for obvious reafons ought to be avoid¬
ed. '
This navigation is performed in fafety during the
interval between the end of the rainy feafon and the
beginning of the north-wefters •> an ordinary degree
of attention being then only requifite to pilot the boat
clear of (hallows and (lumps of trees. The feafon of
the north-w'efters requires the greateft care and atten¬
tion. Should one of thefe fqualls approach, and no
creek or inlet offer for (helter, the fteep bank of the
rivers (hould be always fought as a place of (helter, if
it is not in'a crumbling ftate f, whether it be to the
windward or leewrard, rather than the other. If this
cannot be done, the flat fide muft be taken up with;
[ 5J8 ]
BEN
Bengal.
8
and if it be a lee fhore, the anchor fhould be thrown
out to prevent driving upon it. In thefe cafes the malt
is always fuppofed to be (truck j and, provided this
be done, and the cargo judicioufly difpofed of, there
is little danger of any of the boats commonly made
ufe of being overfet. ^
The boats ufed in the inland navigation of Bengal J3ut/gtrots,
are called budgeroes, and are formed fomewhat like a a kind of
pleafure-barge. Some have cabins 14 feet broad and de"
proportionally long, drawing from four to five feetfcnbecl"
water. Their motion is very floxv, not exceeding the
rate of eight miles a-day when moved by their oars j
fo that their progrefs down the river muft depend prin¬
cipally on the motion of the current. From the be¬
ginning of November to the middle or latter end of
May, the ufual rate of going down the ftream is about
40 miles in twelve hours, and during the reft of the
year from 50 to 70 miles. The current is ftrongeft
while the waters of the inundation are draining off,
which happens in part of Auguft and September. In
many of the (hallow rivers, however, the current is
exceedingly flow during the dry months; infomuch
that the track-rope is frequently ufed in going down-
wards. In towing againft the ftream, the Keep fide of
the river is generally preferred on account of the depth
of water, though the current runs much ftronger
there than on the oppofite fide. On thefe occafions
it is necefiary to provide a very long track-rope, as
well for avoiding the falling pieces of the fteep bank
on the one fide, as the (hallow water on the other, when
it becomes neceflary to change fidcs through the bad-
nefs of the tracking ground. The anchor (hould al¬
ways be kept ready for dropping in cafe the track-rope
breaks. The ufual rate of towing againft the ftream
is from 17 to 20 miles a-day j and to make even this
progrefs, the windings of the river require the boats
to be dragged againft the current at the rate of four
miles and a half per hour for 12 hours. When the wa¬
ters are high, a greater progrefs will be made, not-
withftanding the fuperior llrength of the current; be-
caule the filling of the river-bed gives many opportu¬
nities of cutting off angles and turnings, and fome¬
times even large windings, by going through creeks.
Bengal produces the vegetables and animals com¬
mon to other countries in the torrid zone. Its great
produce of grain is rice, which is commonly exported
from thence into other countries. By various acci¬
dents, however, the crop of rice fometimes fails, and
a famine is produced ; and of this there have been ma¬
ny inftances in Bengal as well as in other parts of Hin-
doftan. One of the moft deplorable of this kind hap- Account of
pened in the year 1770. The nabob and feveral other a dreadful
men of the country diftributed rice gratis to the poor fam^ne
until their (locks began to fail, when thofe donations1^0’
were of confequence withdrawn. Vaft multitudes then
came down to Calcutta, the capital Englilh fettlernent
in the province, in hopes of meeting with relief at the
place. The granaries of the Company, however, be¬
ing quite empty, none could be afforded 5 fo that when
the famine had prevailed a fortnight, many thoufands
fell down in the ftreets and fields j w'hofe bodies, mang¬
led by the dogs and vultures, corrupting in the air,
feemed to threaten a plague as the confequence of the
famine. An hundred people were daily employed on
the Company’s account, with -doolys, fledges, and
beavers,
Bengal.
10
Surprifing
cloud of
infects.
II
Caufe of
the famine
12
Vegetable
produc¬
tions.
BEN i
bearers, to throw them into the river. At this
the filh could not be eaten, the river being fo full of
carcafes ; and many of thofe who ventured to feed up¬
on them died fuddenly. Hogs, ducks, and geefe, al-
fo fed moftly on carnage •, fo that the only meat that
could be procured was mutton ; and this, from the
drynefs of the feafon, was fo fmall, that a quarter of it
would fcarcely weigh a pound and a half.
In the month of Auguft a moft alarming pheno¬
menon appeared, of a large black cloud at a diftance
in the air, which fometimes obfcured the fun, and
feemed to extend a great way over and above Calcut¬
ta. The hotter the day proved the lower this cloud
feemed to defcend, and for three days it occafioned
great fpeculation. The bramins pretended, that this
phenomenon, which wras a cloud of infe£ts, (hould
make its appearance three times ; and if ever they de-
fcended to the earth, the country would be deltroyed
by fome untimely misfortune. They faid, that about
150 years before there had been fuch another bad time,
when the earth was parched for want of wrater \ and
this cloud of infedls made its appearance, though it
came much lower the fecond time than it had done be¬
fore. On the third day, the weather being very hot
and cloudy, they defcended fo low that they could be
plainly feen. They feemed to be about the fize of a
horfe-flinger, with a long red body, large head and
eyes, keeping clofe together like a fwarm of bees, and
to appearance, flying quite on a line. None, how¬
ever, were caught, as the people were fo much fright¬
ened by the prognoftications of the bramins. Whilfl:
it rained they continued in one pofition for near a quar¬
ter of an hour; then they rofe five or fix feet at once,
and in a little time defcended as much, until a ftrong
north-weft wind blew for two days fucceftively. Du¬
ring its continuance they afcended and defcended, but
more precipitately than before \ and next morning the
air was quite clear. - For fome days before the cloud
made its appearance, the toads, frogs, and infe£ts,
which during the rains make a continual noife through
the night, difappeared, and were neither heard nor
feen, except in the river.
This dreadful famine was occafioned by a preterna-
. tural drought. In this country they have two har-
vefts, one in April, called the little harvejl, which
confifls of the fmaller grain ; the fecond, called the
grand harvejl, is only of rice. But by a drought which
happened in 1769 the great harveft of that year failed,
as did alfo the little one of 1770, which produced the
dreadful confequences already mentioned.
Among the vegetables produced in Bengal, Mr Ives
mentions the areca-tree, the woody part of which is
as tough as whalebone- Here is alfo a beautiful tree
called chulta, the flower of which is at firft a hard
green ball on footftalks about four inches in length.
This opens, and the calyx is compofed of five round
thick and fucculent leaves; the corolla confifts of the
like number of fine beautiful wftiite petals. After one
day the corolla falls oft' and the ball clofes again, and
Is iold in the markets. There is a fucceflion of thefe
for feveral months. The mango tree grows here alfo
in plenty. Its fruit is preferred to all others in the
country excepting very fine pine-apples j the gentle¬
men eat little elfe in the hot months when thefe fruits
are in feafon. If no wine is drunk with them they
Bengslo
r3
559 1 B E N .
time are apt to produce boils, which are troublefome but
healthful. In the walks of Bengal they have a tall
tree called the tatoon, faid to have been firft brought
into F.ngland by Captain Birch. The leaves are of a
deep ftiining green, the lower part rather paler where
it is ribbed, and undulated round the edges. The
fruit is of the fize, ftiape, and colour of an olive, with
a moderately thin hulk, and a kernel like that of the
date; five or fix growr on the fame pedicle. Near
Calcutta is a large Ipreading tree called the ruJJ'a, W’hich
makes a fine appearance when in full bloom. The na¬
tives fay that this and another near the Dutch fettle-*
ment are the only two in Bengal. They pretend like-
wife that they can never find the feed ; but Mr Ives
informs us that this is to be met with in plenty, though
in a bad condition, the ants and other vermin being
fo fond of them, that not a Angle pod is ever to be
met with that is not touched by one or other of thefe
fpecies of infedls. This tree bears flowers of bright
crimfon, and all the fhades from thence down to a
bright yellow. They are in fuch plenty as almoft to
cover the tree, but have little or no fmell. The fruit
is a pod of the ftiape and fize of a large garden-bean,
containing four or five fleftiy feeds, which eafily fall
into tv’o when dry. They are browm on the outfide,
white within, and nearly fquare, but convex on the
fides.
Among the animals to be met with in Bengal Mr Birds of a»'
Ives makes mention of a kind of birds named flr^///extraor^i~
or hurgill (fee Ardea, fp. 6.) They are very large,nary
and in the evenings would majeftically ftalk along like
as many naked Indians, for wdiich our author at firft:
miftook them. On difcovering that they were birds
he refolved to Ihoot one of them; which, however, was
very difficult to be done. The Indians fhowed evi¬
dent marks of diffatisfaclion at the attempt ; and in¬
formed him that it was impoflible to fucceed, becaufe
thefe birds were poffefied by the fouls of bramins. At
laft, however,'he fucceeded ; and informs that the bird
he fhot extended 14 feet 10 inches betwen the tips of
the wings ; from the tip of the bill to the extremity
of the claw wras feven feet and a half: the legs w^ere
naked, as was alfo one half of the thighs ; the naked
parts being three feet in length. The feathers of the
wings and back wTere of an iron colour, and very
ftrong ; thofe of the belly were very long, and on the
breaft was a great deal of dowm all of a dirty w’hite.
The bill was 16 inches round at the bafe, nearly of a
triangular ftiape, and of different colours. In the
craw was a land tortoife 10 inches long ; and a large
black male cat was found entire in its itomach.
Bengal is reckoned the richeft and moft populous Commerce
province in the empire of Hindoftan. Befides its own inland,
confumption, which is certainly very confiderable, its
exports are immenfe. One part of its merchandife is
carried into the inland country. Thibet takes oft' a
quantity of its cottons, befides fome iron and cloths of
European manufadlure. The inhabitants of thofe
mountains fetch them from Patan themfelves, and give
mufk and rhubarb in exchange.
But the trade of Thibet is nothing in comparifcn
of that which Bengal carries on with Agra, Delhi,
and the provinces adjacent to thofe fuperb capitals, in
fait, fugar, opium, filk, filk-ftuffs, and an infinite
quantity of cottons, and particularly muftins. Thefe
articles*
BEN
Bengal.
t
1S
Maritime.
articles, taken together, amounted formerly to more
'than 1,750,000!. a-year. So confiderable a fum was
not conveyed to the banks of the Ganges j but it was
the means of retaining one nearly equal, which mull
have iffued from thence to pay the duties, or for other
purpofes. Since the viceroys of the Mogul have made
themfelves neatly independent, and fend him no reve¬
nues but fuch as they choofe to allow' him, the luxury
of the court is greatly abated, and the trade we have
been fpeaking of is no longer fo confiderable.
The maritime trade of Bengal, managed by the na¬
tives of the country, has not fuffered the fame dimi¬
nution, nor was it ever fo extenfive, as the other. It
may be divided into two branches, of which Catek is
in pofleffion of the greater part.
Catek is a diftri6l of fome extent, a little below the
molt weflern mouth of the Ganges. Balafore, fituated
upon a navigable river, ferves it for a port. The na¬
vigation to the Maldives, which the Englilh and French
have been obliged to abandon on account of the cli¬
mate, is carried on entirely from this road. Here
they load their veflels with rice, coarfe cottons, and
fome filk fluffs, for thefe ifiands j and receive cowries
in exchange, which are ufed for money in Bengal, and
fold to the Europeans.
The inhabitants of Catek, and fome other people of
the Lower Ganges, maintain a confiderable correfpon-
dence with the country of Afiiam. This kingdom,
which is thought to have formerly made a part of Ben¬
gal, and is only divided from it by a river that falls
into the Ganges, deferves to be better known, if what
is afferted here be true, that gunpow'der has been dif-
covered there, and that it was communicated from
Afham to Pegu, and from Pegu to China. Its gold,
filver, iron, and lead mines, would have added to its
fame, if they had been properly worked. In the midfl
of thefe riches, which were of very little fervice to this
kingdom, fait was an article of which the inhabitants
were fo much in w'ant, that they wore reduced to the
expedient of procuring it from a decoftion of certain
■plants.
In the beginning of the prefent century, fome Bra-
mins of Bengal carried their fuperftitions to Afiiam,
where the people were guided folely by the di&ates
of natural religion. The priefts perfuaded them, that
it would be more agreeable to Brama if they fubfli-
tuted the pure and wholefome fait of the fea to that
which they ufed. The fovereign confented to this on
condition that the exclufive trade fhould be in his
hands *, that it fiiould only be brought by the people of
Bengal; and that the boats laden wdth it fhould <ftop
at the frontiers of his dominions. Thus have all thefe
falle religions been introduced by the influence and for
the advantage of the priefts who teach, and of the
kings who admit them. Since this arrangement has
taken place, 40 veffels from 500 to 600 tons burden
each are annually fent from the Ganges to Aftiam lad¬
en with fait, which yields 200 percent, profit. They
receive in payment a fmall quantity of gold and filver,
ivory, mufk, eagle-wood, gum-lac, and a large quan¬
tity of filk.
Excepting thefe twm branches of maritime trade,
which, for particular reafons, have been confined to
the natives of the country, all the reft of the veffels
2
B E N
Bengal,
560 ]
fent from the Ganges to the different fea-ports of India
belong to the Europeans, and are built at Pegu. See
Pegu.
A ftill more confiderable branch of commerce, which
the Europeans at Bengal carry on with the reft of In¬
dia, is that of opium. Patna, fituated on the Upper
Ganges, is the moft celebrated place in the world for
the cultivation of opium. The fields are covered with
it. Befides W'hnt is carried into the inland parts, there
are annually 3000 or 4000 chefts exported, each
weighing 300 pounds. It fells upon the fpot at the
rate of between 24I. and 25I. a cheft on an average.
This opium is not purified like that of Syria and Per-
fia, w'hich we makemfe of in Europe ; it is only a palle
that has undergone no preparation, and has not a tenth
part of the virtue of purified opium.
The Dutch fend rice and fugar from their fettle-
ments to the coaft of Coromandel, for which they are
paid in fpecie, unlefs they have the good fortune to
meet with fome foreign merchandife at a cheap rate.
They fend out one or two veffels laden wfith rice, cot¬
tons, and filk : the rice is fold in Ceylon, the cottons
at Malabar, and the filk at Surat j from whence they
bring back cotton, W'hich is ufually employed in the
coarfer manufaftures of Bengal. Two or three (hips
laden with rice, gum-lac, and cotton ftuffs, are fent to
Baffora ; and return with dried fruits, rofe-water, and
a quantity of gold. The rich merchandife carried to
Arabia is paid for entirely in gold and filver. The
trade of the Ganges with the other fea-ports of India
brings 1,225,000!. annually into Bengal.
Though this trade paffes through the hands of the
Europeans, and is carried on under their protedlion,
it is not entirely on their own account. The Moguls,
indeed, who are ufually fatisfied wuth the places they
hold under the government, have feldom any concern
in thefe expeditions •, but the Armenians, w'ho, fince
the revolutions in Perfia, are fettled upon the banks of
the Ganges, to which they formerly only made voya¬
ges, readily throw' their capitals into this trade. The
Indians employ ftill larger firms in it. The impoflibi-
lity of enjoying their fortunes under an oppreffive go¬
vernment does not deter the the natives of this coun¬
try from labouring inceffantly to increafe them. As
they would run too great a rifk by engaging openly in
trade, they are obliged to have recourfe to clandeftine
methods. As foon as an European arrives, the Gen-CenlI0j)
toos, who know mankind better than is commonly fup-brokers,
poled, ftudy his charafter ; and, if they find him fru¬
gal, a<ftive, and well informed, offer to aft as his bro¬
kers and calhiers, and lend or procure him money up¬
on bottomry, or at intereft. This intereft, which is
ufually nine per cent, at leaft, is higher w-hen he is
under a neceflity of borrowing of the Cheyks.
Thefe Cheyks are a powerful family of Indians, cheyks, a
who have, time immemorial, inhabited the banks of powerful
the Ganges. Their riches have long ago procured1', anfa-
them the management of the bank belonging to the11111^'
court, the farming of the public revenue, and the di-
reftion of the money, which they coin afrelh every
year in order to receive annually the benefit arifing
from the mint. By uniting fo many advantages, they
are enabled to lend tbf> r'overnmer-* ! c "rol.
2,625,000!. ox even 4,375,o©ol. at a time. When
the
■Efngal.
iS
'principal
towns.
BEN [ 561 1 BEN
tlie government finds it impofiible to refund the mo¬
ney, they are allowed to indemnify themfelves by op¬
prefling the people.
The Europeans who frequent the Ganges have not
been fufliciently alarmed at this defpotifm, which
ought to have prevented them from lubmitting to a
dependence upon the Cheyks. They have fallen into
the fnare, by borrowing confiderable fums of thefe a-
varicious financiers, apparently at nine, but in reality
at thirteen, per cent, if we take into the account the
difference between the money that is lent them and
that in which they are obliged to make their pay¬
ments. The engagements entered into by the French
and Dutch companies have been kept within fome
bounds ; but thofe of the Englilh company have been
unlimited. In 1755, they were indebted to the Cheyks
about 1,225,000!.
The Portuguefe, who firfl: frequented this rich coun¬
try, had the wifdom to elfablifti themfelves at Chati-
gan, a port fituated upon the frontier of Arracan, not
far from the moft eaffern part of the Ganges. The
Dutch, who, without incurring the refentment of an
■enemy at that time fo formidable, were defirous of
(haring in their good fortune, were engaged in fearch-
ing for a port which, without obffrufting their plan,
would expofe them the lead to hoflilities. In 1603,
their attention was directed to Balafore 5 and all the
companies, rather through imitation than in confe-
quence of any well-concerted fchemes, followed their
example. Experience taught them the propriety of
fixing as near as poffible to the markets from whence
they had their merchandife ; and they failed up that
branch of the Ganges which, feparating itfelf from the
main river at Mourcha above Coflimbuzar, falls into
the fea near Balafore under the name of the river
Hugh/y. The government of the country permitted
them to erefl warehoufes wherever there wras plenty of
manufaflures, and to fortify themlelves upon this ri¬
ver.
The firfl: town that is met wuth in pafling up the ri¬
ver is Calcutta, the principal fettlement of the Englifli
company. See Calcutta.
Six leagues higher is fituated Frederic Nagore,
founded By the Danes in 1756, in order to fupply the
place of an ancient fettlement where they could not
maintain their ground. This new eftablifliment has
not yet acquired any importance, and there is all the
reafon imaginable to believe that it will never become
confiderable.
Two leagues and a half higher lies Chandernagore,
a fettlement belonging to the French. See Chan¬
dernagore.
At the diftance of a mile from Chandernagore is
Chinfura, better knowm by the name of Dougli, being
fituated near the fuburbs of that anciently renowned
city. The Dutch have no other poffeflions there, but
merely their fort ; the territory round it depending on
the government of the country, which hath frequently
made it feel its power by its extortions. Another in¬
convenience attending this fettlement is a fandbank
that prevents (hips from coming up to it: they proceed
no farther than Tulta, which is 20 miles below Cal¬
cutta ; and this of courfe occafions an additional ex¬
pence to the government.
The Portuguefe had formerly made Bandel, which
Vot. III. Part II.
is eighty leagues from the mouth of the Ganges, and Bengal
a quarter of a league above the Hughly, the principal ^ .
feat of their commerce. Their flag is ftill dilplayed,. f
and there are a few unhappy wretches remaining there,
wTho have forgotten their country after having been
forgotten by it. This factory has no other employ¬
ment than that of fupplying the Moors and the Dutch
with miftreffes.
The exports from Bengal to Europe confift of mufk,Exports,
gum-lac, nicaragua wood, pepper, cowries, and (ome
other articles of lefs importance brought thither from
other places. Thofe that are the immediate produce
of the country are borax, falt-petre, filk fluffs, muflins,
and feveral different forts of cottons.
It would be a tedious and ufelefs talk to enumerate
all the places where ticken and cottons, fit for table-
linen or intended to be worn plain, painted, or printed,
are manufadtured. It will be fuflicient to refer to Dac¬
ca, which may be looked upon as the general mart of
Bengal, where the greateft variety of fineft cottons are
to be met with, and in the greateff abundance. See
Dacca.
The fum total of the purchafes made in Bengal by
the European nations, amounted a few years ago to
no more than 870,000!. One third of this fum was
paid in iron, lead, copper, woollens, and Dutch (pices:
the remainder was difcharged in money. Since the
Englifli have made themfelves mailers of this rich
country, its exports have been increafed, and its im¬
ports diminiflred, becaufe the conquerors have carried
away a greater quantity of merchandile, and pay for
it out of the revenues they receive from the country.
There is reafon to believe, that this revolution in the
trade of Bengal has not arrived at its crifis, and that
fooner or later it will be attended with more import¬
ant confequences and effedls.
For the hiftory of Bengal, and its conqueffs by the
Britilh, fee the article Indostan.
BENGO, a province of the kingdom of Angola in
Africa, having the fea on the weft, and the province
of Mofeche on the eaft. It produces plenty of ba¬
nana trees ; but the Portuguefe have grubbed up vaft
quantities of thefe, and cultivated the land, which
now abounds with maize, and the manioc root of which
they make bread *. The province is divided into a * See y*->
great number of diftridls, of which the chiefs are na-fro/^a*
tives, but tributary to Portugal, and obliged to till the
lands belonging to the Portuguefe. They are Chri-
ftians, and have eight churches.
BENGUELA, a province of the kingdom of An¬
gola in Africa, bounded on the eaft by the river Rim-
ba, on the north by the Coanza, and it extends weft-
ward quite to Cape Negro. Benguela was formerly
governed by its own kings; but was entirely ruined by
the incurfions of the barbarous Giagas, fo that its be¬
ing conquered by the Portuguefe proved a great hap-
pinefs. It ftill retains the title of kingdom, and is al¬
lowed to enjoy fome fmall privileges ; but is far from
being reftored to the ftate of plenty it enjoyed before
its deftru£!ion by the Giagas already mentioned. It
produces abundance of fait, but inferior in quality to
that which is made in the province of Chiffama. The
zimbis alfo, whofe {hells are current as money through
many countries of Africa, are caught upon the coaft.
The country, which is moftly mountainous, abounds
4“ B with
BEN
BenJunnom with elephants, rhinocerofes, lions, tygers, crocodiles,
Benin. ^'c‘ are very dangerous, and dellroy great num-
^ * • hers of cattle.
BENHINNOM, in Ancient Geography, a valley in
the fuburbs, and to the, eait of Jerulalem, either a part
of or conjoined with the valley of Kidron, (Jofliua);
infamous for facrificing children, or paffing them
through the fire. The place in the valley where the
idol Hood to which the facrifice was made, was called
Tophet, (2 Kings xxiii. 10. Jer. vii. 31, 32, and xix. 2.),
from beating drums or labours to drown the cries or
fhrieks of the children : called alfo Geenon or the Valley
of Ennon : whence fome derive Gehenna, the place of
future punifhment.
BENJAMIN. See Benzoin and Styrax.
BENIARAX, an ancient and confiderable town in
the kingom of Algiers in Africa, feated in W. Long,
o. 30. N. Lat. 35. o.
BENIN, a country of Guinea, in Africa, has part
of the gulf called the Bite of Benin, and the Slave
Coaft, on the well: •, part of Gago and Biafara on the
north; Myjac and Makoko on the ealt; and Congo on
the fouth, where it extends about one degree beyond
the equinoftial line ; the length from eait to welt, is
about 600 miles; but its north and fouth bounds are
not fo well determined. The land in general is low
and woody; in fome parts it has rivers and lakes, but in
others there is a fcarcity of water. There is here a
great number of wild beafts, particularly elephants,
lions, tygers, leopards, baboons, monkeys, wild boars,
deer, See. The birds are partridges, of which fome are
blue and fome green, turtles, wild ducks, woodcocks,
&c. Their grain is- Indian corn : they have no po¬
tatoes ; but plenty of yams, which are of the potato
kind, but valtly larger and more coarfe: thefe are their
ordinary food, and ferve in the room of bread ; they
have two forts of beans, like horfe-beans, but not near
io good. Their fruits are cocoa-nuts, cormantine apples,
bananas, wild figs, &c.
The negroes have feveral colours which might ferve
for painting and a good fort of foap made with palm-
oil and wood-afhes ; they have a great deal of cotton,
which not only ferves for their own ufe, but is exported
to diltant places. The river Rio or Benin has a great
many arms; fome of which are fo large, that they de-'
ferve the name of rivers: it abounds with fiih, which
the inhabitants eat fmoke-dried as well as frelh. The
place of trade in this river is at Arebo, about x 20 miles
diftant from its mouth; and to this place the {hips may
fail up. Thofe who take this voyage fee the mouths
of a great many rivers fall into the principal channel to
the right and the left; but how far it afeends into the
country is not known. A little higher up, the country
is very low and marfhy, and teems to be divided into
iflands ; and yet there are trees of all fizes growing on
the banks; this renders the country very unhealthy, as
many of our Britilh bailors have found to their colt ; it
is alfo incommoded with vaft numbers of flies, called
mofquitoes, which fling terribly, and render the {kin
full of puflules. There are three principal villages to
which the negroes come from the inland countries to
traffic. One is called Boodacfou, and confifts of about
50 houfes, or rather huts, for they are made with reeds
and covered with leaves. The fecond, called Arebo, was
mentioned above; this is much larger than the former,
562 ] BEN
and pretty well flocked with inhabitants; and the houfes
have much more room, but they are built after the fame
manner. I he third has the name of Agaton, and was
built upon a hill. It was almoff ruined by the wars;
but the negroes lately rebuilt it, on account of its a-
greeable fituation. Great Benin is the place of refi-
dence of the king.
The inhabitants of Benin are very exadl in their
trading, and will not recede from any of their old cu-
ftoms: this renders them very flow in their dealings,
and backward to pay their debts, which fometimes ob¬
liges the traders to fail before they receive fatisfac-
tion ; but then they are paid as foon as they return.
Seme of the merchants are appointed by the govern¬
ment, which demands a fort of cuftom ; but it is very
triding. There are three forts of officers under the
king; the firft are always near him, and none can ad-
drefs him but by their means : there are feveral of the
fecond fort; one takes care of the Haves, another of
the cattle, another of the rtreets, another of war, and
fo on.
Children go almoft naked till they are 14, and then
they wrap a cotton cloth round their middles ; the
richer fort put on a fort of callico gowns when they
go abroad, with a kind of drawers; but within they
are contented with their ufual cloth: the better fort of
women wear their cotton cloths like petticoats, and
have a covering round their {boulders, but take care it
{hall be open before.
The richer fort of the inhabitants of Benin live up¬
on beef, mutton, and poultry ; their drink is water,
apd brandy when they can get, it. The poorer fort
live upon dried fifli, bananas, and beans ; their drink
is water and palm-wine. Their chief handicraft men
are fmiths, carpenters, and curriers; but they perform
all their work in a very bungling manner. The men
have as many wives as they can keep, which they take
without any ceremony except treating their relations.
The wives of the lower fort may go wherever they have
a mind ; but thofe of the rich are fhut up : they allow
their wives to be very familiar with the Europeans, and
yet pretend to be very jealous of their own country¬
men. When a woman is caught in adultery, fhe is
turned away, and the goods of the man are forfeited
to the hufband ; but if the relations of the woman are
rich, they prevail with him to overlook the fault by
dint of prefents.
They ufe circumcifion, which is performed feven
days after the children are born, at which time the fa¬
ther makes a feaft for the relations; they have alfo cu-
ftoms, relating to uncleannefs, refembling thofe of the
Jews. Thieves are puniffied by making the party a-
mends if they can, otherwife they are baflinadoed ; but
murder is always punilhed with death. When a perfon
is only fufpedted of a crime, they have feveral ways of
putting him to a trial, like the fire ordeal, or the bit¬
ter water of the Jews; but they are of fuch a nature,
that the innocent may be as often condemned as the
guilty.
With regard to their religion, they believe in an al¬
mighty and invifible God ; yet worffiip images in a hu¬
man form, and in thofe of all forts of animals, miking
them offerings, every one being his own prieft ; they
look upon thefe leffer deities as mediators between him
Ber.ir;.
and man; fome of thefe idols are in the houfe and fome
BEN [ 563 ] BEN
Eeriin in cabins by tbemfelves. Every fifth day is holy ; on
which the rich kill cows, (heep, and goats, and others
venta. dogs, cats, and fowls, which they diftribute among
y 1 their poor neighbours.
Benin, the capital of a kingdom of the fame name,
is the refidence of their kings, and is feated pretty far
in the country: it Hands in a plain, and is about four
miles in compafs. The ttreets are long and broad: and
there are markets twice a-day, where they fell cows,
cotton, elephants teeth, European merchandifes, and
whatever the country produces. The houfes are large
with clay walls, and at a diftance from each other ;
they are covered with reeds, llraw, and leaves. The
women in this place are the greateft ilaves; for they go
every day to market, manage the houfehold affairs,
take care of the children, cook the viftuals, and till
the .ground. 'Fhe king’s palace makes great part of
the town; and its great extent excepted, there is no¬
thing worth taking notice of, it being only a confufed
heap of buildings, made with boards and clay, with¬
out regularity or neatnefs. In the middle, there is a
wooden tower, about 70 feet high, made like a chim¬
ney ; and on the top is a brazen lerpent, hanging with
his head downwards ; this is pretty well made, and is
the mod curious thing in the town : there is a gal¬
lery of ttatues, but fo wretchedly carved, that there is
no knowing what they reprefent without being told :
behind a curtain there are 11 brazen heads, with an
elephant’s tooth on each ; thefe are the king’s idols :
his throne is made of ivory, on which he fits in a pavi¬
lion of India Huff. The king (hows himfelf but once
a-year, on the day of a certain feftival; and then he is
furrounded with his wives and a great number of his
officers, who walk out in proceffion to begin the feaft
by facrificing to their gods ; this done, he beftows
vi&uals and wine among the multitude, which is imi¬
tated by his officers. All the inhabitants of this town
and country go under the denomination of the king's
Jlavcs, and fome relations fay, that none of them wear
any habit till given them by the king : but this feems
to be only a falvo to account for the great number of
men and wmmen that are daily feen naked in the
Hreets ; for if it be true, that the king of Benin can
bring 100,000 fighting men into the field, his fubje&s
mull be very numerous ; and probably his majefty is
not rich enough to beftow garments upon them all.
The Europeans relbrt hither to purchafe flaves. E.
Long. 5. 4. N. Lat. 7. 40.
••BENISH-days, among the Egyptians, a term for
three days of the week, which are days of lefs cere¬
mony in religion than the other four, and have their
name from the benifh, a garment of common ufe, not
of ceremony. In Cairo, on Sundays, Tuefdays, and
Thurfdays, they go to the balhaw’s divan ; and thefe
are the general days of bufinefs. Fridays they flay at
home, and go to their mofques at noon; but though
this is their day of devotion, they never abftain from
bufinefs. The three other days of the week are the
benilh days, in which they throw' off all bufinefs and
ceremony, and go to their little fummer-houfes in the
country.
BENNAVENTA, or Bennavenna, (Antonine)
a toivn of Britain, on the Aufona Major, or the An-
tona of Tacitus : fuppofed to be Northampton on the
Nen ; but Camden fays it is Wedon, a village fix miles Bennet.
to the well of Northampton. 1 ~\~—
BENNET, Henry, earl of Arlington, wras born
of an ancient family in Middlefex. In the beginning
of the civil war, he was appointed under-fecretary to
George Lord Digby, fecretary of Hate ; afterwrard en¬
tered himfelf as a volunteer for the royal caufe, and
did his majefly good lervice, efpecially at Andover in
Hamplhire, where he received leveral wounds. When
the w'ars v7ere ended, he left not the king when fuccefs
did, but attended his interell in foreign paits. He
was made fecretary to the duke of York ; received the
honour of knighthood from Charles II. at Bruges, in
1658 : and was fent envoy to the court of Spain. His
majefly, upon his return to England, called him home,
mpde him keeper of his privy purfe, and principal fe¬
cretary of Hate. He had always a peculiar hatred to
the lord chancellor Hyde ; who on the other hand
confidered him as a concealed Papifl. In 1670 he was
one of the council diflinguifted by the title of the Ca¬
bal, and one of thofe who advifed ffiutting up the ex¬
chequer. In 1672 he w'as made Earl of Arlington and
Vifcount Thetford, and foon after knight of the gar¬
ter. In 1673, he was appointed one of the three ple¬
nipotentiaries from the court of Great Britain to Co-
logn, to mediate a peace between the emperor and the
king of France. The houfe of commons, in 1673,
drew up articles of impeachment againfl him. In
1674 he was made chamberlain of his majefly’s houfe¬
hold, with this public reafon, that it was in recom-
penfe of his long and faithful fervice, and particularly
for his having performed the office of principal fecre¬
tary of ftate for the fpace of 12 years, to his majefly’s
great fatisfaffion. But afterward his intereft began to
decline, while that of the earl of Danby increafed ; for
upon his return from his unfuccefsful journey to Hol¬
land in 1675, his credit was fo much funk, that feveral
perfons at court diverted the king with mimicking his
perfon and behaviour ; yet he held his lord chamber¬
lain’s place to the day of his death in 1685. His
efteemed letters to Sir William Temple were publifhed
after his death.
Bennet, Chrifopher, an eminent phyfician in the
16th century, was the fon of John Bennet, of Rayn-
ton, in Somerfetfhire. He was educated at Lincoln
college, Oxford ; and gave the public a treatife on con-
fumptions, entitled, Tbeatri Tabidorum VeJHbulum, fo’c.
alfo Exercitationes DiagnojUca, cum Hi/loriis demonjlra-
tivis, quibus Alimentorum et Sanguinis villa detcgunlur
in plerifque morbis, (b'c.
Bennet, Di’ Thomas, an eminent divine, born at
Salifbury on the 7th of May 1673, and educated at.
St John’s college, Cambridge. In 1700, he was made
redlor of St James’s, in Colchefter; afterwards he was
ledlurer of St Olave’s, Southwark, and morning-
preacher at St Lawrence, Jewry ; and at laft was pre-
fented to the vicarage of St Giles’s, Cripplegate,
worth 500I. a-year. While he wds in this ftation, he
was engaged in feveral expenfive law-fuits in defence of
the rights of the church, to which he recovered 150I.
a-year. He wrrote, 1. An Anfwer to the Diffenter’s
Plea for Separation. 2. A Confutation of Popery.
3. A Difcourfe of Schifm. 4. An Anfwer to a book
entitled Thomas againfl: Bennet. 5. A Confutation of
4 B 2 Quakerifm.
Benoit
BEN X 564
6. A brief Hiftory of the joint life of
Quakerifm.
Benferade. Pre-conceived Forms of Prayer. 7. An Anfwer to
> - . Dr Clarke’s Scripture-doflrine of the Trinity. 8. A
Paraphrafe, with Annotations on the Book of Com¬
mon-prayer. 7. A Plebrew Grammar 5 and other
pieces. He died O&ober 9. 1728, in the 56th year
of his age.
BENOIT, Renatus, a famous do&or of the Sor-
bonne, and curate of Euftathius at Paris in the 16th
century. He was a fecret favourer of the Proteftant
religion; and that his countrymen might be able to
read the bible in their own tongue, he publifhed at Pa¬
ris the French tranflation, which had been made by the
reformed minifters at Geneva. This tranllation was
approved of by feveral doftors of the Sorbonne before
it went to the prefs, and King Charles IX. had granted
a privilege for the printing of it. Yet when it was pub¬
lifhed, it wras immediately condemned. He had been
before that time confeffor to the unhappy Mary queen
of Scotland, during _ her day in France, and attended
her when fhe returned into Scotland. Some time be¬
fore the death of Henry III. Dr Benoit, or fomeofhis
friends with his affilfance, publifhed a book, entitled,
Slfrologie Catholique, i. e. The Catholic Apology ; in
which it was fhown, that the Proteftant religion, which
Henry king of Navarre profeffed, was not a fufficient
reafon to deprive him of his right of fucceeding to the
crown of France. When Henry IV. was refolved to
embrace the Catholic religion, he affifted at that af-
fembly in which King Plenry abjured the reformed re¬
ligion. The king promoted him to the bifhoprick of
Troyes in Champagne 1597, but he could never ob¬
tain the pope’s bulls to be inftalled. However, he en¬
joyed the temporalties of that bifttopric till he refign-
ed it. He died in 1608.
BENSERADE, Isaac de, an ingenious French
poet of the 17th century, was born at Lyons. He made
himfelf known at court by his verfes and his wit,
and had the good fortune to pleafe the cardinals de
Richelieu and Mazarin. After the death of Richelieu,
he got into favour with the duke de Breze, wrhom he
accompanied in moft of his expeditions 5 and wrhen this
nobleman died, he returned to court, where his poetry
became highly efteemed. He wrote, 1. A Paraphrafe
upon Job. 2. Verfes for Interludes. 3. Rondeaux
upon Ovid. 4. Several Tragedies. A ibnnet which
he fent to a young lady with his Paraphrafe on Job
being put in competition with the Urania of Voiture,
caufed him to be much fpoken of; for what an honour
was it to be head of a party againft this celebrated au¬
thor ? Thofe who gave the preference to Benferade’s
performance were ftyled the Jobr/ls, and their antago-
nifts the Uranifls; and the difpute long divided’ the
whole court and the wits. Some years before his
death, he applied himfelf to works of piety, and tranf-
lated almoft all the Pfalms.
M. 1’Abbe Olivet fays, that Benferade towyards the
latter end of his lite, withdtew from court, and made
Gentilly the place of his retirement. When he was a
youth, he fays it was the cuftom to vifit the remains of
the ornaments with wrhich Benferade had embellilhed
his houfe and gardens, where every thing favoured of
his poetical genius. The bark of the trees were full of
jnfcriptions: and, amongft others, he remembers the
£rft which prefented itfelf was as follows;
] BEN
Adieu fortune, honneurs adieu, vous et les votres,
Je viens ici vous oublier ;
Adieu toi meme amour, bienplus que les autres
Difficile a congedier.
Fortune and honours, all adieu.
And whatfoe’er belongs to you.
I to this retirement run,
All your vanities to fhun.
Thou too adieu, O powerful love ;
From thee ’tis hardeft to remove.
M. Voltaire is of opinion that thefe infcriptions were
the beft of his productions, and he regrets that they
have not been collected.
Benferade fuffered at laft fo much from the ftone,
that, notwithftanding his great age, he refolved to fub-
mit to the operation of cutting. But his conftancy
was not put to this laft proof; for a furgeon letting
him blood, by way of precaution, pricked an artery,
and, inftead of endeavouring to flop the effufion of
blood, ran away. There was but juft time to call F.
Commire, his friend and confeffor, who came foon
enough to fee him die. This happened the 19th of
Odober 1691, in the Sad year of his age.
BENSHEIM, a town of Germany in the Palatinate
of the Rhine, feated in E. Long. 8. 45. N. Lat. 52. 23.
BENSON, Dr George, a learned diffenting mini-
fter, born at Great Salkeld, in Cumberland, in 1699.
His love of learning was fo fuccefsful, that, at x 1 years
of age, he was able to read the Greek Teftament. He
afterwards ftudied at Dr Dixon’s academy at White¬
haven, from whence he removed to the univerfity of
Glafgow. In 1721, he was chofen paftor of a con¬
gregation of Diffenters at Abingdon in Berk {hire ; in
1729, he received a call from a fociety of diffenters in
Southwark, with whom he continued 11 years; and
in 1 740, was chofen by the congregation of Crutched
Friars, colleague to the learned and judicious Dr Lard-
ner. From the time of his engaging in the miniftry
he propofed to himfelf the critical ftudy of the Scrip¬
tures, particularly of the New Teftament, as a principal
part of his bufinefs. The firft fruits of thefe ftudies
wTich he prefented to the public wras, A Defence of the
reafonablenefs of Prayer, wuth a Tranflation of a Dif-
courfe of Maximus Tyrius containing fome popular
Objections againft Prayer, and an Anfwer to thefe.
The light which Mr Locke had thrown on the obfcu-
reft parts of St Paul’s epiftles, by making him his own
expolitor, encouraged and determined Mr Benfon to
attempt to illuftrate the remaining epiflles in the fame
manner. In 1731, he publilhed A Paraphrafe and Notes
on the Epiftle to Philemon, as a fpecimen. This was
wTell received, and the author encouraged to proceed in
his defign. With the epiftle to Philemon was pu¬
blifhed “ A (hort differtation, to prove from the fpi-
rit and fentiments the apoftle difcovered in his epiftles,
that he was neither an enthufiaft nor impoftor ; and con-
fequently that the religion which he afferted he received
immediately from heaven, and confirmed by a variety of
miracles, is indeed divine.” This argument hath fine?
been improved and iiluftrated, with great delicacy and
ftrength, in a review of the apoftle’s entire conduCt and
charaCler by Lord Littleton. Mr Eenfcn proceeded
with great diligence tytd reputation to publifh Parja-
phrafes
Benfon,
BEN [ 565 J BEN
Beni ham phrafes and Notes on the two Epiftles to the Theffalo-
II. nians, the firft and fecond to Timothy, and the Epiftle
Bentr/o- xitus j adding, Differtations on feveral important
g '°' . Subjefts, particularly on Infpiration. In the year 1735,
our author jjubliflied his Hiftory of the firft Planting of
Chriftianity, taken from the Afts of the Apoftles, and
their Epiftles, in 2 vols 4to. In this work, befides
illuftrating throughout the hiftory of the Afts and moft
of the epiftles, by a view of the hiftory of the times,
the occafion of the feveral epiftles, and the ftate of the
churches to whom they were addreffed, he eftablilhed
the truth of the Chriftian religion on a number of fa£ls,
the moft public, important, and inconteftable. He alfo
wrote, The reafonablenefs of the Chriftian Religion j
The Hiftory of the Life of Jefus Chrift ; A Paraphrafe
and Notes on the feven Catholic Epiftles ; and feve¬
ral other works which procured him great reputation.
One of the univerfities in Scotland fent him a diploma,
with a doctor’s degree •, and many of high rank in the
church of England, as Herring, Hoadley, Butler,
Benfon, Coneybeare, &c. fhowed him great marks of
favour and regard. He purfued the fame ftudies with
great application and fuccefs till the time of his death,
which happened in the year 1763, in the 64th year, of
his age.
BENTHAM, Thomas, bifliop of Litchfield and
Coventry, was born at Shirburn in Yorkihire in the
year 1513, and educated in Magdalene college, Oxford.
He took the degree of batchelor of arts in 1543, and
in 1546 was admitted perpetual fellow, and proceeded
mafter of arts the year following, which was that of
Edward’s VI.’s accefiion to the crown. He now threw
off the malk of Popery, which during the equivocal
reign of Henry VIII. he had worn with relu&ance.
When Mary came to the crown, being deprived of his
fellowlhip by her vifttors, he prudently retired to Bafil
in Switzerland, where for fome time he expounded the
Scriptures to the Englifh exiles in that city ; but, be¬
ing folicited by fome Proteftants in London, he re¬
turned to London before the death of the queen, and
was appointed fuperintendant of a private congregation
in the city. Immediately on the acceflion of Eliza¬
beth, Bentham was preferred in the church, and in the
fecond year of her reign was confecrated bifliop of
Litchfield and Coventry. He died at Eccleftial in
Staffordihire in 1570, aged 65. He was buried in the
chancel of the church there ; and a monument was
erefted, with the effigy of himfelf, his wife, and four
children, with the following infcription :
Hnc jccet in tumba Benthamus, cplfcopus ille
Dobius, divinus, largus, pafcens, pins, almus.
Ob. 19. Feb. 1578.
Bilhop Bentham had the chara&er of a pious and
zealous reformer, and was particularly celebrated for
his knowledge of the Hebrew language. His works
are, 1. Expofition of the A<fts of the Apoftles; manu-
fcript. 2. A Sermon on Chrift’s Temutationj Lond.
Svo. 3. Epiftle to M. Parker-,, maribfcript. 4. The
Pfalms, Ezekiel, and Daniel, tranflated into Englilh
in Queen Elizabeth’s Bible.
BENTIVOGLIO, Guy,, cardinal, born at Ferrara,
in the year 1579. He went to ftudy at Padua, where
he made a coniiderable proficiency in polite literature.
Upon his leaving the univerfity, he went to relide at
Rome, where he became univerfally efteemed. lie was Bendm.
fent nuncio to Flanders, and then to France in both &1:0
which employments his behaviour w^as fuch as gave Bentley,
great fatisfadHon to Paul V. who made him a cardinal, 1—
which was the laft promotion he made, a little before
his death, which happened on the 28th of January
1621. Bentivoglio was at this time in France, where
Louis XIII. and all the French court congratulated
him on his new dignity 5 and wffien he returned to Rome,
his Chriftian majefty entrufted him with the.manage¬
ment of the French affairs at that court. Pope Ur¬
ban VII. had a high regard for him on account of his
fidelity, difintereftednefs, and confummate knowledge
in bufinefs. He was beloved by the people, and efteemed
by the cardinals ; and his qualities were fuch, that in
all probability he would have been raifed to the ponti¬
ficate on the death of Urban, which happened on the
29th of July 1644 ; but having gone to the conclave
during the time of the moft intolerable heats at Rome,
it affedled his body to fuch a degree, that he could not
fleep for 11 nights afterwords •, and this want of reft
threw him into a fever, of which he died the 7th of Sep¬
tember 1644, aged 65. He has left feveral works j the
moft remarkable of which are, A Hiftory of the Civil
Wars of Flanders, An Account of Flanders, writh Let¬
ters and Memoirs.
Bentiyoglio, a fmall town of Italy in the territory
of Bologna, with a caftle, fituated in E. Long. 11. 34.
N. Lat. 44. 47.
BENTLEY, Richard, an eminent critic and di¬
vine, was born at Oulton, in the parifti of Rothwell,
near Wakefield. His anceftors, who were of fome
confideration, poffeffed an eftate, and had a feat at
Hepenftall, in the parifti of Hallifax. His grandfather
James Bentley was a captain in King Charles I.’s army
at the time of the civil wrars; and being involved in the
fate of his party, had his houfe plundered, his eftats
confifcated, aq,d w7as himfelf carried prifoner to Pom-
fret Caftle, where he died. Thomas Bentley, the fon
of James, and father of Dr Bentley, married the daugh¬
ter of Richard Willis of Oulton, wffio had been a ma¬
jor in the royal army. 1'his lady, who was a woman
of exceeding good underftanding, taught her fon Rich¬
ard his accidence. To his grandfather Willis, who
w7as left his guardian, he was in part indebted for his
education and having gone through the grammar
fchool at Wakefield with Angular reputation, both for
his proficiency and his exadf and regular behaviour, he
was admitted of St John’s college, Cambridge, under
the tuition of Mr Johnfon, on the 24th of May 1676}
being then only four months above 14. years of age.
On the 22d of March 1681-2, he flood candidate for
a fellowftiip, and would have been unanimoufty defied,
had he not been excluded by the ftatutes on account of
his being too young for prieft’s orders. He was then
a junior bachelor, and but little more than 19 years
old. It was foon after this that he became a fchool-
mafter at Spalding. But that he did not continue long
in this fituation is certain from a letter of his grand¬
father Willis’s, ftill preferved in the family, from which
it appears, that he was with Dr Stillingfleet at the
Deanery of St Paul’s on the 25th of April 1683. He
had been recommended by his college to the dean as
preceptor to his fon ; and Dr Stillingfleet gave Mr
Bentley his choice whether he would carry his pupil ta
Cambridge
BEN
, £entley-t Cambridge or Oxford. He fixed upon tbe latter uni-
veifity on account of the Bodleian library, to the con-
fuiting oi the manufcripts of which he applied with the
clofefl attention. Being now of age, he made over a
finall eftate which he derived from his family to his
elder brother, and immediately laid out the money he
obtained for it in the purchafe of books. In July
1683, he took the degree of mailer of arts at St
John’s college, Cambridge. In 1692, his patron be¬
ing advanced to the fee of Worcetter, collated him to
a prebend in that church, and alio made him his do-
meftic chaplain. i hat learned prelate, as well as Dr
Will. Lloyd, then bifliop of Litchfield, had feen many
proofs of our author’s extraordinary merit, when they
concurred in recommending him as a fit perfon to open
the lectures upon ]\ir Boyle’s foundation, in defence of
natural and revealed religion. This gave him a fine
opportunity of eltablilhing his fame. He faw it well j
and refolved to pulh it to the utmoll. Sir Ifaac New¬
ton s Principia had been publilhed but a few years, and
the book was little known and lefs underltood. Mr
Bentley therefore determined to fpare no pains in dif-
playing to the belt advantage the profound demonltra-
tions which that excellent work furnilhed in proof of
a Deity 5 and that nothing might be wanting to com¬
plete the defign, he applied to the author, and recei-
* Vid JWVe<^ ^r0m Station of forne difficulties which had
Letters from™' fallen within the plan of his treatife*. In Ihort,
Sirlfaae our author’s fermons at Boyle’s lectures were univer-
Ne-wtont' tally admired, and highly raifed his reputation as a
Dr iWry, preacher ; notwithlianding that efcape which laid him
>75o-open to the raillery of Dr Keil, viz. of proving the
moon not to turn round her axis becaufe fhe always
{hows the fame face to the earth. In 1693, he was
made keeper of the royal library at St James’s.
In the following year arofe the famous difpute be¬
tween him and the honourable Mr Boyle, in relation
to the epiftles of Phalaris ; of which Mr Boyle had
publilhed a very fine edition, with a Latin verfion of
the text. 1 hefe epiftles the Dodlor afierted to be fpu-
rious, the production of fome fophift, and altogether
contemptible as a literary performance. The princi¬
pal pieces which appeared in this noted controverfy
xvcre, 1. Dr Bentley’s diflertation upon the epiftles of
Themiftocles, Socrates, Euripides, Phalaris, and the
babies of ^nfop, at the end of the fecond edition of
Mr Wotton’s Reflections on Ancient and Modern
Learning . but aftenvards printed by Dr Bentley en¬
tire, and added with great additions to his farther de¬
fence of it, in anfwer to Mr Boyle. 2. “ Dr Bentley’s
Diflertation on the Epiftles of Phalaris and the Fables
of At,fop examined by the Honourable Charles Boyle,
Efq;” a book more commonly known by the title of
B°y/e againji Bentley. 3. Dr Bentley’s Anfwer to the
above, commonly known by the name of Bentley a-
gatnjl Boyle ; a curious piece, interfperfed with a great
deal, of true wit and humour. From the caprice or
partiality of the age the viftory was adjudged to Mr
Boyle, and the ridicule of the wits exercifed upon Dr
Bentley. T. hus Dr Garth, in the Difpenfarv,
t ]
BEN
So Diamonds tale a lujlre from their foil.
And to a BENTLEY VL voe owe a BOYLE.
Dr Bentley had alfo fome wags who were his enemies
even at Cambridge, who drew his picture in the hands
J
of Phalaris’s guards, who were putting him into their Bentley
mailer’s bull, and out of the.DoClor’s mouth came a l—- y—.
label with theie words, / had rather be Roasted than
Boyled. And Dean Swift, in his Tale of a Tub,
had iome ftrokes at Dr Bentley upon thisoccafion, but
more efpecially in his Battle of the Books, where, on
account of Dr Bentley’s differtation of Phalaris, &c.
being annexed to Mr Wotton’s refle&ions on learning,
and their being great friends, he makes Mr Wotton
and Di Bentley, {landing fide by fide, in each other’s
defence, to be both transfixed to the ground by one
ftroke of the javelin of Mr Boyle, and this he height¬
ens by the fimile of a cook’s fpitting a brace of wood¬
cocks. Nay, fo ftrong is the influence of literary pre¬
judice and falhion, that many even of Dr Bentley’s
friends confidered Boyle’s Examination as unanlner-
able. Nor could they be convinced of the contrary,
till the DoCIor, firft alking them where it was fo im¬
pregnable, and confuting one article after another up¬
on the fpot, as faft as they inftanced, allured them it
was all of the fame kind. This he effeaually {Rowed
in his anfwer. It now, however, feems to be the fet¬
tled opinion of the literary world, that the DoCtor has
not only the evident advantage in refpeCl of learning
and argument,, but that he is little, if at all, inferior to
his antagonift in point of wit and fmartnefs. It may
not, however, be amifs to recite a few teftimonies on
the fubjeCL Mr Walpole, fpeaking of Mr Boyle’s
tranflation of the Epiftles of Phalaris, fays, “ This
work occafioned the famous controverfy with Dr Bent-
ley 5—who alone, and unworfted, fuftained the attacks
of the brighteft genius’s in the learned world, and
whofe fame has not fuffered by the wit to which it
gave occafion.” Mr Towers, in his Britifti Biography
exprefies himfelf in the following terms : “ In the
controverfy between him and Mr Boyle, the popular
clamour, 'indeed, was in favour of the latter; but
Bentley’s is unqueftionably a much more valuable per¬
formance than that of Boyle. 1 he latter, confidered as
a mere Englifh compofition, has the advantage in point
of.ftyle; and pleafed the generality, by the perfonal
fatire which it contained againft Dr Bentley, who had
many enemies. But Bentley had greatly the fuperi-
ority with refpeft to juft reafoning, critical fagacity,
and extent of learning ; and his vindication of himfelf
alfo contained many ftirewd and farcaftical ftrokes a-
gainft Mr Boyle and his performance. Much has been
faid in favour of Mr Boyle, as a genteel and polite
writer ; and it muft be confefled, that Dr Bentley’s
manner was often too afluming, and that he was defi¬
cient in point of civility. But notwithftanding this,
there was, perhaps, a much greater want of real can¬
dour and politenefs, whatever affectation of them there
might be, in the very contemptuous and unfair man¬
ner in which Dr Bentley was treated throughout Mr
Boyle’s book, than in any thing which Bentley had
faid againft Boyle.' Bentley, with all his foibles, was
too refpeCtable a character to be a proper fubjeCt of
fuch treatment; though Swift, Garth, and Pope, have
joined in countenancing the popular prejudices againft
him.” Mr Dodwell, who refided at Oxford during
the controverfy, who made himfelf in fome fort a party
in it, and who had a very particular court paid to him
by the Chrift-Church men, declared to them that he
never learned fo much from any book of the fize in his
life.
f
BEN
Bentley. ljfe> as he had done from Dr Bentley’s Anfvver to
Boyle.
In 1696, at the public commencement, Mr Bentley
had been created do&or of divinity by the univerfity
of Cambridge 5 and fome time thereafter admitted, ad
eundem, in the univerlity of Oxford.
_ In 1700 he was prefented to the mafterfhip of Tri¬
nity college, Cambridge, which is reckoned worth near
iodoI. per annum. Upon this promotion he refigned
his prebend of Worcefter; and, in 1701, was collated
to the archdeaconry of Ely. Being thus placed in a
Hate of eafe and affluence, he entered into matrimony,
and indulged his inclination in critical purfuits ; and
the fruits of his labours, which he occalionally publiih-
ed, all dilplayed fuch erudition and fagacity, that, by
degrees, he obtained the character of being the great-
eft critic of the age. In the mean while, however, he
carried matters with fo high a hand in the government
of his college, that, in 1709, a complaint was brought
before the biihop of Ely, as vifttor, againft him, by
feveral of the fellows, who charged him with embez¬
zling the college money, and other mifdemeanors.
In anfwer to this, he prefented his defence to the bi-
fhop, which he publiftied in 1710, under the title of
The prefent State of Trinity College, 8vo 5 and thus be¬
gan a quarrel, which was carried on with the moft vi¬
rulent animofity on each fide, for above 20 years, when
it at laft ended in the Dollar’s favour. In 1716, upon
the death of Dr James, he was appointed regius pro-
feftor of divinity in the former univerfity ; annexed to
which was a good benefice in the bilhopric of Ely. His
Majefty King George I. on a vifit to the univerfity in
1717, having, as ufual, nominated by mandate feveral
perfons for a do£tor’s degree in divinity, our profeflbr
to whofe office it belonged to perform the ceremony
called creation, demanded four guineas from each per-
fon, befides a broad piece of gold, and abfolutely re-
fufed to create any doftor without thefe fees : hence
there arofe a long and warm difpute, during which,
the do&or was firft fufpended, and then degraded ■
but on a petition to his majefty from relief from that
fentence, the affair was referred to the court of King’s
Bench, where the proceedings againft him being re-
verled, a mandamus was iffued, charging the univerfity
to reftore him. With regard to Dr Bentley’s long
difpute with bis college, Mr Whifton reprefents his hat
ving been induced in a tingle initance, after four years
of unexceptionable condutt, to recede from the excel¬
lent rule of detur digniori, in the eleftion to a fellow-
ftiip, as the firft falfe ftep which led to others, and
was very prejudicial to his own happinefs. A concife
and accurate account of his controverfies with his col¬
lege and the univerfity, and of the publications which
appeared on thefe occafions, may be feen in Mr Gough’s
anecdotes of topography. There are likewife, in the
Harleian colledlion of manufcripts^in the Britifti Mu-
feum, N(> 7523, fome authentic papers, relative to the
proceedings of the univerfity againft Dr Bentley. Dr
Bentley was endowed with a natural hardinefs of tem¬
per, which enabled him to ride out both thefe ftorms
without any extraordinary difturbance, or interruption
to his literary purfuits. In his private charadter, tho’
he is generally allowed to have been too fond of money,
he was hearty, fincere, and warm in his friendfhip, an
affe&ionate hufband, and a moft indulgent father / * He
567 ]
BEN
loved hofpitality and refpedf 5 maintained the dignity Bentley,
and munificence of the ancient abbots in houfe-keep- ’1—
ing at his lodge, which he beautified 5 and, in conver-
fation, tempered the feverity of the critic with fuch a
peculiar ftrain of vivacity and pleafantry, as was very
entertaining. He died at his lodge in Trinity college,
on the 14th of July 1742, at 80 years of age. To
his lateft hour, lie could read the Imalleft Greek Te-
ftament without fpedlacles; and he died of a young
man’s diforder, a pleuritic fever. He was of a large
and robuft frame of body, and of ftrong features.
Thefe gave a dignity, perhaps a feverity, to his afpeft,
which probably heightened the opunion many had con¬
ceived of the haughtinefs and roughnefs of his temper.
But, in faff, he was of fo tender a difpofition, that he
never read a touching ftory without tears. It was not,
indeed, till after he had been afflicted with a flight pa¬
ralytic ftroke, that this particular effect of the foftnefs
of his nature was in every cafe apparent : fo that it
may pofflbly be imputed, in fome degree, to his diforder. -
It is, however, certain that previous to that event he
was endued with great tendernefs and feniibility. In
the conteft about the vifitatorial power, when he met
Bifttop Moore, he was fo ftruck with feeing his old
friend appear in a hoflile manner againft him, that he
fainted away in the court.
When we confider the great abilities and uncommon
erudition of which Dr Bentley was poffeffed, it refledh
fome difgrace on our country, fays Dr Kippis, that
even his literary reputation ftiould be fo long treated
with contempt j that he ftiould be reprelented as a mere
verbal critic, and as a pedant without genius. The
unjuft light in which he was placed, was not entirely
owing to the able men who oppofed him in the Boylean
controverfy : it arole perhaps principally from the
poets engaging on the fame fide of the queftion, and
making him the objeift of their fatire and ridicule.
The “ flaihing Bentley” of Pope wall be remembered
and repeated by thoufands who know nothing of the
Doftor’s real merit. Having mentioned this epithet,
we ftiall add the candid note of the poet’s right reve¬
rend editor. “ This great man, with all his faults,
deferved to be put into better company. The follow¬
ing words of Cicero defcribe him not amifs : “ Habuit
a natura genus quoddam acuminis, quod etiam arte lima-
verat, quod erat in reprebendis verbis verfutum et fo/ers;
fedfcepefomachofum, nonnunquam frigidum, interdum eti¬
am facetumy In the fourth book of the Dunciad,
Mr Pope introduces our critic at greater length, and
with ftill greater feverity. Perhaps it may be found,
that the afperity of Mr Pope was not entirely owing
to the combination of certain wits and poets againft
Dr Bentley, but to perfonal refentment. We are told
that. Biftiop Atterbury, having Bentley and Pope both
at dinner with him, infifted on knowing what opinion
the Do&or entertained of the Englifti Homer. He
for fome time eluded the queftion : but at laft, being
urged to fpeak out, he laid, “ The verfes are good
verfes ; but the work is not Homer, it is Spondanus.”
It muft indeed be acknowledged, that one cauie of
Dr Bentley’s having enemies, was his not always bear¬
ing his faculties with fufficient meeknefs. Pie appears
to have had a confiderable degree of literary pride, and
to have fpoken of himlelf and others with uncommon
freedom, Mr Whifton informs us of the Doclor’s ha-
ving
BEN [ 568 ] BEN
Bentley, ving faid, “ That when he himfelf fliould be dead,
" ' v 'Wafle wTould be the moft learned man in England.”
Dr Salter, who was extremely devoted to the memory
of Dr Bentley, confeffed that he was remarkable for
his fa/fus, efpecially towards his equals, and for fpeak-
ing highly of himfelf. But at the fame time, he is
defcribed by Dr Salter as having been a very amiable
•and pleafant man in private life, and as poffeffing much
good nature, though he had been otherwife reprefent- .
ed. This account agrees with the moft authentic in¬
formation from different quarters. It is related of Dr
.Bentley, that he ufed to pull off his hat to the younger
ftudents, but would not do it to the fellow's of his
college. Being afked the reafon for making this dif¬
ference, he anfwered, “ That the young ones might
come to fomething j but for the others, they never
could be good for any thing.”
The Doftor’s principal works, befides thofe already
mentioned, were, 1. Anitnadverfions and remarks on
the poet Callimachus. 2. Annotations on the tw'O firli
Comedies of Ariftophanes. 3. Emendations, &c. on
the Fragment of Menander and Philemon. 4. Remarks
upon Collins’s difcourfe of freethinking. 5. Beau¬
tiful and corred editions of Horace, Terence, Phaedrus,
mid Milton, with notes.
In 1721 he publifhed Propofals for printing a new
•edition of the Greek Teftament, and St Hierom’s
Latin verfion ; in which edition he intended to make
no ufe of any manufeript that was not at leaft icoo
years old. Upon thefe propofals Dr Middleton pub-
lilhed fome remarks 5 and the work never made its ap¬
pearance. “ If Dr Middleton’s attack contributed to
this event (Dr Kippis obferves), he certainly did no
little differvice to the caule of lacred literature. The
completion of Dr Bentley’s noble undertaking was the
principal employment of the latter part of his life. He
had colle&ed and collated all the manuferipts of Eu¬
rope to which accefs could be obtained. For this pur-
pofe, his nephew Thomas Bentley, LL. D. w’ell known
in the republic of letters, travelled through Europe at
his uncle’s expence. The work wTas of fuch magnitude,
that he found it neceftary, for the firft time, to publilh
propofals for printing it by fubfeription. The whole
was completed for publication •, and he had received
2000I. in part of the fubfeription, all of which he re¬
turned to the fubferibers when he took the refolution
of not letting it appear in the world during his own life.
The w-ork is now in the poffeflion of his executor Dr
Richard Bentley, one of the fenior fellows of Trinity
College, and reftor of Nailfton near Alhby in Liece-
fterlhire ; and it is hoped that at fome future period it
may yet fee the light-,—Other valuable remains of Dr
Bentley are ftill in exiftence ; fome of which are in the
hands of his executor, and fome in thofe of Mr Cum¬
berland his grandfon. The latter gentleman is pof-
fefled of the Do&or’s claftic books, with his margi¬
nal notes. From , thefe notes Mr Cumberland hath
publifhed an edition of Lucan $ which though not per¬
fect throughout, is full and complete with regard to
the four firft books. The fame gentlemen has a Ho¬
mer of our great critic’s, with many marginal notes
and corrections, preparatory to an edition of it w'hich
he intended to have given. Dr Bentley’s critical cor-
refpondence with his numerous literary acquaintance,
which muft be very inftruftive and entertaining, is
2
not only preferved, but defigned to be laid before the Benzoin-
public.” Be>ule ^
The DoCtor’s publication of Milton, it is faid, w7as . " -
owing to Queen Caroline. Her Majefty reprefented
to him, that he had printed no edition of an Englifh
claftic, and urged him to undertake Milton. His notes
upon this great poet have been the worft received of
any of his critical performances. The learned Bifhop
New'ton fpeaks of them with confiderable feverity, in¬
termixed, however, with fome applaufe.
BENZOIN, in Materia Medic a, a concrete refi-
nous juice, obtained from a fpecies of ftyrax. See
Styrax.
BERAMS, a coarfe cloth, all made with cotton-
thread, which comes from the Eaft Indies, and parti¬
cularly from Surat.
BERAR, a province of-Afia, in the dominions of
the Great Mogul, near the kingdom of Bengal. It
abounds in corn, rice, pulfe, and poppies, from which
laft they extrad opium ; and fugar-canes grow almoft
without cultivation. The capital town is called Sko-
pour.
BERAUM, a royal city of Bohemia, and capital
of a circle of the fame name. E. Long. 14. 25. N.
Lat. 50. 2.
BERAY, a towm of Normandy in France, fituated
in W. Long. I. 20. N. Lat. 49. 6.
BERBERIS, the barberry. See Botany/We#.
BERBICE, a river of Terra Firma in America,
w-hich falls into the North fea, in S. Lat. 6. 30. This
is the only river in the country, and waters a great
number of plantations of cotton, &c. belonging to the
Dutch.
BERCARIA, Berqueria, or Berkeria, in middle-
age writers, denotes a ftieep-fold, Iheep-cote, flieep-
pen, or other enclofure, for the fafe keeping a flock of
ftieep.—The word is abbreviated from berbicaria ; of
berbex, detorted from vervex. Hence alfo a fhepherd
was denominated bcrbicarius and berquarius.
BERCHEROIT, or Bfrkoits, a weight ufed at
Archangel, and in all the Ruffian dominions, to weigh
fuch merchandifes as ate heavy and bulky. It weighs
about 3641b. Engliffi averdupois w-eight.
BERCHEM, or Berghem, Nicholas, an excel¬
lent painter, was a native of Haerlem, and born in
1624. He received inftrudions from feveral very emi¬
nent' mafters } and it was no fmall addition to their
fame that Berchem was their fcholar. 1 he charming
pidlures of cattle and figures by this admirable mafter
are juftly held in the higheft eftimation. He has been
Angularly happy in having many of them finely en¬
graved by John Viffcher, an artift of the firft rank.
Berchem had an eafy expeditious manner of painting,
nod an inexpreffible variety and beauty in the choice
of fites for his landfcapes 5 executing them w ith a fur-
prifing degree of neatnefs and truth. He poftefted a
clearnefs and ftrength of judgment, and a wonderful
powxr and eafe in expreffmg his ideas and although
his fubje&s were of the lower kind, yet his choice of
nature was judicious, and he gave to every fubjedt as
much of beauty and elegance as it w ould admit. The
leafing of his trees is exquifitely and freely touched
his Ikies are clear ; and his clouds float lightly, as if
fupported by air. The diftinguifhing charadfers of
the pidlures of Berchem are, the breadth and juft di-
ftribution
B E R [569
Iknkfli {Irihution of the lights 5 the grandeur of his mafles of
II. light and fhadow 5 the natural eafe and firoplicity in
t^e att;tu(jes Qf figures? exprefling their feveral cha-
racters j the juft degradation of his diftances; the bril¬
liancy and harmony, as well as the tranfparence, of
his colouring ; the corre&nefs and true perfpedive of
his ddign ; and the elegance of his compofition ; and
where any of thofe marks are wanting, no authority
ought to be fufticient to afcribe any picture to him.
He painted every part of his fubje&s fo extremely
■well, as to render it difficult to determine-in which he
excelled moft ; his trees, buildings, waters, rocks,
hills, cattle, and figures, being all equally admirable.
BERCHETT, Petiik., an eminent hiftory painter,
was born in France in 1659, and at the age of 18 was
employed in the royal palaces. He came to England
in r68i, to work under Rambour, a French painter
of architedlure ; but, after flaying a year, returned to
Marli. He came again, and was fent by King Wil¬
liam to the palace he was building at Loo, where he
was employed 15 months; and then came a third time
to England, where he had fufficient bufinefs. We are
informed by Mr Walpole, that he then painted the
ceiling of the chapel of Trinity college, Oxford, the
ftaircafe at the duke of Schomberg’s in Pall-mall, and
the fummer-houfe at Ranelagh. His drawings in the
academy were much approved. Towards the clofe of
his life he retired to Marybone, where he painted on¬
ly fmall pieces of fabulous hiftory, and died there in
January 1720.
BERDASH, in Antiquity, was a name formerly
ufed in England for a certain kind of neck-drefs ; and
hence a perfon who made or fold fuch neckcloths was
called a berdafher, from which is derived our word ha-
berdafber.
BERECYNTHIA, the mother of the gods, in the
Pagan theology. .
BERENGARIANISM, a name given by ecclefi-
aftical writers to the opinion of thofe who deny the
truth and reality of the body and blood of Chrift in
the eucharift. The denomination took its rife from
Berengarius, archdeacon and fcholiafticus of the church
of St Mary at Anjou about the year 1035, who main¬
tained, that the bread and wine, even after confecra-
tion, do not become the true body and blood of our
Lord, but only a figure and fign thereof.
Berengarianifm was ftrenuoufly oppofed by Lanfranc,
Guitmond, Adelmannus, Albericus, &c. Divers fy-
nods were held, wherein the author was condemned at
Rome, Verfailles, Florence, Tours, &c. He retraced,
and returned again more than once ; figned three fe¬
veral Catholic confeffions of faith 5 the firft in the fe-
cond council of Rome, the fecond in the third, and
the third in the fourth council of the fame city. But
he ftill relapfed to his former opinion when the ftorm
was over \ though Mabillon maintains he foon recover¬
ed from his fourth fall, and died an orthodox Catholic
in 1088.
^ BERENICE, daughter of Ptolemy Auletes king
of Egypt, fucceeded her father before his death. This
baniihed prince implored the affiftance of the Romans.
Pompey reftored him. Berenice, to fupport herfelf on
the throne, allured a prince, whofe name'xvas Seleu-
cm, descended from the kings of Syria, and admitted
him to her nuptial bed, and to her feeptre. She was
Vol. III. Part II.
B E R
foon weary of him, and put him to death. She next Berenice
calf her eye on Archelaus, who married her, and put
himfelf at the head of her troops to repulfe the Ro¬
mans. He was killed in a battle. Ptolemy returned
Berefow,
to Alexandria and put his rebellious daughter to death.
Berenice, wife of Ptolemy Euergetes king of E-
gypt, cut off her hair in purfuance of a vow, and jeon-
fecrated it in the temple of Venus. This depofit be¬
ing afterwards loft, Connon the mathematician, in
compliment to her, declared that the queen’s locks had
been conveyed to heaven, and compofed thofe feven
ftars near the tail of the bull, called to this day coma
Berenices.
Berenice, daughter of Coftobarus and of Salome
After to Herod the Great, was married firft to Arifto-
bulus, fon of the fame Herod and Mariamne. He
having a brother who married the daughter of Arche¬
laus king of Cappadocia, often upbraided Berenice
that he was married below himfelf in wedding her.
Berenice related all thefe difeourfes to her mother, and
exafperated her fo furioufly, that Salome, who* had
much power over Herod’s mind, made him fufpeft A-
riftobulus, and was the principal caufe that urged this
cruel father to get rid of him. She married again ;
and having loft her fecond hulband, went to Rome’
and got into the favour of Auguftus. But, above all’
lire infmuated herfelf into the good graces of Antonia’
the wife of Drufus, wffiich in the end proved of great
fervice to Agrippa.
Berenice, grand-daughter of the preceding, and
daughter of Agrippa I. king of Judea, has been much
talked of on account of her amours. She was be¬
trothed to one Marcus, but he died before the mar¬
riage. Soon after, ftie married his uncle Herod, who
at the defire of Agrippa, both his brother and father-
in-law, was created Ring of Chalcis by the emperor
Claudius. She loft her hufband in the eighth year of
the emperor Claudius ; and in her widowhood, it was
rumoured ftie committed inceft with her brother Agrip¬
pa. To put a ft op to this report, flie offered herfelf
in marriage to Polemon king of Cilicia, provided he
would change his religion. He accepted her offers,
was circumcifed, and married her. Berenice foon left
him to follow her own ways, and he abandoned [u-
daifm to return to his former religion. She wt.5 al¬
ways very well with her brother Agrippa, and fecond-
ed him in the defign of preventing the defolation of
the Jews. She got Titus into her fnares ; but the
murmurs of the Roman people hindering her from be¬
coming his wife, there remained nothing for her but
the title of miftrefs or concubine of the emperor. The
French ftage, in the 17th century, refounded with the
amours of Titus and Berenice.
Berenice, in Ancient Geography, the name of fe¬
veral cities, particularly of a celebrated port-town on
the Sinus Arabicus : Now Suez,; which fee.
Berenice's Hair, Coma Berenices. See Berenice.
BERE-regis, a town of Dorfetlhire in England,
in W. Long. 2. 15. N. Lat. 50. 40.
BERESOW, a divifion of the province of To-
bolik in Siberia. It is bounded on the north bv the
ftraits of Waigatz, on the eaft by a large bay of the
Frozen ocean, which runs into the land towards the
fouth, and at the 65th degree of latitude feparates into
two arms; one of which is called the Objkaia-Gula or
4 C Oby,
B E R [ 570 1 B E R
lerewicha Qby-bay ; and the other Ta%owJkaia-Guba, or the bay
11 of Tazow. The river Oby empties itfelf into the for-
*rfo™ ' mer, and the Taz into the latter. This diftrift was
^—r— ^ - - - > under the Ruffian dominion long before the other parts
of Siberia were conquered, being reduced by the Czar
Gabriel fo early as the year 153°'
BEREWICHA, orBEREWiCA, in our old writers,
denotes a village or hamlet belonging to fome town or
manor, fituated at fome diftance therefrom.—The
word frequently occurs in Doomfday-book : IJlce flint
berewicha ejufdem maneni.
BERG, a duchy of Germany, in the circle of Weft-
phalia. It is bounded on the north by the duchy of
Cleves, on the weft by the county of Mark and the
duchy of Weftphalia, on the fouth by Wetteravia, and
on the eaft by the diocefe of Cologne, from which it is
feparated by the Rhine. It is about 150 miles in
length, and 24 in breadth. It is very fruitful along
the Rhine, but mountainous and woody towards the
• county of Mark. It is fubjeft to the eleftor Palatine,
but his right is difputed by Pruffia and Saxony. The
principal town is Duffeldorp 5 and the principal ri¬
vers, befides the Rhine, are the Wipper, Agger, and
Sieg. N
Berg, St Winox, a town of the Low Countries, in
the country of Flanders, fortified by Vauban, and fub-
je£! to France. It is feated on the river Colme, fix
miles from Dunkirk, and 2J from Ypres. The air is
often very unwholefome, efpecially to ftrangers. It
has an hofpital for foldiers, taken care of by friars
called Bans Fieux, and two feminaries for young {In¬
dents. The river Colme ferves inftead of a canal to
go to Hondfhot, St Omer’s, and Gravelines. There
is likewife another canal to go to Dunkirk. The vil¬
lages in its territory are very famous for butter and
cheefe, of which they fend a great quantity to Flan¬
ders. Fort Lapin and Fort Suiffe are within a can¬
non’s (hot of this place, and Fort St Francis is feated
on the canal, near three miles from the town. E.
Long. 2. 35. N. Lat. 50. 7.
Berg-zabern, a town of France, in Alface. E.
Long. 7. 55. N. Lat. 49. 4.
BERG-Gruin, in Natural Hi/lory, the name of an
earth ufed in painting, and properly called green ohre,
thmrgh not known among the colour-rpen under that
name. It is found in many parts of Germany, Italy,
and England, commonly in the neighbourhood of cop¬
per-mines, from particles of which metal it receives its
colour. In many parts of Germany, they have a pur¬
er kind of this, diftinguiffied by no peculiar name, but
feparated by art from the waters draining from the
copper-mines, and differing no otherwife from this na¬
tive fubftance, than as the waffied okres of Oxford-
fttire, &c. do from thefe fent us in their natural condi¬
tion. The characters by which the native kind is
known from other green earths, are thefe : it is a denfe
compact fubftance, confiderably heavy, and of a pale
but not difagreeable green j of a rough and uneven,
but not dufty furface, and fomewhat unCluous to the
touch. It adheres firmly to the tongue ; does not
break eafily between the fingers nor at all ftains the
hands. It is of a brackfth difagreeable tafte, and does
not ferment with acids.
BERGAMASCO, a province of Italy, in the ter¬
ritory of Venice. It is bounded on the eaft by the
Breffan, on the north by the Valteline, on the weft and Bergama
fouth by the Milanefe. It extends about 36 leagues II
from north to fouth, and 30 from eaft to weft. It is ^
watered by feveral rivers which render it very fertile,
and particularly it produces a great number of chef-
nuts. It has mines of iron, and quarries of marble,
and other ftones of which they make millftones. There
are a great number of villages, but no city except Ber¬
gamo the capital. The people are very induftrious,
and make the beft of their natural produftions. They
are well flocked with cattle, and make fine tapeftry.
Their language is the moft corrupt of any in Italy.
BERGAMO, James Philip de, an Auguftin
monk, born at Bergamo in 1434, wrote in Latin a
Chronicle from the creation of the world to the year
1503, and a Treatife of Illuftrious Women. He died
in 1518.
Bergamo, anciently Bergomum, a large and ftrong
town of Italy, in the Venetian territory, and capital of
the province of Bergamafco. It has a ftrong citadel,
and is the fee of a biffiop. Its fituation near the Alps
makes the inhabitants fubjeft to fwellings in their
throats, owing to the badnefs of the Alpine waters. E,
Long. 9. 38. N. Lat. 45. 42.
BERGAMOT, a fpecies of citron, produced at firft
cafually by an Italian’s grafting a citron on the flock
of a bergamot pear-tree, whence the fruit produced by
this union participated both of the citron tree and the
pear-tree. The fruit hath a fine tafte and fmell, and
its effential oil is in high efteem as a perfume. The
effence of bergamot is alfo called ejfentla de cedra. It
is extracted from the yellow rind of the fruit by firft
cutting it in fmall pieces, then immediately fqueezing
the oil out of them into a glafs veffel. This liquor is
an etherial oil. A water is diftilled from the peel as
follows : Take the outer rind of three bergamots, a
gallon of pure proof-fpirit, and four pints of pure nea¬
ter ; draw off a gallon in a balneum mariae, then add
as much of the beft white fugar as will be agreeable.
Or take of /the effence of bergamot three drams and a
half, of reftified fpirit of wine three pints, of volatile
fal ammoniac a dram 5 diftill off three pints in a bal¬
neum mariae.
Bergamot is alfo the denomination of a coarfe ta¬
peftry, manufaflured with flocks of filk, wool, cotton,
hemp, ox, cow, or goat’s hair, and fuppofed to be in¬
vented by the people of Bergamo in Italy.
BERGARAC, a very rich, populous, and trading
town of France, feated on the river Dordogne, in E.
Long. o. 37. N. Lat. 50. 57.
BERGAS, a town of Romania in European Tur¬
key, and the fee of a Greek archbifhop. It is feated
cn the river Lariffa, in E. Long. 27. 30. N. Lat. 41.
17-
BERGEN, anciently Bergi, a city of Norway, and
capital of the province of Bergenhus. It is the fee of
a biffiop, and has a ftrong caftle and a good port, it
is a large place; but is fubjeft to fires, as being all
built of wood. It is furreunded with mountains al-
moft inacceffible 5 and little or no corn grows in all
the country ; that which they ufe is all imported, and
diftributed from thence throughout the kingdom. The
principal trade is in ftock-fiffi, firs, and deal-boards.
E. Long. 5. 45. N. Lat. 60. 11.
Bergen, a town of Pomerania in Germany, and ca¬
pital
B E R [ 57i ] B E R
tlie lile of Rugen, fubje6l to the Swedes. E.
. 13. o. N. Lat. 54. 30.
rgen-op-zoom, a town of the Low Countries,
in Dutch Brabant, and in the marquifate of the fame
name. It is feated on an eminence, in the middle of
a morafs, about a mile and a half from the eaftern
branch of the Scheld, rvith which it has a communica¬
tion by a navigable canal. The houfes are well built,
and the market-places and fquares handfome and fpa-
cious. The church before the laft liege was reckoned
a good building, and fo was the marquis’s palace. It
has a good tracft of land under its jurifdiftion, with
feveral villages, and fome iflands in the Scheld. It
lias a very advantageous lituation on the confines of
Brabant, Holland, Zealand, and Flanders. It is ftrong
by nature as wTell as by art, being fo fecured by the
moraffes about it, which are formed by the river Zoom,
that it was reckoned impregnable. It wras, however,
taken in 1747 by the French, but it is thought not
without the help of treachery. The fortifications are
allowred to be the malterpiece of that great engineer
Cohorn. It had been twice befieged before without
fuccefs. The marquis of Spinola was the laft but one
vvho invefted it, and he was forced to raife the liege
with the lofs of 10,000 men. E. Long. 4. 15. N. Lat.
Si. 30.
BERGHEM. See Berchem.
BERGHMONT, an aflembly or court held upon
a hill in Derbylhire, for deciding controverfies among
the miners.
BERGMAN, Sir Toreern, a celebrated chemift
and natural philofopher, wras born in the year 1737 at
Catharineberg in Weftgothland. His father was recei¬
ver-general of the finances, and had deftined him to the
fame employment •, but nature had dellgned him for
the fciences. To them he perceived an irreliftible in¬
clination from his earlieft years, and nature proved
more powerful than the will of his friends. His firft
ftudies wrere confined to mathematics and phylics : and
the efforts that were made to divert him from fcience
having proved ineffectual, he was fent to Upfal, with
permiflion to follow the bent of his inclination. Lin-
nceus at that time filled the whole kingdom with his
fame. Inftigated by his example, the Swedifh youth
docked around him : and accompliihed difciples leaving
his fchool, carried the name and the fyftem of their
mailer to the moll dillant parts of the globe. Bergman
rvas ftruck wuth the fplendour of his renownti $ he at¬
tached himfelf to the man whole merit had procured
it, and by w’hom he was very foon diftinguilhed. He
applied himfelf at firft to the ftudy of infeCls, and made
feveral ingenious refearches into their hiftory j among
others into that of the genus of tenthredo, fo often and
fo cruelly preyed on by the larvae of the ichneumons,
that neftle in their bowrels and devouf them. He dif-
covered that the leech v;as oviparous ; and that the coc¬
cus aquaticus is the egg of this animal, from whence
iffue ten or twelve young. Linnaeus, who had at firft
denied this faff, was ftruck with aftonilhment when he
faw it proved. Vidi et objiupui! were the words he
pronounced, and which he wrote at the foot of the
memoir when he gave it his fanftion. Mr Bergman
foon diftinguilhed himfelf as an aftronomer, naturalift,
-and geometrician *, but thefe are not the titles by
which he acquired his fame. The chair of chemiftry
Berghem pltal s
11 Long
Bergman.
and mineralogy which had been filled by the celebrated Bergman.
Wallerius, becoming vacant by his relignation, Mr Berg-—\r“~-
tnan was among the number of the competitors : and
without having before this period difeovered any parti¬
cular attention to chemiftry, he publiihed a memoir on
the preparation of alum that aftonilhed his friends as
well as his adverlaries. Nobody was able to conceive
how in fo Ihort a time he could have made a courle of
experiments fo complete, on a fubjedl fo new to him.
His differtation was warmly attacked in the periodical
publications, and Wallerius himfelf criticifed without
referve. But in the midft of fo many enemies, he
poffeffed a firm friend. The prince Guftavus, now
king of Sweden, and then chancellor of the univer-
fity, took cognizance of the affair. After having
confulted two perfons, the moft able to give him ad¬
vice, and whole teftimony went in favour of Berg¬
man, he addreffed a memorial, written with his own
hand, in anfwer to all the grievances alleged againft
the candidate, to the conliftory of the univerfity and
to the fenate, who confirmed the wilhes of his Royal
Highnefs.
Mr Bergman had now a hard duty to fulfil : he
had to fatisfy the hopes that were conceived of him j
, to fill the place of Whdlerius ; and to put envy to fi-
lence. He did not follow the common track in the
ftudy of chemiftry. As he had received the leffons
of no mailer, he was tainted with the prejudices of no
fchool. Accuftomed to precilion, and having no time
to lofe, he applied himfelf to experiments wfithout
paying any attention to theories : he repeated thofe
often which he confidered as the moft important and
inftruftive, and reduced them to method 5 an improve¬
ment till then Unknown. He firft introduced into
chemiftry the procefs by analyfis, which ought to be
applied to every fcience } for there Ihould be but one
method of teaching and learning, as there is but one
of judging well. Thefe views have been laid down
by Mr Bergman in an excellent difeourfe, which con¬
tains, if we may fay fo, his profeffion of faith in what
relates to the fciences. It is here that he difplays him¬
felf without difguife to his reader ; apd here it is of
importance to ftudy him with attention. The pro-
du£lions of volcanoes had never been analyzed when
Meffrs Ferber and Troil brought a rich colledlion of
thefe into Sweden. At the fight of them Mr Berg¬
man conceived the defign of inveftigating their nature.
He examined firft of all the matters leaft altered by the
fire, and the forms of which were ftill to be difeerned :
he followed them in their changes progreflively ; he
determined, he imitated their more complicated ap¬
pearances } he knew the effects which would refult
from the mixture and decompofition of the faline fub-
ftances which are found abundantly in thefe produc¬
tions. He difeovered fuch as were formed in the hu¬
mid way ; and then in his laboratory he obferved the
procefs of nature ; that combat of flames and explo-
fions ; that chaos in which the elements feem to claftx
and to confound one another, unveiled themfelves to
his eyes. He faw the fire of volcanoes kindled in the
midft of pyritical combinations, and fea fait decompo-
fed by clays 5 he faw fixed air difengaged from calcined
calcareous ftones, fpreading upon the furface of the
earth, and filling caverns in which flame and animal life
are equally extinguilhed •, he faw the fulphureous acid
4 C 2 thrown
I
B E R [ 572 ] B E R
Bergomum thrown out in waves, convert itfelf into the vitriolic
Berm r’s ^7 mere contaft with the air 5 and diftilling through
Straits. t^le rochs, form the alum veins of the folfatara. He
—y-—faw the bitumens as they melted j the inflammable and
fulphureous airs exhaling; and the waters become mi¬
neral and impregnated with the fire and vapours of
thefe ftupendous furnaces, preparing for the beings
that move and difpute on the cruft of the abyfs, a re¬
medy for pain and a balfam for difeafe.
The continual application which Mr Bergman be¬
llowed on his ftudies having affedted his health, he was
advifed to interrupt them if he wiflred to prolong his
life : but he found happinefs only in ftudy, and wifhed
not to forfeit his title to reputation by a few years
more of inaftivity and languor. He exhaufted his
ftrength, and died in the month of June in the year
1784. The univerfity of Upfal paid the moft diftin-
guilhed honours to his memory; and the academy of
Stockholm confecrated to him a medal to perpetuate
the regret of all the learned in Europe for his lofs.
His Phyfical and Chemical Effays have been colledled
and tranflated by Dr Edmund Cullen, and publilhed in
2 vols 8vo.
BERGOMUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of the
Tranfpadana, built by the Gauls on their incurfions into
Italy. Now called Bergamo, in the territory of Venice.
E. Long. 10. N. 45. 40.
BERIA, Eerie, Berry, fignifies a large open field 5
and thofe cities and towns in England which end with
that word are built on plain and open places, and do not
derive their names from boroughs as Sir Henry Spel-
man imagines. Moft of our gloffographers in the
names of places have confounded the word berie with
that of bury and borough, as if the appellative of an¬
cient towns : whereas the true fenfe of the word berie,
is a flat wide campaign, as is proved from fufticient
authorities by the learned Du Frefne, who obferves
that Beria Sanffi Edmumli, mentioned by Mat. Parif.
iub. ann. 1174, not to he taken for the town, but
for the adjoining plain. To this may be added, that
many flat and wide meads, and other open grounds,
are called by the name of beries and bery-fields; the
fpacious meadow' between Oxford and May w7as in the
reign of King Athelftan called Bery ; as is now the
largeft pafture-ground in Ouarendon in the county of
Buckingham, known by the name of Beryjield. And
though thefe meads have been interpreted demefne or
manor meadows, yet they were truly any flat or open
meadow’s that lay adjoining to any villa or farm.
BERING, Sinus, of Copenhagen, a Latin lyric
poet, flourilhed about 1560.
BERING’S Straits, the name of that narrow di-
vifion of the old and new world, where the diftance
betw’een Afia and America is only 13 leagues. They
are fo named from Captain Vitus Bering, a Dane by
birth, and employed on the fame plan of difeovery in
thefe parts as our great countryman Cook was in the
late voyage. He was in the fervice of Peter the
Great : who, by the ftrength of an extenfive genius,
conceiving an opinion of the vicinity of America to
his Afiatic dominions, laid dowm a plan of difeovery
-worthy of fo extraordinary a monarch, but died before
the attempt was begun j but his fpirit furvived in his
fucceffor. Bering, after a tedious and fatiguing jour¬
ney through the wilds of Siberia^ arrived in Kamt-
fchatka, attended with the fcanty materials for his Bering’s
voyage, the greateft part of which he was obliged to Straits
bring with him through a thoufand difficulties. He p Jl
failed from the river of Kamtlchatka on July rjrh . CrKe'C?J
1728 ; and on the 15th of Auguft favr Serdze Kamen,
or the heart-fhaped rock, a name bellowed on it by
the firft difeoverer.—From Serdze Kamen, to a pro¬
montory named by Captain Cook Eajl Cape, the land
trends fouth-eaft. The laft is a circular peninfula of
high cliffs, projecting far into the fea due call, and
joined to the land by a long and very narrow ifthmus,
in lat. 66. 6. I his is the J (chutfki Nofs of our navi¬
gators, and forms the beginning of the narrow’ ftraits
or divrfion of the old and new’ world. The diftance
between Afia and America in this place, as already
mentioned, is only 13 leagues. The country about
the cape, and to the north-weft of it, was inhabited.
About mid-channel are two fmall illands, named by
the Ruffians the ifles of St Diomedcs ; neither of them
above three or four leagues in circuit. It is extremely
extraordinary that Bering ftiould have failed through
this confined paffage, and yet that the objeft of his
miffion Ihould have efcaped him. His misfortune
Could only be attributed to the foggy weather, which
he muft have met with in a region notorious for mills;
for he fays that he faw land neither to the north nor
to the call. Our generous commander, determined to
give him every honour his merit could claim, has dig¬
nified thefe with the name of Bering's Straits. The
depth of thefe ftraits is from 12 to 29 or 30 fathoms.
The greateft depth is in the middle, which has a flimy
bottom 5 the lhalloweft parts are near each Ihore, which
confift of land mixed with bones and Ihells. The cur¬
rent or tide very inconfiderable, and what there was
came from the weft. From Eaft Cape the land trends
fouth by w’eft. In lat. 65. 36. is the bay in which Cap¬
tain Cook had the interview with the Tfchutlki. Im¬
mediately beyond is the bay of St Laurence, about five
leagues broad in the entrance and four deep, bounded
at the bottom by high land. A little beyond is a large
bay, either bounded by low land at the bottom, or fo
extenfive as to have the end invifible. To the fonth
of this are two other bays j and in N. Lat. 64. 13.
Long. 186. 36. is the extreme fouthern point of the
land of the Tfchutlki. This formerly was called the
Anadirfkoi Nofs. Near it Bering had converfation
with eight men, who came off to him in a baidar or
boat covered with the Ikins of feals ; from wdiich Ber¬
ing and others have named it the Tfchutfhi Nofs.
BERITH, a Ample mentioned in Scripture, ufed
for cleanfing or taking out fpots (Jer. ii. 22.) Some
will have it to be the kali or falt-wort, from the alhes
of which foap is made ; and in oui verfiem it is render¬
ed foap: others, after Rudbeck, made it to be the dye
of the purple filh.
BERKELEY, George, the celebrated bilhop of
Cloyne, was the eldeft fon of William Berkeley, Efq;
of Thomaftown in the county of Kilkenny ; a cadet
of the family of Earl Berkeley of Berkeley caftle. At
eight years of age he was fent to the fchool of the Or¬
mond foundation at Kilkenny, from which Sw-ift had
a few years before been removed to the univerfity.
Before Berkeley had attained his fourteenth year he
w’as admitted a penfioner in Trinity college Dublin, in
which whilft B. A. he obtained a fellowlhip. Some
B E R
Berkeley, of his firft efTays as a writer were publifhed in the
Speftator and Guardian, which entertaining works he
adorned with many pieces in favour of virtue and re¬
ligion. His learning and his virtues, his wit and agree¬
able converfation, made his friendftiip fought and his
acquaintance cultivated by many great and learned
men : and among others by the earl of Peterborough,
Dr Swift, Dr Aibuthnot, Mr Pope, and Mr Addifon.
The earl took him as chaplain and fecretary of embafly
into Italy ; and during his abfence on that occafion he
became fenior fellow of his college, and was in 1717
created D. D. by diploma.
Upon his return, his acquaintance among the great
was confiderable extended ; and Lord Burlington, who
at Rome had conceived for him a high efteem on ac¬
count of his {kill in architefture, obtained for him,
through the duke of Grafton, then (1721) lord-lieu-
, tenant of Ireland, the king’s grant of the deanery of
Down, worth 2000I. per annum. Such however was
the narrow fyftem of politics at that time prevalent
in the Irilh cabinet, that though his majefly had a£lu-
ally figned the grant, the lords juftices recommanded
back for the deanery of Down Swift’s Dean Daniel,
celebrated for having in a Hate fermon ftyled Pompey
an unfortunate gentleman ; and fuch was Dr Berkeley’s
humility and mildnefs of temper, that he could not be
prevailed upon to difpute the matter, or even to ex-
poltulate on the fubjedf. His patron Lord Burlington
procured for him afterwards (1724) the deanery of
Derry, the next beft in Ireland to that of Down ; and
upon this preferment the Do6tor refigned his fellow-
fiiip.
In the year 1722 his fortune received a confiderable
increale from an event by him very unexpefted. Upon
his firft going to London (1717) he fent one morning
a note to Swift, defiring that they might dine together
that day at a tavern. The dean of St Patrick’s return¬
ed for anfwer, that they might enjoy one another’s
company at their eafe where he himfelf was engaged
to dine, with the family of Mrs Efther Vanhomrigh
(the celebrated Vaneffa) j and thither he took Mr
Berkeley. Some years before her death this lady re¬
moved to Ireland, and fixed her refidence at Cell-bridge,
a pleafant village in the neighbourhood of Dublin, moft
probably with a view of frequently enjoying the com¬
pany of a man for whom fhe had conceived a very An¬
gular attachment. But finding herfelf totally difap-
pointed in that expectation, Hie altered her intention
of making the dean of St Patrick’s her heir, and left
the whole of her fortune (Socol.) to be divided equal¬
ly between her near relation Judge Marfhal of the
common pleas in Ireland, and Dr Berkeley whom fhe
had never leen but once in her life, and that at the
diftance of nine years.
In the interval between Dr Berkeley’s return from
abroad and his preferment to the deanery of Derry,
his mind had been employed in conceiving a noble and
benevolent plan for the better {’applying of the church¬
es in our foreign plantations, and for converting the fa-
vage Americans to Chriftianity, by erefting a college
in the Summer Itlands. To this propofal the addrefs
and abilities of its author procured, after a tedious at¬
tendance on the great, an apparently fuccefsful recep¬
tion •, for he obtained a charter for its foundation, to¬
gether with a parliamentary grant of 20,000!. for car-
[ j73 1
B E R
rying it into execution, to which were added feveral Berkeley,
large fubfcriptions from individuals, to be paid as foon v 1
as the public bounty fhould be received. Upon the
faith of this, our philofopher embarked for America ;
where he became io generally and fo juftly venerated
by all defcriptions of men, that each vied with the
other which fhould moft honour him. The queen,
with whom he was a favourite, had endeavoured to dif-
fuade him from this enterprile, by offering him her in-
terert for an Englifh biftropric ; but he replied, that he
fhould prefer the headfhip of St Paul’s college at Ber¬
muda to the primacy of all England. From that head-
ftiip he rvas to enjoy a revenue of tool, per annum :
and was bound by his charter to refign his deanery,
then worth nook per annum, within a year and a half
after the 2o,oool. fhould be paid by government.
That fum was never paid ; and after two years refi¬
dence on Rhode Ifland and its neighbouring continent,
during which time every intereft of piety and virtue
was near to his heart and cultivated by his labours, the
dean was obliged to return to Europe, and abandon
one of the nobleft defigns that had ever entered into
the human heart to form.
In Auguft 1728, immediately before his departure
for America, he entered into marriage with Anne, the
eldeft daughter of the right honourable John Forfter,
Efq; fpeaker of the Irilb houfe of commons ; which la¬
dy died in 1785. In May 1734 he was confecrated bi-
fhop of Cloyne, and vacated his deanery. On that oc¬
cafion he faidto his ferv intimates, “ I will never ac¬
cept of a tranflation.” At Cloyne he diftinguiftied
himfelf by paftoral vigilance, prelatical bofpitality, and
conftant refidence. .Through the whole of his cleri¬
cal life, he rvas, while his health perAritted, a conftant
and an extemporaneous preacher; nor is it known that
he ever reduced a fingle fermon to writing, except one
preached before the fociety for propagating the gofpel
in foreign parts, which at their requeft was publifti-
ed. He endeared himfelf to the people of his diocefe
by promoting at once their temporal and their fpirit-
ual happinefs. He endeavoured by all means to raife
a fpirit of induftry, and to propagate the arts of culti¬
vation and agriculture in that neglefled country ; and
it may be truly faid, that never man laboured more
earneftly to amafs a fortune or to aggrandize a family,
than he did to promote the beft interefts of mankind,
confidered either as citizens on earth or as candidates
for heaven.
The earl of Chefterfield, who had never feen him but
once, and that when they were both young men, on
being made lord lieutenant of Ireland fent to him a
moft refpeftful offer of the then vacant fee of Clogher,
of more than double the value of Cloyne, promifing at
the fame time his recommendation to any other richer
fee that might be vacated during his adminiftration.
But the good biftrop declined the generous offer, re¬
queuing the lord lieutenant not to think of him on any
other vacancy, as he was refolved never to quit his firft
bilhopric for any other. In 1751, finding the infirmi¬
ties of age comb upon him, and wifhing to retire from
the care of his diocefe to fuperintend the education of
his fon (then nominated a ftudent of Chrift-cljurch, and
now’ prebendary of Canterbury), that the revenues of
the church might not be mifapplied, nor the interefts
of religion fuffer by the abfence of the pallor from
4 k
B E R [ 574 ] B E R
Berkeley. Ins flock, he made great intereft for leave to refign his
bifhopric, of which the income was then not lefs than
l ’yool. per annum. Failing of fuccefs in this applica¬
tion, he let the lands of his demelne at Cloyne, on very
eafy terms, at the rent of 200I. wdiich he direfted to
be diftributed annually among the poor houfe keep¬
ers of Cloyne, Youghall, and Aghadda, until his
return.
At Oxford he lived highly refpe&ed by the learned
members of that great univerfity, till the hand of Pro¬
vidence unexpeftedly deprived them of the pleafure and
advantage derived from his refidence among them. On
Sunday evening January 14th 1753, as he w-as fitting
in the midit of his family, and jurt after he had conclud¬
ed an extemporaneous comment on the 15th chapter of
1 Cor. he was inftantly tranflated, without a groan,
from earth to heaven. A polypus in the heart was the
caufe of his difiblution. About a minute before his
death he had feated himfelf on a couch and turned his
face towards the wall •, and had he not ceafed fpeaking
in the middle of a fentence, his lady and his fon would
not immediately have difcovered their lofs. His re¬
mains were, wuth much funeral folemnity, interred at
Chrift-church, his friend Bilhop Conybeare, then dean
of that cathedral, performing the lall fervice. An ele¬
gant marble monument, with a fpirited infcription by the
prefent archbifhop of York, mark the fpot where his
aihes reft. As to his perfon, he was of the tall middle
fize ; has countenance wras very handfome, and full of
meaning and benignity j and his bodily ftrength was
uncommonly great even to the laft year of his life: but
he was fubjeft to grievous nervous colics, in which he
thought tar-water gave him more efficacious relief than
any other medicine. Mr Pope fums up his charafter
in one line. After mentioning fome particular virtues
which charafterized other prelates then living, he af-
cribes
To Berkeley ev’ry virtue under heav’n.
An admirable defcription is given of him in the fol¬
lowing anecdote. Bifhop Atterbury, having heard
much of Mr Berkeley, wilhed to fee him. Accord¬
ingly he was one day introduced to that prelate by the
earl of Berkeley. After fome time, Mr Berkeley
• quitted the room : on wffiich Lord Berkeley faid to
the bilhop, “ Does my coufin anfwer your lordlhip’s
expectations ?” The bilhop, lilting up his hands in a-
ftonilhment, replied, “ So much underftanding, fo
much knowledge, fo much innocence, and fuch humi¬
lity, I did not think had been the portion of any but
angels, till I faw this gentleman.” His knowledge is
faid to have even extended to the minuteft objefts, and
included the arts and bufinefs of common life. Thus
Dr Blackwell, in his memoirs of the court of Augu-
ftus, having made an obfervation, “ that the ingenious
mechanic, the workers in ftone and metal, and improv¬
ers in trade, agriculture, and navigation, ought to be
fearched out and converfed with no lefs than the pro-
feiTors of fpeculative fcience,” adds the following eu-
logium on our prelate : “ In this refpeft I wrould with
pleafure do -juftice to the memory of a very great
though lingular fort of a man, Dr Berkeley, better
known as a philofopher and intended founder of an
univerfity in the Bermudas or Summer Iflands, than
as bilhop of Cloyne in Ireland. An inclination to car-
2
ry me out on that expedition, as one of the young pro- Berkeley,
fefibrs on his new foundation, having brought us often Berkfhire.
together, I fcarce remember to have converfed w-ith '
him on that art, liberal or mechanic, of which he knew
not more than the ordinary praClitioners. With the
wideft view's, he delcended into a minute detail, and
grudged neither pains nor expence for the means of in¬
formation. He travelled through a great part of Si¬
cily on foot ; clambered over the mountains and crept
into the caverns to inveftigate its natural hillory, and
difeover the caufe of its volcanoes : and I have known
him fit for hours in forgeries and founderies to infpedt
their fucceffive operations. I enter not into his pecu¬
liarities either religious or perfonal: but admire the
extenfive genius of the man, and think it a lofs to the
w'eftern world that his noble and exalted plan of an A-
merican univerfity was not carried into execution. Ma¬
ny fuch fpirits in our country wmuld quickly make
learning wear another face.”
He publilhed many ingenious works, particularly,
“ An effay towards a new theory of vifion :” “ The
principles of human know ledge }” the fingular notions
in which gave rife to much controverfy : “ Alciphron,
or the minute philofopher ;” one of the moft elegant
and genteel defences of that religion which he wras born
to vindicate both by his virtues and his ingenuity;
“ The Analyft j” in wdiich he endeavours to fhowthat
Sir Ifaac Newton’s do&rine of fluxions is more incom-
prehenfible than any myftery in the Chriftian religion:
“ The Querift :” in which the true interefts of Ireland
are pointed out in a very ftriking light: and “ Siris, or
a treatife on tar-water,” which, under his fanftion, be¬
came for a while a very popular medicine. In the Gen¬
tleman’s Magazine for January 1777, it is faid that the
adventures of Signior Gaudentio di Lucca have been
generally attributed to Bifttop Berkeley j but we have
the beft authority to fay that they were not the ofl>
fpring of his pen. The biftiop never faw the work till
it w’as put into his hands by his fon ; and wffien he read
it, he exprefled no fmall contempt for the ftyle of a wri¬
ter w7ho deferibes his hero as a tall clean made gentle¬
man ; though he owned his fancy to be often brilliant.
We believe the adventures of Gaudentio di Lucca were
written by a Romifli prieft for his amufement when a
prifoner in the Tow’er of London.
BERKSHIRE, is an inland county of England,
which contained the whole of that Britilh principality
inhabited by the Atrebatii, who are fuppofed to have
been originally from Gaul. When Conftantine divi¬
ded the iffand into Roman provinces in 310, this prin¬
cipality was included in Britannia Prima, the firft divi-
fion, whofe boundaries were the Englifti channel on
the foutb, and the Thames and Severn on the north.
On the Romans quitting the ifland, and civil diflen-
fions enabling the Saxons to eftablifh the Heptarchy,
this part of the country was included in the kingdom
of the Weft Saxons, which commenced in 519, and
continued till 828, wdten it became the only remain¬
ing fovereignty, having conquered all the others, and
they -were incorporated by the name of England, un¬
der Egbert •, whofe grandfon, Alfred, a native of Wan¬
tage, in this county, in 889 divided his kingdom into
counties, hundreds, and parifhes, and at this time this
divifion firft received its appellation of Berklhire, or
Beroclhire. At prefent it is in the Oxford circuit, the
province
B E R
[ 575 ]
B E R
Bcrkfliire. province of Canterbury, and diocefe of Saliibury. The
v—v—' general (hape of it fomewhat refembles the form of a
llipper or fandal. It contains an area of 654 fquare
miles, or 527,000 fquare acres; is 39 miles long, 29
broad, and about 137 in circumference. It fupplies
560 men to the national militia ; is lituated north-weft
of London ; has 140 parilhes, 62 vicarages, 12 market
towns, but-no city, 671 villages, 135,000 inhabitants,
11,560 houfes that pay the tax; is divided into 20
hundreds ; fends nine members to parliament, two for
the county, two for Windfor, two for Reading, two for
Wallingford, and one for Abingdon ; and pays 10 parts
of the proportion of the land-tax. Its principal river is
theThames. It alfo has the Rennet, great part of which
is navigable; the Loddon, the Ocke, and the Lambourne,
a fmall ftream, which, contrary to all other rivers, is
always higheft in fummer, and (brinks gradually as
winter approaches. The air of this county is healthy
even in the vales; and though the foil is not the moft
fertile, yet it is remarkably pleafant. It is well ftored
with timber, particularly oak and beech, and produces
great plenty of wheat and barley. Its principal ma-
nufaftures, are woollen cloth, fail cloth, and malt.
Its market towns are Abingdon, Faringdon, Hun-
gerford, Eaft Ilfley, Lower-Lambourne, Maidenhead,
Newbury, Ockingham, Reading, Wallingford, Wan¬
tage, and Windfor, remarkable for its royal caftle, as
the county is for White-horfe-hill, near Lambourne,
where is the rude figure of a horfe, which takes up
near an acre of ground on the fide of a green hill,
faid to have been made by Alfred in the reign of his
brother Ethelred, as a monument to perpetuate a vic¬
tory over the Danes in 872, at Afhdown, now A(h-
bury-Park.
The Roman Watling-ftreet, from Dunftable, enters
Berkfiiire at the village of Streatley, between Walling¬
ford and Reading, and crofting this county proceeds
to Marlborough. Another Roman road from Hamp-
fhire enters this county, leads to Reading and New¬
bury the Spinae of Camden, where it divides : one
branch extends to Marlborough in Wilts, and the o-
ther to Cirencefter in Gloucefterfhire. A branch from
the Ickmeld-ftreet proceeds from Wallingford to Wan-
tage- . ^
There is a Roman camp near Wantage on the brow
of a hill, of a quadrangular form ; there are other re¬
mains of encampments at Eaft-Hampftead, near Ock¬
ingham, near White-horfe hill, near Pufey, and upon
Sinodun-hill, near Wallingford. At Lawrence Wal¬
tham is a Roman fort, and near Denchworth is Cher-
bury caftle, a fortrefs of Canute. Uffmgton cafile,
near White-horfe-hill, is fuppofed to be Danifti; and
near it is Dragon-hill, fupporedto be the burying-place
of Uter Pendragon, a Britifh prince. Near White-
horfe-hill are the remains of a funeral monument of a
Danifti chief (lain at Aftidown by Alfred. In this
county the following antiquities are worthy the notice
of travellers : Abingdon church and abbey ; Aid-
worth caftle, near Eaft Ilftey ; Byfham monaftery ;
Dunnington caftle ; Lambourne church ; Reading ab¬
bey ; Sunning chapel ; Wallingford church and caftle.
Windfor caftle beggars all defcription for fituation, &c.
Berkftrire is an earldom belonging to a branch of the
Howard family, the reprefentative being earl of Suf¬
folk and Berklhire.
BERLIN, a city of Germany, capital of the elec- Berlin,
torate of Brandenburg, and of the whole Pruffian do- ^
minions, feated in E. Long. 13. 37. N. Lat. 52. 53.
This city is one of the largeit, beft built, and beft
governed, of any in Germany. The ftreets are large,
ftraight, clean, and well paved, and fome of them very
long and elegant. There are alio feveral large and beau¬
tiful fquares°, with pleafant walks. It is furrounded
with handfome gardens, which produce excellent fruit.
The river Spree, that croffes the city, has a commu¬
nication with the Havel Oder, and Elbe, which great¬
ly facilitate commerce. The French refugees have
greatly contributed to the embelliftiment of the gran¬
deur of Berlin ; inafmuch as they have introduced all
kinds of manufa&ures, and various arts.
Berlin is divided into five parts, without reckoning
the fuburbs, which are very large. The houfes iu
thefe laft are almoft all of wood ; but fo well plafter-
ed, that they feem to be of ftone. In the fuburb call¬
ed Spandau is a houfe belonging to the royal family,
with well contrived apartments, and furmfhed in a
very fine tafte. In the fuburb of Stralau is a houfe
and garden belonging to the king. The royal gate
of the city is defended by a half moon, and two ba~
(lions, covered with brick ; it fronts the royal ftreet,
which is one of the longed and moft frequented in the
city. It contains very handfome houfes, particularly
thofe belonging to fome of the minifters of (late.
The royal itreet is crofted by five others, which are
large and fine. On the new bridge, which is of ftone,
over the Spree, is an equeftrian (latue of William the
Great, which is efteemed an exquifite piece of work-
manftiip. The eleftor is reprefented in a Roman ha¬
bit, and bis horfe (lands on a pedeftal of white marble
adorned with baffo relievos, and four (laves bound to
the bafe.
After this bridge is pad, the king’s palace appears, .
which is a grand and fuperb edifice ; it is four (lories
high, and the apartments are extremely magnificent.
No place in Europe has fuch a great quantity of (ilver
tables, (lands, luftres, branched candlellicks, &c. In the
knights hall there is a buffet, which takes up all one
fide, where there are bafons and ciilerns of gilt filver,
of extraordinary magnitude. The furniture of the
great apartment is extremely rich ; and there is a very
handfome gallery, adorned with paintings, reprefenting
the principal a£tions-of Frederick I. Formerly there
were fine gardens to the palace, but they are now
turned into a place of arms. The king’s (lables are
large, (land near the palace, and front the great ftreet.
Externally they make a Gothic appearance, but within
they are very magnificent. The mangers are of (lone,
and the pillars that divide the flails are of iron, adorned
with the king’s cypher, gilt. Over the racks are pic¬
tures reprefenting the fined horfes which the king’s
dud has produced. Over the ilables there are large
rooms, containing all forts of horfe-furniture, particu
larly the horfe equipage of Frederick I. all the metallic
part of which is gold, fet with diamonds. Befides
thefe, there are handfome lodgings for the officers of
the ftables. Over the riding-houle is a theatre, where
plays have been afled, and balls have been made for
the entertainment of the court.
The arfenal confifts of four grand buildings, that
faim a court in the middle, like a college ; each front
has
/
B E R T 5/6 ] B E R
Berkfliire. has three large porticoes. On the principal gate is a
~ v medallion of Frederick II. in bronze 5 and the four
cardinal virtues, of a coloiial ftature, placed on pede-
ilals on each fide of the portico, feem to look at the
portrait of the king, which is fupported by Fame and
Victory. 'Fhe Corinthian order is prevalent in the
firft ftage, and is managed with a great deal of art.
The whole edifice is furrounded in the upper part with
a baluftrade, adorned with trophies and ftatues, among
which is Mars feated on a heap of feveral forts of arms.
This altogether forms a noble and majeftic decoration.
It is bounded with iron in the lhape of cannon, which
are placed at proper alliances, and fupport iron chains
that hang like felloons, to prevent paffengers from ap¬
proaching the windows below. The lower rooms are
filled with a great number of brafs cannon p the walls
and pillars which fultain the door are fet off with cui-
raffes and helmets. The upper llory contains feveral
rooms filled with arms, which are difpofed in a curious
order. Behind the arfenal is the houfe of the general
of the artillery, which includes the foundery, where
they are continually at work. Befides this there are
other places where they keep the train of artillery.
The opera-houfe is an elegant modern edifice. The
front has a noble portico fupported by Corinthian co¬
lumns, and a pediment adorned with baffo relievos and
flatues. The columns that fupport the roof throw the
whole into a grand faloon. It has three galleries, and
is faid to be capable of containing 2000 perfons.
A rampart and fofle feparate Worder from Dorothea
Stadt, or the New Town, inhabited chiefiy by French.
There are feven great alleys or walks, which divide
this quarter into two parts. The middle walk is broader
than the rett, and is furrounded with baluftrades, hav¬
ing a grafs-plot in the middle : this is for perfons
that take the air on foot. The alleys on each fide are
paved, and ferve for thofe that come abroad in coaches.
Thefe alleys, which are about three miles in length,
are terminated with a bar, that leads towards the park.
The alleys with trees are bounded by row's of houfes.
In one of thefe is a building, formerly called the lef-
ferjlab/es, and now made into lodgings for the guards.
The apartments above thefe are occupied by the aca¬
demy of painting and the academy of arts and fcien-
ces. Behind thefe is the obfervatory, where there is
a great number of aftronomical and mathematical in-
llruments.
There are other things worthy of obfervation, fuch
as the cabinet of medals, and of the antiquities belong¬
ing to the king j that of natural curiofities •, the che¬
mical laboratory, and its furnaces and medals, of a
new invention : the theatre for anatomical demonltra-
tions 5 the royal library, which is one of the com-
pleteft in Germany, and has many fcarce books and
manufcripts.
The city was taken in 1760 by an army of Ruffians,
Auftrians, Saxons, &c. who entered on the 9th of
O&ober. They totally deftroyed the magazines, ar-
fenals, and founderies, feized an immenfe quantity of
military ftores, and a number of cannon and arms ;
called firft for the immediate payment of 800,000
guilders, and then laid on a contribution of 1,900,000
German crowns : not fatisfied with this, many irregu¬
larities w'ere committed by the foldiery ; but on the
whole, though fome fhocking a&ions were committed,
1
a far more exacl difcipline w'as obferved than from fuch
troops could have been expected upon fuch an occa-
fion, where there w'as every incentive which could w ork
upon the licenfe of a conquering army. Their officers
no doubt with great difficulty preferved even that de¬
gree of order.
But though their behaviour was tolerable with re¬
gard to the private inhabitants, there was fomething
fhocking and ungenerous in their treatment of the
king’s palaces. The apartments of the royal caftle of
Charlottenburgh w'ere entirely plundered, the precious
furniture fpoiled, the pictures defaced, without even
fparing the antique ftatues colledled by Cardinal Polig-
nac, which had been purchafed by the houi’e of Bran-
denburgh. The caftle of Schonhaufen, belonging to
the queen, and that of Fredericsfeld, belonging to the
Margrave Charles, were alfo plundered.
The palace of Potfdam, the famous Sans-fouci, had a
better fate 5 Prince Efterhafi commanded there, and it
was prelerved from the fmalleft violation. The prince,
on viewing the palace, only alked which picture of the
king refembled him moft 5 and being informed, defired
that he might have leave to take it, together with two
German flutes which the king ufed, to keep them, he
faid, in memory of his majelty. This was a fort of
taking very different from pillage.
They ftaid in the city four days: but hearing that
the king, apprehenfive of this ftroke, was moving to
the relief of his capital, they quitted it on the 13th of
O&ober ; and having wafted the whole country round
for a vaft extent, and driven away all the cattle and
horfes they could find, retreated by different routes out
of Brandenburgh.
Berlin, a fort of vehicle, of the chariot kind j
taking its name from the city of Berlin, in Germany :
though fome attribute the invention of it to the Italians,
and derive the wTord from her lino, a name given by them
to a fort of ftage, wffiereon perfons are expofed to pub¬
lic fhame. The berlin is a very convenient machine to
travel in, being lighter, and lefs apt to be overturned,
than a chariot. The body of it is hung high, on ftrafts,
by leathern braces j there being a kind of ftirrup, or
footftool, for the conveniency of getting into it : in-
ftead of fide-windows, fome have fcreens to let down in
bad, and draw up in good, weather.
BERME, in Fortification, a fpace of ground left
at the foot of the rampart, on the fide n^xt the coun¬
try, defigned to receive the ruins of the rampart, and
prevent their filling up the foffe. It is fometimes pali-
fadoed, for the more fecurity ; and in Holland it is
generally planted with a quickfet hedge. It is alfo
called liziere, re/ais, foreland, retrait, pais de fouris,
&c.
BERMUDAS, or summer-islands, a clufter of
fmall iflands in the Atlantic ocean, lying almoft in the
form of a ftiepherd’s crook, in W. Long. 65. N. Lat.
32. 30. between 200 and 300 leagues diftant from the
neareft place of the 00111:1116111 of America, or any of
the other Weft-India iflands. The whole number of
the Bermudas iflands is faid to be about 4C0, but very
few of them are habitable. The principal is St George’s,
w hich is net above 16 miles long, and three at moft in
breadth. It is univerfally agreed, that the nature of
this and the ether Bermudas iflands has undergone a fur-
prifing alteration for the worfe fince they were firft dif-
covered j
B E R [ 577 1
Bermudas, covered ; the air being much more inclement, and the council, Sec. aflcmble
'“'“—v 1 foil much more barren than formerly. This isaferibed
to the cutting down thofe fine fpreading cedar trees for
which the iilands were famous, and which Iheltered
them from the blafis of the north wind, at the fame
time that it protected the undergrowth of the delicate
plants and herbs. In (hort, the Summer iflands are now
far from being defirable fpots 5 and their natural pro-
duftions are but juft fufficient for the fupport of the
inhabitants, who, chiefly for that reafon, perhaps, are
temperate and lively even to a proverb : at firft tobacco
was raifed upon thefe iflands ; but being of v/orfe
quality than that growing on the continent, the trade
is now almoft at an end. Large quantities of amber¬
gris were alfo originally found upon the coafts, and
afforded a valuable commerce j bdt that trade is alfo
reduced, as likewife their whale trade, though the per-
quifites upon the latter form part of the governor’s re¬
venue, he having 10I. for every whale that is caught.
The Bermudas iflands, however, might ftill produce lome
valuable commodities, were they properly cultivated.
There is here found, about three or four feet below the
furface, a wdrite chalk ftone which is eafily chiffeled,
and is exported for building gentlemen’s houfes in the
Weft-Indies. Their palmetto leaves, if properly ma-
nufaftured, might turn to excellent account in making
women’s hats j and their oranges are ftill valuable.
Their foil is alfo faid to be excellent for the cultivation
of vines, and it has been thought that filk and cochi¬
neal might be produced ; but none of thefe things have
yet been attempted. The chief refource of the inha¬
bitants for fubfiftence is in the remains of their cedar
wood, of which they fabricate fmall floops, with the
afliftance of the Newr England pine, and fell many of
them to the American colonies, where they are much
admired. Their turtle-catching trade is alfo of fer-
vice ; and they are ftill able to rear great variety of
tame-fowl, and have vrild ones abounding in vaft plenty.
All the attempts to eftablifh a regular whale filhery on
thefe iflands have hitherto proved unfuccefsful $ they
have no cattle, and even the black hog breed, W'hich
was probably left by the Spaniards, is greatly decreafed.
The water on the iflands, except that which falls from
the clouds, is brackifti *, and at prefent the fame difeafes
reign there as in the Caribbee iflands. They have fel-
dom any fnow, or even much rain ; but when it does
fall, it is generally wuth great violence, and the north
or north-eaft wind renders the air very cold. The ftorms
generally come wuth the new moon ; and if there is a
halo or circle about it, it is a liire ftgn of a tempeft,
which is generally attended with dreadful thunder and
lightning. The inhabited parts of the Bermudas iflands
, are divided into nine diftriclscalled tribes. 1. St.George.
2. Hamilton. 3. Ireland. 4. Devonfliire. 5. Pem¬
broke. 6. Pagets. 7. Warwick. 8. Southampton.
9. Sandys. There are but two places on the large
ifland where a ftiip can fafely come near the fliore, and
thefe are fo well covered wuth high rocks that fewy will
choofe to enter in without a pilot; and they are fo w'ell
defended by forts, that they have no occafion to dread
an enemy. St George’s town is at the bottom of the
principal haven; and is defended by nine forts, on w hich
are mounted 70 pieces of cannon that command the
entrance. The town has a handfome church, a fine
library, and a noble town-houfe, wflicre the governor,
Vgl. III. Part II.
B E R
Befides thefe three are about Bermudas,
loco houfes well built. The tribes of Southampton
and Devonfhire have each a parilh-church and library,
and the formed has a harbour of the fame name ; there
are alfo fcattered houfes and hamlets over many of the
iflands, wflrere particular plantations require them. The
inhabitants are clothed chiefly with Britilh manufac¬
tures, and all their implements for tilling the ground
and building are made in Britain.
It is uncertain who were the firft difcoVerers of the
Bermudas iflands. John Bermudas a Spaniard is com¬
monly faid to have difeovered them in 15 27 ; but this
is diiputed, and the difeovery attributed to Henry May
an Engliihman. As the iflands were without the reach
of the Indian navigation, the Bermudas were ab!o-
lutely uninhabited when firft difeovered by the Euro¬
peans. May abovementioned was ftiipwTrecked upon
St George’s j and wuth the cedar which they felled
there, affifted by the wreck of their own ftiip, he and
his companions built another which carried them to
Europe, where they publifhed their accounts of the
iflands. When Lord Delawar was governor of Virgi¬
nia, Sir T homas Gates, Sir George Summers, and
Captain Newport, wTere appointed to be his deputy-go¬
vernors $ but their ftiip being feparated by a ftorm from
the reft of the fquadron, was in the year r 609 wrecked
on the Bermudas, and the governors difagreeing among
themfelves, built each of them a new ftiip of the cedar
they found there, in which they feverally failed to Vir¬
ginia. On their arrival there, the colony was in fuch
diftrefs, that Lord Delaware, upon the report which
his deputy-governors made him of the plenty they
found at the Bermudas, defpatched Sir George Sum¬
mers to bring provifions from thence to Virginia in the
fame ftiip which brought him from Bermudas, and which
had not an ounce of iron about it, except one bolt in
the keel. Sir George, after a tedious voyage, at laft
reached the place of his deftination, where, foon after
his arrival, he died, leaving his name to the iflands,
and his orders to the crew to return with black hogs to
the colony of Virginia. This part of his will, how¬
ever, the failors did not choofe to execute ; but fetting
fail in their cedar ftiip for England, landed fafely at
Whitechurch in Dorfetfhire.
Notwuthftanding this dereli&ion of the ifland, how¬
ever it wTas not without Englifti inhabitants. Two
failors, Carter and Waters, being apprehenfive of
puniftiment for their crimes, had fecreted themfelves
from their fellow's w'hen Sir George was wrecked upon
the ifland, and had ever fince lived upon the natural
productions of the foil. Upon the fecond arrival of
Sir George they enticed one Chard to remain with
them ; but differing about the fovereignty of the ifland,
Chard and Waters were on the point of cutting one
anothers throats, when they were prevented by the
prudence of Carter. Soon after, they had the good
fortune to find a great piece of ambergris weighing
about 80 pounds, befides other pieces, wdiich in thofe
days w'ere fufficient, if properly difpofed of, to have
made each of them mafter of a large eftate. Where
they were, this ambergris wTas ufelefs ; and therefore
they came to the defperate refolution of carrying them¬
felves and it in an open boat to Virginia or to New¬
foundland, where they hoped to difpofe of their trea-
fure to advantage. In the mean time, however, the
4 D Virginia
l
\
B E R [ 578 J B E R
Bermudas. YjrgJn;a Company claimed the property of the Ber-
v "1" mudas iflands j and accordingly fold it to 120 perfons
of their own fociety, who obtained a charter from King
James for their poffefling it. This New Bermudas Com¬
pany, as it was called, fitted out a (hip with 60 planters
on board to fettle on the Bermudas, under the com¬
mand of one Mr Richard Moor, by profeffion a car¬
penter. The new colony arrived upon the illand juit
at the time the three failors were about to depart with
their ambergris ; which Moor having difcovered, he
immediately feized and difpofed of it for the bene¬
fit of the company. So valuable a booty gave vaft
fpirit to the new company j and the adventurers fet¬
tled themfelves upon St George’s ifland, where they
raifed cabins. As to Mr Moor, he was indefatigable
in his duty, and carried on the fortifying and planting
the ifland with incredible diligence for we are told,
that he not only built eight or nine forts or rather
blockhoufes, but inured the fettlers to martial difci-
pline. Before the firft year of his government was ex¬
pired, Mr Moor received a fupply of provifions and
planters from England *, and he planned out the town
of St George as it now ftands. The fame of this fet-
tlement foon awakened the jealoufy of the Spaniards,
who appeared off St George’s with fome veffels; but
being fired upon from the forts, they fheered off, though
the Engliffi at that time were fo ill provided for a de¬
fence, that they had fcarcely a lingle barrel of gunpow¬
der on the ifland. During Moor’s government the
Bermudas were plagued with rats which had been im¬
ported into them by the Engliffi (hips. This vermin
multiplied fo faff in St George’s ifland, that they even
covered the ground, and had nefts in the trees. They
deftroyed all the fruits and corn within doors •, nay,
they increafed to fuch a degree, that St George’s ifland
Was at laft unable to maintain them, and they fwam
over to the neighbouring iflands, where they made as
great havock. This calamity laffed five years, though
probably not in the fame degree, and at laft it ceafed
all of a hidden.
On the expiration of Moor’s government, he was
fucceeded by Captain Daniel Tucker, who improved all
bis predeceflbr’s fchemes for the benefit of the illand,
and particularly encouraged the culture of tobacco.
Being a fevere difciplinarian, he held all under him fo
rigidly to duty, that five of his fubje6ts planned as bold
an enterprife for liberty as was perhaps ever put in exe¬
cution. Their names were Barker, who is faid to have
been a gentleman ; another Barker, a joiner ; Good-
won, a ihip-carpenter ^ Pact, afailor*, and Saunders, who
planned the enterprife. Their management was as art¬
ful as their defign was bold. Underftanding that the
governor was deterred from taking the plealure of
fifhing in an open boat, on account of the dangers at¬
tending it, they propofed to build him one of a parti¬
cular conftruftion, which accordingly they did in a fe-
cret part of the ifland j but when the go-vernor came to
view his boat, he underftood that the builders had put
to fea in it. The intelligence was true: for the adven¬
turers, having provided themfelves with the few necef-
faries they wanted, failed for England •, and notwith-
llanding the ftorms they encountered, their being plun¬
dered by a French privateer, and the incredible mife-
ries they underwent, they landed in 42 days time at
Corke in Ireland, where they were generoufly relieved Bermuda^
and entertained by the earl of Thomond. Bern.
In 16x9 Captain Tucker refigned his government
to Captain Butler. By this time the high chara&er
which the Summer iflands bore in England rendered it
falhionable for men of the highett rank to encourage
their fettlement 5 and feveral of the firft nobility of
England had purchafed plantations among them. Cap¬
tain Butler brought over with him 500 paffengers, wffro
became planters on the iflands, and raifed a monument
to the memory of Sir George Summers. The ifland
was now fo populous (for it contained about a thou-
fand vftntes), that Captain Butler applied himfelf to
give it a new conftitution of government by introdu¬
cing an affembly, the government till this time being -
adminiftered only in the name of the governor and
council. A body of laws was likewife drawn up, as
agreeable to the laws of England as the fituation of the
ifland would admit of. One Mr Barnard fucceeded
Captain Butler as governor, but died fix weeks after
his arrival on the ifland j upon which the council made
choice of Mr Harrifon to be governor till a new one
ftrould be appointed. No fewer than 3000 Engliih
were nowr fettled in the Bermudas, and feveral perfons of
diftinftion had curiofity enough to vifit it from England.
Among thefe wras Mr Waller the poet, a man of for¬
tune, who being embroiled with the parliament and
commonwealth of England, fpent fome months in the
Summer'iflands, which he has celebrated in one of his
poems as the moft delightful place in the world. The
dangers attending the navigation, and the untowardly
fituation of thefe iflands, through their diftance from
the American continent, feem to be the reafons why the
Bermudas did not now become the beft peopled iflands
belonging to England ; as we are told that fome time
ago they were inhabited by no fewer than 10,000-
whites. The inhabitants, however, never ihowed any
great fpirit for commerce, and thus they never could
become rich. This, together with the gradual alter¬
ation of the foil and climate already taken notice of,
foon caufed them dwindle in their population $ and it is
computed that they do not now contain above half the
number of inhabitants they once did, and even thefe
feem much more inclined to remove to lome other place
than to ftay where they are j fo that unlefs fome bene¬
ficial branch of commerce be found out, or fome ufe-
ful manufacture eftablithed, the ftate of the Bermudas
muft daily grow worfe and worfe.
BERN, one of the cantons of Switzerland, which
holds the fecond rank among the 13 ; but as it is by
far the largeft in extent, containing almoft one-third of
the whole country, it feems juftly entitled to the firft.
It is bounded to the north by the cantons of Bafil and
Solothurn, and the Auftrian foreft towms j to the fouth
by the lake of Geneva, the Valais, and duchy of Sa¬
voy •, to the eaft by Uri, Underwald, Lucern, and the
county of Baden j and to the weft by Solothurn,
Neufchatel, Franche Compte, the diftrift of Biel, and
the land of Gex. It is the moft fruitful, the richeft,
and by much the largeft, of all the cantons, extending
in length about fixty leagues, and about thirty where
broadeft. It yields not only plenty of grain, fruit, and
pafture ; but alfo good wine, a variety of coloured
earths and clays, fand ftone, mundick, gypfum, pit-
B E R [ 579 ] B E R
'Bern, coal, fulphur, and iron-ore. Here likewife are large
■—Nr—— herds of cattle, .great and fmall 5 and, in confequence
of that, great quantities of milk, butter, and cheefe.
The rivers that water this canton are the Aar, the Em-
mat, the Wigger, the Aaa, the Rufz, the Limmat,
the Sanen, the Senfen, and the Kandel. The principal
lake is that of Geneva ; the length of which is about
18 leagues, and the^greateft breadth between three and
four. The depth in fome places is near 400 fathom,
in others not above 40. The Rhone enters it at the
eaft end, near Bouveret, and iffues out again at the
weft clofe by Geneva. In fummer its waters are much
fwelled by the melting of the fnow on the mountains.
This lake, however, is not entirely furrounded by the
territory of Bern, but partly by Savoy and the country
of Gex ; the former of which belongs to the king of
Sardinia, and the latter to France, and the territory of
Sion. Its borders are extremely fertile and beautiful,
being much embellifhed with vineyards, which yield ex¬
cellent wine, and interfperfed with towns and villages,
betwixt.which a confiderable commerce is carried on.
The other great lakes, that are wholly or partly within
this canton, are thofe of Neufchatel, Biel, Murte,
Thun, Brien, and Halwyl, which all abound in fifh,
particularly that of Geneva, where trouts are fometimes
caught weighing 40 or 50 pounds. In that of Biel,
tailed alfo the NyJau-lake^ are two fmall iftands, one
of which is very beautiful. This lake is about three
leagues in length and one in breadth. Along the
whole weft and north-weft fides of the canton runs that
chain of mountains called by the general name of
Jura ; but the feveral mountains of which it is com-
pofed have all their particular names. This canton is
well cultivated, and very populous, the number of its
fubje&s being computed at 400,000. German is the
prevailing language, but almoft all the people of faftiion
fpeak either French or Italian *, even the common peo¬
ple in the Pais de Vaud, and other places that lie to¬
wards France or Italy, fpeak a corrupt French or Ita¬
lian, or a jargon compofed of both. The eftablilhed
religion here and the other Proteftant cantons is Cal-
vinifm, the fame both in dodlrine and difcipline as in
Holland 5 nor is any other tolerated, except in the
common bailiages, and the vale of Frick. The mi-
nifters are divided into deaneries and claffes, and hold
yearly chapters or fynods. They are kept in a greater
dependence on the civil power here than in the other
cantons, and not fuffered to interfere with matters of
ftate. The city of Bern firft joined the confederacy in
the year 1353. Towards the defence thereof the can¬
ton now furnilhes 2000 men. Every male from 16
to 60 is enrolled in the militia, and about a third of
them regimented. There are officers for every diftrift,
whofe province it is to fee that the men be regularly
exercifed ; that their arms, ammunition, and clothing,
be in good condition 5 and that they be kept in a con-
ftant readinefs to march. Once a-year they are drawn
out to a general review. The fame attention is paid to
thofe that belong to the train of artillery. Some regi¬
ments confift of married, and fome of unmarried men ;
fome of foot, others of dragoons. There is alfo one
regiment and a troop of cuiraffiers. The latter confifts
entirely of burghers of Bern. Both the horfemen and
footmen find their horfes, arms, and accoutrements.
Befides the arms and artillery in the arfenal at Bern, all
the caftles, where the country governors or bailiffs re- Bern,
fide, are well furniffied with them. At Bern is a con-
ftant guard or garrifon of 200 men, and a fmall gar-
rifon at Fort Arburg. In the lame city is alfo an office,
which grants licenfes for levies to foreign powers, and
where the recruits make their appearance and are re-
giftered. The bailiffs have the chief direftion of af¬
fairs in their feveral diftricls, being generals of the mi¬
litia, and prefiding in the courts of juftice j but, in
civil caufes above a certain value, an appeal lies from
them to Bern ; and, in capital cafes, their fentence muft
be confirmed by the great council before it can be exe¬
cuted. When any bailiwic is to be dilpofed of, as many
balls as there are competitors are put into a bag, whereof
one is gilt, and he that draws that has the bailhvic.
Mr Keyller obferves, that the wealthieft peafants in.
Switzerland are thofe of Bern ; it being difficult to
find a village without one, at leaft, who is worth be¬
tween 20,000 or 30,000 guilders, and fometimes even.
60,000. He fays, the common people of both fexes
wear ftraw hats, and that the women’s petticoats are
tied up fo near their arm-pits, that hardly an hand’s-
breadth is left for their lhape: that the inns, not only
in this canton but throughout Switzerland, are in ge¬
neral very good ; that the manners of the people were
in many refpedls, greatly changed within 50 years be¬
fore he vifited them, which was about 50 years ago,
and confequently muft be much more lo now ; that
inftead of the plainnefs and honeft fimplicity of their
anceftors, the love of fuperfluities and high living
greatly prevailed ; that luxury, pomp, and that infa¬
tuation for foreign produftions which had infefled moll
parts of Europe, had alfo extended its contagious in¬
fluence to Switzerland, though not to fuch a degree
as in many other countries. Dr Burnet fays, that
drinking is fo common, and produces fo many quarrels
and diforders, that the bailiff's not only fubfiit by the
fines payable for them, but often get eftates, carrying
perhaps 20,000 crowns at the end of five years to Bern ;
that their law is fhort and clear, infomuch that the
moft intricate fuit is ended after two or perhaps three
hearings, either in the firft inftance before the bailiff,
or in the fecond at Bern ; that the civility expreffed
in this country to women, at firft meeting them, is not
by faluting them, but by {baking them by the hand,
and that none but ftrangers take off their hats to them.
Mr Addifon fays, that the peafants are generally
clothed in a coarfe kind of canvas, the manufacture
of the country, and that their holiday-clothes go from
father to fon; fo that it is not uncommon to fee a coun¬
tryman in his great-grandfather’s doublet and breeches;
that the belief of witchcraft prevailed among them fo
much, that there were fome executions on that account
while he was in the country; that the queftion, or tor- .
ture, is ufed not only in this canton but all over Swit¬
zerland ; that though the fubjecffis of the ftate are rich,
the public is poor; and though they could oppofe a
hidden invafion, yet that their unkindly foil requires
fuch a number of hands to cultivate it, that they could
not fpare the reinforcements and recruits that would
be neceffary in a long war. Upon extraordinary occa-
fions, however, they boaft that they could raife 80,000
men in 24 hours. This canton is divided into the
German country, that is, that part of the canton in
which the German tongue is fpoken, and which is alf©
4 D 2 called
B E R [ 580 ] B E R
Bern, called the ancient canton, extending from Morat to the
county of Baden •, and the Roman * called alfo the
Waal, and Pais de Vaud. The former of thefe con¬
tains 35 bailiwicks and about 300 parifhes.
Bern, a city of Switzerland, and capital of the can¬
ton of that name, is fituated in E. Long. 7. 40. N.
Lat. 40. o. It is faid that the taking of a bear on the
day on which the foundation of this city was laid, gave
occafion to its name \ hence it is often in Latin called
ArBopolis, i. e. the city of the bear, and has a bear
for its coat of arms. It is almoft furrounded by the
river Aar. The houfes are molfly built of white free-
ftone, and, in the principal ftreets, have piazzas or
arches under them, for the conveniency of walking dry
in wet weather. Molt of the ftreets are paved with
Hints, and traverfed by a canal lined with freeltone,
which is brought from a confiderable diltance, and is
very ufeful in carrying off the filth of the city, extin-
guilhing fires, and other purpofes. The city is large,
Standing almoit in the middle of the canton, and con¬
taining feveral churches, of which one is called the
Great Church, and the firlt minifter thereof the dean,
■who is the head of the city-clergy. From an infcrip-
tion near the great door of this church, it appears, that
the firft Hone of it was laid in 1421. Over the fame
door is a reprefentation of the lalt judgment, in which
the fculptor hath placed the pope among the damned.
In this city is alfo a college with eight profeffors, a
large public library, and a mufeum; a ftately granary,
in which a great quantity of com is always kept; a
guildhall 5 a well ftored arfenal ■, and feveral hofpitals.
In the arfenal is a wooden ftatue of the famous Tell,
which reprefents him as taking aim at the apple placed
on the head of his fon. There is alfo the ftatue of
Berchtold von Zahringen, the founder of the city ;
and two large horns of buffaloes or wild bulls, called
in Latin Un, fuch as are uled in war by the canton
of Uri, inftead of trumpets, and taken from it in
the year 1712. Hard by alfo hang the grotefque
dreffes of thofe who blew them. The inhabitants of
Uri, who boaft their defcent from the old Tau, bear a
buffalo’s head on their rifci, coat of arms j and the per-
fou who blows the great horn in time of war, is called
the bull of Uri. In the Dominican church, a hole in
the wall is always fhown to ftrangers, by means of
which, it having a communication with the cell of a
monk in an adjoining monartery, the pious fraud of
making an image of the Virgin appear to fpeak was
once carried on, which for a while anfwered the pur¬
pofes of the monks very well; but they were at laft de-
tefled and punifhed. This city, though larger, is not
fo populous nor fo well built as that of Zurich. On the
eaft fide of it is a handfome ftone bridge -, and near the
great church is a very fine platform fome hundred feet
in height, which makes a moft delightful walk, being
planted with limes, and commanding a charming pro-
fpefl, particularly of the mountains of the Grifons, co¬
vered with fnow in the midft of fummer. In 1654 a
ftudent of divinity, being on horfeback, and in liquor,
leaped over this terrace without receiving any other
hurt than breaking a leg, and lived many years after,
but the horfe was killed. In the upper part of the city
are always kept a number of bears in two enclofures,
with fir-trees for them to clamber and play upon. Of
the burghers of Bern, only thofe are qualified for the
government and magiftracy of the city who are the Bern,
delcendants of luch as were made burghers before the Bern-Ma*
year 1635. Other qualifications are alfo neceffary ; in , c^‘ne' f
particular, they muft not be under 30 years of age,
and muft be enrolled in one of the 1 2 companies. To
obtain a country government, or to hold any confider¬
able employment, the candidate alfo muft be married.
The great council, in which the fovereignty of the
canton is vefted, confifts, w hen full, of 229 j but is ge¬
nerally much Ihort of that number, 80 or more often
dying before their places are filled up. The deffer
council fenate, or, as it is called, the daily council, be-
caufe it meets every day, Sundays and holidays ex¬
cepted, confifts of 27 members, including the two prse-
tors or advoyers, the four tribunes of the people, the
two treafurers, and the two heimlichers or fecrecy-
men, fo called becaufe to them all fecrets relating to
the ftate are difcovered. The members of the great
and little councils mutually fill up the vacancies that
happen in thefe tw-o colleges. How the bailiffs are
chofen wx have already taken notice. Our limits will
not permit us to enter into any farther detail with re-
fpeft to the government : only it is to be obferved in
general, that all the officers of any note are chofen out
of the great or little councils ; and that all the bailiffs
and caftellans of the canton continue fix years in office.
The trade of the city is not very great, but w^as lefs
before the French refugees fettled therein : fome, how¬
ever, doubt whether it has been a gainer by them ; as
by their introduction of French modes and luxury, they
have helped to baniffi the ancient Helvetic fimplicity
and frugality. The territory immediately under its ju-
rifdiciion is divided into four governments, with which
the four venners, or ftandard-bearers, are inverted. It
declared for the Reformation in 1528, after a folemn
difputation. Here the Britilh envoy to the cantons
refides.
BEKn-Machine, the name of an engine for rooting up
trees, invented by Peter Sommer, a native of Bern in
Switzerland.
This machine is reprefented by a figure on Plate
LXXXVIII. drawn from a model in the machine-
room of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
&c. It confifts of three principal parts ; the beam,
the ram, and the lever. The beam ABC, (N° 1.) of
which only one fide is feen in the figure, is compofed
of two ftout planks of oak three inches thick at lead,
and leparated by two tranfverfe pieces of the fame wood
at A and C, about three inches thick. Thefe planks
are bored through with correfponding holes, as repre¬
fented in the figure, to receive iron pins, upon wffiich
the lever ads between the twx fides of the beam, and
which is drifted higher and higher as the tree is
raifed or rather puffied out of its place. The fides
are well fecured at the top and bottom by ftrong iron
hoops. The iron pins on wffiich the lever refts ftrould
be an inch and a quarter, and the holes through
which they pafs an inch and a half in diameter. The
pofition of thefe holes is fufficiently indicated by the
figure. The foot of the beam, when the machine is
in aflion, is fecured by flakes reprefented at G, dri¬
ven into the earth. The ram D, which is made of
oak, elm, or fome other ftrong wood, is capped with
three ftrong iron fpikes, reprefented at f, which take
fall hold of the tree. This ram is fix or eight inches
B E R
Bern-Ma- fquare j and a Hit is cut lengthwife througli tlie middle
cilltv;' of it, from its lower end at K to the firift ferule a, in
order to allow room for the chain g h to play round the
pulley K, u'hich fhould be four inches thick, and nine
inches in diameter. This ram is raifed by means of the
chain gh, which fhould be about ten feet long, with
links four inches and three quarters in length, and an
inch thick. One end of this chain is failened to the
top of- the beam at C, while the other, after palling
through the lower part of the ram, and over the pulley
K, terminates in a ring or link reprefented N° 3. the
two ears n of which ferve to keep it in a true poli-
tion betw-een the two planks of the beam. In this ring
the hook P is inferred. The hook is reprefented in
profile, N° 2. where F is the part that takes hold of
the ring. But it mult be obferved that the parts of
this machine, reprefented in N° 2, 3. are drawn on a
fcale twice as large, as the whole engine. The hook
F, N° 2. fliould be made of very tough iron, as well as
the handle 1), and the arch E c. This handle fhould
be two inches thick at «, where it joins to the hook,
and the thicknefs gradually leffen by degrees up to
the arch, which need not be more than half an inch
thick. On each fide of the pin 2;, is a femicircular
notch, x, y, which refts alternately on the pins when
the machine is worked. The hole D, and the arch
Ec, ferve to fix a long lever of wood E F, N° 1. by
means of two iron pins j and by this contrivance the le¬
ver is either r«ifed or depreffed" at pleafure, in order to
render the working of the machine eafy in whatever
part of the beam the lever may be placed : for with¬
out this contrivance the extremity of the lever E F,
would, when the handle is near the top of the beam,
be much higher than men Handing upon the ground
could reach. It mult however be remembered, that
the lever is .often (hortened by this contrivance, and
confequently its power leffened.
The machine is worked in the following manner : It
is placed againfl a tree, in the manner reprefented in
the figure, fo that the iron fpikes at ymay have hold
of the tree, and the end of the beam A be fupported
by Hakes reprefented at G. The iron handle, N° 2.
is placed in the opening between the two planks of the
beam, and the wooden lever fixed to it by means of
the iron pins already mentioned. The hook F takes
hold of the chain, and one of the iron pins is thruH
into the outer row of holes, by which means the outer
notch x will refi on the pin, which will be now the
centre of motion j and the end of the lever E, N° 1.
being preffed downwards, the other notch y, N° 2.
will be raifed, and at the fame time the chain, and con¬
fequently the ram. The other iron pin is now to be
thruH into the hole in the inner row, next above that
which was before the centre of motion, and the end of
the lever E elevated or pufhed upwards, the latter pin
on which the notch y rells now becoming the centre of
motion. By this alternate motion of the lever, and
Ihifiing the pins, the chain is drawn upwards over the
pulley K, and confequently the whole force of the en¬
gine exerted againfl the tree. There is a fmall wheel
at L, in order to leflen the friftion of that part of the
machine.
from this account the reader will very eafily per¬
ceive that the machine is nothing more than a fingle
pulley compounded with a lever of the firil and fecond
order. It mull however be remembered, that as the
581 3 B E R
pufh of the engine is given in an oblique dire&iofi, it Bemade,
will exert a greater or lefler force againfl the horizon- Bernard,
tal roots of the tree in proportion to the angle formed v"
by the machine with the plane of the horizon ; and
that the angle of 450 is the maximum, or that when
the machine will exert its greatefl force againfl the ho¬
rizontal roots of the tree.
BERNACLE, a fpecies of goofe. See Anas, Or¬
nithology Index.
BERNARD, St, the firft abbot of Clairvaux, wras
born in the year 1091, in the village of Fountaine, in
Burgundy. He acquired fo great a reputation by his-
zeal and abilities, that all the affairs of the church ap¬
peared to relb upon his (boulders, and kings and prin¬
ces feemed to have chofen him for a general arbitrator
of their differences. It was owing to him that Inno¬
cent II. was acknowledged fovereign pontiff, and after
the death of Peter Louis anti-pope, that Vidlor, who
had been named ftccejfor, made a voluntary abdica¬
tion of his dignity. He convidfled Abelard at the coun¬
cil of Sens, in the year 1140. He oppofed the monk
Raoul \ he perfecuted the followers of Arnaud de
Breffe : and, in 1148, he got Gilbert de la Porvice^
biflrop of Poitiers, and Eonde PEtoile, to be condemn¬
ed in the council of Rheims. By fuch zealous beha¬
viour he verified (fays Mr Bayle) the interpretation of
his mother’s dream. She dreamed, rvhen (lie was with
child of him, that (he (hould bring forth a white dog,
whofe barking (hould be very loud. Being aftonifhed
at this dream, (he confulted a monk, who faid to her,
“ Be of good courage ; you (hall have a fon who (hall
guard the houfe of God, and bark loudly againft the
enemies of the faith.” But St Bernard went even be¬
yond the predidlion, for he barked fometimes againfl;
chimerical enemies : he was more happy in extermi¬
nating the heterodox, than in ruining the infidels ; and
yet he attacked thefe laft, not only with the ordinary-
arms of his eloquence, but alfo with the extraordinary-
arms of prophecy. He preached up the crufade under
Louis the Younger, and by this means he enlarged
the troops of the crufaders beyond expreflion : but all
the fine hopes with which he flattered the people were
difappointed by the event ; and when complaint was
made that he had brought an infinite number of Chri-
ftians to (laughter without going out of his own coun¬
try, he cleared himfelf by faying that the fins of the
croifes had hindered the effedl of his prophecies. In
(hort, he is faid to have founded 160 monafteries, and
to have wrought a great number of miracles. He died
on the 20th of Auguft, 1153, at 63 years of age.. The
beft edition of his works is that of 1690, by Father
Mabillon.
Bernard, Dr Edward, a learned aftronomer, lin-
guifl, and critic, was born at Perry St Paul, on the
2d of May, 1638, and educated at Merchant-Tay-
lor’s fchool, and St John’s college, Oxford. During
his flay at fchool, he had laid in an uncommon fund of
claflical learning ; fo that, on his going to the univerfi-
ty, he was a great mafter of all the elegancies of the
Greek and Latin tongues, and not unacquainted with
the Hebrew. On his fettling in the univerfity, he ap¬
plied himfelf with great diligence to hiftory, philology,
and philofophy •, and made himfelf mafter of the He¬
brew, Syriac, Arabic, and Coptic languages, and then
applied himfelf to the ftudy of the mathematics under
the famous Dr Wallis, Having fucceflively taken the
degrees
o
B E R [ 5^2 ] B E R
•Bernard, degrees of bachelor and mafter of arts, and afterwards
that of bachelor of divinity in 1668, he went to Ley¬
den to confult feveral oriental raanufcripts left to that
univerfity by Jofeph Scaliger and Levinus Warnerus.
At his return to Oxford, he collated and examined the
moft valuable manufcripts in the Bodleian library ;
which induced thofe w'ho publiihed any ancient au-
'-thors, to apply to him for his obfervations or emenda¬
tions from the manufcripts at Oxford j which he rea¬
dily imparted, grudging neither time nor pains to ferve
the learned ; and by this means he became engaged in
a very extenfive correfpondence with the learned of
moft countries. In the year 1669, the famous Chri-
ftopher Wren, Savilian prdfeflbr of aftronomy at Ox¬
ford, having been appointed furveyor-general of his ma-
jefty’s works, and being much detained at London by
this employment, he obtained leave to name a deputy
at Oxford, and pitched upon Mr Bernard, which en¬
gaged the latter in a more particular application to the
ftudy of aftronomy. In 1676, he was fent by the earl
of Arlington to France, in order to be tutor to the
dukes of Grafton and Northumberland, fons to King
Charles II. by the duchefs of Cleveland, who then li¬
ved with their mother at Paris : but the fimplicity of
his manners not fuiting the gaiety of the duchefs’s fa¬
mily, he returned about a year after to Oxford, and
purlued his ftudies j in which he made great proficien¬
cy, as his many learned aftronomical and critical works
fliow. He compofed tables of the longitudes, lati¬
tudes, right afcenfions, &c. of the fixed ftars 5 Obfer¬
vations in Latin on the Obliquity of the Ecliptic ; and
other pieces inferted in the Philofophical Tranfaftions.
He alfo wrote, 1. A Treatife of the ancient Weights
and Meafures. 2. Chronologies Samaritance Synopfts, in
two tables. 3. Teftimonies of the Ancients concern¬
ing the Greek Verfion of the Old Teftament by the
Seventy ; and feveral other learned works. He was a
perfon of great piety, virtue, and humanity , and died
on the 12th of January, 1696, in the 59th year of his
age, leaving behind him a great number of learned
and valuable manufcripts.
Bernard, James, profeflbr of philofophy and ma¬
thematics, and minifter of the Walloon church at Ley¬
den, was born September 1. 1658, at Nions in Dau-
phine. Having ftudied at Geneva, he returned to
France in 1679, and was chofen minifter of .Venterol,
a village in Dauphine. Some time after, he was re¬
moved to the church of Vinfobres in the fame province.
But the perfecutions raifed againft the Proteftants in
France having obliged him to leave his native country,
he retired to Holland, where he was received with
great civility, and was appointed one of the penfion-
ary minifters of Gauda. In July 1688, he began a
political publication entitled Hiftoire abrege'e de l'Eu¬
rope, &c. which he continued monthly till December
1688, and makes five volumes in i2mo. In 1692, he
began his Lettres Hi/loriques, containing an account
of the moft important tranfaftions in Europe, with
neceffary refleiftions. He carried on this work, which
was alio publiftied monthly, till the end of the year
1698. It was afterwards continued by other hands,
and confifts of a great many volumes. Mr Le Clerc
having left off his Bibliotheque Univerfe/le, in 1691,
Mr Bernard wrote the greateft part of the 20th vo¬
lume, and by himielf carried on the five following to
the year 1693. 1698, he colledfted and publlffied Bemaf;!
Allies et Negociations de la paix de Ryfwic, in four vo- II
lumes 12mo. In 1699 he began the Nouvel/es de la ^ernera-
republique des lettres, which continued till December
1710. Mr Bernard having acquired great reputation
by his works, as well as by his fermons at Gauda, and
the Hague, the congregation of the Walloon church
at Leyden became extremely defirous to have him for
one of their minifters 5 and a vacancy happening in
1705, he was unanimouily chofen. About the lame
time, Mr de Voider profeffor of philofophy and mathe¬
matics at Leyden having refigned, Mr Bernard was
appointed his fucceffor ; and the univerfity prefented
him with the degrees of do&or of philofophy and ma¬
fter of arts. His public and private lectures took up a
great part of his time y yet he did not negleff his pa-
ftoral funftion, but compofed his fermons with great
care : he wrote alfo twm excellent treatifes, one on a
late repentance, the other on the excellency of reli¬
gion. In 1716, he publiftied a fuppletnent to More-
ri’s di&ionary in two volumes folio. The fame year
he relumed his Nouve/Ies de la repubhque des lettres ;
which he continued till his death, which happened the
27th of April, 1718, in the 60th year of his age.
Bernard, St, the Great ; a mountain in Savoy and
Switzerland, between Valais and the valley of Aouft,
at the fource of the rivers Drance and Doria. The
top is always covered with fnow $ and there is a great
monaftery feated thereon, where the monks always en¬
tertain travellers without diftin&ion of religion for three
days.
BERNARDINE, St, was born at Maffa in Tuf-
cany, in 1380. In 1404 he entered into a Francifcan
monaftery near Sienna, where he became an eminent
preacher; and was afteward fent to Jerufalem, as
commiflary of the Holy Land. On his return to Italy,
he vifited feveral cities, where he preached with fuch
applaufe, that the cities of Ferrara, Sienna, and Ur-
bino, defired Pope Eugenius IV. to appoint him their
bilhop : but Berntfrdine refufed the honour, accepting
only the office of vicar-general of the friars of the ob-
fervance for all Italy. He repaired and founded above
300 monafteries in that country-, died in 1444; was
canonized in 145O by Pope Nicholas j and his works
were publilhed at Venice in 1591, in 4 vols 4to.
BERNARDINES, an order of monks, founded by
Robert abbot of Moleme, and reformed by St Ber¬
nard. They wear a white robe with a black fcapu-
lary ; and when they officiate they are clothed with a
large gown, which is all white, and hath great lleeves,
with a hood of the fame colour.—The Bernardines dif¬
fer very little from the Ciftercians. They had their
origin toward the beginning of the 12th century.
BERNAY, a town of Upper Normandy in France,
feated on the river Carantone, in E. Long. o. 50. N.
Lat. 49. 6.
BERNBURG, a town of Germany, in the cir¬
cle of Upper Saxony, and principality of Anhalt,
where a branch of the houfe of Anhalt refides. It
is feated on the river Sara, in E. Long. 12. 30. N.
Lat. 51. 59.
BERNERA, one of the Weftern Hies of Scotland,
lying about two leagues to the fouthward of Harries.
It is about five miles in circumference 5 the foil is fandy,
but when manured with the alga marina, extremely
fertile,
G
B E R £
Bernera fertile, producing an increafe of thirty-fold of barley •
Bernier. n,a-V’ OIle Sram has been known to produce 14 ears when
   , the feafon was remarkably favourable. The face of the
ifland ,s extremely agreeable in fummer, exhibiting a
pleafing variety of corn fields and clover paftures. Here
is a frelh water lake called Lochbnus, diverfified with
Imall iflands and abounding with eels, which the na-
ives by the help of lights catch in the night-time, as
they tall down a rivulet towards the fea in heaps twifted
together. There are two chapels in this ifland dcdica-
ted to St Afaph and St Columbas; and near the former
is a done Handing about eight feet above the ground.
At the eafl: end of this ifland there is a ftrang-e reci¬
procation of the flux and reflux of the fea, and another
no lets remarkable upon the xveft fide of the long ifland.
1 -ie tides from the fouth-weft run along northward: fo
tnat during the ordinary courfe of the tides the flood
runs eafl in the frith, where Bernera lies, and the ebb
runs wefl : thus the fea ebbs and flows regularly for
four days before, and as long after, the full and change
■ ot the moon j the fpring tides generally rifing 14 feet
perpendicular, and the others proportionably": but for
tour days before, and as many after, the quarter moons,
there is a Angular variation ; at that time a foutherly
moon making high water, the courfe of the tide being
eadward, it begins to flow at half an hour after nine in
tne morning, and continues to flow till half an hour af¬
ter three in the afternoon, when it is high water 1 but
when it begms to ebb, the current dill runs eaftward
until it is low water ; fo that the tide runs eaftward 12
hours together, that is, from half pad nine in the morn-
ing till hall haft nine at night 5 yet when the night-
tide begins to flow, the current turns and runs weftward
all night for 12 hours, during both flood and ebb : thus
the reciprocations continue, one flood and ebb running
eaftward and another weftward, till within four days
o the full and change of the moon ; then they refume
their ordinary courfe, running eaft during the fix hours
ol flood, and weft during the fix hours of ebb. There
is another phenomenon in thefe tides no lefs remark¬
able t.ian that juft now mentioned. Between the vernal
and autumnal equinox, that is, during one half of the
year the tides about the quarter moons run all day eaft¬
ward and all night weftward ; and during the other fix
months their courfe is reverfed, being weftward in the
day and eaftward in the night.
BERNICL A, the trivial name of a fpecies of goofe.
oee Anas, Ornithology Index.
BERNICLE, a fpecies of lepas. See Le pas, Conch-
Ology Index.
BERVIER, Nicholas, an eminent mufician and
compofer, was born at Mante on the Seine, in the year
1664. By his merit in his profeflion he attained to be
conduftor of the mufic in the chapel of St Stephen,
and afterwards m that of the king. The regent duke
o Oilcans admired his works, and patronized their au¬
thor. This prince having given him a motet of his
own compofition to examine, and being impatient for
his obfervations thereon, went to the houfe of Bernier
and entering his dudy, found the abbe de la Croix
there cnticifing his piece, while the mufician himfelf
was m another room caroufing and finging with a com¬
pany of his friends. The duke broke in upon and in
1 B E R •
died at Peris in ,734. His five books of Cantatas and
bongs tor one and two voices, the words of which were
written by Roufleau and Fufelier, have procured him
great reputation. There are befides of his compofition
. es Nuits de Sceaux, and many motets, which are ftiil
m great efteem.
Bernier, Francis, furnamed the Mogul, on ac¬
count of his travels and refidence in that country, was
born at Angers m France ; and after he had taken his
degree of doftor of phyfic at Montpellier, left his conn-
i1?54] Wenr 1° Egypt’ to the Holy Land> and
to the kingdom of the Mogul, where he was phyfician
to that monarch, attended him in his journeys, and
nnW-1 I2u4earS- ,Up°n his return to Trance, he
pubhfhed the hidory of the countries he had vifited •
and fpent the remainder of his life in ccmpofina varF
ous other works, particularly an Abridgment of the
philofophy of Gaffendus m 8 vols i 2mo. His firft work
is efteemed to be the bed account we have of the coun¬
tries which are the fubjedf of it.
BERNINI, John Laurence, commonly called Ca¬
valier Bermn, a Neapolitan, famous for his ikill in
painting, fculpture, architeaUre, and mechanics. He
hid began to be known under the pontificate of Paul V
Rome is indebted to this artift for fome of its greated
ornaments j and there are in the church of St Peter no
leis than 15 different works of his hand. He died at
Rome m 1680.
BERNO abbot of Richenou, in the diocefe of Con-
ftance, who flounfhed about the year 1008, is celebra¬
ted as a poet, rhetor, mufician, philofopher, and divine.
He was the author of feveral treatises on mufic, parti-
wirh'tb °f °"a Dm Ifrumentis Mujicalibus, beginning
uith the words Muficam non etfe contem ! which he de¬
dicated to Arrabon, archbifliop of Mentz. He alfo
wiote Menfura Monochordi. But the mod celebra-
ted of Ins works is a treatife De Muficn feu Tonis
which he wrote and dedicated to Peleg-rines archbiftion
ot Cologne, beginning Vero mundi i/li adven* et peri.
grmo. This latter traa is part of the Baliol manu-
lenpt, and follows the Enchiridion of Odo : it contains
a luminary of the doftrines delivered by Boetius an
explanation of the eccelefiaftical tones, intermixed with
frequent exhortations to piety, and the application of
mufic to religious purpofes. He was highly favoured
by the emperor Henry II. for his great learning and
piety; and fucceeded lo well in his endeavours to pro
mote learning, that his abbey of Richenou was as fa
mous in his time as thofe of St Gaul and Cluni, then '
the mod celebrated in France. He died in 1048 <
"e eT > the church of his monaflery’
Mark bUt 3 0101:1 time he had dedicated to St
BERNOUILLI, James, a celebrated mathema¬
tician, born at Bafil the 27th of December 16C4 Ha
1^7 uS dTeCS 5n the univerflty op Bafil, he ap¬
plied himfelf to divinity, not lo much from inclination
as complaifance to Ins father. He gave very early
proofs of his genius for mathematics, and foon became
a geometrician, without any afliftance from mafters'
and at firft almoft without books : for he was not al’
lowed to have any books of this kind ; and if one fell
y c lance into his hands, he was obliged to conceal it
that he micrht- -not  1 r ^
Bernier
II . .
Bernouilli.
terrupted their mirth, with a reprimand of Bernier for that h"1108’!he WaS obliged to c°nceal it
h, attention to the tafli affignedhint. This mufician tvho defied C
him.;
B E R
Bernouilli-liim cVioofe for his device, Phaeton driving the chariot
Qf j'urij vvith thefe words, Invito patre fidera yerfo,
“ I traverfe the ftars againft my father’s inclination .
This had a particular reference to aftrpnomy, the part
of mathematics to which he at firft applied himlelf.
[ 584 1
B E R
genius led him to different purfuits. He paffed fome BfrnouiUi,
time in Italy, and at 24 refuled to be prefident of an Ber°e^
academy meant to have been eftablilhed at Genoa. He
fpent feveral years at St Peterfburg with great credit j
and in 1733 returned to Balil, where he Juccefljvely
But^he ^wecautions of his father did not avail, for he filled the chair of phyfic natural and fpeculative philo-
purfued his favourite ftudy with great application. In fophy. In his fiift work, Lxercitatwnes Mathematica-,
^ ,  ,When he was at Geneva. he took the only title he then had, viz. Son of John
1676 he began his travels. When he was at Geneva,
he fell upon a method to teach a young girl to write,
though fhe had loft her light when fhe vvas but two
months old. At Bourdeaux he compofed univerfal gno-
monic tables, but they were never publilhed. He re¬
turned from France to his own country in 1680. About
this time there appeared a comet, the return of which
he foretold ; and wrote a fmall treatife upon it, w dch
he afterwards tranflated into Latin, lie went loon af¬
ter to Holland, where he applied himfelf to the ftudy
of the new philofophy. After having vifited Flanders
and Brabant, he went to Calais, and paffed over from
thence to England. At London he contra&ed an ac¬
quaintance with all the moft eminent men in the feveral
fciences 5 and had the honour of being frequently pre-
fent at the phiiofophical focieties held at the houfe of
the famous Mr Boyle. He returned to his native
country in 1682 j and he exhibited at Bafil a courfe of
experiments in natural philofophy and mechanics, which
confifted of a variety of new difcoveries. In 1682, he
publifhed his effay of a new fyftem of comets} and the
year following, his differtation on the weight of air.
Mr Leibnitz, about this time, having publilhed in the
Alia Erminorum at Leipfic fome effay of his new Cal¬
culus differentialis, or infimmens petits, but concealed
the art and method of it j Mr Bernouilli, and one of
his brothers, difcovered, by the little which they faw,
the beauty and extent of it: they endeavoured to un¬
ravel the fecret ; which they did with fuch luccefs, that
Mr Leibnitz declared, that the invention belonged^ to
them as much as to himfelf. In 1687, the profeffor-
Ihip of mathematics at Bafil being vacant, Mr Bernou¬
illi was appointed his fucceffor. He difcharged this
truft with univerfal applaufe j and his reputation drew
a great number of foreigners from all parts to hear his
leftures. He had an admirable talent in teaching, and
adapting himfelf to the different genius and capacity
of his fcholars. In 1699? ^ie was admitted into the aca¬
demy of fciences at Paris as a foreign member, and in
1701 the fame honour was conferred upon him by the
academy of Berlin. Fie wrote feveral pieces in the
Alia Eruditorum of Leipfic, the Journal des Sgavans,
and the Hijloire de P Academic des Sciences. His aflidu-
ous application to the ftudies brought upon him the
gout, and by degrees a flow fever, of which he died the
16th of Auguft 1705, in the 58th year of his age.—
Archimedes having found out the proportion of a fphere
to a cylinder circumfcribed about it, ordered it to be
engraven upon his monument. In imitation of him,
Mr Bernouilli appointed, that a fpiral logarithmical
curve fhould be infcribed upon his tomb, with thefe
words, Eadem mutata refurgo ; in allufion to the hopes
of the refurre&ion, which are reprefented in fome mea-
fure by the properties of the curve which he had the
honour of difcovering.
Bernouilli, Daniel, a celebrated phyfician and phi-
lofopher, was born at Groningen, February 9th 1700.
He was intended by his parents for trade, but his
he took the only title he then had, viz. “ Son of John
Bernoulli!,” and never would fuffer any other to be ad¬
ded to it. This work appeared in Italy with the great
inquifitor’s privilege added to it, and it claffed Ber¬
nouilli in the rank of inventors. He gained or divided
nine prizes, which wTere contended lor by the moft il-
luftrious mathematicians in Europe, from the academy
of fciences. I he only man wTho has had iuccels of the
fame kind is Euler, his countryman, difciple, rival, and
friend. His firft prize he gained at 24 years of age.
In 1734 he divided one with his father : but this hurt
the faroilv union j for the father conftrued the conteft
itfelf into" a want of refpeft j and the fon did not fuffi-
ciently conceal that he thought (what wras really the
cafe) "his own piece better than his father’s. Beiides
this, he declared for Newton, againft whom his.father
had contended all his life. In 1740, Mr Bernouilli
divided the prize “ On the Tides of the Sea” with
Euler and Maclaurin. The academy at the fame time
crowned a fourth piece, whofe only merit was that of
being Cartefian } but this was the la£ public acf of ado¬
ration paid by it to the authority of the author of the
Vortices, which it had obeyed perhaps too long. In
1748, Mr Daniel Bernouilli fucceeded his father in the
academy of fciences, and was himfelf fucceeded by his
brother* John ; this place, fince its firft ere&ion, i. e.
84 years, never having been without a Bernouilli to fill
it. He was extremely relpefted at Bafil 5 and to bow
to Daniel Bernouilli, when they met him in the ftreets,
was one of the firft leffons which every father gave
every child. He ufed to tell two little adventures,
which he faid had given him more pleafure than all
the other honours he had received. Fie was travelling
with a learned ftranger, who, Ve'n£ plealed with his
converfation, afked his name : “ I am Daniel Ber¬
noulli,” anfwered he, with great modefty j “ And I,”
faid the ftranger (who thought he meant to laugh at
him), “ am Ifaac Newton.” Another time he wag
giving a dinner to the famous Koenig the mathema¬
tician, who boafted, with a fufficient degree of felf-
complacency, of a difficult problem he had refolved
with much trouble. Bernouilli went on doing the ho¬
nours of his table ; and, when they went to drink coffee,
prefented him with a folution of the problem more ele¬
gant than his own. He died in March 1782.
BEROEA, in Ancient Geography, a noble city of
Macedonia, to the fouth of Edeffa, or iEgae, and fouth-
eaft of Cyrtus. The people are commended in Scrip¬
ture for their reception of the Golpel on a fair and im¬
partial examination.—Another Beroea, of Syria (Ste-
phanus) ; called alfo Beroe, and by the inhabitants By-
roea. It was the Handing tradition for fome ages, that it
is the modern Aleppo \ called Chalep^ in Nicetas, Ni¬
cephoros, and Zonaras *, from which it is fuppoied the
prefent appellation Aleppo is derived ; diftant 90 miles
from the Levant fea and the port of Scanderoon, and
about 100 miles weft of the Euphrates. E. Long. 36. o,
Lat. 36. 30.
BEROQT*
B E R
Serriot,
Berofus.
EEROOP, or Bairout, a town of Phocriicia, a
province of Syria in I urkey in Afia. It is the ancient
Berytus y but there are now no remains of its former
beauty, except its fituation. It Bands in a plain, which
from the foot of Lebanon runs out into the fea, nar¬
rowing to a point, about two leagues from the ordina¬
ry line of the fhore, and on the north fide forms a
pretty long road, which receives the river of Nahr-el-
Salib, called alio Nahr-Bairout. I his river has fuch
frequent floods in winter, as to have occafioned the
building of a confiderable bridge 5 but it is in fo ruin¬
ous a flate as to be impaffable. The bottom of the
road is rock, which chafes the cables, and renders it
very infecure. . From hence, as we proceed weflward
towards the point, we reach, after an hour’s journey,
the town of Bairout. This belonged to the Druzes
till lately that it was taken from them, and a Turkiih
ganilon piaced in it. Still however it continues to be
the emporium of the Maronites and the Druzes,
whence they export their cottons and filks, almoft all of
which are deftined for Cairo. In return, they receive
rice, tobacco, coflee, and fpecie, which they exchange
again for the corn of the Bekaa and the Mauran. This
commerce maintains near 6000 perfons. The dialedl
of the inhabitants is juftly cenfured as the moft corrupt
of any in the country : it unites in itfelf the 12 faults
enumerated by the Arabian grammarians.—The port
of Beroot, formed like all the others on the coaft by a
pier, is like them choaked up with fand and ruins.
The town is furrounded by a wall, the foft and fandy
ffone of which may be pierced by a cannon ball with¬
out breaking or crumbling ; which was unfavourable
to the Ruffians in their attack : but in other refpeds
this w’all, ■ and its old towers, are defencelefs. Two
inconveniences will prevent Beroot from ever becoming
a place of ftrength ; for it is commanded by a chain of
hills to the fouth-eaft, and is entirely deftitute of w'a-
ter, which the women are obliged to fetch from a well
at the didance of half a quarter of a league, though
what they find there is but indifferent. "By digging
in order to form refervoirs, fubterraneous ruins have
been difcovered^; from which it appears, that the mo¬
dern town is built on the ancient one. The fame may
be ^ obferved of Latakia, Antioch, Tripoli, Saide,
and the greater part of the towns on the coaft’
which has been occafioned by earthquakes that have
deftroyed them at different periods. We find likewife,
without the walls to the weft, heaps of rubbiffi, and’
fome fiiafts of columns, which indicate that Beroot has
been formerly much larger than at prefent. The plain
around it is entirely planted with white mulberry trees
which are young and flourifhing 5 by wffiich means the’
filk produced here is of the very fineft quality. In
defcending from the mountains (fays M. Volney), no
prolpecft can be more delightful than to behold, from
their lummits or declivities, the rich carpet of verdure
formed by the tops of thefe ufeful trees in the diftant
bottom of the valley. In fummer, it is inconvenient
to refide at Beroot on account of the heat and the
w'armth of the water : the toxvn, however, is not un¬
healthy, though it is faid to have been fo formerly.
Jt has ceafed to be unhealthy fince the Emir Fakr-el-
din planted the wood of fir trees, which is ftill Handing
a league to the fouthward of the town. E. Long 3<r
38. N. Lat. 34. 18. ^’35'
BEROSUS, prieft of the temple of Belus at Baby-
Vox. III. Part II. J
[ 58s ]
B E R
Ion, in the time of Ptolemy Philadclphus, wrote the
Pliftory of Chaldea, which is often cited by the an¬
cients, and of which Jofephus gives fome curious frag¬
ments. ft he Athenians, according to Pliny, caufed his
ftatue, with a golden tongue, to be placed in their Gym-
nafium.
BERRE, a town of France, in the department of
the Mouths of the Rhone, feated on a lake of the fame
name. It is remarkable for the quantity and good-
neis of the fait that is made there, but the air is verv
unwholefome. E. Long. 4. 32. N. Lat. 43. 32.
BERRE I INI da Cortona, Pietro, painter of
hiltory and landlcape, was born at Crotona in 1596 ;
and, according to fome waiters, was a difciple of An-
diea ( ommodi ; though others affirm that he was the
difciple of Baccio Ciarpi, and the author of the Abrege
fays he was fucceffively the difciple of both : but he is
allowed to have been as great and as enlarged a genius
as any of his profeffion, and to have painted more
agieeably than moft of the artifts wdio wrere his cotem¬
poraries. He'went young to Rome, and applied him-
felf diligently to ftudy the antiques, the works of Ra¬
phael, Buonaroti, and Polidoro ; by which he fo im¬
proved his tafle and his hand, that he dirtinguiftied
himfelf in a degree fuperior to any of the artifts of his
time. He w-orked with remarkable eafe and freedom j
his figures- are admirably grouped ; his diftribution is
truly elegant; the chiaro-fcuro is judlcioufly obferved ;
and through his whole compofitions there appears un¬
common grace : but De Piles obferves, that it w’as
not fuch a grace as was the portion of Raphael and
Correggio ; but a general grace, confifting rather in a
habit of making the airs of his heads always agreeable,
than m a choice of expreffions fuitable to each fubjefL
In his large compofitions, the colouring had a good
effect ; but his colouring in frefco is far fuperior to
what he performed in oil : nor do his eafel piftures ap¬
pear as finiftied as might be expedted from fo great
a mafter, when compared wdth what he painted in a
larger fize. By the belt judges 'it feems to be agreed,
that although this mafter was frequently incorredt ;
though not always judicious in his expreffions ; though
irregular in his draperies, and apt to defign his figures
too fhort and too heavy ; yet, by the magnificence of
his compofition, the delicate airs of his figures, the
grandeur of his decorations, and the aftoniftnng beauty
and gracefulnefs of the whole together, he muft be al¬
lowed to have been the moft agreeable mannerift that
any age hath produced.—He died in 1669. Some of
his moft capital works are in the Barberini palace at
Rome, and the Palazzo Pitti at Florence.
BERRE I ONI, Nicolo, hiftory-painter, w?as born
at Macerata in 1617, and was a difciple of Carlo Ma-
ratti, with wdiom he ftudied defign and colouring for
fome years ; and attained luch excellence, that he ex¬
cited even the jealoufy and envy of his mafter, who
feemed to be apprehenlive of finding a powerful com¬
petitor and rival in his pupil.—His early works, after
he quitted the fchool of Maratti, were in the ftyle and
tafte of Guido ; and they could not poffibly have a more
high encomium or recommendation. He died in 1682.
BERRIMAN, Dr William, was the fon of Mr
John Berriman apothecary in Bifhopfgate-ftreet, Lon¬
don, where he was born in 1688. He ftudied at
Oriel-college, Oxford, where he took his feveral de¬
grees, and become curate and ledturer of All-hallows
• 4 E ia
Borre
II
Bermnan.
B E R [ 586 ] B E R
in Tliames-flreet, and lefturer of St Michael’s, Queen-
i^nabe 1720, hewas appointed domeitic chaplain to
Dr Robinfon bidiop of London, who loon after collated
him to the living of St Andrew’s Underlhaft; and in
1727, he was defied fellow of Eton-college. He died
in 1750, in the 6zd year of his age. He wrote, 1. A
feafonable Review of Mr Whifton’s Account of Pri¬
mitive Doxologies. 2. A Hiltorical Account of the
Trinitarian Controverfy, in eight lermons, at Lady
Moyer’s leflure. 3. Brief Remarks on Mr Chandler’s
Introduflion to the Hiftory of the Inquifition. 4. Ser¬
mons at Boyle’s leflures, 2 vols 8vo. 5. Chriilian Doc¬
trines and Duties explained and recommended, in 2 vols
8vo ; and other works.
BERRY. See Bacca.
Berry, a province of France, which had the title of
n duchy. It now forms the two departments of Cher
and Indre ; and is bounded on the north by Solome,
on the fouth by Marche, on the call; by Nivernois
and Bourbonnois, and on the weft by Touraine. It
is 90 miles in length from north to fouth, and 73 in
breadth from eaft to weft. The air is very temperate ;
and the foil produces wheat, rye, and wine little in¬
ferior to Burgundy ; that of Sancerre, St Satur, and
Lavernuffe, is the beft. The fruits are in plenty, and
pretty good. The paftures are proper to fatten (heep.
'Phis country produces alfo a good deal of hemp and
flax. There are mines of iron and lilver, but they are
neglefted. The ftone quarries, within half a league of
Bourges, are very ferviceable. In the parifh of St Hi-
lare there is a mine of ochre, made ufe of in melting
metals and for painting. Near Bourges there is a cold
mineral fpring, which has a clammy fat pellicle over it
every morning, of different colours. It lets fall a fine
black fmooth fediment, which has the fame fmell, and
almoft the fame tafte, as gunpowder, which makes fome
conclude it partakes of fulphur, vitriol, and ochre.
The pellicle is as thick as a crown-piece ; and when
put on a red-hot fire-fhovel, will bounce and fparkle,
as will alfo the fediment. It is certain there is falt-
petre in thefe waters, though vitriol feems to be the
moft predominant. Thefe waters, drank on the fpot,
temperate the heat of the blood and humours, open
obftruffions, and ftrengthen the fibres. Berry is water¬
ed by feveral rivers 5 the principal of which are the Lore,
the Creufe, the Cher, the Indre, the Orron,the Evre, the
Aurette, the Maulon, the Great and Little Saudre, the
Nerre, &c. Near Liniers, there is a lake 20 miles
round. Berry is divided into the Upper and the Low¬
er, and Bourges is the capital city. The inhabitants
of Bourges carry on a fmall trade with corn down the
Loire ; but that of the wine above mentioned is much
more confiderable, it being tranfported to Paris by
means of that river and the canal of Briare. But the
principal commerce confifts in the fat cattle which they
fend to Paris, and the great number of fheep 5 thefe laft
bear fine wool, which is ufed in the manufaftures of
this province and other parts of the kingdom. There
are tvm forts of manufaflures in Berry ; the one for
cloths and ferges, and the other for knit and wove
Lockings. There is like wife a great quantity of hemp,
which is tranfported elfewhere 5 for they have not yet
got the art of manufafturing it themfelves. At Au-
bigny there are 2000 perfons generally employed m
the making of cloth.
BERSABE, in Ancient Geography, a town in the Be r far ft
tribe of Simeon (Jofiiua) $ the fouth boundary not only 11.
of its own tribe but of the whole land of Ifrael, as ap- Cerwickl
pears from the common ex predion “ from Dan to Ber-
fabe in our tranflation it is Beer-Sheba. It was the
refidence of the patriarchs 5 as firft of Abraham, from
whom it took its name, and of Ifaac. It fignifies the
well or fountain of the oath ; dug by Abraham, and
claimed as his property by covenant and the religion
of an oath, againft the infults of the Philiftines. Eu-
febius and Jerome fay, that there was a citadel and
large village of that name in their time. It was called
Beerfheba of Judah in 1 Kings xix. 3. not to diftinguidi
it from the Beerdieba of Galilee, which probably did
not then exift, but to afeertain the limits of the king
of Judah. In the lower age called Cajlrutn Verfalini.
BERSARII, in rvriters of the middle age, a kind
of hunters, or fportfmen, who purfued wild beafts in
forefts and chafes. The word feems derived from the
barbarous Latin berfare, “ to ftioot with a bow 5” on
which principle it ftiould properly denote archers on¬
ly, or bowmen. Or it might be derived from berfa,
“ the fence or pales of a park 5” in which view, it
Ihould primarily import thofe who hunt or poach in
parks or forefts.
Hincmar fpeaks of a kind of inferior officers in the
court of Charlemagne, under the denomination of ber-
farii, veltrarii, and beverarii. Spelman takes the firft
to denote thofe who hunted the wolf; the fecond, thofe
who had the fuperintendency of the hounds~for that
ufe ; and the third, thofe who hunted the beaver.
BERSELLO, a fortified town of Italy in the Mo-
denefe. It was taken by Prince Eugene in 1702 5 and
by the French in 1703, who ■were obliged to abandon it
in 1707. It is feated near the confluence of the rivers
Linza and Po, in E. Long. 10. 30. N. Lat. 44. 55.
BERSUIRE, a town of France in the department
of the two Sevres. W. Long. o. 27. N. Lat. 46. 52,
BERTINERO, a town of Romagna in Italy, with
a ftrong citadel. It is the fee of a biftrop ; and is feated
on a hill, in E. Long. 11. 47. N. Lat. 44. 8.
BERTRAND, Sr, formerly an epilcopal town of
France in Gafcony, now7 the department of Upper
Garonne, and capital of the country of Comminges.
E. Long. o. 38. N. Lat. 43. 2.
BERVY, a fea-port and parliament town in the
county of Mearns in Scotland. W. Long. 2. o.
N. Lat. 56. 40.
BERYTCK, the Duke of, v7as natural fon of
James II. by Mrs Arabella Churchill, fifter to the great
duke of Marlborough. He followed the fate of his
father, and came into France after the revolution with
James II. Here the duke of Berwick was recommend¬
ed to the court by his fuperior merit. He was created
marfhal of France, knight of the Holy Ghoft, duke
and peer of France, grandee of Spain, commander in
chief of the French armies; in all wftfich ftations his
behaviour was fuch, that few7 equalled, perhaps none
furpaffed, him. He lived in an age W7hen the renowned
prince of Orange and many other of the greateft men
commanded againft him. His courage was of the cool
fteady kind ; always poffeffmg himfelf; taking all advan¬
tages ; not foolifhly, raflily, or wantonly throwing away
the lives of his foldiers. He kept up on all occafions the
moft ftri£U difeipline j and did not fpare punifhment
among
B E R
[ ig7 1
Berwick, among his foldiers for marauding and other crimes, Whittadder
when properly deferved ; for which fome inconfiderate
people have blamed him. He has been relledted upon
by the very zealous and violent adherents of the Stuart
family for not being fufficiently attached to that party,
which was his own family. But by a cool examination
of his adfions, it will appear, that his behaviour in this
particular was, as in moll parts of his life, fenfible and
jult. When he accepted of employments, received ho¬
nours, dignities, and became a naturalized Frenchman,
he thought it his duty, as an honeft man, to become a
Frenchman, and a real fubjedl to the monarch who
gave him bread; and to be, or not to be, in the interell
of the Stuart family, according to the will and com¬
mands of the fovereign whom he ferved, and in the in-
tereft of France according to time and circumlfances ;
for there is no ferving two mailers well. But when
ordered by his king to be in that family’s interell,
he adled with the greatell fincerity ; and took the
moll eft'edlual and fenfible methods to ferve that un¬
happy houfe, as the following anecdote, if true, and it
has great appearance and probability on its fide, proves.
The duke of Marlborough, after the figning of the
treaty of Utrecht, was cenfured by the Britilh parlia¬
ment for fome of the army contfadls in relation to
bread and forage 5 upon which he retired into France:
and it was then credibly afferted, the duke of Marlbo¬
rough was brought over to the interell of the Stuart
family; for it is now pall a doubt, that Queen Anne had
a very ferious intention of having her brother upon the
throne of England after her death : and feveral circum-
llances, as well as the time of that duke’s landing in
England, make many people believe he was gained
over to the Stuart party. If the duke of Berwick was,
direflly or indirectly, the means of gaining his uncle
over to that interell, he more effedlually ferved it than
that ralh mock army of unhappy gentlemen who were
taken prifoners at Prellon in 1715 had it in their power
to do. In a word, the duke of Berwick wras, without
being a bigot, a moral and religious man ; and thawed
by his life and aClions, that morality and religion are
very compatible and confident with the life of a llatef-
man and a great general; and if they were oftener
united in thole two profeffions, it would be much hap¬
pier for the rell of mankind. He was killed by a can¬
non-ball at the fiege of Philipfburg in 1738.
Berwick, a county of Scotland; bounded by the
river Tweed, on the fouth *, by Eall Lothian, on the
north; by the German ocean, on the call; and on the
well by the counties of Roxburgh, Peebles and Mid-
Lothian. Its extent in length may be Hated at 34
miles, and its breadth 19. This county is nominally
divided into three dillridls, viz. Lauderdale, Lammer-
muir, and Merle or March. The firll is that opening
or valley in the Lammermuir hills, through which the
river Leader runs. Lammermuir comprehends the
ridge of hills which feparate this county from Ealt-
Lothian, extending from the head of Leader water to
the fea, below the town of Berwick. The Merfe or
March includes that fertile and populous plain, llretch-
ing from the hills, along the banks of the 7'weed.
Berwicklhire contains one royal borough, viz. Lauder;
and feveral large towns and villages, as Dunfe, Cold-
llream, Coldingham, Ayton, and Eyemouth. 7'he
chief rivers are the Tweed, the Leader, the Eye, the
B E R
and Blackadder. 7'he two roads to Lon¬
don pafs through the county. In the Merfe the Hate
of agriculture is excellent ; and, though i'o late as 60
years ago, the greater part was barren and uncultivated,
it is now moflly enclofed and improved. The county
of Berwick exports from the ports of Berwick and
Eyemouth, above 8o,ooq bolls of vidlual ; and the fame
quantity is annually carried to the weekly markets of
Edinburgh, Dalkeith, Haddington, and Dunbar.
There is plenty of marl in the county ; but the farmers
prefer lime as the moH profitable, though at the di-
Hance of 18 or 20 miles. The minerals in this dif-
tridl hitherto difcovered, are fewq and thefe are by no
means valuable. Coal has been found only in fmall
quantities near Eyemouth. There is plenty of free-
ilone fit for building, and both rock and {hell marl
are found in different places. Copper has been wrought
in the neighbourhood of Lauder ; and fome years ago,
a mine of the fame metal was difcovered in the parifii of
Bonkle. The pariffi ot Mordington contains iron-flone,
but of too fmall value to render it an objeft of manufac¬
ture. The rocks which compofe the Lammermuir hills,
are chiefly fchijlns, with alternate ffrata of fandffone. At
Eyemouth is a rock of the fpecies called puddingflone,
in the pieces of which it is not uncommon to find frag¬
ments of porphyry, granite, and even limeffone. Near
the Whittadder, in the parilh of Chirnfide, is a fpecies
of gypfum, which has been of great ufe as a manure.
The celebrated mineral well, called Dunfe Spa, which
is fomewhat fimilar to Tunbridge, is fituated about a
mile from the town of Dunfe. The rivers contain
trout, and lalmon ; of which laff a great quantity is
annually exported from Berwick to London. From
the fituation of this county, on the border of England,
it was neceflary that it ihould be ffrongly fortified ;
accordingly, there are numerous ffrong caflles and for¬
tified places in almoff every parilh in the county.
The following is the population of the county of Ber¬
wick according to the parilhes, taken at two periods,
from thfe StatiHical Hiffory of Scotland.
Eenvi
Parijh.
Abbey
Ayton
Runcle
Channelkirk
Chirnfide
Cockburnfpath
Coldingham
Cranfliaws
Dunfe
Earlffon
Eccles
Edrom
Eymouth
Fogo
Fouldean
Gordon
Greenlaw
Home
Hutton
20 Lacjykirk
Langton
Lauder
10
15
Population
in 17SS*
80
797
691
53*
383
9*9
23J3
214
2593
1 *97
1489
898
792
566
465
737
895
959
75*
386
290
*795
t E 2
Population in
1790—1798.
164
I245
622
600
961
883
2391
164
3324
*35*
1780
*336
1000
450
344
912
1210
10.00
920
590
435
2000
Lennel
B
Berwick-
upon-
Tweed
E R
Parijh.
Lennel
Litgertwood
25 Longformacus
Mertoun
Mordington
Nenthorn
Polwarth
30 Swinton
Wedruther
32 Whitforae
Population
in 17SS<
1493
398
399
5°2
181
497
251
494
59i
399
24946
Increafe,
Population in
1790—179S.
2521
422
452
557
335
4c o
288
898
730
590
30875
24946
5929
Berwick, North, a royal borough and fea-port in
the county of Ealt Lothian in Scotland. W. Long.
2. 29. N. Lat. 5. 56.
Us-RwicK-upon-Pweed, is a town on the border of
England and Scotland, and a county of itfelf. It Hands
on the north or the Scotilh fide of the river Tweed; and
is pleafantly fituated on an eafy declivity, almoft clofe to
the fea. It has a ditch on the north and call ; but on
the fouth and weft it has high walls, regularly fortified,
and planted with cannon, and to which the river ferves
as a moat. The houfes are generally well built; and
the town-houfe is a handfome ftrufture, with a lofty
turret, in which are eight bells, and a fine clock which
tells the quarters, with four dials, one on each fide the
fquare. The church is a neat building, but has no
bells. The bridge is 947 feet long, and is fupported
by fifteen arches. The barracks form a large regular
fquare, and will hold two regiments of foot very con¬
veniently. The town is governed by a mayor, recor¬
der, town-clerk, and four bailiffs ; and has a coroner,
a treafurer, four fcrjeants at mace, and a water bailiff.
It had a ftrong caftle, which now lies quite in ruins.
It has a market on Saturdays, extremely well fupplied;
and a fair on Friday in Trinity-week for black cattle
and horfes. Corn and eggs are {hipped from hence for
London apd other ports; but the principal trade is
the falmon which are caught in the Tweed, and rec¬
koned to be as good as any in the kingdom. Some are
fent alive, and fome pickled in kits by perfons who fub-
fift on that employment, and are called falmon coopers.
The living is a rettory, rated at 20I. a-year in the
king’s books. Though this town is not admitted to
be either in England or Scotland, the Englifh‘judges
hold aftizes here ; and it is fubjedl to the bifliop of
Durham. It fends two members to parliament. W.
Long. 1. 35. N. Lat. 55. 58.
EERY, or Bury, the villa or feat of habitation of a
nobleman, a dwelling or manfion houfe, being the chief
of a manor : from the S-axon keorg, which fignifies a
» hill or caJlle;$ox heretofore noblemen’s feats were caftles
fituated on hills, of which we have ftill fome remains •
as in Herefordfhire there are the beries of Stockton
Hope, &c. It was anciently taken for a fanfluary.
Bery. See Beria.
BERYL, in Natural Hi/lory, called by our lapida¬
ries aqua marina, is a pellucid gem of a bluifh green
colour, found in the Eaft Indies and about the gold
588 ] B e s
mines of Peru : we have alfo fome from Silefia, but
what are brought from thence are oftener coloured
cry Hals than real beryls ; and'when they are genuine,
they are greatly inferior both in hardnefs and luftre to
the oriental and Peruvian kinds.
The beryl, like moft other gems, is met with both in
the pebble and columnar form, but in the latter moft
frequently. In the pebble form it ufually appears of a
roundilh but flatted figure, and commonly full of fmall
flat faces, irregularly difpof'ed. . In the columnar or
cryftalline form it always confifts of hexangular co¬
lumns, terminated by hexangular pyramids. It never
receives any admixture of colour into it, nor lofes the
blue and green, but has its genuine tinge in the degrees
from a very deep and dufky to the paleft imaginable of
the hue of lea-water.
The beryl, in its perfeff ftate, approaches to the
hardnefs of the garnet, but is often fofter ; and its
fize is from that of a fmall tare to that of a pea, a
horfe-bean, or even a walnut. It may be imitated by
adding to 20 pounds of cryftal-glals made without
magnelia, fix ounces of calcined brafs' or copper, and
a quarter of an ounce of prepared zaffre.—The pro¬
perties of the beryl were very wonderful in the opinion
of the ancient naturalifts ; it kept people from falling
into ambufcades of enemies, excited courage in the
fearful, and cured difeafes of the eyes and ftomach. It
does none of thefe things now ; becaufe people are
not fimple enough to believe it has the virtue to do
them.
BERYL-cryJlal, in Natural Hi/lory, a fpecies of what
Dr Hill calls ellipornacrofyla, or imperfeft cryftals, is
of an extremely pure, clear, and equal texture, and
fcarce ever fubjeft to the flighteft films or blemifhes.
It is ever conftant to the peculiarity of its figure, which
is that of a long and {lender column, remarkably ta¬
pering towards the top, and very irregularly hexangu¬
lar. It is of a very fine tranfparence, and naturally of
a pale brown; and carries fuch evident marks of di-
ftinclion from all brown cryftals, that our lapidaries call
it, by way of eminence, the beryl cryjlal, or limply the
beryl.
BERYTUS, in Ancient Geography, a fea-port town
of Phoenicia on the Mediterranean, io ancient as to be
thought to have been built by Saturn. It was deftroy-
ed by Tryphon, but rebuilt by the Romans. Agrippa-
placed here two legions, whence it became a colony.
It enjoyed theyW Italicum, and had an excellent fchool
for the ftudy of the law in Juftinian’s time. Now Be-
root ; which fee.
BES, or Bessis, in Roman antiquity, two-thirds of
the as. See As.
Bes alfo denotes two-thirds of the jugerum. See
Jugerum.
BESAILE, fignifies the father of a grandfather.
Besaile, in Law, a writ that lies where the great¬
grandfather was feized in fee of any lands, Sec. at
the time of his death : and after his deceafe a ftran-
ger enters thereon, the fame day, and keeps out the-
heir.
BESANCON, a city of France, capital of the
Tranche Compte, now the department of Doubs. It
, is one of the moft ancient cities of Europe, was former¬
ly the fee of an archbifhop, and had a parliament as
well as a univerfity. It is feated on the river Dreux,
which
Beryl-
CryBal
Befancon.
, B E s [ 589 ] B E S
Befancon which divides It Into two parts, the greateft of which chandifes to fale. Each fort of merchants have their
BeiLn. 1S a Pe.n“lfu,la' Ihe ent.rance 15 by amountain, particular befiftan, which muft alfo be underftood of
on which they have built a large citadel, which com- the workmen, all thole of the fame trade working in
mands all the city.. 1 here are many names of places the fame place. ■ Thefe befiftans are commonly large
in and about the city, that are plainly corruptions of galleries, vaulted over, whofe gates are fhut every night,
the Latlrb and are^marks of its antiquity, as Chamars, Sometimes the wardens and keepers of the befiftans
Campus^ Martis ; Chamufe, Campus Mufarum; Chan- will anfwer for the merchandifes, on paying them a
dane, Campus Diana; ; &c. The metropolitan church very moderate perquifite for every Ihop. °
is built at the bottom of St. Stephen’s hill ; and is a BESLERIA. See Botany Index.
very handiome .ftruclure with a high tower fteeple. BESORCH, a coin of tin, or fome alloyed metal,
The great altar is placed in the middle choir, where on current at Ormus, at the rate of ^ parts of a farthing
high days they expofe reliques in filver fhrines, enrich- fterling.
ed with gold and jewels. There are feveral tombs BESOZZI, or Bezutius, Ambrogio, a painter
and otner things remarkable in the churches j and of confiderable eminence, was born at Milan in 1648.
after you have paft the church of Notre Dame,, and He worked fome time under Giofeffo Danedi, called
the fquare that it looks into, you come to a trium- Mont a hi: he afterwards went to Rome, where he ftu-
phal arch, ere£led in honour of the emperor Aurelian, died from the antiques and the piftures of the greateft
on which are leveral figures of men and animals, pretty mafters ; and at laft perfedted himfelf in the fchool of
entiie. It ferves as a gate to the cloifter of St John the Giro Ferri. His great excellency confifted in paintine
Great. . I he great hofpital of the order of the Holy architedfure, friezes, imitations of bafs-relieves, and
G.hoft is a ftrudture worth feeing. The ftreets are other decorations. He died at Milan in 1706, aged
•wide and handiome •, and the houfes are well built with 58 years. ’ &
free-ftone, and covered with date, chiefly about the BESSARABIA, a territory of Turkey in Europe,
fquare called Battan, which is adorned with a fountain, lying between Pvloldavia, the Danube, the Black fea,
the water of which proceeds from a ftatue of Bac- and Little Tartary. It is inhabited by independent
chus. The river Dreux is palled over on a ftone bridge, Tartars, who maintain themfelves by their cattle, huf-
to enter from one. part of Befancon into the other. bandry, and by robbery. Their religion, manners and
I he market-place is at the entrance ; and on the left is cuftoms, are the fame with thofe of the Crim Tartars,
another fquare, adorned with a fountain, where the When there are any forces fent againft them, they re-
gteat ftreet begins, which traverfes all this part, from tire among the mountains near the Black lea, where it
tie biidge to St.John the Great. The hew fquare is it impoflible to come at them on account of the mo-
not far from this ftreet, from whence you go to the rafles and defiles. ‘
town-houfe, which is a. large ftruaure with four wings, BESSARION, titular patriarch of Conftantinople
before the front of which, is the ftatue of Charles V. and archbilhop of Nice, and one of thofe illuftrious
in bronze, with a globe in one hand and a fword in perfons who contributed to the refurreftion of letters
the other. I he imperial eagle is railed over a large in the 15th century, was born at Trebifond. He was-
balon, and fpouts out water by both his beaks. The very zealous to reunite the Greek with the Latin
governor’s palace is the m.oft magnificent in the pro- church, and engaged the emperor John Paleologus to
\i.nce, and there is a fountain a little farther, adorned intereft himfelf in bringing, this great work about. He
with the figure of a naked woman, with water fpring- palled into Italy, appeared at the council of Florence
-gout at her nipples. E. Long. 6. 10. N. Lat. 47. 26. harangued the fathers, and made himfelf admired as
BES.ANT, or Bezant, a coin.of pure gold, of an well by his modefty as by his uncommon abilities. 'The
uncertain value, ftruck at Byzantium, in the time of Greek fchifmatics conceived fo mortal an averfion to
tie Chri.ftian emperors;, from hence the gold offered him, that he was obliged to remain in Italy; where
by the king at the altar is called befant or bifant. Pope Eugenius IV. honoured him with the purple in
ELSANFED, or Bez/vnte©. I his word means I439- He fixed his abode at Rome, and wmuld have
full of befants ; and is .ufed to denote a field, ordinary, been raifed to the Papal chair, if Cardinal Alain had
or charge, covered with above, eight befants; for if not oppofed it, as injurious to the Latin church, to
t. ere be but eight or fewer, their number muft be par- choofe a Greek however illuftrious. He was employ-
ticularly mentioned. . ed in feveral embaffies, but that to France proved fatal
BESELEEL and Ooliah, architefls, fculptors, to him. When legate at this court, he happened to
>nd painters, fuppofed to have made all the ornaments vifit the duke of Burgundy, before he law Louis XL
in brafs, filvei, &c. of the firft tabernacle in the wil- which fo difconcerted the capricious haughty monarch,
dernefs, 1490 B. C. . as to occafion him a very ungracious reception. Nay,
. JESTERS, or Beziers, an ancient town of France, the king even took the cardinal legate by his moft
in Lower Languedoc, now the department of Herault, magnificent beard, faying in his fine Latin, Barbara-
ormer y .a bilhop’s fee, and the title of a vifcount. It Grerca genus retlnent quod habere folebant: and this
has a delightful.fituation ; and the country in which it affront fo chagrined the cardinal, as to occafion hA
nanas is fertile in corn and oil, and produces excellent death at Ravenna upon his return in T472. This at
wine. It is feated on a hill near the river Orbe, in leaft is what Matthieu relates in his Hiltory of Louis-
* litre fo-t'a2xt ^a1:■ 43- 217 _ XL Beffarion loved the literati, and prote&ed them.
a j . or Berstein ; Thus at Conftantino- Argyropilus, Theodore of Gaza, Poggius, Laurentius
P e> nanople, and. in lome other towns within the Valla, &c. formed in his houfe a kind of academy His
Grand Signior’s dominions, they call thofe places where library was large and curious; and the fenate of Ve¬
in- merchants have their lhop.s, and expofe their mer« ice, to whom he gave it, preferve it to this day with-
attention *
Befleria
II '
Beffarion.
BET
Be flic a
II
Betel.
attention and regard. He left fome works, tvhich rank
among thofe that helped to revive letters ; as, Dcfenjio
^ DoRrirue Platonics, &c. Tranilations of fome Pieces
of Ariltotle, Orations, Epiftles, &c.
B ESSICA, in Ancient Geography, a dillrict of Thrace
towards Mount Haemus, to the iouth of the Plebrus. It
was inhabited by a fierce and barbarous people noted
for their robberies. Their chief city Ufcudama is now
known by the name of Adrianople. They lived under
their own kings till the confulate of M. Licinius Lu-
cullus and C. Callius Varus ; when the conful Lucullus
invaded their country, and having gained a great vic¬
tory over them, took their metropolis, and fubjedded
the whole nation to the Roman laws. The Romans,
notwithftanding they had fubdued them by force of
arms, ftill fulfered them to live under their own kings j
for Pifo, while he governed Macedon in quality of pro-
conful having treacheroully feized Rabocentus, whom
Suetonius calls prince of the BcJJi, caufed him to be
publicly beheaded. This affront fo exafperated the
whole nation that they revolted ; but were overthrown
in a great battle by Oidavius the father of Auguftus.
During the civil wars of Rome they attempted anew
to recover their liberty, but were again defeated by the
famous M. Brutus. In the reign of Auguftus one Vo-
logefus, a native of the country, and prieft of Bacchus,
having, under pretence of religion, drawn together
great crowds of people, made himfelf mafter of the
whole country ; and, entering the Cherfonefus, com¬
mitted there the moft dreadful ravages. He wras at
laft, however, overcome by L. Pifo 5 who obliged the
lavage inhabitants to lay down their arms, and fubmit
to fuch conditions as he was pleafed to impofe upon
them. From this time the Befii continued fubjeft to
the Romans without attempting any more to regain
their liberty.
BESSIS. See Bes.
BESTAIL, or Bestial, in ancient ftatutes, all
kinds of beafts or cattle, efpecially thofe purveyed for
the king’s provifion.
BES 1 IARII, in Roman Antiquity, fuch as fought
againft beafts, or thofe who were expofed to them by
fentence of the law. There were four kinds of befti-
arii : the firft were thofe who made a trade of it, and
fought for money •, the fecond were fuch young men as,
to ftiow their ftrength and dexterity in managing their
arms, fought againft beafts; the third kind was, where
feveral beftiarii were let loofe at once, well armed,
againft a number of beafts; and the fourth kind were
thofe condemned to the beafts, confifting either of ene¬
mies taken prifoners in war, or as being flaves, and
guilty of fome enormous crime 5 thofe were all expofed
naked, and without defence.
BES I RICIA, a town of Tranfylvania, remarkable
for the gold mines in its neighbourhood. E. Long.
22. 5. N. Lat. 48. o.
BETA, the Beet. See Botany and Agricul¬
ture Index.
BETANZOS, a town of Galicia in Spain, feated
on the Mandeo, and a bay of the fea, in W. Long. 7.
50. N. Lat. 43. 21.
BE 1 EL, or Betle, in Botany, an Indian plant
(a fpecies of Piper), of great ufe and efteem in the
eaft, where it makes a confiderable article of commerce.
See Piper,
[ 1
BET
Bethel.
^ BETELFAGUI, atownof Afia, in Arabia Felix, Betelfagui
famous for the vaft quantity of coft'ee bought and fold
there ; being the mart where the country people bring
their coffee to iell 5 and where the Europeans come, or
fend their factors or brokers, to purchafe it. E. Long.
57. 20. N. Lat. 15. 40.
BETHABARA, in Ancient Geography, a term de¬
noting a pajfage; and therefore by many referred to
the paffage at Jericho, where the Ifraeiites paffed over
dry-ftiod j by Lightfoot, to the paffage at Scythopolis:
but Cellarius refers it to the midway between both ;
becaufe there were doubtlefs feveral middle paffages
or fords on the Jordan. Here John is faid to have
baptized on the other fide Jordan, (Evangelifts).
BETHAGLO, or Beth-hagla, in Ancient Geo¬
graphy, a town of the tribe of Benjamin (Jofhua xviii.
21.). In Jerome’s time there wTas a village called
Agla, ten miles from Eleutheropolis, towards Gaza, and
fuppofed to be Bethagla.
BETHANY, in Ancient Geography, a village at
the foot of Mount Olivet, on the fide, about two miles
to the eaft of Jerufalem, (John, Jerome); where La¬
zarus dwrelt and was raifed from the dead ; and w here
happened the afeenfion of our Saviour.
BETH ARAM PHTH A, in Ancient Geography, a
towm of Galilee, (Ptolemy) ; of the Peraea, (Jofephus);
wdiich being walled round by Herod Antipas,- was call¬
ed Julias, after Julia, the daughter of Auguftus, and
confort of Tiberius : it flood to the north of the lake
of Genefareth, at the influx of the Jordan into that
lake ; and here Dr Wells places Bethfaida.
BETHAR AN, in Ancient Geography, a town of the
Peraea, or on the other fide Jordan. Said to be call¬
ed Livias, or Libias, in the Greek manner, by Herod
in honour of Livia, (Eufebius, Jerome) ; and of the
fame latitude almoft with Jerulalem, (Ptolemy) ; call¬
ed Julias by Jofephus, who always calls the Livia of
Auguftus Ha. '
BETH A YEN, in Ancient Geography, a town in
the tribe of Ephraim, and a name given Bethel by
Hofea, after the eftablifhment of the idolatry of Je¬
roboam there ; meaning it to have become the houfe
of iniquity, from being the houfe of God : but Betha-
ven was a diftinft town (Joftiua vii. 2.) to the fouth-
eaft of Bethel.
BETHEL, in Ancient Geography, a city of Samaria,
on the borders of the tribe of Benjamin, anciently cal¬
led Luz, (Mofes) ; but they feem to be diftinguilhed,
( Jolhuaxvi. 2.) They were, however, contiguous places*
Bethel wTas properly the place of Jacob’s vifion ; and
Luz, or Lus, an adjoining town, afterwards called
Bethel, the former name being loft in that of Bethel.
It was twelve miles to the north-eaft of Jerufalem,
(Jerome) ; and called Bethaven (Hofea).
BETHESDA, (called in the Greek,
and thence in the Vulgate, Pifsina Probati¬
on, becaufe, according to fome, the fheep were walked
in it, which were appointed for facrifices), w’as the
Hebrew name for a pool or public bath, which had
five porticos, piazzas, or covered walks around it.
This bath, for its fingular ufefulnefs, was called Beth-
efda, mon rvo, or Beth Chefda, or the houfe of Mercy, be¬
caufe, as Pool, in his Annotations, obferves the creel¬
ing of baths was an a£l of great kindnefs to the com¬
mon people, whofe indifpofitions in hot countries re¬
quired
GET
jjetlileGem. quired frequent bathing. However,      
k" tlie word Bethefda to be mtrxri'D, or the Jinh-houfe, or
drain, becaufe the waters which came from the temple,
and the place where the viftims were waftied, flowed
thither. From the Greek word KoXvpZnSgx being ufed
by Jofephus (^Antiq. xv. 3.) to denote the baths at Je¬
richo, Mr Macknight, in his Harmony of the Gcf-
pels, concludes that their opinion feems to be without
a proper foundation who affirm, that this pool ferved
for waffiing the fheep defigned for facrifice before they
were driven into the temple, and for waffiing the en¬
trails of the beads facrificed there : befides, he thinks
it inconfident with the fituation of Bethefda, near the
Jheef) gate (or market as our Engliffi tranflators have
rendered the Greek ct; though
fome copies have it, Ev r>i, &c.) in the fouth-ead wall
of the city ; or, according to the compilers of the U-
niverfal Hidory, in that which was on the north-ead,
a great way from the temple. However this may be,
we are told (John v. 2, 3, &c.) that in the porticoes of
this bath, at the time of a certain fead (which is ge¬
nerally fuppofed to have been the paffover), there lay a
multitude of impotent folk, fuch as the blind, halt, and
tvithered, waiting for the moving of the water : for an
angel went down at a certain* feafon into the pool, and
troubled the water 5 that is, moved it in a fenfible man¬
ner. Whofoever then fird, after the troubling of the
water, depped into it, was made whole of whatever
difeafe he had. Some writers confine the miracle of
the pool of Bethefda to the feafon of this particular
fead mentioned in verfe 1. of this chapter, becaufe they
underdand xttrz kxi^ov, by times (verfe 4.), which our
tranilators render, a certain feafon, meant at that fea¬
fon ; that is, the feafon mentioned verfe i.j and fince
the evangelid does not fay that the waters of Bethefda
had their fanative quality at any other fead, we are at
liberty to make what fuppofition feems mod convenient.
Perhaps the filence of Philo and Jofephus upon this
miracle may induce fome to think that it happened
only at one padbver *, for though many infirm people
lay in Bethefda, if the angel, as is probable, defcended
frequently during that folemnity, the miracle would be
no fooner known, than multitudes would come and wait
at the pool to be cured by the moving of the waters :
however, if the number of the fick who gathered on
this occafion, and the phrafe r,zrx xxi^oy, ftiall incline
any perfon to believe that the waters of Bethefda had
an healing quality at other paffovers alfo, Dr Mac-
night obferves, that the filence of the writers before
mentioned needs not be much regarded ; it being well
known that they have omitted greater tranfaftions
which they had an opportunity to know, viz. that mul¬
titude and variety of miracles which our Lord per¬
formed in the courfe of his minidry. That the waters
of Bethefda ffiould at this time have obtained a mira¬
culous healing quality was, without doubt, as that wri¬
ter remarks, in honour of the perfonal appearance of
the fon of God on earth. Perhaps it was intended to
ffiow that Ezekiel’s (xlvii.) vifion of waters ifiuing out
of the fan&uary was about to be fulfilled, of which
waters it is faid, (ib. verfe. 9.) “ They fhall be healed,
and every thing ffiall live whither the river cometh.”
But it mud be obferved, that the fourth verfe of this
chapter of St John is not in the Cambridge MSS.
which formerly was Beza’s, nor in one or two more
[ 59' 1 bet
fome will have of great authority. See Dr Mill’s judgment of it in Bethlehem.
that part of his Prolegomena to which he refers the —v-—-^
reader in his note on the text. But though it diould
be reje&ed, the difficulty for which fome would have
it cancelled, Dr Macknight obferve's, remains dill: be¬
caufe the feventh verfe implies that cures were per¬
formed in this pool, and that only one at a time was
cured, and confequently that thefe cures wTere miracu¬
lous. If fo, it is as eafy to conceive that an angel
moved the water, and gave it its healing quality, as to
fancy thofe cures were performed miraculoully any 0-
ther way. Grotius thinks, that the angel is faid to
have defcended, not becaufe he was ever feen to do fo,
but becaufe the Jews were perfuaded that God brought
fuch things to pafs by the minidration of angels 5 fo
that from that violent motion of the water, and the cure
following it, the prefence of an angel was with reafen
fuppofed. Dr Hammond fuppofes, that the waters
became medicinal by being impregnated with a healing
warmth from the blood and entrails of the facrificed
beads that were waffied there ; and that the ns/fsAoj,
nngel, or meffenger, in the text is not to be underdood of
thofe celedial beings that are ufually didinguidied by
that name, but only of a common meflenger, viz. an
officer or fervant of the pried, who at a pioper feafon
was fent by him to dir the pool.
BETHLEHEM, a town of Paledine, famous for
the birth of Jefus Chrid. It was once a flouriffiing
town, but is now only a poor village. It is fituated
two leagues fouth ead of Jerufalem, on an eminence,
in a country full of hills and valleys, and might be ren¬
dered very agreeable. The foil is the bed in all thofe
diftri&s: fruits, vines, olives, and fefamum fucceed
here extremely well; but cultivation is wanting. They
reckon about 600 men in this village capable of bear¬
ing arms upon occafion ; and this often occurs, fome-
times to refid the pacha, fometimes to make war with
the adjoining villages, and fometimes in confequence
of intedine diffenfions. Of thefe 600 men, about 100
are Latin Chridians, who have a vicar dependent on,
the great convent of Jerufalem. Formerly their whole
trade confided in the manufafture of beads; but the
reverend fathers not being able to. find a fale for all
they could furniffi, they have refumed the cultivation
of their lands. They make a white wine, which juf-
tifies the former celebrity of the wines of Judea, but
it has' the bad property of being very heady. The
neceffity of uniting for their common defence prevails
over their religious differences, and makes the Chridians
live here in tolerable harmony with the Mahometans,
their fellow-citizens. Both are of the party Tamani,
which, in oppofition to that called, Kaifi, divides all
Paledine into two factions, perpetually at variance.
The courage of thefe peafants, which has been fre¬
quently tried, has rendered them formidable through
all that country. Here is a church built by St He¬
lena, in the form of a crofs, which is very large ; and
from its top may be feen all the country round aibout,
I he roof is lofty, fiat, and compofed of cedar on the
infide, and leaded without. Both fides of the nave
are fupported by twTo row-s of marble pillars, each made
of one piece, and eleven in a rowr, infomuch that they
make as it were five naves, feparated from each other
by thefe row's of pillars, in each of which is the pic¬
ture of fome faint.
On the wall over the pillars there
m
BET
"Bethlehem is a very beautiful mofaic work, on a gold ground.
[ S92 1
BET
II
JBethoron.
I he walls were formerly overlaid with fine marble,
but the Turks have taken it to adorn their mofques.
The three upper ends of the crofs terminate in three
femicircles, having in each an altar. Over the chan¬
cel there is a {lately cupola, covered with lead on the
outfide, and within adorned with mofaic work. Clofe
to the church is the monaftery of the Francifcans ;
•which is large, but indifferently built. The gardens
are defended with ilrong walls, and at the north-well
of them Hands a tower now almoft in ruins. Their
.chapel is better taken care of. Through this there is
a palfage to a fquare cave, where they fay the Inno¬
cents were buried. Beyond this there are palfages to
the tombs of St Jerome, St Paula, Euftochium, and
Eufebius of Cremona. Beyond thefe there is a grot
or cell, which they fay was the lodging place of St
Jerome when he tranfiated the Bible. Another en¬
trance leads to a vault or chapel, i 2 feet wide and 40
long, whofe floor is paved, and fldes lined with white
marble, and the roof is adorned with mofaic work,
now much decayed. At the end of this there is an
arched concavity, with an altar, over which is a pic¬
ture of the nativity, and under it a vault, the middle of
which is a liar made with flones of various colours, to
mark the place where they fay our Saviour was bornj
and near this is the manger where they pretend he was
laid ; it is hewn out of a rock, and is now flagged with
white marble.
Bethlehem, a town of the Netherlands, in the
province of Brabant, fubje£l to the houfe of Aullria.
E. Long. 4. 40. N. Lat. 51. 2.
BET HLEHEMITES, or Bethlemites, in
Church Hijiory, a fort of monks introduced into Eng¬
land in the year 1257, habited like the Dominicans,
except that, on their breall, they wore a liar with five
rays, in memory of the liar or comet which appeared
over Bethlehem at the nativity of our Saviour. They
were celled at Cambridge, and had only one houfe in
.England.
There is alfo an order of Bethlehemites Hill fubfifting
in Pera, who have convents at Lima ■, one called of the
Incurables, thfe other of our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Thefe Bethlehemites came originally from the city of
Guatimala in Mexico, where they were inflituted by
the venerable Peter Jofeph of Betaneur, for the fervice
of the poor. Innocent XL in 1687, approved the in-
ftitute. They have already nine convents in Peru.
The Bethlehemites, though outwardly of great fimr
plicity, pafs for the moll refined politicians; infomuch
as to be called the quinteflence of the Carmelites and
Jefuits. They are all friars. For their almoner they
choofe a fecular prieft, whom they hire, and who has
no vote in the chapter.
BETHORON, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Samaria ; Upper and Nether, and both in the tribe of
Ephraim, built by Shera grand-daughter of Ephraim,
1 Chron. viii. 24. both which were rellored by Solomon,
after falling to decay, 1 Kings ix. 17. and 2 Chron. viii.
5. Their diftance was almoft the whole breadth of the
tribe of Ephraim, the Upper being in the north, the
Nether in the fouth, of that tribe, jolhua xvi. We
know more of the Nether than of the Upper : it was
iituated on a mountain, and therefore Jofephus and Je¬
rome mention going up or afeending j and it Hood on
2
the public road to Lydda and Ctefarea, diftant an hun- Eeth-Peor
dred ftadia, or twelve miles, from Jerufalem : and on II
account of this vicinity, fome allot it to the tribe of, l-ae.
Benjamin. '
BE IH-PEOR, in Ancient Geography, a town of
the Reuoenites, on the other fide Jordan, at Mount
hogor, over againft Jericho, fix miles above Livias.
It had a temple facred to the idol Baal-Peor, Num¬
bers xXv. 3. called Beel-Phegor by the Vulgate, in¬
terpreted Priapus by Jerome.
BEIHPHAGE, in Ancient Geography, a place at
the weft, defeent or declivity of Mount Olivet, Mat¬
thew xxi. 1. From which it may be gathered, that
the whole of that declivity, w-ith a part of the vallev,
and the extreme fkirts of the city, went under the
common name of Bethphage.
BETHSAIDA. See Betharamfhtha.
BET HSAN, or Bethsean, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy, a town of Samaria, in the half tribe of Manafleh,
on the borders of Galilee, about half a league from
Jordan, on this fide, having half of its territory in the
Peraea : it was afterwards called Scythopolis : it was
dillant from Tiberias, fituated on the lake Genefareth,
i ^.o ftadia, or 15 miles, to the fouth } and from Jeru¬
falem. to the north, 600 ftadia, or 75 miles. As to
the origin of the appellation Scythopolis, there fcarce
appears any thing in hiftory that has a relation to it,
but the irruption of the Scytfnans in the time of the
Medes, when they overran all Afia. It was the great-
eft city of all the Decapolis, (Jofephus.) It is called
Baefon by Stephanus.
BEPHUNE, Maximilian de, duke of Sully,
grand mailer of the artillery, and marfhal of Fiance,
fovereign prince of Enrichemont and Bois-Bell, mar¬
quis of Rofny, and one of the ableft and moll upright
minifters France ever had, was defeended from an il-
luftrious houfe, and was born in 1560. He entered very
young into the fervice of Henry of Bourbon then king
of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV. of France, who w'as
only feven years older than Sully. He wras bred in
the reformed religion, and continued in the profeflion
of it to the end of his life, though from political mo¬
tives he advifed his mailer to abjure it, as the only me¬
thod of putting an end to the mifexies of France. Af¬
ter Henry had gained pofleflion of the kingdom, Sully
performed all the duties of a great and good minifter,
while his mailer exercifed all the offices of a great and
good king. Fie had been at the battles of Coutras,
Arques, and Ivry} at the fieges of Paris, Noyon,
Rouen, and Laon 5 and fignalized himfelf on every
important occafipn. In 1597 he w'asmade chief over-
feer of the highways of France ; and the following
year was railed to the poll of fuperintendant of the fi¬
nances. Though he w?as then but 40 years of age,
and had hitherto fignalized himfelf only in the army,
he put the king’s finances in fuch order, that he paid his
debts, which amounted to twro hundred millions of li-
vres, and laid up great fums in the king’s treafury. In
1601 he was made grand-mafter of the artillery, the
next year governor of the Baftile, and afterwards fu¬
perintendant of the fortifications. He was then fent
into England as ambaffador extraordinary 5 and had,
at his return, the government of Poi£lou. At laft
Henry IV. in 1606, ere£led in his favour the territory
of Sully on the Loire into a duchy and peerage, and
made
B E T • [593
Betlmne made him grand-mafter of the ports and havens. Af-
BeJLa te/ the mUrder of that great Prince 1610, the duke
of Sully,_ who had ferved him with the greateft zeal
and fidelity, was obliged to retire to one of his houfes,
where he enjoyed a private life ; but in 1634 he was
made marflval of h ranee, upon which he refigned the
poll: of grand-mafter of the artillery. He died in his
caftle of Villebon on the 21ft of December 1641, at
82 years of age. His Memoirs are ranked among the
bell books of French hiftory : they contain a moft par¬
ticular account of whatever pafled from the peace of
1570 to the death of Henry IV. in 1610: and ac-
quiie additional value from the many curious perfonal
anecdotes preferved in them. They were tranflated
into Englilh by Mrs Lennox in 1757.
BethunE, a town of France, in the department of
the Straits of Calais, containing upwards of 5000 in¬
habitants. There is an entrance into this city through
four gates, and it is furrounded with walls and fortified.
I he city and the caftle taken together are of a trian¬
gular figure, but the caftle itfelf is a very irregular
building. The houfes are very indifferent, and the
ftreets ill paved 5 however, there is a large handfome
fquare, and feveral churches. In the marlhy lands
near the city there are feveral canals cut for the con-
v eniency of wdiitening linen. It is feated on a rock by
the river Belfe. E. Long. 2. 48. N. Lat. 50. 32.
BETIS, governor of Gaza under Darius, famous
for his valour and loyalty. He defended a place of con-
fequence with a few men againft Alexander, who was
there ftiot through the fhoulder. Betis thinking him
flam, returned triumphantly to the city ; but in a fe-
cond affault he was wounded and brought to Alexan¬
der, who cruelly ordered him to be put to death.
BEFLEY, a towm of Staffordlhire in England.
It is feated on the confines of the county, next to
Chefture, in a barren fandy foil. W. Loup-. 2 1 c
N. Lat. 53. o.
. BETLIS, a ftrong town of Armenia or Turcoma-
nia belonging to a bey or prince of the country, who
is very powerful, and is fubjeft to neither the grand
figmor nor king of PeiTia. It lies on the road from
I auris to Aleppo, and the prince can flop caravans
w henever he pleafes j for the paflage between the
mountains is fo narrow, that ten men can defend it
againft 1000. The towm is feated between two moun¬
tains about a cannon-fliot from each other, and the
caftle is on an eminence exa&ly in the middle. This
eminence is in the ftiape of a fugar-loaf; and is fo fteep
on ail fides, that it is impoffible to get up but by wind¬
ing round about it. rl he people in and about the
town are fliepherds, but are ready to take up arms at
the command of their prince. E. Long. 42. 40. N.
Lat. 37. 20.
BETON, a name given by the French engineers to
a. kind of mortar, which they ufe in raifing the founda¬
tions of mafonry under water. It confifts of twelve
parts of pozzolana or Dutch tarrafs, fix of good fand,
nine of unfiaked lime, thirteen of ftone fplinters about
the fize of an egg, and three of tile-duft or cinders,
or feales of iron out of a forge ; this being wmll work¬
ed together, is left to Hand for about 24 hours, or till
it becomes lo hard as not to be feparated wdthout a
pick-axe.
BETONICA, Betonv. See Botany
Vol. III. Part II.
] ' BET
Betoxica Aquatica. See Scrophularia, BoTA' Eetcnfca
N Y Index. Aquatica
Betonica Bauh. See Veronica, Botany Index, r,
BETONY. See Betonica, Botan-y Index. . '' ■
BE I ROTHMENT, a mutual promife or compaft
between two parties for a future marriage. The word
imports as much as giving one’s troth ; that is, true
faith, or promife. Betrothment amounts to the fame
wdth what is called by civilians and canonifts fponfalia,
or “ efpoufals ; fometimes defponfation, and by the
French fwncailles.
BETTER] ON, Thomas, the celebrated aftor,
was the fon of Mr Betterton, under-cook to King
Charles I. and was born in T othil-ftreet Weftmmfter
in the year 1635. Having received the firft rudiments
of a genteel education, his fondnefs for reading indu¬
ced him to requeft of his parents that they would bind
him an apprentice to a bookfeller, which w^as readily
complied with, fixing on one Mr Rhodes near Cha-
ring-crofs for his mailer. This gentleman, who had
been wardrobe-keeper to the theatre in Blackfriars be¬
fore the troubles, obtained a licenfe in 1659, from the
powders then in being, to fet up a company of players
in the Cock-pit in Drury-Lane, in which company
Mr Betterton entered himfelf, and, though not much
above 20 years of age, immediately gave proof of the
moft capital genius and merit.
Soon after the reftoration, twm diftinfl theatres
w^ere eftablilhed by royal authority ; the one in Drury-
Lane in confequence of a patent granted to Henry
Killigrew, Efq. which was called the King's Compajiy:
the other in Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields, who ftyled them-
felves the Duke of York's Servants, the patentee of
wrhich was the ingenious Sir William Davenant: wdrich
laft mentioned gentleman having long had a clofe inti¬
macy with and w^arm friendfliip for Mr Rhodes, enga¬
ged Mr Betterton, and all who had aded under Mr
Rhodes, into his company j which opened in 1662
with a new play of Sir William’s, in two parts, called
the Siege of Rhodes. In this piece, as well as in the
fubfequent chara&ers which Mr Betterton performed,
he increafed his reputation and efteem with the public)
and indeed became fo much in favour with King
Chailes II. that by his majefty’s fpecial command he
went over to Paris to take a view of the French ftage,
that he might the better judge what wmuld contribute
to the improvement of our own ; and it was upon this
occafion, as is generally fuppofed, that moving feenes
were firft introduced upon the Englilh theatre, which
before had been only hung with tapeftry.
In the year 1670 he married one Mrs Sanderfon, a
female performer on the fame ftage 5 who, both as an
a£trefs and a woman, was every thing that human per-
feftion was capable of arriving at, and with whom he.
through the whole courfe of his remaining life poffeffed
every degree of happinefs that a perfefl union of hearts
can bellow.
When the duke’s company removed to Dorfet-Gar-
dens, he Hill continued with them j and on the coali¬
tion of the two companies in 1684, he acceded to the
treaty,, and remained among them j Mrs Betterton
maintaining the fame foremoft figure among the wo¬
men that her hufband fupported among the male per¬
formers. And fo great was the eftimation that they
were both held in, that in the year 1675, when a pa-
4 F floral
BET [ 594 1 B E V
Bettertor. ft oral called Califlo, or the Chajle Nymph, written by
' v Mr Crown at the deftre of Queen Catharine eonfort to
Charles II. was to be performed at court by perfons
of the greateix diftinflion, our Englifh Rofcius was em¬
ployed to inftrudft the gentlemen, and Mrs Betterton
honoured with the tutorage of the ladies, among whom
were the two princeffes Mary and Anne, daughters of
the duke of York, both of whom fucceeded to the
crown of thefe realms. In grateful remembrance of
which, the latter of them, when queen, fettled a pen-
fton of tool, per annum on her old inftrudhefs.
In 1693, Mr Betterton having founded the inclina¬
tions of a leleft number of the a dors -whom he found
ready to join with him, obtained, through the influ¬
ence of the earl of Dorfet, the royal licenfe for act¬
ing in a feparate theatre *, and wras very foon enabled,
by the voluntary fubfcriptions of many perfons of qua¬
lity, to ereft a new playhoufe w’ithin the wTalls of the
Tennis-Court in Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields. To this ftep
Mr Betterton is faid to have been induced, partly by
ill treatment from the managers, and partly with a view
to repair, by the more enlarged profits of a manager,
the lofs of his w'hole fortune (upwards of 2000I.),
which he had undergone in the year 1692, by adven¬
turing it in a commercial fcheme to the Eaft Indies.
Be this, however, as it will, the new theatre opened in
1695 with Mr Congreve’s Love for Love, the fuccefs
of which was amazingly great. Yet in a few years it
appeared that the profits arifing from this theatre, op-
pofed as it was by all the ftrength of Cibber’s and Van¬
brugh’s writings at the other houfe, wrere very infigni-
ficant •, and Mr Betterton grownng now into the infir¬
mities of age, and labouring under violent attacks of
the gout, he gladly quitted at once the fatigues of ma¬
nagement and the hurry of the ftage.
The public, however, who retained a grateful fenfe
of the pleafure they had frequently received from this
theatrical veteran, and fenfible of the narrownefs of his
circumftances, refolved to continue the marks of their
efteem to him by giving him a benefit. On the 7th
of April 1709 the comedy of Love for Love was per¬
formed for this purpofe, in which this gentleman him-
felf, though then upwards of 70 years of age, ailed
the youthful part of Valentine j as in the September
following he did that of Hamlet, his performance of
which the author of the Tatler has taken a particular
notice of. On the former occafion, thofe very eminent
performers, Mrs Barry, Mrs Bracegirdle, and Mr Dog-
get, who had all quitted the ftage fome years before,
in gratitude to one whom they had had fo many obli¬
gations to, ailed the parts of Angelica, Mrs Frail, and
Ben ; and Mr Rowre wrote an epilogue for that night,
which was fpoken by the two ladies, fupporting be¬
tween them this once powerful fupporter of the Englifli
ftage. The profits of this night are faid to have a-
mounted to upwards of 500I. the prices having been
railed to the fame that the operas and oratorios are at
prefent} and wdien the curtain drew up, almoft as large
an audience appearing behind as before it.
The next winter Mr Betterton was prevailed on by
Mr Owen M‘Swinney, then manager of the opera-
houfe in the Hay-market (at which plays were ailed
four times a-week) to continue performing, though but
feldom. In confequence of which, in the enfuing
fpring, viz. on the 25th of April 1710, another play
was given out ror this gentleman’s benefit, viz. The Beitertca
Maid's Tragedy of Beaumont and Fletcher, in which II
he himfelf performed his celebrated part of Melanthus. Bevelling.
This, however, was the laft time of his appearing up- ' “
on the ftage. For having been fuddenly feized with
the gout, and being impatient at the thoughts of difap-
pointing his friends, he made ufe of outward applica¬
tions to reduce the fwellings of his feet, w hich enabled
him to walk on the ftage, though obliged to have his
foot in a flipper. But although he afled that day with
unufual fpirit and brifknefs, and met with univerfal ap-
plaufe, yet he paid very dear for this tribute he had
paid to the public j for the fomentations he had made
ufe of occalioning a revulfion of the gouty humour to
the nobler parts, threw the diftemper up into his head,
and terminated his life on the 28th of that month.
On the 2d of May his body w'as interred with much
ceremony in the cloifter of Weftminftdr, and great
honour paid to his memory by his friend the Tatler,
who has related in a very pathetic, and at the fame
time the moft dignified manner, the procefs of the ce¬
remonial. As an author, Mr Betterton had a confi-
derable degree of merit. His dramatic works are,
1. Amorous Widow, a comedy. 2. Dioclefian, a dra¬
matic opera. 3. Mafque in the Opera of the Pro-
phetefs. 4. Revenge, a comedy. 5. Unjuft Judge, a
tragedy. 6. Woman made a juftice, a comedy. As
an aftor, he wTas certainly one of the greateft of either
his own or any other age ; but thofe who are defirous
of having him painted out in the moft lively colours
to their imagination, vre muft refer to the defcription
given of him by his cotemporary and friend Colley
Cibber, in the Apology for his own life.
BETUE, orBETAW, a territory of the Low7 Coun¬
tries in the duchy of Guelderland, between the rivers
Rhine and Leek. The ground is very moift, and the
rains often render the roads impaffable. It is divided
into the Upper and Low'er.
BETULA, the Birch-tree. See Botany In¬
dex.
BETULEIUS, Sixtus, an able grammarian, a
good Latin poet and philofopher, born at Memmin-
gen in the year 1500 } his true name was Bird. He
taught the belles lettres and philofophy w'ith reputa¬
tion j and became principal of the college of Augf-
burg, where he died on the 16th of June 1554. He
publifhed feveral works in profe *, and his dramatic
pieces of Jofeph, Sufannah, and Judith, are efteemed.
BEVECUM, a town of the Auftrian Netherlands,
in the province of Brabant. E. Long. 4. 50. N. Lat.
5°-45-
BEVEL, among mafons, carpenters, &c. a kind
of fquare, one leg wThereof is frequently crooked, ac¬
cording to the fweep of an arch or vault. It is move-
able on a centre, and fo may be fet to any angle.
BEVRL-Angle, any other angle belides thofe of 90 or
45 degrees.
BEVEL AND, North and South, twoiflandsin
the province of Zealand, between the eaftern and weft-
ern branches of the river Scheldt, making part of the
United Provinces.
BEVELLING, in fhip-building, the art of hew¬
ing a timberwith a proper and regular curve, accord¬
ing to a mould which is laid on one fide of its furface.
“ In order to hew' any piece of timber to its proper
bevel,
B E V
[ S9S ]
B E V
Beverage bevel, It will be neceffary, firft, to make one fide fair
)l and out of winding; a term ufed to fignify that the
Beverlancl. 0£ a tJmljer Q^ould be a plane. If this fide be Up-
v permoft, and placed horizontally, or upon a level, it
is plain, if the timber is to be hewed fquare, it may be
done by a plummet and line ; but if the timber is not
hewed fquare, the line will not touch both the upper
and lower edge of the piece *, or if a fquare be applied
to it, there will be wood wanting either at the upper
or lower fide. This is called within or without a fquare.
When the wood is deficient at the under fide, it is call¬
ed under-levelling ; and when it is deficient on the up¬
per fide, it is called fan ding-lev el ling : and this defi¬
ciency will be more or lefs according to the depth of
the piece; fo that, before the proper bevellings of the
timbers are found, it will be fometimes very convenient
to affign the breadth of the timbers ; nay, in moft cafes
it will be abfolutely neceflary, efpecially afore and a-
baft: though the breadth of two timbers, or the timber
and room, which includes the twTo timbers and the
fpace between them, may be taken without any fenfible
error, as far as the fquare body goes. For as one line
reprefents the moulding fide of two timbers, the fore-
fide of the one being fuppofed to unite with the aft-
fide of the other \ the two may be confidered as one
entire piece of timber.” Murray's Ship-building.
BEVERAGE, in a general fenfe, fignifies & drink :
hence nectar is faid to be the beverage of the gods. In
writers of the middle age, beverage, beveragium, or bi-
beragium, denotes money given to an artificer, or other
perfon, to drink, over and above his hire or wages.
BEVERIDGE, William, a learned Englllh bi-
Ihop, in the beginning of the 18th century, was born
in the year 1638, and educated in St John’s college
Cambridge, where he diftinguilhed himfelf very early
by his extenfive learning, and particularly by his know¬
ledge of the oriental languages. Upon the depriva¬
tion of Dr Thomas Ken, bifiiop of Bath and Wells,
for not taking the oaths to the government in 1691,
he refufed the offer of that fee, though he was their
chaplain to King William and Queen Mary. In 1704
he was confecrated to the bifhopric of St Afaph 5 in
which high fun&ion he fo behaved himfelf all along,
and difeharged it in fo exemplary a manner, that he
approved himfelf a truly primitive prelate. He died
at his lodgings in the Cloifters in Weflminfter-abbey
in 1707, aged 69. As his whole life was fpent in adls
of piety and charity, fo he gave remarkable inftances
of both at his death, leaving the bulk of his eftate for
the propagation of the gofpel, and promoting of Chri-
ffian knowledge, at home as well as abroad. His Pri¬
vate Thoughts upon a Chriftian Life is a very popu¬
lar, though in many points a very exceptionable, book.
He wrote feveral other works on various fubjedls, par¬
ticularly on the oriental tongues.
BEVERLAND, Hadrian, a man of excellent ge¬
nius in the end of the 17th century, but who proftitu-
ted it in the Rudy and compofition of books of a very
obnoxious kind. He was a perfeft mafler of Ovid,
Catullus, Petronius, and authors of that Ramp. He
is famous for his book on Original Sin, in which he
maintained, that Adam’s fin confiRed in his commerce
with his wife, and that original fin is nothing elfe
but the inclination of the fexes to each other : it was
condemned to be burnt. He led a fcandclous life, but
feems to have repented of his wicked manners and lewd
writings ; for he publifhed a treatife in the end of his
life, De Fornicatione Cavenda, in 1698. It is faid he
died mad.
BEVERLEY, a town of Yorkfhire, governed by
a mayor, a recorder, 1 2 aldermen, &c. and fends two
members to parliament. The minRer here is a very
fair and neat ffru&ure, and the roof is an arch ot
Rone. In it are feveral monuments of the Percies, earls
of Northumberland, who had added a little chapel to
the choir, in the windows whereof there are feveral
pictures of that family painted on glafs. At the upper
end of the choir, at the right of the altar-place, flanus
the freed-Rool, made of one entire Rone, to which
everyone that fled had a right of prote6Hon, At the
upper end of the body of the church, next the choir,
hangs an ancient table, with the picture of King A thel-
ftane, who founded the church. Between them is this
infeription :
Als free make I thee,
As heart can wifh, or egh can fee.
Hence the inhabitants pay no toll in any town or port
in England. In the body of the church Rands an an¬
cient monument, called the Virgins Tomb, becaufe two
virgin-fiflers lie buried there, who gave the town a
piece of land, into which any free man may put three
milk-cows from Lady-day to Michaelmas. At the
lower end of the body of the church is a large font of
agate Rone.
Near the minfler, on the fouth fide of it, is a place
called Hall-Garth, wherein they keep a court of re¬
cord, called Provof's Court. In this caufes arifing with¬
in the liberties may be tried for any fum. The liberties
contain above 100 towns and parts of towns, in Holder-
neffe and other parts of the eaft-riding belonging to
it. The town is a mile in length, having pleafant
fprings running quite through it. It is beautified with
two flately churches *, and has a free-fehool, with two
fellowfhips, fix fcholarfhips, and three exhibitions in
St John’s college, Cambridge, belonging to it; befides
fix alms-houfes, where none are admitted but thofe that
give bond to leave their effedls to the poor when they
die. The principal trade of this town is making malt,
oat-meal, and tanned leather •, and the poor people
chiefly fupport themfelves by making bone-lace. A-
bout a mile eafl from the town, there is a mineral wa¬
ter, which cures eruptions of the fkin, and is benefi¬
cial in the king’s evil. E. Long. o. 9. N. Lat. 53,
50.
BEVERLY, a fea-port of Maffachuffets in North
America, feparated from Salem by a bridge. It is 20
miles north of Boflon, in N. Lat. 42. 31. W. Long.
7°. 50.
Beverly, cjohn of, in Latin Joannes Beverla-
cius, archbilhop of York in the eighth century, was
born of a noble family at Harpham in Northumber¬
land, and was juflly eReemed one of the beR fcholars
of his time. He was firfl a monk, and afterwards
abbot of the monaflery of St Hilda, when his merit
recommended him to the favour of Alfred king of
Northumberland, who in the year 685 advanced him
to the fee of Haguflald or Hexham, and in 687
tranfiated him to the archbifliopric of York. This
prelate was tutor to the famous Bede j and lived in the
4 F 2 Rridleff
Beverley,
Beverly.
/
• /
B E V [ 596 1 B E Z
ikverun-
gen
Bevin.
ftrifteft friendfliip with Acca and other Anglo-Saxon
doftors, feveral of whom he engaged to write comments
on the Holy Scriptures. In 704, he founded a college
at Beverly for fecular priells; and after he had go¬
verned the fee of York 34 years, being tired of the
tumults and confufions that prevailed in the church,
diverted himfelf of his epifcopal charafter, and retired
to Beverly 5 where he died four years alter, on the 7th
of May 721.—Bede and other monkilh writers afcribe
feveral miracles to him. Between 300 and 400 years
after his death, his body was taken up by Alfric arch-
bilhopric of York, and placed in a flirine richly adorn¬
ed with filver, gold, and precious ftones 5 and in
1416, the day of his death was, by a fynod held at
London, appointed a feftival. We are told that
William the Conqueror, when he ravaged Northumber¬
land with a numerous army, fpared Beverly alone,
out of a religious veneration for St John of that place.
This prelate wrote fome pieces which are mentioned
by Bale and Pits, viz. 1. Pro Luca exponenda.
2. Plomilice in Evangelica. 3. Epiftolcc ad Hildam Ab-
batijfam. 4. EpiftoLe ad Plerebaldum, Andenum, et
Bertinum.
BEVERUNGEN, a town of Germany, in the
diocefe of Paderborn, feated at the confluence of the
rivers Beve and Wefer, in E. Long. 9. 30. N. Lat.
51.40.
BEVILE, in Heraldry, a thing broken or open¬
ing like a carpenter’s rule : Thus we fay, he bear-
- eth argent, a chief bevile, vert, by the name of
B ever Us.
BEVIN, Elway, a mufician eminently {killed in
the knowledge of practical compofition, flourilhed to¬
wards the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. He was of
Welch extraction, and had been educated under Tallis,
upon whofe recommendation it was that in 1589 he
was fworn in gentleman extraordinary of the chapel;
from whence he was expelled in 1637, it being difco-
vered that he adhered to the Romilh communion. He
was alfo organirt of Briftol cathedral, but forfeited
that employment at the fame rime with his place in the
Hawkins's chapel. Child, afterwards Dodtor, was his fcholar.
HiJl.ofPlu- He has compofed fundry fervices, and a few anthems.
Jx. Before Bavin’s time the precepts for the compofition of
canon were known to few. Tallis, Bird, Waterhoufe,
and Farmer, were eminently {killed in this moft ab-
ftrufe part of mufical pra&ice. Every canon, as given
to the public, was a kind of enigma. Compofitions of
this kind were fometimes exhibited in the form of a
crofs, fometimes in that of a circle ; there is now ex¬
tant one refembling a horizontal fun-dial : and the re-
folution (as it was called) of a canon, which was the
refolving it into its elements and reducing it into fcore,
Was deemed a work of almoft as great difficulty as the
original compofition. But Bevin, with a view to the
improvement of ftudents, generoufly communicated the
refult of many years ftudy and experience in a treatife
which is highly commended by all who have taken
occafion to fpeak of it. This book was publifhed in
4to, 1631, and dedicated to Goodman birtiop of GIou-
cefter, with the following title : ‘ A briefe and (hort
inftruftion of the art of mufic, to teach how to make
difcant of all proportions that are in ufe : very necef-
fary for all fuch as are defirousto attain to knowledge in
the art j and may by praftice, if they can fing, foon
be able to compofe, three, four, and five parts, and alfo Bewdljr
to compofe all forts of canons that are ufual, by thefe
direflions of two or three parts in one upon the plain .
fong.’ The rules contained in this book, for compofi¬
tion in general are very brief; but for the compofition
of canon there are in it a great variety of examples of
almort all the poffible forms in which it is capable of
being conftrufted, even to the extent of 60 parts.
BEWDLY, a town of Worcefterfhire in England,
feated on the bank of the river Severn, in W. Long.
2. 20. N. Lat. 52. 25. It has its name Bewdley,
Beaw/ey, or Beaulieu, from its pleafant fituation on the
declivity of a hill overlooking the river, and command¬
ing a fine profpeft of the country, and formerly of the
forert of Wyre, remarkable for its tall {lately oaks and
other trees, which have fince been either blown or cut
down. It was formerly accounted fo delightful a place,
that Henry VII. built a houfe here for Prince Arthur,
which he called Piken-ha/l. Bewdley fent burgefles to
parliament very early, and had charters and great
privileges from Edward IV. and Henry VII. which
were confirmed, with the addition of others, by Henry
VIII. in whofe time it was annexed to the county of
Worcefter. King James I. granted it a charter ; of
which a furrender was procured in Charles II.’s time,
and the corporation was new modelled. King James II.
compelled it to accept of a new charter ; but the for¬
mer furrender, upon a trial, was held void, and a new
charter was obtained of Queen Anne. In confequence
of this it is governed by a bailiff and burgefies, recor¬
der, fteward, town-clerk, &c. The town is neat and
well built; and carries on a confiderable trade, by
means of the Severn, in fait, glafs, iron-ware, and
Manchefter goods ; but its chief manufacture is in
caps, commonly called Monmouth Caps. It has a good
market for corn, malt, leather, and hops.
BEWITS, in Falconry, pieces of leather, to which
a hawk’s bells are faftened, and buttoned to his
legs-
- BEY, among the Turks, fignifies a governor of a
country or town. The Turks write it begh, or bek, but
pronounce it bey.
This word is particularly applied to a lord of a ban¬
ner, whom, in the fame language, they call fangiac
beg ox bey. Every province in Turkey is divided into
feven fangiacs, or banners, each of which qualifies a
bey ; and thefe are all commanded by the governor of
the province, whom they alio call begler-beg, that is,
lord of all tire beghs or beys of the province : thefe
beys are much the fame as banners were formerly in
England.
Bzr of Funis, denotes a prince or king thereof; an-
fwering to what at Algiers is called the dey. In the
kingdom of Algiers, each province is governed by a
bey, or viceroy, who is appointed and removed at plea-
fure by the dey ; but has a defpotic power within his
jurifdi&ion ; and at the feafon for colleCring the tribute
from the Arabs, is aflxfted by a body of troops from
Algiers.
BEYS, Giles, a celebrated printer at Paris, in the
16th century, and the firft introducer of the confonants
j and v.
BEZA, Theodore, one of the principal pillars of
the reformed church, was born at Tezelai, in Burgun¬
dy, June 24th, 1519. He was brought up by his
uncle
B E Z [ 597 ]
uncle Nicholas de Beza, counfellor of the parliament how to defend himfelf.
of Paris,'till the month of December 1528, when he
fent him to ftudy at Orleans, and afterwards at
Bourges, where he was under the care of Melchior
Wolmar, under whom he made an extraordinary pro-
grefs in polite learning, and from him imbibed the
principles of Calvinifm. His uncle intended him for
the bar; but the law not fuiting his difpofition, he
fpent moft of his time in reading the Greek and Latin
authors, and in compofing verfes. In 1539, he took
up his licentiate’s degree, and wrent to Paris. He fell
into fnares in his youth, and wrote fome licentious
things. Sicknefs awakened him ; and he purfued a
vow he had formerly made, of entering into the re¬
formed religion. According to this refolution he went
to Geneva and made public profefiion of the reformed
religion. In 1549, he accepted of the Greek proteffbr-
fhip at Laufanne, where he alfo read lectures in French
on the New Teftament to the refugees of both fexes
who dwelt in that city. Having fettled at Geneva, he
adhered to Calvin in the ftrifteft manner, and became
in a little time his colleague in the church and in the
univerfity. He was fent to Nerac, at the folicitation
of iome great men of the kingdom, to convert the king
of Navarre, and to confer with him upon affairs of im¬
portance. This wras when the Guifes had got the au¬
thority under the reign of Francis II. to the prejudice
of the princes of the blood. The king of Navarre ha-
ing teftified, both by letters and deputies, that he defir-
ed that Beza might aflift at the conference of Poiffi,
the fenate of Geneva confented. The affembly hearken¬
ed attentively to his harangue, till, fpeaking of the
real prefence, he faid, that the body of Jefus Chrift
was as diflant from the bread and wane, as the higheft:
heaven is from the earth. This made a murmur : fome
cried out, Blafphemavit! others got up to go away.
Cardinal de Tournon, who fat in the firfl place, defir-
ed the king and queen either to lilence Beza, or to
permit him and his company to withdraw. The king
did not ftir, nor any of the princes j and leave jva§ gi¬
ven to go on. Throughout the w'hole conference he be¬
haved himfelf with great ability. He often preached be¬
fore the queen of Navarre, the prince of Conde, and in
the fuburbs of Paris. After the maffacre of Vaffi, he
was deputed to the king-to complain of this violence.
The civil war followed foon after, during which the
prince of Conde kept him with him ; and while the
prince w7as imprifoned, he lived with Admiral de Co-
ligni, and did not return to Geneva till after the peace
1563. In 1 ^71, he was chofen moderator at the na¬
tional fynod of Rochelle ; and in the year after, affiiled
at that of Nifmes } after this, he afTifted at the con¬
ferences of Montheliard, and at thofe of Bern. I he
infirmities of old age beginning to fall heavy upon him
in 1 <f97, he could feldom fpeak in public : and at laft
he left it off entirely in the beginning of the year
1600. However, in 1597, he wrote fome animated
verfes againft the Jefuits, on the occafion of the report
that was made of his death, and of his having before
he died made profeffion of the Roman faith. He lived
till the 13th of Oflober 1605. He was a man of ex¬
traordinary merit, and one who did great fervices to the
Proteffant caufe. This, however, expofed him to in¬
numerable Handers and calumnies’, but he Ihowed both
to the Catholics and Lutherans, that he underftood
B E Z
He wrote, 1. A Tranfiation
of the New Teftament; 2. Turned the Pfalms into La¬
tin verfe ; 3. Publiftied a Treatife on the Sacraments; v
4. Some Sermons on the Pafiion of Jefus Chrift and
on Solomon’s Song ’, 5. A Verfion of the Canticles, in
lyric verfe; 6. A French tragi-comedy, entitled,
The Sacrifice of Abraham j and many other pieces.
BEZANS, cotton cloths, which come from Ben¬
gal ; fome are white, and others ftripped with feveral
colours.
BEZANTLER, the branch of a deer’s horns next
below the brow-antler.
BEZOAR, in Natural HiJIory and Medicine, a ge¬
neral name for certain animal-fubftances fuppofed to be
effe&ual in preventing the fatal confequences of poifon.
The word comes from the Perfian bad%cher, batchert
or pahazar, which fignifies an antidote.
The firft mention made of bezoar is in Avenzoar,
an Arabian phyfician, who gives a very romantic ac¬
count of its origin. He deferibes it as generated of
the tears or gum of the eyes of ftags; who, after eat¬
ing ferpents, ufed to run into the w’ater up to the nofe,
where they flood till their eyes began to ooze a hu¬
mour, which, colledling under the eye-lids, gradually
thickened and coagulated, till, being grown hard, it
w7as thrown off by the animal in rubbing frequently.
Other opinions no lefs fabulous obtained till the time
of Garcias al Horto, phyfician to the Portuguefe vice¬
roy of the Indies, who gave the firft genuine account
of it. Kempfer afterwards gave a defeription of it, with
fome new particulars.
The bezoar is a calculous concretion found in the
ftomach of certain animals of the goat kind. See
Capra. It is compofed of concentrical coats fur¬
rounding one another, with a little cavity in the middle,
containing a bit of w7ood, ftraw, hair, or the like fub-
ftances.
There are two forts of bezoar \ one brought from
Perfia and the Eaft-Indies, the other from the Spanifh
Weft-Indies. The firft or beft fort, called oriental be¬
zoar, is of a Ihining dark-green or olive colour, and
an even fmooth furface ; on removing the outward coat,
that which lies underneath it appears likewife fmooth
and fhining. The has a rough furface, and
lefs of a green colour than the foregoing j it is likewife
much heavier, more brittle, and of a loofer texture ;
the coats are thicker, and on breaking exhibit a num¬
ber of ftriae curioufly interwoven. The oriental is ge¬
nerally lefs than a w7alnut 5 the occidental for the moft
part larger, and fometimes as big as a goofe egg. The
firft is unverfally moft efteemed, and is the only fort
now retained by the London college j the Edinburgh,
in the edition of their pharmacopoeia preceding the pre-
fent, direifted both j. but they now7 feem to allow them
to be ufed promifcuouHv, retaining in their catalogue
only the name be%oar lapis.
This ftene is in high efteem among the Perfians, and
even of greater value than in Europe ; w-hich, wnth
fundry other circumftances needlefs to relate here, has
given occafion to many to fufpeff, that the true, bezoar
is never brought to us. Some authors relate with great
confidence, that all the ftones commonly fold under this
name are artificial compofitions. That fome of them
are fo, is evident j hence the great differences in the
accounts, which different perfons have given of theft
qualities;
Beaans
Bezoar.
/
Bezoar
II
Tofm Be-
B E 27 [
qualities : the ftones examined by Slare as oriental be-
zoar did not diffblve in acids ) thofe which Grew and
Boyle made trial of, did 5 thofe employed by Geoffroy
, (in fome experiments related in the French memoirs
1 71 o) did not feem to be a£ted on by rectified fpirits 5
whilft fome of thofe examined by Neumann at Berlin
almoft totally diffolved therein. The common mark
of the goodnefs of this ftone, is its ftriking a deep
green colour on white paper that has been rubbed with
chalk.
Bezoar was not known to the ancient Greeks, and
is firlt taken notice of by the Arabians (as above men¬
tioned), who extol it in a great variety of diforders,
particularly againlt poifons. Later writers alfo bellow
extraordinary commendations on it as a fudorific and
alexipharmac ; virtues to which it certainly has no pre¬
tence. It has no fmell or tafte, is not degeftible in the
ilomach of the animal in wdiich it is found, and is fcarce
capable of being a6ted on by any of the juices of the
human body. It cannot be confidered in any other
light than as an abforbent; and is much the wTeakell
of all the common fubftances of that clafs. It has
been given to half a dram, and fometimes a whole
dram, without any fenfible effedl 5 though the gene¬
ral dofe (on account of its great price) is only a few
grains.
Bezoar, in a more extenfive fenfe, includes all fub-
flances formed ifratum fuper ftratum in the llomachs or
inteftines. of animals ; in which fenfe pearls, the con¬
cretions called crnbs-eyes, &c. belong to the clafs of
bezoars. To this alfo belong the hippolithus, or be¬
zoar equinum, a Hone fometimes found in the Ilomach
or inteilines of a horfe: the monkey-bezoar, a Hone
faid to be found in the llomachs of certain monkeys in
Brazil and the Ball Indies, harder than the oriental be¬
zoar, of a dark-green colour, and very collly on ac¬
count of its fcarcity —Bezoar bovinum, is a yellowilh
Hone found in the ox’s gall-bladder.—Human bezoars
are flony fubHances found in the inteHines of feveral
perfons, formed from the Hones of plums, or other
fruits, retained in the coecum or other guts, and grow¬
ing coated over, of which we have an inHance given
by Dr Cole, Phil. Tranf. N° 235 -Bezoar microcofmi-
cum is the fame with the human calculus ; and is vari¬
ous in its degrees of hardnefs, as well as in its fize and
figure. It has been ufed in the place of the more coHly
forts.—As to the bezoar hyjlricis^ a concretion found
in the gall-bladder of an Indian porcupine ; and the
German bezoar, or that found in mountain deer, efpe-
cially on the Alps; thefe, not being Hones, are more
properly called by late writers egagrophilee ; the for¬
mer confifling of woolly fibres, and a bitter friable
matter, having neither laminae nor membranes1, the lat¬
ter being a ball of hair or herbs, or perhaps roots, com¬
pared in the flomach of the animal.—They are all, as
medicines, unworthy of regard.—The bezoar bovinum,
or ox-bezoar, is ufed by miniature-painters in feveral
cafis of yellow.
BEzoAK-mineral. See Pharmacy Index.
FoJJil Bezoar, is a kind of figured Hone, formed,
like the animal bezoar, of feveral coats or Hrata ranged
round fome extraneous body which forms a nucleus,
and fuppofed to have the fame virtues. It is found
chiefly in Sicily, in fand and clay pits. It is of a pur¬
ple colour, with a rough furface, the fize of a walnut,
1
Bianchini.
598 ] B I A
and light. When broken, it is found to be an irony Bezoardrc
crufi, containing in its hollow a fine greeitith white
earth, refembling pale bezoar. The earth is ufed and
not the {hells. It feems to be of the nature of bole
armeniac. It is called Sicilian earth.
BEZOARDIC, an appellation given to whatever
partakes of the nature of bezoar ; alfo to compound
medicines whereof bezoar makes an ingredient.
BIA, in Commerce, a name given by the Siamefe
to thofe fmall fliells which are called cowries through¬
out almofi all the other parts of the Eafi Indies. See
Cowries.
BliEUM, fiixiov, in Rhetoric, denotes a kind of
counter argument, whereby fomething alleged for the
adverfary is retorted againfl him, and made to con¬
clude a different way: for inflance, Occidifti, quia ad-
JiitiJH in t erf Hi0.—Bixitni, Immo quia adjiiti in t erf eel 0, non
occidi; namji id ejjet, in fugam me conjecijje/n. “You
killed the perfon, becaufe you were found Handing by
his body. Biceum, Rather I did not kill him becaufe
I was found Handing by his body 5 fince, in the other
cafe, 1 fiiould have fled awTay.”
Bi^eum, in the Grecian laws, was an action brought
againfl thofe wdio ravilhed women, or ufed violence to
any man’s perfon.
BIAFAR, or Biafra, a kingdom of Africa, fitu-
ated to the eafl of Benin, to the wefl of Medra, from
which it is divided by a chain of mountains, and ex¬
tending fouthward to the fourth degree of north lati¬
tude. The natives are the moil of all negroes addidled
to, and infatuated with, magic \ imagining thomfelves
capable of caufing rain, thunder, and lightning: there¬
fore they wmrfhip the devil with great zeal, and even
facrifice their children to him.
BIAFORA, in the cufloms of the middle age, a
form of cry or alarm to arms; on the hearing whereof
the inhabitants of towms or villages were to iffue forth,
and attend their prince. The word feems originally
from Gafcony ; and the Italians even now' on a fudden
infurredlion of the people, commonly cry, Via-fora, bv
an ufual change of the letter B into V.
BIARCHUS, an officer in the court of the empe¬
rors of Conflantinople, intrufled wfith the care and in-
fpedlion of the provifions of the foldiery.
BIALOGOROD, or A KERMAN, a flrong town of
Beffarabia, in European Turkey. It is feated on a lake
called Vidono, near the fea-fide, in E. Long. -2 2. 50.
N. Lat. 46. 24.
BIANA, a town of Alia, 50 miles wxff fron Agra,
in the dominions of the Great Mogul, remarkable
for its excellent indigo. E. Long. 77. o. N. Lat. 26.
20.
BIANCHI, Francesco, called 1/ Fran, an emi¬
nent painter, was born at Modena; and had the ho¬
nour of being mailer to one of the moff efleemed pain¬
ters that ever appeared, Antonio Corregio. His co¬
louring was delicately fine ; his attitudes full of grace;
and his invention extremely grand. His works had an
afloniffiing beauty, and are prized as highly as even
thofe of Corregio. He died in 1520.
BIANCHINI, Francis, one of the moff learned
men of his time, was born at Verona in 1662, of a noble
and ancient family. His tafle for natural philoiophy
and mathematics induced him to effablifh the academy
at Aletofili, at Verona. He wTent to Rome in 1684 ;
and
B 1 B [ 599 ] BIB
Bias and was made librarian to Cardinal Ottoboni, who was
. !j afterwards pope under the name of Alexander VIII.
1 ^ He alfo became canon of St Mary de la Rotonda, and
at length of St Lawrence in Damafo. He was efteem-
ed by the learned ; and was a member of many acade¬
mies. . He publifhed feveral ingenious diflertations, &c.
and died in 1729, aged 67.
BIAS, one of the feven fages of Greece, flourilhed
about 608 before Chrift. He was accuftomed to fay,
“ It was a licknefs of the mind to wrilh for impoffible
things.” 1 During the fiege of Priene, his native city,
being afked why he was the only one who retired from
the place without carrying any thing with him, he re¬
plied, That he carried his all with him; meaning, that
his knowledge and virtue were the only bleffings that
were peculiarly his own, fmce they could not be taken
from him. Pie expired while pleading for one of his
friends.
Bias, or Biafs, in a general fenfe, the inclination or
bent of' a perfon’s mind to one thing more than ano¬
ther—It alfo fignifies the lead or weight put into a
bowl, that draws or turns the courfe of it any way to
which the bias looks.
BIBERACH, a free and imperial city of Suabia in
Germany. It has a large manufacture in fuftians, and
is feated in a pleafant fertile valley on the river Rufs.
E. Long. 10. 2. N. Lat. 48. 4.
BIBERSBERG, a town of Upper Hungary, fitu-
ated in E. Long. 17. 25. N. Lat. 48. 35.
BIBIENA, 1 e rd in an n Galli, an excellent painter
and architeft, was born at Bologna in 1657 ; and w^as
furnamed Bibiena from a territory of that name in Tuf-
cany, in which his father was born. He acquired fuch
reputation by his ikill in architefture, the decorations
of the theatre and perfpeftive, that the duke of Parma
invited him to his court, and made him his firft painter
and architeft. Bibiena at length went to the empe¬
ror’s court, where he had the fame honours and advan¬
tages. He wrote two books of architetture; and died
at Bologna, at above 80 years of age. His fons fol¬
lowed with fuccefs the fame profedions.
BIBLE (in Greek /3</3Aej, the booh'), a name applied
by Chriftians by w^ay of eminence or diftinftion to the
colle&ion of facred writings, or the holy fcriptures of
the Old and New Teftamefits; known alfo by various
other appellations, as, the Sacred Books, Holy Writ,
Infpired Writings, Scriptures, &c. The Jews ftyled*
the Bible (that is, the Old Teftament) rnihra ; which
fignifies Lejfon or LeEhire.
This colleftion of the facred writings containing
thofe of the Old and New Teftament, is juftly looked
upon as the foundation of the Jewilh as well as the
Chriftian religion. The Jews, it is true, acknow¬
ledged only the fcriptures of the Old Teftament, the
corre&ing and publilhing of which is unanimoufly
afcribed, both by the Jews and Chriftians, to Ezra.
Some of the ancient fathers, on no other foundation
than that fabulous and apocryphal book, the fecond
bock of Efdras, pretend, that the fcriptures were en¬
tirely loft and deftroyed at the Babyloniih captivity,
and that Ezra reftored them all again by divine revela¬
tion. What is certain is, that in the reign of Jofiah
there was no other book of the law extant befides that
lound in the temple by Hilkiah ; from which original,
by order of that pious king, copies were immediately
written out, and fearch made for all the other parts of Bible,
the fcriptures, (2 Kings xxii.); by which means co- V“~"v—
pies of the whole became multiplied among the people,
who carried them with them into their captivity. Af¬
ter the return of the Jews from the Babyloniftr capti¬
vity, Ezra got together as many copies as he could of
the facred writings, and out of them all prepared a cor¬
rect edition, difpofing the feveral books in their proper
order, and iettling the canon of fcripture for his time,
Thefe books he divided into three parts. 1. The Law\
2. The Prophets. 3. The Cetubim or Hagiographia,
1. e. 7he Holy Writings.
I. The Law' contains, 1. Genefis. 2. Exodus.
3. Leviticus. 4. Numbers. 5. Deuteronomy.
II. The waitings of the prophets are, 1. Jofhua.
2. Judges, with Ruth. 3. Samuel, 4. Kings. 5. I-
faiah. 6. Jeremiah, with his Lamentations. 7. E—
zekiel. 8. Daniel. 9. 'I he twrelve minor prophets.
10. Job. 11. Ezra. 12. Nehemiah. 13. Efther.
III. And the Hagiographia confifts of, 1. The
Pfalms. 2. The Proverbs. 3. Ecclefiaftes. 4. The
Song of Solomon. This divifion was made for the fake
of reducing the number of the facred books to the num¬
ber of the letters in their alphabet, which amount to
22. At prefent, the Jew's reckon 24 books in their
canon of fcripture, in difpofing of wTich the law ftands
as it did in the former divifion, and the prophets are
diftributed into the former and latter prophets.
The former prophets are,
Jolhua, Judges, Samuel, Kings.
The latter prophets are,
Ifaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 minor prophets.
And the hagiographia confifts of
The Pfalms, the Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon,
Ruth, the Lamentations, Ecclefiaftes, Efther, Daniel,
Ezra, the Chronicles.
Under the name of Ezra, they comprehend Nehe¬
miah. It is true this order hath not always been ob-
ferved, but the variations from it are of little or no
moment.
1 he five books of the law are divided into 54 fec-
tions. This divifion many of the Jews hold to have
been appointed by Mofes himfelf; but others, with
more probability, aferibe it to Ezra. The defign of
this divifion was, that one of thefe feftions might be
read in their fynagogues every fabbath-day. The num¬
ber was 54, becaufe in their intercalated years a month
being then added, there were 54 fabbaths. In other
years, they reduced them to 52, by twice joining to¬
gether two Ihort fedions. Till the perfecution of An-
tiochus Epiphanes, they read only the law' ; but the
reading of it being then prohibited, they fubftituted in
the room of it 54 fedions out of the prophets; and
when the reading of the law was reftored by the Mac--
cabees, the fedion which was read every fabbath cut
of the law ferved for their firft leflbn, and the fedion
out of the prophets for their fecond. Thefe fedions
were divided into verfes; of which divifion, if Ezra w'as
not the author, it was introduced not long after him,
and feems to have been defigned for the ufe of the Tar-
gumifts or Chaldee interpreters : for after the return of
the Jews from the Babyloniftr captivity, when the He¬
brew' language ceafed to be their mother tongue, and
the Chaldee grew into ufe inftead of it, the cuftom w'as
that the law fhould be firft read in the original He¬
brew,
BIB
BIB [ 600 ]
brew, and then interpreted to the people in the Chal¬
dee language, for which purpofe thefe fhorter fe&ions
or periods were very convenient.
The divifion of the fcriptures into chapters, as we at
prefent have them, is of much later date. Some attri¬
bute it to Stephen Langton, archbilhop of Canterbury,
in the reigns of John and Henry III. But the true
author of the invention was Hugo de Sanfto Caro, com¬
monly called Hugo Cardinahs, becaufe he was the firlt
Dominican that ever was raifed to the degree of cardi¬
nal. This Hugo flourilhed about the year 1240. He
wrote a comment on the fcriptures, and projected the
firft concordance, which is that of the vulgar Latin Bi¬
ble. The aim of this work being for the more eafy
finding out any word or palfage in the fcriptures, he
found it neceffary to divide the book into fedfions, and
the feftions into fubdivilions; for till that time the
vulgar Latin Bibles were without any divifion at all.
Thefe fedlions are the chapters into which the Bible
hath ever fince been divided. But the fubdivifion of
the chapters was not then into verfes, as it is now.
Hugo’s method of fubdividing them was by the letters
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, placed in the margin at an e-
qual diftance from each other, according to the length
of the chapters. The fubdivifion of the chapters into
verfes, as they now ftand in our Bibles, had its origi¬
nal from a famous Jewilh rabbi, named Mordecai Na¬
than, about the year 1445. This rabbi, in imitation
of Hugo Cardinalis, drew up a concordance to the He¬
brew Bible, for the ufe of the Jews. But though he
followed Hugo in his divifion of the books into chap¬
ters, he refined upon his invention as to the fubdivi¬
fion, and contrived that by verfes : this being found
to be a much more convenient method, it has been
ever Ijnce followed. And thus, as the Jewrs borrow'ed
the divifion of the books of the Holy Scriptures into
chapters from the Chriftians, in like manner the Chri-
ftians borrowed that of the chapters into verfes from
the Jew's. ,
The order and divifion of the books of the Bible, as
well as of the Old as the New Teftament, according
to the difpofition made by the council of Trent, by De¬
cree I. feflion iv. are as follow: where we are to ob-
ferve, that thofe books to which the afterifms are pre¬
fixed, are rejected by the Proteftants as apocryphal.
Genefis,
Exodus,
Leviticus,
Numbers,
Deuteronomy,
Jofhua,
Judges and Ruth,
1 Samuel, or 1 Kings,
2 Samuel, or 2 Kings,
1 Kings, otherwife called 3 Kings,
2 Kings, otherwife called 4 Kings,
j Chronicles,
2 Chronicles,
1 Efdras (as the LXX and Vulgate call it), or the
book of Ezra,
2 Efdras or (as wTe have it) the book of Nehemiah,
* Tobit,
* Judith,
Either,
Job,
Pfalms,
Proverbs,
Ecclefiaftes,
Song of Solomon,
* The book of Wifdom,
* Ecclefialticus,
Ifaiah,
Jeremiah and * Baruch,
Ezekiel,
Daniel, - •
Hofea,
Joel,
Amos,
Obadiah,
Nahum, which we place immediately after Micah,
before Habakkuk,
Jonah, which we place immediately after Obadiah.
Micah,
Habakkuk,
Zephaniah,
Haggai,
Zechariah,
Malachi,
* 1 Maccabees,
* 2 Maccabees.
The books of the New Teftament are,
rSt Matthew,
The Gcfpel of] Ss‘
(_St John,
The A£ts of the Apoftles.
'the Romans,
the Corinthians, I.
the Corinthians, II.
the Galatians,
the Ephefians,
the Philippians,
The Epiftle of the Coloflians,
^ the Theffalonians, I.1
the Theffalonians, II.
Timothy, I.
Timothy, II.
Titus,
Philemon,
the Hebrews,
' St James,
St Peter, I.
St Peter, II.
St John, I.
St John, II.
St John, III.
_ St Jude,
The Revelation of St John.
St Paul to
The general
Epiftle of
The apocryphal books of the Old Teftament, ac¬
cording to the Romanifts are, the book of Enoch (fee
Jude 14.), the third and fourth books of Efdras, the
third and fourth books of Maccabees, the prayer of
Manaffeh, the Teftament of the twelve patriarchs, the
Pfalter of Solomon, and fome other pieces of this na¬
ture.
The apocryphaTbooks of the New Teftament are,
the epiftle of St Barnabas, the pretended epiftle of St
Paul
BIB [
Bible. Paul to the Laodiceans, feveral fpurious gofpels, A£ls
■—t 0f the Apoftles, and Revelations j the book of Her¬
nias, entitled, the Shepherd, Jefus Chrift’s Letter to
Abgarus, the epiftles of St Paul to Seneca, and feve-
other pieces of the like nature, as may be feen in the
collection of the apocryphal writings of the New Te-
ftament made by Fabricius.
The books which are now loft and cited in the Old
Teftament an? thefe, the book of the Righteous, or of
Jafher, as our verfion of the Bible has it ( forti. x. 13.
and 2 Sam. i. 18.) j the book of the wars of the Lord,
(Numb. xxi. 14.) } the annals of the kings of Ifrael,
fo often cited in the books of the Kings and Chro¬
nicles. The authors of thefe annals were the prophets,
who lived in the kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael. We
have likewife but a part of Solomon’s 3000 proverbs
and his 1005 fongs, (l Kings iv. 32.) ; and we have
entirely loft what he wrote upon plants, animals, birds,
fifties, and reptiles.
Ezra, in the opinion of moft learned men, publiftied
the Scriptures in the Chaldee charafter : for that lan¬
guage being grown wholly into ufe among the Jews,
he thought proper to change the old Hebrew charac¬
ter for it, which hath fince that time been retained on¬
ly by the Samaritans, among wThom it is preferved to
this day.
Prideaux is of opinion that Ezra made additions in
feveral parts of the Bible, where any thing appeared
neceflfary for illuftrating, connefling, or completing,
the work j in which he appears to have been aflifted
by'the fame fpirit in which they were firft written.
Among fuch additions are to be reckoned the laft
chapter of Deuteronomy, wherein Mofes feems to give
an account of his own death and burial, and the fuc-
ceftion of Jofhua after him. To the fame caufe our
learned author thinks are to be attributed many other
interpolations in the Bible, which created difficulties
and objeflions to the authenticity of the facred text,
no ways to be folved without allowing them. Ezra
changed the names of feveral places which were grown
obfolete, and inftead of them put their new names, by
which they wrere then called in the text. Thus it is
that Abraham is faid to have purfued the kings who
carried Lot away captive, as far as Dan 5 whereas that
place in Mofes’s time was called Laijh ; the name Dan
being unknown till the Danites, long after the death
of Mofes, poffefled themfelves of it*
The Jewifti canon of Scripture was then fettled by
Ezra, yet not fo but that feveral variations have been
made in it. Malachi, for inftance, could not be put in
the Bible by him, fince that prophet is allowed to have
lived after Ezra •, nor could Nehemiah be there, fince
mention is made, in that book, of [addus, as high-
prieft, and of Darius Codomannus, as king of Perfia,
who were at lead 100 years later than Ezra. It may
be added, that in the firft book of Chronicles, the ge¬
nealogy of the fons of Zerubbabel is carried down for
fo many generations as mull neceflarily bring it to the
time of Alexander, and confequently this book could
not be in the canon in Ezra’s days. It is probable,
the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Eit¬
her, and Malachi, were adopted into the Bible in the
time of Simon the Juft, the laft of the men of the
great fynagogue.
The Jews, at firft, were very referved in coramuni-
Vol. III. Part II.
601 ] BIB
eating their Scripture to ftrangers : defpifing and
ftmnning the Gentiles, they would not difclofe to them ^
any of the treafures concealed in the Bible. We may
add, that the people bordering on the Jews, as the E-
gyptians, Phoenicians, Arabs, &c. were not very cu¬
rious to know the laws or hiftory of a people, whom
in their turn they hated or defpifed. 1 heir firft ac¬
quaintance with thefe books was not till after the fe¬
veral captivities of the Jews, when the Angularity of
the Hebrew laws and ceremonies induced feveral to
defire a more particular knowledge of them. Jofe-
phus feems furprifed to find fuch flight footfteps of
the Scripture-hiftory interfperfed in the Egyptian,
Chaldean, Phoenician, and Grecian hiftory 5 and ac¬
counts for it hence, that the lacred books were not as
yet tranflated into Greek or other languages, and
confequently not known to the writers of thofe na¬
tions.
The firft verfion of the Bible was that of the sep~
tuagint into Greek, in the time of Ptolemy Phila-
delphus j though fome maintain that the whole was not
then tranflated, but only the Pentateuch ; between
which and the other books in the verfion called of the
Seventy, the critics find a great diverfity in point of
ftyle and expreflion, as well as of accuracy.
Hebrew Bibles are either manufeript or printed.
The beft manufeript Bibles are thole copied by the
Jews of Spain. Thofe copied by the Jew's of Ger¬
many are lefs exaft, but more common. -'The two
kinds are ealily diftinguilhed from each other 5 the
former being in beautiful characters, like the Hebrew
Bibles of Bomberg, Stephens, and Plantin ; the lat¬
ter in charafters like thofe of Munfter and Gryphius.
F. Simon obferves, that the oldeft manufeript Hebrew
Bibles are not above fix or'feven hundred years old j
nor does Rabbi Menaham, w-ho quotes a vaft number
of them, pretend that any of them exceed fix hundred
Bible.
years.
Dr Kennicot, in his Differtatio Generalis prefixed
to his ,Hebrew Bible, p. 21. obferves, that the moft
ancient manuferipts W’ere written between the years
900 and 1100: but though thofe that are the moft
ancient are not more than 800 or 900 years old, they
were tranferibed from others of a much more ancient
date. The manufeript preferved in the Bodleian libra¬
ry is not lefs than 800 years old. Another manufeript,
not lefs ancient, is preferved in the Caefarean library at
Vienna.
The moft ancient printed Hebrew Bibles are thofe
publiftied by the Jew's of Italy, efpecially of Pelaro
and Breffe. Thofe of Portugal alfo printed fome
parts of the Bible at Liibon, before their expulfion.—
This may be obferved in the general, that the bell
Hebrew Bibles are thofe printed under the infpec-
tion of the Jews; there being fo many minut'ue to be
obferved, that it is fcarce poffible for any other to fuc-
ceed in it.
In the beginning of the 16th century Dan. Bom¬
berg printed feveral Hebrew’ Bibles, in folio and quar¬
to at Venice,1 moft of which are efteemed both by the
Jews and Chriftians : the firft in I5i7i which is the
leaft exa£l, and generally goes by the name of Felix
Pratenfis, the perlon who revifed it. Ibis edition
contains the Hebrew text, the targum, and the com¬
mentaries of feveral rabbins. In 1528, the fame Bom-
4 G berg
B I B
[ 602 ]
B I B
Bible, berg printed the folio Bible of Rabbi Bencbajim, with
“^V*™**1 his preface, the maforetical divifions, a preface of A-
ben Ezra, a double mafora, and feveral various read¬
ings. The third edition was printed in 1618 j it is
the fame with the fecond, but much more correft.
Erom the former editions it rvas, that Buxtorf, the fa¬
ther, printed his rabbinical Hebrew Bible at .Bafil in
16185 which though there are many faults in it, is
more correft than any of the former. In 1623 appear¬
ed at Venice a new edition of the rabbinical Bible by
Leo of Modena, a rabbin of that city, who pretended
to have corredted a great number of faults in the for¬
mer edition 5 but, befides that it is much inferior to
the other Hebrew Bibles of Venice, with regard to
paper and print, it has paffed through the hands .of the
inquifitors, who have altered many .paffages in the
commentaries of the rabbins.
As to Hebrew Bibles in 410, that of R. Stephens is
efteemed for the beauty of the charadfers 5 but it is
very incorredt. Plantin alfo printed feveral beautiful
Hebrew Bibles at Antwerp : one, in eight columns,
with a preface by Arias Montanus in 15 7.1, which far
exceeds the Complutenfian in paper and print, and con¬
tents 5 this is called the Royal Bible, becaufe it was
printed at the expence of Philip II. of Spain : another
at Geneva in 16195 befides many more of different
fizes, with and without points. Manaffeh Ben Ifrael,
a learned Portuguefe Jew7, publilhed two editions of
the Hebrew Bible at Amfterdatn5 the one in 4^° in
1635 5 the other in 8vo in 1639 : the firft has two co¬
lumns, and for that reafon is commodious for the
reader. In 1639? J^^# Lombrolo pubhfhed a new
edition in 410 at Venice, writh fmall literal notes at
the bottom of each page, where he explains the He¬
brew woids by Spamth words. I his bible is much
efteemed by the Jews at Gonftantmople . in the text
they have diftinguifhed betw7een words where the point
carnets is to be read with a camets-katuph, that is, by
0, and not an a.
Of all the editions of the Hebrew Bible in 8vo, the
moft beautiful and corredl are the two of Jo. Athias, a
Jew of Amfterdam. The firft, of 1661, is the beft pa¬
per 5 but that of 1667 is the moft exadt 5 that, how¬
ever, publiftied fince at Amfterdam by Vander Hooght,
in 1705, is preferable to any of them.
After Athias, three Hebraizing Proteftants enga¬
ged in reviling and publiftiing the Hebrew7 Bible, viz.
Clodius, Jablonfld, and Opitius. Clodius’s edition
was publiftied at Franckfort in 1677, in 410. At the
bottom of the page it has the various readings of the
former editions 5 but the author does not appear fufti-
ciently verfed in the accenting, efpecially in the poeti¬
cal books 5 befides, as it was not publifhed under his
eye, many faults have crept in. That of Jablonfki in
1699, in 4to, at Berlin, is very beautiful as to letter
and print : but, though the editor pretends he made
ufe of the editions of Athias and Clodius, fome critics
find it fcarce in anything different from the.4to edi¬
tion of Bomberg. That of Opitius is alfo in 410 at
Keil, in 17095 the charadler is large and good, but
the paper bad • it is done w'ith a great deal of care 5
but the editor made ufe of no manufcripts but thofe
of the German libraries 5 negle&ing the French ones,
which is an omiftioji common to all three. They
have this advantage, however, that befides the divi¬
fions ufed by the Jews, both general and particu- ^
lar, into parafkes and pefukitny they have alfo thofe of
the Chriftians, or of the Latin Bibles, into, chapters
and verfes 5 the heir ketib, or various readings, La¬
tin fummaries, &c. which made them of confider-
able ufe, with refpedl to the Latin edition and the con¬
cordances.
The little Bible of R. Stephens, in l6to, is very
much prized for the beauty of the chara&er. Care,
however, muft be taken 5 there being another edition
of Geneva exceedingly like it, excepting that the print
is worfe, and the text lefs correft. To thefe may be
added feme other Hebrew Bibles without points, in
8vo and 2410, which are much coveted by the Jews 5-
not that they are more exaft, but more porta ole than
the reft, and are ufed in their fynag°gues and fchools :
of thefe there are two beautiful editions, the one of
Plantin, in 8vo, with two columns, and the. other in
2410 reprinted by Fvaphalengius at Leyden, in 1610.
There is alfo an edition of them by Laurence at Am¬
fterdam in 1631, in a large charatter 5 and another in
12mo, at Franckfort, in 1694? faults, with a
preface of M. Leufden at the head of it.
Houbigant publifhed an elegant edition of the He¬
brew Bible at Paris, in 1753, contained in four vols.
folio. The text is that of Van der Hooght, without
points, to which he has added marginal notes, lupply-
ing the variations of the Samaritan copy. Dr Kenni-
cott, after almoft 20 years laborious collation of near
700 copies, manufeript and printed, either, of the
whole or of particular parts of the Bible, did, in 1776*
publifh the firft volume of the Hebrew7 Bible in folio.
The text is that of Everand Van der Hooght, already
mentioned, differing from it only in the dftpofition of
the poetical parts, which Dr Kennicott has printed in
hemiftichs, into which they naturally divide them-
felves 5 however, the words follow7 one another in the
fame order as they do in the edition of Van der Hooght.
This edition is printed on an excellent type 5 the Sa¬
maritan text, according to the copy in the Ton-
don Polyglot, is exhibited in a column parallel , with
the Hebrew text 5 thofe parts of it only being intro¬
duced in which it differs from the Hebrew. i he nu¬
merous variations both of the Samaritan manuferiptj
from the printed copy of the Samaritan text, atid of
the Hebrew manufcripts from the printed text of Van
der Hooght, are placed feparately at the bottom of the
page, and marked with numbers referring to the copies
from which they are taken. . The editor regrets, that
the differtatio generahs, which would help to enrich
this article, is not to be publiftied till the fecond volume
is ready. r v •
Greek Bibles. There is a great number of editions
of the Bible in Greek 5 but they may be all reduced to
three or four principal ones, viz. that of Complutum,
or Alcala de Henares, that of Venice, that of Rome,
and that of Oxford. The firft was publiftied in 1515,
bv Cardinal Ximenes, and inferted in the Polyglot
Bible, ufually called the Complutenfian Bible : this edi ¬
tion is not juft, the Greek of the Seventy being altered
in many places according to the Hebrew text. It has,
however, been reprinted in the Polyglot Bible of Ant¬
werp, in that of Paris, and in the 4to Bible, commonly
called Vatablus'ls Bible. . .
The fecond Greek Bible is that of.Vemce, printed
by
Bible.
BIB [ 6°3 ] BIB
Bible, by Aldus in 1518. Here the Greek text of the Sep-
—y'”-'' tuagint is reprinted juft as it flood in the manufcnpt,
full of faults of the copyifts, but eafily amended. This
edition was reprinted at Strafburg in 1526, at Bafil in
I545> at Franckfort in 1597, and other places, with
fome alterations to bring it nearer the Hebrew. The
moft commodious is that of Franckfort} there being ad¬
ded to this little fcholia, which ftiow the different in¬
terpretations of the old Greek tranflators-t the author
of this colle&ion has not added his name, but it is
commonly afcribed to Junius.
The third Greek Bible is that of Rome, or the Va¬
tican, in 1587, with Greek fcholia collefted from the
manufcripts in the Roman libraries by Pet. Morin. It
was firft fet on foot by Cardinal Montalbo, afterwards
Pope Sextus Quintus. This fine edition has been re¬
printed at Paris in 1628 by J. Morin, prieft of the ora¬
tory, w;ho has added the Latin tranflation, which in the
Roman was printed feparately w-ith fcholia. The
Greek edition of Rome has been printed in the Polyg¬
lot Bible of London ; to which are added, at bottom,
the various readings of the Alexandrian manufcript.
This has been alfo reprinted in England in 41 > and
I 2mo, with fome alterations. It has been again puolifti-
ed at Franeker in 1709 by Bos, who has added all the
various readings he could find.
The fourth Greek Bible is that done from the Alex¬
andrian manufcript, begun at Oxford by Dr Grabe in
1707. In this the Alexandrian manufcript is not
printed fuch as it is, but fuch as it was thought it
fliould be , i. e. it is altered wherever there appeared
any fault of the copyifts, or any wmrd inferted from
any particular diale£l: this fome think an excellence,
but others a fault *, urging, that the manufcript fhould
have been given abfolutely and entirely of itfelf, and
all conje&ures as to the readings fhould have been
thrown into the notes.
Latin Bibles, how numerous foever, may be all re¬
duced to three claffes j the ancient vulgate, called alfo
Italica, tranfiated from the Greek Septuagint $ the
modern vulgate, the greateft part of which is done
from the Hebrew text j and the new Latin tranflations,
done alfo from the Hebrew text, in the 16th century.
We have nothing remaining of the ancient vulgate,
ufed in the primitive times in the -weftern churches
but the Pfalms, Wifdom, and Ecclefiaftes. Nobilius
has endeavoured to retrieve it from the works of the
ancient Latin fathers ; but it was impoflible to do it
exaftly, becaufe moft of the fathers did not keep clofe
to it in their citations.
As to the modern vulgate, there is a vaft number
of editions very different from each other. Cardinal
Ximenes has inferted one in the Bible of Complutum,
corre&ed and altered in many places. R. Stephens
and the do£lors of Louvain have taken great pains in
corre&ing the modern vulgate.
The beft edition of Stephens’s Latin Bible is that of
1540, reprinted in 1545, in wdiich are added on the
margin the various readings of feveral Latin manu-
feripts which he had confulted. The doflors of Lou¬
vain revifed the modern vulgate after R. Stephens ; and
added the various readings of feveral Latin manufcripts.
The beft of the Louvain editions are thofe at the end
of which are added the critical notes of Francis Lucas
of Bruges,
All thefe reformations of the Latin Bible were made Bible,
before the time of Pope Sixtus V. and Clement VIII. “"-v-"
fince which people have not dared to make any altera¬
tions, excepting in comments and feparate notes.
The correftion of Clement VIII. in 1592> Is now the
ftandard throughout all the Romifti churches : that
pontiff made twm reformations ; but it is the firft of
them that is followed. From this the Bibles of Plan-
tin wrere done, mid from thofe ot Plantin all the reft j
fo that the common Bibles have none of the after cor¬
rections of the fame Clement VIII. It is a heavy
charge that lies on the editions of Pope Clement, viz.
that they have fome new texts added, and many old
ones altered, to countenance and confirm what they
call the Catholic doClrine; wdtnefs that celebated
paffage of St John, trcs fnnt, &c. There are a great
number of Latin Bibles of the third clafs, comprehend¬
ing the verfions from the originals of the facred books
made within thefe 200 years. The firft is that of
Santes Pagninus, a Dominican, under the patronage of
Pope Leo X. printed at Lyons, in 410, in 1527, much
efteemed by the Jews. This the author improved in a
fecond edition. In 1542, there was a beautiful edition
of the fame at Lyons, in folio, with fcholia, publilhed
under the name of Michael ViUanovanus, i. e. Michael
Servetus, author of the fcholia. Thofe of Zurich have
likewife publiftied an edition of Pagninus’s Bible in
4to } and R. Stephens reprinted it in folio, with the
vulgate, in 1557, pretending to give it more correCt:
than in the former editions. There is alfo another edi¬
tion of 1586, in four columns, under the name ot Va~
tablus: and we find it again in the Hamburgh edition
of the Bible in four languages.
In the number of Latin Bibles is alfo ufually ranked
the verfion of the fame Pagninus correfted, or rather
rendered literal, by Arias Montanus j which correction
being approved of by the doftors of Louvain, &c. was
inferted in the Polyglot Bible of Philip II. and fince in
that of London. There have been various editions of
this in folio, 4to, and 8vo ; to which have been added
the Hebrew text of the Old Teftament, and the Greek
of the New. The bell of them all is the firft, which
is in folio, 1571.
Since the Reformation there have been feveral La¬
tin verfions of the Bible from the originals by Pro-
teftants. The moft efteemed are thofe of Munfter,
Leo Juda, Caftalio, and Tremelliusj the three Lift
whereof have been reprinted various times. Munfter
publiftied his verfion at Bafil in 1534, which he after¬
wards revifed j he publiftied a correCl edition in 1 $46.
Caftalio’s fine Latin pleafes moft people •, but there are
fome who think it too much affefted ; the beft edition
thereof is that in 1573. Leo Juda’s verfion altered
a little by the divines of Salamanca, was added to the
ancient Latin edition, as publiflied by R. Stephens,
with notes, under the name of Vatablus's Bible, in 1 945.
It was condemned by the Parifian divines, but printed
with fome alterations by the Spanifti divines of Sala¬
manca. That of Junius and Tremellius is preferred,
efpecially by the Calvinifts, and has undergone a great
number of editions.
One may add a fourth clafs of Latin Bibles, com¬
prehending the vulgate edition correfted from the ori."
ginals. The Bible of Ifidorus Clarus is of this number :
that author, not being contented with reftoring the
4 G 2 ancient
B I B
Bibles.
ancient Latin copy, has corre&ed the tranflator in a
great number of places, which he thought ill rendered.
Some Proteftants have followed the fame method 5 and
among others, Andrew and Luke Oliander, who have
each publifhed a new edition of the vulgate, corre&ed
from the originals.
Oriental Bibles.^—At the head of the Oriental ver-
fions of the Bible muft be placed the Samaritan ; as
being the moll ancient of all, though neither its age
nor author have been yet afcertained, and admitting
no more for holy fcripture but the Pentateuch, or five
books of Mofes. This tranfiation is made from the
Samaritan Hebrew text, which is a little different from
the Hebrew text of the Jews. This verfion has never
been printed alone 5 nor anywhere but in the Poly¬
glots of London and Paris.
Chaldee Bibles, are only the gloffes or expofitions
made by the Jews in the time when they fpake the
Chaldee tongue. Thefe they call by the name of Tar-
gumim, or paraphrafes, as not being any drift verffons
of the Scripture. They have been inferred entire in the
large Hebrew Bibles of Venice and Bafil 5 but are
read more commodioufly in the Polyglots, being there
attended with a Latin tranflation.
Syriac Bibles.—There are extant two verfions of
the Old Teftament in the Syriac language : one from
the Septuagint, which is ancient, and made probably
about the time of Conftantine j the other called antiqua
et /implex, made from the Hebrew, as fome fuppofe,
about the time of the apoftles. This verlxon is printed
in the Polyglots of London and Paris.
In the year 1562, Widmanftadius printed the whole
New Teftament in Syriac, at Vienna, in a beautiful
charafter : after him there were feveral other editions;
and it was inferted in the Bible of Philip II. with a
Latin tranflation. Gabriel Sionita alfo publiftied a
beautiful Syriac edition of the Pfalms, at Paris, in
1525, with a Latin interpretation.
_ Arabic Bibles—In the year 1516, Aug. Juftmian,
bilhop of Nebio, printed at Genoa an Arabic verfion
of the Pfalter, with the Hebrew text and Chaldee
paraphrafe, adding Latin interpretations. There are
alfo Arabic verfions of the whole Scriptures in the Poly¬
glots of London and Paris ; and we have an edition of
the Old Teftament entire, printed at Rome in 1671,
by order of the congregation de propaganda fide ; but
it is of little efteem, as having been altered agreeably
to the vulgate edition. The Arabic Bibles among us
are not the fame with thofe ufed with the Chriftians
in the eaft. Some learned men take the Arabic ver¬
fion of the Old Teftament, printed in the Polyglots,
to be that of Saadias, who lived about the year 900 ;
at leaft in the main. Their reafon is, that Aben Ezra,’
a great antagonift of Saadias, quotes fome palfages of
his verfion, which are the fame with thofe in the Ara¬
bic verfion of the Polyglots; yet others are of opinion,
that Saadias’s verfion is not extant. In 1622, Erpenius
printed an Arabic Pentateuch, called alfo the Pen¬
tateuch of Mauritania, as being made by the Jews of
Barbary, and for their ufe. This verfion is very lite¬
ral, and efteemed very exaft. The four Evangelifts
have alfo been publifhed in Arabic, with a Latin ver¬
fion, at Rome, in 1591, folio. Thefe have been fince
reprinted in the Polyglots of London and Paris, with
fome little alterations of Gabriel Sionita, Erpenius
[ 604 ]
b 1 B
publifhed an Arabic New Teftament entire, as he found
it in his manufcript copy, at Leyden, in 1616..
There are fome other Arabic verfions of late date
mentioned by V alton in his Prolegomena ; particularly
a verfion of the Pfalms preferved in Sion College,
London, and another of the Prophets at Oxford ; nei¬
ther of which have been publiihed.
Cophtic Bibles.— Ihe^e are feveral manufcript co¬
pies of the Cophtic Bible in fome of the great libraries
efpecially in that of the French king. Dr Wilkins
publiftied the Cophtic New Teftament in pto in the
year 1716, and the Pentateuch alfo in 410 in 1731,
with Latin tranflations. He reckons thefe verfions to
have been made in the end of the fecond, or the begin-
ning 0/ the third century.
Elhiopic Bibles.—The Ethiopians have alfo tranf-
lated the Bible into their language. There have been
printed feparately, the Pfalms, Canticles, fome chap¬
ters of Genefis, Ruth, Joel, Jonah, Zephaniah, Mala-
chi, and the New Teftament ; all which have been
fince reprinted in the Polyglot of London. As to the
Ethiopic New Teftament, which was firft printed at
Rome in 1548, it is a very inaccurate work, and is re¬
printed in the Englifti Polyglot with all its faults.
_ Armenian Bibles.—There is a very ancient Arme¬
nian verfion of the whole Bible, done from the Greek
of the Seventy, by fome of their doftors about the time
of Chryfoftom. This was firft printed entire in 1664,
by one of their bilhops at Amfterdam, in 4W ; with
the New Teftament in 8vo.
Perfian Bibles.—Some of the fathers feem to fay, '
that all the Scripture was formerly tranflated into the
language of the Perfians ; but we have nothing now
remaining of the ancient verfions, which was certainly
done from the Septuagint. The Perfian Pentateuch
printed in the London Polyglot is, without doubt, the
work of Rabbi Jacob, a Perfian Jew. It was publifti¬
ed by the Jews at Conftantmople, in the year 13 ; x.
In the fame Polyglot we have likewife the four Evan-
* gelifts in Perfian, with a Latin tranflation ; but this
appears very modern, incorredf, and of little ufe.
Wilton fays this verfion was written above 400 years
ago. Another verfion of the Gofpels was publiftied
at Cambridge by Wheloc in the laft century : there
are alfo two Perfian verfions of the Pfalms made in the
laft century from the vulgar Latin.
Gothic Bibles.—It is generally faid that Ulphilas,
a Gothic biftiop, who lived in the fourth century, made
a yerfion of the whole Bible, excepting the book of
Kings, for the ufe of his countrymen. That book he
omitted, becaufe of the frequent mention of the wars
therein ; as fearing to infpire too much of the military
genius into that people. We have nothing remaining
of this verfion but the four Evangelifts, printed in 410,
at Dort, in 1665, from a very ancient MS.
Whilst the Roman empire fubfifted in Europe, the
reading of the Scriptures in the Latin tongue, which
was the univerfal language of that empire prevailed
everywhere. But fince the face of affairs in Europe
has been changed, and fo many different monarchies e- "
refled upon the ruins of the Roman empire, the Latin
tongue has by degrees grown into difufe : whence has
arifen a neceflity of tranflating the Bible into the re-
fpeftive languages of each people ; and this has produ¬
ced
Bibles.
B I B
Bibles- ced as many different verfions of the Scriptures in the
modern languages, as there are different nations pro-
felling the Chriftian religion. Hence we meet with
French, Italian, Spanifh, German, Flemifh, Danifh,
Sclavonian, Polifli, Bohemian, and Ruffian or Mufco-
vite Bibles •, befides the Anglo-Saxon, and modern Eng-
lifh and Iriffi Bibles.
French Bibles. The oldeft French Bible we hear of
is the verfion of Peter de Vaux, chief of the Waldenles,
who lived about the year ti6o. Raoul de Prefle tranf-
lated the Bible into French in the reign of Charles V.
king of France, about the year 1380. Befides thefe
there are feveral old French tranflations of particular
parts of the Scripture. The dodlors of Louvain pub-
lifhed the Bible in French at Louvain by order of the
emperor Charles V. in 1 550. There is a verfion by I-
faac le Maitre de Sacy, publifhed in 1672, with expla¬
nations of the literal and fpiritual meaning of the text,
which was received with wonderful applaufe, and has
been often reprinted. As to the New Teftaments in
French, which have been printed feparately, one of the
moft remarkable is that of F. Amelotte of the oratory,
compofed by the direction of fome French prelates, and
printed with annotations in the year 1666, 1667, and
1670. The author pretends he had been at the pains
to fearch all the libraries in Europe, and collate the
oldeft manufcripts. But, in examining his work, it ap¬
pears that'he has produced no confiderable various read¬
ings, which had not before been taken notice of either
in the London Polyglott or elfewhere. Hie New Te-
ftament of Mons printed in 1665, w*t1n ^ archbifhop
bf Cambray’s permiffion, and the king of Spain’s li-
cenfe, made a great noife in the world. It was con¬
demned by Pope Clement IX. in 1668, and by Pope
Innocent XL in 1679, and in feveral biffioprics of
France at feveral times. The New Teftament publifh-
ed a Trevoux in 1702, by M.'Simon, with literal'and
critical annotations upon difficult pafiages, wms con¬
demned by the bifhops of Paris and Meaux in 1702. F.
Bohours, a jefuit, with the afliftance of F. F. Michael
Tellier, and Peter Bernier, Jefuits likewife, publifhed a
tranflition of the New Teftament in 1697: but this
tranflation is, for the moft part, harffi and obfcure, which
was owing to the author’s keeping too ftriftly to the
Latin text from wffiich he tranfiated.
The re are likewife French tranfiations publifhed by
Proteftant authors ; one by Robert Peter Olivetan,
printed at Geneva in 1535, and fince often reprinted
with the corrections of John Calvin and others •, ano¬
ther by Sebaftian Caftalio, remarkable for particular
wrays of expreffion never ufed by good judges of the
language. John Diodati likewufe publifhed a French
Bible at Geneva in 1644 i hut fome find fault with his
method, in that he rather paraphrafes the text than
tranfiates it. Faber Stapalenfis tranfiated the New Te-
ftament into French, which was revifed and accommo¬
dated to the ufe of the reformed churches in Piedmont,
and printed in 1534. Laftly, M. John le Clerc pub¬
lifhed a New Feftament in French at Amfterdam in
I7°3» with annotations taken chiefly from Grotius and
Hammond ; but the ufe of this verfion urns prohibited
in Holland by order of the States-General, as tending
to revive the errors of Sabellius and Socinus.
Italian Bibles. The firft Italian Bible publifhed by
the Romanifts is that of Nicholas Malerme, a Bene-
B I B
difline monk, printed at Venice in 1471. It was tranf- Bibles,
lated from the Vulgate. The verfion of Anthony Bru-
cioli, publiihed at Venice in 1532, w'as prohibited by
the Council of Trent. The Calvinifls likewife have
their Italian Bibles. There is one of John Diodati in
1607 and 1641, and another of Maximus Theophilus
*n i55i5 dedicated to Francis de Medicis duke of Tuf-
cany. The Jews of Italy have no entire verfion of the
Bible in Italian ; the inquifition conftantly refufing to
allow them the. liberty of printing one.
Spanifh Bibles. The firft Spanifh Bible that we hear
of is that mentioned by Cyprian de Valera, which he
fays was publifhed about the year 1500. The Epiftles
and Gofpels were publiihed in that language by Am-
brofe de Montefin in 1512 ; the whole Bible by Caffio-
dore de Reyna, a Calvinift, in 1569 ; and the New Te¬
ftament, dedicated to the emperor Charles V. by Fran¬
cis Enzinas, otherwife called D/vhWer, in 1543. The
firft Bible which was printed in Spanifh for the ufe of
the Jews was that printed at Ferrara in 1553, in Go¬
thic characters, and dedicated to Hercules d’Eft duke
of Ferrara. This verfion is very ancient, and was pro¬
bably in ufe among the Jews of Spain before Ferdi¬
nand and Ifabella expelled them out of their dominions
in 1492.
German Bibles. The firft and mcft ancient tranfla-
tion of the Bible in the German language is that of
Ulphilas bifhop of the Goths, about the year 360. This
biffiop left out the book of Kings, which treats chiefly
of war, left it fliould too much encourage the martial
humour of the Goths. An imperfedl manufcript of this
verfion was found in the abbey of Verden near Cologn,
written in letters of filver, for which reafon it is called
Codex Argenteus ; and it was publifhed by Francis Ju¬
nius in 1665. The oldeft German printed Bible extant
is that of Nuremberg, printed in 1447 3 but who the
author of it was is uncertain. John Emzer, chaplain to
George duke of Saxony, publifhed a verfion of the
New Teftament in oppofition to Luther. There is a
German Bible of John Eckius in 1537, with Emzer’s
New Teftament added to it 3 and one by Lftembergius
of Weftphalia, procured by Ferdinand duke of Ba¬
varia, and printed in 1630. Martin Luther having
employed eleven years in tranflating the Old and New
Teftament; publifhed the Pentateuch jn 1522, the hi-
ftorical books and the Pfalms in 1524, the books of
Solomon in 1527, Ifaiah in 1529, the Prophets in 1531,
and the other books in 1530 : he publifhed the New
Teftament in 1522. The learned agree, that his lan¬
guage is pure, and the verfion clear and free from intri¬
cacies : it was revifed by feveral perfons of quality, who
were mafters of all the delicacies of the German lan¬
guage. The German Bibles which have been printed
in Saxony, Switzerland, and elfewhere, are for the
moft part the fame with that of Luther, with very little
variation. In 1604 John Pifcator publiffied a verfion
of the Bible in German, taken from that of Junius
and Tremellius: but his turn of expreffion is purely
Latin, and not at all agreeable to the genius of the Ger-
map language : the Anabaptifts have a German Bible
printed at Worms in 1529. John Crellius publifhed
his verfion of the New Teftament at Kacovia in 1630?
and Felbinger his at Amfterdam in 1660.
. Flemijh Bibles. The Flemifh Bibles of the Eoma-
nifts are very numerous, and for the moft part have no
. author’s-
[ 6°s 1
.Bibles.
BIB [ 606
author's name prefixed to them, till that of Nicolas
Vinck, printed at Louvain in 1548. The Flemiih ver-
fions made ufe of by the Calvinifts till the year 1637,
were copied principally from that of Luther. But
the fynod of Dort having in 1618 appointed a new
tranllation of the Bible into Flemifh, deputies were
named for the work, which was not finiihed till the year
1637-
Danifh B/Sles. The firft Danifh Bible was publifhed
by Peter Palladius, Olaus Chryfoltom, John Synin-
gius, and John Maccabseus, in 1550, in which they fol¬
lowed Luther’s firli German verfion. There are two
other verfions, the one by John Paul Refenius bilhop of
Zealand, in 1605 '■> ^ other, being the New Teita-
xnent only, by John Michel, in 1524.
Swedi/h Bible. In 1534 Olaus and Laurence pub-
liHied a Swedifh Bible from the German verfion of
Martin .Luther. It was revifed in 1617, by order of
King Guftavus Adolphus, and was afterwards almoil
univerfally received.
Bohemian, Poli/h, Ruffian or Mufcovite, and Sclavo-
nian Bibles. The Bohemians have a Bible tranflated
by eight of their doftors, whom they had fent to the
fchools of Wirtemberg and-Bafil, on purpofe to ftudy
the original languages. It was printed in Moravia in
the year 1539. The firft Polifh verfion of the Bible,
it is faid, was that compofed by Hadewich wife of Ja-
gellon duke of Lithuania, who embraced Chriflianity
in the year 1390. In 1599 there was a Polifh tranfla-
tion of the Bible publifhed at Cracow, which was the
work of feveral divines of that nation, and in which
James Wieck, a Jefuit, had a principal fhare. The
Proteflants, in 1596, publifhed a Polifh Bible from
.Luther’s German verfion, and dedicated to Uladiflaus
IV. king of Poland. The Ruffians or Mufcovites pub¬
lifhed the Bible in their language in 1581. It was
tranflated from the Greek by St Cyril, the apoftle of
the Sclavonians *, but this old verfion being too ob-
fcure, Ernefl Gliik, wffio had been carried prifoner to
Mofcow after the taking of Narva, undertook a new
tranflation of the Bible in Sclavonian 5 who dying in
1705, the Czar Peter appointed fome particular di¬
vines to finifh*the tranflation : but whether it was ever
printed, we cannot fay.
Englifh-Saxon Bibles. If we inquire into the ver¬
fions of the Bible of our owrn country, we ffiall find
that Adelm bifhop of Shireborn, who lived in 709,
made an Englifh-Saxon verfion of the Pfalmsj and that
Eadfrid, or Ecbert, bifhop of Lindisferne, wrho lived
about the year 730, tranflated feveral of the books of
Scripture into the fame language. It is faid likewife,
that venerable Bede, who died in 785, tranflated the
w-hole Bible into Saxon. But Cuthbert, Bede’s dif-
ciple, in the enumeration of his mailer’s wmrks, fpeaks
only of his tranflation of the Gofpels j and fays nothing
of the reft of the Bible. Some pretend, that King
Alfred,, who lived in 890, tranflated a great part of
the Scriptures. We find an old verfion in the Anglo-
Saxon of feveral books of the Bible, made by Elfric
abbot of Malm fbury : it was publifhed at Oxford in
1699. There is an old Anglo-Saxon verfion of the
four Gofpels, publifhed by Matthew Parker archbiffiop
of Canterbury in 1571, the author whereof is unknown.
Dr Mill obferves, that this verfion was made from a
Xatin copy of the old Vulgate.
2
B I B
Saxon Bibles.—The wffiole Scripture is faid by fome
to have been tranflated into the Anglo-Saxon by Bede
about the year 701, though others contend he only
tranflated the Gofpels.
We have certain books or parts of the Bible by fe¬
veral other tranflators; as, 1. The Pfalms, by Adelm
bifhop of Shireborn, contemporary with Bede; though
by others this verfion is attributed to King Alfred, who
lived 200 years after. Another verfion of the Pfalms
in Anglo-Saxon wTas publifhed by Spelman in 1640.
2. The Evangelifts, ftill extant, done from the ancient
vulgate, before it w’as revifed by St Jerome, by an au¬
thor unknown, and publifhed by Matth. Parker in
1571. An old Saxon verfion of feveral books of the
Bible, made by Elfric abbot of Malmefhury, feveral
fragments of which Wrere publifhed by Will. Lilly in
1638, the genuine copy by Edm. Thwaxtes in 1699,
at Oxford.
Indian Bible.—A tranfiation of the Bible into the
North American Indian language by Elliot was pub¬
lifhed in 410 at Cambridge in 1685.
Eng/ijh Bibles.—The firft Englifh Bible we read
of wras that tranflated by J. Wickliffe about the year
1360 , but never printed, though there are MS. co¬
pies of it in feveral of the public libraries. J. de Tre-
vifa, who died about the year 1398, is alfo faid to have
tranflated the whole Bible ; but whether any copies of
it are remaining, does not appear.
Tindal's.—The firft printed Bible in our language
wras that tranflated by Will. Tindal, affifted by Miles
Coverdale, printed abroad in 1526-, but moft of the
copies were bought up and burnt by Bifhop Tunftal
and Sir Thomas More. It only contained the New
Teftament, and was revifed and republifhed by the fame
perfon in 1530. The prologues and prefaces added to
it refleff on the bifhops and clergy ; but this edition
wras alfo fuppreffed, and the copies burnt. In 1532,
Tindal and his affociates finiffied the whole Bible ex¬
cept the Apocrypha, and printed it abroad : but while
he was afterwards preparing for a fecond edition, he
was taken up and burnt for herefy in Flanders.
Matthews's.—On Tindal’s death,h is work vras car¬
ried on by Coverdale, and John Rogers fuperintendant
of an Englifh church in Germany, and the firft martyr
in the reign of Queen Mary, who tranflated the Apo¬
crypha, and revifed Tindal’s tranflation, comparing it
wfith the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German, and
adding prefaces and notes from Luther’s Bible. He
dedicated the whole to Henry VIII. in 1537, under
the borrowed name of Thomas Matthews •, whence this
has been ufually called Matthews's Bible. It w^as
printed at Hamburgh, and licenfe obtained for publifh-
ing it in England by the favour of Archbifhop Cran-
mer and the bifhops Latimer and Shaxton.
Cranvier's.—The firft Bible printed by authority in
England, and publicly fet up in churches, was the
fame Tindal’s verfion, revifed, compared with the He¬
brew, and in many places amended, by Miles Cover-
dale afterwards bifhop of Exeter *, and examined after
him by Archbifhop Cranmer, who added a preface to
it : whence this was called Cranmer's Bible. It was
printed by Grafton, of the largeft volume, and pub-
liffied in 1540 ; and, by a royal proclamation, every
parifh was obliged to fet one of the copies in their
church, under the penalty of 40s. a month 5 yet, two
years
Bibles.
Bibles.
BIB [6°7] BIB
years after, tlie Popifh bifhops obtained its fuppreffion
' of the king. It was reftored under Edward VI. fup-
preffed again under Queen Mary, and reftored again in
the firft year of Queen Elizabeth, and a new edition of
it given in 1562.
Geneva.—Some Englifli exiles at Geneva in Queen
Mary’s reign, Coverdale, Goodman, Gilbie, Sampfon,
Cole, Whittingham, and Knox, made a new tranfla-
tion, printed there in 1560, the New Feftament hav¬
ing been printed in 1557 ; hence called the Geneva
Bible ; containing the variations of readings, marginal
annotations, &c. on account of which it was much va¬
lued by the puritan party in that and the following
reigns.
Bijhap's.—Archbilhop Parker refolved on a new
tranflation for the public ufe of the church, and enga¬
ged the bilhops and other learned men to take each a
fhare or portion. Thefe being afterwards joined toge¬
ther, and printed with Ihort annotations in 1568, in a
large folio, made what was afterwards called the Great
Knglifh Bible, and commonly the Bijbop's Bible. The
following year it was alfo publiihed in 8vo, in a fmall
but fine black letter : and here the chapters were di¬
vided into verfes ; but without any breaks for them, in
which the method of the Geneva Bible was followed,
which was the firft Englifti Bible where any diftindlion
of verfes was made. It was afterwards printed in large
folio, with correftions, and feveral prolegomena, in
1572: this is called Matthew Parker's Bible. The
initial letters of each tranflator’s name were put at the
end of his part: e. gr. at the end of the Pentateuch,
W. E. for William Exon ; that is, William bilhop of
Exeter, whofe allotment ended there : at the end of
Samuel, R. M. for Richard Menevenfis, or bilhop of
St David’s, to whom the fecond allotment fell : and
the like of the reft. The archbilhop overfaw, direft-
ed, examined, and finilhed the whole. This tranfla¬
tion was ufed in the churches for 40 years, though the
Geneva Bible was more read in private houfes, being
printed above 30 times in as many years. King James
bore it an inveterate hatred on account of the notes ;
which at the Hampton-court conference he charged as    —- v -
partial untrue, feditious, &c. The Bilhop’s Bible the fenfe of the original beft, taking in for the Engliih
too had its faults. The king frankly owned he had tranflation the Bilhop’s Bible, as well as King James’s.
and Th. Cartwright was folicited by Secretary Walling-
ham to refute it: but, after a good progrefs made
therein, Archbilhop Whitgift prohibited his further
proceeding therein, as judging it improper the doclrine
of the church of England Ihould be committed to the
defence of a puritan, and appointed Dr Fulke in his
place, who refuted the Rhemifts with great fpirit and
learning. Cartwright’s refutation was alfo afterwards
publiihed in 1618, under Archbilhop Abbot. About
30 years after their New Teftament, the Roman Ca¬
tholics publilhed a tranflation of the Old at Doway, in
1609 and 1610, from the vulgate, with annotations j
fo that the Engliih Roman Catholics have now the
whole Bible in their mother-tongue ; though it is to.
be obferved, they are forbidden to read it without a
licenfe from their fuperiors.
King ‘James's.—The laft Englifli Bible was that
which proceeded from the Hampton-court conference
in 1603, where many exceptions being made to the
Bilhop’s Bible, King James gave orders for a new-
one ; not, as the preface exprefles it, for a tranflation
altogether new, nor yet to make of a bad one a good
one, but to make a good one better,, or of many good
ones one beft. Fifty-four learned perfons- were ap¬
pointed for this office by the king, as appears by his
letter to the archbilhop, dated in 1604; which being
three years before the tranflation was entered upon, it
is probable feven of them were either dead or had de¬
clined the talk, fince Fuller’s lift of the tranflators
makes but 47 ; who being ranged under fix divifions,
entered on their province in 1607. It was publilhed
in 1613, with a dedication to James, and a learned
preface, and is commonly called King James's Bible.
After this, all the other verfions dropped and fell into
difufe, except the Epiftles and Gofpels in the Common
Prayer Book, which were ftill continued according to
the Bilhop’s tranflation till the alteration of the litur¬
gy in 1661, and the Pfalms and Hymnsj which are
to this day continued as in the old verfion.
The judicious Selden, in his Table Talk, fpeaking
of the Bible, fays, “ The Englilh tranflation of the
Bible is the beft tranflation in the world, and renders
Bihks.
yet feen no good tranflation of the Bible in Englifli j
but he thought that of Geneva the wmrft of all.
Rhemijh.—After the tranflation of the Bible by the
bilhops, two other private verfions had been made of
the New Teftament: the firft by Laur. Thomfon,
made from Beza’s Latin edition, together with the
notes of Beza, publilhed in 1^82 in 4^°? an<I after¬
wards in 1 389, varying very little from the Geneva
Bible-, the fecond by the Papifts at Rheims in 1584,
called the Rhemijh Bible, or Rhemijh Tranjlation.
Thefe finding it impoflible to keep the people from ha¬
ving the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, refolved to
give a verfion of their own as favourable to their caufe
as might be. It was printed on a large paper, vyith a
fair letter and margin. One complaint again!! it was
its retaining a multitude of Hebrew- and Greek -words
untranflated, for w7ant, as the editors exprels it, of pro¬
per and adequate terms in the Englilh to render them
by ; as the words a%ymes, tumke, rational, holocaujl,
prepuce, pafche, &c. However, many of the copies
were feized by the queen’s fearchers and confifcated j
The tranflators in King James’s time took an excellent'
way. That part of the Bible was given to him who
was moft excellent in fuch a tongue (as the Apocry¬
pha to Andrew Downs), and then they met together,
and one read the tranflation, the reft holding in their
hands fome Bible either of the learned tongues, or
French, Spanilh, Italian, &c. If they found any
fault, they fpoke ; if not, he read on.”
King James’s Bible is that now read by authority in
all the churches in Britain.
Welch Bibles.—There was a Welch tranflation of
the Bible made from the original in the time of Queen-
Elizabeth, in confequence of a bill brought into the -
houfe of commons for this purpofe in 156.3. It was •
printed in folio in 1588. Another verfion, which is
the ftandard tranflation for that language,, w'as printed
in 1620. It is called Parry’s Bible. An impreflion
of this was printed in 1690, Called Bijhop Lloyd's Bi¬
ble. Thefe w>ere in folio. The firft 8vo impreflion of
the Welch Bible was made in 1630.
InJlj Bible.—Towards the middle of the 16th cen-
tury* >
BIB ' [ 608 ]
Bijjle tury, Bedell, biftiop of Kilmore, fet on foot a tranfla- books
Bibliotheca ^on t^le Old Teftament into the Irilb language 5 the
< l\J I f T* O £» »-* 4- n •»-» X «4. — u — •• -- T-.   _    1 C
New I ellament and the Liturgy having been before
tranflated into that language. The bifhop appointed
one King to execute this work, who, not underlland-
ing the oriental languages, was obliged to tranilate it
from the Englith. This work was received by Bedell,
who, after having compared the Irifh tranllation with
the Englifli, compared the latter with the Hebrew, the
LXX. and the Italian verfion of Diodati. When this
work was finilhed, the bifliop would have been himfelf
at the charge of the impreillon, but his delign was
Hopped upon advice given to the lord lieutenant and
the archbilhop of Canterbury, that it would prove a
lhameful thing for a nation to publilli a Bible tranflat¬
ed by fuch a defpicable hand as King. However, the
manufeript was not loll, for it went to prefs in the year
-1685.
Erfe Bible.—There is alfo (lately finifhed at Edin¬
burgh) a verfion of the Bible in the Gaelic or Erfe
language.
BIBLIANDER, Theodore, profeflbr of divinity
at Zurich in the I 6th century. As he underftood the
oriental languages, he fet about a new edition of the
Koran ; the text of which he corre&ed, by collating
the Arabic and Latin copies. To this edition he fub-
joined the life of Mahomet and his fucceflbrs; and pre¬
fixed an apology by way of preface, which has been
loudly exclaimed againfl.
BIBLIOGRAPHIA, a branch of archaeographia,
employed in the judging and perufing of ancient ma-
nuferipts, whether written in books, paper, or parch¬
ment.
The fenfe of it is now extended 5 and it fignifies a
work intended to give information concerning the firll
or belt editions of books, and the ways of fele&ing
and diftinguifliing themi properly. In fliort, it is ufed
■for a nothin or defeription of printed books, either in
the order of the alphabet, of the times when printed,
or of the fubjeft matters. In which fenfe, bibliogra-
phia amounts to much the fame with what is otherwife
called bibliotheca.
Literary journals afford alfo a kind of bibliographia.
BIBLIOMANCY, a kind of divination performed
by means of the Bible. This amounts to much the
fame with what is otherwife called fortes biblica or for¬
tes fanElorum. It confided in taking paffages of Scrip¬
ture at hazard, and drawing indications thence con¬
cerning things future ; as in Auguftine’s tolle et lege.
It was much ufed -at the confecration of bifliops 
F. J. Davidius, a Jefuit, has publifhed a bibliomancy
under the borrowed name of Veridicus Chriflianus.
BIBLIOTHECA, in its original and proper fenfe,
denotes a library or place for repofiting books.
Bibliotheca, in matters of literature, denotes a
treatife giving an account of all the writers on a cer¬
tain fubjecl: thus, we have bibliothecas of theology
law, philofophy, &c.
There are likewife univerfal bibliothecas, which treat
indifferently of all kinds of books *, alfo feleft biblio¬
thecas, which give account of none but authors of re¬
putation.
Many of the bibliothecas agree, in moft refpe&s,
with what are otherwife called memoirs or journals of
literature, except that thefe laft are confined to new
I
b r d
but there are other bibliothecas, that differ in
nothing from catalogues of the writers on certain fub-
jedls.
. BIBLISTS, fo the Roman Catholics call thofe Chri-
ftians who make Scripture the foie rule of faith ^ in
which fenle, ail Protellants either are or ought to be
biblifts.
BIBLUB, /3;oAo?, in Botany, an aquatic plant in E-
gypt, called alio papyrus ; of the fkin whereof the an¬
cient Egyptians made their paper. See Papyrus.
BIBRACTE, in Ancient Geography, a citadel of
the jEdui, according to Strabo ; but CaTar deferibes
it as a town well fortified, very large and populous,
and of the greateil authority among that nation : Now
BeureS, or Bevray ; a defolate place four miles to
the north-weft of Autun.
BIBROCI, in Ancient Geography, an ancient peo¬
ple of Britain : Now the Hundred of Bray in Berks.
BICANER, a city of Afia, on the river Ganges,
belonging to the great Mogul. E. Long. 87. 20. N.
Lat. 28. 40.
BICE, or Bise, among painters, a blue colour pre¬
pared from the lapis armenus.
Bice bears the beft body of all bright blues ufed in
common work, as houfe-painting, &c. but it is the
paleft in colour. It works indifferently well, but in¬
clines a little to fandy, and therefore requires good
grinding. Next to ultramarine, which is too dear to
be ufed in common work, it lies beft near the eye of
all other blues.
BICEPS, the name of feveral mufcles : as the bi¬
ceps humeri, or cubiti ; biceps tibiae ; &c. See Ana¬
tomy, Table of the Mufcles.
BICESTER, a Itraggling town of Oxfordfhire
in England, feated on the road between Oxford and
Buckingham.
BICHET, a quantity or meafure of corn, which
differs according to the places where it is ufed. The
bichet is not a wooden meafure, as the minot at Paris,
or the bufliel at London , but is compounded of feve¬
ral certain meafures. It is ufed in many parts of
France, &c.
BICLINIUM, in Roman Antiquity, a chamber with
two beds in it; or when two beds only were round a
table.
BICORNES, an order of plants in the fragmenta
methodi naturahs of Linnaeus, fo termed from the an-
theras having in appearance two horns. See Bo¬
tany.
BIDACHE, a town of France, in the department
of the Lower Pyrenees, feated on the river Bidoufe.
W. Long. x. 9. N. Lat. 41. 31.
BIDAL, or Bidale, in our ancient cuftoms, de¬
notes the invitation of friends to drink ale at fome poor
man’s houfe, who in confideration hereof expefts fome
contribution for his relief. This cuftom ftill obtains in
the weft of England, and is mentioned in fome of our
ancient ftatutes.
BIDDEL, John, one of the moft eminent Eng¬
lifli writers among the Socinians, was born at Wot-
ton-under-Edge in Gloucefterfhire, and educated in
the free fchool of that place. Being a hopeful youth,
he was taken notice of; paiticularly by Lord George
Berkeley, who allowed him an exhibition of ten
pounds a-year. 1 his caufed him vigoroufly to ap-
ply
Biblifts
. II
Biddel.
BID [ 609 ] B I E
Riddel ply himfelf to his ftudies ; and he was, while at
II. fchool, author of a tranllation of Virgil’s Bucolics,
Bidding. ^ op two pat;res 0f Juvenalt fje continued
at fchool till he was 13 years of age. However, ha¬
ving manifefted in that early period a lingular piety
and contempt of fecular affairs, he was fent to the uni-
verlity of Oxford, and entered a ftudent in Magdalen
hall. In 1641, the magiftrates of Gloucefter chofe
him mailer of the free fchool of that city 5 and he was
much efleemed : but falling into fome opinions con¬
cerning the Trinity different from thofe commonly re¬
ceived, and expreffing his thoughts with too much
freedom, he fuifered various perfecutions and imprifon-
ments in the time of the commonwealth. During one
of thefe confinements, which lalted for feveral years,
being reduced to great indigence, he was employed by
Roger Daniel of London to correff the impreffion of
the Greek Septuagint Bible, which that printer was
about to publilh with great accuracy. In 1651, the
parliament publilhed a general a£! of oblivion, which
xeltored him to his full liberty. He was afterwards
imprifoned on account of his tenets •, and at lall the
Protecfor banifhed him for life to St Mary’s caftle in
the ille of Scilly, and fent him thither in Oflober
1665. Soon after, he was allowed 100 crowns a-year
for fubfilfence. In 1658, he w^as fet at full liberty.
After the reltoration of King Charles II. he w’as fined
in xcol. and each of his heai-ers in 20I. to lie in prifon
till paid which being put in execution, the want of
the ffielh air and exercife made him contrafl a difeafe,
of w'hich he died on the 22d of September 1662, in
the 47th year of his age. His life was publilhed in
Latin in 1682, by Mr Farrington of the Inner Tem¬
ple, wrho reprefents him as pofiefled of extraordinary
piety, charity, and humility. He would not difcourfe
of thofe points in which he differed from others wfith
thofe that did not appear religious according to their
knowledge ; and was a llrift obferver himfelf, and a
fevere exaftor in others, of reverence in fpeaking of
God and Chrift. He had fo happy a memory, that he
retained word for word the whole New Tellament, nbt
•only in Englilh, but in Greek, as far as the fourth
chapter of the Revelations of St John.
BIDDIFORD, a town of Devonlhire, feated on the
river Toridge, over which there is a fine Hone-bridge
with 24 arches. It is a large and populous place, and
carries on a confiderable trade. W. Long. 4. 10. N.
Lat. yr. 10.
BIDDING, or Offering, denotes the railing the
price of a thing at a fale or auftion. The French
calls this enchirer. It anfwers to what the Romans
called licitari: they ufed to bid by holding up the hand
or finger.
Bidding is alfo ufed for proclaiming or notifying.
In which fenfe vre meet with bidding of the banns, the
fame with what is otherwife called ajliing.
Bidding Prayer. It was one part of the office of
, the deacons in the primitive ChriHian church, to be a
fort of monitors and direftors of the people in the exer¬
cife of their public devotions in the church.' To which
end they made ufe of certain known forms of words,
to give notice when each part of the fervice began.
This was called by the Greeks Kt^vrruv, and by the
Latins pradicare : which therefore does not ordinarily
fignify to preach, as forne miftake it 5 but to perform
the office of a crier or pratco') in the affembly :
Vol. III. Part II.
whence Synefius and others call the deacons hgexygvxts, Bidding
the ho/y criers of the church, appointed to bid or ex- ij
hort the congregation to pray and join in the feveral,
parts of the fervice of the church. Agreeable to this
ancient practice is the form Let us pray, repeated be¬
fore feveral of the prayers in the Englilh liturgy.
Bidding of the Beads, a charge or warning which
the parilh-prieft gave to his parilhioners at certain fpe-
cial times, to fay fo many pater-nolters, &c. on their
beads.
BIDENS, water hemp-agrimony. See Bota-
NY Index.
BIDENTAL, in Roman Antiquity, a place blalted
with lightning which was immediately conlecrated by
an harufpex, with the facrifice of a bidens. This place
W’as afterwards accounted facred, and it was unlawful
to enter it or to tread upon it; for wdiich reafon it was
commonly furrounded with a ditch, wall, hedge, ropes,
&c. See next article.
BIDENTALES, in Roman Antiquity, priells in-
ftituted to perform certain ceremonies and expiations
when thunder fell on any place. Their principal office
was the facrificing a ffieep of twm years old, which in
Latin is called bidens ; from whence the place flruclc
with thunder got the name of bidental.
BIDENTES, in middle-age writers, denotes tv/o
yearlings, or ffieep of the fecond year. The wool of
thefe bidentes, or tw’o years old ffieep, being the firft
Iheering, was fometimes claimed as a heriot to the king,
on the death of an abbot. Among the ancient Romans,
the word wras extended further to any forts of beafts
ufed for vi&ims, efpecially thofe of that age : whence
we meet with fues bidentes.
BIDET, a nag or little horfe, formerly allowed
each trooper and dragoon, for his baggage and other
occafions. Bidets are grown into difule, on account of
the expences thereof, and the diforders frequently ari-
fing from thofe wffio attended on them, &c.
BIDIS, in Ancient Geography, a fmall city of Sicily,
not far from Syracufe, whofe ruins are ftill to be feen
in the territory of Syracufe, about 15 miles to the
fouth-weft, with a church called S. Giovanni di BidinL
BIDLOO, Godfrey, author of feveral treatifes in
anatomy, was born at Amfterdam, March 12. 1649.
In 1688, he w’as profeffor of anatomy at the Hague j
and, in 1694, at Leyden ; wffien King William III. of
England appointed him his phyfician •, which he would
not accept but on condition of holding his profefibr-
ffiip, which was readily granted him. He publilhed,
in Latin, 1. The Anatomy of the human Body, de-
monftrated in 105 cuts, explained by the difcoveries of
the ancient and modern writers. 2. An Oration upon
the Antiquity of Anatomy. 3. A Letter to Anthony
Leewenhoeck on the animals fometimes found in the
liver of ffieep and other animals. 4. Two Decades of
Differtations in Anatomy and Chirurgery j and other
pieces., He died at Leyden, in April 1713.
B1DON, a liquid meafure, containing about five
pints of Paris, that is, about five quarts Englilh wine-
meafure. It is feldom ufed but among ffiips crews.
BIE, Adrian de, an /eminent painter, w’as born
at Liere in 1594. After learning the rudiments of the
art from different mailers, he travelled to Rome, where
he fpent fix years in ftudying the w’orks of the bell
mailers. His indullry wTas then rewarded with propor¬
tionable fuccefs} for he found encouragement among
4 H the
B I E [ 61
Bieez the moft honourable perfons at Rome, and in every part
of Italy through which he travelled, from perfons of
—. the firft diftinftion. His penciling was fo exceedingly
neat, and his touch and colouring fo very delicate,
that he was frequently employed to paint on jafper,
agate, porphyry, and other precious materials.
BIEEZ, a town of Poland, in the palatinate of Cra-
covia, remarkable for its mines of vitriol. It is feated
on the river Wefeloke, in E. Long. 2. 21. N. Lat.
49. 50.
BIEL. See Bienna.
BIEL A, a town of Ruffia, and capital of a province
of the fame name, feated on the river Opfchaw, in E.
Long. 34. 55. N. Lat. 55.0.
Biela Osero, or Belozero, a town ot the Ruffian
empire, capital of a duchy, and lituated on a lake of
the fame name, at the mouth of the river Confa, in E.
Long. 39. 10. N. Lat. 58. 55.
Biela, a town of Piedmont in Italy, and capital
of the Bellefe, near the river Cerva, in E. Long. 8. 3.
N. Lat. 45. 22.
BlELSKI, a town of Poland, in the palatinate of
Polachia, near one of the fources of the river Narew.
E. Long. 22. 55. N. Lat. 53. 50.
BIELSKOI, a town of Ruffia, in the province of
Smolenlko. E. Long. 35. 5. N. Lat. 56. 40.
BIENNA, a town of Switzerland, feated on a lake
of the fame name. The inhabitants are Proteftants,
and in alliance with thofe of Bern, Soleure, and Fri-
burg. E. Long. 7. 14. N. Lat. 47. 11.
BIENNIAL plants $ plants, as the title biennial
imports, that are only of two years duration. Nume¬
rous plants are of this tribe, wffiich being raifed one
year from feed, generally attain perfection either the
fame, or in about the period of a twelvemonth, or a
little lefs or more, and the following fpring or fummer
ffioot up ftalks, flower, and perfeft feeds ; foon after
which they commonly perifli j or if any particular fort
furvive another year, they alfume a dwindling and
ftraggling growth, and gradually die off; fo that bien¬
nials are always in their prime the firft or fecond fum¬
mer. Biennials confift both of efculents and flower
plants. Of the efculent kinds, the cabbage, favoy,
carrot, parfnip, beet, onion, leek, &c. are biennials.
Of the flowery tribe, the Canterbury-bell, French ho-
ney-fuckle, wall-flower, ftock-July-ftower, fweet-Wil-
liam, China-pink, common-pink, matted-pink, carna¬
tion, fcabious, holly-hock, tree-mallow, vervain-mal¬
low, tree-primrofe, honefty, or moonwort, &c. are all
of the biennial tribe ; all of which being fown in March,
April, or May, rife the fame year, and in fpring fol¬
lowing flroot up into ftalks, flower, and perfeft feeds in
autumn ; after which moft of them dwindle : though
fometimes the wall-flowers, hollyhocks, carnations, and
pinks, will furvive and flower the following year y but
the plants become ftraggling, the flowers fmall and
badly coloured : it is therefore eligible to raife a
fupply annually from feed ; although wall-flowers, car¬
nations, and pinks, may be continued by flips and
layers.
BIER, a wooden machine for carrying the bodies
of the dead to be buried. The wTord comes from the
French biere, which fignifies the fame. It is called in
Latin feretrum, a ferendo. Among the Romans the
common bier, whereon the poorer fort were carried,
o ] BIG
was called fandapila ; that ufed for the richer fort leBi- BkroILt
ca, leSiica funebris, fometimes lecius. The former was II
only a fort of wooden cheft, vilis area, which was,
burnt with the body ; the latter wras enriched and gild¬
ed for pomp. It wras carried bare, or uncovered, when
the perfon died a natural and eafy death ; when he
was much disfigured or diftorted, it was veiled or co¬
vered over.
Bier, is more particularly ufed for that whereon the
bodies of faints are placed in the church to reft, and
expofed to the veneration of the devout. This is allb
called, in middle-age writers, leRus, feretrum, leclica,
and loculus ; and was ufually enriched with gold, filver,
and precious ftones, w’hich was the caufe that the bier
of St Benedidl was pillaged, and all its ornaments car¬
ried off.
BIEROLIET, a town of the Netherlands in Dutch
Flanders, whereW illiamBruckfield, or Beubelings, wTho
invented the method of pickling herrings, died in 1397.
E. Long. 3. 42. N. Lat. 51. 25.
BIFERiE, plants that flower twice a-year, in fpring
and autumn, as is common between the tropics.
BIFRONS, a perfon double-fronted, or two-faced.
Bifrons is more peculiarly an appellation of Janus,
who was reprefented by the ancients wdth two faces, as
being luppofed to look both backwards and forwards :
though other reafons for it are recited by Plutarch.
Sometimes he was painted with four faces, quadrifrons,
as refpedting the four feafons.
BIGA, in Antiquity, a chariot drawn by two borfes
abreaft. Chariot-races, with two horfes, were intro¬
duced into the Olympic games in the 93d Olympiad f •
but the invention was much more ancient, as we find
that the heroes in the Iliad fight from chariots of that
kind. The moon, night, and the morning, are by
mythologifts fuppofed to be carried in bigee, the fun in
quadrigee. Statues in biga- were at firft only allowed to
the gods, then to conquerors in the Grecian games;
under the Roman emperors, the like ftatues, with big<r,
were decreed and granted to great and well-deferving
men, as a kind of half triumph, being eredfed in moft
public places of the city. Figures of bigee were alfo
ftruck on their coins. The drivers of biga were called
bigarii; a marble bull of one Floras a bigarius is ftill
feen at Rome.
BIGAMY, properly fignifies being twice marriedg
but with us is ufed as fynonymous with polygamy, or
having a plurality of wives at once. Such fecond mar¬
riage, the former huffiand or wife living, is. fimply void,
and a mere nullity, by the ecclefiaftical law of Eng¬
land : and yet the legiflature has thought it juft to
make it felony, by reafon of its being fo great a viola¬
tion of the public economy and decency of a well-or¬
dered ftate. For polygamy can never be endured un¬
der any rational civil eftablifliment, whatever fpecious
reafons may be urged for it by the eaftern nations, the
fallacioufnefs of which has been fully proved by many
fenfible writers : but in northern countries the very na¬
ture of the climate feems to reclaim againft it ; it never
having obtained in this part of the world, even from
the time of our German anceftors, who, as Tacitus
informs us, “ prope full barbarorum fngulis uxoribus
contend funtA It is therefore puniffied by the laws
both of ancient and modern Sweden with death. And
in Britain it is enacted by ftatute 1 Jac. I. c. 11. that
BIG [ 6t
TVi^ati it any perfon being married, do afterwards marry
|| again, the former hufband or wife being alive, it is
Blgncn. £eiony • but within the benefit of clergy. The firft
w[fe in this cafe fhall not be admitted as an evidence
againft her hufband, becaufe (lie is the true wife j but
the fecond may, for fhe indeed is no wife at all: and
fo, vice verfa, of a fecond hufband. T his aft makes
an exception to five cafes, in which fuch fecond mar¬
riage, though in the three firft it is void, is yet no fe¬
lony. I. Where either party hath been continually
abroad for feven years, whether the party in England
hath notice of the other’s being alive or no. 2. Where
either of the parties hath been abfent from the other
feven years within this kingdom, and the remaining
party hath had no knowledge of the other’s being alive
within that time. 3. Where there is a divorce (or
feparation a menfa et thoro') by fentence in the eccle-
fiaftical court. 4. Where the firft marriage is declar¬
ed abfolutely void by any fuch fentence, and the par¬
ties loofed a vinculo. Or, 5, Where either of the par¬
ties was under the age of confent at the time of the
firft marriage •, for in fuch cafe the firft marriage was
voidable by the difagreement of either party, which
the fecond marriage very clearly amounts to. But, if
at the age of confent the parties had agreed to the
marriage, which completes the contraft, and is indeed
the real marriage ; and afterwards one of them fhould
marry again ^ Judge Blackftone apprehends that fuch
fecond marriage would be within the reafon and pe-
^nalties of the aft.
BIG ATI, in Antiquity, a kind of ancient Roman
filver coins, on one fide whereof was reprefented a biga,
or chariot drawn by two horfes. The bigalus was pro¬
perly the Roman denarius, whofe impreffion, during the
times of the commonwealth, was a chariot driven by
Viftory, and drawn either by two horfes or four} ac¬
cording to which it was either denominated bigotus or
quadr'igatus.
BIGGAR, a town and parifti in Lanarkfiiire, Scot¬
land, where are the ruins of a collegiate church which
was founded in 1545-
BIGGLESWADE, a town in Bedfordfliire in
England, feated on the river Ivel, over which there is
a handfome bridge. The town is much more confider-
able now than formerly, on account of its commodious
inns for paflengers, it lying on the principal road from
London to York. W. Long. o. 1$. N. Lat. 52. 5.
BIGHT, among feamen, denotes one roll or round
of a cable or rope, when coiled up.
BIGNON, Jerome, a French writer, was born at
Paris in 1590. He gained an uncommon knowledge,
under the care of his father, in philofophy, mathema¬
tics, hiftory, civil law, and divinity, in a very fhort
time } and was almoft at the end of his ftudies at an
age when it is ufual to fend children to fchool. At
ten years of age he gave the public a fpecimen of his
learning, in a Defcription of the Holy Land } and two
years after, he publifhed a Difcourfe concerning the
principal antiquities and curiofities. of Rome: and a
fummary Treatife concerning the eleftion of Popesk
Henry IV. defired to fee him, and appointed him page
to the dauphin, who was afterwards Louis XIII. He
appeared at court with all the politenefs of manners
imaginable. He wrote at that time ,3 treatife of the
precedency of the kings of France, which he dedicated
1 ] B I L
to Henry IV. who gave him an exprefs order to con- Bignor.ia
tinue his refearches on that fubjeft : but the death of pj]ai (je?>
that prince interrupted his defign. He pubhmed, in ^
1613, the Formulae of Marculphus. He was in 1620
made advocate-general in the grand council } and dil-
charged that poll with fuch reputation, that the king
nominated him fome time after counlellor of ftate, and
at laft advocate-general in the parliament. He re-
figned his offices in 1641 } and the year following was
appointed chief library-keeper of the king’s library.
He was obliged to refume his office of advocate-ge¬
neral, and held it till his death. He was employed
in the moft important affairs of date. At laft this
great man, who had always made religion the bafis of
his other virtues, died with the moft exemplary devo¬
tion in 1656.
BIGNONIA, trumeet-elower, or scarlet
jasmine. See Botany index.
BIGORRE, a territory or county of France, in
the province of Gafcony, which is now included in the
department of the Upper Pyrenees. It is bounded on
the eaft by the valley of Aure, the vifeounty of Ne-
bouffa, Riviere Verdun, and Pardiac ; by Bearne on the
weft } on the fouth, by the valleys of Brotou and Pen-
ticoufe in Arragon } and on the north, by the county
Riviere-Bas incorporated with Armagnac. It is 40
miles long from north to fouth, and 30 in breadth from
eaft to weft. It is divided into three parts, the moun¬
tains, the plains, and the Ruftan. The mountains are
enclofed between thofe of the valley of Aure on the
eaft, thofe of Arragon on the fouth, and of Bearne on
the weft. This part contains two principal valleys, La-
vedan and Barege. The valley of Bigorre is of an oval
form, and has the hills of Ruftan on the eaft. The re¬
markable towns areTarbes the capital, Bagneres, Lourd,
&c. The mountains are a barrier between France and
Spain, and there are four different paffages which the
inhabitants are obliged to guard. Bigorre yields mar¬
ble, jafper, ftone, and (late } there are alfo mines of
feveral forts, but they are not worked. The rivers are
the Adour, the Elches, the Arrofet, and the Gave of
Lavedan } there are alfo three lakes.
BIGOT, a perfon obftinately and perverfely wed¬
ded to fome opinion ot praftice, particularly of a re¬
ligious nature. Camden, perhaps, has hit upon the
true original of the word. He relates, that when
Rollo, duke of Normandy, received Gifla, the daughter
of Charles the Foolifh, in marriage, together with the
inveftiture of that dukedom, he would not fubmit to
kifs Charles’s foot : and when his friends urged him
by all means to comply with that ceremony, he made
anfwer in the Engliffi tongue, Ne se by God, i. e.
Not fo by God. ‘Upon which, the king and his cour¬
tiers deriding him, and corruptly repeating his anfwer,
called him bigot; from whence the Normans were call¬
ed, ligodiy or bigots.
Bigot, in Italian bigontia, is ufed to denote a Ve¬
netian liquid meafure, containing the fourth part of the
amphora, or half the boot.
BIHAEZ, a ftrong town of Croatia in Hungary,
feated in an ifle formed by the river Anna, in E. Long.
16. 2. Lat. 44. 35.
BILANDER, in Navigation, a fmall merchant {hip
with two marts, diftinguiffied from other veffels of the
fame kind by the form of the main-fail. Few veffels
4 H 2 are
B I L , [ C
Biibjhs are now rigged in the manner of bilanders; the name
Biledulge- ^as ^een varioudy applied in different countries.
rid. BILBILIS, in jQncient Geography, a town of Hif-
—V—^ pania Citerior, the birth-place of Martial; now fup-
pofed to be Calatajud in Arragon, on the Xalon.
BILBOA, a large, handfome, and rich town of
Spain, capital of Bifcay, with a well frequented har¬
bour. It is remarkable for the wholefomenefs of its
air and the fertility of the foil about it. The inhabi¬
tants have always preferved themfelves from a mixture
with the Jews and Moors ; and therefore will admit
no family to fettle among them but who can prove
themfelves to be of Chriftian extra&ion, nor will they
admit any Haves among them as in the other parts of
Spain. I he exports are wool, and fword blades, with
Home other manufaftures of iron and fteel. The town
is feated at the mouth of the river Ibaicabal, in W.
Long. 4. 20. N. Lat. 43. 23.
BILBOWS, a punifhment at fea, anfwering to the
flocks at land. I he offender is laid in irons, or flocks,
which are more or lefs ponderous according to the qua¬
lity of the offence of which he is guilty.
BILDESTON, a town of Suffolk in England, feat¬
ed on a creek on the river Breton. The principal
manufacture is in wmollen goods, efpecially blankets.
E. Long. o. 45. N. Lat. 52. 20.
BILDGE of a fhip, the bottom of her floor, or the
breadth of the place the (hip refts on wben (he is a-
ground. I herefore, bildge-water is that which lies on
her floor, and cannot go to the well of the pump :
And bildge-pumps, or burr-pumps, are thofe that carry
off the bildge-water. They likewife fay the fhip is
bildged, when fhe has fome of her timber ftruck off on
a'rock or anchor, and fprings a leak.
BILE, a yellow, bitter juice, feparated from the
blood in the liver, collected in the poms bilarius and
gall-bladder, and thence difcharged by the common
dubl into the duodenum. See Anatomy Index.
BILEDULGERID, or Belad Al Jerid, the
Country of dates, a kingdom of Africa. It is almoft
of a fquare form, extending itfelf more than 80 leagues
every way, from 28. 30. to 32. 50. north latitude, and
from 6 to 12 degrees of weft longitude. It is bounded
on the north by the kingdom of Tunis, on the eaft by
a ridge of lofty mountains which divide it from Tripoli
and part of Guadamis, on the weft by the countries
of Zeb and Mezeb, and on the fouth by the province
of Verghela. The whole country is barren, fandy, and
mountainous, producing little or nothing befides dates,
whicn grow here in fuch profuflon, that the face of
half the kingdom is covered over with date-trees, and
from hence the whole country takes its name. The
climate is hot and unhealthy j the people lean, fwrarthy,
and fhrivelled in their complexions j with their eyes in¬
flamed^ owing to the refleftion of the fun-beams from
the wdiite hard foil: and the {bowers of duff: and fand
driven by the high winds that blow here at certain fea-
fons are frequently fo violent as to bury men and
cattle under them. Another inconvenience with which
the .inhabitants are affli&ed, for which no other rea-
fon is given befides their conftant living on dates, is
an inveterate fcurvy in their gums, whence all their
teeth drop out j though it frequently fpreads over their
whole bodies, and then they become the moft unhappy
and loathfoxne objects. They 3re aljnoft entirely free
12 ] b 1 L
from other dneafes: fo that when not afHicffed with this, Biledulge.
they Lve to a good old age \ though it is obfervable r'd
that they ditcover a furrowed countenance, fhrivelled Jj-,.
fkm, hoary locks, and other fymptoms of old age, very ■ ^ *
early in hie, and before decrepitude, infirmity, or any
decay of their faculties, appear. The plague is not
known in Biledulgerid, though fo frequent in Barbary,
and though a conftant intercourfe is kept up between
the two countries; whence it would feem, that in cer¬
tain cafes this terrible diftemper is not fo infectious as
it is ufually thought to be. The fame may be faid of
the imall-pox, a difeafe little lefs contagious and fatal
in hot countries than the plague itfelf. The natives
are reprefented as a lewd, treacherous, thievifli, and
favage people, who delight in murder and robbery.
They are moftly a mixture of Africans and wild Arabs
who mingled themfelves with them. The former live
■with fome regularity and civil order in a kind of villages
compofed of a number of little huts ; the latter in tents,
ranging from place to place in queft of food and plun-
der.. The Arabs, who pride themfelves in their fupe-
riority of birth and talents above the primitive inhabi¬
tants, are wholly independent and free, frequently hi¬
ring themfelves in the fervice of the neighbouring prin¬
ces at war ; from which policy arife the moft valuable
branches of their public revenue, if any thing can be
called common or public in a nation of lawlefs rob¬
bers.. The reft purfue no other occupation befides
hunting and plundering; the firft of which is their
common employment, efpecially hunting of oftriches,.
which are faid to be of a prodigious ftature in this
country, and as high as a man mounted on a tall
horfe. The inhabitants eat the flefh of thefe animals5
barter their feathers for corn, pulfe, and other things
they.want j ufe their hearts in their necromantic and
religious rites, their fat as a medicine of fovereign
virtue, their talons Tor ear-pendants and other orna¬
ments, and their fkins they convert into pouches and
knapfacks, fo that not a part of the animal but is em¬
ployed in fome ufeful purpofe. Befides dates and
oftriches, the Arabs live likewife on the fiefh of goats
and camels 5 drinking either the liquor or broth in which
that flefh is boiled, or the milk of their camels; for
they feldom tafte water, that element being more fcarce
in this country than milk itfelf. In the whole coun¬
try there is fcarce a town of any note, or even ftream.
of water that deferves notice, or that is not dried up
half the year.
BILEVELT, a town of Germany in the circle of
Weftphalia and county of Ravenfburg, fubjedl to the
king of Pruflia, in E. Long. 8. 20. N. Lat. 52. o.
BILINGUIS, in a general fenfe, fignifies one that
fpeaks two languages ; but in law, is ufed for a jury
that paffes in any cafe betxveen an Englifhman and a
foreigner, whereof part ought to be Englifh and part
ftrangers.
BILIOUS, in general, denotes fomething belonging
to, or partaking of, the nature of bile. Hence,
Bilious Fevers are thofe occafioned by the over co-
pioufnefs or bad qualities of the bile.
BILL, in mechanics, an inftrument made of iron,
edged in the form of a crefcent, and adapted to a
handle. It is ufed by plumbers, to perform feveral
parts of their work ; by bafket-makers, to cut the lar-
geft pieces of che&ut-trees and other wood : and by
gardeners,
B I L [ C
gardeners, to prune trees. When fhort, it is called a
hand-bill; and when long, a hedge-bill.
Bill, in Lavo, a declaration in writing, expreffing
either fome wrong the complainant has buffered from
the defendant, or a fault committed by the perfon com¬
plained of againft fome law or ftatute.—This bill is
fometimes exhibited to juftices at the general affizes, by
way of indi&ment, or referred to others having jurif-
dicition \ but it is more generally addrefled to the lord
chancellor. It contains the fad! complained of, the
damage fuftained, and a petition or procefs againft the
defendant for redrefs ; and is ufed both in criminal
and civil cafes. In the former, the words billa vera
■are indorfed by the gfand jury upon a prefentment,
implying that they find the fame founded on pro¬
bable evidence, and therefore worthy of further confi-
deration.
In Scots law, every fummary application in writing,
by way of petition to the court of feflion, is called a
bill.
Bill of Attainder. See Attainder.
Bill of Appeal. See Appeal.
Bill fignifies alfo a paper, either written or printed,
in very large charadlers, which is polled up in fome o-
pen and public place, to give notice of the fale of any
merchandife or ftiip, or of the failing of any veffel in¬
to foreign parts.
Bill, in Trade, both wholefale and retail, as alfo
among workmen, fignifies an account of merchan-
difes or goods delivered to a perfon, or of work done
for one.
Bill, in Commerce, denotes a fecurity for money
under the hand and fometimes feal of the debtor, with¬
out any condition or forfeiture in cafe of non-perform¬
ance ; in which it is diftinguifhed from a bond or ob¬
ligation. It has been ufually defined, a writing where¬
in one man is bound to another to pay a fum of mo¬
ney, on a day that is future, or prefently on demand,
according to the agreement of the parties at the time
when it is drawn ; on which, in cafe of failure, dili¬
gence or execution may be immediately done to force
payment. Thefe bills muft be on ftamped paper : if
under 50I. the ftamp to be 6d. j if for 50I. or up¬
wards is.
Banh-BiLL is a note or obligation figned on behalf
of the company of the bank, by one of their calhiers,
for value received. Or it is an obligation to pay on
demand either to the bearer or to order j in Scotland,
it is underftood to be to order.
Bill of Entry, an account of the goods entered at
the cuftom-houfe, both inwards and outwards. In
this bill muft be exprefled, the merchant exporting or
importing; the quantity of merchandife, and the di¬
vers fpecies thereof; and whither tranfported, or from
whence.
Bill of Exchange, is a fecurity, orginally invented
among merchants in different countries, for the more
eafy remittance of money from the one to the other,
which has fince fpread itfelf into almoft all pecuniary
tranfa6lions. It is an open letter of requeft from one
man to another, defiring him to pay a fum named there¬
in to a third perfon on his account; by which means
a man at the moft diftant part of the world may have
money remitted to him from any trading country. If
A lives in Jamaica, and owes B who lives in England
i3 ] B I L
1000I.; now if C be going from England to Jamaica,
he may pay B this 1000I. and take a bill of exchange
drawn by B in England upon A in Jamaica, and re¬
ceive it when he comes thither. Thus does B receive
his debt, at any diftance of place, by transferring it
to C j who carries over his money in paper credit,
without danger of robbery or lofs. This method is
faid to have been brought into general ufe by the Jews
and Lombards, wdien banifhed for their ufury and
other vices; in order the more eafily to draw their ef-
fe£ls out of France and England into thofe countries
in which they had chofen to refide. But the invention
of it was a little earlier ; for the Jews were banilhed
out of Guienne in 1287, and out of England in 1290,
and in 1236 the ufe of paper-credit was introduced in¬
to the Mogul empire in China.—In common fpeech,
fuch a bill is frequently called a draught; but a bill of
exchange is the more legal as well as mercantile ex-
preflion. The perfon, however, who writes this letter
is called, in law, the drawer; and he to whom it is
written, the drawee ; and the third perfon or negociator
to whom it is payable (whether fpecially named or the
bearer generally) is called the payee.
Thefe bills are either foreign or inland ; foreign,
when drawn by a merchant reiiding abroad upon his
correfpondent in England, or vice verfa; and inland,
when both the drawer and the drawee refide within the
kingdom. Formerly foreign bills of exchange were
much more regarded in the eye of the law than inland
ones, as being thought of more public concern in the
advancement of trade and commerce. But now by two
ftatutes, the one 9 and 10 W.4III. c. 17. the other 3
and 4 Ann. c. 9. inland bills of exchange are put upon
the fame footing as foreign ones : what wras the law
and cuftoms of merchants with regard to the one, and
taken notice of merely as fuch, being by thofe ftatutes
exprefsly enafted with regard to the other. So that
there is now in law no manner of difference between
them. In drawing foreign bills of exchange, it is cu-
ftomary to give two or three of the fame date and tenor
to be fent by different conveyances, that in cafe of acci¬
dents the perfon to whom they are fent may not be dif-
appointed ; in which cafe it is mentioned in the body
of the bill, that is the ift, 2d, or 3d bill of exchange j
fo that when one is paid it difcharges all the reft.
Inland bills for any fum muft be on 6d. ftamped pa¬
per.
Bill of Lading, an acknowledgment figned by the
matter of a ftup, and given to a merchant, &c. contain¬
ing an account of the goods which the mafter has re¬
ceived on board from that merchant, &c. with a pro-
mife to deliver them at an intended place for a certain
falary. Each bill of lading muft be treble, one for the
merchant who loads the goods, another to be fent to
the perfon to whom they are configned, and the third
to remain in the hands of the mafter of the ftiip. It
muft be obferved, however, that a bill of lading is ufed
only when the goods fent on board a ftiip are but part
of the cargo : for when a merchant loads a whole vef¬
fel for his ow'n perfonal account, the deed paffed be¬
tween him and the mafter of the ftiip is called charter-
party. See Charter-party.
Bills of mortality, are accounts of the numbers of
births and burials wuthin a certain diftridl, every week,
month, quarter,, or year. In this fenfe we fay weekly
bills3
B I L [ 6
bills, Monthly bills, quarterly bills, yearly bills. The
London bills of mortality, which were the firft, are
compofed by the company of parifh-clerks, and exprefs
the number of chriifenings of each fex, and the number
of deaths from each diieafe.
Bill of Parcels, an account given by the feller to the
buyer, containing the particulars of all the forts and.
prices of the goods bought.
BiLL of Sale, is when a perfon wanting a fum of
money delivers goods as a fecurity to the lender, to
whom he gives this bill, impowering him to fell the
goods, in cafe the fum borrowed is not repaid, with
interelf, at the appointed time.
Bill of Store, a licenfe granted at the cuftdm-houfe
to merchants, by which they have liberty to carry, cu-
Ifom-free, all fuch ifores and provifions as they may
have occalion for during the voyage.
Bill of Sufferance, a licenfe granted to a merchant,
at the cuifom-houfe, fuffering him to trade from one
Englifh port to anothet without paying cuftom.
Lombard Bills, are inftruments of an uncommon
kind and figure, ufed in Italy and Flanders, and of late
alfo in France; cdnfilfing of a piece of parchment, cut
to an acute angle about an inch broad at top, and ter¬
minating in a point at bottom : chiefly given where
private perfons are Concerned in the fitting out a fhip
on any long voyage. The manner is thus: The party,
who is defirous to be concerned in the cargo or venture,
carries his money to the merchant, who fits out the
fhip, where it is entered down in a regifter; at the fame
time the merchant writes down on a piece of parch¬
ment, upwards of an inch broad, and feven or eight
inches long, the name of the lender and the fum lent;
which being Cut diagonal-wife, or from corner to cor¬
ner, each party retains his half. On the return of the
"Veflel, the lender brings his moiety to the merchant ;
which being compared with the other, he receives his
dividend accordingly. Much the fame is pra£lifed in
Holland by thofe who lend money on pledges ; the
name of the borrower and the fum are written on a
like flip of parchment, which is cut into two, and half
given to the borrower, and the other half Hitched to
the pledge; that, upon compating them together again,
the borrower may receive his goods on paying the mo¬
ney ftipulated.
Bill in Parliament, a paper containing propofitions,
offered to the houfes to be paffed by them, and then
prefented to the king to pafs into a law.
To bring a bill into the houfe, if the relief fought
by it is of a private nature, it is firft neceffary to pre¬
fer a petition ; which muft be prefented by a member,
and ufually fets forth the grievance defired to be reme¬
died. This petition (when founded on fafts that may
be in their nature difputed) is referred to a committee
of members, who examine the matter alledged, and ac¬
cordingly report it to the houfe ; and then (or, other-
w-ife, upon the mere petition) leave is given to bring in
the bill. In public matters, the bill is brought in upon
motion made to the houfe, without any petition at all.
Formerly all bills were drawn in the form of petitions,
which were entered upon the parliament-rolls, with the
king’s anfwer thereunto fubjoined ; rtot in any fettled
form of wmrds, but as the circumftances of the cafe re¬
quired ; and at the end of each parliament the judges
drew them into the form of a ftatute, which was en-
2
14 ] B I L
tered on the ftatute-rolls. In the reign of Henry V. to
prevent miftakes and abufes, the ftatutes wrere drawm
up by the judges before the end of the parliament ;
and in the reign of Henry VI. bills in the form of
afte, according to the modern cuftom, were firft: intro¬
duced.
The perfons dire&ed to bring in the bill, prefent it
in a competent time to the houfe, drawn out on paper,
with a multitude of blanks, or void fpaces, where any
thing occurs that is dubious, or neceffary to be fettled
by the parliament itfelf (fuch efpecially as the precife
date of times, the nature and quantity of penalties,
or of any fums of money to be raifed ; being indeed
only the (keleton of the bill. In the houfe of lords,
if the bill begins there, it is (when of a private nature)
referred to twx> of the judges, who examine and report
the ftate of the fafts alleged, to fee that all neceffary
parties confent, and to fettle all points of technical pro¬
priety This is read a firft time, and at a convenient
diftance a fecond time ; and after each reading, the
fpeaker opens to the houfe the fubftance of the bill,
and puts the queftion, Whether it fhall proceed any far¬
ther i1 The introdu61iott of the bill may be originally
oppofed, as the bill itfelf may at either of the read¬
ings ; and, if the oppofition fucceeds, the bill muft be
dropped for that fefllon ; as it muft alfo, if oppofed
with fuccefs in any of the fubfequent ftages.
After the fecond reading, it is committed ; that is,
referred to a committee i which is either fele&ed by the
houfe in matters of fmall importance j or elfe, upon a
bill of confequence, the houfe refolves itfelf into a com¬
mittee of the wdtole houfe. A committee of the wdiole
houfe is compofed of every member; and, to form it,
the fpeaker quits the chair (another member being
appointed chairman), and may fit and debate as a pri¬
vate member. In thefe committees the bill is debated
claufe by claufe, amendments made, the blanks filled
up, and fometimes the bill entirely new modelled. Af¬
ter it has gone through the committee, the chairman
reports it to the houfe wuth fuch amendments as the
committee have made ; and then the houfe reconfiders
the whole bill again, and the queftion is repeatedly put
upon every claufe and amendment. When the houfe
hath agreed or difagreed to the amendments of the
committee, and fometimes added nevt? amendments of
its owm, the bill is then ordered to be engroffed, or
written in a ftrong grofs hand, on one or more long
rolls (or preffes) of parchment fewed together. When
this is finiftied, it is read a third time, and amendments
are fometimes then made to it ; and if a new claufe be
added, it is done by tacking a feparate piece of parch¬
ment on the bill, which is called a rydcr. -The fpeaker
then again opens the contents; and, holding it up in
his hands, puts the queftion, Whether the bill {hall pafs ?
If this is agreed to, the title to it is then fettled; which
ufed to be a general one for all the a£fs paffed in the
feflion, till in the fifth year of Hen. VIII. diftinfl titles
Were introduced for each chapter. After this, one of
the members is direfted to carry it to the lords and
defire their concurrence; who, attended by feveral
more, carries it to the bar of the houfe of peers, and
there delivers it to their fpeaker, who comes dowm from
his woolfack to receive it.
It there paffes through the fame forms as in the other
houfe (except engrofling,.which is already done); and.
B I L [6
Bill. if rejected, no more notice is, taken but it pafles fub
Jilentio, to prevent unbecoming altercations. But if it
is agreed to, the lords fend a meffage by two mailers
in chancery (or fometimes two of the judges) that they
have agreed to the fame: and the bill remains with the
lords if they have made no amendment to it. But if
any amendments are made, fuch amendments are fent
down with the bill to receive the concurrence of the
commons. If the commons difagree to the amend¬
ments, a conference ufually follows between members
deputed from each houfe } who for the moft part fettle
and adjult the difference : but if both houfes remain
inflexible, the bill is dropped. If the commons agree
to amendments, the bill is fent back to the lords by
one of the members, with a meffage to acquaint them
therewith. The fame forms are obferved, mutatis mu¬
tandis, when the bill begins in the houfe of lords. But
when an adt of grace or pardon is paffed, it is firlt
figned by his majelty, and then read once only in each
of the houfes, w ithout any new engrofling or amend¬
ment. And when both houfes have done with any bill,
it always is depoflted in the houfe of peers, to w'ait the
royal affent •, except in the cafe of a bill of fupply,
which after receiving the concurrence of the lords is
* fent back to the houfe of commons.
The royal affent may be given two ways : i. In per-
fon $ when the king comes to the houfe of peers, in
his crown and royal robes, and fending for the com¬
mons to the bar, the titles of all the bills that have
paffed both houfes are read j and the king’s anfwer is
declared by the clerk of the parliament in Norman-
French : a badge it muff be owned (now the only one
remaining), of conqueft •, and wdiich one could w'ifh to
fee fall into total oblivion j unlefs it be referved as a fo-
lemn memento to remind us that our liberties are mor¬
tal, having been once deftroyed by a foreign force. If
the king confents to a public bill, the clerk ufually de¬
clares, he roy le veut, “ The king wills it fo to be $” if
to a private bill, Soit fait comme ileft defire, “ Be it as
it is defired.” If the king refufes his affent, it is in
the gentle language oiLe roy s'avifera, “ The king will
advife upon it.” When a bill of fupply is paffed, it
Is carried up and prefented to the king by the fpeaker
of the houfe of commons j and the royal affent is thus
expreffed, Le roy remercic fies loyalfiubjeEls, accepte leur
benevolence, et aufiji le veut; “ The king thanks his loyal
fubjedls, accepts their benevolence, and wills it fo to
be.” In cafe of an a£t of grace, which originally pro¬
ceeds from the crowm and has the royal affent in the firll
ftage of it, the clerk of the parliament thus pronoun¬
ces the gratitude of the fubjedl : Lesprelats,feigneurs,
ct commons, en ceprefient parliament afifiemhlees, au nom de
touts vous autres fiubjeBs, remercient tres humblement
votre majefile, et prient a Dieu vous donner en /ante bone
vie et longue; “ The prelates, lords, and commons in
this prefent parliament affembled, in the name of all
your other fubjedls, moft humbly thank your majefty,
and pray to God to grant you in health and wealth long
to live. 2. By the ftatute 33 Hen. VIII. c. 21. the
king may give his affent by letters patent under his
great feal, figned with his hand, and notified in his ab~
fence to both houfes affembled together in the high
houfe. And w7hen the bill has received the royal affent
in either of thefe ways, it is then, and not before, a fta¬
tute or a& of parliament,
5 1 b 1 L
This ftatute or aft is placed among the records of Bill
the kingdom j there needing no formal promulgation
to give it the force of a lawr, as was neceffary by the t  
civil law with regard to the emperor’s edifts : becaufe
every man in Britain is, in judgment of law, party to
the making of an edift of parliament, being prefent
thereat by his reprefentatives. However, a copy there¬
of is ufually printed at the king’s prefs for the informa¬
tion of the whole land. And formerly, before the in¬
vention of printing, it was ufed to be publifhed by the
fheriff of every county ; the king’s writ being fent to
him at the end of every feffion, together with a tran-
fcript of all the afts made at that feflion, commanding
him, ut fiatuta ilia, et omnes articulos in eifidem conten-
tos, in Jingulis locis ubi expedire viderit, publice procla-
mari, etfirmiter teneri et obfiervari faciat. And the
ufage wTas to proclaim them at his county court, and
there to keep them, that whoever would, might read
or take copies thereof} which cuftom continued till the
reign of Henry VII.
An aft ot parliament thus made is the exercife of
the higheft authority that this kingdom acknowledges
upon earth. It hath power to bind every fubjeft in
the land, and the dominions thereunto belonging ; nay,
even the king himfelf if particularly named therein.
And it cannot be altered, amended, difpenfed with,
fufpended, or repealed, but in the fame forms and by
the fame authority of parliament : for it is a maxim in
law, that it requires the fame ftrength to diffolve as to
create an obligation. It is tiue, it wras formerly held
that the king might in many cafes dilpenfe with penal
ftatutes ; but now by ftatute 1 Wil. and M. ft. 2. c. 2.
it is declared that the fulpending or difpenfing with
law's by regal authority, without confent of parliament,
is illegal.
Bill of Rights. See the article Liberty.
BILLERICAY, a town of Effex in England, feated'
on a hill, in E. Long. o. 25. N. Lat. 51. 35.
BILLET, in Heraldry, a bearing in form of a long;
fquare. They are fuppofed to reprefent pieces of cloth
of gold or filver ; but Guillem thinks they reprefent
letter fealed up, and other authors take them for bricks*
Billete fignifies that the efcutcheon is all over ftrewed
with billets, the number not afcertained.
BiLLEr-Wood, fmall wood for fuel, cut three feet and
four inches long, and feven inches and a half in com-
pafs ; the aflize of which is to be inquired of by juftices.
BILLETING, in military affairs, is the quartering
of foldiers in the houfes of a town or village.—And,
among fox-hunters, it fignifies the ordure and dung of
a fox.
BILLIARDS, an ingenious kind of game, played
on a reftangular table, w-ith little ivory balls, which
are driven into hazards or holes, according to certain
rules of the game.
This game was invented by the French, when it
w7as played in a different manner from what it is at
prefent, by having a pafs or iron fixed on the table,
through wdiich the balls at particular periods of the
game ufed to be played j but now this method is quite
laid afide.
Soon after the French, the Germans, the Dutch,
and Italians, brought this game into vogue throughout :
moft parts of Europe, at which they became great pro¬
ficients j and in a few years afterwards it became a fa<-
vouriUw
Tsilliards.
i
B I L [6
,vourite diverfion in many parts of England, particularly
J with perfons of the Hrft rank. Since that time, indeed,
it has been in a great meafure proftituted by the de-
figning and vulgar fort of people : notwithftanding, it
will never be out of falhion, being of itfelf very enter¬
taining, and attended with that kind of moderate ex-
ercife which renders it the more agreeable.
The table on which the game is played is generally
about twelve feet long and fix feet wide, or rather in
the exaft form of an oblong ; it is covered with fine
green cloth, and furrounded with culhions to prevent
the balls rolling off, and to make them rebound.
There are fix holes, nets, or pockets : thefe are fixed
at the four corners, and in the middle, oppofite to each
other, to receive the balls, which when put into thefe
holes or pockets are called hazards. The making of a
hazard, that is, putting the adverfary’s ball in, at the
ufual game reckons for two in favour of the player.
The game is played with Hicks, called maces, or
with cues 5 the firft confifts of a long ftraight Hick, with
a head at the end, and are the moft powerful inftru-
ments of the twm : the cue is a thick Hick diminiftiing
gradually to a point of about half an inch diameter j
this inftrument is played over the left hand, and fup-
ported by the fore-finger and thumb. It is the only
infirument in vogue abroad, and is played wfith amaz¬
ing addrefs by the Italians and fome of the Dutch ;
but in England the mace is the prevailing inftrument,
which the foreigners hold in contempt, as it requires
not near fo much addrefs to play the game with, as
when the cue is made ufe of; but the mace is prefer¬
red for its peculiar advantage, which fome profefied
players have artfully introduced, under the name of
trailing, that is, following the ball with the mace to
fuch a convenient diftancefrom the other ball as to make
it an eafy hazard. The degrees of trailing are various,
and undergo different denominations amongft the con-
noiifeurs at this game *, namely, the fhove, the fweep,
the long ftroke, the trail( and the dead trail or turn up,
all which fecure an advantage to a good player accord¬
ing to their various gradations : even the butt end of
'the cue becomes very powerful, when it is made ufe of
by a good trailer.
Rules generally obferved at the common or ufual game.
1—i. For the lead, the balls muft be put at one end,
and the player muft ftrike them againft the farthermoft
cufhion, in order to fee which will be neareft the cufhion
that is next to them. 2. The neareft to the cufhion is
to lead and choofe the ball if he pleafes. 3. The lead¬
er is to place his ball at the nail, and not to pafs the
middle pocket; and if he holes himfelf in leading, he
lofes the lead. 4. He wdro follows the leader muft
ftand wfithin the corner of the table, and not place his
ball beyond the nail. 5. He who plays upon the run¬
ning ball lofes one. 6. He w ho touches the ball twice,
and moves it, lofes one. But thefe twm rules are fel-
dom or ever enforced, efpecially in England. 7. He
who does not hit his adverfary’s ball, lofes one. 8. He
who touches both balls at the fame time, makes a foul
ftroke, in which cafe if he fhould hole his adveifary,
nothing is gained by the ftroke ; but if he fhould put
himfelf in, he lofes two. 9. He who holes both balls,
lofes two. 10. He who ftrikes upon his adverfary’s
ball, and holes himfelf, lofes two. n. He who plays
at the ball without ftriking it, and holes himfelf,
1
16 ] B I L
lofes three. 12. He who ftrikes both balls over the Billiards.
table, loles two. 13. He w’ho ftrikes his bail over the '   v'
table, and does not hit his adverfary’s ball, lofes
three. 14. He who retains the end of his adverfary’s
flick when playing, or endeavours to baulk his ftroke,
lofes one. 15. He who plays another’s ball or ftroke
without leave, lofes one. 16. He wdro takes up his
ball, or his adverfary’s without leave, lofes one. 1 7. Fie
who flops either ball when running, lofes one ; and
being near the hole, lofes two. 18. He wdro blow^s
upon the ball when running lofes one, and, if near the
hole, lofes twro. 19. He w ho fhakes the table when the
ball is running, lofes one. 20. He who ftrikes the
table wfith the Hick, or plays before his turn, lofes one.
21- He w'ho throws the flick upon the table, and hits
the ball, lofes one. 22. If the ball Hands upon the
edge of the hole, and after being challenged it falls in,
it is nothing, but muft be put up where it was before.
23. If any perfon, not being one of the players, flops a
ball, the ball muft ftand in the place wdiere it was flop¬
ped. 24. He who plays wfithout a foot upon the floor
and holes his adverfary’s ball, gets nothing for it, but
lofes the lead.' 25. He who leaves the game before
it is ended, lofes it. 26. Any perfon may change his
flick in play. 27. If any difference arife between
players, he who marks the game or the majority of the
company muft decide it. 28. Thofe wrho do not play
mull ftand from the table, and make room for the
players. 29. If any perfon lays any wager, and does
not play, he fhall not give advice to the players upon
the game.
Different kinds of games played at billards.—Befides
the common winning game, which is twelve up, there
are feveral other kinds of games, viz. the lofing game,
the winning and lofing, choice of balls, bricole, caram-
bole, Ruffian carambole, the bar-hole, the one-hole, the
four-game, and hazards.
The lofng-game, is the common game nearly rever-
fed j that is to fay, except hitting the balls, w’hich is
abfolutely neceffary, the player gains by lofing. By
putting himfelf in, he wins two •, by putting his ad-
verfary in, he lofes two •, but if he pockets both balls,
he gets four. This game depends greatly upon parti¬
cular ftrengths, and is therefore very neceffary to be
known to play the winning game w'ell.
The winning end lofing game, is a combination of
both games; that is to fay, all balls that are put in by
ftriking firft the adverfary’s ball, reckons towards game 5
and holing both balls reckons four. At this game and
the lofing, knocking over or forcing the balls over the
cufliion, goes for nothing, the ftriker only lofes the
lead.
Choice of the balls, ivchoofing each time which ball
the player pleafes, which is doubtlefs a great advan¬
tage, and is generally played againft lofing and win-
ninS‘ . . ’ .
Bricole, is being obliged to hit a cufhion, and
make the ball rebound or return to hit the adver¬
fary’s ball, otherwufe the player lofes a point. This
is a great difadvantage, and is reckoned between
even players to be equal to receiving about eight or
nine points.
Carambole, is a game newly introduced from France.
It is played with three balls, one being red, which is
neutral, and is placed upon a fp@t on a fme with the
ftringing
B I L [ 61
Billiards, ftringing nail (i. e. that part of the table from whence
~”"'v 1 the player ftrikes his ball at firft fetting off, and which
is generally marked with two brafs nails). Each an-
tagonift at the firft ftroke of a hazard, plays from a
mark which is upon a line with it at the other end of
the table. The chief object at this game is, for the
player to hit wdth his own ball the two other balls,
which is called a carambole, and by wdrich the player
wins two. If he puts in the red ball he gets three, and
, when he holes his adverfary’s ball he gets twroj fo that
feven may be made at one ftroke, by caramboling and
putting in both balls. This game refembles the lofing,
depending chiefly upon particular ftrengths, and is ge¬
nerally played with the cue. The game is fixteen
up ; neverthelefs it is reckoned to be fooner over than
the common game. The next objeft of this game,
after making what w'e have diftinguifhed by the caratn-
bole, is the baulk; that is, making the white ball, and
bringing the player’s own ball and the red one below
the ftringing nail, from wdience the adverfary’s begin.
By this means the opponent is obliged to play bricole
from the oppofite cuftiion \ and it often happens that
the game is determined by this fituation.
The RuJJian carambole, is a game that has ftill more
lately been introduced from abroad, and is played in the
following manner : The red ball is placed as ufual on
the fpot made for that purpofe ; but the player when
he begins, or after having been holed, never places his
ball on any particular place or fpot ; he being at liber¬
ty to put it where he pleafes. When he begins to
play, inftead of ftriking at the red ball, he leads his
own gently behind it, and his antagonift is to play at
which he thinks proper : if he plays at the red ball
and holes it, he fcores three as ufual towards the game,
which is twenty-four inftead of fixteen points; and
the red ball is put upon the fpot again, at which he
may ftrike again, or take his choice wdiich of the two
balls to pufn at, always following his ftroke till both
balls are off the table. He is entitled to twro points
each time that he caramboles, the fame as at the other
game ; but if he caramboles and puts his own ball into
any hole, he lofes as many as he might have got had he
not holed himfelf: for example, if he ftrikes at the red
ball which he holes, at the fame time caramboles and
holes himfelf, he lofes five points ; and if he holes both
balls when he caramboles, and likewife his own, he
lofes feven, which he would have got, if he had not
holed his own ball. In other refpedls it is played like
the common carambole game.
The bar-hole, is fo called from the hole being
barred which the ball fiiould be played for, and the
player ftriking for another hole j when this game is
played againft the common game, the advantage for
the latter, between equal players, is reckoned to be
about fix.
The player at the one-hole, though it feems to thofe
who are not judges of the game to be a great difad-
vantage, has in faft the beft of it •, for as all balls that
go into the one hole reckon, the player endeavours
to lay his ball conftantly before the hole, and his an¬
tagonift frequently finds it very difficult to keep one
or other ball out, particularly on the leads, when the
one hole player lays his ball (which he does as often
as he can) on the brink of the hole; leading for that
purpofe from the oppofite end, which in reality he has
VoL. III. Part II.
Bii
7 ] B I L
no right to do; for the lead fliould be given from the Billing,am
end of the table at which the hazard is made ; but
when a perfon happens to be a novice, this advantage
is often taken.
The four-game, confifts of two partners on each fide,
at the common wanning game ; wdio play by fuccef-
fion after each hazard, or two points loft. The game
is fifteen up ; fo that the point or hazard is an odd
number, w’hich makes a mifs at this game of more con-
fequence than it is at another ; being as much at four,
fix, or eight, as it is at five, feven, or nine, at the fingle
game.
Hazards, are fo called becaufe they depend entirely
upon the making of hazards, there being no account
kept of any game. Any number of perfons may play
by having balls that are numbered; but the num¬
ber feldom exceeds fix, to avoid confufion. The
perfon whofe ball is put in, pays fo much to the
player according to wdiat is agreed to be played for
each hazard ; and the perfon who miffes, pays half
the price of a hazard to him whofe ball he played at.
The only general rule is not to lay any ball a hazard
for the next player, which may be in a great meafure
avoided, by always playing upon the next player, and
either bringing him clofe to the cufliion, or putting
him at a diftance from the reft of the balls, d he table,
when hazards are played, is always paid for by the
hour.
BILLINGHAM, a town of Northumberland in
England, feated in W. Long. I. 35. N. Lat. 55. 20.
BILLON, in the Hijlory of Coins, a compoiition of
precious and bafe metals, where the latter predominate.
Wherefore gold under tw-elve carats fine, is called bil¬
lon of gold; and filver under fix penny-weight, billon
of filver. So little attention was paid formerly to the
purity of gold and filver, that the term billon of gold
was applied only to that which was under twenty-one
carats, and billon of fiver to that which was lower
than ten penny-weight.
Billon, a town of Auvergne in France, fituated in
E. Long. 3. 30. N. Lat. 45. 36.
BILSDON, a fmall town of Leicefterfhire in Eng¬
land, fituated in W. Long. o. 15. N. Lat, 52. 40.
BILSEN, a town of Germany, in the circle of Weft-
phalia and biftiopric of Liege, feated on the river Demer,
in E. Long. 5. 42. N. Lat. 50. 48"
BILSON, Thomas, bhhop of Winchefter, in which
city he wras born and educated. In 1565* f16 was afi-
mitted erpetual fellow of New college, and in 1570
completed his degrees in arts. He w7as made bachelor
of divinity in 1579, and do&or the year following.
His firft preferment was that of matter of Winchefter
fchool; he was next made prebendary, and afterwards
warden, of Winchefter college. In 1596 he was con-
fecrated biftiop of Worcefter ; and about a year after,
tranflated to the fee of Winchefter, and fworn of Queen
Elizabeth’s privy council. He was one of the prin¬
cipal managers of the Hampton-court conference in
1604 ; and the Englilh tranfiation of the Bible in the
reign of King James I. was finally corre&ed by this
prelate, and Dr Miles Smith bifhop of Gloucefter.
He died in the year 1616 ; and was buried in Weft-
minfter abbey, near the entrance of St Edmund’s cha¬
pel, on the fouth fide of the monument of King Ri¬
chard II. The feveral authors who have mentioned
4 I Bifhop
BIN [ 61
Bimedfal Bifhop Bilfcn, agree in giving him the chara&er of a
Binary ^eai'ne^ divine, an able civilian, and an upright man.
Arithmetic. ^s general much more eafy and harmonious
1 ■ v*" ■1 than that of cotemporary ecclefiaftics. His works are,
l. Several La fin poems and orations. Manufcript, in
Ant. Wood’s library. 2. Lhe true difference between
ChriJhanfubjeBion and unchriflian rebellion. Oxf. 1585,
4-to. Lond. 1586, 8vo. 3. Lhe perpetual government
of Chriffs church. Lond. 1593, 4to, Black Letter.
4.. The effeci of certain fermons touching the full re¬
demption of mankind by the death and blood of Chrif,
&c. Lond. 1599, 4to. 5. Lhe furvey of Chrffs fuf-
fering for man's redemption, and of his defcent to Hades
or Hell. Lond. 1604, fol. 6. Afermon preached be¬
fore King James I. and his queen, at their coronation.
Lond. 1603, 8vo.
BIMEDIAL, in Mathematics. If two medial lines,
as AB and BC, commenfurable only in power, con¬
taining a rational reftangle, are compounded, the
■whole line AC will be irrational, and is called a frjl
bimedial line.
B
A     j C
See Euclid, Lib. x. prop. 38.
BIMINI, one of the Lucaya iflands in North A-
merica, near the channel of Bahama. It is about eight
miles in length, and as much in breadth, covered with
trees, and inhabited by the native Americans. It is
very difficult of accefs on account of the ffioals, but
is a very pleafant place. W. Long. 79. 30. N. Lat.
25. o.
BIMLIPATAN, a fea-port town of Golconda in
the Eaft Indies, feated on the weft fide of the bay of
Bengal. Here the Dutch have a very fmall faftory,
defigned for buying up the cloth manufaftured by the
inhabitants. E. Long. 83. 5. N. Lat. 18. o.
BINACLE, a wooden cafe or box, wffiich contains
the compaffes, log-glafles, watch-glaffes, and lights
to fhow the compai's at night./ As this is called bittacle
in all the old fea-books, even by mariners, it appears
evidently to be derived from the French term habittacle
(a fmall habitation), which is now ufed for the fame
purpofe by the feamen of that nation. The binacle
(Plate LXXXVIII. fig.4.) is furnifhed with three a-
partments, with Aiding fhutters : the two fide ones, a b,
have always a compafs in each d, to direct the ihip’s
w-ay •, w-hile the middle divifion, c, has a lamp or candle
with a pane of glafs on either fide to throw a light upon
the compafs in the night, whereby the man wffio fleers
may obferve it in the darkeft weather, as it ftands im¬
mediately before the helm on the quarter deck. There
are always two binnacles on the deck of a fliip of war,
one being defigned for the man wffio fleers, and the
’ other for the perfon who fuperintends thq, fteerage,
wffiofe office is called conning.
BINAROS, a fmall town of Spain, in the kingdom
efValentia, remarkable for good wine. It is feated
near the fea, in E. Long. o. 15. N. Lat. 40. 24.
BINARY arit HMETic,that wherein unity or r and
o are only ufed. This was the invention of M. Leib¬
nitz, who lffiowTs it to be very expeditious in difcover-
ing the properties of numbers, and in conftrufting
tables : and Mr Dangecourt, in the hiftory of the
royal academy of fciences, gives a fpecimen of it con¬
cerning arithmetical progrefTionals j where he fhows,
8 ] BIN
that becaufe in binary arithmetic only twro chara&ers Binary
are ufed, therefore the lawTs of piogrefllon may be -Arithmetic
more eafily difcovered by it than by common arithme- -g;n|jn
tic. All the charafters ufed in binary arithmetic are > , 'l
O and I j and the cypher multiplies every thing by 2,
as in the common arithmetic by 10. Thus 1 is one $
10, two j 11, three*, ICO, four ; IOI, five ; 110, fix:
III, feven ; 1000, eight j 1001, nine j 1010, ten;
which is built on the fame principles with common
arithmetic. Hence immediately appears the reafon of
the celebrated property of the duplicate geometrical
proportion in whole numbers ; viz. that one number
of each degree being had, we may thence compofe all
the other whole numbers above the double of the high-
eft degree. It being here, v. gr. as if one fhould fay,
111 is the fum of 4, 2, and 1, which proper¬
ty may ferve eflayers to weigh all kinds of
maffes with a little weight ; and may be ufed
in coins, to give feveral values with fmall
pieces. This method of expreffing numbers
once eftabliihed, all the operations will be ea¬
fy : in multiplication particularly, there will be no
need for a table, or getting any thing by heart. The
author, however, does not recommend this method for
common ufe, becaufe of the great number of figures
required to exprefs a number ; adding, that if the com¬
mon progreffion w^ere from 12 to 12, or from 16 to
16, it would be ftill more expeditious; but its ufe is
in difcovering the properties of numbers, in conftruft-
ing tables, &:c. What makes the binary arithmetic
the more remarkable is, that it appears to have been
the fame with that ufed 4000 years ago among the
Chinefe, and left in anigma by Fohi, the founder of
their empire, as well as of their fciences.
Binary Meafure, in Mufc, is- a meafure wffiich is
beaten equally, or where the time of rifing is equal to
that of falling. This is ufually called common time.
Binary Number, that compofed of twm units.
BINCH, a fmall fortified town of the Low Coun¬
tries, in the county of Hainault, fubjecft to the houfe
of Auftria. E. Long. 3. 21. N. Lat. qo. 23.
BIND, a country w-ord for a ftalk of hops.
Bind of Eels, a quantity, confifting of 250, or 10
ftrikes, each containing 25 eels.
Bind-weed, in Botany. See Convolvulus,
Botany Index.
BINDBROKE, a town of Lincolnfiiire in Eng¬
land, feated in E. Long. o. 10. N. Lat. 53. 32.
BINDING-joists, in ArchiteBure, are thofe joifts
in a floor, into which the trimmers of ftaircafes, or W'ell-
holes of the flairs, and chimney-ways, are framed :
they ought to be ftronger than common joifts.
Binding, in the art of defence, a method of fecu-
ring or crofting the adverfary’s fword wdth a preffure,
accompanied with a fpring from the wrift. See Beat¬
ing.
Unlefs a man by feme kind of crofs, fecurc, as it
were, or render his adverfary’s fword incapable to of¬
fend him during the time of his performing a lefibn
upon him, it is impoffible for him to be certain but
that he may receive from his adverfary, either a for¬
tuitous contretemps, or an exchanged thruft, before the
recovery of his body, or going off after a thruft.—
The great objeftion made by fome people, particularly
thofe time-catchers, againft the frequent ufe of bind-
100
10
1
ml 7
lng?
B I O
[ 6
"Blriding ing, Is, tliat when a man, in performing it, cleaves too
!| much to his adverfary’s fword, he is liable to his ad-
Biographcr. verfary’s flipping of him> anfl confequently of receiving
either a plain thruft, or one from a feint.
Binding is a term in falconry, which implies tiring,
or when a hawdc feizes.
Binding of Books. See BooK-Binding,
BING, in the alum-works, denotes a heap of alum
thrown together in order to drain.
BINGAZI, a fea-port town of Africa, in the king¬
dom of Tripoli. E. Long. 19. ig. N. Lat. 32. 20.
BINGEN, an ancient and handfome town of Ger¬
many, in the archbifliopric of Mentz, feated at the
place where the river Nave falls into the Rhine. E.
Long. 7. 48. N. Lat. 50. 33.
BINGHAM, Joseph, a learned divine, born at
Wakefield in Yorkfhire, in September 1668, educated
at Univerfity college in Oxford, and afterwards pre-
fented by John Radclift'e, M. D. to the reftory of
Headbournworthy, near Winchefler. In this country
retirement he began his learned and laborious work,
Origines Eedefiaficce ; or, The Antiquities of the Chri-
flian church. The firft volume of which wras publifhed
in 1708, and it was completed afterwards in nine vo¬
lumes more. Ele publiflned alfo feveral other books.
But notwithflanding his great learning and merit, he
had no other preferment than that of Headbournwor¬
thy till the year 1712, when he was collated to the
reftory of Havant, near Portfmouth, by Sir Jonathan
Trelawney bilhop of Winchefter, to whom he dedi¬
cated feveral of his books. Ele died Auguft 17th,
1723, in the 55th year of his age.
Bingham, a town of Nottinghamfliire in England,
feated in the vale of Bel voir, in W. Long. 1. 10. N.
Lat. 50. 3.
BINGIUM, in Ancient Geography, a village or town
of the Vangiones in Gallia Belgica, feated at the con¬
fluence of the Nave and Rhine. Now Bingen, wLich
fee.
BING LEY, a town in the weft riding of York-
ftiire, feated on the river Aire, in W. Long. I. 35.
N. Lat. 53. 20.
BINN, binna, a fort of cheft or cupboard, wherein
to lock up bread, meat, or other provifions. The word
is alfo ufed for a place boarded up to put corn in.
Binn, or Bin. The peafe and oatmeal, ufed at fea,
are apt to fpoil in calks. Dr Hales propofes to pre¬
vent this, by putting them into large binns, with falfe
bottoms of hair-cloths laid on bars, whereby frelh air
may be blown upwards through them, at proper times,
with fmall ventilators.
BINOCULAR telescope, a kind of dioptric te-
lefcope fitted with two tubes, joined in fuch a manner
that one may fee a diftant object with both.eyes at the
fame time. See Optics.
BINOP^IAL, in Algebra, a root confifting of two
members connefted by the fign -f or —. Thus
and 8—3, are binomials, confifting of the fums and
differences of thefe quantities. See Algebra.
BINT AN, an ifiand of Afia, in the Eaft Indies, to
the fouth of the peninfula of Malacca, fituated in E.
Long. 103. 50. N. Lat. 1. o.
BIOGRAPHER, one who writes the lives of par¬
ticular perfons, as,. Plutarch,. Suetonius, &c. See the
next article.
19 1 B 1
BIOGRAPHY, a fpecies of hiftory which records Biography
the lives and charafters of remarkable perfons. This is II
at once the moft entertaining and inftru6tive kind of Cl(lu.adra"
hiftory. It admits of all the painting and paflion of ro- t^C~ .
mance j but with this capital difference, that our paf-
fions are more keenly interefted, becaufe the charafters
and incidents are not only agreeable to nature, but
ftridfly true. No books are fo proper to be put into
the hands of young people. See History.
BION, a bucolic poet, native of Smyrna, lived at
the fame time with Ptolemy Philadelphus, whofe reign
reached from the fourth year of the 123d Olympiad to
the fecond year of the 133d. He was an incomparable \
poet, if we may believe the lamentations of his difciple
Mofchus. His few pieces which are left do not con¬
tradict this teftimony. See Moschus.
Bion, furnamed Bory/ihenites, becaufe he was of Bo-
ryfthenes, was a philofopher of a great deal of wit, but
of very little religion : he flourilhed about the 120th
Olympiad 5 but, falling fick, he, like other profane per¬
fons, became luperftitious.
BIORNBURG, a town of North Finland in Swe¬
den, feated on the river Kune near its mouth in the
gulf of Bothnia. E. Long. 22. 35. N. Lat. 62. 6.
^10 1HI.ANATI (from/3mc, violence, and
death'), in fome medical writers, denotes thofe who die
a violent death. The word is alfo written, and with
more propriety, biathanati; fometimes biaothanti.
In a more particular fenfe, it denotes thole who kill
themfelves, more properly called autothanati. In this
fenfe it is that the word is ufed both by Greek and La¬
tin writers. By the ancient difcipline of the church,
they were punilhed by denying them burial, and refu-
ftng all commemoration of them in the prayers and offi¬
ces of the church.
Biothanati (fuppofed by fome to be derived from
(Sia;, life, and Saavaroj, death, and alluding to the belief
of a future life after death), was alio a name of re¬
proach given by the Heathens to the primitive Chri-
ftians, for their conftancy and forwardnefs to lay down
their lives in martyrdom.
BIO I HANATOS is alfo ufed in fome waiters of
the barbarous age for wickted, damnable, or accuiied.
BIOUAC, Bivouac, or Biovac, in the military
art, a nightly guard performed by the whole army,
when there is an apprehenfion of danger from the ene¬
my. I he word is formed by corruption from the Ger¬
man weywaght, a double watch or guard.
BIPENNIS, a two-edged axe, ufed anciently by the
Amazons in fight; as alfo by the feamen, to cut afun-
der the ropes and cordage of the enemy’s veffels. The
bipennis was a weapon chiefly of the oriental nations*
made like a double axe, or two axes joined back to
back, with a Ihort handle. Modern writers ufually
compare it to our halbard or partizany from which it
differed in that it had no point, or that its ftiaft or
handle was much Ihorter.
BIQUADRATE, or Biquadratic, is the next
power above the cube, or the Iquare multiplied by it-
felf.
BIQUADRATIC equation, in Algebra, an equa¬
tion raifed to the fourth power, or where the unknown
quantity of one of the terms has four dimenfions : Thus
x^fax* Jf-bx1 fcxfdz^o is a biquadratic equation.
See Algebra,
4 1 2
Biquadratic
B I R [ 620 ] B I R
Biquadratic
Parabola
Biquadratic Parabola, in Geometry, a curve line of
the third order, having two infinite legs tending the
fame way. See Parabola.
Biquadratic Power of any number, is the fourth
power or iquared fquare of that number: 1 hus 16
is the biquadratic power of 2; for 2X2=4, and
4X4=16.
Biquadratic Root of any number, is the fquare root
of the fquare root of that number: Thus the biqua¬
dratic root of 81 is 3 ; for the fquare root of 81 is 9,
and the fquare root of 9 is 3.
BIQUALAR, in the cuftoms of the Algerines, a
cook of the divan.—The janizaries, whom the Alge¬
rines call oldachis, after ferving a certain term as com¬
mon foldiers, are preferred to be biqualars, or cooks
of the divan, which is the firft ftep towards arriving at
higher preferment. Biqualars have the care of furnifh-
ing the officers and commanders of the Algerine fol-
diery with meat and drink in the camp, in garrifon,
&c. From biqualars they are made odobachis j that is,
corporals of companies, or commanders of fquadrons.
BIQUINTILE, an afpe&of the planets, when they
are 144 degrees diftant from each other. It is thus
called, becaufe they are diilant from one another by
twice the fifth part of 360 degrees.
BIR, or Berr, a town of the province of Diarbeck
in Turkey in Afia, with a caftle where the governor re-
fides, feated on the eaftern bank of the river Euphrates,
near a high mountain in a very pleafant and fertile coun¬
try. E. Long. 38. 6. N. Lat. 36. 10.
BIRAGUE, Clement, a Milanefe engraver, and
the inventor of the art of cutting diamonds, flourilhed
about the year 1580.
BIRCH-tree. See Betula, Botany Index.
Birch-Bark, being bituminous, and confequently
warm and emollient, is ufed in fumigations to correft
a diftempered air. The inner filken bark was anciently
ufed for writing-tables before the invention of paper j
though Ray rather affigns the office of paper to the
cuticle, or outer fkin, which peels off yearly. And
with the outward, thicker, and coarfer part, are houfes
in Ruffia, Poland, and other northern trafts, covered
inftead of Hates and tyle. The Indians make pinnaces
with white cedar, which they cover with large flakes
of birch-bark} fewing them with thread of fpruce roots,
and pitching them, as the ancient Britons did, with
the willow. Pliny fpeaks of a bitumen a&ually procu¬
red from the birch tree.
Fungus of Birch, an excrefcence growing on its
trunk. It is aftringent, and good againft hemorrha-
gies. When boiled, beaten, and dried in an oven, it
makes excellent fpunk or touchwrood.
BiRcu-Leaves are of ufe in the dropfy, itch, &c. ei¬
ther internally or externally applied.
BiRCH-Twigs ferve to make rods and brooms: fmeer-
ed with bird-lime, they are ufed by fowlers; to fay
nothing of the ancient fafces carried by liftors.
BiRCH-Wine is made by fermenting the vernal juice.
Formerly it was in great repute againfl: all nephritic
diforders, but is left out in the modern London prac¬
tice. The preparation of birch-wine is well and am¬
ply defcribed in a book entitled Vinetum Britanni-
cum.
Birch, Dr Thomas, an eminent hiftorical and
biographical writer, was born in London in ry0^
parents were both of them Quakers; and his father, Birch.
Jofeph Birch, was a coffee-mill maker by trade. 1—--y—
Thomas being put to fchool, was indefatigable in
his application, and Hole many hours from fleep to
increafe his flock of knorvledge. By this unremit¬
ting diligence, though he had not the happinefs of an
univerfity education, he foon became qualified to take
holy orders in the church of England, to the furprife
of his acquaintance. In 1728 he married the daugh¬
ter of the Rev. Mr Cox, to w’hom he was curate :
but his felicity was of fhort duration, Mrs Birch dy¬
ing of a puerperal fever in lefs than 12 months after
their marriage ; an event which he deplores in a very
elegant and pathetic poem, preferved in Nichols’s
Colledfion. In 1732 he was recommended to the
friendfhip and favour of the late lord high chancel¬
lor Hardwicke, then attorney general 5 to which noble
peer, and to the prefent earl of Hardwicke, he was
indebted for all his preferments. The firfl proof he
experienced of his patron’s regard was the living of
Ulting in the county of Effex, in the gift of the
crown, to which he was prefented 1732. In 1734 he
was appointed one of the domeflic chaplains to the
unfortunate earl of Kilmarnock, who was beheaded in
1746. Mr Birch was chofen a member of the Royal
Society, Feb. 20. 1734-5 ; and of the Society of An¬
tiquaries, Dec. 11. 1735, of which he afterwards be¬
came diredlor till his death. Before this, the Ma-
rifchal college of Aberdeen had conferred on him, by
diploma, the degree of mailer of arts. In 1743, by
the interell of Lord Hardwicke, he was prefented by
the crowm to the finecure reclory of Landewy Welfrey
in the county of Pembroke j and in 1743-4 wTas pre¬
ferred, in the fame manner, to the reftory of Siding-
ton in St Peter’s, in the county and diocefe of Glouce-
fler. We find no traces of his having taken polfelfion
of this living 5 and indeed it is probable that he quit¬
ted it immediately for one more fuitable to his incli¬
nations and to his literary engagements, which requi¬
red his almoll conftant refidence in town ; for on the
24th of February 1743-4, he wTas inllituted to the
united reflories of St Michael Woodflreet, and St
Mary Staining; and in 1745-6, to the united reftories
of St Margaret Pattens and St Gabriel, Fenchurch-
flreet (by lord chancellor Hardwicke, in whofe turn
the prefentation then w7as). In January 1752, he was
elected one of the fecretaries of the Royal Society, in
the room of Dr Cromwell Mortimer, decealed. In
January 1753, the Marifchal college of Aberdeen cre¬
ated him doctor of divinity ; and in that year the
fame degree w7as conferred on him by Archbilhop Her¬
ring. He was one of the truftees of the Britifli Mu-
feum ; for which honour he was probably indebted to
the prefent earl of Hardwicke, as he was for his lafl:
preferment, the redlory of Depden in EiTex, to wEich
he wras inducted Feb. 26. 1761. In the latter part of
his life he was chaplain to the Princefs Amelia. In
1765 he refigned his office of fecretary to the Royal
Society, and was fucceeded by Dr Morton. His
health declining about this time, he was ordered to
ride for the recovery of it; but being a bad horfeman,
and going out Jan. 9. 1766, he was unfortunately
thrown from his horfe, on the road betwixt London
and Hampftead, and died on the fpot, in the 6iff:
year of his age, to the great regret of the dodlor’s
numerous
•Birch.
B I R [62
numerous literary friends j and was buried in St Mar¬
garet Pattens. Dr Birch had in his lifetime been very
generous to his relations ; and none that were nearly
allied to him being living at his deceafe, he bequeathed
his library of books and manul’cripts, with his pifture
painted in 1735, and all his other piftures and prints
not otherwife difpofed of by his will, to the Britilh
Mufeum. He likewife left the remainder of his for¬
tune, which amounted to not much more than 500I.
to be laid out in government-fecurities, for the purpofe
of applying the intereft to increafe the ftipend of the
three affiflant librarians ; thus manifefting at his death,
as he had done during his -whole life, his refpeft for
literature, and his defire to promote ufeful know¬
ledge. To the Royal Society he bequeathed his pic¬
ture painted by Wills in 1737, being the original of
the mezzotinto print done by Fauber in 1741. His
principal publications were, I. The General Ditfdion-
ary, Hiftorical and Critical; including a new tranfla-
tion of Mr Bayle, and interfperfed with feyeral thou-
fand new lives. Dr Birch’s aflbciates in this under¬
taking were, the Reverend John Peter Bernard, Mr
John Lockman, and Mr George Sale. The whole
defign was completed in 10 volumes folio. 2. Dr
Cudvvorth’s Intelle&ual Syltem (improved from the
Latin edition of Mofheim), his Difcourfe on the
true Notion of the Lord’s Supper, and two Sermons,
with an account of his Life and Writings, 2 vols 410,
1743. 3. The Life of the Hon. Robert Boyle,
1744J prefixed to an edition of that excellent philofo-
pher’s works, revifed by Dr Birch. 4. The Lives
of Illuftrious Perfons of Great Britain, annexed to
the engravings of Houbraken and Vertue, 1747—
1752. 5. An Inquiry into the Share which King
Charles I. had in the Tranfaftions of the Earl of Gla¬
morgan, 1747, 8vo. 6. An edition of Spenfer’s Fairy
Queen, 1751, 3 vols quarto, with prints from defigns
by Kent. 7. The Mifcellaneous Works of Sir Wal¬
ter Raleigh 5 to which was prefixed the Life of that
great, unfortunate, and injured man, 1751, 2 vols 8vo.
8. The Theological, Moral, Dramatic, and Poetical
Works of Mrs Catharine Cockburn •, with an Account
of the Life of that very ingenious Lady, 1751, 2 vols
8vo. 9. The Life of the Moll Reverend Dr John
Tillotfon, Lord Archbifhop of Canterbury. Compiled
chiefly from his original Papers and Letters, 1752,
8vo. xo. Milton’s Profe Works, 1753, 2 vols gto ;
with a new Life of that great poet and writer. 11. Me¬
moirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, from the
year 1581 till her death. In which the fecret in¬
trigues of her court, and the conduct of her favourite
Robert earl of Eflex, both at home and abroad, are
particularly illuflrated. From the original papers of
his intimate friend Anthony Bacon, Efqj and other
manufcripts never before publilhed, 1754, 2 vols 410.
12. The Hiftory of the Royal Society of London for
improving natural knowledge, from its firlt rife. In
which the moil confiderable of thofe papers commu¬
nicated to the Society, which have hitherto not been
published, are inferted in their proper order as a fupple-
ment to the Philofophical Tranfadtions, 1756 and
1757, 4 vols 4to. 13. The Life of Henry Prince of
Wales, eldeft Son of King James I. Compiled chiefly
from his own papers and other manufcripts, never be¬
fore publilhed, 1760, 8vo. His numerous communica-
J b 1 R
tions to the Royal Society may be feen in the Philofo¬
phical Tranfadlions j and his poetical talents are evi¬
dent from the verfes already referred to.
BIRD, William, an eminent mufician and com-
pofer, was one of the children of the chapel in the icign
of Edward VI. and, as it is afferted by Wood in the
Aihmolean MS. was bred up under Tallis. It ap¬
pears, that in 1575 Tallis and Bird were both gentle¬
men and alfo organifts of the royal chapel •, but the
time of their appointment to this latter office cannot
now be afcertained.
The compofitions of Bird are many and various $
thofe of his younger years were moftly for the fervict;
of the church. He compofed a wTork entitled Sa-
ct'arum Cantionum, quinque vocum, printed in 1589 j
among which is that noble compofition Ci-vitas fanEii
titi, which for many years pall has been fung in the
church as an anthem to the words “ Bow thine ear,
O Lord.” He was alfo the author of a work entitled
Gradualia, ac Cantiones facra, qiiinis, quaternisr trinif-
que vocibus concinnatce, lib. primus. Of this there are
two editions, the latter publilhed in 1610. Although
it appears by thefe his works that Bird was in the ftridt-
elt fenfe a church mufician, he occafionally gave to ths-
world compofitions of a fecular kind : and he feems
to be the firlt among Englilh muficians that ever made
an effay in the compofition of that elegant fpecies of
vocal harmony, the madrigal ; the La Vergine/la of A-
riolto, which he fet in that form for five voices, being
the moll ancient mufical compofition of the kind to be
met with in the works of Englilh authors. Of his com¬
pofitions for private entertainment, there are extant,
“ Songs of fundry natures, fome of gravitie, and others
of myrth, fit for all companies and voyces, printed in
1589”’ and twm other colledlions of the fame kind,
the lall of them printed in 1611. But the moll per¬
manent memorials of Bird’s excellencies are his motets
and anthems j to which may be added, a fine fervice
in the key of D with the minor third, the firll compo¬
fition in Dr Boyce’s Cathedral Mufic, vol. iii. and that
well-known canon of his, Non nobis Domine.
Befides his falaries and other emoluments of his pro-
feffion, it is to be fuppofed that Bird derived fome ad¬
vantages from the patent granted by Queen Elizabeth to
Tallis and him, for the foie printing of mufic and mufic-
paper : Dr Ward fpeaks of a book which he had feen
with the letters T. E. for Thomas Eall, Eft, or Efte,
who printed mufic under that patent. Tallis dying in
1585, the patent, by the terms of it, furvived to Bird,
wrho, no doubt for a valuable confideration, permitted
Eall to exercife the right of printing under the pro-
tedlion of it ”, and he in the title-page of moll of his
publications ilyles himfelfthe ajjignee of William Byrd.
Bird died in 1623.
BIRD, in Zoology. See Anatomy, and Orni¬
thology Index.
Beam-BiRD, or Petty-chaps. See Motacilla.
Black-BiRD.
Blue-BiRD.
Canary-BiRD.
Dung-BiRD.
Humming-B ird.
Mocking-BiRD.
Bird of Paradife. __
Bird-Call, a little flick cleft at one end, in which
Vi
Bird,
Bird-Call.
> See Ornithology Index.
B I R [62
leaf of fome plant, wherewith to counterfeit
JBritiJb
Zoology
vol. ii.
append
xio ;,r
Bird- Is put      t
Catching, ^ |.}le cry or caj^ of feveral birds, and bring them to the
net, or fnare, or lime-twig, to be taken. A laurel-
leaf fitted on the bird-callj counterfeits the voice of
lapwings *, a leek that of nightingales, &c.
B1 rb-Catching, the art of taking bitds or wild-fowl,
whether for food, for the pleafure of their fong, or for
their deftrudlion as pernicious to the hulbandman, &c.
The methods are by bird-lime, nets, decoys, &.c. See
BiRD-Lime, infra j and Decoy.
In the fuburbs of London (and particularly about
Shoreditch) are feveral Weavers and other tradeffnen,
who, during the months of October and March, get
iN0 iv. By t^.e‘r JiVehhood by an ingenious, and, tve may fay, a
the Ho- fcientific, method of bird-catching, which is totally un-
nourable known in other parts of Great Britain. The reafon of
rin1!tonBar'tllis trad.e be‘ng confine(l to k) fmall a compafs, arifes
ng on' from their being no confiderable fale for finging-birds
except in the metropolis ; as the apparatus for this
purpofe is alfo heavy, and at the fame time muft be
carried on a man’s back, it prevents the bird-catchers
going to above three or four miles diftance.
This method of bird-catching mull have been long
praftifed, as it is brought to a moft fyftematical per-
fecfion, and is attended with a very confiderable ex¬
pence.
The nets are a moil ingenious piece of mechanifm j
are generally twelve yards and a half long, and two
yards and a half wide ; and no one, on bare infpedlion,
would imagine that a bird (who is fo very quick in all
its motions) could be catched by the nets flapping over"
each other, till he becomes eye-witnefs of the pullers
feldom failing.
1 he wild birds fly (as the bird-catchers term it)
chiefly during the month of Oftober, and part of Sep¬
tember and November 5 as the flight in March is much
lefs confiderable than that of Michaelmas. It is to be
noted alfo, that the feveral fpecies of birds of flight do
not make their appearance precifely at the fame time,
during the months of September, O&ober, and No!
vember. The pippet (a), for example, begins to fly
about Michaelmas; and then the woodlark, linnet,
goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, and other birds of
flight fucceed ; all of which are not eafily to be caught,
or in any numbers, at any other time, and more parti¬
cularly the pippet and the woodlark.
Thefe birds, during the Michaelmas and March
flights, are chiefly on the wing from day-break to
n°on, though there is afterwards a fmall flight from
i.wo till night 5 but this however is fo inconfiderable,
that the bird-catchers always take up their nets at
noon.
It may well deferve the attention of the naturalift
whence theie periodical flights of certain birds can
arife. As the ground, however, is ploughed during
the months of O&ober and March for fowing the
2 1 B I R
winter and lent corn, it fliould feem that they are thus
fupplied with a great profufion both of feeds and m-
iects, winch they cannot fo eafily procure at any other
lealom
It may not be improper to mention another dr*
cum (lance, to be obferved during their flitting, viz.
that they fly always againlt the wind : hence there is
great contention amongft the bird-catchers who lhall
gam that point ; if (for example) it is wefterly the
bird-catcher who lays his nets moft to the eaft, is hire
a 1 in oft of catching every thing, provided his call-birds
are good : a gentle wind to the fouth-weft eeneraliv
produces the belt fport. 5 ^
The bird-catcher, who is a fubftantial man, and
hath a proper apparatus for this purpofe, generally
carries with him five or fix linnets, (of which more are
caught than any finging bird), two gold-finches, two
green-finches, one wood-lark, one red-poll, a yellow-
hammer, tit-lark, and aberdavine, and perhaps a bull¬
finch ; thefe are placed at fmall diftances from the nets
in little cages. He hath, befides, what are called/ar-
birds which are placed within the nets, are raifed upon
the flur (k), and gently let down at the time the wild
bird approaches them. Thefe generally confift of the
linnet, the gold-finch, and the green-finch, which are
lecured to the flur by what is called a brace (c) • a
contrivance that fecures the birds without doing any
injury to their plumage. 6 J
It haying been, found that there is a fuperiority be¬
tween bird and bird, from the one being more in fong
than the other ; the bird-catchers contrive that their
call-birds ffiould moult before the ufual time. They
therefore, in June or July, put them into a clofe box
under, two or three folds of blankets, and leave their
dung in the cage to raife a greater heat 3 in which ftate
they continue, being perhaps examined but ortce a-week
to have freffi water. As for food, the air is fo putrid,
that they eat little during the whole ftate of confinement
which lafts about a month* The birds frequently die
under the operation 3 and hence the value of a flopped
bird nfes greatly. When the bird hath thus prema¬
turely moulted, he is in fong whilft the wild birds are
°Jlt 0^' k>ng, and his note is louder and more piercing
than that of a wild one 3 but it is not only in his note
he receives an alteration, the plumage is equally im¬
proved. The black and yellow in the wings of the
goid-finch, for example, become deeper and more vivid
together with, a moft beautiful glofs, which is not to be
feen in the wild bird. The bill, wffiich in the latter is
likewife black at the end, in the flopped-bird becomes
white and more taper, as do its legs: in ffiort, there is
as much, difference between a wild and a ftopped-bird
as there is between a horfe which is kept in body-clothes,
and one at grafs.
When the bird-catcher hath laid his nets, he dif-
pofes of his call-birds at proper intervals. It muft be
owned
Bird-
Catching,
(a) A fmall fpecies of lark, but which is inferior to other birds of that genus in point of fong.
a lo"] the blrtl iS tied’ and "'Mch the bird-c!“cll'!r can « pleafure by means of
(g). A fort of bandage, formed of a flender filken firing that is faftened round the bird’s body, and under
raifingng?; m ° ^ ^ * ™Uner aS t0 hinder the bird from being hurt, let it flutter ever fo much in the
1
B I R [6
Bin!- owned, that there is moft malicious joy in thefe call-
r.atcj,ing. ^ birds to bring the wild ones into the fame ftate of cap-
v tivity j which may likewile be obferved with regard to
the decoy ducks. See Decoy.
Their fight and hearing infinitely excels that of the
bird-catcher. . The inftant that the (d) wild birds are
perceived, notice is given by one to the reft of the call-
birds, (as it is by the firft hound that hits on the fcent
to the reft of the pack) after which, follows the fame
fort of tumultuous ecftacy and joy. The call-birds,
while the bird is at a diftance, do not fing as a bird does
in a chamber 5 they invite the wild ones by what the
bird-catchers call Jhort jerks, which, when the birds are
good, may be heard at a great diftance. The afcend-
ency by this call or invitation is fo great, that the wild
bird is Hopped in its courfe of flight; and, if not already
acquainted with the nets (e), lights boldly within 20
yards of perhaps three or four bird-catchers, on a fpot
which otherwife it would not have taken the leaft notice
of. Nay, it frequently happens, that if half a flock
only are caught, the remaining half will immediately
afterwards light in the nets, and {hare the fame fate ;
and ftiould only one bird efcape, that bird will fuffer
itfelf to be pulled at till it is caught; fuch a fafcinating
power have the call-birds.
While wTe are on this fubjeft of the jerking of birds,
we cannot omit mentioning, that the bird-catchers fre¬
quently lay confiderable wagers whofe call-bird can jerk
the longeft, as that determines the fuperiority. They
place them oppofite to each other, by an inch of can¬
dle ; and the bird who jerks the ofteneft, before the
candle is burnt out, wins the wager. We have been
informed, that there have been inftances of a bird’s giv-
ing 170 jerks in a quarter of an hour j and we have
known a linnet, in fuch a trial, perfevere in its emula¬
tion till it fwooned from the perch : thus, as Pliny fays
of the nightingale, vicla morte Jinit Jape vitam, fpiritu
| Lib. x. pruts deficiente quam cantu\. It may be here obferved,
c- 19- that birds when near each other, and in fight, feldom
jerk or fing. They either fight, or ufe fhort and wheel¬
ing calls-, the jerking of thefe call-birds, therefore, face
to face, is a moft extraordinary inftance of contention,
for fuperiority in fong.
To thefe we may add a few particulars that fall
within our notice during our inquiries among the bird-
catchers 3 fuch as, that they immediately kill the hens
of every fpecies of birds they take, being incapable of
finging, as alfo being inferior in plumage 3 the pippets
likewife are indifcriminately deftroyed, as the cock does
not fing well : they fell the dead birds for threepence
or four-pence a dozen. Thefe fmall birds are fo good,
that we are flirprifed the luxury of the age neglefts fo
delicate an acquifition to the table. The modern Ita¬
lians are fond of fmall birds, which they eat under the
common name olbeccajicos: and the dear rate a Roman
tragedian paid for one difli of finging birds is well
known 3 (fee the article JEsor).
Another particular we learned, in converfation with
23 ] bir
at London bird-catcher, was the vaft price that is fome-
times given for a Angle fong-bird, which had not learned
to whiftle tunes. The greateft fum we heard of, was
five guineas for a chaffinch, that had a particular and
uncommon note, under which it was inteaded to train
others : and we alfo heard of five pounds ten {hillings
being given for a call-bird linnet.
A third Angular circumftance, which confirms an
obfervation of Linnaeus, is, that the male chaffinches fly
by themfelves, and in the flight precede the females 3
but this is not peculiar to the chaffinches. When the
tit-larks are caught in the beginning of the feafon, it
frequently happens, that forty are taken and not one
female among them : and probably the fame would be
obferved with regard to other birds (as has been done
with relation to the wheat-ear), if they were attended
to. An experienced and intelligent bird-catcher in¬
formed us, that fuch birds as breed twice a year, ge¬
nerally have in their firft brood a majority of males,
and in their fecond, of females, which may in part ac¬
count for the above oblervation.
We muft not omit mention of the bulfinch, though
is does not properly come under the title of a finging
bird, or a bird of flight, as it does not often move
farther than from hedge to hedge ; yet, as the bird
fells well on account of its learning to whiftle tunes,
and fometimes flies over the fields where the nets are
laid, the bird-catchers have often a call-bird to enfnare
it, though moft of them can imitate the call wfith their
mouths. It is remarkable with regard to this bird,
that the female anfw-ers the purpofe of a call-bird as
well as the male, which is not experienced in any other
bird taken by the London bird-catchers.
The nightingale is not a bird of flight, in the fenfe
the bird-catchers ufe this term. Like the robin, wren,
and many other finging birds, it only moves from hedge
to hedge, and does not take the periodical flights in
O&ober and March. The perfons who catch thefe
birds, make ufe of fmall trap-nets, without call-birds ;
and are confidered as inferior in dignity to other bird-
catchers wdio will not rank with them. The arrival of
the nightingale is expected by the trappers in the
neighbourhood of London, the firft week in April : at
the beginning, none but cocks are taken 3 but in a few
days the hens make their appearance, generally by
themfelves, though fometimes a few males come along-
with them. The latter are diftinguifhed from the fe¬
males not only by their fuperior fize, but by a great
fwelling of their vent, wffiich commences on the firft ar¬
rival of the hens. They are caught in a net-^trap, the
bottom of which is furrounded wfith an iron ring 3 the
net itfelf is rather larger than a cabbage net. When
the trappers hear or fee them, they ftrew fome frefti
mould under the place, and bait the trap w-ith a meal¬
worm from the baker’s {hop. Ten or a dozen night¬
ingales have been thus caught in a day.
The common way of taking larks, of which fo
many are ufed at our tables (fee Alauda), is in the
night,
(n) It may be alfo obferyed that the moment they fee a hawk, they communicate the alarm to each other
by a plaintive note 3 nor will they then jerk or call though the wild birds are near.
(e) A bird, acquainted with the nets, is by the.bird-catchers termed a Jlarper; which they endeavour to
drive away, as ffiey can have.co fporj whilft it continues near them.
B I R [ 624 ] B I R
Bird- nlglit, with thofe nets which are called trammels. Thefe
f.etc hing. are ufua]jy mage of 36 yards in length, and about fix
yards over, with fix ribs of pack-thread, which at 1;he
ends are put upon two poles of about 16 feet long, and
made leffer at each end. Thefe are to be drawn over the
ground by two men, and every five or fix fleps the net is
made to touch the ground, otherwife it will pafs over
the birds without touching them, and they will efcape-
When they are felt to dy up againfl the net, it is
clapped down, and then all are fafe that are under it.
The darkeft nights are propereft for this fport.; and
the net will not only take larks, but all other birds that
roof! on the ground •, among which are wmodcocks,
fnipes, partridge, quails, fieldfares, and feveral others.
- In the depth of wdnter people fomctimes take great
numbers of larks by noofes of horfe-hair. The method
is this: Take 100 or 200 yards of packthread ; fallen
at every fix inches a noofe made of double horfe-hair 5
at every 20 yards the line is to be pegged down to the
ground, and fo left ready to take them. The time to
ufe this is when the ground is covered with fnow, and
the larks are to be allured to it by fome white oats
Scattered all the tvay among the noofes. They mult
be taken awTay as foon as three or four are hung, other-
wife the reft will be frighted •, but though the others
are feared away juft where the fportfman comes, they
will be feeding at the other end of the line, and the
iport may be thus continued for a long time. Thofe
caught in the day are taken in clap-nets of fifteen yards
length, and two and a half in breadth •, and are en¬
ticed within the reach by means of bits of looking-
glafs, fixed in a piece of wood, and placed in the mid¬
dle of the nets, which are put in a quick whirling
motion by a firing the larker commands j he alfo
makes ufe of a decoy lark. Thefe nets are ufed only
till the 14th November: for the larks will not darey or
frolic in the air, except in fine funny weather ; and of
courfe cannot be inveigled into the fnare. When the
weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine,
and makes ufe of a trammel net, twenty-feven or
twenty-eight feet long, and five broad ; which is put
on two poles, eighteen feet long, and carried by men
under each arm, who pafs over the fields and quarter
the ground as a fetting dog : when they hear or feel a
lark hit the net, they drop it down, and fo the birds
are taken.
Multitudes of the inhabitants of each duller of the
Orkney ifles feed during the fjafon on the eggs of
the birds of the cliffs. The method of taking them is
fo very hazardous, as to fatisfy one of the extremity
to wThich the poor people are driven for wrant of food.
Copinfha, Hunda, Hoy, Foula, and Nofs-head, are
the moft celebrated rocks; and the neighbouring na¬
tives the moft expert climbers and adventurers after
the game of the precipice. The height of fome is
above fifty fathoms j their faces roughened with fhelves
or ledges fufticient only for the birds to reft and
lay their eggs. To thefe the dauntlefs fowlers will
afeend, pafs intrepidly from the one to the other, col-
left the eggs and birds, and defeend wdth the fame in¬
difference. In moft places the attempt is made from
above : they are lowered from the flope contiguous to
the brink, by a rope, fometimes made of ftraw, fome-
times of the briftles of the hog : they prefer the laft
even to ropes of hemp, as it is not fo liable to be cut by
1
the lharpnefs of the rocks ; the former is apt to un- Bird-
twift. They truft themfelves to a fingle afliftant, who Catching.
lets his companion down, and holds the rope, depend¬
ing on his ftrength alone 5 which often fails, and the
adventurer is fure to be dafned to pieces, or drowned
in the fubjacent fea. The rope is often fhifted from
place to place, with the impending weight of the
fowler and his booty. The perfon above receives fig-
nals for the purpofe, his affociate being far out of
fight who, during the operation, by help of a ftaff,
fprings from the face of the rock, to avoid injury from
the projefting parts.
But the moft fingular fpecies of bird-catching is on
the holm of Nofs, a vail rock fevered from the iile of
Nofs by fome unknown convullion, and only about
fixteen fathoms diftant. It is of the fame ftupendous
height as the oppofite precipice, with a raging fea
between ; fo that the intervening chafm is of match-
lefs horror. Some adventurous climber has reached
the rock in a boat, gained the height, and faftened
feveral flakes on the imall portion of earth which is to
be found on the top ; correfpondent flakes are placed
on the edge of the correfpondent cliffs. A rope is
fixed to the flakes on both fides, along w'hich a ma¬
chine, called a cradle, is contrived to Hide ; and, by
the help of a fmall parallel cord faftened in like man¬
ner, the adventurer wrafts himfelf over, and returns
with his booty.
The manner of bird-catching (fee PI. XC. fig. 7.)
in the Feroe iflands is fo very ftrange and hazardous,
that the defeription fhould by no means be omitted.
Neceflity compels mankind to wonderful attempts.
The cliffs which contain the objefts of their fearch are
often two hundred fathoms in height, and are attempt¬
ed from above and below. In the firft cafe, the fowd-
ers provide themfelves with a rope 80 or 100 fathoms
in length. The fowler fallens one end about his waift
and between his legs, recommends himfelf to the pro-
teftion of the Almighty, and is lowered down by fix
others, who place a piece of timber on the margin of
the rock, to preferve the rope from wearing againft the
fharp edge. They have befides a fmall line faftened
to the body of the adventurer, by which he gives fig-
nals that they may lower or raife him, or fliift him
from place to place. The laft operation is attended
with great danger, by the loofening of the ftones,
which often fall on his head, and would infallibly de-
ftroy him, was it not protefted by a ftrong thick cap j
but even that is found unequal to fave him againft the
wxight of the larger fragments of rock. The dexteri¬
ty of the fowlers is amazing \ they will place their feet
againfl the front of the precipice, and dart themfelves
fome fathoms from it, with a cool eye furvey the places
where the birds neftle, and again flioot into their
haunts. In fome places the birds lodge in deep recef-
fes. The fowler will alight there, difengage himfelf
from the rope, fix it to a ftone, and at his leifure col-
left the booty, fallen it to his girdle, and refume his
pendulous feat. At times he will again fpring from
the rock, and in that attitude, with a fowling-net
placed at the end of a ftaff, catch the old birds
which are flying to and from their retreats. When he
hath finifhed his dreadful employ, he gives a fignal to
his friends above, who pull him up, and fhare the hard-
earned profit. The feathers are pref&rved for exporta¬
tion :
B I R l 625 ] B I R
Bird, tion i tlie flefh is partly eaten frefli, but the greater
Catching, portion dried for winter’s provifion.
u“—"v"' ' The fowling from below has its flrare of danger.
The party goes on the expedition in a boat; and when
it has attained the bafe of the precipice, one of the
moft daring having faftened a rope about his waift, and
furniflhed himfelf with a long pole with an iron hook
at one end, either climbs or is thruft up by his compa¬
nions, who place a pole under his breech, to the next
footing fpot he can reach. He, by means of the rope
brings up one of the boat’s crew ; the reft are drawn
up in the fame manner, and each is furniftied with his
rope and fowling-ftaff. They then continue their pro-
grefs upwards in the fame manner, till they arrive at
the region of birds j and wander about the face of the
cliff in fearch of them. They then a6t in pairs j one
faftens himfelf to the end of his affociate’s rope, and,
in places where birds have neftled beneath his footing,
he permits himfelf to be lowered down, depending for
his fecurity on the ftrength of his companion, who has
to haul him up again } but it fometimes happens that
the perfon above is overpowered by the weight, and
both inevitably periftr. They fling the fowl into the
boat, which attends their motions, and receives the
booty. They often pafs feven or eight days in this
tremendous employ, and lodge in the crannies which
thev find in the face of the precipice.
Plate XC. in fome remote parts of Ruflia there is pra&ifed a
8> lingular invention for taking great quantities of gdi-
nottes or grous. They choofe the moft open places in
the birch woods ♦, and there they plant long forks in
the earth oppofite the larger trees. On thefe forks is
laid a horizontal ftick, gallows-wife, to which are tied
fmall bundles of ears of corn. At a fmall diftance
from this part of the contrivance, is a kind of large
funnel or inverted cone, made with long birch twigs,
thin and flexible, the lower extremities of which are
ftuck in the earth, very near to one another; but by
fpreading towards the top, forms there an opening of
above a yard in diameter. In this opening is placed a
wheel made of two circles that interfedl each other,
and are furrounded with ftraw and ears of corn. This
wheel turns on an axis faftened to the fides of the fun¬
nel in fuch a manner, that there is room enough be¬
tween the fticks of the cone and the circles to admit of
the wheel’s turning freely about. The birds firft perch
upon the tranfverfe ftick near the tree •, and when they
have a mind to fall upon the corn tied to the wheel,
they muft neceffarily ftand upon one of the projecting
parts of the circles of which it is compofed. At that
inftant the wheel turns, and the gelinotte falls, head
foremoft, to the bottom of the trap, which is there fo
contracted that he cannot get out. They fometimes
find the machine half full of gelinottes.
The following method of netting or catching of wild
pigeons is eagerly purfued as a diverfion in different
parts of Italy, particularly by the inhabitants of Cava
in the Hither Principato, and is thus defcribed by
Mr Swinburne. The people “ affemble in parties $
and if any ftranger chances to ftray to their rendez¬
vous, give him a moft cordial welcome. I am not in
the leaft furprifed (fays Mr Swinburne) at their paf-
fionate fondnefs for this fport, as I found it extremely
bewitching, keeping the attention conftantly alive, and
Vox. HI. Part II.
the fprings of the mind pleafingly agitated by expec- Bird- ■
tation ; the fituations where the toils are fpread are in-
comparably beautiful, the air is pure and balfamic,,
and every thing around breathes health and Jatisfac-
tion. When the periodical flights of ftock-doves re¬
turn from the northern and weftern parts of Europe to
gain warmer regions for their winter abode, the fowler
repairs to the mountain and fpreads his nets acrofs the
intermediate hollows, the paffes through which the
birds direCt their cburfe, to avoid unneceffary eleva¬
tion in their flight. Thefe nets are hung upon a row
of large trees planted for the purpofe. The branches
being very thick and clofe at top, and the bole lofty
and bare, a great opening is left below for the toils,
which reach to the ground ; and, by means of pulleys,
fall in a heap with the leaft effort. Sometimes they
are extended upon poles that exceed the height of the
trees. At a fmall diftance is a lofty circular turret,
like a column with a little capital or cap, upon which
a man is ftationed to watch the approach of the game.
As he commands a free view over all the country, and
praClice has made his fight as acute as that of the lynx,
he defcries the birds at a wonderful diftance. The
doves advance with great velocity ; but the alert
watchman is prepared for them 5 and juft as they ap¬
proach his port, hurls a ftone above them with a fling :
upon this the whole flock, whofe fears have birds of
prey for their great objeCt, fuppofing the ftone to be
an enemy of that kind ready to pounce them, dart
down like lightning to avoid the blow by parting un¬
der the trees j but there they rufti into the jaw's of
death, by dafhing againft the net, which inftantly
drops and fo entangles them that not one of them can
efcape the aftive hands of the fowler. Thefe birds
are fometimes taken by dozens at one fall, and are ac¬
counted fine eating. The dexterity with which the
flingers manage their weapon is very remarkable j they
throw the ftone to a great height without any violent
effort, and even without whirling the fling round be¬
fore they difcharge the pellet. In the Pyrenean moun¬
tains, where the fame Civerfion is followed, the watch¬
men ufe a bow and arrowq trimmed wdth the feathers
of a haw'k.”
The following Ample but ingenious method of catch¬
ing aquatic birds is ufed in Mexico by the natives.
The lakes of the Mexican vale, as wTell as others of the
kingdom, are frequented by a prodigious multitude of
ducks, geefe, and other water-birds. Hie Mexicans
leave fome empty gourds to float upon the w'ater,
where thofe birds refort, that they may be accuftomed
to fee and approach them without fear. The bird-
catcher goes into the w'ater fo deep as to hide his
body, and covers his head with a gourd ; the ducks
come to peck at it •, and then he pulls them by the feet
under water, and in this manner fecures as many as he
pleafes.
BiRD-L/me, a vifcid fubftance, prepared after differ¬
ent ways. The moft common bird-lime among us is
made from holly-bark, boiled ten or twelve hours 5
when the green coat being feparated from the other, it
is covered up a fortnight in a moift place ; then pound¬
ed into a tough pafte, fo that no fibres of the wood are
difcernible, and vraftied in a running ftream till no
motes appear 5 put up to ferment four or five days,
4 K ikimmed
• fkimmed as often as any thing arifes, and laid up for
ufc. To ufe it, a third part of nut-oil, or thin greafe,
muft be incorporated with it over the fire.
The juice of holly-bark is a very peculiar fubftance.
But if trials were made, it feems probable, that many
other juices would be found to have the fame clammy
nature. The mifletoe affords a juice even fuperior to
that of the holly ; and if a young {hoot of the common
alder be cut through, there will a ftringy juice draw
out in threads, and follow the knife like bird-lime or
the juice of the holly. It feems in this tree to be
lodged, not in the bark, but in certain veins juft with¬
in the circle of the wood. The roots of all the hya¬
cinths alfo afford a tough and ftringy juice of the fame
kind and fo does the afphodel, the narciffus, and the
black bryony root, in a furprifing quantity.
When twigs, &c. fmeared with bird-lime, are to be
put in places lilbjeft to wTet, the common bird-lime is
apt to have its force foon taken away. It is neceffary,
therefore, to have recourfe to a particular fort, v/hich
from its property of bearing water unhurt, is called
•water bird-lime ; and is prepared thus : Take a pound
of ftrong and good bird-lime ; waih it thoroughly in
Spring-water, till the hardnefs is all removed ; and
then beat it w’ell, that the water may be clean fepara-
ted, fo as not a drop remains ; then dry it well, and
put it into an earthen pot 5 add to it as much capon’s
greafe as will make it run. Then add two fpoonfuls
of ftrong vinegar, one fpoonful of oil, and a fmall
quantity of Venice turpentine. Let the w'hole boil
for fome minutes over a moderate fire, ftirring it all
the time. Then take it off; and when there is occa-
fion to ufe it, warm it, and cover the flicks well wdth
it. This is the beft fort of bird-lime for fnipes and o-
ther birds that love w^et places.
The moft fuccefsful method of ufing the common
bird-lime is this : Cut down the main branch or bough
of any buthy tree whole twigs are thick, ftraight, long,
and Imooth, and have neither knots nor prickles. The
willow and the birch-tree afford the beft of this kind.
Let all the fuperfluous fhoots be trimmed off, and the
twigs all made neat and clean ; they muft all be well
covered with the bird-lime, within four inches of the
bottom 5 but the main bough from w'hich they grow
muft not be touched with the lime. No part of the
bark, where the lime fhould come, muft be left bare :
but it is a nice matter to lay it on properly 5 for if it
be too thick it will give the birds a diftafte, and they
will not come near it ; and if there be too little of it,
it will not hold them when they are there. When the
bufh is thus prepared, it muft be fet up in fome dead
hedge, or among fome growing bullies near the out-
Ikirts of a town, a farmer’s back-yard, or the like, if
it be in the fpring ; for thefe places are the refort of
the fmall birds at that time. If it be ufed in fummer,
the bufh muft be placed in the midft of a quick-fet
hedge, or in groves, bufhes, or white thorn trees, near
fields of corn, hemp, flax, and the like ; and in the
winter, the proper places are about flacks of corn, ho¬
vels, barns, and the like. When the lime-bulh is thus
planted, the fportfman muft ftand as near it as he can,
without being difcovered •, and with the mouth, or
otherwife, make fuch forts of notes as the birds do
when they attack or call to one another. There are
bird-calL to be bought for this ufe ; but the moft ex¬
pert method is to learn the notes of call of the feveral Divination
birds, and imitate them by a fort of whiffling. When by Birds
one bird is thus enticed to the bufh, and hung fall, H
the bufinefs of the fportfman is not to run up to take '
it, but to be patient 5 for it will hang itielf more faft ' ■ - , r
by its ftruggling to get away j and its fluttering will
bring more to the bufh, fo that feveral may be taken
together. The time of the day for this fport is from
funrife to ten o’clock, and from one to funfet. Ano¬
ther very good method of bringing the birds together,
is by a ftale : a bat makes a very good ftale 5 but it
muft be faftened, fo as to be in fight at a diftance. An
owl is a ftill better ftale $ for this bird never goes a-
broad but it is followed by all the fmall birds in the
neighbourhood. They will gather together in great
numbers about it ; and having no convenient place to
lit on but the lime-bufh, wdll be taken in great num¬
bers. If a living owl or bat is not to be had, the fkin
fluffed wdll ferve the purpofe, and will laft twenty
years. Some have uied the image of an owl carved in
wood, and painted in the natural colours j and it ha»
been found to fucceed very well.
Divination by Birds. See Augury.
Migration of Birds. See Ornithology Index.
Nidification of Birds. See Ornithology Index.
Singing Birds are, the nightingale, blackbird, ftar-
ling, thruih, linnet, lark, throftle, Canary-bird, bul-
finch, goldfinch, &c. See fome very curious experi¬
ments and obfervations on the finging of birds, Phil.
Tranf. vol. Ixiii. part ii. N° 31. Their firft found is
called chirp, which is a fingle found repeated at fhort
intervals ; the next call, which is a repetition of one
and the fame note ; and the third found is called re¬
cording, w-hich a young bird continues to do for ten
or eleven months, till he is able to execute every part
of his fong •, and when he is perfedf in his leffon, he
is faid \.oJmg his fong round. Their notes are no more
innate than language in man 5 they all ling in the fame
key. The honourable author Daines Barrington has
there attempted to reduce their comparative merits to
a fcale : and to explain how they firft came to have
particular notes, ibtt Song of Birds, Ornithology
Index.
Methods of prefer ving Birds. See Ornithology
Index.
Birds, in Heraldry, according to their feveral kinds,
reprefent either the contemplative or aftive life. They
are the emblems of liberty, expedition, readinefs, fwift-
nefs, and fear. They are more honourable bearings
than fifties, becaufe they participate moie of air and
fire, the two nobleft and higheft elements, than of earth
and water. Birds muft be borne in coat-armour, as is
beft fitting the propriety of their natural adtions of
going, fitting, Handing, flying, &c. Birds that are
either whole-footed, or have their feet divided, and yet
have no talons, are faid to be metnbered; but the cock,
and all birds of prey with {harp and hooked beaks and
talons for encounter or defence, are teimed armed. In
the blazoning of birds, if their wings be net difplayed,
they are faid to be borne dole ; as, he beareth an eagle,
&c. clofe.
BiRDS-NeJls, in Cookery, the neft of a fmall Indian
fwallow *, very delicately tafted, and frequently mixed * See
among foups. On the fea-coafts of China, at certain rundv.
feafons of the year, there are feen vaft numbers of thefe
' birds j
B I R
Biftls-
Kelts
II
Biretum.
birds; they leave the inland country at their breeding
time, and come to build in the rocks, and fafhion their
nefts out of a matter which they find on the fiiore,
walked thither by the waves. The nature of this fub-
ftance is fcarcely yet afcertained^ According to Kemp-
fer, it is mollufcae or fea woims ; according to M. le
Poivre, fifh-fpawn j according to Dalrymple, fea-
weeds •, and according to Linnaeus, it is the animal
fubftance frequently found on the beach, which filher-
men call blubbers or jellies. The nells are of a hemi-
fpheric figure, and of the fize of a goofe’s egg, and in
fubftance much referable the ichthyocolla or ifmglafs.
The Chinfcfe gather thefe nefts, and fell them to all
parts of the world ; they diflblve in broths, &c. and
make a kind of jelly of a very delicious flavour.
Thefe nefts (MrMarfden informs us) are found in
great abundance in the ifland of Sumatra, particularly
about Croe, near the fouth end of the ifland. Four
miles up the river of that name is a large cave, where
the birds build in vaft numbers. The nefts are diftin-
guifhed into white and black ; of which the firft
are by far the more fcarce and valuable, being found in
the proportion of one only to twenty-five. “ The
white fort (fays Mr Marfden) fells in China at the rate
of 1000 to 1500 Spanilh dollars the peeul 5 the black
is ufually difpofed of at Batavia for about 20 dollars
the fame weight, where it is chiefly converted into glue,
of which it makes a very fuperior kind. The difi'e-
rence between the two has by fome been fuppofed to be
owing to the mixture of the feathers of the birds with
the vifcous fubftance of which the nefts are formed ;
and this they deduce from the experiment of fteeping
the black nefts for a ftiort time in hot water, when
they are faid to become in a great degree white. A-
mong the natives I have heard a few aflert that they
are the work of a different fpecies of bird. It was
fuggefted to me, that the white might probably be the
recent nefts in which they were taken ; and the black,
luch as has been ufed for a number of years fucceflive-
ly. This opinion appearing plaufible, I was particu¬
lar in my inquiries as to that point, and learned what
feemed much to corroborate it. When the natives
prepare to take the nefts, they enter the caves with
torches, and forming ladders according to the ufual
mode, of a Angle bamboo notched, they afcend and
pull down the nefts, which adhere in numbers toge¬
ther, from the fide and top of the rock. They in¬
formed me, that the more frequently and regularly the
cave is ftripped, the greater proportion of white nefts
they are fure to find, and that on this experience they
often make a practice of beating down and deftroying
the old nefts in larger quantities than they trouble them-
felves to carry away, in order that they may find white
nefts the next feafon in their room. The birds, during
the building time, are feen in large flocks on the beach,
collefting in their bills the foam which is thrown up
by the furf, of which there is little doubt but they con-
ftrudl: their nefts, after it has undergone perhaps a pre¬
paration, from a commixture with their faliva, or other
fecretion with which nature has provided them for that
purpofe.”
BIREMIS, in Roman antiquity, a veffel with two
row’s of oars ; concerning the difpolition of which au¬
thors are not agreed.
BIRETUM, or Birretum, a fort of black bon-
E 627 ]
b 1 R
Bi iining'-
li am.
net, or covering of the head, in form of a pyramid, BirkerAead
much ufed in Italy and France, about 500 or 600 years
ago, as a badge of vidlory, honour, or iacerdotal prefer¬
ment. (
BIRKENHEAD, or Berkenhead, Sir John, a
famous political author, was born about the year 161 r»
Being recommended to Dr William Laud archbilhop
of Canterbury, he became his fecretary ; in which of¬
fice he fhowed luch capacity and diligence, that the
archbilhop, by his diploma, created him mailer of arts
in 1639 ; and in the year follow ing, by letter commen¬
datory from the fame prelate, he was choien proba¬
tioner fellow of All-Soul’s College. This obliged him
to refide conftantly at Oxford; and on King Charles I.’s
making that city his head-quarters during the civil
war, our author was made choice of to w rite a Kind of
journal in defence of the Voyal caufe, by which he
gained great reputation. By his majelty’s recommen¬
dation, he was chofen reader in moral philofophy ;
which employ ment he enjoyed till 1648, when he was
expelled by the parliament vifitors. Fie retired after¬
wards to London, where he wrote feveral poetical pie¬
ces 5 and having adhered fteadily to his principles, he
acquired the title of the loyal poet, and fuffered feveral
imprifonments. He publifhed, while he thus Jived in
obicuiity, (ome very latirical compofitions, moftly le¬
velled againft the republican grandees, and written
with great poignancy. Upon the reftoration of King
Charles II. our author was rewarded for his loyalty.
He was created, April 16. 1661, on the king’s letter?
fent for that purpole, do&or of the civil law by the
univerfity of Oxford j and in that quality, as an emi¬
nent civilian, wTas confulted by the convocation on the
queftion, W hether bifliops ought to be preient in capital
cafes ? He was about the fame time defied to ferve in
parliament for Wilton in the county of Wilts. He was
knighted November 14. 1662 ; and upon Sir Richard
Fanfhaw’s going in a public charafler to the couit of
Madud, he was appointed to luccetd him as mafter of
requefts. He lived afterwards in credit and efteem,
and received various favours from the court, which
however, drew upon him fome very feveie attacks from
thofe who oppofed the court. Mr Wood has treated
him with great leverityj but his memory has been tran-
fmitted with honour to pofterity by others, particularly
by Dryden, Langbaine, and Winftanly. He died in
Weftminfter December 4. 16795 and was interred in
St Martin’s in the Fields.
B IRK ENFIELD, a towm of Germany, capital of
a county of the fame name in the circle of the Upper
Rhine. It is feated near the river Nave, in E. Long.
7. 9. N. Lat. 49. 35.
BIRMINGHAM, a very large town of Warwick-
fhire in England, fituated in \V. Long. 1. 3^. N.
Lat. 52. 30. It is no corporation, being only go¬
verned by two conltables and two bailiffs 5 and it is
therefore free for any perfon to come and fettle there 5
which has contributed greatly not only to the. increafe
of the buildings, but alfo of the trade, which is the
moft flouriftiing of any in England for all forts of iron
work, befides many other curious manufaflures. The
towm Hands on the fide of a hill, nearly in the form of
a half-moon. The lower part is filled with the w ork-
fhops and warehoufes of the manu4atfurers, and con-
fifts chiefly of old buildings. The upper part of the
4 K 2 town
B I R f 62$ ] B I R
town contains a number of new and regular ftreets,
and a handfome fquare elegantly built. It has feveral
churches 5 particularly one in the lower part of the
town, which is an ancient building with a very tall
fpire j and another, which is a very grand modern
ftrufture, having a fquare done tower 'with a cupola
and turret above it. The houfes in this town amount
to between 7000 and 8000, and their number is conti¬
nually increaling.
BIRON, Armand de Gontault, Lord of, Mar-
ihal of France, and a celebrated general in the 16th
century, iignalized himfelf by his valour and conduct
in feveral lieges and battles. He was made grand maf-
ter of the artillery in 1569, and no body dared to af-
fault him at the maffacre of St Bartholomew. He was
the firfi: who declared for Henry IV. He brought a
part of Normandy under his fubje&ion, and difluaded
him from retiring to England or Rochelle. But he
•was killed by a cannon-ball, at the liege of Epernay,
on the 26th of July 1592. He was a very univerfal
fcholar : and ufed to carry a pocket-book, in which he
wrote down every thing that appeared remarkable $
which gave rife to a proverb very much ufed at court:
When a perfon happened to fay any thing uncommon,
they told him, You have found that in Biron's pocket-
book.
BIROTA, or Birotum, in Roman antiquity, a
kind of vehicle, fo denominated from its moving upon
two wheels. It carried about 200 pound weight, and
was drawn by three mules.
BIRRUS, in Roman antiquity, a cloak, made of
woollen cloth, w?orn by the foldiers. Alfo a robe an¬
ciently worn by the priefts or bilhops.
BIRTH, in Midwifery, lignifies the fame with de¬
livery. See Midwifery.
Birth is alfo ufed for a perfon’s defcent •, and is
faid to be high or low according to the circumftances
of his anceltry.
There is fcarcely any truth (Mr Knox obferves in
his Effays) of which the world has been more fre¬
quently reminded by the moralifts, than the unreafon-
ablenefs of that veneration which is paid to birth. They
have been told, that virtue alone is true nobility j but
though they have acknowledged the affertion to be
founded in reafon, they have continued, with uniform
perfeverance, in the fame error. The luminous glory
of an illuftrious anceltor, leems to have diffufed a bril¬
liancy over a long line of defcendants, too opaque of
themfelves to emit any original irradiations.
“ Gratitude (continues our elegant author), which
£rft raifes a benefadlor to a diftinguilhed rank in civil
honours, is willing to continue its kindnefs to his im¬
mediate offspring. The diftindfion is rendered here¬
ditary. This predilection for an anceftor foon leads
to the accumulation of honours and poffeffions in his
fucceffors •, and the incenfe originally offered, becaufe
it was deferved, is at laft lavifhed at the Ihrine of opu¬
lence, independently of merit.
“ Subordination is, indeed, effential to fociety. The
order of nobles, as hereditary guardians of the laws, is
found an ufeful political eftablifhment j and none feem
fo well adapted to fupply it, as they who have been
raifed to eminence by their anceftors, and who poffefs
a territorial patrimony in the land which they are to
proteCI. All that is contended for is, that the recom¬
mendation of birth may not fet afide or depreciate real Birth,
merit, the praife of learning, and the intrinfic value of'"““’V’"*
virtuous exertions.
“ It is a remarkable circumftance in the hiftory of
mankind, that fome of the belt books have been writ¬
ten, and fome of the greateft atchievements performed,
by thofe whofe origin was truly plebeian. The politeft
and genteeleft books, whether the fentiments or the
flyle be confidered, have been produced by flaves, or
the defcendants of Haves. Horace, Phcedrus, and Te¬
rence, wrote in a ftyle which muff have been the ffand-
ard of a court, to an intercourfe with which they were
by no means entitled by their extraCHon. The found¬
ers of the moll dillinguilhed families emerged from
the middle and the low^er claffes, by the fuperior vigour
of their natural abilities, or by extraordinary efforts, ^
affilled by fortune: and unlefs the adventitious circum-
llances of wealth and civil honours can effeft a change
in the conffituent principles of the mind and body,
there is certainly no real fuperiority to be derived in
a boafted pedigree of Tudors and Plantagenets. And
yet there have appeared flatterers, who have indireftly
fuggefted, that the minds of the nobility feem to be
call in a finer mould, and to have an elegance inhe¬
rent in their original conftitution. According to this
hypothefis we mult go on to fuppofe, that the mind
of a commoner exalted to the higher order of fena-
tors, catches this elegance by the contagion of invifible
effluvia. On his creation he undergoes a kind of new
birth, and puts off the exuviae which incumbered and
degraded him in the lower regions. Thus are all the
occult perfections of noble blood to be infufed by the
mandate of a monarch. ‘ But no,’ faid Maximilian
to a man who alked to be ennobled by him, ‘ though
I can give you riches and a title, I cannot make you
noble.’
“ In truth, there is many a nobleman, according
to the genuine idea of nobility, even at the loom, at
the plough, and in the fhop ; and many more in the
middle ranks of mixed fociety. This genuine idea
contains in it generofity, courage, fpirit, and benevo¬
lence, the qualities of a warm and open heart, total¬
ly unconnefted with the accidental advantages of
riches and honour 5 and many an Englilh failor has
poffeffed more of the real hero than a lord of the ad¬
miralty.
“ If indeed there is any fubftantial difference in the
quality of their blood, the advantage is probably on
the fide of the inferior claffes. Their indigence and
their manual employments require temperance and ex-
ercife, the bell purifiers of the animal juices. But the
indolence which wealth excites, and the pleafures
which fafliionable life admits without reftraint, have a
natural tendency to vitiate and enfeeble the body as
well as the mind : and among the many privileges
inherited by him who boafts nobility in his veins, he
commonly receives the feeds of the moft painful and
the impureff difeafes. He difplays indeed a coronet
on his coat of arms, and he has a long pedigree to pe-
rufe with fecret fatisfadlion ; but he has often a gout
or a fcrophula, which make him wilh to exchange every
drop derived from his Norman anceltors, for the pure
tide that wrarms a peafant’s bofom.
“ The fpirit of freedom, moral, mental, and politi¬
cal, which prevails in Britain, precludes that unrea-
fonable
B I R * [ 629 ] BIS
Birth, fonable attachment to birth, which, in the countries of
defpotifm, tends to elevate the noble to a rank fuperior
to humanity. In our neighbour’s land, the region of
external elegance united with real meannefs, the im¬
plicit veneration paid to birth adds to the weight of
legal oppreflion. A Frenchman of the plebeian order
attends to a count or a marquis with all the filent
fubmiffion of idolatry : on the contrary, there is no
doubt but that an Engliih gondolier would box with
the beft lord in the land, if he were affronted by him,
without the lead regard for his ftar and ribbon. It
would indeed be an additional pleafure to the natural
delight of conqueft, to have bruifed a puny lord.
Even the more refined and polifhed do not idolize illu-
ftrious birth. In truth, wealth appears to be the ob¬
ject of more univerfal veneration. Noble blood and
noble titles, without an eftate to fupport them, meet
with great compaflion indeed, but with little refpe£l ;
nor is the man who has raifed himfelf to eminence, and
who behaves well in it, neglefled and defpifed becaufe
he derives no luftre from his forefathers. In a com¬
mercial country, where gain is the general objeft, they
who have been mod fuccefsful in its purfuit will be re¬
vered by many, whatever was their origin. In France,
where honour is purfued from the monarch to the
cleanfer of a jakes, the didin&ion of birth, even with
extreme poverty, is enviable. The brother of a mar¬
quis would rather darve on a beggarly penfion, than
pollute himfelf with a trade by which he might acquire
the revenues of a German kingdom. In our land of
good fenfe this folly is lofing ground ; and the younger
brothers of noble houfes often think it no difgrace to
rival the heir in a princely fortune acquired by honour¬
able merchandife.
“ As the world becomes more enlightened, the ex¬
orbitant value which has been placed on things not
really valuable will decreafe. Of all the effefts of man’s
capricious admiration, there are few lefs rational than
the preference of illudrious defcent to perfonal merit,
of difeafed and degenerate nobility to health, to cou-
■ rage, to learning, and to virtue. Of all the objefts of
purfuit which are not in our own power, the want of
didinguilhed birth may mod eafily be difpenfed with,
by thofe who poffefs a folid judgment of that which
makes and keeps us happy. There may be fome rea-
fon to repine at the want of wealth and fame ; but he
who has derived from his parent health, vigour, and all
the powers of perception, need not lament that he is
unnoticed at the herald’s office.
“ It has been obferved, that virtue appears more
amiable when accompanied with beauty ; it may be
added, that it is more ufeful when recommended to
the notice of mankind by the didinftion of an honour¬
able ancedry. It is then greatlv to be wifhed, that the
nobly born would endeavour to deferve the refpedt which
the world pays them -with alacrity, by employing
their influence to benevolent purpofes ■, to thole pur-
pofes which can at all times be accomplifhed, even
when the patriotic exertions of the field and cabinet
are precluded.”
Birth, or Berth, the dation in which a (hip rides at
anchor either alone or in a fleet, or the didance between
the (hip and any adjacent objett, comprehending the
extent of the fpace in which fhe ranges at the length
of her cables: as, Jhe lies in a good birth) i. e. in a
convenient fituation, or at a proper didance from the Birth
drore and other veffels j and where there is good an- g.^ra
choring ground, and fhelter from the violence of the ^ 1
wind and fea.
Birth alfo fignifies the room or apartment where any
particular number of the officers and ffiip’s company
ufually mefs and refide. In a ffiip of war there is com¬
monly one of thefe between every two guns.
BiRTH-Day, the anniverfary return of the day where¬
on a perfon was born. The ancients placed a good
deal of religion in the celebration of birth-days, and
took omens from thence of the felicity of the coming
year. The manner of celebrating birth-days w7as by
a fplendid drefs : wearing a fort of rings peculiar to
that day : offering facrifices; the men to their genius,
of wine, frankincenfe ; the women to Juno : giving
fuppers, and treating their friends and clients j who
in return made them prefents, wrote and fung their
panegyrics, and offered vows and good wifhes for the
frequent happy returns of the fame day. The birth¬
days of emperors were alfo celebrated with public fports,
feafts, vows, and medals ftruck on the occafion. But
the ancients, it is to be obferved, had other forts of
birth-days befides the days on which they were born.
The day of their adoption was always reputed as a
birth-day, and celebrated accordingly. The emperor
Adrian, vre are told, obferved three birth-days ; viz.
the day of his nativity, of his adoption, and of his in¬
auguration. In thofe times it was held, that men were
not born only on thofe days when they firft came into
the world, but on thofe alfo when they arrived at the
chief honours and commands in the common-wealth,
e. gr. the confulate. Hence that of Cicero in his ora¬
tion ad ^uirites, after his return from exile : A paren-
tihus, id quod necejfe erat, parvus fum procreatus ; avo-
bis natus fum confularis.
Birthwort. See Aristolochia, Botany In¬
dex.
BIRVIESCA, a town of Old Caftile in Spain, and
capital of a fmall territory called Bureva. W. Long.
2. 15. N. Lat. 42. 35.
BIRZA, a town of Poland in the province of Sa-
mogitia. E. Long. 25. 5. N. Lat. 56. 35.
EISA, or Biz a, a coin of Pegu, which is current
there for half a ducat. It is alfo a w7eight ufed in that
kingdom.
BISACCIA, a fmall handfome town of Italy, in
the Ulterior Principato, and in the kingdom of Na¬
ples, with a biffiop’s fee. E. Long. 15. 35. N. Lat,
41' 3*
BIS ACUTA, in middle-age writers, an axe with
two edges, or which cuts either way ; or a miffive
weapon pointed at both ends. Walfingham reprefents
the fecuris bifacuta as peculiar to the Scottiffi nation.
See Battle-Axe.
BISB/EA, a feaft celebrated by the Meffapii after
the pruning of their vines, to obtain of the gods that
they might grow7 again the better. The word is form¬
ed from ufed by fome for a vine.
BISCARA, a town of Africa in the kingdom of
Algiers, feated in the eaftern or Levantine government,
in E. Long. 5. 50. N. Lat. 35. 10. This city belong¬
ed to the province of Zeb in Numidia, which lies fouth
of the kingdom of Labez ; but the Algerines, in their
annual inroads to carry off Haves, made themfelves ma¬
ilers
a
BIS [ 63
jAifcay, fter3 0{ Bifcara, in order to facilitate tlieir entrance in-
v to the fouthern provinces. It retains ftill fome remains
of the ancient city that gave name to this territory j
and hath a garrifon to keep the inhabitants in awe, and
who ulually bring lions, tigers, and ’other wild beads
for fale to ftrangers. The city of Algiers js never with¬
out a great number of Bifcarans, who are employed
in the hardelt and Joweft office, as cleanfing of tfreets,
•emptying of vaults, fweeping chimneys, £kc. *, and
when they have got about 10 or 12 crowns by this
drudgery, they return to their country, where they are
refpefted as worthy men on account of their money,
the inhabitants of this province being almoft entirely
■deftitute of coin, and reckoned the mod miferable of
all the Arabian tribes.
BISCAY, a province of Spain, bounded on the
north by the fea called the BayofBlfcay, on the fouth
by Old Cadile, on the weft by Afturias of Santilana,
and on the ead by the territories of Alava and Gui-
pufcoa. It is in length about feventy-four miles j but
the breadth is much lefs, and very unequal. This
country in general is mountainous and barren 5 but in
ibme places it produces corn, and everywhere a great
quantity of apples, oranges, and citrons. They make
cyder with the apples, which is their common drink.
Befides this, they have wine called chacolino, which is
pleafant, but will not keep long, and therefore is ufed
indead of fmall beer. Their valleys produce a little
flax, and their hills a great deal of timber for drips.
The fea aftbrds them excellent fidr of all forts. The
wool that is exported here comes from Old Caftile \ but
their greateft riches are produced by their mines of
iron ; which metal is extremely good, and is tranfported
to all parts. They have likewife artificers that work in
iron ; and are, in particular, famous for working fwords
and knives. Bifcay is the country of the ancient Canta-
bri, fo imperfeftly fubdued by Auguftus, and fo dight-
ly annexed to the Roman empire. Their mountains
have in all ages afforded them temptations and cpportu-
irities of withdrawing tbemfelves from every yoke that
has been attempted to be impofed upon them. Their
•language is accounted aboriginal, and unmixed with ei¬
ther Latin, French, or Spanidi. It is fo totally differ¬
ent from the Caftilian, that we feldom meet with any
of the peafants that underftand one word of Spanifh.
The Bifcayners are ftout, brave, and choleric to a pro-
/Verb. The bed bailors in Spain belong to the ports of
Bifcay, and its mountains produce a very valuable race
of foldiers. Their privileges are very extenfive, and
they w^atch over them wnth a jealous eye. They have
no bifhops in the province, and dyle the king only Lord
of Bifcay. The men are well-built and aftive, like all
mountaineers. The mod lingular thing in their drels
is the covering of their legs : they wrap a piece of
coarfe grey or black woollen cloth round them, and
faften it on with many turns of tape. The women are
beautiful, tall, light, and merry ; their garb is neat
and paftoral ; their hair falls in long plaits down their
backs ; and a veil or handkerchief, twufted round in a
coquetifh manner, ferves them for a very becoming
head-drefs. On Sundays they generally wear white,
tied with rofe-coloured knots. The chief towns in it
are Bilboa, Ordunna, Durango, Fontarabia, St Seba-
flian, Tolofa, and Viddoria.
Biscay, a province of North America, in
o ] BIS
the audience of Guadalajara. It has New Mexico oft
the north, Culiacan on the weft, Zacatecas on the
fouth, and Panuca with Florida on the ead. It is
about 300 miles from eaft to wed, and 360 from north,
to fouth. In general it is W’ell watered, fruitful, mo¬
derately temperate, and abounds in all forts of provi¬
sions, except the mountains of Topia, which are bar¬
ren. The original inhabitants are not all brought un-'
der fubjeftion, they having four large towns in the mo-
rafies, that are of didicult accefs f for this reafon the
Spaniards have built three fmall fortified towns, w Inch
are well inhabited, for the defence of their diver mines.
The latitude is from 25 to 28 degrees.
BISCHOl ISHE1M, a town of* Germany, in the
archbdhopric of Mentz, and circle of the Lower
Rhine, feated on the river Tauber, near the frontiers
of Franconia. E. Long. 9. 37. N. Lat. 49. 40.
BISCHOFF-zell, a town of Switzerland, be-
longing to the biftiop of Conftance. There is a caftle
wherein the bidiop’s bailift refidcs, who receives half
the fines ; but he has nothing to do with the town, nor
is there any appeal from the council of the town. It
is feated on the Thur, at the place where the Sitter
falls into this river almoft half way between Condance
and St Gall. E. Long. 9. 23. N. Lat. 47. 33.
BISCHOP, or Biskop, John de, an excellent
artid, born at the Hague in 1646. He is ipoken of
with great commendation as a painter, and his draw¬
ings from the great maders are held in the higheft efti-
mation by the curious. In thefe he had fucceeded fo
happily, as to preferve with the greateft exaftnefs the
ftyle of the painter whofe piftures he copied. But as
an engraver he is mod generally knowm ; and his works
are numerous. They are chiefly etchings, harmonized
W’ith the graver ; and though dight, yet free, fpirited,
and pleafing. He gives a richnefs to the colour, and a
roundnefs to the figures, far beyond what is ufually
done with the point, fo little aftided by the graver.
His figures in general are well drawn ; but in a man¬
nered, rather than a correft, ftyle. The extremities
indeed are not ahvays well marked, or his heads equally
expreftive or beautiful. It is faid of him, that he ow ed
his excellence to his own genius alone, having never
dudied under any mafter by whofe inftruftion he might
have been benefited. He worked chiedy at Amfter-
dam, W'here he died in 1686, aged 40 years.
Bischop, Cornelius, portrait and hiftory painter,
was born at Antwerp in 1630, and was the difciple of
Ferdinand Bol. His pencil, his tint of colouring, his
ftyle and manner, had a drong refemblance of his ma-
BifcliO-
fifheinr
. II
Pif< hop.
fter ; and by many competent judges he is edeemed
not inferior to him in hidorical fubjefts as wrcll as in
portrait, having been always adiduous to ftudy after
nature. A painting by this mafter, confiding of a few
figures by candle light, was fo much admired by Louis
XIV. that he purchafed it at a high price, and pla¬
ced it in the royal collection ; and the king of Den¬
mark admitted his wmrks among thofe of the bed ma-
fters. However, notwuthdanding the encomiums be-
dowed on this mafter by the Flemidi writers, an im¬
partial judge would perhaps think his compofitions but
heavy and without expredion, and his w orks in gene¬
ral not worthy of all that commendation which is la-
vifhed upon them. He died in 1674.
Bischop, Abraham, fon of Cornelius Bifchcp, was
inltru&ed
/
BIS [63
BifcWellerinflru&ed by his father todefign hiftorical fubjefts and
EifJlta Portraits ’ but Purred the painting of fowl, parti-
1—, cularly thofe of the domeftic kind, to any other fub-
je&s which were recommended to him. He defigned
every objeft after nature, and ufually painted in a large
fize, fuch as ornamental furniture for grand halls j and
every fpecies of fowl was fo exaftly like nature in its
attitude, charadter, and plumage, that his works were
beheld with univerfal approbation.
BISCHWELLER, a fortrefs of Alface, feated in
E. Long. 7. o. N. Lat. 48. 40.
BISCHROMA, in Mujic, the fame as our triple
quaver. See Chroma.
BISCUTELLA, buckler-mustard, or Bq/lard
Mithridate-mn/lard. See Botany Index.
BISEGLIA, a populous town of Italy in the king¬
dom of Naples and Terra de Bari, with a bilhop’s fee,
feated near the gulf of Venice, in E. Long. 16. 49.
N. Lat. 41. 18.
BISERRULA. See Botany Index.
BISERTA, a town of the kingdom of Tunis in
Africa, feated on a gulf of the fame name, in E. Long.
IO. 40. N. Lat. 37. 20. The gulf is a very large one,
and the Sinus Hipponenjis of the ancients. It is formed
by the Capes Blanco and Ziebeb ; and has a beautiful
fandy inlet near four leagues wude, which once admitted
the larged veifels, but through the negligence of the
Turks can now admit only thofe of the {mailed fi,ze,
and is in danger in a Ihort time of being totally chok¬
ed up. Some remains of the great pier of Hippo are dill
extant ; by which it appears to have run out into the
fea fo as to break the north-ead wind, and make this
one of the fafed and mod beautiful havens in thefe
parts. On the fouth, this gulf hath a communication
with a lake of the fame name, fo as to form a kind of
canal between it and the Mediterranean fea. Through
this canal a condant dream is obferved alternately dif-
charging itfelf from the fea to the lake, and from the
Jake to the fea, in the fame manner as the Atlantic ocean
is obferved to do in the Mediterranean, and back again;
io that what the lake lofes by exhalations is foon re¬
cruited by the fea, which in hot feafons runs into it
with a very brilk current to keep up the equilibrium.
The millets of this lake are the bed in Barbary ; great
quantities of their roes dried and made into Botargo,
are fent from hence into the Levant, where they are
accounted a great dainty. Idle town was formerly
very confiderable ; and, though not above a mile in
circuit, is faid to have contained 6000 houfes ; where¬
as both it and the villages under it now fcarcely contain
that number of inhabitants. It has dill, however,
fome drong cadles and batteries to defend it, efpeci-
ally towards the fea. There are alfo two very capa¬
cious prifons for ilaves, a large magazine or ware-
houfe for merchandife, and two towers with fome
other outworks to defend the entrance of the haven.
I he city, though fo near the fea, is well fupplied with
frefh water from fprings that furround it on every
fide towards the land. It is likewife well furnidied with
variety of fidi from the adjacent lake. Mod of the in¬
habitants of Biferta, as well as of the adjacent country
on both fides of the canal, are employed in the fifhing
trade, which begins about the end "of O&ober, and
ends in the beginning of May ; for the rains then
fweetening the waters, make the fidi come into it in
i ] BIS
vad quantities during that feafon ; but afterwards they
either difappear or grow lean, dry, and unfit to cat.
'The people here are extremely poor; yet very proud, v
ill-natured, and faithlefs; infomuch that Muley Hafun
Bey, one of their fovereigps, ufed to fay, that none of
his fubjedls deferved his refentment fo much as they,
fince neither fear nor love could keep them faithful.—
Bilerta hath about eight villages under its government;
a large plain called Matter or Mater ; and the terri¬
tory of Chores, the Clypea or Corobis of the ancients.
I his is a trad! of great extent, and would be very fer¬
tile were it not for the frequent incurfions of the Arabs.
The people are very poor, live meanly, and go worfe
clad. Their choiced dainty is their coufcou, a kind
of cake made of flour, eggs, and fait, which they
dry and keep all the year round. Their drefs is no¬
thing elfe than a piece of coarfe cloth wrapped round
their bodies, and another round their heads by way of
a turban ; and mod of them go baiefooted and bare¬
legged. The poorer fort have nothing but a few {kins
laid on the floor to deep upon ; but the rich have narrow
couches fixed againd the w^all, about five or fix feet
high, to which they mount by a ladder. They are very
expert horfemen, as mod in thefe countries are, and ride
■without faddle or bridle ; nor do they ever {hoe their
hoifes. They are dill more miferable from the neigh¬
bourhood of the Arabs, who living altogether by plun¬
der, robbery, and murder, opprefs the poor inhabitants
with their frequent inroads and cruel exaffions. The
Bifertines, both of the city and country, are the mod fu-
perditious people in Barbary, fcarcely going any where
without hanging a quantity of amulets about their
own, or if they ride, their horfes neck alfo. Thefe
amulets are only feraps of parchment or paper, with
fome drange charadlers written upon them, which they
few up in a piece of leather, filk, &c. and imagine
when worn about them to be a prefervative againd all
accidents. ' '
BISET, Charles Emanuel; a painter of confider¬
able eminence, was born at Mechlin in 1633 ; and even.-
in his early productions {bowed a lively and ready in¬
vention. He was remarkable.for introducing a multi¬
tude of figures into his defigns, with an extraordinary
variety of drapery peculiar to every nation. His gene¬
ral fubjefts were converfations, balls, concerts, and af-
femblies of gay and genteel perfons, which were correft-
ly defigned and well coloured ; though their actions and/
attitudes were fometimes very indelicate. His pictures
had a drong effea at a didance ; yet when they were
more nearly infpeCted, they Ihowed a neatnefs of pencil,
a fpirited touch, and a good expreflion.
BISHOP, a prelate or perfon confecrated for the
fptritual government and direction of a diocefe. The
word comes from the Saxon bifehop, and that from the
Greek ivncr^-Trog, an overfeer or injpelior; which was a
title the Athenians gave to thofe whom they fent into
the provinces fubjeCt to them, to fee whether every¬
thing were kept in order; and the Romans gave the
fame title to tbofe who were infpeftors and vifitors of
the bread and provifion. It appears from a letter of
Cicero, that he himfelf had a biftiopric ; being epifeopus
Ores Campania’.
A bifliop differs from an archbifliop in the following
particulars 1 That an archbifhop wuth bilhops confe-
crate a bifliop as a bidiop with priefts orddin a pried ;.
that.
.Biferta
. I!
Bifhoo.
Bifliop.
BIS [63
that the archbifhop viftts a province as the bKhop a
diocefe 5 that the archbifhop convocates a provincial
fynod as the biihop a diocefan one $ and that the arch-
bilhop has canonical authority over all the bifnops of
Ins province as the biihop over the priefts in his dio-
cele. It is a long time lince bilhops have been diftin-
guilhed from mere priells or prelbyters j but whether
that diltinclion be of divine or human right, whether
it was fettled in the apoltolical age or introduced lince,
is much controverted. But whether the apoftles fet¬
tled any thing of this kind themfelves, or wdiether they
left the fpiritual economy in the hands of the prefby-
ters, or of thofe together wdth the people, it appears
that in a little time the funftions of the priefthood
were divided, and the priefts diftinguifhed into degrees j
the political part of religion being, according to foroe,
afligned principally to bilhops, and the evangelical to
the priefts, &c. Or, according to others, the func¬
tions of teaching and preaching were referved to the
biihop, and that of ordination fuperadded $ which w?as
their principal diftindtion, and the mark of their fove-
reignty in their diocefe.
By the ancient difcipline, bilhops were to be married
once, and not to put away their wives on pretence of
religion j but a fecond marriage was a difqualification
for this order. If they lived chafte, they were ranked
as confeifors. Some bilhops, in the middle age, on ac¬
count of their regalia or temporalities, were obliged to
-a military fervice called hojlis, by which they were to
lead their vafials into the field, and attend the king in
his military expeditions. This Charlemagne excufed,
and even forbid : but the prohibition wras little re¬
garded j fince wre find the thing often pradlifed after¬
wards.
The eledlion of bilhops was anciently placed in the
•clergy, and the people of the parilh, province, or dio¬
cefe •, but afterwnrds, princes and magiftrates, patriarchs
and popes, ufurped the power. The eledtion was to
be w'ithin three months after the vacancy of the fee j
and the perfon to be chofen out of the clergy of that
church. Formerly the biihop claimed a lhare in the
eledtion of an archbilhop : but this was fet afide by the
popes.
In England, during the Saxon times, all ecclefiafti-
cal dignities were conferred by the king in parliament.
At length, however, after feveral contefts, efpecially
between archbilhop Anfelm and Henry I. in confe-
quence of a grant of King John, recognized in Magna
Charta, and eftablilhed by flat. 25 Edw\ III. flat. 6.
§ 3. bilhops were eledted by the chapters of monks or
canons, fome lhadow of which ftill remains in the pre-
fent method of difpofing of bilhoprics •, but by ftat.
25 Hen. VIII. cap. 20. the right of nomination was
reftored to the crowm.
Ordinarily at leaft three bilhops are required in the
ceremony of confecrating a biihop j but in fome cafes
a fingle one might fuffice. The Englilh fucceftion of
Proteftant bilhops Hands on this laft ground. In Eng¬
land, the king being certified of the death of a biihop
by the dean and chapter, and his leave requefted to
eledl another, the conge d' elire is fent to them, with a
letter miflive, nominating the perfon whom he would
have chofen. The eledlion is to be within twelve
days after the receipt of it, otherwife the king by let¬
ters patent appoints whom he pleafes j and the chapter,
1
2 ] BIS
in cafe of refufing the perfon named by the king, in- Bilhuj.
curs a prcemunire. After eledlion, and its being ac- UJllv"-“
cepted of the biihop, the king grants a mandate
under the great feal for confirmation j which the
biihop configns to his vicar-general j conlifting moftly
in a folemn citation of fuch as have any objedtions to
the biihop eledt, a declaration of their contumacy in
not appearing, and an adminiftration of the oaths of
allegiance and fupremacy, of fymony, and canonical
obedience. Sentence being read by the vicar-general,
the biihop is inftalled in the province of Canterbury by
the archdeacon ; the fadt is recorded by a public no¬
tary j and the biihop is invefted with full powers to
exercife all fpiritual jurifdidlions, though he cannot fue
for his temporalities till after confecration. Then
follows the confecration by the archbifhop or fome
other biihop appointed by lawful commiflions, and two
afliftant bilbops : the ceremony of which is much the
fame as in the Romilh church, fave that having put on
the epifcopal robes, the archbilhop and bilhops lay
their hands on the new7 prelate’s head, and confecrate
him with a certain form of words. The procefs of
the tranllation of a biihop to another bilhopric only
differs in this, that there is no confecration. The age
of a biihop is to be at leaft thirty years j and by the an¬
cient difcipline, none were to be chofen but thofe wTho
had paffed through all the inferior orders j but in fome
cafes of neceflity this wras difpenfed with, and deacons,
nay laymen, were raifed per faltum to the epifcopal
dignity.
The form of confecrating a biihop is different in dif¬
ferent churches. In the Greek church, the biihop
eledt, being by the afliftant bilbops prefented for con¬
fecration, and the inftrument of eledlion put in his
hand ; after feveral prayers (the firft called diaconictini')
demanding confecration, makes profeflion of his faith j
after which he receives a benedidlion. He is then in¬
terrogated as to the belief of the Trinity ; to which
he anfwers by a long profejfion of faith, and receives a
fecond benedidlion. Laftly, he is alked what he thinks
of the incarnation; to which he anfwers in a third pro-
feffion of faith; which is followed by a third benediction:
after which the confecrator gives him the paftoral
ftaff: then he is led up to the altar j wdiere, after cer¬
tain prayers, and three croffes on his head, he receives
the pallum, if he be an archbilhop or patriarch; he then
receives the kifs of peace of his confecrator and two
afliftants •, and fitting down, reads, prays, and gives the
communion to his confecrators and others.
In the Romilh church, the hilhop eledt being pre¬
fented by the elder afliftant to the conlecrator, takes
the oath : he is then examined as to his faith ; and af¬
ter feveral prayers, the New Teftament is drawn over
his head, and he receives the chrifm or undtion on his
head. The paftoral ftaff, ring, and Golpel, are then
given him 5 and after communion, the mitre is put on
his head j each ceremony being accompanied w ith pro¬
per prayers, &c. the confecration ends w ith Te Deutn.
Thefe laft mentioned ceremonies are laid afide in the
confecration of Englilh bilhops. Neverthelefs, the book
of confecration fet forth in the time of Edward VI.
and confirmed by adl of parliament, in which fome of
them are enjoined, is declared to be the ftandard for
this purpofe by the thirty-fixth article.
The fuudlion of a biihop in England may be con-
fidered
bis r 633 r bis
Bull op fidered as twofold, viz. wliat belongs to Lis order,
II , and what belongs to his jurifdiftion. To the epifcopal
tft'Irtford" or^er belong the ceremonies of dedication, confirma-
■ —t tion, and ordination ; to the epifcapal jurifdi£lion, by
the llatute law, belong the licenfing of phylicians,
chirurgeons, and fchcolmafters, the uniting fmall pa-
riflies (though this laft privilege is now peculiar to the
bifhop of Norwich), affilling the civil magiftratein the
execution of ftatutes relating to ecclefialtical matters,
and compelling the payment of tenths and fubfidies
due from the clergy. By the common law7, the bifhop
is to certify the judges,, touching legitimate and illegi¬
timate births and marriages $ and by that and the ec-
clefiaftical law, he is to take care of the probate of wills
and granting adminiflrations 5 to collate to benefices,
grant inflitutions on the prefentation of other patrons,
command induftion, order the collecting and prefer-
ving the profits of vacant benefices for the ule of the
fucceffors, defend the liberties of the church, and vifit
his diocefe once in three years. To the bifhop alfo be¬
long fufpenfxon, deprivation, depofition, degradation,
and excommunication.
All bifhops of England are peers of the realm, ex¬
cept the bifhop of Man j and, as fuch, fit and vote in
the houfe of lords 5 they are barons in a threefold man¬
ner, viz. feudal, in regard to the temporalities annexed
to their bifhoprics ; by writ, as being fummoned by
writ to parliament •, and laftly, by patent and creation:
accordingly they have the precedence of all other ba¬
rons, and vote as barons and bifhops; and claim all the
privileges enjoyed by the temporal lords, excepting
that they cannot be tried by their peers, becaufe, in
cafes of blood, they themfelves cannot pafs upon the
trial, for they are prohibited by the canons of the
church (as already obferved) to be judges of life and
death. They have the title of Lords and Right Reve¬
rend fathers in God. Befides two archifhops, there
are 24 bifhops in England ; exclufive of the bithops of
Sodor and Man, who has no feat in the houfe of peers:
The bifhops of London, Durham, and Winchefter,
take place from the other bifhops, who are to rank
after them according to their feniority of confecration.
-—There is now alfo a bifhop in our fettlement of
Nova Scotia. In Scotland, before the Prefbyterian
eflablifhment, there were twm archbilhoprics and 12 bi-
fhoprics.
Bishop's Court, an ecclefiaftical court, held in the
cathedral of each diocefe, the judge whereof is the bi-
Puop’s chancellor, who judges by the civil and canon
low ; and if the diocefe be large, he has his commif-
faries in remote parts, who hold W'hat they call con-
fjlory courts, for matters limited to them by their com-
miflion.
Bishop and his Clerls, fome little iflands and rocks
on the coafl of Pembrokefhire near St David’s in Wales,
which are very dangerous to mariners.
Bishop's-Auhland. See Aukland.
BisoHp's-Cafle, a towm of Shropfhire in England,
feated near the river Clun. It is a corporation, fends
two members to parliament, and its market is much
frequented by the Welch. W. Long. 2. 55. N. Lat.
52- 30.
Bishop's-Stortford, a town of Hertfordfhire in Eng¬
land, feated on the fide of a hill, in E. Long. o. 25.
N. Lat. 51. 90. It has feveral good inns, but the
Vol. III. Part II.
ftreets are not paved. It has a large church, one Pref- Bifhoping
byterian and one Quaker meeting. Here was former- ^ ^11 ^
ly a caflle called WeymOre cafle, wherein a garrifon was Va~ ^ U1
kept, but no remains of it are now left.
BISHOPING, a term among horfe-dealers, to de¬
note the fophiftications ufed to make an old horfe ap¬
pear young, a bad one good, &c.
BISHOPRIC, the diftrift over which a bifhop’s ju-
rifdi£tion extends, otherwife called a diocefe.
In England there are 24 bifhoprics befides that of
Sodor and Man ; in Ireland -18.
BIS1, Bonaventura, a celebrated miniature pain¬
ter, w'as born at Bologna, and was a difciple of Lucio
MafTari. But his foie delight w'as in miniature paint¬
ing, and in that w ay he arrived at great excellence.
Inftead of working "from his owm invention, or original
defign, he employed himfelf to imitate, in fmall fize,
the pidlures of Guido, Correggio, Titian, and other
great mailers, and thofe he finiflied with aflonifhing
grace, neatnefs, and beauty. A great number of the
works of this mafler are in the duke’s gallery at Mo¬
dena, and are highly valued. He died in 1662, his age
unknowm.
BISIGNANO, a towm of Italy, in the kingdom of
Naples, and in the Hither Calabria. It hath a flrong
fort, a bifhop’s fee, and the title of a principality. It
is feated on a mountain near the river Boccona, in
E. Long. 16. 40. N. Lat. 59. 37.
BISK, or Bisque, in Cookery, a rich fort of broth
or foup, made of pigeons, chickens, force-meat, mut¬
ton-gravy, and other ingredients. The word is
French, formed, as fome think, from hifcoBa ; becaufe
the bifque, confiding of a diverfity of ingredients, needs
feveral repeated codlions to bring it to perfedlion.
There is alfo a demi-hifque, made at a low expence, in
W'hich only half the ingredients are ufed } and a bifque
of fifh, made of carps minced wuth their roes and lob-
flers. ♦
BISKUIT, or Biscuit, a kind of bread prepared by
the confeftioners, of fine flour, eggs, and fugar, and rofc
or orange wrater j or of flower, eggs, and fugar, wuth
anifeeds and citron peel, baked again and again in the
oven, in tin or paper moulds. There are divers forts of
bifkuits $ as feed-bifkuit, fruit-bifkuit, long-bifkuit,
round-bifkuit, Naples bifkuit, fponge-bifkuit, &c.
Sea-BiSKUtT is a fort of bread much dried by paf-
fing the oven twice, to make it keep for fea-fervice.
For long voyages they bake it four times, and prepare
it fix months before the embarkation. It will keep
good a whole year.
To preferve fea-bifkuit from infers, Mr Hales ad-
vifes to make the fumes of burning brimflone pafs
through the cafks’full of bread. Bifkuit may be like-
wife, preferved a long time, by keeping it in calks well
calked, and lined with tin.
The ancients had their bifkuit prepared after the
like manner, and for the like ufe, as the moderns. The
Greeks called it SiTrvgev, q. d. bread put tw-ice to
the fire. The Romans give it the name ofpanis nau-
tiens, or capta. Pliny denominates it vetus aut nauti-
cus pants tufus atque iterum coflus. By which it ap¬
pears, that, after the firfl baking, they ground or
pound it down again for a fecond. In fome middle-
aged writers, it is called paximas, paximus, and panis
paximatus. Among the Romans we alfo meet with
B I S
a kind of land-biikuit for the camp-fervice, called buc-
cellatum, fomtimes expeditionahs annona, which was
baked much, but to make it lighter for carriage, and
lefs liable to corrupt, the coflZon being continued till
the bread was reduced one-fourth of its former
weight.
BISKOP. See Bischop.
BISM1LLAH, a folemn form ufed by the Maho¬
metans at the beginning of all their books and other
writings, fignifyin'g, In the name of the mojl merciful
God.
Bismillah is alfo ufed among the Arabs as a word
of invitation to eat. An Arab prince will frequently
fit down to eat in the ftreet before his own door, and
call to all that pafs, even beggars, in this w7ord, who
do not fail to come and fit down to eat with him j for
the Arabs are great levellers, and let every body upon
a footing with them.
BISMUTH, or Tin glass, a metal of a reddilh
or yellowifii-white colour and »a lamellated texture.
See Chemistry and Mineralogy Index.
% BISNAGAR, formerly a very large and pow'erful
kingdom of Afia, comprehending the kingdoms of
Kanara, Mefibwr, Travankor, Madura, Marava, and
d anjour. It was called Bifnagar from its capital city,
and took the name of Narfnga from one of its rajahs
or kings. We know nothing certain concerning this
kingdom before the year 1520, when Khrifna Rajah,
king of Bifnagar, made war with Adel Khan king of
Vifiapur, from whom he refolved to take the city of
Rachol, fituated in the illand of Salfette near Goa,
which he faid had belonged to his anceftors. The
king of Bifnagar’s army confifted of 733,000 foot,
35,000 horfe, 5S6 elephants with towers on their backs,
each of which had four men in it ; befides thefe were
12,000 water-carriers, and the army was follow’ed by
20,00° common women. The city, however, refilled
this formidable army for three months; at the end of
which, Adel Khan came to its relief with an army of
120,000 foot, 18,000 horfe, 150 elephants, and many
heavy cannon. In the engagement the king of Bif-
nagar proved victorious, anddmoft entirely deltroyed
the army of Adel Khan, taking from him qooohorfes,
too elephants, 400 cannon, &c. Soon after he took
the city by afiault } but confented to reftore the booty
taken in the former battle, provided Adel Khan con-
fented to come and kifs his foot as the fovereign lord
of Kanara. I his bale condition was accepted, but
accidentally prevented from being put in execution,
from this time we hear of nothing remarkable till the
year 1^58, when a Portuguefe of the city of Meliapur
or 0/ Thomas, on the coaft of Coromandel, perfuaded
Ramah Rajah, then king of Bifnagar, to march againfl
that place, telling him the plunder would be worth
2,cco,ooo, and that the deftruftion of Meliapur would
be of great fervice to the images in the Pagods which
were thrown down by the Chriftians. The king fet out
accordingly with an army of 500,000 men ; but the in¬
habitants, inftead of preparing for their defence, fent
him a prefent of 4000 ducats. This fomewhat ap¬
pealed him : however, he would not enter the city, but
ordered* the inhabitants of both fexes, with all their
valuable effeCts, to be brought into his prefence ; which
being done, he found that the value of their whole fub-
fiance did not exceed 80,000 ducats. On this he or-
[ 63* 1
B I S
dered the informer to be thrown to the elephants, who
tore him in pieces j after which he difmifled the citi¬
zens, and reftored all their goods fo punctually, that
only a filver fpoon happening to be miffing, it was
fought for, and returned to the owner. In 1565, the
happy ffate of this kingdom excited the envy of the
kings of Dekan } who, naving railed an army of 500,000
foot and 50,000 horfe, defeated and killed the king of
Bifnagar, though at the head of an army almoft twice as
numerous, and took the royal city itfelf." They are faid
to have fpent five months in. plundering it, although
the inhabitants had before carried off 1550 elephants
loaded with money and jewels to the amount of upwards
of 100,000,000 of gold ; hefides the royal-chair for
ffate days, whofe price could not be effirhated. The
victors, however, found a diamond of the fize cf an
ordinary egg, befides another of a fize fomewhat in¬
ferior, and leveral other jevrels of immenfe value. Af¬
terwards, however, they w ere forced to abandon the
kingdom, as being too large for them to keep in their
hands. From this time the kingdom of Bilhagar re¬
mained pretty much unmolefted till about the year 1627,
W’hen it was fubdued by Aurengzebe, fecond fon to
Shah Jehan, and hath ever fince remained fubjeCf to
the Great Mogul. In fome places cf this kingdom it
is laid the roads have great forefis of bamboos on each
fide, which are fo thick that it is impoffible for a man
to pafs. Thefe forefts are full of monkeys : and w hat
is fingular, thofe on the one fide leem to be enemies to
thefe on the other; for if a bafket of rice is fet dow7n
on the road with a parcel of fmall flicks about it, the
monkeys on each fide will come out and fall a-fighting
with the flicks till one of the parties retreats. This,
it is faid, is often done by travellers for diverfion. They
catch the wu’ld elephants here in pitfalls, and then tame
them by means of others already tamed : the latter
feldom fail of beating the wild ones into a good beha¬
viour. The towm of Bifnagar is fituated in E. Long.
78. o. N. Lat. 13. 20.
BI SNOW, or Biscknou, a feft of the Banians in
the Eaff Indies ; they call their god Ram-ram, and
give him a w’ife : They adorn his image with golden
chains, necklaces of pearls, and all forts of precious
flones. They fing hymns in honour of their god, mix¬
ing their devotion with dances and the found of drums,
flagelets, brazen bafons, and other inflruments, This
fedl lives whplly upon herbs and pulfe, butter and milk.
In this feff, the wives do not burn themfelves after
their hufhands death, as is praffifed by thofe of the fa-
marath left ; but content themfelves with a perpetual
widowhood.
BISOMUM, or Dis omum, in Roman antiquity,
a tomb for two dead bodies, or the alhes of two. The
ancients frequently buried two, three, or four bodies
in the fame fepulchre, difpofed afide of each other :
for it w’as held an impiety to lay one a-top of another.
Hence the fepulchres of the primitive Chriflians had
the words bifomi, triform, quadrifomi, &c. inferibed on
them to indicate the number, of bodies depofited in
them.
BISON, in Zoology, the trivial name of a fpecies
of bos. See Bos, M A m m a l 1A Index.
BISQUIT, or Biskuit. See Biskuit.
BISSAGOS, a clufter of iflands on the coafi of
Negroeland in Africa, fituated between the mouth of
the
B I S
Eiffao. the river Gambia and Rio Grande.   ,
Bui am, (ajfuabac, La Ga/hnci, Ca%egut, Calacha, and
Oranguana, with fome other fmall iflands ; but the on¬
ly one which merits a particular defcription is that of
Bulam. Each of thefe illands is governed by a king
of its own ; and as all thofe petty monarchs are quite
independent, they frequently make w'ar with each o-
ther, yet they always unite againft the inhabitants of
Biafara, who are their common enemies. They have
canoes that carry from 25 to 40 men with their pro-
viiions and arms, which are fabres, and borvs and ar¬
rows. 1 he inhabitants are negroes; who are tall, ftrong,
and healthy, though they live only on fifli, nuts, and
palm-oil j choofing rather to fell the rice, mullet, and o-
ther grain produced in their country, to the Europeans,
tnan not to gratify their paflion for trinkets and orna¬
ments. In general they are idolaters 5 cruel and favage
in their difpontion, not only to ftrangers but to one
another, when they happen, to quarrel, as they fre¬
quently do about trifles ; and if they happen to be dif-
appointed of their revenge, they frequently drown or
ftab themfelves.
BISSAO, an ifland on the coafl: of Africa, a few
leagues to the louth-eaft of the river Gambia, and fe-
parated from the continent only by the channel of the
river Geves. In this ifland the French have a factory,
and there is alfo a fort belonging to the Portuguefe,
at both of which a great trade is carried on. The
ifland is about 34 or 40 miles in circumference, ha¬
ving an agreeable profpeft to the fea, from wdiich it
rifes by a gentle afcent on every fide to an eminence
in the centre of the ifland. There are however a great
many hills inferior in height to that in the middle, and
feparated by beautiful and fertile valleys divided by
little rivulets, wdiich at the fame time augment the rich-
nefs and elegance of the fcene. So rich is the foil of
Biflao, that wheat and maife fpring up to the fize of
Indian corn, or rather refemble a field covered over
■with reeds or bamboos. The cattle alfo are of an ex¬
traordinary fize, and feem to keep pace with the ex¬
travagant growth of the corn. Milk and wine are in
the greateft abundance ; but the ifland affords neither
hogs nor herrfes. The former are forbid by the natives
to be imported ; and fomething in the foil or climate
renders it unfit for the increafe of the latter, which
never thrive here. The drefs of the men of all ranks
in Biffoa is only a fkin fixed to the girdle before and
behind. The drefs of the married women confifts of
a cotton petticoat ; but virgins go entirely naked,
wearing only bracelets of different kinds on their arms
and legs. If they are of high quality, their bodies are
marked or painted with a variety of hideous forms of
fnakes and other figures, wdiich as their colour is jet-
black, gives their Ikins fomewhat the appearance of
flowered fattin. Even the princefs royal herfelf, the
cldefi: daughter of the emperor, is only diftinguiflied
irom other women by the elegance of thofe paintings
and the richnefs of her bracelets. One very extraor¬
dinary ornament ufed in this country is a large iron
ring with a flat round furface on the outfide inflead
of a ftone, upon which the ring changes -with a bit of
iron, in fuch a manner<as to converfe with the greatefl:
facility by means of the different founds produced ;
but this kind of language is ufed only among the po¬
lite and the great. All the Biffaons are idolaters,
[ 63S ] BIS
Their names are, nor has commerce introduced the fmalleff change in Biiraf/
their manners, but their ideas of religion are exceed- Bifienpour.
ingly confufed. Their chief idol is a little image cal- U"“"‘v ^
led China, ot which the wTorfliippers give very abfurd
accounts; but, befides this, every man invents a god for
himfelf: trees are held facred ; and if not adored as
gods, are worlhipped as the refidence of fome divinity.
I he government is defpotic, the will of the emperor
being a law to his people. Of this w’e have an in-
ftance in Biffao, not to be matched in any other coun¬
try whatever. This is no other than a prefent which
one fubje£t may make of the houfe and eftate of his
neighbour to the emperor ; and as it is molt commonly
his majefty’s pleafure to accept of fuch prefents, the
proprietor dares not refill, but immediately fets about
building another houfe, though even this he cannot do
without the prince’s leave ; and if this fhould not be
readily granted, he mull live with his family in the
open air till permiflion to build a new houfe can be
obtained.
BISSAT, Peter, profeffor of canon law in the uni-
verfity of Bononia in Italy, was defeended from the
earls of Fife in Scotland, and born in that county in
the reign of James V. He was educated at St An¬
drews; from thence he removed to Paris; and, having
fpent fome time in that univerlity, proceeded to Eo-
nonia, where he commenced dodtor of laws, and was
afterwards appointed profeffor of canon law. He con¬
tinued in that honourable employment feveral years
with great reputation, and died in the year 1568. Fie
is faid to have been not only a learned civilian, but an
excellent poet, orator, and philofopher. Patricii Bif-
farti opera omnia, viz. poemata, orationes, lecJiones
feriales, fa’c. Lib. de irregularitate, <b’c. w-ere publilhed
at Venice in 156 4to.
BISSENPOUR, a fmall diftridl of the kingdom of
Bengal in the Eall Indies, which has all along pre-
ferved its independence. It has been governed time
immemorial by a Bramin family of the tribe of Rajah-
puts. Here the purity and equity of the ancient po¬
litical fyffem of the Indians is found unadulterated.
This Angular government, the fineft and moft ftriking
monument in the wmrld, has till now been beheld with
too much indifference. We have no remains of ancient
nations but brafs and marble, which fpeak only to
imagination and conjedlure, thofe uncertain interpre¬
ters of manners and cuftoms that no longer exift. Were
a philofopher tranfported to Biffcnpour, he would im¬
mediately be a wfitnefs of the life led by the firft inha¬
bitants of India many thoufand years ago; he would
converfe with them : he would trace the progrefs of
this nation, celebrated as it wefe from its Very infan¬
cy ; he would fee the rife of a government which, be¬
ing founded in happy prejudices, in a fimplicity and
purity of manners, in the'mild temper of the people,
and the integrity of the chieftains, has furvived thofe
innumerable fyftems of legiflation, which have made
only a tranfitory appearance in the ftage of the world
with the generations they were defigned to torment.
More folid and durable than thofe political ftrudlures,
which raifed by impoflure and enthufiafm, are the
fcourges of human kind, and are doomed to perilh with
the fooliflr opinions that gave them birth, the govern¬
ment of Biffenpour, the offspring of a juft attention to
order and the laws of nature, has been eftabliftied and
4 2 maintained
Biffenpour
II
Biftoury.
BIS [ 636 j BIT
maintained upon unchangeable principles, and has un¬
dergone no more alteration than thofe principles them-
felves. The lingular fituation of this country has pre-
ferved to the inhabitants their primitive happinefs and
the gentlenefs of their character, by fecuring them
from the danger of being conquered, or of imbruing
their hands in the blood of their fellow-creatures. Na¬
ture has furrounded them with water ; and they need
only open the Unices of their rivers to overflow the
whole country. The armies fent to fubdue them have
fo frequently been drowned, that the plan of enflaving
them has been laid afide j and the projectors of it have
thought proper to content themfelves with an appear¬
ance of fubmiffion.
Liberty and property are facred in Biffenpour. Rob¬
bery, either public or private, is never heard of. As
foon as any ftranger enters the territory, he comes un¬
der the protection of the laws, which provide for his
fecurity. He is furnifhed with guides at free coil, who
conduct him from place to place, and are anfwerable
for his perfon and effects. When he changes his con-
dudfors, the new ones deliver to thofe they relieve an
atteftation of their conduct, which is regiilered and af¬
terwards fent to the raja. All the time he remains in
the country, he is maintained and conveyed with his
merchandife at the expence of the ifate, unlefs he de-
lires leave to flay longer than three days in the fame
place. In that cafe, he is obliged to defray his own
expences •, unlefs he is detained by any diforder, or o-
ther unavoidable accident. This beneficence to Gran¬
gers is the confequence of the warmth with which the
citizens enter into each others intererts. They are fo
far from being guilty of an injury to each other, that
whoever finds a purfe, or other thing of value, hangs
it upon the firft tree he meets with, and informs the
neareft guard, who give notice of it to the public by
beat of drum. Thefe maxims of probity are fo gene¬
rally received, that they diredl even the operations of
government. Out of about 350,000!. on an average
it annually receives, without injury to agriculture or
trade, what is not wanted to fupply the unavoidable
expences of the Hate, is laid out in improvements. The
raja is enabled to engage in thefe humane employments,
as he pays the Moguls only what tribute and at what
times he thinks proper.
BISSEXTILE, in Chronology, a year confifting of
366 days, being the fame with our leap-year. See
Chronology.
BISTI, in Commerce, a fmall coin of Perfia : Some
lay that it is among the current filver coins of Perfia,
and worth only a little above three farthings of our
money 5 others fpeak of it again as a money of ac¬
count.
BIS1 ONIS, in Ancient Geography, a lake of Thrace
near Abdera, on which dwelt the Bitfones : hence
Bi/lonius Tyrannies is by Lucan ufed to denote Dio-
medes king of Thrace, who fed his horfes with hu¬
man flefh 5 and Bijlonius turbo, a wind blowing from
Thrace.
BISTORT, or Knotgrass. See Polygonum,
Botany Index.
BIS FOURY, in Surgery, an inftrument for making
incifions ; of which there are different kinds, fome be¬
ing of the form of a lancet, others ft might and fixed
in the handle like a knife, and others crooked with the JBulre
Iharp edge on the infide. |l
BISTRE, among painters, fignifies the burnt oil,
extracted from the foot of wood.
It is of a brown tranfparent colour, having much
the fame effefl in water-painting, where alone it is
ufed, as brown pink in oil. Though this colour is
extremely ferviceable in water colours, and much va¬
lued by thofe who know and can procure it j yet it is
not in general ufe here, perhaps on account of its not
being eafily procured of a perfect kind j hardly any of
it being good, except that imported from France.
Perhaps the principal reafon for this is, that dry beech-
wood affords the befl foot for making it: and it is not
eafy to procure fuch here without mixture of the foot
of green wood, or other combultibles that deprave it for
this purpofe : or it is poffible that they*,who have pre¬
tended to prepare it, have been ignorant of the proper
means •, there not being any recipe or direftions irv
books that treat of theie matters, from whence they
could learn the proper procefs.
Biftre may, however, be prepared with great eafe
in the following manner.—Take any quantity of loot,
of dry wood, but let it be of beech wherever that can
be procured. Put it into water in the proportion of
two pounds to a gallon ; and boil them half an hour :
then after the fluid has flood fome little time to fettle,
but while yet hot, pour oft’ the clearer part from the
earthy fediment at the bottom , and if on Handing
longer it forms another earthy fediment, repeat the
fame method, but this fhould be done only while the
fluid remains hot: then evaporate the fluid to drynefs:
and what remains will be good biftre, if the foot was
of a proper kind.—The goodnefs of biftre may be per¬
ceived by its warm deep brown colour, and tranfparen-
cy when moiftened with water.
BISTRICZ, a handfome ftrong toivn of Tranfilva-
nia, feated on a river of the fame name, in E. Long.
25. 3. N. Lat. 47. 33.
BIT, or Bitt, an effential part of a bridle. Its
kinds are various. 1. The mufrol, fnaffle, or water¬
ing-bit. 2. The canon-mouth, jointed in the middle.
3. 'The canon with a fall mouth, all of a piece, only
kneed in the middle, to form a liberty or fpace for the
tongue j fit for horfes too fenfible, or ticklifh, and
liable to be continually bearing on the hand. 4. The
canon-mouth, with the liberty in form of a pigeon’s
neck 5 proper where a horfe has too large a tongue.
5. The canon with a port-mouth, and an upfet or
mounting liberty 5 where a horfe has a good mouth,
but large tongue. 6. The fcatch mouth, with an up¬
fet ; ruder but more fecure than a canon-mouth.
7. The canon-mouth with a liberty 5 proper for a
horfe with a large tongue, and round bars. 8. The
maflicadour, or Havering bit, &c. The feveral parts
of a fnaffle, or curb-bit, are the mouth piece, the cheeks
and eyes, guard of the cheek, head of the cheeks, the
port, the welts, the campanel or curb and hook, the
boffes, the holders and rabbets, the water-chains, the
fide-bolts, and rings, kirbles of the bit or curb, trench,
top-rol, flap and jieve. The importation of bits for
bridles is now prohibited.
Bit, or Bitts, in Ship-Building, the name of two
great timbers, ufually placed abaft the manger, in the
fhip7s
Bit
Bkurex.
BIT [ 637
flnp’s loof, through which the crofs-piece goes : The.
ufe of it is to belay the cable thereto while the (hip
, is at anchor.
Bit is alfo ufed in commerce for a piece of coin
current in Jamaica, and valued at 71-d.
BITBURGH, a town of the Netherlands, in the
duchy of Luxemburg. E. Long, 6. 43. N. Lat. 50. o.
BITCH, the female of the dog kind. See Can is.
BITCHE, a town of Lorrain, capital of a terri¬
tory of the fame name, and feated at the foot of the
mountains near the river Swolbe. E. Long. 7. 44.
N. Lat. 49.
BITETO, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of Na¬
ples, and in the Tdrra di Bari. E. Long, 16. 56.
N. Lat. 41. 8.
BITHYNIA, an ancient kingdom of Alia, for¬
merly known by the names of Myjia, Mygdonia, Ba~
bryicia, Mariandynia, and Bithyma. It was bounded
on the weft by the Bofporus Thracius and part of the
Propontis, on the fouth by the river Rhyndacus and
Mount Olympus, on the north by the Euxine lea, and
on the eaft by the river Parthenius. The chief cities
were Myrlea, Nicomedia, Chalcedon, Heraclea, and
B L A
(Ciefar) ; Bituriges Cubi (Strabo, Bituriges
Prufa.—As to its hiftory, we find nothing of moment
recorded ; except the famous conduct of Pruftias, one
of its kings, in delivering up to the Romans Hannibal,
the great Carthaginian general, who fled to him for
protetlion. His great grandfon Nicomedes IV. be¬
queathed the kingdom to the Romans. From them
it was taken by the Turks, to whom it ftill remains
fubjeft, but has no modern name.
BITONTO, an epifcopal town of Italy, in the
kingdom of Naples and Terra di Bari. It is feated in
a plain eight miles fouth of the gulf of Venice, in
E. Long. 16. 52. N. Lat. 41. 13.
BITTACLE. See Binacle.
BITTER, an epithet given to all bodies of an op-
pofite tafte to fweetnefs. For the medical virtues of
bitters, fee Materia Medica.
Bitter, a. fea-term, fignifying any turn of the ca¬
ble about the bits, fo as that the cable may be let out
by little and little. And when a fhip is ftopped by a
cable, ihe is faid to be brought up by a bitter. Alfo that
end of the cable which is wound about the bits is call¬
ed the bitter end of the cable.
Bitter dpple. See Colocynthis, Botany In¬
dex.
Bitter Salt. See BpsoM-Sa/t.
BiTTER-Sweet. See Solanum, Botany Index.
BITTERN. See Ardea, Ornithology Index.
Bittern, in the falt-works, the brine remaining
after the fait is concreted : this they ladle off, that
the fait may be taken out of the pan, and afterwards
put in again j when, being farther boiled, it yields
more fait. See Salt.
BITUMENS, in Natural Hiftory, are oily matters,
of a ftrong fmell, and of different confiftencies, w’hich
are found in many places within the earth. See Che¬
mistry and Mineralogy.
BITUMEN judaicum. See Asphaltum, Mi¬
neralogy Index.
BITUREX, Bituriges, or Bituricce, afterwards
corrupted to Bourges; the name of Avaricmn, from
the cuftom of the lower age of calling towns from the
names of.the people. See Ataricwm,
BITURIGES
Pliny, Ptolemy) : a people in that part of Gallia Cel-
tica afterwards afiigned to Aquitania. Now called v.
Berry.
Bitvrigf.s Vibifci {Ptolemy), a people of Aquitain.
BIVALVES, a term fometimes ufed for fuch fhells
as confift of two pieces.—It is alfo an appellation gi¬
ven by botanifts to fuch pods or capfules as confift of
two valves enclofing the feeds.
BIVENTER, in Anatomy, called alfo digajlric, or
two-bellied, a mufcle of the lower jaw. See Anato¬
my, Table of the Mufcles.
BIUMBRES, in Geography, an appellation given
to the inhabitants of the torrid zone, by reafon, at
twro different feafons of the year, their lhadows are
projected two different ways. The biumbres are the
fame with thofe otherwife denominated amphifeii.
BIXA, the Roucou or Arnotto Tree. See Bo¬
tany Index.
BIZARRE, denoting capricious, &c. a term ufed
among florifts for a particular kind of carnation, which
has its flowers ftriped or variegated with three or four
colours.
BIZARRO, in the Italian mufic, denotes a fanci¬
ful kind of compofition, fometimes faft, flow, foft,
ftrong, &c. according to the fancy of the compo-
fer.
BIZOCHI, or Bisochi, in Church-Hifory, cer¬
tain heretical monks, faid to have affumed the religious
habit contrary to the canons, reje&ed the facraments,
and maintained other errors.
BLACK, Dr Joseph, diftinguifiied for his difeo-
veries in chemiftry, was born in France, on the banks
of the Garonne in the year 1728. His father was a'
native of Belfaft, but defeended from a Scotch family"
who had been fome time fettled there. Mr Black,
the father, -was engaged in the wine trade, and for the
purpofe of carrying it on, he refided chiefly at Bour~
deaux.
He is reprefented as a man of extenfive information,
of candid and liberal fentiments, and of amiable man¬
ners ; but particularly diftinguifhed by the ftrength of
his attachments and the warmth of his heart. Thefe
amiable and eftimable qualities in the charafter of Mr
Black, attracted the attention,.and procured the friend-
Ihip and intimacy of the difeerning and benevolent
Montefquieu, who was one of the prefidents of the
court of juftice in the province while Mr Black refided
at Bourdeaux. Letters and fragments of correfpondence
between the prefident and Mr Black are ftill prefer-
ved in the family as precious relics and memorials of
the intercourfe honourable to both, which fubfifted be¬
tween that great man and their anceftor.
Some time before Mr Black retired from bufinefs,
he fent his fon Jofeph, then in his twelfth year, to
Belfaft, on account of his education. And having
completed the ufual courfe of inftruction in a grammar
fchool, he was fent to the univerfity of Glafgow in the
year 1746. During the time-which he ftudied at that
feminary, his attention feems to have been chiefly di-
re&ed to phyfical fcience and he became a favourite
pupil of Dr Dick, then profeffor of natural philofophy.
When Dr Black had finilhed the ordinary courfe of ge»
neral ftudy at the univerfity, he made choice of the
profeflion of medicine) and he dire&ed his views to
thofe.
Black.
Black.
B L A
. purfuits and ftudies which were neceffary to qua¬
lify him for that piofeflion.
It was about this time that Dr Cullen had been ap¬
pointed to the le&urefhip of chemiftry in the univerfity
of Glafgow. Hitherto this fcience had been only
treated as a curious and in fome refpeft a ufeful art.
1 his great man, confcious of his own llrength, and
taking a wide and comprehenfive view, faw the unoc¬
cupied field of philofophical chemiitry open before him.
He was latisfied that it was fufceptible of great im¬
provement by means of liberal inquiry and rational in-
veftigation. He was therefore determined to enter the
unbeaten path, and to lead his followers to thofe unex¬
plored regions which are included in the wide ranges
of this comprehenfive and attra&ive fcience. It was
at this time that Dr Black became the pupil of Dr
Cullen j and it was perhaps to this fortunate coinci¬
dence that Dr Black was indebted for the foundation of
his future reputation as a philofopher and a chemift.
I'he liberal and extenfive views of Cullen happily ac¬
corded with the enlarged habits of thought which the
young philofopher had previoufly acquired. Dr Cul¬
len took a deep intereft in the progrefs of his Undents.
He delighted in encouraging and aiding their efforts ■
and therefore perceiving the bias of Black’s‘purfuits’
oon attached him to himfelf. And by the intercourfe
and intimacy which followed he was led into the fame
tram of thought, and conduced into the fame ^ourfe
of ftudies. He was received into a clofer connexion
and became a valuable afliftant in all Dr Cullen’s che¬
mical operations. The experiments of Black were fre¬
quently adduced to prove fads which were ftated in
the lecture, and they were confidered as good autho¬
rity. Thus commenced a mutual confidence and friend-
ftup which was highly honourable to both, and was
never afterwards mentioned by Dr Black but with gra¬
titude and refpeft. b
In the year 1751 Dr Black went to Edinburgh to
complete the courfe of his medical ftudies. There he
refided in the houfe of his coufin-german, Mr Ruffel
proreffor of natural philofophy in that univerfity, a
gentleman of enlarged views and liberal fentiments
whofe converfation and ftudies muft have been both
agreeable and profitable to his young friend.
At this time the mode of action of lithontriptic me¬
dicines, but particularly lime-water in alleviating the
pains of ftone and gravel, divided the opinions of pro-
xeffors and practitioners. This fubjeCI became extreme¬
ly interefting both to the phyfician and chemift. And
as it is ufual for the ftudents to enter warmly into thofe
difcuflions which give rife to much difference of opi¬
nion among the teachers, this fubjedt, quite fuited *to
his tafte, particularly attracted and interefted the at¬
tention of Mr Black, who was then one of Dr Cullen’s
moft zealous and intelligent pupils. It appears from
iome oi his memorandums, that he at firft held the opi¬
nion that the caufticity of alkalis is owing to the ig¬
neous matter which they derive from quicklime. But
having profecuted his experiments on magnefia, this
grand fecret of nature was laid open to his view. This
jed him to conclude, that the acrimony of thefe fub-
itances was not owing to their combination with igne¬
ous particles •, that it was their peculiar property ; and
that they loft this property and became mild, by com¬
bining with a certain portion of air, to which he gave
1
[ 63s ]
B L A
the name becaufe it TCas fixcd or became
entered ' ^ uW !"'ces m llle compofition 0f which jt
. rhls Sran<1 difeovery, which forms one of ’the moil
important eras of chemical fcience, was the fobieS of
his inaugural dictation, publilhed at the time that he
was admitted to his medical degree in the univeriity of
£ h A8 ,.' ,He^d"0t availed bimfelf of the time
he had ftudied at Glafgow, but took the whole courfe
preicribed by the rules of the univerfity. This delay
it has been fuppofed, may have been owing to the in-
veftigation of the fubjeeft in which he had engaged not
having been completed, which determined him to pro
ceea with caution till he had eftabliihed his doftrine
by a tram of decifive experiments.
About the time that Dr Black obtained his medical
degree, Dr Cullen was removed to Edinburgh, which
wuu u vacanc)r ln tlle chemical chair at Glafgowu
While he remained at that univerfity, Dr Black had
been a diligent and attentive ftudent ; and the difeo-
very pubiilhed in his inaugural effay had added much
to his reputation. He was therefore looked up to as
a perfon amply qualified to fill the vacant chair 1 and
accordingly, in the year 1756, he was appointed pro-
teiior of anatomy, and lecturer on chemiftry in the
univerfity of Glafgow. And it was perhaps fortunate
for himlelf, fortunate for the public and for fcience
that a fituation fo favourable prefented itfelf, a fituation
which allowed him full time to dedicate his talents
chieiiy to the cultivation of chemiftry, which had now
become his favourite fcience.
Along with the lefturefhip on chemiftry, Dr Black’s
firft appointment in the univerfity of Glafgow, was to
the profefforfhip of anatomy. The latter branch of
medical ftudy was either not fo fuitable to his tafte or
he did not confider himfelf fo well qualified to be ufe-
1 ln f?°n after’ ai'rangerftents w ere made with
the profeffor of medicine, by which the profeffors ex¬
changed departments, when Dr Black undertook that
of the mftitutes and practice of medicine.
, t^,s Us le£lures on medicine formed his
chief talk. And the perfpicuity and fimplicity, the
caution and moderation which he difeovered in the doc¬
trines which he delivered, gave great fatisfa&ion. The
time and attention which were occupied in thefe lec-
turas and in the medical practice in fome meafure ne-
ceffanly connefted with his fituation, are fuppofed bv
fome to have been the principal caufe of Dr Black’s ha-
ving fuddenly flopped fliort in that brilliant career on
which he at firft fo fuccefsfully entered. It is, however,
more probable, that the calm and unambitious temper
which feems to have been a ftriking feature of his charac¬
ter, and which a lefs friendly hand tlian(his learned bio¬
grapher would have fet down as nearly allied to indo¬
lence, checked the fpirit of ardour and perfeverance
which was neceffary to encourage and carry him for¬
ward in the path of difeovery and refearch. W hatever
may have been the caufe, it is-to be regretted, that Dr
Black, fo confpicuous for his patient^ judicious, and
elegant mode of inveftigation, and fo diftinguilhed for
the fimplicity, perfpicuity, and precifion of his reafon-
ings and deduftions, fhould have contributed fo little
in rearing the noble fuperftru&ure of chemical fcience,
the foundation of w’hich he had beer, the means of efta-
bliflfing on a firm and folid bafis.
Black.
The
B L A
Black.
The theory of the nature of quicklime, and the
1 caufe of its caufticity was foon known to the German
chemilts, and fiom them it met with ftrong oppofition.
Various myfterious doddrines at this time prevailed in
the German fchools concerning the peculiar nature of
£re. As their notions of the caufticity of alkaline fub-
ftances involved fome of thefe doflrines, a great many
objecaons were ftarted to a theory which threatened to
overtnrow. long ellablilhed and favourite opinions. 'The
moft formidable opponent to the new theory was Pro-
ftilor Meyer of Ofnaburgh. All the phenomena of
the caudicity and mildnefs of lime and alkalies, were,
according to. his explanation, to be accounted for, by
tne aftion o! a fubftance of a peculiar nature, to which
he gave the name of acidum pingue. This fubftance,
which was fuppcfed to be formed in the line during
calcination, conlilled of an igneous matter in a certain
ftate of combination with other fubftances.. It is a
matter of fome furprife that Dr Black fhould have ex¬
perienced any uneafinefs on account of the oppofition
made to his difcovery by mere hypothefis unfup-
ported by faffs or even by plaufible argument, when
his own doffrine had been fully and irrefragably efta-
blifhed by the fure teft of decifive experiment. Nor
is it lefs furprifing, that he fhould have taken great
pains for feveral years in the courfe of his leflures in
refuting the arguments and in combating the objeftions
of Meyer to his own theory.
Dr.Black’s reception at the univerfity of Glafgow
W'as highly flattering and encouraging. As a ffudent,
he had not only done himfelf much credit by his fuc-
cefsful progrefs in the different purfuits in which he
was engaged, but he had alfo during his refidence
there ^conciliated the attachment and affbaion of the
profeiTors in a high degree. When he returned as a
profeftbr, he was immediately conneaed in the ftria.
eft friend.ihip with Dr Adam Smith, then profeflbr of
moral philofophy in that univerfity. And this friend-
Ihip, which now commenced, grew ftronger and ftrong-
er, and was never interrupted through the whole of
their lives. A fimplicity and fenfibility, an incorrup¬
tible integrity, the ftriaeft delicacy and correanefs of
manners, marked the charaaer of each of the philofo-
phers, and firmly bound them in the clofeft union.
At Giafgow, Dr Black foon acquired great reputa¬
tion as a profefTor, and became a favourite phyfician in
that large and aaivecity. His engaging countenance,
his agreeable and attraffive manners, free from all ftu-
died endeavour to pleafe, and the kind concern he took
in the cafes intrufted to his care, made him a moft wel¬
come vifitor in every family.
It was between the years 1759 and 1763, that he
biought to maturity his fpeculations concerning heat,
which had occupied his attention at intervals, from the
veD jVft dawn of his philofophical inveftigations.
His difcoveries in this department of fcience were by
far the moft important of all that he made, and per-
h ips indeed the mort valuable which appeared during
tne bufy period of the 18th century. To enter fully
into the nature of his inveftigations would be improper
in this place ; but the fum of them all was ufually ex-
prefted by him in the following propofitions.
When a folid body is converted into a 'fluid,
there enters into it and unites with it, a quantity of
heat, the prefence of which is not indicated by the
[ G9 ]
B L A
thermometer, and this combination is the caufe of the
fluidity which the body ailumes. On the other hand,
when a fluid body is converted into a folid, a quantity
of heat feparates from it, the prefence of which was
not formerly indicated by the thermometer. And this
fepaiation is the caufe of the folid form which the fluid
aflumes.
W hen a liquid body is raifed to the boiling tem¬
perature, by the continued and copious application of
heat, its particles fuddenly attract to themfelves a
great quantity of heat, and by this combination their
mutual relation is fo changed that they no longer at-
tracft each other, but are converted into.an elaftic fluid
like air. On the other hand, when thefe elaftic fluids, ei¬
ther by condenfation or by the application of cold bodies,
are reconverted into liquids, they give out a vaft quan-
tit}, o*■ heat, tiie prefence oi which was not formerly
indicated by the thermometer.
I bus water when converted into ice gives out 1 qo°
of heat, and ice when converted into water abforbs
140 of heat, and wrater when converted into fleam
abforbs about iooo° of heat without becoming fenfi-
bly hotter than 21 20. Philofophers had been long accuf-
tomed to confider the thermometer as the fureft me¬
thod of deteding heat in bodies, yet this inftrument
gives no indication of the 140° of heat which enter
into air when it is converted into water, nor of the
iooo° which combine with water when it is converted
into fleam. Dr Black, therefore, faid that the heat
is concealed (latet) in the water and fleam, and he
briefly expreffed this faft by calling the heat in that
cafe latent heat.
Dr Black, having eftablifhed this difcovery by Am¬
ple and decifive experiments, drew up an account of
the whole inveftigation, and read it to a literary focie-
ty which met every Friday, in the faculty-room of the
college, confifting of the members of the univerfity
and feveral gentlemen of the city, who had a relifii ‘for
philofophy and literature. This was done April 23.
.1762, as appears by the regifters. This doarine was
immediately applied by its author to the explanation of
a vaft number of natural phenomena, and in his ex¬
perimental inveftigations he was greatly aflifted by his
two celebrated pupils Mr Watt and Dr Irvine.
As Dr Black never publifhed an account of his doc¬
trine of latent heat, though he detailed it every year
fubfequent to 1762 in his leisures, which were fre¬
quented by men of fcience from all parts of Europe •
it became known only through that channel, and this
gave an opportunity to others to pilfer it from him
piece-meal. Dr Crawford’s ideas reipedling the capa¬
city of bodies for heat, were originally derived from
Dr.Black, who firft pointed out the method of invefti-
gating that fubject.
The inveftigations of Lavoifier and Laplace con¬
cerning heat, publiftied many years after, were obvi-
oufly borrowed from Dr Black', and indeed confifted
in the repetition of the very experiments which he
had fuggeiled. Yet theie philofophers never mention
Dr Black at all: every thing in their diflertation af-
finnes the air of originality ; and indeed they appear
to have been at great pains to prevent the opinions and
difcoveries of Dr Black from being known among their
countrymen. But perhaps the moft extraordinary pro¬
cedure was that of MrDeluc; this phik%>her had
e xp re lied
Black.
B L A [ 640 ] B L A
Bicick. exprefled his admiration of Dr Black’s tkeory of la-
"'■'V—" tent heat, and had offered to become his editor. Dr
Black, after much entreaty, at laft confented, and
the proper information was communicated to Mr Deluc.
At laft the Idees fur la Meteoroiogie of that philofo-
pher appeared in 1788. But what was the aftonifh-
ment of Dr Black and his friends, wdien they found
the doftrine claimed by Deluc as his own, and an ex-
preftion of fatisfaftion at the knowledge which he had
acquired of Dr Black’s coincidence with him in opi-
■nion !
Dr Black continued in the univerfity of Glafgow,
from 1756 to 1766. In 1766 Dr Cullen was appoint¬
ed profeffor of medicine in the univerfity of Edin¬
burgh, and thus a vacancy was made in the chemical
chair of that univerfity. Dr Black was with univer-
fal confent appointed his fucceffor. In this new feene
his talents were more confpicuous, and more extenfive-
ly ufeful. He faw this, and while he could not but
be highly gratified by the great concourfe of pupils
which the high reputation of the medical fchool of
Edinburgh brought to his le&ures, his mind was for*
cibly impreffed by the importance of his duties as a
teacher. This had an effeft which perhaps was on the
whole rather unfortunate. He direfted his whole at¬
tention to his lectures, and his object was to make
them fo plain that they ftiould be adapted to the capa¬
city of the moft illiterate of his hearers. The im¬
provement of the fcience feems to have been laid afide
by him altogether. Never did any man fucceed more
completely. His pupils were not only inftru&ed but
delighted. Many became his pupils merely in or¬
der to be pleafed. This contributed greatly to extend
the knowledge of chemiftry. It became in Edinburgh
a falhionable part of the accomplilhment of a gentle¬
man.
Perhaps alfo the delicacy of his conftitution preclu¬
ded him from exertion, the flighteft cold, the moft
trifling approach to repletion, immediately affefted his
breaft, occafioned feverifhnefs, and if continued for
two or three days brought on a fpitting of blood.
Nothing reftored him but relaxation of thought and
gentle exercife. The fedentary life to which ftudy
confined him was manifeftly hurtful, and he never al-
lowed himfelf to indulge in any intenfe thinking with-
eut finding thefe complaints fenfibly increafed.
So completely trammeled was he in this refpe&, that
although his friends faw others difingenuous enough to
avail themfelves of the novelties announced by Dr
Black in his le&ures, and therefore repeatedly urged
him to publifh an account of what he had done, this
remained unaccomplilhed to the laft. Dr Black often
began the tafk, but was fo nice in bis notions of the
manner in which it ftiould be executed, that the pains
he took in forming a plan of the work, never failed
to affeft his health, and oblige him to defift. Indeed
he peculiarly diftiked appearing as an author. His in¬
augural differtation was the work of duty. His exper¬
iments on Ma^nefa, ^uick-lime, and other alkaline fub-
fances, was neceffary to put what he had indicated in
his inaugural diflertations on a proper foundation. His
Obfervations on the more ready freezing of Water that
has been boiled, publifhed in the Philofophical Tran-
fa&ions for 1774, was alfo called for ; and his Analyfs
of the V/aters of fame boiling fprings in Iceland, made
2
at the requefl of his friend T. I. Stanley, Efq. was read ^
to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and publiftied by
the council. And thefe are the only works of his
which have appeared in print.
The afpeft of Dr Black was comely and intereft-
ing. His countenance exhibited that pleafing expref-
fion of inward fatisla&ion, which by giving eafe to
the beholder, never fails to pleafe. His manner was
unafFefted and graceful. He was affable, and readily
entered into converfation, whether ferious or trivial.
He was a ftranger to none of the elegant accomplifh-
ments of life. He had a fine mufical ear, with a
voice which would obey it in the moft perfect manner j
for he fung and performed on the flute with great tafte
and feeling, and could fing a plain air at fight, which
many inftrumental performers cannot do. Without
having ftudied drawing, he had acquired a confidera-
ble power of exprefling with his pencil, and feemed in
this refpeft to have the talents of a hiftory painter.
Figure indeed of every kind attracted his attention.
Even a retort, or a crucible, was to his eye an exam¬
ple of beauty or deformity.
He had the ftrongeft claim to the appellation of a
man of propriety and corredfnefs. Every thing wras
done in its proper feafon, and he ever feemed to have
leifure in ftore. He loved fociety, and felt himfelf be¬
loved in it j never did he lole a Angle friend, except
by the ftroke of death.
His only appruhenfion was that of a long continued
fick bed, lefs perhaps from any felfiftr feeling, than
from the confideration of the trouble and diftrefs
which it would occafion to attending friends : and
never was this generous wiftr more completely grati¬
fied. On the 26th Nov. 1799, and in the 71ft year
of his age, he expired without any convulfions, fhock,
or ftupor, to announce or retard the approach of death.
Being at table wdth his ufual fare, fome bread, a few
prunes, and a meafured quantity of milk diluted with
water, and having the cup in his hand, when the laft
ftroke of the pulfe was to be given, he fet it down on
his knees w-hich wrere joined together, and kept it
fteady tvith his hand in the manner of a perfon per-
feftly at eafe *, and in this attitude expired without
fpilling a drop, and without a writhe in his counte¬
nance, as if an experiment had been required to fhow
to his friends the facility with which he departed. His
fervant opened the door to tell him that fome one had
left his name ; but getting no anfwer, ftepped about
half-way towards him, and feeing him fitting in that
eafy pofture, fupporting his bafon of milk with one
hand, he thought that he had dropt afle’ep, which fome-
times happened after his meals. He went back and
{hut the door, but before he went down flairs, fome
anxiety wdiich he could not account for, made him re¬
turn again and look at his mafter. Even then he was
fatisfied after coming pretty near him, and turned to go
away j but returning again and coming dole up to
him, he found him without life. (Preface to Black's
Left, by Dr Robifon.)
Black, a well known colour, fuppofed to be ow¬
ing to the abfence of light, moft of the rays falling
upon black fubftances being not refleded but abforbed
by them. Concerning the peculiar ftruifture of fuch
bodies as fits them for appearing of this or that parti¬
cular colour, fee Colour and Dyeing.
Black-
B L A [ 641 ] B L A
Black-Adt Black-A3; the ftatrte of 9 Geo. I. c. 22. is com-
Tl!a-' ^Le s mon^y ca^ec^ t^ie Waltham black g3, becaule it was oc-
cafioned by the devaftations committed near Waltham
in Effex, by perfons in difguiie, or with their faces black¬
ed. By this flatute it is enabled, that perfons hunting
armed and difguifed, and killing or ftealing deer, or
robbing warrens, or ftealing filh out of any river, 8tc,
or any perfons unlawfully hunting in his majefty’s fo-
refts, &c. or breaking down the head of any filh-pond,
or killing, &c. of cattle, or cutting down trees or fet-
ting fire to houfe, barn, or wood, or fhooting at any
perfon, or fending letters either anonymous or figned
with a fiflitious name demanding money, &c. or ref-
cuing fuch offenders, are guilty of felony, without be¬
nefit of clergy. This adt is made perpetual by 31
Geo. II. c. 42.
Black Bird. See Turdus, Ornithology Index.
••B lack-Book of the Exchequer. See Exchequer.
Black Books, a name given to thofe which treat of
necromancy, or, as fome call it, negromancy. The
black-book of the Englifh monafleries was a detail of
the fcandalous enormities pradlifed in religious houfes,
compiled by order of the vifitors under King Hen. VIII.
to blacken, and thus haften their diffolution.
BLACK-Caf). See Motacilla, Ornithology
Index.
BLACK-Cock. SccTetrao, Ornithology Index.
BLACK-Eagle. See Falco, Ornithology Index.
BLACK-Eunuchs, in the cuftoms of the eaftern na¬
tions, are Ethiopians caflrated, to -whom their princes
commonly commit the care of their women. See Eu¬
nuch.
BLACK-Foref, a forefl of Germany, in Suabia, run¬
ning from north to fouth between Ortnau, Brifgaw,
part of the duchy of Wirtemberg, the principality of
Fuflemburg towards the fource of the Danube, as far
as the Rhine above Bafil. It is part of the ancient
Hyrcanian foreft.
BLACK-Friars, a name given to the Dominican order j
called alfo predicants and preaching friars} in France,
jacobins.
BLACK-Jack, or Blende, is a mineral called alfo falfe
galena, blinde, &c. See Blende, Mineralogy In¬
dex.
BLACK-Land, in Agriculture, a term by which the
hufbandmen denote a particular fort of clayey foil,
which, however, they know more by its other proper¬
ties than by its colour, which is rarely any thing like a
true black, and often but a pale gray. This, however
pale when dry, always blackens hy means of rains, and
when ploughed up at thefe feafons it flicks to the
ploughfhares, and the more it is wrought the muddier
and dufkier coloured it appears. This fort of foil al¬
ways contains a large quantity of fand, and ufually a
great number of fmall white Hones.
Black Lead. See Plumbago, Mineralogy Index.
BLACK-Leather, is that which has palled the curriers
hands, where, from the ruffet as it was left by the tan¬
ners, it is become black, by having been fcored and
rubbed three times on the grain-fide with copperas wa¬
ter. See Leather.
BiACK-Legs, a name given in Leiceftcrfhire to a dif-
eafe frequent among calves and fheep. It is a kind of
jelly which fettles in their legs, and often in the neck,
between the fkin and flefh.
Vol. III. Part II.
Black-MoU, a certain rate of money, corn, cattle, Eiack-Mail
or other matter, anciently paid by the inhabitants of II
towns in Weftmorcland, Cumberland, Northumber- ^'ytIn¬
land, and Durham, to divers perfons inhabiting on or . ‘.
near the borders, being men of name, and allied with
others in thofe parts, knqwn to be great robbers and
fpoil-takers ; in order to be by them freed and protedl-
ed from any pillage. Prohibited by 43 El. c. 13.
The origin of this w ord is much contefled, yet there
is ground to hold the word black to be here a cor¬
ruption of blank or white, and confequently to fig-
nify a rent paid in a fmall copper coin called blanks.
This may receive fome light from a phrafe ftill ufed
in Picardy, where fpeaking of a perfon w’ho has not
a fingle halfpenny, they lay, il n’> a pas une blanque
maille.
BLACK-Monks, a denomination given to the Bene-
dittines, called in Latin nigri monachi, or nigro mona -
chi ; fometimes ordo nigrorum, “ the order of blacks.”
Black Oats. See Oats.
BLACK-ProcejJion, in ecclefiadical waiters, that which
is made in black habits, and with black enfigns and
ornaments. See Procession. Anciently at Malta
there w’as a black proceflion every Friday, where the
wrhole clergy walked with their faces covered with a
black veil.
BsACK-Rent, the fame with black-mail, fuppofed to
be rents formerly paid in provifions and flefh, not in
fpecie.
BsACK-Rod. See Rod.
Black-Row Grains, a fpecies of iron-ftone or ore
found in the mines about Dudley in Staffordihire.
BLACK-Sea. See EuxiNE-Sea.
BiACK-Sheep, in the Oriental Hi/lory, the enfign or
Itandard of a race of Turkmans fettled in Armenia
and Mefopotamia j hence called the dynq/ly of the black
Jheep.
BLACK-Stones and Gems, according to Dr Wood-
wTard, owe their colour to a mixture of tin in their
compofition.
BiACK-Strakes, a range of planks immediately above
the wTales in a fhip’s fide. They are always covered
wfith a mixture of tar and lamp-black.
Black-Tin, in Mineralogy, a denomination given to
the tin-ore when dreffed, ftamped, and w^alhed ready
for the blowing-houfe, or to be melted into metal. It
is prepared into this Hate by means of beating and
wafhing j and w'hen it has paffed through feveral bud¬
dies or wrafhing-troughs, it is taken up in form of a
black porvder, like fined fand, called black-tin.
BiACK-Wadd, in Mineralogy, a kind of ore of man-
ganefe, remarkable for its property of taking fire when
mixed with linfeed oil in a certain proportion. It is
found in Derbyfhire, and is ufed as a drying ingredient
in paints ; for when ground wfith a large quantity of
oily matter it lofes the property above mentioned. See
Manganese, Mineralogy Index.
Black Water, the name of two rivers in Ireland 5
one of which runs through the counties of Cork and
Waterford, and falls into Youghal bay; and the other,
after watering the county of Armagh, falls into Lough-
Neagh.
Black-Whytlof, in our old writers, bread of a mid¬
dle finenefs betwixt white and browm, called in fome
parts ravel-beard. In religious houfes, it w7as the bread
4 M . made
B L A [ 642 ] B L ' A
Black- made for ordinary guefts, and diftinguifhed from their
Work houfehold loaf, or panis conventualis, which was pure
Blacklock. manchet, °r white bread.
■^-»l „> BiACK-lVork, iron wrought by the blackfmith ; thus
called by way of oppofition to that wrought by white-
fmiths.
BLACKALL, Dr Offspring, bifhop of Exeter
in the beginning of the 18th century, was born at
London 1654, and educated at Catharine-Hall, Cam¬
bridge. For two years he refufed to take the oath of
allegiance to King William and Queen Mary, but at
. laft fubmitted to the government, though he feemed to
condemn the Revolution, and all that had been done
purfuant to it. He was a man of great piety, had
much primitive fimplicity and interigity, and a conftant
evennefs of mind. In a fermon before the houfe of
commons, Jan. 30th 1699, he animadverted on To-
land’s affertion in his life of Milton, that Charles I.
was not the writer of the Icon Bafilike, and for fome
inlrnuations againft the authenticity of the Holy Scrip¬
tures \ which produced a controverfy between him and
that author. In 1700, he preached a courfe of fer-
mons in St Paul’s at Boyle’s ledlure, w’hich w^ere af¬
terwards publilhed ; and wras confecrated bilhop of Ex¬
eter in 1707. He died at Exeter in 1716, and was in¬
terred in the cathedral there.
BLACKSANK, a town of Ireland, in the county
of Armagh and province of Ulfter, feated in W. Long.
6. 55. N. Lat. 54. 12.
BLACKBERRY. See Rubus, Botany Index.
BLACKBURN, a town of Lancafhire in England,
feated near the river Derwent. It takes its name from
the brook Blackwater which runs through it. W. Long.
2. 15. N. Lat. 53. 40.
BLACKING is fometimes ufed for a fadlitious
black ; as lamp-black, fhoe-black, &c. A mixture
of ivory or lamp-black with linfeed-oil makes the com¬
mon oil blacking. For a Ihining blacking, ffnall-beer
or water is ufed inftead of oil, in the proportion of
about a pint to an ounce of the ivory-black, with the
addition of half an ounce of brown fugar, and as much
gum arabic. The white of an egg fubftituted for the
gum makes the black more fhining ; but is fuppofed to
hurt the leather, and make it apt to crack.
BLACKLOCK, Dr Thomas, a clergyman, w-as
born at Annan in the fouth of Scotland in the year
1721. His father was a bricklayer, but though in this
humble fphere of life, was of a refp&able charafter,
and not deficient in knowledge and urbanity. The
fon was not quite fix months old when he loft his eye-
fight in the fmallpox. This misfortune rendered him
incapable of learning any of the mechanical arts •, and
therefore his father kept him at home, and with the
afliftance of fome friends foftered that inclination which,
at a very early period, he (hewed for books. This was
done by reading to him firft the fimple fort of pub¬
lications which are commonly put into the hands of
children, and then feveral of our beft authors, fuch as
Milton, Spencer, Prior, Pope, and Addifon. Flis com¬
panions, whom his early gentlenefs and kindnefs of dif-
pofition, as well as their compaftion for his misfortune,
ftrongly attached to him, were very aftiduous in their
good offices, in reading to inftrudf and amufe him. By
their affiftance he acquired fome knowledge of the La¬
tin tongue, but he never was at a grammar-fchool till
at a more advanced period of life. Poetry was even Blacklock.
then his favourite reading •, and he found an enthufiaftic
delight in the works of the beft Englifti poets, and in
thofe of his countryman Allan Ramfay. Even at an
age fo early as twelve he began to write poems, one of
which is preferved in the colle&ion that was publifhed
after his death, and is not perhaps inferior to any of
the premature compofitions of boys aflifted by the beft;
education, which are only recalled into notice by the
future fame of their authors.
He had attained the age of nineteen when his father
was killed by the accidental fall of a malt-kiln belong¬
ing to his fon-in-law. This lofs, heavy to any one at
that early age, would have been, however, to a young
man poffefling the ordinary means of fupport, and the
ordinary advantages of education, comparatively light j
but to him—thus fuddenly deprived of that fupport on
which his youth had leaned—deftitute almoft of every
refource which induftry affords to thofe who have the
bleflings of fight—with a body feeble and delicate from
nature, and a mind congenially lufceptible—it was not
furpriling that this blow was doubly fevere, and threw
on his fpirits that defpondent gloom to which he then
gave way in the following pathetic lines, and which
fometimes overclouded them in the fubfequent period of
his life.
“ Deje&ing profpedf ! foon the haplefs hour
“ May come-, perhaps this moment it impends,
“ Which drives me forth to penury and cold,
“ Naked, and beat by all the ftornls of heav’n,
“ Friendlefs and guidelefs to explore my way \
“ Till, on cold earth this poor unflielter’d head
“ Reclining, vainly from the ruthlefs blaft
“ Refpite I beg, and in the (hock expire.”
He lived with his mother for about a year after his
father’s death, and began to be diftinguilhed as a young
man of uncommon parts and genius. Thefe were at
that time unaffifted by learning j the circumftances of
his family affording him no better education than the
fmattering of Latin wdrich his companions had taught
him, and the perufal and recollection of the few Eng-
lifh authors which they, or his father in the intervals of
his profeflional labours, had read to him. Poetry, how¬
ever, though it attains its higheft perfection in a culti¬
vated foil, grows perhaps as luxuriantly in a wild one.
To poetry, as we have before mentioned, he was de¬
voted from his earlieft days *, and about this time feve¬
ral of his poetical productions began to be handed
about, which confiderably enlarged the circle of his
friends and acquaintance. Some of his compofitions
being (hewn to Dr Stevenfon, an eminent pbyfician of
Edinburgh, -who was accidentally at Dumfries on a pro-
feffional vifit, that gentleman formed the benevolent
defign of carrying him to the Scotch metropolis and
giving to his natural endowments the afliftance of a
claflical education. He came to Edinburgh in the
year 1741, and was enrolled a ftudent of divinity in the
univerfity there, though at that time without any par¬
ticular view of entering into the church. In that uni¬
verfity he continued his ftudies under the patronage of
Dr Stevenfon till the year 1745, when he retired to
Dumfries, and refided in the houfe of Mr M‘Murdo,
who had married his filler, during the whole time of tha
civil war3 wThich then raged in the country, and partL
culajly
B L A
Blaeklock. cularly difturbed the tranquillity of the metropolis.
v When peace was reftored to the nation, he returned to
the univerfity, and purfued his ftudies for fix years
longer. During this laft refidence in Edinburgh, he
obtained, among other literary acquaintance, that of
the celebrated Mr Hume, who attached himfelf warm¬
ly to Mr Blacklock’s interefts, and was aftewards par¬
ticularly ufeful to him in the publication of the 4to
edition of his Poems, which came out by fubfcription
in London in the year 1756. Previoufly to this, two
editions in 8vo had been publiibed at Edinburgh, the
firft in 1746, and the fecond in 1754.
In the courfe of his education at Edinburgh, he ac¬
quired a proficiency in the learned languages, and be¬
came more a mafter of the French tongue than was then
common in that city. For this laft acquifition he was
chiefly indebted to the focial intercourfe to which he
had the good fortune to be admitted in the houfe of
Provoft Alexander, who bad married a native of France.
At the univerfity he attained a knowledge of the va¬
rious branches of philofophy and theology, to which his
courfe of ftudy naturally led, and acquired at the fame
time a confiderable fund of learning and information in
thofe various departments of fcience and belles lettres,
from which his want of fight did not abfolutely pre¬
clude him.
I757> he began a courfe of itudy, with a view to
give lectures in oratory to young gentlemen intended
for the bar or the pulpit. On this occafion he wrote
to Mr Hume, informed him of his plan, and requefted
his afliftance in the profecution of it. But Mr Hume
doubting the probability of its fuccefs, he abandoned
the projedl j and then, for the firft time, adopted the
decided intention of going into the church of Scotland.
' After applying clofely for a confiderable time to the
ftudy of theology, he palled the ufual trials in the pref-
bytery of Dumfries, and was by that prefbytery licenfed
a preacher of the gofpel in the year 1759. As a preach,
er he obtained high reputation, and was fond of com-
poiing fermons, of which he has left fome volumes in
manufcript, as alfo a Treatife on Morals.
In 1762 he married Mifs Sarah Johnfton, daughter
of Mr Jofeph Johnfton furgeon in Dumfries ; a con¬
nexion which formed the great folace and blefting of
his future life, and gave him, with all the tendernefs of
a wife, all the zealous care of a guardian and a friend.
This event took place a few days before his being or¬
dained mini tier of the town and parifti of Kircudbright,
in confequence of a prefentation from the crown, ob¬
tained for him by the earl of Selkirk, a benevolent no¬
bleman, whom Mr Blacklock’s fituation and genius
had interefted in his behalf. But the inhabitants of
the parilh, whether from that violent averfion to pa¬
tronage, which was then fo univerfal in the fouthern
parts of Scotland, from fome political difputes which at
that time fubfifted between them and his noble patron,
or from thofe prejudices which fome of them might na¬
turally enough entertain againlt a paftor deprived of
fight, or perhaps from all thefe caufes united, were fo
extremely difinclined to receive him as their minifter,
that after a legal diipute of nearly two years, it was
thought expedient by his friends, as it had always been
wiihed by himfelf, to compromife the matter, by re-
iigning his right to the living, and accepting a mode¬
rate annuity in its Head. With this {lender provifion
[ 43 ]
B L A
he removed in 1764 to Edinburgh j and to make up Blacklock.
by his induftry a more comfortable and decent fubfift--v—^
ence, he adopted the plan of receiving a certain num¬
ber of young gentlemen as boarders into his houfe,
whofe ftudies in languages and philofophy he might,
if neceffary, aflift. In this fituation he continued till
the year 1787, when he found his time of life and ftate
of health required a degree of quiet and repofe which
induced him to difcontinue the receiving of boarders.
In 1767 the degree of doctor in divinity was confer¬
red on him by the univerfity and Marifchal college of
Aberdeen.
In the occupation which he thus exercifed for fo ma¬
ny years of his life, no teacher was perhaps ever more
agreeable to his pupils, nor mafter of a family to its in¬
mates, than Dr Blacklock. The gentlenefs of his
manners, the benignity of his difpofition, and that
warm intereft in the happinefs of others which led him
fo conftantly to promote it, were qualities that could
not fail to procure him th« love and regard of the
young people committed to his charge while the fo-
ciety, which efteem and refpeft for his charadler and
his genius often aflembled at his houfe, afforded them
an advantage rarely to be found in eftabliftunents of a
fimilar kind.
In this mixed fociety he appeared to forget the pri¬
vation of fight, and the melancholy which it might at
other times produce in his mind. He entered, with
the cheerful playfulnefs of a young man, into all the
fprightly narrative, the fportful fancy, and the humo¬
rous jeft that rofe around him. Next to converfation,
mufic was perhaps the fource of his greateft delight $
for he i*ot only relifhed it highly, but was himfelf a to¬
lerable performer on feveral inftruments, particularly
the flute. He generally carried in his pocket a final!
flageolet, on which he played his favourite tunes ; and
was not difpleafed when afked in company to play or
to fing them ; a natural feeling for a blind man, who
thus adds a fcene to the drama of his fociety.
Of the happinefs of others, however, w7e are incom¬
petent judges. Companionfhip and fympathy bring
forth thofe gay colours of mirth and cheerfulnefs
which they put on for a while, to cover perhaps that
fadnefs which we have no opportunity of witneffing.
Of a blind man’s condition wTe are particularly liable
to form a miftaken eftimate $ we give him credit for
all thofe gleams of delight wdiich fociety affords him,
without placing to their full account thofe dreary mo¬
ments of darkfome folitude to which the fufpenfion of
that fociety condemns him. Dr Blacklock had from
nature a conftitution delicate and nervous, and his mind,
as is almoft aways the cafe, w^as in a great degree fub-
je<ft to the indifpofition of his body. He frequently
complained of a lownefs and depreflion of fpirits, which
neither the attentions of his friends, nor the unceafing
care of a moft affedlionate wife, were able entnely to
remove. The imagination we are fo apt to envy and
admire ferves but to irritate this diforder of the mind j
and that fancy in whofe creation we fo much delight,
can draw, from fources unknown to common men, fub-
jefts of difguft, difquietude, and afflidlioh. Some of his
later poems exprefs a chagrin, though not of an ungentle
fort, at the fuppofed failure of his imaginative powers,
or at the faftidioufnefs of modern times, which he de-
fpaired to pleafe.
4 M 2
“ Such
B L A
Blacklock,11 Such were his efforts, fuch his cold reward,
e.' “ Whom once thy partial tongue pronounc’d a bard ;
“ Excurfive, on the gentle gales of fpring,
“ He rov’d, whillt favour imp’d his timid wing j
“ Exhaufted genius now no more infpires,
“ But mourns abortive hopes, and faded fires;
The fhort-liv’d wreath, which once his temple grac’d,
“ Fades at the fickly breath of fqueamifh tafte ;
“ Whilfi; darker days his fainting flames immure
“ In chearlefs gloom and winter premature.”
Thefe lines are, however, no proof of “ exhaufted
genius,” or “ faded fires.” “ Abortive hopes,” in¬
deed, muft be the lot of all who, like Dr Blacklock,
reach the period of old age. In early youth the heart
of every one is a poet ; it creates a fcene of imagined
happinefs and delufive hopes ; it clothes the world in
the bright colours of its owm fancy $ it refines wdrat is
coarfe, it exalts what is mean ; it fees nothing but
difintereftednefs in friendftiip, it promifes eternal fide¬
lity in love. Even on the diftreffes of its fituation it
can throw a certain romantic (hade of melancholy that
leaves a man fad, but does not make him unhappy. But
at a more advanced age, “ the fairy viirons fade,” and
he fuffers moft deeply who has indulged them the
moft.
About the time that thefe verfes were written, Dr
Blacklock was, for the firft time, afflifted with what to
him murt have been peculiarly diftrefsful. He became
occafionally fubjeft to deafnefs, which, though he fel-
dom felt it in any great degree, wnrs fufficient, in his fi¬
tuation, to whom the fenfe of hearing wTas almoft the
only channel of communication with the external w'orld,
to caufe very lively uneafinefs. Amidll thefe indifpo-
fttions of body, how’ever, and difquietudes of mind,
the gentlenefs of his temper never forfook him, and he
felt all that refignation and confidence in the Supreme
Being which his earlieft and his lateft life equally ac-
knowledged. In fummer 1791 he was feized wdth a
feverifti diforder, which at firft feemed of a flight, and
never rofe to a very violent kind ; but a frame fo little
robuft as his was not able to refill it, and after about
a week’s illnefs it carried him off on the 7th day of July
1791.
Dr Blacklock’s w/ritings confift chiefly of poems, of
which an edition in qto was publilhed in 1793. To
that edition w^as added, An Effay on the Education
of the Blind, tranflated from the French of M. Flauy.
He was alfo the author of the article Blind in the laft
edition of this rvork.
BLACKMORE, Sir Richard, a phyfician, and
voluminous wwiter of theological, poetical, and phy-
lical works. Having declared himfelf early in favour
of the Revolution, King William, in 1697, chofe him
one of his phyficians in ordinary, and conferred the
honour of knighthood on him. On Queen Anne’s
acceftion, Sir Richard w'as alfo appointed one of her
phyficians, and continued fo for fome time. Dryden
and Pope treated the poetical performances of Black-
more with great contempt^ and in a note to the men¬
tion made of him in the Dunciad, we are informed that
his “ indefatigable mufe produced no lefs than fix
epic peoms : Prince and King Arthur, 20 books •, Fli-
xa, io*, Alfred, 12 ; The Redeemer, 6: befide 'job,
in folio j the whole book of Pfalms; The Creation,
B L A
feven books', Nature of Man, three books 5 and many Blacknefs
more.” But notwithftanding Blackmore was much yi.l(. JJ,
ridiculed by the wits, he is not without merit j and ,
Addifon has, in the Spectator, beftowcd fome liberal
commendations on his poem on the Creation. It muft
be mentioned too in honour of Sir Richard, that he
was a chafte writer/, and a warm advocate for virtue, at
a time when an almoft univerfal degeneracy prevailed.
He had been very free in his cenfures on the libertine
waiters of his age •, and it was owing to fome liberty he
had taken of this kind, that he drew upon him the re-
fentment of Mr Dryden. He had likewife given of¬
fence to Mr Pope ; for having been informed by Mr
Curl that he w7as the author of a traveftie on the firft
Pfalm, he took occafion to reprehend him for it in his
Efiay on Polite Learning. Befides what are above men¬
tioned, Sir Richard wrote fome theological trails, and
feveral treatifes on the plague, fmall-pox, confumptions,
the fpleen, gout, droply, &cc. and many other poetical
pieces. He died Oftober 9. 1729.
BLACKNESS, the quality of a black body •, or
a colour arifing from fuch a texture and fituation of
the fuperficial parts of the body as does, as it were, dea-
den, or rather abforb, the light falling on it, without re-
flefting any, or very little of it, to the eye.—In which
fenfe, blacknefs Hands directly oppofed to whitenefs;
which confifts in fuch a texture of parts as indifferently
refledts all the rays thrown upon it, of what colour fo-
ever they be.
Defcartes, fays Dr Prieftly, though miftaken wdth
refpeft to the nature of light and colours, yet diftin-
guilhes juftly between black and wdiite 5 obferving, that
black fuifocates and extinguiftres the light that falls
upon it, but that white reflefts them. See Black.
BLACKS, in Phyfology. See Negroes.
Blacks, is alfo a name given to an affociation of
diforderly and ill-defigning perfons, formerly herding
chiefly about Waltham in Effex, who deftroyed deer,
robbed fifh-pounds, ruined timber, &c. See Black-AB,
BLACKSTONE, Sir William, an eminent Eng¬
lish lawyer, was born at London in July 1723. His
father, Mr Charles Blackftone, a filk-man, citizen,
and bowryer of London, died fome months before the
birth of our author, who was the youngeft of four chil¬
dren •, and their mother died before he was 12 years
old. Even from his birth, the care both of his educa¬
tion and fortune was kindly undertaken by his mater¬
nal uncle Mr Thomas Bigg, an eminent furgeon in
London, and afterw'ards, on the death of his elder
brothers, owmer of the Chilton eftate, which is ftill
enjoyed by that family. In 1730 being about feven
years old, he was put to fchool at the Charter-houfe $
and in 1735 wTas, by the nomination of Sir Robert
Walpole, on the recommendation of Charles Wither
of Hall in Hampfliire, Efq ; his coufin by the mo¬
ther’s fide, admitted upon the foundation there. In
this excellent feminary he applied himfelf to every
branch of youthful education, with the fame afllduity
which accompanied his ftudies through life. His ta¬
lents and induftry rendered him the favourite of his
mafters, w’ho encouraged and aflifted him wdth the ut-
moft attention : fo that at the age of 1 5 he was at the
head of the fchool, and although fo young, wras thought
wrell qualified to be removed to the univerfity. He
wras accordingly entered a commoner at Pembroke col-
iege
[ 644 ]
B L A [
iFackftone. lege in Oxford, on the 30th of November 1738, and
' V ' was the next day matriculated. At this time he was
ele£led to one of the Charter-houfe exhibitions by the
governors of that foundation, to commence from the
Michaelmas preceding-, but was permitted to continue
a fcholar there till after the 12th of December, being
the anniverfary commemoration of the founder, to give
him an opportunity of fpeaking the cultomary oration
which he had prepared, and which did him much cre¬
dit. About this time alfo he obtained Mr Benfon’s
gold prize-medal of Milton, for verfes on that poet.
In the February following, the fociety of Pembroke
college unanimoufly eleddeb him to one of Lady Hol-
ford’s exhibitions for Charter-houfe fcholars in that
houfe. Here he profecuted his ftudies with unremit¬
ting ardour; and although the dailies, and parti¬
cularly the Greek and Roman poets, were his fa¬
vourites, they did not entirely engrofs his attention :
logic, mathematics, and the other fciences, were not
negledded. At the early age of 20, he compiled a
treatife entitled Elements of Architecture, intended for
his own ufe only, and not for publication } but efleem-
ed by thofe judges who have perufed it, in no re.
fpecl unworthy his maturer judgment and more exer-
eifed pen. «
Having determined on his future plan of life, and
made choice of the law for his profeiTion, he was en¬
tered in the Middle Temple on the 20th of Novem¬
ber 1741. He now found it necelfary to quite the
more amufing purfuits of his youth, for the feverer ftu¬
dies to which he had dedicated himfelf; and betook
himfelf ferioully to reading law. He exprefled his dif-
agreeable fenfations on this occalion in a copy of
verfes, lince publifhed by Dodfley in vol. iv. of his
milcellanies, entitled The Laywer's Farewell to his
Mufe ; in which the Itruggle of his mind is exprefled
fo ftrongly, fo naturally, with fuch elegance of fenfe
and language, and harmony of vernfication, as mull
convince every reader that his padion for the mufes
was too deeply rooted to be laid afide without much
reluctance 5 and that, if he had purfued that flowery
path, he w-ould perhaps have proved inferior to few of
our Engliih poets. Several little fugitive pieces be-
fides this, have at times been communicated by him to
his friends j and he left (but not with a view of publi¬
cation) a finall collection of juvenile pieces, both ori¬
ginals and tranllations, inferibed with this line from
Horace,
Ncc lufiffe pudet, fed non incidere ludum.
Some notes on Shakefpeare, which juft before his
death he communicated to Mr Steevens, and which
were inferted by him in his laft edition of that author,
(how how well he underftood the meaning, as w-ell as
the beauties, of that his favourite among the Englifh
poets.
In November 1743, he was elected into the fociety
of All-Souls college ; and in the November following,
he fpoke the anniverfary fpeech in commemoration of
archbilhop Chiceley the founder, and the other bene-
faCtors to that houfe of learning, and was admitted ac¬
tual fellow, from this period he divided his time be¬
tween the univerfity and the Temple, where he took
chambers in order to attend the courts : in the former
he purfued his academical ftudies, and on the 12th of
645 ] B L A
June 1745 commenced bachelor of civil lawg in the lat- Blackltone.
ter he applied himfelf clofely to his profeflion, both in ' v—^
the hall and in his private ftudies, and on the 28th of
November 1746 w'as called to the bar. Though he
was little known or diltinguilhed in Weftminfter hall,
he was aCtively employed, during his occaflonal refi-
dence at the univerfltj, in attending to its interefls, and
mingling with and improvingfits interior concerns. In
May 1749, as a Imall reward for his fervices, and to give
him further opportunities of advancing the interefts of
the college, Mr Blackftone was appointed ftew-ard of
their manors. And in the fame year, on the refignation
of his uncle Seymour Richmond, Efq. he was elected
recorder of the borough of Wallingford in Berkfture,
and received the king’s approbation on the 30th of
May. d he 26th of April he commenced doc¬
tor of civil law, and thereby became a member of the
convocation, which efiabled him to extend his views
beyond the narrow circle of his own fociety, to the ge¬
neral benefit of the univerfity at large. In the fummer
1 753> be took the reiolution of wholly retiring to his
fellowlhip and an academical life, ftili continuing the
practice of his profefiion as a provincial counfel.
His Ledtures on the Laws of England appear to
have been an early and favourite idea ; for in the Mi¬
chaelmas term, immediately after he quitted Weftmin¬
fter hall, he entered on the province of reading them
at Oxford ; and we are told by the author of his life,
that even at their commencement, fuch were the expec¬
tations formed from the acknowledged abilities of the
ledturer, they were attended by a very crowded clafs of
young men of the firft families, charadters, and hopes ;
but.it was not till the year 1758, that the ledtures in
the form they now bear were read at the univerfity.
Mr \'iner having by his will left not only the copy¬
right of his abridgment, but other property to a conii-
derable amount, to the univerfity of Oxford, to found
a profefibrlhip, fellowfliips, and fcholarihips of common
law, he was on the 20th of Odtober 1758 unanimoufly
eledted Vinerian profeffor ; and on the 25th of the
fame month read his firft introdudlory ledture, which
he publifhed at the requeft of the vice-chancellor and
heads of houfes, and afterwards prefixed to the firft
volume of his Commentaries. His ledtures now- had
gained fuch univerfal applaufe, that he was requefted
by a noble perfonage who fuperintended the education
of our prefent fovereign then prince of Wales, to read
them to his royal highnefs; but as he was at that
time engaged to a numerous clafs of pupils in the uni¬
verfity, he thought he could not, confiltently with that
engagement, comply with this requeft, and therefore
declined it. But he tranfmitted copies of many of
them for the perufal of his royal highnefs ; who, far
from being offended at an excufe grounded on fo
honourable a motive, was pleafed to order a hand-
fome gratuity to be prefented to him. It is doubtful
whether the Commentaries were originally intended
for the prefs j but many imperfedt and incorredt copies
having got abroad, and a pirated edition of them being
either publilhed, or preparing for publication in Ire¬
land, the learned ledturer thought proper to print a
corredt edition himfelf j and in November 1765 pu¬
blifhed the firft volume under the title of Commentaries
on the Laws of England; and in the courfe of the four
fucceeding years, the remaining parts of this admirable
work.
* Juniut.
B L A
Biaekftone, work. It ought to be remarked, that before this pe-
. ‘<iC Wa the reputation his le&ures defervedly acquired him
had induced him to refume his practice in Weftminfter-
hall; and in a courfe fomewhat inverted from the ge¬
neral progrefs of his profeffion, he who had quitted the
bar for an academic life, was fent back from the col¬
lege to the bar, with a confiderable increafe of bufinefs.
He was likewife elefted into parliament, firft for Hin-
don, and afterwards for Weftbury in Wilts ; but in
neither of thefe departments did he equal the expecta¬
tions his writings had railed. The part he took in the
Middlefex election drew upon him the attack of fome
perfons of ability in the fenate, and likewife a fevere
animadverfion of one of the keenelt polemical writers*
in the paper war of that day. This circumltance pro¬
bably llrengthened the averfion he profefled to parlia¬
mentary attendance j “where, (he faid) amidlt the
rage of contending parties, a man of moderation mult
expert to meet with no quarter from any fide and
when, on the refignation of Mr Dunning in 1770, he
was offered the place of folicitor-general, he refufed
that office 5 but Ihortly afterwards, on the promotion
of Sir Jofeph Yates to a feat in the court of common-
pleas, accepted a feat on the bench, and by the death
of Sir Jofeph fucceeded him there alfo. As a judge,
he was not inactive j but, when not occupied in the
duties of his ftation, wras generally engaged in fome
fcheme of public utility. The- aft for detached
houfes for hard labour for convi&s, as a fubftitute for
tranfportation, owed its origin in a great meafure to
him.
It ought not to be omitted, that the laft augmenta¬
tion of the judges falaries, calculated to make up the
deficiencies occafloned by the heavy taxes ‘they are
fubjeft to, and thereby render them more independent,
tvas obtained in a great meafure by his induftry and
attention. This refpe&able and valuable man died
cn the 14th of February 1780, in the 50th year of his
4ge.
BLACKWALL, Anthony, A. M. a learned
author, after completing his academical education at
Emanuel college, Cambridge, was appointed head ma¬
iler of the free fchool at Derby, and le&urer of All¬
hallows there, where he ffrft diftinguilhed himfeif in
the literary world by an edition of Theognis, printed
at London in 1706, and wras afterwards head mailer
of the free fchool at Market-Bofworth in Leicefter-
ihire. The Grammar whereby he initiated the youth
under his care into Latin, was of his own compoling,
and fo happily fitted for the purpofe, that he was pre¬
vailed on to make it public, though his modelly would
not permit him to fix his name to it, becaufe he would
not be thought to prefcrihe to other inftru£lors of
youth. It is entitled, “ A New Eatin Grammar }
being a (liort, clear, and eafy Introdu&km of young
Scholars to the Knowledge of the Latin Tongue; con¬
taining an exaft Account of the two firft Parts of Gram¬
mar.” In his “ Introduction to the Claffics,” ffrff
publilhed in 1718, iztno, he difplayed the beauties
of thofe admirable writers of antiquity, to the under-
llanding and imitation even of common capacities^
and that in fo concife and clear a manner, as feemed
peculiar to himfeif. But his greateft and moll cele¬
brated work was, “ The Sacred Claflics defended and
646 1 B L A
illullrated } or, An Eflay humbly offered towards pre-BladWell.
ferving the Purity, Propriety, and True Eloquence of —-‘-v-***
the Writers of the New Teftament,” in 2 vols. Mr
Blackwall had the felicity to bring up many excellent
fcholars in his feminaries at Derby and Bofworth j a-
mong others, the celebrated Richard Dawes, author of
the Mifcellanea Critica. A gentleman who had been his
fcholar, being patron of the church of Clapham in Sur¬
rey, prefented him to that living as a mark of his gra¬
titude and elleem. This happening late in life, and
Blackwall having occalion to wait upon the bilhop of
the diocefe, he was fomewhat pertly quellioned by a
young chaplain as to the extent of his learning. “ Boy
(replied the indignant veteran), I have forgot more
than ever you knew!” He died at Maiket-Bofworth,
April 8. 1730.
BLACKWELL, Thomas, an eminent Scottiih
tvriter, was fon of a minifter at Aberdeen, and born
there 1701. He had his grammatical learning at a
fchool in Aberdeen, ffudied Greek and philolophv in
the Marifchal college there, and took the degree of
M. A. in 1718. Being greatly dillinguilhed by un¬
common parts, and an early proficiency in letters, he
was, Dec. 1723, made Greek profeffor in the college
where he had been educated j and continued to teach
that language with applaufe even to his death. In •
I737» was published at London, but without his name,
“ An Enquiry into the life and writings of Homer,”
8vo } a fecond edition of which appeared in 17365
and not long after, “ Proofs of the Enquiry into Ho¬
mer’s life and writings,” which was a tranflation of the
Greek, Latin, Spaniih, Italian, and French notes,
fubjoined to the original work. In 1748, he publiflied
“ Letters concerning Mythology,” 8vo 5 without his
name alfo. The fame year, he was made principal of
the Marifchal college in Aberdeen, and is the only lay¬
man who hath been appointed principal of that col¬
lege, fince the patronage came to the Crown, by the
forfeiture of the Marifchal family, in 17165 all the
other principals having been minifters of the church of
Scotland. March 1752, he took the degree of dodlor
of laws : and the year following came out the firft vo¬
lume of his Memoirs of the Court of Auguftus, 410.
JFe fecond volume appeared in 17555 and the third,
which was pofthumous, and left incomplete by the au¬
thor, was fitted for the prefs by John Mills, Efq. and
publifhed in 1764. At the fame time was publifhed a
third edition of the two former volumes : Which is a
proof of the good reception the work met with from
the public 5 though it muft be acknowledged that the
parade with which it is written, and the peculiarity of
its language, expofed it to fome feverity of cenfure.
Soon after he became principal of his college, he
married a merchant’s daughter of Aberdeen, by whom
he had no children. Several years before his death, his
health began to decline : his diforder was of the con-
fumptive kind, and thought to be forwarded by sn
excefs of abftemioufnefs which he impofed upon him¬
feif. His difeafe increafing, he was advifed to travel,
and accordingly fet out in Feb. 17 C7 5 however, he was
not able to go farther than Edinburgh, in which city
he died the 8th of March following, in his 56th year.
He was a very ingenious and very learned man : he had
an equable flow of temper, and a truly philofophic
fpirit.
2
B L A
^STef’ 'T'*0* ”hic} he feems t0 Preferred lo the
' [aft j .for on the da7 of his death he wrote to feveral of
his friends.
Blackwell, Alexander, fon of a dealer in knit-
hoie at Aberdeen, where he received a liberal edu¬
cation, Itudied phyfic under Boerhaave at Leyden,
took, the degree of M. D. and acquired a proficiency
in the modern languages. On his return home, hap¬
pening to nay fome time at the Hague, he contraffed
an intimacy with a Stvedifh nobleman. Marrying a
gentleman’s daughter in the neighbourhood of Aber¬
deen, he propofed praaifmg his profe&on in that part
of the kingdom ; but in two years finding his expefta-
tions duappointed, he came to London, where he met
with ftill lefs encouragement as a phyfician, and com¬
menced correftor of the prefs for Mr Wilkins a prin¬
ter. After fome years fpent in this employment j he
let up as a printer himfelf 5 and carried on feveral large
works till 1734, when he became bankrupt. In what
manner he fubfifted from this event till the above-men¬
tioned application we do not learn, unlefs it was by
the ingenuity of his wife, who publifhed “ A curious
Herbal containing 500 Cuts of the moft ufeful Plants
which are now uled in the Praftice of Phyfic, engraved
on folio Copperplates, after Drawings taken from the
Life, by Elizabeth Blackwell. To which is added a
fhort Defcnptmn of the Plants, and their common
Lies m Phyfic, 1739,” 2 vols folio. In or about the
yeai 1740 he went to Sweden, and renewing his inti¬
macy with the nobleman he knew at the Hague, again
aiiumed the medical profeflion, and was very welt re¬
ceived in that capacity 5 till turning projeftor, he laid
a icheme before his Swedifh majeffy for draining the
fens and marfhes, which was well received, and many
thoufands employed in profecutmg it under the doc¬
tor s diredhon, from which he had fome fmall allow¬
ance from the king. This fcheme fucceeded fo well
he turned hE thoughts to others of greater import¬
ance, which in the end proved fatal to him. He
was fufpeaed of being concerned in a plot with Count
} ln’ was tortured ; which not producing a con-
lefhon, he was beheaded Auguft 9. 17484 and foon
after this event appeared “ A genuine Copy of a Let¬
ter from a merchant in Stockholm, to his correfpon-
dent m London j containing an Impartial Account of
Doctor Alexander Blackwell, his Plot, Trial, Charac-
ter, and Behaviour, both under Examination and at
the Place of Execution ; together with a Copy of a
Paper delivered to a Friend upon the Scaffold.” He
poffeffed a good natural genius, but was fomewhat
thghty and a little conceited. Hgi converfation, how¬
ever, was facetious and agreeable ; and he might be
confidered on the whole as a well-bred accomplifhed
gentleman.
BLADDER, in Anatomy, a thin expanded mem¬
branous body, found in feveral parts of an animal, fer-
vtng as a receptacle of fbme juice, or of fome liquid ex¬
crement ; from whence it takes various denominations,
as urine-bladder, gall-bladder, &c.
Bladder, by way of eminence, is a large veffel
which ferves as a receptacle of the urine of animals, af¬
ter its fecretion from the blood in the kidneys. This
is fometimes alfo called, by way of diftinaion, the uri¬
nary bladder, vejtca urinaria. The bladder is fituated
m the pelvis of the abdomen; in men immediately on
647 1 B L A
the rectum; in women on the vagina uteri. See A-
natomy Index.
Though the urinary bladder be naturally lingle, yet
there have been inftances of nature’s varying from her-
felf in this particular. The bladder of the famous
Cafaubon, upon differing his body after his death,
was found to be double ; and in the Philofophical
PranfadHons, we have an account of a triple bladder
found in the body of a gentleman who had long been
ill and no one could guefs the caufe.
_ i he urinary bladders of brutes are differently con¬
trived from the human bladder, and from each other
according to the ftrudture, economy, and manners of
living of each creature. See Anatomy Index.
Bladders, when below a certain magnitude, are more
ufually denominated by the diminutive veficles, vejicu-
he. Of thefe we meet with many forts both in the ani¬
mal and vegetable world j fome natural,, as in the lungs,,
elpecially of frogs, and, as fome alfo imagine, in the
mufcles; others morbid or preternatural, as the hyda-
tidis, and thofe obfervable in the itch. Naturalills
have alfo difeovered bladders in the thorax and abdo¬
men of birds, as well as others in the belly of fifties,
called air-bladders, and fwims.
Vegetable bladders are found everywhere in the
ftrufture of the bark, the fruit, pith, and parenchyma
or pulp ; befides thofe morbid ones raifed on the fur-
face of leaves by the punfture of infeffs*
Bladder-Nui. See Staphylzea, Botany Index.
BLADDER-Senna. See Colutea, Botany Index.
BLADE, in Commerce, a thin flender piece of me¬
tal either forged by the hammer or run and call in
moulds to be afterwards ftiarpened to a point, edge, or
the like.
S word-blades are made by the armourers, knife-blades
by the cutlers, &c. The Englifh and Damafcus blades
are moft efteemed among the French, thofe of Vienne
in Dauphiny have the preference. The conditions of a
good blade of a fmall fword are, that it be light and
tough, apter to bend than break.. Whpn it will ftand
in the bend,, it is called a poor man's blade.
BLADEN, Martin, a tranflator and dramatic au¬
thor, was formerly an officer in the army, bearing the
commiftion of a lieutenant-colonel in Queen Anne’s
reign, under the great duke of Marlborough, to whom
he dedicated a tranflation of Caslar’s Commentaries,
which he had completed, and which is to this day a
book held in good eftimation. In 1714, he was made
one of the Lords Commiffioners of Trade and Planta¬
tions ; and in 1717 wTas appointed envoy extraordinary
to the court of Spain, in the room of... Brett, Efq.
but declined it, choofing rather to keep the poll he al¬
ready had, wffiich was worth 1000I. per annum, and
which he never parted with till his death, which was
in May 1746. Fie was alfo many years member of par¬
liament for the town of Portfmouth. He wrote two -
dramatic pieces 5 both of which (for the one is only a
mafque introduced in the third aeft of the other) were
printed in the year 1705, without the author’s confent.
I heir names are, x. Orpheus and Euridice, a mafque.
2. Solon, a tragic comedy.
BLADUM, in middle-age writers, is taken for all
fort of Handing corn in the blade and ear. The word-
is alfo written blatum, blava, and blavium.
In our old charters, the word bladum included the
whole
.Bladder-
Nut
II ’
Bladum..
Blaeu
I!
Blair.
B L A [ 648 ] B
whole product of the ground, fruit, corn, flax, grafs, period in which he lived.
L A
&cc. and whatever was oppofed to living creatures. It
; was fometimes alfo applied to all lorts of grain or corn
threflied on the floor. But the word was more pecu¬
liarly appropriated to bread-corn, or wheat, called in
French ble. Thus the knights Templars are faid to
have granted to Sir Wido de Meriton’s wife duas fum-
nias blodi.
BLAEU, William, a famous printer of Amfler-
dam, a difciple and friend of dycho Brahe’s : his At¬
las, his Treatife of the Globes, Aftronomical Inflitu-
tions, &c. and his fine impreflions, have fecured his
memory. He died in 1638.
BLAFART, in Commerce, a fmall coin, current at
Cologn, worth fomething more than a farthing of our
money.
BLAGRAVE, John, the fecond fon of John Bla-
grave, of Bulmarflr-court near Sunning in Berklhire,
defcended of an ancient family in that country. From
a grammar-fehool at Reading he was fent to St John’s
college in Oxford, where he applied himfelf chiefly to
the ftudy of mathematics, and without taking any
degree, afterwards retired to his patrimonial feat of
Southed e-lodge near Reading, where he fpent the re¬
mainder of his life. In this manfion he died in the
year 1611 ; and was buried in the church of St Law¬
rence, where a fumptuous monument was erefted to
his memory. Having never married, he bequeathed to
all the potterity of his three brothers, the fum of 50I.
each payable at the age of 26 •, and he calculated his
donation fo well, that near fourfeore of his nephews and
their defeendants have reaped the benefit of it. He
alfo fettled certain lands at Swallowfield in the fame
county, as a provifion for the poor for ever. Among
other charities, he left ten pounds to be annually dif-
pofed of in the following manner : On good-Friday,
the church-wardens of each of the three pariflies of
Reading fend to the town-hall one virtuous maid, who
has livedJive years with her majler: there, in the pre¬
fence of the magiftrates, thefe three virtuous maids
throw dice for the ten pounds. The two lofers are re¬
turned with a frefli one the year following, and again
the third year, till each has had three chances. He is
faid to have been not more remarkable for his mathe¬
matical knowledge than for his candour and generofity
to his acquaintance. His wrorks are, A mathematical
jewel. Lond. 1585, fol. 2. Of the making and ufe of
the familiar Jlajf. Lond. 1590, qto. 3. Afrolabium
nranicum generale. Lond. 1596, 410. 4. The art of
dialing. Lond. 1609, 410.
BLAIN, among farriers, a diftemper incident to
hearts, being a certain bladder growing on the root of
the tongue, againft the windpipe, which fwells to
fuch a pitch as to flop the breath. It comes by great
chaffing and heating of the ftomach, and is perceived
by the heart’s gaping and holding out his tongue, and
foaming at the mouth. . To cure it, cart the beaft,
take forth his tongue, and then, flitting the bladder,
wafh it gently with vinegar and a little fait.
BLAIR, Dr Hugh, a dirtinguifhed clergyman of
the church of Scotland, was born in Edinburgh in
1718. His father, John Blair, Was a merchant in that
city, and grandfon of the famous Mr Robert Blair,
minifter of St Andrews, and chaplain to King Charles
l. j and one of the mort diflinguiffied clergymen of the
The views of Dr Blair,
from his earlieft youth, w’ere turned toward the church
and his education received a fuitable direfhon. After
the ufual grammatical courfe at fchool, he entered the
Humanity Clafs in the univerfity of Edinburgh, in
Oftober 1730, and fpent eleven years at that celebra¬
ted feminary, affiduoufly employed in the literary and
fcientific ftudies preferibed by the church of Scotland
to all wffio are to become candidates for her licenfe to
preach the gofpel. During this important period he
was dirtinguiffied among his companions both for dili¬
gence and proficiency} and obtained from the profef-
fois under whom he rtudied repeated teftimonies of ap¬
probation. One of them deferves to be mentioned par-
ticularly, becaufe in his own opinion it determined the
bent of his genius toward polite literature. An efiay,
Tli^i Tcv On the Beautiful, written by him when
a ftudent of logic in the ufual courfe of academical ex-
ercifes, had the good fortune to attraft the notice of
Profeffor Stevenfon, and, with circumftances honour¬
able to the author, wras appointed to be read in public
at the conclufion of the feffion. This mark of diftin*c-
tion made a deep impreffion on his mind 5 and the ef-
fay which merited it he ever after recollefted wflth par¬
tial affe£Hon, and preferved to the day of his death as
the firfl earneft of his fame.
' At this time Dr Blair commenced a method of ftu¬
dy which contributed much to the accuracy and ex¬
tent of his knowledge, and vvhich'he continued to prac-
tife occafionally even after his reputation was fully
eftablifhed. It confifted in making abftra&s of the
moft important wmi'ks which he read, and in digefling
them according to the train of his own thoughts. Hi-
ftory, in particular, he refolved to ftudy in this man¬
ner ; and, in concert wuth feme of his youthful aflb-
ciates, he conftrufled a very comprehenfive fcheme of
chronological tables for receiving into its proper place
every important fadl that ffiould occur. The fcheme
devifed by this young ftudent for his own private ufe
was afterwards improved, filled up, and given to the
public by his learned friend Dr John Blair, prebenda¬
ry of Weftminfter, in his valuable work, “ Chronology
and Hiftory of the World.”
In the year 1 739, Dr Blair took his degree of A. M.
On that occafion he printed and defended a thefis De
Fundament is et Ob/igatione Legis Nature;, which con¬
tains a ftiort but mafterly difeuffion of this important
fubjeft, and exhibits, in elegant Latin, an outline of
the moral principles which have been fince more ful¬
ly unfolded and illuftrated in his Sermons.
The univerfity of Edinburgh, about this period,
numbered among her pupils many young men who were
foon to make a diftinguifhed figure in the civil, the ec-
clefiaftical, and the literary hiftory of their country.
With moft of them Dr Blair entered into habits of in¬
timate connexion, which no future competition or jea-
loufy occurred to interrupt, which held them united
through life in their views of public good, and which
had the moft beneficial influence on their own improve¬
ment, on the progrefs of elegance and tafte among their
contemporaries, and on the general interefts of the com¬
munity to which they belonged.
On the completion of his academical courfe, he un¬
derwent the cuftomary trials before the prefbytery of
Edinburgh, and received from that venerable body a
licenfe
Blair.
B L A
■R'air.
licenfe to preach the gofpel on the 21ft of Oftober
1741. His public life now commenced with very fa¬
vourable profpefts. I he reputation which he brought
from the univerllty was fully juitified by his firft ap-
pearance in the pulpit; and, in a few months, the fame
of his eloquence procured for him a prefentation to the
parifn of Coleffie in Fife, where he was ordained to the
oihce of the holy miniftry on the 23d of September
1742. But he was not permitted to remain long in
this rural retreat. A vacancy in the fecond charge of
the Canongate of Edinburgh furnifhed to his friends
an opportunity of recalling him to a ftation more* fuit-
ed to his talents. And, though one of the moll popu¬
lar and eloquent clergymen in the church was placed
iu competition with him, a great majority of the elec¬
tors decided in favour of this young Orator, and reifo-
red him in July 1743, to the bounds of his native city.
In this iiation -Dr Blair continued eleven years, dif-
cbarging with great fidelity and fuccefs the various du¬
ties of the pafloral office. His difcourfes from the pul¬
pit in particular attrafted univerfal admiration. They
were compofed with uncommon care ; and occupying
a middle place between the dry metaphyfical difcuf-
fion of one clafs of preachers, and the loofe incoherent
declamation of another, they blended together, in the
happielt manner, the light of argument with the warmth
of exhortation, and exhibited captivating fpecimens of
what had hitherto been rarely heard in Scotland 
the pohlhed, well compared, and regular didaftic ora¬
tion.
In confequence of a call from the town-council and
general feflion of Edinburgh, he was tranllated from
the Canongate to Lady Yefter’s, one of the city
churches, on the nth of Oftober 1754 : and on the
15th of June 175-8, he was promoted to the High
church of Edinburgh, the mod: important ecclefiaftical
marge in the kingdom. To this charge he was raifed
at the requeft of the lords of council and fefiion, and of
tae. °ffjer diffinguifhed official characters, who have
tijeir leats in tnat church. And the uniform prudence,
ability, and fuccels which, for a period of more than
forty years, accompanied all his minifterial labours in
tnat confpicuous and difficult ftation, fufiiciently evince
the wifdom of their choice.
Huherto his attention ieems to have been devoted
almoft exclufively to the attainment of profeffional ex¬
cellence, and to the regular difcharge of his parochial
duties. No production of his pen had yet been given
to the world by himfelf, except two fermons preached
on particular occafions, fome tranflations in verfe, of
palfages of Scripture, for the pfalmody of the church,
and a few articles in the Edinburgh Review; a pub¬
lication begun in 1755, and conducted for a Ihorttime
py iome of the ableit men in the kingdom. But Hand¬
ing as he now did at the head of his profeffion, and re-
ieafed by the labour of former years from the drudge¬
ry of weekly preparation for the pulpit, he began "to
think ferioufly on a plan for teaching to others that art
which had contributed fo much to the eftabliffiment of
his own tame. With this view, he communicated to
ms friends a fcheme of LeCtures on Compofition ; and
navmg obtained the approbation of the univerfity, he
began to read them in the college on the 1 ith of De-
mmbei 1759. lo this undertaking he brought all
the qualifications requifite for executing it well ; and
Vot. III. Part II. ° 7
649 ] B L A
along with them a weight of reputation which could
not fail to give effeCf to the leffons he ffiould deliver.
For befidje the teftimony given to his talents by his fuc-
ceffive promotions in the church, the univerfity of St
Andrews, moved chiefly by the merit of his eloquence,
had, in June 1757, conferred on him the degree of
D. D. a literary honour which at that time was very
rare in Scotland. Accordingly his firft courfe of lec¬
tures was ivell attended, and received with great ap-
plaufe. I he patrons of the univerfity, convinced that,
they would form a valuable addition to the fyftem of
education, agreed in the following fummer to inftitute
a rhetorical clafs, under his direction, as a permanent
part of their academical eftabliffiment ; and on the ^th
of April 1762, his majefty was gracioufly pleafed “ To
ere£t and endow a pi ofeffbrfhip of rhetoric and belles
lettres in the univerfity of Edinburgh, and to appoint
Dr Blair, in confideration of his approved qualifica¬
tions, Regius profeffor thereof, with a falary of 701.”
Thefe le&ures he publiffied in 1783, when he retired
from the labours of the office ; and the general voice
of the public has pronounced them to be a moft judi¬
cious, elegant, and comprehenfive fyftem of rules for
forming the ftyle, and cultivating the tafte of youth.
About the time in which he was occupied in laying
the foundations of this ufeful inflitution, he had an op¬
portunity of conferring another important obligation
on the literary world, by the part which he a£ied in
refeuing from oblivion the poems of Offian. It was
by the felicitation of Dr Blair and Mr John Home
that Mr Macpherfon was induced to publi’ffi his Frag¬
ments of Ancient Poetry; and their patronage was of
effential fervice in procuring the fubfeription which
enabled him to undertake his tour through the High¬
lands, for collefting the materials of Fingal, and of
thofe other delightful produdfions which bear the name
of Offian. To thefe produdfions Dr Blair applied the
tell of genuine criticifm ; and foon after their publica¬
tion gave an eftimate of their merits in a Di/fertation,
which, for beauty of language, delicacy of tafte, aiffi
acutenefs of critical inveftigation, has few parallels.
.It was printed in 1763, and fpread the reputation of
its author throughout Europe.
The great objefts of his literary ambition being
now attained, his talents were for many years confe-
crated folely to the important and peculiar employ¬
ments of his ftation. It was not till the year ijri
that he could be induced to favour the world with a
volume of the fermons which had fo long furnifhed in-
ftrudfion and delight to his own congregation. But
this volume being well received, the public approba¬
tion encouraged him to proceed : three other volumes
followed at different intervals ; and all of them expe¬
rienced a degree of fuccefs of which few publications
can boaft. They circulated rapidly, and widelv,
wherever the Englifh tongue extends ; they were foon
tranflated into almoft all the languages of Europe *
and his prefent majefty, with that wife attention to the
interefts of religion and literature which diftinguifties
his reign, was gracioufly pleafed to judge them worthy
of a public reward. By a royal mandate to the exi
chequer in Scotland, dated the 25th of July 1780, a
penfion of 2go1. a-year was confeired on their author
which continued unaltered till his death. ^ *
The motives which gave, rife to the fifth volume
4 N
are
B L A [ 650 ] B L A
Blair, are fufficiehtly explained by himfelf in bis addrefs to
"~'v the reader. Tbe fermons which it contains were com-
pofed at very different periods of his life, but they were
all written out anew in his own hand, and in many
parts recompofed, during the courfe of the fummer 1800,
after he had completed his eighty-fecond year. They
were delivered to the publifhers about fix weeks be¬
fore his death in the form and order in which they
now appear. And it may gratify his readers to know
that the laft of them which he compofed, though not
the laft in the order adopted for publication, was the
fermon on a Life of DiJJipation and P/eafure-^a. fermon
written with great dignity and eloquence, and which
fhould be regarded as his folemn parting admonition
to a clafs of men whofe condudt is highly important to
the community, and whofe reformation and virtue he
had long laboured moft zealouily to promote.
The fermons wdrich he has given to the world are
univerfally admitted to be models in their kind 5 and
they will long remain durable monuments of the piety,
the genius, and found judgment of their author. But
they formed only a fmall part of the difcourfes he pre¬
pared for the pulpit. The remainder modefty led him
to think unfit for the prefs 5 and, influenced by an ex-
cufable folicitude for his reputation, he left behind him
an explicit injundtion that his numerous manufcripts
fhould be deftrqyed. The greatnefs of their number
■was creditable tq his profeffional charadfer, and exhi¬
bited a convincing proof that his fame as a public
teacher had been honourably purchafed by the moft
unwearied application to the private and unfeen labours
of his office. It refted on the uniform intrinfic excel¬
lence of his difcourfes in point of matter and compofi-
tion, rather than on foreign attradlions; for his delive¬
ry, though diftindl:, ferious, and impreflive, was not re¬
markably diftinguifhed by that magic charm of voice
and adlion which captivates the fenfes and imagina¬
tion, and which, in the eftimation of fuperficial hear¬
ers, conftitutes the chief merit of a preacher.
In that department of his profeffional duty which re¬
garded the government of the church, Dr Blair was
fteadily attached to the caufe of moderation. From
diffidence, and perhaps from a certain degree of inap¬
titude for extemporary fpeaking, he took a lefs public
part in the contefts of ecclefiaftical politics than fome
of his cotemporaries; and, from the fame caufes, he
never would confent to become moderator of the gene¬
ral affembly of the church of Scotland. But his in¬
fluence among his brethren was extenfive : his opinion,
guided by that found uprightnefs of judgment which
formed the predominant feature of his intelleftual cha-
rafter, had been always held in high refpeft: by the
friends with whom he afted, and for many of the laft
years of his life it was received by them almoft as a
law. The great leading principle in which they cor¬
dially concurred with him, and which direfted all their
meafures, was to preferve the church on the one fide
from a ftavilh corrupting dependence on the civil power,
and on the other from a greater infufion of democrati-
cal influence than is compatible with good order, and
the eftablifhed conftitution of the country.
The reputation which he acquired in the difcharge
of his public duties was well fuftained by the great re-
fpe&ability of his private charafter. Deriving from
family affbciati&ns a ftrong fenfe of clerical- decorumj
feeling on his heart deep impreffions of religious and Blair,
moral obligation, and guided in his intercourfe in the '
world by the fame correft and delicate tafle w’hich ap¬
peared in his wu-itings, he was eminently diftinguilhed
through life, by the prudence, purity, and dignified
propriety of his conduft. His mind, by conftitution
and culture, was admirably formed for enjoying hap-
pinefs :—well balanced in itfelf by the nice proportion
and adjuftment of its faculties, it did not incline him to
any of thofe eccentricities, either of opinion or of ac¬
tion, which are too often the lot of genius j free from
all tindfure of envy, it delighted cordially in the pro-
fperity and fame of his companions ; fenfible to the
eftimation in which he himfelf was held, it difpofed
him to dwell at times on the thought of his fuccefs
with a latisfadlion which he did not affedl to conceal $
inacceflible alike to gloomy and to peevifh impreffions,
it was always mafter of its own movements, and ready,
in an uncommon degree, to take an aftive and pleafing
intereft in every thing, whether important or trifling,
that happened to become for the moment the obiedl of
his attention. This habit of mind, tempered with the
moft unfufpedling fimplicity, and united to eminent ta¬
lents and inflexible integrity, w'hile it fecured to the
laft his own relifh of life, was wonderfully calculated
to endear him to his friends, and to render him an in¬
valuable member of any fociety to which he belonged.
Accordingly there have been few men more univerfal¬
ly refpefted by thofe who knew him, more fincerely
efteemed in the circle of his acquaintance, or more ten¬
derly beloved by thofe who enjoyed the bleffmgs of his
private and domeftic connexion.
In April 1748, he married his coufin Catharine
Bannatine, daughter of the Rev. James Bannatine, one
of the minifters of Edinburgh. By her he had a fcfor
who died in infancy, and a daughter who lived to her
tw’enty-firft year, the pride of her parents, and adorn¬
ed with all the accomplifliments that became her age
and fex. Mrs Blair herfelf, a woman of great good
fenfe and fpirit, was alfo taken from him a few years
before his death, after Ihe had {hared with the tender-
eft affedlion in all his fortunes, and contributed near
half a century to his happinefs and comfort.
Dr Blair had been naturally of a feeble conftitution
of body j but as he grew up his conftitution acquired
greater firmnefs and vigour. Though liable to occa-
fional attacks from fome of the iliarpeft and moft pain¬
ful difeafes that afflidl the human frame, he enjoyed a-
general ftate of good health ; and, through habitual
cheerfulnefs, temperance, and care, furvived the ufual
term of human life. For fome years he had felt him¬
felf unequal to the fatigue of inftrufting his very large
congregation from the pulpit ; and, under the impref-
fion which this feeling produced, he has been heard at
times to fay, with a figh, ‘ that he was left almoft the
laft of his cotemporaries.’ Aet he continued to the
end in the regular difcharge of all his other official du¬
ties, and particularly in giving advice to the afflifled,'
who from different quarters of the kingdom folicited
his correfpondence. His laft fummer was devoted to the
preparation of his fifth volume of fermons *, and in the
courfe of it he exhibited a vigour of underftanding and
capacity of exertion equal to that of his beft days.
He began the winter pleafed with himfelf on ac¬
count of the completion of this work, and his friends
were
B L A
Blair. were flattered with the hope that he might live to en-
v ' joy the acceffion of emolument and fame which he ex¬
pedited it would bring. But the feeds of a mortal dif-
eafe were lurking unperceived within him. On the
24th of December 1800, he complained of a pain in
his bowels, which, during that and the following day,
gave him but little uneafinefs ; and he received as ufual
the vifits of his friends. On the afternoon of the 26th,
the fymptoms became violent and alarming : He felt
that he was approaching the end of his appointed
courfe : and retaining to the lafl moment the full pof-
fefiion of his mental faculties, he expired on the morn¬
ing of the 27th, with the compofure and hope which
became a Chriftian paftor.
Blair, John, a Scottifh author, was contempo¬
rary with, and the companion, fome fay the chaplain,
of Sir William Wallace. He attended that great hero
in almoft all his exploits : and, after his death, which
leit fo great a (lain on the character of Edward I. of
England, he wrote his memoirs in Latin. The injury
of time has deftroyed this work, which might have
th rown the greateft light on the hiftory of a very bufy
and remarkable period. An inaccurate fragment of it
only has defcended to us, from which little can be
learned, and which was publilhed, with a commentary,
by Sir Robert Sibbald.
Blair, James, an eminent divine, was born and
bred in Scotland, where he had at length a benefice in
the epifcopal church ; but meeting wfith fome difcou-
ragements he came to England, in the latter end of
the reign of King Charles II. and was fent by Dr
Compton as a miffionary to Virginia, and was after¬
wards, by the fame biffiop, made commiffary for that
colony, the higheit office in the church there. He
dillinguifhed himfelf by his exemplary condu£t and un¬
wearied labours in the wmrk of the miniftry ; and find¬
ing that the want of proper feminaries for the advance¬
ment of religion and learning was a great damp upon
all attempts for the propagation of the gofpel, he
formed a defign of eredling and endowing a college at
Williamfburgh, in Virginia, for profeffors and flu-
dents in academical learning. He therefore not only
fet on foot a voluntary fubfcription ; but, in 1693,
came to England to folicit the affair at court : when
Queen Mary wras fo well pleafed with the noble defign,
that die efpoufed it with particular zeal; and King Wil¬
liam readily concurring with her majelfy, a patent w^as
palled for eredting and endowing a college by the name
of the William and Mary college, of which Mr Blair
was appointed prefident, and enjoyed that office near
50 years. He was alfo redtor of Williamfburgh, and
prefident of the council in that colony. He WTOte,
Our Saviour’s divine Sermon on the Mount explain¬
ed in feveral fermons, 4 vols, odfavo ; and died in
1743*
Blair, John, an eminent chronologift, was edu¬
cated at Edinburgh ; and coming to London was for
fome time ufher of a fchool in Hedge-Lane. In 1754,
he prefented to the world that valuable publication,
“ The Chronology and Hiflory of the World, from
the Creation to the year of Chrift 1753. Illullrated
in LVI. I ables ; of which four are introdudtory and
contain the centuries prior to the firll Olympiad ; and
each of the remaining LII. contain in one expanded
View 50 Years, or half a Century.” This volume,
B L A
which is dedicated to Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, was Blair,
publiffied by fubfcription, on account of the great ex- -^ai<c’
pence of the plates, for wffiich the author apologized “
in his preface, where he acknowledged great obliga¬
tions to the earl of Bath, and announced fome chrono¬
logical differtations, wherein he propofed to illuflrate
the difputed points, to explain the prevailing fyflems
©f chronology, and to eftablifh the authorities upon
which fome of the particular eras depend. In Janua-
ry 1755, he was defied a fellow of the Royal Society ;
and in 1761 of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1756
he publiihed a fecond edition of his “ Chronological
1 ables.” In September 1757, was appointed chap¬
lain to the Princefs Dowager ©f Wales, and mathema¬
tical tutor to the duke of York ; and on Dr Town-
ffiend’s promotion to the deanery of Norwich, the fer-
vices of Dr Blair were rewarded, March 10. 1761,
with a prebendal flail at Weftminfter. The vicarage
of Hinckley happening to fall vacant fix days after, by
the death of Dr Morres, Dr Blair was prefented to it
by the dean and chapter of Weftminfter ; and in Au-
guft that year he obtained a difpenfation to hold with
it the reflory of Burton Goggles in Lincolnlhire. In
September 1763 he attended his royal pupil the duke
of York in a tour to the continent; had the fatisfac-
tion of vifiting Lifbon, Gibraltar, Minorca, moft of
the principal cities in Italy, and feveral parts of France,
and returned with the duke in Auguft 1764. In
1768 he publifhed an improved edition of his “ Chro¬
nological Tables,” which he dedicated to the princefs
of Wales, who had expreffed her early approbation of
the former edition. To the new edition were annexed,
“ Fourteen Maps of Ancient and Modern Geography,
for illuftrating the Tables of Chronology and Hiftory.
To which is prefixed a Differtation on the Prog refs of
Geography.” In March 1771, he was prefented by
the dean and chapter of Weftminfter to the vicarage of
St Bride’s in the city of London ; which made it ne-
ceffary for him to refign Hinckley, where he had ne¬
ver refided for any length of time. On the death of
Mr Sims, in April 1776, he refigned St Bride’s, and
was prefented to the reflory of St John the Evangelift
in Weftminfter ; and in June that year obtained a dif¬
penfation to hold the reflory of St John with that of
Horton, near Colebrooke Bucks. His brother Cap¬
tain Blair falling glorioufly in the fervice of his coun¬
try in the memorable fea-fight of April 12. 1782, the
thock accelerated the Doflor’s death. He had at the
fame time the influenza in a fevere degree, which put a
period to his life, June 24. 1782. His library was
fold by auflion December 11-13th, 1782; and a courfe
of his “ Leflures on the Canons of the Old Telia,
merit” hath fince been advertifed as intended for pub¬
lication by his widow.
Blair of Athol, a caftle belonging to the duke of
Atnol, feated in a diftrifl of the fame name, in Perth¬
shire in Scotland. W. Long. 3. 30. N. Lat. 56. 46.
1 his caftle was befieged by the Highland army in
1746 ; and bravely defended by Sir Andrew Agnew,
wffio was reduced to eat horfe’s fleffi, until he was re¬
lieved by the Heffians under the earl of Crawford.
BLAISE, a military order inftituted by the kings
of Armenia, in honour of St Blaife, anciently bifliop
of Sebafta in that country, the patron faint of that na¬
tion.
[ 1
4 N 2
Juftinian
Blaiiois
Blake.
B L A [ ^5
’ Juitinian calls them knights of St Blaife and St Ma-
^ ry, and places them not only in Armenia, hut in Pa-
leiline. 'I'hey made a particular vow to defend the
religion of the church of Rome, and followed the rule
of St Bafil. 'I he precife year of the inftitution of the
knights of St Blaife is not known j but they appear to
have commenced about the fame time with the knights
Templars and Hofpitallers ; to the former of which
they bore a near affinity, the regulars being the fame
,in both.
BLAISOIS, a late province of France, bounded on
the north of Beauce, on the eaft by the Orleannois, on
the fouth by Berry, and on the welt by Touraine. It
now forms the department of Loire and Cher. Blois is
the capital town.
BLAKE, Robert, a famous Engliffi admiral, born
Auguft 1589 at Bridgewater in Somerfetffiire, where he
was educated at the grammar-fchool. He went from
thence to Oxford in 1615, where he was entered at St
Alban’s Hall. From thence he removed to Wadham
college: and on the 10th of February 1617, he took
the degree of bachelor of arts. In 1623, he wrote a
copy of verfes on the death of Mr Cambden, and foon
after left the univerlity. He was tin&ured pretty early
with republican principles, and diffiking that feverity
with which Dr Laud, then biffiop of Bath and Wells,
preffed uniformity in his diocefe, he began to fall into
the puritanical opinions. His natural bluntnefs caufing
hrs principles to be well known, the puritan party re¬
turned him member for Bridgewater in 1640; and he
ierved in the parliament army with great courage du¬
ring the civil war : but wffien the king was brought to
trial, he highly difapproved the meafure as illegal, and
was frequently heard to fay, he would as freely venture
his life to five the king, as ever he did to ferve the par¬
liament. But this is thought to have been chiefly owing
to the humanity of his temper, fmce after the death
ot the king he fell in wholly with the republican partv,
and, next to Cromwell, was the ableit officer the par¬
liament had.
In 1648-9, he was appointed, in conjundHon wuth Co¬
lonel Dean and Colonel Popham, to command the fleet 5
and foon after blocked up Prince Maurice and Prince
Rupert in Kinlale harbour. But thefe getting out,
Blake followed them from port to port : and at lad at¬
tacked them in that of Malaga, burnt and deftroyed
their whole fleet, two fliips only excepted, the Refor-
ruation in which Prince Rupert himfelf was, and the
Swallow commanded by his brother Prince Maurice.
In 1652, he w'as conftituted foie admiral 5 when he de¬
feated the Dutch fleet commanded by Van Trump, Ruy-
ter, and De Wit, in three feveral engagements, in which
tue Dutch loft 11 men of war, 30 merchant Ihips, and,
according to their own accounts, had 15,000 men
flam. Soon after Blake and his colleagues, wuth a
grand fleet of 100 fail, flood over to the Dutch coaft •
and forced their fleet to fly for fhelter into the Texel’
where they were kept for fome time by Monk and Dean’
while Blake failed nortlward. At laft, however*
Trump got out, and drew together a fleet of 120 men
of war; and, on the 3d of June, the generals Dean and
Monk came to an engagement with the enemy oft the
north loreland with indifferent fuccefs : but the next
day Blake coming to their affiftance with 18 fhips,
gained a complete viftory; fo that if the Dutch had
2 ] B L A
not faved themfelves on Calais fands, their whole fleet
had been funk or taken. '
In Apiil 1653, Cromwell turned out the parliament,
and fhortly after aflumed the fupreme power. The
rtates hoped great advantages from this; but were dif-
appointed. Blake faid on this occafion to his officers,
“ ^ is not for us to mind ftate affairs, but to keep’
foreigners from fooling us.”—In November 1654 Crom¬
well lent him with a ftrong fleet into the Mediterra¬
nean, with orders to fupport the honour of the Englifh
flag, and to procure fatisfa&ion for the injuries that
might have been done to our merchants. In the begin¬
ning of December, Blake came into the road of Cadiz
wffiere he wras treated wuth all imaginable refpeft; a
Dutch admiral would not hoift his flag while he was
there ; and his name was now grown fo formidable,
that a 1 rench fquadron having flopped one of his ten¬
ders, which had been feparated from Blake in a ftorm,
the admiral, as foon as he knew to whom it belonged*
fent for the captain on board, and drank Blake’s health
before him with great ceremony, under a difcharge of
five guns, and then difmifTed him. I he Algerines w’ere
fo much afraid of him, that, flopping the Sallee rovers
they obliged them to deliver up what Englifh prifoners
they had on board, and then fent them freely to Blake,
in order to purchafe his favour. This, however, did
not prevent his coming on the 10th of March before
Algiers, and fending an officer on fhore to the dey to
demand fatisfaflion for the piracies committed on the
Enghfh, and the releale of all the Englifh captives.
The dey, in his anfwer, alleged, that the fhips and cap¬
tives belonged to private men, and therefore he could
not reftore them without offending all his fubje&s, but
that he might eafily redeem them : and if he thought
good, they would conclude a peace with him, and for
the future offer no a<fls of hoftility to the Englifh : and
having accompanied this anfwer with a large prefent of
frefh provifions, Blake left Algiers, and failed on the
fame eirand to Funis; the dey of which place not on¬
ly refufed to comply with his requeft, but denied him
the liberty of taking in frefh water. “ Here (faid he),
are our callles of Goletto and Porto Ferino ; do your
worn. Blake, at hearing this, began, as his cuftcm
was when highly provoked, to curl his whifkers ; and
after a fhort confultation wuth his officers, bore into the
bay of Porto Ferino with his great fhips and their fe-
conds ; and coming within mufket-fhot of the caftle
and the line, fired on both fo warmly, that in two hours
time the caftle was rendered defencelefs, and the guns
on the works along the fhore were difmcunted, though
60 of them played at a time on the Englifh. Blake
found nine fhips in the road, and ordered every captain
to man his long boat with choice men, to enter the
harbour and fire the Tunifeens; which they happily ef-
fedled, with the lofs of 25 men killed and 48 wounded,
while he and his men covered them from the caftle by
playing continually on them with their great guns.
This daring adfion fpread the terror of his name through
Africa and Afia. From Tunis he failed to Tripoli,
caufed the Englifh flaves to be fet at liberty, and con¬
cluded a peace with that government. Thence return¬
ing to Tunis, the Tunifeens implored his mercy, and
begged him to grant them peace, which he did ’upon
terms highly advantageous to England. He next failed
to Malta, and obliged the knights to reftore the effedls
taken
Blake.
B L A [ 653 ] B L A
taken by their privateers from the Englifh 5 and by
thefe great exploits fo raifed the glory of the Englifh
name, that moft of the princes and dates in Italy thought
fit to pay their compliments to the Proteftor, by fend¬
ing folemn embaffies to him.
He paffed the next winter either in lying before Ca¬
diz, or in cruifing up and down the Straits ; and was
at his old rtation, at the mouth of that harbour, when
he received information that the Spanifh Plate fleet had
put into the bay of San£ta Cruz, in the iiland of Te-
nerifFe : upon this he weighed anchor, with 25 men of
war, on the 13th of April 16575 and on the 20th rode
with his (hips off the bay of Sancla Cruz, where he
faw 16 Spanifh (hips lying in the form of a half-moon.
Near the mouth of the haven flood a caftle furnifhed
with great ordnance 5 befides which there Were feven
forts round the bay, with fix, four, and three guns on
each, joined to each other by a line of communication
manned with mufketeers. To make all fafe, Don
Diego Diagues, general of the Spanifh fleet, caufed all
the fmaller fhips to be moored clofe along the fliore 5
and the fix large galleons flood farther out at anchor,
wuth their broadfides towards the fea. Blake having
prepared for the fight, a fquadron of fhips was drawn
out to make the firft onfet, commanded by Captain
Stayner in the Speaker frigate : who no fooner receiv¬
ed orders, than he failed into the bay, and fell upon the
Spanifh fleet, without the leaft regard to the forts,
which fpent their fhot prodigally upon them. No
fooner w'ere thefe entered into the bay, but Blake, fol¬
lowing after, placed feveral Ihips to pour broadfides in¬
to the caille and forts ; and thefe played their parts fo
well, that, after fome time, the Spaniards found their
forts too hot to be held. In the mean time, Blake
ftrtick in with Stayner, and bravely fought the Spa¬
in fh fhips, out of which the enemy wrere beaten by two
o’clock in the afternoon 5 when Blake, finding it im-
poffible to carry them away, ordered his men to fet them
on fire ; which was done fo effectually, that they were
all reduced to afhes, except two, v/hich funk downright,
nothing remaining above the water but part of the
mails. The Engliih having now obtained a complete
victory, were reduced to another difficulty by the wind,
v/hich blew fo flrong into the bay, that they defpair-
ed of getting out. They lay under the fire of the caftles
and of all the forts, which muff in a little time have
torn them to pieces. But the wind fuddenly fluffing,
carried them out of the bay 5 where they left the Spa¬
niards in aftonifhment at the happy temerity of their
audacious viflors. This is allowed to have been one
of the moll remarkable aftions that ever happened at
fea. “ It was fo miraculous (fays the earl of Claren¬
don), that all men who knew the place wmndered that
any fober man, wuth wffiat courage foever endowed,
would ever have undertaken it 5 and they could
hardly perfuade themfelves . to believe what they had
done 5 whilft the Spaniards comforted themfelves with
the belief, that they w'ere devils and not men who had
devhoyed them in fuch a manner.” This was the lafl
and greateft aftion of the gallant Blake. He was con-
fumed with a dropfy and feurvy 5 and haflened home,
that he might yield up his lafl breath in his native
country, which he had fo much adorned by his valour.
As he came within fight of land, he expired.—Never
man, fo zealous for a faflion, was fo much refpefled
and efleemed by the oppofite fadlions. Difinterefled, Elamont
generous, liberal 5 ambitious only of true glory, dread-
ful only to his avowed enemies 5 he forms one of the Blanc.
moft perfefl charadlers of that age, and the leaft ftain- ■ ,  i
ed with thofe errors and violences which were then fo
predominant. The Protedlor ordered him a pompous
funeral at the public charge : but the tears of his coun¬
trymen were the moft honourable panegyric on his me¬
mory. The Lord Clarendon obferves, “ that he was
the firft man wdio brought fhips to contemn caftles on
fhore, which had ever been thought very formidable,
and were difeovered by him to make a noife only, and
to fright thofe who could be rarely hurt by them. He
wTas the firft that infufed that degree of courage into
feamen, by making them fee by experience what mighty
things they could do if they were refolved 5 and the
firft that taught them to fight in fire as well as in
water.
BLAMONT, a town of France, in the department
of Meurthe, feated on a little river called Vefoifze, 12
miles fouth of Luneville. E. Long. 6. 51. N. Lat,
48- 35-
BLANC. See Blank.
Blank, a town of France, in the department of
Indre, feated on the river Creufe, by which it is divid¬
ed into two parts. The land about it is barren, and
full of trees, heath, and lakes. E. Long. 1. 13. N.
Lat. 46. 38.
Mont-BiANC, a ftupendous mountain in Savoy, the
higheft of the Alps, and encompaffed by thofe won¬
derful collefilions of fnovv and ice called the Glaciers,
See Alps.
Of thefe glaciers there are five, which extend almoft
to the plain of the vale of Chamouni, and are feparated
by wild forefts, corn-fields, and rich meadows 5 fo that
immenfe tradls of ide are blended with the higheft cul¬
tivation, and perpetually fucceed to each other in the
moft lingular and flriking viciflitude. All thefe feve¬
ral valleys of ice, which lie chiefly in the hollows of
the mountains, and are fome leagues in length, unite
together at the foot of Mont-Blanc 5 the higheft
mountain in Europe, and probably of the ancient
world.
The fummit of this mountain was deemed inacceflible
before Dr Paccard, a phyfician at Chamouni, attempt¬
ed to reach it in Auguft 1786, and fucceeded in the
attempt. Soon after, the fame undertaking was ac-
complifhed by M. de Sauflure, who has publifhed a
narrative of the journey. He arrived at Chamouni,
fituated at the foot of the mountain, in the begin¬
ning of July 17875 but bad weather prevented him
from afeending until the firft of Auguft, when he be¬
gan his expedition, accompanied by a fervant and
eighteen guides, who carried his philofophical and
other apparatus. His fon was left at the Priory in
Chamouni, and was employed in making meteorologi¬
cal obfervations, with which thofe made on the top of
the mountain might be compared. Although it I:;
fcarcely fix miles and three quarters in a ftraight line
from the Priory of Chamouni to the top of Mout-Blanc,
it requires neverthelefs 18 hours to gain the fummit,
owing to the bad roads, the windings, and the great
perpendicular height of the mountain. That he might
be perfectly at liberty to pafs the night on what part
of the mountain he pleafed, he carried a tent with him 5
and
B L A f 654 ] B L A
Mont- and he and his company flept in it the firft night on
Bknc. that eminence which is firft met with, and which is on
the fouth of the Priory, and about a mile perpendicu¬
larly above the village.
Hitherto the journey was free from danger, or even
difficulty j the road being either rocky or covered
with grafs 3 but thence upwards it was either wholly
covered with fnow or confifted of the moft ffippery ice.
Put the fecond day’s journey was attended with many
difficulties. The ice valley on the fide of the hill muft
be palled, in order to gain the foot of that chain of
rocks bordering on the perpetual fnows which co¬
ver Mont-Blanc. The paffage through this valley is
extremely dangerous, lince it is interledled with nume¬
rous wide, deep, and irregular chafms, which can only
be crofted by means of bridges naturally formed of
'fnow, and thefe often very ilender, extended as it w^ere
over an abyfs. One of the guides had almoft periflied
here the evening before, as he with twm others went to
reconnoitre the road. They had the precaution to tie
themfelves together with a long rope, and he in the
middle had the misfortune to have the fnovv-bridge,
over the wdde and deep chafm, break under him, fo that
he remained fufpended betrveen his two comrades.
M. de Sauffure and his retinue pafifed very near the
opening through which this man had fallen, and Ihud-
dered at the danger in which the poor fellow had been
involved. The difficulties they had to encounter in this
valley, and the wdnding road they were obliged to take
through it, occafioned their being three hours in crofting
it, although in a ftraight line its breadth is not above
three quarters of a mile.
After having cached the rocks, they mounted in a
ferpentine direction to a valley filled wdth fnow, which
runs from north to louth to the foot of the higheft pin¬
nacle. The furface of the fnow in this valley has nu¬
merous fiffures, which penetrate fo deep, that their bot¬
tom is no where to be feen, although they are of con-
fiderable breadth. The fides of thefe fiffures, where the
fnow is broken perpendicularly, afford an opportunity
of obferving the fucceihve horizontal layers of fnow
which are annually formed.
The guides were defirous of pafling the night near
one of the rocks on the fide of this valley 3 but as the
loftieft of them is at leaft 1400 yards perpendicularly
lower than the fummit of the mountain, M. de Sauffure
was defirous of afcending higher 3 in confequence of
which it would be neceflary to encamp on the fnow :
but he found it difficult to convince his companions of
the pra&icability of the plan. They imagined that
during the night an inconfiderable cold prevailed in
thofe heights which were eternally covered with fnow,
and they were ferioufty afraid of perifhing. By proper
encouragements, however, he induced them to proceed 3
and at four in the afternoon they arrived at the fecond
of the three plains of fnow which they had to pafs.
Here they encamped at the height of 3100 yards above
the Priory of Chamouni, and 4250 yards above the le¬
vel of the fea, which is about 200 yards higher than
the peak of Teneriffe. They did not proceed to the
laft plain, on account of the day having been far ad¬
vanced 3 and they were alfo apprehenfive of expofing
themfelves to the avalanches which are frequently
tumbling from the fummit of the mountain. They
dug a deep hole in the fnow, fufficiently wide to con-
2
tain the whole company, and covered its top with the Mont-
tent cloth. " , ElaPc^
In making this encampment, they began to expe¬
rience the effedls of the rarity of the atmolphere. Ro-
buft men, to whom feven or eight hours walking or
rather climbing were an abiolute nothing, had fcarcely
raifed five or fix (hovels full of fnow, before they were
under the neceflity of refting and relieving each other
almoft inceffantly. One of them who had gone back
a fmall diftance to fill a cafk with fome water which he
had feen in one of the crevices of the fnow, found him-
felf fo much difordered in his way, that he returned
without the water, and paffed the night in great pain.
M. de Sauffure, who is fo much accuftomed to the air
of mountains as to fay, “ That in general I feel.my-
felf better in fuch air than in that of the plains,”
was exhaufted with the fatigue of making his meteo¬
rological obfervations. The principal inconvenience
which the thicknefs of the air produces, is an excefiive
thirft. They had no means of procuring water but by
melting the fnow 3 and the little ftove which they had
carried with them, afforded but a feeble fupply for
twenty men.
This region of the mountain prefents to the view no¬
thing but fnow of the purert and moft dazzling white-
nefs, forming a very lingular contraft with the iky,
which appears remarkably black.
“ No living creature (fays M. de Sauffure) is to be
feen in thefe defolate regions, nor is the leaft trace of
vegetation to be dilcovered. It is the habitation of
cold and lilence ! When I refiefted that Dr Paccard,
and his guide Jacques Balmat, who firft vifited thefe
deferts, arrived here at the decline of the day, without
Ihelter, without affiftance, and wholly ignorant where
or how they were to pafs the night, without even the
certainty that it was poffible for men to exift in the
places they had undertaken to vifit; and yet that they
were able to purfue their journey wuth unremitted in¬
trepidity, I could not but admire their ftrength and
courage. My guides were lo firmly prepofleffed with
the fear of cold,’that they flrut up every aperture of the
tent with the utmoft exactnefs 3 fo that I fuffered very
confiderably from the heat and the vitiated air, which
had become highly noxious from the breaths of fo many
people in a fmall room. I was frequently obliged, in
the courfe of the night, to go out of the tent, in older
to relieve my breathing. 1 he moon Ihone with the
brighteft fplendour, in the midft of a Iky as black as
ebony. Jupiter, rayed like the fun, arofe from behind
the mountain in the eaft. The light of thefe lumina¬
ries was reflefted from the white plain or rather balon
in which we were fituated 3 and dazzling eclipfed every
ftar except thofe of the firft and fecond magnitude. At
length we compofed ourfelves to. fieep. We w^ere, how¬
ever, foon awTakened by the noife of an immenfe mafs
of fnow {avalanche) which had fallen down from the
top of the mountain, and covered part of the Hope over
which we wrere to climb the next day.
As they were obliged to melt a great quantity of
fnow, and prepare many neceffaries for their farther
progrefs in their journey, it was late the next morning
before they took their departure.
“ We began our afcent (continues M. de Sauffure)
to the third and laft plain, and then tumed to the left,
in our way to the higheft rock, which is on the eaft
part
B L A f 655 ] B L A
Mont- part of the fummit. The afcent is here very fteep,
Blanc, bging about 39 degrees inclined to the horizon, and
y bounded on each fide by precipices. The furface of
the fnow was fo hard and (lippery, that our pioneers
were obliged to hew out their footfteps with hatchets.
Thus we were two hours in climbing a hill of about
530 yards high. Having arrived at this laft rock, we
turned to the weftward, and climbed the laft afcent,
whofe height is about 300 yards, and its inclination
about 28 or 29 degrees. On this peak the atmofphere
is fo rare, that a man’s ftrength is exhaufted with the
leaft fatigue. When we came near the top, I could
not walk fifteen or fixteen fteps without flopping to
take breath ; and 1 frequently perceived myfelf fo faint,
that I was under the neceflity of fitting down from
time to time ; and in proportion as I recovered my
breath, I felt my ftrength renewed. All my guides
experienced fimilar fenfations, in proportion to their
refpeftive conftitutions. We arrived at the fummit of
Mont-Blanc at 11 o’clock in the forenoon.
“ I now enjoyed the grand fpe&acle which was
tinder my eyes. A thin vapour, fufpended in the in¬
ferior regions of the air, deprived me of the diftinft
view of the loweft and moft remote objects, fuch as the
plains of France and Lombardy ; but 1 did not fo much
regret this lofs, fince I faw with remarkable clearnefs
what I principally wilhed to fee, viz. the aflemblage
of thofe high ridges, with the true form and fituations
of which I had long been defirous of becoming tho¬
roughly acquainted. I could fcarcely believe my eyes.
I thought myfelf in a dream when I faw below my feet
fomany majeftic peaks, efpecially the Needles, the Midi-
Argentiere, and Geant, whofe bafes had proved fo diffi¬
cult and dangerous of accefs. I obtained a perfedft
knowledge of their proportion to, and connexion with,
each other; of their form and ftrufture ; and a Angle
view removed more doubts, and afforded more informa¬
tion, than whole years of ftudy.
“ While I was thus employed, my guides pitched
my tent and were fixing the apparatus for the experi¬
ments I had propoled to make on boiling water j but
when I came to difpofe my inftruments for that pur-
pofe, I wras obliged, almoft at every inftant, to defift
from my labours, and turn all my thoughts to the
means of refpiration. When it is confidered that the
mercury in the barometer w'as no higher than 1 6 inches
and a line (17.145 inches Englifh), and that this air had
confequently little more than half the denfity of that ®n
the plains, the breathing muft neceffarily be increafed,
in order to caufe, in a given time, the paffage of a fuffi-
cient quantity of air through the lungs. The frequen¬
cy of refpiration increafed the circulation of the blood,
more efpecially as the arteries on the furface of the
body had not the preffure they were ufually accuftom-
ed to. We were all in a feverifti ftate, as will be feen
in the fequel.
“ While I remained perfectly ftill, I experienced
but little uneafinefs more than a flight oppreffion about
my heart; but, on the fmalleft bodily exertion, or rvhen
I fixed my attention on any objefl for fome moments
together, and particularly when I prefled my cheft in
the aft of ftooping, I was obliged to reft and pant for
two or three minutes. My guides were in a fimilar
condition. We had no appetite ; and our provifions,
which were all frozen, were not well calculated to ex¬
cite it : nor had we any inclination for wine or brand v, Mont-
which increafed our indifpofition, moft probably by, ^ia-nc»
accelerating the circulation of the blood. Nothing v
but frefti water relieved us 5 and much time and trouble
were neceffary to procure this article, as w?e could have
no other than melted fnowu I remained on the fum¬
mit till half paft three} and though I did not lofe a
fingle moment, I wTas not able to make all thefe expe¬
riments in four hours and a half, which I have fre¬
quently done in lefs than three on the fea-fide. How¬
ever, I made with great exaftnefs thofe which wrere
moft efiential.
“ We returned much eafier than I could have ex¬
pected ; fince, in defcending, we did not experience
any bad eflefls from the compreffion of the thorax;
our relpiration was not impeded, and wre were not un¬
der the neceflity of refting, in order to recover our
breath and ftrength. The road down to the firft plain
was neverthelefs by no means agreeable, on account of
the great declivity j and the fun, ftiining fo bright on
the tops of the precipices below us, made fo dazzling
an appearance, that it required a good head to avoid
growing giddy from the profpefl. We pitched our
tent again on the fnow, though we were more than
400 yards below our laft night’s encampment. I'was
here convinced that it was the rarity of the air, and not
the fatigue of the journey, that had incommoded us on
the fummit of the mountain, other wife we fhould not
have found ourfelves fo well, and fo able to attack our
fupper with a good appetite. I could now alfo make
my meteorological obfervations without any inconveni¬
ence. I am perfuaded that the indifpofition in confe-
quence of the rarity of the atmofphere is different in
different people. For my own part, I felt no incon¬
venience at the height of 4000 yards, or nearly two
miles and a quarter; but I began to be much affe&ed
when I wTas higher in the atmofphere.
“ The next day we found that the ice valley which
we had paffed on our firft day’s journey had undergone-
a confiderable change from the heat of the two "pre¬
ceding days, and that it was- much more difficult to
pafs than it had been in our afcent. We were obliged
to go down a declivity of fnow of no lefs than <;o de¬
grees of inclination, in order to avoid a chafm which
bad happened during our expedition. We at length
got down as low as the firft eminence on the fide about
half after nine, and were perfedfly happy to find our¬
felves on a foundation which we were fure w-ould not
give way under our feet.
From the narrative, we learn, that the fummit of the-
mountain is a ridge nearly horizontal, lying eaft and
weft : the flope at each extremity is inclined from 28'
to 30 degrees, the fouth fide between 15 and 20, and
the north about 45 or 5®* This ridge is fo narrow as
fcarcely to allow' two people to walk abroad, efpecially
at the weft end, where it refembles the roof of a houfe.
It is wholly covered wdth fnow ; nor is any bare rock-
to be feen within 150 yards of the top. The furface
of the fnow is fcaly, and in fome places covered with'
an icy cruft, under which the fnow is dufty, and with¬
out confiftence. The higheft rocks are all granites ;
thofe on the eaft fide are mixed with fteatites ; thofe
on the fouth and the weft contain a large quantity of
fchoerl, and a little /aj>is ccrneus. Some of them, efpe¬
cially thofe on the eaft, which are about 150 yards be¬
low >
Mont-
Blanc
Blanch-
Ferme.
_ S L A [ 656 ]
low the fummit, feem to have been lately fliivered with paid to the king
lightning. ” '
M. de Saufiure faw no animals on the mountain, ex-
13 L A
12d. in the pound by way of ad-
cept two butterflies, which he iuppofes mull have been
driven thither by the wind. Lichens are the only ve¬
getables which are found on the more elevated parts
of thefe mountains : the Jilcne acaulis, which grows
in great quantities on the lower parts, difappears
at the height of about two miles above the level of
the fea.
M. de Sauffure has given us the height of the baro¬
meter on the top of Mont-Blanc. Auguft 3. at noon,.
16 inches, o lines, and of a line, French meafure
(i. e. 16.181 Engliih) ; and Reaumur’s thermometer
was 2.3 below the freezing point. M. Sennebier,
at the fame time, obferved at Geneva the barometer
27-2 T-ftrs- (29.020 inches Engliih) ; and the thermo¬
meter 22.6 above freezing. From thefe data he makes
the height of Mont-Blanc 2218 toifes, or 14180 Eng¬
liih feet (about 2^ miles), according to M. de Luc’s
rule 5 and 2272 toifes, or 14525 Eriglifh feet, accord¬
ing to M. Trembley’s. To thefe heights 13 toifes, or
83 feet, the height of M. Sennebier’s room above the
lake of Geneva, mud be added, to give the height of
■the mountain above the level of the lake 14263 feet,
according to M. de Luc, and 14608 feet according to
M. Trembley. Sir George Shuckburgh made the height
of Mont Blanc, by trigonometrical meafurement,
14429 feet above the lake, which is almoft the mean
between the other two. The refult of the obfervations
made at Chamouni, contemporary with thofe on Mont-
Blanc, agrees ftill nearer with Sir George’s meafure¬
ment. The general mean refult makes the fummit of
Mont-Blanc 2450 toifes, 15973 Englifli feet, or three
miles nearly, above the level of the fea.
M. de Sauflure found by his electrometer, that the
'eleftricity of the air on the fummit of the mountain
was pofitive. Water boiled at 68.993 degrees of a
thermometer, which rifes to 80 with the barometer 27
French inches high. The wind was north and ex¬
tremely piercing on the fummit; but, fouthward of
the ridge, the temperature of the air was agreeable.
The experiments with lime-water, and with the caultic
alkali, Ihow that the air was mixed with carbonic acid
or fixed air. See Atmosphere.
BiANC-Manger, Fr. q. d. white food, is a prepara¬
tion of diflblved ifinglafs, milk, fugar, cinnamon, &c-
boiled into a thick confiftence, and garnilhed for the
table with blanched almonds. It is cooling and {Length¬
ening.
BLANC ARDS, a name given to certain linen-
cloth, thus called, becaufe the thread ufed to vreave
them has been half blanched or bleached before it was
ufed. They are manufaftured in Normandy, particu¬
larly in the places which are in the diftriCt or under
the jurifdiCtion of Pont-Audemer, Bernay, and Li-
fieux.
BLANCH-fe rme, or Blank farm, a white farm,
that is, where the rent was to be paid in filver, not in
cattle. In ancient times, the crown rents were many
times referved to be paid in libris albis, called blanch
feme's: in which cafe the buyer was holden dealbare
firmam, viz. his bafe money or coin, worfe than fland-
ard, was melted down in the exchequer, and reduced
to the finenefs of ftandard iilver j or iuflead thereof be
dition
Blanch Holding, in Law, a tenure by which the
vaflal is only bound to pay an elufory yearly duty to
his fuperior merely as an acknowledgement of his right.
See Law.
L LAN CHAR D, James, an excellent painter, was
born at 1 uris, and learnt the rudiments of his profeffion
under Nicholas Bolleri his uncle j but left him at 20
years of age, and travelled into Italy. He {laid two
years at Rome, and from thence went to Venice, where
he was fo charmed with the works of Titian, Tintoret
and Paul Veronefe, that he refolved to follow their man¬
ner ; and in this he fucceeded fo far, that at his return
to Paris he foon became generally efteemedfor the no¬
velty, beauty, and force of his pencil. He painted two
galleries at Paris, one belonging to Perault, the firft
prefident, and the other to Bullion, fuperintendant of
the finances ; but his capital piece is a pidlure of the
defeent of the Holy Ghoft in the church of Notre
Dame. He was leized in the flower of his age, -with
a fever and impofthume in the lungs, of which he died
in 1683. Of all the french painters Blanchard was
efteemed the bell colourilt, he having carefully ftudied
this part of painting in the Venetian fchool.
Carte-BiANCHE. See Carte.
BLANCHING, the art or manner of making any
thing white. See Bleaching.
Blanching of Iron plates, is performed with aqua¬
fortis and tin.
Blanching of Woollen Staffs, is done with foap, or
with chalk, or with fulphur or hrimftone.
Blanching of Silk, is performed with, foap and brim-
flone.
Blanching of Wax, is by expofing it to the fun and
dew. See Wax.
Blanching, in coinage, the operation performed on
the planchets, or pieces of filver, to give them the re-
quifite luftre and brightnels. They alio blanch pieces
of plate, when they would have them continue white,
or have only fome parts of them burniflied Blanch¬
ing, as it is now praftifed, is performed by heating the
pieces on a kind of peel with a wood fire, in the man¬
ner of a reverbatory j fo that the flame pafles over
the peel. The pieces being futhciently heated and
cooled again, are put fucceflively to boil in two pans,
which are of copper : in thefe they put water, common
fait, and tartar of Montpelier. When they have been
well drained of this water in a copper fieve, they throw
fand and freflr waiter over them 5 and when dry, they
are well rubbed with towels.
Blanching, among gardeners, anopeiation whereby
certain fallets, roots, &c. are rendered whiter than thev
would otherwife be.—It is thus: After pruning off
the tops and roots of the plants to be blanched, they
plant them in trenches about ten inches wide, and as
many deep, more or lefs as is judged neceffary ; as they
grow up, care is taken to cover them with earth, with¬
in four or five inches of their tops : this is repeated
from time to time, for five or fix vreeks; in which
time they will be fit for ufe, and of a vhitilh colour
where covered by the earth.
Blanching alfo denotes the operation of covering
iron plates with a thin coat or cruft of tin. See Bat¬
ten.
Blanch-
Holding
il
Blanching-,
BLANCO,
Plane's
^ II
Blanket.
B L A j’
BLANCO, a cape or promontory of Africa, in the
Atlantic ocean. W. Long. 18. 30. N. Lat. 20. o.
, . Blanco, a promontory of Peru in South America
in the South fea. W. Long. 81. 10. N. Lat. n. 50/
BLAND A, in Ansient Geography, a Roman city in
the territory of Barcino in Hifpania Citerior ; Now
JBlnnes, a fea port town of Catalonia, fituated near the
river Tordara. E. Long. 3. 40. N. Lat. 41. 30.
BLANDhORD, a town ofDorfetfhire in England.
It is pleafantly feated on the river Store near the Downs,
but has been fubjeft to feveral dreadful fires, particu¬
larly in 173 1» when almoft the whole town was burnt
down $ but it has fince been rebuilt finer than before.
It has the title of a marquifate, and lies in W. Long-.
2. 1 51. N. Lat. 50. 50. 6
, BLANDONONA, in Ancient Geography, a fmall
city of Liguria in Italy : Now Bron, or Broni* See
that article. ?■
BLANES. See Blanda.
BLANK, or Blanc, in a general fenfe, fignifies
white ; and. llancus, or b/ar.ca, is more particularly
trfed for a kind of white or filver money, of bafe al¬
loy, coined by Henry V. in thofe parts of France then
fubjed to England, valued at Bd.fterling. They were
forbidden by his fucceffor to be current in this realm.
In fome ancient charters they are called folidi bland
xuhite Jhillings.
Blank alfo denotes a fmall copper coin, formerly
current in France, at the rate of five deniers Tournois.
They had alfo great blanks, or pieces of three blanks,
and others of fix, in refped whereof the fingle fort we^
called little blanks 5 but of late they are all become on¬
ly monies of account.
Blank, or BLANK-Ticket, in lotteries, that to which
no prize is allotted. The French have a game, under
the denomination blanqne, anfwering to our lottery.
Blank, in coinage, a plate, or piece of gold or
filver, cut and lhaped for a coin, but not yet ftamped.
BtANs-Bar, in Law, is ufed for the fame with what
we. call a common bar, and is the name of a plea in bar
which in an adion of trefpafs is put in to oblige tlm
plaintiff to. affign the certain place where the trefpafs
was committed.
Blanks, in judicial proceedings, certain void fpaces
fometimes left, by m.iftake. A blank (if fomething
material be omitted) in a declaration, abates the fame:
and fuch a blank is a good caufe of demurrer.
Blank Verfe, in the modern poetry, that compofed
of a certain number of fyllables, without the afliftance
of rhime. See Poetry, Part iii.
Powt-BiANK. See Point Blank.
BLANKENBERG, a town of Germany, in the
circle of Weffphalia and duchy of Berg. E. Long. 7.
18. N. Lat. 90. 5'4.
BLANKENBURG, a town of Germany, in the
circle of Lower Saxony, and capital of the county of
the fame name, fubjed to the duke of Brunfwic-Wol-
fembuttle. I he caffle or palace is a modern building,
and is the refidence of the princefs dowager. E. Long.
11. 20. N. Lat. 5 j.
. BLANKENHEIM, a fmall territory of Germany
wuth the title of a county, which is part of that of
E\ffel, near the archbifliopric of Cologn and duchy of
Juliers.
.BLANKET, in Commerce, a warm woolly fort of
Vol. Ill, Part II.
1
B L
Ruff, light and loofe woven, chiefly ufed in bedding.TofTmg In a
1 he ma.nufadure of blankets is chiefly confined to Blanket
Witney in Oxfordfliire, where it is advanced to that
height, tnat no other place comes near it. Some at-. ‘antlm e‘,
tribute a great part of the excellency of the Witney
blankets to the abilerfive nitrous water of the river
Windrufh, wherewith they are fcoured 5 others rather
tuink they owe it to a peculiar way of loofe fpinning
which the people have thereabouts. Be this as it will
the. place has. engroffed" almoft the whole trade of the
nation. for this commodity ; infomuch that the wool
fit for it centres here from t|\e furthermoft parts of the
kingdom. Blankets are made of felt-wool, i. e. wool
10m oft ftieep-lkins, wdiich they divide into feveral
forts. Of the head wool and bay wool they make
blankets of twelve, eleven, and ten quarters broad :
of the ordinary and middle fort blankets of eight and
feven quarters broad ; of the beft tail wool blankets of
fix quarters broad, commonly called cuts, ierving for
teamens hammocks. See PIykes.
ToJJing in a Blanket, a ludicrous kind of punifhment,
of which we find mention in the ancients under the
denomination/^^. Martial deferibes it geographical¬
ly enough. Ibis ab excujfo, miJJ'us adajira. [ago. A late
writer reprefents it as one of Otho’s imperial delights
But this is turning the tables: that emperor’s diver-
fion, as related by Suetonius, was not to be the fub-
jed, but the agent, in the affair: it being his pradice
to ft roll out in dark nights, and where he met wdth a
helplefs or drunken man to give him the difeipline of
the blanket.
BLANKOF, John TeunIsz, a painter of great
abilities, was born at Alkmaar in 1628 5 and received
his earlieft inftru&ion from Arent Tierling: but after¬
wards he was fucceflively the difciple of Peter Scheyen-
burg and Csefar Van Everdingen. When he had fipent
fome years with thofe mafters, he w^ent to Rome, where
during his continuance in that city, he was ftudioufly
diligent in copying the works of the beft mafters and
was admitted into the fociety of Flemifh painters’call¬
ed Bentvogels, who gave him the name of Jan Maat
(which in Dutch fignifies mate or companion), and by
that name he is moft generally known. His fubieds
were landfcapes, with view's of rivers or fea-fhores ha
vens or ports, which he executed with a light free’pen¬
cil ; and in the reprefentation of ftorms and calms (as
nature was always his model) he deferibed thofe fub
jeds with great truth, exadnefs, and neatnefs of
nam* ing. I he pidures of this mafter which are moft
commended are the Italian fea-ports, with veffels lying-
before them He poMed a lively imagination ; no?
was his hand lefs expeditious than his thoughts • and
the connoifleurs agreed in opinion, that if he had be-
towed more labour on his pidures than he ufuallv did
or if he had fimlhed them more highly, he would
certainly have deftroyed a great deal of their fpirit,
orce, an e ed. His moft capital performance is
MleVVf th? fea-ftiore, with the waves retiring at
ebb tide ; which is deferibed by Houbraken as be¬
ing wonderfully beautiful and natural. He died in
1670.
BLANQUILLE, in Commerce, a fmall filver coin
current m the kingdom of Morocco, and all that part
of the coaft of Barbary ; it is worth about three half¬
pence 01 our money.
40
BLARE,
B L A
[ 658 ]
B L A
Blare
Blafp ■
EL ARE, in Commerce, a fmall copper coin of Bern,
nearly of the fame value with the ratz.
BLAREGNIES, a town of the Auftrian Nether¬
lands, in the province of Hainauit, feated in E. Long.
3. 35. N. Lat. 50. 30. Near this place the Englifh and
their allies under the duke of Marlborough obtained a
very bluody vldtory over the French in 1709. This is
moil commonly called the battle of IMalplaquct. See
Malplacvuet.
BLASE, bilhop of Sebafta in Cappadocia, in the
fecond and third centuries, fuffered death under Dio-
clefian by decapitation, after being whipped and ha¬
ving his tleih torn with iron combs. He is a perfon
of great note among the vulgar, who in their procef-
fions relative to the woollen trade, always carry a re-
prefentation of him as the inventor or patron of the
art of wool combing ; though that art muft have been
known long before his time. It is difficult to fay
how the invention came to be attributed to him •, but
it had probably no better origin than the circumftance
of his being tortured by inilruments ufed in combing
of wmol.
BLASIA, leather-cup. See Botany Index.
BLASPHEMY [blafphetnia, or blafphemiuiri), in
middle-age writers, denotes fimply the blaming or con¬
demning of a perfon or thing. I he wrord is Greek,
fiXxrivrtix, from (ihcmru, hvdo. Among the Greeks to
blafpheme was to ufe wmrds of evil omen, or that por¬
tended fomething ill, which the ancients were careful
to avoid, fubftituting in lieu of them other words of
fofter and gentler import, fometim<?s the very reverfe of
the proper ones.
Blasphemy is more peculiarly reftrained to evil or
reproachful words fpoken of the Deity. Auguftine fays,
da/n vulgo blafphemia non accipitur niji mala verba de
Deo dicere.
According to Lindwood, blafphemy is an injury of¬
fered to God, by denying that which is due and belong¬
ing to him; or attributing to him what is not agreeable
to his nature. By the Mofaic law', blafphemy was pu-
nifhed with death j Levit. xxiv. ver. 13—16. As alfo
by the civil law'j Novel. 77. In Spain, Naples, France,
and Italy, the pains of death are not now infli&ed. In
the empire, either amputation or death is made the
punifhment of this crime.
By the canon law, blafphemy was punilhed only by
a folemn penance; and by cuftom either by'a pecuniary
or corporal punifhment. By the Engliih laws, blaf-
phemies of God, as denying his being or providra.ee,
and all contumelious reproaches of Jefus Chrift, &.c. are
offences by the common law, and punilhable by fine,
imprifonment, and pillory. And, by the ffatute law, he
that denies one of the perfons in the Trinity, or afferts
there are more than one God, or denies Chriffianity to
be true, for the firft offence is rendered incapable of any
office-, for the fecond, adjudged incapable of firing, be¬
ing executor or guardian, receiving any gift or legacy,
and to be imprifoned for three years.
According to the law of Scotland, the punifhment
of blafphemy is death. The firft fpecies thereof con-
fifts in railing at or curling God ; and here the fingle
aft conftitutes the crime. The fecond confifts in de¬
nying the exiftence of the Supreme Being, or any of
the perfons of the Trinity j and therein obftinately
perfevering to the laft. For reiterated denial does not
Blaltir.g.
fully conftitute the crime, becaufe the ftat, of Char. II. Blafphemy
1661, admits of repentance before conviftion, as a com¬
plete expiation.
This ftatute of 1661 is ratified by a ftatute of King
William, whereby the calling in queftion the exiftence
of God, or of any of the perfons of the Trinity, or the
authority* of Scripture, or the Divine Providence, is
made penal: For the firft offence, imprifonment till
fatisfnftion given by public repentance in lack cloth ^
for the fecond, a fine of a year’s valued rent of the real
eftate, and twentieth part of the perfonal eftate-, and the
trial in both thefe cafes is competent to inferior judges.
The trial of the third offence is death, to be tried only
by the juftices.
Blasphemy againf the Holy Ghojl. Divines are not
agreed w-ith refpeft to the nature of the crime thus de-<
nominated (Mat. chap. xii. ver. 31.), and the grounds
of the extreme guilt aferibed to it. Dr Tillotfon main¬
tains, that it confifted in malicioufly attributing the
miraculous operations which Chrift performed by the
pow-er of the Ploly Ghoft to the devil. Dr Whitby
refers it to the difpenfation of the Floly Ghoft, which
commenced after our Lord’s refurreftion and afeenfion;
and thofe were guilty of the crime wffio perfifted in
their unbelief and blafphemed the Holy Ghoft, repre-
fenting him as an evil fpirit. The crime was unpar¬
donable, becaufe it implied a wilful oppofition to the
laft and moft pow-erful evidence which God would
vouchfafe to mankind, and precluded the poffibility of
a recovery to faith and repentance.
BLAST, flatus, in the military art, a fudden com-
preffion of the air, caufed by the difeharge of the bul¬
let out of a great gun. The blaft fometimes throws
dowm part of the embraiures of the wall.
Blast is alfo applied in a more general fenfe to any
forcible ftream of wind or air, excited by the mouth,
bellows, or the air.
Blast is alfo ufed in agriculture and gardening, for
what is otherwife called a blight.
Blafts or blaftings are by fome fuppofed owing to
cold ; by others to the want of a due fupply of fap j
by others to afeending fumes of the earth by others
to fharp winds and frofts, immediately fucceeding
rains. That fpecies called uredines or flre-blafls, is
fuppofed by Mr Hales owing to the folar rays reflefted
from or condenfed in the clouds, or even collefted by
the denfe fteams in hop-gardens and other places. The
effeft of them is to wither, Ihrivel, fcorch, turn black,
and as it were burn up the leaves, bloffoms, and fruits
of trees, fhrubs, herbs, grafs, corn, even for whole
trafts of ground.
Phyficians alfo fpeak of a kind of blafts affefting
human bodies, and caufing eryfipelas, palfies, &c.
Blasts, among miners. See Damps.
BLASTED, fomething ftruck with a blaft. Among
the Romans, places blafted wdth lightning w^ere to be
confecrated to Jupiter, under the name of bidentalia
and putealia. It was alfo a ceremonial of religion to
burn blafted bodies in the fire.
BLASTING, among mimfs, a term for the tear¬
ing up rocks, which they find in their way, by gun¬
powder. The method of doing which is this: they
make a long hole like the hollow- of a large gun-barrel
in the rock they w-ould fplit ; this they fill with gun¬
powder } then they firmly ftop up the mouth of the
hole
B L E
Elatobul- hole with clay, except a touch-hole,
gmm jeave a match to fire it. A fmall quantity of powder
m} ,e does great things this way.
/ ELA I OBULGIUM, in Ancient Geography, (Ant
tonine); a place of the Brigantines in Britain, having
a camp of exploratores or fcouts near Sohvay Frith and
promontory; now called Bulnefs, (Camden).
BLATTA, or Cockroach. See Entomology
Index.
BEAT I'ARIiE, (from Blatta, a moth or little
worm), the title of Scopoli’s 12th natural clafs, in his
Flora Carniolica. It is taken from the Blattaria, which
w-as Tournefort’s generic name for the verbafcum of
Linnaeus. See Vereascum.
BLAUBEUREN, a town of Germany in the cir¬
cle of Suabia, and duchy of Wirtemberg." E. Long.
9. 57. N. Lat. 48. 22.
BLAVET, a fea-port towm of Brittany in France,
fituated at the mouth of a river of the fame name. It
is one of the Rations of the navy of France, and is
fometimes called Fort Lewis. W. Long. 3. 5. N. Lat.
47. 40.
BLAVIA, or Blavium, in Ancient Geography, a
town of Aquitain, on the bank of the Garone, below its
confluence with theDordone: Now Blaye; which fee.
BLA\ E, an ancient and llrong town of France, in
[ 659 ] , B L E
at which they the department ot Gironde. It is fituated on the river
Gironde, has a harbour much frequented by foreigners,
and the {hips which fail to Bourdeaux are obliged to
leave their guns here. The river is 3800 yards broad
at Blaye ; for which reafon a battery was built upon
an iiland in 1689, to command the veiTels that fail up.
I he city is built on a rock, and has a citadel with four
baftions, which is called the Upper Town. The low^er
town is feparated from the upper by a fmall river;
and in the lower tow-n the merchants relide with their
magazines. 7 he neighbourhood produces a great deal
of corn, which they fend abroad when the exportation
of it is allowed. W. Long. 1. 23. N. Lat. 45, 6.
BLAZE, a white fpot in a horle’s face.
BLAZONING, or Blazonry, in Heraldry, the
decyphering the arms of noble families. The word o-
riginally fignified the blowing or winding of a horn ;
and was introduced into heraldry as a term denoting
the defeription of things borne in arms, with their pro¬
per fignifications and intendments, from an ancient
cuftom the heralds, who were judges, had of winding
a horn at jufts and tournaments, when they explained
and recorded the atchievements of knights. See He¬
raldry.
BLEA, in the anatomy of plants, the inner rind or
dry bark. See Plants.
Blaze
Blea.
BLEACHING,
"PLEACHING, or Blanching (B/anchiment,
Er.) originally fignifies the art of whitening
any fubftance by other means than painting ; but it is
■more particularly applied to a branch of-trade or manu-
fafture exercifed by perfons called bleachers, who, by
certain proceffes of a chemical nature, give to wmollen,
linen, and cotton Ruffs, &c. the greatefl degree of
\uhitenefs of which they are fufceptible.
2. 7 ill lately this art had not occupied any confider-
able Riare of attention, except to thofe who w ere more
immediately concerned in the praftice of it. Its pro¬
ceffes were few, and though exceedingly tedious, were
fimple and eafily underflood. The late rapid progrefs
of chemical fcience, has however thrown fo much light
on the theory of the art, and contributed fo materially
to the improvement of its proceffes, that it is become
a mofl pleafing field of invefligation, and demands a
much more confiderable fpace in a modern encyclopae¬
dia than it has hitherto obtained.
3. We propofe, therefore, to treat of bleaching in
the following article more fully, and more in detail
than is ufually done, and to bring, as far as poffible, into
one point of view, every thing of importance which
has been lately written on the fubjeft by Berthollet,
I)e Charmes, Rupp, Kirw-an, Higgins, Chaptal,
O'Reilly, and other-eminent chemifls.
4. I he improvements made by thefe gentlemen have
been fo rapid in their fucceflion, and fo important in
their confequences, as to have rather created a new art,
than ameliorated the old. It will hereafter be fcarcely
credible, that in the fpace of about twenty years, the
whole of an ancient fyflem of bleaching, which had pre¬
vailed from time immemorial, fliould have been entirely
overturned, and replaced by one of the mofl fcientific
accuracy, and expeditious management.
5. The origin of this art, like that of many others
which are fubfervient to the comforts or conveniences
of man, is involved in great obfeurity. We find that
a defire for rich and brilliant colours, and for garments
of the pureft white, has prevailed in civilized fociety
from the earheft periods of wEich we have any ac¬
counts. This was more particularly the cafe in the-
eaflern countries, as appears from the earlieft writers,
both of facred and profane hiftory. It is, however,
probable, that the art of dyeing w-as antecedent to that
of bleaching ; but the effects of the fun and air in
whitening garments, and in difeharging the lefs per¬
manent colours imprinted by the dyer, which muft
have been very obfervable in thofe climates, would
foon lead an ingenious people to imitate or increafe the
action of the atmofphere, and turn to advantage as a
luxury what in many cafes muft have been confidered
as an inconvenience. Of the methods employed by
the ancients in whitening or flouring their various fluffs
we are almoft entirely ignorant; we know, however,
that the Egyptians were accuftomed to ufe fome kinds'
of clay for thefe purpofes, and that they availed them-
felves of the bleaching powers of the atmofphere. Pliny
informs us that a plant, to which he gives the name
radicula, was employed for flouring wtjoI*; this is pro-* PUn. lib.
bably the fame with what w-e call foapwort. The acrid’xix. c. 3.
juice of fome fpecies of euphorbia, efpeciallv the pep-
.40 2 ' lus,
66o B L E A
Animal las> Js fajj to have been uied in France for whitening
Subftances. jinen> 45
6. The art of bleaching is very extenfive, and com¬
prehends a variety of obje&s, whether we confider it as
a diftindl: branch of trade, or as an art called in to the
affiftance or completion of feveral of our manufactures.
It is effential to the perfection of the linen, the cotton,
the filkeu, the woollen manufacture j it is in many cafes
a neceflary Hep in preparing fluffs for the dyer, and
the calico-printer j and to it the paper-maker and the
wax-chandler are indebted for the beauty of their pro¬
ductions. To this art belongs the fcouring of clothes
and fluffs, the removal of colours, fpots, and ftains, the
cleaning of books and prints.
7. We fliall in the following pages defcribe the va-
H I N G. Part I.
rious methods employed to anfwer thefe feveral pur- Animal
pofes, and fhall endeavour to trace the heps by which Jubilances.
bleaching has arrived at the high degree of perfetion v
which it has lately attained. In detailing the procef-
fes of the artill, we fhall, however, avoid as much as
poffible, his technical language, fo as to render this ar¬
ticle not only a ufeful afhftant to the practical bleacher,
but an interehing obje£l to the philofophic chemih.
8. As the methods of bleaching animal and vege¬
table fubftances are different, we may properly divide
this article into two parts, in the firfl of which we fhall
defcribe the proceffes for bleaching wool and filk, and
in the fecond the methods employed in the bleaching
of linen, cotton, paper, and other materials furnifhed by-
vegetables.
PART I. BLEACHING OF ANIMAL SUBSTANCES.
9. THE fubflan ces which are derived from the ani¬
mal kingdom, and which we more particularly employ
as articles of clothing, differ effentially from thofe
which are the produce of vegetables. The art of
bleaching depends very much on an exad knowledge
of thofe peculiar charadlers, which form the line of
feparation between thefe two claffes of bodies, and it is
therefore of importance to him who is defirous not
only to be mafler of the feveral proceffes in this art,
but to underfland the theory of the fubjeft, to be ac¬
quainted with the nature and properties of each.
10. The animals from whofe fpoils we obtain our
principal clothing are nourifhed by vegetables, which
as they pafs through their organs lofe their former pro¬
perties, and acquire others more akin to animal bodies.
In particular they are found to contain a new element,
a%ote, which is but fparingly found in the vegetable
kingdom, but conftitutes one of the moll abundant pro-
dudls of animal bodies. They alfo contain fu/phur and
phofphorus, as appears from the examination of thofe
peftilential exhalations which always accompany the
decompofition of animal matters.
it. It is found that animal matters are more eafily
feparated into their component principles than vege¬
table, owing to the weaker degree of their mutual at-
traftion. Hence the a6lion of acids and alkalies is
much more violent on the former than on the latter,
and confequently much more caution is requifite in
their employment.
12. In bleaching animal fubflances recourfe mull
be had to the united action of the fixed alkalies, foap,
ammonia or volatile alkali, and fulphurous acid, the
choice, preparation, and ufes of which will be prefent-
ly delcribed. The animal matters with which the
bleacher is more immediately concerned are wool and
filk.
Chap. I. Of Wool.
13. Wool, like hair, of which it is a variety, Is com-
pcfed of filaments or tubes filled with a fubftance of
an oily nature. The furrounding furface of thefe
tubes is pierced with an infinite number of fmall holes
which communicate with the internal cavity. By
chemical analyfis wool is found to contain carbonat of
ammonia, and a confiderable quantity of oil. It is
very little altered by expofure to the air, and undergoes
no change from the a£lion of boiling water. It is of
great confequence that the bleacher fhould attend to
this circumftance, as will appear immediately.
,14. A folution of cauilic alkali, or cauflic ley, de-
Itroys it altogether, and forms with it a foap, for the dif-
corery and application of which we are indebted to
Chaptal 5 it is but little a£led on by acids, but the ap-
lication of a violent heat reduces it to a ftate of fufion.
From all thefe circumftances it appears that wool is
nearly allied to oleaginous fubflances.
15. The examination of thefe chemical a&ions is
of confequence to direft the bleacher in his operations
on this fubftance ; the trifling a£lion which acids exert
on wool, and its inalterability in wrater, even when af-
firted by heat, fhews the neceftity of having recourfe to
alkalies or foapy matters, "while at the fame time the
violent aftion which thefe exert, will point out the pro¬
priety of being cautious in their ufe.
Of Bleaching Wool.
16. The wool as it comes into the hands of the manu-
faflurer ufually contains a large portion of the natural
greafy matter, from w'hich it muft be purified before it
can undergo the prbcefs of bleaching. Sometimes the
farmer cleans it from moft of its oil, fo as to diminilh
its weight by 50 or 60 per cent, in order to enhance
the value of the article j but care is taken to leave,
fome portion, as the natural fat is found to be the bell
prefervative againft the attacks of moths and other in¬
fers.
17. The firft objeft then is to carry off the whole of the
oily matter, which is called the operation offcauring, and
is performed by means of an ammoniacal ley, which is
thus prepared. Five parts of river or other foft water arc
to be mixed with one part of ftale putrified urine, which
is found to contain a large quantity of ammonia (a).
This
(a) Ihe detergent property of urine has been long known, and it is frequently employed in w’afhing to
* ikve
Chap. I. B L E A
*ra‘ T^S n,Ixture '1S to be boj!ed for a ^°rt time, and into
. ^ . this, at about the heat of j6 degrees, or fo that the hand
of the workman can be eafily held in it for a confiderable
time, the wool is to be thrown. Four or five pailsful wall
generally be fufficient for 20 pounds of wool. After
keeping for a Ihort time, the wool is to be ftirred about
in the mixture continually for about a quarter of an
hour or 20 minutes, according to the quantity of greafy
matter. It is then to be taken out and drained in to a
balket, fo that the drainings may drop into the veflel
in which it was fteeped, that nothing may be loft. It
muft now be completely rinfed by expofing it in
baikets to a continued ftream of clear water, while a
workman is perpetually employed in ftirring it with a
pole, till the water pafles off perfe&ly clear. The
wool is then removed and a frelh quantity put into the
bafleet, which is to be treated in the fame manner.
The fteeping and rinfing are to be repeated till the
wool has attained as great a degree of whitenefs as it is
capable of receiving from this operation. It is necef-
fary, in order to conduft this procefs to the greateft ad¬
vantage, that the workman fhould attend to the follow¬
ing circumftances.
18. A quantity of frelh ley muft be from time
* to time added to the bath, as the immerlion of the
wool is found to weaken its power ; but it is better not
entirely to renew the bath, as the greafe abftracted
from the wool during its immerfion, forms with the
ammonia of the urine a kind of foap, which much in-
creafes the cleanfing quality of the bath.
19. id, Increafing the temperature of the bath wall
augment its deterging powers, and may fometimes fup-
ply the. want of an addition of ftale urine 5 but both
thefe circumftances require caution, as too great a
degree of heat hardens the greafy matter, and renders
it more difficult of folution ; and again, too much urine
makes the wool harlh.
20. 3^/, After being much ufed the bath becomes
too foul, and muft be entirely renewed.
21. I he wool which has properly undergone the
procefs of fcouring ffiould be white, foft, elaftic, and
open, whereas before it rvas hard, fti-ff, and greafy.
By this operation the wool lofes much more of its
weight, fo that too pounds of raw wool when com¬
pletely fcoured will not yield more than 30 or 40 fit
for the manufacture of cloth.
22. After fcouring, the wool is fometimes carried to
the fulling mill, in which it acquires an additional de¬
gree of whitenefs. The above is chiefly employed for
the coarfer wools, and wool that has yet to be carded
for the making of broad-cloth, but for the finer kind
it is better to employ a bath in which foap has been
diffolve.d. This method is more expenfive, but the ex¬
pence is compenfated by the fuperior quality of the
wool which is thus treated. This operation is per¬
formed by the comber, and is thus conduced. The
wool is divided into parcels containing each about fix
pounds and a half. A bath is prepared with two
pounds and a half of green or black foap diffolved in
fave foap. At fea, where freffi water cannot be fpared
ed to fcour their foul linen in ftale urine, which fo f
render* them tolerably pure and fweet.
C H I N G. 6(51
a fufficient quantity of boiling water ; and in this bath Animal
a parcel of the wool is to be wafhed for a longer or ^ul>ftarices*
ffiorter time according to its foulnefs. It is then   
wrung by means of a hook, and hung in the funffiine
or air to dry; Before it is combed it muft undergo a
fecond fcouring, which clears it of all the natural cily
matter.
23. This quantity of wool is not to be wafhed alf
at once, but in fucceffive portions, and frefh hot
water is to be added from time to time in order to
free the wool more eafily from the greafe. For wring¬
ing it there is a hook fixed at each end of the waftHncr-
tub, on which the wool is faftened and turned round
by means of a handle or winch, fixed to one of the
hooks. As economy fhould be confulted in every ma-
nufadhire, a method of fcouring wool without foap,
would be of confiderable advantage. Fullers have*
long been in the habit of employing a fpecies of clayey
earth, called from, them fuller's earth, which has the
property of combining with the greafy matter and
rendering it more foluble in water. A new earth has
lately been found on an eftate belonging to Lord War¬
wick, which by certain proceffes is made to anfwer the
purpofe of foap, and a patent for its preparation has
been granted to Mr John Vancouver. It is not diftin-
guilhed by any particular name, and is difpofed or fitu-
ated in the ground in different ftrata or layers. The
firft or uppermoft layer is of a greenifh or greyifti co¬
lour ; the fecond layer is of a beautiful lilac or light -
purple j and the.third or undermoft is generally white;,
although the white is found intermixed with the purple!
The ftratum on which the earth lies, is indurated red
marl, and it is fuperinduced by a bed of gravel. The
thick.nefs of the entire ftratum of this earth is from
four inches to one foot, and its general pofition is very
even, regular, and level. When firft taken out of
the earth, its colours are very fine particularly the li¬
lac, which, on expofure to the fun’s rays, or to the in¬
fluence of froft, foon becomes white. On chemical ex¬
amination, it appears to contain clay, filiceous fand, and
the oxide of iron ; but a more ftudied examination
would probably fhew the exiftence of other peculiari¬
ties, from which the detergent property of this earth
might be found to arife.
I he proceffes for manufacturing this earth are
performed as follows :—After digging it out of the
vein, it is dried by means of ftoves or otherwife ; then
pulverifed, and lifted through fine fieves ; a fize is then
prepared from white fhreds of leather, and the dry
lifted earth is beaten up with the fize ; after which
it is formed into convenient parcels or cakes, refem-
bling thofe of foap, and of fuch fizes, figures, and di-
menfions, as-are belt adapted to the purpofes of its in¬
tended application. The ufe of the fize is to keep the
parts of the earth together, and to moderate the effect
of its abforbent quality, which is fo extreme, as to
cauie it to become pulverulent, like quick-lime, when
water is added to the dried earth ; and, on this ac¬
count, the patentee does not confine himfelf to the ufe
of
for the purpofe of wafhing, the failov^ are accuftom-
ir cleanfes them that a fubfequent riming in fait water
662 B L E A C
Animal of Cize made of leather, but applies other animal and
.nibftances. ygggtable mucilage to the fame purpofe, giving the
preference to fuch, as by their cheapnefs and adhefive
quality are beft adapted to the purpoles of the manufac¬
ture. The molt diilindtive property of this earth is
that of cleanfmg wool in a manner much fuperior to
foap becaufe it makes i^, equally white and clean,
without robbing it of what manufacturers call its na¬
ture, as foap does; for, it is well-known, that when
w'ool is wafhed with coarie foap, it undergoes fome
change, either in the poliih of its furface, or in the
elatlicity of its fibres, or in fome other refpeCts, which
caufes it to feel lefs full to the hand, fo that it will not
rile and fpring up, after the preffure, in the fame man¬
ner as it did before fuch wattling. Whereas, on the
contrary, wool, when treated with the wafhing-eartb,
becomes equally white and clean, at the fame time
that it remains in poffeflion of all its original fulnefe
and elallicity, which are of great confequence and
x value in the manufacture of this important article of
* Month, produce*. Before the wool is quite dry it is combed, as
Mag. vol. this operation is found to fucceed bell when it is a lit-
£v' P- 354- tie moill, it being then eafier to form it into proper
lengths of three or four feet. Conliderable nicety is
requifite in 'the condufting of thefe firlt procefles, as
much of the fuccefs of the fucceeding operations depends
on their proper management.
24. After combing, the wool fometimes undergoes
two or three farther waihings, efpecially when it is re
quired of a very delicate white.
25. It is known that the wool has been properly
fcoured by its filaments being fmooth, long, and {lender,
white, and perfectly free from foreign fubftances, and
not having loll their natural tenacity. The Dutch
wool is generally the pureft : the Englifh is next in
quality, but is much harlher and fouler. The Ger¬
man wool is Hill hardier than the Englifh, and the
Erench is inferior to them all.
26. The lofs fultained by the wools in fcouring is
proportional to their impurity. Thus the French and
German lofe about a third of their weight, while the
Dutch and Englilh do not lofe above a fourth.
27. But this fcouring, whether it be performed with
urine, foap, or earth, is feldom fufiicient to bring the
v/ool to that brilliant whitenefs which is defirable for
fome manufactures. This is given it by means of the
vapour of fulphur, or by iteeping it in fulphurous acid,
which is called by the manufacturers fulpburing.
28. The ufual method of fulphuring goods is to ex-
pofe them in a very clofe apartment to the vapour of
burning fulphur. The goods are hung on poles fo
difpofed that the vapour can readily pafs between the
pieces, and when the chamber is filled, a quantity of
fulphur placed in very flat and broad dirties, is fet fire to,
and allowed to burn away gradually in the chamber,
while every aperture by which the vapour could efcape
is carefully clofed. The acid vapour generated by the
combination of the fulphur with the oxygen of the air
of the chamber, penetrates to every part of the cloth
to which it can get accels, deltroys the colouring mat¬
ter, and thus completes the bleaching. Every thing
is allowed to remain quiet till it is fuppofed that the
effeCl of the fulphureous vapour has fully taken place,
which requires from 6 to 24 hours.
29. The aCtion of the fulphureous vapours leaves a
H I N G. Bart I.
roughnefs and harrtmefs cn the cloth, which are re- Animal
moved by parting it through a bath ilightly impregna-
ted with foap. —
Such was the ufual method of fulphuring woollen
cloth ; but it was foon found to be very imperfeCt, as
the effeCt of the vapour fcarcely extends beyond the
furface, and thus there is often a neceflity for renewing
the operation. CEReilly has lately propofed to em¬
ploy the fuiphurous acid diffolved in water, and he
thus deferibes the method of preparing and ufing it.
30. “ The fulphurous acid, or that acid which is
produced by the imperfeCt combuition of fulphur,
differs from the fulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) in con¬
taining lefs of the acidifying principle, and conititu-
ting, as we may fay, the mean between fulphur and
fulphuric acid.
31. “ Sulphurous acid combines very readily with wa¬
ter. In this ftate of combination it may be employed
for the bleaching of wool and filk. We may procure
it in this ftate by making the gas pafs through water
in an apparatus fimilar to that which is employed for
obtaining the oxygenated muriatic acid. The molt eco¬
nomical mode of preparing this acid is by decompofing
the fulphuric acid by means of fome combuftible fub-
ftance which is capable of depriving it of a part of its
oxygen. In the nice experiments of the laboratory,
where the chemift wifhes to have it in the greateft pu¬
rity, it is obtained by means of metallic bodies and
efpecially mercury j but for our purpofe, where w’e
muft confult economy, we fhall recommend the molt
common materials.
32. Take chopped ftraw, or faw-duft, and put it in¬
to a matrafs *, pour over it fome fulphuric acid, and ap¬
ply a moderate heat. Sulphurous acid gas, or ful¬
phurous vapour, will be difengaged $ which may be
combined with water by means of the following appa¬
ratus.
33. A matrafs with a long neck is placed in a fur¬
nace, and made to communicate with a tubulated bottle
in which a little water has been put to abforb the fmall
quantity of fulphuric acid which might pr.fs through
the firlt refervoir without being decompofed. • Care
mult be taken to place a fmall tube within the bottle,
fo that one of its extremities is immerfed fome way
belowr the furface of the water to prevent abiorption.
A tube with a double curvature conducts the gas into
the veffels in which it is to combine ultimately with
the water. We propofe to make a hollow cylinder o£
lead, or white wood, bound with varnilhed iron, of a
pretty confiderable height, and furmounted with one of
Wolfe’s bottles, the bottom of which has been remo¬
ved, and which muft be made to fit into a collar in the
mouth of the leaden cylinder ; and care muft be taken
to make it firm by means of wax, but lo as to render
the joining impervious to fluids. This capital of glafs
will allow us to fee the the number of bubbles which
are difengaged on the furface of the water, and thus to
afeertain the progrefs of the faturation, while the
weight of this narrow and high column of w^ater, pref*
fing on the bubbles of fulphurous acid gas, as it is
difengaged from the end of the tube at the bottom of
the cylinder, will facilitate its combination with the
water, and will accelerate its diflblution in that fluid.
That nothing may be loft, we may have a feries of
two or three of thefe- cylinders connected together.
*
chap. ir. B L E A
Animal and they will then comprife the whole of the appara-
Sunil a. ices tus whjc]-i we are defcribing. A cock fixed in the
^ bottom of each cylinder will facilitate the difcharge of
the liquor into the tub for immerfion.
34. “ The apparatus which we would recommend
for the immerfion of the woollen and filken goods in
the ley of fulphurous acid perfectly refembles what
will be delcribed hereafter for the immerfion in oxy¬
genated muriatic acid, and which we have conftructed
after the principles of Rupp. From converfing on this
apparatus with Cit. Widmer of Jouy, we have con¬
ceived the defign of the prefent, which is now making
at the manufactory of Effonne. Let us fuppofe an ob¬
long box, divided by a partition in the middle ; on
each fide of this partition is a large reel, on which the
fluffs are to be rolled 5 at each angle is fixed a roller,
, over which the fluffs pafs before they proceed through
the partition to be drawn over a fimilar number of rol¬
lers which condudl them to the fecond reel. The ob¬
ject of this difpofition is to make the fluffs pafs through
the bleaching liquor, and expofe to it the greatell pof-
fible furface.
35. “ For the purpofe of turning this reel, we make
ufe of an axis or column of glafs which paffes through
a collar of leather, and has one of its extremities, which
is fquare, fixed into the reel, while the other is fixed
to a winch, which gives it the rotatory motion ; and
in this way we may entirely avoid employing any me¬
tallic fubllance within the veffel. To prevent the
efcape of the gas, the ■cover of the tub is made with a
ledge which fits exaftly into the rim of the box, and
of which at lead an inch fhould pafs into the deter¬
ging liquor.
36. “ I propofe the following method of bleaching
woollen fluffs: We are firft to fcour them by immer¬
fion in a ley (lightly alkaline, in the proportion of a
pound of potafh to 50 pounds of wool. The bath is-
heated to the temperature of 30 degrees (b).
37* “ The old method with dale urine may alfo be
employed. Urine is preferred becaufe it holds in folu-
tion a quantity of fait, which is not fufficient to injure
the wool.
38. “ When the greafe is diffolved, and the wool
has been well purified, it is to be wafhed in warm
foapy water. This part of the procefs is fometimes
performed in the fulling mill, fometimes by beaters,
and fometimes by treading in the tub. In every cafe
the greafe mud be feparated by repeated wafhing be¬
fore the fulphuring is employed. If we wifh to ob¬
tain a brilliant whitenefs, it would be proper to make
the duffs undergo heat a fecond, or even a third time,
always m water dightly impregnated with foap, in the
proportion of two ounces of this fubdance to a pound
of wool. It would be better to repeat this operation,
turning the duffs about with a dick for half an hour,
than to endanger injuring the quality of the duffs by-
employing too drong a ley.
39. “ After fcouring with the greated care, the duffs
are carried to the tubs for deeping in the liquidfulphu¬
rous acid, or, as it may be called the fulphur xvater ;
the pieces are rolled upon the reels, and by turfiing
663
Animal
CHIN G.
the winch, are made to pafs through the a£;d, till it is
obferved that they are fufficiently whitened, xhey Sub^ances*
are then taken out, and fuffered to drain on a table co- ““V'—
vered with a cloth, that the aftion of the fulphurous
acid on the wood may not injure them •, they are af¬
terwards wafhed in river water, and, if neceffary, Spa-
nidi white is ufed. This is done by deeping the pieces
in a tub of clear water, in which about eight pounds of
Spanifh white have been diff'ufed. Two fulphurings
are ufually employed to obtain a fine white, but in our
procefs, a (ingle immerfion, with turning for two or
three hours, fhould be fufiicient.
40. “ Before recommending the employment of the
liquid fulphurous acid, I have made a great many ex¬
periments on woollen threads and duffs, varying the
manipulations, and always with the mod complete fuc-
cefs * ” ... * O' Reilly,
4 r. Befides the whiting mentioned in the above EJfai fur is
extract, it is ufual to pafs the duffs through water im- BUnchi‘
pregnated with blue, or, what is generally praftifed,menU
after the whiting has been ufed, the duffs are taken
out, and to the fame bath of Spanifh whiting and wa¬
ter is added a pail of water, in which about an ounce
and a half of fine indigo, or of Pruffian blue, have
been diffufed, the blue being pounded, fifted, and tied
up in a little bag, which is dirred round in the water.
When the blue water has been added, the bath is well
flirred, and the piece of cloth is again paffed through
it. It is afterwards laid on a packing cloth, and fub-
jecled to the fullcUs thidle, to raife the nap, it being
wetted from time to time with the liquor of the bath.
It is then dried, and well beaten with twigs, to carry
off the fuperfluous whiting.
42. Manufa&urers have an idea that bad fmells,
ftich as foul breath, are capable of producing fome
change on the bath of blue and white, and thus render
a rc-petition of the procefs neceffary. It is certain, that
without attention the white and blue will not be inti¬
mately didufed, and that thus a kind of vegetation
will be produced on the cloth. When this happens,
it mud be wafhed by plunging it into hot water 5 and
then the bath mud be repeated.
43. It is chiefly to cloths that are to be of the fined
quality that all thefe precedes are adapted. For ordi¬
nary flannels, efpecially fuch as are intended to be
worn next the fkin, fulphuring and foap bath's are lefs
proper; and the foap efpecially diminifhes the abforb-
ency, which is fo defirable a property in thefe flannels.
They are ufually prepared by fcouring with bran and
water, and fubfequent rinfing in fair water.
Chap. II. Of the Bleaching of Silk.
44’ Silk is a fubdance poffeffing fome degree of
tranfparency, and is fpun by a caterpillar from a mat¬
ter contained within its body, which has the property
of hardening when expofed to the air. The filk-worm
is an inhabitant of the fouthern climates, being origi¬
nally brought from Afia, and naturalized in the fouth
of Europe about the period of the decline of the Ro¬
man empire.
The
(b) About 100 degrees of Fahrenheit,
664 B L E A C
s-M>mal 45* TKe filaments of filk, as left by the filk-worm, are'
't!101 ^nces_' rolled together into a kind of ball or clew, and in their
natural, or what is called the raw Jlate, are covered
with a yellow varnifh or gum, w’hich obfcures their
luftre, and gives them an unpleafant roughnefs.
46. Water has no effect on filk at the boiling tem¬
perature, and no change is produced on it by alcohol;
but alkaline leys, wdien tolerably ftrong, attack, and are
capable of diffolving it. The yellow varnifh is foluble
alfo in alkaline leys, and it may even be feparated by
long continued boiling of the filk. When the varnifh
is thus carried off, the filk is found to have loft about
a fourth of its original weight.
47. Tw’o methods are in practice for bleaching filk j
the firft, in which it is ungummed or deprived of the
natural varnifti j the fecond, in which this is retained, in
order to give them that ftiffnefs which is required for
gauzes, blonds,.&c.
48. In the firft procefs, the filk is to undergo a fcour-
fimilar to what we have defcribed, as neceffary for
depriving wool of the natural oil. For this purpofe,
a quantity of water is put into a boiler over a fire, and
for every hundred pounds of filk to be fcoured, thirty
pounds of very fine foap ate diffolved. The folution
is generally boiled, but before the filk is put into it,
the heat mufl be lowered to about 90 degrees of
Fahrenheit, and at this temperature it mufl: be kept
during the procefs. The filks are to be hung in the
liquor upon rods or frames, and left till the gum is
fufficiently delfroyed, care being taken to alter their
pofition now and then, fo that every part may be expof-
ed to the aftion of the bath. When perfectly ungum¬
med, they are flexible and of a dull whitenefsj in this
Hate they are to be wrrung with the pin to clear them
of the foapy water, then well fhaken, and put into
coarfe linen bags, in parcels of from twenty to thirty
pounds each.
49. Thefe bags are now to be fteeped in a frefh
bath, or as the workmen fpeak, are to be baked. The
bath is prepared in a manner and proportion much as
before, except that the quantity of foap may be fome-
what diminifhed, as the heat is to be increafed; for the
filk is now to be boiled for two or three hours, taking
care to keep the bags from flicking to the bottom of
the boiler, by frequently flirring them with a flick.
50. For filk that is intended to be dyed, the former
fleeping in the lukew’arm bath is unneceffary, and the
prefent boiling only is employed, ufing a greater quan¬
tity of foap in proportion to the finenefs of the colour.
Thus for the ordinary colours, the proportion above
laid down, or even lefs will fuffice, but for the faffra-
num colours, and the poppy and cherry red, even 50
pounds are fometimes employed to the *100 pounds of
filk.
51 • After boiling, the filk is wrung as before, and
then wafhed thoroughly in a flream of -water; they
are then examined, and if it appears that they are not
fufficiently or not uniformly fcoured, they mufl be fub-
mitted to a freffi bath.
The white filk ufually fold has a bluiflr fliade.
This is given it by 3 bath impregnated with litmus, or
king.
Part IL
indigo. This is prepared by difiblving a pound and a Animal
half of fine foap in about ninety gallons of water, in Subkanees.
which a Imall quanity of litmus or indigo has been dif- *
fufed. 1 he bath is heated to about 90 degrees, and
the filk is palled through it over rods or reels till it
have acquired the requifite fhade. Being taken out it is
wrung and dried.
53. From thefe procefies, the filk acquires a tole¬
rably clear white, but the highefl degree is given to
it by the aftion of the fulphurous acid, either in the
flate of vapours, as is ufually praftifed, or by immerfing
it in the liquid acid, according to the method of M.
0‘Reilly.
54. From what has been faid above of the adion
of various fubftances on filk, it will eafily be conceived,
that during feouring it mufl fuffer confiderably in its
quality. To avoid this, a method has been lately pro-
pofed of carrying off the varnifh by the acid of fleam
Under an increafed preflure. As this has been more
extenfively employed in the bleaching of cottons, we
fliall delay giving a detailed account of the procefs till
a future part of this article. The following is the me¬
thod propofed by O'Reilly.
55\“ Take a folution of cauflic foda, fo weak that
it indicates at mofl but a quarter of a degree of the
areometer for falts, and fill with it the boiler of the
apparatus for fleam -bleaching. Charge the frames
with the fkains of raw filk, and place them in the ap¬
paratus till it be filled, then clofe the door and caufe the
folution to boil; continue the ebullition for twelve
hours ; flacken the fire and open the door of the ap¬
paratus. The heat of the vapour, which is alwavs
above 100 degrees (c), will be fufficient to ungum and
fcour the filk. Walk the fkains in warm water j wring
them with the pin ; and place them a fecond time on
the frames of the apparatus to undergo another boiling.
Then wafh them in a eonfiderable quantity of water,
and if you defire the greatefl degree of whitenefs, rinfe
them in water flightly impregnated with foap, to give
them a little foftnefs.
56. “ The lafl degree of whitenefs is obtained by
paffing the fkains through the fulphurous acid, ufing
the method and apparatus which I have recommended
for bleaching wool ; and which here fuperfedes ful-
phuring. The incalculable advantage of that method
over others, confifls principally in the poffibility of em-'
ploying the operations in fucceffion, without running
the rifk of injuring the quality of the filk by too
ftrong leys, *.” * OR.m,
57. buch are the mofl approved methods of bleach-
ing filk when deprived of the yellow gum; but when this
is not required, the bleaching is to be performed by
fome fubflance which has the property of whitening
the filk and its varnifh without diffolving the gum. Of
this defeription is alcohol, and two French authors have
propofed a method of bleaching filk by means of this
and muriatic acid. It was firfl propofed by M. Rigaud
in 1778, and is thus fkortly deferibed by Pajot de
Charmes.
58. “ The filk intended to be bleached, is put into a
glafs veffel containing a mixture of fpirit of wine and
muriatic
(c) About 250 degrees of Fahrenheit.
2
Chap. II. B L E A
animal muriatic acid, in the proportion of a pound of the for-
Sub fiances. mer t0 half an ounce of the latter, and in quantity,
fufficient to float the filk. The veffel is then doled
with wet parchment, and expofed for 12 hours to the
fun, or otherwife it may be left 24 hours in the lhade,
at a temperature of between 160 and 20° Reaumur.
The filk is then taken out and prefled, and again
macerated for the fame time, and under the lame cir*.
cumftances, in frelli acidulated fpirit of wine, in another
fimilar veflfel, clofed as before. The filk is then
taken out, preflied and walked for four or five minutes
in pure fpirit of <vine. In the next place, it is kept for
24 hours in the fun, or 36 in the lhade, in a third vef-
fd, containing pure fpirit of wine, which is to be renew¬
ed at intervals ; after which, the filk is to be taken out,
preffed or walked two or three times in clear water,
which is to be changed at each walking. Lallly, the
filk is to be expofed to dry upon a frame, fo contrived
as to llretch it with confiderable force, and prevent
its curling up as it dries.”
59’ In 1795 M. Baume prop'ofed an improvement of
this method with the means of recovering the alcohol,
which we ihall give in the words of Mr Nicholfon in
his Journal.
60. “ Berthollet, in his Element de VArtde la Tein-
ture, publilhed in the year 1791, after defcribing the
ufual methods of depriving lilk of its refinous or gum-
f Tom. i. my matter f, proceeds to remark, that, in the manufac-
p. 146; or ture of blonds and gauzes, the natural elafticity and
of this article are required to be preferved ;
m;iton>sa" whence it has become a defideratum to render the yel-
tranflation. low Aik. of Europe white like that of China, without
depriving it of its gum. He adds, that M. Baume has
folved this interefting problem, but had kept his pro-
cefs a fecret; but from the faffs he had poflefled the
means of obtaining, it appeared liable to accidents, and
that the chief difficulty confilted in giving an uniform
white colour when large quantities were operated up¬
on. He alfo mentions a difficulty in dreffing the
whitened filk fo as to prevent its curling, and obferves
that it ought certainly to be kept conlfantly Itj-etched
during the drying. It is befides requifite that the fpi¬
rit of wine ffiould be recovered after the procefs, which
would elfe be rendered too expenfive. This author
does not fay whether the white Chinefe filk is fubjedl
to the fame inconvenience of curling when dyed, which,
it may be remarked, is a property of no confequence
where the material is to be applied in the manufac¬
ture of white goods. The motives wffiich led M.
Baume to communicate his procefs to the world, origi¬
nally retained by him as a lucrative fecret, do not ap¬
pear. Whether the miltakes of thofe who carried it
into effect in the large way might have led him to vin¬
dicate the reality of his difcovery by publication $ or
whether the commercial advantages derived from fu-
periority of quality and cheapnefs in his article over
the Chinefe filk in the market of France, might in the
end have proved of lefs value than the fcientific repu¬
tation to be derived from its difclofure j are circum-
flances which, will no doubt, have their proper weight
wdth fuch manufaffurers as may be induced gradually
to adopt this procefs.
Vol. III. Part II.
(d) The Paris pound is to the Engliffi avoirdupois
becaufe the operation requires no great precifion.
'KING. .
61. “The filk of Nankin is perfe&ly white, filvcry, Animal
brilliant, and poffeffes all the elafticity of raw filk. Our Subltances.
author affirms, that the value of this article imported ' ^
into Europe amounts to upwards of twenty millions
of livres (about eight hundred and thirty thoufand
pounds fterling), of wffiich France confumes about four
or five millions in gauzes, blonds, ribbonds, &x. This
w'as formerly fuppofed to be produced of a white co¬
lour from the woran The late Mr Trudaine, inten-
dant of commerce, procured the eggs of filk-worms
from v-ffiina, and cultivated them. The produce con-
fifted of yellow cocons, and others of the moft per-
fe£l whitenefs. The latter afforded filk equal in this
reipeft to that of Nankin. But M. Baume affirms,
that moft of the Nankin filk is bleached by art, and,
as he thinks, by a procefs fimilar to his owm.
62. “ As it is impoffible to wind off a large quantity
of filk in the ftiort time previous to that of the infedls
eating their way through the mafs, it is ufual in the
firft place, to deprive them of life. This is commonly
done by expofing the cocons, properly wrapped up, for
tw^o hours to the heat of about 158 degrees of Fahren-
heit in an oven } after wffiich they are kept for a certain
time in a maff to preferve their heat, and effedfually
deftroy fuch of the infedts as might have efcaped the
power of the oven. The effedf of this procefs is, that
the filk is hardened, and is more difficult to wind off
than before. _ Hence the produft of filk is lefs by one
ninth part in quantity, and inferior in quality to
what might have been obtained by winding off with¬
out this previous baking. M. Baume, not only from
thefe views, but likewife becaufe the filk which has not
been baked proves fufceptible of a greater luftre, was
induced to deftroy the chryfalis by fpirit of w-ine. For
this purpofe he difpofes them in a wooden box in a
ftratum fix inches deep : upon each fquare foot half a
chopin, or fomewffiat more, of fpirit of wune is to be
fprinkled with a fmall w-atering-pot made for that pur-
pofe. . This quantity anfwers fufficiently near to our
half-pint. The liquid is to be equally diftributed, but
it is not neceffary that all the cocons ffiould be wetted.
They are then to be mixed by hand. In the next
place another ftratum is to be formed over the firft
nearly of the fame depth, wffiich is to be fprinkled and’
treated as before- By this method of proceeding, the
box becomes filled, and muft then be covered, and left
for 24 hours, during wffiich time they become fpon-
taneoufly heated to about 100 degrees,'and the vapour
of the fpmt of wine exerts itfelf with wonderful a&ivitv.
Five hundred french pounds (d) of the cocons require
10 French pints, which is nearly the fame number of
Engliftr quarts. After this treatment they muft be fpread
out to dry, which happens in a ftiort time, and is abfo-
lutely neceffary previous to winding off.
63. “ When the operator propofes in this manner to
extinguiffi various parcels of cocons belonging to differ¬
ent individuals, each parcel may be tied up loofely in
a canvas bag, and wetted on the outfide previous to
clofing the box.
64. “ The fpirit of wdne to be ufed in this operation
ought to be of the ftrength of 34 degrees of Baume’s
hydrometer at the temperature of 55 degrees. It is of
4 E the
as 736 to 700. Thefe quantities are not reduced,
666
BLEACHING.
Part I.
Animal the greateft importance to ufe that fpirit only which
yubfLances. has been kept in veilels of glafs, of tinned copper, or
of pure tin. Leaden veffels are abfoutely to be re-
jefted ; wooden veffels tinge the fpirit, which gives the
filk a degree of colour of confiderable folidity, and very
inimical to the bleaching procefs.
65. “ With regard to the advantages of this method
of extimffion, in preference to that of the oven, the
author remarks, that the coft of labour and fuel add¬
ed to the lofs of filk, and the probability of injury from
too much or too little heat, conftitute a fum of dif-
advantage much greater than the coft of the fpirit of
wine. It is befides a confiderable advantage, that the
fpirit of wine renders more diftinguiihable fuch cocons
as have perifhed previous to the application of the fpi¬
rit. Thefe afford a much worfe iilk, and muft be
picked out.
66. “ The fflk is wound off upon a reel, while the
cocons are kept immerfed in water almoft boiling.
Upon this part of the procefs M. Baum6 remarks, ift,
That the dead cocons muft be feparated. Thefe are
known by the browm or hlack fpots on their furface.
3. That wrell water, wdrich on account of its clear-
nefs is almoft univerfally ufed in the ftlk manufactories,
moftly contains nitre, and is extremely prejudicial to
the bleaching procefs. The prefence of nitrous acid
gives a yellow colour, which refifts bleaching and even
fcouring ; he therefore recommends river water. 3. In
fome countries a fmall quantity of alum is ufed. Nei¬
ther this nor any other faline fubftance is of the leaft
advantage to the colour, beauty, or quality of the
filk.
67. “ At the four places of contact of the filk upon
the reel, all the threads ftick together. It is abfolutely
neceffary that this ftiould be remedied. The method
confifts in foaking the filk in a fufficient quantity of
warm water, at about 90 degrees, for about two hours j
after wdiich the threads are to be feparated by open¬
ing the hands upon a pin, and lightly rubbing the
parts which cohere. When the filk is dry, it is to be
loofely folded in its original form, and is ready for
bleaching.
68. “ The filk while wet is foft, and part of its
gummy matter is in fuch a ftate, that its threads would
readily adhere, if wrung while warm for the purpofe
of clearing it of the water. After fuch improper treat¬
ment there would be no other remedy than to foak it
again in warm water.
69. “ The apparatus for bleaching the filk confifts of a
ftone-ware veffel, nearly of a conical form, capable of
holding about 12 gallons, having a large opening at
the one end, and a fmaller of about an inch diameter
at the other end. Common pottery cannot be ufed in
this operation, becaufe it is foon rendered unferviceable
by the aftion of the marine acid, and the ftone-ware
itfelf is not very durable. This veffel muft be care¬
fully examined, to afcertain that it does not leak in
the flighteft degree } after which the infide is to be rub¬
bed with a pumice-ftone, to clear it of afperities which
might break the threads. A cover of the fame mate¬
rial is to be fitted on by grinding ‘ and the fmaller Animal
aperture, which in the ufe is the loweft, is to be clofed Subftances-
with a good cork, in the middle of which is thruft a' v
fmall. glafs tube about a quarter of an inch in diameter j
this is like wife flopped with a cork, excepting at the
time when it is required to draw off the liquid contents
of the jar. A fmall perforated falfe bottom is placed
within the veffel, to prevent this tube from beine ob-
llr ufted.
70. “ This jar, or as many of them as the purpofes
of the manufaftory may require, is fupported by a
wooden frame or table, at fuch a height that a calk
may be conveniently placed beneath to receive what
may flow from the glafs tube in the feveral periods of
the operation.
71. “ Six pounds of yellow raw filk are to be dif-
pofed in the earthen pot; upon this is to be poured a
mixture, previoufly made, of 48 pounds (e) of fpirit
of wine at 30 degrees, with x 2 ounces of very pure
marine acid, abfolutely exempt from all prefence of ni¬
trous acid, and of the ftrength of 14 or 15 degrees of
Baume’s hydrometer. The pot is then to be covered,
and the whole left in digeftion till the following day,
or until the liquor, which at firft affumes a fine green
colour, ftiall begin to affume that of a dulky brown
( feuille morte),
72. “ The acidulated fpirit is then to be drawn off.
To prevent evaporation, M. Baume thrufts a cork in
the bung-hole of the receiving calk, in which is a llid-
ing glafs tube. The ufe of this tube is completely to
furround the fmall tube proceeding from the earthen
veffel. When the whole of the fluid is thus almoft en¬
tirely drawn off, clean fpirit of wine is poured upon
the filk, and drawn off repeatedly until it paffes co-
lourlefs. The filk is then fuffered to drain without
ftirring it. In this ftate it is ready for a fecond in-
fufion.
73- “ Forty-eight pounds of fpirit of wine acidulated
with I 2 ounces of marine acid is now to be poured on
the filk, and the whole fuffered to remain for 24 hours
or longer, until the filk becomes perfeftly white. The
time required for this fecond infufion is commonly
longer than for the firft : it fometimes amounts to two,
three, or even fix days, according to circumftances, par¬
ticularly the temperature and the nature of the filk.
Silk which has been in the oven is in general more dif¬
ficult to bleach.
74. “ When the filk has thus obtained its utmoft
degree of whitenefs, the acidulated fpirit is to be
drawn off into a feparate veffel. This fluid is but
flightly coloured, and may be ufed again in the firft in¬
fufion of other yellow filk, with addition of fix ounces
more of marine acid. The receiving veffel is to be re¬
moved, and another clean veffel fubftituted in its place.
The filk is then fprinkled with clean fpirit, and occa-
fionally preffed down with the hand. As foon as the
fpirk of wine comes off abfolutely colourlefs, a third
infufion is to be made by pouring upon the filk 48
pounds of the pure fpirit without acid, which is to re¬
main till the following day : it is then to be drawn off,
and
(b) The pound is nearly a pint, and is divided into 16 ounces.
Chap. IL B L E A <
Animal and referred for waihing other filk after the firft in-
Subltances. fuf10n.
IS’ After the lilk has been left to drain, and af¬
fords no more Ipirit, it ftill retains its own weight of
that Huid. This is recovered by the very fimple pro-
cefs of fprinkling the filk with a fmall quantity of very
clear river water at a time. While the water applies
itfelf and fubfides along the lilk, it drives the fpirit of
wine before it, fo that the firft portions which flow
from the tube are fcarcely diminilhed in ftrength. The
addition of water is to be continued until nothin but
mere water comes off below.
76. “ In this fituation the filk is found to be well
bleached, but ftill retains a portion of marine acid fuf-
ficient to render it harfh to the touch, and after a time
brittle. It mult be waflied off with water. The belt
method is to put the filk loofely into a coarfe woollen
bag, which is to be fecured clofely in another cloth
like a fmall bed or pillow, then placed in a bafket and
left in a running ftream for five or fax hours j but where
the convenience of a ftream is wanting, the earthen
pot containing the filk is to be covered with a cloth,
and water pumped through it for five or fix hours, or
until that which iffues from the lower aperture gives
no red colour to the tin&ure of toumfol. At this pe¬
riod the lower opening is to be doled and the veffel fill¬
ed with water, which muft be changed once or twice
in 24 hours.
77-“ The time required forwafhing was occafional-
ly abridged by pafling fpirit of wine, or river water
impregnated with a fmall portion of alkali, through the
filk. The neutral fait thus produced is, in faft, lefs
adherent to the filk than the acid itfelf, but neverthe-
lefs requires to be wafhed off with a very large quan¬
tity of water.
78. “ In thefe, as in every other procefs relating to
the filk, great care muft be taken to afcertain that" the
o ater made ule of contains no nitrous acid, which would
infallibly occafion imperfettion of colour, or fpots in
the article. After this treatment the filk is ready for
drying and luftering ; previous to the defcription of
which, the author makes feveral remarks to the follow¬
ing purport:
79. “ Though the mineral acids are the moft power¬
ful and deftruAive of all faline fubftances, yet they
may be applied to filk, when diluted with fpirit of wine
in very confiderable dofes. In trials made to afcer¬
tain the maximum, two ounces of marine acid were add¬
ed to one pound of fpirit of wine, without altering the
filk. Two drachms of marine acid caufe a very percep¬
tible alteration in one pound of filk. I fu^pofe he
means pure acid, or perhaps diluted with water 5 for
the paffage as it ftands is obfcure. Numerous experi¬
ments have fhown that the marine acid is preferable
to any other. The proportions admit of much lati¬
tude, though he prefers the dofe hereinbefore de-
fcribed.
80. “ Spirit of wine which has been mixed with ni-
frous aicd, cannot be ufed in bleaching, even though
afterwards reftified upon the alkali, becaufe it ftill re¬
tains a portion of nitrous gas.
81. “ Pure fpirit of wine without acid extrafls a fine
yellow colour from filk, which does not feparate for
years, even though expofed to the fun’s light. Yel-
: h r n g. 657
low filk expofed to the fun lofes its colour in a fliort Animal
time. i he acidulated fpirit which has been ufed in the^1T|tariCe^
infufion of filk, is changed by expofure to the fun, but
not in fuch a manner as to be rendered fit for ule a fe-
Cond time.
82. “ In order to obtain a beautiful colour, it is ef-
fential that the filk ftiould be immerfed in a large quan¬
tity of the fluid, efpecially at the firft infufion. With¬
out this management it would become neceffary to
make three infufions in the acidulated fpirit. When
the firft infufion is well managed, the filk will have
loft aft fts yellow colour, and become confiderably
white, at the fame time that the liquor will have begun
to change colour a little. As long as it continues of
a fine green, it is certain that it has not exhaufted its
wTole action upon the filk.
83. “ The duration of this firft infufion maybe long¬
er or fhorter, without inconvenience, according to the
temperature. When the temperature is at 20 degrees
of Reaumur, which anfvvers to 77 of Fahrenheit, the
firft infufion is often made in 10 or 12 hours. In fmall
experiments the heat of the atmofphere may be fupplied
by the water-bath } in which cale, all the infufions are
eafily made in the courfe of a day.
84. “ When the firft infufion is finiihed and the liquor
drawn ®ff, the filk appears greenifti: the fubfequent
wafhings in fpirit of wine clear it of the liquor it re¬
tained. T his fprinkling ftiould be made with the wa¬
tering-pot, otherwife the quantity poured will be
greater, and the mangement more wafteful.
85. “ The cocons may be bleached in this way, but
the inconveniences are too great to render this procefs
defirable.
86. “ Pieces of gauze and entire garments of filk
have been fuccefsfully bleached in this way.
87. “ The fineft natural white filks are rendered in¬
finitely whiter by this procefs. Spirit of wine alone
has the property of depriving yellow filk of its colour,
which it brings to the ftate of the naturally white filk.
In this ftate the filk is dilpofed to acquire a greater de¬
gree of brightnefs by a fingle infufion in the"acidulated
fpirit. This procefs has its advantages over the other,
to which it is alfo inferior in certain refpefts ; concern¬
ing neither of which the author has entered into any
detail.
88. “ The colouring matter was found to be a refin
perfectly animalized, affording by diftillation the fame
produdls as other animal matters, and the concrete vo¬
latile alkali.
89. “ Silk whitened by fcouring may be dried free¬
ly in the air without affetting its luftre. This is not
the cafe with the filk bleached in the gum : if it be
left at liberty to dry in the air, it refembles white flax
without any luftre. The beauty of this filk confifts in
its Alining brilliancy; to fecure which, it muft be dried
in a ftate of tenfion. IYI. Baume has contrived a fimple
machine for this purpofe. It confifts of a ftrong fquare
frame of wood Handing upright upon feet : the upper
horizontal bar is fix feet long, and has fix iron pins
driven through it at equal diftances, fo as to projeft on
each fide for the purpofe of receiving twelve bobbins.
The lower horizontal bar is moveable up and down in
a mortice by means of a fcrew at each end : it is fur-
nilhed with fix holes, adapted to receive as may pins
BLEACHING.
Parti,
to correfpond with tho'fe above. The (tains of (ilk
' are to be dreffed and arranged upon wooden pins, as
they are taken out of the fact from wafhing. As foon
as there are twelve together, they ai‘e to be wrung
with a (taff j after wrhich the (kains are to be hung
one by one upon as many bobbins put upon the upper
pins of the fquarc frame. Another bobbin with tails
is to be inferted in the lower loop of the (kain, and
faftened to the correfponding pin of the lower bar, by
means of a flrap and hook, which need not be de-
(cribed to fuch as are (lightly acquainted with mecha¬
nical objects. When the machine is thus fupplied with
(kains on both (ides, the lower bar of the frame is to
be preffed down by the fcrews until the filk is mo¬
derately ((retched. When it is dry, the fcrew's are to
be equally flackened, the (kains taken off, and folded
with a (light twift, that they may not become entang¬
led.
90. “ After this defcription of the whole of his pro-
cefs, the author proceeds to make certain general re¬
marks on the white China (ilk. He obferves, that in
his procefs the (ilks acquire the perfedt whitenefs with¬
out much handling, and confequently that there is lit¬
tle caufe for them to become entangled. Accordingly
the lofs in umvinding is found to be no greater than
when they are unwound in the yellow’ (late : that is to
fay, from a drachm to a drachm and a half in the
pound. This faving is of the greateft importance in
the price of the fdk.
91. “ The filk of Nankin, which he fuppofes to be
bleached by fome procefs of the fame nature, is proba¬
bly handled much more. The lofs is nearly twelve
per cent. W’hen it comes to be opened, and not unfre-
quently even 25 per cent.; a lofs which cannot in any
refpedt arife from the package. The quality of the
Nankin (ilk differs much in the package ; the external
part being always of the heft quality, and that which
is packed within is of fuch an inferior quality as fome-
times not to exceed half the value. On examining
this filk, it not only exhibited unequivocal marks of
alkali, but its imperfedlions were alfo of the fame kind
as thofe which had occurred to M. Baume during the
progreffive improvement of his own manipulations.
The bed China filk was neither improved nor injured
by the procefs of Baume ; whence he concludes that
they are not naturally white, but have undergone a
procefs (imilar to his.
92. “ The refult of the whole is, that the yellow filks of
Turope may be bleached to equal or greater perfedtion
than thofe of Nankin 5 and that thefe may be even
greatly exceeded by w’inding the naturally white filk
apart from the other, and bleaching it by itfelf.
93- “ To complete the defcription of M. Bauroe’s
procefs for bleaching (ilk, nothing more remains, than
to (hew in what manner he recovers the ardent fpirit,
and enfures the purity of the acids made ufe of. Thefe
eircumftances are of effential importance to the art :
for the procefs would be much too expenfive if the
fpirit were loft, and it could not be made to fucceed
at all if the acid wrere impure.
94. “ The alcohol which has been ufed in bleach¬
ing filk, is acid, and loaded with colouring matter.
In this ftate it cannot be again ufed. There are two
methods of diftilling it; which have their refpedlive
advantages and inconveniences. By the firft, the acid
is loft } which is faturated with potafti, in order that Animal
the diftillation may be afterwards performed in a cop-Subftances*
per alembic. 1 he fecond is performed by diltilling ,
with glafs retorts, or an alembic of filver. In either
of thefe veffels, which are not afted upon by the
marine acid, the diftillation may be performed, and
the greater part of the acid recovered. The inventor
mod generally praftifed the faturation of the acid from
reafons of convenience j but recommends the ufe of a
filver alembic, as being moft economical upon the
whole, in ? manufadftory.
95. “ A fph’tkm of potafli is to be poured into the
acid fpirit and ftirred about to promote the faturation.
Carbonic acid is difengaged with ftrong effervefcence
from the alkali, and the point of iaturation is known
by the ufual teft, that the fluid does not redden the
tinflure of tournfol. The diftillation is then to be made
in the copper alembic, and the alcohol referved in pro¬
per veffels, as mentioned at the beginning of this me¬
moir.
96. “ If too much alkali ftiould have been added,
the liquor remaining in the alembic may be ufed in
another faturation. The alkali in this procefs being
an expenfive article, M. Baume endeavoured to fupply
its place by chalk, quick-lime, and lime which had
been flaked by expofure to the air. Bnt he found that
the aclion of the fpirit upon the calcareous earth, or
perhaps the abfence of water, prevented the acid from
uniting w’ith that fubftance. The union does not take
place to perfeft faturation in lefs than five or fix weeks,
even when the alcohol is diluted with upwards of 50
times its bulk of water.
97. “ In the fecond procefs for diftilling without
alkali, the acid fpirit is diftributed into a great number
of glafs retorts, placed in the fand-bath, on the gallery
of a furnace. The firft product is fcarcely acid ; but
what follows is more and more fo, and muft be kept in
veffels of glafs or (lone w’are, which become embarraf-
fing on account of their number. Th* fluid which re¬
mains in the retorts has the colour of beer (lightly tur¬
bid, and contains the greateil part of the marine acid.
It muft be poured into one or more retorts, and con¬
centrated by heat gradually applied. The firft liquor
which comes over is (lightly red, turbid, and fcarcely
acid. This is to be throwm away, and the receivers
changed. The fucceeding produft is the colourlefs
marine acid, of an aromatic (mell refembling the buds
of poplar. The refin of the filk remains in the retort
decompofed by the acid. The marine acid thus obtain¬
ed is weaker than it originally wTas j which is in fa6I of
little confequence, as it is pure, and may be fafely
ufed, either by increafing the dofe proportional to its
diminilhed ftrength, or by concentrating it, if required,
in the ufual way.
98. “ If this diftillation be made in a filver alembic;
inftead of retorts of glafs, and a capital and worm of
pure tin be annexed,-the alcohol will be obtained fa
(lightly acid as fcarcely to redden the tin&ure of tourn¬
fol; but it is fufticiently acid to receive injury if pre-
ferved in a copper veffel.
99. “ If a cucurbit of filver be prepared, of the ca¬
pacity of three or four quarts, with a glafs head, the
refidues of the firft diftillation may be treated in this
veffel in the fame manner as has been dire&ed for glafs
retorts. M. Baume affirms that he has praftifed all
the.fe
Chap. II. B L E A
Animal thefe operations rvlth glafs retorts and a fmall diver
Subftances. alembic, with the xnoft perfeft fuccefs ; but that he
* made ufe of potafh to faturate the marine acid, becaufe
he had not a filver velTel of fufficient capacity. From
the danger of diftilling large quantities of ardent fpirit
in glafs veffels, he is of opinion that no motiv'es of eco¬
nomy are fufficient to juftify the riik attending this
method. In the ufe of tin, it is necelTary to be careful
that it contains no adulteration of lead, becaufe the
vapours of marine acid have fufficient power to alter
this laft metal very confiderably.
100. “ Upon the firft intimation of this new pro-
cefs in France, manufactories were immediately efta-
blifhed, to the number of twenty or more, without the
concurrence of M. Baume, by perfons who confequent-
ly were not aware of the apparently minute but very
important circumflances neceffary to enfure its fuccefs.
In particular, the inventor ftates that the marine acid
of commerce is unfit for this purpofe.
101. “ This acid formerly prepared with the ma¬
rine fait of the faltpetre manufacturers; and even
when it is made with good fait, the decompofition is
eiTefted with a fmall quantity of vitriolic acid which
contains nitrous acid. Marine acid mixed with a fmall
quantity of nitrous acid does not prevent the filk from
being beautifully whitened : it even accelerates the
procefs confiderably, and in the molt fatisfaCtory man¬
ner. But the alcohol, every time it is ufed and recti¬
fied, becomes charged with the acid and gas of nitre,
which affume the characters of the nitrous anodyne
liquor. In this ftate, neither diltillations nor repeated
rectifications from alkali are fufficient to feparate the
nitrous matter from the alcohol. Then it is that the
fuccefs of the operator vaniffies, with a degree of rapi¬
dity equal to the advances which encouraged his hopes
at the commencement. The fame difappointments be-
fel M. Baume at the beginning of his labours ; to
prevent which, he direCts the preparation of the vitrio¬
lic and marine acids to the following effeCt.
102. “ The vitriolic acid of commerce is obtained
by burning fulphur in chambers of lead, with the ad¬
dition of faltpetre, either crude or of the fecond cry-
ilallization, and a imall portion of flax. This acid is
concentrated and reClified in France, at the place of
its fabrication, to 66° of Baume’s hydrometer, or fpe-
cific gravity in the ufual form 1.848. It contains
fulphur, lead, vitriolated tartar, Glauber’s fait, alum,
felenite, and particularly the nitrous and marine acid.
103. “ To purify it, 100 pounds of this vitriolic
acid is to be mixed in a large bafon of copper with the
fame quantity of river water, and flirred with a wood¬
en fpatula. The mixture inftantly becomes heated to
the boiling-water point, and a great quantity of red
vapour is difengaged, which has the fmell of aqua-re¬
gia, and arifes from the nitrous and marine acids.
When this mixture is made, it is proper to immerfe
the bafon to a fuitable depth in a large veffel of water,
to haften the cooling. As foon as it is fufficiently cool¬
ed it is to be drawn off into bottles, and. left to be¬
come clear during feveral days. Great part of the
fulphur falls down. The author obtained from four
to fix drachms.
104. “ A gallery muff be provided, on which two
rows of iron pots of eleven or twelve inches in diame¬
ter are to be properly placed for feparate fand fcaths?
" H I N G. 669
as M. Baume always pradlifed in the fublimation of Animal
fal-ammoniac. By this means the retorts are ifolated, Subftances.
and if one breaks, the acid cannot diffufe itfelf and v
break the others in its vicinity. An empty retort is
then to be placed in each pot, and covered with fand.
In this way they are much more convenient to arrange,
and are attended with no riik.
105. “ The acid is in the next place to be decanted
and conveyed into the retorts by a fyphon funnel, and
the reftification proceeded upon until it becomes per-
fedtly white. Towards the end of the operation a fmali
quantity of fulphur fublimes in the neck of the retort.
Inftead of receivers a fmall glafs cup is placed beneath
the aperture of each retort, in order to facilitate the
diffipation of the nitrous and marine acids.
106. “ When the acid in the retorts is fufficiently
cooled, it is poured a fecond time into the copper ba¬
fon, and mixed with 100 pounds of river water, as at
firft, and again concentrated in the retorts till it be-
comes perfectly clear. Sulphur has been afforded in
fome inftances by the fecond re&ification. The liquor
which diftills is received in the cups as before, and the
acid in the retorts is then fufficiently pure : that is to
fay, it is purified from all volatile matter. The lead
and neutral falls Hill remain combined with the acid,
but fortunately they can in no refpedl injure the puri¬
ty of the marine acid.
107. “ This concentrated acid exhibits 68 degrees
by the hydrometer, or fpecific gravity 1.896. It Hill
contains a portion of gas, but fo fmall in quantity as not
to injure the purity of the marine acid, to which it only
gives the property of cryftallizing tvhen the tempera¬
ture of the air is near the freezing point.
108. “ During the rectification of this acid, what
firfl comes over is mere waiter, and muft: be thrown
away ; but that which fucceeds is the aqueous acid.
If this be fet apart, and concentrated, a coniiderable
quantity of vitriolic acid is obtained of the gieateif pu¬
rity. As it has been carried over in dillillation, it
contains no foreign matter.
109. “ The author attempted, but in vain, to dif-
fipate the nitrous acid from the acid of vitriol by ebul¬
lition in an open veffel without concentration. The
experiment was made with 50 pounds of common vi¬
triolic acid and 60 of river water. This was kept
boiling in the copper bafon for four days, wrater being
added from time to time to fupply the lofs by evapora¬
tion. The copper bafon, by weighing before and after
the operation, had loll by folution no more than ten
drachms of copper. The acid wTas blue, but became
white as ufual during the rectification in the retorts.
From this experiment, as the author obferves,, it is feen
not only that the nitrous acid cannot be diffipated by
Ample ebullition without concentration, but that the
aCtion of the vitriolic acid upon copper is extremely
flight.
110. “ The marine acid is to be difengaged from
common fait by the application of this vitriolic acid
in the ufual manner. But as M. Baume’s experi>
ence led him to various Ample manipulations and
remarks of importance, and more efpecially as he com-
fiders the defeription of this procefs as part of the
new art of bleaching filk, he has annexed it to his me¬
moir.
111. “ The vitriolic acid obtained by the foregoing
proceis.
/
S70 B L E A
^tytanc^ Proce^s ^e^ng t0° concentrated, muft be diluted in the
?u 1 ^nLeS- copper bafon as before with river \vater. It is conve-
* nient to add 18 ounces of water to each pound of the
acid, becaufe the marine acid is not wanted in a flate
of high concentration. This mixture ought to give
35 or 36 degrees by Baume’s hydrometer 5 which laft
anfwers to a fpecific gravity of 1.333. When it is
cold it may be preferved in bottles for ufe.
112. “ In the next place, four pounds of marine fait
dried, becaufe in that Hate it pours belt, is to be put
into a retort of the capacity of five or fix French pints,
or Englifh quarts. This may be done by means of a
paper funnel, or a long-necked funnel of glafs, which
mult enter the body of the retort in order that the
neck may remain clean. A" number of thefe mult
be difpoled on a gallery in two oppofite rows, with
the necks properly enclofed and enveloped in fand as
ufual.
113. “A bottle or gauge being provided of fuch a
fize as by previous experiment is known to hold four
pounds of the vitriolic acid before mentioned 5 this
quantity of the acid mult be meafured into each of the
retorts by means of a curved funnel, the tube of which
may pafs into the body, to prevent the acid being
ipilled in the neck. If neverthelefs a few drops Ihould
fall, no inconvenience will follow, as this pure acid is
not detrimental to the bleaching procefs.
114. “ The fupports for the receivers are then to
be placed, and the receivers applied, each being pier-
2 H I N G. Pan II.
ced with a fmall hole. The junctures are to be made Vegetable
good with palled paper, and the Uilliliation begun. A SublUnccs.
gradual heat is to be applied until the fluid boils '
gently. The marine acid which firft rifes is volatile
and expanfible (f), and requires the fmall holes of the
receiver to be occafionally opened ; but after one
fourth part of the time of diftillation the acid comes
over freely, and the vapours ceafe to be elaftic.
115. “The diftillation lafts two days; but it is
pra&icable to avoid fitting up the intermediate night.
The fire muft be fo managed that the contents of the
retort may be very liquid in the evening : if it begins
to thicken, there is reafon to apprehend that it may be
too hard the next day ; in which cafe the heat will di¬
late the concrete matter before it liquefies, and break
the containing vefieJ.
116 “ Towards the clofe of the diftillation the mat¬
ter fvvells up confiderably. When this happens, it is
proper to empty the receivers, and raife the retorts,
that more fand may flow' in beneath them. When the
matter is dry, and nothing more comes over, the opera¬
tion is finilhed.
117. “ Each retort affords five pounds of marine
acid, of the ftrength of 14 or 15 degrees; fpecific
gravity 1.114. . When the retorts are half cooled, one
pound of hot river water is to be poured into each,
and the diftillation being refumed affords 24 ounces of
the fame marine acid from each retort.”
PART II. BLEACHING OF VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES.
118. THE compofition of vegetable fubftances dif¬
fers materially from that of animal bodies in the pro¬
portions of the three principles which are common to
both, namely, oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon ; and in
wanting for the moll part azote, which in the latter
a£ls fo confpicuous a part. The proportion of fulphur
and phofphorus is alfo exceedingly fmall in vegetables.
119. As in animals, the fubftanc.es derived from ve¬
getable nature are formed by a peculiar procefs of fe-
cration, from the nourilhment which plants draw from
the bofom of the earth, which after being abforbed by
the roots, undergoes, in palling through the veffels ©f
the plant, new modifications and enters into new com¬
binations.
120. By fpontaneous decompofition the principles of
vegetables, as of other organized matter, are feparated
and enter into new Hates. The hydrogen combines
with part of the oxygen to form water, while' the reft
of this latter element, uniting with the carbon, gene¬
rates carbonic acid.
121. Thefe changes are the natural effeft of ex-
pofure to moifture, heat, and atmofpheric air, and
upon the effedl of thefe agents the chief dependence
has been till lately placed in the proceffes for dif-
charging the colour of vegetable fubftanccs. As the
gradual improvement of the art of bleaching forms a
pleafing objedl of contemplation both to the fcientific
manufacturer and the philofophic chemift, we lhall,
after faying fomething of the nature and previous pre¬
paration of the fubftances employed, endeavour to trace
the Heps which have led to the prefent improved ftate
of bleaching, as it is in the linen and cotton manufac¬
tures that this is more peculiarly apparent.
122. The vegetable materials employed for cloth¬
ing are ufually diftingififhed into two kinds, linen and
cotton, the former being derived from hemp and flax,
the latter from the down of the cotton plant.
123. Of all the materials employed for clothing,
wool feems to have been the moft ancient, and indeed
it was a natural and an eafy ftep from the Ikins of
beafts, to the ufe of the detached hair. Silk feems to
have been next in point of antiquity, and in a Ibort
time the fibres of hemp and flax were had recourfe to
for the fame purpofes. It is probable that the fibres of
hemp were firft applied to the fervice of man as cor¬
dage or fails, or tonnake tents for flickering the inha¬
bitant of the defert, or the foldier in the camp, as their
coarfenefs and fuperior ftrength would point them out
as
(f) It might be of advantage, even in the large way, to adapt a fimple pneumatic apparatus to condenfe the
tnanne acid air in water, as is ufual in philofophical proceffes.
£
Part II. B L E A C
Vegetable as better fitted to thefe ufes, and lefs adapted to the
Snbltances. purp0fes of clothing than the finer and more delicate
v fibi'es of flax.
124. The ufe of flax appears to have originated in
Egypt, and its introduftion is attributed to Ifis.
125. Cotton has probably been employed among
the Afiatics for a very long time ; in Europe it was
the lateit of all the materials of which clothing is ma-
nufaftured.
126. On examining the ftalks of hemp and flax
when they are pulled, we {hall find them compofed of
four diftinft fubftances •, a delicate bark, a green juice
or fap, the fibres which are to be employed in the ma¬
nufacture, matted or twilled together, and within thefe
the wood of the plant. As the fibres are thus enve¬
loped in ufelefs matter, the firlt objeCt is to feparate
them, to peel off the bark, wafh away the fap, and
{trip the fibres from the wood. The two firlt of thefe
are effected by water and fermentation. The plants
tied in bundles are placed in water, and proper me¬
thods taken to prevent their being carried away, if it
be a flream, which is frequently the cafe (g). In a
fhort time a fermentation begins to take place, which
acts both on the bark, which it loofens, and on the
fap, which it decompofes. It is neceflary to be atten¬
tive not to let the fermentation proceed too far, as we
thereby run the rifk of injuring the texture of the
fibres. As foon then, as on examining the plants, by
rubbing them between the hands, it be found that the
wood breaks eafily, while the plants are ftill green,
they mult be removed from the water and fpread out
upon the grafs to dry.
In this operation, which is called watering the flax
or hemp, it is neceffary to employ foft water, as it is
found that in hard waters the fibres are much more
readily injured. To account for this, it mult be re¬
membered that thefe vcaters owe their hardnefs to their
* See Mi- containing a quantity of an earthy fait * ; and thefe falts
ntral Wa- are found to promote the procefs of putrefaCtion, par-
re™, Che- ticularly the fulphat of lime or gypfum, which is the
3mistry/«-mofl. abundant of thefe falts contained in hard waters.
x 27. The procefs of watering deftroys the fap of the
plants by effecting* its decompofition. This fap is
found to be compofed chiefly of water, and what mo¬
dern chemirts have called extractive : by fermentation
this extractive is feparated into carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen. It is probable alfo that the water of the fap,
as well as that in which the plants are fteeped, is de-
compofed : Thefe principles uniting again in different
proportions form carbonated hydrogen, which is the
caufe of the offenfive odour, and carbonic acid, wdiich
is found to proceed from the plants. The expofure to
the air which they undergo after fteeping contributes
to the fpeedier efcape of thefe principles.
After the drying, the plants appear of a grayilh
white colour, which is called by workmen a flaxen
grey.
iz8. One of the greateft advantages which modern
H I N G. 671
chemittry has conferred on the manufacturer is the Vegetable
enabling him to do the fame work more completely in Subftances.
a fhorter time than by the ufual proceffes. Of this "v
the prefent ftale of bleaching affords innumerable
proofs. Even this procefs of watering may be greatly
improved and confiderably haftened. Several days are
required before the fermentation is carried to a fuffi-
cient length, and with every attention, there is a chance
of injuring the material. But it is found that this pro¬
cefs may be performed by means of a weak alkaline
ley without this danger.
x 29. The method recommended is, to convey the
fleam of water impregnated with cauflic foda, in the
manner which will be defcribed hereafter for the
bleaching of cotton and linen, through the plants of
hemp and flax contained in a chamber of twenty or
thirty feet fquare. The expence is trifling, as the ley
need not be ftronger than what was recommended for
ungumming and bleaching filk.
130. When the watering is completed, the plants
are to be kiln-dried. There now remains only the
woody part inclofed in the fibres; to feparate thefe is
the objeCt of the proceffes' of beating and heckling.
This is either performed by mallets and a fort of wood¬
en anvils, and in this way hemp is beaten in houfes of
correction, or in mills ereCted for this purpofe. In ei¬
ther way the wood is broken fo as to allow of its being
more eafily detached from the fibres by heckling.
131. This refufe fhould not be thrown away, as it
may be without much difficulty converted into paper.
132. The fibres are now ready for fpinning and
weaving, operations which it belongs not to this ar¬
ticle to defcribe } we fhall therefore take up the cloth
,as it proceeds from the hands of the weaver, when it
comes properly under the direction of the bleacher.
133. The pieces of hempen and flaxen cloth, as they
come from the loom, are covered with a dry coating
of pafte made of flour and water, which is called the
drejjing. This pafte is applied to the threads of the
weaver, to render the ftretching of them more eafy,-
and its removal is the firft objeCt in every method of
bleaching.
134. For this purpofe, all that is neceffary is to fteep
the pieces in water for about forty-eight hours. Some
manufacturers boil the pieces in the water, but this is
improper, as the pafte is not folu.ble in that fluid, even
at the boiling temperature, but muft undergo a de¬
compofition by fermentation. To effeCt this the water
fhould be of a temperature from 6o° to 750 Fahren- y
heit ; the fermentation then proceeds gradually, and
the cloth fuftains no injury. After remaining for a
fufficient time, the pieces are taken out, and well rinfed
in running water,, either by treading with the feet or
pafling them under a fluted cylinder of wood.
13^. By this operation the cloth is not only freed
from the pafte, but it acquires a degree of whitenefs,
and becomes of a lighter gray than before it was fub-
jeCled to the watpr; for by the fermentation the tex ¬
ture
(g) It is very ufual in Scotland to fteep flax in burns or rivulets, as thefe are commonly found moft conve¬
nient, but as the fmell of the putrifying plants is intolerably offenfive, and even unhealthy, and as the procefs
is found to deftroy any fifh that may inhabit the ftream, the praCtice ought to be difcouraged, and in fome
countries is forbidden by the laws.
672 B L E A <
Vegetable ture of the pieces is loofened, the threads fwell, and
Subihinces. par|. 0£ C0]0unng matter is decompofed.
'■^v" J 136. The gray fubftance, which it is the principal
bufinefs of the bleacher to remove, is of a refmous na¬
ture, and as the theory of the proceffes which we are
prefently to defcribe depends on an intimate knowledge
of its properties, we {hall be fomewhat particular re-
fpefling it.
137. Kirwan, to whom chemiftry in all its depart¬
ments is fo highly indebted, has fubmitted this matter
to a fet of ingenious experiments.
?He procured from the bleach grounds a quantity of
what the workmen called dead ley, which is the alka¬
line ley in which cloth has been deeped, and is confe-
quently charged in abundance with the colouring mat¬
ter. He found this liquor to be turbid, of a bluhh red
colour, having a peculiar tafte, and a ftrong odour.
It poffelTed neither alkaline nor acid properties.
138. To five pints of this liquor he added two oun¬
ces of w’eak muriatic acid, or fpirit of fait j no effer-
vefcence was produced, but a confiderable-quantity of
greeniih matter fell to the bottom, and the liquor above
remained of a reddifh amber colour.
139. He next day, by means of a fyphon, decanted
off the fupernatant liquor from the green precipitate,
upon which he poured two pints of diililled water, flir¬
ted them w'ell together, and allowed the matter again
to fubfide : he then decanted off the w^ater, and added
a like quantity of frelh. This water flill exhibited
flrong marks of acidity, and was of a reddith colour.
He could not believe that after the addition of fo much
water, this acidity could arife from the muriatic acid
which he had employed, as this w’as fcarcely more than
fufficient to faturate the alkali, which the liquor had
originally held in compofition. He concluded there¬
fore that the liquor had contained a peculiar acid,
which from its weaker affinity with the alkali had been
feparated from it by the muriatic acid. He fet apart
two pints of this for farther experiments.
140. After fucceffive waftrings of the precipitate,
till it no longer appeared to retain any acid, he threw
it on a filter: after being dried for fome time, it be¬
came a tenacious mafs, of a greenifh colour.
141. A very fmall portion of it was thrown into
60 times its weight of boiling water, but not a parti¬
cle appeared to be diffolved. The remainder was dried
in a fand-bath, after which it was brittle, of a gloffy
black without, and internally of a dull green j it weigh¬
ed about an ounce and a half.
142. From eight pints more of the dead ley, he ob¬
tained a larger quantity of this green matter, on which
he made the following experiments.
1. A portion of it was digefted with re&ified alco¬
hol j a red !ifh tinfture was produced, and a confider¬
able part of the matter was diffolved j but on the addi¬
tion of diftilled water, the folution became milky, and
a white precipitate gradually fubfided. The black
mafs obtained in the former experiment, gave the fame
refults.
2. Thefe two matters were digefted for a long time
in linfeed oil, and effential oil of turpentine, but were
not diffolved in either.
3. The black matter thrown on red-hot coals,
burned with a yellow flame, and emitted a black
fmoke, leaving behind a coaly matter,
2
: H I N G. Part IT.
4. The green matter expofed to the aftion of fulphu- Vegetable
ric, muriatic, and nitric acids, gave a brown tinge to S^-^r-cei,
the twro former, and a green to the latter.
143. It is pretty evident from thefe experiments,
that the extratflive matter of the fibres of flax, which
is obtained from them by the a£Hon of alkalies, is a re¬
fin of a peculiar nature, differing from pure refins in its
being infoluble in effential oils, and in this refpedt hav¬
ing fome reiemblance to lacs.
144. Kirwart thought it receffary to try the aftion
of alkalies on this matter. Eight grains were digefted
in a faturated folution of cryltallized foda at the tem¬
perature of 6o° Fahrenheit, which wras immediately
tinged of a deep brown colour. Two meafures of this
folution of foda weighing each 265 grains, did not en¬
tirely diffolve the matter, but two meafures of a folu¬
tion of potafh diflolved the whole.
A meafure of caurtic foda of the fpecific gravity
1.053, diffolved nearly the whole, leaving a fmall quan¬
tity of a white fubftance.
A meafure of cauftic potafti of the fpecific gravity
1.039 diffolved the whole.
A meafure of an alkaline fulphuret or liver of ful-
phur, of the fpecific gravity 1.170, alfo diffolved the
whole.
A meafure of ammonia diffolved a fmall portion of it.
145. Thefe experiments were fufficient to latisfy Mr
Kirwan, but, for the purpofes of the manufa&urer, he
judged it proper to repeat them with the ordinary fa-
line fubftances employed in bleaching, and with loap.
He therefore diffolved an ounce of the foda of com¬
merce, and as much Dantzic potafti, each in fix ounces
of diftilled water; he added eight grains to an ounce
meafure of each folution, and allowed them to digeft
together in a temperature of 1800 Fahrenheit for three
hours and a half. At the end of this period it w7as
found that more was diffolved in the potaffi than in the
foda, and an ounce of this latter was required to com¬
plete the folution, whereas this w*as effected by the ad¬
dition of half an ounce of the Dantzic potaffi liquor $
thus {hewing the fuperiority of the potafli over
foda.
An ounce of white foap was diffolved in eighteen
ounces of diftilled water j the folution remained turbid,
and could be rendered tranfparent only by bringing it
to the boiling heat, an operation which he found ex¬
tremely difficult j for when the fluid was near boiling,
it was thrown out to a diftance of more than three feet
from the matrafs. After completing the folution, he
found that three ounces of it were required to diffolve
eight grains of the colouring matter.
146. In forming an accurate idea of the comparative
effeft of thefe folutions, it muft be obferved, that an
ounce of the foda of commerce contains only 114
grains of pure foda, and confequently, fuppofing the fo¬
lution to have been made as above, in fix ounces of
water, each ounce will contain 19 grains of foda,
while an ounce of the folution of Dantzic potaffi con¬
tains fifty grains.
147. He tried the effeft of lime on the colouring
matter, on which it produced little effe£! j three ounces
of water faturated with lime were employed, which
contain at moft three grains of that earth.
148. Having been fo full on the nature and previous
preparation of flax and hemp, it remains only to lay
fomething
Part IT. B L E A
Vegetable fometlilng on cotton before we proceed to the bleachxner
Subttances. 0p fubftances.
' 'r '" 149. Cotton is a filamentous fubftance or down, which
is found furrounding the feeds of the cotton plant.
1 his fubftance, as it is firft obtained from the
plant, is covered with a brownifh coloured matter, by
which it is rendered dirty and opaque. This matter is
of a greafy nature in which it refembles the oil contain¬
ed in wool, as is evident from the fiownefs with which
raw cotton imbibes water, and the avidity wdth which
it attradls it after having been fcoured. Scouring, by
removing this greafy matter, alfo renders it clear and
tranfparent.
150. There is confiderable variety in the quality of
cottons, arifing from their different kinds $ the climate
in which they were produced, and the degree of
culture which they received. They are fometimes
°f a yellow colour, fometimes white, but molt com-
, monly their colour is a dirty yellow.
151. f he bleaching of cotton does not call for thofe
preparatory operations which we have defcribed as ne-
ceffary for hemp and flax. It is firft to be fcoured by
fteeping it in a flight alkaline folution, or what is bet¬
ter, by expofing it to the vapour bath in the manner
which we (hall foon diredf. After this operation the
cotton is to be placed in bafkets in the ftream of a
river or other running water, fo as to be well rin-
fed.
152. After the immerfion of cotton in an alkaline
ley, there is always left, however completely it be
rinfed, a fmall quantity of an earthy fediment. This
may be removed by the cautious ufe of acids. We
know that cotton bears the aftion of acids much bet¬
ter than either hemp or flax, and that it may remain
expoled to them for fome time without injury. Ad¬
vantage has been taken of fo fortunate a difcovery, and
it is found, that by keeping the cotton for a ftiort time
prefled down in a very weak folution of fulphuric acid
and fubfequent thorough walking, to remove all the
acid, this earthy fediment may be completely re¬
moved.
T53- The methods which have been employed or
recommended for the bleaching of hemp, flax, and cot¬
ton, may be reduced to five, viz.
1 ft, By the adtion of the atmofpheric air, affifted by
alkalies and foaps.
2d, By the adlion of water only.
3d, By the adtion of the oxygenated muriatic acid,
or dephlogifticated marine acid of Scheele j and this
method may be refolved into four ^ according as the
acid is employed in its fimple ftate of combination
with water, or in combination with other matters.
a. By the adlion of oxy-muriatic acid alone.
By the adlion of oxy-muriatic acid combined
with potafli.
c, By the adlion of oxy-muriatic acid combined with
lime or other earths.
d. By the adlion of oxy-muriatic acid combined
with fulphuret of lime.
4th, By the adHon of diluted fulphuric acid.
_ 5tk» By the adlion of fleam impregnated with cau-
flic alkali, or by employing this alternately with the
oxymuriats. Of thefe we Ihall treat in the above or¬
der.
Vol. III. Part II.
c h 1 N G.
673
I. Of Bleaching by the Action of Atmofpheric Air.
Vegetable
Subltanees.
154. This is the method which was commonly a-
dopted till within thefe twenty years, and is ftili re¬
tained in fome old manufadtures. After fteeping the
cloth, as has been related (134.), to remove the
weaver’s drefling, the pieces are dried in the field, and
then fubmitted to the operation of bucking.
For this purpofe a ley is prepared by diffolving a
quantity of potaflies in foft water, and boiling it for
about half an hour, when it is allowed to fettle, and
forms what is called the tnother ley. For bucking,
this mother ley is weakened by the addition of 16 or
X S times its bulk of water } and to this is generally
added a quantity of foap, or for the fake of economy,
a few gallons of ley, which has already been employed
for the firft buckings. This liquor, which has been
called the bucking ley, is now heated to about 1 co de¬
grees, and poured on the pieces lorted according to
their quality. After preffing the cloth well down in
the ley, it is drawn off, heated a little higher, and
again poured upon the cloth. This operation is {e-
peated at intervals, allowing the ley to remain longer
each fucceeding time, and moderately increafing the
heat to the bucking temperature, for five 01 fix hours.
Then the cloth is left fteeping for three or four hours,
when it is taken out, well rinfed, and carried to the field.
155. Here it is fpread out upon the grafs and fe-
cured by pins j water is fprinkled on it fo as not to al¬
low it to become dry for fome hours. After it has lain
about half a day the watering is lefs frequent, and at
night it is left to the full aftion of the air and dews.
On the fucceeding days it is watered three or four
times a-day if the w-eather be drying, and thus it remains
on the field till the air feems to have lefs effect in
whitening. It is then brought back to the coppers
and bucked again with a ley fomewTat ftronger than
the laft, rinfed, and again fpread out on the field. It is
thus alternately bucked and watered 10 or 15 times
according to the weather, making the bucking ftronger
and ftronger till about the middle, and then weaker
and weaker till the laft, after which it undergoes the
procefs of fcouring or fteeping in fome acid liquor.
156. The acid which has been ufually employed in
the procefs of fouring is generated by the fermenta¬
tion of bran and water ; or where the bleachfield w>as
in the neighbourhood of a dairy, four W'hey was ufed
for this purpofe. It has been found that a very w^eak
folution of fulphuric acid is more convenient and not
more injurious than thefe, and this is now generally
employed. The cloths are fteeped in the fouring for
five or fix days, if it be formed of milk or bran, "or a
lels time where the fulphuric acid is ufed, and they are
then given to the w^aftiers to be rubbed with foap,
which is more particularly neceffary to the felvages, as
thefe refift the aftion of the air and alkalies longer than
the reft of the cloth.
157. After being well foaped, the cloth is again
bucked in a ftrong ley, rinfed, and again watered and
expofed to the air, and all thefe proceffes are repeated
in fucceftion till it has acquired the requifite degree of
whitenefs. It muft be obferved that the ftrength of
the acid liquors is diminiflred at each fucceeding im~
merfion.
4 CL
158. The
674 B L E A C
Vegetable jjg, theory of thefe operations was, till lately,
.11:11 ^nces‘ very little underftood, but it admits of an eafy expla¬
nation by the principles of modern chemiftry. It has
been proved, as will be fhewn in chemiftry, that the air
of the atmofphere confifts principally of two airs or
gaffes, oxygen gas or vital air, and azotic gas, in the
proportion of about .23 of the former to .77 of the lat¬
ter. The only adftive principle in moft of the opera¬
tions of art and nature appears to be the oxygen, and
this uniting with various inflammable bodies produces
acids. Now the colouring matter of cloth is a com¬
pound inflammable matter or refin, compofed chiefly of
carbon (the bafe of charcoal), and hydrogen (the
bafe of hydrogenous gas or inflammable air). As has
been fliewn, this is partly foluble in alkalies j hence the
ufe of the alkaline leys in bucking is to diflblve as
much as poffible of the colouring matter; but, as the
a£tion of the alkali extends only to the furface of the
cloth, it is foon over. The fubfequent expofure to the
air promotes the union of the carbon and hydrogen
with the oxygen of the atmofphere, producing carbo¬
nic acid gas, or fixed air, and water.
When it was the fafliion to denominate every com¬
bination of oxygen with an inflammable fubftance, com-
•Vide-?//>-bullion, this was confidered as afpecies of burning*.
I59* The great objeftion to this method of bleach-
,-JfT *ts tedioufnefs, two or three months being requi-
fite to give the cloth the neceflary whitenefs. The
fimplicity of it, and the little apparatus it requires, re¬
commend it however on fome occafions, and according¬
ly it is employed by thofe country people who make
their own cloth, particularly in Scotland.
The bucking of coaide cloths is expedited by boil¬
ing them in the ley, but this is feldom required for
the finer kinds.
II. Bleaching by Water only.
160. We have obferved (135.), that during the pro-
cefs of deeping, the cloth acquires fome degree of white¬
nefs ; and it was long ago remarked, that the pulp
from which paper is formed, while a£ted on by the
Hampers, was rendered whiter than before ; it is found
too, when the ftalks of hemp and flax remain too long
in the water in which they are fteeped, they become
confiderably whiter, while, however, their texture is
much injured. A manufa&urer of Amiens, M. Braffe,
conceived that by cautious management, he might
turn thefe faffs to account, and bleach by means of wa¬
ter alone, which would be certainly one of the moll
economical methods. He allowed the hemp (for to
this his experiments feem to have been confined) to re¬
main fteeping till the bark w7as pretty much deftroyed by
the fermentation. He then drew it through the teeth
of a heckle or comb, which eafily tore aw7ay the half
putrid bark, permitting the fibres to pafs uninjured be¬
tween the teeth. During this procefs the hemp was per¬
petually immerfed in water, by wTich means the green
bark was much more eafiiy feparated, and the fibres
acquired a much greater degree of brilliancy. Indeed,
the whitenefs produced in this way is truly furprifing,
and it is much to be regretted, that this cannot be ob¬
tained without injuring the quality of the cloth, which
is prepared from the hemp thus treated. By this ope¬
ration, however, the hemp does not acquire fo pure a
H I N G. Part II.
white as to render unneceftary the other proceffes, Vegetable
but by it thele would be greatly fhortened. Subftances.
161. As it is a matter of the greateft confequence to v
the bleacher, to be perfectly acquainted with the nature
of the lubftances which he employs, as well as the moft
economical and convenient methods of procuring or
purifying them, we fhall take an opportunity in the
courfe of this article, of treating thefe fubjefls pretty
fully. There is no material which has been more ex-
tenfively employed in bleaching than potafti or pot-
afhes.
162. If a pile of -wood, or a heap of land-plants to¬
lerably dry, be kindled and burned in the open air till
the whole is confumed, there remains a confiderable
quantity of allies, which on being boiled in water, im¬
part to this fluid a ftrong faline tafte, and give it the
property of tinging fyrup of violets, or any blue ve¬
getable infufion of a green colour. It was long ago
known, that this liquor thus impregnated, pofiefled the
valuable property of facilitating the removal of dirt and
greafe from cloth or linen, and with thefe views it has
been employed from time immemorial 5 and is ftill ufed
for this purpofe by the country people. At length it was
difeovered, that by driving off the w ater by evaporation,
the ufeful part of the liquor might be obtained in the
form of a w’hitilh folid fubftance, which being thus
rendered capable of being carried to any diftance, or
kept in a dry place to any length of time, was much
more convenient than the liquor itfelf. It is laid that
the Germans were the firft w ho procured this fait in the
folid ftate from the allies of w'ood, and as it was pre¬
pared by boiling in iron pots, it received the name of
potafh or potajhes.
163. Potaflies have long been a confiderable and
lucrative article of commerce, and a great quantity is
annually imported into the Britilh empire, for the
purpofes of feveral manufactures, but particularly for the
procefs of bleaching. The greateft quantity is brought
from Ruflia and America, and of thefe the American
is confidered as the belt. Good potalhes fliould be
very foluble in water, and fliould leave a fmall quanti¬
ty of fediment, and they fliould have the property of
eafily dehquefeing or becoming moift when freely ex-
pofed to the air. But as the fale of potaflies is extre¬
mely extenfive and beneficial, it has been found con-
vejiient to the vender to increafe their bulk by the ad¬
dition of fome other fubftance wdiich he can procure at
a cheaper rate j it is therefore of much importance that
the manufacturer ftiould be able to deteCt this impofi-
tion, which he will not find a difficult matter.
164. The allies of moft plants, befides the alkaline
fait, which is more properly calledpotafs, and of wffiich
we fliall fpeak prefently, contain a compound fait, for¬
med of this potafs, united to fulphuric acid, called ful-
phat of potafs. This fait is an injurious addition to
the potafs, as it pofleffes no detergent properties, and is
very little foluble in water, one part requiring 16 of
water at an ordinary temperature to diffolve it. This
fait is fometimes added to the potafs by the merchant
or the manufacturer to increafe its bulk, and as it is a
very cheap article in comparifon with potafs, the adul¬
teration turns out very profitable.
“During amineralogicalexcurfionthrough England,”
fays Mr Higgins, “ in the fummer and autumn of the
year
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable year 1785, the different manufactures which fell in my
Subttanccs. tray, wrere not paifed over. Upon enquiring of the di-
ftillers of aquafortis (nitrous acid) how they difpofed of
the large reflduum left in the ftill, which is fulphat of
potafli, and which is of little or no ufe in the arts, they
informed me it was bought up.by the Irilh merchants.
“ Sulphat of potafh, when ground down, cannot
readily be diftinguifhed as to its external appearance,
from pearl-afh, and being fo much cheaper than the
latter, is well calculated for the above fraudulent pur-
pofe.
“ By no means do I intimate that this is a common
pradice, as from experience I know the contrary. .
“ However, to pafs it over in filence would be un¬
pardonable, when it is confidered that the bleacher is
at the expence of an article of no ufe whatever in
bleaching, and that, by the adulteration, the propor¬
tion belt known by experience to anfvver his purpofe, is
varied ; by which means his procefs, although not alto-
* Higgins gether fruftrated, mult be materially retarded
an Bleach- 165. The difficult folubility of fulphat of potafs ren-
I4* ders it eafy to feparate it from the pure alkaline fait.
Higgins gives the following method.
“ Three pounds of pearl-afh, and two quarts (a
Scotch pint) of water, fhould boil together for a few
minutes, then be removed from the fire and fuffered to
Hand for twenty four hours, wrhen the clear liquor is to
be decanted off. Half a pint more of cold water is to be
poured upon the dregs, and this again drawn off wffien
clear. The infoluble fait is afterwrards to be well dried
and weighed, which being a foreign fait, will give pret¬
ty nearly the quantity of impurities in the potafh.
“ 1 would recommend the above mode of analyfis
to the bleachers before they purchafe or ufe this pot-
i5. afhf.”
166. Though the potafh in the ftate in which it is
fold anfwers fufficiently well for many purpofes, it is
not, however, pure potafs, but is a compound fait
formed of this united to carbonic acid, or fixed air,
and it is called by modern chemifts carbonat of potafs.
It is neceffary for fome proceffes to have it in the pure
and cauflic ftate, in which it afls much more power¬
fully. The carbonic acid is carried off by means of
lime, for which it has a greater affinity than for pot¬
afs. For this purpofe a quantity of quick-lime frefh
burnt is to be flaked with foft water in a wooden or
iron pot, and afterwards the potafs is to be added dif-
folved in wrater, after being purified in the manner a-
bove direfted. They muft ftand together well covered
from the air for fome hours, frequently fhaking the vef-
fel, and then the" fluid may be drawn off clear for ufe.
This is commonly called foap-leys, as it is ufed in the
manufa&ure of foft foap •, it is called cauf ic alkali.
From the violent action which it exerts on animal and
vegetable matters, which it corrodes or burns very
'fpeedily, wffiereas the aftion of carbonat of potafs is
much lefs violent, and this is therefore diftinguiffied by
the name of mild alkali. The ufe of the cauftic ley
requires great caution, but when fufficiently direfted it
is perfectly fafe.
167. It is proper to remark here, for the fake of ma-
nufafturers who are not fcientific chemifts, that the
lime is of no farther ufe here than taking the carbonic
acid from the potafs, by uniting with wffiich it is con¬
verted isto chalk or carbonat of lime. The effe£l
CHIN G. 675
which the lime has in rendering the alkali cauftic, was Vegetable
long known to manufadlurers, and they were led to fup- Subftances.
pofe that it entered as an ingredient into the foap-ley,
and was itfelf ufeful as a detergent fubftance. This
capital error led fome into the employment of quick¬
lime in bleaching without any addition, by which means
the texture of the cloth was greatly injured.
168. As potalh is the alkali which has been moft
employed in bleaching, we have mentioned it firft 5 there
is however another of ftill greater confequence in moft
manufaclures, and which deferves our particular atten¬
tion, from its being employed in the method of bleach¬
ing by fleam, to be defcribed hereafter. This'is called
foda or mineral alkali.
When fea-weed or wrack, and feveral plants which
grow on the fea-coafts, particularly feveral fpecies of
falfola and falicornia are burned, the afhes form an im¬
pure alkaline mafis of a different nature from that pro¬
duced by the burning of land plants. What is ob¬
tained on our coafts from the fea-weed is called kelp,
and that which is brought from the continent, efpe-
cially from Spain is called barilla, or barilha. The
latter is the purer of the twro, and is generally employ¬
ed in the manufadlure of foap. When thefe maffes are
reduced to powder, boiled in water, and the liquor
filtered, fufficiently evaporated and fet by to cool, a
quantity of large beautiful cryftals are obtained, which
are carbonat of foda, or fait offoda.
169. The foda, as contained in barilla, is in a much
more cauftic ftate, or lefs of it is combined wuth car¬
bonic acid, than potaffi in the raw7 ftate ; neither of
thefe alkalies will cryftallize in the cauftic ftate, but by
Handing for fome time freely expofed to the atmofphere,
they imbibe from it carbonic acid gas, and are then
capable of cryftallization. It is therefore neceffary to
allow the folution obtained from barilla or kelp to ftand
thus expofed for about a-week. It muft then be eva¬
porated to a proper degree, determined by experience
or by the aerometer for falts, and fet by to cryftallize.
To make fure of obtaining cryftals, which it is not al¬
ways eafy to procure, it would be better to evaporate
to drynefs, then diffolve the dry mafs in the leaf! pofli-
ble quantity of boiling water, and, on cooling, cryftals
will be formed.
170. Soda, as exifting in barilla and kelp, is fome-
times contaminated by the mixture of muriat of foda,
or common fait, from which it may be freed by care¬
ful evaporation. Carbonat of foda is lefs foluble in
cold than in hot water, while the folubility of muriat
of foda is much the fame in both. After obtaining the
firft crop of cryftals therefore, which will be pure can-
bonat of foda, the remainder of the folution muft be
gently evaporated to about one half, when part of the
muriat will feparate and remain at the bottom of the vef-
felj the hot liquor is now7 to be poured off from it and
fet by to cool; when a frefti crop of cryftals will be ob¬
tained, and thus the remainder is to be fucceffively treat¬
ed till all the foda is procured, and all the fait feparated.
171. For moft purpofes of the manufadturer, foda is
required in its cauftic ftate, and for this purpofe, the car¬
bonic acid is removed by means of quick-lime. But a$
barilla contains moft of it in a ftate fufficiently cauftic for
the ordinary purpofes of the bleacher, he is feldom at the
pains of purifying it. The ufual wTay is to tie up a quan¬
tity of powdered barilla in a thick canvas bag, which
4 Q^2 is
bleaching.
676
SVhfftab3e fu{P5rlcled Jn tlie copper in which the cloth is boiled.
au.- ances.. ^ fufficient quantity of the foda is thus dilTolved in the
water and imbibed by the cloth, wdiile the infoluble
dregs remain behind in the canvas bag. For the finer
cloths, however, and for the purpofes of bleaching with
vapour impregnated with cauftic foda, it would be much
better to obtain the foda in its pureft form.
172. Soap is an article of the utmoft importance to
the bleacher, and which we are naturally led to conli-
der after fpeaking of potafh and foda.
Thefe alkalies readily combine with vegetable oils
and animal fat, and on this property is founded the
manufacture of the deterfive fubftances denominated
foaps. There is a difference fufficiently marked be¬
tween the foap produced by the union of fatty matters
with foda, and that formed from their union with pot¬
afh. The former combination produces a hard, the
latter a foft foap. The invention of this valuable fub-
ftance is attributed by Pliny to the Gauls. The ori¬
ginal compofition of foap feems to have been much the
fame in all ages, but the firft attempts to make it ap¬
pear to have been extremely rude. The ancients form¬
ed their foap of goats fat mixed with the afhes of beech.
Various improvements have been fucceflively and gra¬
dually introduced into the manufaCfure in proportion
as accident, the parent of the mod important difco-
veries, painted out their neceflity.
173. In France two kinds of foap are manufa&ured;
hard, formed of foda, combined with olive oil, and
foft, compofed of potalh and vegetable oils, of infe¬
rior quality.
In Hungary and fome parts of Germany, foap is
made of tallow and barilla. A hard foap is prepared
in Ruffia of bad fait butter, but it is held in little efti-
mation, as the rancidity of the butter, and the quan¬
tity of cheefy matter which it contains, contribute to
render it of a very inferior quality. We are informed
by Weiglib that they alfo form a very hard foap of
yellow and white bees wax, which has a very agreea¬
ble fmell of almonds.
174. In Britain, wFere vegetable oils are by no
means plentiful, and are confequently expenfive, they
manufaCfure this foap entirely with animal fat, employ¬
ing either tallowq filh oil, kitchen greafe, or Hale but¬
ter. There are four kinds of foap manufactured here.
I. A hard wdiite foap formed of foda of Alicant, and
of Varech, combined wuth tallow. 2. A marbled foap,
made of foda, tallow, and kitchen greafe : the mar¬
bling is produced, not by a metallic oxyd, as is the cafe
in France, but by mixing a little l^y towards the end
of the boiling wnth the whole matter, drawing off the
furplus to prevent the marbled part from fetting, and
then quickly conveying the foap into the frames to
cool fuddenly : this is at leafl the way in wFich the
red marbled foap is made with us, but the motled ap¬
pearance in the blue marbled wafh balls is faid to be
* Monthly occafioned by Indigo *. 3. A hard yellow foap compof-
Mag. for ed of foda, tallow, and rofin, which laft feems to be
July iSoj. added to make the foap cheaper, as it certainly does
not increafe its deterfive property ; and indeed it is
faid that the ufe of rofin is very injurious both to the
arms and hands of the wafhers who employ this foap,
which it irritates exceedingly, and to the linen walked
with it, to which it gives a yellow colour. 4. A loft
foap, formed of whale or other filh oil combined with
potalh.
175. Attempts were long made to difcover fubftan¬
ces, which might fupply the place of thefe fatty mat¬
ters, in the manufacture of foap. It was referved for
Chaptal to point out the road to this valuable end, by
introducing his foap formed of w’ool, and thus convert¬
ing fcraps of cloth and pieces of old woollen garments
into an excellent foap. Fie has been followed in Bri¬
tain by Sir John Dalrymple, who conceived, that by a
procefs fimilar to Chaptal’s, he might form a foap of
the mufcular parts of the fat filh. Some fuccefsfui
experiments completely proved the juftice of the
idea (h).
111. Of Bleaching by the Oxygenated Muriatic jUcid.
17b- fhe muriatic acid (See Chemiftry), orfpirit
of fait, is not proved to contain oxygen, to which moft
other acids appear to owe their acidity. It is, however,
capable of combining with this principle, by the ad¬
dition of which it acquires new and very extraordi.
nary properties. It will take oxygen from moft ot the
metallic oxyds or calces, as red lead, or what is more
commonly employed, the black oxyd of manganefe.
If the muriatic acid be digefted for fome time, over
either of thefe oxyds, it acquires a moft penetrating
and fuffocating odour, and inftead of reddening a blue
vegetable infufion, it banilhes the colour altogether.
It is this latter property of deftroying colours, which
renders the oxygenated muriatic acid of fuch import¬
ance in bleaching.
For the difcovery of this acid, we are indebted to
the immortal Scheele of Sweden, w ho was alfo acquaint¬
ed with its property of difcharging vegetable colours.
1 he true application of this property, however, to the
purpofes of bleaching we owre to M. Berthollet, of
whofe paper in the annals of chemiftry, Annales de Chi-
mie, w’e fhall prefent a brief abftradl, as this was the
foundation of all thofe improvements which have been
lately made in the art, and of which we are prefently
to fpeak.
I77- The oxygenated muriatic acid is obtained in
the form of an air or gas, and was procured by Scheele
in the following manner. He put a quantity of black
oxyd of manganefe reduced to powder, into a glafs re¬
tort, and poured on it fome muriatic acid. To the re¬
tort he fixed a receiver, capable of holding twelve oun¬
ces 5 but containing only two drachms of water. On
placing the retort in a fand bath, fo that any acid w'hich
came over unchanged might fall back, and applying
heat, the receiver was foon filled vcith'a yellow colour¬
ed gas. Having filled one receiver, he applied others
fucceftively, till no more gas was extricated, or till he
had obtained iufficient for his experiments.
178. The experiments made by Scheele to afcertain
the nature and property of this acid were few and Am¬
ple ; he fufpended feveral fubftances in the necks of the
receivers, and obferved the following fads.
1. The
Part II.
Vegetable
Subftances.
(h) Fox a full account of the manufattuie of this foap, Vid, Annales da Art et Manufactures, par 0‘Reilly
Part II. B L E A
^Vegetable jr. The corks which clofed the mouths of the veffels
Subftances. which contained the gas, were rendered yellow, as if
they had been corroded by nitric acid (aquafortis).
2. Paper tinged blue, with infufion of litmus or turn-
tole, was rendered nearly white. 3. The red, blue, and
yellow parts of flowers, as well as the green leaves of
vegetables, rvere by the aftion of the gas rendered pale
and colourlefs. 4.. When thefe changes were produ¬
ced by the a&ion of water, by which this gas had been
abforbed, the water was changed into very w'eak com¬
mon muriatic acid. Neither acids nor alkalies
were capable of reftoring the original colours thus
changed.
179. Berthollet repeated and confirmed thefe ex¬
periments of Scheele’s, and explained the theory of the
changes produced by the aaion of this new fubftance.
“ I have fhown,” fays he, “ that one portion of the
common muriatic acid employed in the preparation dif-
folves the oxyd of manganefe, and difplaces a part of
the oxygen, or bafis of vital air, wdiich was, in that
fubflance, combined with the metal in larger propor¬
tion than is neceflary for enabling it to be diffolved in
acids. . This fuperabundant and now difengaged oxy¬
gen being in a non-elaftic form, or, as Prieftley calls
it, in a nafcentJlate, and being thereby greatly difpofed
to enter into new combination, unites itfelf to the other
portion of the muriatic acid, and, in conlequence of
this union, the oxygenated muriatic acid gas is produ¬
ced.”
Playing examined and explained the experiments
of Scheele, Berthollet goes on to make others of his
own.
180. His firfl: objefl was to examine the degree
of folubility of the gas in water, which he fulpefted to
be greater than Scheele had fuppofed.
181 “He foon perceived, if a body with a recurved
tube be filled with this water, impregnated with the
dephlogifticated or oxygenated muriatic acid, and the
outer extremity of the tube be immerfed under a re¬
ceiver filled with water-; if, in this fituation, the fluid
be expofed to the light of the fun, bubbles are foon
difengaged, which pafs into the receiver, and are found
to confift of pure or vital air. When the bubbles have
ceafed to be difengaged, the liquor is found to have
lofl its chara&enftic fmell, colour, and all its diftinaive
properties ; and is found to confift of mere water, con¬
taining a proportion of common muriatic aicd. This
Ample experiment, M. Berthollet obferves, ought to
be fufficient to afford a conviftion, that the oxygena¬
ted muriatic acid is really nothing but a combination
of the muriatic acid with bafis of vital air, oroyxgen,
which is found fo abundantly in the black oxyd or
calx of manganefe, that nothing more is neceffary than
to urge this oxyd by a ftrong heat, in order to obtain
a large quantity. Manganefe, thus treated, is no
longer proper to form the oxygenated muriatic acid ;
pecaufe it is deprived of that portion of oxygen which
is . required to combine with part of the muriatic
acid.
182. “ He remarks, that light poffeffes the property
of difengaging the oxygen which was combined with
the muriatic acid, by reftoring that elafticity of which
it was partly deprived ; a reftoration not to be effeaed
by mere heat: he concludes therefore that the light
combines, with the oxygen, and that the elaftic Hate
c H I N G. 677
of vital air is owing to this combination : which air, Vegetable
by lofing a fecond time its elafticity in the procefs 0fSubllances'
combuftion, that is to fay, by a rapid combination with v
fome other body, again fuffers the principle of light to
efcape, at the fame time that much heat is difengaged f
the relation of which laft fubftance with light is ftill
an objedt for future difcovery.
183. “ If vegetable colours be plunged in the oxy¬
genated muriatic acid, they difappear more or lefs
fpeedily, and more or iefs perfe&ly. When the fub¬
ftance under examination polleffes a mixture of differ¬
ent colouring parts, fome difappear more readily, and
leave only thofe which more effeaually refill the power
of this agent, but have neverthelefs fuft’ered a confider-
able alteration. The yellow colouring matters ufual-
ly refill the moft ftrongly, but at length they all dif¬
appear ; and when the oxygenated muriatic acid has
exerted its whole aftion, it is found to be reduced to
the Hate of ordinary muriatic acid. Hence it follows,
that the colouring matters have deprived it of the oxy¬
gen, or vital air ; and have, by this combination, ac¬
quired new properties, at the fame time that they have
loft that of producing colours. This ingenious che-
mift declines entering, in his prefent memoir, into the
properties of thefe oxygenated ftibftances; and pro¬
ceeds to obferve, that the oxygenated muriatic acid
owes its property of deftroying colours to the oxygen,
which not only is combined abundantly with it, but
like wife adheres with very little force; and readily
pafles into a Hate of combination with fuch fubltances
as have a certain degree of affinity with it. The ha¬
bitudes of fuch a variety of colouring matters as exifb
m nature, with the oxygen, with light, with alkalies,,
and with other chemical agents, cannot but form a
nighly interefting, and almoft entirely unexplored, part
of natural philofophy.
184. “ After having obferved the adion which the
oxygenated muriatic acid exercifes in general upon
colouring matter, he concluded that it might produce
the lame effeft upon thofe fubftances which colour
thread and linen, and which the art of bleaching pro-
pofes to deftroy. Without confining himfelf to deicribe
t ic procels as now pradtifed, he enters into a concife de¬
tail of the imperfedl effays he made at firft ; a detail
which will be by no means without its utility to fuch
as are defirous of carrying the procefs into execution.
185. “ He at firft ufed a very concentrated liquor
which he renewed when exhaufted, until the thread or
cloth appeared fufficiently. white : but, in this way, he
loon perceived that their texture was confiderably
weakened, and that they were even entirely deprived
of their folidity. He therefore flightly diluted the
liquor, and lucceeded in bleaching his cloth, without
altering it ; but it foon became yellow' by keeping, and
more efpecially when it was heated, or fubiefted to
the adlion of an alkaline lixivium. He direcTed his
re lections, therefore, to the circumflances of the ufual
procels of bleaching, w'hich he endeavoured to imitate:
becaule he had adopted the opinion, that the oxygena¬
ted muriatic acid ought to ad in the fame manner as
t e expofure of cloth upon bleach-grounds ; which ex~
pofure alone is not fufficient for the^ purpofe, but ap¬
pears merely to difpofe the colouring matter to folution
m the. alkali of lixiviums. He examined the dew
Which is precipitated from the atmofphere, and like-
678 B L E A C
Vegetable wife tliat wKicli is afforded by the nocturnal tranfpi-
Subftancej. ration 0f plants 5 and obferved that both the one and
^ 'rm~ the other were faturated with oxygen to fuch a degree,
as to deftroy the colour of paper weakly tinged with
tournfole ; and he remarks that the ancient prejudices
refpecling May dew, which is the feafon wherein the
tranfpiration of plants is abundant, might probably de¬
pend on fome obfervation of this nature.
186. “ He therefore employed, alternately, the lixi-
viums, and the aftion of the oxygenated muriatic acid ;
by which means he obtained a permanent white. And
as it is the praftice, in the ordinary way of bleaching,
to pafs the cloth through four milk, or vitriolic acid
diluted with a large quantity of water, he made the
trial likewife of paffing his cloths through a very dilu¬
ted folution of vitriolic acid, and oblerved that the
white was much brighter.
187. “ As foon as he had made ufe of the interme¬
diate lixiviums, he found that it was not neceffary to
ule a concentrated liquor, or to leave the cloth long in
the fluid at each immerfion. By this obfervation he
avoided two inconveniences, which might have render¬
ed the procefs imprafticable in the large way : the
firft is, the fuffocating fmell of the fluid, which would
be very incommodious, and even highly dangerous to
be refpired for a long time, and w'hich has difcouraged
feveral operators from purfuing their attempts in this
way: the fecond is, the danger of weakening the cloth.
At this period of his experiments he likewife gave up the
idea of mixing alkali wflth the oxygenated muriatic
acid, as he had before done in moft of his experi-
* Journal ments *.
Pbyjique, jgg. « was the ftate of the experiments of this
I78^' excellent chemift, when he repeated them in the pre¬
fence of the celebrated Mr Watt. A Angle glance,
he obferves, is fufficient to a philofopher whofe abilities
had been fo long exercifed upon the arts. Mr Watt
foon afterwards wwote to him from England, that in
his flrft operation he had bleached 500 pieces of cloth
on the premifes of Mr Grigor, who has large bleach-
grounds at Glafgow, and continues to ufe this new pro¬
cefs.
189. “ In the mean time M. Bonjour, who had af-
flfted M. Berthollet in his experiments, and who to a
large fhare of fagacity has added a very extenAve
knowledge in chemiftry, entered into an . agreement
with Mr Conftant of Valenciennes to form an eftablifh-
ment in that town. This projeft was oppofed by the
prejudices and intereft of the bleachers, who were ap-
prehenAve of the competition of a new method. Mr
Conftant could not even procure a piece of ground
in the town of Valenciennes: but the Count de Be-
lainge favoured this enterprife, and gave up a piece of
ground which poffeffed every advantage ; but, being
«t a certain diftance from Valenciennes, would have
the difadvantage of diftance, if any manufactory ftiould
be eftablilhed at Valenciennes itfelf. M. Bonjour had
given up the wTell-grounded hopes which his know¬
ledge and talents gave him reafon to expeft at Paris $
and had in return found, In the enterprife to which he
had devoted his attention, nothing but thofe difguft-
ing circumftances which ufually accompany new^-pro-
ceffes in the arts. He addreffed himfelf to the Bu¬
reau de Commerce, not to reward his fervices.
KING. Part II.
but to requelt that he might be defended from v egetabie
the difadvantages and obftacles which prejudice and
an oppoAtion of intereft had created in Valen¬
ciennes, by granting to him> a certain fpace of two
leagues round Valenciennes and Cambray, in which he
alone might, during a certain number of years, exer-
cife this new art 5 without conftraining in any reipedt
thofe who might choofe to adhere to the ancient procef- ^
fes, or attempt new proceffes, in which no ufe ftiould
be made of the oxygenated muriatic acid. He offered
to inftruft in his manufa£lory, in all the details of his
procefs, all fuch as might be deftrous of uftng it, and
might obtain the fan&ion of the miniftry. It is pro¬
bable that, if his requeft had been granted, the efta-
blilhment at Valenciennes might have produced a
greater degree of confidence in thofe who had under¬
taken to make the neceffary advances. It is probable,
continues M. Berthollet, that they might have ftiorten-
ed their trials, inftead of eftabliftiing the procefs at
Courtray, as they have done •, many artifts might
probably have been formed under the dire&ion of M.
Bonjour ; and a great number of eftabliihments might
have been formed in the French provinces, by avoid¬
ing thofe fruitlefs trials which tend to throw diferedit
upon an ufeful art.
190. “ As loon as M. Berthollet had reafon to hope
that the procefs might be executed in the large way,
he endeavoured to diminilh the price of the liquor, by
decompofing tbe marine fait in the very operation
which ferved to form it. His firft trials were unfuc-
cefsful; but Mr Welter, a young ingenious ^chemift
to whom M. Berthollet had entrufted the management
of the procefs, obferved that it might be of advantage
to dilute the vitriolic acid ; and tbe operation then
fucceeded in the moft fatisfaeftory manner. He imme¬
diately wrote to M. Bonjour and Mr Watt, the latter
of whom informed him that he had made this change
frbm the firtt ; and the operation was long afterwards
deferibed by M. Chaptal, in a memoir forwarded by
him to the Academy of Sciences. Mr Watt had like¬
wife made ufe of a certain calk or butt, of a conftruc-
tion which M. Berthollet was not acquainted with j
but, before this apparatus was mentioned, Mr Welter
had conftru&ed one, which is not only very proper to
prepare the oxygenated muriatic acid, but very will
calculated for feveral other chemical operations.
191. “ The intention of this apparatus is to multi¬
ply the furfaces of contact between the gas and the wa¬
ter, as it is evident that the combination can take place
only at their furfaces. That part of the gas which did
not enter into combination in the lower fpace, where it
is firft conveyed, paffes into a fecond cavity or fpace
which is above the tube intended to give it vent. The
veffel which is intermediate between the pneumatic
cafk and the diftillatory matrafs, is defigned to retain
that part of the muriatic acid which is not oxygenated :
a fmall quantity of water is put into this veffel, a glafs
tube being plunged therein, the height of which ex¬
ceeds that of the column of water the gas muft over¬
come in the calk. The gas which paffes out of the
matrafs compreffes the water in the intermediate
veffel with a force equal to that oppofed to its difen-
gagement", fo that the water rifes in the tube of fafety,
and forms a column eoAual to the weight of the water
which
Fart IF. BLEACHING. 679
Vegetable which preffes on the tube through which the gas enters to be poured on the mixture, and the tube of commu- Vegetable
finLCSi' the calk. . But it, during the operation, a hidden cool- nication between the matrafs and the intermediate vef-^u^^ance9»
ing or rapid abforption of^ gas Ihould take place, the fel quickly fitted in. A particular attention to the ^ 'l" * ^
water defeends again in the tube, the air of the at- lutings is required in this operation. M. Chaptal takes
mofphere. enters, and prevents a vacuum from being notice, that when the vapour is peiceived to efcape by
formed within, which would have been attended with the fmell, it is fometimes difficult to afeertain the im-
a reforption of the liquor, and confequently break the perfect place j but that if a feather dipped in volatile
diftiiling veiTel by the hidden cooling, alkali be palled on fitch occafions over the lutes, it will
192.. “ If the oxyd or calx of manganefe be of a Ihew the faulty place, by tire white cloud of ammoniac
good kind, in Imall cryltais, and contain very little formed in confequence of the combination of marine
foreign matter, the proportions which M. Berthollet acid with the volatile alkali.
found belt calculated for diftillation, are the follow-
in& :
193. Six ounces of pulverized calx of manganefe, one
pound of pulverized fea fait, twelve ounces of concen¬
trated vitriolic acid, and from eight to twelve ounces
of -water. If the calx of manganefe contain foreign
earth or metallic fubllances, the quantity muft be aug¬
mented in proportion to its impurity. It will be known,
after the operation, whether a fufficient quantity has
been employed ; becaufe a fmall quantity ought to re¬
main undecompofed, and of its original black colour :
from this obfervation, the quantity proper to be ufed
in the following operations may be afeertained.
194. “ When the calx of manganefe is found to con¬
tain calcareous fpar, as may be known by its effervef-
cing upon the contaft of a fmall quantity of vitriolic
acid, it is proper to walk it before the operation with
diluted vitriolic acid, to feparate the calcareous part,
which might be troublefome on account of the effer-
ve fee nee it produces: the calx mult be dried after this
walking.
195. “ M. Berthollet is of opinion, from his trials,
that when the calx of manganefe contains much phlo-
gilticated air, it is fcarcely proper to form the oxyge¬
nated muriatic acid: M. Fourcroy horvever afi’erts,
that the phlogifticated air efc.apes in dirtillation from
manganele by a degree of heat lefs than ignition, but
that ignition is necefiary to deprive it of its vital air.
It might perhaps be found advantageous to make ufe
of this information to purify fuch manganefe as con¬
tains phlogifticated air, by diftilling off this laft aerial
fubftance by a moderate heat before it is applied to the
purpofe of oxygenating the marine acid.
196. “ A greater or lefs quantity of wxiter muft be
added, not only according to the degree of the con¬
centration of the fulphuric acid, but likewife according
to the quantity of matter fubjefted to diftillation. If
this quantity be confiderable, the acid muft be more
diluted than if it be fmall. It might be more advan¬
tageous to make ufe of an acid which had not been
concentrated ; becaufe the operation of concentrating
it adds to its price, and it is obliged to be again di¬
luted with wrater. But M. Berthollet obferves, that
this having can only take place when the manufactory
of the vitriolic acid is near at hand ; for in thofe fitu-
ations where this acid is to be brought from a con¬
fiderable diftance, the expence of carriage of a greater
quantity of fluid might exceed that of concentrating
197. “ When the materials' are prepared, the calx
cf manganefe muft be carefully mixed with the fea-
falt, and the mixture introduced into the diftillatory
veffel, placed on a fand bath : the vitriolic acid muft
then be diluted, and fuffered to cool j after which it is
198. “The fize of the veffels ought to be fuch, that the
matrafs Ihould be about one-third empty ; and that, for
the quantity here laid down, the calks Ihould contain
one hundred pints of water, with an empty fpace of
the bulk of about ten pints 5 becaufe, when the gas
comes to occupy the cavities defigned to receive it, the
water will require a fpace into wffiich it may afeend.
199. “ Before the operation is begun, the pneumatic
calk muft be filled. The mixture being made, the
gas, wffiich foon begins to be difengaged, firft drives
the atmofpheric air out of the apparatus. As foon as
it is apprehended that the atmofpheric air has paffed
into the cavities, it is emptied out by means of a re¬
curved tube, fucceffively introduced beneath each j
and in order to drive the water out which has entered
into the tube, M. Berthollet recommends blowing-
ftrongly into it. The operation is fuffered to go on
without the application of heat, until it is perceived
that the bubbles are more flowly emitted : at this pe¬
riod, a flight degree of heat is applied. It mult not
be ftrongly urged at the beginning 5 but by a gradual
increafe it is at laft to be carried to ebullition, towards
the end of the operation. It may be known when the
operation is near its termination, by the tube of com¬
munication and intermediate veffel becoming hot.
200. “ When the gas is no longer difengaged but
in fmall quantities, the fire is to be put out, and a fuffi¬
cient time muft be fullered to elapfe until the matrafs
is nearly cold. The tube of communication may then
be removed, and hot wTater poured in to keep the mat¬
ter in folution, that it may be more eafily taken out :
this refidue is to be poured into a large veffel, intend¬
ed to preferve it for a ufe to be prefently mentioned.
The operation lafts longer in proportion to the quan¬
tity of matter. With the before-mentioned quantity,
it ought to laft five or fix hours. It is proper not to
be too much in hafte, becaufe a larger quantity of gas
is by that means obtained. One fingle perfon may in-
fpeft and manage feveral of thefe apparatus, and the
quantities may be much larger.
201. “ The intermediate veffel gradually becomes
filled with a fluid, which confifts of pure but wreak mu¬
riatic acid : feveral operations may however be made
wdthout taking it out 5 but when it is apprehended that
there is not a fufficient fpace left empty, this acid is ta¬
ken out by means of a fyphon : and, when its quantity
is confiderable enough, it may be fubftituted inftead of
the mixture of fulphuric acid and muriat of foda, in a
fimilar operation, if it be not wanted for another ufe.
In order that the quantity of common muriatic acid
wffiich paffes out of the matrafs, may be inconfiderable,
it is expedient that the firft tube Ihould make a right
angle, or even a more obtufe angle, with the body qf
the matrafs. During the operation, it is neceffary to
68o B L E A C
Vegetable ftir tKe water, from time to time, by means of the agi-
gttbftances. ^ator, in the apparatus, to favour the abforption of the
gas by the water. When this is completed, the liquor
is fufficiently ftrong to be ufed in bleaching. A fmall-
er proportion of water may be put into the calk, and
the fluid may afterwards be properly diluted.
202. “ In this Hate of concentration, though the liquor
retains a confiderably ftrong fmell, yet it cannot prove
noxious, or even very inconvenient, to thole who ufe
-it. It is neverthelefs proper to conduft it into the vef-
■ fels in which the cloths are arranged by wooden chan¬
nels, fitted to the opening at the lower part of the calk.
It is proper to draw off the liquor from the calk as
foon as it is prepared, becaufe it a6ls upon the wood,
and not only becomes by that means wTeaker, but like-
wife haftens the deftru&ion of the calk : but when it is
conveyed into a veflel in which cloths are properly
placed, thefe fpeedily weaken it to fuch a degree that
it does not perceptibly aft' upon the wood.
203. “ The cloths are to be prepared by leaving
them 24 hours in water, or ftill better in the old lixi¬
vium, to extraft the dreffing j after which they mult
be once or twice well walked in alkaline lixiviums, be¬
caufe all that part which can be extrafted by the lixi¬
viums would have neutralized a portion of the liquor,
which requires to be carefully ufed. After this the
cloth muft be carefully walked, and difpofed upon
fticks in fuch a manner that it may be impregnated
with the liquor poured on it, without any part being
compreffed. The framing of the fticks, as well as the
calk and veflel intended to contain the cloths, ought
to be conftrufted without iron } becaufe this metal be¬
comes calcined by the oxygenated muriatic acid, and
would produce iron moulds, not to be taken out but
by means of fait of forrel.
204. “ The firft immerlion muft be longer than the
following ones*, it may laft three hours : after which,
the cloth is to be taken out, lixiviated anew, and then
put into a {hallow velTel, in order that new liquor may
be poured on it. It is fufkcient that this immerfion,
and the following, fhould continue for the fpace of
half an hour. The-cloth is taken out, and cleared of
the liquor by preflure ; then lixiviated, and fubjefted
to new immerfions. The fame liquor may be ufed un¬
til it is exhaufted and when it is found to be much
weakened, a proportion of the liquor which has not
been ufed may be added.
205. “ When the cloth appears white, excepting at
the felvages, and a few threads darker than the reft,
it muft be impregnated with black foap, and ftrongly
rubbed; after which it is to be lixiviated for the laft
time, and immerfed once more in the liquor.
206. “ The number of lixiviations and immerfions
which are neceflary, cannot be determined, becaufe it
varies according to the nature of the cloth : the limits
of this number, however, are between four and eight,
for linen and hempen cloths. M. Berthollet expreffes
his inability to point out the beft method of making
the alkaline lixiviums j this ufeful art being ftill a
matter of mere praftice, and varioully performed in dif¬
ferent places. It appeared advantageous to him to
render the alkali cauftic, by mixing one-third of lime j
but in this cafe care mifft be taken that the lixivium
be {trained through a cloth, in order that the calca¬
reous earth may not mix itfelf with the linen, as its
2
H I N G, Part II.
particles might corrode or w-ear it by their hardnefs. Vegetable
By this management the lixivium being rendered more Subliances,
aftive, does not require fo large a quantity of alkali $
and neverthelefs, if the quantity ol alkali be not too
confiderable, it produces no damage to the cloth, not-
withftanding the contrary prejudice, which is very ge¬
neral. He has likewife remarked that it was of no ad¬
vantage, and even prejudicial, that the lixiviations
ftiould be of long duration ; but it is neceflary that the
fluid be very hot, and of confiderable ftrength, other-
wife the cloths bleached by the aerated marine acid
would become coloured and ruddy when fubmitted to
new lixiviations. This accident took place in the trials
already mentioned. Cottons are much more eafily
and fpeedily bleached than linens : tw-o lixiviums, or
at moft three, with the fame number of immerfions in
the liquid, are fufficient 5 and as they are fo much the
more readily bleached, it is advantageous, when linen,
hemp, and cotton are to be bleached, to referve the li¬
quors for the latter, which have been already weaken¬
ed by exerting their aftion on the former. Such li¬
quors as are lo exhaufted as fcarcely to aft upon hemp
or linen, will do very well for cotton.
207. “ After the laft immerfion in the liquor, the
cloth muft be plunged in four milk, or water acidu¬
lated with vitriolic acid. The true proportion is not
well afcertained ; but our author thinks, from his ex¬
periments, that one part of the acid by weight, with
fifty parts of water, may be employed fuccefsfully, and
without danger. The cloths are to be kept about half
an hour in this fluid, warmed •, after which, they muft
be ftrongly prefled, or wrung, and immediately plung¬
ed in common water: for, if they w^ere fuffered to dry
by evaporation, the vitriolic acid, becoming concent¬
rated, would attack them. When the cloths are well
wra{hed, nothing more is neceffary than to dry and pre¬
pare them in the ufual manner.
208. “ It is an obvious precaution, that this acid
water be not too ftrong, as it would of courfe injure
the texture of the fluffs.
209. “ Tig. 5. PI. XCI. exhibits the apparatus for
preparing the liquid intended to be ufed in this new me¬
thod of bleaching. ABC is a furnace •, C is the matrafs,
or diftillatory veffel •, GHI the tube of communica¬
tion with K, the intermediate veffel} L the tube of
fafety *, M a tube communicating with the tub N, the
feftion of which tub is exhibited in fig. 6. while the
lower orifice of this tube is feen at y. In the tub N
are fixed three inverted veffels, open beneath, as repre-
fented in fig. 7. and intended to contain the aeriform
marine acid. PPP are agitators for the purpofe of
ftirring the water by the rotation of the upright poll
OQ^ The effeft of this apparatus may be eafily un-
derftood, by confidering that the aeriform dephlogifti-
cated marine acid, iffuing from the tube y, pafles into
the veffel X, until it has excluded the water it may
contain : after which the furplus iffues through the
tube Z, and runs into the fecond veffel : which, be¬
coming alfo filled, affords its furplus to the third, or
uppermoft veffel. Hence it follows, that three furfaces
of the water are expofed to an atmofphere of dephlogi-
fticated marine acid ; and thefe furfaces muft of courfe
be changed by the rotation of the agitators. In this
manner the water becomes impregnated, and may be
drawn off at P. It is of confequence to afcertain its
relative
Part II. B L E A <
Vegetable relative firength, in order that the experiments may at
Sub/tances. ajj j,iraes be equally fuccefsful. M. de Croifille makes
ufe 0f a folution of indigo in the vitriolic acid j for
which purpofe he takes one part of finely-pulverized
indigo, with eight parts of concentrated vitriolic acid.
This mixture is kept in a matrafs for feveral hours on
the water bath j and, when the folution is complete, it
is diluted with a thoufand parts of water. In order to
afcertain the force of the oxygenated muriatic acid, one
meafure of this folution is put into a graduated tube of
glafs, and the liquor or impregnated water is added, un¬
til the colour of the indigo is completely deftroyed. In
this way it is afcertained, by means of the graduations,
how many meafures of any liquor, whofe goodnefs has
been afcertained by direft experiments upon linen or
cotton, are neceflary to deftroy the colour of one mea¬
fure of the folution of indigo j and this number will
ferye to afcertain the refpeftive force of all the liquors
which are required to be compared together. Mr
Watt makes ufe of a folution of cochineal for the fame
purpofe.
210. “ In the fixth volume of the Annals of Che-
miftry, M. Berthollet has publifhed fome additions to
the foregoing Memoir, which, on account of its exten-
five utility, I have fcarcely at all (hortened. They are
the following :—Mr Welter finds that it is advanta¬
geous to terminate the procefs, by expofing the thread
or cloth for three or four days in the field j during
which they muft be occafionally watered, and after¬
wards walked with pure water. He confiders this ex-
pofition as indifpenfable. But M. Berthollet obferves,
that other perfons have bleached to the perfedl fatis-
fa&ion of artills without it; though he admits that it
may happen, in the large way, that certain pieces may
not turn out perfectly white after the laft operation, in
confequence of fome of their parts having fuffered ca-
fual preffure } and he thinks that, although a continu¬
ance of the operation wmuld remove thefe imperfec¬
tions, it might, in fuch cafes, prove more advantageous
to remove them by expofure on the grafs j very little
lofs of time, and no confiderable extent of premifes, be¬
ing required for this purpofe.
211. “ M. de Croifille has excluded the ufe of wood
in every part of his apparatus; and has applied the
procefs not only to bleaching, but to the difeharging of
colours in dyed cottons or linens.
212. “ M. Berfhollet further obferves, that the pre¬
caution of plunging the cottons in pure wrater, after
they have been taken out of the acidulated w'ater, is
not fufficient ; but it is neceffary to plunge them into
a weak cauftic lixivium, moderately heated, and keep
them there for a Ihort time.
2x3. “ When the liquor is fuffered to run immedi¬
ately into troughs, care muft be taken to mix it well
with the agitator 5 becaufe otherwife the moft faturat-
ed liquor, which occupies the lower part of the veffel,
running firft, would exert too ftrong an adlion 5 or if
half or three quarters of the liquor be drawm off, and
mixed with the proper quantity of water, according to
the precautions before eftablilhed, the reft of the fluid
may be ufed together wuth the water for the fucceed-
ing operation: laftly, he obferves that this procefs,
Ample as it is, can fcarcely be carried into execution,
without, in the firft inftances, being diredfed by a per-
fon to whom the operations of chemiftry are familiar.
Vol. III. Part II.
! H I N G. 6S1
He obferves that a diminution, or even an equality of Vegetable
the expences, relative to the ordinary procefs, is not to SubftanCf*s'
be hoped for, excepting for the bleaching of fine
cloths, unlefs the operator pofleffes a good procefs to •
extraft the foda from the refidue of the diftillation ;
and without this condition the bleaching of coarfer
cloths ought not to be undertaken, excepting in thole
cafes wherein the advantages arifing from the fpeed of
the operation, the facility of performing it in all places
and at all times, and the diminution of the ftock or
capital, are fuflicient to compenfate for the excefs of
the price. Thefe obfervations are perhaps applicable
to linens, and not cottons. It is not poflible, he con¬
tinues to obferve, to lay down principles applicable to
every particular cafe j but he advifes thofe who may
undertake this objedft, to begin by trials, and by means
of thofe trials to form calculations, without any allow¬
ance on the favourable fide. On the other hand, he ad¬
vifes the operator not to fuffer himfelf to be impofed on
by thole Ioffes which arife for wTant of being familia¬
rized with the operations j as there is no great expence
incurred by making trials for a time, by wkich this
advantage is derived, that the operator renders himfelf
more expert for carrying more extenfive proceffes into
effect * ” * Mcholf.
214. Such is the method of procedure recommend- ^^em'
ed by M. Berthollet, which was foon found liable to
many inconveniencies, and various amendments and al¬
terations have been fuggefted, the principal of which
we lhall relate. Pajot de Charmes was one of the
firft improvers of the new method. He ftates the fol¬
lowing obje£lions to Berthollet’s procefs.
1. He thinks the furnaces recommended by Ber¬
thollet not wTell adapted to the purpofe, as they are
difficult to procure and expenfive, as they will only
contain each one matrafs j as they are not calculated to
Ihew the progrefs of the procefs, are too fpeedily heat¬
ed, and confequently endanger the lutes : and laftly,
as they will not always guard againft abforption, not-
withftanding the tube of fafety in the intermediate vef¬
fel. The furnace which he would have employed in
place of thefe is thus conftriufted :
215. The furnace is fupported upon a frame-tvork of
wood, between which and the hearth tiles are difpofed
in a bed of clay. The furnace itfelf is built of brick,
which he recommends to be lined with plafter of Pa¬
ris. It ought always to be double, and is 'divided by
a partition in the middle. In the upper part at the front
are two cavities intended to admit the veffels ufed in
the diftilling 5 they may be either round or fquare ; and,
as the latter is moft convenient to the builder, they
ffxould perhaps be always fquare, provided with a ledge,
and rounded at bottom. The combuftible matter,
which may be charcoal, is burned in a fort of chaffer,
or in a portable grate, which is introduced by an open¬
ing in the fide of the furnace ; and this opening may be
clofed during the procefs by a door of plate-iron fo as
to prevent the too free accefs of air. From behind
the diftilling veffels and charcoal grate proceeds a fun¬
nel through which the vapour and heat of the fuel is
conveyed into a cavity with raifed edges, over which
is placed an oblong veffel of ftieet iron, intended to be
kept filled with muriat of foda, which may dry during
the procefs. At each extremity of this cavity is a hole
which may be opened or clofed as required, fo as to
4 R admit
iron, containing the requilite proportion of manganefe
and fait, ready mixed, are kept for the purpofe of keep¬
ing the materials dry.
In each of the fquare fpaces is placed a capfule,
which may be made either to contain fand or water, in
which the diftilling veffels are to be inferted. Thefe
capfules reft with their rims upon the edges of the ca¬
vities, and are fupported below by a fmall bar. The
furnaces, according to the direftions of De Charmes,
are made fo as to be portable, an advantage which may
perhaps, in moft manufa&ories, be difpenied with.
216. 2. De Charmes next objefls to the curved
tube as being liable to be broken $ and thus expofe
the workmen to the noxious gas, of which the accident
will alfo caufe a confiderable lofs. Berthollet’s me¬
thod of applying the tube is alfo obje&ionable from the
deftru&ible nature of the cork ftoppers, and the diffi¬
culty of preferving the liability of the latter.
He propofes, inftead of the matrafs, tube, and inter¬
mediate veffel, to fubftitute tubulated retorts, furnilhed
with curved necks of glafs or lead ; the beak of which
is fitted by luting to a leaden fupport in the form of a
funnel; and to that is adapted the end of a leaden
tube which palfes into the pneumatic tub, and has its
lower extremity bent to a right angle, ferving inftead
of the glafs tube ufed by Berthollet.
217. 3. Berthollet’s pneumatic tub -was not provid¬
ed with a cover clofe enough to prevent the efcape of
the gas ; and his inverted veffels appear to De Charmes
to be improper from the difficulty there is of conftru£l-
ing their fides and borders fo as to concentrate the
gas in the bell and moft complete manner.
His pneumatic tub is conical and divided into three
parts by two falfe bottoms, which are made to reft on
hoops or Aiders within the tub, and kept firm by means
of pins.
218. The diftilling veffels employed by De Charmes
are not high enough to prevent a portion of the ful-
phuric acid from paffing over without combination 5
and they are befides too dear for ordinary ufe. In
Ireland they employ leaden alembics of a fufficient
height, and capable of containing 40 gallons of li¬
quor, w'hich is a capacity amply fufficient for allowing
the fwelling of the materials. Thefe alembics are
conical, have a broad bottom, which is fupported in a
veffel of water to regulate the heat, the neck is fo long
as to allow any fulphuric acid, which may rife, to fall
back again, and the cover of it is perforated in two
places •, one of the perforations ferving for the paffage
of a rod of iron with prongs entering nothin the alem¬
bic, but fo covered with lead as to prevent the adlion
of the fulphuric acid, and the handle paffes through a
leathern collar to prevent the efcape of gas, the whole
being intended for Airing the materials ; the other hole
intended to admit a leaden funnel curved like an S to
prevent the reaction of the gas on the diluted fulphuric
acid which is to be introduced through it.
219. It is of the greateft importance to prevent the
efcape of the gas, as well to prevent danger to the
workmen, as lofs to the manufadlurer. “ C. Widmer,
at Jouy, has arranged his apparatus in fuch a manner
as to lofe the leaft gas poffible during the condenfa-
H I N G. Part II.
tion : he receives the gas under a capfule inverted at Vegetable
the bottom of the apparatus j above thele are two ^u^^ances*
de goutiere alfo inverted, then another capfule above
thefe; then two more tours de gouticre, and then ano¬
ther capfule, which terminates the apparatus. The
difpofition of his tub is fuch, that he places around in
his laboratory feveral diftilling apparatufes, which are
going at the fame time.
“ Apparatufes conftrufted on fimilar principles are al¬
fo in ufe at Glafgow and Manchefter. Bourboulon-
de-Bonneuil has likewife invented an apparatus, con-
fifting of feveral matraffes, ranged as in an aquafortis
manufadlory, the tubes of which are conveyed into a
chamber containing concentrating tubs. His appara¬
tus for the bleaching of paper is very ingenious, and
delerves to be defcribed. In the laft place, others
have arranged five or fix large calks, like Wolfe’s ap¬
paratus, in fuch a manner as to make each calk per¬
form the fundlions of a tubulated ilalk*.” *Plilofopb*
220. Before we proceed to defcribe the moft ap- ^ai-vo1*
proved method of immerfing the cloths in the oxyge-10’
nated liquor, it will be proper to treat particularly of
the materials employed in preparing this liquor, the
mode of preparing them for the procefs, and the me¬
thod of adjufting the apparatus and conducing the dif-
tillation
221. The feleftion and preparation of the materials
is of the greateft importance, as ®n them will depend
in a very great meafure the fuccefs of the operation.
The materials are either the muriatic acid and black
oxyd of manganefe, or this latter and fulphuric acid
and muriat of foda, which are ufually employed as be¬
ing cheaper. There are, however, advantages in ufing
the muriatic acid ready prepared, where the bleach-
field is in the neighbourhood of fuch a manufaftory,
as the danger of breaking the veffels (where glafs is
employed) from the incruftation of the refiduary fait
is much lefs in this cafe.
222. The cryftallized ore of manganefe is to be pre¬
ferred, fuch as appears to be compofed of fplendid
needles fiightly adhering to each other ; this variety
is generally purer, and much more eafily reduced to
powder, and a fmaller quantity of it is fufficient. It
muft-be reduced to a very fine powder, a ftiort time
before it is wanted, as if kept long in the ftate of pow¬
der, it is faid to be injured.
223. The gray muriat of foda is employed in France
as being cheaper than the white, but probably the pre-
fent regulations of the fait duties in this country are
fuch as preclude the manufa£lurer from employing it
in this ftate f. The fait is to be dried on an iron
plate in that part of the furnace defcribed in 205, and BeCbarmss,
then rubbed to a fine powder, and paffed through a
fieve ; this is neceffary, to mix it more intimately with
the manganefe, and to enable the fulphuric acid to adl
more uniformly and completely on it.
224. In order to be more certain as to the propor¬
tion of the ingredients, the fulphuric acid Ihould be
procured in its concentrated ftate, and acid of the fame
ipecific gravity ffiould always be employed. Before
ufing, it is to be lowered with its weight of water, and
it is proper to obferve, that in making the mixture, the
water fhould not be added to the acid, but the acid be
poured in a gentle ftream into the water, pouring it
down the fides of the glafs veffel in which the mix¬
ture
Part II. BLEACHING.
683
Vegetable ture is made, adding the acid by portions at intervals,
Subitances. anj turn;ng the head afide to avoid any drops which
may fly up from the effervefcence produced, which,
however, is much lefs in this way than when the mix¬
ture is made in any other way. As a heat greater than
that of boiling water is generated, it is better that the
veffels have the form of jugs with fpouts and handles,
that the mixture may be more eafily poured into the
dilfilling veffels.
225. The proportions in which the ingredients are
employed, are varioufly adjufted by different manufac¬
turers. De Charmes recommends the following :
Oxyd of manganefe cryftallized, twenty ounces.
Muriat of foda, four pounds.
Sulphuric acid (at 6o° of Malfy’s aerometer), 44 ozs.
Water, three pounds and a quarter *.
Mr Rupp of Manchefter recommends the following,
as affording him the ftrongeft liquor.
Manganefe, three parts.
Muriat of foda, eight parts.
Sulphuric acid, fix parts.
Water, twelve parts f.
Mr Higgins ufes the proportions as under :
Manganefe, fixty pounds.
Muriat of foda, fixty pounds.
Sulphuric acid, fifty pounds.
Water, about thirty pounds J.
Cbarmes.
f Manchcji.
Mem. vol.
V. p. I.
1 H;ss',n't
EJay.
In Germany, and in France at prefent, the propor¬
tions are nearly as follows :
Manganefe, twenty parts.
Muriat, fixty four parts.
Acid, forty four parts.
§ O'Redly Water, fifty four parts $.
226. It wTould conduce much to the economy of this
method of bleaching, if the manufa&ory of fulphuric
acid could be carried on under the fame roof with the
bleaching procefs, or if fome method could be devifed
to prepare this acid, without employing the nitrat of
potafs (faltpetre). The latter has been attempted by
De Charmes, and as his experiment may aflbrd a hint
to manufacturers, we {hall copy it.
“ The prefent is certainly the place to fpeak of
the attempt .1 have made, to procure the fulphuric acid
without the intermedium of nitre, and to defcribe the
apparatus I made ufe of for that purpofe. It confided
of a pitcher or pot of done-ware, perforated at the bot¬
tom, the neck of which communicated with two fmall
two-necked glafs bodies conneCled together, and each
half filled with water. Under each of thefe glafs vef¬
fels was lighted charcoal, to keep the water in a date
of evaporation, and under the earthen pot there w>as
likewife fire to heat and enflame the fulphur, which
was put into the pot through the opening oppofite the
neck. This opening, which draw's in the external air for
the combudion of the fulphur, was clofed with a dop-
per, perforated like the nozel of a garden-pot.
“ 1 he fulphur, thus enflamed, foon filled the
vacant part of the glafs vefiels W'ith its whitifh cloudy Vegetable
vapour. This vapour, meeting that of the water, com- Subitances,
bined with it, and fell in acidulous drops on the lower 'r~"
water, over w'hich the vapour of the fulphur circulat¬
ing for a time, does alfo probably combine with it to a
certain point. Another proof that this condenfed w'a-
ter did combine with the vapour of the fulphur is, that
the fame vapour, received in drops beyond the fecond
glafs veffel by means of a recurved adopter, came out
in the acid date, reddening the tin&ure of turnfol, and
effervefcing w'ith alkalies when concentrated. I have
twice repeated this experiment with fuccefs, and with
fcarcely any inconvenience.
“ I likew'ife attempted to burn fulphur and heat wra-
ter, in twro feparate veflels communicating with a third.
The tivo vapours combining together in the receiving
vefiel, likewife produced by their condenfation a fluid,
w'hich afforded the fame indications of acidity as that
of the former experiment.
“ When fulphur was burned in an earthen vef¬
fel, and its vapour communicated into an earthen jar,
in which water almod boiling wras poured, the refults
were the fame.
“ It is probable that if thefe experiments were
repeated more at large, with a fuitable apparatus, a
longer feries of glafs veflels, and proper furnaces, the
fuccefs wmuld be more complete. I intend at fome
future time to refume this procefs, and fliall haflen to
communicate my fuccefs to the public, if fuccefs fhould
attend my endeavours (1) *. ■ * Nicholf.
227. The difpofal of the apparatus for the diftilla-^^'^*
tion will next demand our attention 5 and as much of
the fuccefs of this operation will depends on the good-
nefs of the lute, it is proper to make a few remarks
on this fubjedl. The following is recommended by
De Charmes (or rather M. Baume) as a fat lute.
Take any quantity of good gray or blue clay, or, what
anfwers extremely well, fuller’s earth. Let it be dried
in thin cakes in an oven after the bread is baked, then
pounded or lifted j a certain quantity of this clay is to
be mixed with a fufhcient quantity of boiled linfeed-
oil, in an iron or bell metal mortar, in w'hich they muft
be weB beaten together for a long time, fo as to form
a tenacious ftiff pafte of a uniform confiftence, and per-
fedtly free from lumps. A confiderable quantity of
lute is ufually made at once, and fo far from lofing
any of its tenacity by being kept, it is afferted that
lute which has been made a twelvemonth, provided
that it has been preferved in a cool damp place, as a
cellar, and in a covered veffel, is more pliant and bet¬
ter than when firft made. If too dry and hard, it may
be eafily rendered of a due confiftence by being warm¬
ed and worked with the fingers, or beaten in a w'arm
mortar.
The lute which has been ufed in one diftillation
muft not be thrown away, as, with proper manage¬
ment, it may ferve again, and is even better than be¬
fore. It muft be carefully freed from the burnt and
hard parts, however, as thefe would render it crumbly.
228. “ When the quantity to be mixed, 01 kneaded
4 R 2 up
r Ch.aPtaJ made a great number of experiments in the large way, for the purpofe of difcovering the means
of acidifying fulphur, without the cxpence of nitre, but upon the whole they were unfuccefsful. §
684 B L E A '
Vegetable up again, is very fmall, the trouble of beating it in
SuMances. t}je mortar may avoided, becaufe the operation is
" performed very well, by kneading the matter with the
hands. For this purpofe, a portion of the lute already
kneaded in the mortar, and foaked with oil, may be
taken and rolled in the veffel containing the pound¬
ed and lifted earth •, the portion of earth which adheres
may then be worked in $ and, by a repetition of this
manipulation, the mafs will fpeedily become enlarged,
and mull: be ftrongly comprefled, rolled out, and
doubled again, until it is found that it poffeffes the re-
quifite foftnefs and tenacity, and does not crack when
doubled.
“ If it fhould happen that the lute fhould become too
foft by excefs of oil, and clay is not at hand to correft
this fault, the mafs will foon acquire firmnefs by expo-
ling it to the open air upon parchment, or upon a plate.
It mull not be laid upon paper, becaufe it is very diffi¬
cult to feparate this material entirely ; and if any par¬
ticles Ihould remain, there would be reafon to fear that,
when incorporated in the mixture, they would either
prevent the perfect adhelion of the lute, or would al¬
low the paffage through that kind of void, or pore,
which the fragments of paper would form. It is,
moreover, to be remarked, that this lute cannot be too
fmooth and uniform. It ought not to afford any per¬
ception of inequality when it is handled, or kneaded,
nor indicate the prefence of foreign fubltances, fuch as
fand, draw, earthy particles, &c. which are capable of
preventing the intimate connexion of its parts.
“ I llrongly infill on the perfection of this lute, be¬
caufe it is the foul of dillillation.
229. “ Boiled linfeed oil is thus made : twTo pounds
of common linfeed-oil being put into a faucepan, or
proper veffel, of copper, iron, or pottery, add three
ounces of red litharge, finely powdered and lifted j
after llirring the whole well together, place the veffel
on the fire, heating it gradually, until the litharge is
completely diffolved. It is neceffary to llir the mix¬
ture very frequently with a wooden fpatula, until the
whole folution, which at firll acquires a brick-dull co¬
lour, is completed : it is then to be removed from the
fire, and, wffien cold, transferred into a Hone or earth¬
en veffel, and kept w!ell corked. This is the boiled
linfeed-oil above direded to be ufed in making the fat
lute.
“ When this oil, which is blackiffi after boiling, is
well mada, it congeals in the veffel as foon as it is cold.
When it is required to be poured out, it may be ren¬
dered fluid by-bringing it near the fire. To fave the
trouble of heating it, it may be poured, as foon as
made, into a plate or (hallow veffel, or left in the vef¬
fel ufed for boiling it. It is feldom neceffary to heat
it for the mere purpofe of mixture j the quantities re¬
quired for this purpole may be taken up with the fin¬
gers, or in any other manner.
“ It is proper to obferve, that the veffel in which
the oil is boiled muff be fufficiently high, to afford a
fpace for the fwelling of the fluid j for, as foon as the
heat begins to ad, it will rife and overflow the veffel,
if particular attention be not paid to it. As foon as
this procefs begins, the veffel muft inftantly be taken
off the fire, and the mixture ftrongly agitated by plun¬
ging the fpatula in it, at the fame time blowing ftrong¬
ly at its fuiface with the mouth j by which means the
: H I N G. Part II.
ebullition will be checked. After this event has hap- Vegetable
pened two or three times, it may with certainty be Subftances.
concluded, that the oil will be fufficiently confiftent to 1 "
form a good fat lute. By cooling, it immediately
congeals, as has been remarked, to the confiftence of
plafter, of a black colour, inclining to browm.
230. “ The lute made of linfeed oil cake is thus
made :
“ The cake is firft to be broken and pounded in an
iron or bell-metal mortar, and afterwards fifted through
a filken fieve j ftarch is then to be boiled up, to the
confiftence of fize or glue ; a fmall piece of this, being
powdered wffth the flour of the oil-cake, is to be work¬
ed in a plate, or with the hands ; more of the flour
may then be added, and the kneading continued until
the mafs is abfolutely without any lump, or inequality,
and its confiftence has become nearly the fame as that
of the fat lute ; after which it is to be kept in a plate,
or covered wooden bowl, in the cellar, for ufe. The
fame care muft be taken wfith this, as with the fat lute,
not to wrap it in paper, but in parchment, if thought
neceffary.
“ This lute dries and hardens much on its outer fur-
face, wffiich remains uninjured at the place where it is
applied 5 but it is decompofed more fpeedily than the
fat lute, on account of its peculiar property to become
hard and ffirink with a ftrong heat. In this ftate, in
confequence of the aftion of acids, it affumes a yellow
colour, and is then good for nothing : it muft be re¬
newed.
“ A very good lute is likewife made with equal
parts of the flour of almonds, of linfeed, and of ftarch,
kneaded together. It muft be underftood, that the
latter is to be boiled to the confiftence of ftarch.
“ To thefe different lutes we may add that which is
compofed of lime and white of egg, which has the pro¬
perty of acquiring a confiderable degree of hardnefs.
“ Among all thefe lutes, that to which I have con-
ftantly given the preference, and is always kept in
fight in the prefent work, is the fat lute. The lute of
white of egg and lime, retained by a cloth and a ban¬
dage, may be advantageoufly ufed as a covering to the
fat lute.
“ The fat lutes adhere very much to the hands, du¬
ring the kneading, or working •, but it is not difficult
to waffi off the remains after the operation : nothing
more is neceffary, than to ufe warm water and foap,
or foap leys, after having previoufty wuped off the
greater part with blotting paper * Ni&olf.
231. As the directions given by De Charmes {0x^>e<“^armci‘
difpofing the apparatus will, with a few modifications,
apply to every cafe, it wall be proper to give them
without abridgment.
“ Our diftillation may be performed either in a re¬
tort, or a tubulated body or bottle. There can be no
difficulty in properly placing thefe veffels. The junc¬
tion of the neck or tube, communicating with the
pneumatic veffel, is the only objeft which requires par¬
ticular care. The manner of joining thefe twTo parts,
by means of lute alone, will be explained below.
“ As the ufe of the retort requires more attention
with regard to its form, and the application of the ad¬
ditional part, the following details will be of ufe to
prevent accidents.
232. “ When the retorts are newT, and have not be
fore
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable fore been luted to any additional part, it is advifable ei-
Subitances. ther tQ rub a fmall quantity of warmed wax on the
i part;S where the lute is to be applied, that is to fay, the
neck of the retort, as well as the correfpondent part
of the additional piece, or to fuffer a fmall quantity of
ftarch or pafle to dry upon thofe parts j without this
precaution the lute could not be eafily applied ; it
would Aide and roll upon the glafs inftead of adhering.
“ Care muft afterwards be taken to fix round the neck
of the retort a mafs of lute, fomewhat greater than is
fuppofed to be neceflary to fill the additional part to
the place where it is to be fixed, in order that by the
forcing of that piece upon the neck of the retort, the
lute may extend and apply itfelf more intimately. The
fame attention muft alfo be paid to the mafs of lute,
which is required to fecure the beak of the additional
piece in its connexion with the pneumatic apparatus.
Thefe obfervations are of more importance, in order
that the two pieces may, by this compreflion, be made
to operate as if they formed one entire velfel.
“ To apply thefe lutes with eafe and convenience,
the retort is to be held in one hand, in fu£h a manner
as that its belly or lower part may not touch or reft
upon any thing whatever, becaufe the flighteft blow
upon this very thin part will break it.
“ Before the lutes are applied, care muft be taken
to introduce the neck of the retort into the additional
piece, and mark with lute or wax upon the additional
piece the place where the extremity of the retort touch¬
es it internally ; and in like manner, on the retort it¬
felf, the place where the extremity of the additional
piece touches its neck. By means of thefe marks it
is eafy to eftimate the thicknefs of the maflfes of lute,
by placing the two veflels near each other in the re-
fpe&ive pofitions they ought to have when fixed. Laft-
ly, they are united together by flidihg the recurved
additional piece upon the neck of the retort, which is
to be held firmly by its neck, refting the hand on the
furrounding part, if the retort is fmall; or holding it
by the recurved part, if it be large, or the additional
piece (hould be too long and heavy. The greateft at¬
tention muft be paid not to turn the parts round, du¬
ring this operation, more than is abfolutely neceffary
to bring them together ; and if this can be done with¬
out any turning at at all, it will be ftill better, as the
lute will hold more effc&ually. The neck of the re¬
tort muft be entered into the additional piece as far as
it is capable of comprefling the lute, or nearly to the
marks made upon the pieces before they were put to¬
gether. In this fituation the lute, which forms a mafs
round the edge of the additional piece, muft be raifed
fo as to cover both furfaces, after having firft prefled it
as firmly as pofiible into the joint; fmoothing it upon
the two pieces, fo as to prevent the fmalleft opening
or crack. It is advifable after all to fpread a thin
coating of the boiled linfeed-oil over the lute, which
not only renders it fmoother and more perfeft, but by
the denfity it acquires from evaporation it forms a kind
of varnifti or pellicle, which fupports the lute, and pre¬
vents the fiflfures which might be formed during the
a<flual operation. Whenever in the courfe of the work
the lute ftiould appear too dry, it muft be fupplied with
a thin coating of oil.
“ While the lute is thus fpread and applied on the
external part of the additional piece and the neck of
CHIN G. 68s
the retort, the compound apparatus is to be held by the Vegetable
additional piece only, and the retort left to be fupport- Subftances.
ed untouched in the air, by its infertion at the neck v
only.
“ Inftead of luting the additional piece to the re¬
tort, fimply at the extremity of the neck of this laft,
and at the place where the wider part of that piece
touches the retort, we might apply the lute upon the
whole furface comprehended between thofe parts. But
I have found that it is fufficient if thefe two parts be
made fecure. A retort luted in this manner forms one
Angle and entire body with its additional neck ; and,
wdth very little care and attention, the lute will fel-
dom or ever have occafion to be renewed before one or
two months fervice.
233. “ The tube on w’hich the recurved additional
piece refts during the diftillation, and through which
the gas is introduced into the pneumatic tube, is, as I
have remarked, entirely of lead. If it be not caft, it
ought to be carefully joined with ftrong folder j and,
for fear this laft ftiould fail, it will be prudent to co¬
ver it with a coating of yellow wTax, pitch, or melted
pitch.
“ That part of the tube (if foldered as before men¬
tioned) which pafifes under the lower falfe bottom,
ought to be carefully bended with a round corner,
before it is coated wdth the wax or pitch ; and in the
bending it is fafer to caufe the foldered part to lie
within the angle. It is likewife proper to flop the
mouth of the tube with paper, or a cork, during the
time of w’axing or tarring, in order to prevent any in-
troduftion of thofe fubftances into its cavity, taking
care to withdraw this temporary ftopper before the
apparatus is applied to actual ufe. It is not abfolutely
neceflary to coat any other part of the tube, but that
which is to be placed within the pneumatic apparatus,
becaufe it is eafy to flop any other part, out of which
the gas might iflire, with foft wax or lute.
“ The extremity of this tube, in w hich the recurved
neck of the additional piece is to be inferteS, muft
have the form of a fmall funnel, not only for the pur-
pofe of affording the moft convenient fupport, and the
more ready adaption to the various fizes of thofe necks, .
but alfo becaufe it more readily fupports the only kind
of lute which in this work we fuppofe to be ufed.
This lute is never deranged, if care be taken to prefs
it againft the internal furfaces of this fmall funnel, and
of the glafs or lead of the additional piece, fo as to
unite them as much as pofiible, it being always under-
ftood that the lute is good, and poffeffes the properties
before deferibed in treating of that fubftance.
234. “ I have remarked that the ufe of tjre retort,
with its additional neck might be difpenfed with, by
fimply ufing a body or bottle with a neck (even a
wine bottle may be ufed in cafe of neceflity, provided
its bottom be either very thin, or very gradually heat¬
ed). In the orifice of the neck of thefe veffels, is to
be adapted a tube of lead, properly bended, and of a
due fize. This method is in faft very advantageous
and economical; but care muft be taken to join the
tube, if it be of fheet-lead, particularly in the parts be¬
low the bottle which are liable to become heated, a
fhort time before the end of the diftillation 5 to join it,
I fay, without folder, by fufing the two edges together.
For in procefs of time the folder, though ever fo ftrong,
yet
686 B L E A C
Vegetable yet becaufe it contains tin, is liable to exceflive cor-
SuMtances. roflon oxygenated muriatic acid, which, not-
withftanding its heat, is not found to attack lead in any
perceptible degree.
“ But it may, perhaps, be more convenient to caft
fuch a tube at one heat, as well as the additional piece
in the apparatus, with the retort; unlefs, indeed, it
fhould be practicable to have it made of ftone-ware or
porcelain, the latter of which is the lealt permeable to
the gas. Or we might, with more advantage, make
ufe of a thick tube of common glafs, which might be
eafily bended in a charcoal fire, and might be adapted
to the tubulated bottle, as well as the leaden tube.
But the danger of its breaking, and the difficulty of
procuring others in cafe of need, together with the ex¬
pence, have led me to rejeCt this, as well as the tubes
of pottery or porcelain.
“ In order that the tube adapted to the neck of the
bottle may accurately fit, and prevent all efcape of the
oxygenated muriatic acid, it is defended by lute in
fuch a manner, that it fhall not be thrull into the neck
of the bottle, without extruding a portion of that fub-
ifance 5 and a border of luting muft then be applied
round the place of junClion, which will effe&ually pre¬
vent the efcape of any vapour wdiich might ifiue
through the firft luting. Laftly, the whole furface of
this external luting is to be fmeared wdth boiled linfeed
oil 5 after which the diltillatory apparatus may be con-
fidered as perfedfly fecure.
“ If a tube of glafs be ufed, it may be fo adapted
by grinding with emery as to fit the neck of the glafs
body, and require no luting. The fame might be done
with a tube of porcelain, if the material-were fufficient-
ly fine.
235. “ With regard to the other neck which I
have recommended, as wTell in the bottle as in the re¬
tort, it ferves not only to introduce the materials when
the leaden tube is previoufly luted in, but likewife to
admit the external air, if by chance an abforption
fhould be perceived to take place ; that is to fay, if
the water, by diminution of the heat, wdiich leaves a
kind of vacuum, ftiould rife from the pneumatic appa¬
ratus into the body : though even in this cafe there
W’ould be no reafon to fear its breaking, notwithftand-
ing its being confiderably heated, as at the end of the
operation. I have exprefsly made the trial feveral
times, and always without any accident. The fluid
becomes gradually heated in its paffage along the fides
of the tube or neck of the diftilling apparatus, before
. it enters and mixes with the matter in the body itfelf $
and again, if the tubulated bottle and tube be made
ufe of, the wrater rifing through the latter and falling
in the middle of that contained in the veffel, cannot
directly touch the fides before it becomes mixed. But,
at all events, if the fmallelt abforption be feared, it
will be fufficient to raife the ftopper, and return it to
its place the inftant after the introduction of the at-
mofpheric air. Inftead of a glafs ftopper, a cork may
be ufed, which muft be carefully luted round the neck,
if there be any reafon to think that the vapour fhould
find its way through, in confequence of the neck be¬
ing not perfeftly round.
236. “ With regard to the pneumatic veflel, the
following is the method of placing and fixing the falfe
bottoms:
H I N G. Part If,
“ A common wooden hoop is plained flat on the fide Vegetable
which is to bear the falfe bottom, and fixed within the Jubilances,
cafk with pegs wdnch do not pafs quite through the vT——'
ftaves. The falfe bottom, fecured together by tw7o
dove-tails, is placed upon this hoop, and fixed there by
fimilar pegs, which penetrate part of the bottom itfelf,
and by that means prevent it from either rifing or turn¬
ing. The cavities between the falfe bottom and the fides
are then to be clofed round with caulker’s ftuff {brai
fee,') or melted pitch. It muft be remembered, that
the vertical axis with its crofs-arms is to be pla¬
ced beneath each falfe bottom. The arms are fixed in
a mortice by means of two pins, which prevent them
from vibrating or getting looie. The leaden pipe in
in which the extremity of the additional neck is to be
inferted, is not to be put into its place till the firft falfe
bottom is immovably fixed. A notch is fuppofed to
have been cut in this bottom to admit the tube j
and when it is duly placed, the vacant fpace is to
be made good, firft with tow and then wdth melted
pitch.
“ Inftead of the wooden hoop, which affords a folid
fupport for the falfe bottom, it may anfwer the pur-
pofe very well, if cleats or blocks of wood, three
inches thick, be pinned on, at different parts of the
circumference ; or, which is ftill better, if the trouble
be taken to fit the falfe bottom fo well, that it may
bear fimply upon the inclination of the ftaves, which
naturally oppofe its defeent. This method would
certainly be the quickeft, and is not very difficult to
be done.
“ When the falfe bottom is thus fixed, it muft be re¬
tained in its place by pins placed at certain diftances,
and afterwards made tight by caulking.
“ In order that the tube may not be expofed to vary
in its pofition, a mark muft be made on the edge of the
funnel which terminates one of its extremities, by
which it is eafy to afeertain the pofition of the bended
part below, and place the fame in the moft favourable
fituation. It will be convenient to fix the pipe in this
proper fituation, by means of tw'o pegs, which muft;
be drawn out previous to the laft fixing of the falfe
bottoms.
237. “ When the firft or lowTeft falfe bottom is fe¬
cured in its place, the fecond arm of the agitator
is to be faftened to the axis, and the other falfe bot¬
tom is to be placed and made fall in the fame manner
as the firft.
“ It is particularly neceffary to place thefe two par¬
titions in fuch a manner, as that the holes of commu¬
nication may not be in the fame vertical line, but as
far as poffible from each other; that is to fay, diame¬
trically oppofite. This difpofition is neceffary in order
that the gas may have time to concentrate in one part,
before it efcapes to the other. For the fame reafon,
it is proper to diredl the lorver opening of the leaden
tube to that extremity of the diameter which is oppo¬
fite the pipe of communication from the firft to the fe¬
cond bottom, in cafe one diftilling veffel only is ufed.
If two or more communicate with each pneumatic ap¬
paratus, the openings of the tubes muft be refpedlively
difpofed at equal diftances, as far as poflible from each
other, and from the opening in the f^lfe bottom next
above them.
“ If inftead of falfe bottoms the preference flhould
be
a
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable be given to inverted tubs {cuvettes'), the following
Subftances. methoc] may be ufed to make the rims oj lides, and to
v fix them immovably.
“ The rim may be made in two ways ; either by
Ihort Haves, fixed with wooden hoops as ufual, fcarfed
or hooked together at their twm extremities, or elfe, by
fimply fixing a broad wooden rim, like that of a fieve,
round the bottom of this inverted vefiel, by means of
fmall wooden pins with heads.
“ Both theie methods are good. The fecond has
the advantage of taking lefs room and being cheaper.
If this method be ufed, the points of the pins muft be
made a little thicker than the ftem, in order that they
may be lefs difpofed to draw out of the holes bored in
the bottom. With regard to the joining of the two
ends of this kind of broad hoop, it may be effe&ed
very firmly by fewing them together with a flat ilrip
of ofier, as is done in the better fort of chip boxes, or
it may be very well managed by means of two pins
with heads, which may be driven through the overlap-
ping part, and lecured at the other fide by driving a
fmall wedge into the tail of each pin. With regard
to the empty fpaces or openings wdfich may be between
the rim and its bottom, they muft be flopped with
g 1 azierS'pmtty. (majlic du vitrier), which may be fmooth-
ed with oil. This putty is of excellent fervice when
the muriatic acid is ufed without potafs ; but it is foon
deflroyed if potafs be put into the pneumatic veflel.
In this cafe the internal part of the places of junc¬
tion muft be pitched or caulked, as has been already
(hewn.
‘ 1 he method of making thefe inverted vefiels with
ftaves and hoops, has the advantage of being clofe,
and not requiring any particular caulking.
238. “ Laftly, Inftead of thefe inverted vefiels, the
operation may be performed merely by flat boards with¬
out rims, provided, however, that the upper board be
fome inches broader on every fide than the lower, in
order that the bubbles of gas may be forced in their
alcent to ftnke each board in fucceftion, and remain
for a fhort time in conta£l with it. The efl'ential cir-
cumftance in this arrangement will be to keep the up¬
per part of the vefiel well clofed, which is to be de¬
fended at the hole which admits the axis of the agita¬
tor by a central tube to retain the gas ; and the par¬
tial efcape which might take place between that axis
and the covering, muft be more effe&ually prevented
by a cloth foaked in alkaline leys. This method, be*
Tides its convenience, requires lefs care in fixing, but
it renders it neceflary to work the agitator more fre¬
quently, in order to haften the abforption of the gas
in the water. 1 have determined to relate all the me¬
thods which I have fuccefsfully pra&ifed, in order that
thofe who may undertake any work of this nature, may
determine for themfelves, not only with regard to gene¬
ral motives of preference, but likewife the facility with
which their own fituation or circumftances may enable
them to carry the fame into execution.
239. “ The next obje£t is to fix thefe inverted vef-
fels in the pneumatic apparatus. This is a very fimple
operation, and confifts merely in fixing pieces of w7ood
or brackets, three inches in length, under each of the
two bars which conneft the pieces of the bottoms of
the inverted veffels together. The bracket pieces are
fafteued to the fide of the vefTel with oak pegsj and
3 H I N G. 687
the crofs-bars which reft upon them are fecured by pins Vegetable
of the fame material driven above them and on each Subftance?.
fide, in fuch a manner that the central perforation is
in its true place, and the whole is incapable of being
removed or difturbed.
“ In this operation, as I have already recommended
with regard to the falfe bottoms, it is advifable to place
the revolving axis in its proper fituation, in order to
afeertain that it is not likely to be impeded in its ac¬
tion. It is beft, indeed, to avoid fixing either the two
inverted veflels or the two falfe bottoms, if thefe be
ufed, until the clear movement of the agitator has
been afeertained 5 without which precaution, there
might probably be occafion to difplace them, ei¬
ther in whole, or in part, to remove the impedi¬
ments which might prevent the free motion of the
parts.
tc From the defeription I have here given, it may be
feen that my pneumatic veflels have only two falfe bot¬
toms or inverted veflels. I think it advifable not to
ufe more, becaufe I have remarked that three of thefe
veflels requiring a greater depth, the diftillation became
much more laborious, particularly u-hen I made ufe of
the intermediate apparatus. 1. The lutes did not fo
w-ell refill the preflure of the vapour. 2. It was not
dilengaged with the fame fpeed, and confequently the
operation was more tedious. It is better, therefore,
to ufe lhallowTer veflels, and enlarge their dimenfions
in the diametral direction, as I have conftantly found.
The proportions which have appeared to me to be ad¬
vantageous for a fmall common worklhop, are Ii foot
in height, 32 inches in diameter below, and 36 inches
diameter above, all infide meafure.
240. “ With regard to the kind of wood for con-
ftrufting the veflels, it has appeared to me to be almoft
a matter of indifterence, I ufed fir, oak, and cheftnut,
without obferving that either the one or the other wer*
productive of any inconvenience to the quality or clear-
nels of. the liquor, unlefs that, at the firft or fecond
diftillation, the degree of force wras a little altered, by
foaking into the wood. That kind of wood may,
therefore, be ufed which can the molt readily be pro¬
cured.. I muft, however, obferve, that the large calks
in which oil is brought from Languedoc, which are
moftly made of cheftnut-tree, are very convenient wken
cut in two to form the pneumatic veflels. They have
even an advantage over the oak and fir calks, becaufe
they are clofer in the joints, better hooped with iron
and wooden hoops, and impregnated with the oil, in
confequence of which they are not fubjeCt to become
dry, how long foever they may be out of ufe, provi¬
ded they are kept in a clofe place 5 whereas the tubs of-
fir wood require to be almoft conftantly filled with wa¬
ter. Oak does not contraft fo foon as fir.
“ It muft alfo be obferved that the white deal muft
not be ufed, becaufe it tranfmits w'ater like a fponge.
The yellow deal is to be preferred, becaufe it under¬
goes lefs alteration from the fluid, no doubt on ac¬
count of the refin it contains. But if the ufe of the
white deal, .or any other fpongy wood cannot be avoid¬
ed, it will.be proper to paint the veflel within and
without w’ith one or two good coatings of white lead.
I have had the great fatisfa£Hon to obferve, that this
treatment not only prevents the water from palling
through, but likewife that the oxygenated muriatic
acid
688 BLEACH
Vegetable acid does not attack this colour, or if it does attack it,
i n a
Subitances. a ^ courfe of time muft be required for that pur-
^ r~~m' pofe. Melted pitch or tar likewife afford a good de¬
fence for fuch wooden materials as have this defe<ft«
mixture of yellow wax and refin is likewife of ex¬
cellent fervice as a coating for.the whole internal fur-
face of the pneumatic veffel, including the inverted
veffels and the agitator.
241. “ Befides the falfe bottoms, or inverted veffels
we have defcribed, each apparatus muft likewife have
its cover chamfered, to fit the circumference, with
apertures to admit the tubes and the central axis j to¬
gether with two others, namely, one of confiderable
lize, to receive a funnel through which water is poured
as occafion requires, and the other fmaller, to be open¬
ed on fuch occafions, in order that the air may efcape.
The cover being nailed, or rather faftened with wood¬
en pins, in its place, is afterwards fecured by glueing
flips of paper over the line where it is applied to the
veffel.
“ Inftead of the wooden pneumatic veffel, it might
be more advantageous to ufe fimilar veffels of grit-
ftone (gres), rolled or caft-lead, or cement of lo-
riot (k). Manufacturers muft form an eftimate of the
advantages to be derived from the expences they incur.
If leaden veffels be ufed, it will be proper to defend
the foldered places with one or more coats of wffite
lead, or putty, or refin, or pitch mixed with bees¬
wax. I have tried thefe prefervatives againft the
deftruCtion of the folder, and found them anfwer very
well.
242. “ As it is ufeful to poffefs a knowledge of the
height and quantity of water contained in the tub,
there is a tube of glafs fixed againft: its outer fide, the
lower end of which is bended and enters the veffel a-
bout five or fix inches from its bottom. This part, into
which the tube is ftuck by firm preffure, is to be pre-
vioufly defended by lute, which is afterwards trim¬
med and laid fmooth upon the Tides of the tube and
the veffeil.
“ Laftly, As it is effentially neceffary to afcertain,
from time to time, the ftrength of the liquor, and to
draw it off upon occafion, I have ufefully availed my-
felf of a brafs cock, covered with feveral coat.ings of
white lead for this purpofe. By means of this cock,
it is eafy to draw off any fmall quantity of the fluid at
pleafure. It has likewife the advantage of readily fil¬
ling the narrow-mouthed ftone-ware, or glafs veffels,
in which the liquor may be kept when there may be
any to fpare, or in cafe it is thought fit to preferve a
quantity always in readinefs.
“ When it is required to draw off the acidulated
' water with fpeed and in abundance, it is convenient
to ufe one or more wooden tubes or fpigots, which may
be opened feparately, or all at once, into appropriate
veffels. But it is moft convenient that they ffould
Part IL
have ftoppers of cork only, becaufe thofe of wood, Vegetable
though covered with tow, are very apt to burft the Subitances.
wooden tubes by their fwelling *, befides which they "
very fddom fit with accuracy, unlefs turned with ex¬
traordinary care.
243. “ With regard to the intermediate veffels men¬
tioned in the Annales de Cbimie, in cafe the operator is
determined to ufe them, it is proper to avoid ufing
ftoppers of cork to clofe the orifices, and fupport the
tubes at the fame time. For this fubftance being very
fpeedily a£ted upon by the corrofive gas, expofes the
lutes and clofures to frequent derangement, as well as
the tubes which pafs through them. At the beginning
of my operations, I fupplied the place of thele ftop¬
pers as follows, when the necks were of a larger dia¬
meter than the tubes. I made ftoppers of glafs, with
flanches on the fides. Thefe were ground with emery
upon the necks themfelves, and they were perforated
quite through with a hole, no larger than was proper
to admit the paffage of a glafs or leaden tube. This
tube was coated with lute of fufficient thicknefs, that
it could not pafs through the hole without forming a
protuberant piece, which I preffed and fmoothed againft:
the tube as well as the orifice. Or if the ftoppers of
cork flaould, neverthelefs, from convenience be chofen,
the necks may be covered.wdth lute, and the ftoppers
forced in. In cafe the interval be fmall, the parts
may be heated a little, covered with virgin-w^ax, and
then forced into the neck, and the fmall vacuities
which may remain may be filled up with the fame
wax, melted and poured out of a fpoon. Inftead of
lute, yellow wax may alfo be ufed to fix the tube
of fafety \ and the fame operation may be performed
with regard to the glafs or leaden tube, which com¬
municates from the tub to the intermediate veffel.
Stoppers and tubes luted in this manner, are, in fome
meafure, fixed for ever j for when the wax is once har¬
dened, they are in no further danger.
244. “ If the operator be fo fituated, that he can'
order the intermediate veffels of whatever form he
choofes, it will be advifable to have the orifices of no
greater diameter than juft to fuffer the tubes to pafs
through. No other defence will then be neceffary,
than that they ftiould be covered with lute at the time
of placing them, which will render them fufficiently
firm. The rim, or border of thefe orifices, ought
likewife to be large enough to fupport the mafs of lute
which it is proper to apply round the tube * Jguholf.
245. Having adjufted the feveral parts of the ay- DeCbarme:,
paratus, we proceed to prepare for the diftillation, by
filling the pneumatic tub with water, or fuch fluid as
it is intended (hall be impregnated with the gas, and
introducing the materials into the diftilling veffels.
The cover of the tub is firft to be properly fecured
by pegs and flips of paper, parted over the joinings.
The tub is then (if not done before) to be filled to
within
(k) The author does not appear to fpeak from experience in this place. It is not probable,that any manu-
fafturer would be tempted to incur the expence of ftone veffels 5 but it is neverthelefs proper to remark, that
every ftone which could wfith facility be wrought, contains lime or clay, or both •, the former of which would
no doubt be fpeedily corroded by the liquor, on which it would alfo have a pernicious effe<ft. It is not like¬
ly that clay would be more durable. So that on the whole there is no temptation to ufe, and many reafons to
reje£t, the earths. 1
Part IT. B L E A C
Vegetable within an inch and a half of the top, with foft water.
Subftances. Qare muft be taken to leave open the orifice, by which
* the air may be allowed to efcape on pouring in the
water, as were this clofe, the water would infinuate it-
felf under the paper, and deftroy the luting.
The diftilling veffels are now to be placed in the
capfules, or the veffels of water, and firmly fecured.
De Charmes direfts the mixture of manganefe and
muriat of foda to be introduced at this time, but per¬
haps it would be better to have this ready done before
fixing the veffels, and then nothing remains, but to add
the fulphuric acid, which is bell done by means of the
crooked funnel. This being done, the Hoppers are to
be well fecured, and the various jointures clofed up
with lute, where this has not been done before.
246. All thefe Heps (except the addition of the acid)
fhould be executed the evening before the diflillation,
and the next morning, the acid juft diluted may be
added, if the leaden alembics are ufed, but if glafs re¬
torts or bottles be employed, it is fafer to allow the acid
to cool before it is poured in.
“ If the acid has been poured in warm, and the mu¬
riat is very dry, and well mixed, the fulphuric acid
not more diluted than has been preferibed, and the
tnanganefe of a good quality, bubbles of air will be
heard to pafs into the wooden veffel, through the lead¬
en tube, at the end of two or three minutes. If the
above requifites be wanting, the efcape will not take
place till fo me what more than a quarter of an hour.
In either cafe it is neceffary, a few inftants after the
pouring of the acid, to place a chafing dilh with light¬
ed charcoal beneath the veffel which holds the retort.
247. “ About half an hour after the pouring of the
acid, a confiderable effervefcence takes place, which
fometimes fwells the materials as high as the neck of
the retort, if this laft be too fmall for its charge. The
bubbles of the froth are large, and covered with a
kind of pellicle, formed by a portion of the mixture
carried up during the agitation. This intumefcence
lafts about two hours, during which time the bubbles
of oxygenated muriatic acid gas are moft abundantly
difengaged in the water, They even fucceed with fuch
rapidity, that the intervals are not diftinguiftiable, and
an inceffant noife is heard in the pneumatic veffel,
which very often lafts three or four hours, according
to the management of the fire, and the goodnefs and
accurate mixture of the materials. The agitation pro¬
duced by this rapid efcape is commonly fuch, that it is
fcarcely neceffary to move the agitator.
“ The fire is not to be renewed till the expiration of
two hours, even though it may have gone out in the
mean time. After this, it is not to be renewed till the
end of an hour and a half, and after that period, at the
end of an hour, and fo forth, rvithout any perceptible
increafe of its intenfity. It will be fufficient after thefe
periods to keep up the fire, excepting that during the
laft two hours the fire mull be maintained without fuf-
fering the charcoal to be almoft burned away, as in the
former cafes, before it is renewed. The chafing dilh
mull be raifed upon bricks, to bring it nearer the re¬
tort, during the laft hour. I mull obferve, with re¬
gard to this chafing dilh, that the grate mull not be
too open, left the charcoal fhould be too rapidly con-
fumed. After the intumefcence of the mixture has
ceafed, the rapid efcape of bubbles does not diminifh
Vol. III. Part II.
KING. # 689
for a long time, in confequtnce of an effervefcence Vegetable
which conftantly proceeds. It is true that this conti- Subibint
nually diminilhes, and towards the end of the diftilla-
tion the bubbles which pafs into the tube appear only at
intervals, notwithftanding the matter in the retort may,
by the gradual augmentation of the heat, be brought
into the ftate of ebullition. This heat is fuch, that
eight or nine hours after the commencement of the
operation, the hand can fcarcely be endured near the
aperture, or the neck of the retort, or other diftilla-
tory veffel, though between the fourth and fixth hours
the fame parts are fcarcely warm. The diftillation of
one or more retorts or bodies into a fingle veffel, ac¬
cording to the dofes before mentioned, takes ufually
eleven or twelve hours, and even lefs j the time for
Hopping the diftillation is known from the efcape of the
bubbles being very How, and the noife lefs perceptible.
This flight noife is even a mark to form a judgment of
the concentration of the gas, and the degree of faturav.
tion of the water. In order to hear the bubbles, it is
often neceffary to apply the ear againft the tub. More¬
over, the adopter of the retort begins to be heated, and
the lute upon its neck becomes a little loftened. Ano¬
ther indication that the procefs is near its termination
is had from the long vibrations of the water in the in¬
dicatory tube, placed on the outfide of the tub, and
likewife in the tube of fafety, when an intermediate
veffel is ufed.
248. “ If a proper regard be not paid to the figns
here enumerated, and the diftillation be not flopped,
there will not only be a lofs of time and fuel, and a
diftillation of mere water j but the fleam when an in¬
termediate veffel is ufed, will drive the wrater through
the tube of fafety, and itfelf immediately follow, if not
inftantly remedied by diminilhing or removing the fire,
and cooling the neck of the retort and its adopter with
a wet cloth, or, which is better, by drawing the Hop¬
per of the retort for an inftant.
“ As foon as the diftillation is flopped, the impreg¬
nated fluid of the pneumatic veffel is to be drawn off
into tubs, or other veffels, proper to receive the goods
which are previoufly difpofed therein. If it be not
convenient to ufe it immediately, the liquor may be
left in the tub without fear of any perceptible dimi¬
nution of its virtue, provided the cover and its join¬
ings be well clofed wTith lute and ftripes of paper palled
on, and likew'ife that the fpace between the axis of the
agitator and the cover be fimilarly fecured. It may
likewufe be drawn off in ftonewTare bottles well clofed
with corks, covered with lute at the place of their con-
ta£l. In this manner the liquid may be preferved till
wanted. I have kept it for feveral months without its
goodnefs having been impaired.
249. “ I mull obferve in this place, that if it be
wiffied that the liquor at the upper part of the veffel
ftiould be equal in ftrength to that of the lower, wuth-
out retarding the diftillation (wfflich may be ufelefsly
prolonged for upwards of twenty-four hours, by an
effedl of the concentration of the gas in the bottom of
the veffel, and the refiftance it then oppofes to its in-
trodudlion, which Angularly contributes to increafe
the heat of the retort) ; 1 have found no better me¬
thod, than that of drawing off the liquor, either into
earthen pitchers or vefl’els filled with merchandife
ready for immerfion. I have done this after a limited
4 S timej
/
69° D L E A
ye£tab,e time, and repeated proofs of the good quality of the
U U ^nce?;‘ fluid. At the end of eight hours diftillation, I drew
off one-fourth of the contents of the vefiel; a fecond
fourth two hours afterwards 5 a third fourth after ten
hours and a half, or eleven hours j and the reft after
twelve hours diftillation, which formed the conclufion.
“ When the liquor is entirely drawn off from the
veffel, it muft again be immediately filled with water,
or at leaft to the height of five or fix inches above the
return of the leaden tube, otherwufe the gas, which
continues to efcape from the diftilling veffel and then
CHIN G. Part II.
larger portions as cannot pafs through the neck. But Vegetable
this inconvenience is not likely to happen, unlefs the Subltnncc,-_
quantity of water laft added be too fmall, and the re- '—"■'Y'—'
fidues have been left undifturbed for feveral days. The
fame obfervation is applicable to that kind of incrufta-
tion which is formed by the muriat, if not properly
pulverifed, dried, or mixed ; this cannot be feparated
from the bottom of the retort, but by means of hot
water poured at different fucceflive times. It is like-
wife effential to leave no cruft or depofition of muriat,
or other matter, in the veffels which are emptied, un¬
affords no refiftance, might attack the pneumatic veffel lefs the fame be moveable, in which cafe the rilk i»
lefs. But if the urgency of bufinefs fhould then re¬
quire that the fame veffels be ufed without entirely
itfelf.
250
“ The fire muft be taken from beneath the re¬
tort as foon as the diftillation is finiftied, not only to
prevent the effedf of the gafeous vapours, which ftill
continue flowly to efcape, from a<fting on the lides of
the tub, but likewife to difpofe the retorts or bodies to
receive a quantity of warm water, which is to be
poured in up to the neck. There is no reafon to fear
an excefs of quantity, and the hotter the veffels are the
better. It is effential, however, that it be not poured
in cold, for fear of breaking the glafs. The adopter
is then to be unluted from the neck of the leaden tube,
if the operator choofes •, and in order that no vapour
may efcape into the workfhop, a bit of lute or a cork
may be applied to the beak of the adopter. The fand
bath eafily permits the retort to be railed and returned
again to its place, as w^ell as the application of the lute
or ftopper to the neck of the adopter, this laft being
railed with one hand while the cork is put in with the
other.
“ Neverthelefs, as the lutes which connect the adopter
with the retort are fomew'hat foftened towards the end
of the operation, it would be more prudent to leave
every thing in its place, for fear of deranging thofe
lutes. This danger is greater when the adopter is of
lead, becaufe the great length of this additional piece
tends to force the luting ftill more on that account.
If it be required to proceed immediately to a new’ dif¬
tillation, the retort or bottle with its capfule or pan
muft be immediately taken from the furnace, and ano¬
ther fubftituted in its place ready prepared during the
former diftillation. This neceffarily requires a double
fet of veffels.
251. “ When the diftilling veffel is cold, or nearly
fo, the whole of its contents muft be fhaken, by hold¬
ing this veffel by the neck with one hand, and apply¬
ing the other to its bottom. The ftopper muft then
be taken out, and the veffel fpeedily inverted, (baking
the refidue to facilitate its efcape. In this laft fitua-
tion the retort is to be held by its neck with one hand,
and its fide gently refting againft the other. The vef-
lels into w-hich the water and refidual matter of the
retorts are poured, (hould rather be of ftoneware, pot¬
tery, or lead, than of wmod, unlefs thefe laft be oil vef¬
fels, which are lefs fubjeft to dry in the part above the
fluid. If this circumftance be not attended to, there
will be danger of lofing great part of the contents.
“ It is moft convenient to difengage the retorts or
bodies while they are ftill warm, w’hich continues to
be the cafe the next morning after diftillation, in con-
fequence of the heat of the fand bath. If they be left
to cool entirely, the fulphate of foda will cryftallize,
and it will be neceffary to diffolve in hot water fuch
clearing them, it will be neceffary to range this refi¬
dual matter on one fide, where it will be lefs expofed
to the heat, and will afford a greater degree of facility
for the nitric acid to a£t upon it.
“ In order that the vapour which exhales from the
diftilling veffels may not prove inconvenient, it is ne-
ceffary to pour in a fmall quantity of alkaline lixivium
in the firft place, which inftantly deftroys the fmell.
This may be done immediately after the end ol the
diftillation, and the weak alkaline folution may fupply
the place of the water ufed for diluting the refidues.
At the inftant of pouring this lixivial water, a ftrong
effervefcence takes place ; for which reafon it is px-o-
per to pour it in by feveral fucceflive portions, waiting
a little between each time * Nlcholf.
252. The oxygenated liquor prepared in this way is De Char met.
very effe£tual in bleaching the Huffs which are im-
merfed in it, but it at the fame time poffeffes an odour
fo fuffocating as to render its ufe unpleafant and even
injurious to the workmen employed in the procefs,
ftiould any of it efcape. “ 1 have witneffed, (fays
O'Reilly) in an extenfive manufaftory near Paris, the
cruel fufferings experienced by the wretched w’orkmen,
from thefe fuffocating vapours ; I have feen them roll¬
ing on the ground in the excels of agony. Frequent¬
ly even fevere diforders are the confequence of the firft
effe&s produced by the oxygenated liquorf.” De f 0lFrilly
Charmes gives a long account of the fufferings which Efai.
he underwent in his courfe of experiments with this
acid. It produces fymptoms completely refembling
thofe of a violent cold, but which go off in a day or
twm after having defifted from the ufe of the liquor.
This inconvenience may be avoided in twm ways ;
ijl, By rendering the veffels for immerfion fo tight
as to prevent the poffibility of the efcape of the gas,
zd/y, By diffclving in the water feme fubftance
which has the property of fo far neutralizing the acid'
as to conneift its odour without deftroying its bleaching
quality to any confiderable degree.
253. Mr Rupp of Manchefter contrived a tub for
immerfion, which is admirably adapted to anfwer the
firft purpofe. Its conllrudion is fimple, and not ex-
penfive.
“ It would, therefore, bedefirabletohave an apparatus^
for the ufe of the pure oxygenated muriatic acid limply
diffblved in water, w’hich is at once the cheapeft and
bell vehicle for it. This apparatus mull be fimple in
its conftruftion, and obtainable at a moderate expence,
it muft confine the liquor in fuch a manner as to pre¬
vent the efcape of the oxygenated muriatic acid gas,
which is not only a lofs of power, but alfo an inconve¬
nience
Plate XCI.
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable nlence to the workmen anJ dangerous to their health ;
Subttances. ancj jt at the fame time, be fo contrived, that e-
^ very part of the fluff which is confined in it, fliall cer¬
tainly and neceffarily be expofed to the a&ion of the
liquor in regular flicceffion. Having invented an ap¬
paratus capable of fulfilling all thefe conditions, I have
the pleafure of fubmitting a defcription of it to the fo-
ciety, by means of the annexed drawing.
“ Fig- 4- is a left ion of the apparatus. It confifts of
an oblong deal ciftern, ABCI), made water-tight. A
rib, EE, of afli or beach wood, is firmly fixed to the
middle of the bottom CD, being mortified into the ends
of the ciftcrn. This rib is provided with holes, at
TK, in which two perpendicular axes are to turn. The
lid, AB, has a rim, GG, which finks and fits into the
ciftern. Two tubes, HH, are fixed into the lid, their
centres being perpendicularly over the centres of the
fockets, FF, when the lid is upon the ciftern. At I,
is a tube by which the liquor is introduced into the ap¬
paratus. As it is neceffary that the fpace within the
rim, GG, be air-tight, its joints to the lid, and the
joints of the tubes, muft be very dole ; and, if necef-
iary, fecured with pitch. Two perpendicular axes,
KL, made of a(h or beechwood, pafs through the
tubes, HH, and reft in the fockets, FF. A piece of
ftrong canvas, M, is fewed very tight round the axis
K, one end of it projecting from the axis. The other
axis is provided with a fimilar piece of canvas. N, are
pieces of cloth rolled upon the axis L. Two plain
pullies, 00, are fixed to the axes, in order to prevent
the cloth from flipping down. The lhafts are turned
by a moveable handle, P. o, a moveable pully,
round which paffes the cord, R. This cord, which is
faftened on the oppofite fide of the lid (fee fig. iv.), and
pafles over the fmall pulley S, produces friction by
means of the weight T. By the fpigot and fauffet V,
the liquor is let off, when exhaufted.
“ Fig. iv. A plan of the apparatus, with the lid ta¬
ken off.
“ The dimenfions of this apparatus are calculated
for the purpofe of bleaching twelve or fifteen pieces
of £ calicoes, or any other fluffs of equal breadth and
fubftance. When the goods are ready for bleach-
mg, the axis, L, is placed on a frame in the horizontal
pofition, and one of the pieces, N, being faftened to
the canvas, M, by means of wooden lkewTers, in the
manner reprefented in fig. 4. it is rolled upon the axis
by turning it with the handle, P. This operation muft
be performed by two perfons 5 the one turning the axis
and the other directing the piece, which muft be rol¬
led on very tight and very even. When the firft
piece is on the axis, the next piece is faftened to the
end of it by flcew^ers, and wound on in the fame man¬
ner as the firft. The fame method is purfued till all
the pieces are wound upon the axis. The end of the
laft piece is then faftened to the canvas of the axis K.
Both axes are afterwards placed into the ciftern, with
their ends in the fockets FF, and the lid is put on the
ciftern by palling the axes through the tubes HH.
T he handle P is put upon the empty axis, and the pul-
ley Q^upon the axis on which the cloth is rolled, and
the cord R, with the weight 7’, is put round it and
over the pulley S. The ufe of the fri&ion, produced
by tnis weight, is to make the cloth wind tight upon
G H I N G. 6gi
the other axis. But as the effect of the weight will Vegetable
increafe as one cylinder increafes and the other leffens, Subftances.
I recommend that three or four weights be fufpended ’■"■’•v-—*
on the cord, wdtich may be taken off gradually, as the
perfon who wmrks the machine may find it convenient.
As the weights hang in open hooks, which are faftened
to the cord, it will be little or no trouble to put them
on and to remove them.
“Things being thus difpofed,the bleaching liquor ifi
to be transferred from the veffels in which it has been
prepared into the apparatus, by a moveable tube pafling
through the tube I, and defcending to the bottom of
the ciftern. This tube being connedled with the vef¬
fels, by means of leaden or wood pipes provided with
cocks, hardly any vapours will efcape in the transfer.
When the apparatus is filled up to the line a, the
moveable tube is to be withdrawn, and the tube I
clofed. As the liquor rifes above the edge of the rim
G, and above the tubes HH, it it evident that no eva¬
poration can take place, except where the rim does
not apply clofely to the fides of the box : which will,
however, form a very trifling furface, if the carpenter’s
work be decently done. The cloth is now to be
wound from the axis L upon the axis K, by turning
this; and when this is accomplifhed, the handle P and
pulley Qjire to be changed, and the cloth is to be
wound back upon the axis L. This operation is, of
courfe, to be repeated as often as neceffary. It is
plain, that, by this procefs of winding the cloth from
one axis upon the other, every part of it is expofed,
in the moft complete manner, to the aftion of the li!
quor in which it is immerfed. It will be neceffary
to turn, at firft, very brifkly, not only becaufe the li-
q’uor is then the ftrongeft, but alfo becaufe it requires
a number of revolutions, when the axis is bare, to
move a certain length of cloth in a given time, though
this may be performed by a Angle revolution when the
axis is filled. Experience muft teach how long the
goods are to be worked ; nor can any rule be given
refpefting the quantity and ftrength of the liquor, in
order to bleach a certain number of pieces. An in¬
telligent workman will foon attain a fuflicient know¬
ledge of thefe points. It is hardly neceffary to ob-
ferve, that, if. the liquor fhould retain any ftrength
after a let of pieces are bleached with it, it may again
be employed for another fet.
“ With a few alterations, this apparatus might be
made applicable to the Bleaching of yarn. If, for in-
ftance, the pulley O were removed from the end of the
axis K, and fixed immediately under the tube H • if
it were perforated in all dire&ions, and tapes or ftrings
paffed through the holes, Ikains of yarn might be tied
to thefe tapes underneath the pulley, fo as to hang
down towards the bottom of the box. The apparatus
being afterwards fihed with bleaching liquor and the
axis turned, the motion would caufe every thread to be
a&ed upon by the liquor. Several axes might thus be
turned in the fame box, and being connedled with each
other by pullies, they might all be worked by one
perfon at the fame time j and as all would turn the
fame way and with the fame fpeed, the Ikains could not
poflibly entangle each other * Manclejt,
.254. As far as refpefls the confinement of the gas,:Mem- ^
this apparatus of Mr Rupp is extremely well contri-v p-1*
•4 S 2 • ved,
692
BLEACHING.
Part IT*
Vegetable ved, but in his metbod of rolling up the fluffs, there is
Subftances. an inconvenience which M. 0‘Reilly has correffed.
. Xhe inconvenience arifes from the axis being vertical,
as when feveral pieces are rolled upon the fame axis,
fome parts of them are liable to fway down, and thus
render the a£Hon of the bleaching liquor unequal. He
propofes to remedy this inconvenience by making the
axis horizontal, and to make the palfage of the fluff
through the liquor more complete, he places a roller at
each end of the velfel, above and below, and three o-
thers in the middle, as will be explained when we de-
fcribe the apparatus.
255. Soon after the appearance of Berthollet’s paper
in the Annales de Chimie, it was propofed to employ
the oxygenated muriatic acid, in the ftate of gas ap¬
plied immediately to the cloths previoufly moiftened,
and we believe that it has been fo employed by fome
bleachers. We are, however, difpofed to confider the
method as highly injurious to cloth fo bleached, al¬
though the danger to the workmen might be avoided,
by the ufe of the immerling velfel above defcribed.
256. In employing the Ample oxygenated liquor, it
is of confequence to polfefs fome criterion, by which we
may afcertain its comparative ftrength. The method
contrived by M. Defcroizilles has been defcribed in
paragraph 209. Mr Rupp has improved on this, by
employing the acetite of indigo, prepared by pouring
acetite of lead (fugar of lead) into a folution of indigo,
in fulphuric acid as long as any precipitate appeared.
2 ^7. The fecond means of avoiding the unpleafant
effefts of the fuffocating gas, we have faid, confift in
diflblving in the water through which the gas is palfed,
fome fubftanee which is capable of mixing with, and
correfling it.
Two fubftances may be employed with this view,
potafs and lime.
258. When pctafs is employed, a quarter of a pound
of the common potafs purified as direfted in 165. is
to be ufed for every pound of muriat of foda introduc¬
ed into the diftilling apparatus. This is to be dilfolv-
ed in the water with which the pneumatic tub is fil¬
led. It is moft convenient to dilfolve the potafs in a
fmall quantity of water, and add the folution to the
water in the tub, but care muft be taken to ftir them
well together with the agitator, that the potafs may
be equally combined with the water.
But, although this weak folution of potafs certainly
renders the bleaching procefs much lefs inconvenient to
the wmrkmen employed, it is yet much more expenfive
than the Ample oxygenated liquor, and more of it is
neceflary to perform the fame work than is required of
this latter. Mr Rupp has completely proved this by
a fet of ingenious experiments which he made, com¬
paring the quantity of colouring matter in the acetite
of indigo, and in an infufion of cochineal deflroyed
by the fame quantity of the two liquors. His experi¬
ments are highly interefling, and are thus related by Vegetable
himfelf. " ^ Subftances.
“ Experiment I.—To half an ounce of oxygenated * ' ‘
muriatic acid, I added a folution of indigo in acetous
acid (l), drop by drop, till the oxygenated acid ceaf-
ed to deftroy any more colour. It deftroyed the co¬
lour of 160 grains of the acetite of indigo.
“ Experiment II.—A repetition of Experiment I. The
colour of 165 grains of acetite of indigo was deflroyed
in this experiment.
“ Experiment III.—A repetition of Experiments I.
and II. The colour of 160 grains of the acetite was
deftroyed.
il Experiment IV To half an ounce of the oxygenat¬
ed muriatic acid, were added eight drops of pure pot¬
afs in a liquid ftate. This quantity of alkali was about
fufficient to deprive the acid of its noxious odour. This
mixture deftroyed the colour of 150 grains of the ace¬
tite of indigo.
“ Experiment V.—A repetition of Experiment IV.
The colour of 145 grains of the acetite was deftroyed.
Experiment Vl.—To half an ounce of the oxyge¬
nated muriatic acid, ten efrops of the fame alkali were
added. It deftroyed the colour of 125 grains of the
acetite of indigo.
“ Experiment VII.—A mixture of half an ounce of
the oxygenated acid, and 15 drops of the alkali, de¬
ftroyed the colour of 120 grains of the acetite of in-
di§°'
“ Though I had taken the precaution of avoiding the
fulphuric acid, for the reafon ftated in the foregoing
note, I tvas not quite fatisfied with thefe experiments,
on account of errors which might have taken place
through a double affinity. I therefore made the fol¬
lowing experiments, in which I employed a decoftion
of cochineal in water, inftead oi the acetite of indigo.
“ Experiment VIII.—To half an ounce of the oxyge¬
nated muriatic acid, a decoftion of cochineal was ad¬
ded till the acid ceafed to aft on its colour. It de¬
ftroyed the colour of 390 grains of the decoftion.
“ Experiment IX.—A repetition of Experiment VIII.
The colour of 385 grains of the decoftion was de¬
ftroyed in this experiment.
“ Experiment X To half an ounce of the acid, fix
drops of the liquid alkali were added. This mixture
deftroyed the colour of 315 grains of the decoc¬
tion.
“ Experiment XI.—Eight drops of the alkali wrer£
mixed with half an ounce of the acid. This mix¬
ture deftroyed the «olour of 305 grains of the decoc¬
tion. %
“ In order to ffiew the ufefulnefs of this apparatus
ftill more clearly, I requeft the fociety to. attend to
the following ftatement of the expence of a given quan¬
tity of bleaching liquor, with and without alkali, but
of equal ftrength.
With
(j.) It has been ufual to eftimate the ftrength of the oxygenated muriatic acid by a folution of indigo in ful¬
phuric acid. This method was inadmiffible in thefe experiments on the comparative ftrength of the bleaching
liquor, with and without alkali ; becaufe the fulphuric acid would have decompofed the muriat of potaffi, and
thereby produced errors. I therefore added to a folution of indigo in fulphuric acid, after it had been diluted
with water, acetite of lead, till the fulphuric acid was precipitated with the lead. The indigo remained diflblv-
ed in the acetous acid.
Part IT.
Vegetable
Subltances.
B L
* •
With Alkali (m).
8olb. of fait, at i-§d. per lb.
60 lb. of oil of vitriol, at per lb.
30 lb. of manganefe,
20 lb. of pearlafhes, at 6d. per lb.
E A G
x.
o
1
o
o
r. d.
xo o
12 6
2 6
10 o
L. 2 1
But it appears by the foregoing experi¬
ments, that the liquor lofes ftrength by
an addition of alkali. The value of
this lofs, which on an average amounts
to 15 per cent, muft be added to the
expence,
8 3
L-3 3 3
Without Alkali.
80 lb. of fait,
60 lb. of oil of vitriol,
30 lb. of manganefe,
X.
o
1
o
r. d.
10 o
12 6
2 6
L. 2 50
“ It appears from this calculation, that a certain quan¬
tity of the liquor, for the ufe of my apparatus, cods
only 2l. 5s. but that the fame quantity of the alkaline
liquor cods 3I. 3s. 3d. which is 40 per cent, more than
the other. The aggregate of fo condderable a faving
mud form a large fum in the extendve manufadlures of
* Mancbejl. this country
Mcm.viA.v. 259. Indeed, that the addition of potafs (hould di-
minidi the bleaching power of the oxygenated muriatic
acid might eafily be inferred, from knowing that the
oxygenated muriat of potafs, or rather the hyperoxy-
genated muriat of potafs does not in any degree poffefs
the power of dedroying vegetable colours, and confe-
quently, the more completely the acid is faturated with
the potafs, the more completely is its bleaching power
dedroyed.
260. The method of employing lime in corredling the
oxygenated acid was fird ufed in Ireland, and fome years
ago, there were not lefs than thirty apparatus for pre¬
paring this mixture edablifhed in the northern parts of
f Higgins that kingdom f. It has been alfo employed at Glafgow,
and a patent, which is now fet afide, was obtained by a
manufafturer there for preparing the liquor, and a folid
oxymuriat of lime, which might be employed at all
times, and conveyed to any didance.
The pneumatic tub diould be of fuch a capacity as
to hold 800 gallons of water, and to this is to be add¬
ed eight pounds of flaked and well lifted lime, which
is to be well mixed wuth the water by means of the
agitator, both at the time of making the mixture and
during the diftillation.
Between the tub and the diftilling veffel is placed a
leaden receiver capable of holding eight gallons, wdrich
is to be twm-thirds filled with water, intended to re-
KING.
693
tain any common muriatic acid which may come over. Vegetable
For this purpofe a leaden tube, three inches diameter Snbitances.
ni the bore, proceeds from the alembic, and paffes *
nearly to the bottom of the receiver, and another tube
of the fame diameter paffes from the upper part of this
latter to the pneumatic tub. It is known that the
limed water in the tub is faturated with acid, when on
drawing off a portion of the liquor and adding lime to
it, the lime finks to the bottom. The liquor is then
to be drawn off and mixed with thrice its bulk of water,
when it is fit for bleaching.
The oxymuriat of lime is found to be fuperior to the
oxymuriat of potafs in bleaching, and it is certainly
far lefs expenfive. Barytes (ponderous earth) and
ftrontites might probably be ufed with ftill greater ad¬
vantage, from their greater folubility in wrater, and
could be procured at a cheaper rate.
261. Previous to immerfing the fluffs in any of this
oxygenated liquor they are to be fteeped and fulled
in the fame way as in the old method, to deprive them
of the wTeavers drefling, and the faliva of the fpinners.
For this purpofe it is proper to employ a weak alkaline
ley.
In Britain and Ireland machinery is commonly em¬
ployed in the fulling procefs, but it is generally fo con-
ftrufted as to wTear the cloth. 0‘Reilly has propofed
the following machine for this purpofe.
He conftrufts a circular platform, wdrich revolves
about a moveable axis, and is fupported at the extre¬
mities of the fpokes by rollers of caft iron, the circum¬
ference of the platform is indented to receive a paul or
catch, which makes it recede one notch at each flroke
produced by the motion of the mill-tree. To the axis
of the mill-tree are fixed fpokes which raife feveral
wmoden beaters, wdiich falling on the platform loaded
with cloth or thread, rinfe them more completely than
can be effefted in any other w?ay, water being conftant-
ly fupplied from gutters w7hich are filled by buckets
attached to a water w'heel.
Cotton, thread, and fluffs, more particularly require
this preparation, as wuthout it the ley cannot penetrate
the fubftance of the cotton, becaufe of the refinous
matter with which it is impregnated.
In fome manufactories a bath of foap is employed,
but this is unneceffary, as all that is requifite is to form
a combination of the oily matter of the cotton w'ith an
alkali in order to render it foluble in water ; and after¬
wards to fubmit the colouring matter to the aftion'
which another part of the alkali may exert on it. The
preparations rvhich the fluffs muft undergo previous to
their immerfion in the oxygenated liquors confift there¬
fore in fteeping in an alkaline ley, rinfing in wTater,
and fubfequent prefling and wringing.
262. In difpofing the apparatus for the immerfions,
regard muft be had to the objefts on which we are to
work. Skains of thread are to be fufpended in the tub
which is intended to receive them ; and the fluft’s are
to be rolled round the rollers of the immerfing tub
which we have defcribed. The method of doing this
is as follows : A piece of cloth is to be faftened to one
of
(m) I make no mention of the expence attending the preparation of the liquor,
cafes.
it being the fame in both
694 B L E A <
Subftances^ 0^t^ie ^0r‘z0nta^ axcs which correfpond to thofe of Mr
» — eS- ^UPP* and is to be rolled round by means of the handle
till the whole is upon the axis; to this is faftened a
fecond piece, which is rolled on in the fame manner,
and thus as many pieces as required are rolled upon
the axis. The end of the lail piece is then made to
Plate XCI. pafs over the roller /j at the upper part of the extremi-
%• 3* ty of the tub next to^ is carried down below the roll¬
er 6 at the lower part of the fame extremity j is carried
along the bottom of the tub under the next roller up
to the roller at the upper part of the partition, pafles
over this to the roller at the bottom of the tub on the
other fide of the partition, fo on below' the low'er roller
at the other end of the tub, over the upper roller of
the fame end from which it pafles to the other horizon¬
tal axis, and is there fecured.
When the pieces are thus faftened, the immerfing
tub is filled with the liquor intended .to be ufed from
the pneumatic tub, and this, if it be the oxymuriat of
lime may be done by a funnel, but if it be the Ample
oxygenated liquor it is beft done by a ftop-cock paf-
fing from the pneumatic tub into the immerfing veflel :
when this is filled, the handle of the axis to which the
laft end of the cloth is faftened is turned till the whole
of the cloth is unrolled from the firft axis round the
fecond, and then again the handle of the firft is turn¬
ed to reverfe the fituation of the cloth. Thus the
cloth is made to pafs to and fro through the liquor till
the ftrength of this is exhaufted.
263. This is difcovered by drawing off a little of it
and adding to it a portion of the acetite of indigo ; if
the colour of this is not diminifhed, the liquor has loft
its bleaching poiver, and the cloth may be removed,
and the w'ater, if the fimple oxygenated liquor was em¬
ployed, may be ufed .for a new impregnation.
264. After the fluffs or thread have been removed,
they muft be well rinfed and again fubjeEfed to an al¬
kaline ley. The lixiviations and immerfions are repeat¬
ed as often as is requifite till the bleaching is completed.
The number of lixiviations and immerfions differs
according to the articles. Cotton cloth requires only
two operations of each 5 cotton-thread three j fine flax
will require four ; and articles of hemp five or fix alte¬
rations.
265. “ As it is of effential confequence to be aw’are
of certain events, or fatts, by which the progrefs of
the bleaching may be afcertained, I {hall here point
out the gradations of colour, which the pieces aflume
after each immerfion in the oxygenated muriatic acid
without fmell, made according to the proportions here
defcribed. The firft immerfion gives the thread, or
piece-goods, a reddifti colour, {lightly inclining to
yellow j the fecond, a colour inclining to ruddy
y eftow j the third, a w'hitifh yellow j the fourth, a
"white, {lightly inclining to a ruddy tinge ; and by the
fifth and fixth, the white becomes clearer and clearer.
Thefe are very nearly the {hades which are affumed by
coarfe goods, for the fine goods frequently pafs to the
fecond or third gradation by one fingle immerfion.
“ When the liquor is ftrongly concentrated in potafs,
fuch as that which is denoted in the annals of chemil
ftry by the name of javelte, the goods immediately,
and without previous lixiviation, affume the third co¬
lour j but I have obferved, that it is difficult to bleach
them further without ufing the fulphuric acid, to re-
2
H I N G. part II.
move the lees wdth which they are loaded. It muft, Vegetable
moreover, be remarked, -that in order to obtain this Subftarces.
tone of colour, it is fufticient that the lixivium be di- *
luted with water, fo as to mark two or three degrees
only on the aerometer iriftead of eighteen or twenty,
which it may mark after it is prepared by di {filiation'.
There arc fome who do not approve the colour
which the thread acquires after the firft immerfion, but
it may immediately be reduced by fteeping the goods
in cold or hot lees. The latter produces its effedf more
fpeedily ; and after fubfequent rinfing and drying, the
goods retain a gray white colour, more o/lefs deep
according to the fhade it has received. Many venders
prefer this gray, or reduced colour, on account of its
preferable fale in certain markets.
“ With regard to the bright and perfedl white, there
are very few perfons in the provinces who care for it,
or appear to give it an exclufive preference. Two rea-
fons may be given for this : firft, becaufe a prejudice is
unfortunately eftablifhed againft the fpeed with which the
new invented method of bleaching operates: andfecond-
ly, the confumer is conftantly perfuaded, whether the
bleaching may have been performed in this mannner,
or in the field, that when the goods have attained an ex¬
treme degree of whitenefs, they cannot be as durable
as fuch as are lefs white. It is thought to be rotten,
or burnt, and this opinion leads to a preference in fa¬
vour of fuch linens, and even cottons, which preferve
after bleaching a folid ftiade of gray, or dulnefs in the
wdiite.
“ From a prejudice of the fame kind it is, that, in
many countries, the w'omen, particularly the peafants,
prefer their linen, whether for clothing or houfehold
ufe, limply cleared xvithout bleaching. The orders
of proprietors, or purchafers, muft therefore be attend¬
ed to, and the number of immerfions and lixiviations
regulated accordingly.
“ It may be confidered as a rule, that w’hen the goods
no longer communicate a perceptible colour to new
lees, they are entirely finilhed, and confequently, that
every fubfequent lixiviation, or immerfion, will be at¬
tended with abfolute lofs, unlefs the immerfion is necef-
fary to clear off the laft lees, on the fuppofition that
fimple rinfing in a large quantity of w'ater may not be
fufficient.
“ I muft, neverthelefs, remark, that thread bleached
by the oxygenated muriatic acid, may be ufed by the
fempftrefs with much more fpeed and bri/knefs than
thread of the fame quality bleached in the field ; it is
lefs brittle, and, on that account, is better for the weft,
as well as the warp. It likewife may be ftruck much
more effedlually home to its place in weaving, and
does not afterwards move. I received this valuable
obfervation from impartial and unprejudiced manufac¬
turers, for whom I bleached thread according to this
method for making handkerchiefs # w a r
266. The theory of thefe operations is Amply this. LtcLlmn.
The oxygenated liquor fupplies to the cloth the place
of the oxygen of the atmofpheric air, and this in great¬
er abundance, and in a ftate which renders its aftion
on the cloth more expeditious and more complete.
By the union of the oxygen with the carbon of the
colouring matter of the cloth, carbonic acid is formed,
to produce and carry off wdiich is the objedl of the
feveral proceffes which we have defcribed. It is car¬
ried
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable ried off by tbe fubfequent lixiviations in which the
Sabflances. a]}tal] anfwers t^Q purp-0fes . part Qf it combining with
the carbonic acid forms carbonat of potafs, while ano-
tner portion afls on the remaining colouring matter,
and diffolving part of it prepares it for another im-
merfion in the oxygenated liquors.
, 2^7- The expence of potafs foon fuggefted to fcien-
tific bleachers the importance of endeavouring to dif-
cover a fubflitute for it which might render their
proceffes more economical. Kirwan with his ufuai in¬
genuity, difcovered, that faline fulphurets would an-
fwer the purpofe, and Mr Higgins has lately much
improved on this difcovery by bringing into ufe the
fulphuret of lime, which he has fully proved may be
employed as a fubftitute for potafs with the greatefl:
advantage. His account of his views, and of the me¬
thod of preparing and ufing this fubftance are too in-
terefting not to find a place in this article.
268. “ Since I had the honour of being appointed
chemift to the Linen Board, which is now more than
three years, I have allotted a confiderable portion of
niy time and attention to the inveftigation of the prin¬
ciples of that fcience, applicable to the art in which I
am thus more particularly interefted. It appeared
that until potafs could be difpenfed witty we muff for
ever remain in the power of foreign nations as to our
ftaple commodity : observing alfo, that all the late im¬
provements in bleaching were exclufively confined to
t e one objefl ; that of imparting oxygen to the cloth
in a fate and expeditious manner, but that there had’
been no effort made to fuperfede the neceffity of pot¬
afs, by far the moft expenfive and uncertain article
employed by the bleacher, and for which he is entire¬
ly dependent upon foreign markets; I directed my at¬
tention chiefly to difcover a fubftitute for potafs •
^vhich provided it ffiould be of Irifh produdion’
though !t might be equally expenfive, I conceived
would be of the utmoff national importance. Im-
preffed with thefe ideas, I undertook a feries of experi¬
ments with that view.
269. “ To enumerate the many difappointments
and failures I experienced during my inveftigation
■would be endlefs, and an unneceffary intrufion upon
knowing, from an important obfervatmn
of Mr Kirwan, that faline hepars, or the combination
of an alkali with fulphur, might, from its detergent
properties be advantageoufly employed in bleaching,
as a fubftitute for mere alkali, bv an obvious analogy
I was led to expert a fimilar effert from calcareous
nepar, or, more properly fpeaking, fulphuret of lime
being a combination oflime and fulphur.
^270. “ In thefe expertations I was not difappoint-
ed, but at that time (about three years fince) Icon-
tented myfelf (rather through neceffity, for large cities
are very unfavourable to experiments on bleaching by
expofure to the atmofphere), with pointing it out to
lome of the principal bleachers from the north then in
c H I N G.
the town,, earneftly recommending it to them to give
it a fair trial with and without potafs. Since that time,
alkaline falts having become progrefiively dearer, and
in confeque.nce of a late propofal of fubftituting lime
for .potafs, in condenfing the oxymuriated gas, °I was
inftigated to refume the fubjert, and make further and
more varied trials, d he refult of which has been, that
the ufe of the lulphuret of lime may be moft advan¬
tageoufly combined with that of the oxymuriated lime,
and that thus cloth may be perfertly whitened with¬
out the ufe of a particle of alkali. This then alone
would feem to give it a decided preference over the
m at: Pre^ent u^eJ while at the fame time it
po.ffeffes peculiar advantages, and is exempt from the
principal objertions to which other fubftitutes are li-
hablej for iff, quicklime and fulphur, the materials
of which the calcareous hepar confifts, are both arti¬
cles of trivial expence, efpecially as the latter enters
but ipanngly into the compofitien j 2dly, their com¬
bination is efferted in the eafieft and moft expeditious
manner poffible, and perfertly level with the capacity
of the meaneft workman 5 3dly, as the manner of its
application is, by fteeping the cloth in it cold, the
having of fuel is a matter of great magnitude j and
laftly, there is no danger to be apprehended in the ufe
of it, from the unfkilfulnefs or negligence of the work¬
man, as it appears to be incapable of injuring the tex¬
ture of the cloth.
271. “ The fulphuret of lime is prepared in the
manner following : Sulphur, or brimftone in fine pow¬
der, four pounds, lime well flaked and fifted 20 pounds,
water 16 gallons j thefe are all to be well mixed and
boiled for about half an hour in an iron veffel, ftirring
them brilkly from time to time. Soon after the agita¬
tion of boiling is over, the folution of the fulphuret of
lime clears, and may be drawn off free from the info-
luble matter, which is confiderable, and which refts
upon the bottom of the boiler (n). The liquor in this
ftate, is pretty nearly of the colour of fra all beer, but
not quite fo tranfparent-
Sixteen gallons of frefli water are afterwards
to be poured upon the infoluble dregs in the boiler, in
order to feparate the whole of the fulphuret from them.
When this clears (being previoufly xvell agitated) it is
alfo to be drawn off and mixed with the firft liquor j
to thefe. again, 33 gallons more of water may be add¬
ed, which will reduce the liquor to a proper ftandard
for fteeping the cloth.
Here we have, (an allowance being made for
evaporation, and ror the quantity retained in the
dregs) 60 gallons of liquor from, four pounds of brim¬
ftone.
272. “ Although fulphur by itfelf is not in any fen-
fible degree foluble in water, and lime but very fpa-
rmgly fig water diffolving but above ^th part of its ■
foluble(o) 111116' yet thC fulphuret of lime is %%
273v
69s
Vegetable
Subftances,
***&'/*' ffc. yet being fain.hna.ely united to the
lias not the property of that add? f ’ P ^ PrmClpk * fulI,huric aeM in fulphat of potafs.,
partly’cryftallizes upo”coolb^and of water’ the “eV'*
6g6
B L E A C
Vegetable 273. “When the linen is Freed from the weavers
Subftances, drefhng, in the manner already defcribed, it is to be
U v ' fteeped in the folution of fulphuret of lime (prepared
as above) for about twelve or eighteen hours, then
taken out and very well wafhed 5 when dry, it is to
* be fteeped in the oxymuriat of lime for twelve or
fourteen hours, and then wafhed and died. I his pro-
cefs is to be repeated fix times, that is, fix alternate
immerfions in each liquor, which I -found fufficient to
whiten the linen.
« When I fubmitted the linen to fix boilings in pet¬
al's, and to fix immerfions in the oxygenated liquor, it
was not better bleached than the above..
“ The three firft boilings in potafs, it is true, pro¬
duced a fomewhat better effeft than as many fteeps in
the fulphuret *, but towards the conclufion, that is,
when the linen was bleached, the fmalleft difference
vras not obfervable as to colour. The linen bleached
with the potafs was thinner, or more impoveriftied
than that treated with fiilphuret, and the latter flood
the teft of boiling with foap much better than the
former, although it did acquire a flight yellowiih tinge,
which I ftiould fuppofe a wTeek. a, or at moft, a fort¬
night’s grafs, as they term it, would remove.
"274. “ I contrafted the effe&s of hot and cold ful¬
phuret in various temperatures, and although the dif¬
ference appeared in favour of the hot liquor, yet it was
fo trifling as not to deferve confideration, or the expen¬
diture of the fmalleft quantity of fueh
275. “ When I fteeped the linen in the fulphuret
firft, and afterwards boiled it in potafs, and then im-
merfed it once in the oxygenated liquor, a better ef-
fe£ was produced than from two previous boilings in
potafs, or from two fteeps in the fulphuret; fo that
the two fubftances feem to co-operate with each other.
“ Indeed, from what I have feen, two fucceflive
fteeps in frefh fulphuret, previous to the immerfion in
the oxygenated liquor, feemed to afford very little bet¬
ter effefl than a Angle one, which is not the cafe with
refpett to potafs.
276. “ It was obfervable, that the cloth was inva¬
riably thicker or more fwelled coming out of the ful¬
phuret, than after being boiled in potafs, and remain¬
ed fo when even waftied and dried. -
“ It appears to me, that the fulphuret opens the
fibres of the linen more fpeedily and better than the lat¬
ter, by foftening and fwelling, rather than by diffol-
ving, the refinous or colouring matter. 1 his accounts
for the better effedl of potafs upon the linen when
previoufly fteeped in the fulphuret, than when ufed by
itfelf.
277. “ Probably thofe bleachers who do not at pre-
fent find it convenient to ufe the oxygenated liquor,
but continue to bleach by expofure to air, may derive
fome advantage from this, by ufmg the fulphuret and
potafs conjointly or alternately.
“ Mr John Duffy, of Ball’s-bridge, (who from his
knowledge of chemiftry is very w^ell acquainted with
the principles of bleaching) was kind enough to repeat
the above experiments, and his report to me corref-
ponded with my own obfervations.
278. “ It is almoft impoflible to afeertain to the
full extent, more efpecially by fmall experiments in
an elaboratory, the many advantages any fubftance
KING. Part II.
not hitherto ufed in bleaching, will afford by varying Vegetable
the mode of application. , SuJ^nces',
“ The experimenter does a great deal by difeover-
ing the efficacy, proving the pra&icability, and alcer-
taining the fafeft and moft economical method of di-
reftly ufing it, and alfo the belt proportion of it. Be¬
fore he can arrive at any one of thefe, many a round
of changes are neceffary 5 indeed a greater number
than any man who is not ufed to experiments can be
aware of. But I ftiould hope, that the bleacher need
not hefitate to ufe it in the ftate in which I prefent it
to him, more efpecially as he runs no lilk of injuring
the cloth with it. If he can make more of it hereafter,
I (hall feel happy upon the occafion j no difeovery
was ever brought to perfedlion at once.
“ How gradually, and yet how' progreflively the
fleam engine, from its fiift invention by the marquis of
Worcefter, was brought to its prefent degree of per-
feftion ! undoubtedly, it was juft fo with refpe£t to al¬
kalies, the fubftances now ufed by the bleachers, it
muft have taken a confiderable time after their firft
application in bleaching, before they could be made
the moft of.
279. “ I will now conclude by pointing out the ad¬
vantage likely to accrue from the ufe of the fulphuret,
to the nation, and alfo the faving to the individual. _
280. “ Hence it feems, that the quantity of foreign
alkalies imported into the kingdom every year, amounts
10265,968 pounds-, and that the quantity ufed in
bleaching alone, amounts to about 2I5,3°7 pounds
annually.
“ The average price of brimftone for the laft three
vears, is about 25I. a-ton, which is at the rate nearly
of 2^d. a-pound ; four pounds of brimftone, and twenty
pounds of lime, as already obferved, will produce 60
gallons of liquor. In this country twenty pounds of
lime may be valued at about qd. fo that the bleacher
may have the 60 gallons at the expence of is. id.
281. “By what I could learn from different bleach¬
ers, the common allowance of alkali for 60 gallons of
water is fix pounds of barilla or four pounds of potafs
at the very leaft, and moft bleachers ufe more than
this. The price of four pounds of potafs at the rate of
65I. a-ton, is about 2s. qd. which is 2d. more than
double the price of the fulphuret 5 but as the brimftone
muft be ground, an allowance ftiould be made for it
and being eafy of pulverization, a farthing per pound
is an ample confideration for the expence attending it.
282. “ The faving of fuel only remains now to be
taken into confideration ; and as this car.'not be calcu¬
lated with any degree of accuracy, I fhall content my-
felf by particularizing fafts. In the firft place, but
16 gallons of liquid are to be boiled in preparing 60
gallons of the fulphuret, while the whole 6c gallons
muft be boiled when the alkali is ufed j hence it might
appear that two-thirds of the fuel are faved in the
quantity of liquor, but it is not quite lo much, fuppofe
we eftimate it at one half, which is rather under-rating
it. Let us add to this the time neceffary fo boil the
different liquors; the fulphuret requires but about,
half an hour, and the alkaline lixivium at the very
leaft feven hours to boil the linen in it, which is in the
proportion of one to fourteen.
283 “ The faving altogether to the bleacher from
p ' this
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable this ftatement, is obvioufly very confiderable ; and as
Subftances. the Wicklow copper mines are fufficient to fupply the
whole kingdom, or indeed two fuch kingdoms with
abundance of lulphur, let the confumption be ever
fo great, the entire of the alkali, or 215,307 pounds
mult be annually faved to the nation.
But luppofe two-thirds onlv of the quantity of
alkali generally confumed in bleaching were difpenfed
with by the ufe of the fulphuret (which is a fuppolition
not warranted by my experiments) dill the laving to
the nation and to the individual, mud evidently be
* Higgin't great indeed
EJfay. 284. The goods which have been bleached in the
methods above defcribed, require to undergo what are
called dreffings to give them a clear and bright white.
This is particularly neceffary for the finer piece goods*
leiving thiead, dockings, gloves, and all cotton ar¬
ticles.
-tkiter the lad immerfion, the goods are to be pref-
fed or wrung, and then immerfed in a bath of water,
holding in folution about a hundredth part of its
weight of fulphuric acid. The acidulous bath may be
employed cold, but it is better to heat it fo moderately,
that the hand may be born in it. The bed way to
make the mixture of fulphuric acid and water, is to
invert the bottle containing the acid in the water,
when the acid by its greater fpecific gravity quits the
bottle, and by agitation for a confiderable time com¬
bines with the water.
It is ufual to leave the goods for fome days in the
bath, but it is fafer to allow them to remain only a few
hours, and to lenew the bath till they are fufficiently
white. Too many articles mud not be crowded to¬
gether nor two much preffed, that the acid may exert
its action equably.
After removing the goods from the acid bath, they
mud be wrung, and wafiied repeatedly in fair water
till they no longer retain any marks of acidity.
285. It is cudomary to give to linen cloth a bluidi
diade ; this is produced by difperfing through the wa¬
ter in which it was lad rinfed, a little indigo or Pruf-
han blue, or it may be given by a folution of white or
motled foap in which the cloth is waflied, while it
dill retains a little acid.
2 86.. As accidents are apt to occur during thefe pre¬
cedes, it is proper to inform the artid how thefe may
be remedied.
287. “ Accidents in the di/1 illation.—The principal
accident wdiich is capable of interrupting the didilla-
tion, is when the lutes of the adopter differ the gas to
efcape. The mod fpeedy remedy, in this cafe, to pre¬
vent the exhalation of the acid, which cannot be retain¬
ed but with difficulty, feldom for any length of time,
and then very imperfectly, in confequence of its great
expanfion •, the fhorted method, I fay, at lead if the
didillation be not near its conclufion, is to remove the
fire immediately from beneath the capfule of the re¬
tort, and to differ this lad to cool for a certain time, by
raiding it a little in its fand-bath. If it be not podible
to take it out of the furnace, together with its capfule,
on account of the heat, or its dicking too fadf the
adopter mud be unluted from the funnel of the leaden
tube, and the aperture of this tube clofed with a cork,
or lute, to prevent the gas of the pneumatic veffel from
evaporating ; after which the retort mud be raifed, and
Vol. III. Part II.
C H I N G. 6g7
placed gently upon a bag of draw, or on coarfe cloths Vegetable
folded together j and then holding the retort by its Subftances.
neck, near the flexure, the adopter mud be entirely v 4
unluted, by twiding it round and drawing it off. The
orifice of the neck of the retort is then to be clofed
with a cork dopper, but not fo clofely but that a very
fmall portion of gas may be differed to efcape, for fear
of an explofion. The dopper of the neck may, for
gieater fafety, be flightly raifed. T his precaution is
neceffary, on account of the great expanfion of the
muriatic acid gas. The old lute mud then be taken
off, as well from the adopter as the retort, and the
places to which they w^ere applied mud be well clean¬
ed, in order to receive frefh lute, after having careful¬
ly Wiped off the moidure with a cloth or a fponge. If
the lute wdiich comes off be dill good, it may be knead¬
ed again, adding, if required, a fmall quantity of boil¬
ed oil, or it may be mixed with new' lute, if it be burn¬
ed or decompofed. This decompofition in the fat lute
may be known by the white or reddifh colour wdiich
it acquires, and the facility with which it breaks, on
account of its having lod the gluten wdiich afforded it
that toughnefs and tenacity, on which its goodnefs chief¬
ly depends.
288. With regard to the lute of linfeed cake, it
mud, m almod every cafe, be totally renewed, particu¬
larly w'hen internally applied, becaufe the heat hardens
it too much to admit of its being kneaded again, with
any moderate degree of facility ; the decompofition of
this lute is known by the yellow colour it acquires, and
the contraftion it undergoes from the effett of the heat.
The lutes be kneaded to a proper confidence, and du¬
ly placed according to the directions laid down in
(232.) the adopter is to be fixed, previoufly removing
the dopper from the mouth of the retort, and placing
another in that of the fmall end of the adopter, to pre^
vent any inconvenience from the vapour which might
iffue out' during the time of fixing it. This vapour is
likewife condenfed within the adopter, in confequence
of its coldnefs. The retort is then to be placed, as be¬
fore, on the furnace, the adopter uncorked, and its
beak luted into the tube of lead ; after which, the fire
is to be replaced beneath the capfule, and diflillation
very fpeedily recommences, and proceeds as ufual. The
operation is a w'ork of fome delicacy ; it requires to be
performed with /peed, and great care mud be taken
while placing the lutes and the adopter in their proper
fituations, to dand always in fuch a pofition, that the
current of the external air may drive the vapour from
the operator himfelf.
289. “ If the accident here defcribed fliould take
place. towards the end of the diflillation, as it may
fometimes happen, in confequence of the llrong heat
which, at that time, may foften the lutes, it will be
fufficient if the fire be taken from beneath the capfule.
The didillation foon ceafes when this is done, particu¬
larly if care be taken to condenfe the gas, by the pru¬
dent application of wet cloths on the neck of the retort,,
as well as the adopter.
290. “ This inconvenience would not take place, if
the workmen in thofe glafs-houfes which are principal¬
ly employed in the fabrication of chemical veffels
could make retorts with necks recurved in the form of
the adopter. Thefe kind of veffels may be adiduoufly
fupplied by making ufe of a tube of lead, fo formed as
4 T to
6g8 B L E A C
Vegetable to ferve inftead of the adopter, as I have already ob-
Subftances. fervecj} with regard to the tubulated bottles or bodies
jf? by accident, the lute which is adapted diould
fail, or fuffer the gas to pafs through, it may eafily be
flopped, by applying a new lute to the place of jur^lion.
Inuead of the leaden tube, we may fubftitute, with Hill
greater convenience (the danger of breaking excep¬
ted), a tube of glafs, of which the end neareft the bot¬
tle, or tubulated body, fhould be ground with emery.
By thefe means there would be no application of lute,
and confequently no danger to be feared with regard
to the filtration of the gas, the efcape of which is eafi¬
ly perceived by the fmell which diffufes itfelf through
the worldhop, and is more particularly perceived when
the nofe is applied near the veffels, or the lute. But
as this laft method of difeovering the place where the
lute has failed may be attended with the molt ferious
confequences, if the greateit precaution be not ufed,
it is more prudent to apply an open bottle of ammoniac
near the fufpefted place i at the inftant that it is pre-
fented, a white fume is formed, which immediately
points out the defeftive fpot. The bottle mull be pre-
fented above the current of air, which takes place near
the lute, or in the worklliop, If this precaution be
not attended to, the operator might be induced to re¬
move a good lute, inftead of one which was really de-
feffive.
291. “ On the other hand, if in the courfe of the
dilliilation, and for want of keeping up the heat, the
fluid in the pneumatic veffel fliould be abforbed and
rife into the diifilling apparatus, it is neceffary the in-
ilant it is perceived to withdraw for a moment the
Hopper out the neck of the retort, where, as I have
already had occafion to obferve, the abferption inftant-
ly ceafes. Neverthelefs, if, for want of being obferv-
ed in time, the w-ater Ihould rife fo far as partly to fill
the retort, or body (for it never entirely fills it), the
dilliilation will be flopped, from the ccldnefs ofthe
water, and its too great quantity. The Ihorteft reme¬
dy is to draw out the excels of wTater, which is thus
introduced into the diililling veffel, by the afliflance
of a glafs pump, or fyphon, and afterwards to heat the
lame veffel, firfl returning the water into the pneuma¬
tic veffel, if thought expedient : but if the diftillation
be properly attended to, this accident can never happen.
292. “ Accidents in the lixiviations and unmerjions.
I place the accidents arifing from thefe two opera¬
tions in the fame clafs, becaufe they can fcarcely take
place, but by the joint operation of both.
“ Any article which is badly cleared of the lixivi¬
um, and afterwards immerfed in the oxygenated muria¬
tic acid, becomes almoft immediately oi a nankeen co¬
lour, particularly in the folds, either in fpots where cer¬
tain parts have not been fufficiently rinfed, or elfe the
colour is general, if the whole has not been well rin¬
fed.
“ The fame accident happens if foot has fallen on
the linen or thread. The difference is Amply in the
colour, which approaches more to brown. The colours
are capable of becoming more and more deep if the
H I N G. Tart II.
mlfmanagement be not remedied as foon as perceived, Vegetable
and that before the goods are fubjefted to other im- Subftances.
merfions in the alkaline lees, or of the oxygenated v
muriatic acid. The lame accident is to be expected,
if the goods, though white at the time of their immer-
fion, are fuffered to remain too long in the bleaching
liquor. This does not fail to happen, particularly if
the articles which are fuffered to remain even in a
weak folution, are kept in that ftate the whole night.
The next day they are found to be yellow', or charged
with lixivium. 4
293. “ The only method of remedying thefe acci¬
dents confiffs in the ufe of water, (lightly accidulated
wdth fulphuric acid, no matter whether cold or hot,
but the hot folution operates more fpeedily. The
fpotted or tinged goods are to be foaked in this water
for a few' minutes, or a quarter of an hour, accordingly
as the colour may be more or lefs deep, in confequence
of a feries of lixiviations or immerfions, more or lefs re¬
peated. In this Atuation the offenfive colour is feen
almoft immediately to difappear.
294. “ Inftead of making a fulphuric folution ex-
prefsly for that purpofe, that which has ferved for the
drefling may anfwer very well: neither of thefe need be
ftronger than has been there directed, unlefs the goods
be confiderably charged with colour, and there be a
great quantity to immerfe at once. The acidulated
water is tried by the areometer, and if, in conlequence
of having been ufed, it Ihould not be fufficiently
ftrong, it may be reflored by adding the requifite
quantity of acid for that purpofe. It is neceffary,
when any new' acid is poured in, to mix it well
with the water before any goods are immerfed there¬
in.
“ It muft, in this place, be obferved,„that though
the thread and piece-goods may become charged with
a foreign colour, in confequence of the accidents here
pointed out, both thefe articles are frequently very
w ell bleached at the under furface. It is even a proof
that the muriatic acid has operated effedffually, in
caufing the lixivium to produce fuch an efieft : but
thefe accidents are difficult to be obferved on obje&s
Amply cleared, or in the crude ftate. In the latter
cafe, a permanency of the original colour may alone
ftrew the neceffity of ufing the fulphuric acid, particu¬
larly when the lees and the muriatic acid which have
beeh ufed are not at all exhaufted.
295. “ Accidents attending the preparation or drejjing.
When the piece-goods are immerfed in a folution of
foap, after having been taken out of the fulphuric
acid, while they are ftill too ftrongly acidulated, or
inftead of rinfing them they be immediately conveyed
from the acid into the folution of foap *, this laft folution is
fubjedl to curdle, or become immediately decompofed $
whence the operator has the mortification to obferve
the whole furface of the goods covered with an infinite
number of fmall fpots of oil, in the form of clots, of a
yellowiffi colour, and very tenacious, particularly on
{lockings or cotton goods, becaufe they incorporate as
it were with the nap or texture of the goods : they dif¬
appear
(p) This laft method appears to be preferable to every other; becaufe it requires only a flight attention te>
the lute, and can never produce thofe dangers which arife from the ufe of retorts.
Part If. ■ B L E A
Vegetable appear in confequence of much wafhing or rinfing. I
buMlances. muft particularly mention an accident which may hap¬
pen to any one, namely, that of placing by miftake
fiockings or other bleached objefts, which have re¬
ceived their firft treatment in the folution of foap,
upon articles which have been expofed to the vapour
of lulphur. I have placed {lockings upon gauze, which
had been whitened by fulphur, and found, that after
the} had remained in this fituation for the courfe of a
night, they became entirely of a brown-red at the place
O' contact. I hey appeared as if burnt or marked with
a hot iron. I ins colour, which, no doubt, wras pro¬
duced by the combination of the volatile fulphuric
acid, with the alkali of the foap, with which the {lock¬
ings were ftill impregnated to a certain degree, imme¬
diately difappeared upon expofing them 5 firft, to the
aclion of a bath of the odorant oxygenated muratic
acid, and afterwards to another of water, {lightly aci¬
dulated with the fulphuric acid.
296. “ Every fait with excels of acid, fuch as the
fait of forrel, removes the ruddy fpots here mentioned
w ith equal eafe. It is true, that this fait cannot with
convenience be ufed, on account of its dearnefs, but
the refidue of the diililling veflels, that is to fav, the
water which holds in folution the refidue of the diftil-
i«tion of the oxygenated muriatic acid, is very fervice-
able in this procefs, and may be advantageoufty ufed
either hot or cold, to remove thofe very tenacious fpots,
which are not at all capable of being removed by foap
or alkaline lees.
297. “ When the fpots of oxyd of iron, commonly
dillinguifhed by the name of ironmould, are fmall,
they may eaftly be taken out with fait of forrel in
powder, laid upon the fpot itfelf, which is afterwards
to be moiftened with a fmall quantity of w^ater j or
the part which is fpotted may be fteeped in a folution
of the dame fait. It foon becomes fainter, and at
length difappears, after wdiich the place muft be very
well rinfed. The fulphuric acid may be ufefully ap¬
plied mftead of the fait of forrel, as Berthollet feems
to affirm in his memoir j and I have proved wdth fuc-
cefs, that, though the fpots may penetrate quite through
the cloth, and be very broad, yet if they be foakedln
a bath of fulphuric acid, either warm or cold, when
the goods are taken out of the bath of muriatic acid,
the efle£l will be that the fpots infenfibly difappear.
If the goods be of clofe texture, the operation of the
“acid is flower (q_).
29S. “ With regard to the fpots of ruft which are
frequently feen on thread or cotton {lockings, they
are produced by the needles of the engine, and com¬
monly difappear during the dreffing, that is to fay, in
•the bath of fulphuric acid. The fame obfervation is
true of the fpots of ruft wdiich fometimes appear on the
piece-goods, in confequence of their having been in
contaft with iron. In general, the older any iron-
mould may be, the more tenacious it is, and the more
difficult to be effaced 5 but every fpot may be made to
<lifappear in time.
299. “ It frequently happens that piece-goods are
fpotted with tar, during their carriage by water, in
^ H I N G. ^ 699
boats, where they are liable to be placed upon the Vegetable
pitchy parts of the veffels, or in contaa with tarred Sttbftance5»
ropes. Thefe fpots may be foon taken out, by rub- **
bing them with oil of olive, which diffolves the tar ;
or ftill better, by holding the part in fpirit of wine, if
this procefs ftiould be thought more convenient. The
latter method operates by the complete folution of
the tar.
300. “ With regard to fpots of wine, cyder, or any
kind of fruit, they may be effaced by dropping a tew
drops of the oxygenated muriatic acid upon them,
wduch caufes them almoft inftantly to difappear. But
there are certain fruits, fuch as plumbs, of which the
fpots are more difficult to efface ; they requiring one
or two lixiviations. Thofe that are gray, or reddifti,
at firft, affume a fine yellow colour in the muriatic acid.,
which does not difappear during a fubfequent lixivia*
tion, but requires a fecond immerfion in the bleaching
liquor.
301. “ I muft not omit a fecond very fimple and
economical method to take out every kind of fpot
occafioned by fruits, fuch as ftrawberries, goofeber-
ries, &c. It confifts in caufing the fpotted part to
imbibe water, and afterwards to Turn one or two ’
common brimftone matches over the place : the ful-
phurous gas which is difeharged foon caufes the fpot
to difappear.
302. “ There is a kind of indelible fpot which is
produced from red ochre and the charcoal black,
with which the xveavers mark the turns of the beam,
in order to affiertam the length of the chain of piece-
goods. This kind of mark, which is imprefied on the
goods at equal diftanCes, is fo far from being effaced,
that it feems, in fome meafure, to receive ftrength from
the oxygenated muriatic acid, notwithftanding the in¬
termediate adlion of the lees.”
life of the oxygenated muriatic acid in difeharging the
colours of dyed or printed goods.
303. There are feveral proceffes allied to bleaching
which depend on the agency of the oxygenated muri¬
atic acid, and of which we ftiall therefore treat before
proceeding to deferibe the remaining bleaching pro¬
ceffes. Thefe are the difeharging of dyed or printed
colours; the bleaching of paper; the cleaning of %
books, maps, and prints ; and the bleaching of wax.
304. White filk and wool, on being fteeped in oxy¬
genated muriatic acid, acquire a yellow colour; hence
this acid is oi no ufe in bleaching thefe animal fubftan
ces; It readily difeharges the fimple colours with
which filk has been dyed, fuch as, indigo blue, gray,
lilac and crimfon, and gray, orange, green, faxon blue,
apple green, fawn colour, brown lemon, and dipped
blue, with which wool has been dyed. It leaves* the
goods however of the fame yellow call as it imparts
to white wool and filk, but this yellow colour is readi¬
ly altered to a clear white by immerfion in .the fulphu-
rous acid as deferibed in the bleaching of thefe fub-
ftanccs.
Silk dyed with fome compound colours, as violets,
greens, broxns, blacks, acquires the fame yellow co-
4 J 2 lour,
GJ ’«e falt of forrel is fold in London, in fmall bottles, by the perfumers and apothecaries, under the name
■til fait of lemon. ’I he iulphuric acid, as preferibed abo\e, muft, of courfe, be diluted.
yoo B L E A C
Vegetable lour, but not fo fpeedily, two immerfions being ufually
Subftance.s. foun(;j necefl[ary to difcharge the colours completely.
In the brown violet and puce colours, which are com-
pofed of blue and red, the blue commonly firlf difap-
pears, and by a fubfequent immerfion the red is dif-
charged. The fame happens with the yellow which
forms a part of the compolition of green and orange,
the blue of the former and the red of the latter re¬
maining. In blacks which are compofed of brown
laid upon a blue or a root colour, the brown firft va-
nilhes.
When more than one immerfion is required, it is
proper to ufe a bath of fulphuric acid between them,
and this is particularly neceffary where iron has enter¬
ed into any of the colours.
Thefe effects of the oxygenated muriatic acid ferve
to explain the a£Hon of the air in difcharging the lefs
permanent colours of woollen and filken goods, and in
giving to white clothes a yellow colour. It is evident¬
ly oxygen which is in both cafes the aftive principle,
but its aftion is more fpeedy in the acid than in the at-
mofphere, from the facility with which the former is
decompofed.
305. The colours employed in dying or printing
cottons or linens are of two kinds, chemical or, as they
are fometimes called, falfe colours, and fall or true co¬
lours. The former difappear in a very fhort time up¬
on one immerfion in the acid, except one defcription of
yellow, which contains in its compofition fulphat of
copper (blue vitriol), fulphat of iron (green vitriol or
copperas), and acetite of lead (fugar of lead). Goods
which have been dyed with this colour muft firfl be
well fcoured with foap, which fo far feparates or de-
compofes the colour, that a fubfequent immevfion will
readily difcharge it, whereas without this previous
fcouring, the acid would have completely fixed the
colour.
Several of the fall colours, as the blues, yellows,
and blacks, require a lixiviation before immerfion, and
two, or fometimes three, immerfions with intermediate
' baths of fulphuric acid are neceffary completely to re¬
move them. Moll other faff colours yield to a fingle
immerfion. A peculiar exception to this is the Adria-
nople red, which never becomes entirely white, how¬
ever numerous the lixiviations, immerfions, and acid
baths employed.
306. “ There is another thing no lefs -worthy of re¬
mark with regard to the black colour, which forms
the outline or border of defigns, namely, that if the
mufiin, or cleared fine piece, upon which the different
flowers were defigned which have been difeharged, be
folded together in feveral folds, or placed upon a dark-
coloured ground, the effaced outline becomes vifible
according to the expofure of the piece under a certain
obliquity of the light exhibiting the appearance of a
flight trace. The kind of outline which, under thefe
circumftanc<;s, becomes vifible, cannot be compared to
any thing better than the embroidery of muffins pla¬
ced on a coloured ground. This trace feen at a cer¬
tain diftance has the fame effeft, and even when clofe-
ly obferved, it is impoffible to determine what it is, be-
caufe it is not vifible, except under a certain refledlion
of the light *, neverthelefs the whole piece appears
white, and of a very fuperior quality. I have remark-
H I N G. Part II.
ed that this effect does not take place excepting with Vegetable
regard to the old prints of flowered defigns of the true SuMances.
India calicoes imported from that part of the globe.
Tor in the printed goods of our manufaftures, fuch as
thofe of Paris, Joly, St Denis, and Beauvais, all the
traces of the defigns completely difappeared, to my
great furprize. It muft, therefore, neceffarily be ad¬
mitted, that the difference in thefe refults depend on
the qualities of the mordants, which are more or lefs
oily, or the manner of ftriking the blocks in the aft of
printing.
“ If this effeft w7ere produced by the mordant wffth
the outlines of the defigns in the pieces of printed
goods, it might, perhaps, be of advantage to take the
fame method of obtaining a fubftitute, inllead of the
rich expenfive embroideries ufith w'hich the fine muf-
lins of India and Switzerland are covered. Thefe de¬
figns likewife do not appear in their full effeft, but
when they are placed upon a tranfparent fluff of a
deep colour, which exhibits all the outline. This me¬
thod of producing fo rich an effeft would be extreme^
ly fimple, Angularly permanent, and highly economi¬
cal. I think, however, that I may add, that, after ma¬
ny trials, I have at latt fucceeded in difcharging this
mordant, fometimes by a bath of fulphuric acid, rather
ftronger than ufual, and at other times by foaping the
goods before and after the bath. This management
is very effential to be known, in order that the opera¬
tor may not be expofed to the mortification of feeing
the fame defigns return again by the fecond aftion of
the madder applied to the fame bleached piece in a
fubfequent printing procefs. To obviate every acci¬
dent of this kind, it will be proper to inform the own¬
er which of the methods have been ufed to bleach their
goods, and in cafe the new method may have been
ufed, it would then be prudent to pafs them previoufly
through a good bath of fulphuric acid *.” * jJicholf.
307. Colours laid in oil which do not contain mad- De Charmer*
der, muff be firfl: heated in an alkaline ley, and then
fcoured with foap.
Bleaching of Taper.
308. The bleaching of paper has been rendered
conflderably more expeditious by the rife of the oxyge¬
nated muriatic acid. The following procefles are giv¬
en by De Charmes as extrafted from different French
memoirs.
Bleaching of old printed Tapers, to be worked up
again.
309. “ I. Boil your printed paper for an inftant in
folution of foda rendered cauftic by potafs. The foda
of varech is good.
“ 2. Steep them in foap-water, and then w’alh them,
after which the material may be decompofed, or redu¬
ced to a pulp, by the machinery of the paper-mill.
The waffling with foap may be omitted without any
great inconvenience.
Bleaching of old written Tapers, to be worked up again.
310. “ Steep your paper in a cold folution of ful¬
phuric acid in water, after which wafti them before
they are taken to the mill. If the acidulated water
be heated, it will be fo much the more effeftual.
Bleaching-
I
Part II. B L E A C
Subftances. Caching of printed Topers without defraying the tex-
ture of the Leaves.
$11. “ l. Steep the leaves in a cauftic folution of
foda, either hot or cold. 2. And in a folution of
foap. 3. Arrange the fheets alternately between
cloths, in the fame manner as the paper-makers dif-
poie thin fheets of paper when delivered from the form.
4. Subjedl the leaves to the prefs, and they will be¬
come whiter, unlefs they wTere originally loaded with
Cze and printers ink. If the leaves fhould not be en¬
tirely white by this firft operation, repeat the procefs a
fecond, and, if neceflary, a third time. The bleached
leaves, when dried and preffed, may be ufed again for
the fame purpofes as before.
Bleaching of old written Tapers without defraying the
texture of the Leaves.
H I N G. • 7oi
ted muriatic acid. If the operator could know that Vegetable
thefe rags had been dyed in the raw flate, a ftill more Subftances.
brilliant white might be obtained by folknving the fe-
cond method defcribed in the preceding article. But
it very feidom happens that coloured rags have not
been bleached before they were dyed. The manipu¬
lations may be performed with fufficient fpeed to bleach
at leaf! three thoufand pounds weight in the courfe of
the day, without appropriating any extraordinary edi¬
fice or work drop to this purpofe * Nicholf.
315. But by far the beft method of bleaching pa-
per is by applying the gas to it while in the Hate of
pafle; the method of doing which, with the fteps
w-hich led to it, are thus related in a Memoir of C.
Loyfel, in the Ann. de Chimie as tranflated by Mr Ni-
cholfon in his valuable Journal, from which we have
extracted it.
312. “ x. Steep the paper in water acidulated with
fulphuric acid, either hot or cold. 2. And in the fo¬
lution of oxygenated muriatic acid. Thefe papers,
when prefied and dyed, will be fit for ufe as before.
The method of bleaching Rags of the natural brown co¬
lour for the Mannfatlory of white Taper.
313. “ x. Let the rags be opened or feparated from
each other, after previous foaking or maceration for a
longer or a fhorter time, according to their texture
and quantity. 2. Give a lixiviation in cauftic vege¬
table, or mineral alkali. 3. Pafs them through the
oxygenated muriatic acid, more or lefs concentrated
with alkali. 4. Let the mafs be then worked for a
lufficient time in the apparatus of the paper-mill, and
it may be advantageoufty fubftituted inftead of that
which is afforded by white rags.
“ The white colour will be ftill better, if, after the
maceration, the rags be opened and fubjeded, asufual,
to the adlion of the mill ; after which the pafte itfelf
muft be fubjefted to one lixiviation, one immerfion,
and a bath of fulphuric acid. The mafs being then
well waftied and preffed out, may be thrown into a
trough to be manufadlured.
Method of bleaching Rags, of all Colours whatever, in
order to make white Taper.
314. “ 1. Let the rags be opened, as before. 2.
Steep them in the oxygenated muriatic acid. 3. If,
as it commonly happens, the colour is difcharged by
this firft; immerfion, let thefe bleached and decompo-
fed rags be immerfed in water acidulated with fulphu¬
ric acid. 4. Complete the diforganization by the mal¬
lets or cylinders of the mill, after having previoufly
well waftied them.
“ If the colour fliould not be fufficiently difcharged
by the firft immerfion in the oxygenated muriatic acid,
which is very feidom the cafe, give them another alka¬
line lixiviation, and after that a fecond immerfion in
the oxygenated muriatic acid j after which fteep them
in water acidulated with fulphuric acid, either hot or
cold, the latter of which is the moft adlive and effec¬
tual j and, laftly, let them be fubje&ed to the adlion
of the mallets or cylinders.
“ Red and blue colours are moft tenacious. With
regard to black, it will be fufficient if they be fteeped
after opening their texture, 1. In a diluted folution of
fiilphuric acid j and, 2. In a,, folution of the oxygena-
316.“ The procefs of bleaching the pafte of the paper
maker, even wffien produced from the moft common rags,
will communicate to it the quality of the beft fort. By
thefe means our paper manufaftories may fupply our
wants in fine white paper, and even obtain the prefer¬
ence in foreign markets. The refult of this operation
would be, that a greater number of workmen would
find employment, and the advantages of this increal'e
of induftry would be of ftill greater national value, than
even the foreign export which might be expedled.
“ The fuccefs of bleaching the pafte of paper by the
method of Citizen Berthollet is no longer problemati¬
cal. The application which has been made to the pa¬
per ufed in making affignats, has placed this queftion
beyond all doubt as to its folution.
3x7. “ It -was at the commencement of the year 2,
that the committee of affignats and monies of the na¬
tional convention, of which I was a member, refolved
to employ this method, together with that of ftereoty-
page which had been adopted, to oppofe new obftacles to
the pradlice of forgery.
“ We particularly confulted Citizens Berthollet,,
Fourcroy, and Guyton on this enterprife. Their ap¬
probation of the projed, and the information they af¬
forded us, foon gave us the power of realifing it.
We were alio aflifted with the knowledge of Citi¬
zens Welter, Athenas, Alban, Carny, Marchais and
Ribaucour, who with great zeal communicated their
procefles, and permitted us to infpefl their feveral ma-
nufa&ories.
318. “ Our firft procefles W’ere executed precifely
according to the method of Citizen Berthollet. The
rag was fubje£led in fucceffion to different lees, to,
baths of the bleaching liquor, and fulphuric acid point¬
ed out in his memoir. Berthollet had ftiewn, and we.
were alfo convinced by our own experience, that the
gas is lefs con'-ned in the fimple fluid, prepared with¬
out addition of fixed alkali, than it is in that which con¬
tains potafs or foda 5 and that it is confequently more,
difpofed to feparate and enter into new combinations.
We therefore at firft made ufe of this fimple liquor },
but the workmen foon exhibited a ftrong repugnance
to its ufe on account of the fumes it emits, which are
extremely inconvenient, even when chalk is diffufed in'
the liquor. This inconvenience forced us to abandon
it, though with regret. This facrifice was fo much,
the more cpnfiderable, as it occafioned a lofs of time,;
and confiderable increafe of expence.-. We decided that
\\t
702 B L E A C
V actable we would receive the gas in a folution of potafs j but
S'jbftances. as t;jle jn this alkali may be ufed have li-
mits of great extent, we endeavoured to keep as near
as poflible to that preparation which is fufficient to pre¬
vent the fpontaneous difengagement of the gas, and
by that means caufe the liquor to lofe the odour we
were defirous of avoiding. This dofe was 5 kilograms
of potafs to 100 litres of water, (n pounds avoirdu-
poife, to 214 ale gallons.)
319. “ The rags bleached in this manner became of
the mod brilliant white. Neverthelefs, a part of this
perfeftion difappeared, when the rag was converted
into pafte, and that pafte into paper. It was eafy to
difcover the caufe ; namely, that the interior parts of
the thread in the rag were lefs expofed to the aftion of
the liquor than thofe at the furface. This motive de¬
termined us to abandon the bleaching of the rags, and
to operate upon the pafte itfelf.
320. “ We were here oppofed by new obftacles.
When the rag is converted into a pafte proper to be
worked, its coherence is fuch that it fettles, and no
longer permits the leys and baths of the bleaching li¬
quor to penetrate through all its parts, in confequence
of which property the paper was found to have veins
and different {hades of colour. We remedied this in¬
convenience, by taking the matter in a mean ftate be¬
tween the rag and the pafte proper to be converted in¬
to ftieets of paper. We fucceeded in this refpeci by
deftroying the texture of the rag under the firtt cylin¬
der fo as to feparate its fibres, an operation which ufu-
ally lafted two hours for a pile of 50 kilograms. Thus
it was, that by fucceflively avoiding the extremes of
too much and too little mechanical connexion, we ad¬
vanced towards our objefr.
321. “ The apparatus which Citizen Welter imagin¬
ed, and of which Citizen Berthollet has given a de-
icription in the firft volume of the Journal of Arts and
Manufaftures, is applicable to all the methods which
can be employed to procure the different kinds of
bleaching liquor, whether the water of the receiver con¬
tains fixed alkali or not; whether the muriatic acid be
ufed on the oxyd of manganefe, or the gas be obtained
by fulphuric acid, upon the mixture of oxyd of manga¬
nefe and muriat of foda. This apparatus is particularly
preferable to all others in the cafe where the water of
the receiver contains no alkali, becaufe the abforption of
the gas is favoured by its being brought into contadf with
the water at a great number of furfaces. But as we had
determined to ufe a folution of potafs, we were able to
make fome modifications of this apparatus.
322. “ One thoufand litres of water are placed in the
receiver, holding in folution fifty kilograms of white
purified and calcined potafs.
“ When the difengagement of gas is effedled by the
muriatic acid, the materials are ufed in the following
dofes :
Oxyd of manganefe 24 kilograms
Muriatic acid at 20 degrees
of denfity according to the
areometer of Baume,
92
which makes for each of the eight diftilling veffels ii-|-
kilograms of materials.
KING. ran II.
323. “ The operation is begun by charging the re- Vegetable
ceiver with 1000 litres of alkaline water, after which Subitances.
the aperture 8 is clofed with its ftopper well luted. v~
Each matrafs is then placed in its fand-bed ; and pul-
verized manganefe is introduced. The muriatic acid
is poured upon the manganefe, and the ftoppers into
which the tubes of communication pafs, are duly pla¬
ced. The juncture is luted with paper foaked'in flarch.
And the lute is left to dry from fix to twelve hours,
after which the fire is lighted in the furnaces.'
324. “ The procefs of diftillation lafts from ten to
twelve hours. When it is finiftied the tubes are un¬
luted, the fire extinguifhed, and the matraffes fuffered
to cool in their fand beds, till the temperature of thefe
beds has defcended to 60 or 70 degrees, (centigrade)
at which period, water of the fame heat is poured into
the matrafies. The water dilutes the refidue of the
diftillation, which mixture is to be poured out, and
the veffels fuffered to cool in bafkets containing ftraw.
If the precaution of introducing hot water in this man¬
ner upon the refidue were not taken, it would become
fo folid -when the operation is performed with fulphuric
acid, in the manner wTe are about to defcribe, that it
could not be extra died without much trouble and dan¬
ger of breaking the veffels.
325. “ If the difengagement of the gas be made by
fulphuric acid, the following dofes are ufed :
Oxyd of manganefe 25 kilograms
Muriat of foda ' 70
Sulphuric acid at 50 degrees of denfity 25
Total 120
“ The acid is to be diluted with an equal bulk of
water, or 16 litres, which will reduce its denfity to 31
degrees.
“ The eighth part of this for each matrafs amounts
to 14^ kilograms. 4
326. “ The oxyd of manganefe and muriat of foda
being pulverized are mixed together. The matrafs is
to be charged and the operation conducted as before
defcribed. This method is the moft economical, be¬
caufe the fulphuric acid is cheaper than the muriatic,
and alfo becaufe it is pradlicable to obtain from the re-
fidue of the diftillation, the loda of the muriat which
is converted into fulphat of fodS ; that fait being de-
compofable by well known proceffes.
“ In order to mealure the force of thefe liquors, or
their bleaching pow er, wtc made ufe of the folution of
indigo prefcribed by Citizen Defcroizilles.
“ One part by meafure of the bleaching liquid pre¬
pared as before mentioned, will ufually deftroy the
blue colour of nine parts of proof folution of indigo ;
it was of the fame ftrength as that of Javel, prepared
by Citizen Alban.
Choice and Preparation of the Rags. -
327. “ The ftrength or tenacity of paper depends
upon the ftaple or fibre of the material from which it
is made. Rags of new cloth and cordage compofe a
paper more tough than old rags, and the firft of thefe
materials prefects a great variety on account of the
quality of the hemp or flax of which they are formed.
* Rag*
I
Part II. B L E A C H I N
Vegetable Rags of fine new cloth, whether raw or bleached by doubt, be ufed :
G.
7
°3
Subltances.^ ^ oxygenated muriatic acid, Hand in the firft rank,
’^ after wdiich cordage and old rags may be clafied.
328. “ Paper intended for bills of exchange, or other
commercial and legal inftruments ought to be tough,
in order that it may not be eafily torn when thin, for
this paper the materials of the firft clafs muft be entire¬
ly, or in large proportion employed. The price which
the con Turners are difpofed to pay for this article, is
fufficient to indemnify the manufadlurer for his care and
induftry, as this kind of paper is fold in France for 5
or 6 franks the kilogram.
329. “ The other papers alfo require to be more or
lefs tough, according to their thinnefs, and the ufe to
which they are applied, but a clear white colour is
fought in paper of every defcription. Idle firft ope¬
ration to which the rags are fubje&ed is forting, in
order that each branch of the manufafture may have
its appropriate material, after which they are cut with
{hears into pieces of about one decimeter, or three or
four inches Iquare.
330. “ I will fuppofe that the objeft of the manu-
fadfurer is to obtain paper of a beautiful white. If it
is intended to be thin, fo that, for example, a ream of
the fize denominated raifin fhould weigh only four or
five kilograms, that is to fay, about one-third of the
weight of common paper of the fame form. The ma-
nufadlurer makes choice either of new rags already of
a fine white, or of unbleached rags.
“ In the cafe of the white rags, it is fufficient to pafs
them under the firft cylinder, then to give them a bath
of the bleaching liquor, and afterwards a bath of ful-
phuric acid, as we fhall proceed to direft, after which
they are paffed under the finiftiing cylinder for feven
or eight hours, and, laftly, conveyed to the working
trough to be made into facets of paper.
331. “ Rags, which have never been bleached, may
be treated by either of the following proceffes, that
is to fay, the firft, which preferves the utmoll degree
of toughnefs to the paper, but is likervife the moft ex-
penfive, confifts in decompofing the rag, and afterwards
applying the method of Citizen Berthollet for bleach¬
ing piece goods-, namely, fubjefting it to three or four
lixiviations, and afterwards alternately to lixiviations,
baths of the bleaching liquor, and baths of fulphuric
acid. The weight of the raw unbleached material
is diminifhed from 50 to 45 per cent, in thefe ope¬
rations.
332. “ This method was the firft which we ufed for
the aflignat paper } but we foon perceived that we
might omit moft of the lixiviations and baths of the
bleaching fluid, and ftill preferve as much toughnefs
as the paper required. Nothing further was neceffiary
for this purpofe than to fuffer the rag to undergo a de¬
gree of fermentation more or lefs advanced, by leaving
it to rot. In this operation the colouring matter un¬
dergoes a flow combuftion, and paffies to a kind of
faponaceous ftate, and is carried off by the water, by
wafhing the rags in the veffel of the firft cylinder.
“ One Angle lixiviation, two baths of the bleaching
liquor, and one of fulphuric acid, are then fufficient to
bleach completely the raw rags or cordage. This is
the fecond method. We were not, at that time, ac¬
quainted with the economical procefs of Citizen Chap-
tal in the operations of lixiviation. This will, no
but the effetff of rotting, carefully Vegetable
conduced, will always be found very advantageous. Subitances,
333. “ Laftly, Iftherr.gsbe neither perfectly white ' v~ "
nor raw and unbleached, but in a medium ftate,
they are left to rot for a (horter time, for example,
12 or 14 days, and are taken up when the heat of the
fermentation raifes the thermometer to 30° or 350,
after which the procefs is to be conducted as before
mentioned.
Compojition of a bath of the bleaching liquor, for a pile
of dtcompofed rags, weighing 50 kilograms.
334. “ For each heap of rags a certain number, for
example, eight or nine, wooden tubs are difpofed in a
line, capable of containing in the whole 600 litres of
wrater : 450 litres of pure rvater is poured in, and 50
litres of bleaching liquor are added in equal portions
to each of the veffels, after which the 50 kilograms of
decompofed rags are difpofed in equal portions in each
tub. The fluff is left for about 12 hours in this bath,
agitating it from time to time, after which it is to be
completely waffied in clean water, and put into a bath
of fulphuric acid, compofed of water 2co litres, and
acid at 50 degrees 3 kilograms, which bath will then
have the ftreugth of about four degrees of the areo¬
meter of Baume.
“ The immerfion in the bath muft continue for
three quarters of an hour or an hour, after w’hieh the
materials muft be well waffied in clear rvater, and
carried to the mill to be manufa£lured.
335. “ If the aftion of the baths of bleaching li¬
quor be not exhaufted by the immerfion of the decom¬
pofed rags (which may be afeertained by the folution
of indigo), it may be applied to other materials of
the fame kind.
336. “ Such wjas the ftate in which we left this new
art in the year 3. Since that time Citizen Welter, to
whom chemiftry and the arts are indebted for a num¬
ber of ingenious proceffes, has fimplified that of pre¬
paring the bleaching liquor. He has found, for ex¬
ample, that inftead of the three veffels of the receiver,
it is fufficient to employ two even for the fimple liquor
that contains no fixed alkali.
“ It was before feen that we were obliged to employ
an alkaline folution in the receiver, to prevent that
odour which the fimple liquor emits when paper fluff
is agitated in the baths. The ufe of alkali anfwered
our purpofe very well in this refpefl ) but this ex¬
penditure, befides weakening the bleaching liquor,
nearly double our expence. Though this difference
in the price was of little confequence with regard to the
objeft we then had in view, it is not fo with regard
to the common operation upon paper intended for Tale.
Every means of economy muft: then be ufed. Now
Citizen Welter found that it is eafy to obviate the in¬
convenience of the fimple liquor in the operation. His
method confifts in no longer agitating the goods or
material in an open bath, but to clofe it exadly by
means of a cover and he agitates it by means of crofs
pieces attached to a handle turned on the outfide.
337. “ A rough eftimate of the price of the fimple
bleaching liquor prepared by the fulphuric acid, this ■
being the moft economical procefs.
“ The receiver is Rippofed to contain loco litres of
water.
25 kilograms
7°4
Vegetable
Subftances.
BLEACHING.
Part II.
25 kilograms of oxyd of manganefe coft at
moil
70 kilograms of muriat of foda
25 kilograms of fulphuric acid, at 50°
Three days work, principal men
Three days do. afliftant or labourer
1' uel, about
Wear and tear
Our apparatus coft 622 franks, and the
carriage and fixing increafed our expence
to 1000 franks, the intereft of which,
at 10 per cent, is 100 franks ; and if the
work be repeated fo many times in the
year, the intereft per operation will be
Fr. cent.
7
37
9
4
3
6
o
o
50
o
50
o
Fr.83
“ Hence the litre of bleaching liquor wdll coft near¬
ly 9 cents in round numbers (r).
338. “ Eftimate of the increafe of expence occafion-
ed in the operation upon a pile of 50 kilograms of the
pafte of paper, fuppofing one bath of the bleaching li¬
quor and one of fulphuric acid, which is moft com¬
monly the cafe. '«%
Ninety litres of the bleaching liquor at nine
cents - . 9C<
8fr. 10
Three kilograms of fulphuric acid, at
ifr. 50 c. - - 4 50
Workmanftiip - - o 50
Total,
10
“ Which gives for each kilogram of paper an ex¬
pence of 0,262 franks, or about 27 cents. Now the
common paper in the market ufually fells for about
I fr. 30 c. or 1 fr. 40c. the kilogram, and with the
fimple augmentation ofay cents for the operations of
bleaching, it obtains the preference beyond that which
is fold for three, four, or even five franks, which can
only be obtained in a limited quantity, on account of
the fele£Hon of rags. The foregoing methods muft
therefore produce a great diminution in the price of
fine paper.. They are more particularly advantageous
when applied to the manufatture of thin paper, becaufe
the expences of bleaching are always proportioned to
the weight of the material, and confequently are leaft
upon thin paper.”
Of Whitening and Cleaning Prints, Maps, Books and
other Articles of Paper.
.339* The oxygenated muriatic acid was firft ap¬
plied to this purpofe by Citizen Chaptal, and the me¬
thod has been employed with the greateft fuccefs by
Citizens Vialard and Heudier.
The acid in the ftate of gas might be ufed for this
puipole, but it is fafer and equally efficacious to em¬
ploy it in the liquid form.
.340. ‘ Simple immerfion in oxygenated muriatic Vegetable
acid, letting the article remain in it a longer or flrorter Subftances.
fpace of time, according to the ftrength of the liquid, Y—“■*'
will be fufticient to whiten an engraving. If it be re¬
quired to whiten the paper of a bound book, as it is
neceflary that all the leaves fhould be moiftened by
the acid, care muft be taken to open the book well,
and to make the boards reft on the edge of the veffel,
in fuch a manner that the paper alone be dipped in the
liquid : the leaves muft be feparated from each other,
in order that they be equally moiftened on both fides.
* The liquor affumes a yellow tint, and the paper
becomes white in the fame proportion. At the end of
two or three hours the book may be taken from the
acid liquor and plunged into pure water, with the fame
care and precaution as recommended in regard to the
acid liquor, that the water may exaftly touch the two
furfaces of each leaf. The water muft be renewed
every hour to extraft the acid remaining in the paper,
and to diflipate the difagreeablc fmell.
341. ‘By following this procefs, there is fome dan¬
ger that the pages will not be all equally whitened,
either becaufe the leaves have not been fuffkiently fe¬
parated, or becaufe the liquid has had more aftion on
the front margins than on thofe near the binding. On
this account the praftice followed by book-binders,
when they wilh to whiten printed paper, is to be pre¬
ferred. They deftroy the binding entirely, that they
may give to each leaf an equal and perfeft immerfion "j
and this is the fecond procefs recommended by M.
Chaptal.
“ They begin (fays he) by unfewing the book
and feparating it into leaves, which they place in cafes
formed in a leaden tub, with very thin flips of wood or
glafs, fo that the leaves when laid flat are feparated
from each other by intervals fcarcely fenfible. The
acid is then poured in, making it fall on the fides of
the tub, in order that the leaves may not be deranged
by its motion. When the workman judges, by the
whitencfs of the paper, that it has been fufficiently
a&ed upon by the acid, it is drawn off by a cock at the
bottom of the tub, and its place is fupplied by clear,
frefh water, which weakens and carries off the remains
of the acid, as well as its ftrong fmell. The leaves are
then to be dried, and, after being preffed, may be again
bound up.
“ The leaves may be placed alfo vertically in the
tub 5 and this pofition feems to poffefs fome advantage,
as they will then be lefs liable to be torn. With this
view I conftrufted a wooden frame, which I adjufted
to the proper height, according to the fize of the leaves
which I wifhed to wdfiten. This frame fupported very
thin flips of wood, leaving only the fpace of half a line
between them. I placed two leaves in each of thefe
intervals, and kept them fixed in their place by two
fmall wooden wedges, which I puftied in between the
flips. When the paper was whitened I lifted up the
frame with the leaves, and plunged them into cold
water to remove the remains of the acid, as well as the
fmell. This procefs I prefer to the other.
342-
(r) As the piice of all thefe feveral items in
thought unneceffary to reduce the numbers.
France muft materially differ from the fame in England, it wra«
2
Part IL B L E A
Vegetable ^42. “ By tills operation books are not only clean-
Subftances. paper acquires a degree of whitenefs fu-
“ perior to what it poffdTed when fir ft made. The ufe
of this acid is attended alfo with the valuable advan¬
tage of deftroyingink-fpots. This liquor has no adion
upon fpots of oil, or animal greafe 5 but it has been
long known that a weak folution of potafs will eftec-
tually remove ftains of that kind.
343. “ When I had to repair prints fo torn that
they exhibited only fcraps parted upon other paper, I
was afraid of lofmg thefe fragments in the liquid, be-
caufe the parte became diftolved. In fuch cafes I en-
clofed the prints in a cylindric glafs veffel, which I in¬
verted on the water in which 1 had put tire mixture
proper for extricating the oxygenated muriatic acid
gas. This vapour, by filling the whole infide of the
jar, a&ed upon the^rint} extrafted the greafe as well
as ink fpots ; and the fragments remained parted to the
paper.”
344. Vialard and Heudier have by this procefs
reftored feveral of the moft valuable books of the
French national library, and we believe they were the
firft who carried ChaptaPs procefs into a&ual execu¬
tion.
It is neceflary that we may fully fucceed in this pro¬
cefs to be very precife in the quantity of the acid em¬
ployed, and to ufe confiderable addreis in the manage¬
ment of it, othervvife we fhall injure the paper, and
render the books incapable of being bound again.
But with caution and a little experience, the method
is perfe&ly fafe and eafy.
.345- ^ ^ convenient to be able to prepare the
acid employed for this purpofe in the moft fimple and
economical way, we may recommend the following.
“To oxygenate the muriatic acid, nothing is neceflary
but to dilute it, and mix it in a very ftrong glafs veflfel
with manganefe, in fuch a manner that the mixture
may not occupy the whole content of the glafs. Air
bubbles are formed on the furface of the liquor; the
empty fpace becomes filled with a greenilh vapour $
and, at the end of fome hours, the acid may be farther
diluted with water and then ufed. It has an acid tafte,
becaufe the whole is not faturated with oxygen j but
it porteflfes all the virtues of the oxygenated muriatic
acid. This procefs may be follow’ed when there is not
time to fet up an apparatus for diftilling, in order to
procure the oxygenated acidd’
346. It has been faid that the acid is not capable
of removing fpots of greafe from books and prints. A
method of doing this was lately publifhed by M. Def-
champs junior, and is as follows :
“ After having gently warmed the paper ftained
with greafe, wax, oil, or any fat body whatever, take
out as much as poftible of it, by means of blotting-
paper. Then dip a fmall brufli in the eflfential oil of
well re£tified fpirit of turpentine, heated almoft to
ebullition (for when cold it afts only very weakly),
and draw it gently over both fides of the paper,
which muft be carefully kept warm. This opera¬
tion muft be repeated as many times as the quantity
of the fat body imbibed by the paper, or the thick-
nefs of the paper, may render neceffary. When the
greafy fubftance is entirely removed, recourfe may be
bad to the following method to reftore the paper
to its former whitenefs, which is not completely
Von. III. Part II.
CHIN G. jos
reftored by the firft procefs. Dip another brulh in Vegetable
highly rectified fpirit of wine, and draw it, in like Subltance^
manner, over the place wrhich was ftained, and parti- ^ n 9
cularly round the edges, to remove the border, that
w'ould ftill prefent a ftain. By employing thefe means,
with proper caution, the fpot will totally difappear j
the paper will refume its original whitenefs ; and if
the procefs has been employed on a part written on
with common ink, or printed with printers ink, it will
experience no alteration.”
Of Bleaching Yellow Wax.
347. Before the difeovery of oxymuriatic acid and
its application to bleaching, this was effefled by ex-
pofing the yellow wax, formed into thin cakes to the
free adrtion of the air, fun, and dews. The acid, how¬
ever, as being far more expeditious is to be prefer¬
red.
In the bleaching of tvax, it is proper to employ the
limple acid, and its adlion would be the mofl: effedlual
if ufed in the ga'feous form. For this purpofe, a pneu¬
matic tub w’ith a cover fecured in the manner recom¬
mended by Rupp, is the moft proper. This ftiould be
filled wdth water, and the wax flued very fine, muft be in¬
troduced, and the gas made to pafs through the wTater,
while the agitator is kept in conftant motion. In the
courfe of an hour or two the w7ax will be bleached,
may be feparated from the wTater, melted and formed
into cakes.
On applying the Refduums to profit.
348. Before we conclude our account of the various
bleaching proceffes in wdrich the oxygenated muriatic
acid is concerned, it w ill be proper to enquire how far
the materials employed in procuring this acid may be
turned to account after the diftillation.
The fubftances w’hich remain in the diftilling articles
are a portion of undecompofed oxyd of manganefe,
fome fulphat of manganefe, and a large quantity of ful-
phat of foda (Glauber’s fait).
The whole mixture may be employed with advan¬
tage as a glazing to coarfe earthen ware. T his glaz¬
ings has a dark colour, fomething like that of bronze,,
which it receives from the manganefe; it is attended
with this advantage, that it is perfeftly fafe, at d is
therefore much fuperior to any glazing, where lead
enters as a part of the compofition.
349. But the object of moft importance is to decom-
pofe the fulphat of foda in order to obtain the alkali.
There are feveral methods of eflfe&ing this, but per¬
haps the two following are the beft.
350. The firft is that contrived by M. M. Malherbe
and Athenas. The firft objeft in this procefs, is to
reduce the fulphat to the ftate of an alkaline fulphuret
(liver of fulphur).
“ Malherbe and Athenas have fucceeded in this by
employing iron as the intermediate fubftance : they
mixed one part of charcoal duft with nine parts of the
fulphat of foda, and expofed the mixture to the heat
of a reverberating furnace : when the fulphuret enter¬
ed into combuftion, they added from three to five parts
of old iron rendered as {mall as poflible j and the whole
being fufed together, they obtained a black parte, com-
pofed of iron, foda, fulphat of iron, &c. This mix¬
ture was lixiviated, and filtered through a balket filled
4 U with
/
706
BLEACHING.
Part II.
Vgetab le -witK lime : It was then evaporated to drynefs, and the
Subftances. repcJuum was calcined in a reverberating furnace.
When foda of a fuperior quality is required, the wafli-
ing and calcination muft be repeated.
“ Dize and Le Blanc decompofed the fulphat of
foda, by means of the carbonate of lime, in order to neu¬
tralize the alkali, by faturating it, at a very high tem¬
perature, with carbonic acid. Their procefs confills
in taking two. parts of fulphat of foda, dried to deprive
it of its water of cryllallization, two parts of well
ground chalk (carbonate of lime), and one part of
charcoal powder, mixing them well in a muffled mor¬
tar, and then bringing the mixlure to a white heat in
a reverberating furnace : when the matter is fnfed it
is llirred till the fulphur is confumed, and the ebulli¬
tion and the jet of the flame produced by the hydro¬
gen gas have ceafed to appear. It is then taken from
the furnace, and it may be lixiviated to obtain the fo¬
da very pure. In whatever manner the fulphat is de¬
compofed, this object merits the greateft attention at
bleachfields on account of the confiderable degree of
economy which refults from the different manipula¬
tions. The ley of oxygenated muriatic acid will
be obtained at little or no expence by bleachers, wfflen
they ferioufly fet about extrafling the foda from the
fulphat formed during the diftillation.”
Bleaching by Sulphuric Acid.
351. From the effefls produced by fulphuric acid
in the proceffes of bleaching, in w’hieh it has been feen
to aft a material part, a propofal was lately made to
employ it folely for this purpofe, but wre believe the
projeft has never been carried into execution. It is
certain, that a very weak bath containing one part of
* Pbilofoph.^cM to five hundred of water * may be employed with
Magazine, the greateft fafety, and when cloth remains immerfed
P- -7o- in it for a confiderable time, it acquires a high degree
of whitenefs.
Of Bleaching by Steam.
3 ? 2. The various proceffes which ive have defcrib-
ed form nearly a complete abridgement of the hiftory
of bleaching *, we have endeavoured to follow as clofely
as poflible the progrefs of human genius, and to ftiow
how the rapid advances of modern chemiftry have con¬
tributed to the improvement of this interefting art.
353. We are now to defcribe a new method for
which we are indebted to C. Chaptal. This ingeni¬
ous and learned man, publifhed fome time fince a me¬
moir on the method of bleaching with fteam, a procefs
which vre received from the Levant foon alter the in-
troduflion of the art of dying Adrianople red, and
which has been ever fince employed in the interior of
France under the name of Blanchiment a la fumee. At
the time when the difinterefted Chaptal publilhed an
account of this method, it xvas a fecret, the knowledge
of which was confined to a few manufaflurers. They
■only employed it in bleaching cotton in the ftates of
wool and thread, in imitation of the eaftern nations j Vegetable
but Chaptal, with his ufual ingenuity, perceived theSubitancts.^
pofiibility of extending the procefs to the bleaching ofV ” v
thread of flax and hemp, and he invited the affiftance
of artifts for the purpofe of effe£!ing this defirable
end.
354. This appeal of Chaptal, induced many manufac¬
turers as well in France as in other countries to make
trial of this newr method •, and it w7as tried nearly at the
fame time at Paris and in Ireland. The apparatus
conftrudfted by C. Bawens, proprietor of the manufac¬
tory of cotton thread and fluffs at Eons Homines near
Paffy, gave furprifing refults. He could bleach from
twTo to three thoufand ells of cotton in a day, with fuch
facility, and at lo moderate an expence, as proved
the new method to be incomparably better than any
before employed. The firft trial was made on 1500 ells
ot cloth intended for printing \ after the operation, it ex¬
hibited no variegation of furface, no ftiades, but one uni¬
form complete whitenefs. His appai atus refembles perfe ft-
ly what has been defcribed by C. Chaptal, and anfwers
extremely well for bleaching cotton, both in the wool
and when fpun into thread. There have been feveral
improvements lately made on it, which render it much
more advantageous and of more extenfive utility ; but
it will be proper’Before examining thefe, to defcribe
the apparatus recommended by Chaptal, which we ftiall
do in his own words.
355. “ At the diftance of about fixteen inches above
the grate of a common furnace, fupplied with pit-coal,
is fixed a copper boiler of a round form, eighteen in¬
ches deep and four feet broad. The edges of this cop¬
per turned back, are made to reft on the fide walls of
the brick-work of the furnace ; they are about feven
inches broad. The reft of the furnace is built of hewn
ftone, and forms an oval boiler fix feet in height, and
five feet in breadth at the centre : the upper part of
this boiler has a round hole eighteen inches in diame¬
ter, which may be (hut by a moveable piece of ftrong
ftone, or a copper lid adapted to it. Upon the edge of
the copper boiler which forms the bottom of this kind of
Papin’s digefter,is placed a grating made of wooden bars,
fo clofe together that the cotton placed on them cannot
fall through, and fufficiently ftrong to bear the weight,
of about 1600 pounds.”
356. In the apparatus of C. BawTens, the mode of
heating employed in Count Rumford’s furnaces was
ufed to reduce the quantity of fuel confumed •, and thus
render the procefs more economical. The heat of the
chimney alfo ferved to heat the bath of weak fulphuric
acid.
In other countries an apparatus has been employed,
which poffeffes the advantage of winding up the fluffs
within the copper, which refembles that of a fteam en¬
gine wnth its tubes, fafety valves, and collars of leather;
but it has this inconvenience that the fluffs muft be in¬
troduced at the top (s).
357. C. 0‘Reilly, to whom Chaptal had communicat¬
ed
($_) The following paffage tranflated by Nicolfon from the ''journal de Phyfque, is worthy of notice.
** A new method of bleaching has juft been tried at Balynah, and has completely fucceeded. The principle
of the procels appears to have been publilhed by a French chemift, Chaptal, who is much refpefted by our manu-
fa&urers, I fpeak of the ait of difcolouring piece goods in a digefter, by cauftic alkaline ley. Though our
firft
*
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable ed his ideas, foon conceived methods of improving the
Subftances. apparatus, and of applying it to various purpofes fuited
to the different articles.
The firft apparatus which he propofed to be execut¬
ed at Jouy, reprefented an arched chamber of hewn
ftone, fix feet eight inches long, by three feet ten
inches broad j and three feet and a half high above
the level of the wooden grate. (See Plate XCII. fig.
8). At one of the extremities is a door three feet long
and two high, which is clofed by a plate of call; iron,
in which a hole is made for the introduftion of a coni¬
cal valve which is kept in its fituation by a fcrew and
a fpring made as powerful as poffible. I he objeft of
this valve was to guard againft an explofion which might
take place from the fudden expanfion of the fleam,
which there is fome caufe to dread. The door was
moveable, and faflened by ten bars and as many fcrews,
which prefs againft the rabbit, (which is covered with
tow' or wet leather) fo as to prevent any of the fleam
from efcaping this way. The door fhould be made
with two iron handles that it may be removed with
the more eafe.
The copper which forms the bottom of this appara¬
tus, and in which the cauftic alkaline folution is boil¬
ed, is 18 inches deep, and its other dimenfions are lefs
by four inches than thofe of the chamber. This gives
room for the edges of the copper, and for a wooden
grate on which the men may walk and conduct the
operations. In the middle of the chamber are fixed
two reels, on which from eighteen to twenty pieces of
cloth are rolled. The axes of thefe reels pafs through
collars of leather, which prevent the efcape of the
fleam j they have handles on the outfide to roll and
C H I N G. 7° 7
unroll the pieces, and there is a regulator communl-Vegetable
eating with the infide of the copper to point out the ^ ,
height of the liquor, and fhew how far it is exhaufted.
It is heated after Count Rumford’s plan.
358. Another apparatus w'as conftru&cd at Troyes
for the purpofe of bleaching hofiery. As thefe goods
cannot be rolled up } and as the a£lion of the vapour
might be leffened were they heaped together, 0‘Reilly
contrived frames of wood covered with cloth and
placed at the diftance of four inches, one above ano¬
ther. Upon thefe frames the goods were fpread in
fuch a manner that the vapour rifing from the copper
might penetrate to every part, dellroy the colouring
matter and thus complete the bleaching.
359. From fome farther obfervations he was led to
propoie a roller placed in fuch a. way that the cloth
rolled on it might on occafion be drawn through the
liquor in the copper to moiften it now and then, and
thus increafe the aftion of the liquor *. * 0‘Heitiy
360. After this account of 0‘Reilly’s apparatus, oiEJfai.
which a more particular defeription will be given pre-
fently, we come to the aftual method of bleaching by
fleam. The following are the dire&ions given by
Chaptal.
361. “ The cotton, difpofed in handfuls, mull firft
be impregnated with a flight folution of foda rendered
cauflic by lime. This operation is performed in a
wooden or ftone trough, in which the cotton is trod
down by means of the feet covered with wooden flioes.
When the alkaline liquor has uniformly penetrated the
cotton, it is put into the boiler, and piled up on the
wooden grate before mentioned j the redundant liquor
runs through the bars into the copper boiler, and forms
4 U 2 a
firft attempts did not perfedtly fucceed, we were not difeouraged. The linen was expofed to the a£tion of va¬
pour in the apparatus, but it was not equally affefled, as it appeared to be blotched in feveral places j we were,
therefore, obliged to conflrufl an apparatus, in order to unroll and feparate the goods, and to expofe the greateft
furface poflible to the aftion of the vapour. Suppofe the boiler of a fleam engine, in the form of an elongated
ellipfis, provided with a fafety valve, two tubes with cocks, to fhew the confumption of the liquor, and a mer¬
curial gage, to afeertain the ftrength of the fleam. This boiler is bedded in mafonry, or brick work, that it
may refill the exceffive preffure which neceffarily takes place. In the interior part of the apparatus are fix reels,
three at each end, alternating with each other, in order that the aflion of the fleam may be more equable upon
the goods. Thefe reels are (lowly and uniformly carried round by fimple tooth and pinion work of wood, and
the firft motion is given to an axis which paffes out of the boiler through a fluffing box, wftiich prevents the
efcape of vapour. At the top is an opening of about fixteen inches diameter, with a rim or flanch, on which
the cover is fitted, and firmly fecured by fcrews. Between the two metallic faces are placed ftrips of foaked
leather, to prevent the vapour from efcaping. When the cover is taken off, the workmen can enter the boiler,
to difpofe the goods upon the rollers, each of which contains about fifteen or twenty pieces, making in the whole
about forty-five or fixty. The raw material, namely, cunnamara kelp, is an article of inconfiderable expence,
or elfe the foda extradled from fea fait, in which there remains indeed a fmall portion indecompofed, but which
we procure at a very reafonable price. It is rendered cauftic by the addition of fome good lime, which is made
from our lime-ftone of Parre. With thefe a ley is formed, which is equal to fourteen degrees of our hydrometer.
In this lixivium the piece goods are boiled, and then conveyed to the digefter, on the bottom of which the ley
Hands to about five inches in depth. The workman (lands upon a perforated ftage, which prevents him from
flepping into the ley while he is arranging the pieces : after which, having placed them on the rollers, the ap¬
paratus is clofed, the fire lighted, and the operation begins. As foon as ebullition takes place, the handle on
the outfide is inceffantly turned, and as foon as the roller at one end is filled, the handle is fhifted to the other
roller, and the turning performed in the contrary dire&ion. In this manner the operation is continued till the
whole of the contents is bleached. From this defeription you may eafily underftand how this operation is per¬
formed ; I (hall, however, take the firft opportunity of fending you a plan and defeription of the apparatus, if
you wifh for further information. You are at liberty to make whatever ufe you pleafe of this account: the ex¬
pence of bleaching is not more than one farthing per yard, including coals, workmen’s wages, &c. as well as
intereft for the capital employed in the apparatus.”
70S B L E A
Vegetable a ftratum of liquid, which permits the mafs to be heat-
Sabfiances. eq wjtl10ut any danger of burning either the cotton or
" the metal. To form the alkaline ley, Alicant foda
equal to a tenth of the weight of the cotton fubjedled
to the operation is employed, and in a boiler fuch as
that the dimenfions of which I have given, about
800 pounds of cotton may be put at one time. The
ley is generally of two degrees by the areometer. As
foon as the cotton is introduced into it, and arranged
in the boiler, the upper aperture is (hut with its ufual
covering, fcarcely any opening being left, that the
fteam developed by the fire may afi'ume a much more
eonfiderable degree of heat, and reaft with force on the
cotton. When every thing is arranged, the fire in the
furnace is kindled, and the ley is maintained in a Hate
of flight ebullition during 36 hours. The apparatus
is then fuffered to cool, and the cotton being taken out
is carefully walked; after which it is expofed on the
grafs for two or three days, extending it on poles in
the daytime, and fpreading it out on the grafs during
the night. The cotton will then have acquired a high
degree of whitenefs ; and if any portions of it be Hill
found coloured, they muft be put into the boiler for a
fecond operation, or be left on the grafs fome days
longer. Thefe (hades in bleached cotton arife, in par¬
ticular, from all the parts of the cotton in the firft ope¬
ration not having been completely and uniformly im¬
pregnated with the ley. They may be owing alfo to
the cotton, when arranged in the boiler, having been
too much accumulated on certain points. When it is
judged that the ley has been exhaufted by ebullition,
the boiler is opened, and the dried cotton is moiftened
with a new quantity of the folution of foda: without
this precaution it would be in danger of being burnt.
It may be ealily conceived, by an eflimate of the mat¬
ters and time employed in this operation, with how
much faving of expence it is attended: cotton is bleach¬
ed by this method in all the manufaflories of the fouth
of France, where it is ufed, at the low rate of two fols
per pound.”
362. Cloth may be bleached in the fame way, but
requires firfl: to be freed from the weavers dreffing, &c.
as formerly direffed.
363. While the goods are fteeping fo as to be per-
fe6lly impregnated with the alkaline ley, the copper is
to be filled to the height of a foot with ley of the lame
Hrength. This may be done by means of a curved
leaden funnel, but as the door is fufficiently large, the
ley may be thrown in with buckets.
A workman then enters the chamber, and fixes one
end of a piece of cloth by means of packthread to one
pf the arms of the farthefl: reel A (fig. 9. Plate XCII.)
while another workman without turns the handle till
the whole piece is wound on ; the end of another piece
is then faftened to the firfl:, and fo on till 18 or 20
pieces are wound round the firfl: reel. The remaining
extremity of the laft piece is then palled over the roller
B, near the arch of the chamber ; from thence it is
carried below the two rollers C, D, in the copper EF,;
is again carried to the arch, and made to pafs over the
roller F, and is laltly faftened to an arm of the other
reel G. The workman then ascertains the height of
the liquor in the copper by the regulator, and then
Jhuts the cock, and clofes up the door by rags and the
proper Screws fo as to prevent all efcape of fleam. The
C H I N G. Part IL
fire is then kindled, and the liquor made to boil. The Vegetable
workman then begins to wind oft' the pieces commen- Subftances.
cing with the reel to which the laft end was tacked, ' v  
till this has received the whole charge ; he then lowers
the cranks of the lower rollers, fo as to plunge the
goods into the boiling ley, and immediately begins to
reel off with difpatch ; again raifes the rollers and reels
the pieces back without palling through the ley.
At the end of two hours, more or lefs according to
the finenefs of the pieces the alkali carried up by the
heat will completely have penetrated the fibres of the
cloth, which are fwelled by the extraordinary heat of
the fteam.
The fire is now extinguilhed, and as foon as all is
fufficient cool, the door is opened, and they prepare for
immerfing. the fluffs in the oxygenated muriatic acid,
after they are firfl well rinfed in fair water.
364. For immerfion the tub defcribed in 262 is
employed, and the pieces are faftened and reeled in the
manner there defcribed, till the liquor on examination is
found pretty much exhaufled. The pieces are then
taken out feparately, well rinfed in a ftream of water, and
expofed on the grafs for three or four days. They are
then palled through a bath of very weak fulphuric acid,
and will then have acquired a high degree of whitenefs.
If linen or hempen cloth Ihould retain a flight y«fl-
low call, which will fometimes happen, the fteaming
muft be repeated; and they muft be expofed again for
a day or two on the grafs.
365. Hofiery and threads are bleached in the fame
way, but they are to be placed on frames at fuch a
diflance from each other that they may be eafily pe¬
netrated by the fleam ; but as thefe articles cannot,,
like the cloths, be made to pafs through the ley in the
copper, the procefs is to be flopped at the end of two
hours, and then the upper frame is completely wet
with ley, which oozes through, and thus moiftens all
the lower frames. The boiling is again commenced, and
continued for four hours. For the immerfion, the appa¬
ratus of Rupp with the vertical reels is the beft polfible,
and the goods are to be hung on the upper end of the
reel. After immerfion, they are rinfed, expofed on the
grafs, and palled through the acid bath as other articles.
366. Chaptal has lately applied this method to a
very important object, the flouring and whitening of
foul linen.
“ I have no doubt”, fays he, “ but that linen gar¬
ments may be bleached to advantage by the lame pro¬
cefs ; but as it was neceffary to bring thele notions to
the teft of experiment, I invited Citizen Bawens to
allow me to make the experiment on a large flale with
his apparatus. Accordingly, on the 27th Pluviofe, in
the year 9,1 had 2CO pair of fheets from the hol’pital of
the Hotel Dieu at Paris, chofln among thole that were
moll foiled, and taken to the manufactory of Citizen.
Bawens.
“ Three experiments were made upon thefe flieets;
“ Experiment 1. One hundred and thirty ftieets were
impregnated with 2 cauftic alkaline ley, containing one
hundredth part of foda. They were kept for fix hours-
in the engine of fteam ; after which they were impreg¬
nated again, in order to be placed again fix hours in
the fame machine.
“ The fame procefs was repeated a third time; af¬
ter which they were carefully rinfld, and no fpot o£
•wine*
Part IT. B L E A
Vegetable wine, greafe, blood, or animal ejt&ion, was to be
Subitances. feerii Qne qUarter of a pound of ioap was ufed in rin-
fing tbefe cloths.
“ All the affiflants were convinced that the ordinary
precedes would not have given either fo perfect a white,
nor fo agreeable a lixivial fmell.
“ The texture was in no refpecl altered.
“ Experiment 2. The alkaline ley contained only
fix parts of foda but five pounds of foap wTere alfo ad¬
ded. The cloths were treated in the fame manner,
and the refults appeared more advantageous. They
were eafily walked out.
“Experiment 3. To the bath of the fecond experi¬
ment a fufficient quantity of new ley was added. One
hundred and forty Iheets were treated like the preced¬
ing, and the refult was the fame.
“ It mull be obferved that the wmter of the Seine,
in which thefe (beets were rinfed, was at that time very
yellow.
“ This experiment appeared to me to offer feveral
refults worth the attention of the Inllitute.
“ In the firft place the procefs is economical. Two
hundred pair of fheets, wkich were bleaching by three
fucceffive operations, demanded an expenditure, ac¬
cording to the account furnilhed by Citizen Bawens,
which is in the proportion of 7 to to, compared with
that commonly made in the hofpitals. This expence
may be reduced to lefs than one-third, if a fuitable place
and apparatus w'ere appropriated to this ufe.
“ 2. Two days at moll are required to complete the
operation. This economy of time is incalculably be¬
neficial.
“ 3. The linen is neither changed nor torn, as it
paffes through the hands only once, and it is of no ufe
to beat it.
“ 4. The extreme heat to which the linen is expofed
in the apparatus, caufes its texture to be penetrated by
the alkaline fluid to fuch a degree, that the fubftances
with which it is impregnated cannot be mafked from
its aftions j fo that the putrid exhalations, and other
fubftances attached to its texture, are neceffarily deftroy-
ed or changed in their nature.
“ This effefl muft be more particularly feen wuth re¬
gard to its value, by phyficians, who are aware wuth
what facility the feeds of various diforders are perpe¬
tuated in hofpitals, and how infufficient the greater
number of proceffes ufed in wafhing linen have proved
to deftroy them.”
367. It only remains that we fliould give a brief ex¬
planation of the manner in which the fleam, thus con¬
fined, afls in bleaching the goods.
It has appeared from the former parts of this ar¬
ticle, that the bleaching of vegetable fubftances de¬
pends on the united influence of moifture, light, and
oxygen, and the mode in which thefe aft, as alfo the
aftion which alkalies exert on the colouring matter of
cloth, has been explained. This aftion of the alkali is
-materially afiilied by the increafed temperature of this
vapour bath, by which the fibres of the cloth, &c. are
fw’elled and opened ; and thus the caultic alkali carried
up wuth the fleam, greedily feizes on and deftroys the
colouring matter j or fhould fome part of it efcape, a
fecond fteaming, after immerfion and expofure to the
air, never fails to difcharge it. The increafed tempe-
raturc, independently of fw^elling and opening the tex-
A
: H I N G. 709
ture of the cloth, feems alio to render the alkali more Vegetable
aftive than it can be in the ordinary leys, in which the
temperature never exceeds 162° Fahrenheit j for one
degree of the areometer is always a fufficient ftrength,
and very feldom more than half a degree is required.
By pafting the goods through a fingle bath of oxy¬
genated muriatic acid, or oxymuriat of lime, a combi¬
nation takes place between the oxygen of the liquor
and the carbon produced by the dellruftion of the ex-
trafto-refinous matter by the alkali, and carbonic acid
is formed, and this is diftipated by the fubfequent ex¬
pofure to the atmofphere.
368. We cannot however agree with 0(Reilly *, * £JTat fuV
that the fleam itfelf pofleffes no bleaching power, as;” anc}'
wTe are convinced from the common procefs of cooking^" ^ ^
green vegetables in fleam, by which, as is well known,
they lofe their green colour, that this is not the cafe.
369. It has been fuppofed that the vapour arifing
from a boiling folution of cauftic alkali w-ould not it¬
felf be cauftic, or produce the fame effefts as the folu¬
tion j a fuppofition which was founded on the concen¬
tration of falls by evaporation ; but we are by no means
to infer, from what takes place in the open air, where
the moifture is conftantly abforbed.as it rifes, that the
fame will happen in a clofe apparatus, where the tem¬
perature is confiderably increafed j and, in faft, that
alkali is capable of being raifed by {team is fully pro¬
ved by fufpending paper tinged blue over a boiling fo¬
lution of potafs, when the blue wull foon be converted
into a green.
We fliall conclude this article with M. Chaptal’s
obfervations on the art of fcouring different kinds of
fluffs.
“ This art fuppofes, xft, a knowledge of the differ¬
ent fubftances capable of ftaining any kind of cloth y
2d, of the fubftances to which recourfe muft be had in
order to make thofe depofited on the fluff to difappear;
3d, a knowdedge of the effefts produced on colours by
thofe re-agents which it may be neceflary to employ
to deftroy flains ; 4th, a knowledge of the manner in
which the cloth is affecled by thofe re-agents j jth,
of the art of reftoring a colour changed or laded.—
Of thofe bodies which occafion Ipots on different kinds
of cloth, fome are eafily diftinguifhed by their appear¬
ance, fuch as greafy fubftances ; but others have more
complex effefts, fuch as acids, alkalies, perfpired mat¬
ter, fruits, urine, &c. Acids redden black, fawn,,
violet and puce-colour, and every fhade communicated
with orchilla-w'eed, iron, aftringents, and every blue
except indigo and Pruflian blue. They render the-
yellows paler, except that of arnatto, which they change
into orange.
“ Alkalies change to violet the reds produced by
Brazil wmod, logwood, and cochineal. They render
the greens on wroollen cloth yellowifh, make yellow
brownifh, and change the yellow produced by arnatto
to aurora. Perfpired matter produces the fame effeftsr
as alkalies.
370. “ When the fpots are produced by fimple bodies
on fluffs, it is eafy to remove them by the me&ns already
knowm. Greafy fubftances are removed by alkalies,.
foaps, the yolk of eggs, fat earths j oxyds of iron, by
the nitric and oxalic acids 5 acids by alkalies, and re¬
ciprocally.. Stains of fruit on white fluffs may be re- -
moved by the fulphurous acid, and flill better by the
oxygenated:
\
l
7io B L E A G
Vegetable oxygenated muriatic acid. But when the fpots are of
Snbltances.a compiex Jt will be necefiary to employ feveral
means in fucceflion. Thus, to deftroy the {lain of
coom from carriage-wheels, after the greafe has been
difiblved the oxyd of iron may be removed by the oxa¬
lic acid.
371. “ As colours are often changed by re-agents, it
will be neceflary,in order to reflore them, that the fcour-
er fhould poffefs a thorough knowledge of the art of
dyeing, and how to modify the means according to cir-
cumftances. This becomes the more difficult when it
is neceffiary to re-produce a colour fimilar to that of
the reft of the fluff, to apply that colour only in one
place, and often to reftore the mordant by which it was
fixed, and which has been deftroyed, or even the firft
tint which gave the colour its intenfity. It may be
readily conceived that the means to be employed muft
depend on the nature of the colour and the ingredients
by which it was produced j for it is known that the
fame colour may be obtained from very different bo¬
dies. Thus, after an alkali has been employed to de¬
ftroy an acid fpot on browns, violets, blues, poppies,
&c. the yellow fpot wdrich remains may be made to
difappear by a folution of tin j a folution of fulphat of
iron reftores the colour to brcwm fluffs which have been
galled 5 acids reftore to their former fplendour yellows
which have been rendered duiky or brown by alka¬
lies *, blacks produced by logwood become red by
acids} alkalies change thefe red fpots to yellow, and a
little of the aftringent principle makes them again be¬
come black. A folution of one part of indigo in four
parts of fulphuric acid, diluted with a fufficient quan¬
tity of water, may be employed with fuccefs to revive
the blue colour of cotton or wool wdiich has been
changed. Scarlet may be revived by means of cochi¬
neal and a folution of the muriat of tin, &c.
“ The choice of re-agents is not a matter of indiffer¬
ence. Vegetabl'e acids are preferable ■, the fulphurous
acid however may be employed for ftains occafioned
by fruit: it does not change the blue of filk nor co¬
lours produced by aftringents : it does not degrade the
vellow of cotton. Ammonia fucceeds better than fix¬
ed alkalies in removing fpots produced by acids. It is
employed in vapour •, its aftion is fpeedy, and feldom
. alters the colour.
372. “ The means of removing greafy fpots are well
knowm. This effeft is produced by alkalies, fullers
earth, volatile oils diffolved in alcohol, a heat proper
for volatilizing greafe, &c. Spots occafioned by ink,
ruft, or iron-mould of any kind, and all thofe produ¬
ced by the yellow oxyd of iron, are removed by the
oxalic acid : the colour may be reftored by alkalies, or
a folution of the muriat of tin. Thefe fpots may be
removed alfo by the oxygenated muriatic acid, when
they are on white fluffs or paper.
“ The a&ion of alkalies, and that of perfpired mat¬
ter, are the fame : their fpots may be effaced by acids,
or even by a weak folution of the muriat of tin.
When thefe fpots arife from feveral unknowm caufes, in
order to deftroy them recourfe muft be had to poly-
chrejl compofitions. The following may be conlider-
•ed as one of the moft efficacious. Diffolve white foap
jn alcohol, and mix this folution with the yolks of from
four to fix eggs: add gradually effence of turpentinej
1
H I N G.
Part II.
and incorporate with the wffiole fome fullers earth, in Vegetable
fuch a manner as to form balls of a luitable confiftence. Subltances
Moiften the fpot; and, having rubbed it with thefe
balls, the fpot wdll be removed by w’afhing the fluff.
All fpots, except iron-mould and ink, may be remo¬
ved in this manner.
“ Waffling deftroys the luftre, and leaves a tarniftied
place difagreeable to the eye \ but the luftre may be
reftored by drawing over the wafhed place, and in the
diredlion of the pile, a brufh moiftened in water im¬
pregnated with a little gum. You may then apply a
Iheet of paper, or a piece of cloth, and a confiderable
weight, under which the cloth muft be left to dry.”
Dcfcription of apparatus.
Plate XCI.
Fig. 1, 2. 0‘lleiily’s Apparatus for preparing Sul-
phurous Acid.
Fig. x. Elevation of the Apparatus.
A, The furnace which is made capable of contain¬
ing three diftilling veffcls.
a, A curved funnel for introducing the fulphuric
acid.
b, A tube paffing from the matrafs to an interme¬
diate leaden veffel B intended to condenfe the fulphu¬
ric acid wdiich comes over undecompofed, and having
five necks, three of which receive tubes fimilar to b,
and from the fourth paffes the tube d.
c, A tube of lafety.
d, A tube paffing from the intermediate veffel to the
firft of the tall Wolfe’s veffels C intended to condenfe
the fulphurous acid.
D, The fecond of the Wolfe’s veffels, with tubes to
conneift it with the firft and third.
Each of thefe vefl’els has a leaden cock to empty
the acid liquor into the immerfing tubs.
Fig. 2. Plan of the above Vessels.
Fig. 3. A Vertical Sedlion of Rupp’s Immersing
Tub, as improved by 0‘Reilly.
a, b, The tub.
c, d, The cover perfe£lly air-tight.
c, The partition dividing the tub into two parts.
f, A funnel filled with a plug.
g, g, Hie wooden reels on which the fluff’s are
rolled.
h, h, h, h, h, h, h, Seven rollers, over and under
which the fluffs pafs, fo as to expofe a large furface to
the bleaching liquor.
i, A leaden cock to draw off the liquor.
Fig. 4. Rupp’s Original Apparatus, as defcribed
in 253.
Fig. 5, 6, 7, The Original Apparatus for diftilling
the Oxygenated Muriatic Acid Gas, defer*
bed in 209.
Plate XCII.
Fig. 8. The Apparatus employed for this purpoie in
Ireland.
a, The afti hole.
b, The place for the fire.
c, A
Part II. B L E A
Vegetable c, A door by which fuel is introduced.
Subitances. Door of the afli, with a regifter to regulate the
"*~v"draught of air.
e, A boiler of cad iron filled with hot wrater, in
which is placed the alembic.
f, A three-footed iron Hand to fupport
gg, A leaden alembic.
h, A glafs or leaden curved funnel for introducing
the fulphuric acid.
i, A leaden cover firmly fixed by luting to the neck
of the alembic, and pierced with three holes for the
tranfmiffion of the funnel, the handle of an agitator,
and a concjenfing tube.
k, The agitator formed of iron covered with lead.
l, A leaden tube three inches in diameter for con¬
ducing the gas into
m, An intermediate veffel of lead for condenfing the
acid which may pafs over from the alembic uncombxned.
The tube 1 defcends through the firft opening m i,
nearly to the bottom of the veffel, which is two-thirds
filled wuth water; the oxygenated muriatic acid traverfes
the water, and paffes out at the top through the leaden
tube n into o,o, the pneumatic tub, made of wrood fit¬
ted with a cover r, wdiieh is perfectly air-tight, and
through which pafles an agitator p, with three leaves
for mixing the gas with the water.
q, q, q, Three fhelves in the tub, which by retard¬
ing the afcent of the bubbles of gas, facilitate its union
with the water.
s, A ftop-cock for letting off the liquor.
Tig. 9. A Vertical Se&ion of OReilly’s Appara¬
tus for bleaching by Steam.
E, E, E, The boiler.
A, G, The two reels.
B, F, The upper rollers.
C, D, The lower moveable rollers.
H, The regulator.
I, A ftopcock.
K, The door of the chamber.
Tig. 10. The Apparatus, with Frames for Bleaching
Thread and Hosiery.
: H I N G. 7II
h ig. 11. Plan of Loyfel’s Apparatus for Bleaching Vegetable
Paper. Subftances.
1, 1, I, &c. Eight furnaces, having a chimney of ' *’ v ^
fheet iron common to each pair of furnaces.
2, 2, 2, &c. Eight veffels of call; iron, containing
fand.
3> 3) 3> &cc* Eight matraffes, balloons, or bottles,
of Itone ware, compadl and well baked, intended to
contain the materials which afford the gas. Each ma-
trafs mull be filled only to one-third of its capacity at
moll. Bodies of glafs of little thicknefs may alfo be
ufed for this purpofe.
4, 4, 4, &.c. 1 ubes of glafs to conduft the gas into
the receiver. Or theie tubes maybe made of lead.
5- 1 he receiver. It is compofed 1. of an external
veilel, covered wdth plates of lead w'ell foldered to¬
gether, and provided near its bottom with a cock 6, *
to draw off the liquor when prepared. 2. Another
veffel, 7, likewife covered with plates of lead within
and without. This fecond tub is inverted in the firft
to contain the gas in proportion as it is difengaged,
and to keep in contafl with the water of the receiver,
that portion of gas which had not time to be diffolved,
in palling through that fluid.
I here is a hole, 8, in the upper part of this fecond
veffel. It ferves to fuffer the common air to efcape
when water is firft poured into this receiver, and it is
afterwards clofed with a ftopper of lead or cork, co¬
vered wuth paper, foaked in ftarch, and faftened to the
cork by a piece of cloth or bladder, before the opera¬
tion began.)
Fig. 12. Vertical feftion of the apparatus.
Fig. 13. Elevation of the apparatus.
I he diipofition of the furnaces about the receiver,
and the circular form of the receiving veffels, was ren¬
dered neceffary . by the local circumftances of the la¬
boratory in which our operations were carried on.
In other circumftances fquare veffels might be em¬
ployed, and all the furnaces might be ranged in a
right line under a common chimney.
INDEX.
A
Accidents occurring in bleaching,
modes of remedying, N° 287,
292, 295.
j4cidt muriatic, employed for bleach¬
ing filk, 71
beft mode of prepar¬
ing, ill etfeq.
nitric, improper in any procefs
to rvhich filk is fubjefted, 78
oxymuriatic, difpovered by
Scheele, 176
firft applied tobleach-
ing by Berthollet, ib.
effe<fts of, on vege¬
table colours, 178, 183
Acid) oxymuriatic, modes of prepar-
ing,N° 177, 245,345
of no ufe in bleach¬
ing animal fub-
ftances, 304
fulphurous, wherein it differs
from fulphuric,
mode of procuring,
3°
32
tfeq.
103
158
87
fulphuric, mode of purifying,
Air, atmofpheric, compofition of,
Alcohol, effedls of a yellow filk,
retained by filk in bleaching 5
mode of recovering, 75
employed in bleaching filk 5
modes of recovering, 94, et feq.
Alkalies, cffedl of, on the colouring-
matter of cloth, N° 144
capable of being raifed in
vapour, 3
Alum of no ufe in the bleaching of filk, 66
Animal fubftances, in what they dif¬
fer from vege¬
table, 10
employed for cloth-
X 2
B
Bawens, bis fuccefs in the application
of fleam to bleaching, 354
Baume, his method of bleaching filk, 62
et feq.
his lutes, 228
BertholleU
712 B
Berthollet, Ills mode of bleaching, N° 185,
et feq.
Bleaching, origin of, uncertain, 5
probably of later date than
dyeing, ib.
extent of, 6
theory of, 158, 266
by atmofpheric air, 154
by water, 160
by oxymuriatic acid, 203, et feq.
by fulphuric acid, 3 51
by fleam, 355, etfeq.
liquor, ftrength of, mode
of afcertaining, 256, 263
Bonjour, 'his attempt to introduce
Berthollet’s method of
bleaching, 189
Books and prints, mode of cleanfing
and whitening, 339, 346
Backing, what, 154
C
Bhaptal, his foap of wool, 175
apparatus for bleaching by
fleam, _ 355
method of cleaning books
and prints, 340
of fcouring linen, 366
obfervations on fcouring va¬
rious fluffs, 369
Bloth, fteeping of, 134
colouring matter of
Kirwan’s expe¬
riments on, 137,
etfeq.
Cocons of lilk, ill effefts of baking, 62
beft method of prepa¬
ring by alcohol, ib.
Colours affumed by goods during the
proceffes of bleaching, 265
of printed and dyed goods,
method of difcharging, 304
chemical and faft, 305
Cotton, its nature, 149
more ealily bleached than
other fubftances, 151
bears the aftion of acids bet¬
ter than hemp or flax, 152
D
Dalrymple's fifh-foap, 175
De Charmes, his improvements on
Berthollet’s method, 214
et feq.
his furnace, 215
mode of obtaining ful¬
phuric acid, 226
De Croi%ille, his mode of determining
the ftrength of bleach¬
ing liquor, 209
Drejfing, weavers, 133
130
1 27
123
126
1 29
348
52
48
45
61
LEACHING. Index.
E Silk, mode of bleaching in the var-
niih, N° 60 etfeqi
by fleam, 5 ^
white, blue fliade of, how pro¬
duced,
fcouring of,
raw,
of nankin imported into Europe,
value of,
Soap, origin of, and progrefs of its
manufacture, 172
kinds and preparations of, 173
Soda, nature and production of, 168
mode of purifying, 170
Souring, of wdiat be ft formed, 156
Steam, its effeCts on cloth, 367
deftroys the green colour of
vegetables, 368
Sulphat of foda, modes of decompof-
ing* . ,349
Sulphuret of lime, preparation of, 271
its ufe in bleaching
as a fubftitute for
alkali, 273
V
Vegetable fubftances, compofition of, 118
principles of,
how formed, 119
deccmpofition of,
effeCts of, 120
employed of,
clothing of
two kinds, 121
U
Urine, employed for fcouring wool, 17
W
Water, hard, injurious to flax, and
why, 126
well, gives filk a yellow co¬
lour, and why, 66
Watt, his improvement on Berthollet’s
apparatus, 199
Wax, method of bleaching, 347
Welter, his apparatus for preparing
oxymuriatic acid, 197, 209
Wool, bleaching of, beft mode, 36 er feq.
Earth,z\iC\vfox fcouring,account of,N°23
F
Flax, beating of,
effeCt of watering,
firft ufed in Egypt,
nature of,
method of preparing, 126,
G
Glazing for coarfe pottery,
■ H
Higgins, his account of the mode of
bleaching with fulphuret
of lime, 171
Hyperoxymuriat of potafs poffeffes
no bleaching power 259
K
Kirwan, his experiments on the co¬
louring matter of cloth, 137, et feq.
L
Lime injurious to cloth, 167
Lutes, mode of preparing, 228, et feq.
applying, 232
M
Manganefe, mode of purifying, 194, ct feq.
May-dew, effeCts of aferibed to oxygen, 185
o
OlReilly, his mode of preparing fulphu-
reous acid, 30, et feq.
method of bleaching wool, 36
apparatus for rinfing cloths, 261
for bleaching by
fleam,_ 357, etfeq.
method of bleaching by
fleam, 363
Oxymuriat of lime, ufe of in bleach¬
ing, 2 60
P
Paper, method of bleaching, 318, etfeq.
methods of renewing, 309, et feq.
Potafs, nature of, 162
how purified 165
pdded to oxymuriatic acid,
correCls its odour, but di-
minifties its power, 258
R
RefduUms, of the diftillation of oxy¬
muriatic acid, ufes of, 348
Rigaud, his method of bleaching filk, 58
Rupp's immerfing tub, 253
experiments on adding potafs
to oxygenated liquor, 2j,8
improvement on Defcroi-
zille’s proof liquor, 255
S
Scouring, ancient mode of 5
Silk, baking of, what 39
nature of, 44
colouring matter of, nature of, 88
effeCt of reagents on, 46
nature of, 13
fcouring of, 17
proofs of its being well fcour-
ed’ . . . . 25
lofs which it fuftains in fcour-,
ing, t 26
fubftances aCting on, 14
fulphuring of in the ufual me¬
thod, 28
in the moft ap¬
proved me-
, thod, 39
the moft ancient article of
clothing, 123
BLEAK*
IU. K A THING.
IMati* Xc" 1 .
13 L EAC IUXG .
Plate fl .
B L E
Bleak BLEAK, in Ornithology. See Cyprinus.
!! . BLECHINGLY, a town of Surry in England,
Blenheim., fencis two members to parliament, and the bailiff
who returns the members is chofen annually at the lord
of the manor’s court. The town Hands on a hill, and
has a fine profpeft as far as the South Downs in Suf-
fex. W. Long. o. 15. N. Lat. 51. 20.
BLEEDING, in ^Therapeutics \ fee Medicine In¬
dex. As achirurgical operation, fee Surgery Index.
Bleeding at the Nofe, called Epiftaxis. See Medi¬
cine Index.
Bleeding is alfo ufed for a haemorrhage or flux of
blood from a wound, rupture of a veffel, or other ac¬
cident. See HaeMORRHAGY.
Bleeding of a Corpfe, is a phenomenon faid to
have frequently happened in the bodies of perfons mur¬
dered, which, on the touch, or even the approach, of
the murderer, began to bleed at the nofe, ears, and
other part j fo as formerly to be admitted in England,
and Hill allowed in fome other parts, as a fort of de¬
tection of the criminal and proof of the fact. Nu¬
merous inltances of thefe polthumous hgemorrhagies
are given by writers. But this kind of evidence ought
to be of fmall weight : for it is to be obferved, that
this bleeding does not ordinarily happen, even in the
prefence of the murderer; yet fometimes in that even
of the neareft friends, or perfons molt innocent j and
lometimes without the prefence of any, either friend
or foe. In effeCt, where is the impoflibility that a
body, efpecially if full of blood, upon the approach
of external heat, having been confiderably Itirred
or moved, and a putrefaCtion coming on, fome of the
blood-veffels Ihould burlt, as it is certain they all will
in time ?
Bleeding is alfo ufed for the drawing out the fap
of plants, otherwife called tapping. See Tapping.
BLEKING, a territory in the fouth part of Swe¬
den, having the Baltic fea on the fouth, Smaland on
the north, $nd the province of Schonen on the tveft.
Its principal towns are Chriftianftadt, Elieholm, A-
huys, Roterby, and Chriffianople, which lalt is the ca-
-pital.
BLEMYES, or Bl emmyes, a fabulous people of
Ethiopia, faid to have had no heads j their eyes,
mouth, &c. being fituated in their breads. See A-
CEPHALOUS.
BLENCH, or Blanch. See Blanch.
BLEND, or Blinde. See Blende, Minera¬
logy Index.
Blend Water, called alfo morehough, a diftemper in¬
cident to black cattle, comes either from the blood,
from the yellows, or from the change of ground.—In
order to cure it, take bole armoniac, and as much
charcoal-duff as will fill an egg-fhell, a good quantity
of the inner bark of an oak, dried and pounded toge¬
ther to a powder, and give it to the beaft in a quart of
new milk and a pint of earning.
BLENHEIM, a village of Germany, in the circle
of Suabia, fituated in E. Long. 2. 30. N. Lat. 48. 40.
This village is remarkable for the defeat of the French
and Bavarians in 1 704, by the EnglHh and their con¬
federates under Prince Eugene and the duke of Marl¬
borough. The French army amounted to 60,coo
veterans, who had ffiared in the conquefts of their
grand monarque 5 and w’ere now commanded by two
Vol. III. Part II.
B L E
generals the moft diftinguifhed at that time in France, Blenheim.
Marfhal Tallard and the duke of Bavaria. The for- v '
mer had eftablifhed his reputation by many viftories.
He w7as a£tive and penetrating •, his ardour often rofe
to impetuofity j and he was fo Ihortfighted as to be
incapable of feeing obje&s at a very fmall diffance.
The duke of Bavaria was equally experienced in the
field, and had ftronger motives for affivity: His coun¬
try was ravaged before his eyes, and nothing remained
of his poffeflions but the army wdiich he commanded*
The allied army, commanded by Eugene and Marlbo¬
rough, amounted to about 52,000 men, troops who
had long been familiar wuth victory, and who had feen
the French, the Turks, and the Ruffians, fly before
them. Both armies, after many marches and counter¬
marches, approached each other. The French were
polled on a hill near the town of Hochftet; their right
covered by the Danube and the village of Blenheim $
their left by the village of Lutzengen; and their front
by a rivulet, the banks of which were fteep and the
bottom marfhy. The right wing of the French was
commanded by .Marfhal Tallard-, their left by the
duke of Bavaria, and under him General Marfin, an
experienced Frenchman. Their pofition being advan¬
tageous, they were willing to awrait the enemy rather
than offer battle. On the other hand, Marlborough
and Eugene were ftimulated to engage them at all e-
vents, in confequence of an intercepted letter from
Villeroy, intimating that he was preparing to cut off
all communication between the Rhine and the allied
army. The difpofitions, therefore, being made for the
attack, and the orders communicated to the general
officers, the allied forces advanced into the plain, and
were ranged in order of battle. The cannonading be¬
gan about nine in the morning, and continued to about
half after twelve. The troops then advanced to the
attack ; the right under the direftion of Prince Eu¬
gene, the left headed by Marlborough, and oppofed
to Marfhal Tallard. Marlborough, at the head of the
Englifh troops, having paffed the rivulet, attacked
the cavalry of Tallard with great bravery. This ge¬
neral being then reviewing the difpofition of his troops
to the left, his cavalry fought for fome time w-ithout
the prefence of their commander. Prince Eugene had
not yet attacked the forces of the eleftor; and it w'as
near an hour before he could bring up his troops to the
engagement. Tallard was no fooner informed that his
right was attacked by the duke, than he flew- to its
head, wffiere he found a furious encounter already be¬
gun ; his cavalry being thrice driven back, and rally¬
ing as often. He had polled a large body of forces
in the village of Blenheim ; and he made an attempt
to bring them to the charge. They were attacked by
a detachment of Marlborough’s troops fo vigoroufly,
that inftead of afiifting the main body they could hard¬
ly maintain their ground. All the French cavalry be¬
ing thus attacked in flank, ivas totally defeated. The
Englifh army now' penetrated between the two bodies
of the French commanded by the marfhal and eleflor,
while the forces in the village of Blenheim were fepa-
rated by another detachment. In this diftrefled fitua-
tion Tallard flew to rally fome fquadrons; but from his
Ihortfightednefs miftaking a detachment of the ene¬
my for his own, he was made prifoner by the Heffian
troops, who were in the allied army. Meanwhile,
4 X Prince
[ 7I3 3
L E
Blenheim-
houl'e
II
Biefs.
Prince Eugene on his part, after having been thrice
repulfed, at lait put the enemy into confufion. The
rout then became general, and the flight precipitate.
The confternation of the French foldiers was fuch,
that they threw themfelves into the Danube, without
knowing whither they fled. The allies being now
mafters of the field of battle, furrounded the village of
Blenheim, where a body of 13,000 men had been poll¬
ed in the beginning of the adion, and Hill maintained
their ground. Thefe troops feeing themfelves cut off
from all communication with the reft of the army, and
defpairing of being able to force their way through
the allies, threw down their arms, and furrendered
themfelves prifoners of war. Thus ended the battle of
Blenheim, one of the moll complete vidories that
ever was obtained. Twelve thoufand French and Ba¬
varians were flain in the field or drowned in the Da-
. nube j 13,00c were made prifoners of war; and there
were taken 100 pieces of cannon, 22 mortars, upwards
of too pair of colours, 200 ftandards, 17 pair of ket¬
tle-drums, upwards of 3000 tents, 34 coaches, 300
loaded mules, two bridges of boats, and all the French
baggage, with their military cheft. Next day, when
the duke of Marlborough vifited his prifoner the mar-
fhal, the latter allured him that he had overcome the bell
troops in the world. “ I hope, Sir (replied the duke),
you will except thofe troops by whom they -were con¬
quered.” The allies, in confequence of this vidory, be¬
came mafters of a country 100 leagues in extent.
BiENHEiM-Houfe, a noble and princely houfe ereded
in honour of the duke of Marlborough at Woodftock
near Oxford, which with the manor of Woodftock is
fettled on the duke and his heirs, in conftderation of
the eminent fervices by him performed for the public ;
and for building of which houfe the fum of too,oool.
wras granted by parliament, &c.—The tenure by which
his grace holds the manor of Woodftock is the pre-
fenting at the caftle of Windfor annually on the day in
which the battle of Blenheim was fought, a flag em¬
broidered with flowers-de-lis ; which flag is fhown to
all ftrangers who vifit the caftle.
B LENNI US, the B lenny. See Ichth yology/Wca*.
BLESS, Henry, painter of hiftory and landfcape,
was bom at Bovine, near Dinant, in 1480. He ac¬
quired his fkill in the art merely by the ftrength of his
natural genius, affifted by a diligent ftudy and obfer-
vation of the wmrks of Patenier, without having any
other inftrudor: and at lalt rendered himfelf very emi¬
nent, particularly by his landfcapes. His belt per¬
formances were bought up by the emperor Rodolph,
and they are ftill preferved at Vienna. His ftyle of
compofition in hiilorical fubje&s refembles the ftyle of
the Flemifh artills of that age, and 1 exhibits a great
number of figures finifhed with extreme neatnefs. But
he crowded feveral fubjedls into one defign ; as in his
pidlure of the difciples at Emmaus, he reprefented not
only that incident, hut in difterent groups difpofed in
the back ground, he reprefented likewife the different
parts of the paflron of our Saviour. And yet, not-
withftanding the impropriety of that manner of com-
pofing, his piflures were fo delicately pencilled and
finifhed, and his landfcapes in particular fo agreeably
invented, fo full of variety, and w7ell executed, that
even in Italy his works were in great requeft, and were
diftinguilhed there by the appellation of the owl-piflures:
[ 7*4 1
B L E
for he fixed an owl, as his peculiar mark, in every pic- Bieftmm,
ture he painted; by which the works of this mafter are Bletonifm.
always indifputably known. He died in 1550. u-—y—j
BLESIIUM, a town in Britain. Now Old-town,
not far from Hereford.
BLE TONISM, a faculty of perceiving and indica¬
ting fubterraneous fprings and currents by fenfation.
The term is modern, and derived from a M. Bleton,
who for fome years paft has excited univerfal attention
by his poffefling the above faculty, which feems to de¬
pend upon fome peculiar organization. Concerning the
reality of this extraordinary faculty, there occurred
great doubts among the learned. But M. Thouvenel,
a Frenchman of fome confequence and a philofopher,
feems to have put the matter beyond difpute, in two
memoirs which he has publifhed upon the fubjebl. He
was charged by the king with a commiflion to analyfe
the mineral and medicinal waters in France ; and, by
repeated trials, he had been fo fully convinced of the
capacity of Bleton to aflift him with efficacy in this
important undertaking, that he iblicited the miniftry
to join him in the commifllon upon advantageous term--.
All this ihows that the operations of Bleton have a
more folid fupport than the tricks of impofture or the
delufions of fancy. In fabl, a great number of his
difcoveries are afcertained by refpe&able affidavits.
The following is a ftrong inftance in favour of Bleto-
nifm. “ For a long time the traces of feveral fprings
and their refervoirs in the lands of the Abbe de Ver-
vians had been entirely loft. It appeared, neverthelefs,
by ancient deeds and titles, that thefe fprings and re¬
fervoirs had exifted. A neighbouring abbey was fup-
pofed to have turned their waters for its benefit into
other channels, and a law-fuit wras commenced upon
this fuppofition. M. Bleton was applied to : he dif-
covered at once the new courfe of the waters in que-
ftion : his difcovery was afcertained, and the law-fuit
W'as terminated.”
Bleton has been miftaken more than once ; and our-
author enumerates, with the faireft candour, the cafes-
in which he has failed : but thefe cafes are very rare in
comparifon with thofe in which he has fucceeded. Be-,
fides, even the miftakes of Bleton do not invalidate the
reality of his talents; fince a talent may be real with¬
out being perfeft, or exerting itfelf with the fame fuc-
cefs in every trial.
Many were indifpofed againft Bletonifm becaufe
they looked upon the fa£ls on which it is founded as
inexplicable. But M. Thouvenel affigns principles,
upon which the impreffions made by fubterraneous wa¬
ters and mines may be naturally enough accounted for.
Having afcertained a general law by which fubterra¬
neous eledlricity exerts an influence upon the bodies of
certain individuals eminently fafceptible of that influ¬
ence, and ftiown that this law is the fame whether the
eledlrical adlion arifes from currents of warm or cold
water, from currents of humid air, from coal or metal¬
lic mines, from fulphur, and fo on, he obferves, that
there is a diverfity in the phyfical and organical im-
preilions which are produced by this ele£lrical aftion,
according as it proceeds from different foffile bodies
which are more or lefs condudlors of eledlrical emana¬
tions. There are alfo artificial proceffes, which concur
in leading us to diftinguifh the different focufes or con-
dudlors of mineral eleftricity; and in thefe proceffes
the
B L E [ 7*5 ] B L I
Bletonifm. tKe ufe of eleftrometrical rods deferves tHc attention of
  philofophers, who might perhaps in procefs of time
fublfitute in their place a more perfe6t inftrument.
Their phyfical and fpontaneous mobility, and its elec-
trical caufe, are demonftrated by indifputable experi¬
ments.
On the other hand, our author proves, by very plau-
fible arguments, the influence of fubterraneous electri¬
cal currents, compares them with the eledtrical cur¬
rents of the atmofphere, points out the different im-
preflions they produce according to the number and
quality of the bodies which adt, and the diverlity of
tbofe which are adted upon. The ordinary fources of
cold water make imprefllons proportional to their vo¬
lume, the velocity of their currents, and other-circum-
Itances. Their ftagnation deltroys every fpecies of
eledtrical influence ; at leaft, in this ftate they have none
that is perceptible. Their depth is indicated by geo¬
metrical proceffes, founded upon the motion and di¬
vergence of the eledtrical rays ) but there are fecond
caufes which fometimes diverflfy thefe indications, and
occaflon feeming errors. Thefe errors, however, ac¬
cording to our author, are only exceptions to the gene¬
ral rule ; exceptions which depend on the difference of
mediums and fituations, and not on the inconitancy or
incertitude of the organical, fenlitive, or convulfive fa¬
culties of the Bletonift.
All the hot fprings in France, traced by our author
from the places where they flow to the places where
their formation commences (fometimes at a diftance of
I 5 leagues), led him conftantly to maffes of coal 5 where
they are colledled and heated in bafons of different
depths and dimenfions, nourifned by the filtration of
lakes and the courfe of torrents, and mineralized by fa-
line, fulpbureous, metallic, and bituminous fubftances,
in the natural furnaces where they are heated, or in the
ftrata through which they flow.
The lafl: and the moft Angular and important pheno¬
menon which our author met with in the courfe of
his experiments muff not be here omitted. Over the
veins of iron mines alone the eledlrometrical rods af-
fume a motion of rotation diametrically oppoflte to
that which they exhibit over all other mines. This
phenomenon takes place with the fame diftimffion
when iron and other metals are extrafted from their
mines and depoAted under ground. But the moft re¬
markable circumffance in this diftinftive adfion of thefe
metals is, that it has a uniform and conftant direction
from eaft to weft in all metals, iron excepted, juft as
iron rendered magnetic has an a&ion dire&ed from
fouth to north. The aftion of red metals is more pal¬
pable than that of the white ; but the latter, though
weaker, has neverthelefs a real exiftence in the fulphur.
In the fupplement to this memoir, there is an accurate
acount of the proceffes that have furniftied thefe in¬
variable refults. They will naturally fuggeft, fays our
author, the idea of conftru&ing an electrical compafs,
which may be of as eminent ufe in experimental philo-
fophy as the magnetic compafs is in navigation. The
natural and fpontaneous direction of metallic emanations
towards the weft being afeertained, it only remains to
render them palpable by the conftruCtion of an inftru-
rnent which may be fubftituted in the place of the
eleCtrometrical twig that goes vulgarly by the name of
the divining rod.
His analyfls of the hot fprings of BourLon-Lancy, Bletonifa*
to the fource of which in the great mountains of Bur- Blight,
gundy he was led by the eleCtrical fenfations of Blcton,
fliows the great intelligence and fagacity of our author
in operations of this nature. He found the origin of
thefe famous hot fprings in the centre of an oblong
riftng ground, full of coal, and commanded on three
Ades by a group of mountains, of which the greateft
part was Ailed with the fame mineral. From a parti¬
cular cafe, here circumftantially deferibed, in which
the eleCfrical rays of the fubterraneous water and thofe
of the adjacent coal croffed each other, our author de¬
duces a Very natural account of the errors which may
fometimes, though rarely, miflead for a time the great-
eft adepts in Bletonifm, when they And themfelves in
combined fpheres of eleCfrical aCfivity. Another ob-
fervation, which feems conftrmed by feveral fads, ac¬
counts farther for this fallibility ; the obfervation is,
that eleCtrical rays, whether direCt or collateral, iffuing
from fubterraneous focufes, feem to undergo in certain
cafes a fort of refraCtion as they pafs from one medium
to another, or traverfe bodies wfluch differ with refpeCl
to the property of tranfmitting this eleCfricity. In a
word, it follow’s from thefe obfervations, that when
fuch privileged inveftigators of currents or minerals as
Bleton are placed upon the eleCtrical fpheres of thefe
bodies, they will indicate their fttuation and their re-
fpeCtive depths according to the impreflions they feel
wdthin themfelves, or the motions they obferve in the
eleCtrometrical inftruments which they employ : and if
they meet with fecond accidental caufes or complica¬
tions of eleCtrical fpheres, wdrich modify or alter thefe
methods of trial, this wdll neceffarily occaAon miftakes
in the refults of their operations which they may pro¬
bably reCtify ; but w'hich, at all events, it would be
unjuft to lay to their charge, or allege as an objeCtion
againft the reality of their talent.
BLIGHT ', in Hujbandry, a difeafe incident to plants,
which affeCts them varioufiy, the whole plant fome¬
times perifhing by it, and fometimes only the leaves
and bloffoms, which will be fcorched and fhrivelled up,
the reft remaining green and fiouriftdng.
Some have fuppofed that blights are ufually pro¬
duced by an eafterly wind, which brings vaft quantities
of infeCfs eggs along with it, from fome diftant place,
that, being lodged upon the furface of the leaves and
flow’ers of fruit-trees, caufe them to fhrivel up and
periflr.
To cure this diftemper, they advife the burning of
wet litter on the wdndward Ade of the plants, that the
fmoke thereof may be carried to them by the wind,
which they fuppofe will ftifle and deflroy the infeCts,
and thereby cure the diftemper.
Others direCI the ufe of tobacco-duft, or to wafh the
trees wdth water wdierein tobacco-ftalks have been in-
fufed for 12 hours ; which they fay will deftroy thofe
infeCts, and recover the plants.
Pepper-duft fcattered over the bloffoms of fruit-trees,
&c. has been recommended as very ufeful in this cafe j
and there are fome that advife the pulling of the leaves
that are diftempered.
The true caufe of blights feem to be continued dry
eafterly winds for feveral days together, without the in¬
tervention of fhowers, or any morning dew, by which
the perfpiration in the tender bloffom is flopped ; and
4X2' if
B L I
Blighted
Corn,
Blind.
[ 7
Blindnefs,
what.
Either na¬
tural or me¬
taphorical.
■f See ther
Index fub-
joined to
J\£:dicine,
3
How the
blind may
be render¬
ed ufeful in
an indivi¬
dual or a
focial capa¬
city.
4
Difadvan-
tages of
blindnefs.
if it fo happens that there is a long continuance of
the fame weather, it equally afFe&s the tender leaves,
whereby their colour is changed, and they wither and
decay.
The beft remedy for this diftemper, is gently to wadi
and fprinkle over the tree, &c. from time to time with
common water ; and if the young Ihoots feem to be
much infefted, let them be wafhed with a woollen cloth,
fo as to clear them, if poffible, from this glutinous
matter, that their refpiration and perfpiration may not
be obllrufted. This operation ought to be performed
early in the day, that the moifture may be exhaled be¬
fore the cold of the night comes on : nor fhould it be
done when the fun fhines very hot.
Another caufe of blights in the fpring, is (harp
hoar-frofts, which are often fucceeded by hot funlhine
in the day-time. This is the molt hidden and certain
deftroyer of the fruits that is known.
BLIGHTED corn. See Smut.
BLIND, an epithet applied to a perfon or fenlitive
creature deprived of the ufe of his eyes ; or, in other
words, to one from whom light, colours, and all the
glorious variety of the vifible creation, are intercepted
by fome natural or accidental difeale. Such is the li¬
teral acceptation of the term : but it is likewife ufed in
a metaphorical fenfe, to fignify mental or intellectual
darknefs \ and frequently implies, at the fame time,
fome moral or fpiritual depravity in the foul thus
blinded, which is either the efficient or continuing caufe
of this internal malady. Yet, even in metaphor, the
epithet of blind is fometimes applied to a kind of ig¬
norance, which neither involves the ideas of real guilt
nor of voluntary error. It is, however, our prefent in¬
tention to confider the word, not in its figurative, but
in its natural and primary fenfe. Nor do we mean in
this place to regard it as a fubje£I of medical {pecula¬
tion, or to explore its caufes and enumerate its cures.
Thefe are in the department of another fcience f. It is
rather our defign to confider, By what means this in-
expreffible misfortune may be compenfated or alleviated
to thofe who fuftain it ; what advantages and confola-
tions they may derive from it •, of what acquifitions
they may be fufceptible ; what are the proper means of
their improvement \ or by what culture they may be¬
come ufeful to themfelves, and important members of
fociety.
There is not perhaps any fenfe or faculty of the
corporeal frame, which affords fo many refources of
utility and entertainment as the power of vifion ; nor is
there any lofs or privation which can be productive of
difadvantages or calamities fo multiform, fo various, and
fo bitter, as the want of fight. By no avenue of cor¬
poreal perception is knowledge in her full extent, and
in all her forms, fo acceffible to the rational and inqui¬
ring foul, as by the glorious and delightful medium of
light. For this not only reveals external things in all
their beauties, in all their changes, and in all their va¬
rieties ; but gives body, form, and colour, to intellec¬
tual ideas and abftraft effences \ fo that the whole ma¬
terial and intelligent creation lie in open profpeft, and
the majeftic frame of nature in its whole extent, is, if
we may fpeak fo, perceived at a fingle glance. To the
blind, on the contrary, the vifible univerfe is totally
annihilated ; he is perfeftly confcious of no fpace but
that in which he ftands, or to which his extremities can
is ] B L i
reach. Sound, indeed, gives him fome ideas of diffant
objefts ; but thoie ideas are extremely obfeure and in-'
diffinCt. 'I hey are obfeure, becaufe they confiff alone
of the objeCts whofe ofcillations vibrate on his ear, and
do not neceffarily fuppofe any other bodies with which
the intermediate fpace may be occupied, except that
which gives the found alone : they are indiflinCt, be¬
caufe founds themfelves are frequently ambiguous, and
do not uniformly and exclufively indicate their real
caufes. And though by them the idea of diftance in
general, or even of fome particular dittances, may be
obtained •, yet they never fill the mind with thofe vaft
and exalting ideas of extenfion which are infpired bv
ocular perception. For though a clap of thunder, or
an explofion of ordnance, may be diffinCtly heard after
they have traverfed an immenfe region of fpace 5 yet,
when the diftance is uncommonly great, it ceafes to be
indicated by found ; and therefore the ideas, acquired
by auricular experiment, of extenfion and interval, are
extremely confufed and inadequate. The living and
comprehenfive eye darts its inftantaneous view over ex-
panfive valleys, lofty mountains, protraCled rivers, illi¬
mitable oceans. It meafures, in an indivifible point of
time, the mighty fpace from earth to heaven, or from
one ftar to another. By the affiftance of telefcopes, its
horizon is almoft indefinitely extended, its objeCls pro-
digioufiy multiplied, and the fphere of its obfervation
nobly enlarged. By thefe means, the imagination, in¬
ured to vaft impreffions of diftance, can not only recall
them in their greateft extent with as much rapidity as
they were at firft imbibed j but can multiply them, and
add one to another, till all particular boundaries, and
diftances be loft in immenfity. Thus nature, by pro-
fufely irradiating the face of things, and clothing ob¬
jects in a robe of diverfified fplendour, not only invites
the underftanding to expatiate on a theatre fo exten-
five, fo diverfified, and fo attradlive } but entertains and
inflames the imagination wdth every poffible exhibition
of the fublime or beautiful. The man of light and co¬
lours beholds the objefts of his attention and curiofity
from far. Taught by experience, he meafures their
relative diftances ; diftinguifties their qualities } deter¬
mines the fituations, pofitions, and attitudes 5 prefages
what thefe tokens may import; felefts his favourites j
traverfes in fecurity the fpace which divides them from
him ; flops at the point where they are placed ; and ei¬
ther obtains them with eafe, or immediately perceives
the means by which the obftacles that intercept his
paffage to them may be furmounted. The blind not on¬
ly may be, but really are, during a confiderable pe¬
riod, apprehenfive of danger in every motion towards
any place from whence their conti afted power of per¬
ception can give them no intelligence. All the various
modes of delicate proportion, all the beautiful varieties
of light and colours, whether exhibited in the woiks
of nature or art, are to them irretrievably loft. Depen¬
dent for every thing, but mere fubfiftence, on the good
offices of others ; obnoxious to injury from every point,
which they are neither capacitated to perceive nor qua¬
lified to refill j they are, during the prefent ftate of be¬
ing, rather to be confidered as prifoners at large, than
citizens of nature. The fedentary life, to which by
privation of fight they are deftined, relaxes their frame,
and fubjefts them to all the difagreeable fenfations
which arifes from dejeftion of fpirits. Hence the moll:
feeble
Blind.
J
B L I [ 717 ] B L I
Blind.
S
The fitua-
tion of the
blind de-
fcribed by
poets.
6
Homer.
feeble exertions create laflitude and uneafinefs. Hence
the native tone of the nervous fyftem, which alone is
compatible with health and pleafure, deftroyed by in-
a&ivity, exafperates and embitters every difagreeable
impreflion. Natural evils, however, are always fup-
portable ; they not only arife from blind and undefign-
ing caufes, but are either mild in their attacks, or fliort
in their duration : it is the miferies which are infliSed
by confcious and refledling agents alone, that can de-
ferve the name of evils. Thefe excruciate the foul with
ineffable poignancy, as expreflive of indifference or ma¬
lignity in thofe by whom fuch bitter portions are cruelly
adminiftered. The negligence or wantonnefs, there¬
fore, with which the blind are too frequently treated,
is an enormity which God along has juftice to feel or
power to punifh.
Thofe amongfl them who have had fenfibility to feel,
and capacity to exprefs, the effe&s of their misfortunes,
have defcribed them in a manner capable of penetrat¬
ing the moft callous heart. The venerable father of
epic poetry, who in the perfon of Demodocus the Phae-
atian bard is faid to have defcribed his own fituation,
proceeds thus :
Tov 7n^i Mur STriAtin, S’ ttyxSov n, xxxtv rs
0$6x\puv fav x/x^trs, didx Ty^axv xotdtjy. Odys. 0
Dear to the mufe, who gave his days to flow
With mighty bleflings mix’d with mighty wo,
In clouds and darknefs quench’d his vifual ray,
Yet gave him power to raife the lofty lay. Pope.
Milton, in his addrefs to light, after a fublime de-
fcription of his arduous and gloomy journey from the
regions of primeval darknefs t© this our viflble diurnal
fphere, thus continues to apoftrophize the celeftial
beam :
7
Milton. Taught by the heav’nly mufe to venture down
The dark defcent, and up to reafcend,
Though hard and rare ; thee I revifit fafe,
And feel thy fov’reign vital lamp : but thou
Revifit’ft not thefe eyes, that roll in vain
To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawm :
So thick a drop ferene hath quench’d their orbs,
Or dim fuffufion veil’d. Yet not the more
Ceafe I to wander, where the mufes haunt
Clear fpring, or fhady grove, or funny hill,
Smit with the love of facred fong : but chief
Thee, Sion, and the flow’ry brooks beneath,
That wafh thy hallow’d feet, and warbling flow,
Nightly I vifit *, nor fometimes forget
Thofe other two equall’d with me in fate,
So w'ere I equall’d with them in renown.
Blind Thamyris, and blind Maeonides,
And Tirefias and Phineus prophets old :
Then feed on thoughts, that voluntary move
Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful bird
Sing’s darkling, and in fliadieft covert hid
Tunes her noflurnal note. Thus wuth the year
Seafons return ; but not to me returns
Day, or the fweet approach of ev’n or mom,
Or fight of vernal bloom, or fummer’s rofe,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine j
But cloud inftead, and ever during dark,
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair Blind.
Prefented with a univerfal blank, '" —iT”
Of nature’s w orks to me expung’d and ras’d,
And wifdom at one entrance quite fhut out.
Par. Lost, Book III.
The fame inimitable author, in his tragedy of Samp-
fon Agonifles, and in the perfon of his hero, deplores
the misfortune of blindnefs with a pathos and energy
fufficient to extort the deepeft fighs from the moft un¬
feeling hearts:
 But chief of all,
O lofs of fight, of thee I muft complain !
Blind among enemies, O worfe than chains,
Dungeon, or beggary, decrepid age.
Light, the prime work of God, to me is extinft,
And all her various objects of delight
Annull’d, which might in part my grief have eas’d,
Inferior to the vileft now become
Of man or worm. The vileft here excel me :
They creep, yet fee ; I dark in light expos’d
To daily fraud, contempt, abufe, and wrong,
Within doors, or without, ftill as a fool,
In power of others, never in my owm $
Scarce half I feem to live, dead more than half,
v O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipfe
Without all hope of day !
O firft created Beam, and thou great Word,
Let there be light, and light was over all 5
Why am I thus bereav’d thy prime decree ?
The fun to me is dark,
And filent, as the moon
When flie deferts the night,
Hid in her vacant interlunar cave.
Since light fo neceffary is to life,
And almoft life itfelf, if it be true
That light is in the foul,
She all in every part; why was the fight
To fuch a tender ball as th’ eye confin’d ?
So obvious, and fo eafy to be quench’d ?
And not, as feeling, throughout all parts diffus’d,.
That Ihe might look at will through ev’ry pore J
Then had I not been thus exil’d from light,
As in the land of darknefs, yet in light,
To live a life half dead, a living death :
And bury’d ; but yet more miferable !
Myfelf the fepulchre, a moving grave j
Bury’d, yet not exempt
By privilege of death and burial
From worft of other evils, pains and WTOngs,
But made hereby obnoxious more
To all the miferies of life.
Oflian, the Caledonian bard, who lived before the au¬
thenticated hiftory of his nation dates its origin, who in
his old age participated the fame calamity, has in more
than one paffage of his works defcribed his fituation in
a manner fo delicate, yet fo pathetic, that it pierces the
inmoit receffes and excites the fineft feelings of the
heart. Of thefe paffages, take the followdng r g
“ O thou that rolleft above, round as the Ihield of Ofliaa,
my fathers ! wdience are thy beams, O fun ! whence
thy everlafting light ? Thou comeft forth in thy awful
beauty, and the ftars hide themfelves in the Iky; the
moon,.
Blind.
The dejec¬
tion attend¬
ing blind-
nefs ac¬
counted for
10
Some ad¬
vantages
peculiar to
the blind.
B L I [ 7
moon, cold and pale, finks in the weftern wave. But
thou thyfelf moveft alone : who can be a companion
of thy courfe ? The oaks of the mountains fall j the
mountains themfelves decay with years ; the ocean
fhrinks and grows again j the moon herfelf is loft in
heaven : but thou art for ever the fame 5 rejoicing in
the brightnefs of thy courfe. When the world is dark
with tempefts; when thunder rolls and lightning glances
through the heavens; thou lookeft in thy beauty from
the clouds, and laugheft at the ftorm. But to Oftian
thou lookeft in vain : for he beholds thy beams no more;
whether thy yellow hair flows on the eaftern clouds, or
thou trembleft at the gates of the weft. But thou art,
perhaps, like me, for a feafon ; and thy years will have
an end : thou (halt fleep in thy clouds, carelefs of the
voice of the morning.—Exult then, O fun, in the
ftrength of thy youth ! age is dark and unlovely ; it is
like the glimmering light of the moon, when it (bines
through broken clouds, and the mill; is on the hills, the
howling blaft of the north is on the plain, the traveller
(brinks in the midft of his journey.,,
Thus dependent on every creature, and paflive to
every accident, can the wrorld, the uncharitable world,
be furprifed to obferve moments when the blind are at
variance with themfelves and every thing elfe around
them ? With the fame inftinfts of felf-prefervation,
the fame irafcible paflions which are common to the
fpecies, and exafperated by a fenfe of debility either
for-retaliation or defence ; can the blind be realobjefts
of refentment or contempt, even when they feem peeviftr
or vindidtive ? This, however, is not always their cha-
radler. Their behaviour is often highly expreflive, not
only of refignation, but even of cbeerfulnefs; and though
they are often coldly, and even inhumanly, treated by
men, yet are they rarely, if ever, forfaken of heaven.
The common Parent of nature, whofe benignity is per¬
manent as his exiftence and boundlefs as his empire,
has neither left his afflifted creatures without confola-
tion or refource. „Even from their lofs, however op-
preflive and irretrievable, they derive advantages; not
indeed adequate to recompenfe, but fufhcient to alle¬
viate, their mifery. The attention of the foul, con¬
fined to thefe avenues of perception which (he can com¬
mand, is neither diflipated nor confounded by the im-
menfe multiplicity nor the rapid fucceflion of furround-
18 1 B L I
ing objedls. Hence her contemplations are mote uni¬
formly fixed upon herfelf, and the revolutions of her
Owm internal frame. Hence her perceptions of fuch
external things as are contiguous and obvious to her
obfervation become more lively and exquifite. Hence
even her inftruments of corporeal fenfation are more af-
fiduoufly cultivated and improved, (o that from them
(he derives fuch notices and prefages of approaching
pleasure or impending danger as entirely efcape the at¬
tention of thofe who depend (or fecunty on the reports
of their eyes. A blind man, when walking fwiftly,
or running, is kindly and effedlually checked by nature
from rudely encountering fuch hard and extended ob-
je&s as might hurt or bruife him. When he approach¬
es bodies of this kind, he feels the atmofphere more
fenfibly. relift his progrefs ; and in proportion as
his motion is accelerated, or his diftance from the ob-
jeift diminiftied, the refiftance is increafed. He di-
ftinguifties the approach of his friend from far by the
found of his fteps, by his manner of breathing, and
almoft by every audible token which he can exhibit.
Prepared for the dangers which he may encounter from
the furface of the ground upon which he wralks, his
ftep is habitually firm and cautious. Hence he not
only avoids thofe falls which might be occafioned by
its Ids formidable inequalities, but from its general
bias he collefts fome ideas how far his fafety is imme¬
diately concerned ; and though thefe conjedures may
be fometimes fallacious, yet they are generally fo -true,
as to preferve him from fuch accidents as are not in¬
curred by his own temerity. The rapid torrent and
the deep cafcade not only wTarn him to keep a proper
diftance, but inform him in what dire&ion he moves,
and are a kind of audible fynofures to regulate his courfe.
In places to which he has been accuftomed, he as it
w'ere recognizes his latitude and longitude from every
breath of varied fragrance that tinges the gale, from
every afcent or declivity in the road, from every natural
or artificial found that ftrikes his ear; if thefe indica¬
tions be ftationary, and confined to particular places.
Regulated by thefe figns, the blind have not only been
known to perform long journeys themfelves, but to con¬
duct others through dangerous paths at the dark and
filent hour of midnight, wdth the utmoft fecurity and
exaftnefs (a).
It
(a) We have read, in authors of good credit, of a very furprifing blind guide who ufed to conduft the mer¬
chants through the fands and defarts of Arabia. Vide Leo dfric. Defer. Afr. lib. vi. p. 246. and Cafaub. Treat,
of Enthuf. c. ii. p. 45.
An inftance not lefs marvellous, exifts at this prefent time, 1788, and in our own country. John Metcalf, a
native of the neighbourhood of Manchefter, where he is well known, became blind at a Very early age, fo as to
be entirely unconfcious of light and its various effe6!s. This man paffed the younger part of his life as a wag¬
goner, and occafionally as a guide in intricate roads during the night or when the tracks rvere covered with
fnow. Strange as this may appear to thofe who can fee, the employment he has fince undertaken is ftill more
extraordinary : .it is one of the laft to which we could fuppofe a blind man wmuld ever turn his attention. His
prefent occupation is that of a projector and furveyor of highways in difficult and mountainous parts. With
the affiftance only of a long ftaff, I have feveral times met this man traverfing the roads, afeending precipices,
exploring valleys, and inveftigating their feveral extents, forms, and fituations, fo as to anfwer his defigns in the
beft manner. The plans which he defigns, and the eftimates he makes, are done in a method peculiar to him-
felf; and which he cannot well convey the meaning of to others. His abilities in this refpefl are neverthelefs
fo great, that he finds conftant employment. Moft of the roads over the Peak in Derbylhire have been altered
by his directions ; particularly thofe in the vicinity of Buxton : and he is at this time conftru&ing a new one
betwixt Wilmflow and Congleton, with a view to open a communication to the great London road, without be-
2 - ing
Blind.
B L I [ 7,
t _ It were endlefs to recapitulate the various mecha-
{ v nical operations of which they are capable, by their
Whether nicety and accuracy of touch. In feme the ta&ile
the blind powers are faid to have been fo highly improved, as to
are able to perceive that texture and difpofition of coloured fur-
faces by which feme rays of light are refleaed and
rs. others abforbed, and in this manner to diftinguifh co¬
lours. But the teftimonies for this fadl ftill appear to
us too vague and general to deferve public credit. We
have known a perfon who loft the ufe of his fight at an
early period of infancy, who in the vivacity or deli¬
cacy of his fenfations was not perhaps inferior to any
°ne,. and who had often heard of others in his own fi-
tuation capable of diftinguilhing colours by touch with
the utmoft exaftnefs and promptitude. Stimulated,
therefore, partly by curiofity to acquire a new train of
ideas, if that acquifition were poffible 5 but ftill more
by incredulity with refpeft to the fads related; he
tried repeated experiments, by touching the furfaces
of different bodies, and examining whether any fuch
civerfities could be found in them as might enable him
to diftinguifh colours : but no fuch diverfity could he
ever afeertain. Sometimes, indeed, he imagined that
objeds which had no colour, or, in other words, fuch
as were black, were fomewhat different and peculiar in
their iurfaces j but this experiment did not always nor
univerfally hold. His fcepticifm therefore ftill conti¬
nues to prevail (b). I hat their acouftic perceptions
are diftind and accurate, we may fairly conclude from
the rapidity with which they afeertain the acutenefs or
gravity of difterent tones, as relative one to another;
and from their exad difeernment of the various kinds
and modifications of found, and of fonorous objeds, if
the.founds themfelves be in any degree fignificant of
their caufes. hrom this vivacity and accuracy of ex¬
ternal fenfation, and from the afliduous and vigorous
9 J B L l
application of a comprehenfive and attentive mind a- Blind:
lone, we are able to account for the rapid and aftonifh- u-—-y—
ing progrefs which fome of them have made, not only
in thofe departments of literature which were moft ob¬
vious to their fenfes arid acceftible to their underftand-
ings, but even in the abftradeft, and (if we may be al¬
lowed the expreflion) in the moft occult fciences. I2
\\ hat, for inftance, can be more remote from the con- Inftancts
ceptions of a blind man than the abftrad relations andhowfar
properties of fpace and quantity ? yet the incompre-^h5y ar^.
henfible attainments of Dr Saunderfon in all the abftrad
branches of mathematics are now fully known and learning,
firmly believed by the whole literary world, both from
the teftimony of his pupils and the publication of his
wrorks. But fhould the fad be ftill uncertain, it might
be fuffici.ently verified by. a living prodigy of this kind
with which our country is at prefent honoured. The
gentleman of whom we now 1'peak, though blind from
his infancy, by the ardour and afliduity of his applica¬
tion, and by the force of a genius to which nothing is
impenetrable, has not only made incredible advances in
mechanical operations, in mufic, and in the languages 5
but is likewife profoundly Hulled in geometry, in op¬
tics, in algebra, in aftronomy, in chemiftry, and in all
the other branches of natural philofophy as taught by
Newton and received by an admiring world. We are
ibrry that neither.the modefty of this amiable philofo-
pher, nor the limits of this article, will permit us to-
delineate his charader in its full proportions. All we
can do is to exhibit his example, that by it the vuDar
prejudice, which prefumes to think blimhiefs and learn¬
ing incompatible, may be diffipated j and that an in¬
ftance of fuccefs fo noble and recent may inflame the-
emulation and encourage the efforts of fuch as have
genius and opportunity to purfue the fame laudable
path (c). If thefe glorious attempts fliould neither be
perceived:
w i° pafs °Ver the mountains” Account by Dr Bew, publilhed in the Tran/oMans of the Manchefer
(b) See, however, the extraordinary cafe fubjoined to this article.
_vvj As particular anecdotes of this, aftoniflring genius have been, fince a former edition of the Encyclo¬
paedia, delivered to the Manchefter Society by G. Bew, M. D. and afterwards publiflied, we fliall here take the
a fro^D/ws'owid °ng V°IUme “ WhiCh ,hey ^ inrerted’ a"hiS fre'd°m “ a“*hOTi“d ^
“Dr Henry Moyes, who occafionally read Ledures on Philofophical Chemiftry at Manchefter like Dr-
Saunderfon the celebrated profeffor of Cambridge, loft his fight by the fmallpox iu his early infancy.’ He ne
folar ivftenf’^ He’hid tlT ' riT ^ u T* °f- mem°ry 1 haVe (layS he)’ are Jn fome confufed ideas of the
t , y, ^ , ,He had good fortune to be born in a country where learning of every kind is highly cultiva
ted, and to be brought up in a family devoted to learning. 8 7 cultiva-
emdiSnefrtf,dLT'!V,e g'niU?’ 1,1 bis application, he made rapid advance, in varions departments of
tion , and not only acquired the fundamental principles of mechanics, mufic, and the languages but like
1 e entered deeply into the inveftigation of the profounder fciences, and difplayed an acute and General know
phifofofhl!01"6117’ °PtlCS’ gebr3’ aftr°n0my’ chemiftry, and in Ihort of moft of the branches of the Newtonian
, . Mechanical exercifes were the favourite employments of his infant years. At a very early ao-e he TnnrlP
himfelf acquainted with the ufe of edged tools fo perfeaiy, that notwithftanding his entire blfodnefs^he was abfo
wind-mills j and he even conftmaed a loom with his own hand^, which ftill fhow the cicatrices
of wounds he received in the execution of thefe juvenile exploits. cicatrices
‘By a moft agreeable intimacy and frequent intercourfe which I enioved with this accomuliffied
gentleman, wfailft he refided in Manchefter, I had an opportunity of repeatldl/obTmfog the
which he arranged his ideas and acquired his information. Whenever he wL introdufed into company I rl
Ii dthe diffL tC°n-mUe f tiT filer- P6 f°Und direaed him j^ge of th^Tmen"
*d the different toices of the number of perfons that were prefent. His diftinaion in thefe refpeas was very
accurate |
B L I
Blind,
[ 720 1
B L I
perceived nor rewarded by an unfeeling world, if hu¬
man nature (hould forget to recognize its own excel¬
lence fo nobly difplayed in inftances of this kind ; yet
befides the enjoyments refulting from a fublime and
comprehenfive underftanding? belides the immortal and
inexhauftible fources of delight, which are the peculiar
portion of a felf-approving mind, thefe happy pupils
and favourites of Nature are as it were indulged with
her perfonal intercourfe. They become more inti¬
mately acquainted with her laws, till by exploring the
beneficence of her economy, the fublimity of her ends,
the regularity of her procedure, and the beauties of
her frame, they imbibe the fpirit, and feel the pre¬
fence, of her glorious Author :
By fwift degrees the love of nature works,
And warms the bofom ; till at laft, fublim’d
To rapture and enthufiaflic heat,
We feel the prefent deity, and tafte
The joys of God to fee a happy world.
T HOMSON.
Much labour has been bellowed to invelligate, both
from reafon a priori and from experiment, what might
edfight up-be the primary eifefts of light and luminous objedls
on thofe upon fuch as have been born blind, or early deprived
of fight, if at a maturer period they fhould inllanta-
neoully recover their vifual powers. But upon this topic
there is much reafon to fear, that nothing fatisfaftory
has yet been faid. The fallacy of hypothefis and con-
jedlure, when formed a priori with refpeft to any or¬
gan of corporeal fenfation and its proper object, is too
obvious to demand illullration. But from the nature
of the eye, and the mediums of its perception, to at¬
13
Accounts of
the effedts
who have
been born
blind un¬
certain.
tempt an invelligation of the various and multiform Blind,
phenomena of vifion, or even of the varieties of which “ v—“
every particular phenomenon is fufceptible according as
the circumflances of its appearance are diverfified, would
be a projeft worthy of philofophy in a delirium. Nay,
even the difcoveries which are faid to accrue from ex¬
periment, may Hill be held as extremely doubtful and
fufpicious } becaufe in thefe experiments it does not
appear to have beeen afcertained, that the organs to
which vifible obje£ls were prefented immediately after
chirurgical operations, could be in a proper Hate to
perceive them. Yet after all, it is extremely probable,
that figure, diltance, and magnitude, are not immediate
objefts of ocular fenfation, but acquired and adjufted
by long and reiterated experience (d). There are,
however, many defiderata, which the perceptions of a
man bom blind might confiderably illullrate, if his
inftruments of vifion were in a right Hate, and af-
fifted by a proper medium. Such a perfon might per¬
haps give a clearer account, why objedls, whofe pic¬
tures are inverted upon the retina of the eye, Ihould
appear to the mind in their real pofitions ; or why,
though each particular objeft is painted upon the re¬
tina of both our eyes, it Ihould only be perceived as
fingle. Perhaps, -too, this new fpeclator of vifible na¬
ture might equally amufe our curiolity and improve our
theory, by attempting to defcribe his earliell fenfations
of colour, and its original effedls upon his organ and
his fancy. But, as we have already hinted, it is far
from being certain, that trials of this kind have ever
been fairly made. Such readers as may with to fee a
more minute detail of thefe queftions, may confult M.
Diderot’s Lettre fur les aveugles, a l'if age de ceux qui Diderot'1
‘voyent; Wor£s>
^ vol. n.
accurate j and his memory fo retentive, that he feldom was millaken. I have known him inflantly recognize a
perfon, on firll hearing him fpeak, though more than two years had elapfed fince the time of their jail meeting.
"He determined pretty nearly the ftature of thofe he was fpeaking with, by the direction of their voices ; and he
•made tolerable conjedlures refpefling their tempers and difpofitions, by the manner in which they conduced
their converfation.
“ It mull be obferved, that this gentleman’s eyes were not totally infenfible to intenfe light. The rays
refrafted through a prifm, when fulliciently vivid, produced certain diftinguiihable effects on them. 1 he red
gave him a difagreeable fenfation, which he compared to the touch of a law. As the colours declined in vio¬
lence, the harihnefs lefifened, until the green afforded a fenfation that was highly pleafing to him, and which he
deferibed as conveying an idea fimilar to what he felt in running his hand over Imooth polilhed lurtaces. Poliflr-
ed furfaces, meandering ftreams, and gentle declivities, were the figures by which he expreffed his ideas of beau¬
ty : Rugged rocks, irregular points, and boillerous elements, furnifhed him with expreffions for terror and dif-
„guft. He excelled in the charms of converfation } was happy in his allufions to vifual objects y and difeourfed
on the nature, compofition, and beauty of colours, with pertinence and precifion.
“ Doctor Moyes was a linking inltance of the porver the human foul polieffes of finding resources of iatis-
fa£tion, even under the molt rigorous calamities. Though involved ‘ in ever during darknels,’ and excluded
from the charming views of filent or animated nature; though dependent on an undertaking for the means ol
his fubfiltence, the fuccefs of which was very precarious ; in Ihort, though dellitute of oiner iuppoit than his
genius, and under the mercenary protection of a perfon whole integrity he luipected, Hill Dr Moyes was gene¬
rally chearful, and apparently happy. Indeed it mull afford much pleafure to the feeling heart to obierve this
hilarity of temper prevail almolt univerfally with the blind. Though ‘ cut off from the ways 01 men, and the
contemplation of the human face divine,’ they have this confolation ; they are exempt irom the diicernment and
contagious influence of thofe painful emotions of the foul that are vifible on the countenance, and which, hypo-
crify itfelf can fcarcely conceal. This difpofition likewife may be conlidered as an internal evidence ol the native
v/orth of the human mind, that thus fupports its dignity and chearfulnefs under one ol the ieverelt misiortunes
that can poffibly befall us.-” _ ,
(d) The gentleman couched by Mr Chefelden had no idea of diltance j but thought that all the objects lie
faw, touched his eyes, as what he felt did his Ikin. It was alfo a confidurable time before he could remember
■ which was the cat and which the dog, though often informed, without firft feeling them.
S L i
Kind. Ksoyent: (l A letter concerning the blind for the ufe of
r:—v   thofe who fee.” To thefe may be added, Mr Chefel-
dell's Anatomy, and Lode's Ljfay on the human under-
Jt a tiding.
When we ruminate on the numberlefs advantages
derived from the ufe of fight, and its immenfe import¬
ance, in extending the human capacity, or in improving
and cultivating every faculty and every function of the
mind, we might be ftrongly tempted to doubt the
fidelity of thole reports which we have heard concern¬
ing Inch perfons as, without the affifance of light,
have arrived at high degrees of eminence even in thofe
fciences which appear abfolutely unattainable but by
the interpoftion of external mediums. It has, how¬
ever, been demonftrated by a late ingenious author,
that blind men, by proper inftru&ion, are iucceptible
almoft of every idea, and of every truth which can be
imprelfed on the mind by the mediation of light and
colours, except the fenfations of light and colours them-
felves f.
Yet there is one phenomenon of this kind which
feems to have efcaped the attention of that great philo-
fopher, and for which no author either of this or any
former period has been able to offer any tolerable ac¬
count. Still, however, it feems to merit the attention
of a philofopher. For though we fhould admit, that
Kind'catch the blind can underhand with great perlpicacity all the
the enthufi-Phenomena of light and colours 5 though it were al-
afminfpired lowed, that in thefe fubjedfs they might extend their
by vifual fpeculations beyond their inftruftions, and invefligate
the mechanical principles of optics by the mere force
of genius and application, from the data which they
had already obtained j yet it will be difficult, if not
impoffible, to affign any reafon wffiy thefe objedls fhould
be more interefting to a blind man than any other ab-
ftraft truths whatever. It is impoffible for the blind, by
a retentive memory, to tell you, That the Iky is an
azure } that the fun, moon, and liars, are bright; and
the rofe is red, the lily white or yellow, and the tulip
variegated. By continually hearing thefe fubltantives
and adjedlives joined, he may be mechanically taught
to join them in the fame manner : but as he never had
any fenfation of colour, hotvever accurately he may
fpeak of coloured objedts, his language mull be like
that of a parrot ; without meaning, or without ideas.
Homer, Milton, and Offian, had been long acquainted
with the vilible world before they w^ere furrounded
with clouds and ever-during darknefs. They might,
therefore, Hill retain the warm and pleafing impreffions
of what they had feen. Their deferiptions might be
animated with all the rapture and enthufiafm which ori¬
ginally fired their bofoms when the grand or delightful
objedts which they delineated were immediately beheld.
Nay, that enthufiafm might ftill be heightened by a
bitter fenfe of their lofs, and by that regret which a fi-
tuation fo difmal might naturally infpire. But how
fihall w’e account for the fame energy, the fame tranfport
of defeription, exhibited by thofe on whofe minds vi¬
lible objedts were either never imprefled, or have been
entirely obliterated? Yet, however unaccountable this
fadt may appear, it is no lefs certain than extraordinary.
Vol. III. Part II.
j- See "Dr
Reid's In¬
quiry into
the Human
JVIind,
chap. vi.
§ I. 2-
14
percep¬
tions, a pa
radox.
721 ] B L I
But delicacy and other particular circumdances forbid blind.
us to enter into this difquifition with that minutenels 1 —v
and precifion which it requires. We only mention the
fadl as one amonglt the few7 refources for entertainment,
and avenues to reputation, w'hich are Hill referved for
the blind. Whoever thinks the fubjedt of lufficient
confequence to merit a nicer ferutiny, may conlult the
Preface to Blacklock's Poems, written by G. G. Elq. *
and printed at Edinburgh 1754, or the account of his
life and writings by the Rev. Mr Spence, prefixed to
a quarto edition of his poems publilhed at London in
1756.
It is hoped, however, that we fhall not be fufpedled
of partiality for inferting a charadler of the fame au¬
thor by one who was a foreigner, a flranger to his
perfon, and prepoffefl'ed in his favour by his works
alone.
“ Blacklock will appear to pollerity a fabulous cha¬
radler : even now7 he is a prodigy. It will be thought
a fidlion and a paradox, that a man quite blind fince
he was three years old (e), befidss having made him-
felf fo good a mafter of various languages, of Greek,
Latin, Italian, and French, (liould alfo be a great
poet in his owm ; and without hardly ever having
feen the light, fhould be fo remarkably happy in de¬
feription . * Carlo Dt*.
It is impofiible to enter into a detail of particulars nina Difcor-
with refpedl to the education of the blind. Thefe muff fo de ia Let¬
he left to be determined by the genius, the capacity, ieratura,
the circumftances, of thofe to wffiom the general rules'^' x‘*
which may be given ffiould be applied. Much there-of the edu-
fore muff depend on their fortunes, much on their tern- cation of
per, and genius ; for, unlefs thefe particulars w7ere the blind,
knoym, every anfwer which could be given to queftions
of this kind mull be extremely general, and of confe¬
quence extremely fuperficial. Belides, the talk is fo
much more arduous, becaufe whoever attempts it can
expedt to derive no affiffance from thefe who have writ¬
ten on education before him : And though the blind
have excelled in more than one fcience ; yet, except in
the cale of Saunderfon, profeflor of mathematics in the
univerfity of Cambridge, concerning whom we ffiall
afterwards have oecafion to fpeak, it does not appear,
that any of them have been condufted to that degree
of eminence, at which they arrived, upon a premedi¬
tated plan. One fhould rather imagine, that they have
been led through the general courfe and ordinary forms
of difeipline ; and that, if any circumltances w ere fa¬
vourable to their genius, they rather proceeded from
accident than defign.
This fa£l, if not fupported by irrefragable evidence,
fhould, for the honour of human nature, have been fup-
preffed. When contemplated by a man of benevolence
and underftanding, it is not eafy to guefs whether his
mortification or aflonifhment would be rnoft fenfibly felt.
If a heart that glow7s w ith real philanthropy muft feel
for the whole vital creation, and become, in fome
meafure, the fenformm of every buffering infedt or
reptile ; how mull our lympathy increale in tendeinefs
and force, when the diilrefled individuals of our own
fpecies become its objedls ? Nor do the blind bear fo
4 Y fmall
(e) The author is here miftaken : Dr Blacklock only faw the light for five months.
Blind.
B L I [72
fmall a proportion to the whole community, as, even
* 1
B L I
16
Why the
blind de¬
fence, and
how they
may repay
pubJic fym
jathy.
*7
Proper em¬
ployments
for the
blind.
* Dr NkLo
ias Bacon.
in a political view, to be negle&ed. But in this, as in
every other political crime, the punifhment returns up¬
on the fociety in which it is committed. Thofe aban¬
doned and unimproved beings, who, under the influence
of proper culture and difcipline, might have fuccefsful-
ly concurred in producing and augmenting the general
welfare, become the nuifances and burdens of thofe very
focieties who have neglefted them.
There is perhaps no rank of beings in the fenfible
univerfe, who have fuffered from nature or accident,
more meritorious of public compaflion, or better qua¬
lified to repay its generous exertions, than the blind.
.They are meritorious of compaflicn 3 for their fphere
of action and obfervation is infinitely more limited than
that of the deaf, the lame, or of thofe who labour un¬
der any other corporeal infirmity confiflent wfith health.
They are better qualified to repay any friendly inter-
pofition for their happinefs 5 becaufe, free from the di-
ftra&ion which attends that multiplicity of objects and
purfuits that are continually obvious, to the fight,
they are more attentive to their otvn internal economy,
to the particular notices of good and evil imprefled on
their hearts, and to that peculiar province in which
they are circumfcribed by the nature and cultivation of
their powers.
It will eafily occur to the reader, that, if the pupil
fliould not be placed in eafy circumftances, mufic is his
readied and mod probable refource. Civil and eccle-
fiadical employments have either fomething in their
own nature, or in the invincible prejudices of mankind,
which renders them almod entirely inacceflible to thofe
rvho have lod the ufe of fight. No liberal and culti¬
vated mind can entertain the lead hefitation in conclud¬
ing, that there is nothing, either in the nature of
things or even in the pofitive inditutions of genuine
religion, repugnant to the idea of a blind clergyman.
But the novelty of the phenomenon, while it adoniflies
vulgar and contra&ed underdandings, inflames their
zeal to rage and madnefs. Befides, the adventitious
trappings and ceremonies affumed by fome churches as
the drapery of religion, would, according to thefe fy-
dems, render the facerdotal oflke, painful, if not im¬
practicable, to the blind.
We have, fome years ago, read of a blind gentleman*,
defcended from the fame family with the celebrated Lord
Verulam, who, in the city of Bruflels, was with high
approbation created doctor of laws *, fince that period
we have been honoured with his correfpondence. He
was deprived of fight at nine years of age by an arrow
from a crofs-bow whild he was attempting to flioot it.
When he had recovered his health, which had fuffered
by the fliock, he purfued the fame plan of education in
which he had been engaged ; and having heard that
one Nicafius de Vourde, born blind, who lived towards
the end of the 15th century, after having didinguifhed
himfelf by his dudies in the univerfity of Louvain, took
his degree as doftor of divinity in the univerfity of Co¬
logne ; this motive prevailed with him to make the
fame attempt. But the public, curled with prejudices
for which the meaned fenfitive nature might blulh, pre¬
judices equally beneath the brutality and ignorance of
the lowed animal indindl, treated his intention with ri¬
dicule : even the profeffors were not far from being of
that fentiment) and they admitted him into their
Blind.
18
fchools, rather from an impreffion that it might amufe
him, than become of any ufe to him. He had the good
fortune, however, contrary to their expectations, to
obtain the fird places among his condifciples. It was
then faid, that luch rapid advances might be made in
the preliminary branches of his education 5 but would
foon be effectually checked by dudies of a more pro¬
found and abdraCted nature. This, it feems, was re¬
peated from fchool to fchool, through the whole climax
of his purfuits; and when, in the courfe of academical
learning, it became neceffary to dudy poetry, it was the
general voice that all was over, and that at length he
had reached his tie plus ultra. But here he likewife
confronted their prepofleflions, and taught them the im-
menfe difference between blindnefs of body and blind-
nefs of foul. After continuing his dudies in learning
and philofophy for two yrears more, he applied himfelf
to law, took his degree in that fcience, commenced
pleading counfellor or advocate in the council of Bra¬
bant, and has had the pleafure of terminating almoft
every fuit in which he has been engaged to the fatis-
faftion of his clients.
Had it not been for a faCt fo driking and fo well^awch1®-
authenticated, though there could have been no doubtcult! tho’r
that a blind man might difcharge the office of a cham- "
ber-counfel with fuccefs j yet, as a barrider, his dif-the blind.
Acuities mud have appeared more formidable, if not
abfolutely infuperable. For he fliould remember all
the fources, whether in natural equity or pofitive infli-
tutions, whether in common or flatutory law, from
whence his argument ought to be drawn. He mud
be able to fpecify, and to arrange in their proper or¬
der, all the material objections of his antagonifls :
thefe he mud likewife anfwer as they were propofed,
extempore.
When, therefore, it is confidered how difficult it is
to temper the natural affociation of memory with the
artificial arrangements of judgment, the defultory flights
of imagination with the calm and regular dedmdions
of reafon, the energy and perturbation of paffion with
the coolnefs and tranquillity of deliberation ; fome idea
may be formed of the arduous tafli which every blind
man mufl atchieve, who undertakes to purfue the law
as a profefilon. Perhaps affiflances might be drawn
from Cicero’s treatife on Topics and on Invention;
which, if happily applied and improved, might lefien
the difparity of a blind man to others, but could fcarce-
ly place him on an equal footing with his brethren.
And it ought to be fixed as an inviolable maxim, that
no blind man ought ever to engage in any province
in which it is not in his pow er to excel. This may at
fird fight appear paradoxical j but it is eafily explain-xhe Wind
ed. For the confcioufnefs of the obvious advantages naturally
poffeffed by others, habitually predifpofes a blind man tc>
to defpondency : and if he ever gives wray to defpair
(which he will be too apt to do when purfuing any ac-be’ftimula-
quifition when others have a better chance of fuccefs ted by the
than himfelf), adieu, for ever adieu, to all proficiency. Pr°fpe<A
His foul finks into irretrievable depreffion ; his abor- atta,"atlJe
tive attempts inceffantly prey upon his fpirit; and heeXCC eI1Le*
not only lofes that vigour and eladicity of mind which
are neceffary to carry him through life, but that pa¬
tience and ferenity which alone can qualify him to en-
joyit.
In this recapitulation of the learned profeffions, we
have
B L I
Blind, have intentionally omitted phyfic •,
flacks which a blind man muft encounter, whether
2° in the theory or praftice of that art, will be more
Phyfic per- eafjiy conceived by our readers than defcribed in de-
pri&icable ta^‘ From this, therefore, kt us pafs to more general
to the blind. fubje£ls.
It has been formerly hinted, that the blind were
objefts of compaflion, becaufe their fphere of action
and obfervation were limited : and this is certainly true.
For what is human exiftence, in its prefent flate, if
you deprive it of a£tion and contemplation ? Nothing
then remains but the diftinflion which we derive from
form or from fenfitive and locomotive powers. But
for thefe, unlefs direfted to happier ends by fuperior
faculties, few rational beings would, in our opinion, be
grateful. The moft important view, therefore, which
we can entertain in the education of a perfon deprived
of fight, is to redrefs as effe&ually as pofiible the na¬
tural difadvantages with which he is encumbered ; or,
in other words, to enlarge as far as poflible the fphere
of his knowledge and aftivity. This can only be done
by the improvement of his intelleftual, imaginative,
or mechanical, powers •, and which of thefe ought to be
Too much moft afiiduoufly cultivated, the genius of every indivi-
often ex- dual alone can determine. Were men to judge of things
parted from by their intrinfic natures, lefs w'ould be expedted from
the blind. t]je blind than others. But, by fome pernicious and
unaccountable prejudice, people generally hope to find
them either poffeffed of preternatural talents, or more
attentive to thofe which they have than others : For it
was not Rocheller’s opinion alone,
That if one fenfe fhould be fupprefs’d,
It but retires into the reft.
Hence it unluckily happens, that blind men, who
in common life are too often regarded as rarelhow^s,
when they do not gratify the extravagant expectations
of their fpedlators, too frequently fink in the general
opinion, and appear much kfs confiderable and merito¬
rious than they really are. This general diffidence of
their pow'er at once deprives them both of opportunity
and fpirit to exert tbemfelves j and they defeend, at
laft, to that degree of infignificance in which the pub¬
lic eftimate has fixed them. From the original dawn¬
ing, therefore, of reafon and fpirit, the parents and
tutors of the blind ought to inculcate this maxim, That
it is their indifpenfible duty to excel, and that it is ab-
folutely in their power to attain a high degree of emi-
blind fhould nence. To imprefs this notion on their minds, the firft
neither be objedls prefented to their obfervation, and the firft me-
too difficult Bmck of improvement applied to their underftanding,
ought, with no great difficulty, to be comprehenfibk
by thofe internal powrers and external fenfes which they
poflefs. Not that improvement fhould be rendered
quite eafy to them, if fuch a plan were poffible : For
all difficulties, which are not really or apparently in-
fuperable, heighten the charms and enhance the value
of thofe acquifitions wffiich they feem to retard. But
care ffiould be taken that thefe difficuties be not mag¬
nified or exaggerated by imagination ; for it has be-
sz
The ele¬
ments of
education
for the
nor too ea¬
fy-
23
of artion f°re been mentioned, that the blind have a painful fenfe
poflefled by of their own incapacity, and confequently a ftrong
the blind propenfity to defpair continually awake in their minds.
veTbe fu * ^'or rea^on» Parents a°d relations ought never to
perfeded.” '■0° ready k* offering their affiftance to the blind
[ 723 ] B L I
becaufe the ob- in any office which they can perform, or in any ac-
quifition which they can procure for themfelves, whe-'
ther they are prompted by amufement or neceffity.
Let a blind boy be permitted to walk through the
neighbourhood without a guide, not only though he
fhould run fome hazard, but even though he fhould fuf-
fer fome pain.
If he has a mechanical turn, kt him not be denied
the ufe of edge-tools; for it is better that he fhould
lofe a little blood, or even break a bone, than be per¬
petually confined to the fame place, debilitated in his
frame, and depreffed in his mind. Such a being can
have no employment but to feel his owm weaknefs, and
become his own tormentor; or to transfer to others
all the malignity and peeviflinefs arifing from the na¬
tural, adventitious, or imaginary evils which he feels.
Scars, fradlures, and diflocations in his body, are trivial
misfortunes compared with imbecility, timidity, oriret-
fulnefs of mind. Befides the fenfibk and dreadful ef-
fe£ls which inadlivity muft have in relaxing the nerves
and confequently in depreffing the fpirits, nothing can
be more productive of jealoufy, envy, peeviffinefs, and
every paffion that corrodes the foul to agony, than a
painful impreffion of dependence on others, and of our
infufficiency for our own happinefs. This impreffion,
which, even in his moft improved ftate, will be too
deeply felt by every blind man, is redoubled by that
utter incapacity of aCtion which muft refult from the
officious humanity of thofe who would anticipate or
fupply all his wants, who would prevent all his motions,
who would do or procure every thing for him without
his own interpofition. It is the courfe of nature, that
blind people, as well as others, fhould furvive their pa¬
rents ; or, it may happen, that they fhould likewife fur¬
vive, thofe who, by the ties of blood find nature, are
more immediately interefted in their happinefs than the
reft of mankind. When, therefore, they fall into the
hands of the world in general, fuch exigencies as they
themfelves cannot redrefs will be but coldly and lan¬
guidly fupplied by others. Their expectations will be
high and frequent, their difappointments many and fen¬
fibk j their petitions will often be refufed, feldom fully
gratified j and, even when granted, the conceffion will
be fo ungraceful, as to render its want infinitely more
tolerable than its fruitions. For all thefe reafons, we
repeat it once more (becaufe it can never be too fre¬
quently reiterated), that, in the formation of a blind
man, it is infinitely better to direft than fuperfede his
own exertions. From the time that he can move and
feel, kt him be taught to fupply his own exigencies ; to
drefs and feed himfelf; to rim from place to place, ei¬
ther for exercife, or in purfuit of his own toys or ne-
ceffaries.
In thefe excurfions, however, it will be highly pro¬
per for his parent or tutor to fuperintend his motions
at a diilance, without feemxng to watch over him. A
vigilance too apparent, may imprefs him with a notion
that malignity or fome other felfifli motive may have
produced it. When dangers are obvious and great,
fuch as we incur by rivers, precipices &c. thofe who
are intrufted with the blind will find it neither neceffary
nor expedient to make their vigilance a fecret. They
ought then to acquaint their pupil, that they are pre¬
fent with him ; and *to interpofe for his prefervation,
whenever his temerity renders it neceffarv. But ob-
4 Y 2 jecls
B L I
Blind.
*4
Xxercifes
fui table to
the blind.
*5
Riding on
horfeback.
26
"Walking in
alfweatheis
that are to¬
lerable.
27
“Dumb¬
bells,
28
"Bath-chair.
je£ls of a nature lefs noxious which may give him home
pain without any permanent injury or mutilation, may
with defign be thrown in his way ; providing, how¬
ever, that this defign be always indultrioufly conceal¬
ed. For his owrn experience of their bad effects w ill
be an infinitely more eloquent and fenfible monitor,
than the abftraft and frigid counfels of any advifer
whatever.
When the volatile feafon of puerile amufement is
expired, and the impetuous hurry of animal-fpirits fub-
fides, through the whole demeanour of his pupil the
tutor will probably obferve a more fenfible degree of
timidity and precaution, and his activity will then re¬
quire to be ftimulated more than reftrained. In this
crifis, exercife will be found requifite, rather to pre-
ferve health, and facilitate the vital functions, than
merely for recreation. Of all the different kinds of
exercile, riding, not in a machine, but on horfeback,
is by far the molt eligible, and molt productive of its
end. On thefe occafions, however, care muff be ta¬
ken that the horfes employed may neither be capricious
nor unmanageable ; for on the manfuetude of the crea¬
ture w'hich he rides, not only his fafety, but his con¬
fidence, wall entirely depend. In thefe expeditions
whether long or fhort, his companion or attendant ought
conllantly to be with him ; and the horfe fhould always
either be taught implicitly to follow' its guide, or be
conduced by a leading rein befides the bridle which
he himfelf holds. Next to this mode of exercife, is
walking. If the conftitution of the blind boy be to¬
lerably robuft, let him be taught to endure every vicif-
fitude of weather which the human fpecies can bear wfith
impunity. For if he has been bred with too much de¬
licacy, particular accidents may fuperfede all his for¬
mer fcruples, and fubjefl him to the neceffity of fuffer-
ing what wall not only be fevere in its immediate fen-
lation, but dangerous in its future confequences. Yet,
when the cold is fo intenfe, or the elements lo tempeftu-
ous, as to render air and exercife abroad imprafticable,
there are methods of domeftic exercife, which, though
not equally falutary, may ftill be eligible; fuch as dumb¬
bells, or the bath chair. The firft of thefe are made of
lead, confiding of a cylinder, the middle of w'hich may
either be reftilineal or arcuated for the conveniency of
holding, and terminates at each end in a femiglobular
mafs. Their w?eight muft be conformed to the llrength
and age of the perfon who ufes them. The method of
employing them is to take one in each hand, and fwing
them backwards and forw’ards over his head, defcrib-
ing a figure fomewhat like a parabola. This not only
flrengthens the arms, and opens the chert, but pro¬
motes the circulation of the fluids. The bath chair is
a deal of 12 feet in length, as free from knots and as
elaftic as portable, fupported by a fulcrum at each end,
upon which may be placed two rolling cylinders to
give it greater play *, when feated upon this, by alter¬
nately deprefling it with his owm weight, and fuffering
it to return to its natural fituation, he gives himfelf a
motion, though not equal in its energy, yet fomewTat
refembling the trot of a horfe. There are other elaftic
feats of the fame kind conftrufled with fteel fprings,
but one of this fimple fabrication may anfw er the pur-
pofe.
The fpring deal here recommended by the author,
was preferred, as being fuitable to the blind in ail
[ 724 ]
B L I
fpheres or conditions of life ; but he has fince been Blind,
taught by experience, in a valetudinary ftate, that the *“■*—v—■
elaftic chair is of infinitely greater utility. It confifts
of three falfe bottoms, and one real, which is the bafis
of the whole. The loweft is by far the moft extenfive.
The higheft is fluffed to render it an eafy feat, and
covered with plulh, baize, or duffle- Between each of
the falfe bottoms, at either end, behind and before,
are placed fteel fprings, fixed above and below to the
boards j not with nails, but ftaples, and curved in a
Ipiral or ierpentine form, each confifting of feven fpires
or volumina. The volumina are formed in fuch a man¬
ner, that one of them can pafs through another, and
thus give the fprings full play in riling or defcending.
The loweft bottom or bafis of the whole is protended
about four inches 5 which affifts you to mount the feat
with more facility, and ferves as a fupport for your feet
when you ride. This operation is performed by alter¬
nately deprefling or railing yourfelf upon the feat, fo
that the fprings yielding to your weight as you de-
fcend, and refilling as you idle, may give you a motion
like that of the deal above defcribed, but more violent,
more rapid, and confequently more falutary. The
whole frame of the feat is lurrounded with leather,
having different apertures to admit orrejedl the air oc-
cafioned by the motion. Thefe general hints are fuf-
ficient to give any ingenious artilan an idea of the na¬
ture and ftrufture of the machine, which he may alter
or improve as conveniency Ihall didlate.
To. thefe modes of domeftic exercife maybe added
that of a fwing, which is formed by a rope fufpended
from two fcrews, which ought to be ftrongly fixed, at
proper diftances, in the joifts of a capacious chamber,
with a board and a cufhion for a feat, and cords faften-
ed behind and before, left the impetuofity of the mo¬
tion Ihould fhake the patient out of his polition. But
this inftrument of health is fo often formed by children
for their amufement, and depends fo much upon the
form and extent of the area where it vibrates, that a
more minute detail of its nature and office would here
be unneceffary.
His meals Ihould be temperate, his diet light and ]};et
of eafy digeftion. If the tone of his ftomacb be vi¬
gorous, vegetables ftiould be preferred to animal food,
particularly thofe vegetables which are moft farinaceous
and leaft acefcent. Fermented liquors and ardent fpi-
rits Ihould never be given him but to gratify the real
demands of exhaufted nature : for though they exhi¬
larate the fpirits, they at the fame time corrode the
veffels and relax the nerves ; a misfortune doubly per¬
nicious to fedentary life. The fafeft and moft whole-
fome beverages are milk and water. If he ftiould be
tired with thefe, he may be indulged with the variety
of chocolate, balm, fage, or ground ivy. Coffee may
fometimes be taken with impunity : but tea fhould be
interdi&ed with inflexible feverity 5 for no vegetable
juice under heaven is more noxious to fedentary peo¬
ple. Let him alfo, for fimilar reafons, be prohibited
the ufe of tobacco in all its forms. In the obfer-
vations of diet and exercife, let him neither be me¬
chanically regular, nor entirely excentric. In the
one cafe, he will be a flave to habit, which may
create fome inconvenience ; in the other, he will form
no habits at all, which may ftill be produflivb of
greater,
w*
2$
(7
BUn<J.
30
B L 1 [ 725 ]
We have more than once hinted, during the courfe augmented,
of this article, that the blind, as liable to all theincon-
. veniences of fedentary life, are peculiarly fubje&ed
X.ow ipints. diforder which maybe tcednim vitce ox
low fpirits. This indifpofition may be faid to com-
' prehend in it all the other difeafes and evils of human
life ; becaufe, by its immediate influence on the mind,
it aggravates the weight and bitternefs of every cala¬
mity to which we are obnoxious. In a private letter,
we have heard it defcribed as a formidable precipice,
in the regions of mifery, between the awful gulfs of
fuicide on the one hand and phrenzy on the other j
into either of which, a gentle breeze, according to the
force of its impulfe and the line of its dire&ion, may
irrecoverably plunge the unhappy vidlim ; yet from
both of which he may providentially efcape. Though
the fhades of the metaphor may, perhaps, be unnatu¬
rally deepened, yet thofe who have felt the force of
the malady will not fail to reprefent it by the moft
dreadful images which its own feelings can fuggeft.
Parents and tutors therefore, if they have the lead pre¬
tence to confcience or humanity, cannot be too care¬
ful in obferving and obviating the firft fymptoms of
this impending plague. If the limbs of your blind
child or pupil be tremulous •, if he is apt to dart, and
eafily fufceptible of furprife ) if he finds it difficult to
deep; if his flumbers, when commenced, are frequent¬
ly interrupted, and attended with perturbation ; if his
ordinary exercifes appear to him more terrible and
more infuperable than ufual ; if his appetites become
languid and his digeftion flow ; if agreeable occur¬
rences give him lefs pleafure, and adverfe events more
pain than they ought to .infpire :—this is the crifis of
vigorous interpofition. The regimen and exercife a-
bove prefcribed are the beft preventatives of this evil,
and perhaps its beft remedies when unhappily incur¬
red. But if the fymptoms ffiould efcape your atten¬
tion till the patient is aSually feized with the diftem-
per, you may then, according to its depth and perma¬
nency, apply the cold bath, vitriolic acid, and Peruvi¬
an bark. Magnefia alba will, from time to time, be
found ufeful to lenify the fevere and corrofive acid ge¬
nerated in the ftomach ; it is preferable to chalk, to
crabs eyes, or any of the other abforbents, becaufe
of its laxative tendency. The tin&ure or infufion of
wild valerian, pills of afafoetida, and white multard-
feed, are likewife prefcribed. Care fhould be taken
that the patient may never be fuffered to remain co-
ffive, otherwife the funftion of digeftion will be impe¬
ded. Gentle cathartics fhould therefore be adminiffer-
ed ; but with caution, that their operation may clear
the bowels without weakening nature. Emetics may
fometimes give the patient a temporary relief, by ex¬
erting and bracing the fibres of the ftomach ; but if
ufed too frequently, they will have a contrary effeft :
previous to the ufe of bark, however, they Ihould al¬
ways be taken to prepare the veflel for its reception.
The fymptoms above enumerated would feem to indi¬
cate the origin of the diftemper from extreme weak-
nefs or relaxation of nerves : that relaxation may be
caufed by fevere and intemperate thought; by fupine
indolence; by exceflive or habitual drinking; and above
all, by venereal gratifications prematurely and frequent¬
ly indulged, by which the approaches of this evil are
accelerated, its continuance infured, and its poignancy
B L 1
Parents and tutors, therefore, as they
value the welfare of their charge, and would anfwer
to God for their conduft, fhould be fcrupuloufly care¬
ful to obferve when any of thefe illegitimate propenfi-
ties inflame the youthful mind, to check, or rather
elude them ; not fo much by fevere reprehenfion and
folemn interdidf, as by endeavouring to preoccupy the
foul, and engage the attention with other favourite a-
mufements. Againft every aft of arbitrary power, the
mind ftrongly and naturally revolts. She Ihould there¬
fore be rather allured to wifdom and virtue, by rational
motives and gentle methods, than by cruel menaces
and ftern commands. Thofe who are afflifted with
low fpirits may be Arid to be doubly unfortunate ; for
they have not only their own internal fufferings to fu~
ftain, but the contempt and ridicule of a thoughtlds
and unfeeling rvorld, by wdiom their complaints are
thought to be imaginary, and their depreflion affefted.
Should the farcaftic or fceptical reader apologize for
his want of humanity, by afking in what thefe inter¬
nal fufferings confift, it will be eafy to give him a clear
and folid anfwer : They arife from a fevere and acute
feeling of nature’s incapacity to difcharge the vital
funftions with tolerable eafe ; from the fharp and con-
ftant irritation inflifted on the ftomach and lower in-
teftines by every thing not fweet or infipid that pafles
through them ; and from a degree of fenfibility too
exquifite for the precarious and ftuftuating ftate of our
nature : thefe are the vindiftive, inexorable demons
that arm every thought with the ftings of fcorpions,
and render the fenfe of exiftence itfelf infupportable.
We have heard of hypochondriacs who thought them-
felves made of glafs ; and of others who believed their
perfons grown to a fize fo enormous, that they could
not enter into any door : but it has never been our
fortune to be perfonally acquainted wdth any of thefe
fantartics. Thofe with whom we have converfed were
rather inclined to exaggerate real, than to create ima¬
ginary, evils ; rather to anticipate gloomy poftibilities,
than to dwell upon- improbable or chimerical cataftro-
phes : the tender parent, therefore, or the faithful
guardian, will beware of treating them with negleft or
levity. He will fuit his converfation, as much as pof-
' fible, to the prefent tone of their feelings ; he will avoid
all innovations in their management,'except fuch as are
abfolutely neceffary for their cure.
Be careful never to reafon nor expoftulate with'your
patient on the nature of his malady. Tell him not
that his uneafy feelings, far from being real, are the
fiftitious impofitions of a. depraved fancy. His difa-
greeable fenfations will be more than lufficient to de-
monftrate the falfehood of your aflertions : thus your
argumentative and perfuafive powders will not only be
exerted in vain, but may confiderably retard, if not
finally prevent, his recovery ; and may leave fuch in¬
delible prepofleffions againft you, in his mind, as no
length of time, no viciflitudes of life, will ever be able
to efface. Opium has alfo been recommended ; but
excepting defperate cafes, it will be found a fallacious
and dangerous remedy :—^fallacious, because the eale
it gives is only temporary, and infallibly fucceeded by
{harper paroxyfms .dangerous, becaufe it may be ren¬
dered habitual, and fubjeft the patient to unmixed
torment when omitted. Though we have already in¬
culcated a regimen and exercife which appeared pro-
Blind.
B L I [ 726 ] B L I
Blind, per for the blind in general, and not incompatible with
peculiar fituations, it ftill feems neceflary to add a
few refults of painful experience upon thefe fubje&s,
as being particularly conducive to the prefent eafe and
future amendment of fuch as labour under the difeafes
now in queftion. And firft, let it be obferved, that
animal food is their proper nutriment, as being of ca¬
lled digeftion j better too, if well done upon the fpit
or gridiron : for inflead of being allowed to imbibe
adventitious fluids, it Ihould be as much as poflible
drained of its own ; neither Ihould it be too fat : beef,
mutton, or fowls, arrived at maturity, give the Itomach
leaf! labour; veal, lamb, chickens, and every other
kind of young meat, anfwer the purpofes of nature
with more difficulty, as the parts are not only too fuc-
culent, but prevented by their foftnefs and lubricity
from afting forcibly one upon another to facilitate the
efforts of the ftomach in digeftion. Of all vegetable
fubftances, white bread is perhaps the only ingredient
which they can eat with the greateft impunity j and
even this would ftill be fafer were the pafte formed
with as little w'ater as poflible, and prepared without
fermentation. Whether eggs are vegetable or animal
fubftances, let phyficians determine 5 but this we know,
that by people in low fpirits they may be eaten, even
at fupper, with great impunity. Every other herb or
root is not only extremely flatulent, but produftive of
that {harp and intenfe acid for vdiich we have former¬
ly prefcribed magnefia as the beft remedy. Patients
of this defcription fhould rather be frequent than li¬
beral in their meals, and fcrupuloufly careful of all
heterogeneous mixture. Their moft eligible beverage,
except Ample wTater, if they can afford it, is port
wine, as being leaft convertible into that poignant
fluid : porter likewife, if not ftale, may, by its ftrength
and bitternefs, aflift the aftion of the ftomach. Nei¬
ther of thefe fermented liquors fhould be taken in large
quantities at once : let the clamours of nature be fatis-
fied, and no more j for if the fpirits are unnaturally e-
lated, they will be certain to Ank proportionably wdien
the ftimulus ceafes to operate. The moderate ufe of
genuine rum or brandy, properly diluted, when the
other liquors cannot be had, may be produ&ive of
good effefts, but ftiould never be ufed at or near na¬
tural periods of repofe •, becaufe, even when diluted,
they occaAon a febricity or pyrexia, incompatible wdth
found and refrefhing fleep. Care fhould likewife be
taken that the patient may never be too much warm¬
ed, either by clothes or exercife, efpecially when in
bed. Exertions of body, particularly in the open air,
are indifpenfably neceffary for promoting digeftion
and acquiring ftrength ; but fhould never be carried to
fatigue. The mind fliould likewife be diverted from
attention to itfelf and its diforder, by reading and
converfation. But there is an uncommon degree of
difcernment and delicacy requiflte in the topics, that
they may neither be too cheerful nor too ferious, for
the ftate of the mind, when they are applied. Neither
let thefe injun&ions be efteemed trivial : fuch little at¬
tentions, uniformly and tenderly exerted for their fa-
tisfaftion, will contribute in no fmall degree to their
prefent tranquillity, and of confequence to their fu- Blind,
ture reftoration. We have thought it neceflary to J '
expatiate thus far, on a fubjeCl gloomy and forbidding
in itlelf, but of luflicient importance to demand par¬
ticular attention •, and, beAdes, what we have faid may
not only be ufeful to the blind in particular, but ap¬
plicable to all thofe who labour under the fame depref-
Aon. It only remains to add, that the order, the pe¬
riods, and the quantities, in which the remedies above
enumerated fhould be applied, muft be determined by
wifdom and experience, or regulated by the advice of
a fkilful and vigilant phyftcian. We are forry that
truth obliges us to acknowledge, that we have found
the faculty lefs intelligent in this difeafe, and lefs at¬
tentive to its various afpeCls, than could be wiftied, or
than its malignity requires. ,r
The natural curioAty of children renders them ex-Natural cu-
tremely and indefatigably inquiAtive. This difpoAtion dofity to be
is often peculiarly prevalent in the blind. Parents and |^nIC oflfj
tutors, therefore, fliould gratify it whenever their an-^ie- when
fwers can be intelligible to the pupil j when it is other-otherwife,
wife, let them candidly confefs the impoffibility or im- a reafon to
propriety of anfwering his queftions. At this period,be £iven*
if their hearts be tender and their pow-ers inventive,
they may render his amufements the vehicles, and his
toys the inftruments, of improvement: why, for in-
ftance, may not the centrifugal and centripetal forces be
illuftrated from the motion of a top, or the nature and
power of elafticity by the rebound of a ball ? Thefe
hints may lead to others, which if happily improved
and applied, may wonderfully facilitate the progrefs of
knowdedge. Nor wdll the violence of exercife, and
the tumult of play, be produftive of fuch perils and
accidents as may be apprehended.
For the encouragement of fuch parents as choofe
to take thefe advices with regard to exercife, let us
inform them, that though, till the age of twenty,
fome blind perfons w^ere on moft occaAons permit¬
ted to walk, to run, to play at large, they have yet
efcaped without any corporeal injury from thefe ex-
curAons. ^
Parents of middle, or of higher rank, who are The blind
fo unfortunate as to have blind children, ought, by all"0110
poflible means, to keep them out of vulgar company. !n^ulSed
The herd of mankind have a wanton malignity, which culm coz^„
eternally impels them to impofe upon the blind, and pany.
to enjoy the painful Atuations in which thefe impo-
Ations place them. This is a ftridlure upon the hu¬
manity of our fpecies, which nothing but the love of
truth and the didlates of benevolence could have ex¬
torted from us. But we (f) have known fome who
have fuffered fo much from this diabolical mirth in their
own perfons, that it is natural for us, by all the means
in our power, to prevent others from becoming its
vidfims.
Blind people have inftnitely more to fear from the
levity and ignorance, than from the felflftmefs and ill-
nature, of mankind. In ferious and important nego-
ciations, pride and compaflion fufpend the efforts of
knavery or fpleen ; and that very inArmity, which fo
frequently renders the blind defencelefs to the arts of
(?) The author of thefe obfervations, though he choofes to exprefs himfelf in this manner, is blind.
2
Blind.
B L I [ 7
the infidious, or to the attempts of malice, is a powerful
incentive to pity, which is capable of difarming fury it-
felf. Villainy, which frequently piques itfelf more up¬
on the arts by which it prevails, than upon the advan¬
tages which it obtains, may often with contempt rejedl
the blind, as fubjedls beneath the dignity of its opera¬
tion ; but the ill-natured buffoon confiders the moft ma¬
licious effefts of his merriment as a mere jeft, without
refiefting on the ftiame or indignation which they in-
33 fpire when inflifted on a fenfible temper.
They muft But vulgar credulity and ignorance are no lefs dan-
mitteduT Ser0^s to who want fight, than the falfe and me
hear^nar- chanical wit fo univerfally pradifed in common life.
tales.
34
The aflb-
ciation be
tween
darknefs
HLa 1 Illcil -   J I  *** ^«***Xil^.* xaxv
vellous and ^ e know, we fympathetically feel, the flrong propen
frightful fity of every illiterate mind, to relate or to believe what¬
ever is marvellous and dreadful. Thefe impreflions,
when early imbibed, can fcarcely be eradicated by all
the confpiring efforts of mature reafon and confirmed
experience. Thofe philofophers who have attempted
and f^ec t0 ^rea^ t^ie a^^ance between darknefs and fpedres,
tres found- Were cfrtainly infpired by laudable motives. But they
ed in na- gIve us }eaye to affert, that there is a natural and
ture. eflential connexion betwixt night and orcus. Were
we endued with fenfes to advertife us of every noxious
objed before its contiguity could render it formidable,
our panics would probably be lefs frequent and fenfible
than we really feel them. Darknefs and filence, there¬
fore, have fomething dreadful in them, becaufe they
fuperfede the vigilance of thofe fenfes which give us
the earlieft notices of things. If you talk to a blind
boy of invifible beings, let benevolence be an infepara-
ble ingredient in their charader. You may, if you
pleafe, tell him of departed fpirits, anxious for the wel¬
fare of their furviving friends j of miniftering angels, wdio
defcend with pleafure from heaven to execute the pur-
pofes of their Maker’s benignity j you may even regale
his imagination with the fportive gambols and innocent
frolics of fairies ; but let him hear a'S feldom as poffrble,
even in ftories which he knows to be fabulous, of vin¬
dictive ghofts, vindidive fiends, or avenging furies.
They feize and pre-occupy every avenue of terror
which is open in the foul 5 nor are they eafily difpof-
feffed. Sooner fhould we hope to exorcife a ghoft,
or appeafe a fury, than to obliterate their images in a
warm and fufceptible imagination, where they have
been habitually impreffed, and where thefe feelings
cannot be diftipated by external phenomena. If hor-
Ibatirf th~r0rS ^10u^ agitate the heart of a blind
fears^fthe k°y> which may happen notwithftanding the moft
blind. ftrenuous endeavours to prevent it, the ftories which
he has heard will be moft effedually difcredited by ri¬
dicule. This, however, muft be cautioufiy applied, by
gentle and delicate gradations. If he is infpired with
terror by effeds upon his fenfes, the caufes of which
he cannot inveftigate, indefatigable pains muft be taken
to explain thefe phenomena, and to confirm that expli¬
cation, whenever it can be done, by the teftimony of
35
The me-
27 ] B L I
his own fenfes, and his own experience. The exertion Blind,
of his locomotive and mechanical powers (the rights of1 v1’"-'
which we have formerly endeavoured to affert) will fen-
fibly contribute to difpel thefe terrors.
His inventive faculties ought likewife to be indulged The inven-
with the fame freedom. The data which they explore t,°n tke
may be prefented in fuch a manner, as to render dif-£J
coveries eafy : but ftill let invention be allowed to co-but neither
operate. The internal triumph and exultation which anticipated
the mind feels from the attainment and convidion ofnor check'
new truths heighten their charms, imprefs them deepetl'
on the memory, and give them an influence in prac¬
tice of which they could not otherwife have boaft-
ed.
1 here are a fort of people in the world, whofe views
and education have been ftridly confined to one pro¬
vince, and wffofe converfation is of confequence limited
and technical. 1 hefe, in literary intercourfe, or fa-
Ihionable life, are treated wuth univerfal contempt, and
branded with the odious name of mere men of bufnej's.
Nor is it any vmnder that the converfation of fuch
fhould prove naufeous and difgufting. It wmuld be arro¬
gance in them to exped, that indifferent perfons fhould
either enter into their private interefts, or the peculia¬
rities of their craft, wTith a w’armth equal to their own.
We have know’n the intrufion of fuch a perfon involve
a numerous company in gloom, and terminate the free¬
dom and vivacity of agreeable difcourfe in lazy yawn¬
ing and difcontented filence. Of all innocent charac¬
ters, this ought to be avoided by the blind 5 becaufe, of
all others, it is the charader wdiich they run the great- •
eft hazard of adopting. The limitation of their powers
naturally contrads their views and purfuits, and, as it
were, concentres their whole intelledual faculties in
one, or at beft in few' objeds. Care fhould therefore
be taken to afford the mind a theatre for it exertions,
as extenfive as poftible, without diverting it from one
great end, which, in order to excel, it ought for ever
to have in profped.
. There are few fciences in which the blind have not The man-
diftinguifiled themfelves : even thofe whole acquifition ners of the
feemed effentially to depend upon vifion, have at lafttiind*
yielded to genius and induftry, though deprived of that
advantage. Mr baunderfon, whom we formerly men¬
tioned, has left behind him the moft ftriking evidences
of aftomfhing proficiency in thofe retired and abftrad
branches of mathematics which appeared leaf! acceflible
to perfons of his infirmity. Sculpture (g) and painting
are not, perhaps, the moft practicable arts for a blind
man , yet he is not excluded from the pleafing creation
and extenfive regions of fancy. How'ever unaccount¬
able it may appear to the abftraft philofophers, yet no¬
thing is more certain in fa&, than that a blind man
may, by the infpiration of the mufes, or, to ftrip the
figure of its mythological drefs, may, by the efforts of
a cultivated genius, exhibit in poetry the moft natural
images and animated defcriptions, even of vifible ob-
objefls,
(g) \et there are mftances of perfons who have been enabled to take the figure and idea of a face by the
touch and mould it in wax with the utmoft exaftnefs j as was the cafe of the blind fculptor mentioned by
1 eS’ w l° 1 lus ,t°ok the llkenefs of the Duke de Bracciano in a dark cellar, and made a marble ftatui
Rut ^idz ar CS I* ^ 6 egance and iuflnefs- Vid* De T/'/er Cours de Feint, p. 329. and Wolf. Pfychol,
'Bliad.
B L I t 72
jects, without either incurring or deferving the impu-
' tation of plagiarifm.
In the fifter art of mufic, there are, at prefent, living
and noble inftances how far the blind may proceed.
If we look into former periods, wTe (hall find illu-
ftrious and pregnant examples, how amply nature has
capacitated the blind to excel both in the fcientific and
pra£lical departments of mufic. In the 16th century,
when the progrefs of improvement both in melody and
harmony was rapid and confpicuous, Francifcus Sab¬
inas was eminently diftinguifhed. He was born A.D.
1513, at Burgos in Spain; and was fon to the treafurer
of that city. Though afflicted wdth incurable blindnefs,
he was profoundly fkilled both in the theory and prac¬
tice of mufic. As a performer, he is celebrated by his
cotemporaries with the higheft encomiums. As a theo-
rift, his book, if we may believe Sir John Hawkins, is
equal in value to any now extant in any language.
Though he w'as deprived of fight in his earlieft infan¬
cy, he does not content himfelf to delineate the vari¬
ous phenomena in mufic, but the principles from
whence they refult, the relations of found, the nature,
of arithmetical, geometrical, and harmonical ratios,
which at that period were efteemed effential to the
theory of mufic, with a degree of intelligence which
would have deferved admiration though he had been
in full pofieflion of every fenfe requifite for thefe dif-
quifitions. He was taken to Rome in the retinue of
Petrus Sarmentus archbilhop of Compoftella ; and hav¬
ing paffed twenty years in Italy, he returned to Sala¬
manca, where he obtained the profeflbrflrip of mufic,
an office at that time equally refpe&able and lucra¬
tive. Having difcharged it with reputation and fuc-
cefs for fome time, he died at the venerable age of
77-
In the fame period flouriffied Cafpar Crumbhern,
blind from the third year of his age : yet he compo-
fed feveral pieces in many parts with fo much fuccefs,
and performed both upon the flute and violin fo exqui-
fitely, that he was diflinguiffied by Auguftus elector
of Saxony. But preferring his native Silefia to every
other country, he returned thither, and was appoint¬
ed organift of the church of St Peter and Paul in
-the city of Lignitz, wffiere he likewife had often the
diredlion of the mufical college, and died June nth
1621.
To thefe might be added Martini Pefenti of Ve¬
nice, a compofer of vocal and inftrumental mufic al-
moft of all kinds, though blind from his nativity; with
other examples equally worthy of public attention.
But if vulgar prejudice is capable of bluflnng at its own
contemptible chara&er, or of yielding to conviftion,
thofe already quoted are more than fufficient to ffiow
the mufical jugglers of our time, who are generally as
abfolute ftrangers to learning and tafte as to virtue,
that their art is no monopoly with which thofe a-
lone who fee are invefted by the irreverfible decree
of heaven.
For Saunderfon’s method of calculation, both in a-
rithmetic and algebra, fee the account prefixed to his
own treatife on that fubjefl. But there is a much ful¬
ler and more circumftantial detail both of its nature and
its various ufes, given by Mr Diderot in his “ Letter
concerning the Blind, for the ufe of thofe who fee,”
which we ffiall here tranflate.
Blind.
8 ] B L I
“ It is much eafier (fays that author) to ufe figns
already invented, than to become their inventor ; as one "" J
is forced to do, when engaged in circumftances for Sanderfon’s
w hich he is not provided. Of what advantage might pjan 0tnc.
not this be to Saunderion to find a palpable arithmetic tation.
already prepared for him at five years of age, which he
might otherwife have felt the neceffity of inventing
for himfelf at the advanced period of twenty-five r This
Saunderfon, Madam, is an author deprived of fight,
with whom it may not be foreign to our purpofe to a-
mufe you. They relate prodigies of him ; and of thefe
prodigies there is not one, which his progrefs in belles
lettres, and his mathematical attainments, do not render
credible.
“ The fame inftrument ferved him for algebraical
calculations, and for the conftruflion of re&ilineal fi¬
gures. You would not perhaps be forry that 1 ffiould
give you an explanation of it, if you thought your mind
previoufly qualified to underftand it : and you Avail
foon perceive that it preluppofes no intellc&ual prepa¬
rations of w hich you are not already miftrefs; and that
it would be extremely ufeful to you if you flvould ever
be feized with the inclination of making long calcula¬
tions by touch.
“ Imagine to yourfelf a fquare, fuch as you fee Plate
fig. 1. divided into four equal parts by perpendi-XCI11,
cular lines at the fides, in fuch a manner, that it may
prefent you the nine points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Suppofe this fquare pierced with nine holes capable of
receiving pins of two kinds, all of equal length and
thicknefs, but fome with heads a little larger than the
others.
“ The pins with large heads are never placed any
where elfe but in the centre of the fquare ; thofe with
fmaller heads never but at the fides, except in one fingle
cafe, which is that of making the figure 1, where none
are placed at the fides. The fign of o is made by
placing a pin with a large head in the centre of the
little fquare, without putting any other pin at the fides*. ^ fig. a.
The number I is reprefented by a pin with a fmall
head placed in the centre of the fquare, without put¬
ting any other pin at the fides; the number 2, by a pin
with a large head placed in the centre of the fquare,
and by a pin with a fmall head placed on one of
the fides at the point 1 : the number 3, by a pin with
a large head placed in the centre of the fquare, and by
a pin with a fmall head placed on one of the fides at
the point 2 : the number 4, by a pin with a large head
placed in the centre of the fquare, and by a pin with
a fmall head placed on one of the fides at the point 3 :
the number 5, by a pin with a large head placed in the
centre of the fquare, and by a pin w'ith a fmall head
placed on one of the fides at the point 4: the number
6", by a pin with a large head placed in the centre of the
fquare, and by a pin wfith a fmall head placed on one
of the fides at the point 5 : the number 7, by a pin
with a large head placed in the centre of the fquare,
and by a pin with a fmall head placed on one of the
fides at the point 6: the number 8, by a piri with a
large head placed in the centre of the fquare, and by
a pin with a fmall head placed on one of the fides at
the point 7 : the number 9, by a pin with a large
head placed in the centre of the fquare, and by a pin
with a fmall head placed on one of the fides at the
point 8.
2
“ Here
B L I
Blind. tl Here are plainly ten different exprefficns obvious
^the touch, of which every one anfwers to one of
our ten arithmetical chara&ers. Imagine now a table
as large as you pleafe, divided into fmall fquares, hori¬
zontally ranged, and feparated one from the other at
fimilar diftances, as you fee it in fig. 3. Thus you will
39 have the inflrument of Saunderfon.
-'This nota- “ You may eafily conceive that there i§ not any
tion applied numher which one cannot exprefs upon this table ;
and, by confequence, no arithmetical operation which
one cannot execute upon it.
“ Let it be propofed, for inftance, to find the fum,
or to work the addition of the nine numbers following.
729 J
imagined,
which he
table.
“ This'
to numen
cal opera
cions.
.. 40
The fame
B L I
by the exa&nefs and promptitude with
prepared his inftruments and difpofed his
Blind.
4r
I exprefs them on the table in the order as they
are diftated to me •, the firft figure at the left of the
firft number, upon the firft fquare to the left of the
firft line j the fecond figure, to the left of the firft
number, upon the fecond fquare to the left of the fame
line 5 and fo of the reft.
“ I place the fecond number upon the fecond row
of fquares, units beneath units, and tens beneath tens,
&c.
“ I place the third number upon the third row of
fquares, and fo of the reft. Then with my fingers
running over each of the rows vertically from the bot¬
tom to the top, beginning with that which is neareft to
my right, I work the addition of the numbers which
are expreffed, and mark the furplus of the tens at the
foot of that column. I then pafs to the (econd column,
advancing towards the left ) upon which I operate in
the fame manner ; from thence to the third j and thus
in fucceffion I finifh my addition.
“ We (ball now fee how the fame table ferVed him
inftmment for demonftrating the properties of reftilineal figures,
the con-0 ^,et us ^uPP°^e this propofition to be demonftrated,
ftruftion of That parallelograms which have the fame bafis and the
re&ilineal fame height are equal in their furfaces. He placed
figures. his pins as may be feen fig. 4. He gave names to the
angular points, and finifhed his demonftration with his
fingers.
“ If we fuppofe that Saunderfon only employed pins
with large heads to mark the limits of his figures, a-
round thefe he might arrange his pins with fmall heads
in nine different manners, all of which were familiar
to him. Thus he fcarcely found any embarraffment
but in tbofe cafes where the great number of angular
points which he wras under a neceffityof naming in his
demonftration obliged him to recur to the letters of
the alphabet. We are not informed how he employed
them.
s“ We only know, that his fingers ran over the
board with aftonifhing agility $ that he undertook
with fuccefs the longeft calculations ; that he could in¬
terrupt the feries, and difeover his miftakes ; that he
proved them with the greateft eafe 5 and that his la¬
bours required infinitely lefs time than one could have
Vol. III. Part II.
preparation confifted in placing pins with ^repafa“ji
large heads in the centres of all the fquares: having1.10” °‘ \
done this, no more remained to him but to fix their
values by pins of fmaller heads, except in cafes where
it was neceffary to mark a unit; then he placed in the
centre of a fquare a pin with a fmall head, in the place
of a pin with a large head with which it had been oc¬
cupied.
“ Sometimes, inftead of forming an entire line with
tbefe pins, he contented himfelf with placing fome
of them at all the angular points, or points of inter-
fe&ion ; around which he tied filk threads, which fi-
nilhed the formation of the limits of his figures.” See
fig. 4.
It may be added by way of improvement, that for
the divifion of one feries of numbers from another, a
thin piece of timber in the form of a ruler with which
lines are drawn, having a pin at each end for the holes
in the fquares, might be interpofed between the two
feries to be diftinguiftied.
This geometrician left other inftruments behind him ^
but as we do not know their ufes, we need not add
their deferiptions.
It muft be owned, that by the rotation here exhi¬
bited every modification of number may be expreffed,
and of confequence every arithmetical operation fuc-
cefsfully performed 5 but we have been recently fa¬
voured with another form of palpable arithmetic, which
appears to us equally comprelieufive and much more
fimple than that of Saunderfon. I}: was originally in¬
vented, and is ftill ufed in calculation, by Dr Henry
Moyes •, a gentleman whom we had formerly occafion
to mention with merited applaufe in this article, and
whole charafter and attainments we have endeavoured
more fully to illuftrate than had been done in the for¬
mer edition ; as xvell from perfon'al knowledge a£ from
the anecdotes of Dr Bew, as the moft eligible intro-
duftion to the account of his notation, given in the
words of his own letter, and exemplified in a figure co¬
pied from a drawing direfled by himfelf.
“ To the Editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
“ Sir, In compliance with your requeft, I fend you Dr Iv.oyesV
the following brief account of a palpable notation 01 a
which I have generally ufed for thefe 20 years to aflift PaiPa^e
my memory in numerical computations. When I be- notaUon*
gan to ftudy the principles of arithmetic, which I did
at an early period of life, I foon difeovered to my mor¬
tification, that a perfon entirely deprived of fight could
fcarcely proceed in that ufeful fcience without the aid
of palpable fymbols reprefenting the ten numerical
ebarafters. Being at that time unacquainted with the
writings of Saunderfon, in which a palpable notation is
deferibed, I embraced the obvious, though, as I after¬
wards found, imperfect expedient of cutting into the
form of the numerical characters thin pieces of wood
or metal. By arranging thefe on the furface of a
board, I could readily reprefent any given number,
not only to the touch, but alfo to the eye; and ’by-
covering the board with a lamina of wax, my fymbols
were prevented from changing their places, they ad¬
hering to the board from the flighteft preffure. By this
4 Z contrivance.
Blind.
Blind-
B L I [ 73° ] B L I
contrivance, I could folve, though (lowly, any pro-
blem in the fcience of numbers : but it foon occurred
to me, that my notation, confiding of ten fpecies of
fymbols or chara&ers, was much more complicated than
was abfolutely neceffary, and that any given number
might be difthaiy expreffed by three fpecies of pegs
alone. To illuilrate my meaning, let A, B, C, U,
(fig. 5.), reprefent a fquare piece of mahogany a foot
broad and an inch in thicknefs \ let the fides AB,
BC, CD, DA, be each divided into 24 equal parts ;
let every two oppofite divifions be joined by a groove
cut in the board fufficiently deep to be felt with the fin¬
ger, and let the board be perforated at each interlec¬
tion with an inftruraent a tenth of an inch in dia¬
meter.
“ The furface of the board being thus divided into
576 little fquares, with a fmall perforation at each of
their angles, let three fets of pegs or pins, refembling
thofe reprefented in the plate at the figures 6, 7, 8,
be fo fitted to the holes in the board, that when (tuck
into them they may keep their pofitions like thofe of
a fiddle, and require fome force to turn them round.
The head of each peg belonging to the firft fet is a
right-angled triangle about one-tenth of an inch in
thicknefs ; the head of each peg belonging to the fe-
cond fet differs only from the former in having a fmall
notch in its Hoping fide or hypothenufe *, and the head
of each peg belonging to the third fet is a fquare of
which the breadth Ihould be equal to the bafe of the
triangle of the other two. Thefe pegs (hould be kept
in a cafe confining of three boxes or cells, each cell
being allotted to a fet, and the cafe muft be placed
clofe by the board previous to the commencement of
every operation. Each fet ftiould confift of 60 or 70
pegs (at lead when employed in long calculations) j
and when the work is finifhed, they {hould be colleid-
ed from the board and carefully reftored to their re-
fpeftive boxes.
“ Things being thus prepared, let a peg of the firft
fat be fixed into the board, and it will acquire four
different values according to its pofition refpe&ing the
calculator. When its (loping fide, is- turned towards
the left, it denotes one, or the firft digit ; when turn¬
ed upwards, or from the calculator, it denotes two, or
the fecond digit j when turned to the right, it repre-
fents three ; and when turned downwards, or towards
the calculator, it denotes four, or the fourth digit.
Five is denoted by a peg of the fecond fet, having its
(loping fide or hypothenufe turned to the left 5 fix, by
the fame turned upwards j feven, by the fame turned
to the right; and eight, by the fame turned dire&ly
down, or towards the body of the calculator. Nine
Js expreffed by a peg of the third fet when its edges
are dire&ed to right and left; and the fame peg ex-
preffes the cypher when its edges are dire&ed up and
down. By three different pegs the relative values of
the ten digits may therefore be diftinftly expreffed with
facility j and by a fufhcient number of each fet the
fteps and refult of the longed calculation may be clear¬
ly reprefented to the fenfe of feeling. It feems unne-
ceffary to illuftrate this by an example j fuffice it to
exprefs in our chara&ers the prefent year of the Chri-
ftian era in 1788 : Take a peg of the firft fet and fix
it in the board with its (loping fide turned towards the
left equal to one j take now a peg of the fecond fet
and fix it m the next hole in the fame groove, pro¬
ceeding as ufual from left to right, writh its Hoping fide
turned to the right, equal to 7 •, next take a peg of
the fame fet and fix it in the next hole, with its Hoping
fide turned downwards, equal to 8 ^ laftly, take ano¬
ther peg of the fame fet, and place it in the next hole
in the fame pofition, equal to 8 ; and the whole will
exprefs the number required.
“ When it is neceffary to exprefs a vulgar fra&ion,
I place the numerator in the groove immediately above,
and the denominator in that immediately below the
groove in which the integers (land and in decimal
arithmetic an empty hole in the integer groove repre-
fents the comma or decimal point. By limilar breaks
I alfo denote pounds, (hillings, pence, ,&c. and by the
fame expedient I feparate in divifion the divifor and
quotient from the dividend.
“ This notation, which fupplies me completely
with coefficients and indices in algebra and Huxions,
feems much fuperior to any of the kind hitherto made
public in the weft of Europe. That invented and de-
fcribed by Mr Grenville, having no lefs than ten fets
of pegs, is by much too complicated for general prac¬
tice •, and that which we owe to the celebrated Saun-
derfon is apt to puzzle and embarrafs the calculator,
as the pegs reprefenting the numerical digits can fel-
dom or never be in the fame ftraight line. If you
agree with me that the above notation may promote
the knowledge, and therefore the happinefs, of per-
fons denied the benefit of fight, you have my confent
to give it a place in the prefent edition of your valu¬
able work. I am, Sir, with refpeft, your obedient
fervant, Henry Moves.”
We have feen the machine above mentioned, which
was exhibited to the fociety for the improvement of
polite arts, &c. by Mr Grenville, who is himfelf alfo
deprived of fight. But though this has met with the
approbation of Mr Stanley, we cannot forbear to think
it lefs fimple in its ftru&ure than that of Dr Moyes’s,
more multiform in its apparatus, and of confequence
more laborious and complex in the procefs of its ope¬
ration for where every fingle peg has only one pow¬
er, and acquires no diverfity of value from its pofitjon,
their forms muft be indefinitely varied and their num¬
bers prodigioufly multiplied 7 which muft coil both the
memory and judgment of the pupil numberlefs painful
and fatiguing exertions before he contrails a habit of
ufing the inftrument with promptitude and fuccefs.. On
thefe accounts, a particular description of it is omitted
in this place. . . 43
In the higher parts of mathematics, fuch as conic ^ new ir.a-
fe&ions, the fame folid figures which are mediums ofthematical
perception to thofe who fee, may perform the fame inftrument
ufeful office to the blind. But, for the ftruaure of ProP° e *
fuperficial figures, we ffiould imagine, that a kind of
matter might be found foft enough to be eafily fufcep-
tible of impreffions, yet hard enough to retain them *
till effaced by an equal preffure. Suppofe, for inftance,
a table were formed, four feet broad and eight in length j
for the figures, that they may be the more fenfible to
the touch, ought to be larger than ordinary. Suppofe
this table had brims, or a moulding round it, nfing
an inch above the furface : let the whole expanfe, then,
be filled with bees-wax, and the furface above prefled
extremely
B I. I [73
Blind, extremely even with a polilhed board, formed exaftly
^ t0 fit the fpace within the mouldings. This board
will always be neceffary to efface the figures employed
in former propofitions, and prepare the furface for new
ones. We think we have pondered the minuteft in¬
convenience that can arife from this method of deli¬
neating and conceiving geometrical truths j and, after
44 . all, the table appears to us the beft and the leaft trou-
hlcfome apparatus which a blind man can ufe. We
ments pro- can fee no reafon why general ideas of geography or
pofed for topography might not be conveyed to him in the fame
the blind, manner, by fpheres compofed of or covered with the
fame impreffible matter.
Such were the mediums that occurred to the author,
when this article was originally written, for conveying
to perfons deprived of fight thofe remote and compli¬
cated truths wrhich vifion alone was thought capable
of reprefenting j but a work has been lately publifhed
at Paris which fuperfedes every former attempt to pro¬
mote or facilitate the improvement of the blind. The
Account of invention of a plan fo arduous in its appearance and
a new plan fo prafticable in its execution, demanded the higheft
for the im- exertions of the nobleft genius to produce it, and the
provement molf ftrenuous efforts of indefatigable humanity to
oftheblmd.ren(jer jt eg-e(^ua]< it ;s entitled, “ An Elfay on the
Education of the Blind.” Its objeft is to teach them,
by palpable characters impreffed on paper, not only
the liberal arts and fciences, but likewife the principles
of mechanical operation, in fuch a manner, that thofe
w'ho have no genius for literary improvement may yet
become refpeftable, ufeful, and independent members
of fociety, in the capacity of common artifans. By
thefe tangible fignatures they are taught to read, to
write, and to print j they are likewife inftruCted in
geometry, in algebra, geography, and, in fhort, in
every branch of natural philofophy. Nor are their ef¬
forts circumfcribed by mere utility ; a tafle for the fine
arts has likewife been cultivated among them. They
have been taught to read mufic with their fingers as
others do with their eyes; and though they cannot at
once feel the notes and perform them upon an inftru-
tnent, yet are they capable of acquiring any leffon
with as much exaftnefs and rapidity as thofe who en¬
joy all the advantages of light. But w^e fhall give a
more particular account of the wonderful topics con¬
tained in this effay. In his firft chapter the author
difcovers the end propofed by that delineation of cul¬
ture which he offers to the blind •, it is to enlarge their
fphere of knowledge, and of confequence to increafe
their capacities and improve their powers of aftion, fo
that they may become happy and independent in
themfelves, and ufeful and agreeable to others. The
2d chapter contains an anfwer to the objections urged
againft the general utility of this inffitution. Thefe
objections are candidly dated, and anfwered in the
mod fatisfaftory manner; but weie we to recapitulate
them in detail, it would protraCl this article to a length
much beyond its due proportion, even upon the ex¬
tended plan of the Encyclopaedia. The 3d chapter
treats of reading as adapted to the praClice of the blind.
The 4th chapter confids of anfwcrs to various objec¬
tions againd the method of reading propofed for the
blind ; but thefe, for reafons formerly given, we can¬
not with propriety delineate in this article. In the 5th
chapter is fttown the art of printing as praClifed by the
[ ] B L I
blind for their peculiar ufe. In the 6th chapter is _de- ^ ,
fcribed the manner of teaching the blind the art of print- *
ing for thofe that fee. In the ^th is reprefented the man¬
ner of teaching the blind to write. The 8th chapter
explains the method of teaching the blind arithmetic ;
the 9th, geography; the 10th, mufic. ^ I1';h,
contains an account of the mechanic arts in which the
blind are employed, and of the way by which they
are formed for fuch occupations. The 12th fiiows in
general the proper manner of indrufting the blind,
and draws a parallel between their education and that
of the deaf and dumb. Chapter 13th treats of the me¬
thod of indrufting them in the languages, mathema¬
tics, hidory, &c. What remains of the books is ta¬
ken up with notes which illudrate each particular
chapter ; a fhort hidorical account of the rife, the pro-
grefs, and the prefent date, of the academy for the
formation of the blind ; an ode on the cultivation 01
the blind, by one that laboured under that afHi&ion »
an extra# from the regider of the royal academy oi
fciences ; opinion of the printers ; models of the va»
rious pieces which blind children are capable of print¬
ing ; and an account of the exercifes performed by
blind children in prefence of the king, queen, and
royal family, during the Chridmas folemnities 1786.
Thus having given a curfory view of the various topics
contained in the efiay, we proceed to give fume ac¬
count of the manner in which the blind print and write. ^
The blind compofitor, then, has a box for every al-Printing
phabetical charaaer in ufe; on the outfide of thefe Farmed
boxes are palpably marked the peculiar charaaer be-
longing to each ; they are filled with types, which he
choofes and fets as they are called for, but not in the
pofitlon in which they are to be read ; on the contra¬
ry, they are inverted as objeas are feen painted on the
retina of an eye by an optician. Having thus fixed
and arranged his types, he choofes a page of the
dronged paper that can be found, which he gently
moidens in a degree fufficient to render it more eafily
fufceptible of impredions, without being dilacerated
or worn by the diock which it mud afterwards under¬
go. He then lays it upon the types; and by the cau¬
tious operation of the prefs, or by the eafy drokes of
a little hammer,,.which are frequently repeated over
the whole expanfe, he caufes the impreflion of tne
type to rife on the oppofite fide of the paper, where,
when dry, it continues not only obvious to the fight
but the touch, and is far from being eafily effaced.
On the upper fide of the paper the letters appear in
their proper pofition, and by their fenfible elevation
above the common furface render it praaicable for the ^
blind to read them with their fingers. Their manner Their man-
of writing is analogous to this operation : the pupil,
by repeated experiments, having familiarifed himfelf " S'
to the forms of the letters, both in their inverted and
in their proper pofition, gradually learns to delineate
them upon paper, moidened as before, with tne point
of an iron pen, which has no fplit, and which is jud
fharp enough to imprefs without piercing the paper *
thus, on the fide next to the writer’s hand, the letters
are formed funk and inverted ; but wdien the paper is
turned they appear right and in rehevO. 1 nus the
blind are enabled to form and decypher, not only the
charaaers required in common language, but alio ma¬
thematical diagrams, arithmetical and geographical
4 Z i precedes,
Blind.
B L I
4»
The blind
iufceptible
of aftrono-
iiiy.
49
Of natural
yhiiofophy.
50
Dl moral
philofophy
and theo-
logy.
.j Procefles, and all the charadlers ufed m the written
language of mufic. If this account Ihould appear in¬
credible to any of our readers, let him be informed,
that the author of this article has converfed with two
gentlemen of learning and veracity who law the blind
perform all the wonders here recapitulated with allo-
nnhing fuccefs, to the univerfal fatisfa&ion of num-
berlefs fpedators whom curiofity and compaffion im-
pelled to vifit the academy, that they might behold
with their own eyes a fpeftacle fo interefting to huma¬
nity. Let the incredulous be alfo informed, that the
compofer of the article has in his own hands a copy of
this work now reviewed, which is printed and bound
by the blind themfelves. They exhibit at their own
academy every Wednefday and Saturday between one
and two o’clock at noon, to crowds of charitable ad-
mirers, by whofe liberal donations the inllitution is now
chiefly fupported.
• cThe knowIe(%e of aftronomy might likewife be of
infinite ufe, both by enlarging the blind perfon’s ideas
o tne univerfe, and by giving him higher and more
confirmed impreffions of that energy by which the
Lars are moved, and of that defign'by. which their
motions are regulated. But thele objefts are too
vail ; their diftances, their magnitudes, their periods
of revolution, are too complex to be apprehended in
tne mind, or impreffed in the memory, without fen-
fible mediums. For this purpofe, an orrery, or fome
machine of a fimilar conftru&ion, will be indifpenfably
requifite. J
The fcience of caufes and effe&s might likewife yield
him the moll fublime and rational entertainment of
which an intelligent being, in his prefent ftate, is fuf-
ceptible. By this he might enter into the laws, the
viciffitudes, the economy of nature. Nor is it abfo-
lutely necellary that he fhould be an ocular witnefs
of the experiments by which thefe laws are dete&ed
and explained. He may fafely take them for granted ;
and if, at any time, a particular experiment fhould
prove faithlefs, he may, from general principles, be
able to difcover its fallacy, whether in the nature of
the fubjecf, the inaptitude of the inftruments, or the
procefs of the execution. 1 he laws of motion, the va¬
rious ratios or proportions of forces whether Ample or
compound,^ he may calculate and afcertain by the fame
means and in the fame method fo happily ufed by Sauri-
derfon.
.Moral and theological knowledge he may eafily ob¬
tain. either from books, or inftruffions delivered viva
The lafl, if communicated by one who under
[ 732 1
B L I
mine our efforts and animate our hopes in purfuing this
molt important of all objeaS. What Cicero fays of
the arts and fciences may with great propriety be ap.
p led to religion : AW cat era neque temporum funt, ne-
que a-tatum omnium, neque locorum ; et bac Jludia ado-
lefcentiam a hint, feneautem ohleRant, fecundas res or-
nant, adverjjs perfugium ac folatium prcebent: deleRant
domi, non impediunt foris; pernoRant nobifcum, pere-
grinantur, rujhcantur. Tranflated thus: ‘ For other ftu-
‘ dies are not fuited to every time, to every age, and to
‘ place : but thefe give ftrength in youth, and joy in
‘ old age j adorn profperity, and are the fupport and
‘ confolation of adverlity j at home they are delight-
‘ ful, and abroad they are eafy ; at night they are
‘ company to us ; wdien they travel, they attend us j
^ and in our rural retirements, they do not forfake
voce.
Hands and feels the fubjeff, with a proper degree of
perfpicuity and fenfibility, are infinitely the moft eli¬
gible. By morals, wre would not merely be underflood
to mean a regular and inculpable feries of aftion, but
the proper exertion and habitual arrangement of the
whole internal economy, of which external a£!ions are
no more than mere expreffions, and. from which the
higheft and moft permanent happinefs alone can pro¬
ceed. By theology, we do not mean that fyflematic
or fcholaftic jargon, which too frequently ufurps its ve¬
nerable name •, but thofe fublime and liberal ideas of
the nature and government of a Supreme being, whe¬
ther difcoverable by nature or revealed in Scripture,
which enforce every moral obligation, which teach us
what is the ultimate good of our nature, which deter-
To this may be added, that the joys of religion are
for ever adequate to the largeft capacity of a finite and
progreffive intelligence ; and as they are boundlefs in
extent, fo they are endlefs in duration. We have al¬
ready, more than once, obferved, that the foul of a
blind man is extremely obnoxious to melancholy and
deje&ion.. Where, therefore, can he find a more co¬
pious, intimate, permanent, and efficacious fource of
comfort than in religion ? Let this then be inculcated
with the utmoft care and alfiduity. Let the whole
force of the foul be exerted in fhowing him that it is
reafonable. Let all. the nobleft affe&ions of the heart
be employed in recommending it as amiable •, for we
will venture to affert, that the votary of religion alone
is the man,—
Quern, fraRus illabatur orbist
Impavidum ferient ruince ;
Thus tranflated j
Whom, though with nature’s wreck opprefs’d,
Unmanly fears could ne’er infeft.
When the fituation of the blind, and its natural ef.
fefts upon their charafters, are cenfidered ; when we
reflea how exquifite their diftreffes, how pungent their
difappointments, how fenfible their regrets, how te¬
dious and gloomy their periods of folitude-, we muff
be wretches indeed, if we can grudge either labour or
expence in procuring tnem every fource of entertain¬
ment, which, when procured, remains in their own
power, and yields what may be infome meafure termed
felf-derived enjoyment. Thefe amufements are prolific of
numjerlefs advantages : they afford us at once enter¬
tainment and exertion ; they teach us to explore a
thoufand refources for prefervation and improvement,
which would otherwife have elcaped our attention j
they render us awake and fenfible to a thoufand notices
both of external and intelkaual obje&s, which would
otherwife have paffed unobferved.
Thus far have we proceeded without mentioning
philological learning ; though we know it to be a£
tainable by the blind in a high degree, and though
we are confcious of its importance both to their ufe
and ornament. But as it is not indifpenfable, and as
its acquifition is tedious and operofe, we thought it
lefs neceffary to be early and minutely fpecified. We
cannot doubt, that learning different languages adds
to the treafure of our ideas, and renders thofe which
jBlmdf.
B L I
Mind, we poflefs more clear and definite.
„ S1
‘Or gram-
.   It muft be ac-
'' knowledged, that the pofieffion of other languages elu¬
cidates our own. The technical terms of almoft every
fcience are exotic $ and without clearly undemanding
thofe, we cannot properly poflfefs the ideas of which
they are the vehicles. But thefe motives are common
to every candidate for philological improvement with
the blind.
The paths of grammar, however, are dry and rug¬
ged ; and it will be neceffary for the pedagogue, who¬
ever he is, to take all the opportunities that offer of
enlightening the darknefs and pohfhing the afperities
of the road. When, therefore, the intelleft of the
pupil begins to open and exert its penetration, it will
be proper to fliow him how the nature, the forms,
and arrangements, of words, flow from our ideas and
their relations. Every fubftance muft naturally be in
fome ftate ; it mart either aft, or be a&ed upon. The
a&ions which it performs or fulfers muft be performed
or fuffered in fome definite manner or degree. It
muft likewife have fome qualities, whether temporary
and accidental, or natural and permanent. Thefe qua¬
lities muft likewife be fufceptible of degrees. When
different fubftances are confidered in the fame ftate,
its common participation forms a connexion i w7hen
regarded in different ftates, that difference forms an
oppofition. The conftant reputation of the names of
fubftances and qualities produces a difagreeable mono¬
tony in language. They muft therefore be implied in
other words, which likewife in fome cafes ferve to con-
ne£t the parts of a fentence. There is a difference be¬
tween fuch words as imply the connexion of fentences,
and fuch as imply the connexion of ftates or circum-
ftances. Atftions to be performed or fuffered may be
either pofitively affirmed of any fubftance, or merely
attributed to them. Living and percipient fubftances
have immediate fenfations of pain or pleafuie, which
like wife are prod\nfHve of defire and averfion. To thefe
fentiments particular founds are adapted, whether im¬
mediately infpired by nature, or refulting from affocia-
tion and tacit convention.
^ Thus we have a foundation for all the different parts
of fpeech j and from their natures and offices their
forms and arrangements may be deduced, according to
the analogy of every language.
The art of reafoning, the knowledge of hiftory, and
3 -afte f°r the helleS lettres' are ea% attainable by the
ftoryT^nd ’ and aS !hey are coP^ous funds of entertainment,
the bellu thef ^ould be inculcated, though at the expence of care
httres. and labour.
53 T he relations of perfons fubjeffed to this misfor-
tionaZd tUn^’ in ea^ circumftancesj will find it highly con-
be united toducive t0 the improvement of their charge, to feleft
the blind fome one among his coevals, of a found underftanding,
a fweet and patient temper, a docile mind, a warm heart,
and a communicative difpofition. Thefe ttvo ihould
be taught to find their intereft and happinefs in their
connexion one with another. Their bed, their board,
their walks, their entertainments, their leffons, ftiould
be common. 1 hefe are the beft eyes with which art
can endow a blind man : and if properly felecfted, they
will on fome occafions yield very little", in utility and
perfeftion, to thofe of nature j nay, at fome junftures
they may be preferable.
[ 733 1 . B L I
If the blind muft depend upon the exercife of their Mind.
own powers for bread, we have already pointed out’ v~-~;
mufic as their eafieft and moft obvious province ; but 54
let it at the fame time be remembered, that mediocrity ^ufic on^
in this art may prove the bittereft and moft effe<ftualprotpeernt^i'-
curfe which a parent can inflift upon his offspring, asployments
it fubjeffs them to every vicious impreffion or habit fvr the
which may be imbibed or contrafted from the low7eft^!‘R<b
The blind
by more
than the
ties of in¬
tereft and
conveni-
<ency.
and moft abandoned of mankind. If your pupil, there-
fore, be not endowed with natural talents exquifitely pernicious,
proper both for the theory and practice of this art, fuf-
fer him by no means to be initiated in it. If his na¬
tural genius favours your attempts, the fpinet, harp, or
organ, are the moft proper inftruments for him to be-
' gin : becaufe by thefe inftruments he may be made
more eafily acquainted with the extent of mufical feales,
with the. powers of harmony, with the relations of
which it is conftituted, and of courfe with the theory
of his art. It would be not only unneceffary, but im-
pra&icable, to carry him deep into the theory, before
he has attained fome facility in the pra&ice. Let,
therefore, his head and his hands (if we may ufethe ex-
preflion) be taught to go pariLet the one be
inftru&ed in the fimpleft elements, and the others con-
duffed in the eafieft operations, firft : contemplation
and exercife will produce light in the one and promp¬
titude in the other. But as his capacity of fpecula-
tion and powers of affion become more and more ma¬
ture, difeoveries more abftrafl and retired, talks more
arduous and difficult, may be affigned him. He ffiould
be taught the names and gradations of the diatonic
fcale, the nature and ufe of time, the diverfity of its
modes whether fimple or mixed. He Ihould be taught
the quantity or value of notes, not only with refpefl
to their pitch, but to their duration. Yet, let him be
inftrufled not to confider thefe durations as abfolutely
fixed, but variable according to the velocity of the
movements in which they are placed. Thus we reckon
a.femibreve equal to 4 vibrations o£ a pendulum \ a mi¬
nim to 2 ; a crotchet to 1, &c. But if the number
of aliquot parts, into which a femibreve is divided, be
great, and confequently the value of each particular
part fmall, the minim, crotchet, quaver, &c. will in-
creafe in their intrinfic durations, though they muft
always preferve the fame proportions relatively one to
another. He Ihould never be habituated to take a
piece of mufic, either from the found of a voice or an
mftrument. His companion ought to read the mufic
by the names and values of its charafter, with the
fame exaffnefs as the words in any other language.
When he becomes a confiderable adept in the art, tan¬
gible figns may be invented, by which he may not only
be enabled.to read, but even to fet, mufic for himfelf.
Such exercifes will render him infinitely more accurate
both in his principles and praffice, than he would
otherwufe be.
There is a hint of fuch tangible figns given in Tan-
fure’s mufical grammar, p. 93. and which, though (like
the reft of the book) obfeure and indigefted, may be
improved and applied with advantage.
For the fake of thofe. in whofe hands it may not be
we quote the paflage at length.
‘‘ As it is the pleafure of the Almighty, that fcmeSchei5e or
perfons are deftitute of £ye-Jight $ in .like manner it is mufical
bis tation.
B L I [ 73+ 1 B L I
Blind. IjJs infinite goodnefs to make them a double amends
another way, by giving them a greater (hare of me¬
mory, &c. whereby they become very dexterous in
playing on mufical inflruments, mathematics, &c. as
we may obferve by Dr Stanley organift of St An¬
drew’s Holburn in London, the blind profeflbr of
mathematics in the univerfity of Cambridge, and
many others too tedious here to mention, who were
born £/zW, and never faw the leaft glance of light ;
yet God gave them fuch a light in knowledge, that they
became the wonder of all fuch as had the benefit of Blind,
feeing, 8tc.
“ And as blind perfons, at firft, cannot poflibly have
fo clear an idea of notes and mujical charaBers as they
that fee them, until they are taught by a mafter or
tutor : I have (for the good-will I bear to fuch
unfortunate perfons) contrived the following table $
that, by feeling, they may underftand notes, and
learn any tune that (hall be fet them, in their mailer’s
abfence.
A New Music-Table for fuch as are Blind.
-O—O—o—*0—0—O'
o o o o o o
A
o—o—
B
A
o o G
o—o— F ■
o o E
o—o— D
o o C
c—o— B -
o o A
0—0—0—0——0—0—0—0 o—o—o—o—• G
ooooooooooo© F
O—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—E
B
Explanation.
Let A—B be a fmooth board, 3 or 4 feet long,
-s inch thick, and 9 inches wide, with 5 fquare ledges
glued thereon, each being half an inch afunder, half an
inch wide, and half an inch high *, which rifing ledges
reprefent our 5 lines of mufic, and their fpaces : and
the 2 outward lines, being made a little lower, may
ferve as leger lines on occafion. The cyphers repre-
i'ent fo many holes bored into every line and fpace, half
an inch afunder *, wherein pegs of different fhapes are
to be fet, to reprefent the feveral forts of notes and
charafters of the tune } which pegs the blind perfon
may know by feeling, as well as he does his keys of
the organ or harpfichord : fo that, by keeping his fin¬
gers on the 5 lines, he feels the feveral pegs as they
come on, and are fet to reprefent the feveral forts of
notes, on both line and fpace j whilfl his right hand
{trikes the refpeftive key, &c. he firft knowing the
names of all his keys, his lines, fpaces, and the mark
of every peg. Let each peg be about half an inch
high, when fet in very faft. [N. B. The blind perfon
muft firft be taught the names of the above lines and
fpaces in both the treble and bafs cliffs; and that he
muft feel his treble with his right hand, and his bafs
with the left hand •, each being contrary, as you may
lee by the letters of the above table, A and B j and
muft learn each part feparate.]
“ Of pegs, he muft have a great number of every
fort, to fet his tune with, which he may mark as fol¬
lows : •
For a Semibreve, 4 top-notches.
Minim, 2 top-notches.
Crotchet, 1 top-notch,
Quaver, t corner cut off.
For a Semiquaver, 2 corners cut off.
Demifemiquaver, all 4 corners cut off.
Refs, a notch in the corner.
A Flat, 1 notch on the fide.
Sharp, 2 notches on the fide.
Point, 3 notches on the fide.
► Bar, a flat thin top.
Repeat, a ftiarp pointed top, &c. &c. &c.
“ But it is beft for every performer to make and
mark his own pegs 5 and deliver them one by one as
they are called for by the perfon that fets his tune.”
Thus far our author. We have already complained
that Tanfure’s Mufical Notation is imperfeft j and
perhaps every table or inftrument of the fame kind may¬
be liable to the fame cenfure, as not being comprehen-
five of all the chara&ers in the written language of mu¬
fic, fo that the blind reader may find no deficiency in
acquiring any leffon : yet as the culhion of Mr Cheefe
appears to have more powers than any other inftru¬
ment for the fame purpofe that has hitherto occurred
to our obfervation, though attended with many formi¬
dable objeftions, we here infert it. It may poflibly,
however, be beft for every blind adept in the mufical
art, after being fufficiently inftrudled in its theoretical
and pra&ical principles, to invent for himfelf a table,
by which may be exprefled all the various phenomena
of mufic, in which, by varying the forms and pofitions
of his pegs, he may habitually affociate them with
founds, durations, refts, intervals, chords, cadences, da-
capos, repeats, and all the various graces which give
animation and expreflion to mufical founds : for thus,
being the immediate creatures of his own imagination,
they will more eafily become familiar to his memory,
and be mote ftrongly and readily affociated with the
phenomena
B L I
[ 735 1
B L I
Blind.
56
Chcefe’s
machine,
phenomena which they are intended to fignify, than if
' he had aiTumed the inventions of any other.
Mr Cheefe's defcription of his machine for teaching mu~
Jlc to people deprived of jight, and to enable them to pre-
PLXCIII. ferve their compoftionr, in the aft of compofing, without
fig. 9. ' 'the afjijlance of a copyifl.—“ That part of the machine
which reprefents the book, or paper, is a fmall culhion
ftuffed, on a little frame ; along which, is fewed a num¬
ber of packthread firings at equal diftances from each
other $ thefe reprefent the lines in a mufic book : the
five which compote the Have, are made of large twine j
and thofe which reprefent the leger or occafional lines,
drawn through the heads of the notes, where the mufic
exceeds the compafs of the eitablifhed ftave, and made
of fmall twine, and are on this machine of the lame
length as the others.
“ If the praftitioner only wifhes to write harpfichord
mufic, the cufhion may be what length he pleafes, and
about five or fix inches wide : the firings mufl be
fewed in the following order j beginning with the firfl
or lowefl, near the edge of the cufhion ; four fmall
ones, w’hich correfpond with the notes in the bafe of
the inflrument ff, rr, cc, ee : Next five large ones, for
the ftave which correfpond with the lines in the book,
or notes in the inflrument g, b, d, f, r ; one fmall one,
which reprefents the occafional line between the bale
and treble, or middle c ; five large ones for the treble
ftave, which make the nbtes e, g, b, d, f j three fmall
ones, which reprefent the leger lines when the mufic
goes in alt. Thefe provide for the note a in alt, c in alt,
and e in alt •, in the fpace above which, next the edge of
the cufhion, the f in alt is wrote, when it is wanting,
which completes the compafs of the inflrument.
“ Thofe who only fing or play on fingle inflruments,
fuch as violins, &c. fhould have their cufhions not
above half the width of thofe above-mentioned, upon
which there fhould be but one Have, and that in the
following order :—Two fmall lines at bottom, five large
ones in the middle, and three fmall ones at top. Nei¬
ther of the outfide lines of thefe fmall cufhions fhould
be fewed clofe to the edge, as there are notes fuppofed
above and below. At either end of thefe fmall cufhions,
there fhould be a fmall wire flaple, in order that any
number of them may be combined together at pleafure,
by running a rod through the ftaples : this will enable
the praftitioner to write what muficians call Score, in
any number of parts he pleafes j and by this means a
thorough knowledge of the great works of Handel, and
all other claffical authors, may be acquired as well with¬
out fight as with it.
“ The characters ufed to write on this machine are
pins •, feme with two, three, or more heads j others
bent in different forms—fome, the heads taken off and
the top beat flat •, fome of thefe are fplit •, others the
heads taken off, and placed near the middle. The bars
are pieces of wire crooked at each end j a double bar
is "made by placing two fingle ones clofe together j a
double fharp and double flat in the fame manner.
“ The characters are kept in a box in the fame
flyle as the printer keeps his types ; each different
compartment of which muft be marked with a charac¬
ter in writing, fignifying what each, contained in the
feveral compartments, is intended to reprefent. 1 hat
the mafter may be acquainted with them, the fludent
rnuft be taught to diftinguifh each of the characters
contained in the box by the feel, as well as the names
of each line and fpace upon the cufhion. When he can
do thrs readily, fome mufic fhould be read to him,
which it will be wTell for him to copy on the cuihion :
and when that is filled, let it be laid on the defk of the
harpfichord before him •, and then by feeling over a paf-
fage or fentence at a time, and afterwards paying it,
his playing always commencing with the beginning of
the piece, or at fome particular part of it, this wdll
foon enable him to recolleCt the whole, when the hands
are taken off the cufhion, to play what has been lait
felt. One of thofe characters, called a direCt, muft be
placed againft the note to be next felt: This will en¬
able the fludent to go on again, after playing, with¬
out any difficulty. The perfon who reads the mufic,
mult be inltruCtec! not to call the lines or fpaces by the
letters which diltinguifh them, left confufion may en-
fue, every eighth being the fame j but muft read in the
following manner : firft the name of the character mull
be mentioned, whether minim, crotchet, or quaver,
&c. then the line or fpace ; as for example, minim
on the firft line, crotchet on the firft fpace, quaver on
the fecond, &c. &c. When the mufic exceeds the
compafs of the ftave, it mult be particularly mention¬
ed whether above or belowq firft calling the character,
then the leger line or fpace.
“ The technical term at the beginning of each piece,
is better remembered than wrote down on the machine:
The accidental terms, which are belt marked by pla¬
cing fome charaCter, not much ufed, either above or
below the note on which it happens, the ingenious mind
will find out a method of doing for itfelf.
“ This machine will not only teach mufic ; but call¬
ing the characters letters, any one wull be enabled to
fpell, read, or write dowTn his fentiments on any fub-
jeCt, and even convey them to his friend without the
affittance of a fecretary* " Arithmetic may be alfo
taught .upon this machine } as by calling the dot 1, and
the paufe 10, a complete fet of figures will be formed.
“ Explanation of the figures. A, B, C, D, the form
of the cufhion, which in its full fize is about three feet
long, and five inches and three quarters wide, having
thereon a reprefentation of mufical notes, fhown by
different pins ftuck on it. The lines a, b, c, d, e,
are of large packthread j and the lines f, g, h, are of
fmall twine.
“ Pins, N° 1. A femibreve. 2. A femibreve reft. 3. A
minim. 4. A minim reft. 5. Dots. 6. A crotchet.
7. A crotchet reft. 8. A quaver. 9. A quaver reft,
10. A fharp. 11. A femiquaver. 12. A femiquaver
reft. 13. A demiquaver. 14. A demiquaver reft. 15. A
flat. 16. A demifemiquaver. 1 7. A demifemiquaver
reft. 18. A femidemiquaver. 19. A femidemi^uaver
reft. 20. A natural. 21. Bars. 22. A direCt. 23. A
tye. 24. Bafs. 25. Tenor cliff. 26. Treble cliff.
27. A repeat. 28. Paufe. 29. This charaCter placed
on any line or fpace, fignifies as many notes on that
line or fpace as there are doubles on the pins } if turn¬
ed upwards, it implies the fame number afeending 5 if
downward, that number defeending. 30. A beat or
inverted fhake. 31. A fhake ; and where there is a
dot placed over it, fignifies a turned fhake. Two
dots placed over each other, above the notes, without
this charaCter, fignify a turn only. 32. This charaCter
is ufed over the note to fignify forte; and if a dot is
placed
Blind.
Blind.
B L I
i P^aCe^ above it, forti/Jimo : if the dot is placed above the
note and below the chara&er, it implies crefcendo ; if
the chara&er is placed below the note, it fignifiespiano;
and jf a dot is placed under it, pianiffimo ; but if the
dot is above the character, and below the note, it fig-
r.ifies diminuendo. In concertos, the inventor ufes the
fame cliVraffer placed above the note in the fame man¬
ner, with two dots, over it to lignify toote: and below
the notes, with two dotes under it, to fignify fo/o; in vo¬
cal mufic, the fame chara&er above the notes, wnth
three dots over it, fignifies fyirtphony; and below the
notes, with three dots under it, lignifies fongd'1
It is certain, that when playing concertos, or, if you
pleafe, when performing in /core, the blind mart depend
upon memory, and upon memory alone ; but happily
their retentive powers are remarkably ftrong ; and there
are few pieces in mufic w'hich will be found either too
intricate to be acquired, or too long to be remember¬
ed, by a perfon deprived of fight. Mr Stanley, the
gentleman formerly mentioned by Tanfure, performs
what is ftill more altonilhing. If our information, which
we cannot doubt, be true, he accompanies any leffbn
with a thorough bafs, though he never has heard it be¬
fore. We have never yet heard of any perfon, though
tfiefled with the full ufe of fight, and with all the ad¬
vantages accruing from it, who could thus anticipate
harmony before the chords were founded, and accom¬
pany it in a manner fuitable to its nature.
When he becomes a more profound theorift, if he
has adopted the notion that mufic and geometry are
congenial and infeparable (which, however, in our
judgment is frivolous), he may perufe Malcom’s Eflay
on Mufic, and Treydell’s Theory and Pra&ice of Mufic.
But if he choofes to hear the fame principles delivered
without that unneceflfary parade and oftentation of pro¬
fundity, let him be inftru&ed by D’Alembert (fee the
article Music in this Di&ionary) j by Rameau, in his
principles of compofition j and by Roufleau’s Mufical
Di&ionary (the fubftance of w’hich is engrofled in the
prefent Work, either under the refpe&ive detached ar¬
ticles, or in the notes added to the article Music). It
is true, that the forms and proportions of inftruments,
the thicknefs, length, and teiifion of mufical firings,
may be mathematically adjufted ; their relations one to
another may be determined by the coincidence of their
vibrations, or by the number and velocity of thefe vi¬
brations when diflbnant 5 but experience and a good
ear are amply fufficient for thefe purpofes. Yet, if the
necefiity of geometry in mufic Ihould ftill remain an in¬
delible article in his creed, he may perufe Dr Smithas
Philofophical Principles of Harmony. There has alfo
lately been publiihed an explication of Tartini’s theory,
entitled, The Principles and Power of Harmony ; which,
after he has made confiderable progrefs, may be read
to him with fenfible improvement.
[ 736 1
B L I
£7
A poiirophe
to the pu¬
blic.
Thus w’e have endeavoured to form an eftimate of
the inconveniences fuffered, and the advantages pofllfs-
ed, by the blind ; w*e have attempted to fiiow', of what
kind of culture their remaining faculties are fufceptible,
and what appeared to us the eafieft and propereft means
of their improvement. We have illuftrated not only
its poftibility, but its certainty, by inconteftable fa&s,
wdiich demonftrate, even in the eyes fcepticifm and
2
incredulity, to what degrees of eminence, both in the
mechanical and liberal arts, the blind may be carried.
It now remains to demand a categorical anfwer from
fociety, Whether it is more humane and eligible, that
luch unhappy perfons ftrould be fuffered to languilh out
their lives m torpid and miferable obfcurity, wretched
in themfelves, and burdenlome to others j or to cultivate
and improve their powers in fuch a manner, as that
they may be qualified for internal enjoyment and pu¬
blic utility ? Surely there is not a human being, who
does not difgrace the rvorks of God, that can be at
any lofs in anfwering this queftion. Have we not then
a right to call the wrorld to an account ? have wTe not
a right to demand, why rational beings fufceptible of
felicity in themfelves, and capable of transfufing hap-
pinefs through the focieties with whom they are con-
ne&ed, fhould be abandoned to a ftate of infignificance
and mifery ? Is it poflible that men who are every mo¬
ment fubje&ed to the fame contingencies with which
they behold their felW-creatures affii&ed, ftiould not
wfith all their fouls endeavour to alleviate the misfor¬
tunes of their fuffering brethern > Is the native and he¬
reditary portion of human woe fo light and fupport-
able in itfelf, that we ihould negledl and defpife thofe to
whom it is embittered by accidental circumftances of
horror and diftrefs ? You who are parents, who feel
the ftrong and powerful pleadings of nature, do not,
by a brutal negligence and infenfibility, render the ex-
iftence which you have given a curfe to its poiTeffors,
Do not give them reafon to upbraid your memory 5
and to anfwer thofe who atk what patrimony you have
left them, that their foie inheritance w as ignorance, in¬
capacity, and indigence. You men of w ealth and emi¬
nence, you whom Providence has rendered confpicuous
on the theatre of nature, to whom it has given the no-
bleft opportunities of participating the divine beatitude
by the qxercife of univerfal benevolence and genuine
patriotifm 5 yours is the glorious province of bringing
negle&ed merit from obfcurity, of healing the wounds
infli&ed by adverfe fortune, and of cultivating thofe
talents w'hich may be exerted for your own advantage
and the honour of your fpecies. Thus you (hall rife in
the heraldry of heaven, and your names diffufe aluftre
through the extent of fpace and the archives of eterni¬
ty. Otherwife the temporary glare and parade of your
fituation can produce nothing elfe but a defpicable mi¬
micry of real and intrinfic greatnefs, and are no more
than a fplendid malk to cover what in itfelf is infamous
or deteftable.
Bfruf.
By way of appendix to the preceding article, wre
{hall add one or tw'o very lingular hiftories, with which
is is hoped our readers will not be difpleafed.
An account of fome remarkable particulars that hap¬
pened to a lady after having had the confiuent kind of
fmal/pox.~\ “ In the courfe of this difeafe, during
which the lady was attended by the late Sir Hr.ns
Sloane, feveral threatening fymptoms appeared, w’hich
however were at length overcome •, and the patient
being thought out of danger, took feveral dofes of
fuch purgative medicines as are ufually adminiftered
in the decline of the difeafe, without any bad confe-
quence.
“ But in the evening of the day on which fhe had
taken the laft dofe that was intended to be given her
on
Blind.
I'Ll e ,\rhi.
■ KBBBS!
■ BBBBB
O / 2 J
*2 .
* ^ * j?
BiA
L
BJ
i: i
2
3
ga
i
m
in«Bi
i- !
*3
r
- 4 <
3E
i
StthU ’VaJc^r J^, .
B B 8 B » B B
B L I
Eli nil.
on that occafion, Hie was fuddenly feized with pains
and convulfions in the bowels ; the pain and other
fymptoms became gradually lefs violent as the force
of the medicine abated, and by fuch remedies as were
thought bell adapted to the cafe, they feeraed at length
to be entirely fubdued.
“ They were, however, fubdued only in appearance 5
for at eleven o’clock of the forenoon of the next day
they returned with great violence, and continued fome
hours •, when they went off, they left the mufcles of the
lower jaw fo much relaxed, that it fell down, and the
chin was fupported on the breath The llrength of the
patient was fo much exhaufted during this paroxyfm,
that the lay near two hours with no other figns of life
than a very feeble refpiration, which was often fo dif¬
ficult to be difcerned that thole about her concluded
flie was dead.
“ From this time the fits returned periodically every
day, at about the fame hour. At firlt they feemed to
affedt her nearly in the fame degree ; but at length all
the fymptoms were aggravated, the convulfions became
more general, and her arms were fometimes convulfed
alternately; it alfo frequently happened, that the arm
which was lall convulfed remained extended and inflexi¬
ble fome hours after the llruggles were over. Her neck
was often twilled with fuch violence, that the face look¬
ed diredlly backwards, and the back part of the head
was over the bread $ the mufcles of the countenance
were alfo fo contradled and writhed by the fpafms, that
the features were totally changed, and it was impoflible
to find any refemblance of her natural afpedl by which
Ihe could be known. Her feet were not lefs dillorted
than her head ; for they w^ere twilled almoll to diflo-
cation at the inllep, fo that Ihe could not walk but
upon her ancles.
“ To remove or mitigate thefe deplorable fymp¬
toms, many remedies were tried ; and, among others,
the cold bath : but either by the natural effedl of the
bath, or by fome mifmanagement in the bathing, the
unhappy patient firll became blind, and foon after¬
wards deaf and dumb. It is not eafy to conceive what
could increafe the mifery of deafnefs, dumbnefs, blind-
nefs, and frequent paroxyfms of excruciating pain : yet
a very confiderable aggravation was added ; for the lofs
of her fight, her hearing, and her fpeech, was followed
by fuch a llri&ure of the mufcles of her throat, that
Ihe could not fwallow any kind of aliment either folid
or liquid. It might reafonably be fuppofed that this
circumltance, though it added to the degree of her
mifery, would have Ihortened its duration j yet in this
condition fire continued near three quarters of a year •,
and during that time was fupported in a very uncom¬
mon manner, by chewing her food only; which having
turned often, and kept long in her mouth, Ihe was ob¬
liged at lalt to fpit out. Liquors were likewife gar¬
gled about in her mouth for fome time ; and then re¬
turned in the fame manner, no part of them having
palled the throat by an aft of deglutition : fo that
whatever was conveyed into the Itomach, either of the
juices of the folid food, or of liquids, was either gra¬
dually imbibed by the fponginefs of the parts, which
they moitlened, or trickled down in a very fmall quan¬
tity along the fides of the velfels.
But there were other peculiarities in the cafe of
this lady, yet more extraordinary. During the priva-
Vol. III. Part II. '
[ 737 3
B L I
tion of hex Jight and hearing, her touch and her fmell
became fo exquifite, that Ihe could diftinguifh the dif-'
ferent colours of filk and flowers, and was fenfible when
any llranger was in the room with h^r.
“ After Ihe became blind, and deaf, and dumb, it
was not eafy to contrive any method by which a que-
llion could be alked her, and an anfwer received. This,
however, was at lall effeaed, by talking with the fin¬
gers, at which Ihe was uncommonly ready. But thofe
who converled with her in this manner, were obliged
to exprefs themfelves by touching her hand and nngerst
inllead of their own.
“ A lady who was nearly related to her, having an
apron on, that was embroidered with filk of different
colours, alked her, in the manner which has been de-
feribed, if Ihe could tell what colour it was ? and after
applying her fingers attentively to the figures of the
embroidery, Ihe replied, that it was red, arid blue, and
green 5 which was true. The fame lady having a pink
coloured ribbon on her head, and being willing llill fur¬
ther to fatisfy her curiofity and her doubts, alked what
colour that was ? her coufin, after feeling fome time,
anfwered, that it was pink colour : this anfwer was vet
more altonilhing, becaufe it Ihowed not only a power
of diltinguilhing different colours, but different kinds
of the fame colour j the ribbon was not only difeover-
ed to be red, but the red was difeovered to be of the
pale kind called a pinh.
“ L his unhappy lady, confcious of her own uncom¬
mon infirmities, was extremely unwilling to be feen by
Grangers, and therefore generally retired to her cham¬
ber, where none but thofe of the family were likely to
come. The fame relation, who had by the experiment
of the apron and ribbon difeovered the exquilite fenfi-
bility of her touch, was foon after convinced by an ac¬
cident, that her power offmelling was acute and refined
in the fame allonilhing degree.
“ Being one day vifiting the family, Ihe went up to
her coufin’s chamber, and after making herfelf known,
Ihe mtreated her to go down, and fit with her among
the reft of the family, alluring her, that there was no
other perfon prefent: to this Ihe at length confented,
and went down to the parlour door} but the moment
the door was opened, {he turned back, and retired to
her own chamber much difpleafed 5 alleging, that there
were ftrangers in the roftm, and that an attempt had
been made to deceive her: it happened indeed that there
were ftrangers in the room j but they had come in while
the lady was above flairs, fo that Ihe did not knew
they were there. When lire had fatisfied her coufin of
this particular, lire was pacified ; and being afterwards
allied how flic knew there were ftrangers in the room
lire anfwered, by the fmell. ’
“ But though fine could by this, fenfe diftinguilh in
general between perfons with whom fire was well ac¬
quainted and ftrangers, yet fhe could not fo eafily di¬
ftinguilh one or her acquaintance from another without
other affiftance. She generally diftinguilhed her friends
by feeling their hands; and when they came in, they
tiled to prefent their hands to her, as a mean of making
themfelves known \ the make and warmth of the hand
produced, in general, the differences that fire diftin-
guiftred ; but Ihe fometimes ufed to fpan the wrift, and
meafure the fingers. A lady, with whom Ihe was very
well acquainted, coming in one very hot day, after
5 A having
BlinT
B L I
[ 738 ]
B L
Blind, having walked a mile, prefented her hand as ufual; fhe
     feit it longer than ordinary, and ieemed to doubt whofe
it was; but after fpanning the wrift, and meafuring the
fingers, fhe faid, ‘ It is Mrs M. but fhe is warmer to¬
day than ever I felt her before.’ *
“ To amufe herfelf in the mournful and perpetual
folitude and darknefs to which her diforder had reduced
her, flie ufed to work much at her needle ; and it is re¬
markable, that her needle-work was uncommonly neat
and exa£I : among many other pieces of her work that
are preferved in the family, is a pin-cufhion, which can
fcarcely be equalled. She ufed alfo fometimes to write :
and her writing was yet more extraordinary than her
needle-work : it was executed with the fame regularity
and exaftnefs •, the charafter was very pretty, the lines
were all even, and the letters placed at equal diftances
from each other : but the moft aftonifhing particular
of all, with refpe£l to her writing, is, that fhe could
by fome means dilcover when a letter had by fome mi-
flake been omitted, and would place it over that part
of the word where it fhould have been inferted with a
caret under it. It was her cuftom to fit up in bed at
any hour of the night, either to write or to uork, when
her pain or any other caufe kept her awake.
“ Thefe cifcumllances were fo very extraordinary,
that it wras long doubted whether (he had not fome faint
remains both of hearing and fight, and many experi¬
ments wTere made to afcertain the matter j fome of thefe
experiments (lie accidentally difcovered, and the difco-
very always threw her into violent convuliions. I he
thought of being fufpefted of infincerity, or fuppofed
capable of afting fo wicked a part as to feign infirmi¬
ties that 'were not inflieled, wTas an addition to her mneiy
which file could not bear, and which never failed to pro¬
duce an agony of mind not lefs vifible than thofe of her
body. A clergyman who found her one evening at work
by a table with a candle upon it, put his hat between
her eyes and the candle, in fuch a manner that it was
impoffible (he could receive any benefit from the light
of it if file had not been blind. She continued Hill at
her work, with great tranquillity *, till, putting up her
hand fuddenly to rub her forehead, file (truck it againft
the hat, and difcovered what was doing j upon which
fhe wras thrown into violent convulfions, and was not
without ^reat difficulty recovered. The family were
by thefe experiments, and byTeveral accidental circum-
ftances, fully convinced that fhe was totally deaf and
blind ; particularly by fitting unconcerned at her work,
during a dreadful fiorm of thunder and lightning, though
fhe was then facing the window, and always ufed to be
much terrified in fuch circumfiances. Hut Sir Hans
Sloane, her phyfician, being ftill doubtful of the truth
of facls which were fcarce lefs than miraculous, he
was permitted to fatisfy himfelf by fuch experiments
and obfervations as he thought proper ; the iffue of
which was, that he pronounced her to be abfolutely
deaf and blind.
“ She was at length fent to Bath, where (lie was in
fome meafure relieved *, her convulfions being lefs fre¬
quent, and her pains lefs acute : but file never reco¬
vered her fpeech, her fight, or her hearing in the leaf!
degree. ,
“ Many of the letters dated at Bath, m fome of
which there are inftances of interlineations with a caret,
the writer of this narrative hath feen, and they are now
Blind.
in the cullody of the widow of one of her brothers,
who, with many other perfons, can fupport the fa£!s ’
here related, however wonderful, wuth fuch evidence as
it would not only be injuftice, but folly, to difbelieve.”
yin account of a French lady, hlind from her infancy,
who can read, write, and play at cards, &c.J— A
young gentlewoman of a good family in France, now
in her 18th year f, loft her fight when only two years \
old, her mother having been adviled to lay feme pi- I7(j2>
geons blood on her eyes, to preferve them in the fmall-
pox j whereas, io far from anfwermg the end, it ate
into them. Nature, however, may be faid to have
compenfated for the unhappy miftake, by beauty of
perfon, fweetnefs of temper, vivacity of genius, quick-
nefs of conception, and many talents which certainly
much alleviate her misfortune.
“ She plays at cards with the fame readinefs as others
of the party. She firft prepares the packs allotted to
her, by pricking them 111 feveral parts 5 yet lo imper-*
ceptibly, that the clofeft infpeflion can fcarcely difeern
her indexes. She forts the fuits, and arranges the
cards in their proper fequence, with the fame preci-
fion, and nearly the fame facility, as they who have
their fight. All fhe requires of thofe who play with
her, is to name every card as it is played j and thefe
flie’retains fo exaftly, that (lie frequently performs
fome notable ftrokes, fuch as fhow a great combination
and ftreng memory.
“ The moft wonderful circumftance is, that fhe
fhould have learned to read and write } but even this
is readily believed on knowing her method. In writing
to her, no ink is ufed, but the letters are pricked down
on the paper } and by the delicacy of her touch, feel¬
ing each letter fhe follows them fucceffively, and reads
every word with her finger ends. She herielf m wri¬
ting makes ufe of a pencil, as fhe could not know w hen
her pen was dry } her guide on the paper is a fmall
thin ruler and of the breadth of her writing. On fi~
milling a letter, fhe W’ets it, fo as to fix the traces of
her pencil, that they are not obfeured or effaced } then
proceeds to fold and feal it, and write the diredion ;
all by her own addrefs, and without the afhftance
of any other perfon. Tier writing is very ftraight,
vrell cut, and the fpelling no lefs correft. I o icach
this fingular mechanifm, the indefatigable cares of her
affedlionate mother were long employed, who accui-
tomed her daughter to feel letters cut in cards or
pafteboard, brought her to diftinguifti an A from a B,.
and thus*the whole alphabet, and afterwards to fpell
words ; then, by the remembrance of the fliape of the
letters, to delineate them on paper } laftly, to ar¬
range them fo as to form words and fentences.
“ She has learned to play on the guittar, and has
even contrived a way of pricking down the tunes as
an affiftance to her memory. So delicate are her or-
-gans, that in finging a tune, though new to her, fhe is
able to name the notes. . r
44 In figured dances ftie acquits berleli extremely
well and in a minuet with inimitable eafe and grace-
fulnefs. As for che works of her fex, ftie has a maf-
terly hand ; fhe fews and hems perfe&ly well; and irv
all her works ftie threads the needles for herfelf, how¬
ever fmall.
“ By the watch her touch never fails telling ner ex-
aftlv the hour and minute.”
J ' rnrrt
B L I
[ 739 1
b l r
Total
Blindnefs.
Pore-Blind From tlits account, however, it would appear, that
except reading and writing, the French lady has no¬
thing to boaft of in which fhe is not excelled by Mr
, Stanley already mentioned, if we may credit all that
is reported of him. The works peculiar to her lex
are gained mechanically ; but the di/iinguijhing colours,
telling the precife time by a watch, naming the notes
in mulic, and many other things depending upon the
ear and touch, are faid to be fo familiar to him, that
his friends ceafe to think them extraordinary. At¬
tainments ftill more wonderful are afcribed to him ; as,
the naming the number of perfons in a room on en¬
tering it 5 the diredting his voice to each perfon in
particular, even to flrangers when they have once
fpoken ; the milling any perfon abfent, and telling who
that perfon is; and, laftly, his being able to form
juft conceptions of youth, beauty, fymmetry, and
lhape.
Pore-BiiND, or Pur-blind. A perfon who is very
fhortlighted is, faid to be pur-blind.
Moou-Blind, denotes horfes that lofe their fight at
certain times of the moon. See Farriery.
BiiND-Harry. See Hen nr the Minjlrel.
BiiND-lVorm. See Anguis.
ELINDE, among mineralifts, a fpecies of lead-mar-
cafite, by our miners called mock-ore, mock-lead, and
wild lead, Sec. The German mineralifts call it blende,
whence our denomination blinde. It anfwers to what
in Agricola is called Galena inanis.
It ufually lies immediately over the veins of lead-ore,
in the mines which produce it, for it is not found in
all. When the miners fee this, they know the vein of
ore is very near.
BLINDS, or Blindes, in the art of w'ar, a fort
of defence commonly made of oziers, or branches in¬
terwoven, and laid acrofs between two rows of ftakes,
about the height of a man, and four or five feet afun-
der, ufed particularly at the heads of trenches, when
they are extended in front towards the glacis j ferving
to (belter the workmen, and prevent their being over¬
looked by the enemy.
BLINDING, a fpecies of corporal puniftiment an¬
ciently inflivfted on thieves, adulterers, perjurers, and
others j and from which the ancient Chriftians were
not exempt. Sometimes lime and vinegar, or barely
fealding vinegar, wras poured into the eyes till their
balls were confumed ; fometimes a rope was twifted
round the head till the eyes ftarted out. In the mid¬
dle age, they changed total blindnefs for a great dark-
nefs or diminution of fight 5 which they produced by
holding a red-hot iron dilh or bafon before the eyes
till their humours were dried and their coats (hrivel-
led up.
The inhabitants of the city Apollonia executed it on
their watch whom they found afleep.—Democritus
(according to Plutarch, Cicero, and A. Gellius), put
out his own eyes, that he might be lefs difturbed in
his mental contemplations, when thus freed from the
diftra£Hon of the objefts of fight.
BLINDNESS, a privation of the fenfe of fight,
arifing from a total deprivation of its organs, or an in¬
voluntary obftrudlion of their functions. See the ar¬
ticle Blind.
Total Blindness, is that wherein ail fight or per¬
ception, even of light, is wanting, as is the cafe of thofe
Partial
Blindnefs
who are faid to be Jlone-blind. A blind man, by fhe
civil law, cannot make a teftament except under certain
modifications; but in every cale he is difabled from
being a witnefs to a teftament, on account of his blind-
nefs.
Partial Blindness, is that wherein fome faint glim¬
mering is left, as is always the cafe in people who have
ripe cataracts, who are never fo blind but they can
dilcern day from night.
Perpetual Blindness, is that which remains alike
under all the diverlity of feafons, times, ages, &c.
Tranjient Blindness, is that which gives way of it-
felf in due time, as that of whelps, which continues for
feveral days, fometimes nine, rarely twelve, after they
are littered. The Nogais Tartars, according to Father
Du Ban the Jefuit, who lived among them, are born
blind, and open not their eyes till feveral days.
Periodical Blindness, is that which comes and goes
by turns, according to the feafon of the moon, time of
day, and the like.
Diurnal Blindness, is called hemeracopia.
Noblurnal Blindness, called alfo nydlalopia, that
which enfues on the letting of the lun in perlons who
fee perfeftly in the day, but become quite blind as
foon as night comes on. Brigg, in Phil. Tranf. N° 159.
p. 560, where an inftance of it is given. See a fingu-
larcafe of this kind related by Dr Samuel Pye, in the
Medic. Obferv. and Inquir. vol. i. p. in.
The caufes of blindnefs are either ordinary, as a de¬
cay of the optic nerve (an inftance whereof we have in
the Academy of Sciences, where upon opening the eye
of a perfon long blind, the optic nerve was found ex¬
tremely ftirunk and decayed, and having no medulla in
it) ; or lome external violence, vicious conformation,
growth of a cataracl, gutta ferena, Imallpox, or the
like. See Medicine Index.
Extraordinary caules of blindnefs are malignant
flenches, poifonous juices dropped into the eye, baneful
vermin, long confinement in the dark, or the like. 1
The ducks which breed under ground, and break out
into the Zirchnitzer fea in Carniola after all great
ftorms, are blind at their firft eruption ; but in fome
time come to their fight. The author of the Embaffy
of D. Garcias de Sylva Figueroa into Perfia tells us,
that in feveral parts of that kingdom are found vaft
numbers of blind people of all ages, fexes, and condi¬
tions \ by reafon of a fpecies of little dies which prick
the eyes and lips, and enter the noftrils, carrying cer¬
tain blindnefs with them when they light on the eyes.
Blindness, in Farriery, is a difeafe incident to
horfes, efpecially thole of an iron-gray or dapple-gray
colour, when ridden too hard or backed too young. It
may be difeovered by the walk or ftep, which in a
blind horfe is always uncertain and unequal, becaule he
dares not fet down his feet boldly when led in one’s
hand ; though if the fame horfe be mounted by an ex¬
pert horfeman, and the horfe of himfelf be mettled,
the fear of the fpur will make him go more freely ; fo
that his blindnels can hardly be perceived. Another
mark whereby a horfe may be known to have loft his
fight is, that upon hearing any body enter the liable,
he will prick up his ears, and move them backwards
and forwards, as miftrufting every thing, and being in
continual alarm by the leaf! noife. Dr Lower firft
(bowed the caufe of the ordinary blindnefs in bprfes,
5 A 2 which
/
Blinks
It
Block.
B L O [ 740
which is a fpongy excrefcence, growing in one, fome-
times in two or three places of the uvea, which being
^ at length overgrown, covers the pupil when the horfe
is brought into the light, though in a dark liable it di¬
lates again.
BLINKS, among ancient fportfmen, denoted boughs
broken down from trees, and thrown in the way where
deer are likely to pafs, to hinder their running, or ra¬
ther to mark which way a deer runs, in order to guide
the hunter.
BLINKING of beer, in Lincolnlhire, lignifics
letting the wort Hand for fome time in the vat, till it
hath acquired fome degree of acidity, in order to dif-
pofe it to fine, and be the fooner ready for drinking.
BLISSOM, among hufbandmen, corruptly called
blojfom, is the aft of a ram when coupling with im
ewre.
BLISTER, in Medicine, a thin bladder containing
a watery humour, whether occafioned by burns and
the like accidents, or by veficatories applied to diffe¬
rent parts of the body for that purpofe.—Cantha-
rides, or Spanifh flies, applied in the form of a plafler,
are chiefly ufed with this intention. See Canthari-
des.
ELITE. See Bl itum, Botany Index.
BLITH, a town of Nottinghamlhire, in England,
feated in W. Long. o. 55. N. Lat. 53. 25.
BLITUM, Elite, Strawberry Spinach. See Bo¬
tany Index.
BLOATING, a puffing up or inflation of the ex¬
terior habit of the body, lodged chiefly in the adipofe
cells. It is the fame with what phyficians call an em-
phyfema.
BLOCK is ufed for a piece of marble as it comes
out of the quarry, before it has aflumed any form from
the hand of a workman.
Block, in the mechanic arts, a large piece of folid
wood whereon to fallen work or to falhion it ; flrength
and liability being the requifite properties. In this
lenfe, we fay. a chopping b/och ; a fugar-Jiner's block ; a
fmith',s block, on which his anvil is faftened •, an execu¬
tioner's block, on w'hich the criminal’s head is laid to be
flruck off.
Block, among cutters in wood, is a form made of
pear-tree, box, or other hard and clofe-grained wood,
tree from knots, on which they cut their figures in re¬
lievo with knives, chiffels, &c.
Block, in Falconry, denotes the perch wLereon
a bird of prey is kept. This is to be covered with
cloth.
Blocks, in fea-language, are pieces of wood be¬
longing to fhips, in which the ihivers of pulleys are
placed, and wherein the running-ropes go. Of thefe
fome are fingle, fome double ; and fome have three,
four, or five, fhivers in them. They are named and
diftinguiihed by the ropes they carry, and the ufes they ,
ierve for.
Mounting Block, an eminence ufually of flone, cut
in fleps or notches, ferving as a help to mount on
horfeback. Thefe w'ere much, in ufe among the an¬
cients, who were unacquainted with llirrups. The
Romans erefted them at proper flations along all their
great roads.
Block, Daniel, portrait painter, was born at Stet¬
tin in Pomerania in 1580, and gave early proofs of
1 B L o
a good genius; which induced his parents to place Blockada
him as a dilciple with Jacob Scherer, a mailer capable II
of giving him the bed dire£tions, to qualify him for, Blocni;ut‘
proceeding fuccefsfully in his profeilion. He chiefly *
painted portraits, in which (according to Sandrart)
he was very eminent, and had the honour to paint the
portraits of Chrillian IV. king of Denmark, and of
Guftavus Adolphus king of Sweden. The extraor¬
dinary merit of this mailer recommended him to the
efleem of the prince of Mecklenburg, who retained him
in his lervice for 44 years ; and by order of that prince,
he painted the portraits of his whole family at full
length, as large as life, and in the antique habit; by
which works his reputation wras eflablifhed effeftually.
By the agreeable manner of his colouring, and the eafy
attitudes of his figures, his paintings became fo accept¬
able to all perfons of rank, that before the decline of
life, he had acquired a very large fortune; but unfor¬
tunately he loll it all, in the compafs of a few hours,
by the fudden irruption of a plundering party, and
with great difficulty his own life was preferved. He
died in 1661.
BLOCKADE, in the art of wrar, the blocking up
a place, by polling troops at all the avenues leading to
it, to keep fupplies of men and provifions from getting
into it; and by thefe means propofing to flarve it out,
without making any regular attacks.
To raife a Blockade, is to force the troops that keep
the place blocked up from their polls.
BLOCKLAND, Anthony de Montfort, hi-
flory and portrait painter, was born of a noble familv
at Montfort in 1532. He learned the art of painting
in the fchool of Francis Floris, whofe manner he always
folkwed ; and became an artiil of great diflinftion, by
endeavouring principally to imitate the tafle of the Ro¬
man fchool in defign and compofition. His genius was
bell adapted to grand compofitions, of which he de-
figned many : fome at Delft, but more at Utrecht.
His defigns had grandeur, the airs of his heads were
noble, and the profiles of his female figures approached
near to the tafle of Parmigiano. Several of his works
are in fo good a tafle, and particularly a Venus, and
the hiflory of Jofeph and his Brethren, that they feem
to have been painted by a mafler educated in the fchool
of Florence. He died in 1583.
BLOCZIL, a fortrefs of Overyffel in the United
Provinces, feated on the river Aa, at the place where
it falls into the Zuyder Zee. It has a port fufficient to
contain 200 veffels, and ferves to defend thofe fhips
that crofs the fea. It has fix good baflions, and fe-
veral other regular fortifications. E. Long. 6. o. N.
Lat. 52. 44.
BLOEMART, Abraham, painter of landfcape,
cattle, hiflory, and portrait, w’as born at Gorcum in
1564, according to Houbraken ; but according to San-
drait, whofe authority feems to claim the preference,
he was born in 1567, and lived moflly at Utrecht. In
his youth he applied himfelf diligently to defign after
the works of Francis Floris, and afterwards received
inftruftions from feveral artifls of no great repute; but
the pow'er of his own genius proved his principal di-
reftor in the art of painting. He formed a manner
peculiar to himfelf, making nature his model for many
of the objefts he painted, particularly his cattle, in
which he excelled. He died in 1647. He left four
fons
B L O [ 741 j B L O
Bloemart, funs who were all of the artifts •, but the moft famous
Btais. was Cornelius, the fubjeft of the following article.
' v_" Bloemart, Cornelius, the youngeft fon of Abra¬
ham, was born in 1603 at Utrecht. The firft prin¬
ciples of drawing and painting he learned from his
father 5 but his natural inclination for the art of engra¬
ving was fo powerful, that he applied himfelf wholly to
the purfuit of it. Pie firfl fludied under Crifpin de
Pafs, an engraver much more famous for the neatnefs
than the good tafte of his works. Not fatisfied with
what he learned from this artiil, he went to Rome, in
order to perfedd himfelf from the works of the greateft
mailers : And in that city (where the far greater part
of his engravings rvere made) he died in a very advan¬
ced age.—“ The manner of engraving, adopted by
this excellent artilf, appears to me (fays Mr Strutt) to
be not only quite original, but the fource from which
wre may trace that ilyle in which the greateft and beft
P'rench mailers excelled ; thofe I mean who worked
with the graver only. He covered the lights upon his
diftances, and the other parts of his plates which re¬
quired tinting, with great care. The lights, whether
on the diftant hills, trees, buildings, or figures, in the
engravings prior to his time, had been left quite clear,
and by fo many white fpots fcattered in various parts
of the fame defign, the harmony was deftroyed, the
fubjedl confufed, and the principal figures prevented
from relieving with any ftriking effedl. By this judi¬
cious improvement, Bloemart gave to his prints a more
clear and finilhed appearance, than all the laboured
neatnefs even of Jerom Wierix had been able to produce.
He drew corre&iy : but from his ftyle of engraving,
which was executed entirely with the graver, the ex¬
tremities of his figures are heavy, and his heads are
not ahvays equally beautiful or expreffive. With re-
fpedft to the mechanical part of the wmrks, few indeed
have excelled him, either in clearnefs, or freedom of
execution. His great fault, however, is want of va¬
riety. The naked parts of his figures, the draperies,
and the back-ground, are equally neat, and engraved
precifely in the fame manner. Hence the effeft is flat;
and the flefh, for want of fufficient diftindftion, appears
cold and filvery. His wmrks are juftly held in high
eftimr.tion. They are very numerous, and many of
them difficult to be procured.”
BLOIS, a town of France, in the department of
Loire and Cher, is feated on the banks of the river
Loire, partly on a plain, and partly on an eminence,
in the midft of one of the moft agreeable countries of
France. The caftle is the ornament of this city. At
the firft view, it feems to be two diftimfl buildings; but
it is joined by a paiTage cut out of the rock. Joining
to this, on the wTeft-fide, is the tower of Chateau Reg-
naud, fo called becaufe that lordfhip may be difcovered
from hence, though 20 miles diftant. At the eaft-end
of this is another fmall tower, which is partly ancient
and partly modern. That part of the caftle which
was built by the duke of Orleans, in the room of that
which he demolilhed in 1632, is a fuperb edifice, but
unfiniihed. The court, before it, where the church of
St Saviour is built, is very large, and was formerly
ufed for tournaments. The moft remarkable thing in
this caftle is a fine long gallery, adorned with many
curious and uncommon pieces; it is in ttie midft of
twm gardens, one of which is full of fruit-trees, and Blois
the other of parterres, fountains, cafcades, and mar- II
ble flatues brought from Italy. Beyond thefe, there j^oemen'
is a large park, where there is game in abundance. On ' —
all the gates of the city there is the image of the Vir¬
gin Mary, wffio they believe freed them from the
plague in 1631. There are feveral parifh-churches,
chapters, and religious houfes for both fexes. The
church of St Solenne is the cathedral, and is the hand-
fomeft in the city. The front of the Jefuits church
is decorated with three orders of architefture, the
Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian ; but there is only the
Doric on the inlide. The town-houfe is a tolerable
building, and Hands in a ftreet which terminates at the
quay, where there is a public wTalk that has a fine
profpedl on the Loire, over which there is a bridge
that leads to the fuburbs of Vienna. There are a few
houfes on the bridge, and a tow7er at each end to guard
the entrance. About three quarters of a mile from
the city, the water runs down the clefts of a rock into
a large aqueduct, by which it is conveyed to a refervoir
near the walls, and from hence diftributed by leaden
pipes to the feveral parts of the city. The country
about Blois produces corn, wane, cattle, and game of
every kind, and the waters a great quantity of fiih.
The meadows are fo rich and fertile, that the cows
yield excellent milk, good in confumptive cafes, and
which affords the beft cream in the kingdom. About
a league from Blois, there are mineral fprings, which
have the fame virtues as thofe of Forges. The trade of
Blois is chiefly in wine and brandy ; but they alfo *
make fome ferges and fluffs at this place. Several kings
have kept their courts at Blois; for which reafon they
fpeak the French language in perfection, and the in¬
habitants are accounted witty and polite. E. Long,
I. 30. N. Lat. 47. 35.
BLOMARY, or Bloom ary, in Metallurgy, the firft:
forge through which iron paffes, after it is melted out
of the ore.
BLOEMEN, Peter Van, a celebrated painter,
born at Antwerp, was brother to John Francis Van
Bloemen, called by the Italians Orizonti, and lived
for feveral years at Rome along with his brother. As-
foon as he found himfelf competently {killed in colour¬
ing and penciling, as well as in defigning, he returned
to his native city, where, in the year 1699, was
appointed direClor of the academy. The compofition
of this mafter is rich, and his pictures are generally fill¬
ed with a number of figures. His fubjeCls are, the
marchings of fquadrons of cavalry, encampments, ar¬
tillery, battles, Italian fairs, markets, and feftivals; in
which he fhowed great correCtnefs in his defign and in
his drawing; and an elegance in the manner of dreffing
his figures; whom he frequently reprefented in orien¬
tal habits. He defigned horfes in an admirable ftyle ;
and in his battles gave them abundance of fpirit, grace¬
ful attitudes, and an expreffion that was full of life and
nature. His landfcapes are enriched with elegant ar¬
chitecture, with baffo-relievos, and mutilated flatues,
in a noble tafte ; and rendered ftill more pleafing by a
good tone of colour, by animals of different kinds, and
excellent figures.—His bell works are admired in all
parts of Europe, and afford large prices : but it is to
be obferved, that fome of his pictures feem rather to be
too
B L O [ 742 ] B L O
Bioemen too mucli laboured or 1H£F, and (according to the ar-
T,1 II . lifts phrafe) fmell of the palette; and thofe are propor-
J^^tionablylefseftimable.
Bloemen, ‘John Francis Van. Vid. Orizonti.
Bloemen, Norbert Van, brother of the preceding,
was a painter of portraits and converfations; but in
merit was very inferior to his brothers, although he had
a good deal of employment.
BLOND, Christopher le, painter of portraits in
miniature and all kinds of fubjefts on paper, was born
in 1670. Very few circumftances relative to his edu¬
cation or life are mentioned by any writers till he was
known at Rome in the year 1716, being at that time
painter to the Count Martinetz, ambaffador at the
court of Rome. By the felicitation of Overbeke he
was induced to go to Amfterdam, and in that city
was employed to paint fmall portraits for bracelets,
rings, and fnuff-boxes 5 of which, although they were
painted in water-colours, yet the colouring was as
lively and natural as if they had been painted in oil.
However, as he found his fight much impaired by the
minutenefs of his work, he difeontinued water-colour
painting, and attempted the ufe of oil with a reafon-
able degree of fuccefs. After he had refided for fome
years in the Low Countries, he went to England, and
fet up a new method of printing mezzotinto plates in
colours fo as to imitate the pictures of which they were
copies. In this manner he executed in England leveral
large plates, from pi&ures of the greateft matters,
and difpofed of the prints by lottery. But thofe who
obtained the prizes (Mr Strutt fays) appear not to
have held them in any very great eftimation. “ The
prints (he adds) certainly poflefs fome merit, exclufive
of their novelty ; but, in general, the colours are fiat
and dirty j the effeft is neither linking nor judicioufly
managed j and the drawing is frequently very incor-
reft, efpecially in the extremities of his figures.” Mr
Pilkington fpeaks of them with greater approbation.
“ The artift (he fays) imitated his models with fo
much fkill, fuch exaft refemblance, fuch corredlnefs of
outline, fueh fimilarity of colour and expreffion, that
at firft they amazed every beholder who viewed them
at a proper diftance ; and many of thofe prints are ttill
extant, which are much efteemed by perfons of good
tafte.” And Mr Walpole obferves, that fome heads,
coloured progreflively, according to their feveral gra¬
dations, bear witnefs to the fuccefs and beauty of his
invention. He had another merit to the public, with
which few inventors begin; for he communicated his
fecret in a thin quarto, intitled Coloritto, or “ The
harmony of colouring in painting reduced to mechani¬
cal pradlice, under eafy precepts and infallible rules.”
His method was performed by feveral mezzotinto plates
for one piece, each exprefling different ftiades and parts
of the piece in different colours. He was not, how¬
ever, it is faid, the original inventor of that manner
of managing colours, but took it from Laftman and
others, who, with much greater regularity of morals,
equal capacities, and more difereet conduft, had before
undertaken it without fuccefs. Le Blond, whofe head
was continually full of fchernes, next fet on foot a
projedl for copying the cartoons of Raphael in tape-
ftry, and made drawings from the pictures for that
purpofe. Houfes were built and looms erected at the
Mulberry Ground at Chelfea; but the expences being
2
too great, or the. contributions not equal to the firft Blonde!
expedftations, the fcheme was fuddenly defeated, and , II ,
Le Blond difappeared, to the no fmall diffatisfadlion El00c1,
of thofe who were engaged with him. From hence he
went to Paris, where, Bafan informs us, he was in
the year 1737 ; and in that city he died, 1740, in an
hofpital. Le Blond was alfo author of a treatife, in
French, on ideal beauty. It was publiflied in 1732,
and has fince been tranflated into Engliih.
BLONDEL, David, a proteftant minifter, diftin-
guilhed by his fkill in ecclefiaftical and civil hiftory,
was born at Chalons fur Marne, and was admitted
minifter at a fynod of the Ifle of France, in 1614.
He wrote, 1. A defence of the reformed churches
of France. 2. A work againft the decretal epiflles.
3. De Epifcopis et Prejbyteris: and other pieces. Bayle
informs us that he had a very Angular way of ftudy-
ing ; he lay on the ground, and had round about him
the books which he wanted for the work he was about.
He died in 165 aged 64.
Blondel, Francis, regius profeffor of mathematics
and architecture, was employed in feveral negociations,
arrived at the dignity of marftial de camp and coun-
fellor of Hate, and had the honour of being chofen to
teach the dauphin the mathematics j he was alfo made
member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and di¬
rector of the Academy of Architecture. He died at
Paris in 1688, aged 68. He wrote, 1. Notes on the
Architecture of Savot. 2. A courfe of architecture
and mathematics. 3. The art of throwing bombs.
4. A new manner of fortifying places. 5. A compa-
rifon between Pindar and Horace 5 and other works.
BLONDUS, Flavius, an hiltorian born at Forli,
in Italy, in 1388, w'as fecretary to Eugenius IV. and
other popes. He compofed a great many books; and,
among others, a Hiftory from the year 400 to 1440.
He died in 1463.
BLONIEZ, a town of Poland, in the province of
Warfovia. E. Long. 20. 35. N. Lat. 52. o.
BLOOD, a red liquor circulating through the vef-
fels of the human body and the bodies of the larger
animals, which appears immediately and effentially ne-
ceffary to the prefervation of life. t
Though there is no living creature as yet known No animal
whofe life doth not immediately depend upon the cir- without
culation of fome kind of fluid through its veffels, yet
unlefs fuch fluid is of a red colour, it does not obtain to blood.n
the name of blood; and therefore fuch creatures as have
a colourlefs or milky liquor circulating through their
veffels, are called exfanguious animals. 2
The blood has a very different degree of thicknefs or Blood of
vifeidity in different animals, and even in the fame ani-^1®^6111*.
mal at different times. Though it is in all cafes en-^e^[sa1R
dow’ed with a confiderable degree of tenacity, yet in mxnals.
ftrong animals that tenacity is remarkably greater than 3
in wreak ones; and hence the blood of bulls was made^®at<ff
ufe of by the ancients as a poifon, its extreme vifeidity
rendering it totally indigeftible by the powders of the as a 1)mioa
human ftomach. It is well known alfo by phyficians,
that there are fome ftates of the human body in which
the blood becomes vaftly tenacious, fo as in a great
meafure to refufe any intimate connexion with water;
and others, in which its crafis is almoft totally diffolved,
fo as to appear, when drawn out of the body, like a
fluid and half putrid mafs. See Medicine Index.
The
B L O
[ 743 1
B L O
Blooi.
4
Appear¬
ance of
the blood
when
drawn from
5
Blood che¬
mically a-
nalyfed.
6
Contains
an acid, ao
cording to
fame che-
mifts.
7
Experi¬
ment in
confirma¬
tion of this.
The common appearance of the blood when drawn
from a vein in the human body is well known. It firlt
feems an homogenous red liquor j then it confolidates
into one uniform mafsj in a little time, a yellowilli wa¬
tery liquor begins to feparate from it, which is more
or lefs in quantity according to the ftate in wThich the
blood happens to be •, the red mafs, in the mean time,
contracts greatly in its dimenfions, and increafes in fo-
lidity. But this increafe of folidity is likewife pro¬
portional to the ftate of the blood at the time: in ftrong
people, if attacked with a violent inflammatory difeafe,
the folid part is exceedingly tough, infomuch that Dr
Huxham lays he has fometimes found it almoft like a
piece of flefli itfelf; whereas, in other difeafes, the folid
part is very foft and tender, breaking in pieces with
the llighteft touch. The fpontaneous feparation of the
blood into craffamentum, ferum,’and coagulable lymph,
hath been already taken notice of under Anatomy.
See Anatomy Index.
The attention of phyliologifts bath been very much
engaged by inquiries into the nature and compolition
of the blood, and accordingly it hath been examined
in all poflible ways. By a chemical analyfis, it dif-
covers the fame principles with other animal fubftar.ces;
giving over in diftillation a great quantity of phlegm,
a volatile fpirit, with much fetid oil; after which,
there remains a charred matter, that, burnt in an open
fire, leaves a white earth fimilar to calcined hartfhorn.
Some eminent chemifts, Mr Homberg particularly, have
aflerted that blood contains an acid as well as an alkali,
but that the former doth not arife till towards the end
of the diftillation : but wdiat is very Angular, and in¬
deed muft throw no fmall fufpicion on the whole account
is, that the acid and alkali, notwithftanding their great
tendency on all other occafions to unite with each other,
do here remain feparate, fo that the liquor may be even
rediftilled wdthout their forming any neutral compound.
An experiment in confirmation of this is recorded in the
memoirs of the Royal Academy for 1712. Six pounds
of human blood diftilled to drynefs with a gentle heat,
were reduced to a pound and a half 5 after -which, the
mafs w’as urged with a graduated fire, till the retort at
laft became red hot. The produce wms 17 ounces of
liquor ; 1 2 of which were a red and very empyreuma-
tic volatile fpirit, the other five were oil. The caput
mortuum was a light coal weighing four ounces and a
half. On redlifying the volatile fpirit in a fmall retort,
about an ounce of a red fetid liquor remained, which
had a very acid fmell, and turned the juice of turnlole
red. Mr Homberg now imagined, that the acid con¬
tained in the blood of animals could not difengage it-
felf perfeftly by thefe diftillations without addition.
He therefore determined to diftil human blood with
an admixture of feme other fubftance j but as earths
contain a fait, which might repder the operation un¬
certain, he determined to ufe only the caput mortuum
ef a former diftillation of the fame fubftance. For
this purpofe, four pounds of the coagulum of human
blood being well mixed -with a large quantity of this
refiduum, and the whole dried in the fun, it was put
into a retort, and diftilled with a fire raifed, towards
the end of the operation, to the utmoft violence. The
oil being feparated from the volatile fpirit, the latter
was reftified j and the confequence was, that there
came over four pounds of a red acid liquor, that turn¬
ed the tindlure of turnfole very red. All the diftilla- Blood,
tions of the aqueous liquors already mentioned, obtain-—v~*“
ed by fimilar proceffes, being mixed together, and fe¬
parated from their yet remaining oil, by careiul dilu¬
tion with water and nitration, they were at length di¬
ftilled together ; the liquor that came over was clear
as water, and its firil quantities contained a great deal
of volatile fait, but the laft two ounces were found to
be as four as diftilled vinegar.—The fame produdls
wTere obtained from the blood of carnivorous animals,
as well as from that of animals feeding folely upon ve¬
getables. 8
In Dr Lewis’s notes on Newman’s Chemiftry we * *
have the following account of the blood, and the partsthe blood-
into which it may be refolved. “ Recent blood is e~
qually fluid, and in tafte fomewhat faline. \ iewed by
a microfcope, it appears compofed of numerous red
globules fwimming in a tranlparent fluid. On Handing
for a little time, it feparates into a thick craffamentum
and fluid ferum. By agitation, it continues fluid : A
confiftent polypous matter adheres to the ftirrer, which
by repeated ablution with water, becomes white.—
Received from the vein in w-arm water, it depolites a
quantity of tranfparent filamentous matter, the red por¬
tion continuing diflblved in the water. On evaporating
the fluid, a red powdery fubftance is left.—It congeals
by froft, and becomes fluid again by warmth ; after
liquefaction, it quickly putrefies.—Fluid and florid
blood expofed to a temperate air, putrifies looner than
fuch as is more denfe. Infpifl’ated to drynefs, it leaves a
dark-coloured mafs, amounting, at a medium, to about
one-fourth of the weight of the blood, of a bitter fa-
line tafte, eafily inflammable, burning with a bluifh
flame. The exficcated blood is not foluble in acid or
alkaline liquors j but gives fome tinfture to water and
to fpirit of wine, and is more powerfully adled upon by
dulcified fpirit of nitre. Recent blood is coagulated
by the mineral acids, and by moft of the combinations
of them wdth earthy and metallic bodies. With ve¬
getable acids, and with folutions of neutral falts, it
mingles equably without coagulation. Alkalies, both
fixed and volatile, render it more fluid, and preferve it
from coagulating.
“ The ferum of blood is more faline than the craf¬
famentum, and does not fo fpeedily putrefy. It freezes
fomewhat more difficultly than pure water j and its a-
queous part evaporates, by a gentle warmth, fomewhat
more readily, leaving about one-twelfth of the weight
of the ferum of a folid yellowifh pellucid matter. Ex¬
pofed to heat a little greater than that of the human
body, it coagulates into a folid mafs, without any con-
fiderable evaporation. Both this coagulum and the
infpiflated ferum are readily inflammable in the fire,
not diffoluble in water, or in fpirit of wine, in acid or
in alkaline liquors.”
But the texture of the blood difcoverable by a mi-Xext’uie of
crofcope, bath engaged the attention of the learned the blood,
much more than the chemical analyfis ever did. Lew-accorclinP •
enhoeck was the firft who difeovered, or fancied he dif-1° LyVSH-
covered, that the blood, as it exifts in the body of an ""
animal, confifts of a quantity of red globular particles
fwimming in a large quantity of tranfparent liquor.
Each of thefe globules, he imagined, was compoled of
fix fmaller ones packed together. While the fix con¬
tinued to adhere, their colour was red: but when
parated.
B L O ' [ 744 ] B L O
Blood, parated, they became yellow, and thus formed what
is called the ferum. He even pretended to have dif-
covered that each of the ferous globules confided of fix
fmaller ones, and that thefe when broken down con-
flituted fome more fubtile and penetrating liquor than
the ferum, &c. This was for a long time received al-
mofl univerfally as an undoubted faft ; and many the¬
ories were built upon it, and elaborate calculations
made, of which (we hope) no account needs now be
IO given, as the falfity of thefe pretended difcoveries is
According generally allowed. Father de Torre, with microfcopes
to Father which he pretended were capable of magnifying to an
de T01,16, incredible degree, found that the red particles of the
blood were of an annular figure, with a perforation
in the middle 5 and that the ring itfelf was formed of
feveral joints. Some of thefe extraordinary magnifi¬
ers, however, being fent over to England, thofe who
were appointed by the Royal Society to make trial of
them found them totally ufelefs, fo that the credit of
n Father de Torre’s difcoveries muft have refted princi-
According pally on his own evidence. The falfity of his hypo-
to Mr thefis, as well as that of Lewenhoeck, was detedled
ilewfon. ky t^e jate -]yjr jjgwfon, whofe microfcopical experi¬
ments on the blood being the lateft that have appeared,
we fhall tranfcribe the following particular account of
them given by himfelf in a letter to Dr Haygarth phy-
fician in Chefter. “ The red particles of the blood,
improperly called globules, are flat in all animals, and
of very different fizes in different animals. In man
they are fmall, as flat as a (hilling, and appear to have
a dark fpot in the middle. In order to fee them di-
ftin&ly, I dilute the blood withfrefh ferum. My pre-
deceflbrs, not having thought of this, could not fee
them diftin&ly. And Lewenhoeck in particular, ima¬
gining a round figure fitted for motion, concluded they
mud be round in the human body; though he and
others allowed that in frogs, &c. where they viewed
them didin&ly from the blood being thinner, they were
flat. Now I prove that they are flat in all animals.
In the human blood, where thefe particles are fmall,
it is difficult to determine what that black fpot is which
appears in the centre of each. Some have concluded
that it was a perforation : but in a frog, where it is
fix times as large as in a man, it is eafy to (how that it
is not a perforation, but on the contrary is a little
folid, which is contained in the middle of a veficle.
Indead, therefore, of calling this part of the blood
red globules, I fhould call it red vejicles ; for each par¬
ticle is a flat veficle, with a little folid fphere in its
centre.
“ I find that the blood of all animals contains vefi-
cles of this fort. In human blood there are millions
of them ; and they give it the red colour. But in in-
feffs they are white, and lefs numerous in proportion
than in man and qpadrupeds. As they are flat in all
animals, I fufpeff that fhape is a circumftance. of im¬
portance, but can be altered by a mixture with diffe¬
rent fluids. And I find that it is by a determinate
quantity of neutral fait cont ined in the ferum, that
-this fluid is adapted to preferving thefe veficles in their
flat fhape : for, if they be mixed with water, they be¬
come round, and diffolve perfectly ; but add a little of
any neutral fait to the water, and they remain in it,
without any alteration in their fhape, and without dif-
fbiving-. I
“ Now, when it is confidered^ that the blood of all
animals is filled with thefe particles, we mult believe
that they ferve fome very important purpofe in the ani¬
mal economy j and fince they are lo complicated in
their ftrufture, it is improbable they fhould be made
by mechanical agitation in the lungs or blood-veffels,
as has been fufpefted, but probably have fome organs
fet apart for their formation. This I lhall endeavour
to prove, when I have explained their ftrudture a little
more particularly, and mentioned the manner in which
I exhibit it. I take the blood of a toad or frog, in
W'hich they are very large *, I mix it with the ferum of
human blood to dilute it ; I find them appear all flat ,
fo they do in the blood-vellels of this animal, as I have
diftinftly feen in the web between its toes, whilfi: the
animal was alive and fixed in the microfcope. Their
appearance in thefe animals is not unlike llices of cu¬
cumber. I next mix a little of the blood with water,
which immediately makes them allround, and then be¬
gins to difiblve them whilfi: they are round. I incline
the ftage of the microfcope, fo as to make them roll
down it •, and then I can diftimfily fee the folid in the
middle fall from fide to fide like a pea in a bladder.
A neutral fait added to them at this time brings them
back to their flat fhape : but if the fait be not added,
the water gradually diffblves arvay the veficle 5 and then
the little fphere is left naked. Such is the compofi-
tion of thefe particles. I have exhibited thefe experi¬
ments to a confiderable number of my acquaintance,
who all agree in their being fatisfaclory.
“ The microfcope I ufe is a fingle lens, and there¬
fore as little likely to deceive us as a pair of fpeftacles,
which, as is allowed by all who ufe them, do not dif-
figure objects, but only reprefent them larger.
“ From farther experiments, I am convinced^ that
the gfe of the thymus and lymphatic glands is to make
the middle folid pieces : and I can prove it in as fatis-
fa&ory a manner as you can do the ufe of any vifcus in
the human body ; that is, by opening thefe glands, and
examining the fluid contained in their cells, which I
find to be full of thefe little folids. I moreover find,
that the lymphatic veffels take them up from thofe
glands, and convey them into the blood-veffels which
carry them to the fpleen, in whofe cells they have the
veficles laid over them ; fo that the thymus and lym¬
phatic glands make the central particles, and the
fpleen makes the veficles that furround them. That
this is the ufe of the fpleen appears from examining the
lymph wEich is returned from its lymphatic veffels; for
that lymph, contrary to what is obferved in other parts
of the body, is extremely red.
“ But befides having thefe glands fet apart for ma¬
king the red veficles of the blood, I find that they are
alfo made in the lymphatic veffels in different parts of
the body, w'hofe coats have blood-veflels properly con-
ftrucfed for this fecretion. So that the thymus and
lymphatic glands are no more than appendages of the
lymphatic fyffem, for making the middle particles j
and the fpleen an appendage to the lymphatic veffels,
for making the veficles which contain thefe middle par¬
ticles.
“ I conjedffure that it is the coagulable lymph which
is converted into this red part of the blood, from a cu¬
rious faff that has long been known ; namely, that the
blood in the fplenic vein does not coagulate when ex-
poled
Blood.
Blood.
Objection
to his hy-
pothefist
. *3
Opinion of
X)r Wilfon.
, T4
Of Dr Cul¬
len.
B L O [
pofed to the air, as the blood of other veins does;
' that it feems to be robbed of its coagulable lymph in
paffing through the fpleen.
“ It is very remarkable, that the fpleen can be cut
out of an animal, and the animal do well without it.
I made the experiment on a dog, and kept him a year
and a half without obferving his health to be in the
lead impaired. From this fome have concluded the
fpleen to be an ufelefs weight; which is abfurd, when
We confider that all animals with red blood have it.
Therefore it is more confident with what we know of
the animal economy, to conclude, that fince an animal
can do well without it, there is probably fome part of
the body that can fupply its place.
“ Infedls have vedcles condrudled in a fimilar way
to ours, but differing in colour. But infedls have nei¬
ther fpleen, thymus, nor lymphatic glands j and there¬
fore in them probably thefe veficles are entirely fabri¬
cated in the lymphatic veffels. But to us, and other
of the more perfect animals, befides the lymphatic vef¬
fels, nature has given thofe glands, that a proper quan¬
tity of thofe important veficles might be the better fe-
cured to us 5 jud as Ihe has given us two ears, the bet¬
ter to fecure us hearing through life, though we can
hear perfedtly well vrith one.”
This letter, w'e apprehend, contains the drength of
Mr Hewfon’s evidence for his hypothefis; on which
we diall only remark, that if the red globules are pre¬
pared in the manner above mentioned, and the lym¬
phatic veffels are excretories of thofe glands w’here the
ped particles, are formed ; then if there is any veffel
where all thefe excretories unite, in that veffel the lymph
ought to appear very red, on account of the accu¬
mulated quantity of red globules brought thither from
all parts of the body. But no fuch rednefs feems ever
to have been taken notice of by any anatomid : this
therefore mud be an objection to Mr Hewfon’s hypo¬
thefis j and fuch a one, perhaps, as will not be eafily
removed.
Many other hypothefes have been invented concern¬
ing the formation of the red blood, and various opi¬
nions delivered concerning its red colour. In a lecture
delivered at Newcadle in 1773, by Dr Wilfon of that
place, he afferts “ that it is felf-evidently the office of
the veins to elaborate the fluids into that form and
compofition w?hich we know by the name o£red blood”
The felf-evidence here, however, is by no means appa¬
rent to us ; nor doth he at all point it out in an intel¬
ligible manner.—-Dr Cullen, in his phyfiological part
of The Inditutions of Medicine, acknowledges that
we know but little of the formation of any of the ani¬
mal fluids ; and concerning the microfcopical obferva-
tions, Stc. on the blood, gives his opinion in the follow¬
ing words, § ccliv. “ The red globules have been con-
fidered as an oily matter, and from thence their diflindt
and globular appearance has been accounted for : but
there is no direft proof of their oily nature ; and their
ready union with, and diffufibility in, water, renders
it very improbable. As being microfcopical objedts
only, they have been reprefented by different perfons
very differently. Some have thought them fpherical
bodies, but divifible into fix parts, each of w'hich in its
feparate date wras alfo fpherical \ but other perfons
have not obferVed them to be thus divifible. To many
obfervers they have appeared as perfedtly fpherical $
Vol. III. Part II.
745 ] B L O
fo while others judge them to be oblate fpheroids, or Biood. )
lenticular. To fome they have appeared as annular,
and to others as containing a hollow veficle. All this,
wdth feveral other circumdances relating to them, very
varioufly reprefented, fhow fome uncertainty in nncro-
fcopical obfervations j and it leaves me, who am not
converfant in fuch obfervations, altogether uncertain
with refpedt to the precife nature of this part of the
blood. The chemical hidory. of it is equally precari¬
ous ; and therefore what has been hitherto faid of the
produdtion and changes happening to thefe red glo- 15
bules, we chufe to leave untouched.—We fuppofe that Heaccounts
the red globules, when viewed fingly, have very little
colour ; and that it is only when a certain number of ki00d frora
them are laid upon one another, that the colour ap- the number
pears of a bright red : but this alfo hath its limits ; footred par-
that when the number of globules laid on one another ticles^con-^
is confiderable, the colour becomes of a darker red.
Upon this fuppofition, the colour of the mat's of blood
will be brighter or darker as the colouring part is more
or lefs diffufed among the other parts of the mafs j
and we think this appears to be truly the cafe from
every circumdance that attends the changes which
have been at any time obferved in the colour of the
blood.” ^
Concerning the uncertainty of microfcopical, as well Colour of
as chemical experiments, we fhall not difpute j thoughthe hJo°d
accounted
for from
the conclufion againd them feems carried too far. But
with regard to the colour of the blood, we apprehend the adlTon
it hath been known, aimed, if not altogether, fince the of the air.
difeovery of the circulation, that the florid or dark co¬
lour depends on the prefence or abfence of air, and not
upon any number of globules.—Thus the blood re¬
turning from the veins is of a dark colour. Though di¬
luted with the freflr chyle from the fubclavian vein, it
continues of the fame dark colour till it paffes through
the lungs, upon which it indantly affumes a veiy florid
red j but it can never be proved that the globules in
the pulmonary vein are at all lefs numerous than in the
pulmonary artery.—That this change of colour may be
effedted by the air through membranes much thicker
than we can fuppofe the veffels of the lungs to be, has
been demondrated by Dr Priedley, but whether the
change is occafioned by the mere feparation of fome
principle from the blood, or by the abforption of an¬
other in its dead, is not yet determined, though the lat¬
ter is indeed acknowledged by Dr Priedley himfelf to
be the more probable opinion. He even fuppofes the
rednefs to be owing to a portion of dephlogidicated air
abforbed in the lungs. It mud therefore be the elaf-
tic principle of this air which is abforbed, while the
other combined with part of the phlogiflon emitted by
the blood is converted into fixed air.
This leads us to confider the ufes to which the blood Ufes of the
is fubfervient in the animal (Economy, and the changes m
that happen to it in refpiration. The ufes of this fluid ammjgS'
are fb various, and of fuch an important nature, that The vital
fome have not fcrupled to affirm the blood to be adlu- principle
ally poffeffed of a living principle, and that the life ofby
the whole body is derived from it. This opinion was
firft broached by the celebrated Harvey, the difeoverer bicod.
of the circulation : but in this he w'as never much fol¬
lowed j and the hypothefis itfelf, indeed, has been
pretty much laid afide and neglected, till of late that
it was revived by Mr J. Hunter, profeffor of anatomy
5 ^ in
B L O [ 746 J B L O
Blood, in London. This gentleman fupports his opinion by
l" v n ' the following arguments : 1. The blood unites living
Mr Hun- P3rts> in fome circumftances, as certainly as the yet re-
ter’s argu- cent juices of the branch of one tree unite it with that
ments in of another. Were either of thefe fluids to be confi-
fayour °f ^erccj as extraneous or dead matters, he thinks they
nioL°P1" would acl as flimuli, and no union would take place in
the animal or vegetable kingdom. This argument, Mr
Hunter imagines, is ftill farther eftablifhed by the fol¬
lowing experiment. Having taken off the tefticle from
a living cock, he introduced it into the belly of a li¬
ving hen. Many rveeks afterwards, upon injecting the
liver of the hen, he iniefled the tellicle of the cock ;
which had come in conta<51 with the liver, and adhered
to it. He alleges, that in the nature of things, there
is not a more intimate connexion between life and a
iblid, than between life and a fluid. For although we
are more accuftomed to connecf it with the one than
the other, yet the only real difference which can be
fhown between a folid and a fluid is, that the particles
of the one are lefs moveable among themfelves than
thofe of the other. Befides, we often fee the fame body
fluid in one cafe and folid in another. 2. The blood
becomes vafcular like other living parts. Mr Hunter
affirms, that, after amputations, the coagula in the ex¬
tremities of arteries may be injefted by injedfing thefe
arteries j and he has a preparation in rvhich he thinks
he can demonflrate veffels rifing from the centre of
what had been a coagulum of blood, and opening into
the ftream of the circulating blood. 3. Blood taken
from the arm in the moft intenfe cold which the human
body can bear, raifes the thermometer to the fame
height as blood taken in the moft fultry heat. This he
confiders as a ftrong proof of the blood’s being alive j
as living bodies alone have the power of refifting great
degrees both of heat and cold, and of maintaining in
almoft every fituation, while in health, that tempera¬
ture which we diftinguifh by the name of animal heat.
4. Blood is capable of being adled upon by a ftimulus.
In proof of this, he obferves, that it coagulates from ex-
pofure, as certainly as the cavities of the abdomen and
thorax inflame from the fame caufe. The more it is
alive, that is, the more the animal is in health, it coa¬
gulates the fooner on expofure *, and the more it has loft
of its living principle, as in the cafe of violent inflam¬
mations, the lefs is it fenfible to the ftimulus produced
from its being expofed, and it coagulates the later.
5. The blood preferves life in different parts of the
body. When the nerves going to a part are tied or
cut, the part becomes paralytic, and lofes all power of
motion •, but it does not mortify. If the artery be cut,
the part dies, and mortification enfues. What keeps it
alive in the firft cafe ? Mr Hunter believes it is the
living principle which alone can keep it alive; and he
thinks that this phenomenon is inexplicable on any other
ftippofition, than that life is fupported by the blood.
6. Another argument he draws from a cafe of a frac¬
tured os humeri he had occaflon to obferve. A man
was brought into St George’s hofpital for a Ample
fra&ure of the os humeri, and died about a month
after the accident. As the bones had not united, Mr
Hunter injefted the arm after death. He found that
the cavity between the extremities of the bones was fill¬
ed up with blood which had coagulated. This blood
was become vafcular. In fome places it was very much
fo. He does not maintain that all coagulated blood be- Blood,
comes vafcular : and indeed the reafon is obvious j for 1 v ’
it is often thrown out and coagulated in parts where its
becoming vafcular could anfwer no end in the fyftem :
as, for example, in the cavities of aneurifmal facs. If it
be fuppofed, that, in fuch cafes as that juft now men¬
tioned, the veffels are not formed in the coaguluni,
but come from the neighbouring arteries, he thinks it
equally an argument that the blood is alive *, for the
fubftance into which veffels fiioot inuft be fo. The very
idea that fuch a quantity of dead matter as the whole
mafs of blood, circulates in a living body, appears to
him abfurd.
The fyftem which at prefent ftands oppofed to thatNervour
of Mr Hunter, conliders the brain and nervous fyftem as fyftem
the fountain of life j and that, fo far from receiving itsalone
life from the blood, the nervous fyftem is capable of
ftantaneoully changing the crafis of the blood, or any to contain
other animal fluid; and though the nervous lyfttm can- the vital
not continue its a£Hon for any length of time if the pfinciplo,
aftion of the blood-veffels is fufpended, yet the heart
and blood-veffels cannot aft for a Angle moment with¬
out the influence of the nervous fluid. Hence, fay they,
it is plain we muft fuppofe the nervous fyftem, and not
the blood, to contain properly the life of the animal,
and confequently to be the principal vital organ. The
fecretion of the vital fluid from the blood by means of
the brain, is, by the fupporters of this hypothefis, de¬
nied. They fay, that any fluid fecreted from the blood
muft be aqueous, inelaftic, and inaftive 5 whereas the
nervous fluid is full of vigour, elaftic, and volatile in
the higheft degree. The great neceffity for the circu¬
lation of the blood through all parts of the body, not-
withftanding the prefence of the nervous fluid in the
fame parts, they fay is, becaufe Ibme degree of tenflon
is neceffary to be given to the fibres, in order to fit
them for the influx of the nervous fluid j and this
tenfion they receive from the repletion of the blood-
veffels, which are everywhere difperfed along with the
nerves.
To follow this difpute through every argument that
hath been, or that may be, ufed by both parties, would
prove tedious, and to us appears in a great meafure
unneceffary, as the following fhort confiderations feem
to decide the matter abfolutely againft the patrons of
the nervous fyftem. In the firft place, then, if we can Decifivear«
prove the life of the human body to have exifted in, orguments in
to have been communicated from a fluid to the nervous ^avour
fyftem, the analogical argument will be very ftrongly
in favour of the fuppofition thdt the cafe is fo ftill. Bi0fl.OP ™
Now, that the cafe once was fo, is moft evident $ for
the human body, as well as the body of every other li¬
ving creature, in its firft ftate, is well known to be a
gelatinous mafs, without mufcles, nerves, or blood-vef¬
fels. Neverthelefs, this gelatinous matter, even at that
time, contained the nervous fluid. Of this there can
be no doubt, becaufe the nerves were formed out of it,
and had their power originally from it j and what is re¬
markable, the brain is obferved to be that part of the
animal which is firft formed. Of this gelatinous fluid
we can give no other account, than that it was the nu¬
tritious matter from which the whole body appears to
be formed. At the original formation of man, and other
animals, therefore, the nutritious matter was the fubftra-
tum of the whole body, confifting of mufcles, nerves,
blood-
B L O
- ~ t 74.7 ] B L O
Blood, blood-veffels, Sic. nay more, it was the immediate effi- nervous tlu;J iiata its refidence m t e ra^ l is v^
—,   dent caufe of the nervous power itfelf. Why fhould it probable, to ufe no ftronger exprefiion, ^at is the
not be fo now as well as then ! Again, in the forma- peculiar province of the brain to fecrete this A^d from
tion of the embryo, we fee a vital principle exifting as the blood, and confequently that the blood ongi )
Fk.cd
it were at large, and forming to itfelf a kind of regu¬
lator to its own motions, or a habitation in which it
choofes to relide, rather than to acl at random in the
fluid. This habitation, or regulator, was undoubtedly
the nervous fyftem, and continues fo to this moment ;
but at the fame time, it is no lefs evident that a nutri¬
tious fluid was the immediate origin of thefe fame nerves,
and of that very nervous fluid. Now we know, that the
fluid which in the womb nouriflies the bodies of all em¬
bryo animals, is neceffarily equivalent to the blood which
nouriflies the bodies of adult ones j and confequently,
as foon as the blood became the only nutritious juice of
the body, at that fame time the vital or nervous fluid
took up its refidence there, and from the blood diffufed
itfelf along the nerves, where it was regulated exaftly
according to the model originally formed in the em¬
bryo. Perhaps it may be faid, that the vital power,
when once it hath taken poffeflion of the human or any
other body, requires no addition or fupply, but conti¬
nues there in the fame quantity from firft to laft. If
we fuppofe the nervous power to be immaterial, this
will indeed be the cafe, and there is an end of reafon-
ing upon the fubjeft } but if we call this power a vola¬
tile and elaftic fluid, it is plain that there will be more
occafion for recruits to fuch a power than to any other
fluid of the body, as its volatility and elafticity will
promote its efcape in great quantities through every
part of the body. It may alfo be obje&ed, that it is
abfurd to fuppofe any fluid, or mechanical caufe, capa¬
ble of putting matter in fuch a form as to diredl its
own motions in a particular way : but even of this we
have a pofitive proof in the cafe of the eleftric fluid.
For if any quantity of this matter has a tendency to
go from one place to another where it meets with dif¬
ficulty, through the air for inftance, it will throw fmall
conducing lubftances before it, in order to facilitate its
progrefs. Alfo, if a number of fmall and light con¬
ducing fubflances are laid between two metallic bo¬
dies, fo as to form a circle, for example ; a fhock of
ele&ricity will deftroy that circle, aiy! place the fmall
conduCing fubftances nearer to a ftraight line between
the two metals, as if the fluid knew there was a fhorter
paflage, and refolved to take that, if it fliould have oc-
f See Ehc- cafion to return f. Laftly, it is univerfally allowed,
that the brain is a fecretory organ, made up of an in¬
finite number of fmall glands, which have no other ex-
cretories than the medullary fibres and nerves. As a
confiderable quantity of blood is carried to the brain,
and the minute arteries end in thefe fmall glands, it fol¬
low’s, that the fluid, whatever it is, muft come from the
blood. Now, there is no gland whatever, in the hu¬
man, or any other body, but will difcharge the fluid it
Is appointed to fecrete, in a very confiderable quantity, it
its excretory is cut. Upon the cutting of a nerve,
therefore, the fluid fecreted by the brain ought to be
difcharged; but no fuch difcharge is vifible. A fmall
quantity of glairy matter is indeed difcharged from the
large nerves j but this can be no other than the nutri¬
tious juice neceflary for their fupport. This makes it
plain, even to demonftration, that the fluid fecreted in
the brain is invifible in its nature ; and as we know' the
trkity.
contains the vital principle. r .
After it is allowed that the blood contains the vital Viv.fymg
principle, it becomes another queftion not very eafily
folved, Whence is this vital principle derived «r derived
this we can only difcover two fources 5 namely, the chylefrom thfi
or aliment from which the blood is prepared, and re-air.
fpiration. The latter hath been commonly held as the
principal fource of the vital principle ; and, for a long
time, it was generally thought that there was a kind
vivifying fpirit in the air, w’hich being abforbed b} the
blood at each infpiration, communicated to that fluid
the quality neceffary for preferving animal life. As a
proof of this it wTas urged, that life cannot be fupported
without refpiration, and that air which hath been often
breathed ceafes to be capable of fupporting life > be-
caufe when once it has been totally deprived of its vi¬
vifying fpirit, it can communicate none to the blood in 23
any fubfequent refpirations.—This doftrine, however, This doc-
hath been denied, and generally thought to be explo-^ tor^
ded by modern difcoveries. Dr Hales brings feveralgenerally
experiments againft it 5 of which the following may denied,
ferve for a fpecimen, and which w'e fliall give in his own
words. _ ^4 ?
“ I tied a middled-fized dog alive on a table, and,Dr «aks^
having laid bare his wind-pipe, I cut it afunder jufi ^e'a vi-
low the larynx, and fixed fall to it the fmall end of avffying
common foflfetthe other end of the foflet had a large ipirit, Sta-
bladder tied to it, w hich contained 162 cubic inches ; tkal EJfays,
and to the other end of the bladder was tied the greater »• P-
end of another foflet whofe orifice was covered with a255'
valve which opened inwards, fo as to admit any air that
was blowm into the bladder, but none could return that
way j yet, for further fecurity, that paflage was alfo
flopped by a fpigot.
“ As foon as the firft foflet was tied faft to the wind¬
pipe, the bladder was blowm full of air through the
other foflet; when the dog had breathed the air in the
bladder to and fro for a minute or two, he then breathed
very faft, and (bowed great uneafinefs, as being almoft
fuffocated.
“ Then with my hand I prefled the bladder hard, fo
as to drive the air into his lungs wfith fome force , and
thereby make his abdomen rife by the preflure of the
diaphragm, as in natural breathings; then taking alter¬
nately my hand oflt the bladder, the lungs with the ab¬
domen fubfided : I continued in this manner to make
the dog breathe for an hour ; during which time, I was
obliged to blow frefli air into the bladder every five
minutes, three parts in four of that air being either
abforbed by the vapours in the lungs, or efcaping
through the ligatures upon my prefling hard on the
bladder.
“ During this hour, the dog W'as frequently near
expiring, w'henever I prefied the air but weakly into his
lungs 5 as I found by his pulfe, which was very plain to
be felt in the great crural artery near the groin, which
place an affiftant held his finger on moft part of the
time : but the languid pulfe w'as accelerated fo as to
beat faft, foon after I dilated the lungs much by pref-
fing hard upon the bladder } efpecially when the mo-»
tion of the lungs was promoted by prefling alternately
5 B 3 the
Blood.
25
Dr Pricft-
ley’s opi¬
nion.
B L O [ 748
the abdomen and the bladder, whereby both the con-
•tiaiSlion and dilatation of the lungs was increafed.
“ -And I could by this means roufe the languid pulfe
whenever I pleafed, not only at the end of every five
minutes, wdien more air was blown into the bladder
from a man’s lungs, but alfo towards the end of the five
minutes, when the air was fullefl of fumes.
At the end of the hour, I intended to try whe¬
ther I could have by the fame means kept the dog a-
hve fome time longer, when the bladder was filled with
the fumes of burning brimftone ; but being obliged to
ceafe for a little time from preffing the air into his
lungs, while matters were preparing for this additional
experiment, in the mean time the dog died, which
might otherwife have lived longer if 1 had continued
to force the air into the lungs.
Now, though this experiment -was fo frequently
chfturbed, hy being obliged to blow more air into the
bladder 1 2 times during the hour* yet fince he was al-
moft fuflfocated in lefs than two minutes, by breathing
of himfelf to and fro the firft air in the bladder, he
would have died in lefs than two minutes when one-
fourth of the old air remained in the bladder immedi¬
ately to taint the new air admitted from a man’s lungs j
fo that his continuing to live through the whole hour
muft be owing to the forcible dilatation of the lungs
by compreffing the bladder, and not to the vivifying
fpirit of the air.” ' 6
Dr Prieftley at firft concluded from his own obfer-
vations, and no doubt very juftly, that air which hath
been often breathed becomes pernicious by its accumu¬
lated phlogifton, ftimulating the lungs, and making
the animal fall into convulfions. Refpiration, there¬
fore, he fuppofed to be a phlogiftic procefs, in which
the blood parts with its fuperfluous phlogifton. Pie
did not fay, that the blood receives nothing in ex¬
change ; but rather that it may receive fome nitrous
principle, which gives it the red colour ; but as to
a vivifying fpirit, he doth not appear to have the leaft
idea of any fuch thing being received at that time.
Nay, in his firft volume, p. 277. he exprefsly adopts
the other hypothefis, namely, that the vital principle
is received from the chyle. “ My conje&ure (fays he)
is, that animals have a power of converting phlogifton,
from the ftate in which they receive it in their nutri¬
ment, into that ftate in which it is called the eleRriccil
fluid; that the brain, befides its other proper ufes, is
the great laboratory and repofitory for this purpofe ;
that by means of the nerves this great principle, thus
exalted, is direfted into the mufcles, and forces them
to a6l in the fame manner as they are forced into
aftion when the eledlric fluid is thrown in them ab
extra."
Thefe theories were oppofed in the former edition
i*ncPonc]nent °f thiS W°rk‘ W5th .r?gard t0 I)r Hales’s opinion,
that the want of elafticity, or preflure, is the reafon
why phlogirticated air cannot fupport animal life, we
apprehended it to be totally inconclufive, becaufe it
doth not at all appear that phlogifticated air wants
elafticity ; on the contrary, from Dr Prieftley’s ex¬
periments it appears to be more elaftic than common
air. Eefides, wre know- that the elafticity of every fluid
inuft always be in proportion to the preffure upon it, as
reaction is always equal to aftion. Suppofing there¬
fore the elafticity of any portion of ab to be deftroyed
26
Dr Hales’s
five.
I B L O
the preflure of the fuperincumbent atmofphere will re- Blood.
duce it into a proportionably lefs bulk, and then it is '    
equally elaftic with the reft j for if it was not, it would
behove it ftill to yield under the preflure. Hence we
may lee, that as the bladder made ufe of in Dr Hales’s
experiment was by no means fufficient to keep off the
preflure of the external atmofphere, the death of the
dog could not be fairly afcribed to want of elafticity in
the tainted air. W hen he applied more force than the
natural elafticity of the air, he kept the dog a/ive, as he
calls it, for an hour; but we can by no means allow a
mechanical circulation of the blood to be life, any more
than we can allow a dead body to be alive on account of
tne motion of its arm or any other member by mecha¬
nical means. The experiment, how ever, is valuable, be¬
caufe it fliows that refpiration is one of the immediate
mechanical agents by w hich the circulation of the blood
is carried on j but in order to prove that the dog was
really kept alive by this means, he ought to have re¬
covered from the eftefts of the experiment. Had Dr
Hales tried a fimilar experiment on himfelf, by takino-
the foflet in his mouth, doling his noftrils, and caufing
another perfon comprefs the bladder, we have not the
leaft doubt that he would then have felt fuch a method
of breathing not to be a way of preferving life, but of
deftroying it.
t°iDy Ihieftley’s conclufions, it was argued, that Cauf/of
though he found air diminiflied by admitting phlo-the dimintr-
guton to it, Dr Prieftley finds the mere acceflion of any t‘on °f air
material fubftance can never diminifh, but muft increafe by
its bulk. The diminution, therefore, on the acceflion of ft°n’ &C*
phlogifton, is an evident proof that fome part of the air
is actually taken away. That the phlogifton received
is not incorporated with the air is likewife evident, as
well as that it takes up fpace in the tainted air, ’be¬
caufe, by agitation in water,^ the phlogiftic matter fe-
parates from the air, and enters into the water. The
confequence of this is, that the air is ftill farther dimi-
nilhed in bulk 5 and what remains is pure air, fit for
fupporting animal life, and of being farther diminilhed
by phlogifton as before. It appears alfo certain, that
phlogifton is not endowed with any inherent power bv
which it can expand itfelf; otherwife it would fly off
in vacuo, which h never is known to do. Another cir-
cumftance we muft alfo attend to is, that the atfion of
phlogifton feems to be entirely confined to a particular
part of the atmofphere ; namely, that which is now' fo
well known by the name of fxed air. This it entire¬
ly deprives of its elaftic principle, fo that it is afluallv
no longer air, but becomes a folid |»bfiance, making
a part, and that no inconfiderable one, of innumerable
terreftrial fubftances, as chalk, limeftone, &c.”
I hat the juftnefs of the conclufion about to be
drawn from Dr Prieftley’s experiments may be more
apparent, the phenomena were fummed up in the two
following propofitions. “ 1. Phlogifton cannot aft by
itfelf without the affiftance of air. 2. The emiflion of
phlogifton is attended with the total deftruaion of the
elafticity of a certain quantity of fixed air, w hich then 2.
ceafes to be fluid. Hence we affirm, that it is not the Why a
phlogiftic fubftance which ads upon the air, but the
elaftic principle in the fixed air contained in the com- fuhitance
mon atmofphere that ads on the phlogiftieTubftance.
I bis elaftic ^principle, entering the phlogiftic body, iton.
dilplaces a quantity of phlogifton equivalent to its own
quantity,
B L O
mg princi¬
ple from
the air.
Blood, quantity, and takes its place j and hence proceeds the
T" » """ " firft diminution of the air, not from an acceffion of
phlogifton, but from an efcape of the elaftic principle
belonging to fixed air. The phlogifton and fixed par¬
ticles of the air now hang loofe like fmoke or vapour,
and are ready to be attra&ed by any thing capable of
imbibing them ; and hence proceeds the fecond dimi-
29 nution by agitation in water.
Proof of a “ Now to apply this reafoning to the point inqueftion:
theTvivif ^The bl°0d is found to emit phlogifton from the lungs
mz princi- at every exfpiration : therefore we affirm it hath recei¬
ved a proportional quantity of elaftic vapour which it
had not before. Again : The air expelled from the
lungs is found to contain much of the fixable part
floating loofe, and capable ®f being attracted by lime-
water, &c. ; therefore we fay, this elaftic principle hath
come from that part of the atmofphere. But, to put
the matter beyond doubt, the very infpeftion of arte¬
rial and venous blood will fhow, that the firft hath a
quantity of elaftic matter in it which the laft wants :
and as the brain as well as all other parts of the body
are fupplied with arterial blood, we think it abundantly
evident, that this elaftic principle is abfolutely and ef-
fentially neceffary to life ; that it is continually expend¬
ed thereon j and that it may be faid with the utmoft
propriety, that every time we draw the air into our
lungs, we receive a portion of vivifying or vital fpirit
from it into our blood. ' ikdd to all this, that many
fubftances which are commonly obferved to phlogifti-
cate air, appear to receive an elaftic fpirit by fo doing.
Putrefying bodies fwell: they would not do fo in va¬
cuo ; and therefore we muft: conclude, that they re¬
ceive this elaftic principle which fwells them from the
external air 5 and experience (hows that it is commu¬
nicated by this fixable part of the atmofphere.
“ The foregoing reafoning, which to us appeared
fufficiently conclufive, leads to a very important difco-
very in natural philofophy, viz. That it is to the at¬
mofphere, and to that particular part of it which goes
by the name of f.xed air, that Xve are every moment in¬
debted for that vital fpirit which animates our bodies,
and is the immediate bond of union betwixt our imma¬
terial fpirit and this vifible world. It may be alked in¬
deed, If fixed air is capable of fupplying this fpirit in
fuch plenty, how comes it to be fo inftantaneoufly fatal
when breathed ? The reply to this, hoxvever, is obvious:
it communicates too great a degree of elafticity to the
blood ; whence the circulation is flopped, and inftant
death enfues. That this is really the cafe, appears
from the following account of the fymptoms obferved
on the difleftion of perfons who have been fuffocated
by this kind of air.
“ x. The veiTels of the brain are gorged with blood,
and the ventricles of that vifcus are filled fometimes
with a frothy, fometimes with a bloody, ferofity. 2. The
trunk of the pulmonary artery is much diftended, and
the lungs appear nearly in a natural ftate. 3. The
fight ventricle and auricle of the heart, the venae cavae,
t*“ lC lon °^and jugular veins, are full of frothy blood. 4. Bloody
ferofity is often found in the bronchiae. 5. The trunk
of the pulmonary veins, and the left auricle, are either
empty, or almoft empty, of blood. 6. The blood
found in the places that have been mentioned is gene¬
rally fluid, and as it were in a diffolved ftate. It is
cafjly extravafated into the cellular texture, of the head
[ 749 1
B L O
30 -
Ob] eft ion
anfwered.
Mdinburah
Medical
Comment.
V0l. iii.
p. 256.
31
Appear
thofe fuffo
cated by
fixed air.
particularly, becaufe it is in this part that it abounds Blood,
moft. 7. The epiglottis in fuffocated perfons is raifed, ’
and the glottis open and free. 8. The tongue is much
fwelled, and can hardly be contained within the mouth.
9. The eyes protrude, and preferve their luftre to the
fecond or third day. They are often even brighter than
natural. 10. The body preferves its heat for a long
time. Nay the heat is fometimes greater than it is du¬
ring life, or at leaft confiftently with health. 11. The
limbs are flexible for a long time after death. 12. 7'he
face is more fwelled, and often more red than ufual.
13. The neck and upper extremities are fometimes fo
much fwelled, that they appear to be inflamed. Thefe
fwellings, however, do not, like cedematous ones, pre¬
ferve the impreflions of the finger. ^
“ This account feemed fo much in favour of what we Fixed air
had already advanced concerning the action of fixed iuPPc^e^
air, that no obfervation was made upon it farther than of animal
that this elaftic principle would feem alfo to be the heat,
caufe of animal-heat; for as the blood evidently re¬
ceived a vaft quantity of elaftic fluid, it alfo received a
much greater proportion of heat than ufual.”
Such was the mode of reafoning adopted at thatThis theory^
time, derived from the difcoveries which had been made001,1^^”
in Aerology. Succeeding difcoveries, however, have
made it evident, that fixed air is not one of the natural
component parts of our atmofphere, but that it con-
fifts of two different fluids •, one of which has been
called phlogijlicated, the other dephlogijiicated, air. It
is the latter which fupplies the vital principle 5 and the
above reafoning ftill holds good, only fubftituting the
words dcphlogifticated air for fixed air. The poifonous
quality of the latter feems alfo ftill to depend on its too
eafy decompofition •, by which means the elaftic prin¬
ciple is difcharged into the blood in fuch quantity as
to burft the fmall veffels, as has already been obferved.
This is fttown indeed by the remedies moft proper for
the recovery of thofe who have fuffered from the noxi¬
ous qualities of fixed air. Thefe confift in evacuation,
and efpecially fprinkling the body with cold water, in
order to take off the fuperfluous heat, and produce an
univerfal contraftion of the veffels.
It now remains only to give fome account of the
means by which the circulation of the blood is carried ^
on in the living body. From the time of Harvey till Circulation
very lately, this was luppofed to be chiefly the mufcu- t^ie
lar power of the heart and arteries, which by fome phy-!lovvcarnet* ■
fiologifts have been thought to be prodigioufly great \
and accordingly many calculations, requiring no fmall
degree of mathematical knowledge to underftand them,
have been made of the forces requifite to perform this
circulation. Other phyfiologifts, however, have thought
proper to take in feveral auxiliary helps, as the motion
of the mufcles, refpiration, &c. and from Dr Hales’s
experiment above mentioned, it appears that refpira¬
tion hath a confiderable influence in this matter. It
cannot, however, be the foie caufe, feeing the circula¬
tion is carried on in animals which do not refpire. In
1773, Dr Wilfon, in the lefiure already quoted, fug-
gefted a new principle of motion, which we believe was
never ufed before to account for the circulation of ani¬
mal fluids. It is ftiortly this : “ As the fluids of theNew^hypo-
human body do all of them fuffer a continual wafte, andtllefis By
confequently require a conftant fupply in proportion,^ Wiil'cn,
we muft look upon their going out of the body to be”
the
B L O
[ 75
Blood, tile end of their motion, and on their entering into the
,"""v Tr™'1 body to be the beginning of it; and hence we are to
look for the origin of all the motion of the fluids in
, that part of the fyftem where the new fnpplies are ta¬
ken in. This is the primse vise, where the ladteals ab-
forb a fluid from the digeited aliment, and convey it
into the blood. The power by which this is accom-
plilhed, is neceffarily independent of the heart, as having
not the lead connedlion with it. It has been faid to be
the fame with that which caufes fluids rife in thecapillary
tubes j but though very probably the powers in both
cafes may be the fame, there is this remarkable diffe¬
rence between them, that in the capillary tubes the
fluids only rife to a certain height, and will not rife at
all unlefs the tubes are empty. In the la&eals they
rife in veffels already full, and continue to do fo. Nei¬
ther is the force whereby this abforption is performed
to be accounted little •, feeing the fupply by the chyle
muft conftantly be equal to the wade which is conti¬
nually taking place in the fluids already contained in
the veffels. We fee alfo with what force an abforp¬
tion of this kind fometimes takes place in other cafes j
thus ropes will abforb water with fuch drength as to
raife immenfe weights fadened to them, and which no
mechanical inje&ion of water into fmall tubes could
poflibly accomplifh. What is already faid of the lac-
teals applies alfo to the lymphatics j and from thence
-we are almod tempted to conclude, that the cafe is the
fame with the fanguiferous veins alfo ; that though
there may be a continuation of fome arteries into the
veins correfponding with them, yet that for the mod
part thefe veffels extravafate the blood into fmall cavi¬
ties, which is then taken up by the abforbent power of
the veins, and returned to the heart.
“ If, however, the veffels continued abfolutely full,
it would be impodible that any motion could be carried
on in them ; and to continue and regulate the circula¬
tion, the heart with its cavities is provided. Let us
fuppofe, that by the above-mentioned power the veins
are all full, and the auricles or chambers into which
the veins empty themfelves are full alfo ; where is the
collefted dream in the veins to go next ? There is no
room for more in the auricle. What mud be done ?
The auricle contrafts and empties itfelf. The confe-
quence is a hidden vacuum equal to what the auricle
could contain *, the turgid veins, urged by the abforb-
ing power above-mentioned, rufli their contents into
the auricle to fill up the vacuum again ; and all behind
moving in the venous direftion advances forward with
fo much force, that the veins near the heart fudain a
pulfation from the regurgitation of the impetuous
dream, when the auricle ihuts upon it to empty itfelf.
In fhort, the full auricle occupies a determinate quan¬
tity of fpace in the bread : when it is emptied, there
is a non-refiding vacuum of fo much fpace as wras full
before, and thither there is a mechanical nifus from the
remoted filament of a vein over the whole body, which
becomes confpicuous in the torrent that ruflies every
other moment from the mouth of the vena cava into
this vacuum.”
This is a fliort abdrafl of Dr Wilfon’s new theory
of the circulation. According to him, this abforbing
power of the veins is the principal agent, while the
heart and arteries do no more than empty themfelves
pf the blood with which they are filled by the veins.
z
o ] B L O
Even this caufe, however, he fays, would not be fuffi- Blood,
cient to carry on the circulation for a Angle moment,
without the prefence of another which he calls /(fe, and
does not confider as abfolutely unmechanical, though
we cannot reduce it either to mechanical rules or ideas.
But as we apprehend all (peculations concerning fuch
caufes mud be arbitrary and without foundation, we
forbear to give any account of the Dodtor’s opinions on
this fubjedh
It hath been a general opinion, that blood, as it exids B]00d con.
in the bodies of animals, contains a confiderable quan- tains no air
tity of common air; and indeed it is certain, that blood,
after it has been drawn from the veins of any animal,
and afterwards placed under the receiver of an air-pump,
yields a very confiderable quantity of air upon exhaud-
ing the receiver: but if a portion of any blood-veffel
is tied up fo as to prevent the efcape of its contents,
and then cut out of the body and placed under a re¬
ceiver, it will not fwell, or fliow the lead fign of its con¬
taining any quantity of air whatever.
Blood was formerly held in great edeem as a medi- Metficinai
cine for fome particular difeafes. Baths of the blood of and other
infants have been recommended as an infallible remedy ufes of
for the elephantiafis, &c.; and the blood of goats and^kod.
fome other animals was ufed by the Galenids, and is
recommended even by Dr Mead in pleurifies : but the
firff abominable medicine, as well as the other, is now
defervedly exploded. The principal ufe of blood in
the arts is for making Pruflian blue, or fometimes for
clarifying certain liquors; it is alfo recommended in
agriculture as an excellent manure for fruit-trees. A
mixture of blood with lime makes an exceedingly drong
cement; and hence it is of ufe in the preparation of fome
chemical lutes, the making floors*, &c. As a food, * See Ar¬
il hath been difputed whether blood really affords any chitc&urn
nourifhment or not. The bed judges now, however, n° II<J*
are generally agreed that it is very nutritious ; and
though out of the body, like the white of an egg, it is
very infoluble, yet, like that too, in the body it is com¬
monly of eafy digedion. It is, however, highly alka-
lefcent in hot climates : on which account the prohibi¬
tion of it to the Ifraelites was very proper. Even in
this country, when blood was ufed as food in great quan¬
tity, the fcurvy was more frequent than at other times ;
but to a moderate ufe of it here no fuch objection
takes place.
In fome countries, we are told that the barbarians
were accudomed to intoxicate themfelves by drinking
the warm blood of animals; and as it has been fliown
that this fluid is the immediate refervoir of the vi¬
tal principle, it feems by no means improbable that
it may be poffeffed of an inebriating quality. Some
expreffrons in Scripture feem to countenance this hy-
pothefis.
Re/igious ufes of Blood. Among the ancients blood
was ufed for the fealing and ratifying covenants and al¬
liances, which was done by the contra&ing parties
drinking a little of each others blood ; and for appea¬
ling the manes of the dead ; in order to which blood
was offered on their tombs as part of the funeral cere¬
mony.
The blood of vidtims was anciently the portion of
the gods; and accordingly was poured or fprinkled on
the altars in oblation to them.
The prielts made another uieof blood, viz. for divina¬
tion.;
B L O
[ 75« 1
B L O
Blood, tion : the ftreaming of blood from the earth, fire, and
v"—-'' the like, was held a prodigy or omen of evil.
The Roman priefts were not unacquainted with the
ufe of blood in miracles; they had their fluxes of blood
from images, ready to ferve a turn •, witnefs that faid
to have ftreamed from the fiatue of Minerva at Mo¬
dena, before the battle- at that place. But we know
not whether in this their fucceffors have not gone be¬
yond them. How many relations in ecclefiaftical wri¬
ters of Madonas, crucifixes, and wafers, bleeding ?
At lead the liquefaction of the blood of St Janua-
rius at Naples, repeated annually for fo many ages,
ieems to tranfcend by far all the frauds of the Grecian
or Roman priefthood. But the chemifts at lad got
into the fecret ; and we find M. Neumann at Berlin
to have performed the miracle of the liquefaftion of
dried blood, with all the circumdances of the Neapoli¬
tan experiment.
Among the fchoolmen we find a famous difpute, un¬
der Pope Pius II. whether the blood of Chrid, which
fell from him in the three days padion, retained or lod
the hypodatic union j and confequently w’hether it was
the proper objecl of adoration. The Dominicans main¬
tained the former, the Francifcans the latter. It feems
the Dominican doftrine gained the afcendant, as being
fitted to favour the profits of the monks ; who becom¬
ing poffeffed fome way or other of a few drops of this
precious liquor, wrere fecured of ample offerings from
the deluded laity, wrho docked to pay their homage to
the facred relic. Jofeph of Arimathea is faid to have
fird brought into Britain two diver veffels filled with the
blood of Chrid, wThich by his order was buried in his
tomb. King Henry III. had a crydal, containing a
portion of the fame blood, fent him by the mader of
the temple at Jerufalem, atteded with the feals of the
patriarch ; which treafure the king committed to the
church of St Peter’s Wedminder, and obtained from
the bifhops an indulgence of fix years and 116 days to
all that fhould vifit it. Mat. Paris even affures us, that
the king fummoning his nobles and prelates to cele¬
brate the fead of St Edward in St Peter’s church, was
chiefly pro veneratione JanBi Janguims ChriJH nuper
adepti, “ in veneration of the holy blood of Chrid lately
acquired.” Divers others of our monaderies were pof-
fefied of this profitable relic ; as the college of Sons
Homraes at Afliridge, arid the abbey of Hales, to v'hom
it was given by Henry, fon of Richard duke of Corn¬
wall, and king of the Romans. To it reforted a great
concourfe of peopble for devotion and adoration ; till in
>538, as the Reformation took place, it was perceived
to be only honey clarified and coloured with faf-
fron, as was diown at Paul’s crofs by the bifhop of Ro-
cheder. The like difcovery was made of the blood of
Chrid, found among the relics in the abbey of Fef-
champ in Normandy, pretended to have been preferved
by Nicodemus, when he took the body from the crofs,
and given to that abbey by William duke of Norman¬
dy : it was buried by his fon Richard, and again dif-
covered in 1171, and attended with different miracles j
but the cheat, which had been long winked at, was
at length expofed, the relation of which is given by
Speed.
Avenger of BiooDy among the Jews, was the next
of kin to the perfon murdered, who was to purfue the
murderer.
Field of
Blood,
Blood-
white.
Ecclefiaftical judges retire, when judgment is to be
given in cafes of blood, by realon the church is fuppofed
to abhor blood: it condemns no peifon to death j and
its members become irregular, or difabled from their 1
functions, by the effufion of blood.
Field of Blood, in Syriac cceldama, w-as a field pur-
chafed by the Jews with the thirty pieces of filver.
which had been given to Judas for betraying his Ma-
fter, and which he had reflorcd. It ftill ferves for a
burial-ground, in wdfich all pilgrims who die in their
pilgrimage at Jerufalem, are interred.
Blood Hounds, in 'Zoology, the canis fagax of Lin¬
naeus J, le chieti courant of Buffon, the feuthounde of the 1 See Can:?.
Scots : The hound or dog, with long, fmooth, and
pendulous ears. It was a dog of great ufe, and in
high eiteem with our anceftors: its employ was to re¬
cover any game that had efcaped wounded from the
hunter, or been killed and Hole out of the fcrefl. It
was remarkable for the acutenefs of its fmell, tracing
the loll beaft by the blood it had fpilt 5 from whence
the name is derived. This fpecies could, with the ut
moil certainty, difeover the thief by follow'ing his-
footfleps, let the diftance of his flight be ever fo great,
and through the moll fecret and thickeft coverts; nor
wmuld it ceafe its purfuit till it had taken the felon.
They were likewife ufed by Wallace and Bruce during
the civil wars. The poetical hiilorians of the two he¬
roes frequently relate very curious paffages on this fub-
je£l j of the fervice thefe dogs were of to their mafters,
and the efcapes they had from thofe of the enemy. The
blood-hound was in great requell on the confines of
England and Scotland ; where the borderers were con¬
tinually preying on the herds and flocks of their neigh¬
bours. The true blood-hound was large, llrong, muf-
cular, broad-breafted, of a Hern countenance, of a deep
tan-colour, and generally marked wuth a black fpot
above each eye.
BLooD-Shotten. SeeOphthalmja,Medicine
BiooD-Spaven. See Farriery Index.
Spitting of Blood, or Hcemopt'oe. See Medicine
Index.
Whole and Half Blood; a kinfman of the ’'whole blood
is he that is derived from the fame couple of anceftors j
whereas a perfon of half blood defeends from either of
them fingly by a fecond marriage.
Blood of Chri/l, the name of a military order infti-
tuted at Mantua in 1608. The nrnnber of knights was
reftri£ted to 20, befides the grand-mafter. Their de¬
vice was, Domine, probaJU me; or, Nihil hoc, trifle,
recepto : “ Lord, thou hall proved me j” or, “ Fortifi¬
ed by this, no evil can prevail.”
Precious Blood, a denomination give to a reformed
congregation of Bernardine nuns at Paris, firft eftablifti-
ed under that name in 1661.
Dragons Blood. See Dragon.'
BLOOD-Stone. See Haematites, Mineralogy
Index.
BtooD-Veffels. See Anatomy Index.
BiooD-White, in ancient law writers, fignifies blood,
and a cuftomary amercement paid as a compofition for
the Ihedding or drawing of blood. The word is alfo
written blodwhite, blodwita, b/odwyta, bluodv}it,blodwit,
bloudwit, and bluidiveit. It is formed from the ancient
Saxon blud, “ blood”, and vite or wife, “ a fine or pe¬
nalty”. The word alfo denotes an exemption from this
penalty,
B L O
Wood-wort, penalty, granted by the king to certain perfons and
communities as a fpecial favour. King Henry II. grant¬
ed to all tenants within the honour of Wallingford 
Ut quietijlnt.de hidagio et Llodwite etbredwite.
Bioao-Wort. See Rum ex, Botany Index.
Blood, Thomas, generally known by the appella¬
tion of Colonel Blood, was a difbanded officer of Oliver
Cromwell’s, famous for his daring crimes and his good
fortune. He was firft diftinguiffied by engaging in a
confpiracy to furprife the caftle of Dublin j which was
defeated by the vigilance of the duke of Ormond, and
lome of his accomplices were executed. Efcaping to
. England, he meditated revenge againft Ormond ; and
actually feized him one night in his coach at St James’s
flreet; where he might have finiffied his purpofe if he
had not fludied refinements in his vengeance. Pie
bound him on horfeback behind one of his affociates,
refolving to hang him at Tyburn, with a paper pin¬
ned to his bread : but, when they got into the fields,
the duke, in his efforts for liberty, threw himfelf and
the affaffin, to whom he was faftened, to the ground -,
and, while they were ftruggling in the mire, he was ref-
cued by his fervants; but the authors of this attempt
were not then difcovered. A little after, in 1671, Blood
formed a defign of carrying off the crown and regalia
from the Tower; a defign to which he has prompted,
as well by the furprifing boldnefs of the enterprife, as
by the views of profit. He was very near fucceeding.
He had bound and wounded Edwards the keeper of
the jewel-office, and had got out of the Tow'er with his
prey ; but was overtaken and feized, with fome of his
affociates. One of them was known to have been con¬
cerned in the attempt upon Ormond ; and Blood was
immediately concluded to be the ringleader. When
queftioned, he frankly avowed the enterprife ; but re-
fufed to difcoverhis accomplices. “ The fear of death
(he faid) ffiould never engage him either to deny a
guilt or betray a friend.” All thefe extraordinary cir-
cumftances made him the general fubjeft of converfa-
tion; and the king was moved with an idle curiofity
lo fee and fpeak with a perfon fo noted for his cou¬
rage and his crimes. Blood might norv efteem him-
ielf fecure of pardon ; and he wanted not addrefs to
improve the opportunity. He told Charles, that he
had been engaged, with others, in a defign to kill him
with a carabine above Batterfea, where his majefty of¬
ten went to bathe ; that the caufe of this refolution was
the feverity exercifed over the confciences of the godly,
in reftraining the liberty of their religious affemblies :
that when he had taken his Hand among the reeds, full
of thefe bloody refolutions, he found his heart checked
with an awe of majefty ; and he not only relented him-
telf, but diverted his affociates from their purpofe : that
he had long ago brought himfelf to an entire indiffer¬
ence about life, which he now gave for loft ; yet could
he not forbear warning the king of the danger which
might attend his execution : that his affociates had
bound themfelves by the ftrifteft oaths to revenge the
death of any of their confederacy ; qnd that no precau¬
tion or power could fecure any one from the effefl of
th eir defperate refolutions. Whether thefe confidera-
tions excited fear or admiration in the king, they con¬
firmed his refolution of granting a pardon to Blood ;
but he thought it a requifite point of decency firft to
.obtain the dukfc of Ormond’s confent. Arlington came
[ 752 ]
B L O
to Ormond in the king’s name, and defired that he
would not profecute Blood, for reafons which. he was
commanded to give him. The duke replied, that his
majefty s commands were the only reafon that could be
given . and being luflicient, he might therefore fpare
the reft. Charles carried lus kindnefs to Blood ftill
farther; he granted him an eftate of 500!. a year in
Ireland ; he encouraged his attendance about his per¬
fon ; he ftiowed him great countenance ; and many ap¬
plied to him for promoting their pretenfions at court.
And while old Edwards, who had bravely ventured his
life, and had been wounded, in defending the crown
and regalia, was forgotten and negle&ed, this man,
who deferved only to be flared at and detefted as a mon-
ller, became a kind of favourite. Blood enjoyed his
penfion about ten years, till being charged with fixing
an imputation of a fcandalous nature mn the duke of
Buckingham, he was thrown into prifon, where he died
Auguft 24. iG#o.
BLOODY, fomething belonging to or abounding
with blood.
Bloodi-FIux. See Medicine Index.
Bloody-hand is when a trefpaffer is apprehended in
a foreft with his hands or other parts bloody; which
is a circumftance of his having killed the deer, though
he be not found chafing or hunting them.
Bloody Ram. See Rain.
Bloody Sweat. Many inftances of this are recorded,
in which it has been owing to bodily diforder, or ex¬
treme mental agitation and agony. See particularly
Ariftotle’s Hift. Animal, lib. iii. cap. 19. apud Oper.
tom. i. Thuanus Hift. Temp. &c. lib. ii. apud Oper.
tom. i. Melanges d’ Hiftoire et de Literature, &c. par
M. V. Marville, tom. iii. p. 149. Afla Phyfico-Med.
Norimbergae, vol. i. p. 84. and vol. viii. p. 428.
BLOODY-Ujine. See Medicine Index.
BLOOM, a mafs of iron after having undergone the
firft hammering called blomary. It has yet to under¬
go many hammerings before it become iron fit for the
Imith’s ufe, and be firft made what they call the an-
cony. See Ancony.
BLOOT, Peter, a Flemiffi painter, whofe wmrks
are not frequently feen in thefe kingdoms; nor are
they eafily purchaied in Holland, being carefully pre-
ferved in private colle&ions, and are highly efteemed.
The fubje&s he chofe to paint wrere always taken from
the lowed: life ; fuch as boors drinking, feafting, dan¬
cing, or quarreling ; ffiepherds piping, and fome-
times the marriages of villagers. He w'as a faithful,
and indeed too fervile an imitator of nature ; never de¬
parting from the a&ions, attitudes, or draperies of his
models. He ftiowed a good knowledge of the chiaro-
fcuro and perfpe&ive ; he had a delicate manner of
penciling, and his colouring was mellow ; but he had
no idea of elegance : yet his piftures have in many
refpefts great merit, and his defeats feem rather im¬
putable to the tafte of his country than to his owm ge¬
nius ; fome of his wmrks being for the lightnefs of
the touch, the neatnefs of handling, and tranfparence
of colour, equal to the beft of his time. He died in
1667.
BLOSSOM, in a general fenfe, denotes the flower
of any plant. See the article Flower.
Blossom, in a more proper fenfe, is reftrained to
the flowers of trees which they put forth in the fpring
and
Bloody
, 11
Bloftbm.
B L O
Blount.
Bloflbm as tKe forerunners of their fruit, otherwife called their
bloojn. The office of the bloflbm is partly to proteft,
, and partly to draw nourifhment to, the embryo fruit
or feed.
Blossomy or Beach-coloured, in the manege, a term
applied to a horfe that has his hair white, but inter¬
mixed all over with forrel and bay hairs. Such horfes
are fo infenfible and hard both in the mouth and the
flanks, that they are fcarcely valued 5 belides they are
apt to turn blind.
BLOSSOMING of Plants, the aft of blowing,
or putting forth flowers or bloffbms, called alfo flower¬
ing. The bloflbming of the Claftonbury thorn pioufly
on Chrilfmas-day morning, is a vulgar error ; owing
to this, that the plant, befides the ufual bloffoming
in the fpring, fometimes puts forth a few white tran-
fient bloflbms in the middle of winter. For the blof¬
foming of the rofe of Jericho on the fame day, as it is
commonly held in England, or in the time of midnight
mafs, as it is held in France, is fomewhat more than
an error, being really a fraud on one fide, and a fuper-
flition on the other. This rofe, whofe leaves are only
clofed and fhrivelled up in winter, will, at any time,
upon letting its pedicle in water, expand and bloffom
a-new ; becaufe the pedicle being fpongy imbibes the
fluid apace, and thus fills and fwells out the fhrivelled
leaves : which property fome monks have turned to
good account.
BLOTELING, or Blooteling, Abraham, an
engraver who flourifhed about the year 1672. He
was a native of Amfterdam, and defigned as well as
engraved. From the ftyleof his etchings, which have
great merit, he is fuppofed to have frequented the
fchool of the Viffchers. He came into England about
the year 1672, or 1673, at the time the French in¬
vaded Holland ; but he did not refide there long. He
not only etched, but alfo feraped, feveral mezzotintos,
which were much efteemed. Vertue informs us, that
whilft he was in England, he received 30 guineas for
an etching of the duke of Norfolk. From hence he
returned to Amfterdam, where, in all probability, he
died. In the year 1685, he publifhed at Amfterdam
the gems of Leonardo Auguftino, and etched the plates
himfelf.
BLOUNT, Thomas, a learned Englifli writer of
the 17th century, born at Bordefley in Worcefterfhire.
He had not the advantage of an univerfity education j
but, by ftrength of genius and great application,
made a confiderable progrefs in literature. Upon the
breaking out of the popilh plot in the reign of King
Charles II. being much alarmed on account of his be¬
ing a zealous Roman Catholic, he was feized with a pal-
fy j and died in December 1679, a£ed 61. He wrote,
I. The Academy of Eloquence, containing a complete
Englifh rhetoric. 2. Glofibgraphia, or a diftionary in¬
terpreting fuch hard words, whether Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, Italian, &c. as are now ufed in our refined
Englifh tongue, &c. 3. Bofcobel; or the Hiftory of
his Majefty’s Efcape after the Battle of Worcefter.
4. A law diftionary. 5. Animadverfions upon Sir
Richard Baker’s chronicle. 6. Fragmenta Antiquitatis;
and other works.
Blount, Sir Henry, an Englifh writer, born at
his father’s feat in Hertfordfhire in 1602. After a
regular education, he fet out on his travels in 1634..
Vol. III. Part II.
C 753 1
B L O
He became acquainted with a janizary at Venice, and
accompanied him into the Turkifh dominions. Having
been abroad two years, he returned and publifhed a
relation of his travels in the Levant, which went
through feveral editions. He was knighted by Char. I.
and was at the battle of Edge-hill, at which time
he is fuppofed to have had the charge of the young
princes 5 but, after the king’s death, was employed by
the parliament, and by Cromwell. Yet after the re-
ftoration of the royal family he was appointed high
fheriff of the county of Hertford, and from that time
lived as a private gentleman above 20 years. He
publifhed, 1. An account of his travels. 2. Six co¬
medies written by John Lilly, under the title of Court
Comedies. 3. The Exchange Walk, a fatire ; and 4.
An Epiftle in praife of Tobacco. He died Oftober
9th 1682.
Blount, Sir Thomas Pope, baronet, an eminent
writer, and the eldeft fon of the former, was born at
Upper Holloway, in the county of Middlefex, Septem¬
ber 12th 1649. He was educated under the eye of
his father 5 and always diftinguifhed himfelf as a lover
of liberty, a fincere friend to his country, and a true
patron of learning. He wras advanced to the degree
of baronet by King Charles II. in whofe reign he was
elefted burgefs for St Alban’s in two parliaments,
and wras knight of the fliire in three parliaments af¬
ter the Revolution. He wrote in Latin, 1. A cri¬
tique on the moft celebrated writers. 2. Effays on fe¬
veral fubjefts. 3. A natural hiftory, extrafted out of
the beft modern writers ; and, 4. Remarks upon poetry,
with charafters and cenfures of the moft confiderable
poets, whether ancient or modern. He died June 30th
1697.
Blount, Charles, younger brother of Sir Thomas
Pope Blount, had alfo an excellent capacity, and was
an eminent writer. His Anima Mundi, or An Hif-
toncal narration o f the opinions of the ancients, concern¬
ing man's foul after this life, according to unenlightened
nature, gave great offence, and was complained of to
the bifhop of London. But the work wdiich render¬
ed him moft known, was his tranflation of Philoftra-
tus’s Life of Apollonius Tyanaus, publifhed in 1680 ;
which was foon fuppreffed, as an attack on revealed
religion. Another work of the fame complexion
he publifhed the fame year, called Gi'eat is Diana of
the Epheflans, &c. in which, under colour of expofing
fuperftition, he ftruck at revelation. In 1648. be print¬
ed a kind of IntroduElion to Polite Literature. In the
warmth of his zeal for the Revolution, he wrote a pamph¬
let to prove King William and Queen Mary conquer¬
ors j which was condemned to be burnt by both houfes
of parliament. The clofe of his life was very unhap¬
py. For, after the death of his wife, he became ena¬
moured of her fifter, who was only fcrupulous againft
their union on account of their prior connexion by
the marriage. On this fubjeft he wrote a letter, as
the cafe of a third perfon, with great learning and ad-
drefs. But the archbifhop of Canterbury and other
divines deciding againft him, and the lady on this grow¬
ing inflexible, threw him into a frenzy in which he
fhot himfelf, in 1693. After his death, his mifccllane-
ous pieces were collefted and publifhed.
BLOW, Dr John, a famous mufician and compo-
fer was born in 1648 at North Collingham in the
5 county
Blount,
Blow.
B L O r 754 ] B L U
^low, county of Nottingham ; and was one of the firft fet of
c^^^ren after the Reftoration, being bred up under Cap-
tain Henry Cook. He was alfo a pupil of Hingefton,
organift to Oliver Cromwell, and after that of Hr
Chriftopher Gibbons. On the 16th day of March,
1673, he was fworn one of the gentlemen of the cha¬
pel in the room of Roger Hill; and in July 1674, up¬
on the deceafe of Mr Pelham Humphrey, was appoint¬
ed mailer of the children of the chapel. In 1685, lie
was made one of his majelty’s private mufic j and in
1687, was appointed almoner and mafter of the chori-
fters ot the cathedral church of St Paul. Blow was
not a graduate of either univerlity j but Archbilhop San-
croft, in virtue of his own authority in that refpeft,
conferred on him the degree of do&or in mufic, Up¬
on the deceaie of Purcell in 169^, he became organift
of Weftminfter-abbey. In the year 1699, he was ap¬
pointed compofer to his majefty, with a falary. Blow
rvas a compofer of anthems while a chapel-boy, and
on the icore of his merit, was diftinguifhed by Charles
II. The king admired very much a little duet of
Cariflimi to the words ‘ Hite o Cieli,’ and afked of
Blow if he could imitate it. Blorv modeftly anfvvered
he would try 5 and compoled in the fame meafure, and
the fame key of H with a minor third, that fine fong,
‘ Go perjured man.’ The Orpheus Britannicus of Pur¬
cell had been publifhed by his widow foon after his de¬
ceafe ; and contained in it fome of that author’s fineft
longs: the favourable reception it met with was a mo¬
tive with Blow to the publication in the year 1700, of
a work of the fame kind, entitled Ampkion Anglicus,
containing compofitions for one, two, three, and four
voices, with accompaniments of inftrumental mufic, and
a thorough bale figured for the organ, harpfichord,
or theorbolute. To this book are prefixed commen¬
datory verfes by firndry perfons j and among them
an ode, in the fecond flanza of which are the follow¬
ing lines :
‘ His Gloria Patri long ago reach’d Rome,
‘ Sung and rever’d too in St Peter’s dome 5
4 A canon will outlive her jubilees to come.’
rf he canon here meant is that fine one to which the
Gloria Patri in Hr Blowr,s gamut fervice is fet. Hr
Blow' fet to mufic an ode for St Cecilia’s day, in 1684,
the words by Mr Oldham, publifhed together with one
of Purcell on the fame occafion performed the pre¬
ceding year. He alfo compofed and publilhed a col-
leftion of leiTons for the harpfichord or fpinet, and
an ode on the death of Purcell, w’ritten by Mr Bry-
den. There are alfo extant of his compofition fundry
hymns printed in the Harmoma Sacra, and a great
number of catches in the latter editions of the Mufical
Companion. This great mufician died in the year
*708, and lies buried in the north aille of Weft¬
minfter-abbey. On his monument is the canon above
mentioned, engraven on a book with an infeription
above it.
Blow, in a general fenfe, denotes a flroke given
either with the hand, a weapon, or inftrument. In fen¬
cing, blows differ from thrufts, as the former are given
by ftriking, the latter by pufhing.
Military Blow, alapa tnilitaris, that given with a
fword on the neck or fhoulder of a candidate for
knighthood, in the ceremony of dubbing him. The
cyltom feems to have taken its rife from the ancient ce¬
remony of manumiffion. In giving the blow', the prince Blow
ufed the formula EJIo bonus miles, “ Be a valiant fol- H
dierupon which the party rofe a complete knight, ■ P‘luR'er‘
and qualified to bear arms in his own right. v
Blow, in Law. See Battery.
Fly-Biows, the ova of flies depofited on flefli, or
other fubftances proper for hatching them.
Biow-Pipe, in Chemiftry and Mineralogy, an inftru¬
ment by which the blaft of the breath may be dire&ecl
upon the flame of a lamp or candle, in fuch a manner
as to vitrify any fmall portion of mineral fubftance ;
and thus the procefs of allaying in the dry w'ay may be
performed in a very fliort time, where either want of
inftruments or opportunity prevents other methods from
being ufed.
Mr Bergman obferves that this inftrument is ex¬
tremely ufeful to chemifts, as many experiments are
daily neglefted, either becaufe they require furnaces
and a large apparatus of veflels •, from the want of
time to examine them in the ordinary way ; or frem
the quantity required in the common way for exami¬
nation, when the matter may be too fcarce or too dear.
In all thefe cafes the blow-pipe may be advantageoufly
ufed ; as, 1. Moft of the experiments which can be per¬
formed in the large v'ay may alfo be done with the
blow'-pipe. 2. The experiments which in the large
way require many hours, may in this method be finifh-
ed in a few minutes 5 and, 3. The fmalleft particle is
fufficient. The only defeat is, that the proportions
cannot be determined with any precifion ; and there¬
fore where the experiments can be tried on a large
fcale, it is always to be preferred. See Chemistry
and Mineralogy Index.
BLOWING, in a general fenfe, denotes an agita¬
tion of the air, w'hether performed with a pair of bel¬
lows, the mouth, a tube, or the like. Butchers have a
practice of blowing up veal, efpecially the loins, as foon
as killed, wuth a pipe made of a fheep’s fhank, to make
it look larger and fairer.
Blowing of Glafs, one of the methods of forming
the various kinds of works in the glafs manufadture.
It is performed by dipping the point of an iron blow¬
ing pipe in the melted glafs, and blowing through it
with the month, according to the circumftances of the
glafs to be blown. See Glass.
Blowing of Tin, denotes the melting its ore, after
being firlt burnt to deltroy the mundic.
Machines for Blowing the air into Furnaces. See
Furnace.
Blowing, among gardeners, denotes the action of
flowers, whereby they open and difplay their leaves.
In which fenfe, blowing amounts to much the fame
with flowering or bloffoming.
The regular blowing feafon is in the fpring j though
fome plants have other extraordinary times and man¬
ners of blowing, as the Glaffonbury thorn. Hivers
flow'ers alfo, as the tulip, clofe every evening, and blow
again in the morning. Annual plants blow' fooner or
later as their feeds are put in the ground ; whence the
curious in gardening fow fome every month in fummer,
to have a conftant fucceflion of flow'ers. The blowing
of rofes may be retarded by {hearing off the buds as
they put forth.
BLUBBER, denotes the fat of whales and other
large fea-animals, whereof is made train-oil. It is
propeily
Sea-
Blubber
Bluing.
B L U [ 75S 1 BOA
properly the adefis of the animal : it lies immediately
under the ikin, and over the mufcular fldh. In the
porpoife it is firm and full of fibres, and inverts the
body about an inch thick. In the whale, its thicknefs
is ordinarily fix inches ; but about the under lip, it is
found two or three feet thick. The whole quantity
yielded by one of thefe animals ordinarily amounts to
40 or 50, ibmetimes to 80 or more, hundred weight.
The ule of blubber to the animal feems to be partly to
poife the body, and render it equiponderant to the wa¬
ter j partly to keep off the water at fome dirtance from
the blood, the immediate contadf whereof would be apt
to chill it ; and partly alfo for the fame ufe that clothes
ferve us, to keep the firti warm, by refletting or rever¬
berating the hot fleams of the body, and fo redoubling
the heat : fince all fat bodies are, by experience, found
lefs fenfible of the impreflions of cold than lean ones.
Its ufe in trade and manufaftures is to furnifh train-oil,
which it does by boiling down. Formerly this was
performed alhore in the country where the whales
were caught : but of late the fifhers do not go alhore j
they bring the blubber home flowed in calks, and after¬
wards boil it down in the preparation of the oil.
Sea Blubber. See Medusa.
BLUE, one of the feven colours into which the
rays of light divide themfelves when refra&ed through
a glafs prifm. For an account of the particular ftruc-
ture of bodies by which they appear of a blue colour,
fee the article Chromatics.—The principal blues ufed
in painting are Pruflian blue, bice, Saunders blue,
azure, or fmalt, verditer, &c. 5 for the preparation of
which, iee Co lour-Making.—In dyeing, the principal
ingredients for giving a blue colour, are indigo and
woad. See Dyeing.
Blue Colour of the Sky. See Sky.
Blue Bird. See Motacilla, Ornithology In¬
dex.
Blue Fifh. See Coryphena, Ichthyology In¬
dex.
Blue Japan. Take gum-water, what quantity you
pleafe, and white-lead a fufficient quantity 5 grind them
well upon a porphyry ; then take ifinglafs fize what
quantity you pleafe, of the fineft and beft fmalt, a fuf¬
ficient quantity •, mix them w^ell : to which add, of
your white-lead, before ground, fo much as may give
it a fufficient body. Mix all thefe together to the con-
firtence of a point.
Blue John, among miners, a kind of mineral which
has lately been fabricated into vafes and other orna¬
mental figures. It is of the fame quality wfith the cu¬
bical fpar, with refpeft to its fufibility in the fire. It
lofes its colour, and becomes white in a moderate heat :
the weight of a cubic foot of the blueft kind is 3180
ounces, and that of the leaft blue is 3140 ounces. This
fubftance began firft to be applied to ufe about 18
years ago at one of the oldefl mines in Derby flure,
called Odin mine, probably from its being dedicated to
Odin the great god of the northern nations, at the foot
of a high mountain called Mam-Tor in Caftleton.
Here the greateft quantities are flill found ; the largert
pieces are fold for 9I. a ton, the middle-fized for 61.
and the leaft for 50s.
Pruffian Blue. See Chemistry Index.
BLUING, the adl or art of communicating a blue
colour to bodies otherwife deftitute thereof. Laundref-
fes blue their linen with fmalt; dyers their fluffs and Bluing'of
wools with woad or indigo. Metals
Bluing of Metals is performed by heating them in goaJ!cea
the fire till they affume a blue colour; particularly y—
praclifed by gilders, who blue their metals before they
apply the gold and filver leaf.
Bluing of Iron, a method of beautifying that metal
fometimes pradlifed ; as for mourning buckles, fwords,
and the like. The manner is thus: Take a piece of
grind-ftone or whet-ftone, and rub hard on the work,
to take off the black feurf from it: then heat it in the
fire ; and as it grows hot, the colour changes by degrees,
coming firft to light, then to a darker gold colour, and
laftly to a blue. Sometimes they alfo grind indigo and
falad-oil together; and rub the mixture on the work
with a woollen rag, while it is heating, leaving it to
cool of itfelf. Among fculptors we alfo find mention
of bluing a figure of bronze, by which is meant the
heating of it, to prepare it for the application of gold-
leaf, becaufe of the bluilh call it acquires in the ope¬
ration.
BLUFF-head, among failors. A flap is faid to
be bluff-headed that has an upright ftern.
BLUNDERBUSS, a ftiort fire-arm with a wide
bore, capable of holding a number of bullets at once.
BLUSHING, a fuffufion or rednefs of the cheeks,
excited by a fenfe of ftiame, on account of confciouf-
nefs of fome failing or imperfedlion.
Bluihing is fuppofed to be produced from a kind of
confent or fympathy between feveral parts of the body,
occafioned by the fame nerve being extended to them all .
Thus the fifth pair of nerves being branched from the
brain to the eye, ear, mufcles of the lips, cheeks, pa¬
late, tongue, and nofe ; a thing feen or heard that is
ffiameful, affe&s the cheeks with blufhes, driving the
blood into the minute veffels thereof, at the fame time
that it affe&s the eye and ear. For the fame reafon
it is, as Mr Derham obferves, that a favoury thing feen
or fmelt affefls the glands and parts of the mouth : if
a thing heard be pleafing, it affefts the mufcles of the
face with laughter : if melancholy, it exerts itfelf on
the glands of the eyes, and occafions weeping, &c.
And to the fame caufe Dr Willis aferibes the pleafure
of killing.
BOA, or BoKE-arum, in Ancient Geography, an
ifland on the coatt of Illyricum over againrt Tragurium,
A place of baniffiment for condemned perfons ; now
called Bua, an ifland in the Adriatic, joined to the
continent and to Tragurium, now Tran, by a bridge.
Boa. See Ophiology Index.
BOADADA bashee, in the Turkilh military or¬
ders, an officer of the janizaries whofe bufinefs it is
to walk every day about the principal parts of the ci¬
ty, with a number of janizaries to attend him, to keep
order, and fee that all things are regular, even to the
drefs. This office is for three months, and from this
the perfon is ufually advanced to be a ferach.
BOADICEA, a valiant Britilh gueen in the time
of Nero, the emperor, wife to Prafutagus king of the
Iceni in Britain, who by his will left the emperor and
his own daughters co-heirs to his great treafures, in
expeftation of procuring by that means Nero’s protec¬
tion for his family and people : but he was no fooner
dead, than the emperor’s officers feized all. Boadicea
oppofed thefe unjuft proceedings; which was refented
5 C 2 to
BOA
Boar.
[ 756 ]
to fuch a pitch of brutality, that they ordered the lady
' to be publicly whipped, and her daughters to be ra-
vifhed by the foldiers. The Britons took arms, with
Boadicea at their head, to (hake off the Roman yoke ;
and made a general and bloody maffacre of the Romans
in all parts. The whole province of Britain would have
been loft, if Suetonius Paulinus had not haftened from
the ifle of Mona to London, and with 10,000 men
engaged the Britons. The battle was fought for a
long time with great vigour and doubtful fuccefs, till
at laft victory inclined to the Romans. Boadicea, who
had behaved wjth all bravery imaginable, delpatched
herfelf by poifon.
BOAR, in the manege. A horfe is faid to boar
when he (hoots out his nole as high as his ears, and
toffes his nofe in the wind.
Boar, a male fwine. See Sus.
The wild boar, among huntfmen, has feveral names,
according to its different ages : the firft year, it is call¬
ed a pig of the fminder ; the (econd it is called a hog ;
the third, a hog-feer; and the fourth, a hoar *, when
leaving the faunder, he is called a fngler or fangUr.
The boar generally lives to 25 or 30 years, if he efcapes
accidents. The time of going to rut is in December,
and lafts about three weeks. They feed on all forts of
fruits, and on the roots of many plants 5 the root of
fern in particular feems a great favourite with them ;
and when they frequent places near the fea-coafts, they
will defcend to the (bores and demoliih the tenderer
(hell-fi(h in very great numbers. Their general places
of reft are among the thickeft bullies that can be found:
and they are not eafily put up out of them, but will
(land the bay a long time. In April and May they
deep more found than at any other time of the year,
and this is therefore the fuccefsful time for the taking
them in the toils. When a boar is rouzed out of the
thicket, he always goes from it, if poftible, the fame
way by which he came to it ; and when he is once up,
he will never flop till he conies to fome place of more
fecurity. If it happens that a faunder of them are
found together, when any one breaks away, the reft
all follow the fame way. When the boar is hunted in
the wood where be was bred, he will fcarcely ever be
brought to quit it} he will fometimes make towards
the Tides to liften to the noife of the dogs, but retires
into the middle again, and ufually dies or efcapes there.
When it happens that a boar runs ahead, he will not
be (lopped or put out of his way, by man or bead, fo
long as he has any (Length left. He makes no doubles
or erodings when chafed \ and when killed makes no
noife, if an old boar; the fows and pigs will fqueak
when wounded.
The feafon for hunting the wild boar begins in Sep¬
tember, and ends in December, when they go to rut.
If it be a large boar, and one that has lain long at
reft, he mull be hunted with a great number of dogs,
and thofe fuch as will keep clofe to him ; and the huntf-
man, with his fpear, (hould always be riding in among
them, and charging the boar as often as he can, to dif-
courage him : fuch a boar as this, with five or fix cou¬
ple of dogs, will run to the firft convenient place of
(belter, and there (land at bay and make at them as
they attempt to come up with him. There ought al¬
ways to be relays alfo fet of the bed and (launched
bounds in the kennel y for if they are of young eager
BOA
dogs, they will be apt to feize him, and be killed or
fpoiled before the reft come up. The putting collars
with bells about the dogs necks is a great fecurity'
for them j for the boar will not fo foon ftrike at
them when they have thefe, but will rather run before
them. The huntfmen generally kill the boar with their
fwords or fpears : but great caution is neceffary in ma¬
king the blows j for he is very apt to catch them upon
his fnout or tulks j and if wounded and not killed, he
wall attack the huntfman in the moll furious mariner.
The places to give the wmund with the fpear is either
between the eyes in the middle of the forehead, or in
the (houlder ) both thefe places make the wound mor¬
tal.
When this creature makes at the hunter, there is no¬
thing for it but courage and addrefs; if he flies for it,
he is furely overtaken and killed. If the boar comes
ftraight up, he is to be received at the point of the
fpear : but if he makes doubles and windings, he is to
be watched very cautioufly, for he will attempt getting
hold of the fpear in his mouth ; and if he does fo, no¬
thing can fave the huntfman but another perfon attack¬
ing him behind 5 he will on this attack the fecond per¬
fon, and the firlt mud then attack him again : tw'o
people will thus have enough to do with him 5 and were
it not for the forks of the boar-fpears that make it im-
poflible to prefs forward upon them, the huntfman
w ho gives the creature his death’s wound, would feldom
efcape falling a facrifice to his revenge for it. The
modern w'ay of boar-hunting is generally to difpatch
the creature by all the huntfmen ftriking him at once ;
but the ancient Roman way was, for a perfon on foot,
armed with a fpear, to keep the creature at bay j and
in this cafe the boar w7ould run of himfelf upon the
fpear to come at the huntfman, and pufli forward till
the fpear pierced him through.
The hinder claws of a boar are called guards. In
the corn, he is faid to feed; in the meadows or fallow-
fields, to rout, worm, or fern ; in a clofe, to grade.
The boar is farrowed with as many teeth as he will ever
have ; his teeth increafing only in bignefs, not in num¬
ber : among thefe there are four called tufies, or tufks ;
the two biggeft of which do not hurt when he ftrikes,
but ferve only to whet the other two lowed, with which
the bead defends himfelf, and frequently kills, as be¬
ing greater and longer than the reft.
It is very remarkable, that thefe creatures in the
Weft Indies are fubjeft to the (lone ; few of them are
abfolutely free from it, yet fcarcely any have the ftones
of any confiderable fize. It is common to find a great
number in the fame bladder; and they are ufually of
about a fcruple weight, are angular, and very regular,
each having five angles.
Among the ancient Romans boar’s flefli was a deli¬
cacy 5 a boar ferved up whole was a difli of (late.
The boar was fometimes alfo the military enfign
borne by the Roman armies, in lieu of the eagle.
Among phyficians, a boar’s bladder has been repu¬
ted a fpecific for the epilepfy. The tufti of the wild
boar dill paffes with fome as of great efficacy in quin-
fies and pleurifies.
BOARD, a long piece of timber, fawed thin for
building and feveral other purpofes. See Timber.
Deal-boards are generally imported into England
ready fawed, becaufe done cheaper abroad, in regard
we
Boar,
Board.
BOA [ 757 ] BOA
Board we want faw-mills. Cap-boards are imported from
11^ Sweden and Dantzic. Oak-boards chiefly from Swe-
°a ' den and Holland ; fome from Dantzic. We alfo im¬
port white boards for fhoemakers; mill and fcale-
boards, &c. for divers artificers. Scale-board is a
thinner fort, ufed for the covers of primers, thin boxes,
and the like. It is made with large planes j but might
probably be fawed with mills to advantage.
Board is alfo ufed for a kind of table or bench,
whereon fereral artificers perform their work. In
this fenfe we fay a •work.-board, ftio^-board, tailor’s-
board, &c.
Board is alfo ufed for a flat machine, or frame, ufed
in certain games, and the like. In this fenfe, we fay a
draught-£0tfr</,achefs-£otfrv/, a (hovel-^oar^/, and the like.
Board, Bureau, is alfo ufed for an office where ac¬
counts are taken, payments ordered, and the like. In
this fenfe, we fay the board of works, board of ord¬
nance, board of treafury, and the like.
Board, among feamen. To go aboard, fignifies to
go into the ftiip. To flip by the board, is to flip down
by the (hip’s fide. Board and board, is when two (hips
come fo near as to touch one another, or when they
lie fide by fide. To make a board, is to turn to wind¬
ward ; and the longer your boards are, the more you
work into the wind. To board it up, is to beat it up,
fometimes upon one tack and fometimes upon another.
She makes a good board, that is, the (hip advances much
at one tack. The weather board, is that fide of the
(hip which is to windward.
BOARDING, in a naval engagement, a defperate
and furious affault made by one (hip on another, after
having found every other method to reduce her inef-
feflual: it may be performed in different places of the
ffiip, according to their circumftances and fituation, by
the affailant detaching a number of men armed witb-pi-
ftols and cutlaffes on the decks of his antagonift, who
Hands in the fame predicament with a city (formed by
the befiegers. This expedient, how7ever, is rarely at¬
tempted by king’s (hips, which generally decide the
combat wuthout grappling each other j but chiefly
praftifed by privateers, which; bearing down on the
enemy’s quarter or broadfide, drop from the bowfprit,
which projects over the defendant’s deck, an earthen
(hell, called a flinkpot, charged with fiery and fuffo-
cating combuftibles, which immediately burffs, catches
lire, and fills the deck with infufferable flench and
fmoke : in the middle of the confufion thus occafioned,
the privateer’s crew rufli aboard, under cover of the
fmoke, and eafily overpower the aftoniflied enemy, un-
lefs they have clofe quarters to which they can retreat
and beat them off the deck.
BOAT, a fmall open veffel, conducted on the wa¬
ter by rowing or failing. The conftruffion, machinery,
and even the names of boats, are very different, ac¬
cording to the various purpofes for which they are cal¬
culated, and the fervices on which they are to be em¬
ployed. Thus they are occafionally flight or ffrong,
(harp or flat bottomed, open or decked, plain or or¬
namented ; as they may be defigned for fwiftnefs or
burden, for deep or (hallow water, for failing in a har¬
bour or at fea, and for convenience or pleafure.
The largeft boat that ufually accompanies a ffiip is
the long-boat, which is generally furniflied with a mart
and fails; thofe which are fitted for men of war, may¬
be occafionally decked, armed, and equipped, for Boat,
cruifing ffiort diftances againft merchant-drips of the —/'**'
enemy, or fmugglers, or for impreffing feamen, &c. The
barges are next in order, which are longer, (lighter,
and narrower: they are employed to carry the princi¬
pal fea-officers, as admirals, and captains of (hips of
war, and are very unfit for fea. Pinnaces exaflly re¬
ferable barges, only that they are fomewhat fmaller,
and never row more than eight oars ; whereas a barge
properly never row's lefs than ten. Thefe are for the
accommodation of the lieutenants, &c. Cutters of a
ffiip, are broader, deeper, and ffiorter, than the barges
and pinnaces; they are fitter for failing, and are com¬
monly employed in carrying (lores, provifions, paf-
fengers, &c.to and from the ffiip. In the ftru&ure of
this fort of boats, the lower edge of every plank in the
fide overlays the upper edge of the plank below7, which
is called by ffiip-wrights clinch-work. Yawls are fome-
thing lefs than cutters, nearly of the fame form, and
ufed for fimilar fervices, they are generally rowed with
fix oars.
The above boats more particularly belong to men of
wrar; as merchant-fliips feldom have more than two,
viz. a long-boat and yawl: wffien they have a third, it
is generally calculated for the countries to w-hich they
trade, and varies in its conftrucfion accordingly. Mer¬
chant-(liips employed in the Mediterranean find it more
convenient to ufe a lanch, which is longer, more flat-
bottomed, and better adapted every wray to the harbours
of that fea, than a long-boat.
A wherry is a light (harp boat, ufed in a river or
harbour for carrying paffengers from place to place.
Punts are a fort of oblong flat-bottomed boats, nearly
refembling floating ftages j they are ufed by fhip-
wrights and caulkers, for breaming, caulking, or re¬
pairing a (hip’s bottom. A mofes is a very flat broad
boat, ufed by merchant-ffiips amongft the Caribbee-
iflands, to bring hogffieads of fugar off from the fea-
beach to the (hipping which are anchored in the roads.
K felucca is a ftrong paffage-boat ufed in the Mediter¬
ranean, from 10 to 16 banks of oars. The natives of
Barbary often employ boats- of this fort as cruifers.
For the larger fort of boats, fee the articles Craft,
Cutter, Periagua, and Shallop.
Of all the fmall boats, a Norway yawl feems to be
the beft calculated for a high fea, as it will often ven¬
ture out to a great diftance from the coaft of that coun¬
try, wflien a flout ffiip can hardly carry any fail.
Pin account of feveral trials made on a Boat, or
Sloop, ft for inland navigation, coafling voyages, and
Jhort paflages by fea, which is not, like ordinary veffels,
liable to be overfet or funk by winds, waves, water-fpoutsj
or too heavy a load ; contrived and conflrucled by Mon-
fleur Bernieres, direBor of the bridges and caufeways in
France, &c. &.c. Some of thefe trials w-ere made on
the ffilf of Auguft 1777, at the gate of the invalids in
Paris, in the prefence of the provoft of the merchants,
of the body of the town, and a numerous concourfe of
fpeflators of all conditions.
The experiments were made in the way of compari-
fon with another common boat of the fame place, and
of equal fize. Both boats had been built ten years,
and their exterior forms appeared to be exaflly fimilar.
The common boat contained only eight men, who
rocked it and made it incline fo much to one fide, that?
it
Boat-Bill
H .
Boatfwain.
BOA [ 758 ] BOG
it presently filled with water, and funk 5 To that the
men were obliged to fave themfelves by fwimming j
a thing common in all veffels of the fame kind, either
from the imprudence of thofe who are in them, the
ifrength of the waves or wind, a violent or unexpected
{hock, their being overloaded, or overpowered in any
other way.
The fame men who had juft efcaped from the boat
which funk, got into the boat of M. Bernieres •, rocked
it, and filled it, as they had done the other, with water.
But, inftead of finking to the bottom, though brim
full, it bore being rowed about the river, loaded as it
was with men and water, without any danger to the
people in it.
M. Bernieres carried the trial ftill farther. He or¬
dered a maft to be erefted in this fame boat, when filled
with water; and to the top of the maft had a rope fatt¬
ened, and drawm till the end of the maft touched the
furface of the river, fo that the boat was entirely on
one fide, a pofition into which neither winds nor waves
could bring her ; yet, as loon as the men who had
hauled her into this fituation let go the rope, the boat
and mart recovered themfelves perfectly in lefs than the
quarter of a fecond ; a convincing proof that the boat
could neither be funk nor overturned, and that it af¬
forded the greateft poflible fecurity in every way. Thefe
experiments appeared to give the greater pleafure to the
public, as the advantages of the difcovery are not only
fo fenfible, but of the firft importance to mankind.
Boat-BUI. See Cancroma.
BoAT-InfeEl. See Notonecta,Entomology/v/fcA*.
BOATING, a kind of punifhment in ufe among the
ancient Perfians for capital offenders. The manner of
boating wTas thus : the perfon condemned to it being
laid on his back in a boat, and having his hands
ftretched out, and tied fall on each fide of it, had an¬
other boat put over him, his head being left out through
a place fit for it. In this pofture they fed him, till
the worms, which were bred in the excrements he
voided as he thus lay, ate out his bowels, and fo caufed
his death, which urns ufually 20 days in eftedfing, the
criminal lying all this while in moft exquifite torments.
BOATSWAIN, the officer who has the boats, fails,
rigging, colours, anchors, and cables, committed to
his charge.
It is the duty of the boatfwain particularly to diredl
whatever relates to the rigging of a ffiip, after Ihe is
equipped from a royal dock-yard. Thus he is to ob-
ferve that the mafts are properly fupported by their
fhrouds, flays, and back-ftays, fo that each of thofe
ropes may fuftain a proportional effort, when the mart
is {trained by the violence of the wind, or the agitation
of the (hip. He ought alfo to take care that the blocks
and running-ropes are regularly placed, fo as to anfw’er
the purpofes for which they are intended ; and that
the fails are properly fitted to their yards and ftays, and
well furled or reefed when occafion requires.
It is likewife his office to fummon the crew to their
duty ; to affift with his mates in the neceffary bufinefs
of the (hip ; and to relieve the w^atch when it expires.
He ought frequently to examine the condition of the
mafts, fails, and rigging : and remove whatever may
be judged unfit for fervice, or fupply what is deficient;
and he is ordered by his inftruftions to perform this
duty with as little nolle as poffible.
Boatswain's Mate has the peculiar command of the Boatfwain's
long-boat, for the letting forth of anchors, weighing ^itte
or fetching home an anchor, warping, towing, or e0Ci ace
mooring ; and is to give an account of his rtore. . v- .
BOB, a term uled for the ball of a ffiort pendulum.
BOBARTIA. See Botany Index.
BOBBIN, a fmall piece of wood turned in the form
of a cylinder, with a little border jutting out at each
end, bored through to receive a fmall iron pivot. It
ferves to fpin wdth the fpinning-wheel, or to wind
thread, worfted, hair, cotton, filk, gold, and lilver.
BOBBING, among fiffiermen, a particular manner
of catching eels, different from {higgling. Bobbing for
eels is thus performed: They fcour well fome large lobs,
and with a needle run a twitted filk through them from
end to end, taking fo many as that they may warp
them about a board a dozen times at leail: then they
tie them fall with the twTo ends of the filk, that they
may hang in fo many hanks; which done, they fatten
all to a lirong cord, and, about a handful and a half
above the w'orms, fix a plummet three quarters of a
pound weight, and make the cord faft to a ftrong pole.
With this apparatus fiffiing in muddy water they feel
the eels tug luftily at the bait; when they think they
have fwallowed it fufficiently, they gently draw up the
rope to the top, and bring them alhore.
BOBIO, an epifcopal town of Italy, in the Milanefe
and territory of Pavia, feated on the river Treba, in
E. Long. 9. 30. N. Lat. 44. 48.
BOCA-chica, the ftrait or entrance into the har¬
bour of Carthagena in South America. It is defend¬
ed by feveral forts belonging to the Spaniards, all
which were taken by the Engiilh in 1741 ; they were
neverthelefs obliged to raife the fiege of Carthagena in
a ffiort time after.
BocA-del-Drago, a ftrait fo called, between the
ifland of Trinidad and Andalufia, in the province of
Terra Eirma in South America.
BOCANUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of Mau¬
ritania Tingitana, to the fouth of Mount Atlas ; laid
to be that of Morocco in Africa. W. Long. 9. o.
N. Lat. 31.0.
BOCCA, in glafs-making, the round hole in the
working furnace, by which the metal is taken out of
the great pots, and by which the pots are put into the
furnace. This is to be flopped with a cover made of
earth and brick, and removeable at plealiire, to pre-
ferve the eyes of the workmen from the violence ox the
heat.
BOCCACE, or Boccacio, John, one of the moft
polite and learned writers of his age, was born in Tuf-
cany in 1313. His father firft placed him with a mer¬
chant ; but as he gave figns of genius, he was put af¬
terward to ftudy the canon law: he loft almoft as
much time at this as at the laft occupation ; and
thought of nothing but poetry. He came under the
inftruftion of Petrarch ; but did not lo entirely de¬
vote himfelf to poetry, as to forget other ttudies. In
the profecution of thefe, however, as he fought every¬
where for the beft matters, and had not an income iuf-
ficient for his expences, he was reduced to fuch cir-
cumftances as to Hand in need of the bounty of others :
he wTas particularly obliged to Petrarch, who furniffied
him with money as well as books, and affifled him in
many other refpedls. Boccace was a great admirer of
the
B O C
goccale tlie Greek language : he found means to get Homer
Bocarella ^ran^a^e(^ Latin for 0wn ufe ; and procured a
1 - „ * Pr°i'ciL)r,s chair at 1'lorence for Leontius Pylatus, in
order to explain this poet. The republic of Florence
honoured Boccace with the freedom of that city ; and
employed him in public affairs, particularly to nego-
ciate the return of Petrarch : but this poet not only
refufed to return to Florence, but perfuaded Boccace
al!o to retire from thence, on account of the factions
which prevailed in that republic. Having quitted
Florence, he went to feveral places in Italy, and flop¬
ped at laft at the court of Naples, where King Robert
gave him a very kind reception. He conceived a vio¬
lent affedlion for the natural daughter of that prince,
which made him remain a confiderable time at Naples.
He alfo made a long flay in Sicily, where he was in
high favour with Queen Joan. He returned to Flo¬
rence when the troubles were a little appeafed : but
not liking the courfe of life he muft have followed
there, he retired to Certaldo 5 and, far from the noife
of bulinefs, he fpent his time in ftudy agreeably to his
own humour. His great application brought on him
an indiipofition, of which he died in 1376. He wrote
feveral books, fome learned and ferious, others of gal¬
lantry and full of {lories. It is by his Decameron
chiefly that he has immortalized himfelf. Petrarch
found fo many charms in this compofition, that he was
at the pains to tranflate it into Latin for his own fatif-
fa&ion.
BOCCALE, or Bocal, a liquid meafure ufed at
Rome, anfvvering to what among us is called a bottle,
being equivalent to about an Englifh quart. Seven
boccales and a half make the rubbia.
BOCCALINI, 1 raj an, a celebrated fatirical wri¬
ter, born at Rome, who, in the beginning of the 1 yth
century, obtained the admiration of all Italy by his
refined and delicate criticifms. Sovereign princes them-
felves did not efcape the lafh of his fatire. The car¬
dinals Borghefe and Cretan having declared themfelves
his proteilors, he publifhed his Ragguasr/io di Rarnajfo,
and ZA Secret ana di ylpollo^ which is the continuation
of the former. Thefe two works were received by the
public with uncommon applaufe. He there feigns,
that Apollo, holding his court at Parnalfus, heard
the complaints of the whole world, and did juftice ac¬
cording as the cafes required. He at length printed his
Pietra di Parangone ; wherein he attacks the court of
Spain, fetting forth their defigns againfl the liberty of
Italy, and inveighing particularly againfl them for* the
tyranny they exercifed in the kingdom of Naples.
I he Spaniards complained of him in form, and were
determined at any rate to be revenged. Boccalini was
frightened, and retired to Venice; but was there aflaf-
finated in a very flrange manner. He lodged with one
of his friends, who having got up early one morning,
left Boccalini in bed : a minute after, fome armed men
entered his chamber, and gave him fo many blows with
bags full of fand, that they left him for dead ; fo that
his friend returning fome time after, found him fpeech-
lels. . Great fearch was made at Venice for the authors
of this murder ; and though they were never difeover-
ed, it was univerfally believed that they were employ¬
ed by the court of Spain.
BOCCARELLA, in the glafs-manufadlure, a fmall
hole or aperture of the furnace, one of which is placed
[ 759 1
B O C
on each fide the bocca, almofl horizontally with it. Boctiartfi
Out of them the fervitors take coloured or finer metal II
from the piling pot. Bochart.
BOCCIARDI, Clemente, called Clementone, hi-' v J
Hory and portrait painter, was born at Genoa in 1620,
and was the difciple of Bernardo Strozzi, an artifl of
good reputation 5 but he found in himfelf fo flrong an
ambition to arrive at excellence in his profeffion, that
he left Genoa, and went to Rome ; there, to explore
that true fublimity of flyle, which can only be obtain¬
ed by a judicious oblervation of the ancient fculptures
and the works of the celebrated modern artifls. Bv
the guidance of an excellent genius, and alfo by a moil
induflrious application to defign, he difeovered the art
of uniting and blending the antique and modern guflo
m a flyle that at once exhibited both gracefulnefs and
flrength. . Mofl of the works of this mailer (except
his portraits, which were lively, natural, and grace¬
ful) are in the chapels of Genoa, Pifa, and other cities
of Italy j of which places they are, at this day, ac¬
counted the greatefl ornaments, and are mofl exceed¬
ingly efleemed.
BOCCONI, Sylvio, a celebrated natural hiflorian,
born at Palermo in Sicily. After he had gone through
the ufual courfe of fludies, he applied himfelf chiefly
to natural hiflory, in which he made a mofl furprifing
progrefs. He was afterwards ordained pried, and en¬
tered into theCiflercian order, at which time he changed
his Chridian name Paul into that of Sylvio. This new¬
way of life did not in the lead divert him from his fa¬
vourite dudy : for he purfued it with greater vigour
than ever, and travelled not only over Sicily, but like-
wife vifited the ifle of Malta, Italy, the Low Countries,
England, France, Germany, Poland, and feveral other
nations j and, in 1696, was admitted a member of the
academy of the virtuofi in Germany. Upon his return
to Sicily, he retired to a convent of his own order near
Palermo ; where he died in 1704, being 71 years of
age. He left many curious works.
BOCCONIA, GREATER TREE CELANDINE. See
Botany Index.
BOCHART, Samuel, one of the mod learned
men in the 17th century, was born at Roan in Nor¬
mandy. He made a very early progrefs in learning,
and became a great proficient in the oriental language's!
He was many years pador of a Protedant church at
Caen; where he was tutor to Wentworth Dillon earl
of Rofcommon, author of the Effay on Tranflated Verfe.
Here he particularly diflinguifhed himfelf by his pub¬
lic difputations with Father Veron, a very famous con-
trovertid. The difpute was held in the cadle of Caen,
in the prefence of a great number of Catholics and Pro!
tedants. Bochart came off with great honour and re¬
putation ; which were not a little increafed in the year
1646, upon the publication of his Phaleg and Canaany
which are the titles of the two parts of his Geographia
Sacra. He acquired alfo great fame by his Hiero-zotcon,
printed in London in 1675. This treats de animalibus
faerce feriptune. The great learning he difplayed in
his works rendered him edeemed not only amongd thofe
of his own profedion, but amongd all lovers of know¬
ledge of whatever denomination. In 1652, the queen
of Sweden invited him to Stockholm, where fhe craVe
him many proofs of her regard and efleem. At his re¬
turn to Caen, he refumed the fun&ions of the mini-
BOD [ 76° ] BOD
JWhius ftry, and was received into the academy of that city.
II His learning was not his principal qualification, he
; 0C ln• had a modefty equal to it; and hence enjoyed his great
reputation in tranquillity, flickered from thofe unhap¬
py quarrels which fo many other learned men draw
upon themfelves. He died fuddenly while he was fpeak-
ing in the above academy, on the 16th of May, 1667,
aged 78. A complete edition of his works was pub-
lifhed in Holland, in two volumes folio, 1712.
BOCHIUS, or Bocqui, John, a Latin poet, born
at Bruffels in J555. He travelled into Italy, Ger¬
many, Poland, and Mufcovy, and at his return became
fecretary to the duke of Parma. He died on the 13th
of January, 1609. The critics in the Netherlands fet
fo great a value on his poetry, that they gave him the
name of the Be/gic Virgil. He wrote, 1. De Belgii
Brincipatu. 2. Barodia Heroic a Bfalmoruvi Davidico-
rum. 3. Obfervationes Phy/icce, Ethiccc, Politic#, et
Hi/loricce, in Pfalmos. 4. Vita Davidis. 5. Orationes.
6. Poemata.
BOCHETTA, a place of Italy, famous in the war
of 1746 and 1747* It is a chain of mountains over
wdnch the great road lies from Lombardy to Genoa *,
and on the very peak of the higheft mountain is a nar¬
row pafs, which wall hardly admit three men to go
abreaff. This pafs is properly called the Bochetta ; for
the defence of which there are three forts. It is the
key of the city of Genoa 5 and was taken in 1746 by
the imperialifts ; by which means they opened a way
to that city.
BOCKHOLT, a town of Germany in the circle of
Weftphalia and diocefe of Munfter, capital of a fmall
diftriff, and fubjeft to the bifhop of Munfter. E. Long.
6. 20. N. Lat. 51. 40.
LOCKING, a very large village of Eflex in Eng¬
land, adjoining to Braintree, from which it is fepa-
rated only by a fmall ftream. Its church is a deanery,
and very large ; and there are here tw;o or three meet-
ing-houfes; but the market is kept at Braintree. In
both pariflies there are about 1500 houfes, which in
general are but indifferent, and the ftreets narrow and
badly paved. There is a large manufaftory of baize,
chiefly for exportation. It is 42 miles north-eaft of
London.
BOCK-land, in the Saxons time, is what -we now
ctES. freehold lands^ held by the better fort of perfons
by charter or deed in writing; by which name it was
diftinguifhed from folkland or copy-hold land, holden
by the common people without writing.
BODERIA, or Bodotria, the ancient name for
the frith of Forth in Scotland.
BODIN, John, native of Anglers, one of the ableft:
men in France in the 16th century, famous for his
Method of Hi/lory, his Republic, and other works. He
was in great favour with Henry III. who imprifoned
John de Serre for writing an injurious piece againft
Bodin, and forbid him upon pain of death to publifh
it. But his favour w’as not of long continuance. The
duke of Alenin, however, gave him feveral employ¬
ments ; and carried him to England wTith him as one
of his counfellors, where he had the pleafure and glory
to fee his books de Republica read publicly in the
univerfity of Cambridge, having been tranflated into
Latin by the Englilh. He had written them in French.
In the Ragguagli of Boccalini he is condemned as an
2
atheift to the fire, for having faid in his books that li- Bodkin,
berty of confluence ought to be granted to feftaries. Bodley.
He declared himfelf pretty freely againft thofe who v—■—
afferted that the authority of monarchs is unlimited ;
but yet he difpleafed the republicans. Upon the death
of the duke of Alen^on, Bodin retired to Laon, where
he married. He had an office in the prefidial 6f this
city j and in Charles IX.’s time he was the king’s
folicitor, with a commiffion for the forefts of Normandy.
He died of the plague at Laon, in 1596.
BOUKIN, a fmall inftrument made of fteel, bone,
ivory, &c. ufed for making holes.
BODLEY, Sir Thomas, founder of the Bodleian
library at Oxford, was born at Exeter in Devonffiire,
in 1544. When he was about 12 years of age, his
father, Mr John Bodley, being a proteftant, was ob¬
liged to leave the kingdom. He fettled at Geneva
with his family, and continued there till the death of
Queen Mary. In that univerfity, then in its infancy,
young Bodley ftudied the learned languages, &c. un¬
der feveral eminent profeffors. On the acceffion of
Queen Elizabeth, he returned with his father to Eng¬
land ; and was foon after entered of Magdalen college
in Oxford. In 1363, he took the degree of bachelor
of arts, and the year following was admitted fellow of
Merton college. In 1565, he read a Greek ledlure
in the hall of that college. He took a mafter of arts
degree the year after, and read natural philofophy in
the public fchools. In 1569, he was one of the proc¬
tors of the univerfity, and for fome time after of¬
ficiated as public orator. In the year 1576, he quit¬
ted Oxford, and made the tour of Europe j but returned
to his college after four years abfence. He became
gentleman-uffier to Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1583 ;
and in 1 585 he married the widow of Mr Bell, daugh¬
ter of Mr Carew of Briftol, a lady of confiderable for¬
tune. Mr Bodley was foon after fent ambaffador to
the king of Denmark, and other German princes. He
was next charged with an important commiffion to
Henry III. of France; and in 1588, went ambaffador
to the United Provinces, where he continued till the
year 1 997. On his return to England, finding his pre¬
ferment obftru&ed by the jarring interefts of Burleigh
and Effex, he retired from court, and could never af¬
terwards be prevailed on to accept of any employment.
He now began the foundation of the Bodleian library,
which was completed in 1599. Soon after the accef¬
fion of King James I. he received the honour of knight¬
hood, and died in the year 1612. He was buried in
the choir of Merton college. His monument is of
black and white marble, on which ftands his effigy in
a fcholar’s gown, furrounded with books. At the four
corners are the emblematical figures of Grammar,
Rhetoric, Mufic, and Arithmetic ; two angels, &c. ;
with a ffiort infcription, fignifying his age and time
of his death. Sir Thomas Bodley was a polite fcho-
lar, an able ftatefman, and a worthy man. Mr Gran¬
ger obferves, that he merited much as a man of let¬
ters ; but incomparably more in the ample provifion he
made for literature, in which he ftands unrivalled; and
that his library is a maufoleum which will perpetuate
his memory as long as books themfelves endure. Sir
Thomas wrote his own Life to the year 1609 ;
which, together with the firft draught of the Sta¬
tutes, and his Letters, have been publiflied from the
originals
B O £
[ 761 ]
B O E
f Phil.
tranf
N® 283.
originals in tire Bodleian library, by Mr Thomas Hearn,
in 1703.
BODMIN, a town of Cornwall in England, feated
in a bottom between two high hills, which renders the air
very unwholefome. It confills chiefly of one ftreet,
and the many decayed houfes fhow that it has once
been a place of greater note. It h a mayor-town,
fends two members to parliament, and had formerly
the privilege of the coinage of tin. W. Long. 4. 5.
N. Lat. 50. 32.
BODON, a fortified town of Bulgaria, in Turkey in
Europe, with an archbifhop’s fee. It is feated on the
Danube, in E. Long. 25. 24. N. Lat. 45. 10.
BODROCH, a town of Hungary, leated on the
north-eafi: fliore of the river Danube, in E. Long. 20.
20. N. Lat. 46. 15.
BODRUN. See Teos.
BODY, in Phy/ics, an extended folid fubflance, of
itfelf utterly paflive and inadfive, indifferent either to
motion or reft.
Colour of Bodies. See Chromatics.
Body, with regard to animals, is ufed in oppofition
to foul, in which fenfe it makes the fubjeft of anatomy.
The height of the human body is faid to be different
in different pafts of the day ; ordinarily it is an inch
more in the morning than at night f. The body ceafes
to grow in height when the bones are arrived at a de¬
gree of firmnefs and rigidity which will not allow of far¬
ther extenfion byT the effort of the heart and motion of
the blood.
Body, among painters, as to bear a body, a term
fignifying that the colours are of fuch a nature, as to
be capable of being ground fo fine, and mixing with
the oil fo entirely, as to feem only a very thick oil of
the fame colour.
Body, in the manege. A horfe is chiefly faid to
have a good body, when he is full in the flank. If the
laft of the fhort ribs be at a confiderable diftance from
the haunch-bone, although fuch horfes may for a
time have pretty good bodies, yet, if they are much
laboured, they will lofe them : and thele are properly
the horfes that have no flank. It is alfo a general
rule, that a man ftiould not buy a light-bodied horfe,
and one that is fiery, becaufe he will foon deftroy him-
felf.
Body, in the art of war, a number of forces, horfe
and foot, united and marching under one commander.
Main Body of an army, the troops encamped in the
centre between the two wings, and generally infantry j
the other two bodies are the vanguard and the rear¬
guard ) thefe being the three into which an army,
ranged in order of battle, is divided.
Body, in matters of literature, denotes much the
fame with fyftem, being a colledlion of every thing be¬
longing to a particular fcience or art, difpofed in pro¬
per order : thus we fay, a body of divinity, law,
phyfic, &c.
Boor-Corporate. See Corporation.
BOECE, or Boethius, Hector, the hiftorian, wras
born at Dundee about the year 1470, ftudied at Aber¬
deen, and aftenvards in the univerfity of Paris. There
he became acquainted with Erafmus, and laid the foun¬
dation of a friendftup which was fo honourable to him.
fn i sOO he was recalled to Aberdeen by Biftiop El-
phingfton, who made him principal of that univerfity.
¥ol. III. Part II.
Gratitude for this promotion engaged him to write Boetlrotfihi
with particular attention the Life of that prelate. It H
appeared in his hiftory of the diocefe of Aberdeen j - -(x
and may be confidered, perhaps, as the moft valuable
portion of that work. His Pliftory of Scotland, a
more ufeful undertaking, was firft publifhed in the
year I C26. In 1574 it underwent a fecond impreftion,
and was enriched with the 18th book and a part of
the 19th. A farther continuation of it was executed
by Joannes Fet rerius Pedemontanus. Boece died about
the year 1550. Fie has been compared, and not.
without realon, to Geoffroy of Monmouth. He had
a propenfity to fable and exaggeration j a fault which
the elegance of his expreflion does not compenfate.
His judgment was not equal to his genius ; and his
fidlions as an hiftorian are a contraft to his probity as
a man. John Ballenden, archdeacon of Murray, tranf-
lated his hiftory into the Scotilh language at the de¬
fire of James V. This tranflation William Harrifon
Converted, though with imperfedlions, into Englifli j
and his afibciate Hollinglhed publiftied his work in his
chronicle, wdth additions and improvements by the in¬
genious Francis Thynne.
BOEDROMIA, in Antiquity, folemn feafts held at
Athens in memory of the luccou-r brought by Ion to
the Athenians, when invaded by Eumolpus fon of Nep¬
tune, in the reign of Ereflheus. Plutarch gives ano¬
ther account of the boedromia; which, accoiding to
him, wTere celebrated in memory of the victory obtained
by Thefeus over the Amazons, in the month Boedro-
mion.
BOEDROMION, in Chronology, the third month
of the Athenian year, anfwrering to the latter part of
our Auguft and beginning of September.
BOEHMEN, Jacob, called the ^Teutonic pbilofo-
pber, was a noted vifionary of the 17th century, bora
in a village of Germany near Gorlitz, in 1575. He
W’as bred a ftvoemaker : and marrying, fupported a
large family by this occupation ; until, after amufing
himfelf with chemiftrv, a vifionary turn of mind, heat¬
ed by fermons and German divinity, got the better
of his common fenfe, and produced raptures and no¬
tions of divine illumination. Thefe he firft gave vent
to in 1612, by a treatife entitled Aurora, or the rifmg
of the Sun i being a mixture of aftrology, philoiophy,
chemiftry, and divinity, wuitten in a quaint obfeure
ftyle. This being cenfured by the magiftrates of Gcr-
litz, he remained filent for feven years : but improving
that interval by purfuing the flights of his imagination,
he refumed his pen ; and refolving to redeem the time
he had loft, in the remaining five years of his life, he
publiftied above 20 books, which greatly needed vbat
he concluded w ith, A table of his principles, or a hey
to his writings ; though this has not proved fufficient
to render them intelligible to common apprehenfions.
The key above mentioned appeared in 1624, and he
did not long furvive it. For early in the morning of
the 18th of November that year, he called one of his
fons, and afked him “ if he alfo heard that excellent
mufic ?” to which being anfwered in the negative, he
ordered the door to be fet open, that the mufic might
be the better heard. He afked afterwards what o’clock
it was ? and being told it had ftruck two, he faid “ It
is not yet my time } my time is three hours hence.1’
In the interim he w’as heard to fpeak thefe words :
5 D “ G
B O E [ 7
■ Bceotia, a O thou llrong God of hoifs, deliver me according
Boerhaave, t0 thy wiH ! Q crucified Lord Jefus, have mercy
upon me, and receive me into thy kingdom !” When
it was near fix o’clock, he took his leave of his wife
and fons, and bleffed them, and faid, “ Now I go
hence into paradile ; then bidding his fon turn him,
he immediately expired his lad breath in a deep fjgh.
A great number of perfons have been milled by the
vilions of this fanatic, notwithtlanding his talents in in¬
volving the plained tilings in mylfery and enigmatical
jargon. Among others, the famous Quirinus Kahl-
man may be reckoned the principal of his followers in
Germany : who lays, he had learned more being alone
in his lludy, from Boehmen, than he could have learn¬
ed from all the wife men of that age together 5 and,
that we may not be in the dark as to what fort of
knowledge this was, he acquaints us, that amidd an
infinite number of vifions it happened, that, being
Inatched out of his ihidy, he faw thoufands of thou-
fands of lights rifing round about him Nor has he
been without admirers, and thofe in no fmall number,
in England : among the foremoft of whom Hands the
famous Mr William Law, author of Chri/lian Per¬
fection, &c. who has favoured his countrymen with
an Englilh edition ol Jacob Boehmen’s works in 2 vols
4-to.
BCEOTIA, the name of two ancient kingdoms,
one of which was founded or rather reftored by Cad¬
mus, and named by him Bceotia, from the ox which
is laid to have direfted him to the place where he built
the capital of his new kingdom, better known after¬
wards by the name of Thebes. But as the inhabitants
were fcarcely ever diftinguilhed as a nation by the name
of Boeotians, but of Thebans, we refer to the article
Thebes for their hiftory, &c.
The other Boeotia was in Theflaly, and is faid to
have been founded by Boeotus the fon of Neptune and
brother of Aldus, by Arne the daughter of Aiolus
k ing of Axolis. d his laft, having fent his daughter to
Metapontium a city of Italy, fire was there delivered
of thofe two fons, the eldeli of whom (lie called after
her lather’s name JEolus ; and he poffefled himfelf of
the iilands in the Tyrrhenian, now the Tufcan fea,
and built the city of Lipara. Boeotus the younger fon
went to his grandfather andfuccecded him in his king¬
dom, called it after his own name, and the capital ci¬
ty Arne, from his mother. All that we know of thefe
Boeotians is, that they held this fettlement upwards of
200 years ; and that the TheiTalians expelled them
from it ; upon which they came and took pofieflion of
that country, which till then had been called Cadmeis,
and gave it the name of Bceotia. Diodorus and Ho¬
mer tell us, that thefe Boeotians fignalized themfelves
at the Trojan war j and the latter adds, that five of
JBoeotus’s grandfons, viz. Peneleus, Leitus, Prothoe-
nor, Arcefilaus, and Clonius, were the chiefs who led
the Boeotian troops thither.
BOERHAAVE, He rman, one of the greatefl
phyficians, as well as the bed men, that this or per¬
haps any age has ever produced, was born in 1668, at
Vorhout, a village near Leyden. At the age of 16
he found himfelf without parents, protection, advice,
or fortune. He had already dudied theology and the
other ecclefiadical fciences, with the defign of devoting
himfelf to a clerical life j but the fcience of nature,
5z ] B O E
which equally engaged his attention, fcon engroffed Eoerhaav!.
his whole time. This illudrious perfon, whole name t
afterwards fpread throughout the world, and who left
at his deal a above 200,c©ol. could at that time barely
live by his labours, and was compelled to teach ma¬
thematics to obtain necefl'aries. But in 1693, being
received do&or the fcience of phyfic, he began prac¬
tice j and his merit being at length difeovered, many
powerful friends patronized him, and procured him
three valuable employments : the find was that of pro-
feffor of medicine in the univerfity of Leyden ; the fe-
cond, that of profeflbr of chemidry ; and, thirdly, that
of protefibr of botany. The Academy of Sciences at
Paris, and the Royal Society at London, invited him
to become one of their members. He communicated
to each his difeoveries in chemidry. The city of Ley¬
den became in his time the fchool of Europe for this
fcience, as well as for medicine and botany. All the
princes of Europe fent him difeipies, who found in this
fkilful profeffor, not only an indefatigable teacher, but
even a tender father, who encouraged them to purfue
their labours, confoled them in their afhiftions, and fo-
laced them in their wants. When Peter the Great
went to Holland in 1715, to indrudl himfelf in mari¬
time affairs, he alfo attended Boerhaave to receive his
lefibns. Plis reputation was fpread as far as China : a
mandarin wrote to him with this infeription, “ To
the illudrious Boerhaave, phyfician in Europe 5” and
the letter came regularly to him. The city of Lev-
den has raifed a monument in the church of St PJeter,
to the falutary genius of Boerhaave, Salutifero Boer-
haaviigenio facrum. It confids of an urn upon a pe-
dedal of black marble : fix heads, four of which re-
prefent the four ages of life, and two the fciences in
which Boerhaave excelled, form a group iffuing be¬
tween the urn and its fupporters. The capital of this
baiis is decorated with a drapery of white marble, in
which the artid has fliown the different emblems of
diforders and their remedies. Above, upon the fur-
face of the pedefial, is the medallion of Boerhaave : at
the extremity of the frame, a ribband difplays the fa¬
vourite motto of this learned man ; Simplex vigilum
vevi, “ Truth unarrayed.”
Prom the time of the learned Hippocrates, no phy¬
fician has more juftly merited the effeem of his cotem¬
poraries, and the thanks of pollerity, than Boerhaave.
He united to an uncommon genius, and extraordinary
talents, the qualities of the heart, which gave them fo
great a value to fociety. He made a decent, fimple
and venerable appearance, particularly when age had
changed the colour of his hair. He was an eloquent
orator, and declaimed with dignity and grace. He
taught very methodically, and with great precifion j he
never tired his auditors, but they always regretted that
his difeourfes were finifhed. He would fometimes give
them a lively turn with raillery ; but his raillery was
refined and ingenious, and it enlivened the fubjeft he
treated of, without carrying with it any thing fevere
or fatirical. A declared foe to all excels, he confider-
ed decent mirth as the fait of life. It was the daily
practice of this eminent perfon, through his whole life,
as foon as he rofe in the morning, which was generally
very early, to retire for an hour to private prayer, and
meditation on forae part of the Scriptures. He often
told his friends, when they alked him how it was pof-
fible
/
B O E [ 763 ] B O E
Boevhaave. fible for him to go through fo much fatigue ? that it ly fuppreflfed that impetuous and ungovernable pafllon ? Boemaave
w—t ^ Was this which gave him fpirit and vigour in the bull- he anfwered, with the utmolt franknefs and lincerity, j,oet|j,jus
nefs of the day. ‘This he therefore recommended as that he was naturally quick of refentment : but tnat ,1
the hejl rule he could give : for nothing, he faid, could he had, by daily prayer and meditation, at length at¬
tend more to the health of the body than the tranquil- tamed to this maftery over himielf.
lity of the mind j and that he knew nothing which /\bout the middle ot the year I737> ^le ihd
could fupport himfelf, or his fellow-creatures, amidlt approaches of that fatal illnefs which brought him to
the various diftreffes of life, but a well-grounded con- the grave, viz. a diforder in his bread, which wTas at
fidence in the fupreme Being upon the principles of times very painful, often threatened him with imme-
Chriftianity. This was ftrongly exemplified in his own diate fuffocation, and terminated in an univerfal drop-
illnefs in 1*722, which can hardly be told without hor- fy : but during this afflictive and lingering illnefs, his
ror ; and by which the courfe of his lectures as well as conftancy and firmnefs did not forfake him •, he neither
his practice was long interrupted. He was for five intermitted the neceffary cares of life, nor forgot the
months confined t# his bed by the gout, where he lay proper preparations of death. About three weeks be-
upon his back without daring to attempt the lealt mo- fore his diffolution, when the Rev. Mr Schultens, one
tion ; becaufe any effort renewed his torments, which of the mod learned and exemplary divines of the age,
were fo exquifite, that he was at length not only de- attended him at his country houfe, the doctor defired
prived of motion but of fenfe. Here his medical art his prayers, and afterwards entered into a mod re-
was at a ftand y nothing could be attempted, becaufe markable judicious difcourfe with him on the fpiritual
nothing could be propofed with the lead profpect of and immaterial nature of the foul; and this he illudra-
fiiccefs? But, having (in the fixth month of his ill- ted to Mr Schultens with wonderful perfpicuity, by a
nefs) obtained fome remiflion, he determined to try wdre- defcription of the effects which the infirmities of his
ther the juice of fumitory, endive, or fuCcory, taken body had upon his faculties j which yet they did not
thrice a-day in a large quantity, (viz. above half a pint fo opprefs or vanquilh, but his loul was always mader
each dofe), might not contribute to his relief; and by of itfelf, and always refigned to the pleafure of its Ma-
a perfeverance in this method he was wonderfully re- ker—-and then he added, “ He who loves God ought
covered. This patience of Boerhaave’s was founded to think nothing defirable but what is mod pleafing to
not on vain reafonings, like that of which the Stoics the fupreme goodnefs.” Thefe were his ientiments,
beaded ; but on a religious compofure of mind, and and fuch was his conduct in this Hate of weaknefs and
Chridian refignation to the will of God. pain. As death approached nearer, he was fo far from
Of his fagacity and the wonderful penetration with terror or confufion, that he leemed lefs fenfible of pain,
which he often difeovered and deferibed, at the fird and more cheerlul under his torments, which conti-
light of a patient, fuch didempers as betray themfelves nued till the 23d day of September, 1738, on which
by no fymptoms to common eyes, fuch furprifing ac- he died (much honoured and lamented) between four
counts have been given, as fcarcely can be credited, and five in the morning, in the 70th year of his age—>
though atteded beyond all doubt. Yet this great ma- often recommending to the bye-danders a careful ob¬
iter of medical knowledge was fo far from having pre- fervation of St John’s precepts concerning the love of
fumptuous confidence in his abilities, or from being God, and the love ot man, as frequently inculcated in
puffed up by his riches, that he was condefcending to all, his fird epidle, particularly in the fifth chapter. Hjs
and remarkably diligent in his profeffion : and he often funeral oration was fpoken in Latin before the uni-
ufed to fay that the life of a patient (if trifled with or verfity of Leyden, to a very numerous audience, by
negledted) wmuld one day be required at the hand of Mr Schultens, and afterwards publithed at their parti-
the phyfician. He always called the poor his />«- cular defire. He wrote, Injlitutiones Medicce. 2.
tients; for God (faid he) is their paymader. The Aphorifmi de cognofcendis et curandis Morhis. 3. Jn-
a&ivity of his mind fparkled vifibly in his eyes. He Jhtutiones et Expenmenla Chemue. 4. Libellus de Ma-
was always cheerful, and defirous of promoting every tena Medic a, et remediorum formulis qua; ferviunt a-
valuable end of converfation j and the excellency of phorifmis. Swieten publifhed, Commentaries upon his
the Chridian religion was frequently the fubje<d of it : Aphorifms, in 5 vols 410} and feveral other works, all
for he afferted, on all proper occafions, the divine au- greatly edeemed.
thority and facred efficacy of the Scriptures; and BOER.H A AVIA. See Botany Index.
maintained, that they only could give peace of mind, BOESCHOT, a town of the Audrian Netherlands,
that fweet and facred peace which paffeth all under- in the province of Brabant, feated on the river Nethe,
danding ; fince none can conceive it but he who has in E. Long. 4. 45. N. Lat. 51. 5.
it; and5none can have it but by divine communica- BOETHIUS, or Boetius, Flavius Anicius
tion. He never regarded calumny nor detraidion (for Manlius Iorquatus Severinus, a profe as well
Boerhaave himfelf had enemies), nor ever thought it as poetical writer of the 6th century, born of one ot
neceffary to confute them. “ They are fparks (faid the nobled families of the city of Rome. I he time of
he) which, if you do not blow, will go out of them- his birth is related to have been about that period in
felves. The fured remedy againd fcandal, is to live the Roman hidory when Augudulus, whole fears had
it down by a perfeverance in well-doing ; and by pray- induced him to a refignation of the empire, wras ba-
ing to God that he would cure the didempered minds niihed, and Odoacer king of the Herulians began to
of thofe who traduce and injure us.” Being once aik- reign in Italy, viz. in the year of Chrid 476, or fome-
ed by a friend, who had often admired his patience what after. The father of Boetius dying while he was
under great provocations, whether he knew what it yet an infant, his relations undertook the care of his
was to be angry, and by what means he had fo entire- education and the direflion of his ftudies. His excel-
‘ 5 D 2 lent
B O E [ 764 ] BOG
Boethius lent parts were foon difcovered ; and, as well to en-
' rich his mind with the iludy of philofophy as to per-
fe6l himfelf in the Greek language, he was fent to A-
thens. Returning young to Rome, he was foon di-
fHnguifhed for his learning and virtue, and promoted
to the principal dignities in the date, and at length to
the confulate. Living in great affluence and fplen-
dour, he addi&ed himfelf to the fludy of theology, ma¬
thematics, ethics, and logic 5 and how great a mafter
he became in each of thefe branches of learning, ap¬
pears from thofe works of his now extant. The great
offices which he bore in the ftate, and his confummate
wifdom and inflexible integrity, procured him fuch a
fhare in the public councils, as proved in the end his
deflruftion : for as he employed his intereft with the
king for the protedfion and encouragement of deferv-
ing men, fo he exerted his utmoif efforts in the detec¬
tion of fraud, the reprefling of violence, and the de¬
fence of the date againft invaders. At this time Theo-
doric the Goth had attempted to ravage Campania ;
and it was owing to the vigilance and refolution of
Roetius that this country was preferved from deftruc-
tion. At length, having murdered Odoacer, Theo-
doric became king of Italy, where he governed 3 3
years with prudence and moderation, during which
time Boetius poffefled a large fflare of his efteem and
confidence. It happened about this time that Judin,
the emperor of the eait, upon his fucceeding to Ana-
daflus, made an edi6t condemning all the Arians, ex¬
cept the Goths, to perpetual banifhment from the ead-
ern empire : in this edift Hormifda bifflop of Rome,
and alfo the fenate, concurred. But Theodoric, who,
as being a Goth, was an Arian, was extremely trou¬
bled at it ; and conceived an averfion againd the fe¬
nate for the fflare they had borne in this profcription.
Of this difpodtion in the king, three men of profligate
lives and defperate fortunes, Gaudentius, Opilio, and
Badlius, took advantage. Having entertained a fe-
cret defire of revenge againd Boetius, for having been
indrumental in the difmifiion of the latter from a lu¬
crative employment under the king, they accufed him
of feveral crimes ; fuch as the difling a charge, the
end whereof was to involve the whole fenate in the
guilt of treafon ; and an attempt, by dethroning the
king, to redore the liberty of Italy ; and, ladly, they
fuggeded, that, to acquire the honours he was in pof-
feffion of, Boetius had had recourfe to magical art.
Boetius was at this time at a great didance from Rome ;
however, Theodoric tranfmitted the complaint to the
fenate, enforcing it with a fuggedion that the fafety,
as well of the people as the prince, was rendered very
precarious by this fuppofed defign to exterminate the
Goths. The fenate, perhaps fearing the refentment of
the king, and having nothing to hope from the fuccefs
of an enterprife which, fupponng it ever to have been
meditated, was now rendered abortive, without fum-
moning him to his defence, condemned Boetius to
death. The king, horvever, apprehending fome bad
eonfequence from the execution of a fentence fo fla¬
grantly unjufl, mitigated it to banifflment. The place
of his exile w7as Ticinum, now the city of Pavia, in
Italy : being in that place feparated from his relations,
who had not been permitted to follow him into his re¬
tirement, he endeavoured to derive from philofophy
thofe comforts which that alone was capable of afford¬
ing to one in his forlorn fltuation, fequeflered from his Boethius
friends, in the power of his enemies, and at the mer- II
cy of a capricious tyrant ; and accordingly he there LBog°mi1^
compofed that valuable difcourfe, entitled, Dc Confo- v"~"“
latione Pbilofophia’. About two years after his baniffl¬
ment, Boetius was beheaded in prifon by the command
of Theodoric. His tomb is to be feen in the church
of St Auguftine, at Pavia, near the ffeps of the chan¬
cel.
The extenfive learning and eloquence of this great
man are confpicuous in his works, which feem to have
been collefted with great care : an edition of them rvas
printed at Venice, in one volume folio, in 1499. In
1570, Glaveanus, of Bafil, collated that with leveral
manufcripts, and publiffled it, with a few various read¬
ings in the margin. His chief performance is that
above mentioned, De Confolatione Philofophice ; a work
well known in the learned world, and to which the af-
fliffed have often applied. In particular, our Saxon
king Alfred, whofe reign, though happy upon the
whole, was attended with great viciffitudes of fortune,
had recourfe to it at a time when his diflreffes com¬
pelled him to feek retirement : and that he might the
better imprefs upon his mind the noble fentiments in¬
culcated in it, he made a complete tranflation of it in¬
to the Saxon language, which, within thefe few years,
has been given to the world in its proper charafler.
And Camden relates, that Queen Elizabeth, during
the time of her confinement by her filler Mary, to mi¬
tigate her grief, read and afterwards tranflated it into
very elegant Engliffl. But it deferves alfo particular
notice, that he is the moll confiderable of all the La¬
tin writers on mufic ) and that his treatife De Mu pea
fupplied for fome centuries the want of thofe Greek
manufcripts which were fuppofed to have been loll.
BOG properly fignifies a quagmire, covered with
grafs, but not folid enough to fupport tl e weight of
the body ; in which fenle it differs only from marffle»
or fens, as a part from the whole : fome even reffrain.
the term bog to quagmires pent up between two hills j
whereas fens lie in champaign and low countries, where
the defeent is very fmall.—To drain boggy lands, a
good method is, to make trenches of a fufficient depth
to carry off the moillure *, and if thefe are partly filled
up with rough Hones, and then covered with thorn-
buffles and llraw, to keep the earth from filling up the
interllrces, a llratum of good earth and turf may be
laid over all j the cavities among the Hones wi 11 give
paffage to the water, and the turf will grow at top as
if nothing had been done.
Bog, or Bog of Gight, a fmall town of Scotland,
feated near the mouth of the river Spey, in W. Long.
2. 23. N. Lat. 57. 48.
Boa-Spavin. See Farriery Index.
BOGARMIT/E. See Bogomili.
BOGHO, or Bueil, a town in the county of Nice
in Piedmont, fituated on the frontiers of France, in E.
Long. 6. 45. N. Lat. 44. 12.
BOGLIO, a diftrifl in the territories of the duke
of Savoy, lying on the river Tinea on the frontiers of
Provence 5 the capital is of the fame name.
Boglio, a town of Piedmont, and county of Nice,,
being the capital of a territory of the fame name. E.
Long. 4. 50. N. Lat. 44. 1 2.
BOGOMILIj or BoGARMiTyE, in Church Uif cry,,
a
BOH
•Bohemia.
Eogoto a left of heretics, which fprung up about the year 1179.
They held, that the ufe of churches, of the facrament
_ of the Lord’s fupper, and all prayer, except the Lord’s
prayer, ought to be abolilhed ; that the baptifm of ca¬
tholics is imperfeft ; that the perfons of the Trinity
are unequal j and that they oftentimes made themfelves
vifible to thofe of their left. They faicf, that devils
dwelt in the churches, and that Satan had refided in
the temple of Solomon from the deftruftion of Jerufa-
Lm to their own time.
BOGOTO, the capital of New Granada in Terra
Firma in South America, near which are gold mines.
It is fubjeft to Spain. W. Long. 73. 55. N. Lat.
4. o.
BOGUDIANA (Pliny), a part of the Mauritania
Tingitana in Africa. According to Cluverius, it is
the Tingitana, anciently fo called from King Bogud.
BOHEA, in Commerce, one of the coarfelt kinds
of tea that come from China. See The a.
BOHEMIA, a kingdom of Europe fubjeft to the
houfe of Aultria, and lurrounded on every fide with
woods and mountains as with a natural rampart. It is
bounded on the eaft by Moravia and part of Silefia, on
the north by Lufatia and Upper Saxony, on the weft
by Franconia, and on the fouth by Bavaria. Although
this kingdom is fituated in the middle of Germany,
and its king is an eleftor of the empire, it has never-
thelefs its particular aflemblies, cuftoms, and language,
different from the Germans. It is one of the moft
elevated countries of Europe : for no river enters into
it, though many have their fource there ; the chief of
which are the Elbe, the Oder, the Viftula, and the
Morava. The air is cold and unwholefome ; for they
have more epidemical difeafes than in the neighbouring
countries. There are mines of filver, copper, lead, and
even feme veins of gold. The capital city is Prague ;
the others are Cuttenburg, Konigengretz, Pilfen, Cza-
ftaw, Budweys, Egra, Glatz, Tabor, and a great num¬
ber of others: for they reckon more than 100 cities,
among which almoft 40 have the title of Royal. The
name Bohemia, in the German language, fignifies the
home or abode, of the Boii, a people of ancient Gaul,
who under their leader Sergovefus fettled in that coun¬
try about 590 years before the Chriftian aera. Thefe
Boii were foon after expelled by the Marcomanni, a
nation of the Suevi, who were afterwards fubdued by
the Sclavi, a people of Scythia, whofe language is ftill
fpoken in Bohemia and Moravia. Notwithftanding
this expulfion of the Boii, the prefent inhabitants are
ftill called Bohemians by foreigners, but the natives call
themfelves Z.echs. At firft they were governed by
dukes; but the emperor Otho I. conquered the duke
of Bohemia, and reduced the province under the em¬
pire. Afterwards Henry Y. gave the title of king to
Ladillaus duke of Bohemia ; and fince that time thefe
kings have been eleftors and chief cup-bearers of the
empire, and the kingdom has been eleftive ; which
privileges have been confirmed by the golden bull.
Formerly the kings of Bohemia received the kingdom
as a fief of the empire, which ceremony was praftifed
upon the frontiers ; after which, the ftandards of the
principalities of which it is compofed were given to
them, without being torn and given to the people, as
is done with the enfigns of the other fiefs of the em¬
pire. Ferdinand I. of Auftria, having married Anne,
1 7G ]
B O H
filler of Louis, laft king of Bohemia, who died with- Boheiuia.
out iffue, and being elefted king, that kingdom has '•"“■'‘v
remained in his family ever fince. But the crown is
conferred with feme appearance of eleftion •, which
right the ftates of Bohemia ftill pretend to claim, not¬
withftanding that, by the treaty of Weftphalia, Bo¬
hemia is declared hereditary in the houfe of Auftria.
The king of Bohemia is the firft fecular eleftor, and
gives his opinion after the eleftor of Cologn ; though
he does not affift at the affembly of eleftors, except at
the eleftion of an emperor. For thefe 200 years pail
they have not appeared at the collegiate affemblies, nor
even at the imperial diets. However, in 1708, the
emperor cauled one of his deputies, in quality of king
of Bohemia, to enter into the college of eleftors at
the diet of Ratifbon, by the form of re-admiftion, to-,
gether with the deputy of the eleftor of Brunfwick.
The ftates of Bohemia have never been comprehended
in the government, or in the circles of the empire ;
they are not fubjeft to any of its jurifdiftions, nor to
the Roman months, taxes, or public contributions ; and
they owe nothing to the empire but what the emperor
Leopold voluntarily impofed upon himfelf, which
amounts to 6000 livres a-yearforthe imperial chamber.
The king pays homage to the emperor and the empire
for'his ftates as firft fecular eleftor •, otherwife he has a
right to exercife, through the whole extent of his do¬
minions, all authority that the royalty can give, pro¬
vided he do not violate the laws of the kingdom ; ac¬
cording to which he cannot raife contributions or taxes
but at the time when the ftates are affembledr the ap¬
pointing of which is entirely in their own power. The
government of Bohemia is different from that of all
other ftates, the affairs of the kingdom being managed
by fix different courts. Firft, the council of the re¬
gency, or the great royal council, in which prefides
the great judge or burgrave of Bohemia, and who •
has under him 18 lieutenants of the king and other
affeffors. Secondly, The council or fuperior chamber
cf juftice, at which the great mailer of the kingdom is
prefident. Thirdly, The chamber of fiefs. Fourthly,
The new tribunal to judge the appeals of the German
vaffals in their differences on the account of fiefs ; which
court has alfo its prefident, vice-prefident, and affeffors.
Fifthly, the royal chamber of finances, which has a pre¬
fident and vice-prefident. Sixthly, The chancery, which
always follows the court. Befides, every circle of Bohe¬
mia is governed by two bailiffs, who adminifter juftice in
their prefefture. The ftates are compofed of the cler¬
gy, lords, nobles, and burghers. As to Moravia, there
is a grand bailiff who governs it in the name of the
king of Bohemia, as margrave of Moravia. He is at
the head of the royal council, which is compofed of
three affeffors, and in which all is tranfafted in the
name of the king. This province is divided into five
circles, each of which has its bailiff. There are, be¬
fides, other officers of juftice, who have a right of
judging only at certain times, and in particular cafes,
where an appeal is allowed.
Bohemia w'as divided by the emperor Charles IV.
into 12 provinces, in each of which he ordered two
captains to be appointed every year for the adminillra-
tion of the government. The fame emperor caufed the
church of Prague to be erefted into an archbiffiopric,.
with this advantage, that the archbilhop..of Prague-
Ihould.
Bole
. 1!
Boiemum.
B O I
Bohemian fliould have the prerogative that
Mentz formerly enjoyed, viz. of crowning the king of
Bohemia. The duchy of Silefia, the marquifate of
, Moravia, and that of Lufatia, formerly held of this
crown, but now only that of Moravia, which is incor¬
porated with the kingdom of Bohemia, and is in the
pofleflion of the houfe of Auftria.
The only remarkable occurrence in the Bohemian
hiftory is the rebellion of the difciples of John Hufs,
and Jerome of Prague, on account of their leaders ha¬
ving been burnt as heretics. This occafioned a bloody
■war of 16 years continuance. For a particular account
of which, fee the article Hussites.
BOHEMIAN bole. See Bole.
Bohemian Brethren, a fed of Chriftian reformers
which fprung up in Bohemia in the year 1467. They
treated the pope and cardinals as antichrift, and the
church of Rome as the whore fpoken of in the Reve¬
lation. They reje&ed the facraments of the RomiPu
church, and chofe laymen for their minifters. They
held the Scriptures to be the only rule of faith, and
rejefted the popith ceremonies in the celebration of the
mafs, nor did they make ufe of any other prayer than
the Lord’s Prayer. They confecrated leavened bread.
They allowed no adoration but of Jefus Chrift, in the
communion. They rebaptized all fuch as joined them-
felves to their congregation. They abhorred the wor-
ihip of faints and images, prayers for the dead, celiba¬
cy, vows, and fafts; and kept none of the feftivals but
Chriftmas, Eafter, and Whitfuntide.
In 1 504, they were accufed by the Catholics to
King Ladiflaus II. who publifhed an edift againft them,
forbidding them to hold any meetings either privately
or publicly. When Luther declared himfelf againft
the church of Rome, the Bohemian brethren endea¬
voured to join his party. At firft that reformer (bowed
a great averfion to them •, but the Bohemians fending
their deputies to him in 1523 with a full account of
their doftrines, he acknowledged that they were a fo-
ciety of Chriftians whofe dodtrine came neareft to the
purity of the gofpel. This fe<ft publifhed another con-
feffion of faith in 1535, in which they renounced.ana-
baptifm, which they at firft pra&ifed : upon which a
union w'as concluded with the Lutherans, and after¬
wards with the Zuinglians, whofe opinions from thence¬
forth they continued to follow.
BOHOL, one of the Philippine iflands in Afia, ly¬
ing to the northward of Mindanoa, in L. Long. 122. 5.
N. Lat. to. o.
BOIANO, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of
Naples, and county of Molefe, with a bilhop’s fee. It
is feated at the foot of the Apennines, near the river
Txlerno, in E. Long. 14. 38. N. Lat. 41. 30.
BOIARDO (Matteo Maria of Ferrara), count
of Scandiano, celebrated for his Italian poems, lived in
the 15th century. His pidncipal work is his Orlando
inamorato. His Latin eclogues and ibnnets are alfo
much admired.
BOJARS, denote Ruffian noblemen. See RuiTia.
BOIEMUM, in Ancient Geography, a part of Ger¬
many, furrounded with the Montes Sudeti, (Ptolemy) j
now called Bohemia. It took its name from the Boii,
a people of Gaul, who removed thither before Cmfar’s
expedition into that country, (Crefar); though he feems
40 err in the name. The Bcii were afterwards driven
[ 766 3 BOX
the archbifhop of out by the Marcomanni, and fettlpd in the weft of Vm-
delicia, which was afterwards called Bayern, and hence
the name Bavaria.
BOII, (Csdar) ; a people of Celtica, extending from
the Ligeris to the Elaver, whence came the Bcii of
Gallia Cifalpina, whofe migration is related by Livy.
Bon. See Bohemia.
BOIGUACU, in Zoology, a fynonyme of the boa
conftridtor. See Boa, Op biology Index.
BOIL, or Furuncle. See thefubjoined to
Medicine, and Surgery.
BOILEAU, Sieur Nicholas Despreaux, the.
celebrated French poet, was born at Paris in 16 6. Af¬
ter he had gone through his courfe of polite literature
and philofophy, his relations engaged him to the ftudy
of the law, and he was admitted advocate. But though
he had all the talents neceffary for the bar, yet he could
not adapt himfelf to a fcience which turns upon conti
nual equivocations, and often obliges thofe who follow
it to clothe falfebood in the garb of truth. He there¬
fore determined to ftudy theology ; but he could not:
long endure the thorns of fchool divinity. He imagined,
that, to allure him more cunningly, chicanery, which
he thought to avoid, had only changed her habit; and
fo he renounced the Sorbonne, betook himfelf entirely
to the belles lettres, and took poffeffion of one of the
foremoft places in Parnafius. The public gave his
works the encomium they deferved 5 and Louis XIV.
who always loved to encourage the fciences and polite
literature, was not, only pleafed to have M. Boileau’s
works read to him conftantly as he compofed them,
but fettled a yearly penfion of 2000 livres upon him,
and gave him the privilege of printing all his works.
He was afterwards chofen a member of the French aca¬
demy and alfo of the academy of medals and infcrip-
tions. This great man, who was as remarkable for his
integrity, his innocence, and diffufive benevolence, as
for the keennefs of his fatires, died of a dropfy on the
2d of March 1711, in the 75th year of his age. The
Lutrin of Boileau, (till confidered by fome French
critics of the prefent time as the heft poem to which
France has given birth, was firft publifned in 1647.
It is with great reafon and juftice that Voltaire con-
fefles the Lutrin inferior to the Rape of the Lock.
Few poets can be fo properly compared as Pope and
Boileau ; and, wherever their writings will admit of
comparifon, we may, without any national partiality,
adjudge the fuperiority to the Englilh bard. Thefe
two great authors refembled each other as much in the
integrity of their lives, as in the fubjefts and execu¬
tion of their feveral compofitions. There are two ac¬
tions recorded of Boileau, which fufficiently prove that,
the inexorable fatirift had a moft generous and friendly
heart; when Patru, the celebrated advocate;,, who was
ruined by his paffion for literature, found himfelf un¬
der the painful neceffity of felling his expenfive library,
and had almoft agreed to part with it for a moderate
fum, Boileau gave him a much fuperior price } and,
after paying the money, added this condition to the
purchafe, that Patru fliould retain, during his life, the
polTeffion of the books. The fucceeding inftance of
the poet’s generofity is yet nobler :—when it was ru¬
moured at court that the king intended to retrench the
penfion of Corneille, Boileau haftened to Madame de
Montefpan, and faid, that his fovereigu, equitable as
he
B O I [ 767 1 B
Bailing. ^ he was, could not, without mjufhce, grant a penfion and qualities of the water
to an author like hmifelf, juft afcending Parnaffus, and
take it from Corneille, who had fo long been feated
on the furamit ; that he entreated her, for the honour
of the king, to prevail on his majefty rather to ftrike
off his penfion, than to withdraw that reward from a
man whofe title to it was incomparably greater ; and
that he ftiould more eaftly confole himfelf under the
lofs of that diftinftion, than under the affliiftion of fee¬
ing it taken away from fuch a poet as Corneille. This
magnanimous application had the fuccefs wdrich it de-
ferved, and it appearp the more noble, when rve recol¬
lect that the rival of Corneille was the intimate friend
of Boileau. The long unreferved intercourfe which
fubfifted bet ween our poet and Racine was highly be¬
neficial and honourable to both. The dying farewell
of the latter is the moft expreffive eulogy on the pri¬
vate cnaradder of Boileau : “ Je regarde comme un
bonheur pour moi de mounr avant vons” faid the
tender Racine, in taking a final leave of his faithful
and generous friend.
BOILING, or Ebullition, the bubbling up of
any fluid. The term is moft commonly applied to
that bubbling which happens by the application of fire,
though that which enfues on the mixture of an acid
and alkali is fometimes alfo diftinguifhed by the fame
name. Boiling, in general, is occafioned by the dif-
eharge of an elaftic fluid through that which is faid to
boil •, and the appearance is the fame, whether it is
common air, fixed air, or fteam, that makes its way
through the fluid. The boiling of water is proved by
L)r Hamilton of Dublin, in his effay on the afcent of
vapour, to be occafione^l by the lowermoft particles of
the ivater being heated and rarefied into vapour by rea-
fon of the vicinity of the bottom of the containing vef-
icl ; in confequence of which, being greatly inferior in
fpecific gravity to the furrounding fluid, they afcend
with great velocity, and lacerating and pufhing up the
body of water in their afcent, give it the tumultuous
motion called boiling. That this is occafioned by fteam,
and not by particles of air or fire, as fome have imagined,
may be very eafily proved in the following manner :
Let a common drinking glafs be filled with hot water,
and then inverted into a veffel of the fame : as foon as
the water in the veffel begins to boil, large bubbles wdll
be obferved to afcend in the glafs, which will difplace
the water in it, and in a fhort time there will be a con¬
tinual bubbling from under its edge ; but if the glafs is
then drawn up, fo that its mouth may only touch the
water, and a cloth dipt in cold water be applied to the
outfide, the fteam within it will be inftantly condenfed,
and the water will afcend fo as to fill it entirely, or
very nearly fo. See the article Evaporation.
O I
Pulfe boiled in. fea-water Boilins
grow harder j mutton boiled in the fame becomes
loiter and tenderer than in frelh water, but taftes
faltifh and bitter.
Boiling to Death (caldanis decoquere'), in the mid¬
dle age ; a kind of punilhment inflidled on thieves,
falfe coiners, and fome other criminals.
Boil ing is alio a method of trying or effaying the
goodnefs or falfenefs of a colour or dye. The fluff is
to be boiled in water with certain drugs, different ac¬
cording to the kind or quality of the colour, to try
whether or no it will dilcharge, and give a tinfture to
the water. With this view crimfon lilks are boiled
with alum, and fcarlets with foap, in quantity equal to
the weight of the filk.
BoiLiNG-lVel/s, in Natural Hi/lory. See Burning-
Springs, and Iceland.
BOINITZ, a town of Upper Hungary, in the
county of Zell, remarkable for its baths and the quan¬
tity of laffron that grows about it. E. Long. 10. ic.
N. Lat. 48. 42.
BOIOBI, in Zoology, the name of a fpecies of fer-
pent found in America, and called by the Portuguefe
cobra de verb. It is about an ell in length, of the
thicknefs of a man’s thumb, and is all over of a very
beautiful and Ihining green. Its mouth is very large,
and its tongue black. It loves to be about houies,
and never injures any creatureunlefs provoked or hurt;
but it will then bite, and its poifon is very fatal. The
natives take as a remedy againft its poifon, the root
ccia apia bruifed, and mixed with water. See Caa
Apia.
BOIORUM Deserta, in Ancient Geography, a di•
ftridt of Pannonia, lo called from the excilion of the
Boii by the Getae. Now the Weinerwald, of Lower
Auftria, towards Stiria, to the eaft of Mount Cetius,
or the Hahlenberg, and fouth of Vindobona or Vien¬
na.
BOIQUIRA, the American name for the rattle-
fnake.
BOIS-le duc, called by the Dutch Hertogen-bofch,.
a large, ftrong, and handfome town of the Nether¬
lands, in Dutch Brabant, feated between the rivers
Dommel and Aa, among moraffes, in E. Long. 6. 16,
N. Lat. 51. 45. _
Bois de Soignies, the foreft of Soignies in the Au-
ftrian Netherlands and province of Brabant, about three
miles fouth-eaft of Bruffels.
Bois de CoiJJi, the name give to a South American
tree growing about Surinam, held in the higheft efti-
mation by the Indians in that part of the world, and
now recommended to the phyficians of Europe by Dr
Fernin in a treatife lately publilhed at Amflerdam.
Boiling, in trade and manufactures, is a prepara- The root is efteemed an excellent ftomachic, reftoring
ton given to divers forts of bodies by making them the appetite, and affifting digeftion ; but it is chiefly
pafs over the fire, chiefly in water, though fometimes 1 ' || ’ ‘ r 1 ’ * ^ ’
in other liquors.
In this fenfe we fpeak of the boiling
of fait, boiling of fugar, copperas, &c.
Boiling of Silk with Soap is the firft preparation in
order to dyeing it. Thread is alfo boiled in a ftrong
lixivium of allies to prepare it for dyeing.
Boiling, in the culinary art, is a method of dref-
fmg meats by coftion in hot water, intended to foften
them, and difpofe them for eafier digeflion. The ef-
fedls of boiling are different according to the kinds
celebrated as an infallible remedy againft even the moft
inveterate intermittents. It is faid allb to be ufed with
great lafety and advantage in every fpecies of remit¬
tent and continued fever, with patients of all ages,
fexes, and conditions, even during pregnancy, and in
the puerperal ftate. Before employing it, however, it
is abfolutely neceffary to adminifter either a purgative
or emetic. The beft method of exhibiting it is in de-
co&ion : half an ounce of the bark of the root muft
be boiled in a clofe veffel with fix pints of water till one
half
B O K
Bokliara.
Boii!<ird half be confumed; the decoftlon is then ftrained off,
and a cupful taken every two hours till the fever is
j entirely extinguhhed. Six or feven days after a cure
is thus performed, it is generally neceffary to repeat the
purgative.
BOISSARD, John James, a famous antiquarian
born at Beiari§on the capital of Franche Compte in
France. He publilhed feveral colle&ions which are of
great uie to fuch as are defirous to underhand the Ro¬
man antiquities. He had a great paflion for this ftu-
dy, and drew with his own hand plans of all the an¬
cient monuments of Italy. He died at Metz. Octo¬
ber 30th 1602. His principal wonts are, I. Four vo¬
lumes in folio of Roman antiquities, adorned with
plates engraved by Theodore de Bey and his two fons.
2. Theatrum vhce humoncp ; which contains the lives of
198 famous perfons, with their portraits. 3. A trea-
tife de Divinatione et magicis Prcejligiis. Thefe works
are fcarce, and efteemed by the antiquarians.
BOIT, an excellent painter in enamel. He was
born in Stockholm, and bred a jeweller * which pro-
feffion he intended to follow in England \ but changed
his defrgn, and went into the country, where he taught
children to drawn He there engaged a gentleman’s
daughter, who w-as one of his fcholars, to promife
him marriage ; but the affair being difeovered, he w'as
thrown into prifon. In that con'finement, which laffed
two years, he ftudied enamelling^ an art to which he
fixed, on his return to London, and pra&ifed wuth the
greateft fuccefs. The prices he is faid to have obtained
lor his work are almoft incredible : but being engaged
in a very large defrgn for the court, and Queen Anne
dying before it was completed, he ran in debt, his
goods were feized by execution, and he fled to France ;
where he changed his religion, was countenanced by
the regent, and obtained a penfion of 250I. per an¬
num, but died fuddenly at Paris in 1726. There is a
large piece done by him at Kenfington, reprefenting
Queen Anne fitting, and Prince George Handing by
her and at Bedford-houfe is another very large plate
of the duke’s father and mother.
BOITJAPO, in Zoology, the name of a fpecies of
ferpent found in America; and called by the Portu-
guefe there, cobra di apo. It grows to feven or eight
feet long, is about the thieknefs of a man’s arm, and
very fmall and taper towards the tail. Its back is of
an olive colour 5 its belly yellow, and covered wuth ve¬
ry regular and elegant triangular foales. It feeds on
frogs, &c. but is very poifbnous, and its bite extremely
fatal.
BOKHARA, a city of'Fartary in Afia, and capi¬
tal of Great Bukharia, fituated one day’s journey to
north of the river Jehun, or Amu \ in E. Long. 65. 50.
N. Lat. 39. 15. In 1219 it was befieged by Jenghiz
Khan, as being part of Sultan Mohammed’s domi¬
nions, a defeendant of the famous Mahmud Gazni.
At that time, befides the city-walls, which w^ere very
ftrong, Bokhara had an outward enclofure r 2 leagues
in compafs •, which flint in not only the fuburbs, but
alio many pleafant feats and farms watered by the river
Soghd, from whence the ancient Sogdiana took its
name. The Mogul army arrived before the place in
July, and continued the fiege during the following
winter. In March 1220, they forced the outer wall,
find began to befiege the city in form. Sultan Mo-
[ 768 J
B O K
hammed had left in the city a very numerous garrifon -Bokha
under the command of three generals, who made a fally '1,1 v*1
at the head of 20,000 men : but being repulfed with
great lofs, their courage failed them ; and, inftead of
Haying to defend the inhabitants, as foon as they had
got into the city by one gate, paffed out by another
with their families, and almoH all their foldiers, hoping
to efcape by the darknefs of the night ; but their de-
fign being difeovered, they were purfued by a detach¬
ment of 30,000 Moguls ; and being overtaken at the
river Amu, they were, after a bloody difpute, almoff
all cut to pieces. Mean time, Jenghiz Khan, being in¬
formed of the confufion into which the city had been
thrown by the defertion of the garrifon, ordered an at¬
tack to be made on all fides at once 5 but while he rvas
preparing for this, the magiflrates and clergy went
out and prefented him with the keys of the city. Jen¬
ghiz Khan granted them their lives, on condition that
they gave no flicker to any of the fultan’s foldiers, and
put out all who fliould be fufpedted of being in that
prince’s interefl, which they promifed to do upon
oath. All the young people, however, who were dif-
pleafed with the furrender, retired with the governor
to the caffle, which was very Hrong, and refolved to
defend themfelves to the lafl extremity. Jenghiz Khan
having taken poffeflion of Bokhara, entered on horfe-
back into the great mofque, and afked merrily if that
was the fultan’s palace ? On being anfwered that it
was the houfe of God, he alighted j and giving the
principal magiflrate his horfeto hold, mounted the gal¬
lery where the ecclefiaflics ufually fat, and then taking
up the Koran, threw it under the feet of his horfes.
Having Haid there for fome time, he retired to his
camp; where, fome days after, having affembled the
principal people of Bokhara, and afeended a pulpit
eredled for that purpofe in the midff of them, he be¬
gan his fpeech by praifing God, and recounted all the
favours he had received from the Almighty : he then
mentioned the perfidious behaviour of their fultan to¬
wards himfelf, telling them that God had fent him, to
rid the world of fuch wicked men. As to them, he
teflified his fatisfa&ion for their having freely furnifhed
his army with neceffaries; and promifed that his fol¬
diers fliould not meddle with any goods which they
made ufe of in their houfes ; but commanded them to
deliver up what they had hidden, under pain of being
tortured. This fpeech had fuch an effefl, that the poor
inhabitants delivered up everything, as well what they
had concealed as what they had prefent ufe for ; not-
withflanding which, the tyrant foon after caufed the
city to be burnt, on pretence that fome of the fultan’s
foldiers were concealed in it. As all the houfes were
made of wood, except the fultan’s palace which was
built of ftone, and fome few private houfes of brick, the
whole was utterly confumed ; and Jenghiz Khan ha¬
ving found fome few foldiers that had aftually conceal¬
ed themfelves, put them all to death without mer¬
cy. The caflle furrendered at diferetion foon after ;
and though it was demoliffied, the governor and garri¬
fon, out of a very extraordinary piece of clemency from
fo bloody a tyrant, had their lives fpared. Bokhara
continued in ruins for fome years, but at length Jen¬
ghiz Khan ordered it to be rebuilt. It is now large
and populous; and is the refidence of a khan who is
altogether defpotic, though his power reaches but a
little
little ay without the city. I he town is feated on a
rifmg ground, with a ilender wall of earth and a dry
ditch. The houfes are low, built moftly of mud; but
toe catayanferas and mofques, which are numerous, are
all of brick. The bazars or market-places, which have
been ftateiy buildings, are now moilly in ruins. The
inhabitants are more civilized and polite than lome of
tneir neighbours ; and yet are cowardly, cruel, effe¬
minate, and very perfidious. Great numbers of Jews
and Arabians frequent this place, though they are
much opprefled, and frequently deprived of all their
properties by the khan or his attendants at pleafure.
At beft they pay heavy taxes, and it is almofl criminal
to be rich.
. BOL, Hans or John, a painter, born at Mechlin
in I534* received his firft inffruaions from a ma¬
llei of no great repute, whom he foon left ; and going
to Heidelberg, employed himfelf in copying feveral
piaures of the eminent artifts. His fubjeas are chiefly
la.ndfcapes with animals; but he alfo fometimes painted
hiflory, with no fmall fuccefs. We have by him a fet
of landfcapes, views in Holland, flightly etched, but in
a ftyle that indicates the hand of the mailer. He died
in 1593.
Bol, Ferdinand, a celebrated painter both of hi¬
flory and portraits, was born at Dort in 1611, and
educated at Amflerdam. In the fchool of the cele¬
brated Rembrandt Gerretz, he received his inftruc-
tions ys a painter ; and imitated the llyle of his ma¬
iler with no little fuccefs, not only in his pidlures but
in his engravings. BoPs etchings are bold and free.
1 he lights and fhadows in them are broad and power¬
ful, which renders the effect very linking; but they
want that lightnefs of touch and admirable tafle
which thofe of Rembrandt poffefs in fo great a de¬
gree. Bol died at Dort, the place of his birth, in
1681, aged 70.
BOKHARIA. See Bukharia.
BOLANDUS, John, a famous Jefuit, born at Til-
lemont in the Netherlands, in 1 796. He diftinguifhed
himfelf by writing the lives of the faints, under the title
of sii fa San&orum, of which he publifhed five volumes
in folio ; but died while he was labouring at the fixth,
in the 70th year of his age. The continuators of that
work are called Bo/andijfs.
BO LB I FINUM, in Ancient Geography, the fecond
mouth of the Nile reckoning from well to eafl ; now
very fmall, choaked up with fand, and called le Bras
de Beilin.
BOLENTIUM, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Pannonia Superior ; now Rackerjhurg in Stiria. See
RackersburG.
BOLES, are vifeid earths, lefs coherent and more
friable than clay; more readily uniting' with water,
and more freely fubfiding from it. They are foft and
un61 nous to the touch ; adhere to the tongue ; and by
degrees melt in the mouth, imprefling a light fenfe of
aflringency. 'I here is a great variety of thefe earths ;
the principal of which are the following.
I. Armenian bole, when pure, is of a bright red co¬
lour with a tinge of yellow : It is one of the hardeft
and mofl compadl bodies of this clafs, and not fmooth
and gloiTy like the others, but generally of a rough
and dully furface. It does not effervefee with acids,
though fome part of it is diilolved by all of them.
Voi. III. Part II.
Neuman obferves, that four ounces of Armenian bole Eoleflaus
diililled in a glafs retort in an open fire, yielded three I!
drachms of a faline phlegm, which fmelt a little uri- BoIeyn‘ ,
nous, and changed fyrup of violets green. In the neck
of the retort was found a little powdery faline matter
which had an ammoniacal tafle, but it was in too fmall
quantity to be coIle6ted or further examined. Like
mofl other coloured earths, this kind of bole contains
a portion of ferruginous matter, to which the co¬
lour is owing ; and wdiich may be feparated by the
magnet, after the bole has been calcined with oil or
other inflammable matters. It is likewife impregnated
with vitriolic acid ; and hence, when mixed with ni¬
tre or fea fait, it extricates the acids of thefe falts in
the fire.
2. French bole is of a pale red colour, variegated
with irregular fpecks of white and yellow. It is much
fofter than the Armenian, and flightly effervefees with
acids.
3. Bole of Blois is yellow, remarkably lighter than
moft of the other yellow' earths, and eftervefees flrong-
ly with acids.
4. Bohemian bole is of a yellow colour, with a caff
of red, and generally of a flaky texture. It is not a6t-
ed on by acids.
5. Lemnian earth is of a pale red colour, and flightly
effervefees with acids.
6. Silefian bole is of a pale yellow colour, and acids
have no fenfible effe6l upon it.
Thefe and other earths, made into little maffes, and
ftamped with certain impreflions, are called terra Jigil-
latee. 1 hey have been recommended as aflringent, fu-
dorific, and alexipharmic ; but thefe and many other
virtues that have been aferibed to them appear to have
no foundation. T hey are flill, however, preferibed in
fluxes and complaints of the primae vise.
BOLESLAFF, or Buntzlau, a town of Silefia,
feated on the river Bobar, in E. Long. 16. o. N. Lat,
51. 12.
BOLESLAUS I. and II. kings of Poland. See
Poland.
BOLETUS, spunk. See Botany Index.
BOLEYN, Ann, queen of Henry VIII. of Eng¬
land ; memorable in the Englifh hiftory, as the firft
caufe of the reformation, as the mother of Queen Eli¬
zabeth under whom it was completely eftablifhed, and
alfo on account of her own fufferings. She was the
daughter of Sir T. homas Boleyn, and born in 1 507.
She was carried into France at feven years of age by
Henry VIIPs fifler, who was wife of Louis XII: nor
did flie return into England when that queen retired
thither after the death of her hufband ; but ftaid in the
fervice of Queen Claudia the wife of Francis I. and after
the death of thatprincefs went to theduchefs of Alei;$on.
The year of her return is not w'ell known : fome will
have it to have been in 1527, others in 1 525. This
milch is certain, that flie was maid of honour to Q^een
Catharine of Spain, Henry VIII’s firft wife; and that
the king fell extremely in love with her. She behaved
herfelf with fo much art and addrefs, that by refufing
to fatisfy his paflion, fhe brought him to think of mar-
rying her : and the king, deceived by hei into a per-
fuafion that he fliould never enjoy her unlefs he made
her his wife, was induced to fet on foot the affair of his
divorce with Catharine, which at laft was executed
5 E with
B O L
Boleyn. with great folemnity and form.
 V   obferves, that “ That which would have been very
praife-worthy on another occafion, was Anne Boleyn’s
chief crime : fince her refufing to comply with an amo¬
rous king, unlefs he would divorce his wdfe, was a
much more enormous crime than to have been his con¬
cubine. A concubine (fays he) would not have de¬
throned a queen, nor taken her crown or her hulband
from her 5 whereas the crafty Anne Boleyn, by pre¬
tending to be chafte and fcrupulous, aimed only at the
ufurpation of the throne, and the exclulion of Catha¬
rine of Arragon and her daughters from all the honours
due to them.” In the mean time, Henry could not
procure a divorce from the Pope •, which, we know,
made him refolve at length to difown his authority,
and to fling off his yoke. Neverthelefs he married
Anne Boleyn privately upon the 14th of November
1532, without waiting any longer for a releafe from
Rome ; and as foon as he perceived that his new wife
was with child he made his marriage public. He cau-
fed Anne Boleyn to be declared queen of England on
Eafter-eve 1533, and to be crowned the firft of June
following. She was brought to bed upon the 7th of
September of a daughter, who was afterwards Queen
Elizabeth ; and continued to be much beloved by the
king, till the charms of Jane Seymore had fired that
prince’s heart in 1536. Then his love for his wife
was changed into violent hatred : he believed her to
be unchafte, and caufed her to be imprifoned and tried.
44 She was induffed of high treafon, for that (lie had
procured her brother and other four to lie with her,
which they had done often : that fliehad faid to them,
that the king never had her heart ", and had laid to
every one of them by themlelves, that fhe loved him
better than any perfon whatever; w:hich wras to the
{lander of the iffue that wTas begotten between the king
and her.' And this was treafon according to the ftatute
made in the 26th year of this reign •, fo that the. law
which wras made for her and the iffue of her marriage,
is now made ufe of to deftroy her. She was con¬
demned to be Cither burnt or beheaded ; and ihe un¬
derwent the latter on the 19th of May 1536. The
right reverend author of the Hijlory of the Ref01 motion,
relates fome very remarkable things of her.behaviour
during the time of her imprifonment, and a little before
her execution. When (lie was imprifoned, flie is laid
to have a&ed very different parts ; fometimes feeming
devout and {bedding abundance ot tears, then ab of
a hidden breaking out into a loud laughter. A few
hours before her death, (he faid, that the executioner
rvas very handy 1 and befides, that ihe had a very finall
neck *, at the fame time feeling it with her hands, and
laughing heartily. However, it is agreed that flie died
with great refolution •, taking care to fpread her gown
about her feet, that fhe might fall with decency j as
the poets have related of Polyxena, and the hiftorians
of Julius Csefar. Roman-catholic waiters have taken
all occafions to rail at this unhappy woman, as well
through vexation at the fchifm which fhe occafioned., as
• for the fake of defaming and diflionouring Queen Eliza¬
beth by this means ; and they have triumphed vehe-
mentlv, that in the long reign of that queen, no endea¬
vours'were ufed to juftify her mother. But either
Queen Elizabeth or her minifters are greatly, to be ad¬
mired for prudence in this refpeft} lince it is certain;
[ 77° ] B O L
A celebrated author that Anne Boleyn’s juftification could never have been
carried on without diicovering many things w'hich mull
have been extremely prejudicial to the queen, and have
weakened her right inltead of elfablifliing it. hor
though the reprefentations of the papifts are in no wife
to be regarded, yet many things might have been laid
to the difadvantage of her mother, without tranfgrefling
the law's of true hiftory 5 as that fhe was a woman gay
even to immodefty, indifcreet in the liberties flie took,
and of an irregular and licentious behaviour.
BOLINGBROKE, or Bullingbroke, a town of
Lincolnfliire in England, and of great, antiquity, but
now in a mean condition. It gives title of vilcount
to the St Johns of Batterfea. E. Long. O. 40. N.
Lat. 53. 15.
Bolingbroke, Henry St "John, lord vifcount, a
great ftatefman and philofopher, defcended from an
ancient and noble family, was born about the year
1672. He had a regular and liberal education-, and
by the time he left the univerfity, was confidered as a
perfon of uncommon qualifications: but with great parts,
he had, as it ufually happens, great paflions,. and thefe
hurried him into many indifcretions and follies. Con¬
trary to the inclinations of his family, he cultivated
Tory conneftions } and gained fuch an influence in
the houfe of commons, that in 1704 ke w'as appointed
fecretary of w'ar and of the marines. He wras cloiely
united in all political meafures with Mr Harley : when,
therefore, that gentleman was removed fiom tne feals
in 1707, Mr St John refigned his employment ; and
in 1710, when Mr Harley wras made chancellor of the
exchequer, the poft of fecretary of ftate w-as given ^to
Mr St John. In 1712 he was created Baron St John
of Lediard-Tregoze in Wiltfliire, and Vifcount Bo¬
lingbroke. But being overlooked in the beftow'al of
vacant ribbons of the order of the garter, he relented
the affront, renounced the friendihip of Harley tke11
earl of Oxford, and made his court to the Whigs. Ne¬
verthelefs, on the acceflion of George I. the feals were
taken from him 5 and being informed that a refolution
was taken to purlue him to the fcaffold, for his con-
du£I regarding the treaty of Utrecht, he withdrew to
France. liere he accepted an invitation to enter into
the Pretender’s fervice, and accepted the .feals as his
fecretary : but he was as unfortunate in his new con-
neflions as in thofe he had renounced ) for the year
17x5 was fcarcely expired, when at the fame time that
he was attainted of high treafon at home, the feals and
papers of his foreign fecretary’s office were taken from
him followed by an accufation from the Pietender
and his party, of negleft, incapacity, and treachery.
Such a complication of diftrefsful events threw him
into a ftate of refleftion, that produced by way of re¬
lief a confolatio phdofophica, w'hich he wrote the lame
year under the title of RefeSiions upon exile j and the
following year drew up a vindication of his condudf
with refpea to the Tories, in the form of A Letter to
Sir William Wyndham. His firft lady being dead, he
about this time efpoufed a niece of the famous Madame
Maintenon, and widow of the Marquis de Vilette, with
whom he had a very large fortune. In 1723 the king
w'as prevailed on to grant him a free pardon, and he
returned in confequence to England ; but was by no
means fatisfied within, while he was yet no more than ^
mere titular lord, and remained excluded from the
houie
Boling-
broke.
B O L [ 771
■Bolifavv houfe of peers. This ftigma operated to fix him in fea.
II enmity to Sir Robert Walpole, to whofe fecret enmity
Bologne. att;rikuted his not receiving the full extent of the
ciemenCy ; hence he dittinguifhed himfelf by a
multitude of political writings, till the year 1735? w^en
being thoroughly convinced that the door was finally
{hut againft-him, he returned once more to France. In
this foreign retreat he began his courfe of Letters on
the ftudy and ufe of Hiftory, for the ufe of Lord Com-
bury, to whom they are addrefied. Upon the death
of his father, who lived to be extremely old, he fettled
at Batterfea, the ancient feat of his family, where he
pa.Ted the remainder of his life in philofophical digni¬
ty. Pope and Swift, one the greateft poet, the other
the greateft wit, of the time, perfectly adored him; and
it is well known that the former received from him the
materials for his incomparable poem the “ Effay on
Man.” He died in 1751, and left the care and benefit
of his MSS. to Mr Mallet, who publiihed them toge¬
ther with his former printed work, in 5 vols 4to ; they
are alfo printed in 8vo.
BOLISAW, a town of the kingdom of Bohemia in
Germany, fituated in E. Long. 14. 35. N. Lat. 50. 25.
BOLKOWITZ, a town of Silefia in the duchy of
Glogaw. E. Long. 15* 2o. N. Lat. 51. 27.
BOLLARDS, large polls fet into the ground on
each fide of a dock. On docking or undocking ftiips,
large blocks are lalhed to them ; and through thefe
blocks are reeved the tranfporting hawfers to be brought
to the capftans.
BOLLITO, a name by which the Italians call a
fea-green colour in artificial cryftal. To prepare this
colour, you muft have in the furnace a pot filled with
401b. of good cryrtal, firft carefully tkimmed, boiled,
and purified, without any manganefe : then you muft
have twelve ounces of the powder of fmall leaves of cop¬
per thrice calcined, and half an ounce of zaffre in pow¬
der : mix them together ; and put them at four times in¬
to the pot, that they may the better mix with the glafs;
ftirring them well each time of putting in the powder,
left the mixture fhould fwell and run over.
BOLOGNA, an ancient, large, and very handfome
town of Italy, in the territory of the church, and ca¬
pital of the Bolognefe ; an archbiftrop’s fee, and an
univerfity. The public buildings are magnificent, as
well with regard to the architefture as the ornaments,
efpecially the paintings, which are done by the greateft
mafters. There is a vaft number of palaces, in one
of which the pope’s nuncio refides ; the private houfes
are alfo well built. Here are 169 churches, and the
town is faid to contain about 80,000 inhabitants. All
the gates and windows are open during the fummer;
infomuch that one may fee into their apartments and
gardens, where there are vaft numbers of orange trees
that perfume the air. It is a place of great trade,
which is in fome meafure owing to a canal that runs
from this city to the river Po. The Reno, which runs
near Bologna, turns 400 mills that are employed in the
filk-works ; befides, they deal in wax, loan, hams,
faufages, and even lap-dogs, which are greatly efteem-
ed. It is feated at the foot of the Apennine moun¬
tains, in E. Long. 11. 30. N. Lat. 44. 27.
BOLOGNE, by the Englifti commonly called Bul-
lert, a city of France, in the department of the Straits
of Calais, and capital of the Bolonnois, feated near the
] B O L
It is divided into two towns, the Uppel’ and Bologneie
Lower ; the firft is ftrongly fortified, the other is en- Bomf^aertk
clofed by walls only. The port is at the mouth of the y—_/
river Lianne, but the water is fo (hallow that no (hips
of burden can enter it. It is defended on the fide of
the river by a mole, which (helters it from the winds,
and at the fame time prevents the river from filling it
with filth. E. Long. I. 40. N. Lat. 50. 42.
BOLOGNESE, a fmall province of Italy, in the
territory of the church, bounded on the north by the
Ferrarefe, on the weft by the duchy of Modena, on
the fouth by Tufcany, and on the eaft by Romagna.
It is watered by a great number of fmall rivers, which
render its foil the moft fertile of any in Italy. Bologna
is the capital, and from the great produce of the land
about it is called Bologna the fat. It produces abun¬
dance of all forts of grain and fruits; particularly mui-
cadine grapes, which are in high efteem. Here are
mines of alum and iron ; and the inhabitants fabricate
large quantities of linen, filk {lockings, and cloth. This
territory was overrun by the French in I79^> anc^
now included in the Cifalpine republic.
Bolognese. See Gp.imaldi.
BOLOGNIAN or Bononian stone, a phofphoric
fubftance firft difeovered near Bologna in Italy, whence
it received its name. It has been luppofed to contain
fome metallic matter, on account of its great fpecific
gravity ; but it is now found to be only a compound
of ponderous earth and fulphuric acid. See Bary¬
tes, Mineralogy Index.
BOLSANE, a town of Germany, in the territory
of Tyrol, and circle of Auftria. It is very agreeably
fituated in the midft of a fine large valley, full of vil¬
lages, and abounding in vineyards. The wines in this
valley arevthe beft in all Tyrol; but they muft be drank
the year after that of their growth, otherwife, they be¬
come unfit for ufe. E. Long. 11. 11. N. Lat. 46.
42. .
BOLSENNA, a town of Italy, in the territories of
the pope, feated on a lake of the fame name. E. Long.
11. 3. N. Lat. 42. 37.
BOLSTER, among furgeons, a foft yielding fub¬
ftance, either laid under the head or a broken limb.
In this fenfe, bolfters are contrived for crooked, bun¬
ched, and otherwife diftorted backs, {boulders, &c.
By a conftitution made under Archbiihop Burchier,
the clergy are forbidden to wear bolfters about their
(boulders, in their gowms, coats, or doublets. The
occafionof the prohibition is varioufiy conftrued. Some
fay that bolfters came in faftiion in the reign of King
Richard III. who being neceftitated, by his natural
deformity, to pad, the courtiers, and even the clergy,
did the fame, out of complaifance to their prince ; fo
that every body who had the misfortune to be born
ftraight, was obliged to wear a bolfter on his fhoulders
to be in the faftiion. Others, however, controvert this;
alleging that the conftitution above-mentioned was
made 20 years before the ufurpation of Richard.
Bolsters of a faddle, thofe parts of a great faddle
which are raifed upon the bows, both before and be¬
hind to hold the rider’s thigh, and keep him in a
right pofture.
BOLSWAERT, a town of the United Provinces,
in Weft Frieftand, and in the county of Weftergoe.
E. Long. c. 35. N. Lat. 53. 6.
5 E 2 EOLSWERT,
BOL t?72] BOL
Bolfwert. BOLSWERT, or Bolsuerd, Boetius Ad. )n a,
»■ -v- _■ an engraVer and printfeller eftabliflied at Antwerp, was
the defcendant of a family who refided at the city of
Bolfwert in Friefland, from whence he derived his
name. He flourifhed about 1620; but by what ma¬
iler he was inftrufted in the art of engraving, does not
appear. He worked with the graver only ; the free
open ftyle of the Bloemarts Ire imitated with great fuc-
cefs ; and perhaps perfefled himfelf in their fchool.
When he worked from Rubens, he altered that ftyle j
and his plates are neater, fuller of colour, and more
highly finifhed. The two following from this mafter
may be here mentioned. i.The Refyrre&ion of La¬
zarus, a large upright plate. 2. The Laft Supper, its
companion. Bafan, fpeaking of this print, fays, that
it proves by its beauty, and the knowledge with which
it is engraved, that Boetius could fometimes equal his
brother Scheltius.
Bolswert or Bolfuerd, Scheltius a, an admi¬
rable engraver, was the brother of Boetius Adam a
Bolfwert mentioned in the preceding article. We
have no other account of his family than what is there
given ; nor unfortunately any of himfelf of the leaf!
confequence. The time of his birth and of his death,
and the name of the mafter he ftudied under, are e-
qually unknown. Bolfwert worked entirely with the
graver, and never called in the afliftance of the point.
His general characler as an artift is well drawn by Ba¬
fan, in the following words: “ We have a large num¬
ber of prints, which are held in great efteem, by this
artift, from various mafters 5 but efpecially from Rubens,
whofe piflures he has copied with all poflible know¬
ledge, tafte, and great effeft. The freedom with which
this excellent artift handled the graver, the pifturefque
roughnefs of etching, which he could imitate rvithout
any other aftifting infttument, and the ability he pof-
feffed of diftinguifhlng the different maffes of colours,
have always been admired by the connoiffeurs, and give
him a place in the number of thofe celebrated engra¬
vers, whofe prints ought to be confidered as models by
all hiftorical engravers, who are defirous of rendering
their works as ufeful as they are agreeable, and of ac¬
quiring a reputation as lading as it is juftly merited.”
He drew excellently, and without any manner of his
own 5 for his prints are the exaft tranferipts of the pic¬
tures he engraved from. His beft works, though not
always equally neat or finiftied, are always beautiiul,
and manifeft the hand of the mafter. Sometimes we
find his engravings are in a bold, free, open ftyle ; as
the Brazen Serpent, the Marriage of the Virgin, &c.
from Rubens. At other times they are very neat, and
fweetly finifhed : as, the crowning with Thorns, and
the Crucifixion, &c. from Vandyck. Mr Strutt ob-
ferves, that his boldeft engravings are from Rubens,
and his neateft from Vandyck and Jordaens.—How
greatly Bolfwert varied his manner of engraving ap¬
pears from fome prints, which, like the greater part of
thofe of his brother Boetius, bear great refemblance to
the free engravings of the Bloemarts, and to thofe of
Frederic Bloemart efpecially ; and form a part of the
plates for a Large folio volume, entitled Academie de
(a) Prints of this impreftion are very rare, and at
I'E/jbee, by Girard Thibault of Antwerp, where it was Eolfwert*
publiihed, A. D. ibzSj and to thefe he figns his name,
“ Scheltius,” and fometimes “ Shelderic Bolfwert,”
adding the word Bruxelle. His name is ufually af¬
fixed to his plates in this manner, “ S. A. Bolfwert.”
It is very neceffary to caution the colle&ors of this ma¬
iler’s works (thofe efpecially who are not very conver-
fant with them), that many of them have been copied
in a very careful manner, fo as eafily to deceive the un-
ikilful. Some of thefe copies, as the Marriage of the
Virgin, from Rubens, &c. are by Lauwers. But
thofe which are moft likely to miflead, are by Ragot,
a French engraver, employed by Mariette the printfel¬
ler, who frequently meeting with the reverfes or coun¬
terproofs from the prints of Bolfwert, gave them to
the engraver; and he imitated them with the utmoft
precifion. By this means the impreflions from the
plate copied come upon the paper the fame way with
the original. It is true his name is ufually affixed
at the bottom ; but it is often cut oft’, and then the
copy is not eafily diftinguilhed frofn the original.
Among other prints thus imitated by Ragot from
Bolfwert, is Chrift crucified between the two Thieves,
where the foldier is reprefented piercing his fide, from
Rubens.
Among the variety of eftimable engravings by this
great artift, the few following may be here mentioned.
X. The Brazen Serpent, a large plate, lengthwife,
from Rubens. Thofe impreftions are the moft efti¬
mable which have only the wmrd Antuerpia at the
right-hand corner, without the name of Giles Hendrix,
which v7as afterwards inferted above it, and part of the
fmall circle over the arms is left rvhite. 2. Abra¬
ham offering his fon liaac, a large plate nearly fquare,
from Theodore Rombout. 3. The education of the
Virgin by Saint Anne, a middling-fized upright plate,
from Rubens. Thofe impreffions without the name of
Hendrix are the moft efteemed. 4. The marriage of
the Virgin, a middling-fized upright plate, from the
fame painter. Thofe impreffions are beft in which the
word Antuerpice is not added to the name of Hendrix.
5. The adoration of the wife men, a middling-fized up¬
right plate, from the fame. The good impreffions of
this plate have the name of Vanden Enden. 6. The
feaft of Herod, in which is reprefented the daughter
of Herodias, prefenting the head of John the Baptift:
to her mother, a large plate, lengthwife, from the
fame. 7. The miraculous draught of fifties; a large
print lengthwife, on three plates, from the fame. 8.
Chrift crow ned w'ith thorns ; a large upright plate from
Vandyck: An admirable print; with the name of Van¬
den Enden. 9. A crucifixion, where a figure appears
prefenting the fponge to Chrift, St John and the
Virgin are Handing at the foot of the crofs, and Mary
Magdalene is reclining towards it ; a large upright
plate, from Vandyck. Of this admirable engraving
there appear to have been four different impreffions;
though Baffan mentions only three, and fays that in
the firft the left: hand of St John is hid. The chief
marks of thofe impreffions are : In the ift, St John’s
left hand appears on the ftioulder of the Virgin (a).
In
fales have been known to fetch from 25I. to 30L
B O L
In the 2cl Impreffion, the hand is erafed : This Bafan
calls the firft impreffion 5 and it fells at a very high
price. In the 3d impreffion, the hand is rellored : In
the 4th, it is again erafed : And in both, the ffiort
ftrokes upon the ground near the great toe of the fi¬
gure who holds the fponge are croffed with fecond
firokes j wffiich crofs-hatchings are not in the two firft
impreffions. There are feveral other crucifixions by
the fame mailer after different defigns. 10. The god
Pan playing upon his flute, from Jordaens. 11. Mer¬
cury and Argus, a large plate lengthwife, from the
fame. 12. A drunken Silenus, fupported by a fatyr,
and another figure ; a middling fized upright plate from
Rubens. Of thefe three lall, the impreffions without
the addrefs of Bloteling are the bell. 13. A chafe of
lions: a large plate lengthwife, from the fame. 14. A
variety of landfcapes.
BOLT, among builders, an iron fallening fixed to
doors and window’s. They are generally diftinguilh-
ed into three kinds, viz. plate, round, and Ipring
bolts.
Bolts, in Gunnery, are of feveral forts; as, 1. Tran-
fum-bolts, that go between the cheeks of a gun car¬
riage, to llrengthen the tranfums. 2. Prife bolts;' the
large knobs of iron on the cheeks of a carriage, wffiich
keep the hand-fpike from Hiding, wffien it is poizing up
the breech of a piece. 3. Traverfe bolts; the two ffiort
bolts, that, being put one in each end of a mortar car¬
riage, ferveto traverfe her. 4. Bracket-bolts; the bolts
that go through the cheeks of a mortar, and by the
help of quoins keep her fixed at the given elevation.
And, 5. Bed-bolts; the four bolts that fallen the
brackets of a mortar to the bed.
Bolts, in a fhip, are iron pins, of which there are
feveral forts, according to their different makes and
ufes. Such are drive-bolts, ufed to drive out others.
Ray-bolts, with jags or barbs on each fide, to keep
them from Hying out of their holes. Clench-bolts,
which are clenched with rivetting hammers. Forelock-
bolts, which have at the end a forelock of iron driven
in to keep them from llarting back. Set-bolts, ufed
for forcing the planks, and bringing them clofe to¬
gether. Fend or fender bolts, made with long and
thick heads, and ffruck into the uttermoll bends of the
fhip, to fave her fides from bruifes. And ring-bolts,
ufed for bringing to of the planks, and thofe parts
wffiereto are faftened the breeches and tackle of the
guns.
Bolt of Canvas, in commerce, the quantity of 28
ells.
BoLT-Rope, in naval affairs, a rope paffing round the
fail, to which the edges of it are fewed, to prevent
the fail from tearing : the bottom part of it is called the
foot-rope ; the fides, leeches ; and if the fail be oblong
or fquare, the upper part is called the head rope.
BOLTED flour, that which has paffed through
the bolters. See the follow ing article.
BOLTER, or Boulter, a kind of fieves for meal,
having the bottoms made of woollen, hair, or even
wire. The bakers ufe bolters wffiich are worked by
the hand; millers have a larger fort, wrought by the
motion of the mill.
BOLTING, a term of art ufed in our inns of court,
wffiereby is intended a private arguing of cafes. The
manner of it at Gray’s inn is thus; An ancient and
B O M
two barriflers fit as judges ; three fludents bring each
a cafe, out of which the judges choofe one to be ar¬
gued ; wffiich done, the Undents firft argue it, and af¬
ter them the barrifters. It is inferior to mooting ; and
may be derived from the Saxon wmrd ho/t, “ a houfe,”
becaufe done privately in the houfe for inftruftion. In
Lincoln’s inn, Mondays and Wednefdays are the bolt¬
ing days in vacation time ; and Tuefdays and Thurf-
days the moot days.
Bolting, or Boulting, the afl of feparating the
flour from the bran by means of a fieve or bolter.
See Bolter.
BoLTiNG-Cloth, or Bo/^/er-c/is/A, fometimes alfo called
Boulting cloth, denotes a linen or hair-cloth for lifting
meal or flour.
Bolting-MHI, a verfatile engine for lifting with
more eafe and expedition. The cloth round this is
called the bolter.
Bolting, or Boulting, among fportfmen, lignifies
roufing or diflodging a coney from its refting place.
They fay, to bolt a conty,fart a hare, roufe a buck,
&c.
BOLTON, or Boulton, Edmund, an ingenious
Engliffi antiquarian, who lived in the beginning of the
17th century. His moll conliderable work is that en¬
titled Eero Ccefar, or Monarchic depraved, dedicated
to the duke of Buckingham, lord-admiral, printed at
London 1624, folio, and adorned with feveral curious
and .valuable medals. It is divided into 55 chapters,
in fome of wffiich are introduced curious remarks and
obfervations. In the 24th and 25th chapters he gives
an account of the revolt in Britain, againft the Ro¬
mans, under the conduA of Boadicea, wffiich he intro¬
duces with a recapitulation of the affairs in Britain from
the firft entrance of the Romans into this illand under
Julius Csefar, till the revolt in the reign of Nero. In
chapter 36th he treats of the Eaft-India trade in Nero’s-
time, wffiich wTas then carried on by the river Nile, and
from thence by caravans over land to the Red-fca, and
thence to the Indian ocean ; the ready coin carried
yearly from Rome upon this account amounting, ac¬
cording to Pliny’s computation, to above 300,000!.
llerling ; and the ufual returns in December and Ja¬
nuary yielding in clear gain an hundred for one. Be-
fides this he wrote, 1. An Engliffi tranflation of Lu¬
cius Florus’s Roman Hiftory. 2. Hypercritica, or a
rule of judgment for reading or waiting our hiftories,
3. The elements of armories, &.c.; and fome other
wmrks.
Bolton, a towm of Lancafliire in England, feated
on the river Croell, and pretty well built. It has a
manufadlure for fuftians, and the market is confider-
able for cloth and provifions. W. Long. 2. 15. N.
Lat- 53- 55*.
BOLUS, in Pharmacy, an extemporaneous form of
a medicine, foft, coherent, a little thicker than ho¬
ney, and the quantity of which is a little morfel or
mouthful; for which reafon it is by fome called buc-
cel/a.
BOMAL, a town of Luxemburg in the Auftrian
Netherlands, fituated on the river Ourt, in E. Long.
5. 30. N. Lat. 50. 20.
BOMB, in military affairs, a large ffiell of call iron,,
having a great vent to receive the fufee, which is made
of wood. The ffiell being filled with gunpowder, tha
fufee:
[ 773 1
Bomb-
Cheft
BOM [
fufee is driven into the vent or aperture, within an inch
of the head, and faftened with a cement made of quick-
Bombardo. lirae’ a^es> brick-duff, and (feel filings, worked toge-
■ —■ ther in a glutinous water •, or of four parts of pitch,
two of colophony, one of turpentine, and one of wax.
This tube is filled with a combuffible matter, made of
two ounces of nitre, one of fulphur, and three of gun¬
powder-duff, well rammed. To preferve the fufee,
they pitch it over, but uncafe it when they put the
bomb into the mortar, and cover it with gunpowder-
duff ; which having taken fire by the flafh of the powder
in the chamber of the mortar, burns all the time the
bomb is in the air ; and the compofition in the fufee
being fpent, it fires the powder in the bomb, which
burffs with great force, blowing up whatever is about
it. The great height a bomb goes in the air, and the
force with which it falls, makes it go deep into the
. earth.
Bombs may be ufed without mortar-pieces, as was
done by the Venetians at Candia, when the Turks had
pofTefled themfelves of the ditch, rolling down bombs
upon them along a plank fet Hoping towards their works,
with ledges on the fides, to keep the bomb right for¬
ward. They are fometimes alfo buried under ground
to blow up. See Caisson.—Bombs came not into
common ufe before the year 1634, and then only in
the Dutch and Spanifh armies. One Malthus an Eng-
lifh engineer is faid to have firlt carried them into
France, where they were put in ufe at the fiege of
Collioufe. The French have lately invented a new
fort of bombs of vaff weight called Commmges.—The
art of throwing bombs makes a branch of gunnery,
founded on the theory of projeftiles, and the laws and
qualities of gunpowder. See Gunnery, Projectiles,
Gunpowder, &c.
Bomb-Che/1, is a kind of cheft filled ufually with
bombs, fometimes only with gunpowder, placed under
ground, to tear and blow it up in the air with thofe
who ftand on it. Bomb-cheffs were formerly much
ufed to drive enemies from a poft they had feized or
were about to take poffefiion of: they were fet on fire
by means of a fauciffee faftened at one end, but they are
now much difufed.
BoMR-VeJJels, which are fmall fhips formed for
throwing bombs into a fortrefs, are faid to be the in¬
vention of M. Reyneau, and to have been firft ufed at
the bombardment of Algiers. Till then it had been
iudged imprafticable to bombard a place from the fea.
See Ketch.
BOMBARD, a piece of ordnance anciently in ufe,
exceedingly ftiort and thick, and with a very large
mouth. There have been bombards which have thrown
a ball of 300 pound weight. They made ufe of cranes
to load them. The bombard is by fome called bafilifk,
and by the Dutch donderbafs.
BOMBARDIER, a perfon employed about a mor¬
tar. His bufinefs is to drive the fufee, fix the (hell, and
load and fire the mortar.
Bombardier. See Carabus, Entomology In-
ilex •
BOMBARDMENT, the havock committed in
throwing bombs into a town or fortrefs.
BOMBARDO, a mufical inftrument of the wind
kind, much the fame as the bafloon, and ufed as a bafs
to the hautboy. 1
Bombay.
774 1 BO M
BOMBASINE, a name given to two forts of fluffs, Bombafine
the one of filk, and the other croffed of cotton.
BOMBAST, in compofition, is a ferious endeavour, ,
by (trained defeription, to raife a low or familiar fub-
je£t beyond its rank \ which, inftead of being fublime,
never fails to be ridiculous. The mind in fome ani¬
mating paflions is indeed apt to magnify its objedts be¬
yond natural bounds •, but fuch hyperbolical deferip¬
tion has its limits ; and when carried beyond thefe, it
degenerates into burlefque, as in the following ex¬
ample.
Sejanus.-
-Great and high,
The world knows only two, that’s Rome and I.
My roof receives me not j ’tis air I tread,
And at each ftep I feel my advanc’d head
Knock out a ftar in heaven.
Sejan. of Ben. Johnfon, Ad! v.
A writer who has no natural elevation of genius is ex¬
tremely apt to deviate into bombaft. He {trains above
his genius, and the violent effort he makes carries him
generally beyond the bounds of propriety.
BOMBAX, or SILK cotton TREE. See Botanic
Index.
Bombay, in Zoology, a fynonyme of a fpecies of
Conus. Bombax is alfo ufed fometimes for filk or
cotton; but the true botanic name of cotton is Gos-
sypium. It is likewife applied by Linnaeus to fignify
fuch infedts as have incumbent wings, and feelers re-
fembling a comb.
BOMBAY, an ifland in the Eaft Indies near the
coaft of Decan, fituated in N. Lat. 19. o. and E.
Long. 73. o. It has its prefent name from the Por-
tuguefe Buon-bahia, on account of the excellent bay
formed by it together with the winding of other
iilands adjacent. The harbour is fpacious enough to
contain any number of fhips, and has Irkewife excellent
anchoring ground, affording alfo, by its land-locked
fituation, a flielter from any winds to which the mouth
may be expofed. # *
This ifland w^as formerly reckoned exceedingly un- This iiland
healthy, infomuch that it had the name of the burying Tr^a ‘
ground of the Englifh, though it is now fo far impro- th^n for_
ved in this refpedl as to be no worfe than any other tnerly, and
place in the Eaft Indies under the fame parallel of la- why.
titude. The rcafons of this unhealthinefs and the fub-
fequent improvements are enumerated by Mr Grofe.
1. The nature of the climate, and the precautions re¬
quired by it, being leis underftood than they are at
prefent. 2. Formerly there obtained a very pernicious
praftice of employing a final! fry of fifh as manure for
the cocoa-trees which grow in plenty on the iiland ;
though this has been denied by others, and perhaps
with juftice, as the putrid effluvia of animal bodies fet ms
to be very effeftually abforbed by the earth, when
buried in it. All agree, however, that the habitations
in the woods or cocoa-nut groves are unwholefome by
reafon of the moifture, and want of a free circulation of
air. 3. Another caufe has been afligned for tire fu-
perior healthinefs of this ifland, viz. the leffening of
the waters by the banking of a breach of the fea,
though this does not appear fatisfa&ory to our author.
There is ftill, fays he, a great body of fait water mr
the infide of the breach, the communication of which
with the ocean being lefs free than before the breach was,
built,
V
BOM [ 775
Bonbay. built, mufl: be proportionably more apt to ftagnate,
BOM
2
Cfimate,
&.C.
Fifh in all
the ftag-
nant pools
formed by
the rains.
Account of
the quanti¬
ty of rain
that falls
during the
rainy fea-
fon.
and to produce noxious vapours.
Whatever may be the caufe, however, it is certain,
that the ifland of Bombay no longer deferves its for¬
mer character, provided a due degree of temperance
be obferved j without which health cannot be expefted
in any warm climate.
The climate of Bombay feems to be drier than ma¬
ny other parts under the fame parallel. The rains laft
only four months of the year, but with Ihort intermif-
lions. The fetting in of the rains is commonly uiher-
ed in by a violent thunder-florm called there the Ele-
phanta from its extraordinary violence. The air, how¬
ever, is then agreeably cooled, and the exceflive heat,
then nearly at its height, much moderated. The rains
begin about the end of May, and go off in the begin¬
ning of September ; after which there never falls any
except a ihort tranffent flrower, and that but very
rarely.
A very extraordinary circumftance is related by Mr
Ives concerning the iffand of Bombay during the rainy
feafon, viz. that, ten days after the rains fet in, every
pool and puddle fwarms with a fpecies of fifh about
fix inches long and fomewhat refembling a mullet.
Such a phenomenon has occafioned various {peculations.
Some have imagined that the exhaling power of the
fun is fo ftrong in the dry feafons as to be able to raife
the fpawn of thefe filhes into the atmofphere, and there
fufpend and nourifh it till the rains come on, wdien it
drops down again in the ftate of living and perfedffly
formed fifh. A lefs extravagant fuppofition isr that
after the ponds become dry, the fpawn may poffibly
fall into deep fiflures below the apparent bottom, re¬
maining there during the dry feafon, and being fup-
plied with a fufficient quantity of moifture to prevent
it from corruption. ■
The quantity of rain that falls at Bombay in one
feafon has been accurately meafured by Mr Thomas,
Mr Ives’s predecefibr as hofpital furgeon. His appara¬
tus confiffed of a lead cylinder about nine inches dia¬
meter, and as many deep, marked on the infide with
inches and tenths. To prevent the water from fplafh-
ing over, he cut a hole two inches from the bottom,
and placed the cylinder in a glazed earthen veflel ; af¬
ter which a wax-cloth was fecurely tied round it, fo as
to cover the veflel, and prevent any water from getting
in, excepting what pafled through the cylinder. When
more than two inches fell, the hole in the fide was
flopped with wax, and the water poured from the
veflel into the cylinder to afcertain its quantity. It
was kept in an open place free from houfes, and mea¬
fured at fix in the morning, noon, and fix in the even¬
ing. The following table fhows the quantity of rain
that fell from the 25th of May, when it firft began,
though the fky looked cloudy over land from the be¬
ginning of the month.
May 1756. June.
Days of Quantity of Days of
rain in the month.
In. Tenths.
  03 4  
  07 5  
Tune. 6  
  0 l 7 ...1 1 ...
the month.
25  
31
June.
Days of Quantity of
the month. rain in
In. Tenths.
August.
Bombay.
Quantity of
rain in
In. Tenths.
) I
> 6
1 8
8
9
11
x 2
*3
15
16
*7
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
3°
29
July.
Days of
the month.
September.
3
8
9
10
11
12
13
16
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
;7—30-
OCTOBER.
2 7   2
9   2
15   o
16, 17   o
22 The air
clear, without
fine and
cloud,
the land and fea-breezes
regular.
Whole quantity of rain in
In. Tenths.
May — 10
June _ 44 7
July — 29 9
Auguft — 19 o
September 11 2
Oflober — 4 5
10
Total no
In this journal our author makes no mention of the
elephanta above mentioned from Mr Grofe as the fore-
iunner of the rainy feafon, though he mentions a ftorm
under
3
BOM
[ 775 ]
BOM
Bombay, under that name on the 9th of O&ober. It was an
‘"-'■“V—■" exceffive hard gale, with violent thunder, lightning,
and rain ; of which laft there fell two inches in no
more than four hours. Neither is the quantity of
thunder and lightning at all comparable to what people
unacquainted with hot climates might be apt to ex¬
pert. The only thunder-ftorms mentioned in the
journal were on May 31ft, June 3d, 5th, 12th, 14th ;
September'yth, Oclober 9th, an elephanta j and fume
, thunder on the 15th of the fame month.
Vegetable The vegetable produdlions of Bombay are very in-
produdtions fignilicant. Mr Ives fays, that its “ foil is fo barren
of Bombay. as not; to proc]uce any 0ne thing worth mentioning j”
but afterwards informs us, that its “ natural produce
is the cocoa-nut tree, from which they extradl a li¬
quor called toddy. This is foft and mild when drunk
immediately : but if it Hands long, it gathers ftrength,
and becomes very intoxicating 5 whence probably arofe
the term toddy-headed. For each tree a tax of 20s. a-
year is paid to the company, which is appropriated to¬
wards maintaining the garrifon and fhips of war.”
Mr Grofe gives an account fomewhat different.—
“ The oarts, or cocoa-nut groves, make the molt con-
fiderable part of the landed property, being planted
wherever the fituation and foil is favourable to them.
When a number of thefe groves lie contiguous to each
other, they form what is called the woods; through
which there is a due fpace left for roads and path-ways,
where one is pleafantly defended from the fun at all
hours in the day. They are alfo thick let with houfes
belonging to the refpeftive proprietors as well as with
the huts of the poorer fort of people ; but are very un-
wholefome for the reafons already given. As to the
cocoa-nut tree itfelf, not all the minute defcriptions I
have met with in many authors feem to me to come up
to the reality of its wonderful properties and ufe. The
cultivation of it is extremely eafy, by means of chan¬
nels conveying water to the roots, and by the manure
already mentioned laid round them. An owner of 2CO
cocoa-nut trees is fuppofed to have a competency to
live on.
“ As to the rice fields, they differ in value, accor¬
ding to the finenefs and quantity of rice they produce.
The growth of this grain has a particularity not un¬
worthy of notice, viz. that as it loves a watery loil, fo
to whatever height the wrater rifes, wdierever it is
planted, the growth of the rice keeps meafure with it,
even to that of 12 and 14 feet; the fummit always ap¬
pearing above the furface of the wrater. It is alfo re¬
marked, that the eating of new rice affedls the eyes.
The fa£l is certain, though the phyfical reafon of it is
unknown.
“ Here and there are interfperfed fome few brab
trees, or rather wild palm trees (the w’ord brab being
derived from brabo, which in the Portuguefe fignifies
wild.) They bear an infipid kind of fruit, about the
bigneis of a common pear ; but the chief profit from
them is the toddy, or liquor drawn from them by in-
cifions at the top, of vrhich the arrack is reckoned bet¬
ter than that produced by the cocoa-nut trees. They
are generally near the fea-fide, as they delight moft in
a fandy foil. It is on this tree that the toddy birds, fo
called from their attachment to it, make their exqui-
fftely curious neifs, wrought out of the thinnel! reeds
and filaments of branches, with an inimitable mecha-
2
nifm. The birds themfelves are about the fize of a Bombay-,
partridge, but are of no value either for plumage, fong,
or the table.
“ This ifland is a ffrong inftance of the benefits of
a good government, and a numerous population $ for
not a fpot of it remains uncultivated ‘. fo that though
it is far from producing fufficient for the confumption
of its inhabitants, and notw'ithftanding its many difad-
Vantages of fituation and foil, it yields incomparably
more than the adjacent iiland of Salfette.”
Among the curiofities of Bombay Mr Ives mentions Pu||c;^t‘e3'
a large terapin or land tortoife kept at the governor’s
houfe, the age of which wTas upwards of 200 years.
Frogs, which abound everywhere through the Faff
Indies, are very large at Bombay. Our author faw
one that meafured 2 2 inches from the extremities of
the fore and hind feet when extended ; and he fuppo-
fes that its weight would not have been lefs than four
or five pounds. On the fea-fhore round the ifiand are
a great variety of beautiful ihells, particularly the fort
called vent/e-traps or wend/e-traps, held in great e-
ffeem among the ladies fome time ago. Several pounds
fterling are faid to have been given by a virtuofo for
one of thefe fhells when .Commodore Leflie’s collec¬
tion of fhells w?as fold by auftion. 7
Mr Ives enumerates the following kinds of fnakes’Different
found on this ifland and other parts of the Britifh em-^incl ot
pire in the Fall Indies. I. The cobra de capella, grow- j^re5
ing from four to eight or nine feet long. They kill
by their bite in 15 minutes. 2. The cobra 7?iamla is
a fmall bluiih fnake, of the fize of a man’s little finger,
and about a foot long, frequently feen about old walls.
A fpecies of thefe found at Bombay kill much fooner
than even the former. 3. The palmira, a very thin
beautiful fnake, of different colours: its head is like
that of the common viper, but much thicker than the
body. Our author faw one that was four feet long,
and the body not much thicker than a fwan’s quill.
4. The green fnake is of a very bright green colour,
with a fharp head : towards the tail it is fmaller than
in the middle. The largeft part of it is no bigger than
a tobacco-pipe. 5. The fand fnake is fmall and fhort,
but not lefs deadly than the others. 6. The cobra de
aurelia refembles an earth-wmrm, is about fix inches
long, and no bigger than a fmall crow-quill. It kills
by getting into the ear, caufing madnefs, &c. 7. The
manila bortiba is a very beautiful fnake, of almofl the
fame fize throughout the whole length, except at the
two ends, where it comes to a point. It is white on
the belly, but finely variegated on the back. It lives
in the fand, and is faid to fling with its tail, which oc-
cafions contractions in the joints.
Bombay is the moft confiderable Englifli fettlement
on the Malabar coaft $ and by reafon of its fituation,
may be ftyled the grand ftorehoufe of all the Arabian
and Perfian commerce. It is alfo the moft convenient
place in all the Eaft Indies for careening or heaving
down large fhips; and for fmall ones they have a very
good dock. They have alfo a very good rope-yard j
and indeed, fays Mr Ives, “ this is the only place, in
this diftant part of the world, for fhattered ihips to re¬
fit at, having always a good quantity of naval ftores,
and its very name conveying an idea of a fafe retreat
in foul weather.” 8
On this ifland are many little forts and batteries, Difierent
which fort5> &c-
%
BOM
Bombay, which carry fome guns; but the principal fort, which
defends the place, has above an hundred. Mr Grofe
finds fault with the fituation of this laft fort, which he
fays, not only does not command the harbour fufH-
ciently, but is itfelf overlooked by an eminence called
Dungharee point. The caftle itfelf is a regular qua¬
drangle, well built of ftrong hard ftone. In one of the
baftions facing Dungharee point is a large tank or ci-
ftern which contains a great quantity of water conllant-
ly replenilhed by the ftationary rains. There is alfo a
well within the fort, but the vrater is not very good,
and liable to be dried up by the heats. The water of
Bombay in general indeed is not good, which has been
given as a reafon why the Gentoo merchants were not
fond of fettling upon it ; for as they drink no wine
nor fpirituous liquors, they are very nice judges of the
tafte and qualities of waters.
When the town of Bombay began to increafe con-
fiderably, it was judged proper to add the fecurity of
a w'all round it to the ftrength of the fort it had be¬
fore. Even then, however, it was neglefted to take
in the dangerous poll of Dungharee, which now evi¬
dently commands both the town and fort. There has
fince that time been added, at a great expence, a ditch
that encompaffes the wall, and can be Hooded at plea-
lure, by letting in the fea, which terminates the ditch
on two fides, fo that the towm is now entirely furround-
ed with water, and is one of the ftrongeft places in
India.
Next to Bombay, the moft confiderable fort on the
illand is that of Mahim. It is fituated at the oppofite
extremity of the ifland, and commands the pafs of Ban-
durah, a fort dire&ly oppofite to it on the coaft of
Salfette. From this ifland Bombay is feparated by an
arm of the fea, capable of receiving only fmall craft.
The other forts are capable of making but a flight de¬
fence.
About two miles out of town, towards the middle
of the ifland, the fea had gained fo far as almofi; to di¬
vide it in two, and rendered the roads impaflable. A
great quantity of this water, however, was drained off
at a very confiderable expence, and a caufeway raifed
which kept it from overflowing again. This caufeway
is above a quarter of a mile in length, and confidera-
bly broad j “ but (fays Mr Grofe), there is one grofs
fault remarked in it ; that, being bending near the
middle, the architeft has oppofed to the fea a re-enter¬
ing angle inftead of a faliant one.” Within the beach,
however, there is flill a confiderable body of water,
that has a free communication with the fea, as appears
by its ebbing and flowing ; fo that it is probable the
caufeway itfelf, erefted at the expence of at leaft
too,oool. may in no long time be totally undermined
and thrown down.
When the ifland of Bombay was ceded to the En-
glifh by the Portuguefe, it was divided, and ftill con¬
tinues to be fo, into three Roman Catholic pariflies,
Bombay, Mahim, and Salvacam. The churches of
thefe are governed by priefts of that religion, and of
any nation excepting Portugal, who were exprefsly
objetffed to at the time of ceflion. The bulk of the
land-proprietors at that time were Meftizos and Cana-
rins. The former are a mixed breed of the natives
and Portuguefe j the latter purely aborigines of the
country converted to the Popiih religion. The other
- Vo t. III. Part II.
. .9
iviiion,
c.
[ 777 ] BOM
land-owners were Moors, Gentoos, and Parfees ; but Bombay,
thefe lafl; are of more modern date, having purchafed w V~ J
effates on the ifland. The company has alfo a very
confiderable landed eftate either by purchafes, confif-
cations for crimes, or feizures for debt. The land is
laid out in cocoa-nut groves, rice fields, and onion
grounds, which lafl: are reckoned of an excellent qua¬
lity.
There is only one Englifli church at Bombay, a
very neat commodious building feated on a fpacious
area called the Green ; which continues from the
church to the fort, and is pleafantly laid out in walks
planted with trees, round which the houfes of the En-
gliih inhabitants are moftly fituated. Thefe are gene¬
rally only ground-floored, with a court-yard before
and behind, in which are the offices and out-houfes.
They are fubftantially built of ftone and lime, and
fmooth plaftered on the outfide. They are often kept
white-walhed, which, however neat, is in fome re-
fpefts very difagreeable, by reafon of the exceflive
glare it occafions in reflecling the light of the fun. Few
of them have glafs windows to any apartment; the
faflres being generally paned with a kind of tranfparent
oyfter-lhells, fquare cut ; which have the Angular pro¬
perty of tranfmitting fufficient light, at the lame time
that they exclude the violent glare of the fun, and
have befides a cool look. The flooring is generally
compofed of a kind of loam or flucco called chunam^
being a lime made of burnt (hells, which if well tem¬
pered in a peculiar manner known to the natives, is
extremely hard and lafting, and takes fuch a fmooth
polilh, that one may fee his own face in it. But where
terraces ajre made of this fubftance, unlefs it be duly
prepared, and which is very expenfive, it is apt to
crack by the fun’s heat. Some attempts have made to
paint the ftucco walls in apartments j but thefe have
proved abortive through the ignorance of the artifts,
who have not chofen colours capable of refilling the al¬
kaline power of the lime *. Our author remarks, that * See Ca¬
in the gardens of Surat he faw this kind of ftucco made loUr makmZ'
ufe of inftead of gravel for the walks. They were a
little raifed above the garden beds, fo that they mull
be inftantly dry after the moft violent rain \ though
their whitenefs and polilh muff: not only produce a dif¬
agreeable reflexion in funlhine, but be extremely ilip-
pery to walk on. The houfes of the black merchants
are for the moft part extremely ill built and inconve¬
nient j the window lights fmall, and the apartments
ill diftributed. Some, however, make a better ap¬
pearance if only one ftory high ; but even the bell of
them have a certain meannefs in the manner, and clum-
finefs in their execution, which renders the architecture
contemptible in comparifon of the European. There
is one convenience, however, in all the houfes of Bom¬
bay, viz. fmall ranges of pillars that fupport a pent-
houfe or Hied, forming ivhat are called in the Portu¬
guefe language verandas, either all round the houfe-,
or on particular fides of it, which afford a pleating (bel¬
ter from the fun, and keep the inner apartments cool
and refrelhed by the draught of air under them. The
pagodas, or temples of the Gentoos, are low mean
buildings, having ufually no light but what is admit¬
ted by the door; facing which is the principal idol.
They imagine that a dark gloomy place infpires a kind
of religious horror and reverence j and are very fond
5 F of
BOM [ 778 ] BOM
Bombay, of having thefe pagodas among trees, and near the fide
, ■ v—of a tank or pond, for the fake of their frequent ablu¬
tions. Thefe tanks are often very expenfive ; being
generally fquare and furrounded with flone Heps that
jo are very convenient for the bathers.
Inhabitants, The natives of Bombay, though compofed of almoft
manners, eVery Afiatic nation, are fhorter of Ifature and ftrong-
er than the inhabitants of the Coromandel coaft.
Here a palanquin which requires fix men to carry it
at Madras, or Tort St David, is carried by four.
Here are fome Parfees, who like their forefathers the
ancient Perfians, are follow'ers of Zoroafter, who is
faid to have reduced into order the religion of the Per-
fian magi; the fundamental maxim of which was the
worlhipping of one God under the fymbol of light.
They adore the fun, particularly wrhen rifing, with the
moft profound reverence and veneration j and liken ife
pay a kind of adoration to common fire. Mr Ives had
once the opportunity of obferving the manner in which
they perform this devotion. A large brafs pan was
placed in the middle of the houfe with fire in it: be¬
fore this fire, or rather on each fide of it, two men
rvere kneeling at their devotions, pronouncing their
prayers with great rapidity. lie was afterwards in¬
formed, that one of them was a prieft, at that time on
a vifit to another prieft in a fit of ficknefs. He was
likewife informed, that the Parfees have fuch a vene¬
ration for the fire, that they never put it out, or even
breathe upon it ; and he obferved, that while the two
priefts were at their prayers over the pan of coals, they
had a little white bib over their mouths, as he fuppo-
fed to prevent their breath from approaching their fa¬
vourite element. The prayers, however, from the fi-
milarity of the founds, appeared to him only to be a
repetition of the fame fet of words. The vifiting prieft
ufed many geftures with his hands over the fire, and
afterwards ftroaked down the face of the fick prieft,
which our author looked upon to be the final benedic¬
tion, as the ceremony ended immediately.
As the Gentoos burn their dead, one wmuld ima¬
gine that the Parlees, who have fuch a veneration for
fire, would be defirous of having their bodies confumed
by that element but inftead of this, they expofe their
dead bodies to be devoured by birds of prey ; becaufe,
fay they, a living man is pompofed of all the elements^
fo that it is but reafonable, after he is dead, that every
particular element fhould receive its owm again. On
the top of Malabar hill, about twro miles from the
town of Bombay, there are twm round buildings for re¬
ceiving the dead bodies of the Parfees, which remain
there till the bones are clean picked by the birds. This
is certainly an abominable cuftom, and affords very
fhocking fpecfacles 5 however, a guard is always pla¬
ced at a little diflance to prevent people from prying
too narrowly into thefe matters, or, as Mr Ives fays,
to enfure the vultures of their repaft without any di-
fturbance. Ivlr Grofe tells us, that on his going to
look into one of thefe repofitories, a Parfee advifed
him in a friendly manner to let it alone, as no perfon,
who was not a party concerned, would long furtive
fuch curiofity. He tells us alfo, that the perfon ap¬
pointed to look after the dead, carefully obierves which
eye is firfl picked out by the birds, and from thence
fudges of the fituation of the foul of the deceafed ; a
Hate of happinefs being indicated by the right eye be¬
ing full picked out. Mr Ives obferves, that by rea- Bombay
fon of tlie heat of the fun, much lefs noxious vapour ^J!^
is emitted by thefe bodies than might be expected j^ ,
the flefir being foon (hrivelled up, and the bones turn¬
ing quite black.
At the extreme point of Malabar-hill there is a
rock, on the defeent to the fea, flat on the top, in
which there is a natural crevice, which communicates
with a hollow terminating at an exterior opening to the
fea. This place is ufed by the Gentoos as a purifier
from their fins. This purification is effecled by their
going in at the opening, and coming through the cre¬
vice, though it feems too fmall for people of any cor¬
pulence to pafs. 1 r
In Bombay, and indeed in many other places of the Oxen ufect
Eaft Indies, oxen are generally ufed inftead of horfes,
not only for drawing carriages but for riding and, 1 1 1 ■'
however ridiculous luch a pradftice may ieem to us, it
appears that they are not in this refpedt inferior to
ordinary horfes, being capable of going at the rate of
feven or eight miles an hour. They are commonly of
a white colour, with large perpendicular horns, and
black nofes. The only inconvenience that attends
them, is, that, by being naturally fubjeft to a lax habit
of body, they fometimes incommode the rider with
filth thrown upon him by the continual motion of their
tails. In other refpedls they are far preferable to In¬
dian horfes, and will trot and gallop as naturally as the
horfes of this country. Admiral Watfon, while at
Bombay, was allowed a chaife drawn by two of thefe
oxen by the Eaft India Company. At the end of
every ftage the driver always put the near bullock in
the place of the other ; he then puts his hand into both
their mouths, to take out the froth 5 without which
precaution they would be in danger of fuffccation.
For the Hiftory, Government, &c. of Bombay, fee
the articles Indostan, and Eq/t India Company.
BOMB ketch, a fmall veftel built and ilrengthened
with large beams for the ufe of mortars at fea.
BOMBUS, in Mufic, an artificial motion with the
hands, imitating in cadence and harmony the buzzing
of bees. The word is originally Greek, and fignifits
the buzz or noife of bees, gnats, and the like. In this
fenfe, bombus made one of the fpecies of applaufe uied
by the ancient auditories.
* Bombus, in Medicine, denotes a murmuring noife,
as of wind breaking out of a narrow into a larger cavi¬
ty, frequently heard in the thick inteftines. The bom¬
bus heard in the ears, in acute difeafes, is laid down by
Hippocrates as a fign of death.
BOMBYLIUS. See Entomology Index.
BOMENE, a fea-port town of the United Provinces
in Zealand, feated on the northern fhore of the iiland
of Schonen, oppofite to the ifiand of Goree, in E.
Long. 4. o. N. Lat. 51. 50.
BOMMEL, a town of Dutch Guelderland, fituated
on the northern fhore of the river Waal, in E. Long.
5. 50. N. Lat. 52.0.
BOMONICI, in Grecian antiquity, young men of
Lacedcemon, who contended at the facrifices of Diana
which of them was able to endure moft lafties; being
fcourged before the altar of this goddefs.
BONA, by the Moors called Balederna, a fea-port
town of the kingdom of Algiers in Africa, fituated in
E. Long. 7. 57. N. Lat. 36. 5. It was formerly rich,
populous^
BON [
£ona. populous, capital of the province of the fame
under the kingdom of Conftantina, and is fuppofed by
fome to be the ancient Hippo, once the feat of the
great St Auftin, and a fea-port built by the Romans.
The inhabitants, however, deny it to be the ancient
Hippo, which had been fo often taken, retaken, and
deftroyed by the wars j and pretend it to be fince
rebuilt at the diftance of two or three miles from the
ancient Hippo, out of its ruins, and called Baleed-tl-
Ugned, from a fort of trees of that name that grow in
the neighbourhood. It is nowr a very mean place,
poorly built, and thinly inhabited, withfcarce any traces
of its former grandeur, except the ruins of a cathedral,
or as others guefs, of a monaftery, built by St Auftin,
about three miles diftance from the city. Near thefe
ruins is a famed fpring called by his name, much re-
forted to by the French and Italian failors, who come
to drink of its waters, and pay their devotions to a
maimed ftatue faid alfo to belong to the faint, but fo
mutilated that no traces either of face or drefs are re¬
maining j and as each of them ftrives to break off fome
fplinter, or to fcrape off fome part of it on account of
its iuppofed fandtity, it will probably be foon reduced to
a ftate of non-exiftence. Bona wras taken by the pirate
Barbaroffa, and joined to his new kingdom of Algiers j
but as quickly loft, and recovered by its old mafters the
Tunifeens, who foon after loft it again. It is com¬
manded by a little fort, in which is a garrifon of about
300 Turks, under the command of an aga, wTho is alfo
governor of the town. The road for the ftiips is good
for nothing before the town, but a little farther w'eft is
very deep and fafe. Dr Shaw tells us, that the con¬
tinual difcharging of ballaft into the road, and the ne-
gledt of cleanfing the port which came to the very
walls, is the caule of both becoming fo unfafe and in¬
commodious ; though this might be eafily remedied fo
as to make the town one of the moft flourifhing in all
Barbary.
Bona Dca, the good goddefs, in Pagan mythology,
one of the names of Cybele. Others fay, (he was a
Roman lady, the wife of one Faunus, and was famous
for her chaftity, and that after her death ftie was dei¬
fied. Fler facrifices were performed only by matrons j
and in fo fecret a manner, that it was no lefs than
death for any man to be prefent at the affembly (fee
Cybele). Cicero reproaches Clodius with having
entered into this temple difguifed as a finging woman,
and having by his prefence polluted the myfteries of
the good goddefs. What kind of myfteries thefe were,
rve may learn from Juvenal, Sat. vi. 313. The poet
then mentions the adventure of Clodius,
Atque utinam ritus veteres, et publica Jalte?n
His intaBa mails ngerentur facra : fed omnes
Noverunt Mauri, atque Indi, qua pfa/tria penem
Majorem, quamjint duo Cafaris Anticatones,
Blue tejlicuh Jibi confcius, unde fug it tnus,
bitulerit.
I with at leaft our facred rites were free
From thefe pollutions of obfeenity :
But ’tis well known what finger, how difguis’d,
A lewd audacious adtion enterpriTd :
Into the fane, with women mix’d, he wTent,
Arm’d with a huge two-handed inftrument;
779 ] BON
A grateful prefent to thefe holy choirs,-
Where the moufe, confcious of his fex, retires.
Dryden.
Bona Tides, in Lclw. When a perfon performs any
adlion which he believes at the time to be juft and law¬
ful, he is faid to have adted bona fide.
Bona Mobilia, the fame with moveable effedts or
goods.
Bona Notabilia, are fuch goods as a perfon dying
has in another diocefe than that wherein he dies, a-
mounting to the value of 5I. at leaft $ in which cafe
the wdll of the deceafed muft be proved, or admini-
ftration granted in the court of the archbilhop of the
province, unlefs by compofition or cuftom, any dio-
cefes are authorized to do it, when rated at a greater
fum.
Bona Patria, an afiize of countrymen or good
neighbours, where 12 or more are chofen out of the
country to pafs upon an aflize, being fworn judicially
in the prefence of the party.
Bona Pentura, perifhable goods. By flat. 13 Ed. I.
Cap. 4. the cargo of a (hip that has been caft away (hall
be kept for a year and a day, and reftored to the right¬
ful owner ; but if the goods be fuch as will not endure
fo long, they are bona peritura, which the (heriff is
allowed to fell, and to account in money for the value.
Bona Vacantia, goods, fuch as royal-fifh, fhipwrecks,
treafure-trove, waifs, and eftrays, in which no one can
claim a property. Thefe goods by the law of na¬
ture, and by the imperial law, belonged to the firft oc¬
cupant or finder j but in the modern conftitutions of
European governments, they are annexed to the fu-
preme power by the pofitive laws of the ftate.
BONAIRE, an illand of South America, near the
north coaft of Terra Firma. It belongs to the Dutch;
and abounds in kabritoes and fait. W. Long. 66. iS.
N. Lat. 20. 16.
BONAIS, very high mountains of Italy, in the
duchy of Savoy, not far from Lafforeburg : in fome
feafons they cannot be afeended without great dan-
ger.
BONARELLI, Count Guid Ubaldo, an Italian
poet, was the fon of Count Pietro Bonarelli, miniiler
of the duke of Urbino. He was intruded with feve-
ral important negociations, and was efteemed an able
politician and learned philofopher. He was the author
of a fine Italian paftoral entitled, Tiili di Sciro. He
died at Fano, in 1608, aged 45.
BON AVENTURA, the Bay of, in America,
on the coaft next the South fea, in the Popayan. It
has a port and harbour for ftiips ; but- the air is very
unwholefome. W. Long. 75. x8. N. Lat. 3. 20.
BONAVENTURE, a celebrated cardinal, called,
from his works, the feraphic docior. He was born at
Bagnarea, a fmall town of Tufcany, in 1221; and Lis
original r\am& was John Fidanea* He took the habit
of a monk of the order of St Francis in 1243, became
dodlor of Paris in I25s> and the next year general of
his order. After the death of Clement IV. the car¬
dinals difagreeing about the election of a new pope,
engaged themfelves by a folemn promife to ele£f him
who ftiould be named by Bonaventure, even though it
fliould be himfelf; but he chofe Theobald archdeacon
? F 2 . _ of
BonS,
BON [ 780 ] BON
Bonavifta, of Liege, who was then in the Holy Land, and took
Bond- the name of Gregory X. This pope, in return, in 1 272,
made him cardinal and biihop of Alba, and ordered
him to affift at the fecond general council of Lyons,
where he died in 1274. His works were printed at
Rome in 8 vols folio.
BONAVISTA, an ifland in the Atlantic ocean,
the moft eallerly and firit difcovered of the Cape de
Verd iflands. It is 20 miles long, and 13 broad ; has
plenty of goats and cotton, and fome indigo. The in¬
habitants are remarkable for flothfulnefs : they have a
town and two roads where Ihips come to an anchor.
W. Long. 23. 6. N. Lat. 16. 5.
BOND, John, a commentator on Horace and
Perfius, was born in Somerfetlhire in the year 1550,
and educated at Winchefter fchool. In 1569 he was
entered a ftudent of the univerfity of Oxford, probably
in the New college, of which he became'either one of
the clerks or one of the chaplains. He took his ba¬
chelor of arts degree in 1573, and that of mailer in
! 579 •, foon after which he was appointed by his col¬
lege, mailer of the free fchool m 1 aunton in Somer-
. fedhire. In this employment he continued many years
with great reputation : but being at length weary of
his laborious employment, he commenced phyfician,
and we are told became eminent in that capacity. He
died in the year 1612, poffeiTed of feveral lands and
tenements in his neighbourhood } but w’hethei acquired
bv the praftice of phylic, does not appear. He wrote,
1. Commentarn in poemata -Ijk Horatii, 8vo. 2. Com¬
ment aril in fex falyras Perjii, Lond. 1614, 8vo.
Bond, in Law, is a deed whereby the obligor obliges
himlelf, his heirs, executors, and adminillrators, to pay
a certain fum of money to another at a day appointed.
If this be all, the bond is called a fimple mre,^«/)Av
■ibligatio. But there is generally a condition added,
that if the obligor does fome particular act, the obliga¬
tion lhall be void, or elfe lhall remain in full force : as
payment of rent •, performance of covenants in a deed;
or repayment of a principal ium of money borrowed of
the obligee, with intereft y which principal fum is ufually
one half of the penal fum fpecified in the bond. In
cafe this condition is not performed, the bond becomes
forfeited, or abfolute at law, and charges the obligor
while living-, and after his death the obligation defcends
upon his heir, who (on defeft of perfonal affets) is
bound to difcharge it, provided he has real aflets by de-
fcent as a recornpenfe.
If the condition of a bond be impolhble at the time
of making it, or be to do a thing contrary to Jome rule
of law that is merely pofitive, or be uncertain, or in-
fenfible, the condition alone is void, and the bond iliall
{land {ingle and unconditional: lor it is the folly of the
obligor to enter into fuch an obligation from which he
can never be releafed. If it be to do a thing that is
malum in fe, the obligation itfelf is void : for the whole
is an unlawful contraft, and the obligee lhall take no
advantage from fuch a tranfadlion. And if the con¬
dition be poflible at the time of making it, and after¬
wards becomes impoffible by the a£! ol God, the aft of
law, or the aft of the obligee himfelf, there the penalty
of the obligation is faved : for no prudence or forefight
of the obligor could guard againft fuch a contingency.
On the forfeiture of a bond, or its becoming fingle,
the whole penalty was recoverable at law ; but here the
courts of equity interpofed, and would not permit a Boi.tf
man to take more than in confcience he ought, viz. his
principal, intereft, and expences, in cafe the forfeiture _«
accrued by non-payment of money borrowed y the da¬
mages fuitained upon non-performance of covenants y
and the like. And the ftatute 4 and 5 Ann. c. 16.
hath alfo enacted, in the fame fpirit of equity, that in
cafe of a bond, conditioned for the payment of money,
the payment or tender of the principal fum due, with
intereft and cofts, even though the bond be forfeited
and a fuit commenced thereon, fhall be a full fatisfac-
tion and difcharge.
Bond, in mafonry and brick-laying, is when bricks
or ftones are as it were knit and interwoven y and when
they lay, make good bond, they mean that the joints
are not made over, or upon other joints y but reach at
leaft fix inches, both within the wall and on the fur-
face, as the art of building requires.
BONDAGE, properly fignifies the fame with ila-
very, but in old law books is ufed for villenage (fee
Villenage). Tenants in bondage paid, kenots, and
did fealty y they were not to fell trees in their own
garden, without licenfe of the lord. The widow of a
tenant in bondage held her hufband’s eftate quavi dm
vixent fine nianto, “ as long as ihe lived fingle.’
Bondage by the Forelock, or Bondagium per an ter i-
ores critics capitis, w7as when a freemen renounced his
liberty, and became Have to fome great man y wkich
was done by the ceremony of cutting off a lock of hair
from the forehead, and delivering it to his lord y de¬
noting that he was to be maintained by him foi the
future. Such a bondman, if he reclaimed his liberty,
or were fugitive from his mafter, might be drawm again
to his fervitude by the nofe ; whence the origin of the
popular menace to pull a man by the nofe.
BONDMAN, in the Englifti law, is ufed for a vil¬
lain, or tenant in villenage *.—The Romans had two* See rtf-
kinds of bondmen y one called fervi, who were thofe/W« and
either bought for money, taken in war, left by fuc- Vdhnagt,
ceffion, or purchafed by fome other lawiul acquifition y
or elfe born of their bondwomen, and called vernce. We
may add a third kind of bondmen mentioned by Jufti-
nian, called adfcriptitii glebce, or agricenjiti; who were
not bound to the perfon, but to the ground or place,
and followed, him who had the land. Thefe in our
law are called villains regardants, as belonging to the
manor or place.
BONE-ace, a game at cards played thus: The
dealer deals out two cards to the firft hand, and turns
up the third, and fo on through all the players, w'ho
may be feven, eight, or as many as the cards will per¬
mit : he that has the higheft card turned up to him
carries the bone y that is, one half of the fkike y the
other half remaining to be played for. Again, if there
be three kings, three queens, three tens, &c. turned
up, the eldeft hand wins the bone. But it is to be
obferved, that the ace of diamonds is bone-ace, and
wins all other cards whatever. Thus much for the
bone : and as for the other half of the ftake, the neai-
eft to 31 wins it; and he that turns up or draws 31
wins it immediately.
BONES, their origin, formation, compofition, tex¬
ture, variety, offices, &c. See Anatomy.
Bones Whitened for Skeletons. Two. proceffes are
defciibed in the slfla Ihjfnienfia for whitening bones.
Profeffox
BON [ 7
Bones. Profefibr Rau had a method of giving them a great de-
gree 0f whitenefs. By bare expofure to the air, fun,
and rain, for a length of time, they become notably
white •, but the whiteft bones, kept in rooms tainted
with fmoke or fuliginous vapours, grow in a little time
yellowiih, brownilh, and unfightly. It is cuftomary
for the purification of bones, to boil them in alkaline
liquors; which, by diffblving and extrafting the lu-
perfiuous fat, improve their whitenefs.
Bones Hardened and Softened. Boerhaave obferves,
that alkaline lalts render bones harder and firmer, and
that acids make them fofter and more flexible. Thefe
effects fucceed in certain circumftances, but not uni-
verlally j for bones may be hardened and foftened both
by acids and by alkalies, according to the quantity of
faline matter employed, and the manner in which it is
applied. Newmann made bones harder and more com-
patl by treating them with the llrongeft of the mineral
acids; though, when the acid is in fufficient proportion,
it deltroys or diifolves them. In Papin’s digeller (a
ftrong cloie veiTel, in which the fleam of boiling li¬
quors is confined, and the fluid by this means made to
undergo a greater degree of heat than it could other-
wife fuftain), the hardeft bones are reduced in a fhort
time, by the aclion of fimple water, into a foft pap
or jelly ; and alkaline liquors produce this effect ftill
fooner.
In the hiftory of the French Academy for the years
1742 and 1743, there is an account that Mr Geoffrey
produced before the academy a fmall ivory fpoon, which
by long lying in muffard, was become flexible and
tranfparent like horn ; that Mr Fouchy faw an ivory
fpoon, which, by lying for a confiderable time in milk,
was become fupple like leather; and that Mr Hunauld
produced bones, which had been foftened by fteeping
in vinegar, afterwards hardened to their natural date
by fteeping in wnter, and foftened a fecond time by
fteeping in vinegar. Dr Lewis obferved that the ni¬
trous and marine acids diluted, and the acetous acid,
make bones flexible and tough like leather ; but that
the diluted vitriolic acid, though it renders them no¬
tably foft, makes them at the fame time brittle. It
feems as if a great part of the earthy matter, which is
the bafis of the bone, and on which its hardnefs de¬
pends, was diffolved and extra&ed by the three firft ;
whilft the latter, incapable of diffolving this kind of
earth into a liquid form, only corrodes it into a kind
of felenitic concrete, which remains intermixed in mi¬
nute particles among the gelatinous matter. Dr Lewis
did not find that the foftened bones, whatever acid they
were foftened by, recovered their hardnefs by fteeping
in wrater. Slips of foftened ivory, after lying above a
month in water, continued nearly as foft as when they
were taken out of the acid liquor.
There is a lingular induration of bones produced by
fire ; the effefts of which agent are here remarkably
different according to its degree and the circumftances
of its application. Bones expofed to a moderate fire,
either in open veffels, or in contact with the burning
fuel, become opaque, white, and friable throughout;
and an increafe of fire, after they have once fuffered this
change, renders them only more and more friable.
But if they are urged at firft with a ftrong fire, fuch
as that in which copper or iron melts, they become
hard, femitranfparent, and fonorous, like the hard mi-
81 ] BON
neral ftones. This curious experiment deferves to be
further profecuted.
Colouring of Bones. Bones may be ftained of a
variety of colours by the common dyeing infufions and
deco&ions of animal and vegetable fubftances. They
are ftained alfo, without heat, by metallic folutions;
and by means of thefe may be fpotted or variegated at
pleafure. Thus, folution of filver in aquafortis gives
a brown or black according to its quantity; folution
of gold in aqua regia, or in fpirit of fait, a fine pur¬
ple ; folution of copper in the acetous acid, a fine
green ; and folutions of the fame metal in volatile al¬
kalies, a blue, which at firft; is deep and beautiful, but
changes, upon expofure to the air, into a green or
bluifh-green. If the bone is but touched with the
two firft fdlutions, and expofed to the air, it does not
fail to acquire the colour in a few hours: In the two
latter, it requires to be fteeped for a day or longer in
order to its imbibing the colour. In thefe and other
cafes where immerfion for fome time is neceffary, the
bone may be variegated, by covering fuch parts as are
to remain white, with wax or any other matter that
the liquor will not diffolve or penetrate.
Oeconomical Ufes of Bones. Bones are averyufeful
article, not only for making different kinds of toys,
but likewnfe in feveral of the chemical arts ; as, For
making call iron malleable, for abforbing the fulphur
of fulphureous ores ; for forming tells and cupels, or
veffels for refining gold and filver with lead (burnt
bones compofing a mafs of a porous texture, which
abforbs the vitrified lead and other matters, while the
unvitrefcible gold and filver remain entire behind); for
the preparation of milky glafijp and porcelains ; for
the rectification of volatile lalts and empyreumatic
oils ; and for making glue. The bones of different
animals are not equally fit for thefe ufes: even the glue,
or gelatinous part of the bones of one animal is nota¬
bly different both in quantity and cohefivenefs from
that of another.
The human Ikull-bone, or cranium, the natural de¬
fence of the feat of fenfation and perception in the no-
bleft animal, has been recommended medicinally as a
cure for epilepfies, deliria, and all diforders of the
fenfes, from the fame philofophy which aferibed anti-
afthmatic virtues to the lungs of the long-wunded fox ;
and expeCted, becaufe fowds are faid to digeft even
fmall ftones, that the Ikin of the gizzard, dried and
powdered, would produce a fimilar effeCt in the human
ftomach. To fuch lengths of extravagance have the
fons of phyfic been carried by the blind fuperftition
of former ages !
Bones in the Funeral Solemnities of the Ancients.—-
Divers ufages and ceremonies relating to the bones of
the dead have obtained in different ages ; as gathering
them from the funeral pile, walking, anointing, and
depofiting them in urns, and thence into tombs ; tranf-
lating them, which w^as not to be done without the
authority of the pontiffs ; not to fay worlhipping of
them, ftill praClifed to the bones of the faints in the
Romifh church. Among the ancients, the bones of
travellers and foldiers dying in foreign countries were
brought home to be buried ; till, by an exprefs S. C.
made during the Italic war, it was forbid, and the fol-
diers bodies ordered to be buried where they died.
The B.omans had a peculiar deity under the deno~
min at ic a
Bones.
B O N [ 7S2 ] BO N
| Boneg. mination of Ojjilago, to whom the care of the indura-
v 'J tion and knitting of the human bones was committed ;
and who, on that account, was the objed of the ado¬
ration of all breeding women.
Fojfil or Petrified Bones, are thofe found in the
earth, frequently at great depths, in all the ftrata,
even in the bodies of Itones and rocks ; fome of them
.of a huge fize, ufually fuppofed to be the bones of
giants, but more truly of elephants or hippopotami.
It is fuppofed they were repolited in thofe ftrata when
all things were in a ftate of folution y and that they
incorporated and petrified with the bodies where they
happened to be lodged.
In the mufeum of the Rultian Academy of Sciences,
there is a vaft collection of foflil bones, teeth, and
horns, of the elephantj rhinoceros, and buffalo, which
have been found in different parts of this empire, but
more particularly in the fouthern regions of Siberia.
Naturalifts have been puzzled to account for fo great
a variety being found in a country where the animals
of which they formerly made a part were never known
to exift. It was the opinion cif Peter, who, though he
deferves to be efteemed a great monarch, was certain¬
ly no great naturalift, that the teeth found near Voro-
netz rvere the remains of elephants belonging to the
army of Alexander the Great, who according to fome
hiftorians, croffed the Don, and advanced as far as
Koftinka. The celebrated Bayer, whofe authority
carries greater weight in the literary world, conjec¬
tures, that the bones and teeth found in Siberia be¬
longed to elephants common in that country during
the Avars Avhich the Mogul monarchs carried on with
the Perfians and Indians y and this plaufible fuppofi-
tion feems in fome meafure to be corroborated by the
difeovery of the entire fkeleton of an elephant in one
of the Siberian tombs. But this opinion, as Mr Pal-
Ccw.las f very juftly obferves, is fufficiently refuted by the
de Offibut. conftderation, that the elephants employed in the ar-
Siberiae mjes 0f aj] India could never have afforded the vaft
fojjlhbus, quantities of teeth which have been difeovered, not to
p. 44— mention thofe which it is juftly to be prefumed may
ftill be buried. They have been already dug up in fuch
plenty as to make a conftderable article of trade. The
fame ingenious naturalift has given an ample deferip-
tion of thefe foftil bones, and has endeavoured to ac¬
count for their origin. Upon examining thofe in the
mufeum, he Avas led to conclude, that as thefe bones
are equally difperfed in all the northern regions of Eu¬
rope, the climate probably was in the earlier ages lefs
fevere than at prefent, and then poflibly fufficiently
warm to be the native countries of the elephant, rhi¬
noceros, and other quadrupeds, norv found only in the
•fouthern climates. But when he vifited, during his
traA'els, the fpots where the foffil bodies Avere dug up,
and could form a judgment from his owm obfervations,
and not from the accounts of others, he renounced his
former hypothefis ) and, in conformity Avith the opi¬
nions of many modern philofophers, afferted, that they
rnuft have been brought by the waters •, and that no¬
thing but a fudden and general inundation, fuch as the
delude, could have tranfported them from their native
countries in the fouth, to the regions of the north. In
proof of this affertion, he adds, that the bones are ge¬
nerally found feparate, as if they had been fcattered
bv the Avaves, covered with a ftratum of mud evidently
2
formed by the waters, and commonly intermixed with Eone-fpa-
the remains of marine plants, and ftmilar fubftances ; vm
inftances of which he himfelf obferved during his pro- p0i!et
grefs through Siberia, and which fufficiently pro\’e i - *
that thefe regions of Afia Avere once overwhelmed with
the fea.
We often find in the earth petrified bones, the greateft
part of their gelatinous matter being extrafted by tire
moifture, and a ftony one introduced in its room. In
fome parts of France petrified bones are met Avith
which have an impregnation of copper. Hence, on
being calcined in an open fire, a volatile fait is produ¬
ced from the remains of their gelatinous principle, and
the bone is tinged throughout of a fine greeniffi-blue
colour, copper alwrays ftriking a blue with volatile al¬
kalies. The French turcoife ftones are no other than
thefe bones prepared by calcination : they are Arery du¬
rable, and bear to be worked and poliftied nearly in the
fame manner as glafs ; Avithout the imperfection, infe-
parable from glaffy bodies, of being brittle. See the
article Turcoise.
There have been lately difeovered feveral enormous -
fkeletons, five or fix feet beneath thefurface,on thebanks
of the Ohio, not far from the river Miami in America,
700 miles from the fea-coaft. Some of the tufks are fe-
ven, others ten feet long $ one foot fix inches in circum¬
ference at the bafe, and one foot near the point j the ca¬
vity at the root or bafe, 19 inches deep. Befides their
fize, there are feveral other differences Avhich will not al¬
low the fuppofition of their having been elephants : the
tulks of the true elephant have fometimes a very flight
lateral bend thefe have a larger tvvift, or fpiral curve,
towards the fmaller end : but the great and fpecific dif¬
ference confifts in the ffiape of the grinding teeth y
which, in thefe newly found, are faftiioned like the
teeth of a carnivorous animal y not flat and ribbed
tranfverfely on their furface like thofe of the modem
elephant, but furnifhed Avith a double toav of high and
conic proceffes, as if intended to mafticate, not to
grind, their food. A third difference is in the thigh¬
bone, which is of great difproportionable thicknefs to
that of the elephant *, and has alfo fome other anato¬
mical variations. Thefe foffil bones have been alfo
found in Peru and the Brazils y and when cut and po-
liflied by the workers in ivory, appear in every refpeCl
fimilar. It is the opinion of Dr Hunter, that they
muft have belonged to a larger animal than the ele¬
phant ; and differing from it, in being carnivorous.
But as yet this formidable creature has evaded our
fearch ; and if, indeed, fuch an animal exifts, it is
happy for man that it keeps at a diftance y fince what
ravage might not be expefted from a creature, endowr-
ed with more than the ftrength of the elephant, and
all the rapacity of the tiger ? See Mam mouth.
BoNE-Spavin. See Farriery Index.
BON-EsfERANCE, the fame with the Cape of Good
Hope. See Good Hope.
BONET, Theophilus, an eminent phyfician bom
at Geneva, March 15th 1620. Hs took his degree in
phyfic in 1643, after he had gone through moft of the
famous univerfities, and was for fome time phyfician to
the duke of Longueville. Mean while his ikill in his
profeffion got him confiderable pra&ice ; but being
feized Avith deafnefs, it obliged him to retire from bufi-
nefs, which gave him leifure to colled all the obferva-
tions
lonfadio
It
Boniface,
BON [7
tions he had made during a pia&lce of 40 years. He
wrote, t. Po/ya/thes, Jive Thefaurus Medico-praElico^
3 vols. folio. 2. Labyrinthi Medici ex trie at i. 3. Me-
dicini Septentrionalis Collatitia ; and other works.
BONFADIO, James, one of the moft polite wri¬
ters of the 16th century, was born in Italy, near the
lake Garda. He was fecretary to the cardinal de Bari,
and after his death to the cardinal Ghinucci. He af¬
terwards read public leftures on Ariilotle’s politics, and
on rhetoric ; and was made hiftoriographer to the re¬
public of Genoa. He applied himielf to compofe the
annals of that Hate, in which he wrote too latirically
on fome families. This creating him enemies who were
refolved to ruin him, they accufed him of the unnatu¬
ral fin; and, as witneffes were found to convift him
of it, he was condemned to be burnt. Some fay that
this fentence was executed ; and others, that his pu-
nilhment was changed, and that he was beheaded. This
was in the year 1560. Upon the day of his exe¬
cution he wTrote a note to John Baptift Grimaldi, to
teftify his gratitude to the perfons who had endeavoured
to ferve him ; and promifed to inform them how he
found himfelf in the other world, if it could be done
without frightening them. But it does not appear that
he performed his promife, any more than the many
w'ho had promifed the like before him—His hifiory of
Genoa is efteemed. We have alfo fome letters, fome
orations, and Latin and Italian poems, of his, which
were printed at Bologna in the year 174.4, °&avo.
BONFINIUS, Anthony, flourilhed in the 15th
century. He was a native of Afcoli in Italy, and at¬
tached himfelf to the ftudy of the belles lettres. Mat¬
thias Cowin king of Hungary, having heard of his
learning, fent for him, retained him, and fettled upon
him a penfion. He wrote, 1. A hiftory of Afcpli ;
2. A treatife of virginity and conjugal chaftity ; 3. An
hillory of Hungary ; and other works.
BONFRERIUS, James, a learned Jefuit, born at
.Dinant, in 1573. He wrote a commentary on the
Pentateuch, and learned notes on the Qnamafticon of
the places and towns mentioned in the Scripture. He
died at Tournay in 1643, aged 70.
BONGARS, James, in Latin Bongaijius, a na¬
tive ol Orleans, wras one of the moft learned men of the
16th century. He applied himfelf to the ftudy of critical
learning, and wras for near 30 years employed in the
moft important negociations of Henry IV. whofe refi-
dent he was feveral times at the courts of the princes of
Germany, and at length his ambaffador. He was of
the Proteftant religion ; and, when very young, had the
courage to write and poft up in Rome a very fpirited
anfwer to a bull of Pope Sixtus V. The public is ob¬
liged to him for the edition of feveral authors who
have written the Hiftory of the expeditions to the Holy
Land ; he alfo published, among other works, an edi¬
tion of Juftin, in which he reftored feveral pafiages that
had been corrupted, by confulting valuable manufcripts,
and added notes which explained many difficulties. He
died in 1612, aged 58.
BONIFACE, the name of feveral eminent men,
particularly of nine popes. To the firft of thefe, who
was chofen pope in 418, St Auguftine dedicated his
four books againft the two epiftles of the Pelagians.
The third of that name prevailed upon the emperor
Phocas to conJent that the title of Univerfal Bijhop
83 l BON
fhould be conferred on no other than the bilhop of Boniface
Rome. Boniface IV. obtained from the fame empe- EJ*, r
ror, the pantheon, a famous heathen temple built by, J ^ ‘
Agrippa, and converted it into a church which is now
called “ Our Lady della Rotunda.” Several works
are alfo attributed to him, but they appear to be fpu-
rious. Boniface VII. hath the title of antipope; be-
caufe in 974 he caufed Benedict VI. to be ftrangled in
prifon, and after the eleflion of Benedift VII. remo¬
ved the treafures of the church to Conftantinople. He,
however, at length returned after the death of Bene-
di£l, and caufed his fucceffor John XIV. to be murder¬
ed ; but died himfelf foon after, and was dragged naked
by the feet about the ftreets. Boniface VIII. can¬
onized St Lewis in 1297, and in 1300 appointed the
jubilee to be folemnized every 100 years after.
Boniface is alfo the name of a faint, who before he
took that name was called Winifred, and was born at
Kirton in Devonfttire. He chofe to go and preach the
gofpel among the barbarous nations; and though crea¬
ted archbiftiop of Mentz, foon after refigned his office,
to go and preach in Eaft Friezland, where he tvas killed
by the Pagans on the 5th of June 754. His letters
were publilhed by Senarius.
BONIFACIO, a town in the ifland of Corfica, be¬
yond the mountains, near the ftrait called Bocca di
Bonifacio. It is well fortified, and pretty populous.
E. Long. 9. 20. N. Lat. 41. 25.
BONIS non amovendis, in Law, is a writ directed
to the ffieriffs of London, &c. charging them that a
perfon againft whom judgment is obtained, and profe-
cuting a writ of error, be not fullered to remove his
goods until the error is determined.
BONITO. See Scomber, Ichthyology Index,.
BONN, an ancient and rtrong city of Germany, in the
ele&orate of Cologn, and the ufual refidence of the
eledlor. It is of great confequence in the time of war;
becaufe it is fituated on the Rhine, in a place where
it can flop every thing that comes down that river.
It is vrell fortified by the eleftor, who has a fine pa¬
lace and beautiful gardens in the city. E. Long. 7. 3,
N. Lat. 50. 44.
BONNA, in Mncient Geography, one of the 50 cita¬
dels built by Drufus on the Rhine ; fuppofed by
fome to be the fame with the /Ira Ubionum: now
Bonn.
BONEFONS, John, or Bonnefonius, a Latin
poet, was born at Clermont in Auvergne, in 1554. He
became an advocate in the parliament of Paris, and
w7as appointed lieutenant general of Bar fur Seine, and
acquired great reputation by his Pancharis, and other
poems. He died under the reign of Louis XIII. Lie
ought not to be confounded with John Bonnefons his
fon, another Latin poet.
BONNER, Edmund, biffiop of London, of infa¬
mous memory, was born at Hanley in Worcefterfhire,
and generally fuppofed to be the natural fon of one Sa¬
vage a prieft ; and that prieft w;as the natural fon of
Sir John Savage of Clifton in the fame county. Strype
how7ever, fays, he was pofitively allured that Bonner
was the legitimate offspring of a poor man, who lived
in a cottage known to this day by the name of Bon¬
ner's place. About the year 1512, he entered ftudent
of Broadgate Hall in Oxford. In 1519, he wras ad¬
mitted bachelor.of the canon and civil law. About the
fame;
BON [ 784 ] BON
ble
Eormer, fame time he took orders, and obtained Tome prefer-
Bdnnelta- jjjgp)- j;n ^}le diocefe of Worcetter. In 1525, he was
1 created do&or of canon law. Haying now acquired
the reputation of a Ihrewd politician and civilian, he
was foon diftinguifhed by Cardinal Wolfey, who made
him his commiffary for the faculties, and heaped upon
him a variety of church preferments. He poffeffed at
the fame time the livings of Blaydon and Cherry-Bur¬
ton in Yorklhire, Ripple in Worcefterlhire, Eaft Der-
cham in Norfolk, the prebend of St Paul’s, and arch¬
deaconry of Leicefter. Bonner was writh the cardinal
at Caw-wood, when he was arrelted for high treafon.
After the death of that minifter, he foon found means
to inlinuate himfelf into the favour of Henry VIII.
who made him one of his chaplains, and employed him
in feveral embaffies abroad, particularly to the pope.
In 1532, he was fentto Rome, with Sir Edwnrd Kame,
to anfwer for the king, whom his holinefs had cited to
appear in perfon or by proxy. In 1533, he was again
defpatched to Pope Clement VII. at Marfeilles, upon
the excommunication of King Henry on account of his
divorce. On this occafion he threatened the pope with
fo much refolution, that his holinefs talked of burning
him alive, or throwing him into a caldron of melted
lead *, upon which Bonner thought lit to decamp. Plis
infallibility did not forefee that the man wdiom he thus
threatened wTas predeftined to burn heretics in England.
In 1538, being then ambaflador at the court of France,
he was nominated bilhop of Hereford ; but, before
confecration, w'as tranflated to the fee of London, and
enthroned in April 1540. Henry VIII. died in 1547,
at which time Bonner was ambaffador with the empe¬
ror Charles V. During this reign he was conftantly
zealous in his oppofition to the pope j and, in com¬
pliance with the king, favoured the reformation. Hen¬
ry VIII. wras not to be trifled with ; but on the ac-
ceflion of young Edwrard, Bonner refufed the oath of
iupremacy, and wras committed to the Fleet; however,
he foon thought lit to promife obedience to the laws,
and wTas accordingly releafed. He continued to com¬
ply with reformation •, but with fuch manifell negleft
and reluftance, that he wras twice reprimanded by the
privy council, and in 1549, after a long trial, wTas com¬
mitted to the Marfhalfea, and deprived of his biihopric.
The fucceeding reign gave him ample opportunity of
revenge. Mary was fcarce feated on the throne before
Bonner was reftored to his biihopric ; and foon after
appointed vicegerent and prelident of the convocation.
From this time he became the chief inftrument of papal
cruelty: he is faid to have condemned no lefs than 200
Protellants to the flames in the fpace of three years.
Nor was this monfter of a priell more remarkable for
his cruelty than his impudence. When Queen Eliza¬
beth came to th't crown, he had the infolence to meet
her, with the reft of the bifhops, at Highgate. In
the fecond year of her reign, refufmg to take the oath
of allegiance and fupremacy, he was again deprived,
and committed to the Marthalfea ; where he died in
j 569, after ten years confinement. There cannot be
a ftronger inftance of the comparative lenity of the Pro-
teftant church, than its fullering this mifereant to die a
natural death. Several'pieces were publiftied under his
name.
BONNESTABLE, a town of France,
z
in the de¬
partment of Sarte, which carries on a great trade in Bonnet...
corn. E. Long. o. 30. N. Lat. 48. rx. 1 
BONNET, Charles, an eminent naturalift, was
born in 1720 at Geneva, of a French family who had
been forced on account of religious principles to leave
their native country. As he was. an only fon, his fa¬
ther paid great attention to his education, and finding
that he made little progrefs at the public fchools, both
from a diflike to the dry ftudy of grammar, and deaf-
nefs, with which he was very early aftlifted, he put him
under the care of a domeftic tutor, and under him his
progrefs was rapid and fuccefsful in general literature.
At the early age of 16, his attention was fo deeply en¬
gaged in the perufal and ftudy of Le Spcflacle de la
Nature, that it feems to have direfted the bias and tafte
of his future ftudies. The hiftory and the habits of
the ant-lion {formica led), particularly attracted his
attention, and led him to make his firft obfervations in
natural hiftory. He dilcovered the haunts of this cu¬
rious infeft, watched and ftudied its manners and ha¬
bits, and added many obfervations to thofe of Poupart
and Reaumur. Reaumur’s Memoirs on Infefls happen¬
ed to fall accidentally in his way, he perufed it with
great eagernefs, and this perufal probably decided his
tafte for natural hiftory. To the obfervations and ex¬
periments of that naturalift, Bonnet added many ‘new
fa£ts which he had difeovered, the detail of wdrich he
communicated to Reaumur, who was not lefs furpriied
than pleafed to find fo much fagacity and acutenefs of
refearch, exhibited in the inveftigations of a young man
of eighteen.
Young Bonnet had been deftined by bis father to
the profeflion of the lawr; but it was with no fmall re-
lu&ance that he entered on the ftudies neceffary to
qualify himfelf for that profeflion. The bias of his
mind leaned too ftrongly to natural hiftory, to permit
him to occupy his attention with other purfuits. The
ftudy of fome of the elementary books on law was
therefore fubmitted to merely as a talk. In the years
1738, and 1739, he fent to Reaumur many interefting
obfervations on different fpecies of caterpillars *, and in
1740, he communicated a paper to the Academy of
of Sciences relpefting the propagation or multiplica¬
tion oi Aphides, or tree-lice, without a&ual conjun&ion.
This queftion had been left unfettled by Reaumur. It
was now determined by decifive experiments; and his
paper on the fubjeft obtained for him the honour of be¬
ing admitted a correfpondent member of the Academy.
His experiments on the generation of thefe infe6ts were
conducted with fuch clofenefs of attention, and fuch
minutenefs of refearch, as to injure his eyefight to fuch
a degree as he never afterwards recovered. In the
year 1741, he inftituted a fet of experiments, on the
eftefts that follow the divifion of worms, and he found
that many fpecies poflelled in fome degree the fame re-
produftive power as the polype. In the following year
his inveftigations and experiments were direfted to the
peculiarities in the mode of refpiration of caterpillars and
butterflies j and he proved that this function was per¬
formed by means of pores to which the name of ftig-
mata has been given. It was about the fame time that
he made fome curious difeoveries refpe61ing the tcenia,
or tapeworm. In the year 1743. when he was raifed
to. the rank of doctor of laws, he procured a welcome
difpenfation
BON
Bonnet, difpenfation from the farther profecutlon of
which had never been agreeable to him, and which
being no longer abfolutely neceffary, he relinquifhed
for ei'er. In confequence of a memoir on infefls wrhich
he communicated to the Royal Society of London, the
fame year, he was admitted a member of that body.
Next year he publifhed in one work, his obfervations
on aphides and worms, under the title of Inf etiology.
To this work he prefixed a preface, in which he exhi¬
bits a philofophical {ketch of his ideas concerning the
{yftem of the developement of germs, and the fcale of
organized beings. This work was in general well re¬
ceived by the public. The want of delicacy \yas ob-
je&ed to in fome journals, which it w'as alleged, ap¬
peared in his defcriptions of the mode of propagation
of tree-lice.
But the conftant labours to which Bonnet had fub-
jefted himfelfin all his inquiries began to produce very
ferious confequences on his health. His eyes particu¬
larly began to be affe&ed with fevere pains, and his
general health vifibly declined. This not only obliged
him to lay afide the ufe of the microfcope, but alfo to
forego for a time all reading and writing. Like a
true philofopher he bore his afflictions with patience.
But he was not idle j for though he was interdjdted
from all obfervation, his mind was fully occupied in
refle&ion. After fome time’s relaxation from hisufual
purfuits he was at !a(t reftored to tolerable health and
eafc, but he never could employ his eyes with the fame
freedom as formerly. About the year 1746, he un¬
dertook a courfe of experiments on the vegetation of
plants in mofs and other fubftances \ and in the follow¬
ing year his refearches were direfted to the funftions
of the leaves of plants, with the view of afcertaining
the different adtion of the different fides of the leaves.
Another queftion in vegetation offered itfelf to his con-
fideration. This was the afcent of the fap. And to
determine whether it rofe by the bark or wood, he em¬
ployed coloured injections. This inveftigation, with
fome obfervations which he made on vegetable mon-
iters, was the foundation of one of his moft interelting
and original works, his “ Inquiries into the Ufe of the
Leaves of Plants.” This work was firlt publifhed in
410 at Leyden in 1754. A fupplement was added
to it in 1779.
Obfervation and experiment had been the firft paf-
fion of Bonnet, yet thefe now began to give way to
fpeculation ; and his inquiries in natural hiftory, in
which he had fo much ftudied the nature and genera¬
tion of the lowed part of the fcale of beings, led him
to confider the faculties and dedination of the highed.
Mallebranche and Leibnitz laid the foundation of his
metaphyfical ideas. He engaged deeply in all the dif-
cuflions connedted with the hidory of the human mind,
and the fird fruit of his meditations was a kind of
abridgment of the materials he had collected, under
the title of an “ Effay on Phyfiology,” publifhed in
London in 1755, but without his name, nor did he
acknowledge it till near thirty years afterwards. This
work contains in a concife form the fundamental prin¬
ciples of his philofophy. It traces the origin and pro-
grefs of the human mind, from the fird germ of life to
the developement of all its faculties, the mutual de¬
pendence of which it points out, as deduced from ac¬
tual obfervation. It enters into the difficult fubjeCt of
You, III. Part II.
[ 785 } BON
ftudies human liberty, and endeavours to reconcile it with the Bonnet,
divine prefcience, and the philolophical principle, that
every effeCI mud have an adequate caufe. From the
effential properties of the aftivity of the foul, and the
effeCls of habit upon it, the whole art of education and
government is deduced ; and a fyftem of the former is
laid down, materially different from the uliially efta-
bliihed methods. It wras the freedom with which he
had difcuffed fome of thefe delicate points, and the fear
ol being involved in perfonal controverfy, which indu¬
ced the author to remain fo long concealed. It met
with a number of critics, yet its fuccefs was brilliant.
The next work of Bonnet was a developement of
part of the fubdance of the preceding, viz. the origin
and progrefs of the mental faculties. After a labour
of five years on the fubjeCi, he produced his “ Analyti¬
cal Effay on the faculties of the foul.” 1 his was fii d
printed at Copenhagen in 1760, in 410, at the expence
of the king of Denmark. In this work, like that of
the Abbe Condillac, he takes the fuppofition of a fta-
tue organized like the human body, which he by de¬
grees, animates and ffioTvs how its ideas would arife
from impreffions on the organs of fenfe. This work
was well received by philofophers, though with fome it
fubje&ed him to the charge of materialifm. To thefe
he made no reply, but contented himfelf with proceed¬
ing in thofe efforts for the fervice of religion and mo¬
rals, to which the bed part of his life was devoted. His
retired and dudious habits, together with his deafnefs
and other bodily infirmities, had ever prevented him
from joining in the affemblies of the young and gay ;
at the fame time they rendered domedic comforts more
effential to him. In 1756, he married a lady of the
refpe&able family of de la Rive, and with her he paf-
fed thirty-feven years of that perfeft union which re-
fults from mutual tendernefs, direded by good fenfe
and virtue. The celebrated Sauflure was the nephew
of Mad. Bonnet, and it was no fmall pleafure to her
hufband to witnefs the early difplay of genius and
knowledge in this extraordinary young man.
The next wmrk of our author was properly the phy-
fical part of his great fydem. It appeared at Amber-
dam in 1762, under the title of “ Confiderations on or¬
ganized bodies,” 2 vols. Bvo. Its principal objects
were, to give in an abridged form all the mod inter-
eding and well afcertained fa&s refpefting the origin,
developement and reproduction of organized bodies ; to
refute the different fyftems founded upon epigenesis;
and to explain and defend the fyftem of germs. This
publication, though well received by philofophers in
general, was, from fome fufpicion of its principles,
prohibited in France ; but a remonftrance from the au¬
thor to M. des Malelherhes, then licenfer of the prefs,
caufed the interdict to be removed, after a new’ exa¬
mination. His “ Contemplation of Nature,” which
appeared in 1764, Amft. 2 vols. 8vo. was a work ra¬
ther meant for popular ufe,v in which the principal
faCts relative to the different orders of created beings
are difplayed in a manner both inftruCtive and enter¬
taining, and fet off by the charms of an eloquent ftyle,
with a continual reference to final caufes, and the
proofs of wdfdom and benevolence in the Creator. It
has been tranflated into moft of the European langua¬
ges, and enriched with notes by feveral bands, as
well as by the author himfelf in a new edition.
The
BON [ 786 ]
Bonnet. The concluding work of Bonnet was his “ Palinge- and in a
nesie Philofophique,” printed at Geneva in I7^9> 2
vols. 8vo. In this he treats on the pail and future
ftate of living beings, and lupports the idea of the fur-
vival of all animals, and the perfe&ing of their facul¬
ties in a future Hate. Attached to this work is “ An
Inquiry into the Evidences of the Chriftian Revelation,
and the Doftrines of Chriftianity,” which, with a treatife
“ On the Exiftence of God,” was publilhed feparately
at Geneva in 1770. It was like wife tr&nflated into
German, and dedicated by the tranflator to a celebrat¬
ed Jew, with a fummonstohim to refute it, or acknow¬
ledge his convi&ion. Bonnet, who had an invincible
repugnance for controverfy, no fooner heard of this
Hep, than he wrote to the Jew, affuring him, that he
had no (hare in it ; and the two philofophers mutually
agreed to forbear any difcuflion of a topic in which
their opinions were totally different. The temper of
Bonnet was, indeed, the direft reverfe of that which
difpofes to contention ; and tranquillity was the great
object of his life. He readily correaed his own er¬
rors ; and never but once entered into a defence^ of
himfelf. This was on occafion of a charge of plagiarifm
brought againft him as having borrowed from Leibnitz
his hypothelis on the refurreaion. He had, in the
earlier part of life, made an anonymous attack in the
French Mercury upon Rouffeau’s difcourfe on the ori¬
gin of inequality among men, to which that rvriter
made a reply 5" but the controverfy went no fur-
ther.
After having in fome meafure relinquilhed fpecu-
lative philofophy, he re fumed his attention to natural
hiftory, and in 1773, publilhed in Rozier’s Journal a
memoir on the method of preferving infe&s and filh in
cabinets. In 1774 he communicated to the fame
journal a memoir on the loves of plants, originating
in the difcovery of a kind of cleft or mouth in the
piftil of a lily. Some experiments on the reprodu&ion
of the heads" of fnails, and of the limbs and organs of
the water falamander, furnilhed matter for other
memoirs. He alfo made obfervations on the pipa
or Surinam toad, on bees, on the blue colour acquired
by mufhrooms from expofure to the air, and on various
other fubje&s in natural hiltory, which agreeably and
ufefully occupied his leifure. His reputation was. now
fully eftablilhed. There was fcarcely an eminent
learned fociety in Europe which did not affociate
him as a member; and thefe honours were crowned in
1783 by his ele&ion into the fmall and very feleft
number of foreign affociates of the academy of fciences
in Paris. His literary correfpondents were numerous.
Among thefe were the diftinguifhed names of Reau¬
mur, du Hamel, de Geer, Haller, Van Swieten, Spal¬
lanzani, and Menan. Though attached by inclina¬
tion to the purfuit of fcientific ftudies in retirement,
he did not entirely withdraw from public duties. He
entered into the great council of the republic in 1752,
and kept his feat in it till 1768, having frequently
diftinguifhed himfelf by the manly eloquence with
which he fupported wife and moderate meafures, and
his conftant zeal in the caufe of morals and religion,
on which he thought the profperity of the ftate effen-
tially founded. The laft twenty five years of his life
he paffed entirely in the country, in a fimple and uni¬
form mode of living, happy in. an eafy competence,
BON
awu ^ fmall circle of friends. It appears that he Bonnet,
was, for fome time, engaged in the education of youth, Bormcva-*
an employment for which he wras peculiarly fitted, and
in which he obtained the w^armeft attachment of his
pupils. The publication of all his works, correfted
and revifed, in a general colleftion, occupied near
eight years of his life, which greatly injured his
health, from the intcnfe application which he beftow-
ed upon it. This appeared at Neufchatel, in 9 vols.
qto, and 18 vols. 8vo. ; and befides the works already
mentioned, contains a number of fmaller pieces, both in
natural hiftory and metaphyfics. They are all written
in French. It was not till about 1788 that his confti-
tution, feeble as it was, vifibly gave wray. The fymp-
toms of a dropfy in the cheft then began to manifeft
appearance ; and thefe wdth fome intervals, gradually
increafed upon him, occafioning a variety of fufferings,
which he bore wdth great patience and ferenity. He
died on May 20. 1793, at the age of 73. Public hon¬
ours wrere rendered to his remains by his fellow-citizens,
and his funeral eulogy wras pronounced by his learned
friend and kinfman, M. de Saufiure.
Bonnet, in a general fenfe, denotes a cover for
the head, in common ufe before the introduction of
hats. Bonnets are ftill ufed in many parts of Scot¬
land.
Bonnet, in Fortification, a fmall wTork confifting of
two faces, having only a parapet with twm rows of pa-
lifadoes, of about 10 or 12 feet diftance j it is gene¬
rally railed before the faliant angle of the counter-
fcarp, and has a communication with the covered way,
by a trench cut through the glacis, and palifadoes on
each fide.
Bonnet a Pretre, or Pricfi's Bonnet, in Fortifica¬
tion, is an out-work, having at the head three faliant
angles, and two inwards. It differs from the double
tenaille only in this, that its fides, inftead of being pa¬
rallel, are like the queue d^aronde, or fw'allowr’s tail,
that is, narrow'ing, or drawing clofe at the gorge, and
opening at the head.
Bonnet, in the fea-language, denotes an addition
to a fail j thus we fay, lace on the bonnet, or fhake off
the bonnet.
BONNEVAL, Claudius Alexander, Count
de, known in the latter part of his life by the name of
Ofiman Bafihaw, defcended from a family related to
the blood-royal of France, entered himfelf at the age
of 16 in the fervice of that crown, and married the
daughter of Marfhal de Biron. He made the cam¬
paign in Flanders in 1690 j but foon after left the
French army, and entered into the Imperial fervice
under Prince Eugene, who honoured him with an in¬
timate friendfhip. The intrigues of the marquis de
Prie, his inveterate enemy, ruined his credit, however,
at the court of Vienna, and caufed him to be banifhed
the empire. He then offered his fervice to the repub¬
lic of Venice and to Ruffia j w-hich being declined,
his next tender was to the Grand Signior, who gladly
received him. It was ftipulated, that he ftiould have a
body of 30,000 men at his difpofal •, that a government
fhould be conferred on him, with the rank of bafhaw
of three tails, and a falary of io,oco afpers a-day j
and that, in cafe of a war, he ftiould be commander in
chief. The firft expedition he engaged in after his ar¬
rival at Conftantinople, was to quell an infurre&ion in
Arabia
BON
[ 787 ]
BON
Bononia.
Bonneva! Arabia Petrpea, wbicb he happily effected *, and at his
return had large offers made him by Kouli Khan, but
, he did not choofe to accept them. Some time after,
he commanded the Turkifh army againft the emperor,
over whofe forces he gained a victory on the banks of
the Danube. But fuccefs does not always proteft a
perfon againff difgrace, for Bonneval, notwithftanding
his fervice, was firft imprifoned, and then banifhed to
the ifland of Chio. The fultan, however, continued
his friend ; and the evening before his departure made
him balhaw-general of the Archipelago, which, with
his former appointment of beglerbeg of Arabia, ren¬
dered him one of the moft powerful perfons in the Ot¬
toman empire. In this illand he found a retirement
quite agreeable to his wiflies ; but did not long enjoy
it, being fent for back, and made topigi or mailer of
the ordnance, a port of great honour and profit. He
died in this employment, aged 75, in 1747 j and wrote
the memoirs of his own life.
Bonneval, a town of France, in the department
of Eure and Loire, which had before the revolution a
fine Benedifline abbey. It is feated on the river Loire,
in E. Long. I. 30- N. Lat. 48. 10.
BONNEVILLE, a town of Savoy, capital of Fau-
cigny, fituated on the north fide of the river Arve, and
fubjeft to the king of Sardinia. It is fituated at the
foot of a mountain called the Md/e, and is 20 miles
fouth of Geneva. E. Long. 6. 10. N. Lat. 46. 18.
BONNY, among miners, a bed of ore, differing
only from a fquat as being round, whereas the fquat is
fiat. See Squat.
Bonny, a town of France, in the Gatinois, fcated
?t the confluence of a river of the fame name with the
Loire. E. Long. 2. 54. N. Lat. 47. 36.
BONONCINI, Giovanni, an eminent compofer of
mufic, for fome time divided the opinions of the cono-
fcenti of this kingdom with refpeft to the comparative
merits of himfelf and the great Handel, which gave
occafion for the following epigram, faid to have been
■written by Dr Swift:
Some fay that Signior Bononcini
Compar’d to Handel’s a meer ninny ;
Others aver, that to him Handel
Is fcarcely fit to hold the candle.
Strange ! that fuch high difputes fliould be
’Twixt Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.
There is one opera (Italian) publiflied with his name
prefixed to it, entitled Pharnaces; but whether the
■words, or only the mufic, are his compofition, is uncer¬
tain and indeed, in the general, the language of thofe
pieces written merely for mufical reprefentation, is fo
extremely paltry, and fo oppofite to every thing that
can be deemed poetry, that the greateft compliment
that can be paid to the authors of them is, to fuffer
their names to lie buried in the (hades of obfcurity.
BONONIA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Gal¬
lia Belgica, fuppofed to be the Portus Iccius of Caefar,
and the GeJJbriacum of Mela, and to have had three
different names (Cluverius). Peutinger’s map exprefs-
ly calls Gefforiacum Bononia. Now Boulogne. E.
Long. x. 30. N. Lat. 50. 40.
Bononia, a town of Italy, in the Gallia Cifpada-
na •, a name probably given by the Gauls, there being
a Bononia in Gallia Belgica. Its ancient name, when
in the hands of the Tufcans, who were expelled by the
Gauls, was Faljina. In the 563d year of the city the
Romans led a colony thither ; which, about the begin- v.
ning of the A6tiac war, was increafed by Auguftus,
and is the Co/onia Bonomenjts of Tacitus. Now Bo¬
logna ; which fee.
Bononia, a town of Pannonia Inferior, between
Murfa to the north-wreft, and Taurinum to the eaft.—^
Another Bononia, a town of Moelia Superior, on the
Danube *, now Bodon in Bulgaria. See Bodon.
BONONIAN. See Bolonian.
BONOSIANI, or Bonosiaci, an ancient branch
of Adoptiani, in the fourth century, denominated from
their leader Bonofus, a bifliop of Macedonia. The Bo-
nofiani were prior to the Feliciani, and even to Nefto-
rius } whence fome rather confider them as a branch o(
Arians. They allowed Chrift to be no otherwife the;
Son of God than by adoption.
BONPOURNICKEL, a coarfe kind of bread ufed
in Weftphalia. See Bread.
BONS-hommes, ox BoN-homtnes, a fort of hermits
of St Auguftin, founded by F. de Paula. They were
brought over into England in 1283, by Edmund eari
of Cornwall, and fettled at Afliorug in Bucks, befides
which they had only one houfe more at Edingdon in
Wiltfhire. They followed the rule of St Auftin, and
wore a blue habit. The name is faid to have ariien
from Louis XL of France who ufed to call F. de Pau¬
la, prior of the order, Le bon homtne. Till then they
had been called the Minimi, or the order of Gram-
mont. See Albigenses.
BONTIA, wild olive of Barbadoes. See Bo¬
tany Index.
BONVINCINO, Alessandro, called Le Mo-
retto, hiftory and portrait painter, was born at Ro-
vate in 1514. He was firft the difciple of Titian, un¬
der whole dire&ion he ftudied diligently for fome years.
But, having accidentally feen the defigns of Raphael,
he felt an elevation of mind that he never had before
experienced. Fie therefore gave himfelf up entirely
to ftudy thofe mafterpieces of art and genius; and his
obfervations were guided with fuch judgment, as well
as attention, that his improvement was truly furprifing,
and he became an exceeding good painter. His works
were eagerly bought up, as being extremely admired
for the tendernefs of the penciling ; for the correctnefs
and fpirited expreflion of the figures ; for the neatnefs
of the finiftiing $ and for the rich variety of his drape¬
ries, which ufually confided of velvets, damalks, or
fatins, all copied after nature, and being wonderfully
imitated. He was alfo equally excellent in portrait,
and by many was placed in competition even with Ti¬
tian. He died in 1564.
BONUS henricus. See Chenopodium, Bota¬
ny Index.
BONZES, Indian priefts. The Tonquinefe have
a pagod or temple in each towm j and each pagod has
at lead two bonzes belonging to it: fome have 30 or
40. Thefe bonzes, in order to diftinguifti themfelves
from the laity, wear a chaplet about their necks con-
fifting of 100 beads; and carry a ftaff, at the end of
which is a wooden bird. They live upon the alms of
the people ; yet are very charitably difpofed, and main¬
tain feveral orphans and widows out of their own col¬
lections.
5 G 3 The
Bonoi.iK
Bonzes
BOO
Bonzes The bonzes of China are the priefts of the Fohifts
B ^ or fe£l of Fohi. It is one of their eftablifhed tenets
-- ‘< that there are rervards allotted for the righteous, and
punifhments for the wicked, in the next world j and
that there are various manfions in which the fouls of
men will refide, according to their different degrees of
merit. But, in order to deferve the favour of heaven,
the bonzes inftru£t the people to treat the priefts with
refped and reverence, to fupport and maintain them,
and to ereft temples and monafteries for them. They
tell them, that, unlefs they comply with thefe injunc¬
tions, they will be cruelly tormented after death, and
pafs through a difagreeable variety of tranfmigrations :
in ftrort, that they will be changed into mules, affes,
rats, and mice.
The Chinefe bonzes, according to F. le Compte,
are no better than a gang of diffolute idle fellows.
All their aim is to incite people to commiferate their
abjeft condition : to which end they have recourfe to
feveral tricks and impoftures. When the common
arts of addrefs fail them, they try what public a£ls of
penance will do. Some of them drag heavy chains
30 feet long after them; fome lit in the highway
knocking their heads againft Hint ftones j others fet
particular drugs on fire upon their heads : all thefe
are feveral ways of drawing the attention and exciting
the compaHion of the people, and they feldom fail of
fuccefs.
The bonzes of Japan are generally gentlemen of
the higheft extra&ion 5 for when a gentlemen of qua¬
lity finds his family grow too numerous, nay, when he
has only two fons, he very often makes the youngeft a
bonze, to prevent all domeftic broils and confufions.
Thefe priefts are drefled in various colours j their a-
partments are very commodious, and fituated in the
healthieft parts of the country.
F. Navarette tells us, that the bonzes are obliged to
chaftity •, and that, on the 2d of April 1667, a petty
king of Canton had condemned 11 of them to be burnt
alive for incontinence. He adds, that it was reported
of an emprefs of the laft reigning family, who had a
particular kindnefs for the bonzes, that fhe granted
them a difpenfation for the ufe of women during three
days. The bonzes of China, according to the fame
Author, are computed at 50,000.
BOOBY. See Pelicanus, Ornithology In¬
dex.
BOOK, the general name of almoft every literary
compofition •, but, in a more limited fenfe, is applied
only to fuch compofitions as are large enough to make
a volume. As to the origin of books or writing, thofe
of Mofes are undoubtedly the moft ancient that are
extant: But Mofes himfelf cites many books which it
behoved to be written before his time.
Of profane books, the oldeft extant are Homer’s
poems, which were fo even in the time of Sextus Em¬
piricus \ though we find mention in Greek writers of
feveral others prior to Homer \ as Hermes, Orpheus,
Daphne, Horus, Linus, Mufaeus, Palamedes, Zoro-
after, &c. : but of the greater part of thefe there is
not the leaft fragment remaining y and of others, the
pieces which go under their names are generally held,
by the learned, to be fuppofititious.
Several forts of materials were ufed formerly in ma¬
king books ; Plates of lead and copper, the bark of
%
BOO
trees, bricks, ftone, and wood, were the firft materials Eopjt.
employed to engrave fuch things upon as men were—y-““
willing to have tranfmitted to pofterity. Jofephus
fpeaks of two columns, the one of ftone, the other of
brick, on which the children of Seth wrote their in¬
ventions and aftronomical difcoveries : Porphyry makes
mention of fome pillars, preferved in Crete, on which
the ceremonies obferved by the Corybantes in their fa-
crifices were recorded. Hefiod’s works were originally
written upon tables of lead, and depofited in the tem¬
ple of the Mufes, in Boeotia : The ten commandments,
delivered to Mofes, were written upon ftone j and So¬
lon’s laws upon wooden planks. Tables of wmod, box,
and ivory, were common among the ancients : When
of wood, they w'ere frequently covered with wax, that
people might write upon them wdth more eafe, or blot
out what they had written. The leaves of the palm-
tree were afterwards ufed inftead of wooden planks,
and the fineft and thinneft part of the bark of fuch
trees, as the lime, the afh, the mapple, and the elm ;
from hence comes the wmrd liber, which iignifies the
inner bark of the trees: and as thefe barks are rolled
up, in order to be removed with greater eafe, thefe rolls
were called volumen, a volume ; a name afterwards gi¬
ven to the like rolls of paper or parchment.
Thus wre find books wTere firft written on ftones, wit-
nefs the Decalogue given to Moles : Then on the parts
of plants as leaves, chiefly of the palm-tree, the rind
and barks, efpecially of the tilia, or phillyrea, and the
Egyptian papyrus. By degrees wax, then leather,
wrere introduced, efpecially the fkins of goats and
fheep, of which at length parchment was prepared :
then lead came into ufe ; alfo linen, filk, horn, and
laftly paper itfelf.
The firft books were in the form of blocks and ta¬
bles *, but as flexible matter came to be wrote on, they
found it more convenient to make their books in the
form of rolls : Thefe were composed of feyeral fheets
faftened to each other, and rolled upon a flick, or mn-
bilicus; the wdiole making a kind of column, or cylin¬
der, which was to be managed by the umbilicus as a
handle, it being reputed a crime to take hold of the
roll itfelf: The outfide of the volume was called frons ;
the ends of the umbilicus, cornua, which wrere ufually
carved, and adorned with filver, ivory, or even gold
and precious ftones : The title, was ftruck on
the outfide ; the whole volume, when extended, might
make a yard and a half wide, and fifty long. The
form which obtains among us is the fquare, compofed
of feparate leaves 5 which was alfo known, though lit¬
tle ufed, by the ancients.
To the form of books belongs alfo the internal eco¬
nomy, as the order and arrangement of points and
letters into lines and pages, with margins and other
appurtenances. This has undergone many varieties. At
firft the letters were only divided into lines ; then into
feparate words ; which, by degrees, were noted with
accents, and diftributed, by points and flops, into pe¬
riods, paragraphs, chapters, and other divifions. In
fome countries, as among the orientals, the lines be¬
gan from the right and ran leftward \ in others, as the
northern and weftern nations, from left to right j
others, as the Greeks, followed both diredlions, alter¬
nately going in the one, and returning in the other,
called boujlrophedon ; In moft countries, the lines run
irom
[ 788 ]
BOO F 789 ] BOO
Books, from one fide to the other j in fome, particularly the
Chinefe, from top to bottom.
Multitude of Books has been long complained of;
the complaint is as old as Solomon, who lived three
thoufand years ago : they are grown too numerous not
only to procure and read, but to fee, to learn the names
of, or even to number. England has more to fear on
this fcore than other countries j fince, belides our own
produce, we have for fome years paft drained our neigh¬
bours. However, as Bilhop Caramuel’s fcheme mifcar.
ried, which was to write about an hundred volumes in
folio, and then prevail on the civil and military powers
to oblige all their fubjefts to read them, W’e need not
much regret the multitude of books.
As knowledge, however, is naturally advantageous,
and as every man ought to be in the way of informa¬
tion, even a fuperfluity of books is not without its ufe,
fince hereby they are brought to obtrude themfelves
on us, and engage us when we had leaft defign. This
advantage, an ancient father oblerves, wTe owe to the
multiplicity of books on the fame fubjedl, that one falls
in the way of one man, and another beft fuits the level
or the apprehenfion of another. “ Every thing that
is written (fays he) does not come into the hands of all
perfons : perhaps fome may meet with my books, who
may hear nothing of others which have treated better
of the fame fubjedl. It is of fervice, therefore, that the
fame queftions be handled by feveral perfons, and after
different methods, though all on the fame principles,
that the explications of difficulties and arguments for
the truth may come to the knowledge of every one by
one way or other.” Add, that the multitude is the
only fecurity againft the total lofs or dellrudlion of
books: it is this that has preferved them againft the
injuries of time, the rage of tyrants, the zeal of per-
fecutors, and the ravages of barbarians •, and handed
them dowm, through long intervals of darknefs and
ignorance, fafe to our days. Solaque non norunt h<zc
monumenta man.
Scarcity of Books. Of the fcarcity and value of books
during the leventh and many fubfequent centuries, the
following curious account is given by Mr Warton in
his hiftory of Engliffi Poetry, vol. i.
“ Towards the clofe of the feventh century (fays he),
even in the papal library at Rome, the number of books
was fo inconiiderable, that Pope Saint Martin requeft-
ed Sanflamund bilhop of Maeftricht, if poffible, to fup-
ply this defeat from the remoteft parts of Germany.
In the year 855, Lupus, abbot of Ferrieres in France,
fent two of his monks to Pope Benedi<ft III. to beg
a copy of Cicero de Oraiore, and Quintilian’s Infti-
tutes, and fome other books : ‘ for (fays the abbot)
although wTe have part of thefe books, yet there is no
whole or complete copy of them in all France.’ Al¬
bert, abbot of Gemblours, who with incredible labour
and immenle expence had colledled a hundred volumes
on theological, and fifty on profane fubjecls, imagined
he had formed a fplendid library. About the year
790, Charlemagne granted an unlimited right of hunt¬
ing to the abbot and monks of Sithin, for making their
gloves and girdles of the Ikins of the deer they killed,
and covers for their books. We may imagine that
thefe religious wrere more fond of hunting than read¬
ing. It is certain that they wrere obliged to hunt be¬
fore they could read; and at leaft it is probable,
that under thefe circumftances, and of fuch materials, Books,
they did not manufaflute many volumes. At the be-
ginning of the tenth century books were fo fcarce in
Spain, that one and the fame copy of the Bible, Saint
jerome’s epiftles, and fome volumes of ecclefiaftical of*
fices and martyrologies, often ferved feveral different
monafteries. Among the conftitutions given to the
monks of England by Archbiffiop Lanfranc, in the year
1072, the following injunftion occurs. At the begin¬
ning of Lent, the librarian is ordered to deliver a book
to each of the religious : a wffiole year was allotved for
the perufal of this book ; and at the returning Lent,
thofe monks w ho had neglected to read the books they
had refpeftively received, are commanded to proftrate
themfelves before the abbot, and to fupplicate his in¬
dulgence. This regulation was. partly occafioned by
the low ftate of literature which Lanfranc found in the
Englilh monafteries. But at the fame time it was a
matter of neceffity, and is in great meafure to be refer¬
red to the fcarcity of copies of ufeful and fuitable au¬
thors. In an inventory of the goods of Joh;i de Pon-
tiffara, biffiop of Winchefter, contained in his capital
palace of Wulvefey, all the books which appear are
nothing more than Septendecemfpecies hbrorum de diver~
fsfcientiu. This was in the year 1294. The lame
prelate, in the year 1299, borrows of his cathedral
convent of St Swithin at Winchefter, Bibliam bene-
gloffatam; that is, the Bible with marginal annota¬
tions, in two large folio volumes; but gives a bond for
due return of the loan, drawn up wdth great folemnity.
This Bible had been bequeathed to the convent the
fame year by Pontiffara’s predeceffor, Biftiop Nicholas
de Ely : and in confideration of fo important a be-
queft, that is pro bona Bib Ha dicii epifcopi bene glojfata,
and one hundred marks in money, the monks founded
a daily mafs for the foul of the donor. When a fingle
book was bequeathed to a friend or relation, it was fel-
dom without many reftn&ions and ftipulations. If
any perfon gave a book to a religious houfe, he believed
that fo valuable a donation merited eternal falvation j
and he offered it on the altar with great ceremony.
The moft formidable anathemas w'ere peremptorily de¬
nounced againft thofe who ffiould dare to. alienate a
book prefented to the cloifter or library of a religious
houfe. The prior and convent of Rochefter declare,
that they will every year pronounce the irrevocable
fentence of damnation on him wffio ffiall purloin or
conceal a Latin tranflation of Ariftotle’s Phyfics, or
even obliterate the title. Sometimes a book w^as given
to a monaftery on condition that the donor ftiould
have the ufe of it during his life 5 and fometimes to a.
private perfon, with the refervation- that he wdio re¬
ceives it ffiould pray for the foul of his benefaiftor.
The gift of a book to Lincoln cathedral, by Biffiop
Repingdon, in the year 1422, occurs in this form, and
under thefe curious circumftances. -The memorial is
written in Latin, with the bilhop’s own hand, which I
will give in Englifir, at the beginning of Peter’s Bre¬
viary of the Bibile. ‘ I Philip of Repyndon, late bi¬
ffiop of Lincoln, give this book, cdBoA. Peter de Mureo-
lis, to the new library to be built within the church of
Lincoln : referving the ufe and poffeffion of it to Ri¬
chard Tryfely, clerk, canon, and prebendary, of Mil-
toun, in fee, and to the term of his life ; and afterwards
to be given up and reftored to the faid library, or the
keepers
BOO [ 790 ] BOO
keepers of die fame, for the time being, faithfully, and
without delay. Written with my own hand, A. D.
1422.’ When a book was bought, the aftair was of
fo much importance, that it was cuftomary to affemble
perfons of confequence and charafter, and to make a
formal record that they were prefent on this occafion.
Among the royal manufcripts, in the book of the Sen¬
tences of Peter Lombard, an archdeacon of Lincoln
has left this entry. ‘ This book of the Sentences be¬
longs to mailer Robert archdeacon of Lincoln, which
he bought of Geoffrey the chaplain, brother of Henry
vicar of Northeikington, in the prefence of mader Ro¬
bert de Lee, mailer John of Lirling, Richard of Luda
clerk, Richard the almoner, the faid Henry the vicar,
and his clerk, and others: and the faid archdeacon,
gave the faid book to God and Saint Ofwald, and to
Peter abbot of Barton, and the convent of Barden.’ The
difputed property of a book often occalioned the moll
violent altercations. Many claims appear to have been
made to a manufcript of Matthew Paris, belonging to
the lad-mentioned library; in which John Ruffel, bi-
Ihop of Lincoln, thus conditionally defends or explains
his right of poffefluon. ‘ If this book can be proved
to be or to have been the property of the exempt mo-
nadery of St Alban in the diocefe of Lincoln, I de¬
clare this to be my mind, that in that cafe I ufe it at
prefent as a loan under favour of thofe monks who be¬
long to the faid monadery. Otherwife, according to
the condition under which this book came into my pof-
Jedion, I will that it lhall belong to the college of the
bleffed Wincheder Mary at Oxford, of the foundation
of William Wykham. Written with my own hand at
Buckdane, id Jan. A. D. 1488. Jo. Lincoln. Who¬
ever lhall obliterate or dedroy this writing, let him be
anathema.’ About the year 1225, Roger de Infula,
dean of York, gave feveral Latin Bibles to the univer-
iity of Oxford, with a condition that the dudents who
perufed them Ihould depofxte a cautionary pledge. The
library of that univerfity, before the year 1300, con¬
fided only of a few tradis, chained or kept in cheds in
the choir of St Mary’s church. In the year 1327, the
fcholars and citizens of Oxford affaulted and entirely
pillaged the opulent Benedidline abbey of the neigh¬
bouring town of Abingdon. Among the books they
found there, were one hundred pfalters, as many grayles,
and 40 miffals, which undoubtedly belonged to the
choir of the church : but befides thefe, there were only
twenty-two codices, which I interpret books on com¬
mon fubjedls. And although the invention of paper,
at the clofe of the eleventh century, contributed to
multiply manufcripts, and confequently to facilitate
knowledge, yet, even fo late as the reign of our Hen¬
ry VI. I have difcovered the following remarkable
indance of the inconveniences and impediments to
dudy, which mud have been produced by a fcarcity
of books. It is in the datutes of St Mary’s college
at Oxford, founded as a feminary to Ofeney abbey in
the year 1446 : ‘ Let no fcholar occupy a book in
the library above one hour, or two hours at mod, fo
that others be hindered from the ufe of the fame.’
The famous library edablidied in the univerfity of Ox¬
ford by that munificent patron of literature Humphrey
duke of Glouceder contained only 600 volumes. A-
bout the commencement of the 14th century there
were only four claffics in the royal library of Paris. Thefe
were one copy of Cicero, Ovid, Lucan, and Boethius.
The red were chiefly books of devotion, which inclu-' v—
ded but few of the fathers : many treatifes of aflro-
logy, geomancy, chiromancy, and medicine, original¬
ly written in Arabic, and tranflated into Latin or
French : pandefls, chronicles, and romances. This
colledlion was principally made by Charles V. who be¬
gan his reign in 1365. This monarch was paffionate-
ly fond of reading ; and it was the falhion to fend him
prefents of books from every part of the kingdom of
France. Thefe he ordered to be elegantly tranfcribed
and richly illuminated j and he placed them in a tower
of the Louvre, from thence called La Tour de la Li-
braire. The whole confided of 900 volumes. They
were depofited in three chambers; which, on this oc¬
cafion were wainfcotted with Irifli oak, and cieled with
cyprefs curioufiy carved. The windows were of paint¬
ed glafs, fenced with iron bars and copper wdre. The
Englidi became maders of Paris in the year 1425 ; on
which event the duke of Bedford, regent of France,
fent the whole library, then confiding of only 853
volumes, and valued at 2223 livres, into England 5
where perhaps they became the ground-w’ork of Duke
Humphrey’s library, jud mentioned. Even fo late as
the year 1471, when Louis XL of France borrowed
the works of the Arabian phyfician Rhafis from the
faculty of medicine at Paris, he not only depofited,
by way of pledge, a quantity of valuable plate, but
was obliged to procure a nobleman to join with him as
furety in a deed, by which he bound himfelf to re¬
turn it under a confiderable forfeiture. The exceflive
prices of books in the middle ages afford numerous and
curious proofs. I will mention a few only. In the year
1174, Walter, prior of St Swuthin’s at Winchfler, af¬
terwards eledled abbot of Wedminder, a wniter in La¬
tin of the lives of the bUhops who were his patrons, pur-
chafed of the monks of Doreheder in Oxfoidflure, Bede’s
Homilies and St Audio’s Pfalter, for twelve meafures
of barley, and a pall on which was embroidered in filver
the hidory of St Birinus converting a Saxon king.
Among the royal manufcripts in the Britifh mufeum
there is Comedor’s Scholadic Hidory in French; w’hich
as it is recorded in a blank page at the beginning, was
taken from the king of France at the battle of Poitiers ;
and being purchafed by William Montague earl of Sa-
lifhury for 100 marcs, was ordered to be fold by the laft
will of his countefs Elizabeth for 40 livres. About the
year 1400, a copy of John of Meun’s Roman de la Rozse
was fold before the palace gate at Paris for 40 crowms,
or 33I. 6s. 6d.
Books, burning of, w'as a kind of punifhment much in
ufe among the Romans, by legal fentence : fometimes
the care of the execution was committed to triumviri
appointed on purpofe ; fometimes to the praetors, and
fometimes to the aediles. Labienus, whom from his
fatirical fpirit fome have called Rabienus, is faid to
have been the fird who underwent the feverity of it.
His enemies procured a fenatufconfultum, whereby all his
books publidied during feven years were ordered to be
colie£led and burnt. “ The thing (fays Seneca) then
appeared new and drange, to take revenge on learn¬
ing!” Res nova et infueta! fupplicium de Jludiis fumu
Caflius Servius, a friend of Labienus, hearing the fen¬
tence pronounced, cried aloud, “ That they mud
burn him too, fince he had got all the books by heart
Nunc
Book
BOO [ 79
Nunc me vivum uri oportet, quia illos didici. Lahienus
could not furvive his books, but flmtting himfelf up in
t^e tomh 0f his anceftors, pined away, and was buried
00' ' alive. Divers other ancient teftimonies concerning the
burning of books are given in Reimm. Idea Syjl. An-
tiq. Liter, p. 389.
Book is alfo ufed for a part or divifion of a volume
or large work. In this fenfe we fay, the book of Genefs,
the fir/l booh of Kings, the fve books of Mofes, &c.
The Digeft is contained in fifty books, the Code in
twelve books.
Books are ufually fubdivided into chapters, fome-
times into fedlions or paragraphs: accurate writers
quote chapter and book.
Everlafing Book.—We find in Signior Caftaquo’s
account of the aiheftus, a fcheme for the making of a
book, which, from its imperifhable nature, he is for
calling the book of eternity. The leaves of this book
were to be of the albeftus paper, the covers of a thicker
fort of work of the fame matter, and the whole fewed
with thread fpun from the fame fubftance. The things
i ] BOO
to be commemorated in this book were to be written in Everlaftlng
letters of gold 5 fo that the whole matter of the book , Book ,
being incombultible, and everlaftingly permanent a-
gainft the force of all the elements, and fubjeft to no
changes from fire, water, or air, mull remain for ever,
and always preferve the writing committed to it. He
carried this projetl fo far towrards execution, as to find
a way of making a fort of paper from the afbeftus,
which was fo tractable and foft, that it very well re-
fembled a thin parchment ; this, by the fame procefs,
was capable of being thickened or thinned at pleafure,
and in either ftate equally refitted the fire. The cover¬
ing of the thinneft kind of this paper with fire, only
makes it red hot and very clear, the fire feeming to
pafs through it without wafting or altering any part of
it. Copper, iron, or any other metal except gold or
filver, expofed to the fame degree of fire in the fame
thin plates, would be found not to bear it in this man¬
ner, but to fcale, and burn into fcoriae at the furface,
which this ftone does not.
END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
t
DIRECTIONS for placing the PLATES of Vol. III.
Part I. Page
Plate LIX. to LXXXIII. inclufivc, to face 184
LXXXIV. - - 343
Part II.
LXXXV.
LXXXVI. 1
LXXXVII.J
LXXXVIII.
LXXXIX.1
xc.
XCI.
XCII.
xcm
418
442
470
532
712
736
-
*