weapon. It was probably invented, about 1640, in Bayonne, and was used in the Netherlands, in 1647, but was not universally introduced until after the pike was wholly laid aside, in the beginning of the 18th century. Since the general war in Europe, some officers have adopted the idea of former military writers (for instance, Guibert), of increasing the efficiency of the bayonet by a more regular exercise of the infantry in its use. A Saxon captain, von Selmnitz, has the merit of having first developed this idea in a systematic treatise. (See The Art of Fighting with the Bayonet, by E. von Selmnitz, Dresden, 1825, with copperplates.) As cavalry are often counted by horses, infantry are sometimes counted by bayonets.

BAYONNE; a well-built, rich, commercial city, the largest in the French department of the Lower Pyrenees, formerly capital of the district Labour, in Gascony (lon. 1° 24′ W.; lat. 43° 29 N.), at the confluence of the Nive and the Adour, about two miles from the bay of Biscay. It has 13,600 inhabitants, 6000 of whom live in the suburbs. The Nive and the Adour (the former of which is navigable about 30, and the latter 70 miles) form a harbor capable of admitting men of war from 40 to 50 guns, but it has a difficult access. These two rivers serve to convey timber, tar and iron from the Pyrenees to B. A citadel, built by Vauban, on the summit of an eminence in the suburb, commands the harbor and the city. The bishop of B. is under the archbishop of Toulouse, and exercises spiritual jurisdiction over three departments. The cathedral is a beautiful ancient building. B. has considerable commerce with Spain; French and foreign goods being exchanged for iron, fruit, gold and silver. B. is much engaged in the cod and whale fishery, in which, before the revolution, 30-40 vessels of 250 tons burthen were employed. Masts and other timber for ship-building, from the Pyrenees, are exported to Brest and other ports of France. The hams of B. are famous. Its wine and chocolate are shipped to the north of Europe. Among the lower class, the ancient Biscayan or Basque language is spoken, Catharine of Medicis had an important interview with the duke of Alba in B., June 1565. The meeting of Napoleon with the king of Spain, Charles IV, and the prince of the Asturias, also took place here in May, 1808, in consequence of which the two last signed (5th and 10th May) an agreement, by which they, and all the children of the king,

transferred their rights to the Spanish territories, in Europe and India, to the French emperor. Napoleon convened a Spanish general junta at B., June 15th, to draw up a constitution. This constitution was published July 6, and Joseph departed, on the 9th, from B. for Madrid. The convention of B., between the Poles and France, was signed on the 10th May, 1808. (See Scholl's Traités de Paix, vol. 9, page 28.) The transactions at B. are some of the most important in Napoleon's life, and disclose the wretched character of the royal family of Spain.

BAZAR, BAZAAR, or BASAR; a marketplace in the East. The word is Arabic, and originally denotes sale or exchange. Some are open, some covered with lofty ceilings, or domes. At the bazars, or in the neighborhood of them, are the coffeehouses, so much frequented in Turkey, Persia, &c.; and, as the Orientals live almost entirely out of doors, the bazars of populous cities, besides their mercantile importance, are of consequence as places of social intercourse. The bazar of Ispahan is one of the finest places in Persia. That of Tauris is the largest known, At Constantinople are two bazars-the old and new one. In the Oriental tales,-for instance, in the Arabian Nights,-the bazars occupy a very conspicuous place. Since the system of credit is almost entirely unknown in Eastern trade, and all commercial transactions take place in merchandise and money, the places where this merchandise is brought and changed from one owner to another are, of course, very much frequented.―The word bazar has been used, in recent times, also, in Europe. Thus there is the wellknown bazar in Soho square, in London.

BEACON. (See Signals, and Lighthouse.)

BEAGLE; a species of the genus dog, kept entirely for hunting hares. They are small, and much inferior to the hare in swiftness, but have a very delicate scent, and seldom fail of running her down.

BEAR (ursus, L.); a genus of carnivorous, or, more accurately, frugi-carnivorous, mammiferous quadrupeds, belonging to the family plantigrada, which tread on the entire soles of the [hind] feet. The genus is characterized by a heavy body, covered with a thick, woolly coat, a large head, terminating in a prolonged snout, with very extensible lips. The ears are of moderate size, and rather pointed, and the tongue smooth. The limbs are large and heavy, and all the feet are five-toed, and furnished with

very strong, hooked claws, well suited for burrowing.-Five species at present belong to this genus. The Linnæan genus comprised the raccoon, badger, &c., now, properly, separated from it. These species are, the brown bear of Europe (U. arctos); the white or polar bear (U. maritimus); the American or black bear (U. Americanus); the grisly bear (U. horribilis), also of America; and the Malayan or Asiatic bear (U. labiatus).-The brown bear is chiefly an inhabitant of cold and elevated situations, and feeds on a great variety of animal and vegetable substances. During winter, this species, like some others, remains torpid in caves, whither it retires, in the autumu, very fat, and comes out, in the spring, extremely emaciated. The brown bear is remarkable for its sagacity, as well as the ferocity of its disposition, and it becomes especially sanguinary as it advances in age. Besides the differences of color and size which distinguish this bear from those belonging to the old continent, it differs from the American bears, by having a convexity of front above the eyes, which renders its physiognomy strikingly dissimilar to theirs. Other distinctions, sufficiently obvious, present themselves when the species are compared.-The polar, or maritime bear, is only found in high northern latitudes, along the borders of the Icy ocean and northern coasts of America in the vicinity of Hudson's bay. It does not descend to the eastern coast of Siberia nor Kamtschatka; neither is it found in the islands lying between Siberia and America. It is uniformly white, attains a large size, is very powerful, ferocious and daring. It is an excellent diver and swimmer, being apparently as much at home in the ocean as on land. An individual of this species was seen, by the late northern explorers, in the middie of Melville sound, swimming across, where the shores were at least 30 miles apart. The polar bear is the most exclusively carnivorous of the genus, though equally capable of living on vegetable food with the rest. He preys upon seals, the cubs of the whale, morse, &c., or the carcasses of whales left by whalers after removing the blubber. Individuals of this species are sometimes, though rarely, seen in caravans of wild animals in the U. States. A large and beautiful one was exhibited in New York, in the spring of 1826, and, notwithstanding the coolness of the weather, it appeared to suffer extremely from heat, as it bathed itself frequently in water provided for the pur

pose. When ice was placed in the cage, it rolled upon it with great satisfaction, and showed every sign of being gratified.¦ -The black bear of America is distinguished by its color and a peculiarly convex facial outline. It is found very generally in mountainous and forest lands, and subsists, in a great degree, on berries and vegetable substances, though it preys upon small animals, and insects, which it searches for industriously, by turning over large logs of decayed timber. It is rarely, if ever, known to attack man, unless in self-defence. It is very fond of young corn and honey, which, being an expert climber, like the brown European bear, it obtains by plundering the wild bees.The grisly bear inhabits the country adjacent to the Rocky mountains, and is, of all the race, the most dreadful for size, strength and terrible ferocity of nature.*

The Malay, Asiatic or long-lipped bear, is a native of the mountainous parts of India, and feeds on white ants, rice, honey, the fruit of the palm, &c. The species is inoffensive and timid, burrows in the ground, and lives in pairs, together with the young, which, when alarmed, seek safety by mounting on the backs of the parents.

The

BEARD; the hair round the chin, on the cheeks and the upper lip, which is a distinction of the male sex. It differs from the hair on the head by its greater hardness and its form. The beard begins to grow at the time of puberty. connexion between the beard and puberty is evident from this, among other circumstances, that it never grows in the case of eunuchs who have been such from childhood; but the castration of adults does not cause the loss of the beard. According to Cæsar, the Germans thought, and perhaps justly, the late growth of the beard favorable to the developement of all the powers. But there are cases in which this circumstance is an indication of feebleness. It frequently takes place in men of tender constitution, whose pale color indicates little power. The beards of different nations afford an interesting study. Some have hardly any, others a great profusion. The latter generally consider it as a great ornament; the former pluck it out; as, for instance, the American Indians. The character of the beard differs with that of the individual, and, in the case of nations, varies

*For the detailed history of this and the two preceding species, too extensive to be introduced

into this work, see the first volume of the Ameri

can Natural History, by the writer of this article.

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sins, are granted on the day of his beatification; which, though not so pompous as that of canonization, is, however, very splendid. Beatification differs from canonization in this, that the pope does not act as a judge in determining the state of the beatified, but only grants a privilege to certain persons to honor him by a particular religious worship, without incurring the penalty of superstitious worshippers; but, in canonization, the pope speaks as a judge, and determines, ex cathedra, upon the state of the canonized. Beatification was introduced when it was thought proper to delay the canonization of saints, for the greater assurance of the truth of the steps taken in the procedure. Some particular orders of monks have assumed to themselves the power of beatification. Thus Octavia Melchiorica was beatified by the Dominicans. (See Canonization.)

BEATON, David, archbishop of St. Andrews, and cardinal, was born in 1494. Pope Paul III raised him to the rank of cardinal in December, 1538; and, being employed by James V in negotiating his marriage at the court of France, he was there consecrated bishop of Mirepoix. Soon after his instalment as archbishop, he promoted a furious persecution of the reformers in Scotland; but the king's death put a stop, for a time, to his arbitrary proceedings, he being then excluded from affairs of government, and confined. He raised, however, so strong a party, that, upon the coronation of the young queen Mary, he was admitted into the council, made chancellor, and received a commission as legate a latere from Rome. He now began to renew his persecution of heretics, and, among the rest, of the fainous Protestant preacher George Wishart, whose sufferings at the stake he viewed from his window, with apparent exultation. B. was murdered in his chamber, May 29, 1530. He united with great talents equally great vices, and left several children, the fruit of open concubinage.

BEATTIE, James, LL. D., a pleasing poet and miscellaneous writer, was born at Lawrencekirk, in the county of Kincardine, in 1735. He lost his father when he was only seven years of age, but was placed early at the only school his birthplace afforded, whence he was removed to Marischal college, Aberdeen. He there studied Greek, under the principal, Thomas Blackwell, and made a general proficiency in every branch of education, except mathematics. In 1753, he ob

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tained the degree of A. M., and accepted the office of school-master and parishclerk to the parish of Fordoun, looking forward to the church of Scotland as his Į principal prospect, for which reason he still attended, during winter, the_divinity lectures at Marischal college. In June, 1758, these views were somewhat changed, by the attainment of the situation of one of the masters of the grammarschool of Aberdeen. In 1761, he published a volume of poems, which were received favorably, but which he subsequently thought very little of, and endeavored to buy up. They nevertheless procured him some powerful friends, whose patronage obtained him the appointment of professor of moral philosophy and logic at Marischal college. In 1765, he published a poem, the Judgment of Paris, (4to.), which proved a failure, although it was afterwards added to a new edition of his poems, in 1766. The work which procured him the greatest fame was his Essay on Truth, which first appeared in 1770. It was so popular, that, in four years, five large editions were sold; and it was translated into several foreign languages. Among other marks of respect, the university of Oxford conferred on the author the degree of LL. D.; and George III honored him, on his visit to London, with a private conference and a pension. He was also solicited to enter the church of England by flattering proposals from the archbishop of York and the bishop of London; which proposals he declined, lest his opponents should attribute the change to self-interest. The popularity of this celebrated essay, which was written in opposition to the prevalent scepticism of Hume and others, was principally owing to its easiness of style, and to a mode of treating the subject, calculated for the meridian of slight scholarship and medium intellect. This is often a great source of immediate celebrity; but, thus produced, it is usually as transitory as spontaneous, which has proved the case in the present instance. A few months after the appearance of the Essay on Truth, B. published the first book of the Minstrel (4to.), and, in 1774, the second; which pleasing poem is, indisputably, the work by which he will be the longest remembered. To a splendid edition of his Essay on Truth, published, by subscription, in 1776, he added some miscellaneous dissertations on Poetry and Music, Laughter and Ludicrous Composition, &c. In 1783, he published Dissertations, Moral and Critical (4to.); and

in 1786, appeared his Evidences of the Christian Religion (2 vols., 12mo.) In 1790, he published the first volume of his Elements of Moral Science, the second of which followed in 1793; and to the latter was appended a dissertation against the slave-trade. His last publication was an Account of the Life, Character and Writings of his eldest son, James Henry Beattie, an amiable and promising young man, who died at the age of 22, in 1790. This great affliction was followed, in 1796, by the equally premature death of his youngest and only surviving son, in his 18th year; which losses, added to the melancholy loss of reason by his wife, wholly subdued his constitution; and, after two paralytic strokes, he died at Aberdeen, in August, 1803. B. was a religious and an amiable man, but constitutionally more calculated for a poet than a philosopher, and for a pleader than a controversialist. He was, however, a respectable, if not a strong writer, and might have been thought more of at present, had he been thought less of heretofore.

BEAUCAIRE; a small, well-built, commercial city of France, with 8000 inhabitants (lon. 4° 43′ E.; lat. 43° 48′ N.), in Lower Languedoc, now in the department of the Gard, on the right bank of the Rhone, opposite Tarascon, with which it communicates by a bridge of boats. It has a commodious harbor for vessels which ascend the river from the Mediterranean, 7 leagues distant, and is famous for its great fair (founded in 1217, by Raymond II, count of Toulouse), held yearly, from the 22d July, during 10 days. In former times, this fair was frequented by merchants and manufacturers from most countries of Europe, the Levant, and even from Persia and Armenia, so that many thousand booths were erected for foreigners in the adjoining valley. Before 1632, the fair of B. was exempt from all taxes, and the annual sale amounted to several million dollars. Since that time, B. has gradually declined, and its trade, the articles of which are the productions of the vicinity, was valued, in 1816, at 23,000,000 francs.

BEAUFORT; a seaport and post-town in a district of the same name, in South Carolina, on Port Royal island, at the mouth of the Coosawhatchie; 60 miles N. E. Savannah, 72 S. W. Charleston; lon. 80° 33′ W.; lat. 32° 31′ N.; population about 1000. It is a very pleasant and healthy town, with an excellent harbor, though but little commerce. It con

tains 3 churches and a seminary, which was incorporated as a college, endowed with funds amounting to 60 or $70,000, having a handsome edifice, and a library of 700 volumes, but it has hitherto assumed only the form of an academy.

BEAUFORT, Henry, legitimate brother of Henry IV, king of England, was made bishop of Lincoln, whence he was translated to Winchester. He was also nominated chancellor of the kingdom, and sent ambassador to France. In 1426, he received a cardinal's hat, and was appointed legate in Germany. In 1431, he crowned Henry VI in the great church of Paris. He died at Winchester, 1447. He was a haughty, turbulent prelate, and Shakspeare is considered as giving a true portrait of him, when he describes his last scene.

BEAUHARNAIS, Alexander, viscount; born in 1760, in Martinique; served with distinction, as major, in the French forces under Rochambeau, which aided the U. States in their revolutionary war; married Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie, who was afterwards the wife of Napoleon. At the breaking out of the French revolution, he was chosen a member of the national assembly, of which he was, for some time, president, and which he opened, after the king's departure, with the following words:-Messieurs, le roi est parti cette nuit: passons à l'ordre du jour. In 1792, he was general of the army of the Rhine, and, in 1793, was appointed minister of war. In consequence of the decree removing men of noble birth from the army, he retired to his country-seat. He was falsely accused of having promoted the surrender of Mentz, and was sentenced to death, July 23, 1794, when 34 years old. (For information respecting his son Eugene, viceroy of Italy, see Eugene; respecting his daughter Hortense, see Louis Bonaparte; and respecting his elder brother, François Beauharnais, see the next article.)

BEAUHARNAIS, François, marquis de; born at La Rochelle, Aug. 12, 1756; voted with the right side in the national assembly. He violently opposed the motion of his younger brother, the viscount Alexander, to take from the king the chief command of the army, and would not listen to any of the amendments proposed, saying, Il n'y a point d'amendement avec l'honneur. He was called, in consequence of this, le féal Beauharnais sans amendement. In 1792, with the count d'Hervilly, the baron de Viomenil and others, he formed the project of a new