The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 63

BEE, THE, a periodical started by Goldsmith, in which some of his best essays appeared, and his "Citizen of the World."

BEECHER, HENRY WARD, a celebrated American preacher, born at Litchfield, Connecticut; pastor of a large Congregational church, Brooklyn; a vigorous thinker and eloquent orator, a liberal man both in theology and politics; wrote "Life Thoughts"; denied the eternity of punishment, considered a great heresy by some then, and which led to his secession from the Congregational body (1813-1887).

BEECHER-STOWE, HARRIET ELIZABETH, sister of the above, auth.o.r.ess of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," of which probably over a million copies have been sold. Born at Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S.A., in 1812; _d_. 1896.

BEECHY, REAR-ADMIRAL, born in London, son of the following; accompanied Franklin in 1818 and Parry in 1819 to the Arctic regions; commanded the _Blossom_ in the third expedition of 1825-1828 to the same regions; published "Voyage of Discovery towards the North Pole"

(1796-1856).

BEECHY, SIR WILLIAM, portrait-painter, born in Oxfords.h.i.+re; among his portraits were those of Lord Nelson, John Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons (1753-1839).

BEEF-EATERS, yeomen of the royal guard, whose inst.i.tution dates from the reign of Henry VII., and whose office it is to wait upon royalty on high occasions; the name is also given to the warders of the Tower, though they are a separate body and of more recent origin; the name simply means (royal) dependant, a corruption of the French word _buffetier_, one who attends the sideboard.

BEEHIVE HOUSES, small stone structures, of ancient date, remains of which are found (sometimes in cl.u.s.ters) in Ireland and the W. of Scotland, with a conical roof formed of stones overlapping one another, undressed and without mortar; some of them appear to have been monks'

cells.

BEEL'ZEBUB, the G.o.d of flies, protector against them, wors.h.i.+pped by the Phoenicians; as being a heathen deity, transformed by the Jews into a chief of the devils; sometimes identified with Satan, and sometimes his aide-de-camp.

BEERBOHM TREE, HERBERT, actor, born in London, son of a grain merchant; his first appearance was as the timid curate in the "Private Secretary," and then as the spy Macari in "Called Back"; is lessee of the Haymarket Theatre, London, and has had many notable successes; he is accompanied by his wife, who is a refined actress; _b_. 1852.

BEER'SHEBA, a village in the S. of Canaan, and the most southerly, 27 m. from Hebron; a.s.sociated with Dan, in the N., to denote the limit of the land and what lies between; lies in a pastoral country abounding in wells, and is frequently mentioned in patriarchal history; means "the Well of the Oath."

BEESWING, a gauze-like film which forms on the sides of a bottle of good port.

BEETHOVEN, LUDWIG VON, one of the greatest musical composers, born in Bonn, of Dutch extraction; the author of symphonies and sonatas that are known over all the world; showed early a most precocious genius for music, commenced his education at five as a musician; trained at first by a companion named Pfeiffer, to whom he confessed he owed more than all his teachers; trained at length under the tuition of the most ill.u.s.trious of his predecessors, Bach and Handel; revealed the most wonderful musical talent; quitted Bonn and settled in Vienna; attracted the attention of Mozart; at the age of 40 was attacked with deafness that became total and lasted for life; continued to compose all the same, to the admiration of thousands; during his last days was a prey to melancholy; during a thunderstorm he died. Goethe p.r.o.nounced him at his best "an utterly untamed character, not indeed wrong in finding the world detestable, though his finding it so did not," he added, "make it more enjoyable to himself or to others" (1770-1827).

BEETS, NICOLAS, a Dutch theologian and poet, born at Haarlem; came, as a poet, under the influence of Byronism; _b_. 1814.

BEFA'NA, an Italian female Santa Claus, who on Twelfth Night fills the stockings of good children with good things, and those of bad with ashes.

BEGG, JAMES, Scotch ecclesiastic, born at New Monkland, Lanark; was a stalwart champion of old Scottish orthodoxy, and the last (1808-1883).

BEGHARDS, a religious order that arose in Belgium in the 13th century, connected with the Beguins, a mystic and socialistic sect.

BEGUINS, a sisterhood confined now to France and Germany, who, without taking any monastic vow, devote themselves to works of piety and benevolence.

BEGUM, name given in the E. Indies to a princess, mother, sister, or wife of a native ruler.

BEHAIM, MARTIN, a geographer and chartographer, born in Nuremberg; accompanied Diego Cam on a voyage of discovery along W. coast of Africa; constructed and left behind him a famous terrestrial globe; some would make him out to be the discoverer of America (1459-1507).

BEHAR (24,393), a province of Bengal, in the valley of the Ganges, which divides it into two; densely peopled; cradle of Buddhism.

BEHE'MOTH, a large animal mentioned in Job, understood to be the hippopotamus.

BEHIS'TUN, a mountain in Irak-Ajemi, a prov. of Persia, on which there are rocks covered with inscriptions, the princ.i.p.al relating to Darius Hystaspes, of date about 515 B.C., bearing on his genealogy, domains, and victories.

BEHM, ERNST, a German geographer, born in Gotha (1830-1884).

BEHN, AFRA, a licentious writer, born in Kent, for whom, for her free and easy ways, Charles II. took a liking; sent by him as a spy to Holland, and through her discovered the intention of the Dutch to burn the s.h.i.+pping in the Thames. She wrote plays and novels (1640-1689).

BEHRING STRAIT, a strait about 50 m. wide between Asia and N.

America, which connects the Arctic Ocean with the Pacific; discovered by the Danish navigator Vitus Behring in 1728, sent out on a voyage of discovery by Peter the Great.

BEIRA (1,377), a central province of Portugal, mountainous and pastoral; gives t.i.tle to the heir-apparent to the Portuguese throne.

BEKE, DR., traveller, born in London; travelled in Abyssinia and Palestine; author of "Origines Biblicae," or researches into primeval history as shown not to be in keeping with the orthodox belief.

BEKKER, IMMANUEL, philologist, born in Berlin, and professor in Halle; cla.s.sical textual critic; issued recensions of the Greek and Latin cla.s.sics (1780-1871).

BEL AND THE DRAGON, HISTORY OF, one of the books of the Apocrypha, a spurious addition to the book of Daniel, relates how Daniel persuaded Cyrus of the vanity of idol-wors.h.i.+p, and is intended to show its absurdity.

BELA I., king of Hungary from 1061 to 1063; an able ruler; introduced a great many measures for the permanent benefit of the country, affecting both religion and social organisation.

BELA IV., king of Hungary, son of Andreas II., who had in 1222 been compelled to sign the Golden Bull, the _Magna Charta_ of Hungarian liberty; faithfully respected the provisions of this charter, and incurred the enmity of the n.o.bles by his strenuous efforts to subdue them to the royal power.

BELCH, SIR TOBY, a reckless, jolly, swaggering character in "Twelfth Night."

BELCHER, SIR EDWARD, admiral, was engaged in several exploring and surveying expeditions; sailed round the world, and took part in the operations in China (1812-1877).