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thus nearly all the knowledge possessed of the early state of Christianity in his country is due to B. There have been several editions of the original Latin, which is easy, although not elegant. The latest and best is that of Dr. Smith, Cambridge, 1722. There is a translation into English by Thomas Stapylton, D. D., Antwerp, 1505, besides the Saxon version of Alfred. B. was also the author of many other works, a catalogue of which he subjoined to his history. Several of these were printed early; but the first general collection of his works was that of Paris, 1554, 3 vols. fol. Some of his treatises have been published by Mr. Wharton, from MSS. in the library at Lambeth palace, London, 4to, 1693. While the number and variety of the writings of B. show the extent of his erudition, his probity, moderation and modesty insured him general respect; and his disinterestedness is proved by the fact, that he was never any thing but an unbeneficed priest. A letter of advice, which he wrote, late in life, to Egbert, archbishop of York, proves, at once, the purity of his morals, the liberality of his sentiments, and the excellence of his discernment; his wish being to curtail the number of monasteries, and to increase the efficacy and respectability of the secular clergy. Notwithstanding the veneration with which he was regarded, not a single miracle is recorded of him; and, as monks were the great miracle mongers, and his views of monastic reform such as we have mentioned, this is not surprising. The manner of the death of this virtuous ecclesiastic was striking and characteristic. He was dictating a translation of the gospel of St. John to an amanuensis. The young man who wrote for him said, "There is now, master, but one sentence wanting;" upon which he bade him write quickly; and, when the scribe said, "It is now done," the dying sage ejaculated, "It is now done," and a few minutes afterwards expired, in the act of prayer, on the floor of his cell, in the 63d year of his age, in the month of May, A. D. 735.

BEDDOES, Thomas; a physician and author; born, 1760, at Shiffnal in Shropshire; died 1808. He was educated by his grandfather. He made great progress at school, in classical studies, and distinguished himself at Oxford by his knowledge of ancient and modern languages and literature. The great discoveries in physics, chemistry and physiology, irresistibly attracted him. He continued his studies with success in London and

Edinburgh. In his 26th year, he took his doctor's degree, afterwards visited Paris, and formed an acquaintance with Lavoisier. On his return, he was appointed professor of chemistry at Oxford. There he published some excellent chemical treatises, and Observations on the Calculus, Sea-Scurvy, Consumption, Catarrh and Fever. But, dazzled by the splendid promises of the French revolution, he offended some of his former admirers, and excited such a clamor against him by the publication of his political opinions, that he determined to resign his professorship, and retired to the house of his friend Mr. Reynolds, in Shropshire. There he composed his observations on the nature of demonstrative evidence, in which he endeavors to prove, that mathematical reasoning proceeds on the evidence of the senses, and that geometry is founded on experiment. He also published the History of Isaac Jenkins, which was intended to impress useful moral lessons on the laboring classes in an attractive manner. Above 40,000 copies of this popular work were sold in a short time. After he had married, in 1794, he formed the plan of a pneumatic institution, for curing diseases, particularly consumption, by means of factitious airs or gases. He succeeded, with the assistance of the celebrated Wedgewood, in opening this institution, in 1798. He engaged, as superintendent of the whole, a young man, Humphrey Davy, the foundation of whose future fame was laid here. The chief purpose of the institution, however, was never realized, and B.'s zeal gradually relaxed, so that he relinquished it one year before his death, after having published a number of valuable works upon the application of factitious airs. In the last years of his life, he acquired the reputation of the best medical writer in Great Britain, particularly by his Hygeia, in 3 vols., a popular work, which contains passages of extraordinary eloquence. His political pamphlets, from 1795-97, are forgotten.

BEDFORD, John, duke of; one of the younger sons of Henry IV, king of England; famous as a statesman and a warrior. Shakspeare, who calls him prince John of Lancaster, introduces him, in his plays of Henry IV, as distinguishing himself by his youthful courage in the battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403, and forming a kind of moral contrast to his more dissipated brother, the prince of Wales. During the reign of Henry V, he participated in the fame acquired by the conquest of

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France; but his talents were fully displayed when, after the death of that king, he became regent of France, having been appointed to this post by Henry, in his will. At Verneuil, in 1424, he displayed his military talents; and the difficulties, which, from various causes, he experienced in endeavoring to maintain possession of the conquered provinces in France, afforded frequent occasion for the manifestation of his ability. The greatest blemish in his character is his cruel execution of the maid of Orleans, 'n 1431. He survived this event about four years, and dying, in 1435, at Rouen, was buried in the cathedral of that city. The duke deserves notice also for his patronage of the arts. A curious monument of his taste still exists-the Bedford Missal. Mr. Dibdin, in his Bibliomania, p. 253, gives an account of it. It was made for the duke and duchess, and contains 59 large, and more than 1000 small miniature paintings. In 1786, it was purchased, by Mr. Edwards, for 215 guineas, from the collection of the duchess of Portland; and, a few years after, 500 guineas were offered for it. In a historical point of view, it is interesting on account of several portraits of eminent persons; some of which have been engraved by Vertue, for his portraits to illustrate the history of England. For the antiquarian and the student of the fine arts, it is one of the most interesting monuments of that age. Gough, the antiquarian, published a work in 8vo., describing the Bedford Missal.

BEDFORD; a town in England, and capital of the county of Bedford, to which it gives name, situated on the Ouse; 22 miles S. E. of Northampton, 50 N. of London; lon. 0° 27′ W.; lat. 52° 8′ N.; pop. 4605. It contains 5 churches, 3 on the north and 2 on the south side of the river, 3 independent meeting-houses, and a free grammar school liberally endowed. The principal manufacture is lace. It is a place of considerable trade, which is much assisted by the river, navigable to Lynn, and is the only market-town of the county, on the north side of the Ouse. The soil about it is fertile, particularly in excellent wheat. It sends two representatives to parliament. It has two markets weekly.

Bedford; a borough town, and capital of Bedford county, Pennsylvania; 91 miles E. by S. of Pittsburg, 190 W. of Philadelphia: population of the borough, 789; including the township, 2116. It is finely situated on a branch of the Juni

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atta, regularly laid out, and built on an eminence enveloped by mountains. Will's mountain, on the west side of the town, is 1300 feet high, and Dunning's mountain, on the east side, is 1100 feet high. A mile and a half south of the town, there are mineral springs, which were discovered in 1804, and are much resorted to, and found useful in cutaneous complaints, ulcers, rheumatisms, chronic complaints, &c.--There are several other towns and counties of the same name in the U. States: as, B. in the state of New York, Westchester county, population nearly 2500; B. county in the south of Virginia; and another in West Tennessee.

BEDFORD LEVEL; a large tract of land in England, in the counties of Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdon, Northampton and Lincoln, formerly full of fens and marshes, and, in rainy seasons, for the most part under water; but drained, at the expense of £400,000, by the noble family of Russell, earls and dukes of Bedford, and others; by which means 100,000 acres of good land have been brought into use.

BEDFORD, NEW; a seaport in Massachusetts. (See New Bedford.)

BEDOUINS, OF BEDO WEENS (that is, inhabitants of the desert); a numerous Mohammedan race, which dwells in the deserts of Arabia, Egypt and Northern Africa. It is still doubtful whether they belong to the same race with the Arabs, or differ from them in their descent, as they do in their manner of living. The Bedouins live at a distance from cities and villages, in families, under sheiks, or in tribes, under emirs. Their dwellings are tents, huts, caverns and ruins. With their herds and beasts of burden, which carry their little property, they wander in quest of fresh water and pasture. They are all good horsemen, and are generally fond of hunting. The peaceful tribes exchange horses (which they raise with great care) and fat cattle, for arms and cloth, with the neighboring nations. Other hordes are such open robbers, that it is dangerous to travel through their country without a guard or a passport, which the different chiefs sell. They not only plunder, but murder, even when the travellers offer no resistance. Notwithstanding this barbarous custom, the Bedouins hold the rights of hospitality sacred; and the most defenceless enemy is sure of their protection, if they have once allowed him shelter. But the Bedouin considers every one his enemy who is not his brother, kinsman or ally. Always

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careful of his own safety, he attacks no caravan or camp without being sure of his superiority. To superior numbers, and a bold resistance, he yields, and saves himself by a speedy flight. A terror to the neighboring nations, the rapacious Bedouin lives in a state of continual watchfulness; poor, ignorant, wild and rude, but free, and proud of his liberty. This people is remarkable for temperance in regard to food, amounting almost to abstinence.

BEE (apis mellifica, L.); a species of aymenopterous insect, belonging to the family apiaria.-The honey-bee is universally celebrated for its singular instincts, and highly prized for the valuable products of its industry. A vast number of interesting facts have consequently been collected in relation to the economy of the species, for the detail of whose history a volume of considerable size would be required. We shall therefore be able to present nothing more than a sketch of the most striking generalities, obtained from the admirable works of Huber, Cuvier, &c., and to these authentic sources must refer the reader desirous of more ample information.-Three sorts of individuals are found to form a community of honey-bees; the female, mother, or, as she is commonly called, queen; the males, or drones; and the working bees, improperly termed neuters, as they are actually females, though, in a peculiar respect, imperfect. A hive commonly consists of one mother, or queen, from 6 to 800 males, and from 15 to 20,000 working bees. The last mentioned are the smallest, have 12 joints to their antennæ, and 6 abdominal rings: the first joint or square portion of the posterior tarsi is enlarged at the posterior angle of its base, and shaped like a pointed auricle, having its internal surface covered with a fine, short, close, silky down. They are provided with stings. The mandibles are spoon-shaped, and not dentated. There is, on the outside of the hind legs, a smooth hollow, edged with hairs, called the basket: the silky brush of the first joint of the posterior tarsi has 7 or 8 transverse striæ. The mother, or queen, has the same characteristics, but is of larger size, especially in the abdomen: she has a shorter sucker or trunk, and the mandibles grooved and velvet-like beneath the tip. The males, or drones, differ from both the preceding by having 13 joints to the antennæ ; a rounded head, with larger eyes, elongated and united at the summit; smaller and more velvety mandibles, and

shorter anterior feet, the two first of which are arched. They have no auricular dilatation nor silky brush on the square part of the posterior tarsi, and are destitute of stings. The genitals consist of two horn-shaped bodies of a reddishyellow color, with a broad-ended penis.When we examine the internal structure of this insect, we find at the superior base of the trunk or sucker, below the labrum, a considerable aperture, shut by a small, triangular piece, which has been called tongue, epipharynx, &c. This opening receives the food, which is thence conveyed by a delicate esophagus, through the corselet, to the anterior stomach, which contains the honey; the second stomach receives the pollen of flowers, and has, on its internal surface, a number of transverse and annular wrinkles. The abdominal cavity of the queen and working bees also contains the little bag of poison communicating with the sting. In the queen, there are, moreover, two large ovaries, consisting of a great number of small cavities, each containing 16 or 17 eggs. These ovaries open near the anus, previous to which they dilate into pouches, where the egg is delayed to receive a viscous coating from an adjacent gland. The inferior half-circles, except the first and last, on the abdomens of working bees, have each on their inner surface two cavities, where the wax is formed in layers, and comes out from between the abdominal rings. Below these cavities is a particular membrane, formed of a very small, hexagonally-meshed network, which is connected with the membrane lining the walls of the abdominal cavity. -Wax, of which the combs are formed, is elaborated from honey. The pollen collected from flowers, mixed with a small quantity of wax, constitutes the food of bees and their larves; and this food appears to be modified in its composition, according to the sort of individuals it is intended for. Another substance collected by bees from the opening buds of poplar and other trees, and used by them for lining their hives, stopping holes, &c., is called propolis.-Besides the distinctions remarked in the female, male and working bees, Huber regards the working bees as of two sorts; one devoted to the collection of provisions, and all the materials necessary to the comb, as well as to its construction; these he calls ciriéres. The others are more delicate, small and feeble, and employed exclusively within the hive, in feeding and taking care of the young.--The re

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semblance existing between the working and female bees first led to the idea that they were of the same sex, and the ingenious experiments and accurate observations of Huber enabled him to establish this fact in the most satisfactory manner. Having deprived a hive of the mother or queen, he found that the work-` ing bees immediately began to prepare a larve of their own class to occupy this important station. This was effected by enlarging the cell to the dimensions of a maternal or royal chamber, and feeding the selected individual on food exclusively destined for the nourishment of the royal larves. If merely fed upon this food, without an accompanying enlargement of the cell, the maternal faculties were but imperfectly acquired, as the female did not attain the proper size, and was incapable of laying any eggs but those which produced males.-The cells of the comb compose two opposite ranges of horizontal hexagons, with pyramidal bases: each layer of the comb is perpendicular, and attached by the summit, and separated from the rest by a space sufficient for the bees to pass in and out. The comb is always built from above downward. The cells, with the exception of those for the female larve and nymph, are nearly of equal size, some containing the progeny, and others the honey and pollen of flowers. Some honey cells are left open, others are closed for future use by a flat or slightly convex covering of wax. The maternal or regal cells vary from 2 to 40 in number, are greatly superior in size, nearly cylindrical, and somewhat larger at the extremity. They have small cavities on the outside, and commonly depend from the comb like stalactites, so that the larve has its head downwards.-The season of fecundation occurs about the beginning of summer, and the meeting between the females and males takes place high in the air, whence the female returns with the sexual parts of the male attached to the extremity of the abdomen. This one fecundation is thought to be sufficient to vivify the eggs which the mother may lay in the course of two years. The laying begins immediately afterwards, and continues until autumn. Réaumur states that the female, in the spring, lays as many as 12,000 eggs in the lapse of 24 days. Each sort of egg is deposited in the appropriate cell, unless a sufficient number of cells have not been prepared: in this case, she places several eggs in one, and leaves to the working bees the

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task of subsequently arranging them. The eggs laid at the commencement of fine weather all belong to the working sort, and hatch at the end of 4 days. The larves are regularly fed by the workers for 6 or 7 days, when they are enclosed in their cell, spin a cocoon, and become nymphs, and in about 12 days acquire their perfect state. The cells are then immediately fitted up for the reception of new eggs. The eggs for producing males are laid two months later, and those for the females immediately afterwards. This succession of generations forms so many particular communities, which, when increased beyond a certain degree, leave the parent hive to found a new colony elsewhere. Three or four swarms sometimes leave a hive in a season. A good swarm is said to weigh at least six or eight pounds. The life of the bee, like that of all the other insects of its class, does not continue long after the great business of providing for the continuance of the species is completed.--The history of the bee, as already stated, is too extensive to allow us to attempt more than this brief sketch. But to such as have leisure, and are desirous of instructive amusement, we know of no study which promises a greater degree of satisfaction; and there is no book better adapted for this purpose, than the excellent treatise of Huber, which may almost be regarded as the ne plus ultra of its kind. A beautiful little poem, called The Bees, written by the Florentine Giovanni Rucellai, appeared in 1539.

BEECH. The beech (fagus sylvatica), one of our handsomest forest-trees, is known by its waved and somewhat oval leaves, and its triangular fruit, consisting of three cells, and enclosed, by pairs, in a husk, which is covered with simple prickles.-Beech woods are very common in almost all the New England and Middle States, in the states of Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, &c. They are very luxuriant in their growth. These woods, it has been observed, are peculiarly dry, and pleasant to walk in, and, under their shade, afford to the botanist many interesting plants, such as the bird's nest (monoiropa), winter-green (pyrola), and some rare orchidea. Beech-trees bear lopping well, and may be trained so as to form lofty hedges, which are valuable for shelter, since the leaves, though faded, remain through the winter, and the twisted branches may be formed into a very strong fence. The wood is hard and brittle, and, if exposed to the air, is

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liable soon to decay. It is, however, peculiarly useful to cabinet-makers and turners: carpenters' planes, &c. are made of it. When split into thin layers, it is used to make scabbards, for swords. Chairs, bedsteads and other furniture are occasionally formed of beech. The fruit of this tree, which has the name of beechmast, and falls in September, is very palatable, but, if eaten in great quantity, it occasions giddiness and headaches; when, however, it is dried and powdered, it may be made into a wholesome bread. The inhabitants of Scio, one of the Ionian islands, were once enabled to endure a memorable siege by the beech-mast which their island supplied. This fruit has occasionally been roasted, and used as a substitute for coffee. When subjected to pressure, it yields a sweet and palatable oil, which is equal in quality to the best olive-oil, and has the advantage of continuing longer than that without becoming rancid. Beech-oil is manufactured in several parts of France, and is used by the lower classes of Silesia instead of butter. The cakes which remain after the oil is extracted are a wholesome food, and may be also advantageously employed for the fattening of swine, poultry and oxen. In some countries, the leaves of the beech-tree are collected in the autumn, before they have been injured by the frost, and are used instead of feathers, for beds; and mattresses formed of them are said to be preferable to those either of straw or chaff.

BEEF-EATERS (a corruption from the French buffetiers, from buffet, sideboard) are yeomen of the guard of the king of Great Britain. They are stationed by the sideboard at great royal dinners. There are now 100 in service and 70 supernumeraries. They are dressed after the fashion of the time of Henry VIII.

BEEJAPOOR (Bija-pur, a corruption of Vijaya-puri, the city of victory, the original name of the capital); a large province of Deccan, between the 15th and 18th degrees of N. lat.; bounded N. and E. by Aurungabad and Beder, S. by North Canara and the river Toombudra, and W. by the sea; about 350 miles long, and 200 broad. It is watered by the Crishna, Toombudra, Beemah and Gatpurba; and is traversed by the Ghaut mountains. The soil is generally fertile, and provisions plentiful. The chief cities are Beejapoor, Boonah (the capital of the Mahrattas), St. Kuttany and Nubely. Four fifths of the country are subject to the Mahrattas, the rest to the Nizam.

The population is estimated at 7,000,000 ; one twentieth Mohammedans, the rest Hindoos. The province is divided into 15 territorial divisions. In the southern part of Concan, one of these divisions, Goa (Gowah, or, more properly, Govay), the capital of the Portuguese settlements in the East, is situated. (See Goa.) The productions of B. are, in general, similar to those of the rest of the Deccan. One part-the neighborhood of the Beemahis celebrated for its breed of horses, and supplies the best cavalry in the Mahratta armies.

Beejapoor; the former capital of the above province. (See Bija-pur.)

BEEK, David, a portrait-painter of considerable merit, was born in 1621, at Arnheim, in Guelderland; became a pupil of Vandyck; resided, for some time, at the court of Sweden, and died in 1656. It is related of him, that, on a journey through Germany, he fell sick, and became, to appearance, dead; when one of his servants pouring a glass of wine into his throat, to amuse his companions, B. opened his eyes, and, after a while, recovered his health.

BEELZEBUB (in Hebrew, the god of flies); an idol of the Moabites or Syrians. This term is applied, in the Scriptures, to the chief of the evil spirits. We must remember what a terrible torment insects often are in the East, in order to conceive how this name came to be given to one of the greatest of the imaginary spirits of evil. We find that almost all nations, who believe in evil spirits, represent them as the rulers of disgusting, tormenting or poisonous animals-flies, rats, mice, reptiles, &c. The Greeks worshipped several of their chief deities under the character of protectors against these animals; for instance, Apollo Zpívsvs, the destroyer of rats. Every one knows, that Christ was charged by the Jews with driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub. (Matt. xii. 24.)

BEER. (See Ale and Brewing.) We have evidence of the use of this liquor for more than 2000 years. The Grecian poet and satirist Archilochus, who lived about 700 B. C., and the Grecian tragedians Eschylus and Sophocles, who lived more than 400 B. C., call it wine of barley. Diodorus of Sicily, who lived about the time of Julius Cæsar, about 50 B. C., mentions beer in his History (lib. i. chap. 20). Pliny also, about the middle of the first century after Christ, speaks of this beverage in several places of his Natural History. He says that it is prepared in different ways,

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