at the base, and hard towards the extremity. It is about the size of a jay; the male is of snow-white plumage, and from his forehead rises a strange tubular appendage, which, when empty, is pendulous, but which can be filled with air by a communication from the palate, and then rises erect to the height of nearly three inches. He generally takes his place on the top of a lofty tree, and his tolling can be heard to the distance of three miles. It resounds through the forest, not only at morning and evening, but also at mid-day, when the heat of the blazing sun has imposed silence on almost every

other creature.

BELLE-ALLIANCE, the name of a farm in the province of Brabant, Belgium, 13 miles south of Brussels. It has become famous as the position occupied by the centre of the French army in the battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815. The Prussians gave the name B. to this decisive battle; the French named it from Mont-Saint-Jean, the key of the British position, about two miles to the north; but the English name, Waterloo (q. v.), taken from the village where Wellington had his head-quarters, is now commonly used.

BELLE DE NUIT (Fr., Beauty of the Night), a name given to certain tropical species of Convolvulacea, with extremely beautiful and fragrant flowers, which open only during the night. The species to which perhaps the name more particularly belongs, is Calonyction Bona Nox, a native of the forests of the West Indies and of tropical America, with twining stem, spiny branches, heart-shaped leaves, and exquisitely beautiful white flowers of five or six inches in diameter, which are produced in large many-flowered corymbs.

BELLEGARDE, a hill-fortress of France, in the department of Pyrénées Orientales. It is situated on the Spanish confines on the road from Perpignan to Figueras, and in the pass between Col de Portus on the east, and Col de Panizas on the west. Here the French, under Philip III., were defeated by Peter III. of Arragon in 1285. In the 14th c., B. consisted only of a fortified tower. It was captured by the Spaniards in 1674, and again by the French under Marshal Schomberg in 1675. After the peace of Nimeguen, 1678-1679, a regular fortress, with five bastions, was erected here by order of Louis XIV. In 1793, it was blockaded and taken by the Spaniards under Ricardos, but was retaken by the French in the following year.

BELLE ISLE, an island in the Atlantic, about midway between the north-west of Newfoundland and the south-east of Labrador, in lat. 52° N., and long. 56° W. Although on the parallel of Essex in England, it yields little but potatoes and ordinary vegetables. It is chiefly known as giving name to the adjacent strait on the south-west, which, separating Labrador from Newfoundland, forms the most northerly of the three channels between the Gulf of St Lawrence and the open ocean.

BELLEISLE-EN-MER, an island belonging to France in the department Morbihan, in the Atlantic, 8 miles south of Quiberon Point. Its length is 11 miles, and its greatest breadth 7. Pop. (1872) 10.804, chiefly engaged in pilchard-fishing. Salt is made on the island. B. is a place of considerable antiquity. The chief town is Palais (pop. 2260), a seaport and fortified place. In the 9th c., B. came into the possession of the Count of Cornouailles, who bestowed it on the abbey of Redon, afterwards on the abbey of Quimperlé. In the 16th c., the monks of Quimperlé ceded the island to Charles IX., who gave it as a marquisate to the Marshal de Retz, who fortified it. His successor sold the island in 1658 to Fouquet, intendant of finance, who further improved and

strengthened it. His grandson, the celebrated Marshal Belleisle, ceded the island to Louis XV. in exchange for the comté Gisors, 1718. In 1761, it was captured by the English fleet under Keppel, and restored in 1763.

of Moray, a Scottish writer in the reigns of James BELLENDEN (BALLANTYNE), JOHN, Archdeacon V. and Queen Mary, was born towards the close of the 15th century, somewhere in the east of Scotland, for in the Records of the university of St Andrews he is entered thus: 1508, Jo. Ballentyn nac. Laudonic." He completed his education at the university of Paris, where he took the degree of D.D. B. is best remembered by his translation of Boece's Scotorum Historia (done in 1533), and of the first five books of Livy (also done in 1533), interesting as specimens of the Scottish prose of that period, and remarkable for the ease and vigour of their style. To both of these works are prefixed poetical prohemes or prologues. B.'s Croniklis of Scotland professes to be a translation of Boece, but it is a very free one, and contains numerous passages not to be found in the original, so that it is in some respects to be considered almost an original work. The author enjoyed great favour for a long time at the court of James, at whose request he executed the translations. As the reward of his performances, he received grants of considerable value from the treasury, and afterwards was made Archdeacon of Moray and Canon of Ross. Becoming involved, however, in ecclesiastical controversy, he left his country, and, according to Bale and Dempster, went to Rome, where he died about 1550. The translation or 'traductioun ' of Livy was first published in 1822 by Mr Thomas Maitland (afterwards Lord Dundrennan), uniform with his edition of the Croniklis in the previous year (Edin., 2 vols. 4to).

BELLENDEN, WILLIAM, a Scottish author in the time of Queen Mary and James VI. His personal history is meagre and obscure; all that we know being the testimony of Dempster (Hist. Eccl.), that he was a professor in the university, and an advocate in the parliament of Paris, and that he was employed in that city in a diplomatic capacity by Queen Mary, and also by her son, who conferred on him the appointment of Master of Requests. His first work, entitled Ciceronis Princeps, &c., was published at Paris in 1608; his next, Ciceronis Consul, Senator, Populusque Romanus, in 1612. Both these works are compilations from the writings of Cicero. His next work, De Statu Prisci Orbis, appeared in 1615, and consists of a condensed sketch of the history and progress of religion, government, and philosophy in ancient times. These three works he republished in a collected form the year after, under the title De Statu, Libri tres. His crowning labour, De Tribus Lüminibus Romanorum, was published after his death. The three luminaries' were Cicero, Seneca, and Pliny, out of whose works he intended to compile, on the same plan as his previous works, a comprehensive digest of the civil and religious history, and the moral and physical science of the Romans. The first of these only was completed, and forms a remarkable monument of B.'s industry and ability. 'B.,' says Mr Hallam, seems to have taken a more comprehensive view of history, and to have reflected more philosophically on it than perhaps any one had done before.' B.'s works furnished the materials for Dr Middleton's Life of Cicero, though that learned divine abstains from any allusion to the forgotten Scot from whom he plundered wholesale. Warton first denounced the theft, which was afterwards made clear by Dr Parr in his edition of the De Statu, Libri tres, published in 1787. 17

vocal melody. In private he was highly esteemed for the purity and affectionateness of his character. BELLINZO'NA, or BE'LLENZ, a town of Switzerland, in the canton of Tessin or Ticino, on the left bank of the river of that name, and the seat of the provincial government, alternately with Lugano and Locarno. It is guarded by three old castles, and completely commands the passage of the valley in which it is situated. In former times, it was considered a place of great military importance, and was the scene of frequent conflicts between the Italians and Swiss; the latter of whom finally made themselves masters of it about the beginning of the 16th c. As an entrepôt for the merchandise of Germany and Italy, it is now a place of considerable commercial importance, though the population is but small-(1870) 2501.

BE'LLIS. See DAISY.

BELLO'NA, the goddess of war among the Romans, was described by the poets as the companion, sister, wife, or daughter of Mars; she was also represented as armed with a bloody scourge, and as inspiring her votaries with a resistless enthusiasm in battle. In the war with the Samnites, the Consul Appius Claudius vowed a temple to B., which was erected afterwards on the field of Mars. In this temple the senate gave audience to embassies from foreign powers, and also to consuls who had claims to a triumph which would have been nullified by entrance into the city. The priests of the goddess were styled Bellonarii, and practised sanguinary rites; such as cutting their own arms or feet, and offering (or even drinking) the blood in sacrifice. This was especially done on the dies sanguinis (day of blood), March 24.

courage

BELLOT, JOSEPH RENÉ, a lieutenant in the French navy, who perished in the arctic regions, in search of Sir John Franklin, was born in Paris, 18th March 1826, and educated at Rochefort, in the Naval School. In the French expedition against Tamatave, in 1845, he gave proof of so much and presence of mind, that the Cross of the Legion of Honour was conferred on him before he had attained his twentieth year. In May 1851, he joined the expedition then preparing in England for the polar regions, in search of Sir John Franklin, and sailed in the Prince Albert, Kennedy commander, sent out by Lady Franklin. Distinguished by his noble daring and spirit of enterprise, he took part in several explorations. In one of these he made an important geographical discovery, to which his name was given-Bellot Strait (q. v.). On his return, he was promoted to the rank of navy lieutenant. In the expedition fitted out by the British Admiralty, under Captain Inglefield, he sailed as a volunteer, in H.M.S. Phoenix; but never returned, having been carried by a violent gust of wind, 21st March 1853, into a deep crack in the ice on which he was travelling. A considerable sum was subscribed in England for a monument to his memory. His Journal of a Voyage to the Polar Seas made in Search of Sir John Franklin in 1851-1852, edited, with a notice of his life, by M. Julien Lemer, 2 vols., was published at Paris in 1854. English translation, London, 1855.

BELLOT STRAIT, the passage which separates North Somerset from Boothia Felix, and connects Prince Regent's Inlet with Peel Strait or Sound, or, in M'Clintock's new nomenclature, Franklin Channel. Its east entrance was discovered by Kennedy during his search for Franklin, and he, assuming the continuity of the opening, classified it accordingly, naming it after his lamented companion Bellot. After four unsuccessful attempts, it was explored for the first and perhaps last

time by M'Clintock on his crowning voyage. It is about 20 miles long, and, at its narrowest part, about 1 mile wide, running pretty nearly on the parallel of 72°, between granite shores which, everywhere high, rise here and there to 1500 or 1600 feet. Through this funnel both the winds and the waters have full play; the latter, permanent currents and flood-tides alike, coming from the west. To the most northerly point on the south shore, M'Clintock has given the name of Murchison Promontory, which, at least unless other straits like B. S. be found towards the isthmus of Boothia, must be also the See most northerly point of the new continent. BARROW, POINT.

BELLOY, PIERRE LAURENT BUIRETTE, one of the first French dramatists who ventured to introduce on the stage native, instead of Greek, Roman, or other outlandish heroes. He was born at St Flour, in Auvergne, 17th November 1727, and died 5th March 1775. His father having died while B. was young, his uncle took him under his protection, and educated him for the law; but the seductions of the drama proved irresistible, and the opposition which he encountered in the cultivation of his theatrical talent ultimately determined him to leave his adopted home. Under the name of Dormont de B., he performed on various northern boards, and was much esteemed for his private worth. For some years he resided at St Petersburg, where the Empress Elizabeth interested herself in him. In 1758, he returned to France, to superintend the bringing out' of his tragedy Titus, trusting that its success would reconcile his family to him. In this, however, he was disappointed, for the piece proved a failure, being only a feeble imitation of Metastasio, and he returned to St Petersburg. After the death of his uncle, he again visited France, and obtained a decided success by his tragedy of Zelmire. In 1765 appeared Le Siége de Calais, which was immensely popular, and is even yet held in estimation; and in 1771, Gaston and Bayard, which secured for him an entrance to the French Academy. But of all his productions, the one which has longest retained a place in the répertoire of the stage, though it was far from popular at first, is Pierre le Cruel. B.'s dramas are not by any means wanting in theatrical effectiveness, but are marred by great incorrectness. They have been collected and edited by Gaillard (6 vols., Par. 1779).

BELLS, on shipboard, is a term having a peculiar meaning, not exactly equivalent to, but serving as a substitute for time or 'o'clock' in ordinary land-life. The day, or rather the night, is divided into watches or periods, usually of four hours' duration each; and each half-hour is marked by striking on a bell. The number of strokes depends, not on the hour, according to ordinary reckoning, but on the number of half-hours which have elapsed in that particular watch. Thus, 'three bells' is a phrase denoting that three half-hours have elapsed, but it does not in itself shew to which particular watch it refers. Captain Basil Hall, in his Fragments of Voyages and Travels, while treating of Sunday usages on board ships of the Royal Navy, mentions one or two phrases illustrative of this mode of time-reckoning. While the sailors are at breakfast on Sunday morning, the word is passed to "clean for muster," and the dress is specified according to the season of the year and climate. Thus, at different seasons is heard: "Do you hear there, fore and aft! clean for muster at five bells! duck-frocks and white trousers!"—or, "Do you hear there, clean shirt and a shave for muster at five bells!"' A ship's bell is usually hung to the beam of the forecastle, but occasionally

BELLU'NO (the ancient Bellunum), a city of Venetia, Northern Italy, on the right bank of the Piave, and 51 miles north of the city of Venice. It is walled, is the seat of a bishop, has a handsome cathedral, hospital, public library, fine aqueduct, &c. It has a trade in timber, and manufactories of silks, hats, leather, and earthenware. Pop. 10,000.

BELOMANCY (Gr. belos, an arrow; manteia, prophecy), a mode of divination by arrows, practised among the Arabs and other nations of the east. A number of arrows being shot off with sentences written on labels attached to them, an indication of futurity is sought from the inscription on the first arrow found. This is only one of many ways of divining by arrows. See AXINOMANCY. DIVINING-ROD.

BELON, PIERRE, a celebrated French naturalist, was born in 1517 at Soulletière, in the department

of Sarthe. He studied medicine at Paris, and sub

sequently travelled through Germany. In 1546 he left France, and visited Greece, Asia-Minor, Egypt, and Arabia. He returned in 1549, and in 1553 published the results of his travels, in a work entitled Observations on several Singular and Memorable Things discovered in Greece, Asia, Judæa, Egypt, Arabia, and other Foreign Countries. Charles IX. gave him apartments in the Château of Madrid, a sumptuous edifice which Francis I. had constructed in the Bois de Boulogne. Here he resided till his tragic death in April 1564. He was murdered by robbers when gathering herbs at a late hour of the evening in the Bois de Boulogne.

Besides the valuable work already mentioned, B. published in 1551, A Natural History of Strange Sea-fish, with a correct Representation and Account of the Dolphin, and several others of that Species, which contains, among other things, an exact description of the dolphin, and the earliest picture of a hippopotamus in any European book; in 1555, A Natural History of Birds, which is often quoted by Buffon, and acknowledged to be the most important treatise on ornithology of the 16th c.; in 1558, an elaborate and interesting work on Arboriculture, in which he gave a list of the exotic trees which it would be useful to introduce into France. Besides these, B. wrote several other treatises of trees, herbs, birds, and fishes.

BE'LONE. See GARFISH.

BELOOCHISTA'N, a country of southern Asia, bounded on the N. by Afghanistan, on the E. by Moultan and Sinde, on the S. by the Arabian Sea, and on the W. by a maritime dependency of Muscat in Arabia, and by the Persian province of Kerman. B. corresponds in general with the ancient Gedrosia, excepting that the latter name appears to have extended to the Indus, while the former nowhere

reaches that river. B. stretches in N. lat. between

istan into the Punjab-a preference strengthened by Alexander's direful experience in returning from the Indus along the coast. The surface is generally mountainous, more especially towards the north, the peak of Takkatu being said to be 11,000 feet high. Even the bottoms of some of the valleys have an elevation of 5700 feet; and the capital, Kelat, situated on the side of one of them, is 6000 feet above the level of the sea. The rivers are inconsiderable, unless after heavy rains: even the largest of them, the Dusti, after a course of about 1000 miles, has been found to be only 20 inches deep, and 20 yards wide at its mouth. The pastures, as may be and goats, however, are numerous. supposed, are poor, so that there are few cattle: sheep The dromedary is the ordinary beast of burden; and it is only in the north-west, towards Kerman, that horses are bred. Wherever there is a sufficiency of water, the soil cotton, indigo, and tobacco; and the higher grounds, is productive the lowlands yielding rice, sugar, wheat, barley, madder, pulse, and European fruits. In the sandy waste of Mekran, where Alexander's army suffered its severest hardships and privations, the only valuable product is the date. The minerals sal-ammoniac; and the manufactures are skins, are copper, lead, antimony, iron, sulphur, alum, and woollens, carpets, and tent-covers of goat's and camel's hair, and rude firearms. B. has but one seaport, Sonmeanee, near the frontier of Sinde. The trade is insignificant, being, such as it is, chiefly monopolised by Hindus. The inhabitants, however, are, as a body, Mohammedans, of the Sunnite sect, and consequently opposed to their neighbours of Persia, who are Shiites. Most of the east provinces, which alone come into contact with British India, are under the authority of the Khan of Kelat, who, with a revenue of about £30,000, maintains an acted treacherously towards the British during the army of 3000 men. This petty sovereign having Afghan campaign of 1839, his royal city was taken by storm in the same year. In 1840, it was abandoned; but, in 1841, it was again captured, for temporary occupation, by the British.

BELSHAM, THOMAS, one of the ablest expounders of the Unitarian system of theology, was born at Bedford in 1750. He was educated in the principles of Calvinism, and for some years officiated as pastor of the dissenting congregation and head of the theological academy at Daventry. These offices he resigned in 1789, on embracing Unitarian views, and shortly after received the charge of a new theological academy at Hackney, which in a few years collapsed for want of funds. his pastoral charge, and in 1805 removed to London Before its extinction, he succeeded Dr Priestley in till his death in 1829. as the successor of Dr Disney, where he continued Most of his works are controversial: his doctrine regarding the person of Christ represents the purely humanitarian' view, as distinguished from the more nearly Arian sentiments of men like Channing. He published also a work on mental and moral philosophy, following Hartley, and a memoir of his predecesHis brother, William sor, Theophilus Lindsey. (b. 1752; d. 1827), was an active and voluminous writer of history and political tracts on the side of the Whigs.