Mr. B. was a logician of the first order, possessed a rich and ready elocution, and commanded attention as well by his fine countenance and manly person as his cogent reasoning and comprehensive views. He acquired a reputation, both as a lawyer and political orator, scarcely inferior to that of any one of his American contemporaries.

BAYLE, Pierre, born at Carlat, in the county of Foix (Languedoc), in 1647, received his first instruction from his father, a Calvinistic preacher. He gave early proofs of an astonishing memory, and of a singular vivacity of mind. At the age of 19 years, he entered the college of Puy-Laurens, to finish his studies. The ardor with which he devoted himself to them weakened his constitution. All books were eagerly devoured by him; his taste for logic led him particularly to study religious controversies, but Amyot's Plutarch and Montaigne were his favorite works. The latter encouraged, without doubt, his inclination to scepticism; perhaps both contributed to give to his style that vivacity, that boldness of expression and antique coloring, so observable in it. In Toulouse, he studied philosophy with the Jesuits. The arguments of his professor, and, still more, his friendly discussions with a Catholic priest, who dwelt near him, confirmed his doubts of the orthodoxy of Protestantism, so that he resolved to change his religion. His conversion was a triumph to the Catholics. His family, however, tried all means to regain him, and, after 17 months, he returned to his old faith. In order to escape from the punishment of perpetual excommunication, which the Catholic church then pronounced against apostates, he went to Geneva, and thence to Copet, where count Dolina intrusted him with the cancation of his sons, and where he studied the philosophy of Des Cartes. But, after some years, he returned to France, and settled in Rouen, where he was employed in teaching. From thence he went to Paris, where the society of learned men indemnified him for the fatigues of an occupation to which he was obliged to submit for a third time. In 1675, he obtained the philosophical chair at Sedan, where he taught with distinction until the suppression of this academy in 1681. He was afterwards invited to discharge the same duties at Rotterdam. The appearance of a comet, in 1680, which occasioned an almost universal alarm, induced him to publish, in 1682, his Pensées diverses sur la Comète, a work

full of learning, in which he discussed various subjects of metaphysics, morals, theology, history, and politics. It was followed by his Critique générale de l'Histoire du Calvinisme de Maimbourg. This work, received with equal approbation by the Catholics and Protestants, and esteemed by Maimbourg himself, excited the jealousy of his colleague, the theologian Jurieu, whose Refutation du P. Maimbourg had not succeeded, and involved B. in many disputes. He afterward undertook a periodical work, Nouvelles de la République des Lettres, in 1684. A letter from Rome, published in this work, excited the displeasure of the queen Christina of Sweden, who caused two violent letters to be sent to him. B. apologized, and his excuses so perfectly satisfied the queen, that from that time she kept up a literary correspondence with him. The death of his father and of his two brothers, together with the religious persecutions in France, induced him to undertake his Commentaire philosophique sur ces Paroles de l'Evangile; Contrains-les d'entrer; which, in regard to style and tone, is not worthy of him. B. himself was unwilling to acknowledge it; but Jurieu, who probably recognised its author by the zeal with which toleration is defended in this work, attacked it with violence. His hatred only waited for a pretence to break out against B.; he found it in the Avis aux Refugiés, a work in which the Protestants are treated with little ceremony. Jurieu not only accused B. of being the author of this work (which certainly is not his), but also of being the soul of a party devoted to France, in opposition to the Protestants and allied powers. B. repelled these charges in two publications; but the calumny prevailed. In 1693, the magistrates of Rotterdam removed him from his office, and forbade him to give private instruction. He now devoted all his attention to the composition of his Dictionnaire historique et critique, which he first published in 1696, in 2 vols. fol. This was the first work which appeared under his name. Jurieu opposed him anew, and caused the consistory, in which he had the greatest influence, to make a severe attack upon him. B. promised to remove every thing which the consistory deemed offensive; but, finding the public had other views, and preferring rather the satisfaction of his readers than that of his judges, he left the work, with the exception of a few trifles, unaltered. He found two new enemies in Jacquelot and Le Clerc, who both at

tacked his religion: others persecuted him as the enemy of his sect and his new country. These contests increased his bodily infirmities. His lungs became inflamed; but he was unwilling to use any medical applications against a disorder which he considered as hereditary and incurable. He died, so to speak, with the pen in his hand, in 1706, at the age of 59 years. "Bayle," says Voltaire, "is the first of logicians and sceptics. His greatest enemies must confess that there is not a line in his works which contains an open aspersion of Christianity; but his warmest apologists must acknowledge, that there is not a page in his controversial writings which does not lead the reader to doubt, and often to scepticism." He compares himself to Homer's cloudcompelling Jupiter. "My talent," he says, "consists in raising doubts; but they are only doubts." The confidence of most theologians induced him to undertake to prove that several points are not so certain and so evident as they imagined. But he gradually passed these limits: his penetration caused him to doubt even the most universally acknowledged facts. Yet he never attacked the great principles of morality. Though an admirable logician, he was so little acquainted with physics, that even the discoveries of Newton were unknown to him. His style is natural and clear, but often prolix, careless and incorrect. He himself calls his Dictionune compilation informe des passages cousus à la queue les uns des autres." Without assenting implicitly to this modest judgment, we must confess that the articles, in themselves, are of little value, and that they serve only as a pretext for the notes, in which the author displays, at the same time, his learning, and the power of his logic. The character of B. was gentle, amiable, disinterested, highly modest and peaceable: he devoted himself entirely to literature. The most esteemed edition of his Dictionnaire historique is that of 1740, in 4 vols. fol. (an edition was also printed at Bale, the same year). At the Hague appeared the Œuvres diverses de P. Bayle (also 4 vols. fol.) An edition of his Dict. histor., in 16 vols., printed with great typographical beauty, was published, in 1820, by Desoer, in Paris: it contains notes, and the life of the author. In the Disc. prelimin., the editor, Beuchot, reviews the 11 former editions. Gottsched has translated the Dict. into German (Leipsic, 1741-44, 4 vols. fol.) An English translation, with considerable additions, by Th. Birch,

naire 66

Lockman and others, was published, 1734-41, 10 vols. fol.

BAYLEN, capitulation of general Dupont at; an event which, in July, 1808, raised the courage of Spain, and hastened a general insurrection. Joseph Bonaparte had entered Madrid as king; the provinces Leon, Valencia, Valladolid, Zamora and Salamanca had been subdued and disarmed. In the south alone, on the Guadalquivir, in the naturally fortified Andalusia, in Cordova, Grenada, Jaen, the spirit of insurrection still prevailed, and was excited as much as possible by the junta of Seville. Thither general Dupont directed his march, at the end of May, with three divisions. Cordova and Jaen were taken by assault, after the most terrible resistance. The monks promised the joys of heaven, without purgatory, to every one who should kill three Frenchmen. The corps of Castaños soon increased to 30,000 men. The able manoeuvres of this general, together with famine and sickness in the French army, augmented by the total want of hospitals, prepared the way for the overthrow of general Dupont. 3000 Spaniards had possession of the Sierra Morena, in the rear of his army. In order to reestablish his communication with the capital, he occupied the cities of B. and Carolina with detachments, while he himself took a position near Andujar, on the Guadalquivir. But, on the 14th of July, 18,000 men, with some pieces of heavy artillery, marched against the front of the French position near Andujar; while 3000 men came through the defiles of the Sierra Morena upon the rear, and 6000 men attacked Dupont's left wing. He defended himself, for three days, with skill and courage; but the 18th of July decided the contest. The Spanish generals Reding and Compigny attacked B. Peñas and Jones overawed the main body, under Dupont. He was compelled to evacuate Andujar, after B. had been taken by the Spaniards. The action continued nine hours, when Dupont requested a suspension of arms, but was told that he must surrender at discretion. Meanwhile the division of Vedel, not acquainted with the proceedings of Dupont, had attacked the Spaniards anew, and taken the regiment of Cordova prisoners, together with two pieces of artillery, but were finally overpowered by superior numbers. On the 23d of July, the whole French army, 17,000 men strong, being surrounded, was obliged to capitulate, having lost 3000 men on the field of battle. The di

visions of Dupont and Vedel were made prisoners of war: the latter was to be permitted to embark at Cadiz for Rochefort the same terms were afterwards promised to the division of Dupont, but not fulfilled. General Dupont returned, with his staff, to France, and was arrested at Toulon, and subjected to trial. But, before a decision, he was delivered by the capture of Paris, March 30, 1814. He was afterwards appointed, by Louis XVIII, minister of war; but was superseded by Soult, in December, 1814.

BAYLEY, Richard, M. D., was born at Fairfield, Connecticut, in the year 1745. Having completed his medical studies, he went to London, to attend the lectures and hospitals. After little more than a year's residence in that city, he returned to New York, and commenced practice there in 1772. At this period, his attention was first drawn to the then prevalent and fatal croup, which had been treated as the putrid sore throat. Observing how fatal was the use of stimulants and antiseptics, he examined the nature of the disease, and became convinced that it was of an inflammatory character. He accordingly treated it as such, with decided success, and, soon after the publication of his View of the Croup, his opinions and treatment of it were universally adopted. In the autumn of 1775, B. revisited London, where he spent a winter, and, in the following spring, returned to New York, in the capacity of surgeon in the English army under Howe. He resigned this post in 1777, and, during the rest of his life, continued the practice of his profession in the same city. In 1787, he lectured on surgery. In 1788, he lost his valuable collection in morbid anatomy, and some delicate preparations, by the violence of the famous "doctors' mob," who broke into his house, and carried off and burned his cabinet. In the spring of 1792, he was appointed professor of anatomy in Columbia college, and, in 1793, became professor of surgery, which was his favorite subject. His lectures were clear, precise and practical. As an optician, he acquired great celebrity, and also as an experienced and successful lithotomist. When the yellow fever desolated New York, soon after the revolution, doctor B. devoted himself to personal attention to the sick, and became practically familiar with the disease, and its most successful remedies. He likewise investigated its cause, and declared that it was the filth which polluted the docks and some of the streets, affirming, "that

when a more rigid police prevailed, to free the city from nuisances, no more would be heard of particular diseases." In 1797, he published his work On Yellow Fever, wherein he proved the malady to be of local origin. So strong was his belief on this point, and so clear his perception of the cause of the fever, that he predicted the very spot where it afterwards appeared, in the year 1799. In the year 1795 or 6, he was appointed health physician for the port of New York, and, in 1798, published Letters from the Health Office, submitted to the New York Common Council, being a series of letters in the years '96-7-8. One letter, dated Dec. 4, 1798, assigns the reasons why the fever in '98 was more extensively prevalent than in '95, 6 or 7, which he considers to be the rains flooding large portions of the city, its low levels, newmade ground, and a hot sun.—In 1798, a correspondence took place between the cities of New York and Philadelphia, in the course of which a proposition was made by the committee of the latter to that of the former, soliciting their co-operation in a memorial to the general government for a quarantine law. This gave doctor B., who was on the New York committee, an opportunity of impressing upon the general government the propriety of establishing a lazaretto, below and at a distance from the city or port of entry. He was the person to whom the state of New York is, in fact, chiefly indebted for its quarantine laws, although they have since been altered and amended. In August, 1801, doctor B., in the discharge of his duty as health physician, enjoined the passengers and crew of an Irish emigrant ship, afflicted with the ship fever, to go on shore to the rooms and tents appointed for them, leaving their luggage behind. The next morning, on going to the hospital, he found that both crew and passengers, well, sick and dying, were huddled together in one apartment, where they had passed the night. He inconsiderately entered into this room before it had been properly ventilated, but remained scarcely a moment, being obliged to retire by a most deadly sickness at the stomach, and violent pain in the head, with which he was suddenly seized. He returned home, and retired to his bed, from which he never rose. In the afternoon of the seventh day following, he expired.

BAYONET. This is the name of the iron blade, formed like a dagger, and placed upon the muzzle of the musket, which is thus transformed into a thrusting

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 Selimnitz, 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 autumn, 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 middle 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.

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. The 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 American Natural History, by the writer of this article.