them together, has lately been practised. the distance of 60 feet. During the last Lenses of this last kind have been inge- century, several large mirrors were made niously applied, by Becquey, for augment- in Italy, two of which are still in Paris ing the light on light-houses, according and Cassel. Von Tschirnhausen also to the suggestion of Fresnel. (See Pha- manufactured one in 1687, 3 Leipsic ells ros.) For the history of burning instru- (about 5 English feet) in diameter, and ments, see the article Burning Mirrors. the focal distance of which was 2 ells BURNING MIRRORS, or REFLECTORS; (3 English feet).* It consists of a thin mirrors, the smoothly polished surface of plate of copper, highly polished, and is which reflects the rays of the sun that now in the mathematical hall in Dresden. fall upon it in such a direction, that they This mirror sets wood on fire, makes unite at some distance from the mirror, water boil, melts tin three inches thick, as in a more limited space, and act upon well as lead, vitrifies bricks, bones, &c. substances within this space like the Besides metals, wood, pasteboard, glass, most powerful fire. Concave mirrors and other materials, serve for burning cause the rays that fall upon them in a mirrors, if their surface be polished. direction parallel to their axes to con- Burning mirrors have of late been used verge. Spherical mirrors of this kind as reflectors (q. v.), to throw light at a are the most common; but parabolic ones great distance, and may be very usefully are also used; and even plane mirrors may employed in light-houses. If, for inbe employed like concave ones, if several stance, a lamp is placed in the focus of a of them are combined in a proper man- parabolic mirror, the rays of light which ner. In order that a burning mirror fall on it are all reflected in a direction should produce its whole effect, its axis parallel to the axis; thus the reflectors must be directed exactly towards the cen- of Lenoir appear like stars of the first tre of the sun's disk. This is the case if magnitude at the distance of 80,000 feet. the light, intercepted by a plane, perpen- (For further information on burningdicular to the axis of the mirror, at its glasses and burning mirrors, see Priestley's focal distance, forms a circle. The focus History and present State of Optics; and then lies in a straight line between the the 5th vol. of the new edition of Gehler's sun and the mirror. The ancients were Physikalisches Lexicon, Leips. 1825). acquainted with such mirrors, as is manifest from several of their writings still extant. It is impossible, from the nature of things, that Archimedes, during the siege of Syracuse by Marcellus, should have set on fire the fleet of the latter by means of concave mirrors: it would be more credible, that it had been effected by a combination of plane mirrors. Various experiments have shown, that great effects may be produced, at a consider able distance, by the latter instrument. Kircher placed five plane mirrors, of an equal size, in such a position as to reflect the rays upon a spot one hundred feet distant, and thereby produced a great heat. Buffon, in 1747, effected a combination of 168 plane mirrors, each of which was 6 inches broad, and 8 long. With 40 of these mirrors, he set on fire, almost instantaneously, a board of beech wood, covered with tar, at a distance of 66 feet; and, with 128 mirrors, a board of pine wood, likewise covered with tar, at a distance of 150 feet. With 45 mirrors, he melted a tin bottle, at a distance of 20 feet, and, with 117 mirrors, small pieces of money. He afterwards burned wood with this machine, at the distance of 200 feet, melted tin at the distance of 150, lead at the distance of 130, and silver at BURNING of houses. (See Arson.) BURNISHER is a blunt, smooth tool, used for smoothing and polishing a rough surface by pressure, and not by removing any part of the body. Other processes of polishing detach the little asperities. Agates, tempered steel, and dogs'-teeth, are used for burnishing. It is one of the most expeditious methods of polishing, and one which gives the highest lustre. The burnishers used by engravers are formed to burnish with one end, and to erase blemishes with the other. BURNS, Robert; a celebrated Scottish poet, whose history affords a memorable example of the miseries arising from the possession of extraordinary talents, unaccompanied by habits of prudence and self-control. He was the son of William Burnes or Burns, a gardener and small farmer, near the town of Ayr, and was born January 25, 1759. He was brought up to rustic labor; but his education was not neglected, as he was, at an early age, instructed in English grammar, by Mr. Murdoch, (who died not long since in London), to which he added an acquaintance with the French language and practical mathematics. Smitten with a passion for Another account gives diameter, 4 French feet, focal distance, 12 feet. reading, he devoted every moment he could spare to the perusal of such books as fell in his way, and, among them, meeting with the works of some of the best English poets, he was enabled to cultivate and improve a taste for poetry and romantic fiction; which was, perhaps, first inspired by the chimney-corner tales of an old woman in his father's family, whose memory was plentifully stored with adventures of fairies, witches, warlocks, ghosts and goblins, which she religiously believed, and therefore detailed with the most impressive effect to her admiring auditors. Burns's first poetical effusions were prompted by love, a passion of which he was peculiarly susceptible. Having begun, he continued to make verses, which attracted the notice of his neighbors, and gained him considerable reputation. His company was consequently much sought-a circumstance which led him to an indulgence in habits of dissipation, and a disgust at the plebeian occupation to which he seemed destined by fortune. He then engaged in business as a flax-dresser, in the town of Irvine; but his premises were destroyed by fire, and he was obliged to relinquish the undertaking. His father dying, he took a small farm in conjunction with a younger brother; and this scheme also proved unsuccessful. In the mean time, he had formed a connexion with a young woman, whom, on her becoming pregnant, he would have married; but his ruined circumstances induced her friends to object to it. Thus unsuccessful at home, he engaged himself as assistant overseer to a plantation in Jamaica. To obtain the funds necessary for the voyage, he was induced to publish, by subscription, a volume of his poetical effusions. It was accordingly printed at Kilmar nock in 1786, and Burns, having derived from the publication the assistance he expected, was about to set sail from his native land, when his purpose was prevented by the communication of a letter from doctor Blacklock to a friend of the Ayrshire poet, recommending that he should visit Edinburgh, in order to take advantage of the general admiration his poems had excited, and publish a new edition of them. This advice was eagerly adopted, and the result exceeded his most sanguine expectations. After remaining more than a year in the Scottish metropolis, admired, flattered and caressed by persons of eminence for their rank, fortune or talents, he retired to the country with the sum of £500, which he had re alized by the second publication of his poems. A part of this sum he advanced to his brother, and, with the remainder, took a considerable farm near Dumfries, and at the same time procured the office of an exciseman. He also now completed his matrimonial engagement with the female to whom he had been contracted. His convivial habits ere long prevented him from paying a proper attention to his farm; and, after a trial of three years and a half, he found himself obliged to resign his lease, and remove to the town of Dumfries, to follow his employment as an exciseman. He continued to exercise his pen, particularly in the composition of a number of beautiful songs, adapted to old Scottish tunes, for a periodical work, published at Edinburgh. His disposition to intemperate indulgence was too deeply rooted to be overcome; and, in spite of the remonstrances of his friends, and his own acknowledged conviction of the folly of his conduct, he persisted in the use of inebriating liquors till he had ruined his constitution, and brought on a disease, which occasioned his death, July 21, 1796. The poems of B. are none of them of any great length, nor do they appertain to the higher kinds of poetical composition. It appears, indeed, from his correspondence, that he at one time meditated an epic or dramatic effort, but the mode of spending his time, to which he had become habituated, utterly prevented the necessary application. Whatever he has done, however, he has done well. His songs, his tales, and his poetical epistles, display pathos, humor, a vigor of sentiment, and a purity and elegance of style, which, in spite of their being clothed in what may be termed a provincial dialect, will not only ensure a permanent fame to their author, but advance him high in the records of native genius. His prose compositions, which consist entirely of private letters, never intended for the press, are altogether as extraordinary productions as his poems; and those literary men who were acquainted with him have asserted, that his conversation was not less calculated to leave a powerful impression of the extent and accuracy of his knowledge and observation, and the strength and vivacity of his genius. He left a wife and four children unprovided for; but his friends raised a subscription for their support; and an edition of the works of Burns, in 4 vols. 8vo., was published for their benefit, in 1800, with a life of the author, by doctor Currie, of Liverpool. BURRAMPOOTER, or BRAMAPOOTRA, is the largest river in India. Its sources, not yet explored, seem to be situated near lake Manasarovara, in Thibet, near those of the Indus. In Thibet, it is called the Sanpoo, flows by Lassa, the residence of the Grand Lama, and, after being lost to European knowledge, re-appears in Assam. In its rise and fall, its periods coincide nearly with those of the Ganges. Its navigation is rendered difficult by shifting sand-banks, and trunks of trees sticking in its bed. After entering Bengal, it joins the Ganges, at Luckipoor, where the united rivers form a wide gulf, communicating with the sea of Bengal. The course of the B. is estimated at about 1650 miles. Rising from opposite sides of the same mountains, and separating to a distance of 1200 miles, the B. and the Ganges are destined to mingle their waters again in the same channel. enclosed by the ridges of Olympus, and abounds in hot springs. The castle, which is about a mile in circumference, is supposed to be the Prusa of the ancients, built, according to Pliny (v. 22), by Hannibal. In the 14th century, it was taken by the Turks, and became the capital of the Ottoman empire previous to the capture of Constantinople. Its port is Montagna, or Mondania, on the sea of Marmora, 75 miles S. W. of Constantinople. Lon. 29° 12′ E.; lat. 40° 11′ N. BURSCHEN; the name given to one another by the students at the German universities. It is derived from bursales or bursarii, the name which the students bore in the middle ages, from the buildings (bursa) in which they lived in common. (See Universities.) BURTON, Robert; a writer of the 17th century. He was born at Lindley, in Leicestershire, 1576, educated at Oxford, embraced the ecclesiastical profession, and became rector of Segrave, in Leicestershire. His learning, which was various and extensive, is copiously displayed in the Anatomy of Melancholy, by Democritus Junior, first published in 1621, and repeatedly reprinted. B. died in 1640, and was buried at Christ church, with the following epitaph, said to have been his own composition: Paucis notus, paucioribus ignotus, BURRILL, James, a distinguished senator of the U. States, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, April 25, 1772. He received his education at the college in Providence, now Brown university, and was graduated in Sept. 1788. He then pursued the study of the law, and was admitted to practise in the supreme court of the state before he reached his majority. In a few years, he stood at the head of his profession in Rhode Island. In October, 1797, he was elected, by the general assembly, attorney-general of the state, and annually after, by the people, for seventeen successive elections. The decay of his health, and other causes, induced him He was a man of integrity and benevoto resign that office in May, 1813. In lence, but subject to strange fits of hypo1816, he was appointed, by the general chondriac melancholy, which rendered assembly, chief justice of the supreme his conduct flighty and inconsistent. court, having been, for several years pre- Sometimes he was an agreeable and vious, speaker of the house of represen- lively companion, delighting those around tatives of Rhode Island. In the next him with perpetual sallies of wit and huyear, he was placed in the senate of the mor; while, at other times, devoured with U. States, of which he remained a highly spleen and ennui, he sought relief by esteemed member until the period of his listening to the jests of the bargemen on decease, December 25, 1820. the river near Oxford. He is reported also to have undertaken the composition of his Anatomy of Melancholy with a view to the dissipation of his morbid feelings. Among those who have been most deeply indebted to B. is the facetious author of Tristram Shandy; who has, however, been perhaps too harshly censured for a fault which every man of general and extensive reading knows to be common to almost all great writers. BURSA, a city of Natolia, in Asiatic Turkey, with a population of about 60,000 Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews, engaged in commerce, and the manufacture of satins, silk stuffs, carpets, gauze, &c. The bazars are filled with merchandise, and the caravans, passing from Aleppo and Smyrna to Constantinople, promote its commerce. It contains 140 mosques, two of which are magnificent, and is adorned with an immense number of fountains. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the empire, situated in a fertile and finely-wooded plain, which is BURTON-UPON-TRENT; a town of England, on the north bank of the Trent, which is here crossed by a fine old bridge 342 BURTON-UPON-TRENT-BURYING-PLACES. of 36 arches. B. is a borough, and the inhabitants have the privilege of exemption from county juries. It is mentioned early in Saxon history, and suffered much in the civil wars. It is chiefly celebrated for its excellent ale, of which vast quantities are made, both for home consumption and exportation. Contrary to common usage, the brewers, in preparing it, employ hard instead of soft water. (See Brewing.) Population, in 1821, 6700. Lon. 1° 36′ W.; lat. 52° 50′ N. tom was preserved by the Christians. The sepulchres in churches originate from an inclination, common to men of all times and nations, to honor their relations, even in the grave. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans erected over the graves of men of rank, or persons otherwise remarkable, pyramids, mausolea or temples. After the introduction of Christianity, little churches, called chapels, were erected over the dead. The early Christian martyrs were buried in caverns, which, by degrees, were enlarged to spacious subterranean vaults, and called chambers of repose. In the sequel, others considered themselves happy if their bones were allowed to repose near the ashes of a martyr. The sepulchres of the martyrs were, on this account, distinguished by a white altar over them. When the Christians were allowed the public exercise of their religion, they erected churches, and the heathen temples became places of Christian worship. As early as the 4th century, they built churches over the sepulchres of the holy martyrs; and, in the belief that a place was sanctified by their ashes, they anxiously sought out, on the erection of new churches in cities, or the transformation of heathen temples into Christian churches, the remains (relics) of the martyrs, and buried them under the altar of the new church, to communicate to it a character of greater sanctity. It gradually came to be universally con BURY ST. EDMUND's; a town in Suffolk, England, formerly surrounded with walls. It contains two fine churches, with numerous monuments, and, before the reformation, had five hospitals. Of many benevolent institutions, the principal is a free school founded by Edward VI. It is one of the greatest corn markets in the kingdom, and its great fair, in October, which lasts three weeks, is attended by the nobility and gentry of the neighborhood. The town is a borough, returning two representatives. It is an ancient place, and is supposed to have derived its name from St. Edmund, a king of the East Angles, who was buried here. The barons, in John's reign, met here, and formed a league against him. B. has been the seat of two parliaments, and contains the remains of an abbey, the most wealthy and magnificent in Britain, “with gates of brass, towers and high walls, so that one might think the monastery alone a city." Barren women, desirous of off-sidered, among the Christians, a privilege spring, offered a white bull at the shrine of St. Edmund's. 72 miles N. N. E. of London. Lat. 52° 50′ N. BURYING-PLACES. The custom of burying the dead in public places prevailed among the most ancient nations. The Romans had this custom in the earliest times. Afterwards, in the flourishing periods of the republic, they burnt their dead, and only buried the ashes, collected in urns (urna). The ancient Germans buried their dead in the groves consecrated by their priests. With the introduction of the Christian religion, consecrated places were appropriated for the purpose of general burial; and it was regarded as ignominious not to be buried in consecrated earth. The deprivation of the rites of burial was, therefore, part of the punishment of excommunication. The Romans were accustomed to provide their sepulchres at least with a stone, upon which was inscribed the name of the deceased, and the wish, May he rest in peace (Sit illi terra levis, that is, May the earth rest lightly upon him). This cus to be buried in the neighborhood of a saint. The emperor Constantine, who died in 337, was the first person that we know of, who ordered his sepulchre to be erected in a church. This was done in the church of the apostles at Constantinople, of which he was the founder, and therefore, probably, considered himself as peculiarly entitled to this privilege. He was soon imitated by the bishops, and, in the sequel, all those who had enriched the church were distinguished by this honor. The emperors Theodosius and Justinian, indeed, forbade the erection of sepulchres in churches, but in vain. Leo the Philosopher again permitted them to every body. It is only in later times that men have become convinced how injurious it is to the health of the living to re main, for a long time, in the vicinity of the dead; particularly if the corpses remain standing in simple coffins, and are not placed deep in the earth, as is commonly the case in the sepulchral vaults of churches. From these the effluvia of putrefaction escape easily, and diffuse themselves in the air. On the occasion of opening such sepulchral vaults, those who stood near them have sometimes fallen dead on the spot, and no one could venture into the church, for a long time after, without exposing himself to dangerous consequences. At present, the burying in churches is almost everywhere suppressed, or, at least, permitted only under certain restrictions. Even in Naples and Rome, the general practice of erecting sepulchres in churches was forbidden in 1809, and the foundation of burial-places without the city was provided for. The custom of the communities of Moravian Brothers, who form their burial-places into gardens, is worthy of imitation. Several Catholic church-yards in Germany are also distinguished by their pleasing aspect; for instance, one in Munich, where every grave is covered with a bed of flowers, which the relations of the deceased water from a fountain dug for the purpose. The Quakers, it is well known, erect no tomb-stones. The beautiful name of the German Moravian Brothers, friedhof, or field of peace, is becoming more and more common in Germany. The celebrated burying-place of Pere la Chaise, near Paris, is one of the most beautiful and interesting spots in the world. BUSACO; a convent in Portugal, in the province of Beira. The monks are Carmelites, and the prospect from the sum mit of the Sierra de Busaco is one of the finest in Portugal. It is memorable for the battle, Sept. 27, 1810, between Massena and lord Wellington, who, on a retreat before the superior forces of the former, availed himself of the favorable position of the Sierra for checking the pursuit. Two attacks, one on the right wing, consisting of British, and the other on the left, composed chiefly of Portuguese, were repulsed; but, Massena having detached a force to march round the mountain, and cut off the British troops from Coimbra, Wellington retreated towards that city, and afterwards to the lines of Torres Vedras. (q. v.) BUSBECQ, or BUSBEQUIUS, Augier Ghislen; the natural son of a nobleman; born in 1522, at Comines, in Flanders; legitimated by Charles V. After having studied in the most celebrated universities of Flanders, France and Italy, he accompanied Peter Lassa, ambassador of Ferdinand, king of the Romans, to England. In the next year (1555), that prince made him his ambassador to Soliman II. His first negotiation was not very suc cessful. He obtained only an armistice for six months, and a letter, which he delivered immediately to Ferdinand. He then returned to his post, and this time his negotiations were completely suecessful. After seven years, he returned home, and was made tutor of the sons of Maximilian II. When this prince became emperor, B. was sent to accompany the archduchess Elizabeth (who was to be married to Charles IX) on her journey to France. B. remained there in the character of steward with Elizabeth, and, when she left France, after the death of her husband, he continued there as am bassador of Rodolph II. In 1592, he set out on his return to Flanders, and was attacked, on the way, by a party of the Leaguers. As soon as they had seen his passports, they permitted him to continue his journey unmolested, from respect to his character of an ambassador; but the terror which he had suffered threw him into a violent fever, of which he died several days afterwards. We have remaining two important works of his:-1. Legationis Turcice Epistolæ quatuor, in which the policy, the power and the weakness of the Porte are so profoundly and clearly explained, that, even at present, information may be drawn from them; and, 2. Epistolæ ad Rudolphum II, Imp. e Gallia scriptæ (edi to a Houwaert), a very important work for the history of those times. His style is pure, elegant and simple. During his stay in Turkey, he collected Greek in scriptions, which he communicated to Andreas Schott, Justus Lipsius and Gruter. We are indebted to him for a copy of the celebrated monumentum Ancyranum, which he had transcribed and brought to Europe. More than a hundred Greek manuscripts, which he had collected, were presented by him to the library of Vienna. BÜSCHING, Anthony Frederic; born, 1724, in Stadthagen, in Lippe; studied theology in Halle, in 1744, where he found a friend and protector in Baumgarten. On his travels, as tutor of the young count of Lynar, he became convinced of the defects of existing geographical treatises, and resolved to write a new one, which he began, on his return to Germany (1752), by publishing a short Description of Sleswic and Holstein, as a specimen. In 1754, he was made professor of philosophy in Göttingen. In 1755, he married Christiana Diltey, a lady who was remarkable as a member of the Göttingen learned society. Notwithstanding some difficulties about his hete |