which commands the Danube, is well fortified, is the residence of the pacha of Servia, and contains the chief mosque. The whole number of mosques in B. is 14. Between the citadel and the other 3 parts of the city there is an empty space, 400 yards wide. B. is badly built; the streets are not paved. At the mouth of the Save lies the island of the Gipsies. B., on account of its important situation, plays a conspicuous part in almost every war between Austria and Turkey. After having been, at different times, in the possession of the Greeks, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Servians and Austrians, it was, in 1442 and 1456, besieged by the Turks, and, in 1521, conquered by Solyman II. In 1688, the Austrians reconquered it, but lost it again in 1690. Prince Eugene took it in 1717, and the peace of Passarowitz, in 1718, left it in the hands of Austria, but it was again lost in 1739. The Porte retained it by the terms of the peace of Belgrade, in 1739, on condition that the fortifications which Austria had erected should be demolished a work which required almost nine months. General Laudon took B. in 1789, but it was restored to the Porte at the peace of Szistowe, in 1791. In 1806, it was taken by the revolutionary Servians, but, with their suppression, it came again into the hands of the Turks. Formerly, a bishop resided here, but his seat is now in Semendria.

BELGRANO, Manuel, was born at Buenos Ayres, of wealthy parents, who emigrated from Italy. After completing his education at the university of Salamanca, he was appointed secretary of the consulado at Buenos Ayres, and thus came in contact continually with the mercantile classes, the most enlightened and important portion of the population of that city. His polished and amiable manners, and his taste for letters and the fine arts, enabled him to improve the opportunity afforded him by his situation, so as to acquire extensive popularity. When the political troubles in America commenced, B. was at first disposed to favor the princess Carlota, sister of Ferdinand, and establish an independent monarchy in Buenos Ayres. But he soon adopted the plan of erecting a perfectly free government, and entered with zeal and ability into the measures which prepared and followed the deposition of the viceroy Cisneros, in May, 1810. In the new order of things, B. entered on a military career, and was speedily raised to the rank of general, in which capacity be

commanded the expedition sent against Paraguay, which, after advancing into the heart of that province, was compelled, by the skill of Ÿedros and Francia, to return to Buenos Ayres, without an engagement, and leave the Paraguayans unmolested. B.'s next enterprise was more successful. September 24, 1812, he gained a complete victory over the royalist general D. Pio Tristan, at Tucuman, and thus defeated the intended expedition of the latter against Buenos Ayres. On the 13th of February following, he obtained another signal victory over Tristan at Salta. But these brilliant advantages were soon followed by equally striking reverses. B. imprudently released Tristan and his troops upon their parole, which the Spaniards, with that profligate disregard of all conventions and engagements, which has characterized their policy in the contest with the South Americans, dishonorably violated. The consequence was, that general Pezuela, with the very same troops, added to others collected in Peru, attacked and defeated B. at Vilcapugio, Oct. 1, 1813, and again at Ayoma, Nov. 14, of the same year; and San Martin was appointed to succeed him in command. In 1816, B. was reappointed to the command of the troops in Tucuman, and was making the most judicious arrangements for acting against the Spaniards in Upper Peru, when the spirit of anarchy seized upon the army, and he was deposed, and the troops dispersed. B. was liberal, upright and disinterested to a degree not exceeded by any of his compatriots, and faithful and exact in the discharge of all his duties. He displayed considerable ardor as an officer, and applied himself closely to the study of tactics; but had neither the experience nor the military capacity necessary to constitute a great general. Regardless of his occasional reverses of fortune, and of the persecution which he underwent from some of the transitory factions of the day, he continued to labor unremittingly for the welfare of his country until his death, in 1820, which was very justly deplored. (See Memoirs of General Miller, in the Service of the Republic of Peru, London, 1828.)

BELIAL was, with the Hebrews, what Pluto was with the Greeks the ruler of the infernal regions. The word itself sig nifies the bad, the destructive.

BELISARIUS; one of the greatest gener als of his time, to whom the emperor Justinian chiefly owed the splendor of his reign. Sprung from an obscure family in Thrace, B. first served in the body.

of Jupiter. Among Christians, they were first employed to call together religious congregations, for which purpose runners had been employed before. Afterwards, the people were assembled by the sound of little pieces of board struck together; hence called sacred boards. To the present day, the Catholics use such boards in Passion-week and Lent, because the noise of bells seems to them unsuited to the solemnity of the season. On the first day of Easter, the bells ring again, and the return of the accustomed sound produces a very cheerful effect. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campania, is said to have first introduced church bells, in the fourth century, and thence the Latin names of the bell, campana and nola, are said to have originated. In the sixth century, bells were used in the convents; they were suspended on the roof of the church in a frame. Towards the end of this century, bells were placed on some churches at the expense of certain cities. About 550, they were introduced into France. Pope Sebastian, who died in 605, first ordered that the hours of the day should be announced by striking the bell, that people might better attend to the hora canonica, that is, to the hours for singing and praying. In 610, Clothair besieged Sens, when Lupus, bishop of Orleans, ordered the bells of St. Stephen to be rung. The sound so frightened Clothair, that he gave up the siege. In the eighth century, the custom of baptizing and naming bells began. (See Baptism.) Church bells were probably introduced into England soon after their invention. They are first mentioned by Bede, about the close of the seventh century. In the East, they came into use in the ninth century; in Switzerland, in 1020; at what period they were brought into Germany is uncertain. In the 11th century, the cathedral at Augsburg had two bells. The same spirit which induced people to build immense minsters, and to apply their wealth in ornamenting the places of worship, made them vie with each other in the size of their bells. The great bell of Moscow, cast in 1653, in the reign of the empress Anne, is said, by Mr. Clarke, to be computed to weigh 443,772 lbs. A bell in the church of St. Ivan, in the same city, weighs 127,836 lbs.; another, 356 cwt.; and the one cast in 1819 weighs 1600 cwt., the clapper alone weighing 18 cwt. On the cathedral of Paris a bell was placed, in 1680, which weighed 340 cwt., and measured 25 feet in circumference. In Vienna, a bell was cast, in 1711, of 354 cwt. In Olmütz is one of

358 cwt. The famous bell at Erfurt, in Germany, which is considered to be of the finest bell-metal, having the largest proportion of silver in it, and is baptized Susanne, weighs 275 cwt., is more than 24 feet in circumference, and has a clapper of 4 feet, weighing 11 cwt. Great Tom, of Christ church, Oxford, weighs 17,000 lbs.; of Lincoln, 9894 lbs.; the bell of St. Paul's, London, 8400 lbs.; a bell at Nankin, in China, is said to weigh 50,000 lbs.; and seven at Pekin, 120,000 lbs. each. The inscriptions on old bells are curious, and, in some cases, have even historical value; and, at this time, when curiosities of all kinds are eagerly sought for, a collection of these inscriptions would not be uninteresting. The different uses of bells have given rise to many poems, some of which are inscribed on the bells themselves. One of the most common is the following:

Funera plango, fulgura frango, sabbata pango Excito lentos, dissipo ventos,paco cruentos. Perhaps the finest poem which has ever been written on bells is Schiller's poem, Die Glocke (The Bell), in which he describes the casting of the bell, and all its uses, in a highly poetical manner. This has been translated into many languages, and lately into Greek and Latin, by a professor at Liege. (For the metal of which bells are made, called bellmetal, see Copper.) A bell is divided into the body or barrel, the clapper, and the ear or cannon.-The word bell is used in many arts and sciences for instruments similar in form to church bells.

BELL. (See Lancaster.)

BELL-METAL. (See Copper.)

BELL-ROCK, Sometimes called Inch cape; a dangerous rock of Scotland, about 12 miles from Arbroath, nearly opposite the mouth of the river Tay; lon. 2° 22′ W.; lat. 56° 29′ N. A light-house has been erected on it, finished in 1811, 115 feet high. During high tides, the rock is entirely covered. It is said that, in former ages, the monks of Aberbrothock caused a bell to be suspended on this rock, which was rung by the waves, and warned the mariners of this highly dangerous place. The Bell-rock light-house is famous for its construction.

BELLA, Stefano de la; an engraver, born at Florence, in 1610. He followed, at first, Callot's manner, but soon adopted one of his own. In 1642, he went to Paris, where he was employed by cardi. nal Richelieu. He returned to Florence, and became the teacher, in drawing, of Cosmo, the son of the great duke. and

died in 1664. It is said that he engraved 1400 plates.

BELLAMY, James, a Flemish poet, was born at Flushing, in the year 1757, and died in 1796. He was 25 years old, and following the trade of a baker, when, in the year 1772, the second secular festival, in commemoration of the foundation of the republic, was celebrated throughout Holland. His genius, suddenly inflamed by the love of his native land, rendered him a poet, and his first productions met with success. He studied Latin, made himself better acquainted with his mother tongue, and composed several pieces of merit sufficient to induce the society of arts at the Hague to incorporate them in their collections. He published his patriotic songs under the title Vaderlandse-Gezengen, which secure him a place among the first poets of his nation. B. sung, likewise, the praise of love. The later works of this poet betray a certain melancholy, which renders them still more interesting. A biographical account of him has been written by G. Kniper. He may be placed by the side of Bilderdyk, Helmers, Loots, R. Feyth, &c., as one of the restorers of modern Dutch poetry.

BELLARMIN, Robert, a cardinal, and celebrated controversialist of the Roman church, was born at Monte Pulciano, in Tuscany, in 1542. At the age of 18, he entered into the college of Jesuits, where he soon distinguished himself; and his reputation caused him to be sent into the Low Countries, to oppose the progress of the Reformers. He was ordained a priest, in 1569, by Jansenius, bishop of Ghent, and placed in the theological chair of the university of Louvain. After a residence of seven years, he returned to Italy, and was sent by Sixtus V to France, as companion to the legate. He was made a cardinal, on account of his learning, by Clement VIII, and, in 1602, created archbishop of Capua. At the elections of Leo XI and Paul V, he was thought of for the pontificate, and might have been chosen, had he not been a Jesuit. Paul V recalled him to Rome, on which he resigned his archbishopric without retaining any pension on it, as he might have done. In 1621, he left his apartments in the Vatican, and returned to a house of his order, where he died the same year, at the age of 71. So impressed were the people with the idea of his sanctity, that it was necessary to place guards to keep off the crowd, which pressed round to touch his body, or procure some relics of lis garments. B. had the double merit,

with the court of Rome, of supporting her temporal power and spiritual supremacy to the utmost, and of strenuously opposing the Reformers. The talent he displayed in the latter controversy called forth all the similar ability on the Protestant side; and, for a number of years, no eminent divine among the Reformers failed to make his arguments a particular subject of refutation. The great work which he composed in this warfare is entitled A Body of Controversy, written in Latin, the style of which is perspicuous and precise, without any pretension to purity or elegance. He displays a vast amount of Scriptural learning, and is deeply versed in the doctrine and practice of the church in all ages, as becomes one who determines every point by authority. To his credit, he exhibits none of the lax morality of his order, and, in respect to the doctrines of predestination and efficacious grace, is more a follower of St. Augustine than a Jesuit. His maxims on the right of pontiffs to depose princes caused his work on the temporal power of the popes to be condemned at Paris. On the other hand, it did not satisfy the court of Rome, because it asserted, not a direct, but an indirect, power in the popes in temporal matters; which reservation so offended Sixtus V, that he placed it among the list of prohibited books. These differences among the Catholics necessarily gave strength to the Protestant side, and produced a work from Mayer in exposition of them. In the rancor of controversy, some malignant calumnies were uttered against the morals of B.; but it is evident, that he inclined to superstition in faith, and scrupulosity in practice. At his death, he bequeathed one half of his soul to the Virgin, and the other to Jesus Christ. His society thought so highly of his sanctity, that proofs were collected to entitle him to canonization; but the fear of giving offence to the sovereigns, whose rights he oppugned, has always prevented a compliance with the ardent wishes of the Jesuits. The best edition of his controversial works is that of Prague, 1721, 4 vols., folio.

BELLE ALLIANCE. (See Waterloo.)

BELLE-ISLE, or BELLE-ISLE-EN-MER (anciently Vindilis); an island in the bay of Biscay, 115 miles from the west coast of France, about nine miles long, and from two to four broad, surrounded by sharp rocks, which leave only three fortified passages to the island. The soil is diverse, consisting of rock, salt marsh, and fertile grounds. Palais is the

capital. It contains three other small towns, and many villages. Lon. 3° 6' W.; lat. 47° 18′ N. Pop., 5,569.

BELLE-ISLE, or BELLISLE; an island N. E. of the gulf of St. Lawrence, about 21 miles in circuit; on the north-west side has a small harbor, fit for small craft, called Lark harbor, within a little island which lies close to the shore. At the east point, it has another small harbor or cove, that will only admit fishing shallops; from whence it is about 16 miles to the coast of Labrador. The narrow channel between Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador is called the straits of Bellisle; 15 miles N. Newfoundland. Lon. 55° 15′ W.; lat. 52° N.

BELLEGARDE, Count, born at Chamberry, in Savoy, in the year 1760, of one of the oldest Savoyard families, early entered the Austrian service, and distinguished himself during the campaigns of 1793-96 in such a manner as to become a member of the archduke Charles's counsel of war, and, in 1796, field-marshal lieutenant. In this capacity, he concluded, in 1797, an armistice, at Leoben, with Bonaparte, and, in 1799, commanded the corps that was to maintain the connexion between Suwaroff and the archduke Charles. After the campaign in Italy, in 1800, he was made privy counsellor of the archduke Frederic, who commanded the army of Italy. In July, 1805, the chief command in the territories of Venice was committed to him. In 1806, he was created fieldmarshal, and appointed civil and military governor of both the Galicias. In the campaign of 1809, he distinguished himself at Aspern. B. afterwards became president of the council of war at Vienna, acted in Italy against Murat, was appointed governor of Lombardy, and lives now retired from the service on account of a disorder in his eyes.

BELLEGARDE, Gabriel du Pac de; born at the palace of Bellegarde, in the year 1717; one of the most indefatigable compilers of history, who has thrown much light on the historical events of the 17th

century.

BELLEISLE (Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet), count de, marshal of France, born at Villefranche, Sept. 22, 1684, distinguished himself during the famous siege of Lille, and became brigadier in the royal forces. After the conclusion of the war of the Spanish succession, he went, with marshal Villars, to Rastadt, where he displayed diplomatic talents. The cession of Lorraine to France, in 1736, was principally his work. Cardinal

Fleury reposed confidence in him; Louis XV made him governor of Metz and the three bishoprics of Lorraine, which office he held until his death. Before the breaking out of the war, in 1741, he visited the principal courts of Germany with the design of disposing them, after the death of Charles VI, to choose the elector of Bavaria emperor of Germany; and he displayed so much address, on this occasion, as to excite the admiration of Frederic II. After his return, he placed himself, together with Broglio, at the head of the French forces, to oppose those of Maria Theresa. He took Prague by assault; but, the king of Prussia having made a separate peace, he was compelled to a retreat, which he performed with admirable skill. In Dec., 1744, when on a diplomatic journey to Berlin, he was arrested at Elbingerode, a Hanoverian post, and sent to England, where he was exchanged, however, in 1746. In the following year, he forced general Browne, who had entered the south of France from Italy, to raise the siege of Antibes, and to retreat over the Var. In 1748, the king made him a duke and peer of France and the department of war was committed to his charge. He reformed the army by abolishing many abuses, enlarged the military academy, and caused an order of merit to be established. The city of Metz is indebted to him for an academy. He died in 1761.

BELLENDEN, William; a Scottish writer of the 17th century, distinguished for the elegance of his Latin style. He was educated at Paris, where he was professor of belles-lettres in 1602, and, though he was made master of requests by James I, he still continued to reside in the French metropolis. In 1608, he published a work entitled Cicero Princeps, containing a selection from the works of Cicero, consisting of passages relating to the duties of a prince, &c. He afterwards republished this work, with some other treatises, in his Bellendenus de Statu. This work was published again, in 1787, by an anonymous editor, since known to have been doctor Samuel Parr, who added a Latin preface on the politics of that time.

BELLEROPHON. (See Hipponous.) BELLES-LETTRES (French) signifies the same with polite literature. It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation of what is or has been called belles-lettres: in fact, the vaguest definition would be the best, as almost every branch of knowl edge has, at one time, been included in, at another, excluded from, this denomina.