novelist, of Jewish extraction; eldest son of Isaac D'Israeli, author of
the _Curiosities of Literature_; born in London in 1804, died there in
1881, buried at Hughenden. He attended for a time a private school, and was
first destined for the law, but showing a decided taste for literature he
was allowed to follow his inclination. In 1826 he published _Vivian Grey_,
his first novel; and subsequently travelled for some time, visiting Italy,
Greece, Turkey, and Syria, and gaining experiences which were afterwards
reproduced in his books. His travels and impressions are embodied in a
volume of letters addressed to his sister and his father. In 1831 another
novel, _The Young Duke_, came from his pen. It was followed at short
intervals by _Contarini Fleming_, _Alroy_, _Henrietta Temple_, _Venetia_,
_The Revolutionary Epic_ (a poem), &c. In 1832, and on two subsequent
occasions, he appeared as candidate for the representation of High Wycombe,
with a programme which included vote by ballot and triennial parliaments,
but was unsuccessful. His political opinions gradually changed: in 1835 he
unsuccessfully contested Taunton as a Tory. In 1837 he gained an entrance
to the House of Commons, being elected for Maidstone. His first speech in
the House was treated with ridicule; but he finished with the prophetic
declaration that the time would come when they would hear him. During his
first years in Parliament he was a supporter of Peel; but when Peel pledged
himself to abolish the corn-laws, Disraeli became the leader of the
protectionists. About this time he became a leader of what was known as the
'Young England' party, the most prominent characteristic of which was a
sort of sentimental advocacy of feudalism. This spirit showed itself in his
two novels of _Coningsby_ and _Sybil_, published respectively in 1844 and
1845. Having acquired the manor of Hughenden, in Buckinghamshire, he was in
1847 elected for this county, and he retained his seat till raised to the
peerage nearly thirty years later. His first appointment to office was in
1852, when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Derby. The
following year, however, the ministry was defeated. He remained out of
office till 1858, when he again became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
brought in a Reform Bill which wrecked the Government. During the time the
Palmerston Government was in office Disraeli led the opposition in the
Lower House with conspicuous ability and courage. In 1866 the Liberals
resigned, and Derby and Disraeli came into power, the latter being again
Chancellor of the Exchequer. They immediately brought in, and carried,
after a violent and bitter struggle, a Reform Bill on the basis of
household suffrage. In 1868 he became Premier on the resignation of Lord
Derby, but his tenure of office was short. In 1874 he again became Prime
Minister with a strong Conservative majority, and he remained in power for
six years. This period was marked by his elevation to the peerage in 1876
as Earl of Beaconsfield, and by the prominent part he took in regard to the
Eastern question and the conclusion of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. In
1880 Parliament was rather suddenly dissolved, and, the new Parliament
showing an overwhelming Liberal majority, he resigned office, though he
still retained the leadership of his party. Within a few months of his
death the publication of a novel called _Endymion_ (his last, _Lothair_,
had been published ten years before) showed that his intellect was still
vigorous. Among others of his writings, besides those already mentioned,
are: _A Vindication of the English Constitution_ (1834); _Alarcos, a
Tragedy_ (1839); and _Lord George Bentinck, a Political Biography_
(1852).--BIBLIOGRAPHY: _Selected Speeches of the Earl of Beaconsfield_
(edited by T. E. Kebbel); T. Martin, _Memorials of Lord Beaconsfield_; the
article _Disraeli_, by T. E. Kebbel, in _Dictionary of National Biography_;
Sir William Fraser, _Disraeli and his Day_; Sichel, _Disraeli_; the best
work, however, is W. F. Monypenny's _Life of Disraeli, Earl of
Beaconsfield_ (continued by G. E. Buckle).
BEAD (b[=e]d), originally a prayer; then a small perforated ball of gold,
pearl, amber, glass, or the like, to be strung on a thread, and used in a
rosary by Roman Catholics in numbering their prayers, one bead being passed
at the end of each ejaculation or short prayer; finally any such small
ornamental body. The use of beads among pagans is of greater antiquity than
their Christian use, but there is no evidence to show that the latter is
derived from the former. Glass beads are now the most common sort; they
form a considerable item in the African trade.--In architecture and joinery
the bead is a small round moulding. It is of frequent occurrence in
architecture, particularly in the classical styles, and is used in
picture-frames and other objects carved in wood.--_St. Cuthbert's Beads_,
the popular name of the detached and perforated joints of encrinites.
BEADLE (b[=e]'dl), an officer in a university, whose chief business is to
walk with a mace in a public procession: also, a parish officer whose
business is to punish petty offenders, and a church officer (chiefly,
although not exclusively, in Scotland) with various subordinate duties, as
waiting on the clergyman, keeping order in church, attending meetings of
vestry or session, &c. The primary meaning of the word (from O.E. _beodan_,
to offer, announce) appears to be 'herald', one who announces or proclaims
something.
BEAD-SNAKE (_Elaps fulvus_), a beautiful snake of North America, inhabiting
cultivated grounds, especially plantations of the sweet-potato, and
burrowing in the ground. It is finely marked with yellow, carmine, and
black. Though it possesses poison-fangs it never seems to use them.
BEAGLE (b[=e]'gl), a small hound, resembling a foxhound or harrier, and
used to hunt rabbits and hares, being often kept in packs. The beagle is
smaller than the harrier, compactly built, smooth-haired, and with
pendulous ears. The smallest of them are little larger than the lap-dog.
BEALE, Lionel Smith, English physician and biologist, born in 1828, died in
1906. He was educated at King's College School and King's College, London,
and was a professor in the medical department of the latter institution for
forty-three years, finally holding the chair of the principles and practice
of medicine. His numerous published works treat of medical, anatomical,
physiological, and biological subjects; the microscope; various questions
of morality, &c. They include _How to Work with the Microscope_, _The
Structure of the Tissues_, _Protoplasm_, _Disease Germs_, _Life Theories
and Religious Thought_, _The Mystery of Life_, _Bioplasm_, _On Slight
Ailments_, _Religio Medici_, _Religio Scientiae_, _Religio Vitae_, &c.
BEAM, a long, straight, and strong piece of wood, iron, or steel,
especially when holding an important place in some structure, and serving
for support or consolidation; often equivalent to _girder_. In a balance it
is the part from the ends of which the scales are suspended. In a loom it
is a cylindrical piece of wood on which weavers wind the warp before
weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled as it is woven. In
a ship, one of the strong transverse pieces stretching across from one side
to the other to support the decks and retain the sides at their proper
distance: hence a ship is said to be 'on her beam ends' when lying over on
her side. For calculations relating to beams, see Morley's _Strength of
Materials_ and _Theory of Structures_.
BEAM TREE (_Pyrus aria_), a tree of the same genus as the apple,
mountain-ash, and service tree found throughout Britain, having berries
that are edible when quite mellow, and yielding a hard and fine-grained
wood.
BEAN, a name given to several kinds of leguminous seeds and the plants
producing them, probably originally belonging to Asia. They belong to
several genera, particularly to Vicia, garden and field bean; Phase[)o]lus,
French or kidney bean; and Dolichos, tropical bean. The common bean (_Vicia
Faba_) is cultivated both in fields and gardens as food for man and beast.
Beans were believed by some of the ancients to contain the souls of their
ancestors, and Pythagoras would not eat beans for this reason. One of the
bean family still retains the name of the Pythagorean bean. Beans were
introduced by the Moors into Spain, whence they came to France and later to
England. It is possible, however, that they were brought to Britain by the
Romans. They are now largely imported from Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and the
Netherlands. There are many varieties, as the Mazagan, the Windsor, the
long-pod, &c., in gardens, and the horse or tick bean in fields. The soil
that best suits is a good strong clay. The seed of the Windsor is fully an
inch in diameter; the horse bean is much less, often not much more than
half an inch in length and three-eighths of an inch in diameter. Beans are
very nutritious, containing nearly 50 per cent of digestible carbohydrate
and 25 per cent of nitrogenous matter. The bean is an annual, from 2 to 4
feet high. The flowers are beautiful and fragrant. The _kidney bean_,
_French bean_, or _haricot_ is the _Phase[)o]lus vulg[=a]ris_, a well-known
culinary vegetable. There are two principal varieties, annual dwarfs and
runners. The beans cultivated in America and largely used as articles of
food belong to the genus Phase[)o]lus. The _scarlet-runner bean_
(_Phase[)o]lus multiflorus_), a native of Mexico, is cultivated on account
of its long rough pods and its scarlet flowers.
BEAN-GOOSE (_Anser seg[)e]tum_), a species of wild goose, a migratory bird
which arrives in Britain in autumn and retires to the north in the end of
April, though some few remain to breed. Being rather less in size than the
common wild goose, it is sometimes called the _small grey goose_.
BEAN-KING, the person chosen king in Twelfth Night festivities in virtue of
having got the piece of cake containing the bean buried in the cake for
this purpose.
[Illustration: Brown or Black Bear (_Ursus arctos_)]
[Illustration: The Polar or White Bear (_Ursus mar[)i]timus_)]
BEAR, the name of several large plantigrade carnivorous mammals of the
genus Ursus. The teeth are forty-two in number, as in the dog, but there is
no carnassial or sectorial tooth, and the molars have a more tubercular
character than in other carnivores. The eyes have a nictitating membrane,
the nose is prominent and mobile, and the tail very short. The true bears
are about ten in number, natives chiefly of Europe, Asia, and N. America.
They generally lie dormant in their den during the winter months. The brown
or black bear of Europe is the _Ursus arctos_. It is a native of almost all
the northern parts of Europe and Asia, and was at one time common in the
British Islands. It feeds on fruits, roots, honey, ants, and, in case of
need, on mammals. It sometimes reaches the length of 7 feet, the largest
specimens being found farthest to the north. It lives solitarily. The
American black bear is the _U. americ[=a]nus_, with black shining fur, and
rarely above 5 feet in length. It is a great climber, is less dangerous
than the brown bear, and is hunted for its fur and flesh. It is very
amusing in captivity. The grizzly bear (_U. ferox_ or _horribilis_) is an
inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains; it is a ferocious animal, sometimes 9
feet in length, and has a bulky and unwieldy form, but is nevertheless
capable of great rapidity of motion. The extinct cave-bear (_U. spelaeus_)
seems to have been closely akin to the grizzly. The Siberian bear (_U.
coll[=a]ris_) is perhaps a variety of the brown bear. The polar or white
bear (_U. marit[)i]mus_) is an animal possessed of great strength and
fierceness. It lives in the polar regions, frequents the sea, feeds on
fish, seals, &c., and usually is 7 to 8 feet in length. The Malayan or
coco-nut palm bear (_U. malay[=a]nus_) inhabits Cochin-China, Nepaul, the
Sunda Islands, &c., lives exclusively on vegetable food, and is an expert
climber. It is called also sun-bear and bruang. The Indian black bear or
sloth-bear of India and Ceylon (_U. labi[=a]tus_) is reputed to be a fierce
and dangerous animal.
BEAR, or BERE, a species of barley (_Hord[)e]um hexastichum_), having six
rows in the ear, cultivated in Scotland and the north of England.
[Illustration: The Constellation of the Great Bear. The two stars on the
right are the Pointers]
BEAR, GREAT and LITTLE, the popular names of two constellations in the
northern hemisphere. The Great Bear (_Ursa Major_) is situated near the
pole. It is remarkable for its well-known seven stars, by two of which,
called the Pointers, the pole-star is always readily found. These seven
stars are popularly called the _Wagon_, _Charles's Wain_, or the _Plough_.
The Little Bear (_Ursa Minor_) is the constellation which contains the
pole-star. This constellation has seven stars placed together in a manner
resembling those in the Great Bear.
BEAR-BAITING, the sport of baiting bears with dogs, formerly one of the
established amusements, not only of the common people, but of the nobility
and even royalty itself. The places where bears were publicly baited were
called bear-gardens. Butler gives a description of bear-baiting in his
_Hudibras_. Bear-baiting was prohibited by Act of Parliament in 1835.
BEARBERRY (_Arctostaphylos uva-ursi_), an evergreen shrub of the heath
family growing on the barren moors of Scotland, Northern Europe, Siberia,
and N. America. The leaves, under the name of _uva ursi_, are used in
medicine as an astringent and tonic.
BEARD, the hair round the chin, on the cheeks, and the upper lip, which is
a distinction of the male sex and of manhood. It differs from the hair on
the head by its greater hardness and its form. Some nations 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 beard has often been considered as a mark of the sage and the priest.
Moses forbade the Jews to shave their beards. With the ancient Germans the
cutting off another's beard was a high offence. Even now the beard is
regarded as a mark of great dignity among many nations in the East, as the
Turks. Alexander the Great introduced shaving among the Greeks, by ordering
his soldiers to wear no beards; among the Romans it was introduced in 296
B.C. The custom of shaving came into use in modern times during the reigns
of Louis XIII and XIV of France, both of whom ascended the throne without a
beard. Till then fashion sanctioned divers forms of moustaches and beards.
In the reign of Henry VIII of England, the authorities of Lincoln's Inn
prohibited wearers of beards from sitting at the great table unless they
paid double commons. Taxation of beards was introduced in the reign of
Elizabeth, beards of above a fortnight's growth being subject to a yearly
tax of 3s. 4d. This impost was copied by Peter the Great in Russia. It is
only in comparatively recent times that beards and moustaches have again
become common.--Cf. Philippe, _Histoire philosophique, politique, et
religieuse de la barbe_.
BEARD-MOSS (_Usnea barb[=a]ta_), a lichen of grey colour, forming a shaggy
coat on many forest trees.
BEARDSLEY, Aubrey Vincent, artist in black and white, born 1872, died 1898;
took up art as a profession at the age of nineteen, and executed a large
number of drawings for books and periodicals, showing great technical
skill, originality, and disregard of conventionality, with sometimes a
tendency towards the repulsive or morbid. Consumption had marked him as its
victim from the first. Collections of his drawings were published under the
titles _A Book of Fifty Drawings_, _The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley_,
_The Late Work of Aubrey Beardsley_, &c. _Under the Hill_, with his letters
and poems, was published in 1904. Cf. G. Derry, _An Aubrey Beardsley
Scrap-book_.
BEARER SECURITIES. See _Stock Exchange_.
BEARING, the direction or point of the compass in which an object is seen,
or the situation of one object in regard to another, with reference to the
points of the compass. Thus, if from a certain situation an object is seen
in the direction of north-east, the _bearing_ of the object is said to be
N.E. from the situation.--_To take bearings_, to ascertain on what point of
the compass objects lie.
BEAR LAKE, GREAT, an extensive sheet of fresh water in the North-West
Territory of Canada, between about 65deg and 67deg 32' N. lat.; and under
the 120th degree of W. long.; of irregular shape; area about 14,000 sq.
miles. The water is very clear and the lake abounds in fish.--_Bear Lake
River_, the outlet at the S.W. extremity of Great Bear Lake, runs S.W. for
70 miles and joins the Mackenzie River.
BEARN (b[=a]-[.a]r), one of the provinces into which France was formerly
divided, now chiefly included in the department of Lower Pyrenees. Pau is
the chief town (pop. 35,000). There is a peculiar and well-marked
dialect--the Bearnese--spoken in this district, which has much more
affinity with Spanish than with French.
BEAR-PIT, a deep, open pit with perpendicular walls, built in a zoological
garden for keeping bears, and having in the centre a pole on which they may
exercise their climbing powers.
BEAR RIVER, a river of the United States, 400 miles long; rises in the
north of Utah, and flows northward into Idaho; turns abruptly southward,
re-enters Utah, and empties into Great Salt Lake.
BEARS AND BULLS. See _Stock Exchange_.
BEAR'S-GREASE, the fat of bears, esteemed as of great efficacy in
nourishing and promoting the growth of hair. The unguents sold under this
name, however, are in a great measure made of hog's lard or veal fat, or a
mixture of both, scented and slightly coloured.
BEAS, river of India. See _Bias_.
BEAT, in acoustics and music, the beating or pulsation resulting from the
joint vibrations of two sounds of the same strength, and all but in unison.
Also a short shake or transient grace-note struck immediately before the
note it is intended to ornament. The word is also used for the movement of
the hand or baton, by which the rhythm of a piece of music is indicated,
and by which a conductor ensures perfect agreement in tempo and accent on
the part of the orchestra or chorus.
BEATH (b[=e]th), a populous parish of Fifeshire, Scotland, containing the
towns of Cowdenbeath, Kelty, and Hill of Beath. Pop. 24,350, (Cowdenbeath
having 7908).
BEATIFICATION, in the Roman Catholic Church, an act by which the Pope
declares a person beatified or blessed after his death. It is the first
step to canonization, that is, the raising one to the honour and dignity of
a saint. No person can be beatified till fifty years after his or her
death. All certificates or attestations of virtues and miracles, the
necessary qualifications for saintship, are examined by the Congregation of
Rites. This examination often continues for several years; after which his
Holiness decrees the beatification, and the corpse and relics of the future
saint are exposed to the veneration of all good Christians. The present
custom dates from a Bull of Urban VIII in 1634, although local veneration
may be traced back to the earliest Christian ages.--In the Orthodox Eastern
Church beatification is not distinguished from canonization.
BEATING THE BOUNDS, the periodical survey or perambulation by which the
boundaries of parishes in England are preserved. It was the custom in some
places that the clergyman of the parish, with the parochial officers and
the boys of the parish school, should march to the boundaries, where the
boys were struck with willow rods. A similar ceremony in Scotland was
called _riding the marches_.
BEA'TON, David, Archbishop of St. Andrews, and cardinal, born 1494. Pope
Paul III raised him to the rank of cardinal in Dec., 1538. On the death of
his uncle, Archbishop James Beaton, he succeeded him in the see of St.
Andrews in 1539. After the accession of Mary he became Chancellor of
Scotland, and distinguished himself by his zeal in persecuting members of
the Reformed party, among the rest the famous Protestant preacher George
Wishart, whose sufferings at the stake he viewed from his window with
apparent exultation. At length a conspiracy was formed against him, and he
was assassinated at his own castle of St. Andrews, on the 29th May, 1546.
His private character was marked by pride, cruelty, and licentiousness.
BEATRICE PORTINARI (b[=a]-[.a]-tr[=e]'ch[=a] por-t[=e]-nae'r[=e]), the
"glorious lady" of Dante, born about 1266, died 1290; the daughter of a
wealthy citizen of Florence, and wife of Simone de Bardi. She was but eight
years of age, and Dante nine, when he met her first at the house of her
father. He altogether saw her only once or twice, and she probably knew
little of him. The story of his love is recounted in the _Vita Nuova_,
which was mostly written after her death.
BEATTIE (b[=e]'ti), James, a Scottish poet and philosophical writer, born
at Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, in 1735, died at Aberdeen 1803. He
studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen, for four years, and received the
M.A. degree. In 1753 he was appointed schoolmaster at Fordoun, a few miles
from his native place; from whence he obtained a mastership in the Grammar
School of Aberdeen, and ultimately was installed professor of moral
philosophy and logic in Marischal College. In 1760 he published a volume of
poems, which he subsequently endeavoured to buy up, considering them
unworthy of him. In 1765 he published a poem, _The Judgment of Paris_, and
in 1770 his celebrated _Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth_,
attacking Helvetius and Hume and advocating what was afterwards called the
doctrine of Common Sense, for which the University of Oxford conferred on
him the degree of D.C.L., and George III honoured him, when on a visit to
London, with a private conference and a pension. He next published in 1771
the first book of his poem _The Minstrel_, and in 1774 the second; this is
the only work by which he is now remembered. In 1776 he published
dissertations on _Poetry and Music_, _Laughter and Ludicrous Composition_,
&c.; in 1783 _Dissertations, Moral and Critical_; in 1786 _Evidences of the
Christian Religion_; and in 1790-3 _Elements of Moral Science_. His closing
years were darkened by the death of his two sons.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Margaret
Forbes, _Beattie and His Friends_; A. Mackie, _James Beattie, the Minstrel:
Some Unpublished Letters_.
BEATTIE, William, M.D., Scottish physician, poet, and miscellaneous writer,
born in 1793, died at London 1875. He was author of the standard _Life of
Thomas Campbell_, whose intimate friend he was; published several poems,
including _John Huss_, _The Heliotrope_, and _Polynesia_; wrote a series of
descriptive and historical works, beautifully illustrated by his friend and
fellow-traveller, W. H. Bartlett, on Switzerland, Scotland, &c. He had a
very extensive and lucrative medical practice.
BEATTY, Admiral of the Fleet, Earl, born in 1871. He entered the navy in
1884, became Commander in 1898, Rear-Admiral in 1910, and Vice-Admiral in
1915. He served in the Sudan from 1896 to 1897, and in China in 1900. In
1912 he was Naval Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, and from
1912 to 1916 commanded the First Battle Cruiser Squadron. He distinguished
himself in the battle of Jutland in 1916, and until 1919, when he succeeded
Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss (now Lord Wester Wemyss) as First Sea Lord, he
was in command of the Grand Fleet. When the entire German High Seas Fleet
left port on 31st May, 1916, and steamed up the west coast of Denmark, it
was quickly sighted by the British scouts, so that the main British fleet
immediately steamed out from its base to engage the enemy. The British
Battle Cruiser Squadron, under the command of Earl Beatty (then Sir David)
was nearer the scene than the main battle fleet under Sir John Jellicoe
(Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa since 1918). The admiral sighted the enemy
fleet north-west of the Horn Reef, and about 3.30 in the afternoon the
ships engaged. The Jutland battle lasted only a few hours. At the end of
Nov., 1916, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe was made First Sea Lord of the
Admiralty, and Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty took over the supreme command
of the Grand Fleet.