"Dieses Thor Glocke das erst mal schallt
Als man 1618 sahlt
Dass Mgte jahr regnet man
Nach doctor Luther Jubal jahr
Das Bos hinaus das Gut hinein
Zu lauten soll igr arbeit seyn."
The reference is to the year 1517, when Luther began his crusade, and
the verse may be Englished as follows:--
When first ringeth this Gate Bell
1618 years we tell.
We reckon this a year to be
From Dr Luther's jubilee.
To ring out ill, the good ring in,
Its daily task shall now begin.
_Large Bells._--There are a few bells of world-wide renown, and several
others more or less celebrated. The great bell at Moscow, "Tsar
Kolokol," which, according to the inscription, was cast in 1733, was in
the earth 103 years and was raised by the emperor Nicholas in 1836. The
present bell seems never to have been actually hung or rung, having been
cracked in the furnace; and it now stands on a raised platform in the
middle of a square. It is used as a chapel. It weighs about 180 tons,
height 19 ft. 3 in., circumference 60 ft. 9 in., thickness 2 ft., weight
of broken piece 11 tons. The second Moscow bell, the largest in the
world in actual use, weighs 128 tons. In a pagoda in Upper Burma hangs a
bell 16 ft. in diameter, weighing about 80 tons. The great bell at
Peking weighs 53 tons; Nanking, 22 tons; Olmutz, 17 tons; Vienna (1711),
17 tons; Notre Dame (1680), 17 tons; Erfurt, 13 tons; Great Peter, York
Minster, recast in 1845, 12-1/2 tons; Great Paul, at St Paul's
cathedral, 16-3/4 tons; Great Tom at Oxford, 7-1/2 tons; Great Tom at
Lincoln, 5-1/2 tons. Big Ben of the Westminster Clock Tower weighs
13-1/2 tons; it was cast by George Mears under the direction of the
first Lord Grimthorpe (E. Beckett Denison) in 1858. Its four quarters
were cast by Warner in 1856. The "Kaiserglocke" of Cologne cathedral,
recast in 1875, with metal from French cannon captured in 1870-1871,
weighs 27-1/2 tons.
These large bells are either not moved at all, or only slightly swung to
enable the clapper to touch their side; in some cases they are struck by
a hammer or beam from outside. The heaviest _ringing_ peals in England
are those at Exeter and St Paul's cathedrals, tenors 72 cwt. and 62 cwt.
respectively.
_Bell-ringing._--The science and art of bell-ringing, as practised upon
church and tower bells, falls under two main heads:--(1) Mechanical
ringing, in connexion with the machinery of a clock or "carillon"; (2)
Ringing by hand, by means of ropes attached to the fittings of the
bells, whereby the bell itself is either moved as it hangs mouth
downwards sufficiently for the clapper just to touch its side (called
technically "chiming"); or is swung round nearly full circle with its
mouth uppermost (technically "ringing"), in which case the impact of
the clapper is much heavier, and the sound produced is consequently
louder and more far-reaching. Mechanical ringing is more common on the
continent of Europe, especially in Belgium and Flanders; ringing by hand
is more common in England, where the development of change-ringing (see
below) has brought it into prominence.
(1) Mechanical ringing is effected by a system of wires connected with
small hammers striking the bells, usually on their outside, and worked
either by connexion with the machinery of a clock, so as to play tunes
or artificially arranged chimes at definite intervals; or with a
key-board resembling that of an organ. The first of these methods is
familiar in the chimes (Cambridge, Westminster, &c.) heard from many
towers at the striking of the hours and quarters; or in hymn tunes
played at intervals (e.g. of three hours) upon the church bells. The
second method is peculiar to the "carillon" (q.v.), as found everywhere
in Belgium, where with a set of from 20 or 30 to 60 or 70 bells a much
wider scope for tunes and harmonies is provided than in English
belfries, few of which have more than one octave of bells in one key
only and none more than 12 bells. The carillons at Louvain and Bruges
contain 40 bells, and that of Mechlin 44, while in the tower of Antwerp
cathedral there are upwards of 90 bells, for the largest of which, cast
in 1507, Charles V. stood sponsor at its consecration.
(2) _Ringing by Hand._--Church bells may be "chimed" or "rung" (see
above). One man can, as a rule, chime three bells, with a rope in each
hand and one foot in the loop of another; but by the use of an
"Ellacombe" or other chiming apparatus one man can work six, eight or
ten bells. Some prefer the quieter sound of chiming as an introduction
to divine service, but where a band of ringers is available and
change-ringing is practised the bells as a rule are rung. The practice
of "clocking" a bell, in which the clapper, by means of a cord attached
to it and pulled from below, is allowed to swing against the bell at
rest, is often employed to save trouble; but the jar is very likely to
crack the bell. In ringing, or in true chiming, the bell is in motion
when struck.
For ringing, a bell is pulled up and "set" mouth uppermost. She (to
ringers a bell is feminine) is then pulled off, first at "handstroke"
(i.e. with the hands on the "sally" or tufted portion of the rope, a few
feet from its lower end) and then at "back-stroke" in the reverse
direction (with the hands nearer the lower end, the rope having at the
previous pull coiled round three-quarters of the wheel's circumference),
describing at each pull almost a full circle till she comes back to the
upright position. At each revolution the swing is chiefly done by the
weight of the bell, the ringer giving a pull of just sufficient strength
to bring the bell back into the upright position; otherwise its swing
would become gradually shorter till it remained at rest mouth downwards.
_Change-ringing._--When a given number of bells are rung over and over
again in the same order, from the highest note, or "treble," to the
lowest, or "tenor"--1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7--they are said to be rung in
"rounds." "Changes" are variations of this order--e.g. 2 1 3 5 4 7 6, 2
3 1 4 5 6 7; and "change-ringing" is the art of ringing bells in
"changes," so that a different "change" or rearrangement of order is
produced at each pull of the bell-ropes, until, without any repetition
of the same change, the bells come back into "rounds." The general
principle of all methods of change-ringing is that each bell, after
striking in the first place or "lead," works gradually "up" to the last
place or "behind," and "down" again to the first, and that no bell ever
shifts more than one place in each change. Thus the ringer of any bell
knows that whatever his position in one change, his place in the next
will be either the same, or the place before or the place after. He does
not have to learn by heart the different changes or variations of order;
nor need he, unless he is the "conductor," know the exact order of any
one change. He has to bear in mind, first, which way his bell is
working, viz. whether "up" from first to last place, or "down" from last
to first; secondly, in what place his bell is striking; thirdly, what
bell or bells are striking immediately before or after him--this being
ascertained chiefly by "rope-sight," i.e. the knack, acquired by
practice, of seeing which rope is being pulled immediately before and
after his own. He must also remember and apply the rules of the
particular "method" which is being rung. The following table
representing the first twenty changes of a "plain course" of "Grandsire
Triples" (for these terms, see below) illustrates the subject-matter of
this section:--
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rounds." 7 5 6 1 4 2 3 (10th change.)
2 1 3 5 4 7 6 (1st change.) 5 7 1 6 2 4 3
2 3 1 4 5 6 7 5 1 7 2 6 3 4
3 2 4 1 6 5 7 1 5 2 7 3 6 4
3 4 2 6 1 7 5 1 2 5 3 7 4 6
4 3 6 2 7 1 5 (5th change.) 2 1 5 7 3 6 4 (15th change.)
4 6 3 7 2 5 1 2 5 1 3 7 4 6
6 4 7 3 5 2 1 5 2 3 1 4 7 6
6 7 4 5 3 1 2 5 3 2 4 1 6 7
7 6 5 4 1 3 2 3 5 4 2 6 1 7
3 4 5 6 2 7 1 (20th change.)
It will be observed that at the 1st change the third bell and at the
15th the fifth bell, according to the rule of this "method," strikes a
second blow in the third place ("makes third's place"). This stops the
regular work of the bells which at the previous change were in the 4th,
5th, 6th and 7th places ("in 4, 5, 6, 7"), causing them to take a step
backwards in their course "up" or "down," or as it is technically
called, to "dodge." Were it not for this, the bells would come back into
"rounds" at the 14th change. It is by the use of "place-making" and
"dodging," according to the rules of various "methods," that the
required number of changes, upon any number of bells, can be produced.
But in order that this may be done, without the bells coming back into
"rounds" (as, e.g. in the "plain course" of Grandsire Triples, above
given, they will do in seventy changes), further modifications of the
"coursing order," called technically "Bobs" and "Singles," must be
introduced. In ringing, notice of these alterations as they occur is
given by one of the ringers, who acts as "conductor," calling out "Bob"
or "Single" at the right moment to warn the ringers of certain bells to
make the requisite alteration in the regular work of their bells.
(Hence, in ringing language, to "call" a peal or touch = to conduct it.)
Particulars of these, as of other details of change-ringing, may be
gathered from books dealing with the technique of the art; but they are
best mastered in actual practice. The term "single," applied to
five-bell ringing meant that, as the first three bells remained
unchanged, only a single pair of bells changed places, e.g. 1 5 4 3 2, 1
5 4 2 3. On larger numbers of bells it loses this meaning; but the
effect of this "call" is that the "coursing order" of a single pair of
bells is inverted. The origin of "Bob" is unknown. As a "call" it was
perhaps adopted as a short, sharp sound, easily uttered and easily heard
by the ringers. As applied to a "method" or system of ringing it may
refer to the evolution of "dodging," e.g. in "Treble Bob" to the zigzag
"dodging" path of the treble bell; but none of the old writers attempts
to explain it.
The number of _possible_ "changes" on any given series of bells may be
ascertained, according to the mathematical formula of "permutations," by
multiplying the number of the bells together. Thus on three bells, only
6 changes or variations of order (1 X 2 X 3) can be produced; on four
bells, 1 X 2 X 3 X 4 = 24; on five, 24 X 5 = 120; on six, 120 X 6 = 720;
on seven, 720 X 7 = 5040. A "peal" on any such number of bells is in
ordinary language the ringing of all the possible changes. But
technically, only the full extent of changes upon seven bells, usually
rung with a "tenor behind," is called a "peal"; a shorter performance
upon seven or more bells, or the full extent upon less than seven,
being, in ringing parlance, a "touch." On six bells the full extent of
changes must be repeated continuously seven times (720 X 7 = 5040), and
on five bells forty-two times (l20 X 42 = 5040) to rank as a "peal." On
eight or more bells 5000 changes in round numbers is accepted as the
_minimum_ standard for a peal; and on such numbers of bells up to twelve
(the largest number used in change-ringing), peals are so arranged that
the bells come into rounds at, or at some point beyond, 5000 changes.
As many as 16,000 changes, occupying from nine to ten hours, have been
rung upon church bells. But the great physical strain upon the
ringers--to say nothing of the effect upon those who are within
hearing--makes such performances exceptional. The word "peal" is often,
though incorrectly, used (1) for a set of church bells ("a peal of six,"
"a peal of eight"), for which the correct term is "a ring" of bells; (2)
for any shorter performance than a full peal (e.g. "wedding-peal,"
"muffled peal," &c.), called in ringing language a "touch." Its use as
equivalent for "method," found in old campanological works, is now
obsolete.
Change-ringing upon five bells is called "Doubles," upon seven bells
"Triples," upon nine "Caters" (Fr. _quatre_), and upon eleven "Cinques,"
from the fact that at each change two, three, four or five pairs of
bells change places with each other. "Doubles" can be and are rung when
there are only five bells; but as a rule these "odd-bell" systems are
rung with a "tenor behind," i.e. struck at the end of each change; the
number of bells in a tower being usually an even number--six, eight, ten
or twelve. In "even-bell" systems the tenor is "rung in" or "turned in,"
i.e. changes with the other bells, and a different terminology is
employed; change-ringing on six bells being called "Minor"; on eight
bells, "Major"; on ten bells, "Royal"; and on twelve, "Maximus." The
principal "methods" of change-ringing, each of which has its special
rules, are--(1) "Grandsire"; (2) "Plain Bob"; (3) "Treble Bob"; (4)
"Stedman," from the name of its inventor, Fabian Stedman, about 1670. In
"Grandsire" the treble and one other bell, in "Plain Bob" the treble
alone, has a "plain hunt," i.e. works from the first place, or "lead,"
to the last place, or "behind," and back again, without any dodging; in
"Treble Bob" the treble has a uniform but zigzag course, dodging in each
place on its way up and down. This is called a "Treble Bob hunt"; and
under these two heads, according to the work of the treble, are
classified a variety of "plain methods" and "Treble Bob methods," among
the latter being the so-called "Surprise" methods, the most complicated
and difficult of all. "Stedman's principle," which is _sui generis_,
consists in the three front bells ringing their six possible changes,
while the remaining pair or pairs of bells dodge. It is thus an
"odd-bell" method adapted to five, seven, nine or eleven bells; as also
is "Grandsire," though occasionally rung on even numbers of bells.
"Treble Bob" is always, and "Plain Bob" generally, rung on even
numbers--six, eight, ten or twelve. In ringing, whenever the treble has
a uniform course, unaffected by "Bobs" or "Singles," it serves as a
guide to the other changing bells, according to the place in which they
meet and cross its path from "behind" to the "lead." The order in which
the different dodges occur, and the "course bell," i.e. the bell which
he follows from behind to lead, are also useful, and on large numbers of
bells indispensable, guides to the ringer.
Quite distinct from the art of change-ringing is the science of
"composing," i.e. arranging and uniting by the proper "calls," subject
to certain fixed laws and conditions, a number of groups of changes, so
that no one change, or series of changes represented in those groups,
shall be repeated. A composition, long or short, is said to be "true" if
it is free from, "false" if it involves, such repetition; and the body
of ascertained laws and conditions governing true composition in any
method constitutes the test or "proof" to be applied to a composition in
that method to demonstrate its truth or falseness. Many practical
ringers know little or nothing of the principles of composition, and are
content with performing compositions received from composers, or
published in ringing books and periodicals. An elaborate statement of
the principles of composition in the "Grandsire" method may be found in
an appendix to Snowdon's _Grandsire_ (1888), by the Rev. C.D.P. Davies.
Those which apply to "Treble Bob" are explained in Snowdon's _Treatise
on Treble Bob_, Part I. But, so far as can be ascertained, there is no
treatise dealing with the science of composition as a whole; nor is it
possible here to attempt a popular exposition of its principles.
One of the objects kept in view by composers is musical effect. Certain
sequences or contrasts of notes strike the ear as more musical than
others; and an arrangement which brings up the more musical changes in
quicker succession improves the musical effect of the "peal" or "touch."
On seven bells all the possible changes must be inserted in a true peal;
but on larger numbers of bells, where the choice is from an immense
number of possible changes, the composer is free to select those which
are most musical. Unless, however, the bells of any given "ring" are in
perfect tune and harmony with each other, their musical effect must be
impaired, however well they are rung. This gives importance to the
science and art of bell-tuning, in which great progress has been made
(see above).
The art of scientific change-ringing, peculiar to England, does not seem
to have been evolved before the middle of the 17th century. Societies or
gilds of ringers, however, existed much earlier. A patent roll of 39
Henry III. (1255) confirms the "Brethren of the Guild of Westminster,
who are appointed to ring the great bells there," in the enjoyment of
the "privileges and free customs which they have enjoyed from the time
of Edward the Confessor." In 1602 (as appears from a MS. in the library
of All Souls' College, Oxford) was founded a society called the
"Scholars of Cheapside." In 1637 began the "Ancient Society of College
Youths," so called from their meeting to practise on the six bells at St
Martin's, College Hill, a church destroyed in the Great Fire of London,
1666. At first only "rounds" and "call-changes" were rung, till about
1642, when 120 "Bob Doubles" were achieved; but slow progress was made
till 1677, when Fabian Stedman of Cambridge published his
_Campanologia_, dedicating it to this society, his method being first
rung about this time by some of its members. Before the end of the 17th
century was founded the "Society of London Scholars," the name of which
was changed in 1746 to "Cumberland Youths" in compliment to the victor
of Culloden. These two metropolitan societies still exist, and include
in their membership most of the leading change-ringers of England: one
of the oldest provincial societies being that of Saffron Walden in
Essex, founded in 1623, and still holding an annual ringing festival. In
the latter half of the 18th and first half of the 19th century
change-ringing, which at first seems to have been an aristocratic
pastime, degenerated in social repute. Church bells and their ringers,
neglected by church authorities, became associated with the lower and
least reputable phases of parochial life; and belfries were too often an
adjunct to the pothouse. In the last half of the 19th century there was
a great revival of change-ringing, leading to improvements in belfries
and in ringers, and to their gradual recognition as church workers.
Diocesan or county associations for the promotion of change-ringing and
of belfry reform spread knowledge of the art and aroused church
officials to greater interest in and care for their bells. A Central
Council of Church Bell Ringers, consisting of delegates from these
various societies, meets annually in London or at some provincial centre
to discuss ringing matters, and to collect and formulate useful
knowledge upon practical questions--e.g. the proper care of bells and
the means of preventing annoyance from their use in the neighbourhood of
houses, rules for the conduct of belfries, &c. It is now less likely
than ever that the Belgian carillons will be preferred in England to the
peculiarly English system of ringing bells in peal; by which, whatever
its difficulties, the musical sound of bells is most fully brought out,
and their scientific construction best stimulated.
AUTHORITIES.--The literature of bell-lore (or campanology) consists
chiefly of scattered treatises or pamphlets upon the technique of
different methods of change-ringing, or upon the bells of particular
counties or districts. The earliest that deal with the science and art
of change-ringing are _Campanologia or the Art of Ringing Improved_
(1677), and a chapter of "Advice to a Ringer" in the _School of
Recreations, or Gentleman's Tutor_ (1684), showing that in its early
days bell-ringing was a fashionable pastime. Then follow
_Campanologia, or the Art of Ringing made Easy_ (1766), _Clavis
Campanologia, a Key to Ringing_ (1788), and Shipway's _Campanologia_
(1816). The revival of change-ringing in recent years has produced
many manuals: e.g. Snowdon's _Rope-Sight_ (explaining the "Plain Bob"
method), _Grandsire, Treatise on Treble Bob, Double Norwich Court Bob
Major_, and _Standard Methods_ (with a book of diagrams); Troyte on
_Change-Ringing; The Duffield Method_, by Sir A.P. Heywood, Bart., its
inventor. Somewhat prior to these are various works by the Rev. H.T.
Ellacombe, inventor of a chiming apparatus which bears his name, and a
pioneer in belfry reform. Among these are accounts of the church bells
of Devon, Somerset and Gloucester, and pamphlets on _Belfries and
Ringers, Chiming, &c._; much of their contents being summarized in
_The Ringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Devon_, by C. Pearson
(1888). A _Glossary of Technical Terms_ used in connexion with church
bells and change-ringing was published (1901) under the auspices of
the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. On the history of church
bells and customs connected with them much curious information is
given in North's _English Bells and Bell Lore_ (1888). By the same
author are monographs on the church bells of Leicestershire,
Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and Hertfordshire. There are similar
works on the church bells of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, by Dr Raven;
of Huntingdonshire, by the Rev. T.M.N. Owen; and on the church bells
of Essex, by the Rev. C. Deedes. A compilation and summary of many
data of bell-lore will be found in _A Book about Bells_, by the Rev.
G.S. Tyack; and in a volume by Dr Raven in the "Antiquary's Books"
series (Methuen, 1906), entitled _The Bells of England_, which deals
with the antiquarian side of bell-lore. See also _Quarterly Review_,
No. cxc. (September 1854); _Windsor Magazine_ (December 1896); Lord
Rayleigh's paper "On the Tones of Bells" in the _Phil. Mag._ for
January 1890; and a series of articles from the _Guardian_, reprinted
as a pamphlet under the title, _Church Bells and Bell-ringing_.
(T. L. P.)
_House Bells._--Buildings are commonly provided with bells, conveniently
arranged so as to enable attendants to be summoned to the different
rooms. In the old system, which has been largely superseded by pneumatic
and still more by electric bells, the bells themselves are of the
ordinary conical shape and are provided with clappers hung loosely
inside them. Being supported on springs they continue to swing, and
therefore to give out sound as the clapper knocks against the sides, for
some time after they have been set in motion by means of the strings or
wires by which each is connected to a bell-pull in the rooms. These
wires are generally placed out of sight inside the walls, and
bell-cranks are employed to take them round corners and to change the
direction of motion as required. A lightly poised pendulum is often
attached to each bell, to show by its motion when it has been rung. In
pneumatic bells the wires are replaced by pipes of narrow bore, and the
current of air which is caused to flow along these by the pressing of a
push-button actuates a small hammer which impinges rapidly against a
bell or gong. An electric bell consists of a small electro-magnet acting
on a soft iron armature which is supported in such a way that normally
it stands away from the magnet. When the latter is energized by the
passage of an electric current, the armature is attracted towards it,
and a small hammer attached to it strikes a blow on the bell or gong.
This "single stroke" type of bell is largely used in railway signalling
instruments. For domestic purposes, however, the bells are arranged so
that the hammer strikes a series of strokes, continuing so long as the
push-button which closes the electric circuit is pressed. A light spring
is provided against which the armature rests when it is not attracted by
the electro-magnet, and the current is arranged to pass through this
spring and the armature on its way to the magnet. When the armature is
attracted by the magnet it breaks contact with this spring, the current
is interrupted, and the magnet being no longer energized allows the
armature to fall back on the spring and thus restore the circuit. In
this way a rapid to and fro motion is imparted to the hammer. The
electric current is supplied by a battery, usually either of Leclanche
or of dry cells. One bell will serve for all the rooms of a house, an
"indicator" being provided to show from which it has been rung. Such
indicators are of two main types: the current either sets in motion a
pendulum, or causes a disk bearing the name or number of the room
concerned to come into view. Each push must have one wire appropriated
to itself leading from the battery through the indicator to the bell,
but the return wire from the bell to the battery may be common to all
the pushes. Bells of this kind cease to ring whenever the electrical
continuity of any of these wires is interrupted, but in some cases, as
in connexion with burglar-alarms, it is desirable that the bell, once
set in action, shall continue to ring even though the wires are cut. For
this purpose, in "continuous ringing" bells, the current, started by the
push or alarm apparatus, instead of working the bell, is made to operate
a relay-switch and thus to bring into circuit a second battery which
continues to ring the bell, no matter what happens to the first circuit.
(H. M. R.)
BELLABELLA, the common name (popularized from the Indian corruption of
Milbank) for a tribe of Kwakiutl Indians at Milbank, British Columbia,
including the subtribes Kokaitk, Oetlitk and Ocalitk. They were
converted to Christianity by Protestant missionaries, and number about
300.
BELLACOOLA or BILQULA, a tribe of North American Indians of Salishan
stock, inhabiting the coast of British Columbia. They number some 300.
BELLADONNA (from the Ital. _bella donna_, "beautiful lady," the berries
having been used as a cosmetic), the roots and leaves of _Atropa
belladonna_, or deadly nightshade (q.v.), widely used in medicine on
account of the alkaloids which they contain. Of these the more important
are atropine (or atropia), hyoscyamine, hyoscine and belladonine;
atropine is the most important, occurring as the malate to the extent of
about 0.47% in the leaves, and from 0.6 to 0.25% in the roots.
Atropine, C17H23NO3, was discovered in 1833 by P.L. Geiger and Hesse and
by Mein in the tissues of _Atropa belladonna_, from which it may be
extracted by means of chloroform. By crystallization from alcohol it is
obtained as colourless needles, melting at 115 deg. Hydrolysis with
hydrochloric acid or baryta water gives tropic acid and tropine; on the
other hand, by boiling equimolecular quantities of these substances with
dilute hydrochloric acid, atropine is reformed. Since both these
substances have been synthesized (see TROPINE), the artificial formation
of atropine is accomplished. Atropine is optically inactive;
hyoscyamine, possibly a physical isomer, which yields atropine when
heated to 108.6 deg., is laevorotatory.
_Medicine._--The official doses of atropine are from 1/200 to 1/100
grain, and the sulphate, which is in general use in medicine, has a
similar dose. It is highly important to observe that the official doses
of the various pharmacopoeias may with safety be greatly exceeded in
practice. They are based on the experimental _toxic_, as distinguished
from _lethal_ dose. A toxic dose causes unpleasant symptoms, but in
certain cases, such as this, it may require very many times a toxic dose
to produce the lethal effect. In other words, whilst one-fiftieth of a
grain may cause unpleasant symptoms, it may need more than a grain to
kill. So valuable are certain of the properties of atropine that it is
often desirable to give doses of one-twentieth or one-tenth of a grain;
but these will never be ventured upon by the practitioner who is
ignorant of the great interval between the minimum toxic and the minimum
lethal dose. It actually needs twenty to thirty grains of atropine to
kill a rabbit: the animal is, however, somewhat exceptional in this
regard. The most valuable preparations of this potent drug are the
_liquor atropinae sulphatis_, which is a 1% solution, and the
_lamella_--for insertion within the conjunctival sac--which contains one
five-thousandth part of a grain of the alkaloid.
_Pharmacology._--When rubbed into the skin with such substances as
alcohol or glycerine, which are absorbed, atropine is carried through
the epidermis with them, and in this manner--or when simply applied to a
raw surface--it paralyses the terminals of the pain-conducting sensory
nerves. It acts similarly, though less markedly, upon the nerves which
determine the secretion of the perspiration, and is therefore a local
anaesthetic or anodyne and an anhidrotic. Being rapidly absorbed into
the blood, it exercises a long and highly important series of actions on
nearly every part and function of the nervous system. Perhaps its most
remarkable action is that upon the terminals of nearly all the secretory
nerves in the body. This causes the entire skin to become dry--as in the
case of the local action above mentioned; and it arrests the secretion
of saliva and mucus in the mouth and throat, causing these parts to
become very dry and to feel very uncomfortable. This latter result is
due to paralysis of the _chorda tympani_ nerve, which is mainly
responsible for the salivary secretion. Certain nerve fibres from the
sympathetic nervous system, which can also cause the secretion of a
(specially viscous) saliva, are entirely unaffected by atropine. A
curious parallel to this occurs in its action on the eye. There is much
uncertainty as to the influence of atropine on the secretions of the
stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and kidneys, and it is not possible
to make any definite statement, save that in all probability the
activities of the nerves innervating the gland-cells in these organs are
reduced, though they are certainly not arrested, as in the other cases.
The secretion of mucus by the bronchi and trachea is greatly reduced and
their muscular tissue is paralysed--a fact of which much use is made in
practical medicine. The secretion of milk, if occurring in the mammary
gland, is much diminished or entirely arrested. Given internally,
atropine does not exert any appreciable sedative action upon the nerves
of pain.
The action of atropine on the motor nerves is equally important. Those
that go to the voluntary muscles are depressed only by very large and
dangerous doses. The drug appears to have no influence upon the
contractile cells that constitute muscle-fibre, any more than it has
directly upon the secretory cells that constitute any gland. But
moderate doses of atropine markedly paralyse the terminals of the nerves
that go to involuntary muscles, whether the action of those nerves be
motor or inhibitory. In the intestine, for instance, are layers of
muscle-fibre which are constantly being inhibited or kept under check by
the splanchnic nerves. These are paralysed by atropine, and intestinal
peristalsis is consequently made more active, the muscles being released
from nervous control. The motor nerves of the arteries, of the bladder
and rectal sphincters, and also of the bronchi, are paralysed by
atropine, but the nervous arrangements of those organs are highly
complex and until they are further unravelled by physiologists,
pharmacology will be unable to give much information which might be of
great value in the employment of atropine. The action upon the
vaso-motor system is, however, fairly clear. Whether effected entirely
by action on the nerve terminals, or by an additional influence upon the
vaso-motor centre in the medulla oblongata, atropine certainly causes
extreme dilatation of the blood-vessels, so much so that the skin
becomes flushed and there may appear, after large doses, an erythematous
rash, which must be carefully distinguished, in cases of supposed
belladonna poisoning, from that of scarlet fever: more especially as the
temperature may be elevated and the pulse is very rapid in both
conditions. But whilst the characteristic action of atropine is to
dilate the blood-vessels, its first action is to stimulate the
vaso-motor centre--thereby causing temporary contraction of the
vessels--and to increase the rapidity of the heart's action, so that the
blood-pressure rapidly rises. Though transient, this action is so
certain, marked and rapid, as to make the subcutaneous injection of
atropine invaluable in certain conditions. The respiratory centre is
similarly stimulated, so that atropine must be regarded as a temporary
but efficient respiratory and cardiac stimulant.
Toxic doses of atropine--and therefore of belladonna--raise the
temperature several degrees. The action is probably nervous, but in the
present state of our knowledge regarding the control of the temperature
by the nervous system, it cannot be further defined. In small
therapeutic and in small toxic doses atropine stimulates the motor
apparatus of the spinal cord, just as it stimulates the centres in the
medulla oblongata. This is indeed, as Sir Thomas Fraser has pointed out,
"a strychnine action." In large toxic and in lethal doses the activity
of the spinal cord is lowered.
No less important than any of the above is the action of atropine on the
cerebrum. This has long been a debated matter, but it may now be stated,
with considerable certainty, that the higher centres are incoordinately
stimulated, a state closely resembling that of delirium tremens being
induced. In cases of poisoning the delirium may last for many hours or
even days. Thereafter a more or less sleepy state supervenes, but it is
not the case that atropine ever causes genuine coma. The stuporose
condition is the result of exhaustion after the long period of cerebral
excitement. It is to be noted that children, who are particularly
susceptible to the influence of certain of the other potent alkaloids,
such as morphine and strychnine, will take relatively large doses of
atropine without ill-effect.
The action of atropine on the eye is of high theoretical and practical
importance. The drug affects only the involuntary muscles of the eye,
just as it affects only the involuntary or non-striated portion of the
oesophagus. The result of its instillation into the eye--and the same
occurs when the atropine has been absorbed elsewhere--is rapidly to
cause wide dilatation of the pupil. This can be experimentally shown--by
the method of exclusion--to be caused by a paralysis of the terminals of
the third cranial nerve in the _sphincter pupillae_ of the iris. The
action of atropine in dilating the pupil is also aided by a stimulation
of the fibres from the sympathetic nervous system, which innervate the
remaining muscle of the iris--the _dilator pupillae_. As a result of the
extreme pupillary dilatation, the tension of the eyeball is greatly
raised. The sight of many an eye has been destroyed by the use of
atropine--in ignorance of this action on the intra-ocular tension--in
cases of incipient glaucoma. The use of atropine is absolutely
contra-indicated in any case where the intra-ocular tension already is,
or threatens to become, unduly high. This warning applies notably to
those--usually women--who are accustomed indiscriminately to use
belladonna or atropine in order to give greater brilliancy to their
eyes. The fourth ocular result of administering atropine is the
production of a slight but definite degree of local anaesthesia of the
eyeball. It follows from the above that a patient who is definitely
under the influence of atropine will display rapid pulse, dilated
pupils, a dry skin and a sense of discomfort, due to dryness of the
mouth and throat.
_Therapeutics._--The external uses of the drug are mainly analgesic. The
liniment or plaster of belladonna will relieve many forms of local pain.
Generally speaking, it may be laid down that atropine is more likely
than iodine to relieve a pain of quite superficial origin; and
conversely. Totally to be reprobated is the use, in order to relieve
pain, of belladonna or any other application which affects the skin, in
cases where the surgeon may later be required to operate. In such cases,
it is necessary to use such anodyne measures as will not interfere with
the subsequent demands that may be made of the skin, i.e. that it be
aseptic and in a condition so sound that it is able to undertake the
process of healing itself after the operation has been performed.
Atropine is universally and constantly used in ophthalmic practice in
order to dilate the pupil for examination of the retina by the
ophthalmoscope, or in cases where the inflamed iris threatens to form
adhesions to neighbouring parts. The drug is often replaced in
ophthalmology by homatropine--an alkaloid prepared from tropine--which
acts similarly to atropine but has the advantage of allowing the ocular
changes to pass away in a much shorter time. The anhidrotic action of
atropine is largely employed in controlling the night-sweats so
characteristic of pulmonary tuberculosis, small doses of the solution of
the sulphate being given at night.
The uses of atropine in cardiac affections are still obscure and
dubious. It can only be laid down that the drug is a valuable though
temporary stimulant in emergencies, and that its use as a plaster or
internally often relieves cardiac pain. Recollection of the
extraordinary complexity of the problems which are involved in the whole
question of pain of cardiac origin will emphasize the extreme vagueness
of the above assertion. Professor Schafer recommended the use of
atropine prior to the administration of a general anaesthetic, in cases
where the action of the vagus nerve upon the heart is to be dreaded; and
there is little doubt of the value of this precaution, which has no
attendant disadvantages, in all such cases. Atropine is often of value
as an antidote, as in poisoning by pilocarpine, muscarine (mushroom
poisoning), prussic acid, &c.
Omitting numerous minor applications of this drug, we may pass to two
therapeutic uses which are of unquestionable utility. In cases of
whooping-cough or any other condition in which there is spasmodic action
of the muscular fibre in the bronchi--a definition which includes nearly
every form of asthma and many cases of bronchitis--atropine is an almost
invaluable drug. Not only does it relieve the spasm, but it lessens the
amount of secretion--often dangerously excessive--which is often
associated with it. The relief of symptoms in whooping-cough is sharply
to be distinguished from any influence on the course of the disease,
since the drug does not abbreviate its duration by a single day. In
treating an actual and present attack of asthma, it is advisable to give
the standardized tincture of belladonna--unless expense is no
consideration, in which case atropine may itself be used--in doses of
twenty minims every quarter of an hour as long as no evil effects
appear. Relief is thereby constantly obtained. Smaller doses of the drug
should be given three times a day between the attacks.
The nocturnal enuresis or urinary incontinence of children and of adults
is frequently relieved by this drug. The excellent toleration of
atropine displayed by children must be remembered, and if its use is
"pushed" a cure may almost always be expected.
_Toxicology._--The symptoms of poisoning by belladonna or atropine are
dealt with above. The essential point here to be added is that death
takes place from combined cardiac and respiratory failure. This fact is,
of course, the key to treatment. This consists in the use of emetics or
the stomach-pump, with lime-water, which decomposes the alkaloid. These
measures are, however, usually rendered nugatory by the very rapid
absorption of the alkaloid. Death is to be averted by such measures as
will keep the heart and lungs in action until the drug has been excreted
by the kidneys. Inject stimulants subcutaneously; give coffee--hot and
strong--by the mouth and rectum, or use large doses of caffeine citrate;
and employ artificial respiration. Do not employ such physiological
antagonists as pilocarpine or morphine, for the lethal actions of all
these drugs exhibit not mutual antagonism but coincidence.
BELLAGIO, a town of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Como, about 15
m. N.N.E. by steamer from the town of Como, situated on the promontory
which divides the two southern arms of the Lake of Como. Pop. (1901)
3536. It is chiefly remarkable for the beauty of its scenery, and is a
very favourite resort in the spring and autumn. Some of the gardens of
its villas are remarkably fine. The manufacture of silks and carving in
olive wood are carried on.
BELLAIRE, a city of Belmont county, Ohio, U.S.A., on the Ohio river, 5
m. S. of Wheeling, West Virginia. Pop. (1890) 9934; (1900) 9912 (1159
foreign-born); (1910) 12,946. It is served by the Baltimore & Ohio, the
Pennsylvania, and the Ohio River & Western railways. Bellaire is the
shipping centre of the Belmont county coalfield which in 1907 produced
19.3% of the total output of coal for the state. Iron, limestone and
fireclay are found in the vicinity; among the manufactures are iron and
steel, glass, galvanized and enamelled ware, agricultural implements and
stoves. The value of the city's factory products increased from
$8,837,646 in 1900 to $10,712,438 in 1905, or 21.2%. Bellaire was
settled about 1795, was laid out in 1836, was incorporated as a village
in 1858, and was chartered as a city in 1874.
BELLAMY, EDWARD (1850-1898), American author and social reformer, was
born at Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, on the 25th of March 1850. He
studied for a time at Union College, Schenectady, New York, and in
Germany; was admitted to the bar in 1871; but soon engaged in newspaper
work, first as an associate editor of the _Springfield Union_, Mass.,
and then as an editorial writer for the _New York Evening Post_. After
publishing three novelettes (_Six to One, Dr Heidenhoff's Process_ and
_Miss Ludington's Sister_), pleasantly written and showing some
inventiveness in situation, but attracting no special notice, in 1888 he
caught the public attention with _Looking Backward, 2000-1887_. in which
he set forth ideas of co-operative or semi-socialistic life in village
or city communities. The book was widely circulated in America and
Europe, and was translated into several foreign languages. It was at
first judged merely as a romance, but was soon accepted as a statement
of the deliberate wishes and methods of its author, who devoted the
remainder of his life as editor, author, lecturer and politician, to the
promotion of the communistic theories of _Looking Backward_, which he
called "nationalism"; a Nationalist party (the main points of whose
immediate programme, according to Bellamy, were embodied in the platform
of the People's party of 1892) was organized, but obtained no political
hold. In 1897 Bellamy published _Equality_, a sequel to _Looking
Backward_. He died at Chicopee Falls on the 22nd of May 1898.
BELLAMY, GEORGE ANNE (1727-1788), English actress, born at Fingal,
Ireland, by her own account, on the 23rd of April 1733, but more
probably in 1727, was the illegitimate daughter of Lord Tyrawley,
British ambassador at Lisbon. Her mother married there a Captain
Bellamy, and the child received the name George Anne, by mistake for
Georgiana. Lord Tyrawley acknowledged the child, had her educated in a
convent in Boulogne, and through him she came to know a number of
notable people in London. On his appointment as ambassador to Russia,
she went to live with her mother in London, made the acquaintance of Mrs
Woffington and Garrick, and adopted the theatrical profession. Her first
engagement was at Covent Garden as Monimia in the _Orphan_ in 1744.
Owing to her personal charms and the social patronage extended to her,
her success was immediate, and till 1770 she acted in London, Edinburgh
and Dublin, in all the principal tragic roles. She played Juliet to
Garrick's Romeo at Drury Lane at the time that Spranger Barry (q.v.) was
giving the rival performances at Covent Garden, and was considered the
better of the Juliets. Her last years were unhappy, and passed in
poverty and ill-health. She died on the 16th of February 1788.
Her _Apology_ (6 vols., 1785) gives an account of her long career and
of her private life, the extravagance and licence of which were
notorious.
BELLAMY, JOSEPH (1719-1790), American theologian, was born in Cheshire,
Connecticut, on the 20th of February 1719. He graduated from Yale in
1735, studied theology for a time under Jonathan Edwards, was licensed
to preach when scarcely eighteen years old, and from 1740 until his
death, on the 6th of March 1790, was pastor of the Congregational church
at Bethlehem, Connecticut. The publication of his best-known work, _True
Religion Delineated_ (1750), won for him a high reputation as a
theologian, and the book was several times reprinted both in England and
in America. Despite the fact that with the exception of the period of
the "Great Awakening" (1740-1742), when he preached as an itinerant in
several neighbouring colonies, his active labours were confined to his
own parish, his influence on the religious thought of his time in
America was probably surpassed only by that of his old friend and
teacher Jonathan Edwards. This influence was due not only to his
publications, but also to the "school" or classes for the training of
clergymen which he conducted for many years at his home and from which
went forth scores of preachers to every part of New England and the
middle colonies (states). Bellamy's "system" of divinity was in general
similar to that of Edwards. During the War of Independence he was loyal
to the American cause. The university of Aberdeen conferred upon him the
honorary degree of D.D. in 1768. He was a powerful and dramatic
preacher. His published works, in addition to that above mentioned,
include _The Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin_ (1758), his most
characteristic work; _Theron, Paulinus and Aspasio; or Letters and
Dialogues upon the Nature of Love to God, Faith in Christ, and Assurance
of a Title to Eternal Life_ (1759); _The Nature and Glory of the Gospel_
(1762); _A Blow at the Root of Antinomianism_ (1763); _There is but One
Covenant_ (1769); _Four Dialogues on the Half-Way Covenant_ (1769); and
_A Careful and Strict Examination of the External Covenant_ (1769).
His collected _Works_ were published in 3 vols. (New York, 1811-1812),
and were republished with a _Memoir_ by Rev. Tryon Edwards (2 vols.,
Boston, 1850).
BELLARMINE (Ital. _Bellarmino_), ROBERTO FRANCESCO ROMOLO (1542-1621),
Italian cardinal and theologian, was born at Monte Pulciano, in Tuscany,
on the 4th of October 1542. He was destined by his father to a political
career, but feeling a call to the priesthood he entered the Society of
Jesus in 1560 After spending three years at Rome, he was sent to the
Jesuit settlement at Mondovi in Piedmont, where he studied and at the
same time taught Greek, and, though not yet in orders, gained some
reputation as a preacher. In 1567 and 1568 he was at Padua, studying
theology under a master who belonged to the school of St Thomas Aquinas.
In 1569 he was sent by the general of his order to Louvain, and in 1570,
after being ordained priest, began to lecture on theology at the
university. His seven years' residence in the Low Countries brought him
into close relations with modes of thought differing essentially from
his own; and, though he was neither by temperament nor training inclined
to be affected by the prevailing Augustinian doctrines of grace and
free-will, the controversy into which he fell on these questions
compelled him to define his theological principles more clearly. On his
return to Rome in 1576 he was chosen by Gregory XIII. to lecture on
controversial theology in the newly-founded Roman College. The result of
these labours appeared some years afterwards in the far-famed
_Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei adversus hujus
temporis Haereticos_ (3 vols., 1581, 1582, 1593). These volumes, which
called forth a multitude of answers on the Protestant side, exhaust the
controversy as it was carried on in those days, and contain a lucid and
uncompromising statement of Roman Catholic doctrine. For many years
afterwards, Bellarmine was held by Protestant advocates as the champion
of the papacy, and a vindication of Protestantism generally took the
form of an answer to his works. In 1589 he was selected by Sixtus V. to
accompany, in the capacity of theologian, the papal legation sent to
France soon after the murder of Henry III. He was created cardinal in
1599 by Clement VIII., and two years later was made archbishop of Capua.
His efforts on behalf of the clergy were untiring, and his ideal of the
bishop's office may be read in his address to his nephew, Angelo della
Ciaia, who had been raised to the episcopate (_Admonitio ad episcopum
Theanensem, nepotem suum_, Rome, 1612). Being detained in Rome by the
desire of the newly-elected pope, Paul V., he resigned his archbishopric
in 1605. He supported the church in its conflicts with the civil powers
in Venice, France and England, and sharply criticized James I. for the
severe legislation against the Roman Catholics that followed the
discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. When health failed him, he retired to
Monte Pulciano, where from 1607 to 1611 he acted as bishop. In 1610 he
published his _De Potestate summi Pontificis in rebus temporalibus_
directed against the posthumous work of William Barclay of Aberdeen,
which denied the temporal power of the pope. Bellarmine trod here on
difficult ground, for, although maintaining that the pope had the
indirect right to depose unworthy rulers, he gave offence to Paul V. in
not asserting more strongly the direct papal claim, whilst many French
theologians, and especially Bossuet, condemned him for his defence of
ultramontanism. As a _consultor_ of the Sacred Office, Bellarmine took a
prominent part in the first examination of Galileo's writings. His
conduct in this matter has been constantly misrepresented. He had
followed with interest Galileo's scientific discoveries and a respectful
admiration grew up between them. Bellarmine did not proscribe the
Copernican system, as has been maintained by Reusch (_Der Process
Galilei's und die Jesuiten_, Bonn, 1879, p. 125); all he claimed was
that it should be presented as an hypothesis until it should receive
scientific demonstration. When Galileo visited Rome in December 1615 he
was warmly received by Bellarmine, and the high regard in which he was
held is clearly testified in Bellarmine's letters and in Galileo's
dedication to the cardinal of his discourse on "flying bodies." The last
years of Bellarmine's life were mainly devoted to the composition of
devotional works and to securing the papal approbation of the new order
of the Visitation, founded by his friend St Francis de Sales, and the
beatification of St Philip Neri. He died in Rome on the 17th of
September 1621. Bellarmine, whose life was a model of Christian virtue,
is the greatest of modern Roman Catholic controversialists, but the
value of his theological works is seriously impaired by a very defective
exegesis and a too frequent use of "forced" conclusions. His devotional
treatises were very popular among English Roman Catholics in the penal
days.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Of the older editions of Bellarmine's complete works
the best is that in 7 vols. published at Cologne (1617-1620); modern
editions appeared in 8 vols. at Naples (1856-1862, reprinted 1872),
and in 12 vols. at Paris (1870-1874). For complete bibliography of all
works of Bellarmine, of translations and controversial writings
against him, see C. Sommervogel, _Bibliotheque de la Compagnie de
Jesus_ (Brussels and Paris, 1890 et seq.), vol. i. cols. 1151-1254;
_id., Addenda_, pp. x.-xi. vol. viii., cols. 1797-1807. The main
source for the life of Bellarmine is his Latin _Autobiography_ (Rome,
1675; Louvain, 1753), which was reprinted with original text and
German translation in the work of Dollinger and Reusch entitled _Die
Selbst-biographie des Cardinals Bellarmin_ (Bonn, 1887). The
_Epistolae Familiares_, a very incomplete collection of letters, was
published by J. Fuligatti (Rome, 1650), who is also the author of
_Vita del cardinale Bellarmino della Compagnia di Giesu_ (Rome, 1624).
Cf. D. Bartoli, _Della vita di Roberto cardinal Bellarmino_ (Rome,
1678), and M. Cervin, _Imago virtutum Roberti card. Bellarmini
Politiani_ (Siena, 1622), All these are panegyrics of small historical
value. The best modern studies are J.B. Couderc's _Le Venerable
Cardinal Bellarmin_ (2 vols., Paris, 1893), and X. le Bachelet's
article in A. Vacant's _Dict. de theol, cat._ cols. 560-599, with
exhaustive bibliography.
BELLARY, or BALLARI, a city and district of British India, in the Madras
presidency. The city is 305 m. by rail from Madras. Pop. (1901) 58,247.
The fort rises from a huge mass of granite rock, which with a
circumference of nearly 2 m., juts up abruptly to a height of 450 ft.
above the plain. The length of this rock from north-east to south-west
is about 1150 ft. To the E. and S. lies an irregular heap of boulders,
but to the W. is an unbroken precipice, and the N. is walled by bare
rugged ridges. It is defended by two distinct lines of works. The upper
fort is a quadrangular building on the summit, with only one approach,
and was deemed impregnable by the Mysore princes. But as it has no
accommodation for a garrison, it is now only occupied by a small guard
of British troops in charge of prisoners. The ex-nawab of Kurnool was
confined in it for forty years for the murder of his wife. It contains
several cisterns, excavated in the rock. Outside the turreted rampart
are a ditch and covered way. The lower fort lies at the eastern base of
the rock and measures about half a mile in diameter. It contains the
barracks and the commissariat stores, the Protestant church, orphanage,
Masonic lodge, post-office and numerous private dwellings. The fort of
Bellary was originally built by Hanumapa, in the 16th century. It was
first dependent on the kingdom of Vijayanagar, afterwards on Bijapur,
and subsequently subject to the nizam and Hyder Ali. The latter erected
the present fortifications according to tradition with the assistance of
a French engineer in his service, whom he afterwards hanged for not
building the fort on a higher rock adjacent to it. Bellary is an
important cantonment and the headquarters of a military division. There
is a considerable trade in cotton, in connexion with which there are
large steam presses, and some manufacture of cotton cloth. There is a
cotton spinning mill. In 1901 Bellary was chosen as one of the places of
detention in India for Boer prisoners of war.
The district of BELLARY has an area of 5714 sq. m. It consists chiefly
of an extensive plateau between the Eastern and Western Ghats, of a
height varying from 800 to 1000 ft. above the sea. The most elevated
tracts are on the west, where the surface rises towards the culminating
range of hills, and on the south, where it rises to the elevated
tableland of Mysore. Towards the centre the almost treeless plain
presents a monotonous aspect, broken only by a few rocky elevations that
rise abruptly from the black soil. The hill ranges in Bellary are those
of Sandur and Kampli to the west, the Lanka Malla to the east and the
Copper Mountain (3148 ft.) to the south-west. The district is watered by
five rivers: the Tungabhadra, formed by the junction of two streams,
Tunga and Bhadra, the Haggari, Hindri, Chitravati and Pennar, the last
considered sacred by the natives. None of the rivers is navigable and
all are fordable during the dry season. The climate of Bellary is
characterized by extreme dryness, due to the passing of the air over a
great extent of heated plains, and it has a smaller rainfall than any
other district in south India. The average daily variation of the
thermometer is from 67 deg. to 83 deg. F. The prevailing diseases are
cholera, fever, small-pox, ophthalmia, dysentery and those of the skin
among the lower classes. Bellary is subject to disastrous storms and
hurricanes, and to famines arising from a series of bad seasons. There
were memorable famines in 1751, 1793, 1803, 1833, 1854, 1866, 1877 and
1896.
In 1901 the population was 947,214, showing an increase of 8% in the
decade. The principal crops are millet, other food-grains, pulse,
oil-seeds and cotton. There are considerable manufactures of cotton and
woollen goods, and cotton is largely exported. The district is traversed
by the Madras and Southern Mahratta railways, meeting on the eastern
border at Guntakal junction, where another line branches off to Bezwada.
Little is known of the early history of the district. It contains the
ruined capital of the ancient Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, and on the
overthrow of that state by the Mahommedans, in 1564, the tract now
forming the district of Bellary was split up into a number of military
holdings, held by chiefs called poligars. In 1635 the Carnatic was
annexed to the Bijapur dominions, from which again it was wrested in
1680 by Sivaji, the founder of the Mahratta power. It was then included
in the dominions of Nizam-ul-mulk, the nominal viceroy of the great
Mogul in the Deccan, from whom again it was subsequently conquered by
Hyder Ali of Mysore. At the close of the war with Tippoo Sultan in 1792,
these territories fell to the share of the nizam of Hyderabad, by whom
they were ceded to the British in 1800, in return for protection by a
force of British troops to be stationed at his capital. In 1808 the
"Ceded Districts," as they were called, were split into two districts,
Cuddapah and Bellary. In 1882 the district of Anantapur, which had
hitherto formed part of Bellary, was formed into a separate
collectorate.
See _Bellary Gazetteer_, 1904.
BELL-COT, BELL-GABLE, or BELL-TURRET, the place where one or more bells
are hung in chapels or small churches which have no towers. Bell-cots
are sometimes double, as at Northborough and Coxwell; a very common form
in France and Switzerland admits of three bells. In these countries also
they are frequently of wood and attached to the ridge. In later times
bell-turrets were much ornamented; on the continent of Europe they run
up into a sort of small, slender spire, called _fleche_ in France, and
_guglio_ in Italy. A bell-cot, gable or turret often holds the
"Sanctus-bell," rung at the saying of the "Sanctus" at the beginning of
the canon of the Mass, and at the consecration and elevation of the
Elements in the Roman Church. This differs but little from the common
bell-cot, except that it is generally on the top of the arch dividing
the nave from the chancel. At Cleeve, however, the bell seems to have
been placed in a cot outside the wall. Sanctus-bells have also been
placed over the gables of porches.
BELLEAU, REMY (c. 1527-1577), French poet, and member of the Pleiade
(see DAURAT), was born at Nogent-le-Rotrou about 1527. He studied with
Ronsard and others under Jean Daurat at the College de Coqueret. He was
attached to Rene de Lorraine, marquis d'Elboeuf, in the expedition
against Naples in 1557, where he did good military service. On his
return he was made tutor to the young Charles, marquis d'Elboeuf, who,
under Belleau's training became a great patron of the muses. Belleau was
an enthusiast for the new learning and joined the group of young poets
with ardour. In 1556 he published the first translation of Anacreon
which had appeared in French. In the next year he published his first
collection of poems, the _Petites inventions_, in which he describes
stones, insects and flowers. The _Amours et nouveaux echanges des
pierres precieuses_ ... (1576) contains perhaps his most characteristic
work. Its title is quoted in the lines of Ronsard's epitaph on his
tomb:--
"Luy mesme a basti son tombeau
Dedans ses Pierres Precieuses."
He wrote commentaries to Ronsard's _Amours_ in 1560, notes which evinced
delicate taste and prodigious learning. Like Ronsard and Joachim Du
Bellay, he was extremely deaf. His days passed peacefully in the midst
of his books and friends, and he died on the 6th of March 1577. He was
buried in the nave of the Grands Augustins at Paris, and was borne to
the tomb on the pious shoulders of four poets, Ronsard, J.A. de Baif,
Philippe Desportes and Amadis Jamyn. His most considerable work is _La
Bergerie_ (1565-1572), a pastoral in prose and verse, written in
imitation of Sannazaro. The lines on April in the _Bergerie_ are well
known to all readers of French poetry. Belleau was the French Herrick,
full of picturesqueness, warmth and colour. His skies drop flowers and
all his air is perfumed, and this voluptuous sweetness degenerates
sometimes into licence. Extremely popular in his own age, he shared the
fate of his friends, and was undeservedly forgotten in the next. Regnier
said: "Belleau ne parle pas comme on parle a la ville"; and his lyrical
beauty was lost on the trim 17th century. His complete works were
collected in 1578, and contain, besides the works already mentioned, a
comedy entitled _La Reconnue_, in short rhymed lines, which is not
without humour and life, and a comic masterpiece, a macaronic poem on
the religious wars, _Dictamen metrificum de bello huguenotico et
reistrorum[1] piglamine ad sodales_ (Paris, no date).
The _Oeuvres completes_ (3 vols., 1867) of Remy Belleau were edited by
A. Gouverneui; and his _OEuvres poetiques_ (2 vols., 1879) by M. Ch.
Marty-Laveaux in his _Pleiade francaise_; see also C.A. Sainte-Beuve,
_Tableau historique et critique de la poesie francaise au XVI^e
siecle_ (ed. 1876), i. pp. 155-160, and ii. pp. 296 seq.