[1] A copy of the letter was taken by way of precaution, beforehand,
by the Austrian ministers, and this copy is still in the Vienna
archives.
BESTUZHEV-RYUMIN, MIKHAIL PETROVICH, COUNT (1688-1760), Russian
diplomatist, elder brother of the foregoing, was educated at Berlin, and
was sent by Peter the Great to represent Russia at Copenhagen in 1705.
In 1720 he was appointed resident at London at a time when the English
court was greatly inflamed against Peter, who was regarded as a
dangerous rival in the Baltic; and Bestuzhev was summarily dismissed for
protesting against the lately-formed Anglo-Swedish alliance. On the
conclusion of the peace of Nystad in 1721 he was sent as ambassador to
the court of Stockholm. His first official act was the signing of a
defensive alliance between Russia and Sweden for twelve years, in 1724.
He was successively transferred to Warsaw (1726) and to Berlin (1730),
but returned to Stockholm in 1732. How far Bestuzhev was concerned in
the murder (June 28th, 1739) of the Swedish diplomatic agent Sinclair in
Silesia on his journey home from Constantinople, it is difficult to say.
It is certain that Bestuzhev sent information to his court of Sinclair's
mission, which was supposed to be hostile to Russia, and even supplied
the portrait of the envoy for recognition. The Swedish authorities are
unanimous in describing Bestuzhev as the arch-plotter in this miserable
affair; yet, while the active agents were banished to Siberia, Bestuzhev
was not even censured. The Sinclair murder led ultimately to the
Swedish-Russian War of 1741, when Bestuzhev was transferred first to
Hamburg and subsequently to Hanover, where he endeavoured to conclude an
alliance between Great Britain and Russia. On his return to Russia in
1743, he was made grand marshal, and married Anna, the widow of Paul
Yaguzhinsky, Peter the Great's famous pupil. A few months later his wife
was implicated in a bogus conspiracy got up by the French ambassador,
the marquis de La Chetardie, to ruin the Bestuzhevs (see
BESTUZHEV-RYUMIN, ALEXIUS), and after a public whipping, had her tongue
cut out and was banished to Siberia. Thither Bestuzhev had not the
manhood to follow her, but went abroad, and subsequently resumed his
diplomatic career. His last and most brilliant mission was to
Versailles, shortly after the conclusion of the coalition against
Frederick the Great, where he cut a great figure. He died at Paris on
the 26th of February 1760.
See Robert Nisbet Bain, _The Daughter of Peter the Great_ (London,
1899); Mikhail Sergyievich, _History of Russia_ (Rus.), vols.
xv.-xxii. (2nd ed., St Petersburg, 1897). (R. N. B.)
BET and BETTING (probably from O. Fr. _abeter_, to instigate, Eng.
"abet," i.e. with money). To "bet" is to stake money or something
valuable on some future contingency. Betting in some form or other has
been in vogue from the earliest days, commencing in the East with royal
and noble gamblers, and gradually extending itself westwards and
throughout all classes. In all countries where the English tongue is
spoken betting is now largely indulged in; and in the United Kingdom it
spread to such an extent amongst all grades of society, during the 19th
century, that the interference of the legislature was necessary (see
GAMING AND WAGERING). Bets can, of course, be made on any subject, and
are a common method of backing one's opinion or skill, whether at games
of cards or in any other connexion; but the commonest form of betting is
associated with the turf. In the early days of horse-racing persons who
wished to bet often failed to gratify their inclination because of the
difficulty of finding any one ready to wager. To obviate this difficulty
the professional bookmaker arose. It was perceived that if a man laid
money against a number of horses, conducting his business on discreet
principles, he would in all probability receive enough to pay the bettor
who was successful and to leave a surplus for himself; for the
"bookmaker," as the professional betting man came to be called, had
enormous advantages in his favour. He was presumably shrewd and wary,
whereas many of those with whom he dealt were precisely the opposite,
and benefit arose to him from the mistakes and miscalculations of owners
and trainers of horses, and from the innumerable accidents which occur
to prevent anticipated success; moreover, if he carried out the theory
of his calling he would so arrange his book, by what is called "betting
to figures," that the money he received would be more than he could
possibly be called upon to pay. In practice, of course, this often does
not happen, because "backers" will sometimes support two or three horses
in a race only, and the success of one may result in loss to the
bookmaker; but in the long run it has been almost invariably found that
the bookmaker grows rich and that the backer of horses loses money. It
is the bookmaker who regulates the odds, and this he does, sometimes by
anticipating, sometimes by noting, the desire of backers to support
certain animals. Such things as stable secrets can scarcely be said to
exist at the present time; the bookmaker is usually as well able as any
one else to estimate the chances of the various horses engaged in races.
Notwithstanding that the reports of a trial gallop are of comparatively
little value to any except the few persons who know what weights the
animals carried when tried, the bookmaker is extraordinarily keen, and
frequently successful, in his search for information; and on this the
odds depend.
Betting in connexion with horse-racing is of two kinds: "post," when
wagering does not begin until the numbers of the runners are hoisted on
the board; and "ante-post," when wagering opens weeks or months before
the event; though of this latter there is far less than was formerly the
case, doubtless for the reason that before the introduction of so many
new and valuable stakes attention was generally concentrated on a
comparatively small number of races. Bets on the Derby, the Oaks and the
St Leger were formerly common nearly a year before the running of the
races, and a few handicaps, such as the Chester Cup, used to occupy
attention months beforehand; the weights, of course, being published at
a much longer interval prior to the contest than is at present the rule.
As regards ante-post betting, bookmakers have their own ideas as to the
relative prospects of the horses entered. A person who wishes to back a
horse asks the price, and accepts or declines, as the case may be. If
the bet is laid it will probably be quoted in the newspapers, and other
persons who propose to wager on the race are so likely to follow suit
that it is shrewdly suspected that in not a few cases bets are quoted
which never have been laid, in order to induce the backers to speculate.
According to the public demand for a horse the price shortens. If there
is little or no demand the odds increase, the market being almost
entirely regulated by the money; so that if a great many people bet on a
certain animal the odds become shorter and shorter, till in many cases
instead of laying odds against a horse, the bookmaker comes to take
odds, that is, to agree to pay a smaller sum than he would receive from
the backer if the animal lost. Post betting is conducted on very much
the same principles. When the numbers are hoisted bookmakers proclaim
their readiness to lay or take certain odds, which vary according to the
demand for the different animals. Backers are influenced by many
considerations: by gossip, by the opinions of writers on racing, and in
many cases, unfortunately, by the advice of "tipsters," who by
advertisements and circulars profess their ability to indicate winners,
a pretence which is obviously absurd, as if these men possessed the
knowledge they claim, they would assuredly keep it to themselves and
utilize it for their own private purposes.
The specious promises of such men do infinite mischief, as they so often
appeal with success to the folly and gullibility of the ignorant, and in
recent years the extent to which betting has grown has resulted in
attempts to check it by organized means. A society for the purpose was
formed in England called the Anti-Gambling League. A bookmaker named
Dunn was summoned in 1897 for betting in Tattersall's enclosure, which
it was contended contravened the Betting House Act of 1853. This act had
been aimed against what were known as "list houses," establishments then
kept by bookmakers for betting purposes, and associated with many
disgraceful scandals. In the preamble to his bill Lord Cockburn began by
remarking that "Whereas a new form of betting has of late sprung up,"
and the Anti-Gambling League sought to argue that this included a form
of betting which had not sprung up of late but had on the contrary been
carried on without interference for many generations. The divisional
court of the queen's bench (_Hawke v. Dunn_, 13 T.L.R. 281) held that
such betting was an infringement of the act, and that the enclosure was
a "place" within the meaning of the act, and had been used by the
respondent for the purpose of betting with persons resorting thereto,
and that he was liable to be Convicted. The case was remitted to the
justices, who convicted the defendant. A somewhat similar case was
decided on the same day (_M'Inany v. Hildreth_, 1897, 13 T.L.R. 285), in
which it was held that a professional bookmaker who went to a place
known as the "pit heap" at Jarrow, to which the public had access at all
times, and made bets with persons assembled there, was properly
convicted, and that the "pit heap" itself and the place where he stood
were "places" within the meaning of the act. It was afterwards held by
the court of appeal (_Powell v. Kempton Park Racecourse Co., Ltd._,
1897, 2 Q.B. 242), in an action brought to restrain a racecourse company
from opening or keeping an enclosure on a racecourse by allowing it to
be used by bookmakers, that the words "other place" must be construed as
meaning a defined place, that the user of such a place implied some
exclusive right in the user against others, and that the racecourse
owners had not been guilty of permitting the enclosure to be used in the
manner prohibited by the act of 1853. The decision in _Hawke v. Dunn_
was disapproved of; and the House of Lords afterwards affirmed the
decision of the court of appeal.
The Street Betting Act 1906 enacted that any person frequenting or
loitering in streets or public places for the purpose of bookmaking, or
betting, or wagering, should be liable on summary conviction, in the
case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, in the case
of a second offence, to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and in the
case of a third or subsequent offence, or in any case where he is proved
to have committed the offence of having a betting transaction with a
person under the age of sixteen years, to a fine, on conviction on
indictment, not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment with or
without hard labour for a term not exceeding six months. On summary
conviction the fine is a sum not exceeding thirty pounds or imprisonment
with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding three months. A
wide definition is given to the words "street" and "public place," and
racecourses are expressly exempted from the operation of the act.
On all French racecourses (since 1866), as on others nearly everywhere
else on the continent, and likewise in the British colonies, a system of
betting known as the _Pari-Mutuel_ or Totalizator, is carried on. Rows
of offices are established behind or near the stands, on each of which
lists are exhibited containing the numbers of the horses that are to run
in the coming race. At some of these the minimum wager is five francs,
at others ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, five hundred and in some
cases a thousand. The person who proposes to bet goes to the clerk at
one of these offices, mentions the number, as indicated on the card, of
the horse he wishes to back, and states whether he desires to bet on it
to win or for a place only. He receives a voucher for his money. After
the race the whole amount collected at the various offices is put
together and divided after a percentage has been deducted for the
administration and for the poor. As soon as this has been done, the
money is divided and the prices to be paid to winners are exhibited on
boards. These prices are calculated on a unit of ten francs. Thus, for
instance, if the winner is notified as bringing in twenty-five francs,
the meaning is that the backer receives his original stake of ten and
fifteen in addition, the money being paid immediately by another clerk
attached to the office at which the bet was made. The great French
municipalities derive considerable revenue in relief of rates from the
_Paris Mutuels_. In Japan this system was made illegal in 1908.
BETAINE (OXYNEURINE, LYCINE), C5H13NO3, a substance discovered in the
sugar beet (_Beta vulgaris_) in 1869 by C. Scheibler (_Ber._, 1869, 2,
p. 292). It is also found in cotton seed, in the vetch and in wheat
sprouts (E. Schulz and S. Frankfurt, _Ber._, 1893, 26, p. 2151). It may
be synthetically prepared by oxidizing choline with chromic acid (O.
Liebreich, _Ber._, 1869, 2, 13), (CH3)3N(OH).CH2.CH2OH --> C5H13NO3 +
H2O; by heating trimethylamine with monochloracetic acid (Liebreich),
(CH3)3N + CH2Cl.COOH = (CH3)3N(Cl).CH2.COOH (betaine hydrochloride); and
by heating amino-acetic acid (glycocoll) with methyl iodide in the
presence of an alkali (P. Griess, _Ber._, 1875, 8, p. 1406). It
crystallizes from alcohol in large deliquescent crystals; and is readily
soluble in water, but insoluble in ether. It is a weak base. As is shown
by the various syntheses of the base, it is the methyl hydroxide of
dimethyl glycocoll. This free base readily loses water on heating and
gives an internal anhydride of constitution
/CH2\
(CH3)3N CO,
\ O /
which is the type of the so-called "betaines." These organic betaines
are internal anhydrides of carboxylic acids, which contain an ammonium
hydroxide group in the [alpha]-position. A. Hantzsch (_Ber._, 1886, 19,
p. 31) prepared the betaines of nicotinic, picolinic and collidine
carboxylic acids from the potassium salts of the acids, by treatment
with methyl iodide, followed by moist silver oxide. The reaction may be
shown as follows:--
/\ /\ /\
/ \ CO2K / \ CO2CH3 / \ __CO
| | | | | | |
| | --> | | --> | | |
| | | | | | |
\\ / \\ / \\ / |
\\/ \\/ \\/ |
N H3C-N-I H3C-N----O
The methyl betaine of nicotinic acid is identical with the alkaloid
_trigonelline_, which was discovered in 1885 by E. Jahns in the seeds of
_Trigonella faenum-graecum_ (_Ber._, 1885, 18, p. 2518). It has also
been obtained from nicotine by A. Pictet by oxidizing the methyl
hydroxide of nicotine with potassium permanganate (_Ber._, 1897, 30, p.
2117).
Substances closely related to betaine are choline, neurine and
muscarine. Choline (bilineurine, sincaline), (Gr. [Greek: cholae],
bile), C5H15NO2 or HO.CH2.CH2.N(CH3)3.OH, first isolated by A.
Strecker in 1862 (_Ann._ 123, p. 353; 148, p. 76), is found in the
bile, in brain substance, and in yolk of egg in the form of lecithin,
a complex ester of glycerin with phosphoric acid and the fatty acids.
It is also found in combination with sinapic acid in sinapin, the
glucoside obtained from white mustard, and can be obtained from this
glucoside by hydrolysis with baryta water,
C16H23NO5 + 2H2O = C5H15NO2 + C11H12O5.
Sinapin. Choline. Sinapic acid.
It can be synthetically prepared by the action of trimethylamine on an
aqueous solution of ethylene oxide (A. Wurtz, _Ann. Suppl._, 1868, 6,
p. 201). It forms deliquescent crystals of strongly alkaline reaction,
and absorbs carbon dioxide from the air. It is not poisonous. By
continued boiling of its aqueous solution, it is resolved into glycol
and trimethylamine.
Neurine, trimethyl vinyl ammonium hydroxide (Gr. [Greek: neuron],
nerve), CH2 : CH.N(CH3)3.OH, is a product of the putrefaction of
albumen. It may be prepared by the action of moist silver oxide on
ethylene dibromide and trimethylamine,
CH2Br.CH2Br --> CH2Br.CH2N(CH3)3Br --> CH2 : CH.N(CH3)3.OH.
It is a crystalline solid, very soluble in water, and is strongly
basic and very poisonous. Muscarine, C5H15NO3, is an exceedingly
poisonous substance found in many fungi. It may be obtained
synthetically by oxidizing choline with dilute nitric acid (O.
Schmiedeberg, _Jahresb._, 1876, p. 804). The exact constitution has
not yet been definitely determined.
BETEL NUT. The name betel is applied to two different plants, which in
the East are very closely associated in the purposes to which they are
applied. The betel nut is the fruit of the Areca or betel palm, _Areca
Catechu_, and the betel leaf is the produce of the betel vine or pan,
_Chavica Betel_, a plant allied to that which yields black pepper. The
Areca palm is a native of the Malay Peninsula and Islands and is
extensively cultivated over a wide area in the East, including southern
India, Ceylon, Siam, the Malay Archipelago and the Philippine Islands.
It is a graceful tree with a straight, slender, unbranched stem reaching
40 or 50 ft. in height and about 1-1/2 ft. in circumference, and bearing
a crown of 6-9 very large spreading pinnate fronds. The fruit is about
the size of a small hen's egg, and within its fibrous rind is the seed
or so-called nut, the albumen of which is very hard and has a prettily
mettled grey and brown appearance. The chief purpose for which betel
nuts are cultivated and collected is for use as a masticatory,--their
use in this form being so widespread among Oriental nations that it is
estimated that one-tenth of the whole human family indulge in betel
chewing. For this use the fruits are annually gathered between the
months of August and November, before they are quite ripe, and deprived
of their husks. They are prepared by boiling in water, cutting up into
slices, and drying in the sun, by which treatment the slices assume a
dark brown or black colour. When chewed a small piece is wrapped up in a
leaf of the betel vine or pan, with a pellet of shell lime or chunam;
and in some cases a little cardamom, turmeric or other aromatic is
added. The mastication causes a copious flow of saliva of a brick-red
colour, which dyes the mouth, lips and gums. The habit blackens the
teeth, but it is asserted by those addicted to it that it strengthens
the gums, sweetens the breath and stimulates the digestive organs. Among
the Orientals betel is offered on ceremonial visits in the same manner
as wine is produced on similar occasions by Europeans. Betel nuts are
further used as a source of catechu, which is procured by boiling the
nuts in water. The water of the first boiling becomes red and thick, and
when this is inspissated after the removal of the nuts it forms a
catechu of high astringency and dark colour called in Bombay "Kossa."
The nuts are again boiled, and the inspissated juice of the second
decoction yields a weaker catechu of a brown or reddish colour. Betel
nuts have been used by turners for ornamental purposes, and for coat
buttons on account of the beauty of their structure. At one time they
were supposed to be useful as a vermifuge. The nuts of other species of
_Areca_ are used by the poorer classes in the East as substitutes for
the genuine betel nut.
The alkaloid arecaidine, C7H11NO2, occurs in areca or betel nuts,
together with three other alkaloids: arecoline, C8H13NO2, guvacine,
C6H9NO2, and arecaine, C7H11NO2. Arecaidine forms white crystals
easily soluble in water, and difficultly soluble in alcohol.
Chemically it is methyl-tetrahydro-nicotinic acid. Dehydration results
in the formation of a "betaine," which is a tetrahydro-trigonelline
(see BETAINE). Arecoline is an oil, and the physiological action of
the betel nut is alone due to this substance. Chemically it is the
methyl ester of arecaidine. Guvacine, named from "guvaca," an Indian
designation of the betel palm, forms white crystals. It is a secondary
base, but its constitution is uncertain. Arecaine is
n-methyl-guvacine.
BETHANY (mod. _el-'Azariyeh_), a village nearly 2 m. E.S.E. from
Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, 2208 ft. above
the sea. It is interesting as the residence of Lazarus and his sisters,
and a favourite retreat of Jesus (see especially John xi., which
describes the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus at this place).
From the 4th century down to the time of the Mahommedan invasion several
ecclesiastical buildings were erected on the spot, but of these no
distinct traces remain. El-'Azariyeh is a poor village of about thirty
families, with few marks of antiquity; there is no reason to believe
that the houses of Mary and Martha and of Simon the Leper, or the
sepulchre of Lazarus, still shown by the monks, have any claim to the
names they bear. Another Bethany (with the alternative reading
Bethabara) is mentioned in John i. 28, as "beyond Jordan"; it has not
been identified.
BETHEL (Heb. "House of God"), originally called _Luz_, an ancient city
of Palestine, on the N.W. border of the tribe of Benjamin, 11 m. N. of
Jerusalem and nearly 2900 ft. above sea-level. From very early times it
was a holy place, a circumstance probably due primarily to a very
extraordinary group of boulders and rock-outcrops north of the town.
Abraham recognized its sanctity (Gen. xii. 8); Jacob, in ignorance,
slept in the sacred enclosure and was granted a vision ("Jacob's
ladder," Gen. xxviii). For a while the ark seems to have been deposited
here (Judg. xx. 27), and it was a place for consulting the oracle (Judg.
xx. 18). At the secession of the northern kingdom under Jeroboam, Bethel
became a royal residence and a national shrine (1 Kings xii. 29-31, Amos
vii. 13), for which its position at the junction of main roads from N.
to S. and E. to W. well fitted it. It was taken from Jeroboam by Abijah,
king of Judah (2 Chr. xiii. 19). It seems to have continued to flourish
down into the Christian era; remains of its ecclesiastical buildings
still exist. The present village, which bears the name of Beitin,
occupies about three or four acres, and has a population of 2000.
BETHENCOURT, JEAN DE (c. 1360-1422), French explorer, belonged to a
noble family of Normandy, and held important offices at the court of
Charles VI., king of France. His spirit was fired by hearing of the
deeds of explorers and adventurers, and having formed a plan to conquer
the Canary Islands he raised some money by pledging his Norman estates,
and sailed from La Rochelle on the 1st of May 1402 with two ships,
commanded by himself and Gadifer de la Salle. He was delayed by a mutiny
off the coast of Spain, but reached the island of Lanzarote in July.
Unable to carry out his project of conquest, he left his men at the
Canaries and went to seek help at the court of Castile. He obtained men
and provisions from Henry III. king of Castile, through the good offices
of his uncle, Robert de Braquemont, who had considerable influence with
Henry; he also received the title of king, and did homage to Henry for
his future conquests. Returning to the Canaries in 1404 he found that
Gadifer de la Salle had conquered Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and
explored other islands. La Salle, unwilling to accept a position of
inferiority, left the Canaries and appealed unsuccessfully for redress
at the court of Castile. Bethencourt was unable to complete his work of
conquest and exploration. In 1405 he visited Normandy, and returned with
fresh colonists who occupied Hierro. In December 1406 he left the
islands to the government of his nephew, Maciot de Bethencourt,
reserving for himself the royal title and a share in any profits
obtained. He returned to Normandy, where he appears to have spent the
remainder of his days. He died in 1422, and was buried in the church of
Grainville-la-Teinturiere. Bethencourt wrote a very untrustworthy
account of his "conquest of the Canary Islands," _Le Canarien, livre de
la conquete et conversion ses Canaries_. This has been published with
introduction and notes by G. Gravier (Rouen, 1874), and an English
translation was edited by R.H. Major for the Hakluyt Society (London,
1872).
See also CANARY ISLANDS, for the controversy as to the relations
between Bethencourt and La Salle.
BETHESDA (i.e. "House of Mercy," John v. 2), better perhaps BETHZATHA or
BETHSAIDA, a pool or public bath in Jerusalem, where miraculous cures
were believed to be performed. The following identifications have been
suggested: _Birket Isra'il_, near St Stephen's gate; a large cistern,
near St Anne's church; the "Twin Pools," north of the Haram (the ancient
Temple area); the _Hammam esh-Shifa'_ or pool of healing, west of the
Haram; the Virgin's fountain, south of the Haram; and the "Pool of
Siloam." Which, if any, of these identifications is correct, it is
impossible to say.
BETHESDA, an urban district of Carnarvonshire, N. Wales, 5 m. from
Bangor, by a branch of the London & North-Western railway. Pop. (1901)
5281. It lies near the lower end of the fine Nant Ffrancon (valley of
the Ogwen stream). The scriptural name is due, as often in Wales, to the
village or hamlet taking its title from the Nonconformist church. Here
are extensive slate quarries belonging to Lord Penrhyn. A narrow-gauge
railway connects these with Port Penrhyn, at the mouth of the stream
Cegid (hemlock, "_cicuta_"), which admits the entry of vessels of 300
tons to the quay at low water.
BETH-HORON ("the place of the hollow way"), the name of two neighbouring
villages, upper and lower Beth-horon, on the ascent from the coast plain
of Palestine to the high tableland of Benjamin, which was until the 16th
century the high road from Jerusalem to the sea. The two towns thus
played a conspicuous part in Israelitish military history (see Josh. x.
10; 1 Sam. xiii. 18; 1 Kings ix. 17; 1 Macc. iii. 13-24, vii. 39 ff.,
ix. 50). Josephus (_Bell. Jud._ ii. 19) tells of the rout of a Roman
army under Cestius Gallus in A.D. 66. The Talmud states that many rabbis
were born in the place. It is now represented by Beit 'Ur-el-foka and
Beit 'Ur-et-tahta.
BETHLEHEM (Heb. "House of Bread," or, according to a more questionable
etymology, "of [the god] Lakhmu"), a small town in Palestine, situated
on a limestone ridge (2550 ft. above sea-level), 5 m. S. of Jerusalem.
The neighbourhood produces wheat, barley, olives and vines in abundance.
It was occupied in very early times, though the references in Judges
xvii., xix., and Ruth[1] are of doubtful date. It was the early home of
David and of Joab (2 Sam. ii. 32). It was fortified by Rehoboam, and in
the neighbouring inn of Chimham the murderers of Gedaliah took refuge
(Jer. xli. 17). Micah (v. 2) and other writers speak of it as
Bethlehem-Ephrathah; perhaps Ephrathah was the name of the district.
Almost complete obscurity, however, was gathering round it when it
became (according to Matt. ii. and Luke ii.) the birthplace of Jesus.
The traditional scene of the Nativity, a grotto on the eastern part of
the ridge, is alleged to have been desecrated during the reign of
Hadrian by a temple of Adonis. In 330 it was enclosed by a basilica
built by the orders of the emperor Constantine. This basilica (S. Maria
a Praesepio), which is still standing, was restored and added to by
Justinian, and was later surrounded by the three convents successively
erected by the Greek, Latin and Armenian Churches (see de Vogue, _Les
Eglises de la Terre Sainte_). Captured by the Crusaders in the 11th
century, Bethlehem was made an episcopal see; but the bishopric soon
sank to a titular dignity. Beside the grotto of the Nativity other
traditional sites are shown within the church, such as the Altar of the
Magi, the Tomb of Eusebius, the cave wherein Jerome made his translation
of the Bible, &c.
There are several monasteries and convents, and British, French and
German schools. The village is well built and comparatively clean. The
population (8000) has contained few Moslems since the Moslem quarter was
destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha, in revenge for the murder of one of his
favourites, after the insurrection of 1834. The carving of crucifixes
and other sacred mementoes gives employment to a large proportion of the
population. In 1850 a dispute arose between France and Russia, in the
name of the Latin and Greek Churches respectively, concerning the
possession of the key of the chief door of the basilica, and concerning
the right to place a silver star, with the arms of France, in the grotto
of the Nativity. The Porte, after much futile temporizing, yielded to
France. The disappointment thus inflicted on Russia was a determining
cause of the outbreak of the Crimean War (see Kinglake, _Invasion of the
Crimea_, chap. iii.). [There is a tiny village of the same name in
Zebulun, 7 m. N.W. of Nazareth (Josh. xv. 19).]
See bibliography under PALESTINE. For the modern town see Palmer, "Das
jetzige Bethlehem," in the _Zeitschrift_ of the Deutsche
Palastina-Verein, xvii. p. 89. (R. A. S. M.)