Shakespeare's tragedy of "Macbeth."

Like Banquo's murderer, there was blood on his face, as well as upon the rowels of his spurs, and the sides of his over-ridden horse. Sir W. Scott.

Ban'shee. In the popular superstitions of the Irish, a sort of tutelary female demon, called the wife of the fairies, who is thought to give warning of an approaching death by wailings and shrieks which she utters. [Written also Benshie.] Baph'o-met. A mysterious idol, or rather symbol, which was in use among the Templars. It was a small human figure, cut out of stone, and covered with emblems of unknown signification. It had two heads, one male and the other female, with the rest of the body purely feminine. Specimens are to be found in some of the museums of Continental cities.

The word Baphomet is supposed to be a corruption - arising from the negligence of some transcriber - of the name Mahomet, occurring in the deposi tions of witnesses against the unfortunate Templars, who were accused of having a leaning to the faith of the Arabian prophet.

Baptiste, Jean (zhòn bâ'test', 62). A sobriquet given to the French Canadians, these being very common Christian names among them. Barataria (ba-rå-tá're-å). [Sp., from barato, cheap] Sancho Panza's island-city, in Cervantes's romance of "Don Quixote." "Sancho then, with all his attendants, arrived at a town containing about a thousand inhabitants. They gave him to understand that it was called the island of Barataria, either because Barataria was really the name of the place, or because he obtained the government of it at so cheap a rate. On his arrival near the gates of the town, the municipal officers came out to receive him. Presently after, with certain ridiculous ceremonies, they presented him with the keys of the town, and constituted him perpetual governor of the island of Barataria.'

Sancho Panza, in his island of Barataria, neither administered justice more wisely, nor was interrupted more provokingly in his personal indulgences. Shelley.

I don't eat side-dishes; and as for the roast beef of Old England, why, the meat was put on the table and whisked away like Sancho's inauguration feast at Barataria. Thackeray. Bar'ba-son (-sn). The name of a fiend mentioned by Shakespeare, "Merry Wives of Windsor," a. ii., sc. 2, and "Henry V.," a. ii., sc. 1. Barber Poet.

A name sometimes given to Jacques Jasmin (1798–1864), a popular poet of Gascony, and a barber or hair-dresser by occupation. Bar-dell', Mrs. A widow landlady in Dickens's "Pickwick Papers," celebrated for the suit which she brought against Mr. Pickwick for an alleged breach of promise to marry her. Bard of Ã'von. A surname often applied to Shakespeare, who was born and buried in Stratford-upon-Avon. Bard of Ayrshire. A name often given to Robert Burns, the great peasant-poet of Scotland, who was a native and resident of the county of Ayr.

Bard of Hope. A title sometimes given to Thomas Campbell (17771844), author of "The Pleasures of Hope," one of the most beautiful didactic poems in the language. Bard of Memory. A name used to designate the poet Rogers (17621855), author of "The Pleasures of Memory."

The Bard of Memory slumbered on his laurels, and he of Hope had scarce begun to attract his share of public attention. Sir W. Scott.

Bard of Olney. An appellation sometimes conferred upon the poet Cowper, who resided for many years at Olney, in Buckinghamshire. Bard of Rydal Mount. A surname sometimes applied to the poet Wordsworth (1770-1850), who resided from 1813 until his death at Rydal, a chapelry of England, in the county of Westmoreland. His dwelling commanded a beautiful view of the lake of Rydal and of a part of Windermere. Bard of Twick'en-ham. A naine often given to the poet Pope (16881744), who resided at Twickenham for the last thirty years of his life.

Of all the abject and despicable driveling, ever driveled by clerk or layman, is all that

late driveling about the eternal principles of poetry, and the genius of the Bard of Twickenham. Blackwood's Mag.

Bar'dolph. A follower of Falstaff, a bravo, and a humorist, in Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor," and in the two parts of " King Henry IV."

We are much of the mind of Falstaff's tailor. We must have better assurance for Sir John than Bardolph's. We like not the security. Macaulay.

Sala.

Though, like Bardolph, I have nothing, and cannot even coin my nose for guineas, or my blood for drachmas, it is not the less flattering to a man's minor vanities to receive a begging letter. Bâre'bone's Parliament. (Eng. Hist.) A nickname conferred upon the Parliament convened by Cromwell, July 4, 1653. It was composed of 139 persons, who resigned their authority Dec. 12, 1653; and it was so called from a fanatical leatherseller named Praise-God Barebone, who was one of the principal members, and was notorious for his long prayers and sermons. [Called also Little Parliament.]

Bar'guest. (Fairy Myth.) A frightful goblin, armed with teeth and claws, which is an object of terror in the North of England. According to Ritson ("Fairy Tales," p. 58), the Barguest, besides its many other pranks, would sometimes, in the dead of night, in passing through the different streets, set up the most horrid and continuous shrieks, in order to scare the poor girls who might happen to be out of bed. It was generally believed that the faculty of seeing this goblin was peculiar to certain individuals, but that the gift could be imparted to another, at the time of the ghost's appearance, by the mere act of touching.

Bar'me-cide, The. A prince of the illustrious family of the same name, which flourished at Bagdad contemporaneously with the Caliph HarounAl-Raschid and his predecessors; represented in the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments " as ordering rich viands for a famished beggar named Shacabac, and, before they could be brought, calling upon him to help himself to the different dishes, naming them one after another. The beggar humored the joke, pretending to eat, and praising the entertainment, and -even protesting that he could eat no more. In the end, the eccentric host, pleased with the patient complaisance of his guest, ordered a real and sumptuous entertainment for him, in place of that of which he had previously partaken only in imagination.

It is, to be sure, something like the feast which the Barmecide served up to Alnaschar [Shacabac]; and we cannot expect to get fat upon such diet. Sir W. Scott. The Barmecide's dinner to Shacabac was only one degree removed from these solemn banquets. Thackeray.

As for Karl Albert, he had his new pleasant dream of sovereignty at Prag: Titular of Upper Austria, and now of Böhmen as well, and enjoyed his Feast of the Barmecide, and glorious repose in the captured metropolis after difficulty overcome. Carlyle. Bar'na-by, Widow. The title of a novel by Mrs. Trollope, and the name of its heroine, who is distinguished for her husband - hunting schemes, her pretension, vulgar assurance, and want of principle. Barnaby Rudge. See RUDGE, BAR

NABY.

Bar'na-dine. A dissolute and reck

less character, "fearless of what 's past, present, and to come," who figures in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure."

Barn-burners. 1. Lawless individ

uals who secretly set fire to the barns of the great landed proprietors in the State of New York, in the first half of the nineteenth century.

2. A nickname formerly given to the more radical and progressive section of the Democratic party in the United States, who aimed at removing the abuses connected with banks and corporations, in allusion to the story of an old Dutchman who relieved himself of rats by burning his barns, which they infested. Barn'well, George. The hero of Lillo's tragedy of the same name, founded on an old ballad. Barnwell is a London apprentice hurried on to ruin and murder by an infamous woman, who at last delivers him up to justice and to an ignominious death. Barons, War of the. See WAR OF THE BARONS.

Barrel-Mirabeau (mir'a-bo). [Fr. Mirabeau - Tonneau.] A nickname given to Boniface Riquetti, Viscount de Mirabeau (1754-1792), brother to the great tribune. He was so called from his bulk, and the quantity of drink he usually held.

Băr'rett, Clerk, Walter. A pseudonym of Joseph A. Scoville (d. 1864), author of "The Old Merchants of New York."

Bartholo (bar/to/lo'). A doctor who plays a prominent part in Beaumarchais' comedies, 'Le Mariage de Figaro" and "Le Barbier de Séville." Bar'thol'o-mew's Day, St. [Fr. La St.-Barthélemy; Ger. Bartholomäusnacht, Bartholomew's Night, or Bluthochzeit, Blood-wedding.] (Fr. Hist.) The appellation given, in English books, to a dreadful massacre of French Protestants, commenced in Paris on the eve of the festival of St. Bartholomew, August 24, 1572. The massacre was secretly ordered by the king, Charles IX., at the instigation of his mother, the queendowager, Catharine de' Medici, and was attended by circumstances of the most fiendish cruelty. It is estimated that in all 30,000 (some authorities say 70,000) persons were murdered. Called also The Bartholomew, and The Massacre of St. Bartholomew.]

Basile (bá/zel'). A character in Beaumarchais' comedies, "Le Mariage de Figaro and "Le Barbier de Séville; a calumniator, a bigot, and a niggard. The name is used generically in French, to designate any similar character.

Bas/i-lis'co. A foolish and boastful knight in an old play called "Soliman and Perseda," so popular that his name became proverbial. Bas-sa'ni-o. The lover of Portia, in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." See PORTIA.

character in Fielding's novel of "Amelia; " a poor and pompous, but noble-minded gentleman, who swears, "by the honor and dignity of man," and is caught cooking some gruel in a saucepan for his ailing sis

ter.

Bath, Wife of. See WIFE OF BATH. See BATTLE OF THE FROGS AND MICE. Battle, The Tearless. [Gr. "Adaкρvç páxn.] (Gr. Hist.) An engagement between the Lacedæmonians, under Archidamus II., and the Arcadians and Argives (B. c. 367), in which the latter were defeated with great slaughter, while not one Spartan fell. Hence, says Plutarch, it was "known by the name of the Tearless Battle.' [Called also The Tearless Victory.] Battle of Spurs. [Fr. Journée des Eperons.] (Fr. Hist.) 1. A name given to the battle of Courtray (July 11, 1302), the first great engagement between the nobles and the burghers, which, with the subsequent battles of Bannockburn, Crecy, and Poictiers, decided the fate of feudalism.

Batra-cho/my-o-machi-a.

In

this encounter, the knights and gentlemen of France were entirely overthrown by the citizens of a Flemish manufacturing town. The French nobility rushed forward with loose bridles, and fell headlong, one after another, into an enormous ditch, which lay between them and their enemies. The whole army was annihilated; and when the spoils were gathered, there were found 4000 golden spurs to mark the extent of the knightly slaughter, and give a name to the engagement.

I beheld the Flemish weavers, with Namur and Juliers bold,

Marching homeward from the bloody Battle of the Spurs of Gold. Longfellow.

2. A name given to an affair at Guinegate, near Calais (August 18, 1513), in which the English troops under Henry VIII. defeated the French forces. The allusion is said to be to the unusual energy of the beaten party in riding off the field.

Battle of the Barriers. (Fr. Hist.)

The name of a battle fought under the walls of Paris, on the 30th of March, 1814, between the forces under Napoleon and the armies of the allied sovereigns. The latter, after an obstinate contest, gained the victory, which led to the capitulation of Paris, and the abdication of Napoleon.

Battle of the Books. The subject of a satirical composition by Swift, entitled "The Battle. between the Ancient and Modern Books in St. James's Library," alluding to a celebrated controversy among the literary men of his day regarding the respective merits of ancient and modern learning.

Battle of the Frogs and Mice. [Gr. Barpaxouvoμaxía, Lat. Batrachomyomachia.] The subject of a mockheroic poem, ascribed to Homer, but evidently of a much later origin, and apparently designed to travesty the "Iliad" and "Odyssey."

Battle of the Giants. (Fr. Hist.) A name given to the celebrated battle of Marignano (Melegnano), Sept. 13, 1515, in which Francis I. of France fought against the Swiss, who were led by the Duke of Milan. Francis lost, upon this occasion, 8000 of his best troops, but displayed extraordinary generalship, and acquired extensive fame.

Battle of the Herrings. (Eng. Hist.) A name given by historians to an engagement which took place Feb. 12, 1429, in which Sir John Fastolfe, an English general, at the head of 1500 men, gained a victory over 6000 Frenchmen near Orleans, and brought a convoy of stores in safety to the English camp before that place. The stores comprised a large quantity of herrings.

Battle of the Kegs. The subject and title of a mock-heroic poem by Francis Hopkinson (1738-1791). This ballad, very famous in the time of the American Revolution, was occasioned by a real incident.

"Certain machines in the form of kegs, charged with gunpowder, were sent down the river to annoy the British

The

shipping then at Philadelphia. danger of these machines being discovered, the British manned the wharfs and shipping, and discharged their smallarms and cannons at every thing they saw floating in the river during the ebb

tide."

Author's Note. Battle of the Nations. A name sometimes given to the battle of Leipsic (1813), one of the greatest and most sanguinary battles of modern times, on account of the various nationalities, French, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, &c., which were there represented.

Battle of the Poets. The subject and title of a poem (1725) by John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, in which he brings all the versifiers of the time into the field.

Battle of the Standard. (Eng. Hist.) A name given to an engagement between the English and Scotch at Northallerton, Yorkshire, Aug. 22, 1138, resulting in the defeat of the latter. It was so called on account of a high crucifix borne by the English upon a wagon as a military ensign.

Battle of the Thirty. [Fr. Combat des Trente.] (Eng. & Fr. Hist.) A name given to a celebrated engagement which took place at a spot known as Midway Oak, half-way between the castles of Josselin and Ploermel, in France, March 27, 1351. The French General Beaumanoir, commanding the former post, being enraged at the depredations committed by Bemborough, the English general, occupying the latter position, challenged him to fight. Upon this, it was agreed that thirty knights of each party should meet and decide the contest. The two chiefs presented themselves at the head of their best soldiers, and the battle began in earnest. At the first onset, the English were successful; but Bemborough having been killed, the French renewed the struggle with redoubled courage, and finally won the victory.

This was one of the most heroic exploits of the age, and gained such popularity, that, more than a hundred

years later, when speaking of a hard contest, it was usual to say, "There was never such hard fighting since the Battle of the Thirty."

Bau'cis. [Gr. Baūkis.] (Gr. & Rom. Myth.) An aged Phrygian woman, who, with her husband, Philemon, hospitably received Jupiter and Mercury, after every one else in the place had refused to entertain them. The gods visited the country with an inundation, but saved Baucis and Philemon, and converted their humble dwelling into a magnificent temple, of which this pious couple became the priests. Having expressed a wish to die together, when the time of their departure should come, Jupiter granted their request by changing them simultaneously into two trees before the temple. Bavieca (ba-ve-a/ka). The name of a

famous steed of the Cid. He survived his master two years and a half, during which time no one was permitted to mount him. When he died, he was buried before the gate of the monastery at Valencia, in the public place, and two elms were planted upon the grave, the one at his head, the other at his feet.

Bay'ard (Fr. pron. bi'ar'). 1. A famous horse, of incredible swiftness, belonging to the four sons of Aymon. (See AYMON.) He was of the ordinary size when only one of them wished to ride, but, when all four were to be carried, he had the power of elongating his body till it was of the requisite dimensions. Many wonderful things are related of him. It is said that one of his foot-prints is to be seen in the forest of Soignes in Brabant, and another on a rock near Dinant.

2. The same name is given in the old romances and romantic poems to Rinaldo's famous steed, a wonderful animal of a bright bay color, which had formerly belonged to Amadis de Gaul. He was found by Malagigi, the wizard knight and cousin to Rinaldo, in a grotto, together with a suit of arms and the sword Fusberta, under the watch of a dragon whom