Chapter II: Part 2

He soon gave to the policy of the monarchy a resolution which had long been wanting. When the emperor of Austria summoned a meeting of the German princes at Frankfort to discuss a reform of the confederation, Bismarck insisted that the king of Prussia must not attend. He remained away, and his absence in itself made the congress unavailing. There can be no doubt that from the time he entered on office Bismarck was determined to bring to an issue the long struggle for supremacy in Germany between the house of Habsburg and the house of Hohenzollern. Before he was able to complete his preparations for this, two unforeseen occurrences completely altered the European situation, and caused the conflict to be postponed for three years. The first was the outbreak of rebellion in Poland. Bismarck, an inheritor of the older Prussian traditions, and recollecting how much of the greatness of Prussia had been gained at the expense of the Poles, offered his help to the tsar. By this he placed himself in opposition to the universal feeling of western Europe; no act of his life added so much to the repulsion with which at this time he was regarded as an enemy of liberty and right. He won, however, the gratitude of the tsar and the support of Russia, which in the next years was to be of vital service to him. Even more serious were the difficulties arising in Denmark. On the death of King Frederick VII. in 1863, Prince Frederick of Augustenburg came forward as claimant to the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had hitherto been joined to the crown of Denmark. He was strongly supported by the whole German nation and by many of its princes. Bismarck, however, once more was obliged to oppose the current of national feeling, which imperiously demanded that the German duchies should be rescued from a foreign yoke. Prussia was bound by the treaty of London of 1852, which guaranteed the integrity of the Danish monarchy; to have disregarded this would have been to bring about a coalition against Germany similar to that of 1851. Moreover, he held that it would be of no advantage to Prussia to create a new German state; if Denmark were to lose the duchies, he desired that Prussia should acquire them, and to recognize the Augustenburg claims would make this impossible. His resistance to the national desire made him appear a traitor to his country. To check the agitation he turned for help to Austria; and an alliance of the two powers, so lately at variance, was formed. He then falsified all the predictions of the opposition by going to war with Denmark, not, as they had required, in support of Augustenburg, but on the ground that the king of Denmark had violated his promise not to oppress his German subjects. Austria continued to act with Prussia, and, after the defeat of the Danes, at the peace of Vienna the sovereignty of the duchies was surrendered to the two allies--the first step towards annexation by Prussia. There is no part of Bismarck's diplomatic work which deserves such careful study as these events. Watched as he was by countless enemies at home and abroad, a single false step would have brought ruin and disgrace on himself; the growing national excitement would have burst through all restraint, and again, as fifteen years before, Germany divided and unorganized would have had to capitulate to the orders of foreign powers (see SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION).

War with Austria.

The peace of Vienna left him once more free to return to his older policy. For the next eighteen months he was occupied in preparing for war with Austria. For this war the was alone responsible; he undertook it deliberately as the only means of securing Prussian ascendancy in Germany. The actual cause of dispute was the disposition of the conquered duchies, for Austria now wished to put Augustenburg in as duke, a plan to which Bismarck would not assent. In 1865 a provisional arrangement was made by the treaty of Gastein, for Bismarck was not yet ready. He would not risk a war unless he was certain of success, and for this he required the alliance of Italy and French support; both he secured during the next year. In October 1865 he visited Napoleon at Biarritz and Paris. No formal treaty was made, but Napoleon promised to regard favourably an extension of Prussian power in Germany; while Bismarck led the emperor to believe that Prussia would help him in extending the frontier of France. A treaty of alliance with Italy was arranged in the spring of 1866; and Bismarck then with much difficulty overcame the reluctance of the king to embark in a war with his old ally. The results of the war entirely justified his calculations. Prussia, though opposed by all the German states except a few principalities in the north, completely defeated all her enemies, and at the end of a few weeks the whole of Germany lay at her feet.

Settlement of 1866.

The war of 1866 is more than that of 1870 the crisis of modern German history. It finally settled the controversy which had begun more than a hundred years before, and left Prussia the dominant power in Germany. It determined that the unity of Germany should be brought about not by revolutionary means as in 1848, not as in 1849 had been attempted by voluntary agreement of the princes, not by Austria, but by the sword of Prussia. This was the great work of Bismarck's life; he had completed the programme foreshadowed in his early speeches, and finished the work of Frederick the Great. It is also the turning-point in Bismarck's own life. Having secured the dominance of the crown in Prussia and of Prussia in Germany, he could afford to make a reconciliation with the parties which had been his chief opponents, and turn to them for help in building up a new Germany. The settlement of 1866 was peculiarly his work. We must notice, first, how in arranging the terms of peace he opposed the king and the military party who wished to advance on Vienna and annex part of Austrian Silesia; with greater foresight he looked to renewing the old friendship with Austria, and insisted (even with the threat of resignation) that no territory should be demanded. The southern states he treated with equal moderation, and thereby was able to arrange an offensive and defensive alliance with them. On the other hand, in order to secure the complete control of North Germany, which was his immediate object, he required that the whole of Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Nassau and the city of Frankfort, as well as the Elbe duchies, should be absorbed in Prussia. He then formed a separate confederation of the North German states, but did not attempt to unite the whole of Germany, partly because of the internal difficulties which this would have produced, partly because it would have brought about a war with France. In the new confederation he became sole responsible minister, with the title _Bundes-Kanzler_; this position he held till 1890, in addition to his former post of premier minister. In 1871 the title was altered to _Reichs-Kanzler_.

The reconciliation with the Prussian parliament he effected by bringing in a bill of indemnity for the money which had been spent without leave of parliament. The Radicals still continued their opposition, but he thereby made possible the formation of a large party of moderate Liberals, who thenceforward supported him in his new Nationalist policy. He aslo, in the constitution for the new confederation, introduced a parliament (_Bundestag_) elected by universal suffrage. This was the chief demand of the revolutionists in 1848; it was one to which in his early life he had been strongly opposed. His experience at Frankfort had diminished his dislike of popular representation, and it was probably to the advice of Lassalle that his adoption of universal suffrage was due. He first publicly proposed it just before the war; by carrying it out, notwithstanding the apprehensions of many Liberal politicians, he placed the new constitution on a firmer base than would otherwise have been possible.

Up to 1866 he had always appeared to be an opponent of the National party in Germany, now he became their leader. His next task was to complete the work which was half-finished, and it was this which brought about the second of the great wars which he undertook.

Bismarck and France.

The relations with Napoleon III. form one of the most interesting but obscurest episodes in Bismarck's career. We have seen that he did not share the common prejudice against co-operation with France. He found Napoleon willing to aid Prussia as he had aided Piedmont, and was ready to accept his assistance. There was this difference, that he asked only for neutrality, not armed assistance, and it is improbable that he ever intended to alienate any German territory; he showed himself, however, on more than one occasion, ready to discuss plans for extending French territory, on the side of Belgium and Switzerland. Napoleon, who had not anticipated the rapid success of Prussia, after the battle of Koniggratz at the request of Austria came forward as mediator, and there were a few days during which it was probable that Prussia would have to meet a French attempt to dictate terms of peace. Bismarck in this crisis by deferring to the emperor in appearance avoided the danger, but he knew that he had been deceived, and the cordial understanding was never renewed. Immediately after an armistice had been arranged, Benedetti, at the orders of the French government, demanded as recompense a large tract of German territory on the left bank of the Rhine. This Bismarck peremptorily refused, declaring that he would rather have war. Benedetti then made another proposal, submitting a draft treaty by which France was to support Prussia in adding the South German states to the new confederation, and Germany was to support France in the annexation of Luxemburg and Belgium. Bismarck discussed, but did not conclude the treaty; he kept, however, a copy of the draft in Benedetti's handwriting, and published it in _The Times_ in the summer of 1870 so as to injure the credit of Napoleon in England. The failure of the scheme made a contest with France inevitable, at least unless the Germans were willing to forgo the purpose of completing the work of German unity, and during the next four years the two nations were each preparing for the struggle, and each watching to take the other at a disadvantage.

The Ems telegram.

It is necessary, then, to keep in mind the general situation in considering Bismarck's conduct in the months immediately preceding the war of 1870. In 1867 there was a dispute regarding the right to garrison Luxemburg. Bismarck then produced the secret treaties with the southern states, an act which was, as it were, a challenge to France by the whole of Germany. During the next three years the Ultramontane party hoped to bring about an anti-Prussian revolution, and Napoleon was working for an alliance with Austria, where Beust, an old opponent of Bismarck's, was chancellor. Bismarck was doubtless well informed as to the progress of the negotiations, for he had established intimate relations with the Hungarians. The pressure at home for completing the work of German unity was so strong that he could with difficulty resist it, and in 1870 he was much embarrassed by a request from Baden to be admitted to the confederation, which he had to refuse. It is therefore not surprising that he eagerly welcomed the opportunity of gaining the goodwill of Spain, and supported by all the means in his power the offer made by Marshal Prim that Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern should be chosen king of that country. It was only by his urgent and repeated representations that the prince was persuaded against his will to accept. The negotiations were carried out with the greatest secrecy, but as soon as the acceptance was made known the French government intervened and declared that the project was inadmissable. Bismarck was away at Varzin, but on his instructions the Prussian foreign office in answer to inquiries denied all knowledge or responsibility. This was necessary, because it would have caused a bad impression in Germany had he gone to war with France in support of the prince's candidature. The king, by receiving Benedetti at Ems, departed from the policy of reserve Bismarck himself adopted, and Bismarck (who had now gone to Berlin) found himself in a position of such difficulty that he contemplated resignation. The French however, by changing and extending their demands enabled him to find a cause of war of such nature that the whole of Germany would be united against French agression. France asked for a letter of apology, and Benedetti personally requested from the king a promise that he would never allow the candidature to be resumed. Bismarck published the telegram in which this information and the refusal of the king were conveyed, but by omitting part of the telegram made it appear that the request and refusal had both been conveyed in a more abrupt form than had really been the case.[1] But even apart from this, the publication of the French demand, which could not be complied with, must have brought about a war.

In the campaign of 1870-71 Bismarck accompanied the headquarters of the army, as he had done in 1866. He was present at the battle of Gravelotte and at the surrender of Sedan, and it was on the morning of the 2nd of September that he had his famous meeting with Napoleon after the surrender of the emperor. He accompanied the king to Paris, and spent many months at Versailles. Here he was occupied chiefly with the arrangments for admitting the southern states to the confederation, and the establishment of the empire. He also underwent much anxiety lest the efforts of Thiers to bring about an interference by the neutral powers might be successful. He had to carry on the negotiations with the French preliminary to the surrender of Paris, and to enforce upon them the German terms of peace.

After 1870.

For Bismarck's political career after 1870 we must refer to the article GERMANY, for he was thenceforward entirely absorbed in the affairs of his country. The foreign policy he controlled absolutely. As chancellor he was responsible for the whole internal policy of the empire, and his influence is to be seen in every department of state, especially, however, in the great change of policy after 1878. During the earlier period the estrangement from the Conservatives, which had begun in 1866, became very marked, and brought about a violent quarrel with many of his old friends, which culminated in the celebrated Arnim trial. He incurred much criticism during the struggle with the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1873 he was shot at and slightly wounded by a youth called Rullmann, who professed to be an adherent of the Clerical party. Once before, in 1866, just before the outbreak of war, his life had been attempted by a young man called Cohen, a native of Wurttemberg, who wished to save Germany from a fratricidal war. In 1872 he retired from the presidency of the Prussian ministry, but returned after a few months. On several occasions he offered to retire, but the emperor always refused his consent, on the last time with the word "Never." In 1877 he took a long leave of absence for ten months. His health at this time was very bad. In 1878 he presided over the congress of Berlin. The following years were chiefly occupied, besides foreign affairs, which were always his first care, with important commercial reforms, and he held at this time also the office of Prussian minister of trade in addition to his other posts. During this period his relations with the Reichstag were often very unsatisfactory, and at no time did he resort so freely to prosecutions in the law-courts in order to injure his opponents, so that the expression _Bismarck-Beleidigung_ was invented. He was engaged at this time in a great struggle with the Social-Democrats, whom he tried to crush by exceptional penal laws. The death of the emperor William in 1888 made a serious difference in his position. He had been bound to him by a long term of loyal service, which had been rewarded with equal loyalty. For his relations to the emperors Frederick and William II., and for the events connected with his dismissal from office in March 1890, we must refer to the articles under those names.

After his retirement he resided at Friedrichsruh, near Hamburg, a house on his Leuenburg estates. His criticisms of the government, given sometimes in conversation, sometimes in the columns of the _Hamburger Nachrichten_, caused an open breach between him and the emperor; and the new chancellor, Count Caprivi, in a circular despatch which was afterwards published, warned all German envoys that no real importance must be attached to what he said. When he visited Vienna for his son's wedding the German ambassador, Prince Reuss, was forbidden to take any notice of him. A reconciliation was effected in 1893. In 1895 his eightieth birthday was celebrated with great enthusiasm: the Reichstag alone, owing to the opposition of the Clericals and the Socialists, refused to vote an address. In 1891 he had been elected a member of the Reichstag, but he never took his seat. He died at Friedrichsruh on the 31st of July 1898.

Bismarck was made a count in 1865; in 1871 he received the rank of Furst (prince). On his retirement the emperor created him duke of Lauenburg, but he never used the title, which was not inherited by his son. In 1866 he received L60,000 as his share of the donation voted by the Reichstag for the victorious generals. With this he purchased the estate of Varzin in Pomerania, which henceforth he used as a country residence in preference to Schonhausen. In 1871 the emperor presented him with a large part of the domains of the duchy of Lauenburg. On his seventieth birthday a large sum of money (L270,000) was raised by public subscription, of which half was devoted to repurchasing the estate of Schonhausen for him, and the rest was used by him to establish a fund for the assistance of schoolmasters. As a young man he was an officer in the Landwehr and militia, and in addition to his civil honours he was eventually raised to the rank of general. Among the numerous orders he received we may mention that he was the first Protestant on whom the pope bestowed the order of Christ; this was done after the cessation of the Kulturkampf and the reference of the dispute with Spain concerning the Caroline Islands to the arbitration of the pope.

Bismarck's wife died in 1894. He left one daughter and two sons. Herbert (1840-1904), the elder, was wounded at Mars-le-Tour, afterwards entered the foreign office, and acted as private secretary to his father (1871-1881). In 1882 he became councillor to the embassy at London, in 1884 was transferred to St Petersburg, and in 1885 became under-secretary of state for foreign affairs. In 1884 he had been elected to the Reichstag, but had to resign his seat when, in 1886, he was made secretary of state for foreign affairs and Prussian minister. He conducted many of the negotiations with Great Britain on colonial affairs. He retired in 1890 at the same time as his father, and in 1893 was again elected to the Reichstag. He married Countess Margarete Hoyos in 1892, and died on the 18th of September 1904. He left two daughters and three sons, of whom the eldest, Otto Christian Archibald (b. 1897), succeeded to the princely title. The second son, Wilhelm, who was president of the province of Prussia, died in 1901. By his wife, Sybilla von Arnim-Krochlendorff, he left three daughters and a son, Count Nikolaus (b. 1896).

AUTHORITIES.--The literature on Bismarck's life is very extensive, and
it is only possible to enumerate a few of the most important books.
The first place belongs to his own works. These include his own
memoirs, published after his death, under the title _Gedanken und
Erinnerungen_; there is an English translation, _Bismarck: his
Reflections and Reminiscences_ (London, 1898). They are incomplete,
but contain very valuable discussions on particular points. The
speeches are of the greatest importance both for his character and for
political history; of the numerous editions that by Horst Kehl, in 12
vols. (Stuttgart, 1892-1894), is the best; there is a cheap edition in
Reclam's _Universalbibliothek._ Bismarck was an admirable
letter-writer, and numbers of his private letters have been published;
a collected edition has been brought out by Horst Kohl. His letters to
his wife were published by Prince Herbert Bismarck (Stuttgart, 1900).
A translation of a small selection of the private letters was
published in 1876 by F. Maxse. Of great value for the years 1851-1858
is the corrspondence with General L. v. Gerlach, which has been edited
by Horst Kohl (3rd ed., Berlin, 1893). A selection of the political
letters was also published under the title _Politische Briefe aus den
Jahren 1849-1899_ (2nd ed., Berlin, 1890). Of far greater importance
are the collections of despatches and state papers edited by Herr v.
Poschinger. These include four volumes entitled _Preussen im
Bundestag, 1851-1859_ (4 vols., Leipzig, 1882-1885), which contain his
despatches during the time he was at Frankfort. Next in importance are
two works, _Bismarck als Volkswirth_ and _Aktenstucke zur
Wirthschaftspolitik des Fursten Bismarck_, which are part of the
collection of state papers, _Akenstucke zur Geschichte der
Wirthschaftspolitik in Preussen._ They contain full information on
Bismarck's commercial policy, including a number of important state
papers. A useful general collection is that by Ludwig Hahn, _Bismarck,
sein politisches Leben_, &c. (5 vols., Berlin, 1878-1891), which
includes a selection from letters, speeches and newspaper articles.
These collections have only been possible owing to the extreme
generosity which Bismarck showed in permitting the publication of
documents; he always professed to have no secrets. A full account of
the diplomatic history from 1863 to 1866 is given by Sybel in _Die
Begrundung des deutschen Reichs_ (Munich, 1889-1894), written with the
help of the Prussian archives. The last two volumes, covering
1866-1870, are of less value, as he was not able to use the archives
for this period. Poschinger has also edited a series of works in which
anecdotes, minutes of interviews and conversations are recorded; they
are, however, of very unequal value. They are _Bismarck und die
Parlamentarier, Furst Bismarck und der Bundesrath, Die Ansprache des
Fursten Bismarck, Neue Tischgesprache_, and _Bismarck und die
Diplomaten_. Selections from these have been published in English by
Charles Lowe, _The Tabletalk of Prince Bismarck_, and by Sidney
Whitman, _Conversations with Bismarck_. By far the fullest guide to
Bismarck's life is Horst Kohl's _Furst Bismarck, Regesten zu einer
wissenschaftlichen Biographie_ (Leipzig, 1891-1892), which contains a
record of Bismarck's actions on each day, with references to and
extracts from his letters and speeches. For the works of Moritz Busch,
which contain graphic pictures of his daily life, see the article
BUSCH. Further materials were published periodically in the
_Bismarck-Jahrbuch_, edited by Horst Kohl (Berlin, 1894-1896;
Stuttgart, 1897-1899). Herr v. Poschinger also brought out a _Bismarck
Portfeuille_. Of German biographies may be mentioned Hans Blum,
_Bismarck und seine Zeit_ (6 vols., Munich, 1894-1895), with a volume
of appendices, &c. (1898); Heyck, _Bismarck_ (Bielefeld, 1898);
Kreutzer, _Otto von Bismarck_ (2 vols., Leipzig, 1900);
Klein-Hattingen, _Bismarck und seine Welt, 1815-1871_, Bd. i. (Berlin,
1902); Lenz, _Geschichte Bismarcks_ (Leipzig, 1902); Penzler, _Furst
Bismarck nach seiner Entlassung_ (7 vols., ib. 1897-1898); Liman, one
volume under the same title (ib. 1901). There are English biographies
by Charles Lowe, _Bismarck, a Political Biography_ (revised edition in
1 vol., 1895), by James Headlam (1899), and by F. Stearns
(Philadelphia, 1900). A useful bibliography of all works on Bismarck
up to 1895 is Paul Schulze and Otto Koller's _Bismarck-Literatur_
(Leipzig, 1896). (J. W. He.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] It was not till many years later that our knowledge of these
events (which is still incomplete) was established; in 1894 the
publication of the memoirs of the king of Rumania showed, what had
hitherto been denied, that Bismarck had taken a leading part in
urging the election of the prince of Hohenzollern. It was in 1892
that the language used by Bismarck himself made it necessary for the
German government to publish the original form of the Ems telegram.

BISMARCK, the capital of North Dakota, U.S.A., and the county-seat of Burleigh county, on the E. bank of the Missouri river, in the S. central part of the state. Pop. (1890) 2186, (1900) 3319, of whom 746 were foreign-born, (1905) 4913, (1910) 5443. It is on the main line of the Northern Pacific, and on the Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie railways; and steamboats run from here to Mannhaven, Mercer county, and Fort Yates, Morton county. The city is about 1650 ft. above sea-level. It contains the state capitol, the state penitentiary, a U.S. land office, a U.S. surveyor-general's office, a U.S. Indian school and a U.S. weather station; about a mile S. of the city is Fort Lincoln, a United States army post. Bismarck is the headquarters for navigation of the upper Missouri river, is situated in a good agricultural region, and has a large wholesale trade, shipping grain, hides, furs, wool and coal. It was founded in 1873, and was chartered as a city in 1876; from 1883 to 1889 it was the capital of Dakota Territory, on the division of which it became the capital of North Dakota.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO, the collective name of a large number of islands lying N. and N.E. of New Guinea, between 1 deg. and 7 deg. S., and 146 deg. and 153 deg. E., belonging to Germany. The largest island is New Pomerania, and the archipelago also includes New Mecklenburg, New Hanover, with small attendant islands, the Admiralty Islands and a chain of islands off the coast of New Guinea, the whole system lying in the form of a great amphitheatre of oval shape. The archipelago was named in honour of the first chancellor of the German empire, after a German protectorate had been declared in 1884. (See ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, NEW MECKLENBURG, NEW POMERANIA, NEW GUINEA.)

BISMILLAH, an Arabic exclamation, meaning "in the name of God."

BISMUTH, a metallic chemical element; symbol Bi, atomic weight 208.5 (O = 16). It was probably unknown to the Greeks and Romans, but during the middle ages it became quite familiar, notwithstanding its frequent confusion with other metals. In 1450 Basil Valentine referred to it by the name "wismut," and characterized it as a metal; some years later Paracelsus termed it "wissmat," and, in allusion to its brittle nature, affirmed it to be a "bastard" or "half-metal"; Georgius Agricola used the form "wissmuth," latinized to "bisemutum," and also the term "plumbum cineareum." Its elementary nature was imperfectly understood; and the impure specimens obtained by the early chemists explain, in some measure, its confusion with tin, lead, antimony, zinc and other metals; in 1595 Andreas Libavius confused it with antimony, and in 1675 Nicolas Lemery with zinc. These obscurities began to be finally cleared up with the researches of Johann Heinrich Pott (1692-1777), a pupil of Stahl, published in his _Exercitationes chemicae de Wismutho_ (1769), and of N. Geoffroy, son of Claude Joseph Geoffroy, whose contribution to our knowledge of this metal appeared in the _Memoires de l'academie francaise_ for 1753. Torbern Olof Bergman reinvestigated its properties and determined its reactions; his account, which was published in his _Opuscula_, contains the first fairly accurate description of the metal.

_Ores and Minerals._--The principal source of bismuth is the native metal, which is occasionally met with as a mineral, usually in reticulated and arborescent shapes or as foliated and granular masses with a crystalline fracture. Although bismuth is readily obtained in fine crystals by artificial means, yet natural crystals are rare and usually indistinct; they belong to the rhombohedral system and a cube-like rhombohedron with interfacial angles of 92 deg. 20' is the predominating form. There is a perfect cleavage perpendicular to the trigonal axis of the crystals; the fact that only two (opposite) corners of the cube-like crystals can be truncated by cleavage at once distinguishes them from true cubes. When not tarnished, the mineral has a silver-white colour with a tinge of red, and the lustre is metallic. Hardness 2-2-1/2; specific gravity 9.70-9.83. The slight variations in specific gravity are due to the presence of small amounts of arsenic, sulphur or tellurium, or to enclosed impurities.

Bismuth occurs in metalliferous veins traversing gneiss or clay-slate, and is usually associated with ores of silver and cobalt. Well-known localities are Schneeberg in Saxony and Joachimsthal in Bohemia; at the former it has been found as arborescent groups penetrating brown jasper, which material has occasionally been cut and polished for small ornaments. The mineral has been found in some Cornish mines and is fairly abundant in Bolivia (near Sorata, and at Tasna in Potosi). It is the chief commercial source of bismuth.

The oxide, bismuth ochre, Bi2O3, and the sulphide, bismuth glance or bismuthite, are also of commercial importance. The former is found, generally mixed with iron, copper and arsenic oxides, in Bohemia, Siberia, Cornwall, France (Meymac) and other localities; it also occurs admixed with bismuth carbonate and hydrate. The hydrated carbonate, bismutite, is of less importance; it occurs in Cornwall, Bolivia, Arizona and elsewhere.

Of the rarer bismuth minerals we may notice the following:--the complex sulphides, copper bismuth glance or wittichenite, BiCu3S3, silver bismuth glance, bismuth cobalt pyrites, bismuth nickel pyrites or saynite, needle ore (patrinite or aikinite), BiCuPbS3, emplectite, CuBiS2, and kobellite, BiAsPb3S6; the sulphotelluride tetradymite; the selenide guanajuatite, Bi2Se3, the basic tellurate montanite, Bi2(OH)4TeOe; the silicates eulytite and agricolite, Bi4(SiO2)3; and the urnayl arsenate walpurgite, Bi(UO2),(OH)24(A3O4)4.

_Metallurgy._--Bismuth is extracted from its ores by dry, wet, or
electro-matallurgical methods, the choice depending upon the
composition of the ore and economic conditions. The dry process is
more frequently practised, for the easy reducibility of the oxide and
sulphide, together with the low melting-point of the metal, renders it
possible to effect a ready separation of the metal from the gangue and
impurities. The extraction from ores in which the bismuth is present
in the metallic condition may be accomplished by a simple liquation,
or melting, in which the temperature is just sufficient to melt the
bismuth, or by a complete fusion of the ore. The first process never
extracts all the bisbuth, as much as one-third being retained in the
matte or speiss; the second is more satisfactory, since the extraction
is more complete, and also allows the addition of reducing agents to
decompose any admixed bismuth oxide or sulphide. In the liquidation
process the ore is heated in inclined cylindrical retorts, and the
molten metal is tapped at the lower end; the residues being removed
from the upper end. The fusion process is preferably carried out in
crucible furnaces; shaft furnaces are unsatisfactory on account of the
disintegrating action of the molten bismuth on the furnace linings.

Sulphuretted ores are smelted, either with or without a preliminary
calcination, with metallic iron; calcined ores may be smelted with
carbon (coal). The reactions are strictly analogous to those which
occur in the smelting of galena (see LEAD), the carbon reducing any
oxide, either present originally in the ore or produced in the
calcination and the iron combining with the sulphur of the bismuthite.
A certain amount of bismuth sulphate is always formed during the
calcination; this is subsequently reduced to the sulphide and
ultimately to the metal in the fusion. Calcination in reverberatory
furnaces and a subsequent smelting in the same type of furnace with
the addition of about 3% of coal, lime, soda and fluorspar, has been
adopted for treating the Bolivian ores, which generally contain the
sulphides of bismuth, copper, iron, antimony, lead and a little
silver. The lowest layer of the molten mass is principally metallic
bismuth, the succeeding layers are a bismuth copper matte, which is
subsequently worked up, and a slag. Ores containing the oxide and
carbonate are treated either by smelting with carbon or by a wet
process.

In the wet process the ores, in which the bismuth is present as oxide
or carbonate, are dissolved out with hydrochloric acid, or, if the
bismuth is to be extracted from a matte or alloy, the solvent employed
is _aqua regia_ or strong sulphuric acid. The solution of metallic
chlorides or sulphates so obtained is precipitated by iron, the
metallic bismuth filtered, washed with water, pressed in canvas bags,
and finally fused in graphite crucibles, the surface being protected
by a layer of charcoal. Another process consists in adding water to
the solution and so precipitating the bismuth as oxychloride, which is
then converted into the metal.

The crude metal obtained by the preceding processes is generally
contaminated by arsenic, sulphur, iron, nickel, cobalt and antimony,
and sometimes with silver or gold. A dry method of purification
consists in a liquation on a hearth of peculiar construction, which
occasions the separation of the unreduced bismuth sulphide and the
bulk of the other impurities. A better process is to remelt the metal
in crucibles with the addition of certain refining agents. The details
of this process vary very considerably, being conditioned by the
composition of the impure metal and the practice of particular works.
The wet refining process is more tedious and expensive, and is only
exceptionally employed, as in the case of preparing the pure metal or
its salts for pharmaceutical or chemical purposes. The basic nitrate
is the salt generally prepared, and, in general outline, the process
consists in dissolving the metal in nitric acid, adding water to the
solution, boiling the precipitated basic nitrate with an alkali to
remove the arsenic and lead, dissolving the residue in nitric acid,
and reprecipitating as basic nitrate with water. J.F.W. Hampe prepared
chemically pure bismuth by fusing the metal with sodium carbonate and
sulphur, dissolving the bismuth sulphide so formed in nitric acid,
precipitating the bismuth as the basic nitrate, re-dissolving this
salt in nitric acid, and then precipitating with ammonia. The bismuth
hydroxide so obtained is finally reduced by hydrogen.

_Properties._--Bismuth is a very brittle metal with a white
crystalline fracture and a characteristic reddish-white colour. It
crystallizes in rhombohedra belonging to the hexagonal system, having
interfacial angles of 87 deg. 40'. According to G.W.A. Kahlbaum, Roth
and Siedler (_Ziet. Anorg. Chem. 29_, p. 294), its specific gravity is
9.78143; Roberts and Wrightson give the specific gravity of solid
bismuth as 9.82, and of molten bismuth as 10.035. It therefore expands
on solidification; and as it retains this property in a number of
alloys, the metal receives extensive application in forming
type-metals. Its melting-point is variously given as 268.3 deg. (F.
Rudberg and A.D. von Riemsdijk) and 270.5 deg. (C.C. Person);
commercial bismuth melts at 260 deg. (Ledebur), and electrolytic
bismuth at 264 deg. (Classen). It vaporizes in a vacuum at 292 deg.,
and its boiling-point, under atmospheric pressure, is between 1090
deg. and 1450 deg. (T. Carnelley and W.C. Williams). Regnault
determined its specific heat between 0 deg. and 100 deg. to be 0.0308;
Kahlbaum, Roth and Siedler (_loc. cit._) give the value 0.03055. Its
thermal conductivity is the lowest of all metals, being 18 as compared
with silver as 1000; its coefficient of expansion between 0 deg. and
100 deg. is 0.001341. Its electrical conductivity is approximately
1.2, silver at 0 deg. being taken as 100; it is the most diamagnetic
substance known, and its thermoelectric properties render it
especially valuable for the construction of thermopiles.

The metal oxidizes very slowly in dry air at ordinary temperatures,
but somewhat more rapidly in moist air or when heated. In the last
case it becomes coated with a greyish-black layer of an oxide (dioxide
(?)), at a red heat the layer consists of the trioxide (Bi2O3); and is
yellow or green in the case of pure bismuth, and violet or blue if
impure; at a bright red heat it burns with a bluish flame to the
trioxide. Bismuth combines directly with the halogens, and the
elements of the sulphur group. It readily dissolves in nitric acid,
_aqua regia_ and hot sulphuric acid, but tardily in hot hydrochloric
acid. It is precipitated as the metal from solutions of its salts by
the metals of the alkalis and alkaline earths, zinc, iron, copper, &c.
In its chemical affinities it resembles arsenic and antimony; an
important distinction is that it forms no hydrogen compound analogous
to arsine and stibine.

_Alloys_.--Bismuth readily forms alloys with other metals. Treated
with sodammonium it yields a bluish-black mass, BiNa3, which takes
fire in the air and decomposes water. A brittle potassium alloy of
silver-white colour and lamellar fracture is obtained by calcining 20
parts of bismuth with 16 of cream of tartar at a strong red heat. When
present in other metals, even in very small quantity, bismuth renders
them brittle and impairs their electrical conductivity. With mercury
it forms amalgams. Bismuth is a component of many ternary alloys
characterized by their low fusibility and expansion in solidification;
many of them are used in the arts (see FUSIBLE METAL).

_Compounds_.--Bismuth forms four oxides, of which the trioxide, Bi2O3,
is the most important. This compound occurs in nature as bismuth
ochre, and may be prepared artificially by oxidizing the metal at a
red heat, or by heating the carbonate, nitrate or hydrate. Thus
obtained it is a yellow powder, soluble in the mineral acids to form
soluble salts, which are readily precipitated as basic salts when the
solution is diluted. It melts to a reddish-brown liquid, which
solidifies to a yellow crystalline mass on cooling. The Hydrate,
Bi(OH)3, is obtained as a white powder by adding potash to a solution
of a bismuth salt. Bismuth dioxide, BiO or Bi2O2, is said to be formed
by the limited oxidation of the metal, and as a brown precipitate by
adding mixed solutions of bismuth and stannous chlorides to a solution
of caustic potash. Bismuth tetroxide, Bi2O4, sometimes termed bismuth
bismuthate, is obtained by melting bismuth trioxide with potash, or by
igniting bismuth trioxide with potash and potassium chlorate. It is
also formed by oxidizing bismuth trioxide suspended in caustic potash
with chlorine, the pentoxide being formed simultaneously; oxidation
and potassium ferricyanide simply gives the tetroxide (Hauser and
Vanino, _Zeit. Anorg. Chem_., 1904, 39, p. 381). The hydrate,
Bi2O4.2H2O, is also known. Bismuth pentoxide, Bi2C5, is obtained by
heating bismuthic acid, HBiO3, to 130 deg.C.; this acid (in the form
of its salts) being the product of the continued oxidation of an
alkaline solution of bismuth trioxide.

Bismuth forms two chlorides: BiCl2 and BiCl3. The dichloride, BiCl2,
is obtained as a brown crystalline powder by fusing the metal with the
trichloride, or in a current of chlorine, or by heating the metal with
calomel to 250 deg. Water decomposes it to metallic bismuth and the
oxychloride, BiOCl. Bismuth trichloride, BiCl3, was obtained by Robert
Boyle by heating the metal with corrosive sublimate. It is the final
product of burning bismuth in an excess of chlorine. It is a white
substance, melting at 225 deg.-230 deg. and boiling at 435 deg.-441
deg. With excess of water, it gives a white precipitate of the
oxychloride, BiOCl. Bismuth trichloride forms double compounds with
hydrochloric acid, the chlorides of the alkaline metals, ammonia,
nitric oxide and nitrosyl chloride. _Bismuth trifluoride_, BiF3, a
white powder, _bismuth tribromide_, BiBr3, golden yellow crystals,
_bismuth iodide_, BiI3, greyish-black crystals, are also known. These
compounds closely resemble the trichloride in their methods of
preparation and their properties, forming oxyhaloids with water, and
double compounds with ammonia, &c.

_Carbonates_.--The basic carbonate, 2(BiO)2CO3.H2O, obtained as a
white precipitate when an alkaline carbonate is added to a solution of
bismuth nitrate, is employed in medicine. Another basic carbonate,
3(BiO)2CO3.2Bi(OH)3.3H2O, constitutes the mineral bismutite.

_Nitrates_.--The normal nitrate, Bi(NO3)3.5H2O, is obtained in large
transparent asymmetric prisms by evaporating a solution of the metal
in nitric acid. The action of water on this solution produces a
crystalline precipitate of basic nitrate, probably Bi(OH)2NO3, though
it varies with the amount of water employed. This precipitate
constitutes the "magistery of bismuth" or "subnitrate of bismuth" of
pharmacy, and under the name of pearl white, _blanc d'Espagne_ or
_blanc de fard_ has long been used as a cosmetic.

_Sulphides_.--Bismuth combines directly with sulphur to form a,
disulphide, Bi2S2, and a trisulphide, Bi2S3, the latter compound being
formed when the sulphur is in excess. A hydrated disulphide,
Bi2S2.2H2O, is obtained by passing sulphuretted hydrogen into a
solution of bismuth nitrate and stannous chloride. Bismuth disulphide
is a grey metallic substance, which is decomposed by hydrochloric acid
with the separation of metallic bismuth and the formation of bismuth
trichloride. Bismuth trisulphide, Bi2S3, constitutes the mineral
bismuthite, and may be prepared by direct union of its constituents,
or as a brown precipitate by passing sulphuretted hydrogen into a
solution of a bismuth salt. It is easily soluble in nitric acid. When
heated to 200 deg. it assumes the crystalline form of bismuthite.
Bismuth forms several oxysulphides: Bi4O3S constitutes the mineral
karelinite found at the Zavodinski mine in the Altai; Bi6O3S4 and
Bi2O3S have been prepared artificially. Bismuth also forms the
sulphohaloids, BiSCl, BiSBr, BiSI, analogous to the oyxhaloids.

Bismuth sulphate, Bi2(SO4)3, is obtained as a white powder by
dissolving the metal or sulphide in concentrated sulphuric acid. Water
decomposes it, giving a basic salt, Bi2(SO4)(OH)4, which on heating
gives (BiO)2SO4. Other basic salts are known.

Bismuth forms compounds similar to the trisulphide with the elements
selenium and tellurium. The tritelluride constitutes the mineral
tetradymite, Bi2Te3.

_Analysis_.--Traces of bismuth may be detected by treating the
solution with excess of tartaric acid, potash and stannous chloride, a
precipitate or dark coloration of bismuth oxide being formed even when
only one part of bismuth is present in 20,000 of water. The blackish
brown sulphide precipitated from bismuth salts by sulphuretted
hydrogen is insoluble in ammonium sulphide, but is readily dissolved
by nitric acid. The metal can be reduced by magnesium, zinc, cadmium,
iron, tin, copper and substances like hypophosphorous acid from acid
solutions or from alkaline ones by formaldehyde. In quantitative
estimations it is generally weighed as oxide, after precipitation as
sulphide or carbonate, or in the metallic form, reduced as above.

_Pharmacology_.--The salts of bismuth are feebly antiseptic. Taken
internally the subnitrate, coming into contact with water, tends to
decompose, gradually liberating nitric acid, one of the most powerful
antiseptics. The physical properties of the powder also give it a mild
astringent action. There are no remote actions.

_Therapeutics_.--The subnitrate of bismuth is invaluable in certain
cases of dyspepsia, and still more notably so in diarrhoea. It owes
its value to the decomposition described above, by means of which a
powerful antiseptic action is safely and continuously exerted. There
is hardly a safer drug. It may be given in drachm doses with impunity.
It colours the faeces black owing to the formation of sulphide.

BISMUTHITE, a somewhat rare mineral, consisting of bismuth trisulphide, Bi2S3. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and is isomorphous with stibnite (Sb2S3), which it closely resembles in appearance. It forms loose interlacing aggregates of acicular crystals without terminal faces (only in a single instance has a terminated crystal been observed), or as masses with a foliated or fibrous structure. An important character is the perfect cleavage in one direction parallel to the length of the needles. The colour is lead-grey inclining to tin-white and often with a yellowish or iridescent tarnish. The hardness is 2; specific gravity 6.4-6.5. Bismuthite occurs at several localities in Cornwall and Bolivia, often in association with native bismuth and tin-ores. Other localities are known; for instance, Brandy Gill in Caldbeck Fells, Cumberland, where with molybdenite and apatite it is embedded in white quartz. The mineral was known to A. Cronstedt in 1758, and was named bismuthine by F.S. Beudant in 1832. This name, which is also used in the forms bismuthite and bismuthinite, is rather unfortunate, since it is readily confused with bismite (bismuth oxide) and bismutite (basic bismuth carbonate), especially as the latter has also been used in the form bismuthite. The name bismuth-glance or bismutholamprite for the species under consideration is free from this objection. (L. J. S.)

BISMYA, a group of ruin mounds, about 1 m. long and 1/2 m. wide, consisting of a number of low ridges, nowhere exceeding 40 ft. in height, lying in the Jezireh, somewhat nearer to the Tigris than the Euphrates, about a day's journey to the south-east of Nippur, a little below 32 deg. N. and about 45 deg. 40' E. Excavations conducted here for six months, from Christmas of 1903 to June 1904, for the university of Chicago, by Dr Edgar J. Banks, proved that these mounds covered the site of the ancient city of Adab (Ud-Nun), hitherto known only from a brief mention of its name in the introduction to the Khammurabi code (c. 2250 B.C.). The city was divided into two parts by a canal, on an island in which stood the temple, E-mach, with a _ziggurat_, or stage tower. It was evidently once a city of considerable importance, but deserted at a very early period, since the ruins found close to the surface of the mounds belong to Dungi and Ur Gur, kings of Ur in the earlier part of the third millennium B.C. Immediately below these, as at Nippur, were found the remains of Naram-Sin and Sar-gon, c. 3000 B.C. Below these there were still 35 ft. of stratified remains, constituting seven-eighths of the total depth of the ruins. Besides the remains of buildings, walls, graves, &c., Dr Banks discovered a large number of inscribed clay tablets of a very early period, bronze and stone tablets, bronze implements and the like. But the two most notable discoveries were a complete statue in white marble, apparently the most ancient yet found in Babylonia (now in the museum in Constantinople), bearing the inscription--"E-mach, King Da-udu, King of Ud-Nun"; and a temple refuse heap, consisting of great quantities of fragments of vases in marble, alabaster, onyx, porphyry and granite, some of which were inscribed, and others engraved and inlaid with ivory and precious stones. (J. P. Pe.)

BISON, the name of the one existing species of European wild ox, _Bos (Bison) bonasus_, known in Russian as _zubr_. Together with the nearly allied New World animal known in Europe as the (North) American bison, but in its own country as "buffalo," and scientifically as _Bos (Bison) bison_, the bison represents a group of the ox tribe distinguished from other species by the greater breadth and convexity of the forehead, superior length of limb, and the longer spinal processes of the dorsal vertebrae, which, with the powerful muscles attached for the support of the massive head, form a protuberance or hump on the shoulders. The bisons have also fourteen pairs of ribs, while the common ox has only thirteen. The forehead and neck of both species are covered with long, shaggy hair of a dark brown colour; and in winter the whole of the neck, shoulders and hump are similarly clothed, so as to form a curly, felted mane. This mane in the European species disappears in summer; but in the American bison it is to a considerable extent persistent.

The bison is now the largest European quadruped, measuring about 10 ft. long, exclusive of the tail, and standing nearly 6 ft. high. Formerly it was abundant throughout Europe, as is proved by the fossil remains of this or a closely allied form found on the continent and in England, associated with those of the extinct mammoth and rhinoceros. Caesar mentions the bison as abounding, along with the extinct aurochs or wild ox, in the forests of Germany and Belgium, where it appears to have been occasionally captured and afterwards exhibited alive in the Roman amphitheatres. At that period, and long after, it seems to have been common throughout central Europe, as we learn from the evidence of Herberstein in the 16th century. Nowadays bison are found in a truly wild condition only in the forests of the Caucasus, where they are specially protected by the Russian government. There is, however, a herd, somewhat in the condition of park-animals, in the forest of Byelovitsa, in Lithuania, where it is protected by the tsar, but nevertheless is gradually dying out. In 1862 the Lithuanian bisons numbered over 1200, but by 1872 they had diminished to 528, and in 1892 there were only 491. The prince of Pless has a small herd at Promnitz, his Silesian estate, founded by the gift of a bull and three cows by Alexander II. in 1855, his herd being the source of the menagerie supply.

Bison feed on a coarse aromatic grass, and browse on the leaves, shoots, bark and twigs of trees.

The American bison is distinguished from its European cousin by the following among other features: The hind-quarters are weaker and fall away more suddenly, while the withers are proportionately higher. Especially characteristic is the great mass of brown or blackish brown hair clothing the head, neck and forepart of the body. The shape of the skull and horns is also different; the horns themselves being shorter, thicker, blunter and more sharply curved, while the forehead of the skull is more convex and the sockets of the eyes are more distinctly tubular. This species formerly ranged over a third of North America in countless numbers, but is now practically extinct. The great herd was separated into a northern and southern division by the completion of the Union Pacific railway, and the annual rate of destruction from 1870 to 1875 has been estimated at 2,500,000 head. In 1880 the completion of the Northern Pacific railway led to an attack upon the northern herd. The last of the Dakota bisons were destroyed by Indians in 1883, leaving then less than 1000 wild individuals in the United State.

A count which was concluded at the end of February 1903, put the number of captive bisons at 1119, of which 969 were in parks and zoological gardens in the United States, 41 in Canada and 109 in Europe. At the same time it was estimated that there were 34 wild bison in the United States and 600 in Canada.

In England small herds are kept by the duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, and by Mr C.J. Leyland at Haggerston Castle, Northumberland.

Two races of the American bison have been distinguished--the typical prairie form, and the woodland race, _B. bison athabascae_; but the two are very similar. (R. L.*)

BISQUE (a French word of unknown origin, formerly spelt in English "bisk"), a term for odds given in the games of tennis, lawn tennis, croquet and golf; in the two former a bisque is one point to be taken at any time during a "set" at the choice of the receiver of the odds, while in croquet and golf it is one extra stroke to be taken similarly during a game. The name is given, in cookery, to a thick soup, made particularly of crayfish or lobsters.

BISSELL, GEORGE EDWIN (1839- ), American sculptor, son of a quarryman and marble-cutter, was born at New Preston, Connecticut, on the 16th of February 1839. During the Civil War he served as a private in the 23rd Connecticut volunteers in the Department of the Gulf (1862-1863), and on being mustered out became acting assistant paymaster in the South Atlantic squadron. At the close of the war he joined his father in business. He studied the art of sculpture abroad in 1875-1876, and lived much in Paris during the years 1883-1896, with occasional visits to America. Among his more important works are the soldiers' and sailors' monument, and a statue of Colonel Chatfield, at Waterbury, Connecticut; and statues of General Gates at Saratoga, New York, of Chancellor John Watts in Trinity churchyard, New York City; of Colonel Abraham de Peyster in Bowling Green, New York City; of Abraham Lincoln at Edinburgh; of Burns and "Highland Mary," in Ayr, Scotland; of Chancellor James Kent, in the Congressional library, Washington; and of President Arthur in Madison Square, New York City.

BISSEXT, or BISSEXTUS (Lat. _bis_, twice; _sextus_, sixth), the day intercalated by the Julian calendar in the February of every fourth year to make up the six hours by which the solar year was computed to exceed the year of 365 days. The day was inserted after the 24th of February, i.e. the 6th day before the calends (1st) of March; there was consequently, besides the _sextus_, or sixth before the calends, the _bis-sextus_ or "second sixth," our 25th of February. In modern usage, with the exception of ecclesiastical calendars, the intercalary day is added for convenience at the end of the month, and years in which February has 29 days are called "bissextile," or leap-years.

BISTRE, the French name of a brown paint made from the soot of wood, now largely superseded by Indian ink.

BIT (from the verb "to bite," either in the sense of a piece bitten off, or an act of biting, or a thing that bites or is bitten), generally, a piece of anything; the word is, however, used in various special senses, all derivable from its origin, either literally or metaphorically. The most common of these are (1) its use as the name of various tools, e.g. centre-bit; (2) a horse's "bit," or the metal mouth-piece of the bridle; (3) in money, a small sum of money of varying value (e.g. threepenny-bit), especially in the West Indies and southern United States.