Chapter III: Part 3

BITHUR, a town in the Cawnpore district of the United Provinces of India, 12 m. N.W. of Cawnpore city. Pop. (1901) 7173. It is chiefly notable for its connexion with the mutiny of 1857. The last of the peshwas, Baji Rao, was banished to Bithur, and his adopted son, the Nana Sahib, made the town his head-quarters. It was captured by Havelock on the 19th of July 1857, when the Nana's palaces were destroyed.

BITHYNIA ([Greek: Bituvia]), an ancient district in the N.W. of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine. According to Strabo it was bounded on the E. by the river Sangarius; but the more commonly received division extended it to the Parthenius, which separated it from Paphlagonia, thus comprising the district inhabited by the Mariandyni. On the W. and S.W. it was separated from Mysia by the river Rhyndacus; and on the S. it adjoined Phrygia Epictetus and Galatia. It is in great part occupied by mountains and forests, but has valleys and districts near the sea-coast of great fertility. The most important mountain range is the (so-called) "Mysian" Olympus (7600 ft.), which towers above Brusa and is clearly visible as far away as Constantinople (70 m.). Its summits are covered with snow for a great part of the year. East of this the range now called Ala-Dagh extends far above 100 m. from the Sangarius to Paphlagonia. Both of these ranges belong to that border of mountains which bounds the great tableland of Asia Minor. The country between them and the coast, covered with forests and traversed by few lines of route, is still imperfectly known. But the broad tract which projects towards the west as far as the shores of the Bosporus, though hilly and covered with forests--the Turkish Aghatch Denizi, or "The Ocean of Trees"--is not traversed by any mountain chain. The west coast is indented by two deep inlets, (1) the northernmost, the Gulf of Ismid (anc. Gulf of Astacus), penetrating between 40 and 50 m. into the interior as far as Ismid (anc. Nicomedia), separated by an isthmus of only about 25 m. from the Black Sea; (2) the Gulf of Mudania or Gemlik (Gulf of Cius), about 25 m. long. At its extremity is situated the small town of Gemlik (anc. Cius) at the mouth of a valley, communicating with the lake of Isnik, on which was situated Nicaea.

The principal rivers are the Sangarius (mod. Sakaria), which traverses the province from south to north; the Rhyndacus, which separated it from Mysia; and the Billaeus (Filiyas), which rises in the Ala-Dagh, about 50 m. from the sea, and after flowing by Boli (anc. Claudiopolis) falls into the Euxine, close to the ruins of the ancient Tium, about 40 m. north-east of Heraclea, having a course of more than 100 m. The Parthenius (mod. Bartan), the boundary of the province towards the east, is a much less considerable stream.

The natural resources of Bithynia are still imperfectly developed. Its vast forests would furnish an almost inexhaustible supply of timber, if rendered accessible by roads. Coal also is known to exist near Eregli (Heraclea). The valleys towards the Black Sea abound in fruit trees of all kinds, while the valley of the Sangarius and the plains near Brusa and Isnik (Nicaea) are fertile and well cultivated. Extensive plantations of mulberry trees supply the silk for which Brusa has long been celebrated, and which is manufactured there on a large scale.

According to ancient authors (Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo, &c.), the Bithynians were an immigrant Thracian tribe. The existence of a tribe called Thyni in Thrace is well attested, and the two cognate tribes of the Thyni and Bithyni appear to have settled simultaneously in the adjoining parts of Asia, where they expelled or subdued the Mysians, Caucones, and other petty tribes, the Mariandyni alone maintaining themselves in the north-east. Herodotus mentions the Thyni and Bithyni as existing side by side; but ultimately the latter must have become the more important, as they gave their name to the country. They were incorporated by Croesus with the Lydian monarchy, with which they fell under the dominion of Persia (546 B.C.), and were included in the satrapy of Phrygia, which comprised all the countries up to the Hellespont and Bosporus. But even before the conquest by Alexander the Bithynians appear to have asserted their independence, and successfully maintained it under two native princes, Bas and Zipoetes, the last of whom transmitted his power to his son Nicomedes I., the first to assume the title of king. This monarch founded Nicomedia, which soon rose to great prosperity, and during his long reign (278-250 B.C.), as well as those of his successors, Prusias I., Prusias II. and Nicomedes II. (149-91 B.C.), the kingdom of Bithynia held a considerable place among the minor monarchies of Asia. But the last king, Nicomedes III., was unable to maintain himself against Mithradates of Pontus, and, after being restored to his throne by the Roman senate, he bequeathed his kingdom by will to the Romans (74 B.C.). Bithynia now became a Roman province. Its limits were frequently varied, and it was commonly united for administrative purposes with the province of Pontus. This was the state of things in the time of Trajan, when the younger Pliny was appointed governor of the combined provinces (103-105 A.D.), a circumstance to which we are indebted for valuable information concerning the Roman provincial administration. Under the Byzantine empire Bithynia was again divided into two provinces, separated by the Sangarias, to the west of which the name of Bithynia was restricted.

The most important cities were Nicomedia and Nicaea, which disputed with one another the rank of capital. Both of these were founded after Alexander the Great; but at a much earlier period the Greeks had established on the coast the colonies of Cius (afterwards Prusias, mod. Gemlik); Chalcedon, at the entrance of the Bosporus, nearly opposite Constantinople; and Heraclea Pontica, on the Euxine, about 120 m. east of the Bosporus. All these rose to be flourishing places of trade, as also Prusa at the foot of M. Olympus (see BRUSA). The only other places of importance at the present day are Ismid (Nicomedia) and Scutari.

See C. Texier, _Asie Mineure_ (Paris, 1839); G. Perrot, _Calatie et
Bithynie_ (Paris, 1862); W. von Diest in _Petermanns Mittheilungen_,
Ergansungshelt, 116 (Gotha, 1895). (E. H. B.; F. W. Ha.)

BITLIS, or BETLIS (Arm. _Paghesh_), the chief town of a vilayet of the same name in Asiatic Turkey, situated at an altitude of 4700 ft. in the deep, narrow valley of the Bitlis Chai, a tributary of the Tigris. The main part of the town and the bazaars are crowded alongside the stream, while suburbs with scattered houses among orchards and gardens extend up two tributary streams. The houses are massive and well built of a soft volcanic tufa, and with their courtyards and gardens climbing up the hillsides afford a striking picture. At the junction of two streams in the centre of the town is a fine old castle, partly ruined, which, according to local tradition, occupies the site of a fortress built by Alexander the Great. It is apparently an Arab building, as Arabic inscriptions appear on the walls, but as the town stands on the principal highway between the Van plateau and the Mesopotamian plain it must always have been of strategic importance. The bazaars are crowded, covered across with branches in summer, and typical of a Kurdish town. The population numbers 35,000, of whom about 12,000 are Armenians and the remainder are Kurds or of Kurdish descent.

Kurdish beys and sheids have much influence in the town and wild mountain districts adjoining, while the Sasun mountains, the scene of successive Armenian revolutions of late years, are not far off to the west. The town was ruled by a semi-independent Kurdish bey as late as 1836. There are some fine old mosques and _medresses_ (colleges), and the Armenians have a large monastery and churches. There are British, French and Russian consuls in the town, and a branch of the American Mission with schools is established also. The climate is healthy and the thermometer rarely falls below 0 deg. Fahr., but there is a heavy snowfall and the narrow streets are blocked for some five months in the year.

A good road runs southward down the pass, passing after a few miles some large chalybeate and sulphur springs. Roads also lead north to Mush and Erzerum and along the lake to Van. Postal communication is through Erzerum with Trebizond. Tobacco of an inferior quality is largely grown, and the chief industry is the weaving of a coarse red cloth. Manna and gum tragacanth are also collected. Fruit is also plentiful, and there are many vineyards close by.

The Bitlis vilayet comprises a very varied section of Asiatic Turkey, as it includes the Mush plain and the plateau country west of Lake Van, as well as a large extent of wild mountain districts inhabited by turbulent Kurds and Armenians on either side of the central town of Bitlis, also some of the lower country about Sairt along the left bank of the main stream of the Tigris. The mountains have been little explored, but are believed to be rich in minerals, iron, lead, copper, traces of gold and many mineral springs are known to exist. (F. R. M.)

BITONTO (anc. _Butunti_), a town and episcopal see of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Bari, 10 m. west by steam tramway from Bari. Pop. (1901) 30,617. It was a place of no importance in classical times. Its medieval walls are still preserved. Its cathedral is one of the finest examples of the Romanesque architecture of Apulia, and has escaped damage from later restorations. The palazzo Sylos-Labini has a fine Renaissance court of 1502.

BITSCH (Fr. _Bitche_), a town of Germany, in Alsace-Lorraine, on the Horn, at the foot of the northern slope of the Vosges between Hagenau and Saargemund. Pop. (1905) 4000. There are a Roman Catholic and a Protestant church, a classical school and an academy of forestry. The industries include shoe-making and watch-making, and there is some trade in grain and timber. The town of Bitsch, which was formed out of the villages of Rohr and Kaltenhausen in the 17th century, derives its name from the old stronghold (mentioned in 1172 as Bytis Castrum) standing on a rock some 250 ft. above the town. This had long given its name to the countship of Bitsch, which was originally in the possession of the dukes of Lorraine. In 1297 it passed by marriage to Eberhard I. of Zweibrucken, whose line became extinct in 1569, when the countship reverted to Lorraine. It passed with that duchy to France in 1766. After that date the town rapidly increased in population. The citadel, which had been constructed by Vauban on the site of the old castle after the capture of Bitsch by the French in 1624, had been destroyed when it was restored to Lorraine in 1698. This was restored and strengthened in 1740 into a fortress that proved impregnable in all succeeding wars. The attack upon it by the Prussians in 1793 was repulsed; in 1815 they had to be content with blockading it; and in 1870, though it was closely invested by the Germans after the battle of Worth, it held out until the end of the war. A large part of the fortification is excavated in the red sandstone rock, and rendered bomb-proof; a supply of water is secured to the garrison by a deep well in the interior.

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867- ), American sculptor, was born in Vienna on the 6th of December 1867. After studying art there, in 1889 he removed to the United States, where he became naturalized. In America he gained great popularity as a sculptor, and in 1906-1907 was president of the National Sculpture Society, New York. Among his principal works are: the Astor memorial gates, Trinity church, New York; "Elements Controlled and Uncontrolled," on the Administration Building at the Chicago Exposition; a large relief, "Triumph of Civilization," in the waiting-room of the Broad Street station of the Pennsylvania railway in Philadelphia; decorations for the Dewey Naval Arch in New York City; the "Standard Bearers," at the Pan-American Exposition grounds; a sitting statue and a bust of Dr Pepper, provost of the University of Pennsylvania; and the Villard and Hubbard memorials in the New York chamber of commerce.

BITTERFELD, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Saxony, 26 m. N. from Leipzig by rail, on the river Mulde, and an important junction of railways from Leipzig and Halle to Berlin. Pop. (1900) 11,839. It manufactures drain-pipes, paper-roofing and machinery, and has saw-mills. Several coal-mines are in the vicinity. The town was built by a colony of Flemish immigrants in 1153. It was captured by the landgrave of Meissen in 1476, and belonged thenceforth to Saxony, until it was ceded to Prussia in 1815. Owing to its pleasant situation and accessibility, it has become a favourite residence of business men of Leipzig and Halle.

BITTERLING (_Rhodeus amarus_), a little carp-like fish of central Europe, belonging to the Cyprinid family. In it we have a remarkable instance of symbiosis. The genital papilla of the female acquires a great development during the breeding season and becomes produced into a tube nearly as long as the fish itself; this acts as an ovipositor by means of which the comparatively few and large eggs (3 millimetres in diameter) are introduced through the gaping valves between the branchiae of pond mussels (_Unio_ and _Anodonta_), where, after being inseminated, they undergo their development, the fry leaving their host about a month later. The mollusc reciprocates by throwing off its embryos on the parent fish, in the skin of which they remain encysted for some time, the period of reproduction of the fish and the mussel coinciding.

BITTERN, a genus of wading birds, belonging to the family _Ardeidae_, comprising several species closely allied to the herons, from which they differ chiefly in their shorter neck, the back of which is covered with down, and the front with long feathers, which can be raised at pleasure. They are solitary birds, frequenting countries possessing extensive swamps and marshy grounds, remaining at rest by day, concealed among the reeds and bushes of their haunts, and seeking their food, which consists of fish, reptiles, insects and small quadrupeds, in the twilight. The common bittern (_Botaurus stellaris_) is nearly as large as the heron, and is widely distributed over the eastern hemisphere. Formerly it was common in Britain, but extensive drainage and persecution have greatly dimished its numbers and it is now only an uncertain visitor. Not a winter passes without its appearing in some numbers, when its uncommon aspect, its large size, and beautifully pencilled plumage cause it to be regarded as a great prize by the lucky gun-bearer to whom it falls a victim. Its value as a delicacy for the table, once so highly esteemed, has long vanished. The old fable of this bird inserting its beak into a reed or plunging it into the ground, and so causing the booming sound with which its name will always be associated, is also exploded, and nowadays indeed so few people in Britain have ever heard its loud and awful voice, which seems to be uttered only in the breeding-season, and is therefore unknown in a country where it no longer breeds, that incredulity as to its booming at all has in some quarters succeeded the old belief in this as in other reputed peculiarities of the species. The bittern in the days of falconry was strictly preserved, and afforded excellent sport. It sits crouching on the ground during the day, with its bill pointing in the air, a position from which it is not easily roused, and even when it takes wing, its flight is neither swift nor long sustained. When wounded it requires to be approached with caution, as it will then attack either man or dog with its long sharp bill and its acute claws. It builds a rude nest among the reeds and flags, out of materials which surround it, and the female lays four or five eggs of a brownish olive. During the breeding season it utters a booming noise, from which it probably derives its generic name, _Botaurus_, and which has made it in many places an object of superstitious dread. Its plumage for the most part is of a pale buff colour, rayed and speckled with black and reddish brown. The American bittern (_Botaurus lentiginosus_) is somewhat smaller than the European species, and is found throughout the central and southern portions of North America. It also occurs in Britain as an occasional straggler. It is distinguishable by its uniform greyish-brown primaries, which want the tawny bars that characterize _B. stellaris_. Both species are good eating.

BITTERN (from "bitter"), the mother liquor obtained from sea-water or brines after the separation of the sodium chloride (common salt) by crystallization. It contains various magnesium salts (sulphate, chloride, bromide and iodide) and is employed commercially for the manufacture of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) and bromine. The same term is applied to a mixture of quassia, iron sulphate, _cocculus indicus_, liquorice, &c., used in adulterating beer.

BITTERS, the name given to aromatized (generally alcoholic) beverages containing a bitter substance or substances, used as tonics, appetizers or digestives. The bitterness is imparted by such substances as bitter orange rind, gentian, rhubarb, quassia, cascarilla, angostura, quinine and cinchona. Juniper, cinnamon, carraway, camomile, cloves and other flavouring agents are also employed in conjunction with the bitter principles, alcohol and sugar. Some bitters are prepared by simple maceration and subsequent filtration (see LIQUEURS), others by the more complicated distillation process. Those prepared by the latter process are the finer commercial articles. Bitters are usually sold under the name of the substance which has been used to give them the predominant flavour, such as orange, angostura or peach bitters, &c. The alcoholic strength of bitters varies, but is generally in the neighbourhood of 40% of alcohol. Some bitters, although possessing tonic properties, may be regarded as beverages pure and simple, notwithstanding the fact that they are seldom consumed in an undiluted state; others again, are obviously medicinal preparations and should be treated as such.

BITUMEN, the name applied by the Romans to the various descriptions of natural hydrocarbons, the word _petroleum_ not being used in classical Latin. In its widest sense it embraces the whole range of these substances, including _natural gas_, the more or less liquid descriptions of _petroleum_, and the solid forms of _asphalt, albertite, gilsonite_ or _uintahite, elaterite, ozokerite_ and _hatchettite_. To distinguish bitumen intermediate in consistency between asphalt and the more liquid kinds of crude petroleum, the term _maltha_ (Latin) is frequently employed. The bitumens of chief commercial importance may be grouped under the three headings of (1) _natural gas_, (2) _petroleum_, and (3) _asphalt_, and will be found fully described under these titles. In the scriptures there are numerous references to bitumen, among which the following may be quoted:--In Genesis ix. 3, we are told that in the building of the tower of Babel "slime had they for mortar," and in Genesis xiv. 10, that the vale of Siddim "was full of slime-pits," the word _slime_ in the latter quotation from our version appearing as _bitumen_ in the Vulgate. Herodotus alludes to the use of the bitumen brought down by the Is, a tributary of the Euphrates, as mortar in building the walls of Babylon. Diodorus, Curtius, Josephus, Bochart and others make similar mention of this use of bitumen, and Vitruvius tells us that it was employed in admixture with clay.

In its various forms, bitumen is one of the most widely distributed of substances. It occurs, though sometimes only in small quantity, in almost every part of the globe, and throughout the whole range of geological strata, from the Laurentian rocks to the most recent members of the Quaternary period. Although the gaseous and liquid forms of bitumen may be regarded as having been formed in the strata in which they are found or as having been received into such strata shortly after formation, the semi-solid and solid varieties may be considered to have been produced by the oxidation and evaporation of liquid petroleum escaping from underlying or better preserved deposits into other strata, or into fissures where atmospheric action and loss of the more volatile constituents can take place. It should, however, be stated that there is some difference of opinion as to the precise manner of production of some of the solid forms of bitumen, and especially of ozokerite. (B. R.)

BITURIGES, a Celtic people, according to Livy (v. 34) the most powerful in Gaul in the time of Tarquinius Priscus. At some period unknown they split up into two branches--Bituriges Cubi and Bituriges Vivisci. The name is supposed to mean either "rulers of the world" or "perpetual kings."

The Bituriges Cubi, called simply Bituriges by Caesar, in whose time they acknowledged the supremacy of the Aedui, inhabited the modern diocese of Bourges, including the departments of Cher and Indre, and partly that of Allier. Their chief towns were Avaricum (Bourges), Argentomagus (Argenton-sur-Creuse), Neriomagus (Neris-les-Bains), Noviodunum (perhaps Villate). At the time of the rebellion of Vercingetoix (52 B.C.), Avaricum, after a desperate resistance, was taken by assault, and the inhabitants put to the sword. In the following year, the Bituriges submitted to Caesar, and under Augustus they were incorporated (in 28 B.C.) in Aquitania. Pliny (_Nat. Hist._ iv. 109) speaks of them as _liberi_, which points to their enjoying a certain amount of independence under Roman government. The district contained a number of iron works, and Caesar says they were skilled in driving galleries and mining operations.

The Biturgies Vivisci occupied the strip of land between the sea and the left bank of the Garonne, comprising the greater part of the modern department of Gironde. Their capital was Burdigala (Bordeaux), even then a place of considerable importance and a wine-growing centre. Like the Cubi, they also are called _liberi_ by Pliny.

See A. Desjardins, _Geographie historique de la Gaule romaine_, ii.
(1876-1893); A. Longnon, _Geographie de la Gaule on VI^e siecle_
(1878); A. Hohler, _Alt-celtischer Sprachschatz_; T.R. Holmes,
_Caesar's Conquest of Gaul_ (1899).

BITZIUS, ALBRECHT (1797-1854), Swiss novelist, best known by his pet name of "Jeremias Gotthelf," was born on the 4th of October 1797 at Morat, where his father was pastor. In 1804 the home was moved to Utzenstorf, a village in the Bernese Emmenthal. Here young Bitzius grew up, receiving his early education and consorting with the boys of the village, as well as helping his father to cultivate his glebe. In 1812 he went to complete his education at Bern, and in 1820 was received as a pastor. In 1821 he visited the university of Gottingen, but returned home in 1822 to act as his father's assistant. On his father's death (1824) he went in the same capacity to Herzogenbuchsee, and later to Bern (1829). Early in 1831 he went as assistant to the aged pastor of the village of Lutzelfluh, in the Upper Emmenthal (between Langnau and Burgdorf), being soon elected his successor (1832) and marrying one of his granddaughters (1833). He spent the rest of his life there, dying on the 22nd of October 1854, and leaving three children (the son was a pastor, the two daughters married pastors). His first work, the _Bauernspiegel_, appeared in 1837. It purported to be the life of Jeremias Gotthelf, narrated by himself, and this name was later adopted by the author as his pen name. It is a living picture of Bernese (or, strictly speaking, Emmenthal) village life, true to nature, and not attempting to gloss over its defects and failings. It is written (like the rest of his works) in the Bernese dialect of the Emmenthal, though it must be remembered that Bitzius was not (like Auerbach) a peasant by birth, but belonged to the educated classes, so that he reproduces what he had seen and learnt, and not what he had himself personally experienced. The book was a great success, as it was a picture of real life, and not of fancifully beribboned 18th-century villagers. Among his later tales are the _Leiden und Freuden eines Schulmeisters_ (1838-1839), _Uli der Knecht_ (1841), with its continuation, _Uli der Pachter_ (1849), _Anne Babi Jowager_ (1843-1844), _Kathi die Grossmutter_ (1847), _Die Kaserei in der Vehfreude_ (1850), and the _Erlebnisse eines Schuldenbauers_ (1854). He published also several volumes of shorter tales. One slight drawback to some of his writings is the echo of local political controversies, for Bitzius was a Whig and strongly opposed to the Radical party in the canton, which carried the day in 1846.

Lives by C. Manuel, in the Berlin edition of Bitzius's works (Berlin,
1861), and by J. Ammann in vol. i. (Bern, 1884) of the _Sammlung
Bernischer Biographien_. His works were issued in 24 vols. at Berlin,
1856-1861, while 10 vols., giving the original text of each story,
were issued at Bern, 1898-1900 (edition not to be completed).
(W. A. B. C.)

BIVOUAC (a French word generally said to have been introduced during the Thirty Years' War, perhaps derived from _Beiwacht_, extra guard), originally, a night-watch by a whole army under arms to prevent surprise. In modern military parlance the word is used to mean a temporary encampment in the open field without tents, as opposed to "billets" or "cantonment" on the one hand and "camp" on the other. The use of bivouacs permits an army to remain closely concentrated for all emergencies, and avoids the necessity for numerous wagons carrying tents. Constant bivouacs, however, are trying to the health of men and horses, and this method of quartering is never employed except when the military situation demands concentration and readiness. Thus the outposts would often have to bivouac while the main body of the army lay in billets.

BIWA, a lake in the province of Omi, Japan. It measures 36 m. in length by 12 m. in extreme breadth, has an area of 180 sq. m., is about 330 ft. above sea-level, and has an extreme depth of some 300 ft. There are a few small islands in the lake, the principal being Chikubu-shima at the northern end.

Tradition alleges that Lake Biwa and the mountain of Fuji were produced simultaneously by an earthquake in 286 B.C. On the west of the lake the mountains Hiei-zan and Hira-yama slope down almost to its margin, and on the east a wide plain extends towards the boundaries of the province of Mino. It is drained by a river flowing out of its southern end, and taking its course into the sea at Osaka. This river bears in succession the names of Seta-gawa, Uji-gawa and Yodo-gawa. The lake abounds with fish, and the beauty of its scenery is remarkable. Small steamboats ply constantly to the points of chief interest, and around its shores are to be viewed the _Omi-no-hakkei_, or "eight landscapes of Omi"; namely, the lake silvering under an autumn moon as one looks down from Ishi-yama; the snow at eve on Hira-yama; the glow of sunset at Seta; the groves and classic temple of Mii-dera as the evening bell sounds; boats sailing home from Yabase; cloudless peaks at Awazu; rain at nightfall over Karasaki; and wild geese sweeping down to Katata. The lake is connected with Kyoto by a canal constructed in 1890, and is thus brought into water communication with Osaka.

BIXIO, NINO (1821-1873), Italian soldier, was born on the 2nd of October 1821. While still a boy he was compelled by his parents to embrace a maritime career. After numerous adventures he returned to Italy in 1846, joined the Giovine Italia, and, on 4th November 1847, made himself conspicuous at Genoa by seizing the bridle of Charles Albert's horse and crying, "Pass the Ticino, Sire, and we are all with you." He fought through the campaign of 1848, became captain under Garibaldi at Rome in 1849, taking prisoners an entire French battalion, and gaining the gold medal for military valour. In 1859 he commanded a Garibaldian battalion, and gained the military cross of Savoy. Joining the Marsala expedition in 1860, he turned the day in favour of Garibaldi at Calatafimi, was wounded at Palermo, but recovered in time to besiege Reggio in Calabria (21st of August 1860), and, though again wounded, took part in the battle of Volturno, where his leg was broken. Elected deputy in 1861, he endeavoured to reconcile Cavour and Garibaldi. In 1866, at the head of the seventh division, he covered the Italian retreat from Custozza, ignoring the Austrian summons to surrender. Created senator in February 1870, he was in the following September given command of a division during the movement against Rome, took Civita Vecchia, and participated in the general attack upon Rome (20th September 1870). He died of cholera at Achin Bay in Sumatra _en route_ for Batavia, whither he had gone in command of a commercial expedition (16th December 1873).

BIZERTA (properly pronounced Ben Zert; Fr. _Bizerte_), a seaport of Tunisia, in 37 deg. 17' N., 9 deg. 50' E. Pop. about 12,000. Next to Toulon, Bizerta is the most important naval port of France in the Mediterranean. It occupies a commanding strategical position in the narrowest part of the sea, being 714 m. E. of Gibraltar, 1168 m. W.N.W. of Port Said, 240 m. N.W. of Malta, and 420 m. S. by E. of Toulon. It is 60 m. by rail N.N.W. of Tunis. The town is built on the shores of the Mediterranean at the point where the Lake of Bizerta enters the sea through a natural channel, the mouth of which has been canalized. The modern town lies almost entirely on the north side of the canal. A little farther north are the ancient citadel, the walled "Arab" town and the old harbour (disused). The present outer harbour covers about 300 acres and is formed by two converging jetties and a breakwater. The north jetty is 4000 ft. long, the east jetty 3300 ft., and the breakwater--which protects the port from the prevalent north-east winds--2300 ft. long. The entrance to the canal is in the centre of the outer harbour. The canal is 2600 ft. long and 787 ft. wide on the surface. Its banks are lined with quays, and ships drawing 26 ft. of water can moor alongside. At the end of the canal is a large commercial harbour, beyond which the channel opens into the lake--in reality an arm of the sea--roughly circular in form and covering about 50 sq. m., two-thirds of its waters having a depth of 30 to 40 ft. The lake, which merchant vessels are not allowed to enter, contains the naval port and arsenal. There is a torpedo and submarine boat station on the north side of the channel at the entrance to the lake, but the principal naval works are at Sidi Abdallah at the south-west corner of the lake and 10 m. from the open sea. Here is an enclosed basin covering 123 acres with ample quayage, dry docks and everything necessary to the accommodation, repair, revictualling and coaling of a numerous fleet. Barracks, hospitals and waterworks have been built, the military town, called Ferryville, being self-contained.

Fortifications have been built for the protection of the port. They comprise (a) the older works surrounding the town; (b) a group of coast batteries on the high ground of Cape Bizerta or Guardia, 4 m. north-north-west of the town; these are grouped round a powerful fort called Jebel Kebir, and have a command of 300 to 800 ft. above sea-level; (c) another group of batteries on the narrow ground between the sea and the lake to the east of the town; the highest of these is the Jebel Tuila battery 265 ft. above sea-level.

The LAKE OF BIZERTA, called Tinja by the Arabs, abounds in excellent fish, especially mullets, the dried roe of which, called _botargo_, is largely exported, and the fishing industry employs a large proportion of the inhabitants. The western shore of the lake is low, and in many places is covered with olive trees to the water's edge. The south-eastern shores are hilly and wooded, and behind them rises a range of picturesque hills. A narrow and shallow channel leads from the western side of the lake into another sheet of water, the Lake of Ishkul, so called from Jebel Ishkul, a hill on its southern bank 1740 ft. high. The Lake of Ishkul is nearly as large as the first lake, but is very shallow. Its waters are generally sweet.

Bizerta occupies the site of the ancient Tyrian colony, Hippo Zarytus or Diarrhytus, the harbour of which, by means of a spacious pier, protecting it from the north-east wind, was rendered one of the safest and finest on this coast. The town became a Roman colony, and was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century. The place thereafter was subject either to the rulers of Tunis or of Constantine, but the citizens were noted for their frequent revolts. They threw in their lot (c. 1530) with the pirate Khair-ed-Din, and subsequently received a Turkish garrison. Bizerta was captured by the Spaniards in 1535, but not long afterwards came under the Tunisian government. Centuries of neglect followed, and the ancient port was almost choked up, though the value of the fisheries saved the town from utter decay. Its strategical importance was one of the causes which led to the occupation of Tunisia by the French in 1881. In 1890 a concession for a new canal and harbour was granted to a company, and five years later the new port was formally opened. Since then the canal has been widened and deepened, and the naval port at Sidi Abdallah created.

BIZET [ALEXANDRE CESAR LEOPOLD] GEORGES (1838-1875), French musical composer, was born at Bougival, near Paris, on the 25th of October 1838, the son of a singing-master. He displayed musical ability at an early age, and was sent to the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied under Halevy and speedily distinguished himself, carrying off prizes for organ and fugue, and finally in 1857, after an ineffectual attempt in the previous year, the Grand Prix de Rome for a cantata called _Cloris et Clotilde_. A success of a different kind also befell him at this time. Offenbach, then manager of the Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens, had organized a competition for an operetta, in which young Bizet was awarded the first prize in conjunction with Charles Lecocq, each of them writing an operetta called _Docteur Miracle_. After the three years spent in Rome, an obligation imposed by the French government on the winners of the first prize at the Conservatoire, Bizet returned to Paris, where he achieved a reputation as a pianist and accompanist. On the 23rd of September 1863 his first opera, _Les Pecheurs de perles_, was brought out at the Theatre Lyrique, but owing possibly to the somewhat uninteresting nature of the story, the opera did not enjoy a very long run. The qualities displayed by the composer, however, were amply recognized, although the music was stated, by some critics, to exhibit traces of Wagnerian influence. Wagnerism at that period was a sort of spectre that haunted the imagination of many leading members of the musical press. It sufficed for a work to be at all out of the common for the epithet "Wagnerian" to be applied to it. The term, it may be said, was intended to be condemnatory, and it was applied with little understanding as to its real meaning. The score of the _Pecheurs de perles_ contains several charming numbers; its dreamy melodies are well adapted to fit a story laid in Eastern climes, and the music reveals a decided dramatic temperament. Some of its dances are now usually introduced into the fourth act of _Carmen_.

On the 3rd of June 1865 Bizet married a daughter of his old master, Halevy. His second opera, _La Jolie Fitte de Perth_, produced at the Theatre Lyrique on 26th December 1867, was scarcely a step in advance. The libretto was founded on Sir Walter Scott's novel, but the opera lacks unity of style, and its pages are marred by concessions to the vocalist. One number has survived, the characteristic Bohemian dance which has been interpolated into the fourth act of _Carmen_. In his third opera Bizet returned to an oriental subject. _Djamileh_, a one-act opera given at the Opera Comique on the 22nd of May 1872, is certainly one of his most individual efforts. Again were accusations of Wagnerism hurled at the composer's head, and _Djamileh_ did not achieve the success it undoubtedly deserved. The composer was more fortunate with the incidental music he wrote to Alphonse Daudet's drama, _L'Arlesienne_, produced in October 1872. Different numbers from this, arranged in the form of suites, have often been heard in the concert-room. Rarely have poetry and imagination been so well allied as in these exquisite pages, which seem to reflect the sunny skies of Provence.

Bizet's masterpiece, _Carmen_, was brought out at the Opera Comique on the 3rd of March 1875. It was based on a version by Meilhac and Halevy of a study by Prosper Merimee--in which the dramatic element was obscured by much descriptive writing. The detection of the drama underlying this psychological narrative was in itself a brilliant discovery, and in reconstructing the story in dramatic form the authors produced one of the most famous libretti in the whole range of opera. Still more striking than the libretto was the music composed by Bizet, in which the peculiar use of the flute and of the lowest notes of the harp deserves particular attention.

On the 3rd of June, three months after the production of _Carmen_ in Paris, the genial composer expired after a few hours' illness from a heart affection. Before dying he had the satisfaction of knowing that _Carmen_ had been accepted for production at Vienna. After the Austrian capital came Brussels, Berlin and, in 1878, London, when _Carmen_ was brought out at Her Majesty's theatre with immense success. The influence exercised by Bizet on dramatic music has been very great, and may be discerned in the realistic works of the young Italian school, as well as in those of his own countrymen.

BJORNEBORG (Finnish, _Pori_), a district town of Finland, province of Abo-Bjorneborg, on the E. coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, at the mouth of the Kumo. Lat. 51 deg. 8' N., long. 46 deg. 0' E. Pop. (1904) 16,053, mostly Swedes. Large vessels cannot enter its roadstead, and stop at Rafso. The town has shipbuilding wharves, machine works, and several tanneries and brick-works, and has a total trade of over 16,000,000 marks, the chief export being timber.

BJORNSON, BJORNSTJERNE (1832-1910), Norwegian poet, novelist and dramatist, was born on the 8th of December 1832 at the farmstead of Bjorngen, in Kvikne, in Osterdal, Norway. In 1837 his father, who had been pastor of Kvikne, was transferred to the parish of Noesset, in Romsdal; in this romantic district the childhood of Bjornson was spent. After some teaching at the neighbouring town of Molde, he was sent at the age of seventeen to a well-known school in Christiania to study for the university; his instinct for poetry was already awakened, and indeed he had written verses from his eleventh year. He matriculated at the university of Christiania in 1852, and soon began to work as a journalist, especially as a dramatic critic. In 1857 appeared _Synnove Solbakken_, the first of Bjornson's peasant-novels; in 1858 this was followed by _Arne_, in 1860 by _A Happy Boy_, and in 1868 by _The Fisher Maiden_. These are the most important specimens of his _bonde-fortaellinger_ or peasant-tales--a section of his literary work which has made a profound impression in his own country, and has made him popular throughout the world. Two of the tales, _Arne_ and _Synnove Solbakken_, offer perhaps finer examples of the pure peasant-story than are to be found elsewhere in literature.

Bjornson was anxious "to create a new saga in the light of the peasant," as he put it, and he thought this should be done, not merely in prose fiction, but in national dramas or _folke-stykker_. The earliest of these was a one-act piece the scene of which is laid in the 12th century, _Between the Battles_, was written in 1855, but not produced until 1857. He was especially influenced at this time by the study of Baggesen and Ochlenschlager, during a visit to Copenhagen 1856-1857. _Between the Battles_ was followed by _Lame Hulda_ in 1858, and _King Sverre_ in 1861. All these efforts, however, were far excelled by the splendid trilogy of _Sigurd the Bastard_, which Bjornson issued in 1862. This raised him to the front rank among the younger poets of Europe. His _Sigurd the Crusader_ should be added to the category of these heroic plays, although it was not printed until 1872.

At the close of 1857 Bjornson had been appointed director of the theatre at Bergen, a post which he held, with much journalistic work, for two years, when he returned to the capital. From 1860 to 1863 he travelled widely throughout Europe. Early in 1865 he undertook the management of the Christiania theatre, and brought out his popular comedy of _The Newly Married_ and his romantic tragedy of _Mary Stuart in Scotland_. Although Bjornson has introduced into his novels and plays songs of extraordinary beauty, he was never a very copious writer of verse; in 1870 he published his _Poems and Songs_ and the epic cycle called _Arnljot Gelline_; the latter volume contains the magnificent ode called "Bergliot," Bjornson's finest contribution to lyrical poetry. Between 1864 and 1874, in the very prime of life, Bjornson displayed a slackening of the intellectual forces very remarkable in a man of his energy; he was indeed during these years mainly occupied with politics, and with his business as a theatrical manager. This was the period of Bjornson's most fiery propaganda as a radical agitator. In 1871 he began to supplement his journalistic work in this direction by delivering lectures over the length and breadth of the northern countries. He possessed to a surprising degree the arts of the orator, combined with a magnificent physical prestige. From 1873 to 1876 Bjornson was absent from Norway, and in the peace of voluntary exile he recovered his imaginative powers. His new departure as a dramatic author began with _A Bankruptcy_ and _The Editor_ in 1874, social dramas of an extremely modern and realistic cast.

The poet now settled on his estate of Aulestad in Gausdal. In 1877 he published another novel, _Magnhild_--an imperfect production, in which his ideas on social questions were seen to be in a state of fermentation, and gave expression to his republican sentiments in the polemical play called _The King_, to a later edition of which he prefixed an essay on "Intellectual Freedom," in further explanation of his position. _Captain Mansana_, an episode of the war of Italian independence, belongs to 1878. Extremely anxious to obtain a full success on the stage, Bjornson concentrated his powers on a drama of social life, _Leonardo_ (1879), which raised a violent controversy. A satirical play, _The New System_, was produced a few weeks later. Although these plays of Bjornson's second period were greatly discussed, none of them (except _A Bankruptcy_) pleased on the boards. When once more he produced a social drama, _A Gauntlet_, in 1883, he was unable to persuade any manager to stage it, except in a modified form, though this play gives the full measure of his power as a dramatist. In the autumn of the same year, Bjornson published a mystical or symbolic drama _Beyond our Powers_, dealing with the abnormal features of religious excitement with extraordinary force; this was not acted until 1899, when it achieved a great success.

Meanwhile, Bjornson's political attitude had brought upon him a charge of high treason, and he took refuge for a time in Germany, returning to Norway in 1882. Convinced that the theatre was practically closed to him, he turned back to the novel, and published in 1884, _Flags are Flying in Town and Port_, embodying his theories on heredity and education. In 1889 he printed another long and still more remarkable novel, _In God's Way_, which is chiefly concerned with the same problems. The same year saw the publication of a comedy, _Geography and Love_, which continues to be played with success. A number of short stories, of a more or less didactic character, dealing with startling points of emotional experience, were collected in 1894; among them those which produced the greatest sensation were _Dust, Mother's Hands_, and _Absalom's Hair_. Later plays were a political tragedy called _Paul Lange and Tora Parsberg_ (1898), a second part of _Beyond our Powers_ (1895), _Laboremus_ (1901), _At Storhove_ (1902), and _Daglannet_ (1904). In 1899, at the opening of the National theatre, Bjornson received an ovation, and his saga-drama of _Sigurd the Crusader_ was performed.

A subject which interested him greatly, and on which he occupied his indefatigable pen, was the question of the _bonde-maal_, the adopting of a national language for Norway distinct from the _dansk-norsk_ (Dano-Norwegian), in which her literature has hitherto been written. Bjornson's strong and sometimes rather narrow patriotism did not blind him to the fatal folly of such a proposal, and his lectures and pamphlets against the _maal-straev_ in its extreme form did more than anything else to save the language in this dangerous moment. Bjornson was one of the original members of the Nobel committee, and was re-elected in 1900. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature. Bjornson had done as much as any other man to rouse Norwegian national feeling, but in 1903, on the verge of the rupture between Norway and Sweden, he preached conciliation and moderation to the Norwegians. He was an eloquent advocate of Pan-Germanism, and, writing to the _Figaro_ in 1905, he outlined a Pan-Germanic alliance of northern Europe and North America. He died on the 26th of April 1910.

See Bjornson's _Samlede Vaerker_ (Copenhagen, 1900-1902, 11 vols.);
_The Novels of Bjornstjerne Bjornson_ (1894, &c.), edited by Edmund
Gosse; G. Brandes, _Critical Studies_ (1899); E. Tissot, _Le drame
norvegien_ (1893); C.D. af Wirsen, _Kritiker_ (1901); Chr. Collin,
_Bjornstjerne Bjornson_ (2 vols., German ed., 1903), the most complete
biography and criticism at present available; and B. Halvorsen, _Norsk
Forfatter Lexikon_ (1885). (E. G.)

BLACHFORD, FREDERIC ROGERS, BARON (1811-1889), British civil servant, eldest son of Sir Frederick Leman Rogers, 7th Bart. (whom he succeeded in the baronetcy in 1851), was born in London on the 31st of January 1811. He was educated at Eton and Oriel college, Oxford, where he had a brilliant career, winning the Craven University scholarship, and taking a double first-class in classics and mathematics. He became a fellow of Oriel (1833), and won the Vinerian scholarship (1834), and fellowship (1840). He was called to the bar in 1837, but never practised. At school and at Oxford he was a contemporary of W.E. Gladstone, and at Oxford he began a lifelong friendship with J.H. Newman and R.W. Church; his classical and literary tastes, and his combination of liberalism in politics with High Church views in religion, together with his good social position and interesting character, made him an admired member of their circles. For two or three years (1841-1844) he wrote for _The Times_, and he helped to found _The Guardian_ in 1846; he also did a good deal to assist the Tractarian movement. But he eventually settled down to the life of a government official. He began in 1844 as registrar of joint-stock companies, and in 1846 became commissioner of lands and emigration. Between 1857 and 1859 he was engaged in government missions abroad, connected with colonial questions, and in 1860 he was appointed permanent under-secretary of state for the colonies. Sir Frederic Rogers was the guiding spirit of the colonial office under six successive secretaries of state, and on his retirement in 1871 was raised to the peerage as Baron Blachford of Wisdome, a title taken from his place in Devonshire. He died on the 21st of November 1889.

A volume of his letters, edited by G.E. Marindin (1896), contains an
interesting Life, partly autobiographical.

BLACK, ADAM (1784-1874), Scottish publisher, founder of the firm of A. & C. Black, the son of a builder, was born in Edinburgh on the 20th of February 1784. After serving his apprenticeship to the bookselling trade in Edinburgh and London, he began business for himself in Edinburgh in 1808. By 1826 he was recognized as one of the principal booksellers in the city; and a few years later he was joined in business by his nephew Charles. The two most important events connected with the history of the firm were the publication of the 7th, 8th and 9th editions of the _Encyclopaedia Brittannica_, and the purchase of the stock and copyright of the Waverley Novels. The copyright of the _Encyclopaedia_ passed into the hands of Adam Black and a few friends in 1827. In 1851 the firm bought the copyright of the Waverley Novels for L27,000; and in 1861 they became the proprietors of De Quincey's works. Adam Black was twice lord provost of Edinburgh, and represented the city in parliament from 1856 to 1865. He retired from business in 1865, and died on the 24th of January 1874. He was succeeded by his sons, who removed their business in 1895 to London. There is a bronze statue of Adam Black in East Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

See _Memoirs of Adam Black_, edited by Alexander Nicholson (2nd ed.,
Edinburgh, 1885).

BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN (1810-1883), American lawyer and statesman, was born in Stony Creek township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, on the 10th of January 1810. He was largely self-educated, and before he was of age was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. He gradually became one of the leading American lawyers, and in 1851-1857 was a member of the supreme court of Pennsylvania (chief-justice 1851-1854). In 1857 he entered President Buchanan's cabinet as attorney-general of the United States. In this capacity he successfully contested the validity of the "California land claims"--claims to about 19,000 sq. m. of land, fraudulently alleged to have been granted to land-grabbers and others by the Mexican government prior to the close of the Mexican War. From the 17th of December 1860 to the 4th of March 1861 he was secretary of state. Perhaps the most influential of President Buchanan's official advisers, he denied the constitutionality of secession, and urged that Fort Sumter be properly reinforced and defended. "For ... the vigorous assertion at last in word and in deed that the United States is a nation," says James Ford Rhodes, "for pointing out the way in which the authority of the Federal government might be exercised without infringing on the rights of the states, the gratitude of the American people is due to Jeremiah S. Black." He became reporter to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1861, but after publishing the reports for the years 1861 and 1862 he resigned, and devoted himself almost exclusively to his private practice, appearing in such important cases before the Supreme Court as the one known as _Ex-Parte Milligan_, in which he ably defended the right of trial by jury, the McCardle case and the _United States_ v. _Blyew et al_. After the Civil War he vigorously opposed the Congressional plan of reconstructing the late Confederate states, and himself drafted the message of President Johnson, vetoing the Reconstruction Act of the 2nd of March 1867. Black was also for a short time counsel for President Andrew Johnson, in his trial on the article of impeachment, before the United States Senate, and for William W. Belknap (1829-1890), secretary of war from 1869 to 1876, who in 1876 was impeached on a charge of corruption; and with others he represented Samuel J. Tilden during the contest for the presidency between Tilden and Hayes (see ELECTORAL COMMISSION). He died at Brockie, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of August 1883.

See _Essays and Speeches of Jeremiah S. Black, with a Biographical
Sketch_ (New York, 1885), by his son, C.F. Black.