Beotia
a division of ancient Greece, lying between Attica and Phocis, and bounded E. and W. by the Eubœan Sea and the Corinthian Gulf respectively, had an area of 1,119 square miles. The whole country is surrounded by mountains, on the S. Mts. Cithæron and Parnes, on the W. Mt. Helicon, on the N. Mt. Parnassus and the Opuntian Mountains, which also closed it in on the The N. part is drained by the Cephis- E. sus, the waters of which form Lake Copais; the S. by the Asopus, which flows into the Eubean Sea. The inhabitants were of the Æolian race; most of the towns formed a kind of republic, of which Thebes was the chief city. Epaminondas and Pelopidas raised Thebes for a time to the highest rank among Grecian States. The term Bœotian was used by the Athenians as a synonym for dullness, but somewhat unjustly, since Hesiod, Pindar, the poetess Corinna, and Plutarch were Bœotians. Pop. about 70,000, mostly Albanians.
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Berande
A sorceress burnt at Maubec, in France , in 1577. She was confronted by a damsel whom she accused of sorcery, which the girl denied, whereat the beldame exclaimed, "Dost thou not remember how at the last dance at the Croix du Paté, thou didst carry a pot of poison ? The damsel at this confessed, and was burnt along with her accuser. ور
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Beranger
PIERRE JEAN DE (bā-rôn-zhā'), a French poet, born in Paris, Aug. 19, 1780. His father took him to Paris in 1802; but they soon quarrelled and he began life in that garret which became famous. In 1804 Lucien Bonaparte helped him out with a clerkship in the University. Meanwhile he had composed many convivial and political songs, but never wrote them down until 1812. When his poems were published, in 1815, he was recognized as the champion of the faction opposed to the Bourbons. His popularity with the working classes was immense, and he made the song a powerful political weapon. His republicanism and enthusiasm for Napoleon suited the multitude. Two volumes published in 1821 led to his imprisonment; and another in 1825 caused a second incarceration. "New Songs," appeared in 1830, and his "Autobiography" in 1840. In 1848 he was elected to Parliament, but begged to be released. His songs are full of wit, light-heartedness, and musical grace. Among the best are the "King of Yvetot," "The Old Flag," "The Old Corporal," "Roger Bontemps," "My Grandmother," "Little Red Man," "Little Gray Man," and "The Marquis of Carabas." He died in Paris, July 16, 1857.
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Berar
otherwise known as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, a province of India, in the Deccan, under the British Resident at Hyderabad; area, 17,718 square miles, consisting chiefly efly of an elevated valley at the head of a chain of ghauts. It is watered by several affluents of the Godavari, and by the Tapti, and has a fertile soil, producing some of the best cotton, millet, and wheat crops in India. The two principal towns of Berar are Amráoti and Khamgaon. Pop. about 3,250,000. Coal and iron ore are both found in the province. Berar was assigned by the Nizam to the British Government in 1853, as security for arrears due. In 1902 the province was leased to Great Britain in perpetuity and attached to the Central Provinces administration.
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Berat
a town of Albania; on the Ergent river, here bridged; 30 miles N. E. of Valona. It is the seat of a Greek archbishop, and has a cathedral and a number of mosques, and several Greek churches. Pop. 15,000.
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Berber
a town of Nubia, on the right bank of the Nile, below the confluence of the Atbara. It is a station on the route from Khartum to Cairo. Since the railway was opened in 1906, taking the place of the caravan route, the traffic to the Red Sea has been diverted. Pop. about 10,000.
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Berbera
a seaport of British Somaliland, eastern Africa, with a good harbor, on a bay of the Gulf of Aden. It was conquered by Egypt in 1875, but in July, 1884, the British Government took possession of it, and a small Indian force is now stationed here. It is the scene of a large annual fair, which brings over 30,000 people together from all quarters in the East. Coffee, grains, ghee, g ghee, gold dust, ivory, gums, cattle, ostrich feathers, etc., are brought hither from the interior, and exchanged for cotton, rice, iron, Indian piece goods, etc.
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Berbice
a river of British Guiana; generally N. E. into the Atlantic. flows It is navigable for small vessels for 165 miles from its mouth, but beyond that the rapids are numerous and dangerous.
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Berditchef
a town of Ukrainia, 108 miles W. S. W. of Kiev by rail, famous for its five annual fairs. At these, cattle, corn, wine, honey, leather, etc., are disposed of. Pop. about 100,000.
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Berea College
a coeducational (non-sectarian) institution, in Berea, Ky.; organized in 1858; reported at the end of 1919: Professors and instructors, 81; students, 1,794; volumes in library, 35,000; productive funds, $1,345,588; income, $58,492; graduates, 1,479; president, William G. Frost, Ph. D., LL. D.
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Berengarius
OF TOURS, a theologian of the 11th century. He was born at Tours in 998, and was afterward archdeacon of Angers. He was thoroughly versed in the philosophy of his age, and did not hesitate to apply reason to the interpretation of the Bible. He denied the dogma of transubstantiation, and no less than seven councils were held respecting him, at three of which he was condemned, and at four he was prevailed on to make retractions. He died in 1088.
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Berenice
The mother of Agrippa , whose name occurs in the history of the Jews as daughterin-law of Herod the Great. A number of others of minor celebrity were known by the same name. Bilbilis (Baubola). A town of the Celtiberi in Hispania Tarraconensis, the birthplace of the poet Martial. Bingium (Bingen). A town on the Rhine in Gallica Belgica.
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Berenice's Locks
ber'e-ni-sez loks, a group of seven stars forming the constellation Coma Berenices. Berenice was the wife of Ptolemy III. While her husband was on an expedition in Syria, Berenice vowed to sacrifice her beautiful hair in the temple of the wargod, should he be brought back to her in safety. Ptolemy returned and Berenice hung her hair in the temple. The hair disappeared, for it was the will of the gods that it should be hung in the skies to shine forever in token that they were pleased with a wife's devotion.
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