ander W. Thayer, an American, who has devoted many years of his life to the minute researches necessary to make an exhaustive biography of the composer. The work at the present date (1873) is unfinished, only one volume having been published, and that in German. The other principal sources of information upon this subject are as follows: Wegeler and Ries, Biographische Notizen über L. v. Beethoven (Coblentz, 1838); Dr. A. B. Marx, Ludwig van Beethoven's Leben und Schaffen (2 vols., Berlin, 1859; 2d ed., 1863); L. Nohl, Beethoven's Leben (2 vols., Vienna, 1864-7); and Ludwig van Beethoven's Biographie und Characteristik, by Dr. Heinrich Döring, prefixed to the Wolfenbüttel edition of the composer's pianoforte sonatas.

BEETLE, a very numerous and well known order of insects, constituting the coleoptera. They have usually 4 wings: 2 membranous, the organs of flight, filmy and folded transversely; and 2, anterior and superior to these, of a harder consistence, protecting the former, and called elytra. They all have mandibles and jaws. The head varies greatly both in size and form in the different tribes; it presents 2 antennæ, of various forms, of which the joints are generally 11 in number; the eyes are 2, and compound; they have no simple eyes, according to Latreille. The mouth consists of a labrum; 2 mandibles, usually of a horny consistence; 2 jaws, each one having 1 or 2 palpi; and a labium of 2 pieces, accompanied by 2 palpi. The anterior segment of

pair of legs and the elytra; the membranous wings and the third pair of legs are attached to the third and last segment. The elytra and wings originate from the lateral and upper portions of the segments. The former are of a firm consistence, almost crustaceous, and, in a state of rest, are applied horizontally one against the other along their internal edge; they almost always conceal the true wings, and are generally as long as the body; in the act of flight they are usually extended, though in some species destitute of true wings they are united on the dorsal suture; in the wingless genera the elytra are always found. The abdomen is sessile, or united to the chest by its greatest breadth, composed of 6 or 7 rings, membranous above, where it is protected by the elytra, and of a more horny consistence below. In the males the anterior pair of legs are often stronger, and the tarsi broader, than in the females. All the coleoptera masticate, and are accordingly provided with instruments proper for cutting and triturating their food; the salivary glands are quite rudimentary, and few in number; the digestive canal varies in length according to the habit of life, but it generally is much longer than the body. The sexes are separate, and the act of reproduction is a true sexual connection. The organs of respiration are stigmata along the sides of the body, and trachea pervading all parts of the system. The abdomen encloses a fatty tissue, apparently connected with nutrition, which causes many of these insects to be eagerly sought for as food by the savage tribes of the old world. They undergo a complete metamorphosis; and the larvæ or grubs are generally soft-bodied, and provided with 6 legs; it is in this state that they are so destructive to vegetation. males perish soon after the sexual union, and the females die shortly after the eggs have been deposited. The coleoptera have been variously divided by different authors; the divisions of Latreille, according to the number of the joints in the tarsi, have been generally adopted by naturalists. These divisions are the following: 1, pentamera, having 5 joints on each foot; 2, heteromera, having 5 joints to the anterior 2 pairs of feet, and 4 joints to the posterior pair; 3, tetramera, having 4 joints to all the feet; 4, trimera, having no more than 3 joints to the feet. Though this system is artificial, and in many points very defective, it is still sufficient to give a clear idea of this very complex order. Latreille makes 20 families. The pentamera include: 1. The carnivora, whose varied species all agree in being exceedingly voracious;

The

the thorax, or the corslet, which is in front of the wings, is larger than the other two segments, and is free in its movements; it supports only the first pair of legs; the other segments are united together, and nearly immovable; the mesothorax supports the second

mer have been divided into the tribes cicindelete and carabici; the latter constitute the tribe hydrocanthari. The cicindela are very beautifully ornamented, of light and active forms, quick in their motions, darting on their insect prey, which they devour alive; they prefer light and sandy districts exposed to the sun; they are extensively distributed over the

earth; the larvæ are of a forbidding appearance and extremely voracious, seizing any insect which passes the openings of their subterranean holes. All the carabici, in the grub and perfect state, feed on living prey; they emit a fetid liquid when pursued, and are for the most part agile runners; many, have no true wings; they conceal themselves in the earth or under stones and the bark of trees.

Bombardier Beetle (Brachinus crepitans). This is a very numerous tribe, and its study is difficult. Some of the most interesting genera are carabus, scarites, harpalus, brachinus, feronia, &c. Among the carabide or ground beetles, many of which eject a fetid fluid for defensive purposes, may be mentioned the bombardier beetle (brachinus), of which there are several species in both hemispheres, varying in length from one eighth to half an inch. The wing covers and lower part of abdomen are bluish black; the rest of the insect, including the long and narrow head and thorax, legs, and antennæ, reddish. The species of brachinus, and of the allied genus aptinus, have received the above name from their habit of projecting from the anus, with an explosive puff, a fine acid spray, to the distance of several inches, so irritating to the eyes and abraded skin as to cause severe smarting, and discoloring the cuticle as if by an acid; the fluid is very volatile, and of a pungent odor. They are carnivorous in all their stages, and not injurious to vegetation. The larger tropical species are the most brilliant. The hydrocanthari, or swimming beetles, include the genera dytiscus and gyrinus; the feet are adapted for swimming, being compressed and ciliated; they live in the fresh lakes and marshes and quiet streams of all countries, and they pass their first and final stages in the water. The dytisci can live on the land and also can fly; they vary in size from 1 inch to of an inch in length; they are carnivorous and voracious, and can remain a long time under water in pursuit of their prey; they swim on the surface with great rapidity. The gyrini are smaller, and may be found in troops on the surface of still waters, darting about with surprising agility; they can see in the water and in the air at the same time; they can fly well, though they swim better; the eggs are deposited on the leaves of aquatic plants. This family is

useful in destroying noxious and predaceous insects and grubs. 2. The brachelytra have but one palpus in the jaws, or four in all; the wing cases are shorter than the body, which is narrow and elongated; the head is large and flat, the mandibles strong, the antennæ short; they live in moist earth, on dung and other excrementitious matters, and most of all in decaying animal carcasses; they are courageous and strong, running or flying with the greatest facility; they destroy insects with eagerness. This family is composed entirely of the old and vaguely determined Linnæan genus staphylinus. The larvæ live in the same situations as the perfect insects. The family are very useful natural scavengers. 3. The serricornes have elytra covering the abdomen, and antennæ equal throughout, dentated, saw-like or fanlike. Among the most interesting genera is buprestis, many of whose species are very large and exceedingly brilliant; these walk very slowly, but are excellent flyers; they are most numerous in warm climates, and live generally in wood. The genus elater is remarkable for the shortness of the legs, and for the faculty it has of changing from a supine position to its feet by springing into the air by means of a spine on its præsternum; the species are found in flowers or plants, and on the ground; some of the American species, as the E. noctilucus, are phosphorescent, and are called fireflies. The genus lampyris also is interesting, as containing the phosphorescent species whose females go by the name of glowworms. The genus telephorus is noted as furnishing the species which are occasionally taken up by high winds, and deposited in distant regions, causing the so-called insect showers. The tick of the death-watch is produced by a species of anobium, living in decaying wood. The larvæ sometimes cause great destruction of valuable timber. 4. The clavicornes have the antennæ thickened or knob-shaped at the end; they live chiefly on animal substances. The genus hister feeds on decaying and excrementitious matters. The genus necrophorus is noted for its habit of interring small animals, such as mice and moles, for the purpose of depositing its eggs in the decaying carcass; this they do by removing the earth beneath the body, which falls into the hollow; their sense of smell must be extremely acute. The genus silpha also prefers putrefying animal substances. The genera dermestes and anthrenus, in their larva state, are perfect pests to the naturalist, as they devour every animal substance accessible in his cabinet; the action of heat, usually employed to destroy them, is nearly as destructive as the insects. 5. The palpicornes resemble the preceding family in the shape of the antennæ, composed of only nine joints, and the feet in most of the genera are formed for swimming. The genus hydrophilus is carnivorous and voracious, frequenting fresh water and marshes, swimming well, but not so rapidly as dytiscus; their larvæ destroy

great numbers of aquatic insects and water snails; they pass the nymph state in cavities in the earth, for about three weeks. Other genera are elophorus and sphæridium; the latter is terrestrial. 6. The lamellicornes are the last family of the pentamera, including numerous genera, among which are some of the most brilliant and the largest of the order; those that feed on vegetable substances are beautifully colored, while dark tints prevail among those which devour decaying animal matters. The antennæ are deeply inserted under the side of the head, short, ending in a knob, composed of plates or laminæ. An idea of the form of the larvae, which are often very destructive to vegetation, may be formed from the well known white worm, the larva of the melolontha. In this family is included the genus scarabæus of Linnæus, proper to warm

Scarabæus enema.

soma, of black or ash-colored species, for the most part apterous, with the elytra as it were soldered together; some of them have a salivary apparatus; they dwell on the ground, under stones, and in dark situations in houses, quitting their retreats at night; they are slow in their movements. Among the genera are pimelia, blaps, and tenebrio (meal worms). They and their larvæ are useful scavengers. 8. The taxicornes have no corneous tooth on the inner side of the jaws; all are winged, and the legs are not adapted for running; in the males the head is sometimes furnished with horns. Most live on tree fungi or under the bark, or under stones on the ground. Some of the genera are diaperis, phaleria, and eledona. These fungus-eaters are useful to man. 9. The stenelytra differ from the preceding chiefly in the antennæ; they are very active, concealing themselves under the bark or among the leaves and flowers of trees; some live in fungi, others in old wood. To this belong the genera helops, cistela, dircæa, ademera, and others serviceable to man. 10. The trachelides live on plants, of which they devour the leaves and suck the juices. Here belong the genera lagria, pyrochroa, mordella, notoxus, horia, meloe, cantharis, &c.; the C. vesicatoria, or Spanish fly, is well known in medicine for its blistering properties.-The third section, the tetramera, are vegetable feeders. It includes: 11. The rhynchophora, a large and richly ornamented family, living very often in the interior of fruit and seeds, and very destructive to the products of the farm and the orchard; it is easily recognized by its projecting muzzle. Among the genera are bruchus, whose larvæ are very destructive; of the horticulturist; calandra, one of whose attelabus; brentus; curculio, the greatest pest species, the weevil, destroys immense quantities of grain; the larvae of the C. palmarum are considered a great dainty by the West Indian blacks. 12. The xylophagi, in the larva state, destroy or render useless great numbers of for

Stag Beetle.

destructive, the geotrupide and scarabaida are useful in removing carrion and filth.-The heteromera, the second section of the order, are all vegetable feeders; many of them avoid the light. It includes: 7. The family mela

trees by the channels which they gnaw in various directions. Among the most destructive is the genus scolytus; other genera are bostrichus and trogosita. 13. The platysoma are found beneath the bark of trees. The principal genus is cucujus. 14. The longicornes have filiform and very long antennæ; their larvæ live in the interior or beneath the bark of trees, where they are very destructive. Some of the species are among the largest of the order. Among the genera are parandra, cerambyx, callidium, lamia, saperda, and leptura. 15. The eupoda derive their name from the large size of the posterior thighs in many species; they are all winged, and occur on the stems and leaves of plants, especially the liliacea. Among the genera are sagra, crioceris, and donacia. 16. The cyclica are small, slow in their movements, but often brilliantly colored; the females are very prolific. Here are placed the genera hispa, cassida, cryptocephalus, chrysomela;

eumolpus, one species of which, E. vitis, in its larva state, commits great ravages in wine countries; galeruca and altica, possessed of great jumping powers; the latter is often very destructive to turnip crops. 17. The clavipalpi are all gnawers, and may be distinguished by their antennæ ending in a knob, and by an internal tooth to the jaws; the body is usually rounded. Some of the genera are erotylus, triplax, agathidium, and phalacrus.-The last section, the trimera, have the antennæ ending in a compressed club formed by the last 3 of the 11 joints; it contains: 18. The fungicola, living chiefly in fungi and dead wood. The principal genus is eumorphus. 19. The aphidiphagi are best represented by the genus coccinella, or lady-bird; these pretty little beetles, more especially in the larva state, live almost entirely on aphides, or plant-lice, and in this way are of immense service. 20. The pselaphii have short truncated elytra; the species are generally very small, and live on the ground in moist places, and under stones and moss. The types of this, the last family, are the genera pselaphus and claviger.-The coleoptera are exceedingly numerous in species. It is by the occurrence of elytra that this order may be at once recognized; these organs are highly ornamented, and they serve not only to protect the membranous wings, but to shield the body in the dark and dangerous places in which beetles delight to go; and by their expanded surfaces they assist the heavy species in their flight, acting both as a sail and a parachute.

BEFANA, in Italy, a puppet or doll dressed as a woman, and carried through the streets in procession on the day of Epiphany, and on some other feast days. The name is probably derived from Epifania, the feast of the Epiphany. On the day of this feast presents are given to children in Italy, as they are elsewhere on Christmas or New Year's, and the befana is supposed to bring them.

BEG, Bey, and Beglerbeg, titles of honor among the Turks. Beg means lord or commander; the beglerbeg is "the lord of the lords." The sons of a pasha bear this title, and in the army an officer on being promoted to the rank of colonel obtains the title of bey. In the African provinces, the bey is the supreme officer of Tunis and Tripoli.

BEGAS, Karl, a Prussian painter, born at Heinsberg, near Aix-la-Chapelle, Sept. 30, 1794, died in Berlin, Nov. 24, 1854. He studied first under Philippart, and in Paris under Gros. One of his early works, a copy of the Madonna della Sedia, attracted the attention of the king of Prussia, who appointed him painter to the Prussian court. His productions comprise historical, genre, and portrait paintings, of which the most important are "Henry IV. at the Castle of Canossa," the "Sermon on the Mount," "Christ on the Mount of Olives," the Lorelei, and the portraits of Humboldt, Schelling, Ritter, Rauch, Cornelius, and Meyerbeer.

BEGHARDS. I. The popular appellation of a body of religious penitents of the third order of St. Francis of the congregation of Zepperen. They were founded at the convent of Zepperen in the diocese of Liége prior to 1323, and several other houses soon grew up. They were almost all lay brothers, living in community, and carrying on some trade, as weaving, spectacle-making, &c. Having few priests in the order, they were at first all governed by a superior general, who was a secular priest till Pope Nicholas V. directed that he should always be a Franciscan. These Franciscan tertiaries incorporated into their body a community founded at Antwerp in 1228 and called Beghards, a name of uncertain derivation. The Franciscan rule and habit were adopted, and the name Beghards was given to the whole body. Difficulties having arisen between the priests and lay brothers, they separated for a time, but were finally reunited under one general. In 1651 the whole body was incorporated by Innocent X. with the congregation of Lombardy. There were similar houses in other parts of the Low Countries, some of which also took the name of Beghards. II. A set of fanatics, also called Spiritualists, who arose in the 13th century in the Low Countries, and assumed the dress and name of the Franciscan tertiaries, but refused to obey any ecclesiastical authority. A number of enthusiasts of both sexes joined them, and adopting the reveries of Abbot Joachim, they spread in France, Germany, and Italy, creating great disturbances. They were also called Beguins and Beguines. They were condemned in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII., and by Clement V. in the council of Vienne.

BEGHARMI. See BAGHIRMI.
BEGONIA, a genus of plants indigenous to

Lindley. Their curiously one-sided leaves, and the brilliant colors these often exhibit, make the various species much sought by florists. B. rer has been varied until the leaves not only attain great size, but are beautifully banded. Other species are remarkable for the brilliant red of the under surface of the leaves, or the abundance and grace and color of their flowers. They are easily propagated under glass on the cutting bench by planting the end of the succulent petiole with a small disk of the leaf attached, the new stem springing from this unusual place.

BEGSHEHER, Begshehr, or Beysheher, a lake, river, and town in Karaman, Asia Minor. The lake, which is 20 m. long and from 5 to 10 m. broad, is supposed to be the ancient Carallis or Caralitis in Isauria. It contains a number of islands. The river is the outlet of the lake, and flows S. E. about 25 m. into Lake Soghla. On the banks of this river, near the S. E. end of the lake, stands the town of the same name, 43 m. W. S. W. of Konieh. It is built on both sides of the stream, the opposite quarters being connected by a stone bridge of seven arches. It was formerly the capital of a sanjak.

BEGUARDS. See BEGUINES.

BEGUINES, a sisterhood in the Roman Catholic church peculiar to Belgium and Holland. Their name is ascribed by some to Saint Begghe, by others to their founder Lambert, surnamed le Bègue or the Stammerer, who died in 1177. These Beguines were associated at first in communities, with or without vows, but agreeing to live in chastity and penance. They now make simple vows before the parish priest to live in obedience and chastity as long as they remain in the beguinage. Their habit is black. The beguinages comprise several houses within the same enclosure, with a church, frequently in the centre, each house having its own prioress. (See BEGHARDs).

BEHAIM, or Behem, Martin, a German navigator and geographer, born in Nuremberg about 1459, died in Lisbon, July 29, 1506. He went in 1477 to Flanders, where he engaged in manufacturing and selling cloth at Mechlin and at Antwerp. The active commerce between Flanders and Portugal, and the interest which he took in the great maritime undertakings of the Portuguese, induced him in 1480 to visit Lisbon, where he was well received at the court of John II., and became a pupil of the learned Johann Müller, celebrated under the name of Regiomontanus. Here he was associated with Columbus, whose views of a western passage to India he is said by Herrera to have supported. In 1483 he was appointed a member of the commission for calculating an astrolabe and tables of declension; and in reward for his services he was made a knight of the order of Christ. In the following year he was cosmographer in the expedition of Diogo Cam, who sailed along the W. coast of Africa as far S. as the mouth of the Congo. In 1486 he sailed to Fayal, one of the Azores, where he VOL. II.-31

established a Flemish colony, and married the daughter of its governor. Here he remained till 1490, when he returned to Nuremberg, where he constructed a terrestrial globe, still preserved there, on which historical notices were written, and which is a valuable memorial of the discoveries and geographical knowledge of his time. Behaim subsequently returned to Fayal, and was for a time employed in diplomacy by the Portuguese government. It has been maintained by some writers that he visited America before Columbus; and an island which he places upon his globe far to the west of the Azores has been thought to be evidence of this. But the existence of an island somewhere in the western waters was one of the current beliefs of the time, and it is probable that Behaim had no positive evidence in assigning it a locality.

BEHAM, Hans Sebald, a German painter and engraver, born in Nuremberg about 1500, died in Frankfort in 1550. He was at first a pupil of his uncle Barthel Beham, and afterward of Albert Dürer. Bartsch enumerates 430 of his prints, of which 171 are woodcuts. He excelled principally as an engraver upon copper, and in small prints, which are much in the style of those of Aldegrever. He was notorious for profligacy, on account of which he was thrown into the Main and drowned.

BEHAR, the western portion of the territory under the rule of the lieutenant governor of Bengal, comprising the commissionerships of Patna and Bhaugulpore, bounded W. by the Northwest Provinces and N. by Nepaul; area, exclusive of waste and forest lands and areas of great rivers, 42,417 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 19,736,101, being 465 to the square mile. Behar was a province under the Mohammedan government, but was ceded to the British East India company in 1765. It is the most populous of the large divisions of Bengal, and is generally well watered, fertile, and thoroughly cultivated. The principal products are opium, indigo, and rice. There is a system of irrigation works S. of the Ganges, in the basin of the river Sone. Patna is the chief town. In the Patna commissionership is the smaller administrative district called Behar, including the town of that name, in lat. 29° 19' N., lon. 85° 35', formerly a prominent city, but now comparatively unimportant.

BEHISTUN, Bisutun, or Baghistan, a ruined town of Persia, in the province of Irak-Ajemi, in lat. 34° 18' N., lon. 47° 30′ E., 17 m. E. of Kermanshah. It is noted for a precipitous rock, anciently known as Mount Bagistanus, which on one side rises perpendicularly to the height of 1,700 ft. Diodorus relates that Semiramis encamped near this rock, and caused the lower part to be smoothed away and an inscription engraved upon it in her honor. trace of any such inscription now exists; but the rock contains cuneiform inscriptions engraved upon it by the Persian king Darius Hystaspis, about 516 B. C. The principal in

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