Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/17

LEFT BEBOSUS I blown up, infernal machines were placed in the holds of outgoing steamers, ex- plosions and wrecks took place in ship- yards, strikes were instigated without apparent reason, and American public opinion grew steadily more exasperated. The intention to sink the "Lusitania" was evidently known to Bernstorff in ad- vance, as prior to the vessel's sailing he inserted a warning in American papers against taking passage on the liner, a warning that was arrogant and unpre- cedented, and aroused great resentment on the part of the American Government and people. The end of Bernstorff's American career came with the declara- tion by the German Government that it was about to inaugurate a campaign of ruthless submarine warfare. This dec- laration was issued on Jan. 31, 1917, and on February 3 Count von Bernstorff re- ceived his passports. On February 5 the German Emperor conferred upon him the Iron Cross of the White Ribbon for his services. During the war he was employed in various diplomatic services in Berlin. He gave important and inter- esting testimony in 1919 before the Reichstag Committee that was investi- gating the conduct of the war, in which he declared that he had opposed the in- auguration of unrestricted submarine warfare, but that his efforts to keep America from participating in the war had been frustrated by the obtuseness of the German Government. In 1920 the ex-Ambassador published a book, entitled: "My Three Years in America," which contained many facts that had not previously been made public and that were of exceptional historical interest. In this he denied in toto the intrigues of the German Embassy lead- ing to crimes in this country. BEROSUS, a genus of beetles belong- ing to the family hydrophilidse. They have prominent eyes, a narrow thorax, a dusky yellow hue, with dark metallic bronze markings. They swim in ponds, often in an inverted position. BERQUIN, LOUIS DE (ber-karl'), the first Protestant martyr in France, born in 1490. He was a gentleman of Artois, a friend of Badius, the savant. When, in 1523, the police began to seize Lu- ther's works, with a view to suppressing Protestantism, they found among Ber- quin's books some manuscripts of his own writing that were pronounced he- retical. As he refused to retract, he was thrown into prison. Francis I., whose counselor he was, obtained for him his freedom; and Erasmus, always his friend, tried in vain to prevent him from exposing his life in a useless I BESSEBKEB struggle. He was burned alive in Paris, April 17, 1529. BERRI, or BERRY, CHARLES FERDINAND, DUKE OF, second son of the Count d' Artois (afterward Charles X.), born at Versailles, Jan. 24, 1778. In 1792 he fled with his father to Turin and served under him and Conde on the Rhine. In 1801 he went to Great Britain, and planned for the restoration of the Bourbons. In 1814 he landed at Cherbourg, and passed on to Paris, gain- ing many adherents to the royal cause; but they melted away when Napoleon landed from Elba, and the Count was compelled to retire to Ghent and Alost. After Waterloo he returned to Paris, and in 1816 married. He was assassi- nated by Louvel, a political fanatic, Feb. 14, 1820. The Duke had by his wife, Carolina Fernandina Louisa, eldest daughter of Francis, afterward King of the Two Sicilies, a daughter, Louise Marie Therese, afterward Duchess of Parma, and a posthumous son, Comte de Chambord. BERRY, a succulent fruit, in which the seeds are immersed in a pulpy mass inclosed by a thin skin. Popularly it is applied to fruits like the strawberry, bearing external seeds on a pulpy recep- tacle, but not strictly berries. BERRY, CANAL DE, one of the most important canals in France as regards the amount of its traffic ; begins at Mont- lugon on the Cher, the chief trading cen- ter of the coal fields of the Allier; de- scends the Cher valley to St. Ai-mand, then proceeds E., and soon after branches, one branch going N. E. and joining the lateral canal of the Loire about 9 miles N. W. of Nevers, the other branch pro- ceeding N. and rejoining the valley of the Cher, and ultimately entering the Cher itself near St. Aignan, below which point the canalized Cher continues the line of navigation to Tours. Length of navigation 200 miles, of which 36^ miles belong to the canalized Cher. Con- structed 1807-1841. BERSAGLIERI (ber-sal-ya'-re), ^ a corps of riflemen or sharpshooters, in- troduced into the Sardinian army by Gen. Delia Marmora, about 1849. They took part in the Russian War and also as- sisted at the battle of the Tchemaya, Aug. 16, 1855. They were likewise era- ployed in the Italian Wars of 1859 and 1866, and in the Woi'ld War, where they performed heroic service. BERSERKER, a redoubtable hero, the grandson of the eight-handed Starkader and the beautiful Alfhilde. He despised mail and helmet, and, contrary to the