Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/481

BEA bishopric of Tournay. When that town was besieged by Prince Eugene, the bishop sold all his effects for the benefit of the starving inhabitants, and, after its reduction, he boldly refused to celebrate the Te Deum demanded by the conqueror. By the cession of Tournay to the emperor, he was again subjected to the pain of separating from a people among whom he was universally beloved. He afterwards held in succession the archbishoprics of Toulouse and Narbonne, and, for twenty years, filled the office of president in Languedoc. Died in 1739.—J. S., G.  BEAUVILLIERS,, abbess of Montmartre, a daughter of count de St. Aignan, was born in 1574. Henry IV. saw her in 1590, during the siege of Paris, and made her his mistress. She did not long retain the royal favour. The last fifty years of her life were spent in the convent of Montmartre, the refractory inmates of which she ruled with a stern rectitude. Died in 1656.—J. S., G.  * BEAUVOIR,, born 20th October, 1823, at Chateau Pont Kallek, authoress of some pleasingly written dramatic pieces, which have been successfully performed in the minor theatres of the French capital. Her most important work is a "Memoir of the famous Actress Madame Mars," one of those peculiarly gifted beings whose place cannot be filled up, because of an originality which leaves no like behind. To this work Madame Beauvoir has brought that thorough devotedness of affection, without which no full biography can be well written.—J. F. C.  BEAUVOLLIER,, a French general, born in the neighbourhood of Loudun in 1770; died about 1825. He was at first a page of Louis XVI., but after the proclamation of the Republic, he joined the army of the Vendeans at Thouars, obtained a command in the second artillery, and became afterwards tresorier intendant-general. After the defeat of the Vendeans he concealed himself, until released by the amnesty of 1797. In 1799 he again joined the royalist army, but made his submission in 1801. He afterwards served under Napoleon and the Bourbons; and at the second restoration was made mareschal-de-camp.—G. M.  BEAUZÉE,, distinguished for his works on grammar and his philological knowledge, was born at Verdun on the 9th of May, 1717. Frederick the Great invited him to settle at Berlin, which, however, Beauzée declined. Upon the death of Dumarsais, Beauzée took up the articles on grammar for the Encyclopédie, in which the former was engaged; and their contributions, with those of Marmontel, were afterwards published under the title of Dictionnaire de Grammaire et de Litterature. His greatest work is the "Grammaire Generale," a work which won the highest praise from the Abbe Barthelemy, and from Maria Theresa a gold medal. Beauzée was a member of the Académie Française and professor of grammar in the Ecole Militaire at Paris. Besides his original works, he has left many translations. He died at Paris, January 23, 1789.—J. F. W.  BEAVER,, in Latin, , and , a Benedictine monk of Westminster, who flourished at the beginning of the fourteenth century. He was well skilled in the history of English antiquities, and wrote a "Chronicle of British and English affairs, from the coming of Brutus until his own time;" and a volume, "De Rebus Cænobii Westmonanasteriensis." Leland, Stow, and Bale, alike speak of him as a writer of ability and credit.—T. J.  BEAVER,, an English navigator, who, after serving as a marine in the American war, became celebrated in connection with a project for colonizing the island of Bulama on the western coast of Africa, was born in 1760. On his return from America after the conclusion of the war, anxious to distinguish himself in some honourable way, he conceived the idea of attempting, with the help of some influential persons, the establishment of an English colony in Africa, by means of which religion and the arts might be introduced into that continent. As soon as he announced the scheme it found general approval, and in a short while the necessary preparations were made for transporting to the island of Bulama, much lauded as a residence for Europeans by some French adventurers, a body of colonists (275 in number, including women and children), who had offered themselves for the work of colonizing. The sanction of government having been obtained for the enterprise, Beaver set sail with three vessels from the Isle of Wight in April, 1792, and in safety reached his destination. But the colonists, immediately after landing, were attacked almost to a man by fever, and in less than four months a third of their number had fallen victims to that malady. The survivors urged on their hardy chief the necessity of a return to England, and an opportunity offering for embarking in a government ship, they proposed instantly to quit the pestiferous island; but his indomitable resolution prevailed through sixteen long months to hold them to their work, or rather to make them abide their sufferings, and only in November, 1793, when but few were left to tell the tale of misery, would he consent to relinquish the settlement. After an absence of two years, some months having been wasted at Sierra Leone in waiting for an English vessel, he arrived at Plymouth and with but one companion. The misfortunes of the enterprise were immediately communicated to the society by whose help it had been originated, and notwithstanding the disappointment of their hopes, so impressed were they by the noble courage and disinterestedness of their agent, that they awarded him a gold medal in token of their admiration. Twelve years after his return, Beaver published an account of his unfortunate residence in Africa, under the title of "African Memoranda, relative to an Attempt to Establish a British Settlement in the Island of Bulama, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the year 1792, with a Brief Notice of the Neighbouring Tribes, Soil, Productions," &c. In 1801 he was in active service in Egypt under Abercromby, and in 1810 was present at the capture of the Isle of France. He afterwards cruised in the Indian seas in command of a frigate, and was employed in exploring the coast of Quiloa. He died at the Cape of Good Hope in 1813.—J. S., G.  BEBEL,, professor of theology at Wittemberg, was born at Strasburg in 1632, and died in 1686. He published "Antiq. Germaniæ primæ," 1669, and "Antiq. Ecclesiæ in quatuor prioribus post Christum natum seculis."—J. S., G. <section end="481H" /> <section begin="481I" />BEBEL,, was born at Justingen in Suabia about the year 1472; and after being educated at Schelklengen he went to Cracow, where he completed his studies; and between this city and that of Basle he seems to have passed the period of his life from 1490 to 1497, when he was appointed teacher of eloquence and poetry at Tübingen. In this post he soon distinguished himself by the elegance and brilliancy of his lectures, which drew crowds of auditors. He applied himself to the reformation of the study of classical literature, especially Latin; and though involved in many disputes with the literary men of his day, did more than all of them together towards the advancement of classical learning. He has written much; and it is to be regretted that some of his "Opuscula," by which he is best known, are mere facetiæ, and sometimes worse still. During his life he was held in high estimation as a literary reformer. He died about 1516.—J. F. W. <section end="481I" /> <section begin="481J" />BECAN,, a Flemish physician, whose real name was , or in Latin,, was born in Brabant on the 25th June, 1518, and died at Maestricht on the 28th June, 1572. He studied philosophy and medicine at Louvain, and afterwards travelled into Italy, Spain, and France. On his return to his native country, Becan established himself in Antwerp, where he practised medicine for several years, but becoming disgusted with his profession after a time, devoted himself entirely to the study of antiquities and the belles-lettres. Towards the close of his life he removed to Liège, and during his residence in this town, maintained before the Prince Gerard van Groesbeeck, that the language spoken by Adam was German or Teutonic. He was not satisfied, however, with giving this curious opinion a mere viva voce support, but endeavoured to establish it by citing numerous absurd etymologies in his "Indo-Scythica," forming one section of the work entitled "Origines Antwerpianæ, sive Cimmeriorum Becceselana novem libris complexa," &c., published in 1569. His other writings were collected and published eight years after his death, under the title of "Opera Joannis Gorophii Becanii hactenus in lucem non edita," &c—W. S. D. <section end="481J" /> <section begin="481Zcontin" />BECAN,, a jesuit theologian, famous in his time as a champion of ultramontane doctrines, was born in Brabant in 1550, and died in 1624. He was professor of theology at Wurtzburg, Mentz, and Vienna, and latterly confessor to the Emperor Ferdinand II. His controversial talents, which, after his publications in support of Bellarmin, the learned antagonist of James I., were reputed prodigious, procured him the titles of "Calvinomastyx" and "Malleus Calvinistarum"—marks of popular estimation which did not prevent the parliament of Paris from burning most of his books, nor the holy see from <section end="481Zcontin" />