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BERYL

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BETHLEHEM

Beryl, a precious stone, a variety of emerald and known also as aquamarine. They are usually found embedded in granite or in veins that traverse granite or gneiss. Their color is sometimes yellowish and sometimes of a greenish-blue tinge. The best beryls come from Brazil, Ceylon and Siberia; the common opaque beryl is met with in this country. The difference between the beryl and the emerald is due to the coloring-matter; both are double silicates of alumina and glucina; in the beryl the coloring matter is oxide of iron, and in tLe emerald it is oxide of chromium.

Besancon (be-zdn'son'), a French city, capital of the department of Doubs, lies on both sides of the River Doubs. The citadel is perched on an almost inaccessible rock, 410 feet above the river, and the city is so well fortified that it is considered one of the strongest places in France. In the days of Caesar it was called Vesontio, and there he gained several victories. Some streets still bear old Roman names, and Roman ruins are to be seen in the neighborhood. The modern inhabitants are largely engaged in watch-making, the yearly product being nearly 450,000 watches. Victor Hugo and Abel R6musat, the great scholars, were born at Besancon. The city was ceded by Spain to France in 1679, and was unsuccessfully beseiged by the Austrians in 1814. Population, 55,362.

Besant (bgz'ant), Sir Walter, English novelist, was born at Portsmouth in 1836, and educated at King's College, London, and Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1868 he published his first work, Studies in Early French Poetry, which was followed later by & work on the French Humorists. His career as a romance writer was in conjunction

with a journalist, James Rice, in partnership with whom appeared Ready Money Morti-boy and many other novels. Of the stories that appeared in his own name the best are: All Sorts and Conditions of Men, Children of Gibeonf All in a Garden Fair, Katherine Regina, For Faith and Freedom, Armor el of Lyonesse and The Orange Girl. Sir Walter took great interest in matters that affect the interests and status of authors in respect of copyright; he was for many years secretary to the Palestine Exploration fund; and the People's Palace, in the East of London, was inspired by one pf bis stories. He w§§

WALTER    BESANT

knighted for his services to literature in 1895. He died June 9, 1901.

Bes'semer, Ala., a city in Jefferson County, in the center of an iron-producing region, on the Louisville 8t Nashville and other railroads, n miles southwest of Birmingham. Its industries embrace large iron and steel works, blast furnaces, foundries, rolling and planing mills, machine shops and fire brick works. There are coal as well as iron mines in the vicinity. Population (1910), 10,864.

Bes'semer Process. See STEEL.

Bessemer, Sir Henry, an English inventor and engineer, was born in Hertfordshire in 1813, and died in London, March 14, 1898, He is famed for his many inventions, but especially for the revolution in the steel making trade, due to his cheap and ready process of making steel from pig-iron. The process increased the output of steel enormously both in this country and in England: in England the annual production at once rose from 50,000 to 3,000,000 tons, while the price fell nearly 80 per cent. The Bessemer invention consisted in taking the pig-iron when in a state of fusion and blowing a blast of air through it, to clear it of all carbon, and then adding the necessary carbon to produce well-tempered steel. He was knighted in 1879, and was the recipient of many honors and decorations. See KEL-LEY, WILLIAM.

Beth'any, meaning "the house of dates," lies on the southern slope of the Mount of Olives, in Palestine, 2,208 feet above the sea. This little village was the home of Lazarus and his sisters, and was often visited by Christ, and there He worked 1m greatest miracle. It was also the scene of His ascension. It is now a place of about 200 inhabitants. Houses said to be those of Martha and Mary and the cave where Lazarus was buried, are pointed out to the traveler.

Bethes'da, Pool of, meaning "house of mercy," or "house of the stream," is the tank or pool at Jerusalem associated with Christ's healing of the impotent man. The large reservoir, called " Birket Israel," near St. Step hen's gate, and the spring Gihon 01 En Rogel, in Kedron Valley, are each cited by different scholars as the place of this ancient pool.

Beth'lehetn, meaning "house of bread," now called Beitlahm, known as the birthplace of Christ and of King David, is a small village six miles south of Jerusalem. The present inhabitants, numbering about 3,000, live by making and selling crucifixes, beads, boxes, shells and other articles of mother-of-pearl and of olive wood. The Convent of the Nativity is a large square building, believed to have been built by the Empress Helena, 327 A. D.; destroyed by the Moslems in 1236; and rebuilt by the crusaders. The Church of the Nativity within it is