Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/468

 448 BEDFORD by Duck river ; area, 550 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 24,333, of whom 6,484 were colored. The sur- face is undulating and the soil fertile. The county is traversed by the Nashville and Chat- tanooga railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 212,922 bushels of wheat, 1,010,642 of Indian corn, 104,801 of oats, 35,516 Ibs. of wool, and 869 bales of cotton. There were 6,255 horses, 2,372 mules and asses, 4,568 milch cows, 8,916 other cattle, 25,204 sheep, and 38,962 swine. Capital, Shelbyville. BEDFORD, a post borough, capital of Bedford county, Penn., 256 m. by rail W. of Philadel- phia, on the Raystown branch of the Juniata river; pop. in 1870, 1,247. It is celebrated for its mineral springs, situated in a valley about 1-J in. from the town, and much resorted to by invalids in summer. The water con- tains carbonic acid, sulphate of magnesia, sul- phate of lime, and muriate of soda. It has two weekly newspapers. BEDFORD, a municipal and parliamentary borough of England, capital of Bedfordshire, situated on the Ouse, 41 m. N.W. of London by a new branch of the Midland railway ; pop. in 1871, 16,849. The town is well paved, and di- vided by the Ouse into two parts, which are connected by a fine stone bridge. John Bunyan preached here and composed his "Pilgrim's Progress " in the county jail. The charitable and educational institutions of Bedford are larger and better than those of most English towns. Many of them were endowed by Sir William Harpur in the reign of Edward VI. ; his bequests produce over 13,000 a year, and support several schools of different grades, in- cluding a grammar school (which has been en- larged since 1861, and is now known as the Tudor collegiate building), and over 50 houses for paupers. The old church of St. Peter's, with a curious Norman door and an antique font, was enlarged in 1846. The Bunyan meet- ing house, originally a Baptist chapel, has been rebuilt, and was opened in 1850. Among the prominent public edifices, the Bedford school buildings are remarkable for their beauty and extent ; the public library is also a fine estab- lishment. There is an excellent corn exchange, and a new cattle market was opened in 1867. There is an active trade in wheat, barley, malt, coal, timber, and iron. The principal manu- factures are pillow lace, straw plait, shoes, and agricultural implements, the iron ploughs of the Howard establishment being the most re- nowned of England. Bedford has sent two members to parliament ever since the end of the 13th century, besides the two returned by the county. It is supposed to be identical with the town of Bedcanford mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle, the scene of conflicts between the Saxons and Britons late in the 6th century, and 400 years later between the Saxons and the Danes, who burned it early in the llth century. The first charter on record was granted to the town by Henry II., and the last by Charles II. BEDFORD, Conning S., an American physi- cian, born in Baltimore in 1806, died in New York, Sept. 5, 1870. He graduated at the Rutgers medical college in 1829, and after- ward spent two years in professional study in Europe. In 1833 he was appointed professor in the medical college of Charleston, and sub- sequently in the medical college of Albany, N. Y. Soon afterward he commenced practice in the city of New York, and on the establish- ment of the medical department of the New York university (1840) he was created professor of obstetrics, in which chair he continued till 1862. His two principal works, which have been remarkably popular, are " The Principles and Practice of Obstetrics," and "The Diseases of Women and Children," the latter of which has passed through ten editions. They have been translated into French and German. BEDFORD, John, Duke of, an English soldier and statesman, born about 1389, died in Rouen, France, Sept. 14, 1435. He was the third son of Henry IV. of England and of Mary de Bo- hun, daughter of the earl of Hereford. He was knighted in 1399, at the coronation of his fa- ther, and became governor of Berwick-upon- Tweed and warden of the Scottish marches. His brother Henry V. in 1415 conferred upon him the dukedom of Bedford, and appointed him governor and commander-in-chief of Eng- land, while he vindicated in France his right to that realm. Henry V. in 1422 designated on his deathbed the duke of Bedford as regent of France during the minority of Henry VI., then one year old, and the fourth son of Henry IV., the duke of Gloucester, as regent of Eng- land. So great was Bedford's renown, that parliament set aside the king's will so far as to make him also protector of England, except- ing during his absence beyond seas, when his brother the duke of Gloucester was to dis- I charge this function. The proceedings on this occasion established an important constitutional precedent in favor of the prerogatives of parlia- ment over the crown. Bedford first offered the regency of France to the duke of Burgundy, on whose refusal he assumed the office in virtue of the treaty of Troyes in 1420, the dukes of Burgundy and Brittany having renewed their adherence to this treaty, and the union between them being cemented by Bedford and the duke of Brittany both marrying daughters of the duke of Burgundy. After the death of Charles VT. of France (Oct. 21, 1422) Bedford pro- claimed Henry VI. as king of both countries; but war soon broke out with Charles VII., who was defeated at CreVant (1423), and over- whelmed at Verneuil (1424), where Bedford commanded in person and displayed great skill, but was unable to follow up his victory. Jacque- line of Luxemburg, wife of the duke of Glouces- ter, had eloped from her first husband, the duke of Brabant, who contested her Hainaut posses- 1 sions with Gloucester; and when they were invaded by the latter, the duke of Burgundy came to the assistance of his kinsman of Bra-