Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/478

BALBOA. took place obtained for Balboa the supreme com- mand in the new colony. Confused accounts which reached him of a great Western ocean impelled him, in 1513, to set out in quest of it. On Sep- tember 25 of that year he obtained the first sight of the Pacific Ocean from a mountain-top in the Isthmus of Panama. On the 20th he reached the water at the point which is still known by the name he gave to it, the Gulf of San Miguel, and took formal possession for Spain, naming the ocean the Mar del Hur, or South Sea, the coast at this point trending nearly east and west. His natural enthusiasm at this great discovery was shared by all the educated men of his time, and the descriptions of it by contemporary authors may still be read with much interest.

The governorship of the territories conquered by Balboa was obtained in 1514 by Pedrarias liaviia, by means of his intrignies at the Spanish Court. Balboa resigned the conunand into the hands of the Onvernnr, a narrow-minded and cruel man, and in a subordinate situation under- took many successful expeditions ; but these, and all his other merits, only served to increase the hatred of Pedrarias Davila toward him. The Government of the mother country sought in vain to mediate between them, and Balboa even arranged to marry the daughter of Pedrarias. Uut on the first occasion of dispute which arose, Balboa, having been induced by Pedrarias to deliver himself up, was accused of a design to rebel, and upon evidence furnished by Garabito, the supposed friend to whom Ballioa had intrust- ed his affairs, he was convicted and beheaded at Ada in 1517

BALBRIG'GAN (Givl., Brecon's to^^l, from haile, ludly, place, town, fort). A seaport town of County Dublin, Ireland, 22 miles north of Dublin ("Map: Ireland, E 3). Its principal manufactures are embroidered nuislins, cotton, calico, and stockings. The cotton stockings made here are remarkable for fineness of te.xture and beauty of open work, and the name Balbriggan has been used to describe varieties of cotton-knit goods prepared elsewhere. Balbriggan is a fa- vorite watering-place. After the battle of the Boyne, William III. encamped here. Popula- tion, about 2500.

BAL'BUS, Lucius Cornelius. ( 1 ) Maioe. A native of Gades (Cadiz), in Spain. After serving in the war against Sertorius he came to Rome and received the citizenship. He was on terms of intimate friendship with Pompey and Csesar, and was chosen to look after C'a?sar's property and interests during the latter's Gallic campaigns. Under Octavianus he was made con- sul (B.C. 40) — the first time this honor had ever been conferred on one not born a Roman citizen. (2) Minor. A nephew of the above. He scr-ed under Cte-sar in Spain, and was rewarded with the position of pontifex. As questor in Spain, under Asinius Pollio, he used his office for fraud and oppression. Years later we find him as gov- ernor in Africa, where he defeated the Gara- mantes and obtained a Roman triumph — a new honor for one not bom a Roman citizen.

BALCH, b.^lch, George Beall (1321 — ). An American naval officer, born in Tennessee. He entered the navy in 1837, studied at the naval school in Philadelphia in 1841-43, and jiartici- pated in most of the naval operations of the "Mexican War In 18C2 he was promoted to be commander, and subsequently, in command suc- cessively of the Pocahontas and the Pawnee, of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, distin- guished himself by his operations on the Black and Stone rivers (Tenn. ), and Togoda Creek (S. C. ). He was commissioned captain in 1866, commodore in 1S72, and rear-admiral in 1878; was superintendent of the United States ^aval .cademv from 1879 to 1881, and was retired in 1883.

BALCONY, bal'k6-ni (It. ialcone, from haleo, scaffold, Gcr. Balken. beam). (1) A jjrojecting platform in front of a window or of several win- dows on the outside of a private or public build- ing, inclosed by a balustrade or parapet, and supported either by consoles and brackets or by supports rising from the ground. The balcony was occasionally used in GrsTco-Roman archi- tecture, as is sliown by a house in Pomjieii, by a temple at Baiip, by ancient frescoes and reliefs, and by literary descriptions of the mwniana of Roman houses, but it did not become popular until the Middle Ages in the Orient and southern Europe.

A VENETIAN BALCONY. Early wooden examples have perished ; the finest remaining ones are the stone balconies in Italy, both in the communal palaces, where they served for public speeches and annoimcements (often called rin(ihiera), and in private palaces, such as those of Venice. In Italy they were usually un- covered, but sometimes, especially in France, they were surmounted by canopies, supported either on brackets or on columns rising from the lial- cony. Renaissance architects made an important feature of the balcony. In northern Europe, es- pecially Switzerland and (ierinany, the structure was usually of wood, and became a most pictur- esque part of houses and chatelets. In modern times, especially, the balcony is made of iron, often artistic, when it is wrought, but is usualh' commonplace and a detriment rather than a;i addition. (2) The term is also applied to the gallery or stern-walk imtside of the stern of a large "ship, and in theatres to the part between the dress-circle and the gallery. See Building; and Architecture.

BALDACHIN, b.al da-kin (It. haUiacchiiio, a canopy, from baldacco, the Italian name of Bagdad, where the fabrics were manufactured). A term borrowed from the East, and originally used of ricli silks or brocades in the form of a canopy or tent-like or umbrella-like covering,