Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/683

BATHOMETER. corrugated steel-plate diaphragm. The pressure of the mercury upon the upper surface of the diaphragm is opposed by a plate adjusted to bear upon the centre of its upper surface, and this plate is supported by steel spiral springs, which are attached to the top of the column. In the construction of the instrument, care was taken to compensate for the variations caused in the density of the mercury and in the elasticity of the steel springs by change of temperature. The pressure of the mercury in the diaphragm causes an extension of the steel springs by an amount depending on the force of attraction act- ing on the mass of the mercury. This extension, of the spring is so magnified by a micrometer screw that the apparatus indicates a change of a fathom in depth of water for each division on the scale of the micrometer.

BÁTHORY, bii'to-re. A noble family of Hungary. (born 1522) was elected Prince of Transylvania in 1571, and King of Poland in 1575. He married Anna, sister of the last of the Jagellons of Poland. He introduced reforms in the administration of Poland, and waged war successfully against Russia. His right hand in the government of Poland was the distinguished statesman, Zamojski. Stephen died in 1586. His brother,, was Prince of Transylvania from 1576 to 1581, He was a friend of the Jesuits, by whom his son and successor, , was instructed. The latter, in 1595, married a daughter of the Archduke Charles of Styria, an uncle of Rudolph II. In 1598 he transferred the principality of Transylvania to Rudolph, as he intended to enter the priesthood. He soon regretted his renunciation of the territory, however, and while the Imperial commissioners were still negotiating the terms of acceptance, suddenly appeared disguised at Klausenburg and arrested them, sending Bocskay to Prague to pacify the Emperor. He was compelled to resign in 1602, and died at Prague in 1613. , a son of Stephen, King of Poland, was elected Prince of Transylvania in 1608. In consequence of his cruelty, the magnates of his realm, as well as the Saxon element of the country, rose against him, and during the war which ensued he fled to Grosswardein, where he was murdered, October 11, 1613. , niece of Stephen Báthory, King of Poland, is celebrated as a type of fiendish cruelty. She is said to have slaughtered 650 young girls, in whose blood she used to bathe, to increase the fairness of her skin. She died in prison in 1614.

BA'THOS (Gk. βάθος, depth). A term employed by critics to designate a ludicrous descent from a lofty thought to a mean one, or a sinking below the ordinary level of thought in a ridiculous effort to aspire. (See .) A good example of bathos is the well-known couplet:

And thou, Dalhousie. the great god of war, Lieuteuant-colouel to the Earl of Mar.

Consult Pope, "The Art of Sinking in Poetry," in the Scriblerus Papers (London, 1729).

BATH'SHEBA (Heb. bath, daughter + sheba, oath; 'daughter of an oath'). (1) The wife of Uriah, and afterwards mother of Solomon. (2) The name under which Charles II.'s mistress, the Duchess of Portsmouth, appears in Absalom and Achitophel, a satire by Dryden. (3) The heroine of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.

BATHS OF CAR'ACAL’LA. See.

BATHS OF DI'OCLE'TIAN. See. BATHS OF TI'TUS. See.

BATH (bath) STONE. A building-stone extensively used in England on account of its beauty, and obtained from quarries in the Lower Oölite of Wiltshire and Somersetshire. It is fine-grained, of a rich cream-color, and is composed of carbonate of lime, with a little carbonate of magnesia, but without silica. It is easily cut in the quarry, some beds working as readily as chalk, and it hardens on exposure to the air, but is not very durable. This stone was used for the restoration of Henry VII.'s Chapel in Westminster Abbey, and within twenty-five years it had begun to decompose. The name is derived from the town of Bath, in the vicinity of which the stone is largely quarried.

BATHURST, bath'flrst. A city and county of New South Wales, Australia, the first settlement beyond the Blue Mountains (q.v.), which were long believed to be impassable (Map: New South Wales, E 3). In 1851 there were discoveries of gold here, which is mined, together with copper and silver. The country is bounded on the northeast by the Macquarie River, and on the southeast by the Lachlan. The whole district is admirably adapted to pastoral pursuits. It is well watered, and being 2000 feet above the level of the sea, has a moderate temperature. The population of the district in 1891 was 18,000. Bathurst is a fine city, with handsome public buildings and various important industries. It was created a municipality in 1862. It is the see of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops. Population, in 1895, 9500.

BATHURST. A large island in the Arctic Ocean, intersected by the 100th meridian of west longitude, and situated immediately beyond the 75th parallel. Sherard Osborn here found the vertebræ of an ichthyosaurus — one of the few instances of organic remains discovered in the polar basin on the American side.

BATHURST. The principal settlement of the British Colony of the Gambia, West Africa, situated on a small island at the mouth of the Gambia, in about latitude 13° 28' N. and longitude 16° 32' W. There are Government houses, barracks, and a hospital. Facing the river are the stores of the European merchants. The exports consist of gum. wax, hides, rice, cotton, groundnuts, and rubber. Population, about 6000.

BATHURST. A port of entry and the seat of a United States consular agent on Nepisiguit Bay at the mouth of Nepisiguit River, in Gloucester County, New Brunswick, Canada, 175 miles north by east of Saint John. It has a good harbor and thriving fishing industries. Population, in 1901, 1867.

BATHURST,, first Earl of Bathurst (1684-1775). An English statesman, born in London. He entered Parliament in 1705, and distinguished himself as a supporter of the union of England and Scotland. In 1711 Queen Anne made him a baron, and he won further distinction in the Upper House by impeaching the di-