Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/690

BATTLE CREEK. rium with a seating capacity of 3500, one of the largest ecclesiastical halls in the State. Bat- tle Creek is the centre of a fertile agricultural district, and controls a considerable trade in the products of the region, principally grain, fruit, live stock, and wool, as well as in its most im- portant manufactured products: threshing-ma- chines and agricultural implements, pumps, en- gines, flour, and hose fixtures. The city enjoys a national reputation for its breakfast and health foods. The repair-shops of the Chicago and Grand Trunk Railroad are located here. Manufacturing interests are promoted by excel- lent water-power. Settled about 1835. Battle Creek was incorporated as a village in 1850, and nine years later received a city charter. The government, under a revised charter of 1900, is vested in a mayor, annually elected; a city coun- cil; and administrative officials, of whom the police commission, city attorney, city engineer, and health officer are appointed by the mayor, the last three with the consent of the council. The others are chosen bj' popular vote. The water-works are owned and operated by the mu- nicipality. Population, in 1890, 13,197; in 1900. 18,563.

BAT'TLE-CRY OF FREE'DOM, A patriotic song of the Civil War, by George Frederick Root (1801).

BAT'TLEFORD. A trading town in the Saskatchewan District, Northwest Territories, Canada, at the junction of the Saskatchewan and Battle rivers, 70 miles north of the line of the Canadian Pacific Railroad (Map: Northwest Territories, H 4). From 1876 to 1883 it was the capital of the Northwest Territory, an honor that now belongs to Regina (q.v.). The insurrection headed by Louis Riel (q.v.) originated near Battleford. The country about the town is a fertile farming region. Population, in 1891, 1500; in 1901, 797.

BAT'TLE-HYMN OF THE REPUB'LIC, a stirring sung by Julia Ward Howe (1862), published in the Atlantic Monthly. The music is that of the song, "John Brown's Body."

BAT'TLEMENT (evidently from unrecorded OF. bastillement, from OF. bastiller, to fortify, bastir, Fr. batir, to build; cf. bastille, fortress). A term describing the parapet of mediæval defensive towers and walls. The parapet is formed by a number of rising parts known as cops or merlons, the intervening spaces called crevelles. The soldier would take shelter behind the merlon, while he fired through the crevelle. Good examples are found on the towers of old castles throughout Europe: and on churches, armories, and other public buildings in the United States, where they are employed for their architectural value.

BATTLEMENT.

BATTLE MON'UMENT. (1) An abbey erected on the site of the battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror. The remains of it exist to this day. (2) A monument, 72 feet high, erected in 1815, at Baltimore, Md., in memory of those who defended the city against the British in September, 1814.

BATTLE OF ALCAZAR, al-ka'thar. The. The title of a drama by Peele (1594). It eon- tains the notable character of Muley Mulocco, and is founded on an actual fight which took place between the forces of the kings of Portugal and Morocco, in 1578. Copies of the first edition exist in the British Museum and elsewhere in English public libraries.

BATTLE OF HAST'INGS, A battle fought between Harold of England and William, Duke of Normandy, October 14, 1066, in which the former lost his life and more than 30,000 men. Two poems by Chatterton, appearing about 1708, and a drama by Cumberland, performed in 1778, are founded on the event. See.

BATTLE OF IS'SUS, A battle fought B.C. 333, in which Alexander defeated Darius, with a loss of 100,000 men. The Persian Queen and her family were captured. The Macedonian loss was estimated to be only 300 foot and 100 horse. The battle was made the subject of a famous mosaic, which was once in the House of the Faun at Pompeii, and is now preserved at the Museo Nazionale, Naples.

BATTLE OF PRAGUE, prag, The. A battle fought at Prague, May 6, 1757, in which the Austrians were defeated by Prince Henry of Prussia, their whole camp equipage taken, and their commander. General Brown, mortally wounded. An example of programme music de- scribing the battle was composed by Kotzwara, and published posthumously in 1792. It was written for pianoforte, with violoncello and drum. Mention of it is made in the early part of Thackeray's Yellowplush Papers, as the fa- vorite musical exercise of rather vulgar young women.

BATTLE OF THE BAL'TIC. A great naval battle fought April 2, 1801. The English fleet, under Lord Nelson and Admiral Parker, bombarded Copenhagen, and took and destroyed 28 ships of the Danish fleet. The poet Thomas Campbell commemorated it in a stirring lyric of the same name, published in 1809.

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS. The title of a famous book by Jonathan Swift, which grew out of the controversy over the comparative merits of ancient and modern literature. The controversy was started in France by Charles Perrault. In 1687 he read before the Academy a poem called Le Siècle de Louis le Grand, in which he aroused the classicists by placing the moderns above the ancients. He was assailed by Boileau in Réflections sur Longin (1693), and in other works. Perrault subsequently elaborated his position in the Parallèle des anciens et des modernes (1688-96). The dispute was taken up by English scholars. Sir William Temple sided with the ancients, and was aided by Charles Boyle, fourth Earl of Orrery. Temple was overwhelmed by Richard Bentley and William Wotton. Swift burlesqued the whole controversy