Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/800

BEISA. BEISA, bi'sa. A large antelope of Abyssinia (Oryx beisa), allied to the gemsbok, but lacking the tuft of hair on the throat. See ;
 * and Plate of.

BEISSEL, bi'sfl, (1690- 1768). A German mystic, prominent as the founder of the sect of "Seventh-Day Dunkers," and of the Ephrata Community. He was born at Eberbach in the Palatinate, and learned the trade of a baker. He also studied music and became a competent violinist. After he had taken a course in theology at Halle he was ban- ished (in 1720) for holding Pietistie and In- spirational views, emigrated to America, and with a few friends settled in Germantown, Pa. In the following year he became a hermit at Mill Creek, Lancaster County, Pa., where he remained until 1724, when he returned to Germantown, and was there baptized as a Dunker. He soon began to preach doctrines distasteful to the Dunkers, especially with regard to celibacy and the observance of Saturday as Sabbatli, and in May, 1725, founded the sect of Seventh-Day Dunkers. He again became a hermit in 1732, this time on the river Cocalico; but his a.lherents followed him to his retreat, and in 1735 he founded the "Order of the Solitary," and estab- lished the celebrated settlement at Ephrata, Pa. (q.v.), at whose head he remained until his death. Here he put into practice many of his socialistic, communistic, and religious theories.

He published various collections of hymns, including. The Voice of the Lonely and Forsaken Turtle Dove — that is, of the Christian Church; by a Peaceable Pilgrim Traveling to Tranquil Eternity (1747); and Paradisiacal Wonder-Play (1766), which contains the sect's quaint "Brother Song" of 215 stanzas, and its "Sister Song" of 250 stanzas. He was also the author of the first volume of German poetry published in America, Göttliche Liebes- und Lobestöne (Philadelphia, 1730). By his fellow-religionists he was known as "Friedsam," and the inscription on his tombstone at Ephrata reads: "Here rests an outgrowth of the love of God, 'Friedsam,' a Solitary Brother, afterwards a leader, ruler, teacher of the Solitary and the Congregation of Christ in and around Ephrata." For a partial account of his life, consult the curious Chronicon Ephratense (Ephrata, 1786).

BEIT, bat. An Arabic word signifying house, abode, or place, the equivalent of which in Hebrew is beth. Thus, in Arabic we have beit-al-haram, the house of the sanctuary, or the sacred house, the name of the central sanctuary at Mecca; and in Hebrew Beth-el, house of God, Beth-abara, place of fords, etc.

BEIT-EL-FAKIH, bat'el-fa'k^ (Ar. beit, honae + el, the + faqih, teacher, schoolmaster). A fortified town of Asiatic Turkey, in the Vilayet of Hodeida, formerly Yemen, situated about 19 miles from the Red Sea. It was formerly the chief centre of the coffee trade in Asia, and still exports about 12,000,000 pounds annually. Popu- lation about 8000.

BEITULLAH, bat'ul'la (Ar. beit, house + Allah. God). The spacious building or temple at Mecca which contains the Kaaba. See ; and.

BEITZKE, bits'ke, Heinrich Ludwig (1798- 1867). A German politician and historian, born at Muttrin (Pomerania). He served as a volun-

teer in the campaign of 1815, studied at the military schools of Coblenz and Mainz, entered the army as an officer in 1817, and retired in 1845 with the rank of major. In 1858 he was elected to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies. He published Geschichte der deutsehen Freiheitskriege in den Jahren 1813 und 1814 (1855) — an accurate and unprejudiced narrative, widely read; Geschichte des russischen Kriegs im Jahre 1812 (1856); Geschichte des Jahres 1815 (1865), and some other less important works.

BEJA, bii'zha (the Pax Julia of the ancients). A town and seat of a bishopric in the Province of Alemtejo, Portugal, 36 miles south of Evora (Map: Portugal, B 3). It contains an interesting mediæval castle, a cathedral, the notable Church of Our Lady of the Conception, the remains of ancient fortifications, and a Roman aqueduct. Two fairs are held here annually. The city has a considerable trade in the cattle and agricultural products of the fertile region adjacent, and there are also tanneries and potteries. Population, in 1890, 8394; in 1900, 8895.

BE'JAN, or BA'JAN (Med. Lat. bejanus, Fr. bejaune, bec jaune, yellow beak, i.e. unfledged bird, sometimes beanus: ef. Ger. Gelbschnabel). A name applied to freshmen in mediæval universities, and still surviving in Scotland. Bejaunia, or payment for 'first footing' by students on entering the university, was general in the Middle Ages, and was a part of a kind of initiative ceremony which included much horseplay, ending with a banquet. Often there was elected a mock 'abbot' of the Bejauni. These practices led to so much abuse that they were frequently a subject of university statutes, which, however, tended rather to regulation than to suppression of this form of hazing. For an account of the ceremonies consult Rashdall, Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1895).

BEJAPORE, be'ja-por'. See.

BEJAR, ba'nar. An old town of .Spain, in the Province of Salamanca, about 45 miles south of the capital of the province (Map: Spain, C 2). It is situated on the river Cuerpo de Hombre, on a plateau 3105 feet above sea-level. There are extensive cloth manufactures and tanneries, and a considerable trade in wool. Bejar gives its title to a ducal family, whose ancestral palace within its walls, and the churches of San Juan, Santa Maria, and El Salvador, are the most pretentious buildings. There are warm sulphur springs in the vicinity.

BEJART, ba'zhiir'. A family of French comedians of the end of the Seventeenth Cen- tury. They formed part of Molière's troupe. One of them, Armande, was married to Molière in 1662, and imbittered his last years by her coquetries. See.

BEJAS, ba'jas. Hamitic peoples between the Nile, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Upper Egypt. They are tall (1.708 m.) and muscular, with black, almost woolly hair. Keane subdivides them into Ahabdeh, Bishari, and Taga. See.

BEKAA, bek'a-a. El (Heb., Ar., large valley). The Cœle-Syria of the ancients, the 'plain of Lebanon" of'the Old Testament. A beautiful and fertile elevated valley of Syria, situated between the nearly parallel ranges" of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains, and watered by