1792. The revolution of 1830 commenced here, Aug. 25.-See Belgium. This town is celebrated for its fine lace, camlets, and tapestry. There is here a noble building, called the Hôtel de Ville, whose turret is 364 feet in height; and on its top is a copper figure of St. Michael, 17 feet high, which turns with the wind. Riot in Brussels, in which the costly furniture of 16 principal houses was demolished, in consequence of a display of attachment to the house of Orange 5th April, 1834. BUBBLE COMPANIES, in commerce, a name given to projects for raising money upon false and imaginary grounds, much practised, often with disastrous consequences, in France and England, in 1719 and 1721. Many such projects were formed in England and Ireland in 1825. See Companies, and Law's Bubble. BUCCANEERS. These piratical adventurers, chiefly French, English, and Dutch, commenced their depredations on the Spaniards of America, soon after the latter had taken possession of that continent and the West Indies. The principal commanders of the first expeditions were, Montbar, Lolonois, Basco, and Morgan, who murdered thousands, and plundered millions. The expedition of Van Horn, of Ostend, was undertaken in 1603; that of Gramont, in 1685; and that of Pointis, in 1697. BUCHANITES. Hundreds of deluded fanatics, followers of Margaret Buchan, who promised to conduct them to the new Jerusalem, and prophesied the end of the world. She appeared in Scotland in 1779, and died in 1791, when her followers dispersed.

BUCHAREST, TREATY OF. The preliminaries of peace ratified at this place between Russia and Turkey, it being stipulated that the Pruth should be the frontier limit of those empires, signed May 28, 1812. The subsequent war between those powers altered many of the provisions of this treaty.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON. The original edifice, called Buckingham-house, was built on the site known as Mulberry-gardens, by John Sheffield, duke of Buckingham, in 1703. In 1761, it became the property of the late queen Charlotte, who made it her town residence; and here all her children, with the exception of the eldest, were born. Here likewise several royal marriages have taken place: the late duke of York and princess Frederica of Prussia, in 1791; duke of Gloucester and princess Mary, 1816; prince of Hesse-Homburg and princess Elizabeth, 1818; and the duke of Cambridge and princess of Hesse, in the same year. Buckingham-house was pulled down in 1825, and the new palace commenced on its site; and after an expenditure which must have approached a million sterling, it was completed, and was taken possession of by queen Victoria, July 13, 1837.

BUCKLERS. Those used in single combat were invented by Proetus and Acrisius, of Argos, about 1370 B.C. When Lucius Papirius defeated the Samnites, he took from them their bucklers, which were of gold and silver, 309 B.c. See article Armour. BUCKLES. The wearing of buckles commenced in the reign of Charles II. ; but people of inferior rank, and such as affected plainness in their garb, wore strings in their shoes some years after that period: these last were, however, ridiculed for their singularity in using them.

BUDA; once called the Key of Christendom. It was taken by Solyman II. at the memorable battle of Mohatz, when the Hungarian king, Louis, was killed, and 200,000 of his subjects were carried away captives, 1526. Buda was sacked a second time, when the inhabitants were put to the sword, and Hungary was annexed to the Ottoman empire, 1540. Re-taken by the Imperialists, and the Mahometans delivered up to the fury of the soldiers, 1686. See Hungary. BUENOS AYRES. The capital was founded by Pedro Mendoza, in 1535. It was taken by the British under sir Home Popham, June 21, 1806; and was re-taken, after an attack of three days, Aug. 12, the same year. The British suffered a great repulse here under general Whitelocke, who was disgraced, July 6, 1807. Declaration of independence of this province, July 19, 1816: the treaty was signed in Feb. 1822. BUFFOONS. These were originally mountebanks in the Roman theatres. The shows of the buffoons were discouraged by Domitian, and were finally abolished by Trajan, A.D. 98. Our ancient kings had jesters, who are described as being, at first, practitioners of indecent raillery and antic postures; they were employed under the Tudors. Some writers state that James I. converted the jesters into poet-laureates; but poetlaureates existed long before; Selden traces the latter to 1251.- Warton. BUILDING. The first structures were of wood and clay, then of rough stone, and in

the end the art advanced to polished marble. Building with stone was early among the Tyrians; and as ornaments and taste arose, every nation pursued a different system. The art of building with stone may be referred in England to Benedict, or Benet, a monk, about A.D. 670. The first bridge of this material in England was at Bow, in 1087. In Ireland, a castle was built of stone at Tuam by the king of Connaught, in 1161; and it was "so new and uncommon as to be called the Wonderful Castle." Building with brick was introduced by the Romans into their provinces. Alfred encouraged it in England, in 886. Brick-building was generally introduced by the earl of Arundel, about 1598, London being then almost built of wood. The increase of building in London was prohibited within three miles of the city-gates by Elizabeth, who ordered that one family only should dwell in one house, 1580. The buildings from High Holborn, north and south, and Great Queen-street (built on the ground where stood the Elms, or the ancient Tyburn, in Edward III.'s reign), were erected between 1607 and 1631.-Strype.

BUILDING ACTS. The early and principal statutes relating to building were passed, viz., 5, 23, and 35, reign of Elizabeth; 19 and 22 of Charles II.; and 6 and 7 of Anne. The principal statutes since were, 33 George II. and 6 George III., followed by enactments in 1770, 1772, and 1783. The recent acts are very numerous. BULGARIANS. They defeat Justinian, A.D. 687; and are subdued by the emperor Basilius, in 1019. On one occasion, this emperor having taken 15,000 Bulgarians prisoners, he caused their eyes to be put out, leaving one eye only to every hundredth man, to enable him to conduct his countrymen home. Bulgaria was governed by Roman dukes till 1186; subdued by Bajazet, 1396.—Univ. Hist. vol. xvii. BULL, OR EDICT OF THE POPE. This is an apostolical rescript, of ancient use, and generally written on parchment. The bull is, properly, the seal, deriving its name from bulla, and has been made of gold, silver, lead, and wax. On one side are the heads of Peter and Paul; and on the other, the name of the pope, and year of his pontificate. The celebrated golden bull of the emperor Charles IV. was so called because of its golden seal; and was made the fundamental law of the German empire, at the diet of Nuremburg, A.D. 1356. Bulls denouncing queen Elizabeth and her abettors, and consigning them to hell-fire, accompanied the Spanish Armada, 1588. BULL-BAITING, OR BULL-FIGHTING. This atrociously criminal sport of Spain and Portugal is somewhat equivalent in those countries to the fights of the gladiators among the Romans. It is recorded as being an amusement at Stamford so early as the reign of John, 1209. Bull-running was a sport at Tutbury in 1374. In the Sports of England, we read of the "Easter fierce hunts, when foaming boars fought for their heads, and lusty bulls and huge bears were baited with dogs ;" and near the Clink, London, was the Paris, or Bear Garden, so celebrated in the time of Elizabeth for the exhibition of bear-baiting, then a fashionable amusement. A bill to abolish bull-baiting was thrown out in the Commons, chiefly through the influence of the late Mr. Windham, who made a singular speech in favour of the custom, May 24, 1802. -Butler. It has since been declared illegal. See Cruelty to Animals. Bull-fights were introduced into Spain about 1260: abolished there, "except for pious and patriotic purposes," in 1784. There was a bull-fight at Lisbon, at Campo de Santa Anna, attended by 10,000 spectators, on Sunday, June 14, 1840. BULLETS. Those of stone were in use A.D. 1514; and iron ones are first mentioned in the Fœdera, 1550. Leaden bullets were made before the close of the sixteenth century, and continue to be those in use in all nations for musketry. The cannonball in some Eastern countries is still of stone, instead of iron.-Ashe. BUNKER'S HILL, BATTLE OF, fought between the British forces and the revolted Americans, who made a formidable stand against the royal troops, but were ultimately defeated with considerable loss-the Americans were nearly 2000, and the British near 3000 men. It was one of the earliest actions of the provincials with the mother country; and notwithstanding its issue, the American people refer to it with great national pride, on account of the obstinate fight they made against the superior numbers of the British; fought June 17, 1775. BUONAPARTE'S EMPIRE OF FRANCE. Napoleon Buonaparte, the most extraordinary man of modern times, ruled over France, and subdued most of the nations of the Continent, in the early part of the present century. See his various military and other achievements under their respective heads throughout the volume :

[The reverses of Buonaparte now follow
in quick succession.]

He renounces the thrones of France and

Italy, and accepts of the Isle of Elba

for his retreat

Embarks at Fréjus

Arrives at Elba

and lands at Cannes.

April 5, 1814

April 28, 1814

May 3, 1814

Again appears in France; he quits Elba

March 1, 1815

arrives at Rochefort

He surrenders to Capt. Maitland, of the
Bellerophon

Transferred at Torbay to the Northum-
berland, and sails for St. Helena Aug. 8, 1815
Arrives at St. Helena (where it is decreed
by the allied sovereigns he shall re-
main for life)

Oct. 15, 1815

The family of Buonaparte excluded for ever from France by the law of amnesty

Death of Buonaparte

His will registered in England

Jan. 12, 1816

May 5, 1821

Aug. 1824

His son, ex-king of Rome, dies. July 22, 1832
The French chambers decree, with the
consent of England, that the ashes of
Napoleon be removed from St. Helena,
and brought to France.
They are exhumed

.

May 12, 1840

Oct. 16, 1840

The Belle Poule, French frigate, arrives at Cherbourg with the remains of Napoleon, in the care of the prince de Joinville Nov. 30, 1840 They are interred with great solemnity in the Hôtel des Invalides. Dec. 15, 1840 BURGESS, from the French Bourgeois, a distinction coeval in England with its corporations. Burgesses were called to parliament in England A.D. 1265; in Scotland, in 1326; and in Ireland, about 1365. Burgesses to be resident in the places which they are elected to represent in parliament, 1 Henry V. 1413.-Viner's Statutes. See Borough.

BURGHER SECEDERS, dissenters from the church of Scotland. Their separation from the associate presbytery arose in a difference of sentiment regarding the lawfulness of taking the burgess oath, 1739.

BURGLARY. Until the reign of George IV. this crime was punished with death. Formerly, to encourage the prosecution of offenders, he who convicted a burglar was exempted from parish offices, 10 and 11 William III. 1699. Statute of Rewards, 5 Anne, 1706, and 6 George I. 1720. Receivers of stolen plate and other goods to be transported, 10 George III. 1770. Persons having upon them picklock keys, &c. to be deemed rogues and vagabonds, 13 George III. 1772-3. The laws with respect to burglary were amended by Mr. (afterwards sir Robert) Peel's acts, between 4 and 10 George IV. 1823 and 1829.

BURGOS, SIEge of. Lord Wellington entered Burgos after the battle of Salamanca, which was fought July 22, 1812, and the castle was besieged by the British and allied army, and several attempts were made to carry it by assault, but the siege was abandoned in October, same year. The castle and fortifications were blown up by the French in June 1813.

BURGUNDY. This kingdom begins in Alsace, A.D. 413. Conrad II. of Germany being declared heir to the kingdom, is opposed in his attempt to annex it to the empire, when it is dismembered, and on its ruins are formed the four provinces of Burgundy, Provence, Viennes, and Savoy, 1034. Burgundy becomes a circle of the German empire, 1521. It falls to Philip II. of Spain, whose tyranny and

religious persecutions cause a revolt in the Batavian provinces, 1566. After various changes, Burgundy annexed to France, and formed into departments of that kingdom. BURIAL. The earliest and most rational mode of restoring the body to earth. The first idea of it was formed by Adam, on his observing a live bird covering a dead one with leaves. Barrows were the most ancient graves. See Barrows. Places of burial were consecrated under pope Calixtus I. in 210.-Eusebius. The first Christian burial-place was instituted in 596; burial in cities, 742; in consecrated places, 750; in church-yards, 758. Vaults were erected in chancels first at Canterbury, 1075. Woollen shrouds used in England, 1666. Linen scarfs introduced at funerals in Ireland, 1729; and woollen shrouds used, 1733. Burials were taxed, 1695-again, 1783. See Cemeteries.

BURIALS. Parochial registers of them, and of births and marriages, were instituted in England by Cromwell, Lord Essex, about 1536.-Stowe. A tax was exacted on burials in England-for the burial of a duke, 507., and for that of a common person 4s., under William III. 1695, and Geo. III. 1783.-Statutes. See Bills of Mortality. BURKING. A new and horrible species of murder committed in England. It was thus named from the first known criminal by whom the deed was perpetrated being called Burke. His victims were strangled, or made lifeless by pressure, or other modes of suffocation, and the bodies, which exhibited no marks of violence, were afterwards sold to the surgeons for the purpose of dissection. Burke was executed at Edinburgh in February 1829. The crime has been more recently perpetrated by a gang of murderers in London. The monster named Bishop was apprehended in November 1831, and executed with Williams, one of his accomplices, for the murder of a poor Italian boy named Carlo Ferrari, a friendless wanderer, and therefore selected as being less likely to be sought after (they confessing to this and other similar murders), December 5, same year.

BURLINGTON HEIGHTS, BATTLE OF, between the British and the United States American forces, an obstinate and memorable engagement, contested with great valour on both sides. The Americans were routed, and the British carried the heights, June 6, 1813.

BURMESE EMPIRE. Founded in the middle of the last century, by Alompra, the first sovereign of the present dynasty. Our first dispute with this formidable power occurred in 1795, but it was amicably adjusted by general Erskine. Hostilities were commenced by the British in 1824, when they took Rangoon. The fort and pagoda of Syriam taken, 1825. After a short armistice, hostilities were renewed, December 1, same year, and pursued until the successive victories of the British led to the cession of Arracan, and to the signature of peace on the 3d January, 1826. --See India.

BURNING ALIVE. This punishment was inflicted among the Romans, Jews, and other nations, on the betrayers of councils, incendiaries, and for incest in the ascending and descending degrees. The Jews had two ways of burning alive: one with wood and faggots to burn the body, the other, by pouring scalding lead down the throat of the criminal, combustio animæ, to burn the soul.-See Suttees. BURNING ALIVE, IN ENGLAND. Even in England (see preceding article) burning alive was a punishment upon the statute-book. The Britons punished heinous crimes by burning alive in wicker baskets. See Stonehenge. This punishment was countenanced by bulls of the pope; and witches suffered in this manner.-See Witches. Many persons have been burned alive on account of religious principles. The first sufferer was sir William Sawtree, parish priest of St. Osith, London, 3 Henry IV., February 9, 1401. In the reign of the cruel Mary numbers were burned, among others, Ridley, bishop of London, Latimer, bishop of Rochester, and Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, who were burned at Oxford in 1555 and 1556. Numerous others suffered this dreadful death in Mary's reign.

*It is computed, that during the three years of Mary's reign in which these shocking violences and barbarities were carried on, there were 277 persons brought to the stake; besides those who were punished by imprisonment, fines, and confiscations. Among those who suffered by fire were 5 bishops, 21 clergymen, 8 lay gentlemen, 84 tradesmen, 100 husbandmen, servants, and labourers, 55 women, and 4 children. The unprincipled agents of this merciless queen were the bishops Gardiner and Bonner. The latter especially was a man of brutal character, who seemed to derive a savage pleasure in witnessing the torture of the sufferers.

BURNING THE DEAD. The antiquity of this custom rises as high as the Theban war; it was practised among the Greeks and Romans, and the poet Homer abounds with descriptions of such funeral obsequies. The practice was very general about 1225 B.C., and was revived by Sylla, lest the relics of the dead in graves should be violated; and to this day the burning of the dead is practised in many parts of the East and West Indies. See Barrows.

BURNING-GLASS AND CONCAVE MIRRORS. Their power was not unknown to Archimedes, but the powers of these instruments are rendered wonderful by the modern improvements of Settalla: of Tchirnhausen, 1680; of Buffon, 1747; and of Parker and others, more recently. The following are experiments of the fusion of substances made with Mr. Parker's lens, or burning mirror :

Green wood takes fire instantaneously; water boils immediately; bones are calcined; and things, not capable of melting, at once become red-hot like iron. BURWELL FIRE. A number of persons assembled to see a puppet-show at Burwell, near Newmarket, in the evening of September 8, 1727. The entertainment was in a barn, and a candle having been placed too near a heap of straw, a fire was occasioned, which was one of the most fatal on record. Seventy-six individuals perished in the fire, and others died of their wounds. Among the sufferers were several young ladies of fortune and many children. The bodies were reduced to a mass of mangled carcases half consumed, and wholly undistinguishable, and were promiscuously buried in two pits, dug for the purpose in the church-yard. BURY ST. EDMUNDS. Took its name from St. Edmund, who was murdered by the Danes in 870, and buried here, and to whom its magnificent abbey was founded. It shares with Runnymede the honour of producing Magna Charta in 1215. At this town the barons met, and entered into a league against king John; and Henry VI. summoned a parliament in 1446, when Humphry, duke of Gloucester, was imprisoned, and died here, it is supposed by poison. It was almost consumed by fire in 1608; and an awful and desolating plague raged in 1636. BURYING ALIVE. A mode of death adopted in Boeotia, where Creon ordered Antigone, the sister of Polynices, to be buried alive, 1225 B.C. The Roman vestals were subjected to this horrible kind of execution for any levity in dress or conduct that could excite a suspicion of their virtue. The vestal Minutia was buried alive on a charge of incontinence, 337 B.C. The vestal Sextilia was buried alive 274 B.C. The vestal Cornelia A.D. 92. Lord Bacon gives instances of the resurrection of persons who had been buried alive; the famous Duns Scotus is of the number. The assassins of Capo d'Istria, President of Greece, were (two of them) sentenced to be immured in brick walls built around them up to their chins, and to be supplied with food in this species of torture until they died, October 1831.-See Greece. BUSACO, OR BUZACCO, BATTLE OF, between the British under Lord Wellington and the French army, commanded by Massena. The latter were repulsed with great slaughter. The British subsequently retreated to the lines of Torres Vedras, which were too strong for Massena to attempt to force, and the two armies remained in sight of each other to the end of the year: fought September 27, 1810. BUSHEL. This measure was ordered to contain eight gallons of wheat, 12 Henry VIII. 1520; the legal Winchester bushel was regulated 9 William III. 1697; the imperial corn bushel of 2218·192 cubic inches, is to the Winchester of 2150-42, as 32 to 31. Regulated by act 5 George IV. June 1824, which act came into operation January 1, 1826.-Statutes.

BUSTS. This mode of preserving the remembrance of the human features is the same with the herma of the Greeks. Lysistratus, the statuary, was the inventor of moulds from which he cast wax figures, 328 B.C.-Pliny. Busts from the face in plaster of Paris were first taken by Andrea Verrochi, about A.D. 1466.—Vasari.

H