BELLAY, JOACHIM DU, French poet; author of sonnets ent.i.tled "Regrets," full of vigour and poetry; wrote the "Antiquites de Rome"; was called the Apollo of the Pleiade, the best poet and the best prose-writer among them (1524-1560).

BELLE FRANCE, (i. e. Beautiful France), a name of endearment applied to France, like that of "Merry" applied to England.

BELLE-ISLE (60), a fortified island on the W. coast of France, near which Sir Edward Hawke gained a brilliant naval victory over the French, under M. de Conflans, in 1759.

BELLEISLE, CHARLES LOUIS AUGUSTE FOUQUET, COUNT OF, marshal of France; distinguished in the war of the Spanish Succession; an ambitious man, mainly to blame for the Austrian Succession war; had grand schemes in his head, no less than the supremacy in Europe and the world of France, warranting the risk; expounded them to Frederick the Great; concluded a fast and loose treaty with him, which could bind no one; found himself blocked up in Prague with his forces; had to force his way out and retreat, but it was a retreat the French boast comparable only to the retreat of the Ten Thousand; was made War Minister after, and wrought important reforms in the army (1684-1761). See CARLYLE'S "FREDERICK" for a graphic account of him and his schemes, specially in Bk. xii. chap. ix.

b.e.l.l.e.n.dEN, JOHN, of Moray, a Scottish writer in the 16th century; translated, at the request of James V., Hector Boece's "History of Scotland," and the first five books of Livy, which remain the earliest extant specimens of Scottish prose, and remarkable specimens they are, for the execution of which he was well rewarded, being made archdeacon of Moray for one thing, though he died in exile; _d_. 1550.

b.e.l.l.e.n.dEN, WILLIAM, a Scottish writer, distinguished for diplomatic services to Queen Mary, and for the purity of his Latin composition; a professor of belles-lettres in Paris University (1550-1613).

BELLER'OPHON, a mythical hero, son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus; having unwittingly caused the death of his brother, withdrew from his country and sought retreat with Proetus, king of Argos, who, becoming jealous of his guest, but not willing to violate the laws of hospitality, had him sent to Iobates, his son-in-law, king of Lycia, with instructions to put him to death. Iobates, in consequence, imposed upon him the task of slaying the Chimaera, persuaded that this monster would be the death of him. Bellerophon, mounted on Pegasus, the winged horse given him by Pallas, slew the monster, and on his return received the daughter of Iobates to wife.

BELLEROPHON, LETTERS OF, name given to letters fraught with mischief to the bearer. See SUPRA.

BELLES-LETTRES, that department of literature which implies literary culture and belongs to the domain of art, whatever the subject may be or the special form; it includes poetry, the drama, fiction, and criticism.

BELLEVILLE, a low suburb of Paris, included in it since 1860; the scene of one of the outrages of the Communists.

BELLIARD, COMTE DE, a French general and diplomatist; fought in most of the Napoleonic wars, but served under the Bourbons on Napoleon's abdication; was serviceable to Louis Philippe in Belgium by his diplomacy (1769-1832).

BELLI'NI, the name of an ill.u.s.trious family of Venetian painters.

BELLINI, GENTILE, the son of Jacopo Bellini, was distinguished as a portrait-painter; decorated along with his brother the council-chamber of the ducal palace; his finest picture the "Preaching of St. Mark"

(1421-1508).

BELLINI, GIOVANNI, brother of the preceding, produced a great many works; the subjects religious, all n.o.bly treated; had Giorgione and t.i.tian for pupils; among his best works, the "Circ.u.mcision," "Feast of the G.o.ds," "Blood of the Redeemer"; did much to promote painting in oil (1426-1516).

BELLINI, JACOPO, a painter from Florence who settled in Venice, the father and founder of the family; _d_. 1470.

BELLINI, VINCENZO, a musical composer, born at Catania, Sicily; his works operas, more distinguished for their melody than their dramatic power; the best are "Il Pirati," "La Somnambula," "Norma," and "Il Puritani" (1802-1835).

BELLMANN, the poet of Sweden, a man of true genius, called the "Anacreon of Sweden," patronised by Gustavus Adolphus (1741-1795).

BELLO'NA, the G.o.ddess of fury in war among the Romans, related by the poets to Mars as sister, wife, or daughter; inspirer of the war-spirit, and represented as armed with a b.l.o.o.d.y scourge in one hand and a torch in the other.

BELLOT, JOSEPH RENe, a naval officer, born in Paris, distinguished in the expedition of 1845 to Madagascar, and one of those who went in quest of Sir John Franklin; drowned while crossing the ice (1826-1853).

BELLOY, a French poet, born at St. Flour; author of "Le Siege du Calais" and numerous other dramatic works (1727-1775).

BELON, PIERRE, a French naturalist, one of the founders of natural history, and one of the precursors of Cuvier; wrote in different departments of natural history, the chief, "Natural History of Birds"; murdered by robbers while gathering plants in the Bois de Boulogne (1518-1564).

BEL'PHEGOR, a Moabite divinity.

BELPHOEBE (i. e. Beautiful Diana), a huntress in the "Faerie Queene," the impersonation of Queen Elizabeth, conceived of, however, as a pure, high-spirited maiden, rather than a queen.

BELSHAM, THOMAS, a Unitarian divine, originally Calvinist, born at Bedford; successor to the celebrated Priestley at Hackney, London; wrote an elementary work on psychology (1750-1829).

BELSHAZZAR, the last Chaldean king of Babylon, slain, according to the Scripture account, at the capture of the city by Cyrus in 538 B.C.

BELT, GREAT and LITTLE, gateways of the Baltic: the Great between Zealand and Funen, 15 m. broad; the Little, between Funen and Jutland, half as broad; both 70 m. long, the former of great depth.

BELT OF CALMS, the region in the Atlantic and Pacific, 4 or 5 lat.i.tude broad, where the trade-winds meet and neutralise each other, in which, however, torrents of rain and thunder-storms occur almost daily.

BELTANE, or BELTEIN, an ancient Celtic festival connected with the sun-worship, observed about the 1st of May and the 1st of November, during which fires were kindled on the tops of hills, and various ceremonies gone through.

BELTED WILL, name given to Lord William Howard, warden in the 16th and 17th centuries of the Western Marches of England.

BELU'CHISTAN (200 to 400), a desert plateau lying between Persia and India, Afghanistan and the Arabian Sea; is crossed by many mountain ranges, the Suliman, in the N., rising to 12,000 ft. Rivers in the NE.

are subject to great floods. The centre and W. is a sandy desert exposed to bitter winds in winter and sand-storms in summer. Fierce extremes of temperature prevail. There are few cattle, but sheep are numerous; the camel is the draught animal. Where there is water the soil is fertile, and crops of rice, cotton, indigo, sugar, and tobacco are raised; in the higher parts, wheat, maize, and pulse. Both precious and useful metals are found; petroleum wells were discovered in the N. in 1887. The population comprises Beluchis, robber nomads of Aryan stock, in the E.

and W., and Mongolian Brahuis in the centre. All are Mohammedan. Kelat is the capital; its position commands all the caravan routes. Quetta, in the N., is a British stronghold and health resort. The Khan of Kelat is the ruler of the country and a va.s.sal of the Queen.

BE'LUS, another name for BAAL (q. v.), or the legendary G.o.d of a.s.syria and Chaldea.

BEL'VEDERE, name given a gallery of the Vatican at Rome, especially that containing the famous statue of Apollo, and applied to picture-galleries elsewhere.

BELZO'NI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, a famous traveller and explorer in Egypt, born at Padua, of poor parents; a man of great stature; figured as an athlete in Astley's Circus, London, and elsewhere, first of all in London streets; applied himself to the study of mechanics; visited Egypt as a mechanician and engineer at the instance of Mehemet Ali; commenced explorations among its antiquities, sent to the British Museum trophies of his achievements; published a narrative of his operations; opened an exhibition of his collection of antiquities in London and Paris; undertook a journey to Timbuctoo, was attacked with dysentery, and died at Gato (1778-1823).