art, and while at Boun, received his first lessons in painting from Philippart. In 1811, he proceeded to Paris, and there spent eighteen months in the studio of the celebrated Gros. In 1815, Frederick William III., on the occasion of his visit to Paris, bought a large original painting by B., Job surrounded by his Friends,' and gave him two commissions for different churches in Berlin. This led to his moving thither in 1818, and to his subsequently residing in Italy at the King's expense. On his return to Berlin in 1825, he painted a great many biblical subjects for churches, as well as other pictures. He died 23d November 1854. There are frescoes of colossal size by him in the new church of Sacrow, near Potsdam. He is especially distinguished for the animation and individuality of his portraits, and has painted for the king a gallery of celebrated authors and artists, including Humboldt, Schelling, &c. Several of his genre paintings have been rendered familiar by repeated engravings; and his works, in general, are eminent for expression, rich colouring, and a peculiarly clear chiaro oscuro.

BEGGAR, a person who solicits charitable aid from the public at large. The word is supposed to have some connection with the fraternity known as Beghards. See BEGUIN. The actual begging or solicitation of temporal aid became, however, so conspicuous a feature among these mendicant orders, that the term originally applied to their sacred duties seems at a very early period to have acquired its modern vulgar acceptation. There is no class of men who have had their lot and condition so varied by ethnical and social conditions as beggars. In a civilized industrious country, the B., to have any chance of relief, must manage to get it believed, whether it be true or false, that he is on the verge of want, and requires the solicited alms to keep him from starvation. Among oriental nations, on the other hand, beggars have often been a potent class, who may be rather considered as endowed with the privilege of taxing their fellow-creatures, than as objects of compassion. It has sometimes been supposed that a residue of this feeling of superiority characterises the mental physiology even of the mendicant of civilisation, and that, abject as he seems, he considers himself to some extent a privileged person, entitled to support from his fellows, without being amenable to the slavish drudgery by which the working classes live. In Europe, during the middle ages, those doctrines of Christianity which are intended to teach us to abjure selfishness and worldly-mindedness, were exaggerated into a profession of total abstraction from worldly cares and pursuits. Hence arose the large body of religionists who, as hermits or members of the mendicant orders, lived on the contributions of others. In later times, the mendicant orders became the proudest and the richest of the clergy; but while the chiefs lived in affluence, the practices of the lower adherents fostered throughout Europe a system of mendicancy very inimical to civilisation and industrial progress. In Great Britain its evil results have been long felt, in the inveterate establishment of practices naturally out of harmony with the independent, industrious character of the British people. Ever since the Reformation, the British laws have had a deathstruggle with the B; but neither by the kindness of liberal poor-law, nor by the severity of a merciless criminal code, have they been able to suppress him. When a country provides, as Britain does, that no one shall be permitted to starve, it would naturally be expected that the springs of miscellaneous charity would be dried. But it is not so, and it is indeed often plausibly urged, that entirely to supersede all acts of generosity between man and man

through rigid legal provisions, must lower the standard of human character, by depriving it of all opportunity for the exercise of the generous emotions. It is clear that, in the light of political economy, promiscuous charity is the most costly and most corrupting way of administering relief to indigence. No one will maintain that the idle B. on the street deserves such a luxurious table as the industrious mechanic cannot afford to himself. But, at the same time, no one who drops a coin in a beggar's hat can say how many others may be deposited there during the day, and whether the B. is merely drawing a wretched pittance, or deriving a good income. Begging being a trade, it is not always those who are the poorest, but those who are the most expert, who will practise it to the best results. The great object is to seize on and appropriate any characteristic calculated, whether permanently or temporarily, to excite compassion. Hence periods of general distress are often the harvest of the B., and his trade rises and falls in an inverse ratio with that of the working community. Times of prosperity are not favourable to him, because he is then told that there is plenty of work for him. But when workmen are dismissed in thousands, and their families turned on the road to seek alms, the professional beggars, by their superior skill and experience, will be sure to draw the prizes in the distribution. Many surprising statements have been made of the large incomes made by skilful profesThe most sional beggars, especially in London. remarkable anecdotes on the subject will be found in Grose's Olio, whence they have often been repeated. Attempts have been made, but with questionable success, to set forth an average statement of the earnings in different departments of the B. trade. A good deal of information of this kind will be found in the Report of the Constabulary Force Commission of 1839 (see p. 60, et seq.). It does not appear, however, that this trade is, like others, dependent on the law of supply and demand. The B. generally is so constitutionally, whether from hereditary or other physical causes. He has a a loathing, even to horror, of steady systematic labour, and he will rather submit to all the hardships and privations of the wanderer's lot, than endure this dreaded evil.

BEGGARS, THE LAW OF ENGLAND RELATING TO, is regulated by the 5 Geo. IV. c. 83 (amended in regard to other points by the 1 and 2 Vict. c. 38). By the third section of the 5 Geo. IV. it is enacted that every person wandering abroad, or placing him or herself in any public place, street, highway, court, or passage, to beg or gather alms, or causing or procuring, or encouraging any child or children so to do, shall be deened an idle and disorderly person; and it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace to commit such offender to the house of correction, there to be kept for any time not exceeding one calendar month. And by section 4, it is further provided that any person so convicted, and offending in the same way again, shall be deemed a rogue and a vagabond, and may be punished by being committed to the house of correction for three months, with hard labour; and by the same section, every person wandering abroad and endeavouring, by the exposure of wounds and deformities, to obtain or gather alms, and every person going about as a gatherer or collector of alms, or endeavouring to procure charitable contributions of any nature or kind under any false or fraudulent pretence, shall be deemed a rogue and vagabond, and be punishable as before mentioned. By section 15, however, of the same act, the visiting justices of any county jail, house of correction, or other prison, may grant certificates to persons

The attempt or purpose to obtain money or alms by means of shows or entertainments on the streets of London, is also an offence under the Metropolitan Police Act, 2 and 3 Vict. c. 47, s. 54 (No. 14), and punishable by a fine of forty shillings.

In the Scotch law, there are many severe statutes of the Scotch Parliament against beggars and vagabonds, all of which, along with the proclamations of the Scotch Privy Council on the same subject, are renewed and ratified by the act 1698, c. 21, which forms the existing Scotch law in regard to beggars. The Scotch Poor-law Amendment Act, 8 and 9 Vict. c. 83, contains no provision on the subject. Anciently, in Scotland, legal permission to beg was given to certain sick and infirm poor persons, and in the reign of James V., a system of tokens for the same purpose was established.—See Burn's Justice of the Peace, vol. vi.; Charnock's Police Guide, Dunlop's Parochial Law of Scotland, Lorimer's Hand book of the Scotch Law, and the works and authorities referred to in these publications.

BEGGAR-MY-NEIGHBOUR, a game at cards usually played by two persons, between whom the cards are divided. Holding their cards with the backs upwards, the players lay down a card alternately, until an honour is played, which is paid for by the adversary-four cards for an ace, three for a king, two for a queen, and one for a knave; such payment being made, the winner lifts the trick. If, however, an honour should be laid down during the payment, then the opposite party must pay for that in the same way; and so on, till a payment is made without an honour. The game is played chiefly by children.

BEGHA'RMI, or BAGI RMI, a country in Central Africa, bounded on the N. by Lake Tsad; on the W. by the Shari, or Great River, which divides it from the kingdom of Bornou; and on the E. by the Waday kingdom. It extends southward to about lat. 10° N. Its greatest length is about 240 miles, and its breadth 150. The whole of B. Proper is flat, with a slight inclination towards the northits general elevation being about 1000 feet above the level of the sea. The outlying provinces in the south-east are slightly mountainous. B. has three considerable rivers flowing through and along its borders the Bénuwé, Logon, and Shari; the last of which, augmented by the Logon, is upwards of 600 yards across at Mele. There is, in general, however, the utmost scarcity of water in the country, and the inhabitants guard their wells with jealous care. The soil is partly composed of sand, and partly of lime, and produces the grain and fruit common to countries of Central Africa. Worms and ants are very destruc4tive to the crops. The ants appear to be a perfect pest. Dr. Barth describes them as eating through

difficulty in preserving his goods from entire destruction by them. The total population is about a million and a half. From the numerous deserted villages with which the traveller constantly meets, the population would appear to have been much greater at one time. Mohammedanism has been introduced among them, but many are still pagans, and all are grossly superstitious. The only they are a fine race of people, superior to the tribes around them, the women being especially handsome. The men are subject to a peculiar disease in the little toe, called 'mukárdam.' It seems to be caused by a worm, which eats the toe away. One in ten of the male population are said to have lost their little toes through this cause. The sultan is absolute in his own dominions, and several smaller states are tributary to him; and he, in his turn, is tributary to the more powerful ruler of Bornou. The fighting-force of the kingdom is about 13,000 men. Masena (q. v.), the capital, has a circumference of about 7 miles.-Barth's Travels in Central Africa.

BE'GKOS, or BEI KOS, a large village of Anatolia, on the Bosphorus, 8 miles north-north-east of Scutari, said to be the locality of the contest between Pollux and Amycus, in which the latter was killed. See ARGONAUTS. At the commencement of the Crimean war, the Allied fleets anchored in B. Bay, prior to their entering the Black Sea in January 1854.

BE'GLERBEG. See BEG.

BEGONIA CEÆ, a natural order of exogenous plants, the place of which in the system is doubtful, but is supposed by Lindley to be near Cucurbitacea (q. v.). The B. are herbaceous or suffruticose plants, with alternate leaves, which are oblique at the base, and have large dry stipules. The flowers are in cymes, unisexual, the perianth coloured, with four unequal divisions in the male flowers, and five or eight in the female; the stamens are numerous; the fruit is membranous, winged, 3-celled, bursting by slits at the base, the seeds minute.-The order contains about 160 known species, all of which have pink flowers. They are almost all tropical plants, and some of them are often to be seen in British hot-houses; but a small species of Begonia ascends the Himalaya to at least 11,500 feet, often growing on the trunks of trees. The leaves of the Begonias have a reddish tinge. The leaves and young stems are succulent and acid, and those of B. Malabarica, B. tuberosa, and other species, are used as pot-herbs, or in tarts. The juicy stalks of a large species found in Sikkim, at an elevation of five or six thousand feet, are mentioned by Dr. Hooker as employed to make a pleasant acid sauce. This, and the small Himalayan species already mentioned, would probably succeed in the climate of Britain. The

roots of some are used in their native countries as

astringents, and some of the Mexican species are used as drastic purgatives.

BEG-SHE'HR, a fresh-water lake of Asia Minor, Karamania, 44 miles south-west of Koniyeh, presumed to be the ancient Caralitis. It is about 20 miles long, and from 5 to 10 miles broad. It contains many islands, and discharges itself by a river of the same name into Lake Soglah. On its east and north shores are the towns of Begshehr and Kereli, the old Caralio, which issued imperial coins, and which is also supposed to have occupied the site of Pamphylia.

BEGTA'SHI, a religious order in the Ottoman empire, which had its origin in the 14th c. The name is believed to be derived from that of a

no works behind him except his maps and charts.Murr's Diplomatische Geschichte des Ritters von B. (1778-1801); A. von Humboldt's Examen Critique de l'Histoire de la Géog. du Nouveau Continent. BEHAR. See BAHAR.

BEHEA'DING. See CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

BEHISTU'N, or BISUTU'N (Lat. Bagistanus; Persian, Baghistan, Place of Gardens), a ruined town of the Persian province of Irak-Ajemi, 21 miles east of Kirmanshah, lat. 34° 18' N., long. 47° 30' E. B. is chiefly celebrated for a remarkable mountain, which on one side rises almost perpendicularly to the height of 1700 feet, and which was in ancient times sacred to Jupiter or to Ormuzd. According to Diodorus, Semiramis, on her march from Babylon to Ecbatana, in Media Magna, encamped near this rock, and having cut away and polished the lower part of it, had her own likeness and those of a hundred of her guards engraved on it. She further, according to the same historian, caused the following inscription in Assyrian letters to be cut in the rock: 'Semiramis having piled up one upon the other the trapping of the beasts of burden which accompanied her, ascended by these means from the plain to the top of the rock.' No trace of these inscriptions

is now to be found, and Sir Henry Rawlinson accounts for their absence by the supposition that they were destroyed by Khusraú Parvíz when he was preparing to form of this long scarped surface the back wall of his palace.' Diodorus also mentions that Alexander the Great, on his way to Ecbatana from Susa, visited Behistun. But the rock is especially interesting for its cuneiform inscriptions (q. v.), which within recent years have been successfully deciphered by Sir H. Rawlinson. The principal inscription of B., executed by the command of Darius, is on the north extremity of the rock, at an elevation of 300 feet from the ground, where it could not have been engraved without the aid of scaffolding, and can now only be reached by the adventurous antiquary at considerable risk to his life. The labour of polishing the face of the rock, so as to fit it to receive the inscriptions, must have been very great. In places where the stone was defective, pieces were fitted in and fastened with molten lead with such extreme nicety, that only a careful scrutiny can detect the artifice. But the real wonder of the work,' says Sir H. Rawlinson, 'consists in the inscriptions. For extent, for beauty of execution, for uniformity and correctness, they are perhaps unequalled in the world. After

the engraving of the rock had been accomplished, a coating of silicious varnish had been laid on, to give a clearness of outline to each individual letter, and to protect the surface against the action of the elements. This varnish is of infinitely greater hardness than the limestone rock beneath it.' Washed down in some places by the rain of twenty-three centuries, it lies in consistent flakes like thin layers of lava on the foot-ledge; in others, where time has honey-combed the rock beneath, it adheres to the broken surface, still shewing with sufficient distinctness the forms of the characters. The inscriptions which are in the three forms of cuneiform writing, Persian, Babylonian, and Median-set forth the hereditary right of Darius to the throne of Persia, tracing his genealogy, through eight generations, up to Achæmenes; they then enumerate the provinces of his empire, and recount his triumphs

over the various rebels who rose against him during the first four years of his reign. The monarch himself is represented on the tablet with a bow in hand, and his foot upon the prostrate figure of a man, while nine rebels, chained together by the neck, stand humbly before him; behind him are two of his own warriors, and above him, another figure [see cut]. The Persian inscriptions which Sir H. Rawlinson has translated are contained in the five main columns numbered in cut 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The first column contains 19 paragraphs, and 96 lines. Each paragraph after the first, which commences, 'I am Darius the Great King,' begins with, 'Says Darius the King.' The second column has the same number of lines in 16 paragraphs; the third, 92 lines and 14 paragraphs; the fourth has also 92 lines and 18 paragraphs; and the fifth, which appears to be a supplementary column, 35 lines. With the exception