grew up a fanatic for the fine arts, and surpassed in zeal all the leaders of the Renaissance in France. Besides writing an immense number of short poems of an amorous or congratulatory kind, he translated or paraphrased various pieces from JBion, Moschus, Theocritus, Anacreon, Catullus, and Martial. He resided in Paris, enjoyed the continued favour of the court, and founded the Academie Royale de Musique ; his house became famous for the charming con certs which he gave, entertainments at which Charles IX. and Henry III. frequently flattered him with their presence. He was a dear friend of Konsard and the other members of the Pleiad. His works were published in 4 thick volumes, entitled Amours, Jeux, Passetemps, et Poemes (1571-74), containing, among much that is now hardly readable, some pieces of infinite grace and delicacy. He died in 1589 or 1591. His father, Lazare de Bait, pub lished a translation of the Electro, of Sophocles in 1537, and afterwards a version of the Hecuba, was an elegant versifier in Latin, and is commended by Joachim du Bellay as having introduced certain valuable words into the French
language.BAIKAL (i.e., Baïakhal, or Abundant Water), a great fresh-water lake of Siberia, in the government of Irkutsk, 397 miles in length from S.W. to N.E., and from 13 to 54 miles in breadth, with an area of about 12,500 square miles. This vast reservoir is situated 1360 feet above the level of the sea, in the midst of steep mountain ranges, that often rise sheer from the water’s edge in lofty walls of syenite, gneiss, or conglomerate, while elsewhere their sloping flanks are thickly clad with dark forests of coniferous trees. The lake is fed by several rivers, the Upper Angara, the Selenga, which descends from the basin of Lake Kossogol, the Barguzin, and others ; while the only visible outlet is by the Lower Angara, a tributary of the Yenisei The water is excellent, and is extremely clear, so that the bottom can be seen at the depth of 8 fathoms. The depth of the lake varies from 22 to upwards of 300 fathoms. It yields abundance of salmon, and there is a profitable fishery of seals on its shores during the whole summer. The climate is extremely severe; and the lake, which is frozen over from November to May, is almost perpetually swept by the wind. It facilitates, however, the Russian trade with China, and that between Irkutsk and Dauria. It is navigated by the Russians in summer, and in winter they cross it on the ice. Europeans embarked on its waters for the first time in 1643. Steam-vessels were introduced in 1846, and the passage across is made in about eight hours. Several hot springs and mineral waters are seen on the margin, and naphtha is sometimes found floating on the surface. The lake is between 51 20 and 55 30 N. lat., and 103 and 110 E. long. The island of Olkhon, near its north shore, is 32 miles long and nearly 10 broad. This island and the southern borders of the lake are inhabited by Mongolian tribes, while towards the north the Tungooses are to be found in gradually diminishing numbers. (See "Description du lac de Baikal," trad. du russe par M. Klaproth, in Nouv. Ann. des Voy. t. xvii. p. 289; Ermam’s Siberia, 1848; Semenoff, Slovar Ross. Imp.)
BAIKIE, William Balfour, M.D., eldest son of Captain John Baikie, R.N., was born at Kirkwall, Orkney, on the 21st August 1824. He studied at Edinburgh, and, on obtaining his degree, joined the royal navy. He early attracted the notice of Sir Roderick Murchison, through whom he was appointed surgeon and naturalist to the Niger Expedition of 1854. The death of the senior officer occurring at Fernando Po, Dr Baikie succeeded to the command. The results of the voyage are given in his own and other narratives. Ascending the river about 250 miles beyond the point reached by former explorers, the little steamer Pleiad returned and reached the mouth after a voyage of 118 days without the loss of a single man. The second expedition started in March 1857. After two years passed in exploring, the navigating vessel was wrecked in passing through some of the rapids of the river, and Dr Baikie was unable longer to keep his party together. All returned home but himself; no way daunted, he determined single-handed to carry out the purposes of the expedition. Landing from a small boat with one or two native followers at the confluence of the Quorra and Benue, he here chose the old model farm ground as the base of his future opera tions a spot memorable from the disasters of the explor ing party of 1841. After purchasing the site, and con cluding a treaty with the native chief, he proceeded to clear the ground, build houses, form enclosures, and pave the way for a future city. Numbers flocked to him from all parts round, and in his settlement were representatives of almost all the tribes of Central Africa. To the motley commonwealth thus formed he acted not merely as ruler, but also as physician, teacher, and priest. Before five years he had opened up the navigation of the Niger, made roads, and established a market, to which the native produce was brought for sale and barter. He had also collected vocabularies of nearly fifty African dialects, and translated portions of the Bible and prayer-book into Housa. Once only during his residence had he to employ armed force against the surrounding tribes. He died on his way home, at Sierra Leone, in November 1863, aged thirty-nine years. An appropriate monument has been erected to his memory within the nave of the ancient cathedral of St Magnus.
BAIL (Ballium) is used in common law for the freeing or setting at liberty of one arrested or imprisoned upon any action, either civil or criminal, on surety taken for his appearance at a certain day and place.
BAILEN, a town of Spain, in the province of Jaen, 24 miles N.N.W. of Jaen. It seems to correspond to the ancient Bsecula, where Scipio gained signal victories over Hasdrubal. 209 B.C., and over Mago and Masinissa, 206 B.C. (Polyb., x. 38, xi. 20; Liv., xxvii. 18-20, xxviii. 13). In the neighbourhood also, in 1212, was fought the great battle of Navas de Tolosa, where Alphonso VIII. is said to have left 200,000 Moors dead on the field, with the loss of only 25 Christians. Here again, on the 23d of July 1808, the French general Dupont, after a bloody contest of several days, signed the capitulation of Bailen, by which 17,000 men were delivered up to the Spaniards as prisoners of war. This disaster was the first great blow to the French arms in the Peninsula. There is nothing remarkable about the town, except the ruins of a castle, formerly belonging to the counts of Benavente, and now the property of the Osuna family. Glass and tiles are manufactured, and the weaving of cloth and pressing of olives are carried on. Population, 7831. (Madoz, Diccionario; Ukert, vol. x. p. 379.)
BAILEY, or Baily, Nathanael or Nathan, an eminent English philologist and lexicographer, whose Etymo logical English Dictionary, published apparently in 1721, was a great improvement on all previous vocabularies, and really formed the basis of Johnson s great work. It is still worthy of being consulted for information with regard to the change of signification in certain words, and to the date at which others were introduced into the language. Bailey had a school at Stepney, near London, and was the author of Dictionarium Domesticum and several other educational works. He died in 1742.
literary subjects, was born at Sheffield in 1791. His father carried on a large general business in that town, and for
some years the son devoted himself to mercantile pur-