BEER, WiLHELM (1797-1850). A German astronomer, brotlier of the preceding. In the Thiergarten of Berlin he built an observatory, where, with his friend jMiidler, lie made a par- ticular study of Jfars and the moon. Hi=i map of the moon (1836) was awarded the Lalande Prize by the French Academy. In 1849 he became a member of the Prussian First Chamber. He pub- lished Der Mond nach seinen kosmischen und individucUen Verhdltnissen (1837) and Die Drcikonigsverfassung in ihrer Gefahr fiir Preus- sen (1849).
BEERE, Mrs. Bebnard (1859 — ). An Eng-
lish actress. She was born at orwich, a daugh-
ter of Mr. Wilby Whitehead. After studying as
the pupil of Hermann Vezin she began her dra-
matic career in 1878 at the Opera Comique,
London. Her marriage, not long afterwards, took
her from the stage, but she returned to it as
Mrs. Bernard Beere, and in 1883 attracted
notice in Fedora, and as the Countess Zicka in
Diplomacy. In 1888 she played at the Opf-ra
Comique in .Is in a Loolcinfl-Olass and Masks and
Faces. She visited America in 1892. In 1897,
after another retirement, she reappeared in
Charlotte Vorday and A Sheep in Wolf's Cloth-
ing. In 1900 she became the wife of H. C. S.
Olivier.
BEER MON'EY. A peculiar payment to
non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the
British Army, established in the year 1800, at
the suggestion of the Duke of York. It con-
sisted of one penny per day for troops when on
home service, as a substitute for an issue of
beer and spirits. It continued as an addition
to the daily pay until 1873, when, the stoppages
for rations having been abolished, the oppor-
tunity was taken to consolidate beer money and
pay proper.
BEERNAERT, bar'niirt, Auguste Marie
Francois (1829 — ). A Belgian statesman, born
at Ostend. He was elected a member of the
Chamber of Deputies in 1874, and in 1884 re-
ceived the portfolio of Agriculture. Industry, and
Art. Soon afterwards he was appointed presi-
dent of the Council and Minister of Finance. He
proved to be exceedingly skillful in dealing with
many important questions, such as the revi-
sion of the Constitution and proportional repre-
.sentation in the elections. Owing to the lack of
adequate party support in connection 'with the
latter measure, he resigned in 1894. In 1895 he
was elected president of the Chamber of Depu-
ties.
BEERS, Ethel Ltnn (1827-79). An Ameri-
can poet, born at Goshen, N. Y. Her earlier
writings appeared under the name of Ethel
I-Y.N, derived from her baptismal name, Ethel-
inda. By birth an Eliot, descendant of the
famous New England Apostle to the Indians,
she married William II. Beers, and afterwards
used her full name. .She is best known for the
war lyric. All Quiet Along the Potomac, which
appeared in flarper's Weekly in 1861. The au-
thorship of this popular poem was soon claimed
for others, especially for a Southerner; but
Mrs. Beers's claim to it is indisputable. Her
verses were collected just at the time of her
death in a volume entitled All Quiet Along the
Potomac, and Other Poems (1879).
BEERS, Henry Acgu.stin (1848—). An
American professor and litterateur, born in
Buffalo, N. Y. He graduated at Yale in 1869,
and taught there from 1871 to 1875, when he
was made assistant professor of English litera-
ture, and, in 1880, professor. His chief publica-
tions are a collection of verses. Odds and Ends
(1878); A Century of American Literature
(1878) ; Xathaniel Parker Willis and Prose
Writings of X. P. Willis (1885) ; a second col-
lection of verses. The Thankless Muse (1885);
An Outline Sketch of English Literature (1886) ;
From Chaucer to Tennyson (1890); Initial
Studies in. American Letters (1891) ; A Subur-
ban Pastoral and Other Tales ( 1894) ; The Ways
of Yale (1895) ; A History of English Romanti-
cism in the Eighteenth Century (1899); and
.1 History of English Romanticism in the Nine-
teenth Century (1901).
BEERS, bars, Jan van (1821-88). A Flem-
ish jjoet. born in Antwerp. In 1844 he became
a librarian of the Antwerp Library, and in 1860
professor of Flemish language and literature at
the Athenfeum in that city. His works include
Levensbeelden (1858) and Oeroel en Leiden
(1809). Consult the biographv bv Pol de Mont
(Haarlem, 1S89).
BEERSHEBA, be-er'she-ba (Heb. beer, well
-f- sheha. oath, or seven), the modern BlR-ES-
seba. One of the Simeonite towns in Southern
Judah (Joshua xix. 2), so called because here
.Abraham entered into an alliance with Abime-
lech. King of Gerar, which he ratified with an
oath and a gift of seven ewe lambs. Two stories
are told in explanation of the origin of the place
and of the name. According to the one (Gen.
xxi. 22-31), the place received its name as the
"well of oath,' because of the alliance formed here
between Abraham and Abimelech, King of Gerar,
which was ratified by a gift of seven ewe
lambs from Abraham to Abimelech as a witness
of the fact that the well was dug by Abraham.
In further commemoration of the event, Abra-
ham is said to have planted a tamarisk at the
place, and to have invoked the name of Yahweh.
The other account (Gen. xxvi. 26-33) ascribes
the name-giving to Isaac,and apparently explains
it as the well of 'seven.' Beersheba was situated
in the extreme south of Palestine, about 52 miles
southwest of Jerusalem. Its position led to the
phrase 'from Dan to Beersheba' as comprising
Hebrew territory from north to south. Various
interesting events are recorded by biblical tradi-
tion as having taken place at Beersheba. It was
here that Abraham received the command to sac-
rifice Isaac (Gen. xxii.). In later days Isaac
sojourned here. Esau was robbed of his birth-
right and blessing here (ib. xxviii. 10), and here
Jacob sacrificed to Yahweh on his journey into
Egypt ( ib. xlvi, 1 ) ; the sons of Samuel were
judges here (I. Sam. viii. 2), and it was from
hence that Elijah was forced to flee into the
desert from Jezebel's wrath (I. Kings xi.x. 3).
Leaving aside these traditions, it is clear thatl
Beersheba was the site of an ancient sanctuary|
to which importance was attached by the He-
brews as late as the days of Amos (Amos v. 5).
As to the name, the sanctity attaching amongi
the Semites to the number seven makes it more]
plausible to explain the name as the 'sevcnl
wells' in the sense of the 'sacred well,' rather]
than as the 'well of oath,' which appears to rest]
upon a play on the name. After tlie captivity,!
Beersheba was occupied by the Jews. Two cireu-J
lar wells of fine pure water — the larger being 44|
