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years were a striking feature of Baden-Baden, are now |
abolished. The only building of much antiquarian interest,
with the exception of the castles, is the parish church, which
dates from the 15th century, and contains the tombs of
several of the margraves.
There is a Protestant church
a short distance to the east of Leopoldsplatz, and not far
off a small Episcopalian church; while on the Michaelsberg
is the Greek chapel, with its gilded dome, which was erected
over the tomb of the Roumanian prince, Michael Stroudza,
who died at Baden in 1863.

The springs of Baden were known to the Romans, and the foundation of the town is referred to the Emperor Hadrian by an inscription of somewhat doubtful authenticity. The name of Aurelia Aquensis was given to it in honour of Aurelius Severus, in whose reign it would seem to have been well known. Fragments of its ancient sculptures are still to be seen, and in 1847 remains of Roman vapour baths, well preserved, were discovered just below the New Castle. From the 14th century down to the close of the 17th, Baden was the residence of the margraves, to whom it gave its name. They first dwelt in the Old Castle, the ruins of which still occupy the summit of a hill above the town, but in 1479 they removed to the New Castle (still so called), which is situated on the hill-side nearer to the town, and is remarkable for its subterranean dungeons. During the Thirty Years' War Baden suffered severely from the various combatants, but especially from the French, who pillaged it in 1643, and laid it in ashes in 1688. The margravine Sibylla rebuilt the New Castle in 1697, but the margrave Louis removed to Rastadt in 1706. Since the beginning of the present century the Government has greatly fostered the growth of the town.

BADEN, Switzerland, a small town in the canton of Aargau, on the Limmat, 14 miles N. W. of Zurich. It is much frequented on account of its warm medicinal springs, which are about 20 in number, and vary in temperature from 98° to 126° Fahr. About 15,000 persons visit the place annually. Tacitus, in the first book of his Histories (c. 67), incidentally speaks of it as in modum municipii extructus locus, amœno salubrium aquarum usu frequens; and numerous remains of pillars and inscriptions, coins, and other antiquities confirm his description. It was destroyed by the Alemanni and the Huns, but was again frequented during the reign of Charlemagne, though its modern prosperity only dates from the 15th century. For a long time the countship of Baden was in the hands of the Hapsburgs, but it was conquered by the Swiss Confederates in 1415. It was here that the famous disputation of Eck with Zwingle and Ecolampadius took place in 1526; and here was held the conference of 1589. In 1714 the peace which put an end to the war of the Spanish Succession was concluded at Baden between Austria and France; and four years afterwards a treaty between Zurich, Berne, and St Gall received its name from the town. Resident population, 3412.

BADEN, the chief town of a circle in Lower Austria, about 12 miles S. of Vienna on the railway to Gratz. It is beautifully situated at the mouth of the romantic Helenenthal, near the banks of the Schwachat, a rapid stream with several waterfalls, and has become a favourite summer resort with the inhabitants of the neighbouring capital. The warm baths, which give name to the town, are thirteen in number, and vary in temperature from 72° to 97° Fahr. They rise, for the most part, at the foot of the Calvarienberg, which is composed of dolomitic limestone. The number of patients is about 8000 annually. The celebrity of Baden dates back to the days of the Romans, who knew it by the name of Aqua Cetic; and remains of their occupation still exist. In 1812 the town suffered severely from a fire, but it has since been elegantly rebuilt. The principal buildings are the church of St Stephen, the theatre, the casino, and the

military hospital. A short distance to the west of the town stands the castle of Weilberg, which belongs to members of the imperial family. The only manufacture of much importance that is carried on in Baden is the production of steel-wares; these, especially the razors, are of excellent quality. Permanent population, about 6500.

BADGER (Meles), a family of Plantigrade Carnivora, possessing greatly elongated bodies and short limbs, each of the latter furnished with five toes, provided at their extremities with long, powerful claws, by means of which they form deep burrows in the earth. The carnassial tooth, which in the bears is wholly tuberculate, is in the badgers provided also with a cutting edge, their whole dentition being specially adapted to the partly vegetable, partly animal diet on which they subsist. The badger differs from all other mammals in having the lower jaw so articulated to the upper, by means of a transverse condyle firmly locked into a long cavity of the cranium, that dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible, and this enables those creatures to maintain their hold with the utmost tenacity. The European badger (Meles Taxus) may be taken as typical of the entire family. It is nowhere abundant, but is found over the entire northern parts of Europe and Asia. It is a quiet, inoffensive animal, nocturnal and solitary in its habits, sleeping by day in its burrow, and issuing forth at night to feed on roots, beech-mast, fruits, the eggs of birds, some of the smaller quadrupeds, frogs, and insects. It is said also to dig up the nests of wasps in order to eat the larvæ, as the ratel-a closely allied South African form-is said to rob the bees of their honey. The male and female are seldom seen together, and are supposed to trace each other by means of the odour of the secretion contained in a glandular pouch beneath the tail. Although the badger does not seek to attack, yet, when driven to bay, its great muscular power and tough hide renders it a formidable antagonist, as was often seen in the days, now happily gone by, when badger-baiting was a favourite amusement of the English peasantry. Fossil remains of the badger have been found in this country, apparently contemporaneous with the extinct cave bear, hyena, and tiger; still more ancient remains are said to have been found in the Red Crag of Suffolk, and should these prove authentic, the European badger, says Professor Owen, "will be the oldest known species of mammal now living on the face of the earth." The American badger (Meles Labradorica) is a native of California and Texas, and in its habits closely resembles the former species; it seems, however, to be more carnivorous. According to Gray, several species inhabit the southern parts of Asia. When badgers were more abundant than they now are, their skins dressed, with the hair attached, were commonly used for pistol furniture. They are now chiefly valued for the hair, that of the European badger being used in the manufacture of the best shaving-brushes, while the softer hair of the American species is employed for the same purpose, and also for painters' pencils. 5197 skins of the American badger were imported into London during 1873.

BADIA Y LEBLICH, DOMINGO, a celebrated Spanish traveller, better known under his assumed name of Ali Bey, was born in Biscay in the year 1766. After receiving a liberal education he devoted particular attention to the Arabic language, and made special preparation otherwise for his Oriental travels. Under the name of Ali Bey and in Mussulman costume, he visited Egypt, Marocco, Tripoli, Arabia, and Syria, and was received as a person of high rank wherever he appeared. On his return to Europe in 1807 he declared himself a Bonapartist, and was made Intendant, first of Segovia, and afterwards of Cordova. When the French were driven from Spain, Badia was compelled to take refuge in France, and there, in 1814, published an

account of his travels under the title of Voyage d'Ali Bey | by lot which shall commence or have first hand-in en Asie et en Afrique, &c., in 3 vols. 8vo. A few years and choice of ends. The player who is hand-in (say A) later he set out again for Syria, under the assumed name of Ali Othman, and, it is said, accredited as a political agent by the French Government. He only reached Aleppo, and there died, 30th August 1818, not without suspicion of having been poisoned.

BADIUS, JODOCcus or Josse, sometimes called BADIUS ASCENSIUS from the village of Asche, near Brussels, where he was born in 1462, was an eminent printer at Paris, whose establishment was celebrated under the name of Prelum Ascensianum. He was himself a scholar of considerable repute, had studied at Brussels and Ferrara, and before settling in Paris, had taught Greek for several years at Lyons. He illustrated with notes several of the classics which he printed, and was the author of numerous pieces, amongst which are a life of Thomas à Kempis, and a satire on the follies of women, entitled Navicula Stultarum Mulierum. He died in 1535. His epitaph was written by his grandson, the celebrated Henry Stephanus. BADMINTON, a game of recent introduction. It may be played in or out of doors, by any number of persons from two to eight; two or four makes the best game. The

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Diagram illustrating the Game of Badminton. following description applies to the outdoor game; the indoor follows the same plan, modified only by circumstances affecting a room.

A tolerably level surface is required to form a ground. Turf or asphalt is the best. The size of the ground varies from 40 ft. by 20 ft. to 30 ft. by 15 ft., according to the space at command and the activity of the players.

The ground is divided into courts as shown in the diagram, which gives the marking-out and measurements of a full-sized ground.

The boundaries of the ground and of the courts should be defined by means of whiting and water, or peggeddown tape, the former being preferable.

On each of the spots marked "post," half-way between the service lines, and 15 ft. apart, a post about 6 ft. high must be erected, either on a stand or driven into the ground, and supported by guy-ropes.

A net, about 5 ft. 6 in. or 5 ft. high should be stretched from post to post. The depth of the net is of but little consequence. Where expense is no object, it should reach to the ground.

The implements required in playing the game are(1), shuttlecocks, and (2), rackets or battledores. The former should be about 5 in. high, and about 1 oz. in weight. For outdoor play the shuttlecocks are sometimes made heavier by being loaded with lead. The body should be covered with india-rubber. The rackets should be similar to those used at the game of the same name, only smaller, about 2 ft. 6 in. long.

The game consists in sending the shuttlecock with the racket over the net, forwards and backwards, until one of the players fails to return it. The players decide

stations himself in one of the courts at his end, his adversary (say B) in the diagonally opposed court at the other end. A. then serves to B., i.e., A. standing in the court chosen by him, strikes the shuttlecock over the net with the racket into the diagonally opposed court. B. then has to return the service by striking the shuttlecock back over the net without allowing it to touch the ground, and so on alternately until one player fails. If this is the player who served, he is hand-out, his adversary becomes hand-in, and serves, and no score accrues. But if the player failing is the one who was served to, his adversary scores one point towards game, called an ace. The player who first scores 15 aces wins the game; but if the score arrives at 14 all, it is necessary for one player to score two consecutive aces in order to win. The server must serve according to the following conditions:-He must stand with both feet in the court served from; he must send the shuttlecock clean over the net (i.e., without touching net or posts), and so that it will drop into or beyond the service line bounding the court served into, and into the diagonally opposed court. If he fails to comply with these conditions it is a fault, and he has to serve again. Two consecutive faults put his hand out.

The server's hand is also out if he fails to send the shuttlecock over the net; if he hits the shuttlecock beyond the external boundary of the ground, or more than once; or, if after the server has loosed it, it touches him. No fault is allowed for these failures, as they are considered more serious than those first enumerated. After service is properly given, if either player fails to return the shuttlecock clean over the net, and so that it drops within the external boundary of the ground on the side of the net furthest from the striker, the player failing loses an ace, or is hand-out as the case may be. It will be observed that in the service the shuttlecock must be sent from right court to right court, or from left to left, but in the return, by either player, it is only required that the shuttlecock shall drop within any part of the ground, bounded by the external line of all. In addition the shuttlecock must be struck before it touches the ground, and must be touched only with the racket, and must only be hit once, otherwise it counts against the striker. If the shuttlecock drops on the line enclosing the court served into, or in the return drops on the boundary line, it is generally reckoned as a let, i.e., the stroke or innings goes for nothing, and the server serves again. But this is an utterly useless rule, and it is better to count everything that drops on the line to the striker.

In the case of a fault, or in the case of returns that are not according to the conditions, if the adversary returns or attempts to return the shuttlecock, the service or return counts the same as though it had been properly made. If the server scores he serves again, this time from his other court, and so on alternately from one court to the other as long as he scores. When he is hand-out, his adversary commences serving from either of the courts at his end, and, on scoring, serves from his other court, and so on. In partner games the disposition of the players, and the rules by which they conduct the game, as to the two hands in, and so forth, are identical with those which prevail at lawn tennis. See TENNIS. (H. J.)

BADNUR, the headquarters of the district of Betul, consists, besides the European houses, of two bázárs. The largest, the Kothi Bázár, has a population of 2015 souls. The public buildings are the Commissioner's court-house, the district court-house, the jail, the schools, the policestation, the post-office, the dispensary, &c. There is a good sarai or inn for native travellers, and a dák bangalow or resting-place for Europeans. Not far from Badnúr is Kherlá, the former residence of the Gond Rájás, where

there is an old fort, now in ruins, which used to be held by them. Lat. 21° 57' N., long. 77° 59' E.

BADRINATH, a town and celebrated temple in Hindustán, in the British district of Garhwal, situate on the right bank of the Vishnugangá, a tributary of the Alaknandá River, in the middle of a valley nearly 4 miles in length, and 1 in breadth, in 30° 44' N. lat. and 79° 32′ E. long. The town is small, containing only twenty or thirty huts, in which reside the Brahmans and the attendants on the temple. The building, however, which is considered a place of high sanctity, by no means corresponds to its great celebrity. It is about 40 or 50 feet in height, built in the form of a cone, with a small cupola, on the top of which is a gilt ball and spire, and contains the shrine of Badrinath, dedicated to an incarnation of Vishnu. The principal idol is of black stone, and is 3 feet in height. Badrinath is the favourite resort of pilgrims from all parts of India. In ordinary years the number varies from 7000 to 10,000; but every twelfth year, when the festival of Kumbh Mela is celebrated, the concourse of persons is said to be 50,000. In addition to the gifts of votaries, the temple enjoys a further source of revenue from the rents of villages assigned by former Rájás. Some years ago the temple was shattered by an earthquake, and has only been partially restored. It is situate among mountains rising 23,000 feet above the level of the sea. Elevation of the site of the temple, 10,294 feet.

BAENA, a town of Spain, in the province of Cordova, 8 leagues S.E. of the city. It is picturesquely situated, near the River Marbello, on the slope of a hill crowned with a castle, which formerly belonged to Gonzalo de Cordova, and is now the property of the Altamira family. It has four parish churches and three schools, one of which, exclusively for girls, has a high reputation in the province. The education, which is conducted by sisters of charity, does not go beyond reading, writing, arithmetic, and religious instruction. Grain and oil are the principal articles of commerce. The site of the Roman town (Baniana or Biniana) can still be traced, and various antiquities are frequently met with. A subterranean vault was discovered in 1833, containing twelve cinerary urns, with inscriptions commemorating various members of the Pompeian family. In 1292 Mahomet Ibn Aljama vainly besieged the city, the defence of which on that occasion is commemorated by the five Moorish heads in its coat-of-arms. Baena is the birthplace of Juan de Peñalosa. Population, about 12,000. BAEZA (ancient Beatia), a city of Spain, in the province of Jaen. It stands on a considerable elevation, about 3 miles from the right bank of the Guadalquivir. Lat. 37° 59' N., long. 3° 28′ W. It is well built, and has a cathedral and several fine public buildings, among which the most worthy of notice are the university (founded in 1533, and for some time defunct), the oratorio of the order of St Philip Neri, and the marble fountain with Caryatides in the Plaza de la Constitucion. The Cordova and Ubeda gates, and the arch of Baeza, are among the remains of its old fortifications, which were of great strength. There is little trade or manufacture here. The principal productions of the neighbourhood are grain and oil. The red dye made from the native cochineal was formerly celebrated. In the time of the Moors Baeza was a flourishing city of 50,000 inhabitants, and the capital of a separate kingdom, but it never recovered from the sack of 1239. It is the birthplace of Gaspar Becerra, the celebrated sculptor and painter. Present population, about 11,000.

BAFFIN, WILLIAM, an able and enterprising English seaman, born in 1584. Nothing is known of his early life, and his fame rests entirely on the voyages undertaken by him during the years 1612 to 1616. In 1612 he accompanied Captain James Hall on his fourth voyage in search

of the north-west passage, and in 1613 he commanded one of the English vessels engaged in the Greenland fisheries. In 1615 and 1616 Baffin made two voyages in the "Discovery" under Bylot, and on the second of them explored the large inlet, afterwards called Baffin's Bay. The only accounts of these expeditions were given by Baffin himself, and later investigators have thoroughly confirmed his descriptions. In 1618 he is said to have been mate in a voyage to Surat and Mocha; and in 1621 he was killed while attempting, in conjunction with a Persian force, to expel the Portuguese from Ormuz. (See Purchas's Pilgrims and the publications of the Hakluyt Society for 1849.)

BAFFIN'S BAY, or BAFFIN'S SEA, is properly neither a bay nor a sea, but part of the long strait or inlet which separates Greenland from the N.E. coast of America. It extends from about 69° to 78° N. lat., and from 54° to 72° W. long, and is connected by Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Strait with the Arctic Ocean. It was first explored in 1616 by the English navigator Baffin. The part of the strait to the south is known as Davis Strait, and the narrower channel to the north takes the name of Smith's Sound. The coasts are generally high and precipitous, and are deeply indented with gulfs. The most important island on the east side is Disco to the north of Disco Bay, where there is a Danish settlement. During the greater part of the year this sea is frozen, and it is navigable only from the beginning of June to the end of September. It is annually visited by vessels engaged in the whale and seal fishery. (See Petermann's Mittheil., 1873, map 13, and Markham's Cruise in Baffin's Bay.)

BAGATELLE is an indoor game, probably derived from the old English shovel-board, described by Cotton in his Compleat Gamester (1674), though many consider that its invention is due to the French. Like billiards, chess, and draughts, its origin is not certainly known; but whatever its genesis, its name is undoubtedly French. Bagatelle games are played on an oblong board, usually from six to ten feet in length, by a foot and a half to three feet in width. The bed of the table, which is ordinarily of slate or mahogany, is covered with fine green cloth; and at the upper end, which is rounded, there are nine holes or cups, numbered from 1 to 9, thus

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Into these holes ivory balls are driven by a cue in all respects similar to the instrument used in BILLIARDS, which see. The sides and circular end of the table are furnished with elastic cushions; and in some of the newer tables there is also a pocket on each side. Nine ballseight white, and one red or black (sometimes four white, four red, and one black)-are used in the most popular of the several bagatelle games.

The ordinary game is played according to the following rules:

1. Any number of persons may play, whether singly or in sides. 2. Each player strings for lead, and he who lodges his ball in the highest hole begins. In the case of partners, one only on each side need string for the lead. 3. The player who wins the lead takes the nine balls and plays them one after the other up the table from baulk, first striking at the red ball which is placed on the spot about a foot below the 1 hole. The object of the player is to lodge his own, or the coloured ball, or both balls, in the holes. 4. The red ball counts double when it is played into a hole; and for each white ball lodged or holed, a corresponding number of points is scored to that marked

in the cup. (Sometimes two coloured balls are used, in which case both count double.) 5 The red ball must be first struck, and the remainder of the balls are played up to the holes the sum total of the holes made being the striker's score. 6. Any number of rounds may be played for the game, as agreed on at the commencement; and the player (or side) obtaining the highest aggregate score wins. 7. Any ball that rebounds beyond the baulk line, or is forced over the table, is not re-used in that round.

Sans Egal, or the French Game, is the next most generally played game on the bagatelle table. It is governed by the following laws:-1. The player who takes the lead (which is decided as in bagatelle) makes choice of four balls of either colour, and placing the black one on the spot, commences by striking it with a ball from baulk. 2. The other player then strikes up one of his balls, and so on alternately, 3 He who holes the black ball counts it towards his game, together with any number made by the whito 4. If either player hole his adversary's ball, the number scored by such ball, or balls, is marked to the other side. 5. The player who makes the greatest number of points in each round wins the game, and takes the lead in the next. The rule as to balls rebounding beyond the baulk line, or being forced off the table, is the same as in the preceding game.

The Cannon Game, sometimes played on a table without holes, consists entirely of cannons, that is to say, two balls struck in succession by the cue-ball. This game is played 50, 100, or 150 up, and the holes into which the balls fall are sometimes counted in addition to the cannon. Three balls only are used—a white, a spot-white, and a black ball. At starting the latter is placed on the spot, and the adversary's ball on a point equi-distant between the first and centre holes, 1 and 9 If the striker make a cannon, he goes on as long as he can score, but no hole can be counted without first making the cannon. To miss the white involves the loss of 1 point; and to miss the black ball, 5 points. The striker's break is ended when he fails to cannon, and then the other player goes on,-he who first gains the required number winning the game. When there are pockets to the table, two points are taken for every white ball pocketed, and three points for the red. Should the player's ball fall into a pocket before he make the cannon, the score is taken by the opponent. In the Irish Cannon Game the holes do not count, except by way of penalty; all points made by holing the balls being added to the score of the adversary. Sometimes, in both the cannon games two points are taken for a cannon from white to white and then to red, and three for a cannon from white to red and then to white; or, when two coloured balls are used, three points are taken for a cannon from the black to the red. Lately, bagatelle tables as much as 14 feet long by 6 feet wide have been made for the cannon game.

Mississippi is a game played on a bagatelle table with a bridge pierced with arches, each arch bearing a certain number-say, from 1 to 10 or 12. The balls are first played from the baulk against the cushion on to the bridge, which is placed just in front of the lowermost hole. The rules are -1. If the ball pass through the bridge, all the points indicated on the arch are counted towards the player's score, in addition to any points made by the ball falling into a hole beyond the bridge. The game may be played by two or more persons, and he who first makes the number of points agreed on-100, 200, 500, &c.-wins. A modification of this game is called

Trou Madame. In this the balls are played from the baulk straight up to the bridge without touching the cushion, and only the points marked upon the arches score,all points made by the balls dropping into the holes beyond being scored to the opponent. Another variety, called

Cockamaroo, or Russian Bagatelle, is played on a table prepared with a number of pins, holes, arches, and bells, up to and through which the ball is played from the baulk end of the table. It is a childish amusement, requiring little skill, and therefore needing only the barest mention.

In playing the bagatelle games a much less degree of force is required for the stroke than is necessary for billiards. Some adepts are able to fill all the holes at one essay; first, by striking the red ball on the side, making a double hazard, say, into the 7 and the 8 holes, and then, either by playing direct at the holes or at the cushion, lodging each successive ball till the whole nine are pocketed. In this way, counting double for the red, as many as 54 points can be scored in a single round of the balls. When two coloured balls are used, of course a proportionally larger score is made. The cue should be held lightly between the fingers and thumb, not grasped in the palm of the hand; and much use may be made of the various strokes employed in billiards, as the side, the screw, the twist, and the drag; for which terms see the article BILLIARDS. (G. F. P.)

BAGGESEN, JENS EMMANUEL, the most prominent literary figure in Denmark during the latter part of last century, was born on the 15th of February 1765, at Korsör. His parents were very poor, and before he was twelve he was sent to copy documents at the office of the clerk of the district. By dint of indomitable perseverance, he managed to gain an education, and in 1782 entered the university of Copenhagen. His success as a writer was coeval with his earliest publication; his Comical Tales in verse, poems that recall the Broad Grins that Colman the younger brought out a decade later, took the town by storm, and the struggling young poet found himself a popular favourite at twenty-one. He then tried serious lyrical writing, and his tact, elegance of manner, and versatility, gained him a place in the best society. This sudden success received a blow in 1788, when a very poor opera he had produced was received with mockery, and a reaction against him set in. He left Denmark in a rage, and spent the next years in Germany, France, and Switzerland. In the country last mentioned he married, began to write in German, and published in that language his next poem, Alpenlied. In 1790 he returned to his mother-country, bringing with him as a peace-offering his fine descriptive poem, the Labyrinth, in Danish, and was received with unbounded homage. The next twenty years were spent in incessant restless wanderings over the north of Europe, Paris latterly becoming his nominal home. He continued to publish volumes alternately in Danish and German. In 1811 he returned to Copenhagen to find the young Ohlenschläger installed as the great poet of the day, and he himself beginning to lose his previously unbounded popularity. Until 1820 he resided in Copenhagen, in almost unceasing literary feud with some one or other, abusing and being abused, the most important feature of the whole being Baggesen's determination not to allow Ohlenschläger to be considered a greater poet than himself. He then went back to his beloved Paris, where he lost his wife and youngest child, and fell at last into a state of hopeless melancholy madness. In 1826, having slightly recovered, he wished to see Denmark once more, but died at Hamburg on his way, on the 3d of October, and was buried at Kiel. His many-sided talents achieved success in all forms of writing, but his domestic, philosophical, and critical works have long ceased to occupy attention. A little more power of restraining his egotism and passion would have made him one of the wittiest and keenest of modern satirists, and his comic poems are deathless. The Danish literature owes Baggesen a great debt for the firmness, polish, and form which he introduced into it-his style being always finished

and elegant. With all his faults he stands as the greatest figure between Holberg and Ohlenschläger. Of all his poems, however, the loveliest and best is a little simple song, called There was a time when I was very little, which every Dane, high or low, knows by heart, and which is matchless in its simplicity and pathos. It has outlived all his epics. (E. W. G.) BAGHDAD, a Turkish pashalic or government of Asia, computed to have an area of above 100,000 square miles. It stretches in a N.W. direction, from the mouth of the Shatt-el-Arab at Bussorah, to Merdin, situated near the source of the Tigris; and from the confines of Persia to the banks of the Khabour, which separates it from the pashalic of Diarbekir. Its general boundaries are the Euphrates and the Arabian desert of Nejd to the W. and S., Kusistan and Mount Zagros to the E., the pashalic of Diarbekir to the N.W., and Armenia with the territories of the Kurdish chief of Julamerick to the N. This great tract comprehends ancient Babylonia and the greatest part of Assyria proper. The first includes the space enclosed by the Tigris and the Euphrates, which is also known under the general appellation of Mesopotamia; and the second, that which is beyond the Tigris, commonly called Lower Kurdistan. This tract of country is an extensive and very fertile plain, and is watered by the Tigris and the Euphrates, which at Baghdad approach within 25 miles of each other, and afford an inexhaustible supply of the finest water. Only some parts of these fertile districts, however, are cultivated, as the population consists in many places of wandering Arabs, who are averse to agriculture, and who, in their vagrant life of idleness and rapine, neglect all the natural advantages of the country. The most productive portion of the pashalic is on the banks of the Shatt-el-Arab, in the neighbourhood of Bussorah. This tract, for upwards of 30 miles below that city, is well cultivated, and yields vast quantities of dates, wheat, barley, and various kinds of fruits. The banks of the Euphrates produce abundant crops of dry grain. Higher up the Euphrates, the country which is possessed by the Arabs is a low marshy tract, formed by the expansion of the Euphrates, and is famed for plentiful crops of rice. Among the mountainous districts of the Upper Euphrates the country is highly picturesque and beautiful; it is watered by the River Mygdonius (the Gozan of Scripture), and is in a tolerable state of cultivation. It produces in abundance the finest fruits, such as grapes, olives, figs, pomegranates, which are considered the most delicious in the East; apples, pears, apricots of an inferior quality; and the finest dates, on which the inhabitants, as in other parts of Asia, depend in many cases for subsistence. The domestic animals are, the horse, for which the country has long been famed, the ass, camel, dromedary, buffalo, and nule. Of the wild animals, the lion, the hyena, the jackal, the wolf, and the wild boar, are common; and antelopes are very numerous. plentiful, but foxes are seldom seen. All sorts of poultry are bred except the turkey. On the cultivated lands, and on the borders of the rivers, the black partridge is met with in great numbers. Snipes and almost every species of wild fowl may be found in the marshes, and pelicans on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris. In addition to these two rivers, the country is watered by the Khabour or Chaboras, formed by the junction of several small streams about ten miles to the S.W. of Merdin, and by the Mygdonius, or Gozan, the Hermas of the Arabs, which used formerly to discharge a part of its waters into the Euphrates through the Khabour, and a part into the Tigris through the Thirthar, passing by Hatra, but which is now entirely lost in a salt marsh at the foot of the Singar hills.

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In ancient times the plain of Mesopotamia was occupied by the great and wealthy cities of Nineveh, Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon, &c., and was in a high state of cultivation. It was intersected by many well-constructed canals and other works, which, in dispersing over the country the superfluous waters of the Tigris and Euphrates, proved extremely useful to agriculture. These works are now all ruined, and not a vestige remains of many of the canals, while the course of others can only be faintly traced in their imperfect remains. One canal, however, called El-Hye, still exists; it connects the Euphrates and the Tigris exactly half-way between Bussorah and Baghdad, and is navigable in spring for large boats.

BAGHDAD, a city of Asia, formerly the capital of the empire of the caliph, and long renowned for its commerce and its wealth, is situated on an extensive and desert plain, which has scarcely a tree or village throughout its whole extent; and though it is intersected by the Tigris, it stands mostly on its eastern bank, close to the water's edge. Old Baghdad on the W. is now considered as merely a suburb to the larger and more modern city on the eastern shore, the former containing an area of only 146 acres, while the latter extends over 591. It has, however, numerous and extensive streets, well furnished with shops, and is protected by strong walls, with three gates opening towards Hillah on the Euphrates and Kazimeen. Beyond these modern bulwarks vestiges of ancient buildings, spreading in various directions, are visible in the plain, which is strewed with fragments of brick, tiles, and rubbish. A burying-ground has extended itself over a large tract of land formerly occupied by the streets of the city; and here is the tomb of Zobeide, the favourite wife of Haroun el Raschid, built of brick, of a high octagonal shape, and surmounted by a lofty superstructure in the form of a cone. It was originally built in 827 A.D., but has been frequently restored. The two towns of Old and New Baghdad are connected by a bridge of thirty pontoons. The form of the new city is that of an irregular oblong, about 1500 paces in length by 800 in breadth; and a brick wall, about five miles in circuit, encloses the town on both sides of the river. This wall, which is built of brick, has been constructed and repaired at different periods; and, as in most other works of the same nature in Mahometan countries, the oldest portion is the best, and the more modern the worst part of the fabric. the principal angles are large round towers, with smaller towers intervening at short distances; and on these large towers batteries are planted, with brass cannon of different calibre, badly mounted. Of two of these angular towers Mr Buckingham remarked that the workmanship is equal to any ancient masonry that he had ever seen. The wall has three gates-one on the S.E., one on the N. E., and a third on the N.W. of the city; and it is surrounded by a dry ditch of considerable depth. A fourth gate on the northern side, which has been closed since the capture of the city by Sultan Amurath IV. in 1638, is a good specimen of Saracenic brick-work. It was formerly called "the white Gate," but is now known as the "Bab-el-Tilism," or "Talismanic Gate," from a fine Arabic inscription in relief on a scroll border round the tower, which bears the date of 618 A.H. (1220 A.D.) The town has been built without the slightest regard to regularity. The streets are even more intricate and winding than those in most other Eastern towns; and, with the exception of the bazaars and some open squares, the interior is little else than a labyrinth of alleys and passages. The streets are unpaved, and in many places so narrow that two horsemen can scarcely pass each other; and as it is seldom that the houses have windows facing the great public thoroughfares, and the doors are small and mean, they present on both sides the

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