in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy, a
miscellaneous collection in prose and verse of historical, genealogical and
romantic writings. There are also, near the town, ruins of a house of the
Knights of St John (1303).

BALLYSHANNON, a seaport and market-town of Co. Donegal, Ireland, in the
south parliamentary division, at the mouth of the Erne; on the Bundoran
branch of the Great Northern railway. Pop. (1901) 2359. The river is here
crossed by a bridge of twelve arches, which connects the town with the
suburb of The Port. Below the bridge the river forms a beautiful cascade,
150 yds. wide, with a fall at low water of 16 ft. Here is the salmon leap,
where the fish are trapped in large numbers, but also assisted to mount the
fall by salmon-ladders. The fisheries are of great value, and there is an
export trade to England in salmon, which are despatched in ice. The harbour
is a small exposed creek of Donegal Bay, and is only accessible to small
vessels owing to a bar. Previous to the Union Ballyshannon returned two
members to the Irish parliament and it was incorporated by James I. There
are slight remains of a castle of the O'Donnells, earls of Tyrconnell,
where the English, on attempting to besiege it, were defeated and lost
heavily in their retreat across the river, in 1597. There are numerous
raths or encampments in the vicinity and other remains. Coolmore, 3 m.
N.W., is a bathing-resort.

BALM, a fragrant herb, _Melissa officinalis_, of the Deadnettle order
(_Labiatae_) with opposite, ovate, crenulated leaves, which are wrinkled
above, and small white or rose-spotted flowers. It is a native of central
and southern Europe; it is often grown in gardens and has become
naturalized in the south of England and grows apparently wild as a garden
escape in North America. The name is from the Greek [Greek: melissa], the
plant being visited by bees. Bastard Balm is an allied plant, _Melittis
Melissophyllum_, a southern European species, found in the south and
south-west of England.

BALMACEDA, JOSE MANUEL (1838-1891), president of the republic of Chile, was
born in Santiago in 1838. His parents were wealthy, and in his early days
he was chiefly concerned in industrial and agricultural enterprise. In 1865
he was one of the representatives of the Chilean government at the general
South American congress at Lima, and after his return obtained great
distinction as an orator in the national assembly. After discharging some
d