ntioned by
Bale, and the most valuable section is the lives of the Catholic exiles
resident in Douai and other French towns. He does not scruple to assert
(_Nota de Joanne Bale_) that Bale's _Catalogus_ was a misrepresentation of
Leland's matter, though there is every reason to believe that he was only
acquainted with Leland's work at second-hand, through Bale.

BALE. (1) (A word common to Teutonic languages, in O. Eng. _balu_, cf.
Icelandic _bol_), evil, suffering, a word obsolete except in poetry, and
more common in the adjectival form "baleful." In early alliterative poetry
it is especially used antithetically with "bliss." (2) (O. Eng. _bael_, a
blazing fire, a funeral pyre), a bonfire, a northern English use more
common in the tautological "bale-fire," with sometimes a confused reference
from (1) to evil. (3) (A word of doubtful origin, possibly connected with
"ball "), a bundle of merchandise, especially of cotton, wool or hay,
packed with a cover, or fastened with bands of metal, &c. for
transportation; the weight and capacity varies with the goods. (4)
(Properly "bail," from Fr. _baille_, possibly connected with Lat. _bacula_,
a tub), to empty water out of a boat by means of a bail or bucket.

BALEARIC ISLANDS (_Baleares_), an archipelago of four large and eleven
small islands in the Mediterranean Sea, off the east coast of Spain, of
which country it forms a province. Pop. (1900) 311,649; area, 1935 sq. m.
The archipelago, which lies between 38deg 40' and 40deg 5' N., and between
1deg and 5deg E., comprises two distinct groups. The eastern and larger
group, corresponding with the ancient Insulae Baleares, comprises the two
principal members of the archipelago, Majorca (Spanish, Mallorca) and
Minorca (Spanish, Menorca), with seven islets:--Aire, Aucanada, Botafoch,
Cabrera, Dragonera, Pinto and El Rey. The western group, corresponding with
the ancient Pityusae or Pine Islands, also comprises two relatively large
islands, Iviza (Spanish, Ibiza or, formerly, Ivica) and Formentera, with
the islets of Ahorcados, Conejera, Pou and Espalmador. Majorca, Minorca and
Iviza are described in separate articles. Formentera is described with
Iviza. The total population of the eleven islets only amounted to 171 in
1900, but all were inhabited. None of them is of any importance except
Cabrera, which is full of caverns, and was formerly used as a place of
banishment. In 1808 a large body of Frenchmen were landed here by their
Spa