re, the
retreat of Rousseau in 1765.

BIFROeST, a bridge in the Norse mythology stretching from heaven to
earth, of firm solidity and exquisite workmanship, represented in the
rainbow, of which the colours are the reflections of the precious stones.

BIGELOW, ERASTUS BRIGHAM, American inventor of weaving machines,
born in Massachusetts (1814-1879).

BIG-ENDIANS, a name given to the Catholics, as Little-endians is the
name given to the Protestants, in the imaginary kingdom of Lilliput, of
which the former are regarded as heretics by the latter because they
break their eggs at the big end.

BIGGAR, a town in Lanarkshire, birthplace of Dr. John Brown and of
the Gladstone ancestry.

BIGLOW, imaginary author of poems in the Yankee dialect, written by
James Russell Lowell.

BIJAPUR`, city in the presidency of Bombay, once the capital of an
extensive kingdom, now deserted, but with remains of its former
greatness.

BILBA`O (50), capital of the Basque prov. of Biscay, in Spain; a
commercial city of ancient date, famous at one time for its steel,
specially in Queen Elizabeth's time, when a rapier was called a "bilbo."

BILDERDIJK, WILLEM, Dutch poet, born at Amsterdam (1756-1831).

BILE, a fluid secreted from the blood by the liver to aid in
digestion, the secretion of which is most active after food.

BILLAUD-VARENNES, JEAN NICOLAS, "a grim, resolute, unrepentant"
member of the Jacobin Club; egged on the mob during the September
massacres in the name of liberty; was president of the Convention;
assisted at the fall of Robespierre, but could not avert his own; was
deported to Surinam, and content to die there rather than return to
France, which Bonaparte made him free to do; died at Port-au-Prince
(1756-1819).

BILLAUT, ADAM, the carpenter poet, called "Maitre Adam," born at
Nevers, and designated "Virgile au Rabot" (a carpenter's plane); _d_.
1662.

BILLINGS, ROBERT WILLIAM, architect, born in London; delineator of
old historical buildings; his great work "Baronial and Ecclesiastical
Antiquities of Scotland," richly illustrated; was engaged in the
restoration of old buildings, as well as delineating them (1813-1874).

BILLINGSGATE, a fish-market in London, below London Bridge; also a
name given to low, coarse language indulged in there.

BILLINGTON, ELIZABETH, _nee_ WEICHSEL, a celebrated singer,
born in London, of German descent; kept up her celebrity to the last;
died at Venice i