on August 24th, in commemoration
of the life and virtues of the Apostle St. Bartholomew. In Holy
Scripture there is the mere mention of the name of this Apostle,
but it is thought that Bartholomew and Nathanael are one and the
same person. The reason for this supposition lies in the fact that
St. John in his Gospel never mentions Bartholomew, while he often
speaks of Nathanael, and the other Evangelists, though they mention
Bartholomew, never take notice of Nathanael. From this fact, it is
supposed that the same person is designated by these two names. If
St. Bartholomew is the same person as Nathanael, then it is he whom
our Lord described as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." St.
Bartholomew is thought to have preached the Gospel in Northern
India, where he is said to have left a Hebrew copy of St. Matthew's
{33} Gospel. He afterwards went to Armenia. He suffered martyrdom
in Albanopolis, by being crucified with his head downwards. In
ecclesiastical art, St. Bartholomew is variously represented with
a knife and book; with a knife in his hand and the devil under his
feet; also as healing a Princess of Armenia.

Bason.--(See ALMS BASON).

Belfry.--That part of the steeple in which a bell is hung. Sometimes
a separate tower is built, in a room of which the bell is placed.
The old name was campanile, from _campana_, a bell. The most
remarkable of the campaniles is that at Pisa, commonly called the
"Leaning Tower."

Benedic, anima mea.--The canticle beginning, "Praise the Lord, O my
soul," which the Latin words mean. It consists of the first four
and the last three verses of the 103d Psalm and is used as an
alternate to the Nunc Dimittis. It is not set forth in the English
Prayer Book as a canticle.

Benedicite.--The Benedicite is taken from the Apocryphal Book of
"The Song of the Three Children" and has been used from very ancient
times as a hymn in Christian Worship. St. Chrysostom, A.D. 425,
spoke of it as "that wonderful and marvelous song which from that
day to this has been sung everywhere throughout the world, and shall
yet be sung by future generations." An analysis of this hymn shows
it to be not simply a haphazard enumeration of the "works of the
Lord," but a fine grouping of them in classes to which they belong.
The Prelude, contained in the first verse, is a call to all the
works of the Lord to "praise Him and magnify Him forever." {34} Then
beginning with the angels as God's ministers we find fo