[Beautiful Parricide], [Beatrice Cenci] (q. v.).
[Beauty and the Beast], the hero and heroine of a famous fairy tale. Beauty falls in love with a being like a monster, who has, however, the heart of a man, and she marries him, upon which he is instantly transformed into a prince of handsome presence and noble mien.
[Beauvais] (19), capital of the dep. of Oise, in France, 34 in. SW. of Amiens, an ancient town, noted for its cathedral, its tapestry weaving, and the feat of Jeanne-Hachette and her female following when the town was besieged by Charles the Bold.
[Beauvais], a French prelate, born at Cherbourg, Bishop of Senez, celebrated as a pulpit orator (1731-1790).
[Beauvillier], a statesman, patron of letters, to whom Louis XIV. committed the governorship of his sons; died of a broken heart due to the shock the death of the dauphin gave him (1607-1687).
[Bebek Bay], a fashionable resort on the Bosphorus, near Constantinople, and with a palace of the sultan.
[Beccafumi, Domenico], one of the best painters of the Sienese school, distinguished also as a sculptor and a worker in mosaic (1486-1550).
[Becca`ria, Cæsare Bonesana, Marquis of], an Italian publicist, author of a celebrated "Treatise on Crimes and Punishments," which has been widely translated, and contributed much to lessen the severity of sentences in criminal cases. He was a utilitarian in philosophy and a disciple of Rousseau in politics.
[Beche-de-mer], a slug, called also the trepang, procured on the coral reefs of the Pacific, which is dried and eaten as a dainty by the Chinese.
[Becher, Johann Joachim], chemist, born at Spires; distinguished as a pioneer in the scientific study of chemistry (1635-1682).