Berserker.
The bravest champions of the Vikings were so called, perhaps because they fought in their shirts, without coats of mail. They seem in battle to have worked themselves into a kind of frenzy, known as the Berserk rage, somewhat resembling that of the Mohammedan “Ghazi.”
Berwick, Treaty of.
A treaty between Charles I and the Scotch in 1639, following Charles’ abortive attempt to invade Scotland, by which it was agreed that a free Scottish Parliament should be held, in return for which concession the royal castles were to be returned, and the army of the Covenanters disbanded.
Bessborough Commission.
A commission, under the chairmanship of the Earl of Bessborough, appointed to report on the Irish Land Laws. Following on its report, Mr. Gladstone introduced the Irish Land Bill of 1891.
Betterment.
The increase in the value of property in a certain limited area, owing to municipal improvements, such as roads and bridges. Certain municipal reformers advocate the levying of a special rate from persons thus benefiting, instead of throwing the whole cost of the improvements upon the ratepayers as a body.
Betting Act.
See Cockburn’s Act.