army of the Rhine, or the third army corps, in the Franco-German War, collected a very large army in the neighbourhood of Metz, and had the intention of joining his forces with those of MacMahon at Châlons. He found this impossible, however, especially after Gravelotte, and was forced into Metz, where he capitulated after a seven weeks' siege, with an army of 175,000 men. For this act he was tried by court-martial in 1871, found guilty of treason, and condemned to death. The sentence was commuted to twenty years' seclusion in the Isle of St. Marguerite, from which he escaped in 1874, and retired to Spain. He published Épisodes de la Guerre de 1870.—Bibliography: La Brugère, L'Affaire Bazaine; Comte d'Herisson, La Légende de Metz.
Bazar´, or Bazaar´, in the East an exchange, market-place, or place where goods are exposed for sale, usually consisting of small shops or stalls in a narrow street or series of streets. These bazar-streets are frequently shaded by a light material laid from roof to roof, and sometimes are arched over. Marts for the sale of miscellaneous articles, chiefly fancy goods, are now to be found in most European cities, bearing the name of bazars. The term bazar is popularly applied to a sale of miscellaneous articles, mostly of fancy work, and contributed gratuitously, in furtherance of some charitable or other purpose.
Bazar´jik, now officially called Dobritsh (q.v.).
Bazigars´, a tribe of Indians dispersed throughout the whole of Hindustan mostly in wandering tribes. They are divided into seven castes; their chief occupation is that of jugglers, acrobats, and tumblers, in which both males and females are equally skilful. They present many features analogous to the gipsies of Europe, and like these each clan has its king.
Bazin, René, French novelist, born 1853. For some time he was professor of law in the Catholic University of Angers. His literary reputation was established by Une Tache d'Encre. His other novels include La Terre qui meurt, De Toute son Âme, Les Oberlé, Les Noellet, Davidée Birot, all of which have been translated into English by Dr. A. S. Rappoport. He has also written Questions littéraires et sociales, &c. Bazin was elected a member of the Académie Française in 1903.
Bazoche (ba˙-zosh´), or Basoche (a corruption of Basilica), a brotherhood formed by the clerks of the Parliament of Paris at the time it ceased to be the grand council of the French king. They had a king, chancellor, and other dignitaries; and certain privileges were granted them by Philip the Fair early in the fourteenth century, as also by subsequent monarchs. They had an annual festival, having as a principal feature dramatic performances in which satirical allusions were freely made to passing events. These farces or satires were frequently interdicted, but they had a considerable influence on the French drama. The Bazoche took an active part in the French Revolution, but the order was suppressed by the decree of 13th Feb., 1791.
Bazzi (ba˙t´sē). See Sodoma.
Bdellium (del´i-um), an aromatic gum resin brought chiefly from Africa and India, in pieces of different sizes and figures, externally of a dark reddish brown, internally clear, and not unlike glue. To the taste it is slightly bitterish and pungent; its odour is agreeable. It is used as a perfume and a medicine, being a weak deobstruent. Indian bdellium is the produce of Balsamodendron Roxburghii; African of B. africanum; Egyptian bdellium is obtained from the doum palm; and Sicilian is produced by Daucus gummifer, a species of the genus to which the carrot belongs. The bdellium mentioned in Gen. ii, 12, was apparently a precious stone, perhaps a pearl. See Myrrh.
Beaches, Raised, a term applied to those long, terraced, level pieces of land, consisting of sand and gravel, and containing marine shells, now, it may be, a considerable distance above and away from the sea, but bearing sufficient evidences of having been at one time sea-beaches. In Scotland such a terrace has been traced extensively along the coasts at about 25 feet above the present sea-level.
Beachy Head, a promontory in the south of England, on the coast of Sussex, rising 575 feet above sea-level, with a revolving light, visible in clear weather from a distance of 28 miles. A naval battle took place here, 30th June, 1690, in which a French fleet under Tourville defeated an English and Dutch combined fleet under Lord Torrington.