Beacon (bē´kon), an object visible at some distance, and serving to notify the presence of danger; commonly applied to a fire-signal set on a height to spread the news of hostile invasion or other great event; and also applied to a mark or object of some kind placed conspicuously on a coast or over a rock or shoal at sea for the guidance of vessels, often an iron structure of considerable height.
Beaconsfield (bē´konz-fēld), a village of Buckinghamshire, the parish church of which contains the remains of Edmund Burke, whose seat was in the neighbourhood; while a marble monument to the poet Waller, who owned the manor, is in the churchyard. It gave the title of earl to the English statesman and novelist Benjamin Disraeli. Pop. (1921), 3642.
Beaconsfield, formerly known as Du Toit's Pan, a town of Cape Province about a mile to the east of Kimberley, of which it forms a suburb. Pop. 20,364.
Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of, an eminent English statesman and novelist, of Jewish extraction; eldest son of Isaac D'Israeli, author of the Curiosities of Literature; born in London in 1804, died there in 1881, buried at Hughenden. He attended for a time a private school, and was first destined for the law, but showing a decided taste for literature he was allowed to follow his inclination. In 1826 he published Vivian Grey, his first novel; and subsequently travelled for some time, visiting Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Syria, and gaining experiences which were afterwards reproduced in his books. His travels and impressions are embodied in a volume of letters addressed to his sister and his father. In 1831 another novel, The Young Duke, came from his pen. It was followed at short intervals by Contarini Fleming, Alroy, Henrietta Temple, Venetia, The Revolutionary Epic (a poem), &c. In 1832, and on two subsequent occasions, he appeared as candidate for the representation of High Wycombe, with a programme which included vote by ballot and triennial parliaments, but was unsuccessful. His political opinions gradually changed: in 1835 he unsuccessfully contested Taunton as a Tory. In 1837 he gained an entrance to the House of Commons, being elected for Maidstone. His first speech in the House was treated with ridicule; but he finished with the prophetic declaration that the time would come when they would hear him. During his first years in Parliament he was a supporter of Peel; but when Peel pledged himself to abolish the corn-laws, Disraeli became the leader of the protectionists. About this time he became a leader of what was known as the 'Young England' party, the most prominent characteristic of which was a sort of sentimental advocacy of feudalism. This spirit showed itself in his two novels of Coningsby and Sybil, published respectively in 1844 and 1845. Having acquired the manor of Hughenden, in Buckinghamshire, he was in 1847 elected for this county, and he retained his seat till raised to the peerage nearly thirty years later. His first appointment to office was in 1852, when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Derby. The following year, however, the ministry was defeated. He remained out of office till 1858, when he again became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and brought in a Reform Bill which wrecked the Government. During the time the Palmerston Government was in office Disraeli led the opposition in the Lower House with conspicuous ability and courage. In 1866 the Liberals resigned, and Derby and Disraeli came into power, the latter being again Chancellor of the Exchequer. They immediately brought in, and carried, after a violent and bitter struggle, a Reform Bill on the basis of household suffrage. In 1868 he became Premier on the resignation of Lord Derby, but his tenure of office was short. In 1874 he again became Prime Minister with a strong Conservative majority, and he remained in power for six years. This period was marked by his elevation to the peerage in 1876 as Earl of Beaconsfield, and by the prominent part he took in regard to the Eastern question and the conclusion of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. In 1880 Parliament was rather suddenly dissolved, and, the new Parliament showing an overwhelming Liberal majority, he resigned office, though he still retained the leadership of his party. Within a few months of his death the publication of a novel called Endymion (his last, Lothair, had been published ten years before) showed that his intellect was still vigorous. Among others of his writings, besides those already mentioned, are: A Vindication of the English Constitution (1834); Alarcos, a Tragedy (1839); and Lord George Bentinck, a Political Biography (1852).—Bibliography: Selected Speeches of the Earl of Beaconsfield (edited by T. E. Kebbel); T. Martin, Memorials of Lord Beaconsfield; the article Disraeli, by T. E. Kebbel, in Dictionary of National Biography; Sir William Fraser, Disraeli and his Day; Sichel, Disraeli; the best work, however, is W. F. Monypenny's Life of Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (continued by G. E. Buckle).
Bead (bēd), originally a prayer; then a small perforated ball of gold, pearl, amber, glass, or the like, to be strung on a thread, and used in a rosary by Roman Catholics in numbering their prayers, one bead being passed at the end of each ejaculation or short prayer; finally any such small ornamental body. The use of beads among pagans is of greater antiquity than their Christian use, but there is no evidence to show that the latter is derived from the former. Glass beads are now the most common sort; they form a considerable item in the African trade.—In architecture and joinery the bead is a small round moulding. It is of frequent occurrence in architecture, particularly in the classical styles, and is used in picture-frames and other objects carved in wood.—St. Cuthbert's Beads, the popular name of the detached and perforated joints of encrinites.
Beadle (bē´dl), an officer in a university, whose chief business is to walk with a mace in a public procession: also, a parish officer whose business is to punish petty offenders, and a church officer (chiefly, although not exclusively, in Scotland) with various subordinate duties, as waiting on the clergyman, keeping order in church, attending meetings of vestry or session, &c. The primary meaning of the word (from O.E. beodan, to offer, announce) appears to be 'herald', one who announces or proclaims something.
Bead-snake (Elaps fulvus), a beautiful snake of North America, inhabiting cultivated grounds, especially plantations of the sweet-potato, and burrowing in the ground. It is finely marked with yellow, carmine, and black. Though it possesses poison-fangs it never seems to use them.
Beagle (bē´gl), a small hound, resembling a foxhound or harrier, and used to hunt rabbits and hares, being often kept in packs. The beagle is smaller than the harrier, compactly built, smooth-haired, and with pendulous ears. The smallest of them are little larger than the lap-dog.