BATESVILLE. 



BECKWITH, J. 0. 



191 



any other time. They often commence abruptly, 

 and are usually the precursors of considerable 

 horizontal disturbance ; while a gradual and reg- 

 ular diminution in their amount appears to 

 precede and so to indicate a regaining of the 

 atmospheric equilibrium hence, to prelude 

 fine weather. Horizontal movements of the 

 atmosphere are seldom such alone; they are 

 usually blended with more or less of vertical 

 movement, so that winds, like the disturbances 

 they cause in the equilibrium of bodies of water, 

 have their undulations or waves. The author 

 of the paper is led to suppose that the study of 

 this atmospheric pulse or undulation, in con- 

 nection with that of the actual advance of the 

 win 1. may yet prove of value as a test of 

 changes of weather. 



Pn.f.Reguault ("Philos. Magaz.," Sept., 1862) 

 proposes an arrangement by which both tem- 

 peratures and pressures at different heights in 

 balloon ascents can 'be known without the 

 -ity of accurately observing and recording 

 at th-3 time. Some 20 tubes are previously 

 prepared for each of the purposes, each series 

 staa ling against a suitable frame or back ; and 

 the aeronaut has, at the moment of an observa- 

 tion, only to turn a stop-cock for one (air) ther- 

 mometer and one barometer tube, marking the 

 time of doing so ; and so on through the two 

 series, at such intervals as he may desire. 

 Upon returning to the earth, the several tubes 

 in which change in length of column was arrest- 

 ed in the manner named, show what was the 

 temperature and the atmospheric pressure 

 hence, again, the elevation at the times mark- 

 dnst them severally. For some points in 

 connection with the use of the barometer for pre- 

 dicting changes of weather, nee METEOROLOGY. 



BATESVILLE, the capital of Independence 

 county in Arkansas, is situated on AVhite river 

 400 miles from its mouth and 90 miles north 

 northeast of Little Rock, the capital of the 

 State, and 115 miles from Memphis in Tennes- 

 see. Small steamers can ascend the river to 

 Batesville at nearly all seasons of the year. It 

 is the most important town in that part of the 

 and was thriving under the influx of 

 emigration. Its population was nearly 3,000. 

 It was occupied by Gen. Curtis for some time 

 during the spring of the year while he was 

 waiting for supplies. These failing to reach 

 him by the river, were finally sent by land from 

 St. Louis. 



BATON T ROUGE, the capital of the State of 

 Louisiana, is situated on the east bank of the 

 Mississippi river, 129 miles above Xew Or- 

 leans. Its location is high, being about twen- 

 ty-five or thirty feet above the highest over- 

 flowings of the river, and extremely healthy. 

 The esplanade in front of the town presents a 

 fine view of the majestic Mississippi and the 

 rich cultivated tracts on its banks. Below the 

 city the broad river sweeps through a plain 

 whicli is covered with plantation^ of sugar 

 cane and adorned by splendid villas and gar- 

 dens, and groves of tropical fruit trees. The 



seat of government of the State of Louisiana 

 w,-i- established at this city in the year 1847. 

 The State House was a building of fine appear- 

 ance, situated immediately on the bank of the 

 river. It was burned during 1862, while the 

 city was occupied by Federal troops. It was 

 supposed to have been set on fire, and such 

 wa-; the deficiency of means with which to ex- 

 tinguish it, that all the. efforts of the troops 

 were unsuccessful. It was first occupied by 

 Federal troops immediately after the capture of 

 Xew Orleans. The attack upon the city by the 

 Confederate forces under Gen. Breckinridge was 

 made on the 5th of August. ( >Vc ARMY OPER- 

 ATIONS.) It was subsequently evacuated in 

 order to concentrate the force at Xew Orleans 

 under Gen. Butler, and again occupied after 

 Gen. Banks took command of Xew Orleans. 



BEAUFORT, the capital of Carteret county, 

 North Carolina, is situated at the mouth of the 

 Newport river, a few miles from the sea. It 

 is eleven miles from Cape Lookout and one 

 hundred and forty-three miles by railroad from 

 Raleigh, the capital of the State. The harbor 

 is the best in the State, and the commerce was 

 considerable in turpentine, resin, and other 

 products of the pine. The population in 1853 

 was about 2,000. The entrance to the harbor 

 was guarded by Fort Macon, which was seized 

 by order of the governor after the surrender of 

 Fort Sumter, and surrendered to the United 

 States forces under Gen. Burnside. (See ARMY 

 OPERATIONS.) 



BECKWITH, Major-General JOHN CHARLES, 

 C. B., an English officer and philanthropist, 

 died at La Tour, Piedmont, Italy. July 19, 

 1862, aged 72 years. Gen. Beckwith entered 

 the British army in his fifteenth year and serv- 

 ed in Hanover in 1805, and subsequently in 

 Sweden, Portugal, and Spain, being in almost 

 every considerable action until the battle of 

 Waterloo, where he lost his left leg. He was 

 at this time and had been for two or three 

 years, on the Duke of Wellington's staff, and 

 after his retirement on half pay was a favorite 

 with the duke, who often invited him to Aps- 

 ley House. It was on one of these visits that 

 an incident occurred which influenced his en- 

 tire subsequent career. The duke being par- 

 ticularly engaged at the time of his call, he 

 was shown into the library to wait till he 

 should be at leisure. To while away the time 

 he took from the shelves Gilly's u Waldenses." 

 He had read but a few pages when summoned 

 to the duke's room, but the book had made 

 such an impression on him that he purchased a 

 copy of it, and collected whatever else he 

 could find relating to these poor mountaineers, 

 and in 1827 visited Piedmont to become ac- 

 quainted with them. His first visit lasted but 

 three or four days : the next year he spent 

 three months in their valleys, and afterward 

 six months, till finally he made his home at 

 Torre, in the valley of Piedmont. Here he ex- 

 erted himself for the improvement of the peo- 

 ple, and finding education much neglected, in- 



