Ill 



BALTIMORE, LORD. 



ItAMBOCCIO. 



Ill 



Ralnavi* wrote a iliort poetical piece, entitled ' Advice to a Headstrong 

 Youth.' which the Srottuh poet, Allan Ramsay, hai transcribed into 

 hu ' Evergreen.' 



(Itymrr, Padtra, vol xiv. pp. 781, 783, 788, 792; vol. XT. pp. 142, 

 144 ; Sutler, Hale Papert, rol. i. pp. 83, 4SO; lMf.,A*a., voL i. p. 305; 

 Hut of King J-i.<" I'/., p. 35 ; Knox, 7/iV, pp. 35, 41 ; K. itb, Hit!., 

 p. 529 j M-Crie, Lift of KHOJC, p. 89, not* ; Catalogue of Stnatort o/ 

 Ike CM. of J<ui^ p. 60, *eq.) 



BALTIMORE, LORD, founder of the colony of Maryland in 

 North America. The family name of the Lords Baltimore wag 

 Calvert, who were originally of Flemish extraction, but for a long 

 time were settled in Yorkshire. George Calrert, the first Lord Balti- 

 more, held MTeral lucrative situations, and obtained extensive grants 

 of land in Ireland and Newfoundland under James I. ; but having, 

 in the year 1824, become a Roman Catholic, he was compelled to give 

 up hi* office of secretary of state, and to abstain altogether from 

 interfering in public affairs, the intolerant spirit of that age pro 

 hibiting the open exercise of the Catholic worship. This circuin 

 stance, and the pastion for colonisation which then prevailed in 

 England, led Lord Baltimore to turn hu thoughts towards America. 

 The Krrtioh having taken possession of a settlement in Newfoundland 

 upon which Lord Baltimore had expended a very large sum of money, 

 Charles I. made him a grant of all that tract of country which con- 

 stitutes the present state of Maryland ; but he died before the grant 

 was legalised, and the patent or charter was accordingly made out in 

 the name of his son Cecil, the second Lord Baltimore. This charter, 

 which is dated June 20th, 1632, invest* Lord Baltimore and his heirs 

 with full power* over the new colony, " to be holders of us and our 

 heir* and successors as of our castle of Windsor, and in fee and com- 

 mon soccagc, by fealty only, for all services, and not in capile, or by 

 knight's service ; yielding and paying therefor to us two Indian 

 arrow* of those part* every year, on Easter Tuesday, and also the fifth 

 part of all gold and silver mines which shall hereafter be discovered." 



Under this charter about 200 persons, of respectable family, and 

 mostly of the Romin Catholic persuasion, entered the Chesapeake 

 Bay in February 1634. Having purchased a village from the native 

 Indians, they proceeded to organise the new colony, called Maryland, 

 in honour of Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I. Liberty of con- 

 science wa* established, a* respected the various Christian sects; a 

 representative form of government was established ; and the settle- 

 ment made rapid progress. But the inhabitants of Virginia viewed 

 with a jealous eye the advance* which the ' papist idolaters' of the 

 neighbouring state were making in population, wealth, and pro- 

 sperity; and as Maryland originally formed part of Virginia (taking 

 that term in it* extensive sense), they were with difficulty restrained 

 from treating Lord Baltimore a* a usurper of their rights and privi- 

 lege*. When the civil war hod extended itself to the colonies, the 

 triumph of the anti-Cat hoi ica was toon felt in the harsh measure* 

 which were directed against the Catholic* by the legislature of Mary- 

 land. At the restoration however the more liberal policy by which 

 the affair* of that settlement bad been regulated prior to the Common- 

 wraith wa* again adopted ; and Lord Baltimore lived long enough to 

 see hu most sanguine expectations with regard to its welfare realised. 

 He died in 1676, at an advanced age. Though proprietor of Mary- 

 land, Lord Baltimore never resided in it, nor, it is believed, ever even 

 vi.ited it. 



BALZAC, 1 IGNORE DE, a French novelist, was born at Tours 

 on May 20, 1799, the son of a clerk under the government of 

 Louis XV. At the college of Vendome, where young Balzac was 

 Mot early, he gained the character of an idle and disobedient student, 

 and was removed to a private academy. On leaving school he was 

 placed with a notary in Paris, but be almost immediately commenced 

 writing article* for the journal*. These are said to be rather testi- 

 monies of hi* perseverance than monument* of hi* genius. Between 

 1821 and 1827 he had published a number of tales, none of them 

 exciting or deserving much attention, under the assumed name of 

 Horace de St-Aubin. In 1826, in connection with one Barbicr, he 

 commenced businei* a* a printer and bookseller, and among otbev 

 thing* published an edition of Fontaine'* work*, with a notice of 

 Fontaine, written by himself, and commenced the ' Annales Roman- 

 UqoM. His speculation was altogether unsuccessful. In 1829 he 

 appeared before the public for the first time, under hi* own name, 

 witli the novel of 'The Last Chouan ;' the scene of which wa* laid 

 in La Vendee, which district he had visited. 



It wa* not however till the publication of hi* ' Pean de Chagrin,' in 

 1829, also under hi* own name, that the Parisians became alive to* the 

 piquant originality and lively fancy that distinguished hi* work*. 

 From that period he wa* a general favourite in France, and many of 

 his productions have been translated into most of the languages of 

 Europe, He wa* indefatigable in supplying the public craving under 

 the title of Com<Mie Humaine.' lie planned a aerie* of comp.. 

 that wa* to embrace every phase of human society ; and at this he 

 worked for twenty years. Among the most popular were ' La Femme 

 de TrenU Ans,' and Le Pore GorioV 



On tl.e publication of the 'Modocin de Campagne,' in 1835, Balzac 



rjeemd a complimentary letter from the Countess Eveline de Hanska, 



wilt of a Polwh nobleman, po***sing large estates in Russian 



Poland, Balcac replied, and an intimate correspondence ensued. To 



this lady hi* novel of ' Seraphita ' was dedicated The countess became 

 n widow, and a few month* after the revolution of February 1848 

 l!ilnc quilted ParU to bring her back a* hi* wife. Ho inhabited a 

 large bouse near the Champs-Ely . ; e, which he adorned with a multi- 

 tude of chefs-d'oeuvre* of art, anil in which he hoped to find bapuiues* 

 and peace. But even before his journey ho had been attacked by a 

 disorder which it was found impossible to cure or to postpone disease 

 of the heart of which he died August 20, 1850. He was buried in the 

 cemetery of Pere-la-Chaise, an immense crowd attending the ft;: 

 and Victor Hugo pronounced a critical eulogium over his grave.. la 

 that eulogium he says Balzac " chastised vice, dissected passion, 

 fathomed and sounded man in hi* soul, his heart, his feelings, his 

 brain the abyss of each in its very essence." There is more aesertud 

 here than an English reader can concur in. Balzac had a rich 

 but not a pure taste ; he was an acute observer, but wanted poetic 

 elevation ; he was often extravagant, aud sometime* wearisome. His 

 'Contes Droalasticquea ' thirty short tales are written in an anti- 

 quated form, a sort of resemblance to the ' Heptameron Francois ' of 

 Miirgaret of Navarre. The 'Contes Philosophique* ct llomaut. 

 are much inferior to the tales of Marmontel or of Voltaire, of which 

 they are in some degree imitation*. Hi* dramas, of which he wrote a 

 few, were failures. 



(y<jurelle Biographic Univtrielle) 



BALZA'C, JEAN LOUIS OUEZ, Seigneur of Balzie, wa* born at 

 Angoulome in 1594. Hi* father, Quillaume Guez, was attached to 

 the service of the Duke d'Epernon ; and young Balzac went early to 

 Rome as secretary to Cardinal La Valctte. His residence of some 

 years in Italy led him to compare the high polish which the language 

 of that country had attained, and the rich literature which it had 

 produced, with the rude and barren condition of the language and 

 literature of his native land. On his return to France be fixed him- 

 self at Paris, and then began writing. With the assistance of a culti- 

 vated taste, an extensive reading of the Latin classics, and a good ear, 

 ho contrived to introduce a harmony and precision of style which were 

 before unknown in French prose, and which acquired him the name 

 of the most eloquent writer of hi* time, and the reformer of the 

 French language. Hi* contemporary, Malherbc, effected a similar 

 improvement in French poetry. They were both the forerunners of the 

 great writers of the age of Louis XIV. ; but Balzac himself, to a reailer of 

 the present day, appear* almost insufferably affected, finical, and con- 

 strained. Balzac's merit made him known to the Cardinal de Richelieu, 

 who obtained him a pension of 2000 francs, with the honorary rank of 

 councillor of state. His works, in his own time, had many aiii 

 and also many detractor*; the most violent among the last was 

 Father Qoulu, a monk, who attacked Balzac with bitter in-. 

 Balzac replied with great temper in several pamphlets, bearing the 

 fictitious name of Ogier; but at last, disgusted with these polemics, 

 he quitted Paris, aud went to live at his estate on the banks of the 

 Chorente, near Augouleme. He there continued to write, aud to 

 keep up a correspondence with his friends. He died in 1655, and wag 

 buried, according to his own directions, in the cemetery of the Hospital 

 of Angoulome, to which institution ho left a legacy of 12,000 francs. 

 He also left a gift of 2000 francs to the French Academy for the 

 purpose of establishing a prize for eloquence in prose writing. In 

 course of time most of Balzac's works fell into neglect, except his 

 ' Familiar Letters, 1 which have been repeatedly printed. There are 

 some of hi* other works which scarcely deserve to be buried in 

 obscurity. One of these is his ' Aristippe, ou do la Cour,' which ho 

 dedicated to Christina, queen of Sweden ; it is a series of discourse* 

 on the duties of princes, ministers, and men in office ; on good and on 

 false politics, aud on moral principle*, with reference* to ancient aud 

 modern history, interspersed with some curious anecdotes. He also 

 wrote ' Le Prince ;' a sort of commentary on the politic* and event* 

 of hi* lime, and a eulogy of Louis XIII., who is represented a* the 

 model of a good king. The other work of Balzac which deserves 

 mention is ' Le Socrate Chretien,' a series of discourses on the Chi 

 religion and morality, in which the author reprobates fanaticism, 

 hypocrisy, and persecution, as well a* a too prying iuquisitiveness 

 into the mysteries of faith. 



A selection of the most important thoughts contained in the ' Aris- 

 tippe,' the ' Prince,' and the '.Socrate Chretien,' were made by M. Mersau, 

 and published under the title of ' Pencces de Balzac,' 1 vol. bvo, Paris, 

 1 808. Balzac wrote also ' Le Barbon,' an amusing satire on pedants, 

 which he dedicated to Manage. He wrote Latin verses, epistles, 

 elegies, 4c., which were published in one volume by Mdnage after 

 Balzac's death. An edition of Balzac's works, in two volumes folio, 

 i* published by l'Abb<< Canagne. 



(Bayle; Moreri; Biographie L'nireritllc ; Malitourne, Notice tvr la 

 Vie tit lialiac, prefixed to hi* edition of Balzac'* CL'uvra C/ioitici.) 



BAMBO'CCIO, better known by hi* proper name, PETER DE LAKR, 

 wa* born at Laeren, in Holland, in 1013. Hi* disposition for art 

 manifested itself in early childhood, and was encouraged by bis parents, 

 who procured for him the requisite instruction in the elements of 

 design, and afterwards sent him to Rome. Do Laer neglected classical 

 art, which was ill-suited to his temperament, but found a surer inspira- 

 tion in the freshnc**, novelty, and animation which the scenes of every- 

 day life presented to his pencil, and which he ho* exhibited with 

 wonderful truth and vivacity. It i* not to be inferred however that 



