BETHAM, SIR WILLIAM:. 



BETTERTON, THOMAS. 



633 



proceeded to the grand army in Germany to take the command of a 

 cavalry division, at the head of which, at the battle of Esslingen, on 

 July S, he overthrew the division of the Austrian general Hohen- 

 zollern. 



In the expedition to Russia, Bessieres was chief commander of the 

 cavalry of the guard. On the opening of the campaign in Germany 

 in 1813, he received the command of the whole of the French cavalry. 

 On the morning before the battle of Liitzen he was desirous of recon- 

 noitring the field from the defile of Rippach. He was on foot, and 

 advanced by the side of the skirmishers, with his usual bravery; the 

 enemy began to withdraw, when a bullet pierced his breast, and at 

 once put an end to his life. His death was not made known at first, 

 in order not to dispirit the army. 



(Conversationg-JLexikon ; BiograpKie Universelle.) 



BETHAM, SIR WILLIAM, was born in 1779 at Stradbroke in 

 Suffolk. His father was the Rev. William Betham, author of 

 ' Genealogical Tables of the Sovereigns of the World,' folio, 1795, 

 and of a ' Baronetage,' in 5 vols. 4 to, published in 1801-5. Although 

 young Bethaui appears to have inherited bis father's tastes, he had 

 to carve out his own career, having been placed by his father as 

 apprentice to a printer in London. His first literary employment was 

 in the revision of the 3rd and 4th volumes of (Sough's edition of 

 Camden' ' Britannia.' 



In 1805 he went to Dublin as clerk to Sir Charles Fortescue, Ulster 

 king of arms. A few years later he became the deputy of Sir Charles; 

 and he succeeded him as Ulster king of arms in 1 820. Mr. Betham 

 was appointed Genealogist of the Order of St. Patrick in July 1812, 

 on which occasion he was knighted. He also received the appoint- 

 ment of Deputy Keeper of Records at Dublin, an office in itself of 

 little emolument, but which placed under his control a large number 

 of records, of which he availed himself to form an immense collection 

 of historical and genealogical references, extending to several hundred 

 volumes, which has since served as an invaluable store-house in family, 

 historical, and legal inquiries. Sir William also formed an index to 

 the names of all persons mentioned in the wills deposited at the 

 Prerogative Office, Dublin, a task which occupied a considerable 

 portion of his time from 1807 to 1828, and extended to 40 large folio 

 volumes. Sir William was likewise a diligent collector of old manu- 

 scripts connected with Irish history and antiquities : his collection 

 was purchased by the Irish Academy in 1851. 



Sir William Betham was elected in 1825 a member of the Irish 

 Academy, and soon after became its foreign secretary, which office he 

 held till 1340, when he resigned it in consequence of the council 

 refusing admission in the ' Transactions ' of the society to some of his 

 philological speculations. He was a zealous but credulous antiquary, 

 and some of his archaeological and philological speculations were of a 

 very singular but wholly untenable character. For a long series of 

 yean he devoted himself to the investigation of primeval Irish, or 

 rather Celtic, antiquities, and he fancied that he had discovered traces 

 of the connection of the Celtic races with several of the most remark- 

 able nations of antiquity. His first separate antiquarian publication, 

 ' Iri-li Antiquarian Researches, or Illustrations of Irish History,' 

 1826-27, contains many of his peculiar views; but they are more 

 fully developed in his two principal works of this class, the titles of 

 which will sufficiently indicate the character of his notions : the first 

 of these was entitled ' The Gael and Cimbri ; or an Inquiry into the 

 Origin and History of the Irish, Scots, Britains, aud Gauls, and of the 

 Caledonians, Mcts, Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons,' 8vo, 1834 ; but the 

 full expansion of his opinions was not arrived at till some eight years 

 later, when appeared his 'Etruria Celtica, Etruscan Literature and 

 Antiquities Investigated ; or the Language of that People compared 

 and identified with the Iberuo-Celtic, and both shown to be Phoenician,' 

 2 vols. 8vo, 1842. He also contributed numerous papers on Irish 

 antiquities to the ' Transactions of the Irish Academy,' which hare 

 their value unfortunately greatly lessened by his strange want of 

 critical discernment. Sir William was elected a Fellow of the Society 

 of Antiquaries, London, in 1825, but only two or three papers by him 

 were printed in the ' Archaeologia.' 



In his own proper line of research Sir William was a far more trust- 

 worthy guide. Besides several genealogical memoirs, and a valuable 

 work on ' Parliamentary and Feudal Dignities,' Sir William published 

 in 1834 an able and learned treatise on 'The Origin aud History of 

 the Constitution of England, aud of the Early Parliaments of 

 Ireland.' 



For many years before hu death Sir William occupied a prominent 

 place in the general and literary society of Dublin; and he was looked 

 up to as a leader in moot of the religious and charitable as well as the 

 literary and scientific movements in the Irish metropolis. Kindly 

 and courteous to all who sought bis advice or assistance, aud always 

 ready to place his stores at the service of the historical or antiquarian 

 inquirer, his death, though at a ripe old age, was generally regretted. 

 He died at Dublin, October 23, 1853, aged seventy-four. 

 (Gentleman' i Magazine, 1853.) 



BETHLBN-GABOR, prince of Transylvania, aud king of Hungary, 

 was born about 1580. He was the descendant of a noble family in 

 Upper Hungary, possessing also large estates in Transylvania, and 

 which had adopted the Protestant faith. During the troubles which 

 dUtrtfcted the country under the governments of Sigismuud and 



Gabriel Bathori, Bethlen formed a party anAiig the magnates of the 

 country ; and, on the death of the Bathoris, with the aid of the Turks, 

 assumed the rank of prince of Transylvania in 1613. Austria was at 

 that time in no condition to withstand his pretensions ; and when, in 

 1619, the Bohemian states also rose against Austria, Bethlen entered 

 iuto a treaty with them, entered Hungary, took Presburg, menaced 

 Vienna, and caused himself to be elected king of Hungary on 25th 

 August 1620. Austria however recovered herself, aud Bethlen con- 

 cluded a peace with the emperor Ferdinand, by which he surrendered 

 Hungary, gave up the title of king, and received in return the town of 

 Kaschau, seven Hungarian counties, and the Silesian principalities of 

 Oppeln and Ratibor. lu 1623 he again attacked Austria, and advanced 

 to Briinu in Moravia with 60,000 men. Bethlen-Gabor's policy had 

 always been to support the Protestant interest in Germany, and he 

 expected to have been joined at Bru'nn by Christian duke of Bruns- 

 wick ; but Brunswick had been defeated by Lilly, aud had fled to 

 England. This induced Gabor to conclude a truce with Austria, 

 and subsequently a peace confirming the conditions of the previous 

 treaty. In 1626 Gabor was 'induced again to take up arms by Count 

 Christian von Mansfeld, and they were to join their forces in Hungary. 

 Mansfeld was twice beaten by Wallenstein, but reinforced his army ; 

 and on September 8th reached the banks of the Waag in Hungary, 

 though with not more than 5000 men. Wallenstein was between him 

 and Gabor with 50,000 men. Mansfeld thereupon gave up the com- 

 mand of his troops to the duke of Saxe Weimar withdrew, and died 

 a few weeks afterwards ; and Gabor concluded a new treaty with the 

 emperor. He did not survive long, dying on November 5, 1629, 

 without children, leaving his country aud his wife, by his will, to the 

 protection of Ferdinand II., and naming as executor the Turkish sultan. 



The reign of Bethlen was a glorious one for Transylvania. The 

 part which he took in the thirty years' war gave an European import- 

 ance to that country, which she has never since attained ; aud he 

 raised her in civilised rank by founding the Academy of Karlsburg 

 (Weissemburg), for which he procured the assistance of several eminent 

 professors. Bethlen himself was a man of great talent, a consummate 

 general, of indefatigable energy, and of determined resolution. He 

 was a rigid Calvinist, but though he professed to fight for the religious 

 liberties of Hungary, he scrupled not to put to death dissenters from 

 the orthodoxy of Transylvania. 



(Conversationa-Lexikon.) 



BETTERTON, THOMAS. This celebrated actor was born in 

 August 1635, in Tothill-street, Westminster, his father being at that 

 time under-cook to Charles I. Shortly after the breaking out of the 

 civil wars young Bettertou was apprenticed to a bookseller named 

 Rhodes, at the sign of the Bible, Charing Cross. In 1659 Rhodes, 

 who had been wardrobe-keeper at the theatre in Blackfriars before the 

 civil wars, obtained a licence for a company of players to act at the 

 Cock-pit in Drury-lane ; and here young Betterton commenced his 

 career as an actor at the age of twenty-four, performing with the 

 greatest success in several of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, then 

 most in fashion. 



In 166^ he was engaged by Sir William Davenant, and appeared on 

 the opening of the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in Sir William's 

 new play the 'Siege of Rhodes.' His performance of Hamlet about 

 this time received high commendation from Addison, Cibber, and 

 others. He became so much in favour with Charles It. that Cibber 

 asserts he went over to Paris at his Majesty's especial command to 

 study the French stage, and introduce from it whatever he thought 

 would improve our own, and that it is to him we are indebted for 

 moving scenery, although some writers ascribe its introduction to 

 Sir William Davenant. 



In WO he married an actress of the name of Saunderson, whose 

 Lady Macbeth was considered one of the most admirable representa- 

 tions on the stage. In 1692 Betterton had the misfortune to lose all 

 his little savings (which, though his salary is said never to have 

 exceeded U. per week, had amounted to 2000/.) in a commercial 

 speculation. The influence of the Earl of Dorset obtained for him 

 shortly afterwards the royal licence for a new theatre, which he was 

 speedily enabled, by the voluntary subscriptions of many persons of 

 quality, to erect within the walls of the Tennis Court, Lincoln's Inn 

 Fields. He opened it April 30th, 1695, with Congreve's comedy of 

 ' Love for Love,' which was very successful ; but after a few years, 

 the profits arising from the theatre proving very insignificant, and 

 Mr. Betterton growing very infirm and suffering continually from the 

 gout, he retired at once from management and the stage. Tho nar- 

 rowness of his circumstances being known to the public, it was deter- 

 mined to give him a benefit ; and on Thursday, the 6th of April, 1709 

 (see the ' Tatler,' No. 1), the comedy of ' Love for Love' was performed 

 for that purpose, Betterton himself, though nearly seventy-four, sus- 

 taining the youthful part of Valentine. The profits of the night are 

 said to have amounted to 5001. He was prevailed upon to perform 

 occasionally during the following winter. On Thursday, the 18th of 

 April 1710, he took another benefit, an invitation to which was pub- 

 lished in the 'Tatler' of Tuesday, the llth (No. 157). On this 

 occasion he enacted his celebrated part of Melantius in the ' Maid's 

 Tragedy.' The event however proved fatal ; for having been suddenly 

 attacked by the gout, in order to prevent disappointment he made use 

 of some outward applications, which reduced the swelling and enabled 



