ion 



BKTHARAKA. 



KLKY. 



1071 



Each tribe of the Itetchouana is under the rule of a hereditary 

 king or chief, but hi* authority over the subordinate chiefs seems to 

 be rather loose. In cues of emergency, such as the Mantatee inva- 

 sion, they convene an assembly of all the warriors, when bombastic 

 speeches are delivered in succeasion by the chiefs. These assemblies 

 are called Peetsho. 



The greater part of the Betchouana country lies east and north-east 

 of the Machlapce or Lattakoo territory, and between that ami the sea- 

 ooast The Moorootzee country lies about 250 miles distant west by 

 north from Dnlagoa Bay. The Vankeetz are next to the Moorootzee 

 to the westward. The intermediate space between the Moorootzee 

 and the mountains near the coast is occupied by the Morremootzana, 

 whose country consists chiefly of plains. It ia watered by the river 

 Waritzi, which flows northward, and is supposed to fall into the 

 Moriqua, the river of the Moorootzee. 



Beyond the MoorooUee to the north-cost are the Makweon, a 

 numerous and powerful nation, v. hose name is known to all the 

 southern tribes, even to the Auiakosa on the frontiers of the Cape 

 Colony. It is from the Makween that the other tribes obtain by 

 exchange much of the copper and iron which they afterwards manu- 

 facture, as well as the beads which servo them as money, and which 

 but the Ma vween obtain from tl. ly and the Matecbelay, 



two other numerous tribes, who extend north-cast towards Inhamban, 

 and who trade with the Portuguese of the coast of Sofala. These two 

 last tribe* are described by the Moorootzee as being of a brown com- 

 plexion, having long hair, wearing clothes, and Tiding on elephants. 

 They also trade northward with Zumbo on the Zambcse Uiver. 



(Royal Geographical Journal, vol. iii. ; Thompson's Travels and 

 Adrentura in Southern Africa; Mitrionary Reports.) 



BETHA'BARA, the place of our Saviour's baptism (St. John, i. 28) 

 was situated on the left bank of the Jordan, a few miles above its 

 mouth in the Dead Sea. It was probably identical with the Beth- 

 bara mentioned in Judges (viii. 24), where there was a ford : the name 

 means ' place of passage.' 



BETH'ANY, a village 2 miles E. from Jerusalem, on the road to 

 Jericho, at the eastern base of the Mount of Olives, was the scene of 

 the raising of Lazarus from the grave. It is now called El-Azariych 

 (the Village of Lazarus). (Robinson's Biblical Researches ; Dictionary 

 of Greek and Roman Geography.) 



BETH'EL, a city of ancient Palestine, was situafc*! 12 miles N. 

 from Jerusalem, on the road to Sichem. Large ancient ruins, now 

 called Beitln, mark the site. It was originally called Luz, but 

 obtained its new name, which signifies ' House of God,' from Jacob, 

 who here erected an altar on the spot where he had the vision of the 

 Udder with angels going up and coming down from Heaven. (Gen. 

 xii. xxviii. xxxi.) The city belonged to Ephraim, and stood close to 

 the northern boundary of Benjamin. Jeroboam desecrated Bethel 

 by instituting in it the worship of the golden calf. After the 

 captivity Bethel was fortified ; it was taken by Vespasian. In the 

 time of Eiuebius and St Jerome, Bethel was reduced to a small 

 village. 



IIKTIII.KHKM .iriUH, Kj.hrath. or ECpnnUuh, so called to dis- 

 tinguish it from Bethlehem of Zebulon (Jos. xix. 15), stands on a 

 riling ground about 6 miles S. from Jerusalem, on the road to Hebron. 

 It never wa a town of large size. The names Both-lehem (' house of 

 bread,') and Ephrathah (' fruitful ') indicated probably the fertility by 

 which the territory of Bethlehem was and is still distinguished. The 

 earlier name wai Ephrathah (Oen. xxxv. 16, 19; xlviii. 7). The town 

 was fortified by Kehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 5, 6). Bethlehem was the birth- 

 place of bavin, whose ancestor Boaz was the prineipal pi opi 



hem. It U frequently called ' the City of David iu the New 

 Testament It is also marked out in the Old Testament as the destined 

 birthplace of our Saviour, the circumstances of whose nativity ore 

 described by St. Matthew (ii.) and St Luke (ii.). The place of the 

 Nativity U described by Juntin Martyr (' Dial' 78), so as to admit no 

 doubt of its identification in his time (A.D. ISO) ; and Origen says that 

 the cave was venerated even by aliens to the faith. A grove dedicated 

 to Tliammuz (Adonis) overshadowed the spot from the time of 

 Hadrian for about 180 yean. In A.D. 326 the pious empress Helena, 

 mother of Constantino the Great, built a handsome church in the 

 form of a cross over the place of the Nativity which remains to this 

 day. This church was much embellished by Constantino ; the inte- 

 rior was adorned with mosaic work. The body of the church is 

 supported by forty white marble Corinthian columns in four rows : 

 connected with it are Latin, Greek, and Armenian convent*. The 

 whole building is inclosed by walls of great strength with only our 

 door, and has the appearance of a fortress. St Jerome resided here 

 in the 5th century, and here he wrote the Latin (Vulgate) trans- 

 lation of the Bible, and other works on sacred literature. The village 

 Beit-el-Lahm or Beitlahcm occupies the site of the ancient city, and is 

 inhabited exclusively by Christians. It is beautifully situated ; the 

 country around is richly covered with olives, vines, and fig-trees, and 

 a small rivulet runs through the valley. 



There are nhown the house of Simeon, the tomb of Rachel, the wells 

 for which David longed, the place of the Nativity, the fountains of 

 Solomon, the cave in which David cut off Saul's skirt, the wilderness 

 of St John, and tho house where Joseph was warned to flee into 

 Egypt from the wrath of Herod. The village of the shepherds consists 



of a number of caves still used as a retreat for cattle and shepherd* at 

 night 



Bethlehem of Zebulon, now also called Beitlahem, stood a few miles 

 N. from Nazareth. 



BETH1.K1IKM. [PENNSYLVANIA.] 



BET1 II 1 1 A i ; I 1 ., a village on the Mount of Olives, between Jerusalem 

 and Bethany, \vheuce our Saviour obtained the ass on which he rode 

 into Jerusalem. St Jerome explains the name to mean ' villa sacer- 

 dotalium maxillarum,' as the village was the residence of the priest* 

 to whom the maxilla of the victims belonged. It has been also held 

 to mean ' place of figs,' from the fig-trees planted on the slopes of the 

 mount. 



BETHSAI'DA (' Abode of Fishers'),'a town of Galilee, the birthplace 

 of the apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip, was situated on the sea of 

 Tiberias. It was not far from Capernaum. Some ruin* ,.u the 

 western shore, near a rocky promontory < ailed Hat feiyada, are 

 believed by the natives to mark the site of Bethaaida. 



BETHUNE. [PAS i.K-C.u.Ais.J 



BETU'WE, a large and fertile district of Holland, inclosed be 

 the Waal, the Northern Rhine, or Hhinc of Leyden, and the Lek, 

 which joins the Rhine to the Waal, and thus forms :m island. 

 occupies part of the country of the an< . or ' Jnsula Bata- 



vorum.' [It ATA vi.] The name of Betuwe U supposed to be <! 

 from that of Batavi. The length of the district of n the 



scparatiun of the Waal from the Rlu'ue near the Prussian frontier 

 to the junction of the Lck with the Waal (here called the Maas) 

 is nearly 60 miles from east to west. Its breadth gular, 



greatest at its western extremity, between Vianeu and Gorkum, 

 where it is about 13 miles. The principal towns of the Betuwe are 

 Gorkum (8000 inhabitants) and Thiel (4000). The river Linghe, 

 which falls into the Waal at Gorkum, crosses the Betuwe through the 

 greater part of its length. The eastern and largest part of the 1 ' 

 belongs to the province of Gelderland, and the western part 

 province of South Holland. The Betuwe produces corn, vegetables, 

 and fruit in abundance. A great quantity of butter and cheese is also 

 made in this district 



BEVELAND, a district in the Dutch province of Zeelaud, consisting 

 of the islands of Noord Bevelnud and Zuid Beveland, with a M 

 island called Wolfaartsdijk, situated between the two. The total area 

 is about 120 square miles. These islands lie in tin i.-iry of 



the river Schelde, and between two branches of that river, tin- 

 east Schelde which divides them from the islands of Tholeii and 

 Schouwcn, and the Hond, or West Schelde, which separates them from 

 the mainland. An arm of the sea separates them from the island oi 

 Walchereu, which lies west of lievelaud. South Beveland is by far 

 the largest and finest of the three islands ; its length is 25 

 east to west, and its greatest breadth is between 8 and 9 miles from 

 north to south. It produces corn, abundance of fruit and vet' 

 madder. Fish is also caught in great pl< 'lie coast 



Beveland has frequent K sul'. ivd from inundations, especially in the 

 great flood of 1532, by which a considerable portion 

 the island was destroyed. On this part of the island stood the rich 

 town of Uomerswaal, \\ hich the flood of 1532 separated from Beveland ; 

 the town was gradually encroached upon by tho sea, till in the 

 beginning of the 17th century all the inhabitants had deserted it 

 Some of tho land which was inundated has been since recovered. 

 Again iu the great floods of Jan. 14 and 15, 180$, whole districts 

 which had been gained by the greatest patience and indn.-ti \ 

 overwhelmed. The capital, Goet or Ter-Goei, a well built f. r 

 town of about 5500 inhabitants, is situated on the north coast of South 

 Beveland, in 41 30' N. lat, 3 53' E. long. Ship-building is carried on, 

 and there is an active trade in corn, salt, hops, 4c., by means of its har- 

 bour, which is formed by a short canal communicating with the East 

 Schelde. There are besides many villages scattered about 

 Noord Beveland is a much poor, r country, being low and marshy ; it 

 was formerly a fine island, but was swamped in the dreadful inunda- 

 tion of 1532, when a largo part of the inhabitants perished. It 

 remained covered by the waters for many years after, until tin' ground 

 becoming raised by alluvial deposits, it was again embanked and 

 inhabited. The length of Noord Beveland is about 13 miles, and its 

 greatest breadth about 4 miles. It has a few villages or hamlets, the 

 principal of which are Wissonkerke and Kortjyn. II /. is a 



small fertile island, which contains two villages and about 700 

 inhabitants. 



Important engineering works were commenced in July 1852 for tho 

 drainage of about 35,000 acres. in< hiding the eastern and submerged 

 portion of South Beveland, and the low flats on the eastern side of the 

 canal of Bcrgen-op-Zoom, which at present separates the island from 

 the continent The plan comprises also the cutting of a canal to the 

 west of the village of Kruiningen, to connect the East and ' 

 Sehelde, and so large as to afford secure navigation at all times to tin- 

 largest class of mercantile vessels as well as to frigate*-; and finally tho 

 island is to ! connected with the mainland by a barrage, bank, or dyke. 



]!E\ Klil.KY, the capital of the East Riding of Yorkshire, a 

 market-town, borough, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union. Rcverlcy 

 and its liberties form a separate division of the wapent .!.. "f llarthill. 

 The town is situated at the base of the wolds, and about a mile from 

 the river Hull, in 53" 62' N. lat, 25' W. long.; 28 miles E. by 8. 



