B E A 



108 



B E A 



these WM founded in the beginning of the eleventh ren- 



tury by Fulk Nerr, Count of Anjou and Lord of Loches ; 



tin- 1-it'ter was of much later onijin, having been founded in 



The chief manufactures of the town are woollen 



loth and leather: the tanneries are on the river Inilre. 



The population, in 183.', was 1800 for the town, or V!-'-- lor 



the \> : n une. The celebrated Agne* Sorcl, mis- 



.f Charles VII., king of France, was lady of this town 



ulieu. It is in 47 7' N. lat.. and l"0' E. Ion-;. 



At the village of Braulieu. near the town of St. Germain 

 Lemhron. in the southern part of theile|>artmctH of I'u\-do- 

 . are some alkulme waters, the source of which is in- 

 termittent, though the times of (lowing and of cessation 

 have not been accurately marked. 



BEAUMARCHAIS. I'IK.KKK AUGUSTS CARON 

 L)K, was liorn at Pans in January, \7M. His fatl.fr was a 

 watchmaker, and brought up his son to tlie same profession, 

 in which young Beaumarchais showed eonttdMvUe skill. 

 He tnarkably fond of music, and attained great 



proficiency in playing on the harp uud the guitar, lieau- 

 marchais played before the daughters of Louis XV., who 

 being pleased with his musical skill admitted him to their 

 concerts, and afterwards to their parties. He now apj 

 at Versailles in a rich court-dress, which otl'eiided a h-uighty 

 nobleman, who meeting him one day in one of the galleries, 

 asked him abruptly to look at a valuable watch that he 

 wore, which was out of order. Beaumarchais excused him- 

 self, by saying that his hand was very unsteady ; the other 

 ing, Heaumarchais took the watch and dropped it on 

 the lloor, simply observing : ' I told you so.' Notwithstand- 

 ing this event lie continued to enjoy the patronage of the 

 Court, which gave him the opportunity of becoming con- 

 nected with some of the Fermiers Gincraux and great con- 

 tractors. It was his bad fortune to be involved in several 

 law suits, some of which made great noise in the world, and 

 gained considerable notoriety in consequence of the memoirs 

 or pleadings of his case, which Bcaumavc hais wrote and 

 published. These pleadings, which show considerable skill 

 and oratorical power, are inserted in the collection of his 

 works. But his fame as a writer rests on his plays, and 

 chieliy on the two, ' Le Barbierde Seville,' and ' \M Manage 

 de Figaro,' which are tot well known all over Europe, both 

 as plays and as operas, to require any particular notice 

 here. The character of Figaro was a happy invention, 

 and the other principal characters, in both plays, are 

 drawn with great skill. The ' Manage dc Figaro' alone 

 produced to Beaumarchais 80,000 francs. lie wrote a third 

 play, ' La Mere Coupable,' which may he considered a, a 

 sequel to the other two, but is inferior to them in many 

 respects, and objectionable in a moral point of view. He 

 also wrote ' Eugenie' and ' Les Deux Amis :' the subject of 

 the Cr>t is taken from an adventure which occurred to his 

 own sister, and which he relates in his memoirs. Goethe has 

 treated the same subject in his drama of Clavigo.' At the 

 beginning of the revolt of the English- American provinces, 

 Beaumarchais entered into a speculation for supplying the 

 colonies with arms, ammunition, &c. ; he lost M-MM 

 sels, three of which were taken in one day by the English 

 cruisers in coming out of the river of Bordeaux, but the 

 greater number arrived in America, and Beaumarchais en- 

 riched himself by his undertaking. Among other specula- 

 tions he engaged to supply Paris with water anil with fire- 

 engines. When the French revolution broke out, Beau- 

 marchais showed himself favourable to the popular cause, 

 and entered into speculations to supply corn, nni-kcN. 

 &c. But his activity in that critical period exposed him 

 to suspicion; he was accused and acquitted, then aci -used 

 again, and being obliged to run away, he escaped to 

 England and afterwards to Germany. He returned to 

 France after the fall of Robespierre, anil then entered into 

 a new speculation in salt, by which he lost a large sum. 

 He died in May, 1 799. 



Beaumarchaiit had considerable talent and other good 

 qualities, but he was very vain and fond of distinction. He 

 undertook an edition of all the works of Voltaire, uf whom he 

 wu a great admirer; but the edition, notwithstanding all 

 his pains and groat expense, proved very indifferent, bullia, 

 to correctness and execution. His correspondence, \vnich is 

 at the end uf In- works, contain* some well-written i 

 among others one to Citizen Baudin, of the Firnch ! 

 lative Council, in which he inveighs against the iniquitous 

 ii adopted by the Directory of transporting to Guiana 

 tboae who were obnoxious to them, after the affair of the 



18 Fructid. ft compUie* 4* Beaumarchais, 



I vol. 6vo. Paris. 1809: ; '/<.) 



BKAl MAK1S, a parish and borough, and the county- 

 town of the county of \ North Wales, in the hun- 

 dred of Dindai'lhwy. li is s;iua!cd on the picturesque bay 

 ii t Heaiimaris, at the northern entrance ..(' tbi trait, 

 at the distance of I J miles from the Mcnai bridge, :ij miles 

 from Bangor, and 'Jld miles N.W. from London. The ori- 

 ginal name of the site was Bonover. which was changed by 

 Kdward I., who may be regarded as the foun i.mn, 

 to Beaumaris. which, according to some authorities. 

 French compound (lienu and nmrais, a fine or beautiful 

 marsh), descriptive of the situation of the place; but ot] 

 very improbably derive it from Hi-maris, in allusion to its 

 situation at a place where two tides, .rsc.is meet. The former 

 explanation seems to agree best with tin. 1 existing name, 

 castle of Beaumaris is considered to have 1 , en the parent of 

 the town. After Edward I. had secured his conquests in 

 Caernarvonshire, by the erection of the castles of Caernarvon 

 and Conway, he built Beaumaris castle in 1295; a low marshy 

 .-pot was selected for the site, for the purpose ol having a 

 large fosse around the castle filled with water from the 

 A canal also was cut to enable smail vessels to 

 their lading under the walls, for the use of the (fan 

 Each of Edward's three castle, d.ll'ers in t:>rm. Tin 

 sent, from the lowness of its site and dilapidated state of the 

 presents n far less imposing appearance than the 

 other.--, li consists of an outer balhum or eiivi lope, flunked 

 with ten circular bastion towers, of which those at the 

 angles are the lamest, and having on the south side an 

 advanced work, called the Gunner's Walk. About the 

 centre of this fortified enclosure stands the principal body of 

 the castle. Its height far exceeds that of the envelope, and 

 at a distance appears to rise majestically from it, as from 

 It is nearly quadrangular, with a grand round 

 tower at each angle, and another in the centre of each 

 The interior consists of an area 190 feet square, with obtuse 

 corners. The centre of the north-west side conta. 

 hall, 70 feet long nnd 234 broad, with a proportionate 

 height: it has live large pointed windows, which form a 

 handsome front to the inner quadrangle. On the eastern 

 side of the area there are remains of a chapel, the sides of 

 which are ornamented with receding pointed arc lies. The 

 elegantly- groined roof is supported by ribs springing from 

 pilasters, between each of which is along narrow window. 

 There was a cormnunication between the several parts i.f 

 the inner court by means of a narrow surrounding gallery, 

 a considerable portion of which is still entire. Within re- 

 cesses funned in the thickness of the w.ill, in the sides of 

 this gallery, are several square apertures, apparently once 

 furnished with trap doors, which opened into r, unii beneath ; 

 but as there are no vestiges of descending steps, it is dif- 

 ficult to ascertain their use. It is conjectured that these 

 rooms, as well us tin: two circular ea-tcrn towers, 

 employed for the confinement of prisoners. The principal 

 entrance to the castle fares the sea, and is formed by two 

 circular bastion towers, between which a pointed archway 

 was fortified with four portcullises. The ruins of this castlo 

 are plentifully bespread with gilliflowen, which grow no- 

 where else in the island of Ang!' 



The governor of the castle was generally also captain of 

 the town, and usually had twenty-four men under him. 

 There is nothing remarkable in the eaily history of the 

 castle, except the frequent quarrels between the garrison 

 and the inhabitants of the vicinity, whose complaints ulti- 

 mately occasioned it, removal in the reign of Henry VII. 

 In the year 1642 the garrisoned for Charles 1., 



for whom it was held by Colonel liiilkcley, the son of Lord 

 Bulkelcy the constable, until 10-18, when it capitulated on 

 honourable terms to General Mytton. The estimated an- 

 nual expense of the garrison in 1653 amounted to 170.3/. 



The castle is still the properly of the crown. A hand- 

 some tennis-court, fives court, and howling-green have been 

 formed within its walls for the amusement of residents at 



Beaumont. 



When Edward I. built the town, he surrounded it with 

 wall,, made it a corporation, and gave it great privili 

 and some valuable lands. Among the privileges the follow- 

 ing arc mentioned : That the inhabitants should have a 

 free prison' in tin- castle; that no.iiws should dwell in 

 the town ; that if any of the burgc - - - rip ,1, lestale or ill- 

 is should not be forfeited to the km;;, but 

 should be enjoyed by their heirs. The town did not, how- 



