

BALLAST BALLOT. 



novel in two thin duodecimos, styled, " The Widow's 

 Lodgings," which reached u si roiul edition. It was 

 not, however, as an author, that Mr Hullantynt* chiefly 

 shone his forte was story telling. As a conteur, he 

 was allowed to be unrivalled uy any known con- 

 temporary. Possessing an infinite fund of ludicrous 

 und characteristic anecdote, which lie could set off 

 with humour endless in the variety of its shades and 

 tones, he was entirely one of those Ix'ings who seem 

 designed by nature for the task, now aorogated, of 

 enlivening the formalities and alleviating the cares 

 of a court: he was Yorick revived. After pursuing 

 a laborious and successful business for several years, 

 declining health obliged him to travel on the con- 

 tinent, and finally to retire to a seat in the neighbour- 

 hood of Melrose. In his Melrose rustication, he 

 started the publication of a large and beautiful edi- 

 tion of the British Novelists, as an easy occupation to 

 divert the langour of illness, and fill up those vacancies 

 in time, which were apt to contrast disagreeably with 

 the former habits of busy life. The works of the 

 various novelists were here amassed into large vo- 

 lumes, to which Sir Walter Scott furnished biographi- 

 cal prefaces. But the trial was brief. While flatter- 

 ing himself with the hope that his frame was invigo- 

 rated by cliange of air and exercise, death stepped in, 

 and reft the world of as joyous a spirit as ever bright- 

 ened its sphere. He died on the 16th June, 1821, 

 aged about 45. 



BALLAST (from the Danish baglast) is a load of sand 

 or stones, deposited in ships, which have notfreight 

 enough to sink them to their proper depth hi the 

 water, so as to resist the wind and waves. In storms, 

 if the vessel leaks, part of the ballast must often be 

 thrown out, to make the vessel lighter. By the 

 English navigation act, and by the laws of other com- 

 mercial nations, formed by way of retaliation, vessels 

 are often obliged to take ballast, either on their de- 

 parture or return, instead of transporting, even at lit- 

 tle profit, heavy and cheap goods of the country, to 

 foreign countries. 



BALLENTYNE, or BKLLENDKN, John, a Scottish poet 

 of the reign of James V., and the translator of Boece's 

 Latin History, and of the first five books of Livy, into 

 the vernacular language of his time, was a native of 

 Lothian, and appears to have been born towards the 

 close of the 15th century. He studied at the univer- 

 sity of St Andrews, and afterwards at the university 

 of Paris, where he took the degree of Doctor of Di- 

 vinity. He returned to Scotland during the minority 

 of James V., and became attached to the establish- 

 ment of that monarch as " Clerk of his Comptis." 

 In 1530 and 1531, Ballentyne was employed, by com- 

 mand of the king, in translating Boece's History, 

 which had been published at Paris in 1526. Ballen- 

 tyne delivered a manuscript copy of his work to the 

 king, in the summer of 1533, and about the same 

 time he appears to have been engaged in a transla- 

 tion of Livy. His translation of Boece was printed in 

 1536, by Thomas Davidson, and had become in later 

 times almost unique, till a new edition was published 

 in a remarkably elegant style, in 1821, by Messrs 

 Tail, Edinburgh. At the same time appeared the 

 translation of the first two books of Livy, which had 

 never before been printed. The latter work seems 

 to have been carried no further by the translator. 

 Ballentyne seems to have lived happily in the sun- 

 shine of court favour during the reign of James V. 

 The opposition which he afterwards presented to the 

 reformation, brought him into such odium, that he re- 

 tired from his country in disgust, and died at Rome, 

 about the year 1550. The translations of Ballentyne 

 are characterized by a striking felicity of language, 

 and also by a freedom that snows his profound ac- 

 quaintance with the learned language upon which he 



wrought. Many of the works of Ballcndrn are lost 

 among others a tr.ict on ihe Pythagoric letter, and 

 a discourse upon Virtue and Pleasure. He also wrote 

 many political pieces, the most of which are lost. 



BALLKT (from bal ; hence the French bailer, and the 

 Italian ballare, to dance) ; in its widest sense, the ra 

 presentation of a series of passionate actions and feel- 

 ings, by means of gestures and dancing. According 

 to this signification, we comprehend, under ballets, 

 even representations of mental emotions, not connect- 

 ed with a regular train of action. In a more confined 

 sense, we call ballets musical pieces, the object of 

 which is to represent, by mimic movements and 

 dances, actions, diameters, sentiments, passions, and 

 feelings, in which several dancers perform together. 

 According to the analogy of lyrical poetry, those 

 which rather represent feelings may be called lyrical 

 ballets; those which imitate actions, dramatic ballets. 

 The lyrical and dramatic ballets, together, constitute 

 the higher art of dancing, in opposition to the lower, 

 the aim of which is only social pleasure. The dra- 

 matic ballets are divided into historical, the subject 

 of which is a real event ; the mythological, in which 

 the subject is some fabulous action ; and the poetical, 

 which are founded on poetical fiction, to which belong, 

 also, the allegorical, necessarily the most imperfect. 

 A ballet is usually divided into several acts, each of 

 which has several entrees. An entree, in a ballet, 

 consists of one or several quadrilles of dancers, who, 

 by their steps, gestures, and attitudes, represent a 

 certain part of the action. In criticising a ballet, we 

 must consider, first, the choice of the subject, which 

 must have unity of action or of passion, and must be 

 capable of being represented in an intelligible man- 

 ner by means of mimic movements and dancing ; 

 secondly, the plan and execution of the single parts, 

 which must have a due proportion to each other; 

 and, finally, the music and decorations, which must 

 supply whatever dancing cannot bring before the eye. 

 The ballet is an invention of modem times (the in- 

 genious artist Baltazarini, director of music to the 

 princess Catharine de' Medici, probably gave-its form 

 to the regular ballet), though pantomimic dances were 

 not unknown to the ancients. (See Mimic and Panto- 

 mime.) The ballet owes much to the French, and 

 particularly to Noverre. (q. v.) The dances, which 

 are frequently introduced into operas, seldom deserve 

 the name ballet, as they usually do not represent ; >iy 

 action, but are destined only to give the dancers an 

 opportunity of showing their skill. 



BALLHORN, John ; printer at Lubeck, who, between 

 1531 and 1599, published a spelling-book, on the 

 last page of which he altered the usual picture of a 

 cock with spurs, into that of a cock without spurs, 

 having a couple of eggs at his side. As he printed 

 in the title-page, on account of this trivial alteration, 

 " Improved by John Ballhorn," the word Ballhor- 

 nize is proverbially used in Germany, to signify stu- 

 pid and useless alterations, or the making a thing 

 worse instead of better. 



BALLISTJE. See Batista. 



BALLOON. See Aeronautics. 



BALLOT, voting by, signifies voting by means of little 

 balls (called by the French ballotes), usually of different 

 colours, which are put into a box in such a manner 

 as to enable the voter, if he chooses, to conceal for 

 whom or for what he gives his suffrage. The method 

 is adopted by most cluos in the election of their mem- 

 bersa white ball indicating assent ; a black ball, . 

 dissent Hence, when an applicant is rejected, he is 

 said to be blackballed. It has long been the ardent 

 wish of many, that secret voting of this kind were 

 adopted at political elections, so as to secure the in- 

 dependence of die voter, and put a stop to bribery, 

 private or public intimidation, and other corrupt in- 



