BALAAM 546 



structures, the old town contrasting strongly 

 with the new business section which has grown 

 with the development of its principal industry. 

 The harbor is strongly fortified, and is a station 

 of the Russian Caspian fleet. Population in 

 1910, 206,031. 



BALAAM, bay' lam, a soothsayer and seer 

 whom Balok, king of Moab, called upon to 

 curse the Israelites when they were about to 

 overrun his country. The first time the Lord 

 commanded Balaam not to go, but the second 

 time permission was given, with the command 

 that Balaam was to do whatever the Lord 

 commanded. On the way the angel of the 

 Lord appeared before him with a drawn sword 

 in his hand. By a miracle the ass which 

 Balaam was riding saw the angel, but Balaam 

 could not see him. The ass turned aside into 

 the field, and Balaam struck her to force her 

 back into the path. But the angel was still 

 in front of the ass and she still resented, finally 

 lying down under her master, and Balaam 

 smote her the third time. The ass was then 

 made to speak, and Balaam replied : "Because 

 thou hast mocked me I would there were a 

 sword in mine hand, for now I would kill thee." 

 The narrative continues: "Then the Lord 

 opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw the 

 angel of the Lord standing in the way with his 

 sword drawn, and he bowed down his head and 

 fell flat on his face." Under the command of 

 the Lord Balaam blessed the Israelites four 

 times, and his prophecies are among the grand- 

 est in the Bible. See Num. XXII-XXIV. 



BALAKLAVA, bah la klah' vah, a small port 

 on the Black Sea, in the southwest of the 



BALANCE 



gade," riding to certain death, gave the world 

 an unforgettable example of obedience. 



The battle of Balaklara was fought on Oct. 

 25, 1854, between the Russian field army and 

 the allied English, French and Turkish troops. 

 Through a misunderstanding, an English bri- 

 gade of light cavalry, numbering about 600 

 men, was ordered to charge the Russian cavalry 

 stationed at the end of a long valley, the 

 ridges on both sides of which were also held 

 by the enemy's infantry and cavalry. At the 

 word of command the "Light Brigade" >\v<-pt 

 down the plain, exposed to a deadly fire from 

 the front and both sides, and only a remnant 

 found their way back. (See CRIMEAN WAR.) 

 This heroic charge inspired the stirring poem 

 to which its author, Alfred Tennyson, gave the 

 title, The Charge of the Light Brigade. One 

 of the stanzas is here given: 



Forward, the Light Brigade ! 

 Was there a man dismayed? ' 

 Not though the soldier knew 



Someone had blundered : 

 Theirs not to make reply, 

 Theirs not to reason why, 

 Theirs but to do and die: 

 Into the valley of Death 



Rode the six hundred. 



Balaklava is about eight miles southeast of 

 Sebastopol (formerly Sevastopol). Its harbor 

 is shut in by lofty hills, and the entrance 

 is so narrow that scarcely more than one 

 vessel can enter at a time. On the heights 

 overlooking the bay are the houses of the 

 inhabitants, mostly Greek fishermen, who num- 

 ber about 1,500. 



THE CRIMEAN PENINSULA 



Locating the spot made famous by the "Light 

 Brigade." 



Crimea, famous for the battle of the Crimean 

 War in which the heroic English "Light Bri- 



BALANCE, a mechanical device for weigh- 

 ing substances, from almost the tiniest particle 

 of matter to great masses of the heaviest ma- 

 terial. The simplest form of weighing machine 



