BARR 



599 



BARRE 



years toiled away on miscellaneous work 

 advertisements, circulars, short articles, verses, 

 etc. learning to write by writing, and seeing 

 the end of her apprenticeship in 1884, when a 

 leading publishing firm accepted her Jan Ved- 

 dcr's IT / . the book that secured for her the 

 she now holds among American writers. 



Jan Vvddirs Wife, one of Mrs. Barr's most 

 characteristic tales, a vigorous story of life in 

 tin Shetland Islands, has been translated into 

 many different languages. Others of her novels 

 have an historic background, as The Border 

 Shepherdess, the scenes of which are laid in the 

 borderland between England and Scotland; 

 Bow of Orange Ribbon, a tale of New 

 York during the period of Dutch supremacy; 

 and Friend Olivia, a story of the English Com- 

 monwealth. Among her latest novels are The 

 Is of Compulsion, The House on Cherry 

 Street and Sheila Vedder. One of Mrs. Barr's 

 most marked traits is the charm and clearness 

 with which she presents primitive and .whole- 

 some types of characters. She has written an 

 interesting autobiography, All the Days of My 

 Life. 



BARR, ROBERT (1850-1912), a British novel- 

 ist whose vigorous and animated stories have 

 gained for him a wide circle of readers. He 

 found much of the material for his scenes and 

 characters both in the United States and in 

 Canada. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, 

 and educated in Toronto, Canada, later becom- 

 ing headmaster of the Central School of Wind- 

 sor, Ontario. In 1876 he was on the staff of 

 th- Detroit Free Press writing under the name 

 Luke Sharp," and five years later was sent 

 to London to establish an English weekly edi- 

 tion of that paper. During his residence in 

 md he became associated with Jerome K. 

 Jerome (which see), in the founding of the 

 Idler, a monthly magazine. Barr's first novel, 

 In a Steamer Chair, was published about the 

 .vim.' time. 



His narratives are full of life and action, and 

 with him thr important thing is to tell Hi- 

 story, while the portrayal and development of 

 character is a secondary matter. One of 

 most popular novi 1 t of Alarms, is 



a story of tin Fmiati i n.i in Canada in 1866. 

 Othi-r \\rll-known titles are Count CM T 



;<fc, A Pr dood 



r. //o./-x an. i '//, , Palao j /.<></. Tin- Un- 



BARRANQUILLA, bahr ran keel ' ya, is the 

 dm i rommcrciiil city of Colombia, South 

 America. It is in the extreme north of the 



country, on the Magdalena River, near its 

 entrance into the Caribbean Sea. The river is 

 navigable for many miles from Barranquilla. 

 (although not at its mouth) and is the principal 

 artery for the interchange of inland produce 

 and for the distribution and collection of im- 

 ports and exports. Barranquilla is connected by 

 rail with Sabanilla, a seaport fourteen miles 

 northwest, and exports principally coffee and 

 hides. The town was founded in 1629 but did 

 not become of any commercial importance until 

 the nineteenth century. In 1912 the population 

 was 48,900. 



BARRAS, barah' t PAUL FRANCOIS JEAN 

 NICHOLAS, Count de (1775-1829), a French 

 statesman who bore a prominent part in the 

 French Revolution of 1789. Though descended 

 from a noble family, he eagerly took up the 

 cause of the Revolutionists, joined the mob 

 that stormed the famous old prison known as 

 the Bastile (which see), and also took part in 

 the attack on the royal palace of the Tuileries. 

 As a member of the National Convention he 

 voted for the death of King Louis XVI in 1793. 

 For some time thereafter Barras exercised great 

 power. He became president of the Conven- 

 tion, helped to bring about the overthrow of 

 Robespierre and other leaders in the Reign of 

 Terror, and in 1795 was nominated one of the 

 five members of the Directory. To him Napo- 

 leon owed his appointment as commander-in- 

 chief of the army in Italy. While the Direc- 

 tory was in control of affairs the authority of 

 Barras was unquestioned, but when the Direc- 

 tory was replaced by the Consulate, in 1799, 

 he was forced to yield his power to Napoleon, 

 and to leave Paris. He afterward resided at 

 Brussels, Marseilles, Rome and Montpellu r. 

 constantly watched by the police, and returned 

 to Paris only after the Bourbons were restored. 

 His memoirs are of great importance as a 

 source of information concerning the French 

 Revolution. See ROBESPIERRE; DIRECTORY; 

 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



BARRE, hair' cc, VT., leads the world in the 

 production of fine granite for monuments. It 

 is situated in Washington County, northeast ot 

 the geographical center of the state, on the 

 \Vinoo4. M oin]>, her, the capital, is six 



mil. - north wont; Boston is 214 miles southeast. 

 M..nt|..-Ii, i A- \\YII, Kucr Railway, a 

 tlivi-mti <>t tin- Boston and Maine system, 

 sen- .1 thcro is troll. \ connection 



with Mont prli. i- . The first settlement was 

 made in 1788, and the town was organised in 

 1793 as Wildersburg; the name was changed 



