BEL 



Beliurius in fen vulgar or political verfes. (ViJ. Corp. Poet. 

 GrjEC. torn. ii. p. 31 1.) 



BAitrxftii o^oXvi co\'. Till j-pasTtiXalu 



This moral or romantic tale was imported into Italy with 

 the language and manufcripts of Greece ; repeated before 

 the end of the fifteenth century by Crinitus, Potilanus, and 

 Volaterranus ; attacked by Alicat for the honour of the law, 

 and defended by Baronius for the honour of the church. 

 Yet Tzetzes himfelf had read in other chronicles, that Bcli- 

 farius did not lofe his fight, and that he recovered his fame 

 and fortunes. Gibbon's Hift. Decl. and Fall of the Rom. 

 Emp. vol. vii. 



The ftatue in the villa Borghefe, at Rome, in a fitting 

 pofture, with an open hand fupplicating alms, is commonly 

 attributed to Bclifarius ; but it may be afcribed with greater 

 propriety to Auguftus, reprefented under the character of a 

 menSicant, propitiating the anger of Nemeiis. Suetonius (in 

 Aug. c.gi.) informs us, that on a certain day every year, he 

 humbled himfelf to the condition of a beggar, extending- his 

 open hand, and foliciting alms from the people. Winkcl- 

 mann. tom. iii. p. 266. 



BELISSO, in Ancient Geography, a town of Spain, 

 near Aiigufta Afturica. Itin. Antonin. 



BELITANI, a people of Spain, according to Pliny. 



BELITZ, in Geogriiphy, a town of Germany, in a pre- 

 fefturate of tlie fame name, in the circle of Zauch, and 

 country of Middle-Mark of Brandenburg, feated on the ri- 

 ver Nieptlitz, or Bclitz, which has repeatedly fuffered from 

 fire. It is defended by old ramparts and ditches, and has a 

 manufafture of cloth ; 28 miles fouth-well of Berlin, and 

 12 fouth-well of Potzdam. 



BELITZY,a town and diftrift of the Ruffian em,pire,in the 

 government of Mohilef,fcated on a rivulet falling into the Sofh. 



BELKANI, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in the province 

 of Natolia, 14 miles north of Satalia. 



BELKIN, a town of Egypt, 4; miles fouth-wtfl of 

 Damietta, and 54 fouth-weft of Cairo. 



BELKOVA, a river of Rnfiia, in the government of 

 Arcjiangel, which runs into the Frozen fta. N. lat. 68° 30'. 

 E.long.s8°34'. 



BELL, a popular machine, ranked by muficians among 

 the number of mufical inllruments of percudion. The mu- 

 fic of bells is altogether melody ; but the pleafure arifing 

 from it confifts in the variety of interchanges, and the va- 

 rious fiicccflions and general predominance of the confo- 

 nances in the founds produced. 



The parts of a bell are the body or barrel, the clipper 

 within fide, and the car or cannon, whereby it is hung to a 

 large beam of wood. — Its ulual matter is a kind of com- 

 pound metal, called Lll-inettil. The thicknefs of its edges 

 h ufually -rV of the diameter, and its height twelve times its 

 thicknefs. The bell-founders have a diapafon, or bell-fcale, 

 with which they meafere the fi^e, thicknefs, weight, and 

 tone of their bells. For the method of caftvi'.g bells, fee 



FoUNDERY . 



The found of a bell arifes from a vibratory motion of the 

 parts thereof, much like that of a mufical chord. Tlie llroke 

 ■«f the clapper, it is evident, muil change the figure of the 

 beil, and of round make it oval; but the metal having a 

 great degree of elallicity, that part which the llroke drove 

 fartheft from the centre will fly back again, and this even 

 fumewhat nearer to the centre than before ; fo that the two 

 pviints, which before were the extremes of the l^niger diame- 

 ter, now become thofe of the (horter. Thus, the circum- 

 ference of the bell undergoes alternate change i of figure, 



BEL 



and by means thereof gives that tremulous motion to the air, 

 in which found confifts. 



M. Perrault maintains, that the found of the fame bell or 

 chord, is a compound of the found of the feveral parts 

 thereof; fo that where the parts are homogeneous, and the 

 dimenfions of the figure uniform, tl.ere is fuch a perfect mi:c- 

 ture of all thefe founds, as conftitutes one uniform, fmooth, 

 even found: and the contrary circumflances produce harfh- 

 iiefs. This he proves from the bell's differing in tune accord- 

 ing to the part you ftrike ; and yet ftrike it any where, there 

 is a motion of all the parts. He therefore confidcrs bells as 

 compofed of an infinite number of rings ; which, according 

 to their different dimenfion-, liave different tones, as chords 

 of different lengths have ; and when (Iruck, the vibrations of 

 the parts immediately ftruck determine the tone ; being fup- 

 porttd by a fufiicient number of confanant tones in the other 

 parts. Mr. Hawkfbee, and others, have found by experimf lit, 

 that the found of a bell ftruck under water, is a fourth deeper 

 than in the air: though Meifennus fays, it is of the fame 

 pitch in both elements. This writer has treated largely of 

 thediiferent metals of which bells are formed, of theirfigure, 

 rrafiicude, and degrees of pondercfity, as they rtfpecl each 

 other in a given feries. 



Bells are obferved to be heard .farther, placed on plain?, 

 than on hills ; and Hill farther, in valleys, than on plains : 

 the reafon of which it will not be diiiicult to afilgn. if it be 

 confidered, that the higher the fonorous body is, the rarer is 

 its medium : confequenlly the lefs impulfe it receives, and the 

 iefs proper vehicle it has to convey it to a diflance. There i« 

 a curious obfei-vation in a paper ot M. Reaumur's in the Me- 

 moirs of the Paris Academy, relating to the ihape moft. pro- 

 per for bells, to give them the loudtfl and cleareft found. 

 He obferves, that as pots, and other veir>:ls more imisedi- 

 ately neceffary for the fcrvice of life, were doubtlcfs made 

 before bells, it probably happened, that the obfen-ing thefe 

 veffeh to have a found when ftruck, gave occafion to making 

 bells, intended only for lound, in that form : but that it 

 does not appear thit this is the moft eligible figure ; for lead, 

 a metal which is, in its common ftate, not at all fonorous, 

 yet becomes greatly fo on being caft into a particular form, 

 and that very different from the common fhape of bells. In 

 melting lead for the comm.on occafions of carting in fmall 

 quantities, it is ufually done in an iron ladle; and as the 

 whole is feldom poured out, the remainder, which falls to 

 the bottom of the ladle, cools into a mafs of the fliape of 

 that bottom. This is conftqijently a fegment of a fphere, 

 thickeft in the middle, and thinner towards the edges : nor 

 is the ladle any neceffary part of the operation, fince if a 

 mafs of lead be caft in that form in a mould of earth or 

 fand, in any of thefe cafes it is found to be very fonorous. 

 Now, if this (liape alone can give found to a metal which in 

 other forms is perfectly mute, how much more muft it ue- 

 cclfarily give it to other metals naturally fonorous in what. 

 ever form. It fhould feem that bells would much better per- 

 foraa their office in this than any other form, and that it 

 muft particularly be a thing of great advantage to the i'mail 

 bells of comn^oii houfe -clocks, which are required to have a 

 llnill note, and vet are not allowed any great fize. M. 

 Reaumur very judicioully obfei"ves, that if our fore-tathers 

 had opportunities of being acquainted with the found of 

 metals in this fhape, we ihould probably have had all our 

 i>tlls at prefcnt of this form. Mtm. Acad. Par. 1721^. 



With regard to the origin of bells, thofe of a fmall fize 

 are verj' ancient ; but thofe uf a large bulk, hung in towers 

 and hung by ropes, were introduced at a much later period. 

 Among the Jews, it was ordained by Mofes, that the lower 

 part ot the blue robe, which was worn by the high priefl in 

 U 2 religious 



