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.:ic3rly proved than by referring to the 1875 uninhabited 

 hoiifesiii tht year iSoo. There art two inoniiiiy papers pub- 

 lifliedatBirmiiigham; Aris's Birmingham Gazette, andSwin- 

 uey's Birmingham Chronicle, &.c. Mr. Swinr.ey alio car- 

 ries on a conliderable type foundcry, which is the only pro- 

 vincial one in the kingdom. '* This neighbourhood," fays 

 Mr. Hutton, " may ju;lly be deemed tiie feat of the arts, 

 but not the feat of the gentry. None of the nobility are near 

 us, except William Legge tarl of Dartmouth, at Sandweil, 

 four mil-js from Birmingham. The principal houfts in our 

 environs are thole of the late fir Charl-S Holte at AUton ; 

 fir Henry Goiigh Calthorpe at Edgbiillun ; George Birch, 

 tfq. at Handl'.vorth ; John Goiigh, efq. at Perry ; and 

 John Taylor, elq. r.t Bordtflcy and at Mofely, all joining 

 to the manor of Birmingham ; cxclufive of thefe, there 

 are many retreats of our hrll inhabitants, acquired by com- 

 mercial fuccefs." Hockley Abbtv, near Soho, is the reii- 

 dcnce of Mr. Rich:ird Ford, an ingenious fmith, who had 

 the honour of prefcnting Ids majelly with an iron carriage 

 made by himfclf. It is a modern curious building, with 

 the upper part reprefenting a ruin, and is furroundtd by 

 beautiful grounds and walks, interfperfed with fanciful 

 curiolities. The moft confiJerable feats in the vicinity of 

 Birmingham, are Hagley, 12 miles dillant ; Enviile, 15> 

 miles diftant ; and the Leafowes, 6 miles dillant. The 

 latter will long be preferved in the memory of every reader 

 of Shenftone, whofe creation it was, and whofe taile it dif- 

 played in an eminent degree. It now belongs to Charles 

 H imilton efq. who has judicioufly rellortd the ncglefted 

 beauties of the place. Hagley, the feat of lord Littleton, 

 has been particularly celebrated in the writings of Pope, 

 Thomfon, Hammond, and other poets. Enville, the feat of 

 the earl of Stamford, is a fcenc of great natural beauty. For 

 further particulars relating to Birmingham, its manufafto- 

 rics, and neighbourhood, Ice Hutton's *• Hiflor)' of Birming- 

 ham," 8vo. Shaw's "Hillcry of Staffordlhire,"ful. " A com- 

 panion to the Leafowes, Hagley, and Enville," i2mo. 

 BiiTet's " Poetic Survey round Birmingham," 8vo. Phil- 

 lip's " Hiilory of Inland Navigation," 410. &c. 



BIRON, Armand, de Gontault, baron of, in Biogra- 

 phy, was born about the year 1524, and rofe gradually from 

 the condition of a page to Margaret qneen of Navarre, to 

 the rank of marihal of France, which he obtained from 

 lienry HL in 1577. After the death of this king, he was 

 0110 of the tirll to acknowledge Henry IV^. as lawful pof- 

 felTor of the crown, and ferved him with advantage at the 

 battles of Argues and Ivri. At the clofe of the aftion, to 

 the viftorious iffue of which he contiibutcd, by hts com- 

 mand of the referve, though he was not engas;ed, he faid 

 to Henry, who had much expofcd himfclf, " You, Sire, 

 have afted the part of Biron to day, and he has aded 

 yours." Under Henry 111. he occupied the pod of lieu- 

 tenant-general of Giiienne, m which he gained great advan- 

 tages over the Calviniits ; and he alfo reduced part of 

 Normandy to the obedience of Henry IV. To his fon, 

 who folicited a fmall force for the purpofc, and with the 

 promife of ruining the army of the dukes of Parma and 

 Mayenne, he replied ; " I believe you may ; but then we 

 ihall have nothing farther to do but to plant cabbages at 

 Biron." Soon after, in 1592, he loil; his life by a cannon 

 ball, at the ficge of Epernai. In his military ciiarafter, he 

 was a rigid difciplinarian, and required prompt obedience. 

 When an officer, whom he had commanded to burn a houfe, 

 defired an order to this ciTeiTl, under his own hand, Biron 

 inllantly difcharged him, ailedgi:tg "he would have notliing 

 to do with people wl:o were afraid of juftice ; and that 

 every foldier who dreaded 3 pen, mu!l tremble at a fwoid." 



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He was a polite fcholar, but of a mercenary and intemperate 

 difpofition. He wrote " Commentaries" ot hi? tran(rt>ltions, 

 which were loll. Gen Diet. Nouv. D:ft. Hiil. Mod. 

 Un. Hiil. vol. xxi. p. 54. &c. 



Biron, Charlies de Gontault, duke of, the tided 

 foil of the preceding, v>'as born in 1562 ; and having ferved 

 under his father, he dillingui'.hed liimfelf in fcveral battles 

 and fieges. lienry IV, dilliiigaifhed him by tokens of for- 

 bearance and favour, on account of hs ianhful and adfive 

 fervices. He created hi-n admiral of France in 1592, mar- 

 fhal and governor of Burgundy in 1594, and honoured him 

 with erecting the barony of Biron ii.to a dukedom and 

 peerage. He alfo employed him in feveral important 

 diplomatic embaflies ; but his pnde and ambition rendered 

 him incapable of gratitude. Allured by flattering prof- 

 pcCls, he engaged with Spain and Savoy in a confpiracy 

 againlt his mailer; and at length his haughty conduA 

 caufed him to be arrefted for his treafons, tried, and con- 

 demned to lofe his liead ; and the fenience was executed 

 in the court of the baftile, July 31, 1602. He fubmitted 

 v/ith rekidlauce, and betrayed cowardice at the time of his 

 death. He was vain, arrogant, and malicious ; be ciianged 

 his religion twice before he attained the age of 16 years, 

 and manifeifcd a total want of principle and integrity. 

 His pafiion for gaming, reduced him, notwithllanding his 

 rapacity, to various difBculties ; and he was only eilimable 

 v.-hen he was atfively employed. Although -fhe king in- 

 currtd lome blame tor facrificing the life of a fcrvant who 

 had been eminentlv nfeful, and honoured with his peculiar 

 friendfliip, Biron deferved to fuffer as a traitor. Gen. 

 Dia. Nouv. Did. Hift. Mod. Un. Hill. vol. xxi. p. 99, 

 &c. 



Biron, in Geography, a town of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Dordognc, 35 leagues fouth of Belvez. — Alfo, 

 an jfland in the gulf of St. Lawrence, 26 leagues well of 

 cape Angu lla. N. lat. 47'^ 50'. W. long 61" 5'. 



BIROSTRIS, in Conchology, a fpecies of Bulla, that 

 inhabits Java. The flitll has two beaks, which are elon- 

 gated and fmooth ; margin thickened outwardly. Gmelin, 

 Liiler. Tills ipecies is not unlike BuHa voha, but is 

 fmaller, being only about the fize of a horlcbean ; and it is 

 alio narrower ; fmooth, whitifh, flelh-coloured ; beaks un- 

 equal, obliquely truncated, and one of tiiem a little afceud- 

 ing ; aperture nearly equal, but wideft at one end. 



BIRO TA, Birotum, from tis and rata, -wheel, a kind of 

 vehicle denominated from the two wheels whereon it 

 moved. The birotn, by the conllltution of Conflantine, 

 was drawn by three mnlep, and carried 2CO pounds weight ; 

 by uhich it was dlllingullhed from the rhedu, which canied 

 looo pounds, and was diav.-n by eight, and in winter by 

 ten mules. 



BIRR, in Geography, or, as it is called by aft of parlia- 

 ment, Paijons Toivr., the laigell poll and market town in 

 the King's county, Ire'and, firtiated on the livcr called the 

 l.'utle Brojr.a, which divides the King's county from the 

 county of Tippeiary, on the fouth-well. This town has 

 breweries, d.ililleries, malt-houfts, cloth and lerge nianu- 

 faftories, a bank, an excellent market, and a barrack for 

 two companies of foot. The callle at the wcilern extre- 

 mity of the town, belonging to the family of Parlons, 

 was bcdtged by Sarsfidd, lord Lucan, general of the 

 Iiiih, in the war of the revolution of 1688, and relieved by 

 ueneral Kirk. There is a ftatue of William, duke of Cum- 

 berland, Handing on a ftone pillar of tnc Doric order, 

 creftcd in 1747, in honour of the viflory at Culloden. 

 Birr is 65 miles well by fouth from Dublin, 6 fouth from 

 Banagher on the Shannon, and near 12 from Poitumna. 



N. lat. 



