BERLENGAS-BERLICHINGEN.

England. Property is very much divided, and the number of gentlemen's seats and villas is very great. The farms are generally of moderate size. The county

is traversed by the Great Western railway and its branch-lines, and by two canals. B. is divided into 20 hundreds, 151 parishes, and 12 poor-law unions. It returns 5 members to parliament, 3 for the county, 1 for Reading (the county town), and one for Windsor. It con tains the municipal boroughs of Wallingford, Abingdon, Newbury, and Maidenhead, and the market-towns of Far ingdon, Hungerford, Wantage, Wokingham, East Ilsley, and Lambourn. The county has no manufactures of importance. The British and Roman remains are numerous, including Roman roads, and many camps and barrows. Of the old castles, the principal relic is Windsor (q.v.); of monastic establishments, the abbeys of Abingdon and Reading. The churches are small, and from the scarcity of building-stone, are often built of chalk and flint. There are many Norman churches, erected in the 12th and 13th C. Pop. (1871) 196,475; (1881) 218,363; (1891) 238,446.

BERLENGAS, ber-len'gás: group of rocky islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the w. coast of the Portuguese province of Estremadura, 10 m. n.w. of Peniche. The principal one, named Berlenga, is fortified, and has been used as a state-prison.

BERLEPSH, běr lěpsh, EMILIE VON: b. Gotha, Germany, 1757: author, remarkable for the purity of her German. She published Miscellanies in Prose and Verse (1787), highly esteemed; and Caledonia (1802), after her return from a journey through Scotland.

BERLICHINGEN, bĕr-lik'ing-én, GOETZ or GOTTFRIED VON of the Iron Hand': d. 1562, July 23: German knight who may, with Ulrich von Hutten, be considered as the last worthy representative of the chivalry of the middle ages, then expiring. He was born at Jaxthausen, Würtemberg, in the ancestral castle of his family, which may be traced back into the 10th c. His education was conducted by his uncle Kuno, with whom he attended the diet of Worms, 1495. He gratified his passion for war at first by taking part in several of the quarrels between German princes, and at the siege of Landshut lost his right hand, which was replaced by one of iron, yet shown at Jaxthausen. When the general peace of the country had been established under Maximilian I., Goetz retired to his castle. But a restless spirit, and the general turbulence of the time, involved him in continual feuds with the neighboring barons and free cities, in which he showed a mixture of lawless daring and chivalrous magnanimity. Having joined Duke Ulrich of Würtemberg against the Swabian league, on the duke's expulsion, he was taken prisoner, and had to pay a ransom of 2,000 florius. In the Peasants' war, 1525, he took part with the insurgents, and was chosen leader of a part of their forces. In his narrative, he ascribes this step to compulsion; more likely it was his own restless and turbulent spirit, and a desire for revenge on

BERLICHINGEN-BERLIER.

his old enemies of the Swabian league. At the unfortunate issue of the war, he at first made his escape, but was afterwards fallen upon unawares by a band of leaguers, who extorted an oath that he would appear before the league when summoned. Accordingly he had to appear at Augsburg, where he was kept in arrest for several years, and at last sentenced to perpetual imprisonment in his own castle and, in case of his breaking this condition, to a fine of 20,000 florins. He passed eleven years in this state, and was only pardoned on the dissolution of the league. He afterwards took part in campaigns in Hungary and in France. He wrote an account of his own life, pub. by Pistorius (Nürn. 1731; Bresl. 1813), which furnishes an excellent picture of the social life and manners of the period, and on which Goethe grounded his drama of Goetz von B., translated by Sir Walter Scott.

BERLICHINGEN, JOSEPH FRIEDRICH ANTON, Count VON: 1759-1832; b. Tyrnau: Hungarian officer and author; served in the Austrian army against the Turks in the campaigns of 1788 and 1789. In 1790, he abandoned the military career, established himself in the midst of his vast domains, which he preserved from the French invasion, and, at the period of mediatization, he saw the greater part of his lands pass under the sovereignty of the king of Würtemberg, who appointed him member of the cabinet council, count, etc. After 1818, B. withdrew from all concern in public affairs, busying himself in translating into Latin verse Goethe's Hermann and Dorothea (Tubingen, 1825).

BERLIER, ber-le-a', THEOPHILE: 1761-1840; b. Dijon, France: jurist and statesman. Elected member of the Convention (1792-95) by the dept. of Côte-d'Or, ho voted for the death of Louis XVI., became a member of the committee of public safety, and after the fall of Robespierre, proposed the suppression of the revolutionary tribunal. He was re-elected to the Council of Five Hundred, became member of the cabinet council, was active in the compilation of the civil code, and received the title of count of the empire. Being secretary of the provislonal government in 1815, he was banished soon afterwards as a regicide, and retired to Brussels until the revolution of 1830, when he returned to France. During his exile he applied himself to the study of history, and published his Historical Abstract of Ancient Gaul before Cæsar (1822), and War of the Gauls (1825).

BERLIN, ber-lin: city, cap. of Green Lake co., Wis.; 96 m. from Milwaukee; on Fox river, and on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad; and connected with Green Bay by steamboat. It is in a good dairy district, and has a granite quarry, flouring mills, and various factories. B. has 1 daily, 2 weekly, and 1 monthly periodicals, a high school, and 2 national banks (cap. $100,000). Pop. (1880) 3,353; (1890) 4,149.

BERLIN, n. bér·lin' or berlin: a kind of carriage first made in Berlin: ADJ. denoting a kind of variously colored worsted for fancy-work.

BERLIN, ber'lin: cap. of Prussia, and seat of the imperial govt. of Germany, one of the finest and most important cities of Europe; on the river Spree, lat. 52° 30′ n., long. 13° 24' e. The city is built upon a flat sandy plain, which, though cultivated, is far from fertile. The Spree, at this place about 200 ft. wide, with a current so sluggish as scarcely to be perceptible, divides the city into two nearly equal parts, and communicates with the Oder and the Baltic by canals. A more unlikely site, in some respects, could hardly have been selected for a city, as from its flatness, and the sandy character of the soil, much inconvenience results to the inhabitants: in summer, the heat reflected from the sand is very intense, and clouds of dust rise continually; while in winter the cold is equally great. There being little or no declivity, water stagnates in the streets, producing ill effects. In the Friedrich's-strasse, about 2 m. long, there is not a foot of descent from one end to the other. Notwithstanding these natural disadvantages the advance of the city, especially in late years, has been extraordinary. In 1861, it covered 14,000 acres; in 1871 its area was 24,000 acres. Although, as far back as the 13th c., the central part of the present city was inhabited, B. was long little more than a fishing-village; it was not till the great elector, Frederick-William (1640-88) had united the separate duchies of which Prussia is now formed, that B. became of consequence as the most central town, and the capital of a large state. His successor, Frederick I., first king of Prussia, imitated his predecessor in enlarging and beautifying the capital; and at the close of his reign, in the end of the 17th c., the population numbered about 50,000. In the next century, it received accessions of French and Bohemian colonists, driven into exile by religious persecution. Every inducement was then held out to bring foreigners to settle in the rising city. Under Frederick the Great, B. continued to prosper. At his death, the inhabitants numbered 145,000. After the peace of 1815, B. increased with extraordinary rapidity, and, being the seat of government, a focus of the arts and sciences, and a great centre of commercial enterprise, it has gradually risen to a position which entitles it to rank as the metropolis of the German empire.

The centre of the city is now devoted almost exclusively to commerce, and round this part, extending considerably beyond the city boundaries, are congregated the residences of the citizens. Small towns and villages are gradually being incorporated with the great city; Moabit has already disappeared as a separate community, and Charlottenburg, a town of 18,000 inhabitants, is likely soon to follow. B. consists of 16 different quarters and six suburbs, contain ing about 560 streets, 65 squares, 700 public buildings (including 60 churches), and 26,000 private houses (comprising 305,000 dwellings or suites of apartments). The houses are built of brick, plastered or stuccoed outside, and they

BERLIN.

soon acquire a faded appearance. The style of these has very much altered since 1864. Prior to that, the greater portion of the houses were of one, two, or three stories, but these are fast giving way to houses of four, five, and more stories, the larger predominating. The increase in the value of house-property has been enormous, and the result is that abt. one-tenth of the people are driven to take up their abode in cellars underground. More than 63,000 families live in dwellings of one room; in 1887 one house in Ackerstrasse harbored no fewer than 1,000 persons. B. contains many very fine buildings. Of these may be mentioned the Royal Palace, the Emperor's Palace, and that of the crown prince; the Royal Library, with upward of 1,000,000 vols. and 30,000 MSS.; the museums, the Arsenal, and the Guard-house. Most of those named are situated in the street Unter den Linden' (so called from its double avenue of limes), one of the finest and most spacious streets in Europe. The city is further adorned throughout with numerous statues of military heroes, the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, by Rauch, being the most remarkable. In regard to educational institutions, B. has 14 gymnasia, 8 real gymnasia, 55 higher girls' schools, 3 seminaries, 213 elementary schools with 170,000 pupils. Beside these and many special schools (for medicine, mining, military science, architecture, etc.), there are between 50 and 60 kindergärten. The museum (old and new) and the gallery of paintings are among the most important in Europe. The University, established 1810, has a very high reputation. Among the professors who have rendered it famous are the names of Fichte, Hegel, and Schelling. The number of students attending it averages about 6,000. Among the numerous institutions of B. are the Acad. of Sciences, by far the most important of the kind in Germany; the Acad. of Architecture; the naval and engineering colleges; several seminaries for teachers and missionaries; asylumns for the deaf, dumb and blind; besides many learned societies. There are in all 20 theatres in Berlin. About 88 per cent. of the pop. are Protestant, 7 per cent. Rom. Cath., and 5 per cent. Jews. Church-going, however, seems much neglected: of the total number of Protestants, fewer than 2 per cent., on an average, attend divine worship on Sundays.

The Old Museum contains antiquarian specimens, collections of coins, the gallery of ancient sculpture, the picture gallery, with about 1,500 paintings. The New Museum contains a very extensive and valuable collection of casts arranged in 12 saloons; the Egyptian Museum, a fine collection of engravings numbering upwards of 500,000, etc. Outside the celebrated Brandenburg Gate (erected in imitation of the Propylæa at Athens, 70 ft. high, and 200 ft. wide) extends the Thiergarten, the largest and most important park near the town. To the s.w. of this lies the Zoological Garden, recently considerably extended. Other places of interest worthy of mention are the aquarium, the new synagogue, the exchange, the opera-house, the royal château of Monbijou, the Warrior's Monument, and

BERLIN BLUE-BERMUDA GRASS.

the Monument of Victory, 190 ft. high, recently erected in commemoration of the great victories of 1870-71, etc.

The commerce and manufactures of B. have increased so rapidly of late years, that it now ranks among the most important mercantile places of continental Europe. Staple commodities are grain, spirits, and wool. Principal branches of industry are engine-building, which gives employment to 14,700 workers, iron-casting, and the manufac ture of woolen and silk goods, and fancy articles; calicoprinting is also largely engaged in. In respect of its publishing trade, B. now holds the second rank among German cities. In 1875, there appeared 410 journals, of which 33 were daily papers. Pop. (1858) 455,000; (1871) 825,389, including 21,000 soldiers; (1890) 1,574,485.

BERLIN, or PRUSSIAN, BLUE: see BLUE.

BERLIN DECREES: see CONTINENTAL SYSTEM. BERLIN SPIRIT: a coarse whisky made chiefly from beetroot, potatoes, etc.: see DISTILLATION.

BERLIOZ, běr le-o', HECTOR: 1803, Dec. 11-1869, Mar. 9; b. La-Côte-St.-André, dept. of Isère, France; son of a physician: fertile musical composer. He studied in Paris. at the Conservatoire de Musique, winning 1828 the second prize, and 1830 the first. His works are very numerous: among the most successful are the symphonies of Harold, Romeo et Juliette, and the Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale, the requiem for Gen. Damrémont, 1837; the overture to Carnaval Romain, and the Hymne à la France, performed 1844. In 1839, he was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. The peculiarity of his style is his endeavor to make instrumental music the exponent of particular feelings as well as general emotions. As to the merit of this notion, critics differ, some deeming it to lead to incoherence; while others rank B. the chief of the romantic school.

BERM, n. berm [F. berme: Ger. brame]: in fort., a path or space of ground from 3 to 5 ft. in width left between the exterior slope of the parapet and the ditch; a narrow shelf of ground between any two earthen slopes; the bench or bank of a canal opposite the towing-path.

BERMEJO, or VERMEJO: important affluent of the Paraguay (q.v.).

BERMONDSEY, ber'mond-zi: a s.e. suburb of London, on the s. bank of the Thames: traversed by the Greenwich railway. It has extensive tan-yards and wharfs. Pop. of parish (1881) 86,602; (1891) 84,688.

BERMUDA GRASS, ber-mu'da (Cynodon dactylon): low, creeping perennial grass, native of Bermuda. It produces short leaves at the base, and sends up slender, nearly leafless culms, having 3-5 slender, diverging spikes at the summit. See CYNODON. B. G. endures extremes of heat It is conand drought, but the tops are killed by frost. sidered worthless at the n.; but in portions of the s. is valued for pasture, hay, and for preventing embankments, levees, and hillsides from washing. It seldom seeds in the United States, but is propagated by sowing pieces of the