his American campaign in his own defense, throwing the blame for his failure on the British cabinet. He also wrote several dramas. He died at London in 1792.
Bur′gundy (bûr′gŭn-dĭ), the name, at different times, of three kingdoms, of a duchy and lastly of a French province. The first kingdom was formed about 406, by the Burgundians, a German people who crossed the Rhine and extended their dominion over the Saône and the Rhone. They were converted to Christianity in eight days. About 100 years later they were conquered by the Franks, but the country still kept its name. About 300 years later, when the Carlovingian Empire was broken up, two kingdoms were formed from a part of old Burgundy, and called Lower Burgundy and Upper Burgundy, which afterward were united and finally fell under the power of Germany. The remaining portion of old Burgundy meanwhile had become a powerful duchy of France. In the first family of the dukes of Burgundy there was a succession of twelve, who were among the most powerful princes of their time and were noted for their loyalty to the French kings. This family came to an end, and soon after the duchy was given by the French King John, to his son, Philip the Bold. This duke and his three successors, John the Fearless, Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, are among the most famous historical characters of their age. The last two had royal power, and owned, besides Burgundy, the Netherlands and several other countries. After the death of Charles the Bold, the duchy of Burgundy became a province of France. This province included the present departments of Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne, with parts of adjoining departments. Burgundy wines, which are famous, are produced in these departments and named after the old province.
Burke, Edmund, a British statesman and
author, was born at Dublin, Ireland, in 1729.
EDMUND BURKE
He graduated at
Dublin University,
and proceeded to
London to study
law, but
abandoned it for literary
work. He
wrote two works
in 1756, the most
famous of which
is a study of the
origin of our ideas
of The Sublime
and the Beautiful.
Soon after he
became acquainted
with the
celebrated Dr. Samuel
Johnson, who said
of him that “no
man of sense could meet Mr. Burke by accident
under a gateway, to avoid a shower,
without being convinced that he was the first
man in England.” In 1765 he entered parliament,
and at once became prominent because
of his wide knowledge and learned speeches.
In 1769 and 1770 he published two pamphlets
which were widely read, called The Present
State of the Nation and Thoughts on the
Cause of the Present Discontent. He was a
great student of American affairs, and his
papers and speeches during the Revolutionary
War made him unpopular with many
people in England. At the same time he
was greatly interested in English affairs
in India, and led the trial of Warren Hastings
for corrupt government in India.
When the French Revolution broke out,
Burke at first favored it; but when he saw
the leaders were becoming lawless and
violent, he opposed it. His Reflections on
the French Revolution was the most popular
paper on the subject written in England;
but it separated him from his former political
friends, who were strongly in favor of the
Revolutionary party. He wrote many other
papers, but left Parliament in 1794. He
died in 1797. Burke was one of the most
famous orators England ever had, and his
writings are wonderful examples of
beautiful English.
Burlesques, a class of literary or dramatic compositions of the nature of parody or travesty, which date from classic times, and have had a considerable vogue in Italy whence the term (from the word burla which means raillery, mockery or jesting) is derived. Burlesques have also been much written in France, in England and in this country, the design of their authors being to travesty some well-known work, or to present a subject in a humorous or even a ludicrous aspect and treating it in a light, playful, jocose manner. Ancient examples can be traced back to the era of Aristophanes and to Hipponax of Ephesus (6th century B. C.), the latter being deemed the father of burlesque poetry. Its modern examples are those found in Italian literature, in the writing especially of Berni and Gozzi, whose most successful imitators were Sarrazin and Scarron in France, Chaucer, Beaumont and Fletcher, Butler in his Hudibras, the brothers Horace and James Smith in their Rejected Addresses. In dramatic burlesques the most notable example is Molière in France, and of the lighter order, Burnand, W. S. Gilbert and Plandie in England. The Gil Blas of Le Sage and Don Quixote of Cervantes are renowned examples of burlesque. In England many instances of burlesque and diverting poetic effusion are to be met with in the poems of Thomas Hood, Praed, Cocker, Calverley and Dobson. In this country plentiful examples will be found in the writings of Dr. O. W. Holmes and in
