operations. He was a member of the commission appointed to confer with the Allied Powers in 1917, naval representative in drawing up terms of the Armistice, and naval adviser to the American Peace Commission. He was retired automatically in 1919 and made admiral for life.
BENTLEY, JOHN FRANCIS (1839-1902), English architect, was born at Doncaster in 1839, and commenced his career as
an engineer, later passing three years in a builder's office, a
course of practical training the benefits of which are evident
throughout his work. He subsequently entered the office of
Henry Glutton whose practice was very largely in an ecclesias-
tical direction, and where young Bentley's bias towards that
French Gothic treatment of design, by which his earlier work
was distinguished, found support and encouragement. Estab-
lished on his own account in 1862, commissions flowed in for
work not only of an architectural nature but also giving scope
for his talent in designing for the subsidiary arts, such as stained
glass, goldsmith's work, embroidery and the like. His earliest
important undertaking was the enlargement and decorative
treatment of St. Frajicis' church, Netting Hill, followed by
other ecclesiastical work in London and the country, in which
he shows an increasing tendency towards a more English form
of expression in his design. The beautiful seminary of St.
Thomas at Hammersmith, noteworthy not only for its archi-
tectural treatment but, as usual with Bentley, for a carefully
conceived and thought-out plan, was followed by St. John's
school at Beaumont, one of the best examples of his power to
deal with design based on English Renaissance of the iyth cen-
tury. For many years he was occupied in the completion of
Carlton Towers, the seat of Lord Beaumont, left unfinished on
the death of E. W. Pugin. On the decorative work of this fine
building he spent during the 15 years he was engaged on it an
immense amount of thought and invention, and with marked
success. A very excellent example of Bentley's skill in adapting
mediaeval ideals to the circumstances of our times, while yet
infusing them with an individuality that lifts them above the
level of sheer copyism, is to be found in Holy Rood church,
built by him 1892, in which, as regards the interior, he gave
free rein to his sense of colour as a final complement of his
design.
It was after 30 years of strenuous work at his art, and in his 56th year that Bentley his claims strongly supported by the most eminent of his fellow architects was appointed by Car- dinal Vaughan as architect of the proposed Roman Catholic cathedral in Westminster, his unremitting and enthusiastic labour upon which occupied the remainder of his life. Already, before his selection by the authorities, it had been decided that for the new building it would be far from desirable to adopt Gothic principles and traditions. The principal factor in com- ing to this conclusion was the obvious danger of an unpleasant competition, both as regards size and aesthetic treatment, with the closely neighbouring Westminster Abbey. To equip himself thoroughly for dealing with the problem in terms of the Byzan- tine style settled upon, Bentley determined, as a preliminary, to study his subject at first hand in Italy and Constantinople, and in 1894 he spent several months in northern Italy and Rome with this end in view. From a series of sketch plans pre- pared on his return was gradually evolved that adopted for the cathedral as now built, a masterly treatment of a difficult prob- lem. The exterior dimensions of the building are 360 ft. in length by 156 ft. in width, the interior of the nave being 232 ft. long, and 60 ft. wide. The three bays into which its length is divided are covered with saucer-shaped domes 112 ft. in height, and springing from enormous piers. The aisles, narrow, as being used for processional purposes only, give on to the seven side-chapels. The truly imposing character of the building was perhaps more to be appreciated when its walls, piers and arches were in their undecorated state, and full value was given to its 342 ft. of length, and to a vast nave higher and wider than any in England. It was always intended that the whole of .the inside wall and arch surface should be clothed with marble and mosaic, and to no one could so sumptuous a manner of vesting his building in rich apparel appeal more than to Bentley, and in no hands could it have been placed with more hope of success. There was, however, much difficulty in arriving at a scheme for the comprehensive treatment of the whole of the vast building, which should be devotional and symbolic, and above all possess a unity of conception. Bentley himself prepared a very thoughtful and complete proposal, partly embodied in the mosaics so far executed, but, unfortunately, only partly so.
In May 1898 he visited the United States to consult as to the proposed cathedral at Brooklyn, and for this he prepared a design, in which he, this time, reverted to Gothic, and which he left incomplete at his death. He died after seeing all but carried into effect and full realization his dream of a church building which should in a grand manner show forth all of the beauty and holiness of that religion to which he had as a young man given himself, and which was throughout his life, in all the work of his genius, his inspiration. On the eve of being presented with the gold medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects he died at Clapham March 2 1902.
See W. de l'H6pital, Westminster Cathedral and its Architect (1920); T. J. Willson, " Memoir," Journal of R.I. B. A. (III. Series, vol. ix). (C. H. To.)
- s4 3#
BERCHTOLD VON UND ZU UNGARSCHITZ, LEOPOLD, COUNT (1863- ), Austro-Hungarian statesman. The Berchtolds are a Moravian noble family whose patent of knighthood and nobility of the empire dates from 1616. They became counts in 1673, and acquired their Hungarian rights in 1751. Count Leopold Berchtold, born April 18 1863, was employed first in the Moravian Government, entered the service of the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office in 1893, and in 1894 was attached to the Paris embassy. In 1903 he went as councillor of legation to St. Petersburg, and in Dec. 1906 was appointed ambassador there. With the Russian court and the aristocratic society of St. Petersburg he maintained the best relations, but failed entirely in his zealous efforts to accommo- date the obviously increasing differences between Russian and Austro-Hungarian policy. He took a leading part in the negotia- tions preceding the crisis caused by the annexation of Bosnia- Herzegovina, which aimed at securing common action of the two powers in the Balkan question. It was at his chateau of Buchlau, in Moravia, that the fateful conference took place between Isvolski and Aehrenthal (Sept. 15 1908). At the time of the strained relations between the Cabinets of St. Petersburg and Vienna, which followed the annexation, and under the shadow of the personal feud between the two foreign ministers, the position of Berchtold at St. Peters- burg was extremely difficult. For months together he had to avoid all official intercourse with the Russian Foreign Office; and it was not till the spring of 1909, when the violence of the quarrel had abated, that he could resume his efforts to improve the relations between the two states. His success was only temporary; the tension, indeed, for a time relaxed; but gradually it increased, and during the last months of his resi- dence in St. Petersburg became extreme. In March 1911 Count Berchtold was recalled from Russia, and on Feb. 17 1912 he was, against his own will, appointed Aehrenthal's suc- cessor as Foreign Minister.
His efforts were primarily directed towards securing the position of Austria-Hungary in the Balkan Peninsula. He wished to bind Bulgaria more closely to the Triple Alliance; to strengthen the ties of the Habsburg Monarchy with Rumania and Turkey; to foil the aspirations of Serbia for an extension of territory. To the idea of solving the questions at issue with this latter power with the sword he was at this time opposed, con- templating a peaceful solution of the Balkan question by agree- ment with Russia and the Western Powers. In this sense he spoke at the first session of the Delegations in which he took part as Foreign Minister. But the increasingly obvious efforts of Russian statesmen .to weaken the influence of Austria- Hungary in the Balkans, the aggressive activities of the Serbs, and the ambiguous behaviour of Bulgaria forced him to change his attitude, especially as he failed to receive from the Western
