BADRINATH, a town and celebrated temple in Hindxi- stan, in the British district of Garhwal, situate on the right bank of the Vishnuganga, a tributary of the Alaknanda River, in the middle of a valley nearly 4 miles in length, and 1 in breadth, in 30 44 N. lat. and 79 32 E. long. The town is small, containing only twenty or thirty huts, in which reside the Brahmans and the attendants on the temple. The building, however, which is considered a place of high sanctity, by no means corresponds to its great celebrity. It is about 40 or 50 feet in height, built in the form of a cone, with a small cupola, on the top of which is a gilt ball and spire, and contains the shrine of Badrinath, dedicated to an incarnation of Vishnu. The principal idol is of black stone, and is 3 feet in height. Badrinath is the favourite resort of pilgrims from all parts of India. In ordinary years the number varies from 7000 to 10,000 ; but every twelfth year, when the festival of Kumbh Meld is celebrated, the concourse of persons is said to be 50,000. In addition to the gifts of votaries, the temple enjoys a further source of revenue from the rents of villages assigned by former Rajas. Some years ago the temple was shat tered by an earthquake, and has only been partially restored. It is situate among mountains rising 23,000 feet above the level of the sea. Elevation of the site of the temple, 10,294 feet.
BAENA, a town of Spain, in the province of Cordova, 8 leagues S.E. of the city. It is picturesquely situated, near the River Marbello, on the slope of a hill crowned with a castle, which formerly belonged to Gonzalo de Cordova, and is now the property of the Altamira family. It has four parish churches and three schools, one of which, exclusively for girls, has a high reputation in the province. The education, which is conducted by sisters of charity, does not go beyond reading, writing, arithmetic, and religious instruction. Grain and oil are the principal articles of commerce. The site of the Roman town (Baniana or Biniam) can still be traced, and various antiquities are frequently met with. A subterranean vault was discovered in 1833, containing twelve cinerary urns, with inscriptions commemorating various members of the Pompeian family. In 1292 Mahomet Ibn Aljama vainly besieged the city, the defence of which on that occasion is commemorated by the five Moorish heads in its coat-of-arms. Baena is the birthplace of Juan de Penalosa. Population, about 12,000.
{larger|BAEZA}} (ancient Beatia), a city of Spain, in the province of Jaen. It stands on a considerable elevation, about 3 miles from the right bank of the Guadalquivir. Lat. 37 59 N., long. 3 28 W. It is well built, and has a cathedral and several fine public buildings, among which the most worthy of notice are the university (founded in 1533, and for some time defunct), the oratorio of the order of St Philip Neri, and the marble fountain with Caryatides in the Plaza de la Constitucion. The Cordova and Ubeda gates, and the arch of Baeza, are among the remains of its old fortifications, which were of great strength. There is little trade or manufacture here. The principal productions of the neighbourhood are grain and oil. The red dye made from the native cochineal was formerly celebrated. In the time of the Moors Baeza was a flourishing city of 50,000 inhabitants, and the capital of a separate kingdom, but it never recovered from the sack of 1239. It is the birthplace of Caspar Becerra, the celebrated sculptor and painter. Present population, about 11,000.
BAFFIN, William, an able and enterprising English seaman, born in 1584. Nothing is known of his early life, and his fame rests entirely on the voyages undertaken by him during the years 1612 to 161 6. In 1612 he accom panied Captain James Hall on his fourth voyage in search of the north-west passage, and in 1613 he commanded one of the English vessels engaged in the Greenland fisheries. In 1615 and 1616 Baffin made two voyages in the "Discovery" under Bylot, and on the second of them explored the large / inlet, afterwards called Baffin s Bay. The only accounts of these expeditions were given by Baffin himself, and later investigators have thoroughly confirmed his descriptions. In 1618 he is said to have been mate in a voyage to Surat and Mocha; and in 1621 he was killed while attempting, in conjunction with a Persian force, to expel the Portuguese from Ormuz. (See Purchas s Pilgrims and the publica tions of the Hakluyt Society for 1849.)
BAFFIN'S BAY, or Baffin's Sea, is properly neither a bay nor a sea, but part of the long strait or inlet which separates Greenland from the N.E. coast of America. It extends from about 69 to 78 N. lat., and from 54 to 72 W. long, and is connected by Lancaster Sound and Barrow s Strait with the Arctic Ocean. It was first explored in 1616 by the English navigator Baffin. The part of the strait to the south is known as Davis Strait, and the narrower channel to the north takes the name of Smith s Sound. The coasts are generally high and precipitous, and are deeply indented with gulfs. The most important island on the east side is Disco to the north of Disco Bay, where there is a Danish settlement. During the greater part of the year this sea is frozen, and it is navigable only from the beginning of June to the end of September. It is annually visited by vessels engaged in the whale and seal fishery. (See Petermann s Mittheil., 1873, map 13, and Markham s Cruise in Baffin s Bay.)
BAGATELLE is an indoor game, probably derived from the old English shovel-board, described by Cotton in his Compleat Gamester (1674), though many consider that its invention is due to the French. Like billiards, chess, and draughts, its origin is not certainly known ; but whatever its genesis, its name is undoubtedly French. Bagatelle games are played on an oblong board, usually from six to ten feet in length, by a foot and a half to three feet in width. The bed of the table, which is ordinarily of slate or mahogany, is covered with fine green cloth ; and at the upper end, which is rounded, there are nine holes or cups,, numbered from 1 to 9, thus
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5
3 2
8 9 7
4 6
1
Into these holes ivory balls are driven by a cue in all respects similar to the instrument used in Billiards, which see. The sides and circular end of the table are furnished with elastic cushions ; and in some of the newer tables there is also a pocket on each side. Nine balls eight white, and one red or black (sometimes four white, four red, and one black) are used in the most popular of the several bagatelle games.
The ordinary game is played according to the following rules:
1. Any number of persons may play, whether singly or in sides. 2. Each player strings for lead, and he who lodges his ball in the highest hole begins. In the case of partners, one only on each side need string for the lead. 3. The player who wins the lead takes the nine balls and plays them one after the other up the table from baulk, first striking at the red ball which is placed on the spot about a foot below the 1 hole. The object of the player is to lodge his own, or the coloured ball, or both balls, in the holes. 4. The red ball counts double when it is played into a hole; and for each white ball lodged or holed, a corresponding number of points is scored to that marked
