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BELLUNO BELOE 509 academy. The cold reception of his Pierre le Cruel (1772) gave a shock to his health from which he never recovered. He was in great pecuniary distress toward the close of his life, and Louis XVI. sent 1,000 francs for his relief. A complete edition of his works was published in 6 vols. (Paris, 1779-'87), and a selected edi- tion in 2 vols., with a biographical notice by L. S. Auger (1811). BEI.I.l V>. I. A province of Venetia, Italy, bounded IT. and W. by Tyrol, E. by the prov- ince of Udine, and S. by Treviso and Vicenza ; area, 1,263 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 175,370. It is situated amid the rugged ramifications of the Trentine and Oarnic Alps. The principal river, the Piave, is united by a canal with the Taglia- mento. The pasturage on the mountains, the extensive forests, and the rearing of cattle and sheep, and to some extent the production of wine, are the main sources of prosperity. The grain crops are limited, and the mineral wealth, though extensive, is not sufficiently developed. The chief article of export is timber. The prov- ince is divided into the districts of Pieve di Ca- dore, Agordo, Auronzo, Belluno, Feltre, Fon- zaso, and Longarone. IL A walled city (anc. Bellunum or Eelunum), capital of the province, at the junction of the Ardo with the Piave, 48 m. N. of Venice ; pop. about 14,000. The city is built on a promontory and flanked by a pre- cipitous hill, the scenery being remarkably fine. The cathedral, built by Palladio, contains a bust of Pope Gregory XVI., who was born here, and pictures by Bassano and other artists. In front of the Gothic church of St. Stephen is a Roman sarcophagus of the 4th century. There are 12 other churches, two convents, an academy of science and arts, a superior gym- nasium, a chamber for commerce and industry, a fine theatre, and an aqueduct 6 m. long. A bishop, formerly called count of Belluno, re- sides here, and the episcopal chapter or council possess an excellent library. A road leads from the city to the Agordo copper mines. There is an active trade in timber, and silk and other articles are manufactured here. The title of duke of Belluno, conferred on the French marshal Victor, is derived from this town. BEL-MERODACH. See MEEODAOH. BELJIONT, an E. county of Ohio, separated from West Virginia by the Ohio river, several affluents of which drain it ; area, 520 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 39,714. The surface is uneven and hilly, and the soil excellent. Coal is found in large quantities. The Central Ohio division of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and the Cleveland and Pittsburgh railroad traverse the county. The chief productions in 1870 were 305,205 bushels of wheat, 1,181,615 of Indian corn, 481,803 of oats, 48,763 of barley, 142,569 of potatoes, 1,480,478 Ibs. of tobacco, 674,178 of wool, 830,906 of butter, and 69,885 gallons of sorghum molasses; value of orchard prod- ucts, $129,582. There were 9,207 horses, 7,718 milch cows, 11,883 other cattle, 162,787 sheep, and 22,991 swine. Capital, St. Clairsville. BELMONT, a village of S. E. Missouri, in Mis- sissippi county, on the Mississippi river, oppo- site Columbus, Ky. A battle was fought here, Nov. 7, 1861, between the Union forces under Gen. Grant, and the confederates under Gen. Pillow. Columbus was occupied by a strong confederate force under Gen. Polk. On the 6th Gen. Grant with 2,800 men dropped down the river from Cairo to make a reconnoissance toward Columbus. He landed near Belmont^ which was occupied by a small body of con- federates, who were soon driven from their position. Gen. Polk sent Gen. Pillow with six regiments across the river, and with two others himself undertook to cut Grant off from his transports. Belmont, being commanded by the guns at Columbus, was untenable, and Grant, being greatly outnumbered, fell back toward his transports, repelling several vigor- ous attacks, and reembarked, leaving the ene- my in possession of the field. The Union loss was 84 killed, 288 wounded, and 235 miss- ing. The total confederate loss is not officially stated ; in four regiments, out of the six actual- ly engaged, it was 65 killed, 187 wounded, and 108 missing. BELMONTET, Louis, a French poet, born at Montauban, March 26, 1799. He is the son of a Sardinian soldier who gallicized his name of Belmonte and settled in southern France. He early glorified the Bonaparte dynasty, and his ode on the funeral of Napoleon I. (1821) passed through several editions. In Paris he acquired prominence among the followers of Victor Hugo by his poems Les tristes (1824), Le souper d'Auguste (1828), and by his tragedy, in conjunction with Alexandre Soumet, Une fete de Neron (1829), which met with great success and was reproduced in 1861. For a time he supported himself as a teacher in Paris, and though he opposed Louis Philippe, and continued to worship the Napoleons, especially in an ode DEmpereur n'eat pas mart (1841), he accepted an office from the king, and in 1846 a decoration for his Nonibres (Cor (2d ed., 1855), a didactic poem. From 1852 to 1870 he was a member of the chamber of deputies. He has written biographies of Louis Napoleon and Joseph Bonaparte, and edited the memoirs of Queen Hortense, and has composed over 20 odes in honor of imperialism and its achieve- ments. His other productions include Le luxe des femmes et la jeunesse de Fepoque*(185S), Lumieres de la vie (1861), and Poesies des larmes (1865). BELOE, William, an English clergyman and author, born at Norwich in 1756, died April 11, 1817. He studied under Dr. Parr and at Cambridge university, for a time assisted Dr, Parr in a school at Norwich, and was after* ward curate and vicar of Eltham. Finding his income insufficient, he removed to London, and for several years occupied himself by writing for periodicals. During the American revolu- tion he advocated with his pen the cause of the colonies, but when the French revolution