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BUERILL BURSCHENSCHAFT 477 him poisoned ; but according to some authori- ties, Burrhus ordered his soldiers to congratu- late Nero upon the consummation of his matri- cide, shared in the spoils of Britannicus, and died a natural death. HI Klill.L, James, an American jurist, born in Providence, R. I., April 25, 1772, died in Washington, Dec. 25, 1 820. He graduated at Rhode Island college (now Brown university) in 1788, and in 1791 began the practice of the law. In 1797 he was elected attorney general of Rhode Island, and held the office till 1813, when the state of his health compelled him to resign. He became chief justice of the state in 1816, and in 1817 was elected senator in con- gress, and died before the expiration of his term. In the senate he was distinguished as an opponent of the Missouri compromise. Bl'RKITT, Elton, an American scholar and reformer, born in New Britain, Conn., Dec. 8, 1810. The son of a shoemaker, he was edu- cated in the common schools of his native vil- lage, and at the age of 17 was apprenticed to a blacksmith. A desire to read the Scriptures in the original led him to philological studies in the intervals of labor, and he soon mastered several languages. He removed to Worcester, Mass., to have the advantage of the library of the antiquarian society there, and while still plying his trade studied the principal ancient and modern languages, and became known as " the learned blacksmith." In 1844 he edited at Worcester the " Christian Citizen," a paper advocating a peaceful settlement of interna- tional difficulties. To the same end he deliv- ered many public lectures. He was also prom- inent as an advocate of temperance and of slavery abolition, and later of cheap ocean postage. In 1846 he went to England, where he formed the " League of Universal Brother- . hood," whose object was "to employ all legit- imate means for the abolition of war through- out the world." He was constantly engaged in writing and lecturing, and took a prominent part in all the European peace congresses. He was for several years consul at Birmingham, and returned to the United States after residing altogether nearly 25 years in England. He has published "Sparks from the Anvil" (Lon- don, 1848), "Miscellaneous Writings" (1850), " Olive Leaves " (1853), " Thoughts and Things at Home and Abroad" (Boston, 1854), "A Walk from John O'Groat's to Land's End" (1865), and "Lectures and Speeches" (1869). BURROUGHS, George, an American clergy- man, executed for witchcraft at Salem, Mass., Aug. 19, 1692. He graduated at Harvard col- lege in 1670, was a preacher at Falmonth (now Portland), Me., in 1676, and at Salem in 1680. In consequence of some dispute with his people, he returned to Falmouth in 1683; but when that town was destroyed by the Indians in 1090, he went back to Salem. Though a per- son of unblemished character, he became one of the victims of accusation by the confessing witches. It was testified that two of his wives had appeared to the witnesses, saying that he was the cause of their death, and threatening if he denied it to appear in court. He was also accused' of performing feats of extraordinary strength by diabolical assistance, and of having "tortured, afflicted, pined, consumed, wasted, and tormented " one Mary Wolcott. Although he asserted his innocence in such a way as to draw tears from the spectators, and recited the Lord's prayer, which it was supposed no witch or wizard could repeat without mistake, he was condemned. BURROUGHS, Stephen, an American adven- turer, born at Hanover, N. H., in 1765, died at Three Rivers, Canada, Jan. 28, 1840. At the age of 14 he ran away from home to join the army, but soon deserted. He entered Dart- month college, which, after committing nu- merous offences, he left clandestinely before graduating. Having been successively priva- teersman, ship's physician, and schoolmaster, he acted as pastor of a Congregational church in Pelham, Mass., for about six months, when he was convicted of passing counterfeit money, and imprisoned at Northampton. Having at- tempted to escape by firing the jail, he was removed to Castle island in Boston harbor, whence he effected his escape with seven other prisoners, but was retaken. Released from prison, he repaired to Canada, where for many years he was at the head of an associa- tion of counterfeiters. In the latter part of his life he reformed, entered the communion of the Roman Catholic church, and passed his last years in educating the sons of wealthy Canadians at his own residence, where he had a large and valuable library. Notwithstand- ing his previous life, he was esteemed and re- spected by all. His "Memoirs of my Own Life" (2 vols. in 1, Albany, 1811; Philadel- phia, 1848) was formerly a very popular book. It relates mainly to his early career. BURROUGHS, William, an American naval offi- cer, born at Kenderton, near Philadelphia, Oct. 6, 1785, died Sept. 5, 1813. He entered the navy as midshipman in 1800, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. On Sept. 5, 1813, be- ing in command of the sloop Enterprise, he en- countered off Portland, Me., the British brig Boxer, Lieut. Blyth, which was captured after a sharp engagement, in which Blyth was killed and Burroughs mortally wounded. The two commanders were buried side by side in Portland, and congress voted a gold medal to the nearest relatives of Burroughs. BURSCHEID, a town of Prussia, in the prov- ince of the Rhine, 18 m. S. E. of Diisseldorf ; pop. in 1871, 5,511. It has several silk manu- factories. BURSCUMSCHAFT (from BuncJie, a youth, a student), an association of German students, originally designed to regulate their social hab- its and to foster a spirit of nationality. The first organization was formed in 1815 by that portion of the students of Jena who had taken part in the German war of independence. Tii-