BEISA, bi'sa. A large antelope of Abyssinia (Oryx beisa), allied to the gemsbok, but lacking the tuft of hair on the throat. See Gemsbok; Oryx; and Plate of Antelopes.
BEISSEL, bi'sfl, Johann Conrad (1690-
1768). A German mystic, prominent as the
founder of the sect of "Seventh-Day Dunkers,"
and of the Ephrata Community. He was born
at Eberbach in the Palatinate, and learned the
trade of a baker. He also studied music and
became a competent violinist. After he had
taken a course in theology at Halle he was ban-
ished (in 1720) for holding Pietistie and In-
spirational views, emigrated to America, and
with a few friends settled in Germantown, Pa.
In the following year he became a hermit at Mill
Creek, Lancaster County, Pa., where he remained
until 1724, when he returned to Germantown,
and was there baptized as a Dunker. He soon
began to preach doctrines distasteful to the
Dunkers, especially with regard to celibacy and
the observance of Saturday as Sabbatli, and in
May, 1725, founded the sect of Seventh-Day
Dunkers. He again became a hermit in 1732,
this time on the river Cocalico; but his a.lherents
followed him to his retreat, and in 1735 he
founded the "Order of the Solitary," and estab-
lished the celebrated settlement at Ephrata, Pa.
(q.v.), at whose head he remained until his
death. Here he put into practice many of his
socialistic, communistic, and religious theories.
He published various collections of hymns, including. The Voice of the Lonely and Forsaken Turtle Dove — that is, of the Christian Church; by a Peaceable Pilgrim Traveling to Tranquil Eternity (1747); and Paradisiacal Wonder-Play (1766), which contains the sect's quaint "Brother Song" of 215 stanzas, and its "Sister Song" of 250 stanzas. He was also the author of the first volume of German poetry published in America, Göttliche Liebes- und Lobestöne (Philadelphia, 1730). By his fellow-religionists he was known as "Friedsam," and the inscription on his tombstone at Ephrata reads: "Here rests an outgrowth of the love of God, 'Friedsam,' a Solitary Brother, afterwards a leader, ruler, teacher of the Solitary and the Congregation of Christ in and around Ephrata." For a partial account of his life, consult the curious Chronicon Ephratense (Ephrata, 1786).
BEIT, bat. An Arabic word signifying house,
abode, or place, the equivalent of which in Hebrew is beth. Thus, in Arabic we have beit-al-haram, the house of the sanctuary, or the sacred house, the name of the central sanctuary at Mecca; and in Hebrew Beth-el, house of God, Beth-abara, place of fords, etc.
BEIT-EL-FAKIH, bat'el-fa'k^ (Ar. beit,
honae + el, the + faqih, teacher, schoolmaster).
A fortified town of Asiatic Turkey, in the Vilayet
of Hodeida, formerly Yemen, situated about 19
miles from the Red Sea. It was formerly the
chief centre of the coffee trade in Asia, and still
exports about 12,000,000 pounds annually. Popu-
lation about 8000.
BEITULLAH, bat'ul'la (Ar. beit, house +
Allah. God). The spacious building or temple
at Mecca which contains the Kaaba. See Mecca;
and Kaaba.
BEITZKE, bits'ke, Heinrich Ludwig (1798-
1867). A German politician and historian, born
at Muttrin (Pomerania). He served as a volun-
teer in the campaign of 1815, studied at the military schools of Coblenz and Mainz, entered the army as an officer in 1817, and retired in 1845 with the rank of major. In 1858 he was elected to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies. He published Geschichte der deutsehen Freiheitskriege in den Jahren 1813 und 1814 (1855) — an accurate and unprejudiced narrative, widely read; Geschichte des russischen Kriegs im Jahre 1812 (1856); Geschichte des Jahres 1815 (1865), and some other less important works.
BEJA, bii'zha (the Pax Julia of the ancients).
A town and seat of a bishopric in the Province of Alemtejo, Portugal, 36 miles south of Evora (Map: Portugal, B 3). It contains an interesting mediæval castle, a cathedral, the notable Church of Our Lady of the Conception, the remains of ancient fortifications, and a Roman aqueduct. Two fairs are held here annually. The city has a considerable trade in the cattle and agricultural products of the fertile region adjacent, and there are also tanneries and potteries. Population, in 1890, 8394; in 1900, 8895.
BE'JAN, or BA'JAN (Med. Lat. bejanus, Fr. bejaune, bec jaune, yellow beak, i.e. unfledged bird, sometimes beanus: ef. Ger. Gelbschnabel) . A name applied to freshmen in mediæval universities, and still surviving in Scotland. Bejaunia, or payment for 'first footing' by students on entering the university, was general in the Middle Ages, and was a part of a kind of initiative ceremony which included much horseplay, ending with a banquet. Often there was elected a mock 'abbot' of the Bejauni. These practices led to so much abuse that they were frequently a subject of university statutes, which, however, tended rather to regulation than to suppression of this form of hazing. For an account of the ceremonies consult Rashdall, Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1895).
BEJAPORE, be'ja-por'. See Bijapur.
BEJAR, ba'nar. An old town of .Spain, in the
Province of Salamanca, about 45 miles south of
the capital of the province (Map: Spain, C 2).
It is situated on the river Cuerpo de Hombre,
on a plateau 3105 feet above sea-level. There
are extensive cloth manufactures and tanneries,
and a considerable trade in wool. Bejar gives its
title to a ducal family, whose ancestral palace
within its walls, and the churches of San
Juan, Santa Maria, and El Salvador, are the
most pretentious buildings. There are warm
sulphur springs in the vicinity.
BEJART, ba'zhiir'. A family of French
comedians of the end of the Seventeenth Cen-
tury. They formed part of Molière's troupe.
One of them, Armande, was married to Molière
in 1662, and imbittered his last years by her
coquetries. See Molière.
BEJAS, ba'jas. Hamitic peoples between the
Nile, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Upper Egypt.
They are tall (1.708 m.) and muscular, with
black, almost woolly hair. Keane subdivides
them into Ahabdeh, Bishari, and Taga. See Africa.
BEKAA, bek'a-a. El (Heb., Ar., large valley). The Cœle-Syria of the ancients, the 'plain of Lebanon" of'the Old Testament. A beautiful and fertile elevated valley of Syria, situated between the nearly parallel ranges" of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains, and watered by
