BETHSA'IDA (Syr., Heb., flshinp-place). The name of one or more places in Galilee, fre- quently mentioned in tlie Gospels. The Bethsaida to which Jesus withdrew after the death of .John the Baptist (Matt. xiv. 13), and near which He fed the five thousand (Mark vi. 31 ff . ; Luke ix. 10 fT.), was, douhtlesa, Bethsaida .Julias, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, a little to the east of w'here the Jordan enters the lake ( Map: Palestine, D 2). It was made into a city by Herod Philip, and named Julias after Julia, the daughter of Augustus. It is possible, though not probable, that there was a second Bethsaida west of the .Jordan and near the lake, to which JIark vi. 4.'5 might refer. Jesus frequently visited the place, and at least three of His disciples had their lionies there (John i. 44; xii. 21).
BETHSHE'MESH (Heb., house of the sun,
or sun town). The name given to several places
in the Old Testament, the most important of
which was a town situated in Judah given to the
Levites (Joshua xxi. IG), though subsequently
included in the territoi-y of Naphtali (Joshua xix. 38). It corresponds to the modern Ain Shems, about 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem, finely situated on the point of a low ridge, commanding an extensive view of the country. It is interesting as the place where the Ark first
rested after the Philistines had sent it back (I. Sani.vi. !)). One of Solomon's twelve purveyors resided at Bethshemesh (I. Kings iv. 9); and here was fought the battle between Judah and Israel, in which Jehoash captured Amaziah (II. Kings xiv. 11-13; II. Chron. xxv. 21-23). Bethshemesh was taken by the Philistines during the reign of Ahaz (II. Chron. xxviii. 18), and from that time disappears from history. The name indicates that it was a centre of sun-worship.
In Jeremiah (xliii. 13) there is an interesting
reference to the "pillars of Beth Shemesli, that
is in the land of Kgypt," which, as the Greek
translation shows, rendering "the pillars of Heliopolis that are at On," is intended for On in Lower Egypt. The pillars refer to the obelisks associated with the worship of Ra, the Egyptian sun-god.
BETHUNE, bft'tun'. A tovm in the De-
partment of Pas-de-Calais. France, 1)uilt on a
rock overlooking the river Brette, and the canals of Lawe and Aire, Hi miles north-northwest of Arras ( Map : France, J 1 ) . It is strongly fortified, the works having been begun by Vauban, who made it one of the strong places of Artoia. Its principal public buildings are the (Jothic Church of Saint Vaast, two hospitals, and a communal college. It has manufactures of linen and cloth, and a considerable trade in the agricultural produce of the surroinding country.
The first artesian wells are said to have been
bored here. Population, in 1890, 11,027.
BETHUNE, bctlioTTn'. Charles .Tames
Stewart (1838 — ). A Canadian clergyman and
entomologist. He was born at West Flamboro,
Ontario, and studied at Trinity College, Toronto. From 1802 to 1870 lie held several posts. In 1870 ho was apjiointed head.-niaster of Trinity College School. He was founder of the Ontario Entomological Society, and the first editor of The Canadian Jlntomoloiiist, the editorship ot which he resumed in 1880. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, and
was for five years president of the Entomological
Society of Canada.
BETHUNE, George Washington, D.D.
(1805-02). An American clergyman, born in
New York, and educated at Dickinson College and
Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1828 he
became pastor of a Dutch Reformed Church at
Rhinebeck, then at Utica, N. Y., and in 1834 in
Philadelphia. In 1840 he took charge of a new
congregation in Brookl}^l, X. Y'. ; ten years later
visited Italy to imjjrove his health, and in 1861
again went to Italy, where he died suddenly from
apoplexy. He was an eloquent preacher, accom-
plished scholar, fisherman, wit, and poet. He
published Lays of Love and Faith (Philadel-
phia, 1847); Orations and Discourses (1850);
Memoirs of Joanna liethune (1804). He edited
Walton's Complete Angler (London, 1847) and
7'/if British Female Poets (Philadelphia, 1848).
For biography, consult A. R. Van Nest (New
Y'ork, 1807). "
BETROTH'AL (from troth, a variant of
truth), or BETROTH'MENT. The mutual
plighting, or pledging, of troth. In modern Eng-
lish and American law, an engagement entered
into by a man and woman for tlieir future mar-
riage (q.v.). This may be, and usually is, a
private and informal transaction, constituting a
contract obligatory on both the parties, and
affording the usual remedy of an action for dam-
ages for its breach. See Breach of Promise,
under Breach.
The consideration for the contract is the mutual promises of the parties, and either party may call upon the other to fulfill the engagement by marriage at the time agreed upon, or, if no date be fixed, then within a reasonable time. In the Middle Ages, however, the betrothal was an important, if not an essential, part of the marriage transaction. It was usually of a ceremonial character, and numerous but ineffectual attempts were made by the Church and the State to compel its celebration with religious ceremonies. Indeed, at one time in the history of media;val society no contract or engagement of marriage, whether present or future, was deemed to be consummated without the subsequent physical union of the contracting parties. Subsequently, however, a distinction was made between a betrothal (sponsalia) per rerbn de presenti, which constituted an irregular but valid marriage, though entered into without the sanction of the Church, and sponsalia per rerhii de fnturo, which became a marriage, without further words or ceremony, upon its consummation by sexual intercourse. The former has become the so-called common- law marriage, or, where attended with the sanction of the secular or religious authorities, the ceremonial marriage of our own time. The latter, without the physical consummation (which has lost its legal effect), is the betrothal, or marriage engagement, of to-day. It was because Anne Boleyii's previous betrothal to the Earl of Northumberland, though never consummated, was per rrrhii de presenti, and therefore something more than a broken engagement, that Henry VI If. was enabled to secure the cancellation of his own marriage to her. The present state of the law on the subject is expressed in the familiar maxim, f'nnscnsiis, non conciihittis, facit ntiptias — "It is the agreement and not
