1905. Bethlehem has often been called the American Bayreuth. Among the

borough's industrial establishments, the manufactories of iron and steel are the most important, but it also manufactures brass, zinc, and silk and knit goods. The municipality owns and operates its waterworks. Bethlehem was founded by the Moravians, led by Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, shortly before Christmas in 1741, and the season of the year suggested its name; for the first century of its existence it was almost exclusively a settlement of that sect, and it is still their American headquarters. Bethlehem was incorporated as a borough in 1845. In 1904 the borough of West Bethlehem (pop. in 1900, 3465) was consolidated with Bethlehem. See J.M. Levering, _A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania_ (Bethlehem, 1903). BETHLEHEMITES, a name borne at different times by three orders in the Roman Catholic Church. (1) A community of friars at Cambridge, in 1257, whose habit was distinguished from that of the ordinary Dominicans by a five-rayed red star (in reference to Matt. ii. 9 f). (2) An order of knighthood similar to the Knights of St John, established by Pius II. in 1459 to resist the inroads of the Turks. (3) The Bethlehemite Order of Guatemala, a nursing community founded in 1650 by Pedro Betancourt (d. 1667), extended by the brothers Rodrigo and Antonio of the Cross, and raised to an order by Innocent XI. in 1687. They wore a dress like that of the Capuchins, and Clement XI. in 1707 gave them the privileges of the mendicant orders. They spread throughout Central America and Mexico and as far south as Lima, and with the order of sisters, founded in 1668 by Anna Maria del Galdo, were conspicuous for their devotion during times of plague and other contagious diseases. This order became extinct about 1850. The name Bethlehemites has also sometimes been given to the Hussites of Bohemia because their leader preached in the Bethlehem church at Prague. BETHLEN, GABRIEL (GABOR) (1580-1629), prince of Transylvania, the most famous representative of the Iktari branch of a very ancient Hungarian family, was born at Illye, and educated at Szarhegy, at the castle of his uncle Andras Lazar. Thence he was sent to the court of Prince Zsigmond Bathory, whom he accompanied on his famous Wallachian campaign in 1600. Subsequently he assisted Stephen Bocskay to mount the throne of Transylvania (1605), and remained his chief counsellor. Bethlen also supported Bocskay's successor Gabriel Bathory (1608-1613), but the prince became jealous of Bethlen's superior abilities, and he was obliged to take refuge with the Turks. In 1613 he led a large army against his persecutor, on whose murder by two of his officers that year Bethlen was placed on the throne by the Porte, in opposition to the wishes of the emperor, who preferred a prince who would incline more towards Vienna than towards Constantinople. On the 13th of October 1613, the diet of Klausenburg confirmed the choice of the sultan. In 1615 Gabor was also officially recognized by the emperor Matthias. Bethlen no sooner felt firmly seated on his throne than he seized the opportunity presented to him by the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War to take up arms in defence of the liberties and the constitution of the extra-Transylvanian Hungarian provinces, with the view of more effectually assuring his own position. While Ferdinand was occupied with the Bohemian rebels, Bethlen led his armies into Hungary (1619), and soon won over the whole of the northern counties, even securing Pressburg and the Holy Crown. Nevertheless he was not averse to a peace, nor to a preliminary suspension of hostilities, and negotiations were opened at Pressburg, Kassa and Beszterczebanya successively, but came to nothing because Bethlen insisted on including the Bohemians in the peace, whereupon (20th of August 1620) the estates of North Hungary elected him king. Bethlen accepted the title but refused to be crowned, and war was resumed, till the defeat of the Czechs at the battle of the White Hill gave a new turn to affairs. In Bohemia, Ferdinand II. took a fearful revenge upon the vanquished; and Bethlen, regarding a continuation of the war as unprofitable, concluded the peace of Nikolsburg (31st of December 1621), renouncing the royal title on condition that Ferdinand confirmed the peace of Vienna (which had granted full liberty of worship to the Protestants) and engaged to summon a general diet within six months. For himself Bethlen secured the title of prince of the Empire, the seven counties of the Upper Theiss, and the fortresses of Tokaj, Munkacs and Ecsed. Subsequently Bethlen twice (1623 and 1626) took up arms against Ferdinand as the ally of the anti-Habsburg Protestant powers. The first war was concluded by the peace of Vienna, the second by the peace of Pressburg, both confirmatory of the peace of Nikolsburg. After the second of these insurrections, Bethlen attempted a rapprochement with the court of Vienna on the basis of an alliance against the Turks and his own marriage with one of the Austrian archduchesses; but Ferdinand had no confidence in him and rejected his overtures. Bethlen was obliged to renounce his anti-Turkish projects, which he had hitherto cherished as the great aim and object of his life, and continue in the old beaten paths. Accordingly, on his return from Vienna he wedded Catherine, the daughter of the elector of Brandenburg, and still more closely allied himself with the Protestant powers, especially with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, who, he hoped, would assist him to obtain the Polish crown. He died before he could accomplish any of his great designs (15th of November 1629), having previously secured the election of his wife Catherine as princess. His first wife, Susannah Karolyi, died in 1622. Gabriel Bethlen was certainly one of the most striking and original personages of his century. A zealous Calvinist, whose boast it was that he had read the Bible twenty-five times, he was nevertheless no persecutor, and even helped the Jesuit Kaldy to translate and print his version of the Scriptures. He was in communication all his life with the leading contemporary statesmen, so that his correspondence is one of the most interesting and important of historical documents. He also composed hymns. The best editions of his correspondence are those by Sandor Szilagyi, both published at Buda (1866 and 1879). The best life of him is that by the Bohemian historian Anton Gindely, _Acta et documenta historiam Gabrielis Bethleni illustrantia_ (Budapest, 1890). This work has been largely utilized by Ignae-Acsady in his excellent _Gabriel Bethlen and his Court_ (Hung., Budapest, 1890). (R. N. B.) BETHNAL GREEN, an eastern metropolitan borough of London, England, bounded N. by Hackney, E. by Poplar, S. by Stepney and W. by Shoreditch. Pop. (1901) 129,680. It is a district of poor houses, forming part of the area commonly known as the "East End." The working population is employed in the making of match-boxes, boot-making, cabinet-making and other industries; but was formerly largely devoted to silk-weaving, which spread over the district from its centre in Spitalfields (see STEPNEY). This industry is still maintained. The Bethnal Green museum was opened in 1872. It contains exhibits of food and animal products, formerly at South Kensington, entomological collections, &c.; and various loan exhibitions are held from time to time. The Museum also housed the Wallace collection until the opening of Hertford House, and the pictures now in the National Portrait Gallery. It stands in public gardens; there are several other small open spaces; and some 70 out of the 217 acres of Victoria Park are within the borough. Close by the park there stood, until the 19th century, a house believed to have belonged to the notorious Bishop Bonner, the persecutor of Protestants in the reign of Mary; his name is still attached to a street here. Among institutions are the missionary settlement of the Oxford House, founded in 1884, with its women's branch, St Margaret's House; the North-Eastern hospital for children, the Craft school und the Leather Trade school. The parliamentary borough of Bethnal Green has two divisions, each returning one member. The borough council consists of a mayor, 5 aldermen and 30 councillors. Area, 759.3 acres. BETHUNE (FAMILY). The _seigneurs_ of Bethune, _avoues_ (_advocati_) of the great abbey of Saint-Vaast at Arras from the 11th century, were the ancestors of a great French house whence sprang the dukes of Sully, Charost, Orval, and Ancenis; the marquises of Rosny, Courville and Chabris; the counts of Selles and the princes of Boisbelle and Henrichemont. Conon de Bethune (q.v.), the crusader and poet, was an early forebear. The most illustrious member of the Bethune family was Maximilien, baron of Rosny, and afterwards duke of Sully (q.v.), minister of Henry IV. His brother Philip, count of Selles and of Charost, was ambassador to Scotland, Rome, Savoy and Germany, and died in 1649. Hippolyte de Bethune, count of Selles and marquis of Chabris, who died in 1665, bequeathed to the king a magnificent collection of historical documents and works of art. The Charost branch of the family gave France a number of generals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The last duke of Charost, Armand Joseph de Bethune (1738-1800), French economist and philanthropist, served in the army during the Seven Years' War, after which he retired to his estates in Berry, where, and also in Brittany and Picardy, he sought to ameliorate the lot of his peasants by abolishing feudal dues, and introducing reforms in agriculture. During the Terror he was arrested, but was liberated after the 9th Thermidor. He was mayor of the 10th arrondissement of Paris under the Consulate, and died at Paris on the 20th of October 1800, of small-pox, contracted during a visit to a workshop for the blind which he had founded. He published essays on the way to destroy mendicancy and to improve the condition of the labourers, and also on the establishment of a fund for rural relief and the organization of rural education. His life throws light on some phases of the _ancien regime_ which are often overlooked by historians. Louis XV. said of Charost, "Look at this man, his appearance is insignificant, but he has put new life into three of my provinces." His only son, Armand Louis de Bethune, marquis de Charost, was beheaded on the 28th of April 1794. BETHUNE, CONON or QUESNES, DE (c. 1150-1224), French _trouvere_ of Arras, was born about the middle of the 12th century. He came about 1180 to the court of France, where he met Marie de France, countess of Champagne. To this princess his love poems are dedicated, and much of his time was passed at her court where the _trouveres_ were held in high honour. At the French court he met with some criticisms from Queen Alix, the widow of Louis VII., on the roughness of his verse and on his Picard dialect. To these criticisms, interesting as proof of the already preponderant influence of the dialect of the Ile de France, the poet replied by some verses in the satirical vein that best suited his temperament. Some of his best songs were inspired by anger at the delays before the crusade of 1188-1192. His plain-speaking made him many enemies, and when he returned with the rest after the fruitless capture of Acre, these were not slow to take advantage of the opportunity for retaliation. Conon took part with Baldwin of Flanders in the crusade which resulted in 1204 in the capture of Constantinople, and he is said to have been the first to plant the crusaders' standard on the walls of the city. He held high office in the new empire and died about 1224. His verses, of which the crusading song _Ah! amors com dure departie_ is well known, are marked by a vigour and martial spirit which distinguish them from the work of other _trouveres_. The completest edition of his works is in the _Trouveres belges_ of Aug. Scheler (1876). BETHUNE, a town of northern France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Pas-de-Calais, 24 m. N.N.W. of Arras, on the Northern railway between that town and St Omer. Pop. (1906) 12,601. Bethune is situated on a low hill at the confluence of the Lawe with the canal from Aire to Bauvin. Once strongly fortified, it is now surrounded by wide boulevards, and new quarters have grown up on its outskirts. The old town is composed of winding streets and _culs-de-sac_ bordered by old houses in the Flemish style. In the central square stands one of the finest belfries of northern France, a square structure surmounted by a wooden campanile, dating from the 14th century. St Vaast, the principal church of Bethune, belongs to the 16th century. The town is the seat of a sub-prefect, and has a tribunal of first instance, a chamber of commerce and a communal college among its public institutions. Bethune lies in the midst of the richest coal mines in France. Its industries include the distillation of oil, tanning, salt-refining, brewing, and the manufacture of earthenware and casks. Trade is carried on in flax, cloth, cereals, oil-seeds, &c. The town, which dates from the 11th century, was governed by its own lords till 1248, after which date it passed through the ownership of the counts of Flanders, the dukes of Burgundy, and the sovereigns of Austria and Spain. Ceded to France by the peace of Nijmwegen (1678), it was taken by the allied forces in 1710, and restored to France by the treaty of Utrecht. BETROTHAL (A.S. _treowth_, "truth"), the giving "one's truth," or pledging one's faith to marry. Although left optional by the church and not necessary in law, betrothal was anciently a formal ceremony which in most cases preceded the actual marriage service, usually by a period of some weeks, but the marriage might for various reasons be delayed for years. The canon law distinguished two types of betrothal:--(1) _Sponsalia de praesenti_, (2) _Sponsalia de futuro_. The first was a true though irregular marriage, and was abolished by the council of Trent as leading to clandestine unions and therefore being inimical to morality. The second, or betrothal properly so called, was a promise to marry at a future date, which promise without further ceremony became a valid marriage upon consummation. The church never precisely determined the form of the ceremony, but demanded for its validity that it should have been entered into freely and at a legal age, i.e. after the seventh birthday. The church further declared that females between the ages of seven and twelve, and males between seven and fourteen, could be betrothed, but not married, and that all such betrothals were to be public. The ill-defined laws as to betrothals tended to encourage abuses; and the people, especially in the rural districts, inclined to hold betrothal sufficient justification for cohabitation. Such pre-contract is known to have existed in the case of Shakespeare (q.v.). Francis Douce (_Illustrations of Shakespeare and of Antient Manners_, 1807) says that betrothal consisted of the "interchange of rings--the kiss--the joining of hands, to which is to be added the testimony of witnesses." In France the presence of a priest seems to have been considered essential, and though this was not so elsewhere it was customary for the couple to get their parish priest to witness their promise. In England solemn betrothal was almost universally practised. Among the peasantry the place of rings was taken by a coin which was broken between the pair, each taking a part. But almost any gift sufficed. A case in 1582 is recorded where the lover gave the girl a pair of gloves, two oranges, two handkerchiefs and a red silk girdle. Sometimes the bride-elect received a bent or crooked sixpence. At the conclusion of the ceremony, which by no means always took place in a church, it seems to have been usual for the couple to pledge each other in a cup of wine, as do the Jews and Russians to-day. This drinking together was ever the universal custom of parties in ratification of a bargain. Joseph Strutt (1749-1802) states that by the civil law gifts given at betrothal could be recovered by the parties, if the marriage did not take place. But only conditionally, for if the man "had had a kiss for his money, he should lose one half of that which he gave. Yet with the woman it is otherwise, for, kissing or not kissing, whatever she gave, she may ask and have it again. However, this extends only to gloves, rings, bracelets and such-like small wares." Though the church abstained from prescribing the form of the ceremony, it jealously watched over the fulfilment of such contracts and punished their violation. Betrothal, validly contracted, could be dissolved either by mutual consent, or by the supervening of some radical physical or social change in the parties, or by the omission to fulfil one of the conditions of the contract. But here the church stepped in, and endeavoured to override such law as existed in the matter by decreeing that whoever, after betrothal, refused to marry _in facie ecclesiae_, was liable to excommunication till relieved by public penance. In England the law was settled by an act of 1753, which enacted that an aggrieved party could obtain redress only by an action at common law for breach of promise of marriage (see MARRIAGE). Formal betrothal is no longer customary in England, but on the European continent it retains much of its former importance. There it is either solemn (publicly in church) or private (simply before witnesses). Such betrothals are legal contracts. They are only valid between persons of legal age, both of whom consent; and they are rendered void by fraud, intimidation and duress. In Germany if the parties are under age the consent of the parents is needed; but if this be unreasonably withheld the couple may appeal to a magistrate, who can sanction the betrothal. If the parents disagree, the father's wish prevails. Public betrothal carries with it an obligation to marry, and in case of refusal an action "lies" for the injured party. In Germany the betrothal is generally celebrated before the relatives, and the couple are called bride and bridegroom from that day _until_ marriage. In Russia, where it was once as binding as marriage, it is now a mere formal part of the marriage ceremony. Among the ancient Jews betrothal was formal and as binding as marriage. After the ceremony, which consisted of the handing of a ring or some object of value to the bride and formal words of contract, and the mutual pledging of the couple in consecrated wine, a period of twelve months elapsed before the marriage was completed by the formal home-taking; unless the bride was a widow or the groom a widower, when this interval was reduced to thirty days. Latterly the ceremony of betrothal has become a part of the marriage ceremony, and the engagement has become the informal affair it is in England. For betrothal customs in China, the East and elsewhere, consult L.J. Miln, _Wooings and Weddings in Many Climes_ (London, 1900), and H.N. Hutchinson, _Marriage Customs in Many Lands_ (London, 1897). On early English law as to betrothals see Sir F. Pollock and Maitland, _History of English Law before the time of Edward I._ (2nd ed., 1898). See also J.O. Halliwell-Phillipps, _Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare_ (London, 1848, 1883). BETTERMENT (i.e. "making better," as opposed to "worsement"), a general term, used particularly in connexion with the increased value given to real property by causes for which a tenant or the public, but not the owner, is responsible; it is thus of the nature of "unearned increment." When, for instance, some public improvement results in raising the value of a piece of private land, and the owner is thereby "bettered" through no merit of his own, he gains by the betterment, and many economists and politicians have sought to arrange, by taxation or otherwise, that the increased value shall come into the pocket of the public rather than into his. A betterment tax would be so assessed as to divert from the owner of the property the profit thus accruing "unearned" to him. (See also COMPENSATION.) The whole problem is one of the incidence of taxation and the question of land values, and various applications of the principle of betterment have been tried in America and in England, raising considerable controversy from time to time. See A.A. Baumann, _Betterment, Worsement and Recoupment_ (1894). BETTERTON, THOMAS (c. 1635-1710), English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I., was born in London. He was apprenticed to John Holden Sir William Davenant's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper to the theatre in Blackfriars. The latter obtained in 1659 a licence to set up a company of players at the Cockpit in Drury Lane; and on the reopening of this theatre in 1660, Betterton made his first appearance on the stage. His talents at once brought him into prominence, and he was given leading parts. On the opening of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1661, Sir William Davenant, the patentee, engaged Betterton and all Rhodes's company to play in his _Siege of Rhodes_. Betterton, besides being a public favourite, was held in high esteem by Charles II., who sent him to Paris to examine stage improvements there. According to Cibber it was after his return that shifting scenes instead of tapestry were first used in an English theatre. In 1692, in an unfortunate speculation, Betterton and his friend Sir Francis Watson were ruined; but Betterton's affection for Sir Francis was so strong that he adopted the latter's daughter and educated her for the stage. In 1693, with the aid of friends, he erected the New Playhouse in the tennis court in Lincoln's Inn Fields. It was opened in 1695 with Congreve's _Love for Love_. But in a few years the profits fell off; and Betterton, labouring under the infirmities of age and gout, determined to quit the stage. At his benefit performance, when the profits are said to have been over L500, he played Valentine in _Love for Love_. In 1710 he made his last appearance as Melantius in _The Maid's Tragedy_; he died on the 28th of April, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In appearance he was athletic, slightly above middle height, with a tendency to stoutness; his voice was strong rather than melodious, but in recitation it was used with the greatest dexterity. Pepys, Pope, Steele and Cibber all bestow lavish praise on his acting. His repertory included a large number of Shakespearian roles, and although many of these were presented in the tasteless versions of Davenant, Dryden, Shadwell and Nahum Tate, yet they could not hide the great histrionic gifts which Betterton possessed, nor does his reputation rest on these performances alone. The blamelessness of his life was conspicuous in an age and a profession notorious for dissolute habits. Betterton was author of several adaptations which were popular in their day. In 1662 he had married Mary Saunderson (d. 1712), an admirable actress, whose Ophelia shared the honours with his Hamlet. See Howe, _Thomas Betterton_ (1891); _The Life and Times of Thomas Betterton_ (1886). BETTIA, a town of British India, in the Champaran district of Bengal; situated on a former branch of the Harha river, with a station on the Tirhoot section of the Bengal & North-Western railway. Bettia is the residence of one of the leading noblemen of northern Behar, who enjoys a rent-roll of L66,000. In 1901, owing to a disputed succession, the estate was under the management of the court of wards. It comprises land in no fewer than ten districts, much of which is let on permanent leases to indigo-planters. Besides the palace of the maharaja, the town contains a middle English school and a female dispensary, entirely supported out of the estate. There is a Roman Catholic mission, with about 1000 converts, which was founded by an Italian priest in 1746. BETTINELLI, SAVERIO (1718-1808), Italian Jesuit and man of letters, was born at Mantua on the 18th of July 1718. After studying under the Jesuits in his native city and at Bologna he entered the society in