diameter, which occupy the centre, with five entrances between them, that in the centre having an iron gate 18 feet high. The structures on each side of it have their roofs supported by eighteen smaller columns 24 feet in height. The pediment, which rests upon the twelve larger and central columns, is surmounted by a Victory standing upon a car drawn by four horses 12 feet high. This was carried off by the French in 1807, and brought back from France seven years afterwards. The entire breadth of the Brandenburg Gate is 199 feet (195 Berlin feet), and its elevation, including the pediment, rather more than 65. The bassi-rilievi on the pediment represent Margrave Albert Achilles capturing a standard with his own hands from the Nürnberg troops; and the sculptures in the metopes represent the combat between the Centaurs and Lapitha. Immediately outside of this gate lies the Thier-garten, which is laid out in walks, avenues, and labyrinths. Adjoining the Thier-garten is the Königsplatz, in the centre of which stands the Siegesdenkmal, or Victory column, commemorating the three great campaigns of 1864, 1866, and 1870-71. It stands on a circular terrace, approached by eight steps of granite. On the large base, 62 feet square by 22 feet high, illustrated by relief scenes of the chief episodes of the war, stands an enormous pillar 100 feet high, surmounted by a statue of Victory 40 feet high. The whole surface of the column is covered with mosaics illustrative of Prussian and German victories It was unveiled on the anniversary of the battle of Sedan, 2nd September, 1873. From the capital of the column, at a height of 152 feet, very fine views may be obtained. Among the chief buildings in the Berlin Quarter are the Town-hall; the Royal Gymnasium; St. Nicholas Church, built in 1223; St. Mary's Church; the Landschafts-haus, or House of Assembly for Brandenburg; the Lager-hans (store-house), in which are several royal manufactories; the King's Gewerbhaus (handicraft establishment); the Royal Gymnasium of the Grey Friars, attended by more than 400 youths; the Garrison Church, the largest in Berlin; Frederick's Hospital, or Orphan Asylum; the Stadtvogtei, or prefecture of the town. The Old Cologne Quarter is approached by the Long Bridge, on which is a bronze equestrian statue of Frederick the Great. This quarter contains the Cathedral, the royal stables, the armoury, and many other public buildings. But its chief ornament is the Royal Palace, occupying the N.W. side of the Schloss-Platz, or Square of the Palace. The Royal National Gallery was finished in 1873, at a cost of a million thalers. The Friedrichswerder Quarter is rich in edifices, including the principal mint; the Prince's House; the Royal Bank; the Huntsmen's House (Jägerhaus); the Palace Court; the College, or French Gymnasium; the Tax Office for the metropolis; the Palace of the Princes; the Werder Church, a handsome edifice in the old German style; a splendid arsenal; the Royal Foundry; and the Royal Guard-house. There are also several statues to distinguished Prussians in this quarter. The Dorotheen-stadt lies to the N. of the preceding. between the Friedrichswerder Quarter and the northern bend of the Spree. Its most striking feature is the celebrated street called Unter-den-Linden, which contains two double lines of linden or lime-trees; it is 2744 feet in length, 174 feet in breadth, and affords the most attractive promenade in Berlin. This quarter likewise contains the University buildings; the Opera House; the Royal Library; the Vocal Academy; the Royal Academy; the Observatory; the Paris Square, on the west side of which the Brandenburg Gate opens, and the east side of which opens on the Unter-den-Linden. The Friedrichstadt Quarter, the largest in Berlin, is traversed in its whole length by the handsome street called William's Street, nearly 9200 feet long. Its other chief objects are the house of meeting for the German Parliament; the Leipziger Platz; the Dönhoff Square; the Gymnasium of Frederick William; the Collegien-haus; the Anspach Palace; the palace of the minister of war, to which a fine garden is attached; the palaces of Princes Frederick and Augustus, and Prince Radzivil, and of the under John, who died in 1490. It rose rapidly into imminister of justice; the manufactory of gold and silver portance during the long and brilliant career of Frederick works; the palace of the ancient Knights of St. John; the William, the great Elector, between the years 1640 and theatre; the Maritime Company's House; one or two open 1688. This prince enriched it with several scientific quares adorned with buildings and statues; and the establishments and collections, and his successor, Frederick Kreutzberg, on which is erected a monument to the memory III., who afterwards assumed the kingly title, trod in his of the Prussians who fell in the wars of Napoleon I. A steps; he was the founder of Frederick's Town, the handhandsome monument to the statesman Stein was erected in somest quarter of Berlin, and in 1709 conferred the 1876, opposite the House of Deputies. designation of Royal Residence Towns on its respective districts. Even Frederick William I., in spite of his parsimonious habits, did much to embellish it, and also levelled many of the walls and ramparts which obstructed his improvements. Far more, however, was done by Frederick II., his son, from whom Berlin derived most of its present form. His successors have largely contributed to render this city one of the finest in Europe. All the great roads in the kingdom meet in Berlin; and its position on a navigable river, communicating by canals with the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula, renders its navigation of considerable | importance. In the various suburbs, or vorstädte, of the Prussian metropolis, besides many fine streets and open squares, are the Königstadt Theatre; the House of Industry; the Blind Asylum; and the Alexandrine Asylum. The celebrated iron trinkets are manufactured near the Oranienburg Gate. Berlin is the seat of civil and military government for the whole kingdom, and, as will be inferred from our description of its several districts, abounds in literary and scientific establishments, which, when there is need, are liberally supported by the government. The university, founded in 1810, and designated the University of Frederick William, after that sovereign, contains above 190 professors and teachers, and is attended by upwards of 3000 students. Berlin has also four royal gymnasia or high schools, several public seminaries for scholars, civic and rural schools, the Louise Foundation for the education of female teachers, private schools, academies of the arts, sciences, and mechanical pursuits, schools of design, an academy of architecture, district schools for mechanics, public libraries, valuable collections of machines and models, societies of natural history, geography, statistics, horticulture, medicine, and surgery, pharmacy, &c.; and numerous religious, philanthropic, and charitable institutions. Berlin is growing more rapidly than any other European city; and since the close of the war of 1870-71 its increase of inhabitants and general prosperity has been most remarkable. The population in 1882 was only 250,000; in 1871 it was 826,341; and in 1880 it had increased to 1,122,360. The climate in winter is often excessively cold, and in summer proportionately hot. The city was supplied with water by an English company, and the works were purchased by the municipality in 1874. In spite of recent improvements the drainage of the city is very defective, and the death-rate is exceptionally high. The administration is divided between the police, appointed by the crown, and the city corporation, elected by the inhabitants; and the result is that it is only within very recent years that any decent system of drainage has been attempted, neither body being willing to be responsible for undertaking it. Berlin is the centre of a system of railways connecting it with all parts of Europe, and has very extensive manufactures. Its chief productions are the celebrated Berlin china, silks, silks and cottons mixed, woollens, cottons, stockings, ribbons, and chemical and dye stuffs, including the celebrated Prussian blue; and next in order are gunpowder, cast-iron ware, silk hats, paper, oils, refined sugars, and tobacco and snuff. It is also a place of extensive commercial dealings. The suburbs of the town have many attractive spots, which are much visited by the inhabitants. The origin of Berlin is uncertain, but it seems probable that the two villages of Berlin and Cologne (Köln) became towns in the times of Margrave Albert II., between the years 1206 and 1220. His successors surrounded these towns with walls, and they seem to have attained a somewhat prosperous state about the period of the extinction of the Anhalt line in 1319. But the disasters which befell them during the succeeding hundred years again reduced them to insignificance. They revived, however, upon the accession of the house of Hohenzollern to the Brandenburg dominions in 1417. The Burg, built by the Elector Frederick II. about 1448, was the site of the present royal palace; and Berlin became the residence of its princes BERLIN DECREE. After the battle of Jena, 14th October, 1806, Prussia was entirely at the mercy of Napoleon. On the 21st November he issued at Berlin this celebrated decree. It interdicted all commerce and correspondence between the countries under his government and Great Britain. BERLIN TREATY. This treaty was concluded at Berlin on 3rd August, 1878, as the result of the war between Russia and Turkey. Several important modifications were made by it in the treaty of San Stefano, which had been agreed to between Russia and Turkey immediately after the cessation of hostilities; and the chief provisions of the treaty, as finally settled, were the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria; an addition of territory to Montenegro, Servia, and Greece; the cession to Russia of that part of Bessarabia which had been detached after the Crimean War; the cession of the Dobrudscha to Roumania; and of Batoum, Kars, and Ardahan (in Asia) to Russia; and the erection of Bulgaria into a semi-independent state. A war indemnity of £47,000,000 was imposed on Turkey -to be charged after guaranteed loans and anterior hypothecations. BER'LIOZ, HECTOR, one of the most extraordinary musical geniuses who ever existed. Throughout his career he courted eccentricity; he was in perpetual conflict with his brother musicians or with the public, and often he had a hard struggle to live; nevertheless his views of the province of music, the general bent of his voluminous musical writings, didactic and critical, his mode of handling the orchestra, both as a conductor and a composer, are so just and so powerfully set forth that they form a larger item than would readily be acknowledged in the ordinary musical materials whence the artist of to-day draws his education. Hector Berlioz was born 11th December, 1803, near Grenoble, in the south of France, and came to Paris as a student of medicine. He soon abandoned medicine for music, and entered the Conservatoire. His father cut him off with a shilling, and he nearly starved, obtaining a mere subsistence as an occasional chorus singer. At the Conservatoire his extraordinary vagaries and his unequalled genius were alike hurtful to his fortunes; no one understood him; and though he there produced orchestral works which are still held to be masterpieces (as the "Ouverture des Francs Juges," &c.), he was repeatedly passed over in the examinations. At last he won the coveted "Prix de Rome," and studied in Italy for three years, from 1830. The rest of his life after his return to Paris was one long struggle for existence, bodily and musical. It was embittered by the unhappiness of his marriage with Miss Smithson, an actress who had become disabled for her profession by a fall from her carriage, and whom the impulsive composer married very greatly on this account, a former frenzy for her having in great part evaporated. They separated ultimately, but in money matters and otherwise Berlioz behaved very nobly towards her till her death. His own life closed at Paris in 1869. grief to the author, to whom this work was at once a hated drudgery, and a conscious degradation from the grand work for which he felt himself designed. BER'MONDSEY (ea or ey, "island"—Bermund's island), a suburb of Southwark, London, which it adjoins on the east, occupies a low level area on the bank of the Thames. A monastery formerly stood here, within whose walls died Katherine, the widow of Henry V., and Elizabeth Woodville, widow of Edward IV. The parish church was erected in the reign of Edward III. The chief industrial occupations are connected with tanning and leather dressing. The population in 1881 was 86,652. Gounod, who owes much to his study of Berlioz, has truly written, "Berlioz died from the procrastination of popularity;" and it was not till fully ten years after his death that a great complete work from his pen was heard in England. During 1881 "Faust" was performed again and again in London to enthusiastic audiences, who seemed as if they could never tire of that work which had been almost utterly neglected in the lifetime of its composer. Through his memoirs, and through his letters (excel- BERMU'DAS, or SUMMERS ISLANDS, are situlently translated in 1882 by H. Mainwaring Dunstan), ated in the North Atlantic, 580 miles E. by S. S. from there runs a vein of profound melancholy at his utter Cape Hatteras in North America, the nearest point of land, powerlessness to reach the heart of his fellow-men. Keenly and 645 miles N.E. of Attwood's Keys, the nearest of the alive to the grandeur and beauty of his own compositions West India Islands. The name Bermudas is derived from (now so freely admitted), he felt bitterly that these sublime in- the supposed discoverer, Juan Bermudez, a Spaniard, who spirations were as if produced to a company of deaf persons. is said to have touched there in 1522; or, as it is in May's The musical combinations of Berlioz are most remarkable: account, from a Spanish ship called Bermudas being east at one time the clarinets are to be muffled in bags, at away there. The first printed account of them in England another time the double-basses are to tune in a special seems to be by Henry May, who being on board a French manner; chords produced by inany drums at once occur, ship, commanded by M. de la Barbotier, was wrecked on as in the "Requiem," where eight pairs of drums are them in 1593. The second and less common appellation wielded by ten players, &c. In his passion he writes to is from Sir George Summers, or Somers, who was driven his sweetheart" Give me an orchestra of 100 performers, upon them in 1609, on his voyage to Virginia. King and a chorus of 150 voices, and I will tell you how I love James I. gave a charter to a company of 120 persons for you." The number of instruments required for the per- a settlement, which by the year 1619 had become prosformance of one of Berlioz's greater works is unequalled perous, and had increased to above 1000 whites. save by Wagner, and the unusual shades of tone and effects General Assembly was formed in 1620. The islands have of musical colour found in his finest compositions are as yet never since passed out of the hands of the English. without rivals. It must not be imagined that because the imagination and the musical requirements of Berlioz are thus colossal that his music is noisy. He delights in grandiose effects now and then, it is true; but passages of more exquisite delicacy are to be found in his works than in those of almost any composer. Probably the reasons why this great man is even yet denied his true position are these amongst the chief-his frequent deficiency of tunefulness, as distinct from melody; the great musical ability required, and the large expense necessary to produce his larger works; the great demands he makes upon the attention, as his chief charm is in the incessant variations of tone colouring; and finally his complete individuality, which shocks the prejudiced and deters the busy, since it needs some considerable acquaintance with the peculiar rhythmns and effects which constitute his musical speech to understand that which others who follow the beaten track enunciate with ease. Amongst his greatest works are the "Requiem" (Op. 5); the remarkable "Episode de la Vie d'un Artiste," with its sequel, "Lelio;" "Harold en Italie," the solo part written for Paganini's famous viola, after Berlioz had received from him a gift of 20,000 francs, as the "successor of Beethoven;" "Romeo and Juliet ;""Benvenuto Cellini" (opera); “La Damnation de Faust;""L'Enfance du Christ" (in the character of an oratorio); "Beatrice and Benedict" (opera); and "Les Troyens" (opera). Many of these are entirely original in form; some have served as models for other composers, but the greater part are quite inimitable. The wonderful "Rakozcky March" occurs in "Faust." The finest treatise on instrumentation, in fact the only one of acknowledged prime importance yet written, is due to this consummate master of tone. Berlioz came to England in 1852 as conductor of the new Philharmonic concerts, and also produced his opera "Benvenuto Cellini" at Covent Garden in 1853; but at that time very few took the pains to understand him. His living was obtained not by his scores, but by his vigorous contributions to the Paris journals; for though the Parisians would not hear his music, they gladly laughed over the brilliant wit and caustic humour of his pen-a terrible A The climate of the Bermudas, except for three summer months, is mild, genial, and salubrious, though during southerly winds, which are the most prevalent, the atmo sphere becomes charged with humidity. The fields and trees are always green. Snow never falls; the rains are few, though heavy while they last. The islands are, however, very subject to tempests, hurricanes, and thunderstorms. They are well protected from ocean-storms; but they are surrounded by dangerous rocky reefs, extending in some parts 10 miles from the islands, which render them very difficult of access. The few channels through the reef are thickly studded with coral rocks, but the water is so beautifully clear that they are visible to the eye. The islands lie in a Ñ.E. and S.W. direction, including a space 25 miles in length, and less than 5 in the greatest breadth; they are all low, the highest point, called Tibb's Hill, at the southern extremity of the large island, being only 200 feet above the level of the sea. There are no springs or fresh-water streams in the islands, and but few wells. The number of islands is about 300, but not more than twelve are inhabited. There are two towns, St. George's being the military headquarters, and Hamilton the seat of government. A causeway between the two places, chiefly for military communication, was completed in 1872. The protection afforded to shipping by their numerous bays, their position in the track of homeward-bound West India ships, and in the most advantageous locality for refitting the ships of war employed in the West India and American seas, have led to the conversion of the Bermudas into a principal maritime station. The harbour of St. George's has water enough to float, and space enough to accomingdate, the whole British navy. Formerly the entrance to it was very much obstructed, but it is now greatly improved; a dockyard has been built on Ireland Island, and some very strong fortifications have been erected on it and ou St. George's for the security of the colonists and shipping. In 1869 an immense floating dock was successfully towed to the Bermudas from London. It was constructed in order to provide accommodation for cleaning the bottoms of vessels belonging to the royal navy on the West India and North American stations. Its dimensions are 381 flesh is eaten by the natives. There is scarcely any vegetable that will not grow on Bermuda. Potatoes, onions, cabbages, carrots, turnips, barley, oats, pease, beans, pumpkins, melons, &c., are cultivated. The citron, sweet orange, lemon, and lime, are of good quality; and the arrow-root is said to be superior to that of any other place. The palm-tree also grows, and the leaves are exported for ladies' fans. Formerly Bermuda possessed a fleet of 100 merchant ships, but it has now dwindled down to four or five, and the carrying trade has altogether disappeared. The total loss of their shipbuilding and carrying trade was severely felt, and would have been followed by a period of great and general distress had not the population turned to agricultural pursuits so successfully that they have gradually become a comparatively prosperous agricultural community. The government of Bermuda is modelled after that of Great Britain-the concurrence of the governor, council, and legislative assembly being necessary to give to any public measure the force of a law. The constitution consists of the governor and a privy council of ten members, appointed by the crown, on the nomination of the governor, who also act as a legislative council. There is a House of Assembly of thirty-six members, representing all the parishes in the island. The revenue and expenditure are each about £30,000 per annum; the tonnage of vessels which enter and clear yearly is 190,000, of which 120,000 are under the British flag; the value of the imports is £260,000, and of the exports £65,000. The governor of the colony resides at St. George's. The population in 1883 was 13,500-40 per cent. white and 60 per cent. coloured. BERN, CANTON OF, the largest and most populous canton of Switzerland, extends about 85 miles from N. to S., from the French and Alsatian frontiers to the high chain of Alps which divides the southern valleys of the Bernese Oberland from the canton of Valais. Its shape is very irregular, like that of most Swiss cantons, and its breadth therefore varies considerably, from 30 to 60 miles. Its area is about 2662 square miles. The population in 1880 numbered 532,164, of whom about seven-eighths were Protestante. The southern part of the canton is very mountainous, consisting of high valleys between the offsets of the chain of Alps which divides it from the Valais and from Uri and Unterwalden. Further north, and round the city of Bern, the, ground, although hilly, is not rugged, and consists of pleasant fertile valleys, and some level tracts. The most northern part, beyond Bienne, which formerly constituted the territory of the Bishop of Basel, is almost entirely covered by the various ridges and offsets of the Jura Mountains up to the frontiers of France. Some of the Jura summits are 5000 feet in height; but the mountains of Schreckhorn, Wetterhorn, Jungfrau, and Finsteraarhorn, all near the southern margin of the canton, vary from 12,000 to 14,000 feet in height. Extensive glaciers cover the sides of some of these mountains. The principal rivers are the Aar, the Emmen, the Simmen, the Thiele, the Saane, and the Birs; all of these are not of any importance, except the Aar. The climate of the canton of Bern, and the produce of the soil, vary greatly according to the nature of the ground and the position of the valleys. The Oberland, or southern part, is very cold in winter; cattle forms the chief property of the inhabitants, who are mostly poor. The Simmenthal is the best valley in this district. The central part, near Bern, the country between the Aar and the Emmen, and east of the latter river towards Lucerne, constitute the finest and most fertile parts of the canton, and produce corn, fruits, and rich pastures. The farms are extensive, the farmers wealthy, and their houses, built mostly of wood, are roomy and comfortable. It is the richest agricultural district in Switzerland. The roads through the canton of Bern are wide, well constructed, and kept in excellent repair. The canton is divided into districts or prefectships, formerly called bailiwicks, of which there are twenty-two in the old territory of Bern, and six in the territories acquired in 1815. The towns of the canton, besides Bern, areBienne, Burgdorf, Thun, Porentrui, and Delémont. The canton of Bern produces corn, though not sufficient for the consumption of the population, and fruit in abundance, especially apples, pears, plums, nuts, and cherries. From the cherries the spirit called kirschwasser is made, which, as well as the extract from absinthe, or wormwood, are articles of common use, as in the rest of Switzerland. Beer and cider are also made. The vine thrives in a few districts, chiefly in that of Nidau, near the lake of Bienne, where wine is made. Hemp and flax are also among the products of the soil, but cattle and the products of the dairy constitute the chief wealth of the country; cheese is made in abundance for exportation, especially in the valleys of Emmenthal, Simmenthal, and Gessenai or Saanen. The use of coffee and sugar is universal even in the most secluded valleys. Irrigation and the making of artificial meadows are much followed in the valleys, and the mountains afford summer pasture in abundance. There are dairies in common, where the milk of several herds is put together and made into butter and cheese. The land, as in most other parts of Switzerland, is divided equally among all the children. When the farmers are in good circumstances, the law of inheritance does not produce a too great subdivision of land, as one of the sons generally purchases or rents his brothers' shares, or the brothers continue to live together and cultivate the farm in common. In the Emmenthal the land descends to the youngest son, who pays his brothers and sisters their portion by mortgaging the estate. But in the poorer districts, such as the Oberland, the increase of the population, the minute subdivision of property, and the consequent practice of raising money by mortgages, have rendered the population exceedingly poor. The canton of Bern is not, properly speaking, a manufacturing country. Linen is made in many places, sufficient for the internal consumption; there are tanneries at Bern, as well as a few manufactories of silks, coarse woollens, and paper. Mathematical instruments, watches, and jewelry, muskets, and other arms, are made at Bern, Porentrui, &c. The Bernese gunpowder is excellent. At Correndelin, Untervilier, and other places in the valleys of the Jura, there are iron-works and foundries, the iron ore being found in abundance in the mountains. Timber for building and fuel are supplied by the mountain forests, and from other woods in several parts of the lowlands. The lakes of Bienne and Thun and the river Aar abound with various sorts of fish, especially of the trout and salmon kinds. Hares, chamois, marmots, and partridges are the principal game. Bears and wolves are found in the higher Alps, but in small numbers. Among the birds of prey, the lammer-geier, the great vulture of the Alps, is the largest, though not very common; some are of very great size, and will carry off a lamb to the mountains, from which circumstance their name is derived. This canton entered the Swiss Confederation in 1353; at first its territory was very limited, but afterwards, by conquest and purchase, it acquired nearly the whole of the now existing canton of Vaud and Aargau, which, in addition to its present extent, it held till 1798, when it was taken by the French. In 1815, in indemnification of Vaud and Aargau, the Congress of Vienna added to its dominion the town of Bienne with its territory, and the greater part of the ancient bishopric of Basel, otherwise entitled the bailliages of the Jura. There are elementary schools all over the canton, and also gymnasia and schools for artisans. In the quer departments of education there is a well-appointed versity at Bern, and two or three military schools. The language of the bulk of the people of the canten uf Bern is the Swiss-German, but various dialects prevali in the different districts or valleys. The dialect of the Over Hasli is peculiar, and is said to contain mary Swedish words or roots. Almost all the educated people of the towns, and especially of Bern, understand and speak French. In some of the valleys of the former bishopric of Basel French is spoken by the people in general. The The character of the Bernese peasantry is steady, serions, and slow, but they are subject to fits of violent passion when excited. The educated people of the towns are refined and polite, and hospitable to strangers. peasantry are healthy and robust, and the women in some of the valleys are remarkably handsome. Their costume and head-dress are very picturesque. Bern holds the second rank in the Federal Diet. BERN, the capital of the canton of Bern, and since 1849 the permanent seat of the Swiss government and Diet, was founded in 1191 by Berthold V., duke of Zabringen, for the purpose of keeping in check his refractory nobility. In 1218 it was raised to the rank of a free town of the empire. In 1353 it entered the Swiss Confederation, then consisting of seven cantons. In 1798 Bern was obliged to open its gates to the French army, and the canton was dismembered. From 1799 to 1803 it was the seat of the Helvetic government. Bern stands on a somewhat long and elevated peninsula, formed by the river Aar, which runs on three sides of it, the fourth side being open to the west, and fortified. There is a stone bridge over the Aar, about 900 feet long. The town may justly be reckoned among the most elegant cities in Europe. Its style of building is very regular, without appearing monotonous; the streets are broad, and run parallel from east to west; they have, for the most part. arcades on both sides, with good shops, and communicate by cross streets. There are a great number of fountains in the city, many of them ornamented with statues, some of which refer to historical events. The Münster, or cathedral, the Citizen and Island Hospital, the corn-magazine, the town-hall, the Schallarhaus, or house of correction, the armoury, the orphan-house, the theatre, the library, and the museum, are the chief buildings. Near the town are two beautiful promenades, the Plateforme and the Enge; and the environs afford the most splendid views of the Alps on the one hand, and the Jura on the other. Bern is the birth-place of Haller; it has not, however, to boast of so many distinguished men as Zurich, Basel, and Geneva. The town is supposed to derive its name from the old Suabian word for bear; it has bears for its arms, and some of these animals are maintained by the municipality in a place called Bärengraben (bear's diteb), from funds appropriated to that special purpose. In 1861 an English officer fell into the den while attempting to walk along the railings above it, and was killed after a desperate struggle. Bern is not properly a manufacturing place. The chief trade is with the produce of the country. There are yearly exhibitions for encouraging industry and agriculture. A great deal is done in banking. There are breweries, tanneries, a manufacture of straw hats, &c. The town has a good public library of 30,000 volumes, and a richly-endowed museum of natural history. There are also many private collections of minerals, plants, coins, &c., and two botanical gardens. The corporate property is so considerable that it is sufficient to defray all municipal expenses, and to give the citizens advantages and immanities which are not to be found in any other city in Europe. The university was founded in 1834; the other |