Part 14

Various combinations have been devised in which the hydrogen is got rid of more or less completely by oxidation. Sir W.R. Grove in 1839 employed nitric acid as the oxidizing agent, his cell consisting of a zinc positive plate in dilute sulphuric acid, separated by a porous diaphragm of unglazed earthenware from a platinum negative immersed in concentrated nitric acid. Its electromotive force is nearly two volts, but it has the objection of giving off disagreeable nitrous fumes. R.W. von Bunsen modified Grove's cell by replacing the platinum with the much cheaper material, gas carbon. Chromic acid is much used as a depolarizer, and cells in which it is employed are about as powerful as, and more convenient than, either of the preceding. In its two-fluid form the chromic acid cell consists of a porous pot containing amalgamated zinc in dilute sulphuric acid, and a carbon plate surrounded with sulphuric acid and a solution of potassium or sodium bichromate or of chromic acid. But it is commonly used in a one-fluid form, the porous pot being dispensed with, and both zinc and carbon immersed in the chromic acid solution. Since the zinc is dissolved even when the circuit is not closed, arrangements are frequently provided by which either the zinc plate alone or both plates can be lifted out of the solution when the cell is not in use. In preparing the solution the sodium salt is preferable to the potassium, and chromic acid to either. In the cell devised by Georges Leclanche in 1868 a solid depolarizer is employed, in the shape of manganese dioxide packed with fragments of carbon into a porous pot round a carbon plate. A zinc rod constitutes the positive plate, and the exciting fluid is a solution of sal-ammoniac. Sometimes no porous pot is employed, and the manganese dioxide and granulated carbon are agglomerated into a solid block round the carbon plate. The electromotive force is about one and a half volt. The cell is widely used for such purposes as ringing electric bells, where current is required intermittently, and for such service it will remain effective for months or years, only needing water to be added to the outer jar occasionally to replace loss by evaporation. On a closed circuit the current rapidly falls off, because the manganese dioxide is unable to oxidize all the hydrogen formed, but the cell quickly recovers after polarization. The so-called "dry cells," which came into considerable use towards the end of the 19th century, are essentially Leclanche cells in which the solution is present, not as a liquid, but as a paste formed with some absorbent material or gelatinized. Black oxide of copper is another solid depolarizer, employed in the Lalande cell. In the Edison-Lalande form the copper oxide is suspended in a light copper frame. The exciting solution consists of one part of caustic soda dissolved in three parts by weight of water, and to prevent it from being acted on by the carbonic acid of the air it is covered with a layer of petroleum oil. Sodium zincate, which is soluble, is formed by the action of the cell, and the hydrogen produced is oxidized by oxygen from the copper oxide. The electromotive force may be about one volt initially, but in practice only about three-quarters of a volt can be relied on.

Primary cells form a convenient means of obtaining electricity for laboratory experiments, and for such light services as working telegraphs, bells, &c.; but as a source of the heavy currents required for electric lighting and traction they are far too expensive in operation, apart from other considerations, to compete with dynamoelectric machinery driven by steam or water power. Certain forms, known as "standard cells," are also used in electrical measurements as standards of electromotive force (see POTENTIOMETER).

See W.R. Cooper, _Primary Batteries_ (London, 1901); Park Benjamin, _The Voltaic Cell_ (New York, 1893); W.E. Ayrton, _Practical Electricity_ (London, 1896).

BATTEUX, CHARLES (1713-1780), French philosopher and writer on aesthetics, was born near Vouziers (Ardennes), and studied theology at Reims. In 1739 he came to Paris, and after teaching in the colleges of Lisieux and Navarre, was appointed to the chair of Greek and Roman philosophy in the College de France. In 1746 he published his treatise _Les Beaux-Arts reduits a un meme principe_, an attempt to find a unity among the various theories of beauty and taste, and his views were widely accepted. The reputation thus gained, confirmed by his translation of Horace (1750), led to his becoming a member of the Academie des Inscriptions (1754) and of the French Academy (1761). His _Cours de belles lettres_ (1765) was afterwards included with some minor writings in the large treatise, _Principes de la lilterature_ (1774). The rules for composition there laid down are, perhaps, somewhat pedantic. His philosophical writings were _La Morale d'Epicure tiree de ses propres ecrits_ (1758), and the _Histoire des causes premieres_ (1769). In consequence of the freedom with which in this work he attacked the abuse of authority in philosophy, he lost his professorial chair. His last and most extensive work was a _Cours d'etudes a l'usage des eleves de l'ecole militaire_ (45 vols.). In the _Beaux-Arts_, Batteux developed a theory which is derived from Locke through Voltaire's sceptical sensualism. He held that Art consists in the faithful imitation of the beautiful in nature. Applying this principle to the art of poetry, and analysing, line by line and even word by word, the works of great poets, he deduced the law that the beauty of poetry consists in the accuracy, beauty and harmony of individual expression. This narrow and pedantic theory had at least the merit of insisting on propriety of expression. His _Histoire des causes premieres_ was among the first attempts at a history of philosophy, and in his work on Epicurus, following on Gassendi, he defended Epicureanism against the general attacks made against it.

See Dacier et Dupuy, "Eloges," in _Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions_.

BATTHYANY, LOUIS (LAJOS), COUNT (1806-1849), Hungarian statesman, was born at Pressburg in 1806. He supplied the defects of an indifferent education while serving in garrison in Italy as a lieutenant of hussars, and thenceforward adopted all the new ideas, economical and political. According to Szechenyi, he learnt much from a German tutor of the radical school, but it was not till after his marriage with the noble-minded and highly-gifted countess Antonia Zichy that he began working earnestly for the national cause. When Szechenyi drew nearer to the court in 1839-1840, Batthyany became the leader of the opposition in the Upper House, where his social rank and resolute character won for him great influence. Despite his "sardanapalian inclinations," he associated himself unreservedly with the extremists, and spent large sums for the development of trade and industry. In 1847 he fiercely opposed the government, procured the election of Kossuth as the representative of Pest, took part in the Great Deputation of the 15th of March, and on the 31st of March 1848 became the first constitutional prime-minister of Hungary. His position became extremely difficult when Jellachich and the Croats took up arms. Convinced that the rigid maintenance of the constitution was the sole panacea, he did his utmost, in his frequent journeys to Innsbruck, to persuade the court to condemn Jellachich and establish a strong national government at Pest. Unfortunately, however, he was persuaded to consent to the despatch of Magyar troops to quell the Italian rising, before the Croat difficulty had been adjusted, and thenceforth, despite his perfect loyalty, and his admirable services as Honved minister in organizing the national forces, his authority in Hungary declined before the rising star of Kossuth. When Jellachich invaded Hungary, Batthyany resigned with the intention of forming a new ministry excluding Kossuth, but this had now become impossible. Then Batthyany attempted to mediate between the two extreme

## parties, and subsequently raised a regiment from among his peasantry and

led them against the Croats. On the 11th of October he was incapacitated for active service by a fall from his horse which broke his arm. On his recovery he returned to Pest, laboured hard to bring about peace, and was a member of the deputation from the Hungarian diet to Prince Windischgratz, whom the Austrian commander refused to receive. A few days later (8th of January 1849) he was arrested at Pest. As a magnate he was only indictable by the grand justiciary, as a minister he was responsible to the diet alone. At Laibach, whither he was taken, he asked that Deak might be his advocate, but this being refused he wrote his own defence. Sentence of hanging was finally pronounced upon him at Olmtitz for violating the Pragmatic Sanction, overthrowing the constitution, and aiding and abetting the rebellion. To escape this fate he Stabbed himself with a small concealed dagger, and bled to death in the night of the 5th of October 1849.

See Bertalan Szemere, _Batthyany, Kossuth, Gorgei_ (Ger.), (Hamburg, 1853). (R. N. B.)

BATTICALOA, the provincial capital of the eastern province of Ceylon, on the E. coast, 69 m. S.S.E. of Trincomalee, situated on an island in lat. 7 deg. 44' N. and long. 81 deg. 52' E. It is of importance for its haven and the adjacent salt lagoons. The population of the town in 1901 was 9969; of the district (2872 sq. m.) 143,161. The old Dutch fort dates from 1682. Batticaloa is the seat of a government agent and district judge; criminal sessions of the supreme court are also held. Rice and cocoanuts are the two staples of the district, and steamers trading round the island call regularly at the port. The lagoon is famous for its "singing fish," supposed to be shell-fish which give forth musical notes. The district has a remnant of Veddahs or wild men of the wood. The average annual rainfall is 55-1/2 in.; the average temperature 80.4 deg. F.

BATTISHILL, JONATHAN (1738-1801), one of the best 18th century English composers of church music. Until 1764 he wrote chiefly for the theatre (incidental songs, pantomime music, and an opera in collaboration with Michael Arne, the son of Thomas Arne), but his later compositions are chiefly glees, part-songs and church music. In 1763 he had married a singer at Covent Garden theatre where he was harpsichordist. She retired from her profession when she married; and her death in 1777 so crushed him that he composed no more.

BATTLE, a market-town in the Rye parliamentary division of Sussex, England, 54-1/2 m. S.E. by S. from London by the South Eastern & Chatham railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 2996. It is pleasantly situated in an undulating well-wooded district, 7 m. from the sea at Hastings. Its name is derived from the conflict in 1066, which insured to William the Norman the crown of England (see also BATTLE ABBEY ROLL). Before the battle, in which King Harold fell, William vowed to build an abbey on the spot if he should prove victorious, and in 1094 the consecration took place with great pomp. The gatehouse, forming a picturesque termination to the main street of the town, is Decorated; and there also remain parts of the foundations of the Norman church, of the Perpendicular cloisters, and of the Early English refectory. A mansion occupies part of the site, and incorporates some of the ancient building. The church of St Mary is of various dates, the earliest portions being transitional Norman.

See _Chronicles of Battle Abbey_. 1066-1176, translated, &c., by M.A. Lower (London, 1851).

BATTLE, a general engagement between the armed forces, naval or military, of enemies. The word is derived from the Fr. _bataille_, and this, like the Ital. _battaglia_, and Span. _batalla_, comes from the popular Lat. _battalia_ for _battualia_. Cassiodorus Senator (480-?575) says: _Battualia quae vulgo Batalia dicuntur ... exercitationes militum vel gladiatorum significant_ (see Du Cange, _Glossarium_, s.v. _Batalia_). The verb _battuere_, cognate with "beat," is a rare word, found in Pliny, used of beating in a mortar or of meat before cooking. Suetonius (_Caligula_, 54-32) uses it of fencing, _battuebat pugnatoriis armis_, i.e. not with blunted weapons or foils. _Battalia_ or _batalia_ was used for the array of troops for battle, and hence was applied to the body of troops so arranged, or to a division of an army, whence the use of the word "battalion" (q.v.).

A "pitched battle," loosely used as meaning almost a decisive engagement, is strictly, as the words imply, one that is fought on ground previously selected ("pitched" meaning arranged in a fixed order) and in accordance with the intentions of the commanders of both sides; the French equivalent is _bataille arrangee_, opposed to _bataille manoeuvree_, which is prearranged but may come off on any ground. With "battle," in its usual meaning of a general engagement of hostile forces, are contrasted "skirmish,"[1] a fight between small bodies ("skirmishing" technically means fighting by troops in extended or irregular order), and "action," a more or less similar engagement between large bodies of troops. (See also TACTICS and STRATEGY.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] This is the same word as "scrimmage," and is derived from the Anglo-French _eskrimir_, modern _escrimer_, properly to fight behind cover, now to fence. The origin of this is the Old High German _scirman_, to fight behind a shield, _scirm_. Modern German _Schirm_.

BATTLE ABBEY ROLL. This is popularly supposed to have been a list of William the Conqueror's companions preserved at Battle Abbey, on the site of his great victory over Harold. It is known to us only from 16th century versions of it published by Leland, Holinshed and Duchesne, all more or less imperfect and corrupt. Holinshed's is much the fullest, but of its 629 names several are duplicates. The versions of Leland and Duchesne, though much shorter, each contain many names found in neither of the other lists. It was so obvious that several of the names had no right to figure on the roll, that Camden, as did Dugdale after him, held them to have been interpolated at various times by the monks, "not without their own advantage." Modern writers have gone further, Sir Egerton Brydges denouncing the roll as "a disgusting forgery," and E.A. Freeman dismissing it as "a transparent fiction." An attempt to vindicate the roll was made by the last duchess of Cleveland, whose _Battle Abbey Roll_ (3 vols., 1889) is the best guide to its contents.

It is probable that the character of the roll has been quite misunderstood. It is not a list of individuals, but only of family surnames, and it seems to have been intended to show which families had "come over with the Conqueror," and to have been compiled about the 14th century. The compiler appears to have been influenced by the French sound of names, and to have included many families of later settlement, such as that of Grandson, which did not come to England from Savoy till two centuries after the Conquest. The roll itself appears to be unheard of before and after the 16th century, but other lists were current at least as early as the 15th century, as the duchess of Cleveland has shown. In 1866 a list of the Conqueror's followers, compiled from Domesday and other authentic records, was set up in Dives church by M. Leopold Delisle, and is printed in the duchess' work. Its contents are naturally sufficient to show that the Battle Roll is worthless.

See Leland, _Collectanea_; Holinshed, _Chronicles of England_; Duchesne, _Historia Norm. Scriptores_; Brydges, _Censura Literaria_; Thierry, _Conquete de l'Angleterre_, vol. ii. (1829); Burke, _The Roll of Battle Abbey_ (annotated, 1848); Planche, _The Conqueror and His Companions_ (1874); duchess of Cleveland, _The Battle Abbey Roll_ (1889); Round, "The Companions of the Conqueror" (_Monthly Review_, 1901, iii. pp. 91-111). (J. H. R.)

BATTLE CREEK, a city of Calhoun county, Michigan, U.S.A., at the confluence of the Kalamazoo river with Battle Creek, about 48 m. S. of Grand Rapids. Pop. (1890) 13,197; (1900) 18,563, of whom 1844 were foreign-born; (1910, census) 25,267. It is served by the Michigan Central and the Grand Trunk railways, and by interurban electric lines. Here are the hospital and laboratories of the American Medical Missionary College (of Chicago) and the Battle Creek Sanitarium, established in 1866, which was a pioneer in dietetic reform, and did much to make Battle Creek important in the manufacture of health foods, and in the publication of diet-reform literature. Among the principal buildings, besides the hospital and the sanitarium, are several fine churches, the central high school, the Post tavern and the Post theatre. The city is a trading centre for the rich agricultural and fruit-growing district by which it is surrounded, has good water-power, and is an important manufacturing centre, its chief manufactured products being cereal health foods, for which it has a wide reputation, and the manufacture of which grew out of the dietetic experiments made in the laboratories of the sanitarium; and threshing machines and other agricultural implements, paper cartons and boxes, flour, boilers, engines and pumps. Extensive locomotive and car shops of the Grand Trunk railway are here. In 1904 the total factory product of Battle Creek was valued at $12,298,244, an increase of 95% over that for 1900; and of the total in 1904 $5,191,655 was the value of food preparations, which was 8.5% of the value of food preparations manufactured in the United States, Battle Creek thus ranking first among American cities in this industry. The water-works are owned and operated by the municipality, the water being obtained from Lake Goguac, a summer pleasure resort about 2 m. from the city. Battle Creek, said to have been named from hostilities here between some surveyors and Indians, was settled in 1831, incorporated as a village in 1850, and chartered as a city in 1859, the charter of that year being revised in 1900.

BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK, a game played by two persons with small rackets, called battledores, made of parchment or rows of gut stretched across wooden frames, and shuttlecocks, made of a base of some light material, like cork, with trimmed feathers fixed round the top. The object of the players is to bat the shuttlecock from one to the other as many times as possible without allowing it to fall to the ground. There are Greek drawings extant representing a game almost identical with battledore and shuttlecock, and it has been popular in China, Japan, India and Siam for at least 2000 years. In Europe it has been played by children for centuries. A further development is Badminton.

BATTLEMENT (probably from a lost Fr. form _bastillement_, cf. mod. Fr. _bastille_, from Med. Lat. _bastilia_, towers, which is derived from Ital. _bastire_, to build, cf. Fr. _batir_; the English word was, however, early connected with "battle"), a term given to a parapet of a wall, in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles; these cut-out portions are known as "crenels"; the solid widths between the "crenels" are called "merlons." The earliest example in the palace at Medinet-Abu at Thebes in Egypt is of the inverted form, and is said to have been derived from Syrian fortresses. Through Assyria they formed the termination of all the walls surrounding the towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud and elsewhere. Traces of them have been found at Mycenae, and they are suggested on Greek vases. In the battlements of Pompeii, additional protection was given by small internal buttresses or spur walls against which the defender might place himself so as to be protected completely on one side. In the battlements of the middle ages the crenel was about one-third of the width of the merlon, and the latter was in addition pierced with a small slit. The same is also found in Italian battlements, where the merlon is of much greater height and is capped in a peculiar fashion. The battlements of the Mahommedans had a more decorative and varied character, and were retained from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to their walls. They may be regarded therefore in the same light as the cresting found in the Spanish renaissance. The same retention of the battlement as a purely decorative feature is found throughout the Decorated and Perpendicular periods, and not only occurs on parapets but on the transoms of windows and on the tie-beams of roofs and on screens. A further decorative treatment was given in the elaborate panelling of the merlons and that portion of the parapet walls rising above the cornice, by the introduction of quatrefoils and other conventional forms filled with foliage and shields.

BATTUE (from Fr. _battre_, to beat), the beating of game from cover under the sportsmen's fire; by analogy the word is used to describe any slaughter of defenceless crowds.

BATTUS, the legendary founder of the Greek colony of Cyrene in Libya (about 630 B.C.). The Greeks who accompanied him were, like himself, natives of Thera, and descended partly from the race of the Minyae. Various accounts are given both of the founding of Cyrene and of the origin of the founder's name. According to the Cyrenaeans (Herod, iv. 150-156), Battus, having an impediment in his speech, consulted the oracle at Delphi, and was told to found a colony in Libya; according to the Theraeans, Battus was entrusted with this mission by their aged king Grinus. In another version, there was civil war in Thera; Battus, leader of one party, was banished, and, on applying to the oracle, was recommended to take out a colony to "the continent" (Schol. Pindar, _Pyth._ iv. 10). In any case the foundation is attributed to the direct instructions of Apollo. The name was connected by some with [Greek: battarizo], ("stammer"), but Herodotus (iv. 155) says that it was the Libyan word for "king," that Battus was not called by the name until after his arrival at Libya, and that the oracle addressed him as "Battus" by anticipation. This, however, would imply on the part of the oracle a knowledge of Libya, which was not shared by the rest of Greece (Herod. _l.c._), and it is noteworthy that the name occurs in Arcadian and Messenian legends. Herodotus does not know his real name, but Pindar (_Pyth._ v. 116), no doubt rightly, calls the founder of the colony Aristoteles, while Justin (xiii. 7) gives his name as Aristaeus who was worshipped at Cyrene. Four kings named Battus, alternating with four named Arcesilaus, ruled in Cyrene (q.v.) till the fall of the dynasty about 450 B.C.

See R.W. Macan's _Herodotus IV.-VI._ (1895), vol. i. pp. 104 seq. and notes.

BATU, or ROCK ISLANDS (Dutch _Batoe_), a group of three greater and forty-eight lesser islands in the Dutch East Indies, W. of Sumatra, between 0 deg. 10' N. to 0 deg. 45' S. and 97 deg. 50'-98 deg. 35' E., belonging to the Ayerbangi district of the lowlands of Padang (Sumatra). They are separated by the strait of Sibirut from the Mentawi group. The three chief islands, from N. to S., are Pini or Mintao, Masa, and Bala. The total land area of the group is 445 sq. m. The islands are generally low, and covered with forest, in which the cocoanut palm is conspicuous. There is trade in cocoanuts, oil, and other forest produce. The natives, about 3000 in number, are of Malayan or pre-Malayan stock, akin to those of the island of Nias to the north-west. Only about twenty of the smaller islands are inhabited.