Billerumj, a town in Essex, Eng. seated .in a
hill, 9 m. S. W. of Chelmsford, and 23 E. of Lon-
don. Pop. about 1,200.

Billesdon, a town in Leicestershire, Eng. 8 m.
N. of Leicester, and 93 N. by W. of London. Pop.
634.

Billom, a town of France, in the department of
Puy de Dome, seated on an eminence, 15 m. E. S.
E. of Clermont. Pop. 5,200.

Bilmah, a./vast burning desert of Africa, be-
tween Fezzan and Bornou, which caravans are
ten days in passing.

Bilsah, a town of Hindoostan, in Malwa, capital
of a circar, noted for producing excellent tobacco.
It is situate near the source of the Betwa river,
120 m. E. of Ougein.

Bilsen, a town of the Netherlands, in the terri-
tory of Liege. Near it is Munster Bilsen, a cele-
brated temporal foundation and abbey for noble
ladies. It is situate on the Demer, 15 m. N. N.
AV. of Liege. Pop. about 2,000.

BiJstein, a town of Germany, in the duchy of
AVestphalia, situate on a mountain, 24 m. S. S. E.
of Arensburg.

Btlston, a large village in Staffordshire, Eng.
2 m. S. E. of Wolverhampton. It has a naviga-
ble canal, communicating with the Staffordshire
and*AY orcestershire canals, and several great riv-
ers. Near it are large mines of coal, iron-stone,
Ac. also furnaces, forges, and slitting mills ; and
raaahctares of japanned and enamelled goods.
Pop. in 1821.12.003-

Btmuiti, one at the Bahama islands, near the
channel of Bahama. 8 miles ranj. and nearly as
manv broad. It has a good harbour. Long. 7J.
30. AV. lat. 25. 0. N.

Bimlepatam, a town of Hindoostan, on the
coast of the Circars, 12 m. N. of A^rizigapatam.

Binaros, or Vinaros, a town of Spain, in Afalen-
cia, seated near the Mediterranean, at the mouth
of a river, which forms a small harbour, 7 m. N.
by E. of Peniscola, and 23 S. of Torsosa.

Binch, a fortified town of the Netherlands, in
Hainault, on the river Haye, 9 m. E. of Mons.
Pop. 3,800.

Binchester, a village in the county of Durham,
Eng. on the river AA^Tear, near Durham. By
several inscriptions and monuments, it appears to
have been the Roman Vinoviuna ; and many Ro-
man coins have been dug up here.

Bingazi, a town of Barbary, in Barbaca, with
a harbour for small vessels, 35 m. S. AV. of Tolo-
raem.

BiMg tn. a town of Germany, seated at the con-
frneBee of the Nahe with the Rhine, 15 m. W. by
S. of*Mentz. Pop. 2,700.

Bimgautrim, a town of Germany, in the circle
of Upyrr Rhine, 16 m. N. N. E. of Frankfort.

a town in Nottinghamshire, Eng. in
the vmie of Belvoir, 9 m. E. of Nottingham, and
124 ?i- by W. cf London. Pop. 1,574.

i. Somerset Co. Me. Pop. 538.

Biagtcy- m town in AAfast Yorkshire, Eng. seat-
ed on the Aire. 14 in. S. E. of Skipton, and 202
N. N. W pfLtwi'-s. Pop. in 1821, 6,176.

Biohio. the lirg-st river of Chile, which rises
in the Andes, runs through veins of gold, and
fields of sarsaparilla, and passing the city of Con-
cepcion, enters the Pacific Ocean, in lat. 36. 55. S.
It is the boundary between Chile, and the coun-
try of the Araucan Indians.

Biornehirg, a town of Russian Finland, near
the mouth of the Kune, in the Gulf of Bothnia,
75 m. N. of Abo. Long. 22. 5. E. lat. 61. 42. N.
13

Bir, El-Bir,,Beer, or Biredgik, a town of Asi-
atic Turkey, in Diarbeck, with a castle. It stands
on the east bank of the Euphrates, near a high
mountain, in a fruitful country, 60 m. N. E. of
Aleppo.

Birboom, a town of Hindoostan, in Bengal, 66
m. W. S. W. of Moorshedabad, and 115 N. N
W. of Calcutta.

Bird Islands, there are a dozen islands and clus-
ters of islands in different parts of the world, cal-
led Bird Islands, mostly uninhabited, except by
birds, from which they have been named. TIk?
most considerable group is in*the Carrihean Sea,
E. of Curacao.

Birdsborough, p.v. Berks Co. Pa. on the Schuyl
kill, 8 m. below Reading.

Birdsville, p.v. Burke Co. Geo. 48 m. S. E
Milledgeville.

Birkenfeld, a town of Germany, in the county
of Spanheim, in the circle of Upper Rhine ; seat-
ed near the source of the river Nahe, 25 m. E. S.
E. of Treves. It is distinguished for its cattle
fairs.

Birmah, an extensive empire in Asia, to the
east of the Bay of Bengal; containing the king-
doms of Birmah, Cassay, Aracan, and Pegu, and
all the west coast of Siam, to the promontory of
Malay, extending from the 10th to the 24th deg.
of N. lat. The kingdom of Birmah, frequently
called Ava, from the name of its ancient capital,
has Pegu on the south, and occupies both sides of
the river Irrawaddy, or Errabatty, to the frontiers
of Assam on the north; on the west it has Arra-
cnn and Cassay, and on the east China and Upper
Siam. This kingdom was conquered in 1752, by
the king <xe2x80xa2' Pegu, who carried the Birman mon-
arch prisiner to Pegu, and caused him to be mur-
dered there in 1T.'4 : but Alompra. a Birman of
low distinction, who was continued by the con-
queror as chief at Moncbaban, a small place to
the north of Ava, revolted against the Peguese,
got possession of Ava in 1755, and after continued
battles, with various success, became the conquer-
or of Pegu, in 1757. This deliverer of his coun-
try continued in a state of warfare to his death, in
1760; and his successors have since added the
other countries, which now form the Birman Em-
pire. The climate of Birmah is very salubrious ;
the seasons being regular, and the extremes of
heat and cold seldom experienced. The soil is
remarkably fertile, producing rice, sugar canes,
tobacco, indigo, cotton, and all the tropical fruits
in perfection ; and on the banks of the Irrawaddy,
which runs south through the whole country, is
produced pure amber, and the finest teak timber in
the world. The kingdom of Birmah abounds in
minerals ; it has mines of gold, silver, rubies, and
sapphires ; and affords amethysts, garnets, chrys-
olites, jasper, load-stone, and marble. The gene-
ral disposition of the Birmans is strikingly con-
trasted with that of the natives of Hindoostan,
though separated only by a narrow ridge of moun-
tains, in several places admitting of an easy inter-
course. The Birmans are a lively, inquisitive
race, active, irascible, and impatient; but the
character of their Bengal neighbours is known to
be the reverse. The passion 6f jealousy which
prompts most eastern nations to immure their
women, and surround them with guards, seems to
have little influence on the minds of the Birmans
for their wives and daughters have as free inter
course with the other sex as the rules of Euro-
pean society admit. The Birmans are extremely
fond both of poetry and music. Their religion is,

I