BERENICE BERESINA 553 against her wishes as well as his own. Their parting has been made the subject of a tra- gedy by Racine. BERENICE. I. An ancient city of Egypt, on a gulf on the W. side of the Red sea, an- ciently called Sinus Immundus, in lat. 23 56' N., Ion. 35 34' E., 155 m. E. by 8. of Syene (Asswan). The city stood upon a narrow strip of land between the shore and a range of hills. It was probably founded by Ptolemy II., and being the terminus of a great road from Ooptos on the Nile, 210 m. distant, became the empo- rium of commerce between Ethiopia and Egypt on the one hand and Syria and India on the other, and so continued under the Romans. The population was about 10,000. Some ancient remains exist. II. An ancient city of Oyrenaica, situated upon the promontory of Pseudopenias, at the mouth of the small stream Lathon, near the E. extremity of the Great Syrtis. It was originally called Hesperis because the garden of the Hesperides was supposed to be in its neighborhood. It acquired importance under the Ptolemies, and was named Berenice from the wife of Ptolemy Euergetes. Many of its inhabitants were Jews. Its prosperity received a blow from the insurrection of the Jews during the reign of Trajan, from which it never re- covered. Under Justinian it was fortified and adorned with baths. Benghazi now occupies its site. BERESFORD, James, an English author, born at Upham, Hampshire, in 1764, died in Sep- tember, 1840. He was educated at Oxford, and became rector of Kibworth, Leicester- shire. He was the author of various indepen- dent works and of contributions to the " Look- er-on," a periodical published in 1792-'3. His most noted work was " The Miseries of Human Life," a prose satire often reprinted. BERESFORD, William Carr, viscount, a British general, born in Ireland, Oct. 2, 1768, died in Kent, Jan. 8, 1854. He was the illegitimate son of the first marquis of Waterford, and en- tered the army at an early age. While in Nova Scotia he lost an eye. He served at Tou- lon, in Corsica, the West and East Indies, and in Ireland, and took part in the conquest of the Cape of Good Hope. Thence he was detach- ed in 1806 in command of the land forces of an expedition against Buenos Ayres, with the rank of brigadier general. He took the place, but was obliged to surrender it with his corps, and soon afterward made his escape. He was in command of the force which captured Madeira in 1807 and took possession of the island. In 1808 he was sent to Portugal with the rank of major general and intrusted with the organization of the Portuguese army. He was one of the commissioners upon the adjust- ment of the terms of the convention of Cintra. He accompanied Sir John Moore into Spain, was present at the battle of Corunna, and cov- ered the embarkation of the troops. In 1809 he was appointed marshal and generalissimo of the Portuguese army, which he reorganized and brought into a state of great efficiency. He supported Wellington throughout the peninsu- lar war, and took part in all the principal bat- tles. On May 4, 1811, he invested the fortress of Badajoz, but considered it advisable to raise the siege, and on the 16th defeated Soult at the battle of Albuera, rather, however, through the courage of his soldiers than through his own feneralship. He took part in the victories of alamanca, Vitoria, Bayonne, Orthez, and Tou- louse, and was created field marshal of Portu- gal, duke of Elvas, and marquis of Santo Cam- po. In 1810 he was chosen member of parlia- ment, but never took his seat. In 1814 he was created Baron Beresford of Albuera and Dun- gannon, and went on a diplomatic mission to Brazil ; and in 1817 he suppressed an insurrec- tion in Brazil, on behalf of the Portuguese government. After his return to England he was made viscount (1823) and general of the army (1825). From 1828 to 1830 he was mas- ter general of the ordnance. Having assisted in forwarding English troops to Dom Miguel, he was deprived by the Portuguese govern- ment of the rank of field marshal. In politics he was a decided tory. He married in 1832 his cousin Louisa, daughter of the archbishop of Tuam and widow of Thomas Hope, but died without children, his titles becoming extinct. BERESINi, or Berezina, a river of Russia, gov- ernment of Minsk, rises in lat. 55 10' N., Ion. 27 50' E., and flows S. E. through a level country, and empties into the Dnieper above Retchitza. By the canal which connects it with the Diina the Baltic communicates with the Black sea. The river is memorable for the battle fought upon its hanks in November, 1812. The army of Napoleon on its retreat from Moscow, hard pressed by Kutuzpff and Wittgenstein, was about to cross the river by the bridge at Borisov, but found that it was in the possession of the Russians under Tchitcha- goff. Napoleon then constructed two bridges at Studienka, a small village N. W. of Borisov. In the afternoon of the 26th the passage was commenced, and continued through the 27th undisturbed by the enemy. On the morning of the 28th the Russians attacked the French in force. The remnants of the corps command- ed by Ondinot, Ney, and Davonst fought with desperation, and gradually made their way across, but the Russians succeeded in establish- ing a battery of 12 guns which commanded the bridge. Very great confusion and loss of life was caused among the French, especially in the unfortunate rear guard commanded by Vic- tor. Many sick and wounded soldiers and stragglers remained upon the left bank, but on the morning of the 20th preparations were made by the French to burn the bridge. After it had been set on fire, those who remained be- hind rushed upon it and perished in the flames or in the river. It is said that when the ice broke up in the spring 12,000 bodies of the French were found upon the banks. The Russians took about 15,000 prisoners.
