Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 26 - AUS-CHI.pdf/471

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BUCHARES (1894). In 1896 lie became, so far as some of bis work was concerned, bis own publisher. In the autumn of 1900 be bad a paralytic seizure, from which he never recovered. He died at Streatham on 10th June 1901. Buchanan’s poems were collected into three volumes in 1874, and again, more completely, into one volume in 1884. This volume contains, besides the poems mentioned above and many others,^“The Drama of Kings” (1871); “St Abe and his Seven Wives, a lively tale of Salt Lake City, published anonymously in 18/2 ; and “Balder the Beautiful” (1877). He afterwards published (among others) “The City of Dream” (1888); “The Outcast: a Rhyme for the Time ” (1891); and “The Wandering Jew ” (1893). His earlier novels, The Shadow of the Sword and God and the Man (1881), a striking tale of a family feud, are distinguished by a certain breadth and simplicity of treatment which is not so noticeable in their successors, among which may be mentioned The Martyrdom of Madeline (1882); Foxglove Manor (1885); Effie Hetherington (1896) ; and Father Anthony (1898). David Gray and other Essays, chiefly on Poetry (1868); Master Spirits (1873); A Poet's Sketch Book (1883), in which the interesting essay on Gray is reprinted; and A Look round Literature (1887), contain Buchanan’s chief contributions to periodical literature. More valuable is The Land of Lome (two vols. 1871), a vivid record of yachting experiences on the west coast of Scotland. (r G ) Bucharest, or Bucarest (Rumanian, Ilucuresci), the capital of Rumania, in the province of Ilfov, on the Dimbovitza, 30 miles from the Danube. It is the residence of the king and court, the seat of government and of the metropolitan primate, and has increased in an extraordinary degree in general importance, more especially since the foundation of the kingdom and of the present dynasty. It now occupies an area of more than 20 square miles, and is surrounded by a girdle of fortifications, planned by the celebrated Belgian engineer General Brialmont, extending over a circuit of 45 miles, and comprising 18 forts mounted with the latest inventions in movable cupolas and siege cannon. Many imposing public buildings and private mansions have been erected during recent years, and new streets and boulevards constructed. The paving throughout with granite blocks, and even in parts of the central street, the Calca Yictoriei, with wood, and the use of the electric light in its main arteries have given to this so-called Paris of the East an entirely novel aspect, and completely removed all trace of the Oriental character it once possessed. The river Dimbovitza has been provided with handsome quays, and the broad boulevard Elizabeth, which meets it at right angles, extends from the palace of the crown prince and princess at Cotroceni to the barrier of the cattle market, west to east, a distance of some 4^( miles. .Another new boulevard meets the Chaussee Kisseleff. This latter, the Bois de Boulogne of Rumania’s capital, terminates in the prettily situated racecourse of Baneasa, where spring and autumn meetings are held. The new public buildings are to be found chiefly on the quays of the Dimbovitza, the Calca Yictoriei, and the main boulevards. They comprise the remodelled royal palace, the ministries of state (with the exception of the ministry of the interior, all of recent construction), the national bank, the deposit bank, the post office, the law courts, the prefecture, the athenaeum (used for literary conferences and for concerts), the court of public accounts, the state printing-office, &c. To these must be added the arsenal, on the outskirts of the town, the cavalry barracks on the plateau of Cotroceni, the infantry barracks at Dealu Spirei, and those for the regiments of the Chasseurs (Venatori) of the Calarasi and Dorobanti at Malmaison, affording in all accommodation for about 30,000 troops. As to population Bucharest has increased considerably. It amounted in 1890 to about 250,000, and though more or less stationary until 1895, it has since that date, according to the census of 1900, increased to 282,071, of whom 53,056 are foreigners (mostly Austro-Hungarian subjects)

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and 43,214 are Jews. The great bulk of the population are Rumanians of the Greek orthodox religion. There are at least 350 churches of this creed in the capital, the most noticeable being the Metropol or Cathedral, the church of Doamna Balasa, and that of St Spiridion. The Roman Catholic community is a large one, numbering as many as 30,000, but there are only three Roman Catholic places of worship, including the cathedral of St Joseph. Educational institutions have also made great progress, for besides the university there are now no less than fifty public schools, not to mention numerous Catholic and Lutheran foundations. The general sanitary and other improvements are certainly noteworthy, and include, besides the gas and electric lighting and wrellpaved streets, an almost universally applied system of canalization and water-supply, and electric and horse tramways in all the principal thoroughfares. Manufactories have also sprung up in the neighbourhood of the town, and of these the chief are the gunpowder factory at Dudesci, some 7 miles distant; the sugar factory at Chitila; brick, tile, pipe, and terra-cotta works at Cotroceni • three large breweries, linseed-oil mills, and a rope and waterproof cloth factory. With this increase in importance and general welfare the railway system of Rumania has been so far extended that her capital is now in communication with the rest of the continent byJ six lines. 1. By that of Bucharest, Verciorova with Austria-Hungary. 2. By that vid Predeal with Transylvania. 3. By that vid Burdujeni with Austria and Germany. 4. By that vid Jassy-Ungheni with Russia. 5. By the Giurgevo line with Bulgaria ; and 6. By the Constantza line over the New Danube Bridge with the Black Sea, and so by the Rumanian Maritime Service (Servicird Maritim) with Constantinople and the east. Besides a complete external and internal telegraphic service, Bucharest is also in telephonic communication with Sinaia, the summer residence of the court in the Carpathians, and with the ports of Galatz and Braila, and with Jassy. Among the most important philanthropic institutions may be mentioned the Coltei Hospital, the Asile Elena Doamna, and the Brancovan, Maternitate, Philantropia, Pantelimon hospitals, and the Marcutza lunatic asylum. Good hotels and restaurants are also plentiful. There are, however, only two theatres properly so called, the National Theatre, restored in 1895-96, and the Lyric Theatre, chiefly patronized by foreign artistes. There are besides two large concert halls. There is also a large increase in the number of clubs, political, social, and sporting. Socially, indeed, the progress of Bucharest is remarkable, its political, literary, and scientific coteries being of a character to place it on a level with most European capitals. The local colouring of the town is rapidly disappearing with the speedy march of Western civilization; and with the increasing number of houses of several storeys, the room available for the small gardens which once formed so marked a feature is yearly becoming less, although the few public squares and gardens, such as the Cismegiu, Place St Georges, the gardens of the Episcopei and Icoanei, remain for the present intact. The excellent cabs, however, driven by Russian coachmen of the peculiar Lipovan sect, the itinerant retail vendors, with their doleful street-cries and often picturesque country dresses, and the native gypsies, whether musicians or employed in building houses, still strike the eye of the foreigner as a last vestige of the Oriental past.

Bucher Lothar (1817-1892), German publicist, was born on 25th October 1817, at Neu Stettin, in Pomerania, his father being master at a gymnasium. After studying at the University of Berlin he adopted the legal profession. Elected a member of the National Assembly in Berlin in 1848, he was an active leader of the extreme democratic party. With others of his colleagues he was in 1850 brought to trial for having taken part in organizing a movement for refusal to pay taxes ; he was condemned to fifteen months’ imprisonment in a fortress, but left the country before the sentence was executed. For ten years he lived in exile, chiefly in London ; he acted as special correspondent of the National Zeitung, and gained a great knowledge of English life; and he published a work, Der Parliamentarismus wie er ist, a criticism of parliamentary government, which shows a marked change in his political opinions. In 1860 he returned to Germany, and became intimate with Lassalle, S. II. — 54