BEAC0N3FIELD 455 BEAU BEACONSFIELD, BENJAMIN DIS- RAELI, EABL OF, an English states- man and novelist, of Jewish extraction; eldest son of Isaac D'Israeli, author of the "Curiosities of Literature"; born in London, Dec. 21, 1804. He attended for a time a private school, and was first destined for the law, but turned to literature. In 1826 he published "Vivian Grey," his first novel; and subsequently traveled for some time, visiting Italy Greece, Turkey, and Syria, and gaining experiences which were afterward re- LORD BEACONSFIELD produced in his books. In 1831 "The Young Duke" appeared, followed by "Contarini Fleming," "Alroy," "Hen- rietta Temple," "Venetia," "The Revo- lutionary Epic" (a poem), etc. In 1832, and on two subsequent occasions, he appeared as candidate for the repre- sentation of High Wycombe, but was unsuccessful. In 1835 he unsuccessfully contested Taunton as a Tory. In 1837 he gained an entrance to the House of Commons, being elected for Maidstone. His first speech in the House was treated with ridicule; but he finished with the prophetic declaration that the time would come when they would hear him. During his first years in Parlia- ment, he was a supporter of Peel; but when Peel pledged himself to abolish the corn laws, Disraeli became the leader of the Protectionists. About this time he became a leader of what was known as the Young England party, the most prominent characteristic of which was a sort of sentimental advocacy of feu- dalism. This spirit showed itself in his two novels of "Coningsby" and "Sybil," published respectively in 1844 and 1845. Having acquired the manor of Hughen- den, in Buckinghamshire, he was in 1847 elected for this county, and he retained his seat till raised to the peerage, nearly 30 years later. His first appointment to office was in 1852, when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Derby. The following year, however, the ministry was defeated. He remained out of office till 1858, when he again became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and brought in a reform bill which wrecked the government. During the time the Palmerston government was in office, Mr. Disraeli led the opposition in the lower House. In 1866 the Liberals resigned, and Derby and Disraeli came into power, the latter being again Chan- cellor of the Exchequer. They imme- diately brought in, and carried, after a violent struggle, a reform bill, on the basis of household suffrage. In 1868, he became Premier on the resignation of Lord Derby, but his tenure of office was short. In 1874 he again became Prime Minister with a strong Conservative majority, and he remained in power for six years. This period was marked by his elevation to the peerage, in 1876,, as Earl of Beaconsfield, and by the promi- nent part he took in regard to the Eastern Question and the conclusion of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. In 1880, Parliament was rather suddenly dis- solved, and the new Parliament showing an overwhelming Liberal majority, he re- signed at once. Within a few months of his death, in London, April 19, 1891, the publication of a novel "Endymion" showed that his intellect was still vig- orous. He also wrote "A Vindication of the English Constitution" (1834) ; "Alarcos, a Tragedy" (1839) ; "Lothair" (1881) ; and "Lord George Bentinck, a Political Biography" (1852). BEAGLE ISLAND, an island dis- covered by Admiral Fitzroy, during a voyage in the "Beagle," to survey Pata- gonia, in 1828-1834. The channel of the same name is on the S. side of the island of Tierra del Fuego. BEAN, a well known cultivated plant, vicia faha, of Linnaeus, now called faha vulgaris. It belongs to the order legu- minosas. The flowers, which are fragrant, are papilionaceous, white, with violet colored veins and blotches, looking almost black. The seeds are partly kidney- shaped. The native country of faba vnlgai-is is believed to be the regions near the Caspian Sea, the Levant, and Egypt. Faha vulgaiHs may be primarily
