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of France, January 26, 1764, the son of a lawyer. He entered the army as a private, but his promotion was rapid after the outbreak of the French Revolution. In 1794 he was a general in command of a division, and in 1804 he was made a marshal in the army. In 1797 he was sent with 20,000 men to re-enforce the army of Italy, which led to his first meeting with Napoleon. Of all Napoleon's marshals, Bernadotte was the one least under his influence, and refused to help him in any of his political designs. But his generalship was highly thought of by his chief. He commanded the center at Austerlitz and helped to prevent the allies from turning the right flank of the French army. With a separate command, he defeated the Prussians at Halle and forced Blucher to surrender. He defeated the Russians at Mohrungen, commanded a corps of Saxons at the battle of Wagram, after which a dispute with Napoleon caused his resignation. Bernadotte was also, for a time, minister of war and ambassador to Vienna. He was elected crown prince of Sweden in 1810. He refused to agree to Napoleon's demand that he should pledge himself not to take up arms against France, saying that from that time the interests of Sweden were his It was not, however, until French troops invaded Sweden that he attacked Napoleon. When Napoleon declared war against Russia, Bernadotte held in his hands the destiny of Europe, Napoleon offering him large territories if he would attack Russia. He, however, joined the allies, but halted when France was invaded, before reaching the border, determined not to attack his native land. In 1814 he forced Denmark to cede to him Norway, which until June 7, 1905, remained joined to Sweden. In 1818 he became king of Sweden and Norway under the name of Charles XIV. Throughout his long reign of twenty-six years, though knowing nothing of the languages of his subjects, he ruled successfully and built up the country in many ways. He died at Stockholm, March 8, 1844.
Bernard (ber-ndrd*'), Great Saint, a mountain pass of the Alps, between the Swiss canton of Vaud and the valley of Aosta. At the highest point of the pass, nearly 8,000 feet above the sea, near the line of perpetual snow, is the monastery or hospice of St. Bernard. It is said to have been founded in 962, for the succor of travelers crossing the mountains. The celebrated St. Bernard dogs are trained to assist in this work. By this pass, Roman armies, armies under Charlemagne and Frederick Barbarossa and Napoleon's army of 30,000, with artillery and cavalry, crossed the Alps. The Little St. Bernard is a mountain 7,200 feet in height, south of Mont Blanc. It has a pass by which Hannibal is thought to have crossed into Italy.
SARAH BERNHARDT
Bernardino de Betto Bagio. See PIN-
TURICCHIO.
Bernhardt (bern'hdrt}, Rosine (called Sarah), a famous French actress, was born in Paris in 1844. Her parents were Jews, but she was brought up in a convent at Versailles. She made her first appearance on the stage in i 8 6 2, at the Theatre Fran-9aise, but at first attracted little notice. In 1867 her playing of the part of Marie d e Neuberg in a play by Victor Hugo, called Ruy Bias, made her famous. She then went back to the Theatre Fran-faise, in Paris, and after 1879 began to appear each year in London, where she was very successful. Her trips through America and Russia were also successes. In the United States her favorite role's were those of Fe"dora and La Tosca, while she drew immense audiences when she appeared in Adrienne Lecouvreur and La Dame aux Camelias. Madame Bernhardt is probably the greatest living actress of tragedy. She is also gifted as an artist and a sculptor.
Bertill'on System, The, was made public by Dr. Alphonse Bertillon in 1885 in Paris, after he had been at work upon it for six years. The purpose of the system, is to identify criminals. Its chief feature is accurate bodily measurement. After the age of twenty the skeleton is almost wholly fixed; and yet in no two individuals are the measurements of parts of the body liable to be closely alike. Precise descriptions, in which the color of the eyes is most important and also photographs are employed to assist the method of measurement. Marks, moles and scars are carefully noted, and their position is registered with great exactness. The system has now been adopted in most European countries. Its employment in the United States dates from 1887. It is very needful to identify criminals; and the Bertillon system makes innocent persons safe from the danger of being identified with some criminal who may resemble them. In Paris there is a collection of the measurements and descriptions of no less than 120,000 criminals; and it is likely that the United States will form a similar central collection, for it is said that European criminals flock to the United States because the Bertillon. system is less universal in this country.
