the cohaliitation that makes tlie marriage." Consult PoUoek and ilaitland, History of Enfilish Laic (2d ed., London and Boston, 1809) ; and the authorities referred to under the title ^SLvbbiage.
BETROTHED, betrotht'. The. ( 1 ) A novel
hy Scott (1S25). The scene is laid in the time
of Henry II. Eveline Berenger was betrothed
to her guardian, the Constable of Chester. She
was in love with his young kinsman, Damian
de Lacy. The Constable, after testing the honor
of Damian severely, by putting Eveline in his
charge, releases her from her betrothal, and she
marries her younger lover. ( 2 ) A novel by ^Man-
zoni, published 182.5-27. (3) An opera by Pe-
trella. produced in 1869, at Lecco.
BETSIMISARAKA, bet-se'me-sa-ra'ka. The
mixed Polynesian people of ^Madagascar living
on the eastern side of the island.
BET'SY AND I ARE OUT. A popular
poem by Will Carleton (1872), iirst published
in the Toledo Blade, and followed bv Betsy and
I Hade Up.
BETTELHEIM, bet'fl-him, Axtox (1851—).
An Austrian author, born in Vienna, and educat-
ed in that city, and in Munich. He published
an excellent biographical work on Beaumarchais
(1886), and subsequently devoted himself almost
exclusively to biographical writing, publishing
the collection Fiihrende (leister, to which he con-
tributed the notable biography of Anzengruber.
Berthold Auerbaeh selected him as the publisher
of his posthumous works and as his biographer.
Among his latest collective works are Deutsche
Geisteshelden (1895), and Deutsches Jahrbuch
und Deutsche yekrologie. Vols. I. to IV. (1897-
19001.
BET'TERTON, Thomas (1635-1710). An
English actor. He was bom in Westminster and
apprenticed by his father to a bookseller, by
whose formation of a theatrical troupe Betterton
seems to have been introduced to his profession.
In 1661 he became a member of Sir William Dav-
enant's company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields
Theatre, and quickly became a favorite. The best
contemporary judges, such as Addison, Cibber,
etc., bear admiring witness to the dramatic power
of his impersonations, which overcame the nat-
ural disadvantages of a low voice, small eyes, and
an ungainly figure. The range of his repertory was
wide, including many of Shakespeare's plays and
a great variety of contemporary pieces. His
Hamlet, to which Mrs. Saunderson, his future
wife, played Ophelia, was considered especially
fine. Charles II. thought so highly of him that,
for the acting of Alvaro in Love and Honor, he
is said to have lent him his coronation suit.
Early in his career he was sent, by the King's
wish, to Paris to study the French sUige, with
a view to improvement in the English, a visit
which brought the young dramatist into contact
with the work of Moli&re. His private charac-
ter was highly estimable, cheerful, modest, and
generous. After a retirement of many years,
it became known that his circumstances were
very straitened, and it was determined to give
him a public benefit. On April 7, 1709, the
spirited veteran (then in his 74th year) ap-
peared with immense Mat at the Haymarket
Theatre in the youthful part of Valentine, in
Congreve's Love for Love. His last appearance
wag in a similar benefit three davs before his
death, as Melantius, in the Maid's Tragedy, of
Beaumont and Fletcher. He was buried in the
cloister of Westminster Abbey; an event which
Steele commemorates in the Tatler (No. 167).
As a writer, Betterton published a number of
comedies adapted from earlier plays. Mrs. Bet-
terton took almost the same rank among con-
temporary actresses that her husband did among
actors. Consult: Howe, Thomas Betterton, Emi-
nent Actor vSeries (London, 1891) ; The Life and
Times of that Excellent and Renowned Actor,
Thomas Betterton, by the Author of the Lives of
ilrs. Abingdon, etc. (London, 1888) ; Doran,
Annals of the English Stage, Vol. I. (London,
1888) ; Downes, Eoscius Anglicanus (London,
1886) ; Genest, Histori/ of the English Htage,
Vol. L (Bath, 1832); 'and Gait, Lives of the
Players (London, 1835).
BETTINELLI, bet'te-nel'U, Savebio (1718-
1808). An Italian critic and writer on aesthetics.
He was born at Mantua, and after journeying
with the Jesuits taught successively at Brescia,
at Venice, at Parma, and at Modena. His prin-
cipal works were II risorgimento d'ltalia negli
studii delle arti e nei costumi dopo il mille ( 1775-
86) J on the renaissance of art and literature in
Italy, and Lettere Virgiliane, which aroused
much criticism on account of its attacks on
Dante. Bettinelli's collected works were pub-
lished under the title L'Abbate Bettinelli, Opere
edite e hiedite, 24 vols. (1799-1802). Consult
G. F. Napione, Vita dell' Ahbate S. Bettinelli
(Turin, 1819).
BET'TING {bet, shortened, from abet. OF.
abeter, to incite, instigate, deceive, from a [Lat.
ad'i, to + beter, Icel. beita, to bait, to cause to
bite), or Wagebixg. Agreements to give money
or money's worth upon the determination or
ascertainment of an uncertain event were both
in England and in the United States enforceable
by the common law. They fall into two classes:
those made entirely for sport, and those in which
the uncertain event afl'ects or results from a
business transaction. St-atutory limitations were
early imposed upon contracts by way of gam-
ing or wagering, and in 1848 (8 and 9 Vict. c.
109) all such contracts were declared void in
England. Similar statutes were passed by most
of the L'nited States at aliout the same period.
A majority of them also have constitutional
provisions against legalizing lotteries, while New
York forbids the Legislature to legalize any kind
of gambling. So, in the United States, money
lent with the intention of enabling the borrower
to make a wager cannot be recovered, since wa-
gers are illegal, not merely void. Of the second
class, the most important are stock-exchange
transactions and marine, fiie, and life insurance.
Marine and fire insurance contracts are essen-
tially contracts of indemnity, since contemplat-
ing a specified loss, and all are held valid where
the insurer possesses an insurable interest. In
stock exchange transactions the test is whether
delivery is contemplated. 'Bucket-shop deals,'
or mere wagers on the rise and fall of prices, or
de.alings in 'futures,' are illegal, but contracts for
future delivery are valid whether the seller has
the goods or not, and option contracts, whether
'puts,' 'calls,' or 'straddles,' are not per se gam-
bling contracts. Where the force of the eon-
tract does not show a wager, it will generally
be presumed to be valid. See Gambling.
