BED

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BED

BECKETS, in the marine, signify large hooks, or circular•wreaths of rope, or wooden brackets, used to confine ropes,tackles, oars, or spars, in a convenient place till they are wanted.

BEC'KUM, a town of the bishopric of Munster,"in Germany .Lon. 8. 18. E. Lat. 51. 40. N.

BECS ANGIL, the ancient Bithynia,a province of Natolia in Asia.

BECTASSE, a sect of religious among the 'l urks. All thejanizaries belonging to the Porte are of this religion. The habit otthe Bectasse is white : on their heads they wear white caps of se-veral pieces, with turbans of wool twisted like ropes. 'J hey ob-serve constantly the hour of prayer, which they perform in then-own assemblies, and make frequent declarations of the unity of God .

BED, a convenience for stretching and composing the body on,for ease, rest, or sleep, consisting generally of feathers inclosed ina ticken case. There are varieties of beds, as a standing-bed, asettee-bed, a tent-bed, a truckle-bed, &c. Mr. Whitaker in hishistory of Manchester observes, that it w as universally the prac-tice, in the first ages, for mankind to sleep upon skins of beasts.It was originally the custom of the Greeks and Romans. Itwas particularly the custom of the ancient Britons before theRoman invasion ; and these skins were spread on the floor of theirapartments. Afterwards they were changed for loose rushes andheath, as the Welsh a few years ago lay on the former, and manyof the Highlanders of Scotland sleep on the latter to this day.In process of time, the Romans suggested to the interior Britonsthe use, and the introduction of agriculture supplied them with themeans of the neater convenience of straw beds. The beds of theRoman gentry at this period were generally filled with feathers,and those of the inns with the soft down of reeds. But for manyages the beds of the Italians had been constantly composed ofstraw ; it still formed thos'e of the soldiers and officers at the conquestof Lancashire ; and from both our countrymen learnt their use.A mattress filled with horse-hair is preferable to a feather-bed, which heats and relaxes the body, and disposes it to pulmo-nary and hectic complaints. The bolster should be stuffed withhorse-hair, and covered with a small pillow filled with feathers.The bedding might consist either of sheets, with blankets and acounterpane, or a single cover, thinly quilted with cotton wool :the latter might be easily washed, and will last for several years.In very cold seasons, a counterpane quilted with a few pounds ofsoft feathers, might be substituted for t tie former ; but it should notbe used in summer.

Bed, in gardening, square or oblong pieces of ground in a gar-den, raised a little above the level of the adjoining ground, andwherein they sow seeds or plant roots.

Bed, in masonry, a course or range of stones; and the joint ofthe bed is the mortar between two stones, placed over each other.

Bed, in sea language, a flat, thick piece of timber laid underthe quarters of casks, containing any liquid, and stowed in theship’s hold.

Bed, Dining, lectus tricliniaris, or discubitorius, that whereonthe ancients lay at meals. The dining or discubitory beds were4 or 5 feet high. Three of these beds were ordinarily rangedbv a square table, in such a manner, that one of the sides of thetable remained open and accessible to the waiters. Each bedwould hold 3 or 4, rarely 5 persons. From the greatest simplicity,the Romans by degrees carried their dining-beds to the most sur-prising magnificence. Pliny assures us, it was no new thing to seethem covered over with plates of silver, adorned with the softestmats, and the richest counterpanes. Lampridius, speaking of ile-liogabulns, savs, he bad beds of solid silver, solido argento habuitlectos & triclimarcs, & eubiculares. We may add, that Pompev,i-n his third triumph, brought in beds of gold. The Remans hadalso beds whereon they studied, and beds whereon the dead werecarried to the funeral pile.

Bed, Hot. See Hot Bed.

Bed of a .great Gun, that thick plank which lies imme-mediately under the piece, being, as it were, the body of the car-riage-

BEDA, commonly called Venerable Bede , one of our mostancient historians, was born A. D. 672, near W'eremouth, in thebisiioprick of Durham. He was educated by the abbot Benedict,m the monastery of St. Peter, near the mouth of the river V'yre.At the age of 19 he was ordained deacon, and priest at 30. Aboutthis time he was invited to Rome by Pope Sergius ; but it is notcertain that e accepted the invitation. In 731 he published nis

Ecclesiastical History ; a work of so much merit, notwithstandingthe legendary tales it contains, that it were alone sufficient to im-mortalize the author, lie died A. D. ,33, of a lingering con-sumption, probably, occasioned by a sedentary life, and a longuninterrupted application to study and literary compositions, ofwhich he left an incredible number. He was buried in the churchof his convent at Jarrow: but his bones were afterwards removedto Durham, and there deposited in the same coffin with those ofSt. Cuthbert. Bede was undoubtedly a singular phainoincnon inan ignorant and illiterate age. His learning, for the times, wasextensive, his application incredible, his piety exemplary, and hismodesty excessive. He was universally admired, consulted, andesteemed, during bis fife; and bis writings are deservedly con-sidered as the foundation of our ecclesiastical history. II is lan-guage is neither elegant nor pure, but perspicuous and easy. AHbis works are in hat ill. The first general collection of them ap-peared at Paris in 1344, in 3 volumes in folio. They were printedagain at the same place in 1334, in 8 volumes. They were alsopublished in the same size and number of volumes at Basil in 1367,reprinted at Cologne in 1612, and at the same place in 1688. Be-sides this general collection, there are several of his compositions,which have been printed separately, or amongst the collections ofthe writings of ancient authorsand there are several MSS.ascribed to him, which are preserved in the libraries of Oxfordand Cambridge.

BEDAL, a river and town of Yorkshire .

BEDALACH, in the materia medica, a name given bv somewriters to the gum bdellium ; but particularly to that kin'd of itwhich was brought from Arabia, and was of a yellowish colour,like wax.

BEDALGENSE, a fixed star of the first magnitude in tileright shoulder of Orion. 1

BEDCHAMBER, Lords of the, in the British court, are12 noblemen who attend in their turns, each a month ; duringwhich time they lie in the king’s bedchamber, and wait on himwhen he dines in private.

BEDEN, a city of the Deccan of TIindostan in the Soubah ofDoulatabad, about 80 miles N. \V. of ilydrabad.

BEDER, a town of Asia, in the late dominions of the GreatMogul. Lon. 95. 10. E. Lat. 16. 50. N.

BEDFORD, a large mountainous county and a town of Penn-sylvania .

Bedford, the county-town of Bedfordshire in England, 50miles from London . Lon. 0. 30. W. L;.t. 52. 13. N.

Bedford, or Bedfordshire , a small inland county of Eng-land. Its principal river, the Ouse, is navigable to Bedford ; anddivides the county into two parts, of which that to the S. is themore considerable. The air is healthy, and the soil in general adeep clay. The following antiquities" in this county are worthyof notice : Bedford Bridge and Priory ; Chicks and Abbey, nea"rShetlbrd; Dunstable Priory, near Luton ; Eaton Park House, orEaton Bray; Five Knolls, near Dunstable ; Neunham Priory,near Bedford ; Norlhill church, 3 miles from Biggleswade ; Suiu-meris Tower, near Luton; Wardon Abbey, near Shetl'ord ;Woburn Abbey ; and Woodhill Castle, or Oddhill Castle, nearIlarewood.

BED-MOULDING, in architecture, usually consists of anogee, a list, a large boultine, and another list under the coronet.

BEDNORE, or BIDDANORK, a town of Hind'stun, 452miles S. E. of Bombay. Lon. 75. 30. E. Lat. 14. 0. N.

BEDOUIS, or BEDOUINS , a modern name of the wikiArabs , whether in Asia or Africa.

BED-ROOM, an apartment, or chamber, devoted to the en-joyment of nightly repose, after the usual labour and fatigue of theday. Those happy few who, from their respective situations infile, are enabled to choose a spacious and lofty room for breathingin, at least, one-third of their existence, may consider themselvespeculiarly fortunate. It must, however, be confessed, that little ab-tention is generally paid to this important object, even by such]« rsons as might, in this respect, equally consult their health andconvenience. A bed-chamber ought never to lie on a ground-floor, or have a northern aspect. Although, on account of acooler air, many prefer this situation in summer, vet it cannot failto be unwholesome, as it is most exposed to the influence of adamp atmosphere in the morning, and (hiring the night. Hencewe are of opinion, that an eastern front is more conducive to

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