BUCHANAN

buchanan, robert williams (1841-1901), british poet, novelist and dramatist, son of robert buchanan (1813-1866), owenite lecturer and journalist, was born at caverswall, staffordshire, on the 18th of august 1841. his father, a native of ayr, after living for some years in manchester, removed to glasgow, where buchanan was educated, at the high school and the university, one of his fellow-students being the poet david gray. his essay on gray, originally contributed to the _cornhill magazine_, tells the story of their close friendship, and of their journey to london in 1860 in search of fame. after a period of struggle and disappointment buchanan published _undertones_ in 1863. this "tentative" volume was followed by _idyls and legends of inverburn_ (1865), _london poems_ (1866), and _north coast and other poems_ (1868), wherein he displayed a faculty for poetic narrative, and a sympathetic insight into the humbler conditions of life. on the whole, buchanan is at his best in these narrative poems, though he essayed a more ambitious flight in _the book of orm: a prelude to the epic_, a study in mysticism, which appeared in 1870. he was a frequent contributor to periodical literature, and obtained notoriety by an article which, under the _nom de plume_ of thomas maitland, he contributed to the _contemporary review_ for october 1871, entitled "the fleshly school of poetry." this article was expanded into a pamphlet (1872), but he subsequently withdrew from the criticisms it contained, and it is chiefly remembered by the replies it evoked from d.g. rossetti in a letter to the _athenaeum_ (16th december 1871), entitled "the stealthy school of criticism," and from mr swinburne in _under the microscope_ (1872). buchanan himself afterwards regretted the violence of his attack, and the "old enemy" to whom _god and the man_ is dedicated was rossetti. in 1876 appeared _the shadow of the sword_, the first and one of the best of a long series of novels. buchanan was also the author of many successful plays, among which may be mentioned _lady clare_, produced in 1883; _sophia_ (1886), an adaptation of _tom jones; a man's shadow_ (1890); and _the charlatan_ (1894). he also wrote, in collaboration with harriett jay, the melodrama _alone in london_. in 1896 he became, so far as some of his work was concerned, his own publisher. in the autumn of 1900 he had a paralytic seizure, from which he never recovered. he died at streatham on the 10th of june 1901. buchanan's poems were collected into three volumes in 1874, into one volume in 1884; and as _complete poetical works_ (2 vols., 1901). among his poems should also be mentioned: "the drama of kings" (1871); "st abe and his seven wives," a lively tale of salt lake city, published anonymously in 1872; and "balder the beautiful" (1877); "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 lorne_ (2 vols., 1871), a vivid record of yachting experiences on the west coast of scotland. see also harriett jay, _robert buchanan; some account of his life_ (1903). bucharest (_bucuresci_), also written bucarest, bukarest, bukharest, bukorest and bukhorest, the capital of rumania, and chief town of the department of ilfov. although _bucharest_ is the conventional english spelling, the forms _bucarest_ and _bukarest_ more nearly represent the correct pronunciation. the population in 1900 was 282,071, including 43,274 jews, and 53,056 aliens, mostly austro-hungarian subjects. with its outlying parts, bucharest covers more than 20 sq. m. it lies in a hollow, traversed from north-west to south-east by the river dimbovitza (_dambovita_ or _dimbovita_), and is built mainly on the left bank. a range of low hills affords shelter on the west and south-west; but on every other side there are drained, though still unhealthy, marshes, stretching away to meet the central walachian plains. from a distance, the multitude of its gardens, and the turrets and metal-plated or gilded cupolas of its many churches give bucharest a certain picturesqueness. in a few of the older districts, too, where land is least valuable, there are antique one-storeyed houses, surrounded by poplars and acacias; while the gipsies and rumans, wearing their brightly coloured native costumes, the russian coachmen, or sleigh-drivers, of the banished lipovan sect, and the pedlars, with their doleful street cries, render bucharest unlike any western capital. nevertheless, the city is modern. until about 1860, indeed, the dimly lit lanes were paved with rough stone blocks, imbedded in the clay soil, which often subsided, so as to leave the surface undulating like a sea. drains were rare, epidemics common. owing to the frequency of earthquakes, many houses were built of wood, and in 1847 fully a quarter of the city was laid waste by fire. the plague visited bucharest in 1718, 1738, 1793, when an earthquake destroyed a number of old buildings, and in 1813, when 70,000 of the inhabitants died in six weeks. from the accession of prince charles, in 1866, a gradual reform began. the river was enclosed between stone embankments; sewerage and pure water were supplied, gas and electric light installed; and horse or electric tramways laid down in the principal thoroughfares, which were paved with granite or wood. the older houses are of brick, overlaid with white or tinted plaster, and ornamented with figures or foliage in terra-cotta; but owing to the great changes of temperature in rumania, the plaster soon cracks and peels off, giving a dilapidated appearance to many streets. the chief modern buildings, such as the athenaeum, with its ionic facade and byzantine dome, are principally on the quays and boulevards, and are constructed of stone. bucharest is often called "the paris of the east," partly from a supposed social resemblance, partly from the number of its boulevards and avenues. three main thoroughfares, the plevna, lipscani, and vacaresci, skirt the left bank of the river; the elizabeth boulevard, and the calea victoriei, or "avenue of victory," which commemorates the rumanian success at plevna, in 1877, radiate east and north, respectively, from the lipscani, and meet a broad road which surrounds all sides of bucharest, except the north-west. the lipscani was originally the street of merchants who obtained their wares from the annual fair at leipzig; for almost all crafts or gilds, other than the bakers and tavern-keepers, were long confined to separate quarters; and the old names have survived, as in the musicians', furriers', and money-changers' quarters. continuous with the calea victoriei, on the north, is the kisilev park, traversed by the chausee, a favourite drive, leading to the pretty baneasa race-course, where spring and autumn meetings are held. the cismegiu or cismigiu park, which has a circumference of about 1 m., is laid out between the plevna road and the calea victoriei; and there are botanical and zoological gardens. the orthodox greek churches are generally small, with very narrow windows, and are built of brick in a modified byzantine style. they are usually surmounted by two or three towers, but the bells are hung in a kind of wooden porch, resembling a [v.04 p.0663] lych-gate, and standing about twenty paces from the church. the cathedral, or metropolitan church, where the metropolitan primate of rumania officiates, was built between 1656 and 1665. it has the shape of a greek cross, surrounded by a broad cloister, with four main entrances, each surmounted by a turret. the whole culminates in three brick towers. standing on high ground, the cathedral overlooks all bucharest, and commands a view of the carpathians. other interesting churches are st spiridion the new (1768), the loftiest and most beautiful of all; the doamna balasa (1751), noteworthy for its rich carved work without, and frescoes within; and the ancient biserica bucur, said, in local traditions, to derive its name from bucur, a shepherd whom legend makes the founder of bucharest. the real founder and date of this church, and of many others, are unknown, thanks to the frequent obliteration of slavonic inscriptions by the greek clergy. the protestants, armenians and lipovans worship in their own churches, and the jews have several synagogues. bucharest is also the seat of a roman catholic archbishop; but the roman catholics, though numbering nearly 37,000 in 1899, possess only three churches, including the cathedral of st joseph. bucharest is a great educational centre. besides the ordinary ecclesiastical seminaries, lyceums, gymnasia and elementary schools, it possesses schools of commerce, science and art institutes, and training colleges, for engineers and veterinary surgeons; while the university, founded in 1864, has faculties of theology, philosophy, literature, law, science, medicine and pharmacy. students pay no fees except for board. the national library, containing many precious oriental documents, and the meeting-hall of the rumanian senate, are both included in the university buildings, which, with the athenaeum (used for literary conferences and for music), and the central girls' school, are regarded as the best example of modern rumanian architecture. other libraries are those of the nifon seminary, of the charles university foundation (_fundatiunea universitara carol_), which endows research, and rewards literary or scientific merit; the central library, and the library of the academy, which also contains a museum of natural history and antiquities. among philanthropic institutions may be mentioned the coltei, brancovan, maternitate, philantropia and pantelimon hospitals; the marcutza lunatic asylum; and the princess elena refuge (_asilul elena doamna_), founded by princess elena couza in 1862, to provide for 230 orphan girls. the summer home of these girls is a convent in the transylvanian alps. hotels and restaurants are numerous. there are two theatres, the national and the lyric, which is mainly patronized by foreign players; but minor places of amusement abound; as also do clubs--political, social and sporting. socially, indeed, the progress of bucharest is remarkable, its political, literary and scientific circles being on a level with those of most european capitals. bucharest is the winter residence of the royal family, the meeting-place of parliament, and the seat of an appeal court (_curtea de apel_), of the supreme court (_curtea de casatie_), of the ministries, the national bank, the bank of rumania, many lesser credit establishments, and a chamber of commerce. the railway lines which meet on the western limit of the city give access to all parts, and the telephone system, besides being internally complete, communicates with braila, galatz, jassy and sinaia. bucharest has a very large transit trade in petroleum, timber and agricultural produce; above all, in wheat and maize. its industries include petroleum-refining, extraction of vegetable oils, cabinet-making, brandy-distilling, tanning, and the manufacture of machinery, wire, nails, metal-ware, cement, soap, candles, paste, starch, paper, cardboard, pearl buttons, textiles, leather goods, ropes, glucose, army supplies, preserved meat and vegetables, and confectionery. an important fair is held for seven days in each year. the mercantile community is largely composed of austrians, frenchmen, germans, greeks and swiss, who form exclusive colonies. bucharest is the headquarters of the ii. army corps, and a fortress of the first rank. the fortifications were constructed in 1885-1896 on a project drafted by the belgian engineer, general brialmont, in 1883. the mean distance of the forts from the city is 4 m., and the perimeter of the defences (which are technically of special importance as embodying the system of brialmont) is about 48 m., this perimeter being defended by 36 armoured forts and batteries. there are barracks for over 30,000 cavalry and infantry, an arsenal, a military hospital and three military academies. the legend of bucur is plainly unhistorical, and the meaning of _bucharest_ has been much disputed. one account derives it from an albanian word _bukur_, meaning joy, in memory of a victory won by prince mircea of walachia (c. 1383-1419) over the turks. for this reason bucharest is often called "the city of joy". like most ancient cities of rumania, its foundation has also been ascribed to the first walachian prince, the half-mythical radu negru (c. 1290-1314). more modern historians declare that it was originally a fortress, erected on the site of the daco-roman thyanus, to command the approaches to tirgovishtea, formerly the capital of walachia. it soon became the summer residence of the court. in 1595 it was burned by the turks; but, after its restoration, continued to grow in size and prosperity, until, in 1698, prince constantine brancovan chose it for his capital. during the 18th century the possession of bucharest was frequently disputed by the turks, austrians and russians. in 1812 it gave its name to the treaty by which bessarabia and a third of moldavia were ceded to russia. in the war of 1828 it was occupied by the russians, who made it over to the prince of walachia in the following year. a rebellion against prince bibescu in 1848 brought both turkish and russian interference, and the city was again held by russian troops in 1853-1854. on their departure an austrian garrison took possession and remained till march 1857. in 1858 the international congress for the organization of the danubian principalities was held in the city; and when, in 1861, the union of walachia and moldavia was proclaimed, bucharest became the rumanian capital. prince cuza, the first ruler of the united provinces, was driven from his throne by an insurrection in bucharest in 1866. for the subsequent history of the city see rumania: _history_. bucheler, franz (1837-1908), german classical scholar, was born in rheinberg on the 3rd of june 1837, and educated at bonn. he held professorships successively at freiburg (1858), greifswald (1866), and bonn (1870), and in 1878 became joint-editor of the _rheinisches museum fur philologie_. both as a teacher and as a commentator he was extremely successful. among his editions are: _frontini de aquis urbis romae_ (leipzig, 1858); _pervigilium veneris_ (leipzig, 1859); _petronii satirarum reliquiae_ (berlin, 1862; 3rd ed., 1882); _hymnus cereris homericus_ (leipzig, 1869); _q. ciceronis reliquiae_ (1869); _herondae mimiambi_ (bonn, 1892). he wrote also _grundriss der lateinischen deklination_ (1866); _das recht von gortyn_ (frankfort, 1885, with zitelmann); and supervised the third edition (1893) of o. jahn's _persii, juvenalis, sulpiciae saturae_.