Bid'al, Bid

'ALE, OF BID'ALL, n. [ bid and ale.] An ancient custom in England, by which friends are invited to drink ale at some poor man's house, and there to con tribute something to his relief. Bid as so a, (be- das -so'a,) a river which, rising in the Spanish Pyrenees, forms the boundary between that country and France, and falls into the Bay of Biscay between Andaye and Font arabia. At its mouth is an island, where, in 1659, was concluded the treaty of the Pyrenees. Bid'deford, in Maine , a manuf. city of York co., on Saco river, about 14 m. S. W. by S. of Portland. Pop . in 1890, 14,443; in 1897, about 16,000. See SACO. Bid'der, 'n. One who offers to pay a specified price for an article offered for sale at public auction. (Law.) The B. has a right to withdraw his bid at any time before it is accepted, which acceptance is generally manifested by knocking down the hammer. Bid'ding, n. Command; order. "At his second bidding darkne fled, Light shone, and order from disorder sprung." - Milton . (Com.) Offer of a specified price; act of making bids at public auction. -Invitation to a wedding. (Prov. Eng.) Bid'ding-Prayer, n. ( Eccl . Hist .) A form of prayer for the souls of benefactors, said before sermons and homilies, in the Roman Catholic Church. - The 55th canon of the Church of England enjoins that before all lectures, the preachers or ministers shall move the people to join with them in prayer in a certain form. This form is called bidding - prayer , because in it the preacher is directed to bid the people to pray for certain specified articles. It is now rarely used.