BETHUNE

in., dep. Pas-de-Calais, France (50° 30’ N., 2° 35’ E.), 20 m. W.S.W. of Lille, in the centre of a rich coalfield; connected with La Ba ée and Lille by canal, which during the Great War was the junction between the*Brit. and Fr. forces from Oct. 1914, till the latter half of 1915; became an important point in the Brit. communications. In battle of the Lys (April, 1918) the Germans advanced to within 3 m. of Béthune (April 12), when centre of town suffered very heavy damage from the enemy’s long-distance artillery. Be tonic a); purple flowers; perennial. between two persons; with the early Jews the b.. was as binding as the marriage ceremony; and in France and Germany at the present day it is still of considerable importance. In England the laws regarding b’s have never been very clearly defined, and have sometimes led to the parties concerned, particularly in country districts, regarding b. as a license for cohabitation; damages through breach of promise may recovered at common law.