Bali str aria

[It. bales trier a.] (Arch.) One of the names given to narrow and cruciform apertures in the walls of strongholds or castles, through which the bowmen discharged their mi iles, as seen in fig. 274, which represents a bartizan, or small turret, from Monk-bargate, York, England. Balize, ( ba - leer .) [Fr. balize ; Lat. pal us , a pole.] A beacon or land-mark; a pole or staff erected on a coast as a guide for mariners. Balize', in Honduras. See BELIZE. Balk, (bawk.) n. [A.S. balc ; W. balc.] Something pa ed over; a ridge of land left unploughed between furrows, or between other ridges. A great beam or rafter Fig . 274. of timber used in building; as, a rafter in a barn.-A hinderance a frustration; a disappointment. (Mil.) One of the beams connecting the succe ive supports of a trestle-bridge or bridge of boats. -v. a. To pa over, as in ploughing; to leave untouched. "Nor doth he any creature balk , But lays on all he meeteth."-Drayton. -To baffle, disappoint, or frustrate; as, to balk a fancy. " Balk'd of his prey, the yelling monster flies, And fills the city with his hideous cries."- Pope . -To pile, as in a heap or ridge. three and twenty knights, Balk'd in their blood, did Sir Walter see On Homildon's plains."-Shaks. -v. n. To come to an abrupt pause or stop in anything; as, he balked in his sermon. Balkan Mountains. See TURKEY IN EUROPE. Balkash', or TENGHIZ, an extensive lake of Central Asia, on the borders of Chinese Turkestan, and the Ru ian government of Tomsk. Between 44° and 47° N. Lat., and Lon. 770 and 81° E. It is 150 m. long, by 75 broad. Balk'er, n. One who balks another. - A person who stands on a cliff or other high ground on the sea-shore, and notifies fishermen which course the shoals of herring take, and where they may be found. Balkh. (Anc. BACTRA.) A province of Central Asia, now subordinate to the Emir of Afghanistan, lying between Lat. 35° and 37° N., and Lon. 63° and 69° E., having on the N. the Oscus, E. Buduk-Shun, S. the Hindoo-Coosh, and on the W. the desert. Length, E. to W. about 250 m.; breadth, 100 to 120; area , 30,000 sq. m.Surface, irregular; soil , generally sandy and barren. Its capital, and the country subordinate to it, have, since the fall of the Dooranee monarchy in Cabul, to which state it formerly belonged, been taken po e ion of by the Afghans. BALKH (the Zariaspa and Bactra of the Greeks), a decayed and almost depopulated city, once the capital of the aboved-named province, is situate on a river of the same name, in a plain 18 m. S. of the Oxus, and 250 S.E. of Bokhara; Lat. 36° 48′ N.; Lon. 67° 18' E. The ruins of the ancient city occupy a circuit of 20 m.; they consist chiefly of fallen mosques and decayed tombs, none of an age prior to that of Mohammed. This city, like Babylon, has become to the surrounding country an all but inexhaustible mine of bricks. The citadel contains a stone of white marble, pointed out as the throne of Cyrus! B. is styled by Orientals, Omm-el-Buldan (the "Mother of Cities"), on account of its great antiquity. It is said to have been built by Kyamoors, the founder of the Persian monarchy. After its conquest by Alexander the Great, it flourished as the capital of a Grecian kingdom. Jenghis Khan, Timour, Aurungzebe, Nadir Shah, and the Afghans succe ively po e ed it, and it was finally taken by the Khan of Bokhara from the Usbeck Tartars, in 1820. Balk'ingly, ade. In a frustrating or balking manner. Balk'ish, a. Uneven; rugged; ridgy. (R.) Balk'y, a. [Amer.] Apt to shy or turn aside, or come to a sudden stop; as, a balky mule. Ball, ( bawl ,) n . [Ger. and Swed. ball ; allied to Lat. pila , a ball.] A round body; anything round or approaching roundne ; as, a billiard- ball . -Any part of the human body which is round, bo y, or protuberant; as, the ball of the great toe. -A small globe of wood or ivory, used in casting lots, or balloting. - See BALLOT. ( Mil .) Any round or conical projectile of lead or iron discharged from fire-arms. For small arms, as pistols and muskets, they are of lead; for artillery, of iron. The term ball, with a prefix sufficiently expre ive of its purposes, denotes a composition of various combustible ingredients, as fire-balls, light-balls, smoke-balls, stink balls. The projectiles bearing these names are used either for giving light, or for hara ing the enemy by giving out a dense smoke or suffocating fumes. They are generally fired out of mortars, and seldom from guns. Light - balls , which are used in order to disclose the position or movements of the enemy at night, are composed of painted canvas stretched over a framework. They are filled with a compact mixture of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, and linseed-oil, and are furnished with time fuses. They give out a brilliant light, which lasts for a considerable period. Smoke - balls are composed of succe ive layers of strong paper, and are filled with gunpowder, saltpetre, powdered coal, tallow, and pitch. After ignition they give out dense fumes of blinding smoke for more than half an hour. Stink - balls are filled with a chemical composition which, when burning, diffuses a noxious suffocating odor around. (Printing.) A sort of cushion composed of hair or wool, covered with leather or other coating, and fixed to a holdfast called a ball - stock ; - formerly used to lay the ink on type when set in forms. ( Farriery .) [From Lat. bolus .) A large bolus or pill in which medicine is administered to horses; generally termed a horse - ball . (Games.) A gymnastic exercise of high antiquity. In the Ody ey, we find Phæacian damsels playing ball to the sound of music. It was the principal exercise of the Spartans; and so highly was it esteemed by the A then i ans, that they set up a statue to Aris tonic us for his skill at it. The Romans of all ages and degrees played at it, and Pliny describes old Spurinna as warding off decrepitude by practising the game. The Greeks and Romans had four kinds of balls: two of leather inflated with air, and played upon the earth, by many running after it at once, - consequently similar to our foot-ball; one a small ball, played like our shuttlecock; and one stuffed with feathers, and played by three persons in a triangle. In the Middle Ages, ball-playing was a regular amusement with the students of France, Germany, and Italy; and at the present time, there are public places for ball-playing in Italy and Germany. In England, ball playing has been a favorite exercise from an early date, one variety of game at ball giving its name to a celebrated street at the west-end of the metropolis- Pall - Mall . The ball is still played in various ways; such as being kicked by the foot, thrown by the hand, or knocked by a bat; this last is much played in many parts of the U. States, under the name of BASE-BALL, q. v. - See also CRICKET, TENNIS, GOLF, . -[Fr. bal ; It. ballo , from ball are , to dance.] An entertainment of dancing; a social a embly met for the amusement of the dance.