Burden

[Fr. bourdon.] The chorus or refrain of a song; the bob of a melody; hence, that which is often repeated, or on which one dwells; as, the burden of a tale. "At ev'ry close she made, th' attending throng Reply'd, and bore the burden of the song."-Dryden. (Mus.) The drone or ba of a musical instrument; the drum of a bagpipe. (Mining.) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin, and which must first be cleansed.- Beast of burden . Any animal employed in carrying a burden. - Burden of proof . (Law.) The duty of proving a fact in dispute on an i ue raised. Bur'den, v. a. To load; to encumber with a weight; as, to burden a camel. "Burden not thyself above thy power."- Eccl . xiii. 2. -To oppre with anything hard to be borne; as, to bur den one's self with a wife. "With meats and drinks they had suffic'd, Not burden'd nature."- Milton . -To impose a weight upon as a load to be borne; as, to burden another with one's own responsibility. Burdener, n. An oppre or; one who loads. Bur'denous, a . Grievous; oppre ive; wearisome. "Nor let it be light to thee, which to me is so burdenous." Sir P. Sidney. -Usele ; cumbersome. "But to sit idle on the household earth, A burd'nous drone, to visitants a gaze."- Milton . of, a bureaucracy. bureaucracy. Bu'reau Creek, in Illinois , empties into the Illinois Burglarious, a . Pertaining to burglary; constitut- River, in Putnam co. Bu'reau Junction, in Illinois , a post-village of Bureau co., 47 m. N.N.B. of Peoria, and 30 W. of Ottawa. Bu'ren, MARTIN VAN. See VAN BUREN. Burette, ( bu - ret ',) n. (Chem.) An instrument occasionally used in the laboratory, and the a ay office, for the purpose of dividing a given portion of any liquid into 100 or 1,000 equal parts. Burford's Landing, in Alabama , a post-office of Wilcox co. Burg, Burgh, ( berg ,) n. See BOROUGH. Burg, a walled town of Pru ia, prov. Saxony, reg. Magdeburg, on the Ille, 13 m. N.E. of Magdeburg. Manuf . Woollens and snuff. Pop . 16,632. Burgage, ( berg'aj ,) n. [From burg . ] ( Eng . Law.) A species of tenure in boroughs, cities, and towns, under which citizens hold tenements of the sovereign, or other person, at a certain rent. Burgall, n. ( Zool .) See CTENOLABRUS. Burgamot, n. A variety of pear. - A perfume. See