of Deanhaugh_ (1845), _Poems_ (1856), _100 Songs with Music_ (1865), and
a _Life of David Roberts, R.A._ (1866).


BALLANTYNE, ROBERT MICHAEL (1825-1894).--Writer of tales for boys, _b._
in Edinburgh, was a connection of the well-known printers. As a youth he
spent some years in the service of the Hudson's Bay Co., and was then a
member of Constable's printing firm. In 1856 he took to literature as a
profession, and _pub._ about 80 tales, which, abounding in interesting
adventure and information, and characterised by a thoroughly healthy
tone, had great popularity. Among them are _The Young Fur Traders_
(1856), _The Coral Island_, _Fighting the Flames_, _Martin Rattler_, _The
World of Ice_, _The Dog Crusoe_, _Erling the Bold_, and _Black Ivory_. B.
was also an accomplished water-colour artist, and in all respects lived
up to the ideals he sought to instil into his readers. He _d._ at Rome.


BANCROFT, GEORGE (1800-1891).--American historian, _b._ at Worcester,
Massachusetts, and after _grad._ at Harvard, studied in Germany, where he
became acquainted and corresponded with Goethe, Hegel, and other leaders
of German thought. Returning to America he began his _History of the
United States_ (1834-74). The work covers the period from the discovery
of the Continent to the conclusion of the Revolutionary War in 1782. His
other great work is _The History of the Formation of the Constitution of
the United States_ (1882). B. filled various political offices, and was
in 1846 Minister Plenipotentiary to England, and in 1867 Minister to
Prussia. His writing is clear and vigorous, and his facts generally
accurate, but he is a good deal of a partisan.