large commercial town of Persia, province of Mazanderan, on the river Bahbhol, which is here crossed by a bridge of nine arches, about 12 miles distant from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. It is built in a low, swampy, though rich country; and, from the deep and almost impassable roads which lead to it, seems not at all favourably situated for the seat of an extensive inland trade. It is, however, peopled entirely by merchants, mechanics, and their dependants; and is wholly indebted for its present size and importance to its commercial prosperity. The town is of a very peculiar structure and aspect. It is placed in the midst of a forest of tall trees, by which the buildings are so separated from one another, and so concealed, that except in the bazaars it has no appearance of a populous town. The streets are broad and neat, though generally unpaved; and they are kept in good order. No ruins are to be seen, as in other Persian towns; the houses are comfortable, in good repair, and roofed with tiles; and they are inclosed by substantial walls. According to Fraser, by whom it was visited in 1822, Balfroosh had a plain and simple air of plenty, ease, and comfort, attended with a bustle and show of business which is rarely to be seen in the Persian towns. There are no public buildings of any importance. The only places of interest are the bazaars, which extend fully a mile in length, and consist of substantially-built ranges of shops, covered with a roof of wood and tiles, and well stored with commodities. There are about ten principal caravanserais, several of which are attached to the bazaar, and are let as warehouses for goods; and from twenty to thirty medresses or colleges, the place being as much celebrated for learning as for commerce. At the time of Fraser's visit, it was said to contain 200,000 inhabitants; but this was probably an exaggeration; and since that time the plague and the cholera have committed great ravages, so that at present there may not be above 50,000. It is 20 miles W. of Sori. Long. 52. 42. E. Lat. 35. 37. N.

Balgy, John, an eminent English divine, born at Sheffield, in Yorkshire, in 1686. He was admitted of St John's College, Cambridge, in 1702; and having taken the degrees of B.A. and M.A., he soon after quitted the university. In 1711 he obtained a small living, and in 1729 was preferred to the vicarage of Northallerton, which he retained till his death in 1748. Besides sermons and various theological tracts, he published a philosophical work on the Foundation of Moral Goodness, written in answer to Dr Hutcheson's work on the Origin of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. Some of these pieces were collected by the author into one volume, and published with a dedication to Bishop Hoadley.

Balgy, Thomas, D.D., son of the above, was born in 1716. After studying in St John's College, Cambridge, he was in 1746 presented to the rectory of North Stoke, in Lincolnshire. He afterwards became archdeacon of Salisbury, and of Winchester, in succession. He was offered the bishopric of Gloucester in 1781, but was prevented from accepting it by the declining state of his health. He was afterwards afflicted with blindness, and died at Winchester in January 1795. Besides sermons and charges, he was the author of a very able and well-known work, entitled Divine Benevolence asserted, and vindicated from the Reflections of Ancient and Modern Sceptics, Svo, 1782.