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.

BANIM, JOHN (1798-1842).—­Novelist, began life as a miniature painter, but was led by the success of his first book, Tales of the O’Hara Family, to devote himself to literature.  The object which he set before himself was to become to Ireland what Scott has been to Scotland, and the influence of his model is distinctly traceable in his writings.  His strength lies in the delineation of the characters of the Irish lower classes, and the impulses, often misguided and criminal, by which they are influenced, and in this he has shown remarkable power.  The first series of the O’Hara Tales appeared in 1825, the second in 1826.  Other works are The Croppy (1828), The Denounced (1830), The Smuggler (1831), The Mayor of Windgap, and his last, Father Connell.  Most of these deal with the darker and more painful phases of life, but the feeling shown in the last-named is brighter and tenderer.  B. latterly suffered from illness and consequent poverty, which were alleviated by a pension from Government.  He also wrote some poems, including The Celt’s Paradise, and one or two plays.  In the O’Hara Tales, he was assisted by his brother, MICHAEL BANIM (1796-1874), and there is difficulty in allocating their respective contributions.  After the death of John, Michael wrote Clough Fionn (1852), and The Town of the Cascades (1864).