500 



BENGUELA BKNLOMOND. 



Bohemia, and of Mary, queen of Scots. She under- 

 took to compile memoirs of Henry IV. of France, 

 liut the progress of this work was prevented by her 

 death, January 9, 1827. By all who knew her sin- 

 was esteemed as a kind, faithful, and candid friend, 

 a most affectionate daughter. hclu\<d liy all ages 

 and both sexes on account of her fine talents, beue- 

 \tilent disposition, and pure heart. 



BKNGUELA ; a country in Africa, bounded N. by 

 Angola, E. by the country of Jaga Cassangi, S. by 

 Matainan, and U". by the sea. Cape Negro forms 

 UN S.\\ . i urcmity, whence mountains run northward, 

 in which are contained the springs of many rivers. 

 The productions are similar to those of Angola and 

 Congo; one of the principal is manioc; divers sorts 

 of palms an- found ; dales ;jrow in great abundance ; 

 the vims naturally form alleys and arbours ; cassia 

 and tamarinds also flourish ; and, from the humidity 

 of the soil, there are two fruit seasons in the year. 

 The air of the country is exceedingly unwholesome. 

 The chief towns are Old Benguela, St Philip or New 

 Benguela, Man-kikondo, andKaschil. Lon. 30 to 

 3o E. ; lat. 13' 30' to 15 3(X S. 



HKXIN ; a kingdom in the west of Africa, the 

 limits of which are not well ascertained ; but the 

 name may be applied to that part of the coast ex- 

 tending from the river Lagos, the eastern limit of 

 the Slave coast, to the Formosa, about 180 miles. 

 The interior limit is unknown. The whole coast 

 presents a succession of estuaries, some of them very 

 broad, and their origin never explored. Between 

 the Lagos and Cross rivers, the number of rivers 

 flowing into the gulf of Guinea is said to exceed 

 twenty, some of them very broad and deep. This 

 tract, called the Delta of Benin, is about 260 miles 

 in extent. The aspect of the coast, and the great 

 body of water flowing into the gulf, have led to the 

 supposition, that the waters of the Niger here find an 

 entrance into the ocean. TJu's region has been but 

 little explored, and is little known. The country is 

 low and flat, the soil on the banks of the rivers very 

 fertile, but the climate unhealthy. The inhabitants 

 are of a mild disposition ; polygamy is practised ; 

 almost all labour is performea by females ; the 

 government is despotic. Chief towns, Benin, Agat- 

 ton, Bododa, Ozebo, and Meiberg, which are situ- 

 ated on the Formosa, the principal river. 



Benin ; capital of the above kingdom, on the For- 

 mosa ; Ion. 5 6' E. ; lat. 6 12' N. This town, ac- 

 cording to some, is eighteen miles in circuit, the 

 largest street three miles long, and others nearly 

 equal ; according to other statements, it is only four 

 miles in circuit. The streets are filled with various 

 articles of merchandise, and present the appearance 

 of a crowded market, though always clean. The 

 houses are large, and, though their walls are of clay, 

 the reeds and leaves, with which they are covered, 

 give them a pleasing appearance. The king's palace 

 consists of a great number of square enclosures. 



BENJOWSKY, Maurice Augustus, count of, a man of 

 indefatigable activity and extraordinary adventures, 

 born in 1741, at Werbowa, in Hungary, where his 

 father was a general in the Austrian army, entered 

 the same service himself, and acted as lieutenant in 

 the seven years' war till 1758. He afterwards 

 studied navigation in Hamburg, Amsterdam, and 

 Plymouth. He then went to Poland, joined the 

 confederacy against the Russians, and became colo- 

 nel, commander of cavalry, and quarter-master gene- 

 ral. B. was taken prisoner by the Russians in 1769, 

 and sent, the next year, to Kamtschatka. On the 

 voyage thither he saved the ship that carried him, 

 when in peril from a storn. This circumstance pro- 

 cured him a favourable reception from governor 

 >"iloff, whose children he instructed in the German 



and French languages. Aphanasia, Niloff's younger 

 daughter, fell in love with him. B. prevailed on iier 

 lather to set him at liberty, and to betroth her to 

 him. He liad, however, already conceived the pro- 

 ject of escaping from Kamtschatka, together with 

 several other conspirators. Aphanasia discovered his 

 design, but did not forsake him. < )n the contrary, 

 she warned him when it was resolved to secure his 

 person. Accompanied by Aphanasia, who remained 

 invariably faithful to him, though she had now 

 learned that he was manned, B., together with 

 ninety six other persons, left Kamtsdiatka in May, 

 1771, and sailed to Formosa ; from thence to Macao, 

 where many of his companions died, and among them 

 the faithful Aphanasia. At length lie. arrived in 

 France, where he was commissioned to found u 

 colony in Madagascar ; an undertaking of which he 

 foresaw the difficulties, especially as the success de- 

 pended on the assistance of the officers in the Isle of 

 France, to whom he was referred for the greater part 

 of his equipment. In June, 1774, B. arrived in 

 Madagascar, established a settlement at Foul point, 

 and gained the good will of several tribes, who, in 

 1776, appointed him their ampansacaLe, or king ; on 

 which occasion the women also swore allegiance to 

 his wife. Afterwards, he went to Europe, with the 

 design of obtaining for the nation a powerful ally 

 and some commercial advantages. But, on his arrival 

 in France, he was compelled, by the persecutions ot 

 the French ministry, to enter into the Austrian ser- 

 vice, in which he commanded against the Prussians 

 in the battle of Habelschwerdt, 1778. In 1783, he 

 made an attempt in England to fit out an expedition 

 to Madagascar. He-received assistance from private 

 persons in London, and particularly from a commer- 

 cial house at Baltimore, in America. In October, 

 1784, he set out, leaving his wife in America, and 

 landed in Madagascar, in 1785. Having there com- 

 menced hostilities against the French, the authorities 

 in the Isle of France sent troops against him. In an 

 action which took place May 23, 1786, he was mor- 

 tally wounded in the breast by a ball. B. wrote an 

 account of the events of his life in French. William 

 Nicholson has published an English translation of it, 

 made from the manuscript. His widow died at her 

 estate Vieska, near Betzko, Dec. 4, 1825. Benjow- 

 sky's only son is said to have been devoured by rats 

 in Madagascar. 



BENLAWERS ; a huge pyramidal mountain in Bread- 

 albane, Perthshire, on the north bank of Loch Tay, 

 4015 feet above the level of the sea. It possesses 

 the rare qualities of being so easy in the ascent as to 

 permit riding to the summit. The range of the view 

 from the hdl is extensive. It exhibits a perfect 

 botanical garden of Alpine plants. Rutile, an ore of 

 Titanium, a scarce metallic mineral, is found here. 



BEXLEDI ; a mountain lying north-west of Callan- 

 der, Perthshire, reaching to the height of 3009 feet 

 above the level of the sea. It is reared considerably 

 in altitude over all the other hills in this district, and 

 from its summit a view may be obtained of the whole 

 of Stirlingshire and the Forth. It was one of the 

 chief places of public worship of the Druids. On its 

 top there is a small loch. 



BENLOMOND ; a mountain on the western extremity 

 of Stirlingshire, on the east bank of Loch Lomond, 

 of a longitudinal shape, and consisting more of a 

 collection and pile of swelling knolls than of a single 

 hill. It is divided into three great stages in the as- 

 cent, each rising above the other to the top, which 

 has an elevation of 3262 feet above the level of 

 the sea. On the south-eastern side, it presents a 

 sheer precipice of about 2000 feet. From the 

 river of Rowardennan, on the east shore of th 

 loch, to the summit, the distance is six miles of a 



