BEN 



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BE W 



BET'LIS, the daisy. A genus of the 

 clf.ss Syngenesia, and order Poly, super flua. 

 Named from bellus, pretty. There is only 

 one British type, B. perennis, called also 

 bruisewort. 



BELO'MANCY, Gr. from tA?, javelin, 

 and uavT/a, prophecy, divination by a 

 Sight of arrows, quite common among 

 the Arabians. The inscription on the 

 label on the arrow first found, generally 

 serves as a guide. 



BEL'ONE, the generic name of the gar- 

 fish, of which there are several species. 

 Name from jStf.otvi, a point, in reference 

 to the pointed snout. The par- fish are 

 placed by Cuvier among the pikes (esocei), 

 in the soft-finned order of abdominales 

 (Malacopteryijii abdominales), and were 

 first formed by him into a distinct genus. 



BELT, Sax. belt, Lat. balteus. A gir- 

 dle or band, as that in which a sword is 

 hnng. Machinery is often driven by 

 means of belts. Those two zones or girdles 

 which surround the planet Jupiter are 

 named belts, and surgeons use the same 

 term to denote the broader sort of bands 

 used in dressing wounds In masonry, 

 the term belt means a course of bricks or 

 stones projecting from the rest of the 

 wall, generally placed in a line with the 

 sills of the first-floor windows. In he- 

 raldry, it denotes the badge given to a 

 person when raised to knighthood. 



BELTEIN, an ancient festival in Ireland 

 and Scotland, held on the 21st of June, 

 where fires were kindled on the tops of the 

 hills. It was among the last remains of 

 truidism. 



BELU'GA., a Russian term signifying 

 white-fish, and used to designate a species 

 of the dolphin found in the Arctic seas, 

 and rivers, and caught for its oil and skin. 



BELVEDE'RE, an Italian term, which 

 literally means fine view, used to desig- 

 nate a turret or lantern raised above a 

 roof, &c. as an observatory ; and in Italy 

 and France, a small edifice erected in 

 gardens for enjoying a fine prospect. 



BEN, BEN -NUT. The fruit of the Ifo- 

 ringa aptern. It affords an oil by simple 

 pressure, called oil of ben and sometimes 

 ben-oil. 



BENCH'ERS, in the inns of court, are the 

 senior members of the society. They have 

 been readers, and being admitted to plead 

 within the bar, are called inner barristers. 



BEND. In nautical language, to bend is 

 to fasten, as the cable to the ring of an 

 anchor ; and the knot by which the fasten- 

 ing is made, is called a bend. The bends of 

 a ship are the strongest and thickest 

 planks of her sides, more usually called 

 vales. They are reckoned from the water, 

 first, second, &c. bend. 



BEND. In heraldry, an honourable or- 

 dinary, formed bv lines drawn from the 



dexter corner to the sinister base. It i 

 supposed to represent a shoulder-belt or 

 scarf, and to signify that the bearer haa 

 been valiant in war. 



BEND'LET, in heraldry, dim. of betid. It 

 occupies a sixth part of the shield. 



BEND'Y. In heraldry, applied to the 

 field when divided into parts diagonally, 

 and varying in metal and colour. 



BENE, the Sesamum orientals, an African 

 plant. 



BENEDIC'TINES, a celebrated order of 

 monks, called also Black Friars. They 

 take their name from professing to follow 

 the rules of St. Benedict. 



BEN'EFICE, from bene, wellj and facto, to 

 make. All church preferments are called 

 benefices, except bishoprics, which are 

 called dignities; but ordinarily the latter 

 term is applied also to deaneries, arch- 

 deaneries, and prebendaries ; and bene- 

 fices is appropriated to parsonages, vicar- 

 ages, and donatives. In the middle ages, 

 benefice was used for a fee, or an estate in 

 lands, granted at first for life only, and 

 held ex mero beneficio of the donor. The 

 estate afterwards becoming hereditary, 

 took the appellation of feud, and benefice 

 was transferred to church livings. 



BENEFIT OF CLERGY, a privilege in law, 

 at first peculiar to clergymen, but after- 

 wards made available to the laity who 

 could read, all such being considered 

 clerks. It consisted in the exemption, 

 wholly or partially, from the jurisdiction 

 of the lay tribunals. The felon, on being 

 convicted by the latter, claimed the bene- 

 fit of clergy, had a book put into his 

 hands, and if the ordinary pronounced 

 these words, " legit ut cloricus," he reads 

 like a clergyman, the culprit was handed 

 over to the ecclesiastical court for a new 

 trial or purgation, the pretty uniform 

 result of which was his acquittal. Bene- 

 fit of clergy was finally abolished in Eng- 

 land by 7 & 8 George IV. c. 28. 



BENE'VOLESCE, a species of tux levied 

 by the sovereign. It was nominally a 

 gratuity; but was in fact exacted as a 

 forced loan, with or without repayment. 

 BE N 'j AMI N -TREE, a name common to 

 ! two distinct trees. 1. The Laurus ben- 

 zoin, called also spice-bush, native of Ame- 

 rica. 2. The Styrnx benzoin, which af- 

 fords the gum benzoin. See BENZOIN. 



BENT, bent-grass, a name common to 

 all the species of grasses composing the 

 genus Agi-ostis. There are five British 

 species. 



BEX'ZINE, the name applied by Mit- 

 scherlick to the bi-carburet of hydrogen, 

 , which is procured by heating ben/.oic 

 '. acid with lime. 



BEN'ZOATE, a salt formed by the aniou 

 of the benzoic acid with any suliiabw 

 bases. 

 BENZO'IC ACID, a peculiar vegettbto 



