B O U 



376 



Bourda- 

 loue. 



Bom-boil that our government should have allowed this n'est of 

 pirates to remain so long unmolested. But the blow 

 was only retarded to make it more sure ; and an ex- 

 pedition under the command of Colonel Keating, and 

 Commodore Rowley, sailed from India in June 1810 

 for the reduction of Bourbon. After a gallant de- 

 fence by Colonel Susanne, the French commandant, 

 the object of the expedition was accomplished on the 

 8th of July following, when this island surrendered 

 Taken by to the British arms ; and paved the way for the con- 

 :ne British. q ues t o f Mauritius, the last and most important co- 

 lony of Fiance. See Mod. Un. Hist. vol. xi. p. 159. ; 

 Bory de St Vincent, Voyage dan* lea Qua/re prin- 

 cipal's lies des Mers d'Af'. itjue ; Viscount de Vaux's 

 History of Mauritius and the neighbouring Inlands; 

 and A Pamphlet by an Officer of the late Expedition 

 against Bourbon. See MAURITIUS, (p) 



BOURBON LAKE, a lake of North America, 

 about 80 miles long, and nearly of a circular shape. 

 It is formed by the waters of the Bourbon river, 

 which rises near the northern sources of the Missis- 

 sippi. Furs of every kind are obtained in great 

 abundance round this lake. There are no large islands 

 upon it ; and, owing to the coldness of the climate, 

 few animals are to be found in the adjacent country. 



() 



BOURBONNOIS, one of the former provinces 



of France, now forming a part of the department of 

 the AHier. The temperature of the province is ex- 

 ceedingly mild ; and it abounds in corn, hemp, fruit, 

 wines, pasturage, ar.d wood. It possesses also mines 

 of iron and coal, and numerous mineral springs, the 

 principal of which are at Bourbon-PArchambaud, 

 Bardou, Neris, Vichy, Saint- Pardou, Trauliere, &c. 

 Near the first of these places there are rocks which 

 contain veins, with small stones, which have such a 

 great resemblance to diamonds, that they are often 

 mistaken for them by connoisseurs. See Journal CEco- 

 nou/iqne de Septemore 17.56, p. 6. (o) 



BOURDALOUE, Louis, a celebrated French 

 preacher, was Born in Bourges, on the 20th of Au- 

 gust 1632. In the sixteenth year of his age, he en- 

 tered into the society of the Jesuits. The first eigh- 

 teen years that he spent in it were employed partly 

 in prosecuting his private studies, and partly in 

 teaching rhetoric, philosophy, and divinity. And 

 in every thing he gave striking proofs of the strength 

 and superiority of his genius. Possessing talents that 

 equally fitted him for the attainments of science and 

 the eloquence of the pulpit, he was for a while un- 

 certain to what profession he should devote himself. 

 But some sermons that he delivered while lecturing 

 on practical theology, met with so much applause, 

 that his superiors prevailed on him to apply himself 

 wholly to the office of a preacher. In the commence- 

 ment of his career, he had the good fortune to be 

 known to the king's daughter, who, having heard 

 him and liked him, honoured him not only with her 

 kindness, but with her confidence : of which she 

 gave an affecting proof, in selecting him to be with 

 her on her death-bed, that she might receive from 

 him the consolation which he was so well qualified 

 to impart. After preaching some years in the coun- 

 try, he was in 1669, called to Paris, where his ap- 

 pearance in the pulpit surpassed all the expectations 



B O U 



which had been previously entertained of him. Peo- Eour 

 pie of all ranks crowded to the place where he exhi- 

 bited, and were charmed with his oratory. Nor, 

 though his reputation was so suddenly acquired, did 

 it at all degenerate, as generally happens in such ca- 

 ses. It increased from day to day : and the oftener 

 he was heard, the stronger was the desire to hear him. 

 He preached for thirty-four years either at court or 

 in Paris : he preached to the great, to the learned, 

 and to the multitude : to all of them he gave the 

 highest satisfaction and delight, and with all of them 

 he enjoyed uninterrupted and growing popularity to 

 the very close of his life. To a zealous performance 

 of his duties in the pulpit, he added very laborious 

 dnties of a private nature, by acting the part of a 

 father-confessor to those who were affected by his 

 discourses in the church, and needed consolation for 

 their sorrows, or counsel in their difficulties. He 

 sometimes spent five or six hours in succession, listen- 

 ing to the acknowledgments of the pen! tent, and impart- 

 ing to them with equal prudence and faithfulness, the 

 instruction which they required. And on such occa- 

 sions he condescended to tiie poorest and the meanest 

 that applied to him ; and often sought out those who 

 were unable to come to him, that he might enquire 

 into their circumstances, and administer to their spi- 

 ritual necessities. His personal conduct formed a 

 counterpart to his public character, distinguished as 

 it was by the habitual exercises of piety and virtue, 

 by uprightness and benevolence, by modesty and con- 

 tentment, by a mild temper and agreeable manners, 

 by a contempt of the world and the love of peace and 

 good order, by fidelity to his friends, forbearance 

 to his enemies, and charity to all. This assem- 

 blage of good and amiable qualities made him a great 

 favourite with all who knew him ; and accordingly 

 all ranks courted his company, feeling pleasure in his 

 society, and thinking themselves honoured by his ac- 

 quaintance. After having spent so many years in the 

 discharge of his ministerial functions in the metropo- 

 lis, he was anxious to go to some place of retirement,, 

 where he would have sufficient leisure to attend par- 

 ticularly to his own spiritual concerns, and to prepare 

 for death, which could not now be far distant. For 

 this purpose he petitioned for leave from the superi- 

 ors of his order to abandon Paris, and retire to some 

 house in the country. This request, however, though 

 made repeatedly with great earnestness, and in very 

 affecting language, was ultimately denied : And in 

 obedience to that ecclesiastical authority to which he 

 had always made conscience of submitting, he remain- 

 ed in Paris, continuing to labour in his ministerial of- 

 fice with his wonted diligence and fidelity, preaching 

 especially for the benefit of the hospitals, the poor, 

 and the prisoners ; and thus sanctifying himself, by 

 promoting the comfort and happiness of others. He 

 fell sick on the llth of May 1704, and, sensible that 

 his departure was at hand, prepared himself according 

 to the usual forms of his church, but with much piety 

 and resignation of spirit, for that awful event. It is 

 curious but melancholy to observe a man of so much 

 understanding, and so much knowledge of Christian- 

 ity, talking in such circumstances of offering himself 

 up as Jesus did, a sacrifice to appease the wrath of 

 God, and of consenting to suffer the pains of purga- 



