BOU 





BOU 



', by tlie king, with the advice of both Fieuch and fo- 

 "" reign merchants. A dreadful conflagration, however, 



"^ in which 7500 houses, inhabited by 9500 families, 



were consumed, ruined the commerce of Bourses, 

 which was afterwards transferred to Lyons. The 

 cathedral church is reckoned one of the most beauti- 

 ful Gothic edifices in Europe; and the college of 

 the Jesuits, which contained the parish churches and 

 many public buildings, was an extensive and magnifi- 

 cent building. The only commerce which is now 

 carried on at Bourges, is merely that which is neces- 

 sary for the subsistence of its inhabitants. It pos- 

 sesses, however, a few manufactures of linen cloths, 

 woollen stuffs, and stockings. Population 15,340. 

 E. Long. 2 23' 28", N. Lat. 47 5' 4". See Nec- 

 ker's Administration des Finances, torn. i. c. xi. (*) 



BOURGOGNE, one of the former provinces of 

 France, now forming a part ot the department of the 

 Cote-d'Or. The soil is very productive, and the 

 country better peopled than any other part of France. 

 Mines of iron are found in every part of the pro- 

 vince, and coal and marble are obtained in abun- 

 dance, (j) 



BOURIGNON, ANTOINETTE, a celebrated en- 

 thusiast, was born at Lisle, in Flanders, in the be- 

 ginning i.f the year 1616. She died at Franeker on 

 the 30th of October, 1680. Her life was not dis- 

 tinguished by any thing very brilliant, or very inter- 

 esting ; and therefore a minute and regular narrative 

 of its events is wholly unnecessary. But certainly a 

 lady who left behind hereight or ten octavo volumes OB 

 divinity ; influenced by her doctrine the faith both of 

 clergy and laity ; and was deemed a fit object of ha- 

 tred and persecution by sensible men, because she 

 talked and acted like an enthusiast, deserves a more 

 particular notice than what is implied in telling that 

 she flourished in the seventeenth century, and left the 

 world at the age of sixty-four. A few circumstan- 

 ces, therefore, shall be mentioned, to give the reader 

 some tolerable idea of Madame Bourignon. 1st, At 

 her birth she had all the appearance of a monster. 

 Her forehead was chiefly covered with black hair, her 

 upper lip was fastened to her nose, her mouth stood 

 wide open, and, altogether, she seemed to be such an 

 unnatural production, that for some time it was asub- 

 ject of consultation whether she should be allowed to 

 live. These deformities were, in some measure, got 

 the better of; but she never acquired any thing ap- 

 proaching to personal beauty. In her mother's breast 

 they excited a degree of aversion and disgust, which 

 soon appeared in harsh treatment of her, and which 

 occasioned such altercations between the parents, as 

 deeply to affect the mind and the future fortune of 

 the unhappy child. 2d, Though Antoinette had 

 none of those feminine graces which kindle love in 

 the other sex, yet she did not want admirers when 

 she grew up, and admirers too who proff-red their 

 hand along with their heart. She was successively 

 courted by a French merchant, a peasant's son, and 

 the nephew of a parson near Lisle: and they were so 

 violently enamoured of her, as to exceed all the 

 bounds of moderation in prosecuting their suit. All 

 this is probably to be accounted for, by that superi 

 ority of understanding, and that patrimonial fortune 

 which she possessed, and which are frequently as 

 powerful invitations to matrimony, as the charms of 



female beauty. But Antoinette had the fortitude to Bmlri, 

 resist every offer that was made to her, from what- 

 ever quarter it came, and however strongly it was 

 urged. The surly and ill-natured demeanour of her 

 father towards her mother, gave her an early disgust 

 at marriage, and she very soon began to pray that 

 she might never enter into that state. Besides she 

 was not very old when her mind became tinctured 

 with enthusiasm ; and this enthusiasm expressed 

 itself, partly in renouncing every desire of sensual 

 pleasure, and devoting herself to a state of immacu- 

 late purity. For while she prayed, " May God 

 grant that I may never marry," she added, at the 

 same time, " give me the grace to become thy 

 spouse." If this last petition, the impious raving of 

 a fanatic, was fulfilled, as she imagined it to be, it 

 may be easily believed that she not only never con- 

 ceived one thought inconsistent with the most per- 

 fect chastity, but that she actually possessed the gift 

 of penetrative virginity, by which, like the Virgin 

 Mary, she created in every person th it beheld her, a 

 total insensibility to the gratifications of the flesh. 

 3d, Although Madame Bourignon had obtained this 

 complete victory over the sexual passion, her views 

 were not wholly elevated above the world. Ava- 

 rice was a ruling feature in her moral character. She 

 tried to shew a contempt for earthly possessions ; but 

 she could not succeed in making that attainment. 

 And she exhibited throughout the whole of her life, a 

 fanatical attachment to spiritual things, combined with 

 a sordid and inveterate love of money. At first she 

 resolved to give up the property which devolved to 

 her at the death of her parents; but before she had 

 made this sacrifice to piety, she changed her mind, 

 and took possession of her patrimony. And she jus- 

 tified this step, which in her case had a worldly as- 

 pect, by alleging, that otherwise the property might 

 get into the hands of those who had no right to it, 

 or those who would make a bad use of it, and 

 that God had intimated to her that she should 

 need it for promoting his glory. In all her emer- 

 gencies, indeed, she applied to God for direction, 

 and she uniformly obtained the answer that she wish- 

 ed. But in this instance, the advice which she recei- 

 ved was rathermore extensive than was suitable to her 

 dispositions, or her intentions. To retain the estate, 

 she readily agreed, but to use it for the glory of God 

 was beyond her purpose. She lived parsimoniously 

 she bestowed nothing in charity, and her fortune, 

 therefore, rapidly increased. Increasing in wealth, 

 she increased in her attachment to it, and obstinate- 

 ly persisted in refusing to give one mite to the poor, 

 because, as she said, she had consecrated her sub- 

 stance to God, and all human things are inconstant. 

 While, however, she had no compassion for the needy, 

 she had a strong affection for her own doctrines ; and 

 expended a certain portion of her money in publish- 

 ing books, for the edification of the world, and in 

 supporting some idle hypocrites, who attended het 

 as her disciples. This was advancing the divine glo. 

 ry. But it was also a plea for the woman's avarice, 

 and a mean of gratifying her spiritual pride. 4th, 

 Madame Bourignon lived in persecuting times; and it 

 could not be expected that one so active in propaga- 

 ting heretical opinions, could escape the rigours of 

 intolerance. But the persecutions that she suffered 



