BAM 



ten at tlie inftipfation of cardinal Bouillcn, gave fuch offence 

 to the court, that the work was fuppreffed by order of the 

 parHament of Paris, and the author deprived of his places 

 and penfion, and fcnt into exile; nor was he ri^called to Paris 

 till after tlie peace of Utrecht. In old age, he amufcd him- 

 felf in writing the hillory of his native place, under the 

 title of " Hiltoria Tiitellenfis," printed in 1717, at Paris, 

 in 4to. He died in I 7 18, much regretted by his friends on 

 account of his amiable, obliging, and communicative difpo- 

 fition; and honoured amongtl the learned for his extenllve 

 acquaintance with books and manufcripts. Gen. Di£t. 



BALZAC, JoHs Lewis Guez de, was the fon of a 

 gentleman, wliofe name was William Guez, of Languedoc, 

 and born at Angouleine in 1595, or 1596. In his youth, 

 he attached himlclf to cardinal de la Valette, who for two 

 years employed him as his agent at Rome. On his return, 

 he was introduced to court, and much admired. By the 

 favour of cardinal Richelieu he obtained a penlion, together 

 with the brevets of couufellor of Ibite, and royal hil'iorio- 

 grapher. His "Letters," firil publilhed in 1624, ella- 

 bliflied his reputation in early hfe, and were long regarded 

 as perfeft models in that kind of compofuion. " With much 

 fine f;ntiment and beauty of language, they are, however, 

 ftudied, pompous, and iutlated." With regard to (lyle and 

 manner, they form a contrail to the cafe and fprightlincfs i>f 

 Voiture, though Balzac excells in refpctt to weight ot mat- 

 ter. Such was tliis epiftolary writer's reputation, thatthofe 

 who were defuous of being thought " bel efprits" in France, 

 wilhed to engage B;ilzac m a correfpondence, that they might 

 be in pofTelTion of one of his letters. His ftyle became the 

 fubjeci of criticifm ; and even the morality of his writings 

 wa« abufed, without fufficient reafou. Difgufted by this 

 treatment, he retired to his eilate at Balzac, on the borders 

 of the Charente, near Angouleme ; and there employed his 

 time in ftudy and compolition, and in correfpondence with 

 his friends, among whom were fomc of tlic moll learned and 

 eminent of his countrymen. He was deemed a good claf- 

 fical fcholar ; and he wrote Latin with eale and elegance; 

 and his converfation was unaftccltd and agreeable. His ge- 

 neral charafter was that of a good man, and a devout cha- 

 ritable chriilian. He fct apart, even in his life-time, eight 

 thoufand crowns of his eftate, to be dillributed to pious 

 ufes. He built two chambers in the convent of capuchins 

 at Angouleme, where he often refided ; and at his death, he 

 bequeathed 12,000 livres to this hoipital, and he left an 

 eftate of £00 francs per annum, to -be appropriated every 

 two years as a prize to him who, in the judgmeiit of the 

 French academy, of which he was a men-.ber, (hould write 

 the bed difcourlcs upon a fubjeft of religion. He died in 

 1654, and was buried, accorduig to his own order, " at the 

 feet of the poor interred" in the hofpital at Angouleme. 

 " The French language (lays Voltaire, age of Louis XIV.) 

 is under very great obligations to Balzac. He firft gave 

 number and harmony to its profe." In early life he feems 

 to have been unduly admired, and afterwards he iunk into 

 unmerited degradation and iiegltcl. plis principal works are 

 his "Letters," printed at different times; " Le Prince ;" 

 •Le Socrate Cliriilien ;" " L'Ariilippe;" " Entretieus ;" 

 " Latin verfcs," in three books, of which his " Ainyr.tas," 

 and " Chrill viftorious," are moll elleemed. All thefe have 

 been collefted in two volumes, folio, and were publilhed at 

 Paris in 1665. Gen. Did. Nouv. Did. Hill. 



BAMBA, in Geography, the lai'gell and richeft province 

 or duchy of the kingdom of Congo, in Africa, fiiuate be- 

 between the rivers Ambrifi and Loze ; the lall of wliich 

 parts it from the mnrquifate of Pemba c:i the eaft, and the 

 Ambrifi from the county of Songo on the north. Along 



BAM 



the fea-coafts it extends ftill farther northward to the nvef 

 Lelunda, and on the fouth to that of Danda, which feparates 

 it from the kingdom of Angola. The governors of this 

 province bear the title of dukes, and are always princes of 

 the royal family, being as de/potic and arbitrary as if they 

 were really kings. The toil is fertile, and capable of pro- 

 ducing all the neceffarics of life in great abundance, if it 

 were duly cultivated. The fea-coalls produce a large quan- 

 tity of fait, which forms a confidcrable article of exportation. 

 The fiflicry of the Zimbis, whofe (litl! is the current coin in 

 tliis and the two neighbouring .kingdoms, furuilhes alfo a 

 valuable fource of revenue. Sevei-al authors have added a 

 third kind of treaUire in this province, viz. the mines of 

 gold, filver, quickfilvcr, copper, tin, and iron, which are 

 found in the mountainous pnits ; but the richnefs, and even 

 the reality of thefe mines, have been quellioned ; and it is 

 certain, that the iron inines arc only aliov.'ed to be ufed, and 

 that there are fevere laws againll meddling with any of the 

 reft. The interior of the country lurnillus elephants. Hags, 

 buffalos, tigers, civets, and parroquets ; and here is a t;ou- 

 liderable tralBc ol flaves. The people are numerous, llrong, 

 and warlike. In this province is a town of the fame name, 

 which is large and populous, ditlant about feventy leagues 

 from the fea, arid in the pofleffion of the Poilui^utfe. 



Bamb.i, a collection of villages in the kingdom of Dem- 

 bea, in Abyffinia, near the weltern bank of the lake Tzana, 

 or Uembea. N. lat. 12° n'. E. long. 37°. 



BAM BALA, in Anaent Geography, a maritime town of 

 India, on this fide of the Ganges. Ptolemy. 



BAMBAMARCA, in G'cography, a town of South 

 America, in Peru, and jurifdiilion of Patas, or Caxamar- 

 quilla. 



BAMBAN, a town of Upper Egypt, feated on the 

 Nile, about forty-two miles S. S. E. of Elneh. N. lat. 24° 



2(7. 



BAMBARA, an extenfive kingdom of Weftern Africa, 

 bounded by the Moorilh kingdom of Bteroo to tlie north, 

 and Mafina, a Foulah Hate fouth of Beeroo, by the dillricls 

 of Gotto, Baedoo, a:;d Marciana, and Nigritia or Soudan, 

 to the call, by Kong to the fouth, and by Ludamar and 

 Kaarta to the well. The courfe of the river Jolibah, or 

 Nic;cr, lies through this country ; and its capital is Sego, 

 feated on thi.s river, in N. Lit. 14" 10' 30". and W. long. 2° 

 1'. The language ol Bambara was found by Mr. Park, in 

 his travels through this country, to be a fort of corrupted 

 Mandingo ; and from Manfong, the king, who reiided in 

 this city, he received tokens of favour, though from motives 

 of prudence he was not admitted into the loyal prefence, 

 and he was ordered to leave Sego. This benevolent prince, 

 in fpite of the jealous machinations of the Moorifli inhabit- 

 ants, thought a llrauger in dillrefs a proper object of cora- 

 paffion and relief; and probably difmifTtd lum under an ap- 

 prehenfion that he mi;,;ht not be able to afford him tffeftual 

 proteilion againil their blind and inveterate mahce. This 

 country is beautiful and highly cultivated ; and at Kabba, 

 which Mr. Park vifitcd, and which is lituated at a (mall 

 diftance from Sego, it bore, according to this traveller, a 

 greater refemblance to the centre of England, than to what 

 he fliould have fuppofed to have been the middle of Africa. 

 The (hea-trees (lee Skea), from which the inhabitants pre- 

 pare tlieir vegetable butter, conilituting a main article of 

 their inland commerce, abound in this part of Bambara. 

 V/hilll Mr. Park travelled through this country, he was 

 much incommoded by the tropical rains; and he was chiefly 

 indebted for his daily fupport to the dooty or chief man in 

 the fevcral towns through which he paffed. This officer 

 feems to poffefs the authority of mayor in the corporate 



towns 



