BEL 



BEL 



known through all parts of Europe as a good painter, died 

 in 1684. His fubjefts are views of havens, fea-ports, fliorcs, 

 calms, and ftorms at fea ; but in his calms he Ihews his pe- 

 cuHar excellence. His touch is li^'ht, and his colouring clear, 

 the perfpedlive of his fea-ports and buildings is true, and 

 has an agreeable eft'eA ; his flcies are generally bright, and 

 judiciouDy managed, and his colouring is tranfparent. His 

 figures are indifferent, and without mucli exprcfTion. His 

 pictures occur in public fales, and fome of his bcft ftyle fetch 

 a tolerable price. Pilkington. 



BELLEY, Lat. Bklica, in Geography, a town of 

 France, and principal place of a diftrift, in the department 

 of the Ain, before the revolution the capital of Le Bugey, 

 and fee| of a bifliop, feated among hills and fmall eminences, 

 about 2 miles from the Rhone, and twelve miles eaft of I^yons. 

 N. lat. 45" 45'. E. long, s" 35'- 



BELLGROVE, a town of America, in Bergen county, 

 New Jerfey, on the road to Albany, within half a mile of 

 the line that feparates New York from New Jerfey, v\hich 

 extends from Delaware river to that of Hudfon ; diflant 

 24 miles N. by W. from the city of New York. 



BELLI, in Moilern HUhry, the name of a focicty or feft 

 among the Negroes of Africa, in the interior kingdoms of 

 Sierra Leona, which is properly a fchool or feminary for the 

 education of children, renewable every 25th year by order of 

 the king, who is vilitor or fuperior of the college. Here the 

 young men learn to dance, fight, fiih, hiun, and above all, to 

 chant a certain hymn, which, in the language of the college, 

 they call " bellidong," or the praifes of belli : thefe fongs 

 confift only of a repetition of the fame lewd expreflions, en- 

 forced by the molt indecent and lafcivious potturef. When 

 a young negro is become an adept in this pra6tice, he is ad- 

 mitted a fellow of the college, deemed to be qualified for all 

 employments, temporal and fpiritual, and entitled to a num- 

 ber of important privileges. 



BELLICA colunma, in jlnUqiiili/, a column near the tem- 

 ple of Bellona, from which the confuls or feciales caft javelins 

 towards the enemy's country, by way of declaration of war. 



BELLICOSUS, in Entomology, a fpecies of Cimex, 

 {oi/ongus,) that inhabits Africa. It is of a brown colour: 

 poflerior thighs arched and dentated ; and four fpines on the 

 abdomen. Fabricius. Gmelin. 



BELLICULI or Bellirici Marlni, among NaturnTiJls, 

 denote a fpecies of fea-fhells of an umbilical figure, fometimcs 

 of a white colour, fpotted with yellow ; and fomctimes of a 

 vellow, ftreaked with black lines, after the fnail fa(hion. 



BELLIDIASTRUM, in 7?o/<7Hj.. See DoRONicuM. 



BELLIDIOIDES. See Chrysanthemum. 



BELLIEVRE, Pompone Da, in Biography, chancel- 

 lor of France, was born at Lyons in 1529, iludied at Tou- 

 loufe and Padua, and in 1575, became fuperintendant of the 

 finances, and in 1579 prefident of the parliament of Paris. 

 Having been employed in feveral important embailies by 

 Charles IX. and Henry III. and IV. he was created chan- 

 cellor by the latter in 1599, as a recompence for his Icrvices 

 at the peace of Vervin. In the execution of his office he 

 was enlightened, inflexible, inclined to aufterity, and, by the 

 warmth of his temper, to occafional precipitance. He was 

 diftinguillied by his learning and eloquence, as well as by his 

 talents for bufinefs. In 1604, he loll the feals, but con- 

 tinued in the pods of chancellor and prefident of the coun- 

 cil ; however, he ufed to fay, regretting his lofs, " that a 

 rlancellor without the feals was a body without foul." He 

 died in 1607 ; and fcveral eulogies were bellowed on his 

 memory, in honour of the regard which he always teftified 

 to learning and its profeflors. I'he graiidfon of the foriner 



was diftinguilhed, in the reigns of Lo\u XIV. and XV. by 

 his legal and diplomatic t:4lcnts; and was founder of the ge- 

 neral hofpital at Pari". Nouv. Diet. Hift. 



BELLIMO, in Modern Hi/lory, a mode of trial, or i 

 kind of purgation, pradtifed by the Negroes in the irteriov 

 countries of Africa, when perfons arc accufed of murder ui 

 theft, and confiiling of a compofition of certain hcrh.; or 

 barks of trees, which they oblige the accufed to hold in uis 

 hand, under a full perfuafion, that, if he Le guilty, blifters 

 will immediately rife upon the (Ivin. Sometimes the bellisio 

 confifts in obliging the accufed to fwallow a large glafs of a 

 liquor conipoled from the bark of the neno and quoni trees, 

 wliieh the negroes believe to be virulently poifonou'.. The 

 innocent immediately rejeft it by vomit; but the guilty fliew 

 a froth about the mouth, and are accordingly judged worthy 

 of death. 



BELLING of hops, denotes their opening and expandin'' 

 to their cultomary Ihape, fuppofed to bear fome relation to 

 that of a bell. Plops blow towards the end of July, and bell 

 the latter end of Augull or the beginning of September. 



BELLINGHAM, in Geography, a fmall town of Nor- 

 thumberland, England. It has a market 0n Tuefday, one 

 fair annually, and is 300 miles north of London. In 1780, 

 this town was nearly confuined by fire, and its houfes now 

 only amount to 70, and inhabitants to 337. About four 

 miles to the fouth is the village of Wark, where are the keep 

 and fome ruins of an ancient callle. 



BcLLiNGHAM, a fmall farm.ing townfliip of America, in 

 Norfolk county, Madachufetts, containing 735 inhabitants, 

 20 miles N. from Providence, and 34 S. from Bofton. 



BELLINI, Laurence, in Biography, a learned and in- 

 genious phyfician, was born at Florence, in 1643. He had 

 the advantage of being educated under Manchetti, Rtdi, ai:d 

 Borelli, and profited fo well by their inltruftions, that hs 

 was made profeflor in mathematics and philofophy at Pifa, 

 when he was only twenty years of age. He was alfo no 

 mean proficient in oratory, poetry, and mufic, but propofing 

 to praflife medicine, he was foon advanced to the chair of 

 profeffor in anatomy, a poll he continued to fill with repu- 

 tation for near thirty years. He was one of the principal 

 fupporters of the medico-mathematic fchool, who attempted 

 to explain the funftions of the body, the caufes of difeafcs, 

 and the operations of medicines on mechanical principles. 

 In this he was followed by Archibald Pitcairne, who read 

 his works at the fchools in Edinburgh during the life-time 

 of Bellini, and dedicated one of his own works to him. 

 When he was fifty years of age, he was called to Florence, 

 by Cofino III. who appointed him his phyfician, and about 

 the fame lime, on the recommendation of Lancifi, he was 

 made honorary, or confidting phyfician to pope Clement XI. 

 but having more imagination than judgment, and endeavour- 

 ing to fquare his praftice to his theory, he was generally 

 unfuccelsfiil in liis treatment of dileafcs, and thus loon for- 

 feited the favour, Haller fays, both of his prince and the 

 public. lu his anatomical rcfcarchts he was more i^ucceOfal, 

 as lie was the firll wiio accurately defcribed the nervous pa- 

 pilke of the tougue, and difcovered them to be the orgap. of 

 tafte, of which he gave an account in his " Gulhis Organum 

 noviflinte L^'preheiifum ;" Bonon, 1665, i6to. ; and he had 

 before, viz. in 1662, pubh{lieJ " De Struciura Reuuin," 

 Florent. 410. which had bedi well received, as containing 

 additional iuformation on the anatomy of that organ. Thele 

 works have been frequently reprinted, though now, from 

 the groat improvements that have been made in anatomy, 

 but little noticed. In ifiSj. he publiihed " De Urinis et 

 Pulfibus ;" " De MiiTioue Sangumis;"' " De Morbis Ca- 



X 2 n:tu 



