BEN 



equally fingiilar, and more cruel, is called erefting a " Koor." 

 Having conftrucled a circular pile of wood, and placed upon 

 it a cow, or an old woman, they prepare to confume the 

 wholetogether. The objeft of this praftice is to intimidate 

 the officers of government, or others, from urging importu- 

 nate demands, or levying grievous exaclions, as the effecl of 

 the facritice is fiippofed to involve in great guilt the perfon 

 whofe conduft obliges the conftruftor of the Koor to adopt 

 this expedient. The only cafe of fctting up a Koor, that 

 occurred for many years, happened near Benares in 1788 ; 

 bat the facritice was prevented by the timely interpofition of 

 authority. There are a fewinflances of ilill more atrocious 

 afts, by which the Brahmins feek to repel injuries, or to 

 wreak their feeble vengeance ; as by murdering, with mutual 

 conlent, their ncarelt and moft beloved relations, fiom a 

 perfiiafion that horror of the deed will redound on the head 

 of their oppreflbr. Sir John Shore («i/ in/ni) relates three 

 (hocking cafes of that nature, which, fo late as the years 

 1791 and 1793, came under his cognizance in the province 

 of Benares. It further appears by Sir John Shore's report, 

 that a whole tribe of Hindoos, denominated " Rajekoomars," 

 and refident on the frontiers of Juanpore, a diftrift of the 

 province of Benares, adjoining to the country of Oude, have 

 been long accuftomed to the lavage praftice of cauCng mo- 

 thers to ftarve to death their female offspring ; and that the 

 only reafon affigned for this inhuman cuftom was the great 

 expence of procuring fuitable matches for their daughters, if 

 they fuffered them to grow up. Meafures have been taken 

 and rigidly enforced for abolifhing this barbarous praftice, 

 to which, however, there are fome few exceptions ; as cer- 

 tain families among the Rajekoomars allow, at leait, one fe- 

 male child to be reared, and one village furnifhes a complete 

 exception to the general cuftom. Among the fupcrftitions 

 prevailing in the province of Benares, we may mention the 

 following circumftance relating to the fugar-cane. If any 

 of the old cane remains unemployed in the new plantation, 

 the proprietor repairs to the fpot previoufly to the 25th of 

 Jeyte, or nth of June, and having facrificed to Nagbele, 

 the tutelar deity of that plant, he carefully fets fire to the 

 whole ; it being firmly believed by the " ryots," orhuiband- 

 men, that if a fingle cane (hould flower after that terra, it 

 ■would portend the moft dreadful calamities to themfelvea and 

 their families. We fhall here add, that faith in charms, 

 amulets, forcery, fafcination, and aftrology, ftill prevails in 

 the eaft. See Soontaars. Afiatic Refearches, vol. iv. 

 p. 329, &c. 8vo. The Hindoo obfervatory at Benares is 

 fituated in N. lat 25° 18' 36". E. long. 83° 10'. 



BEN A RU, a tov/n of Perfia, in the province of Fariftan> 

 108 miles S. S. E. of Schiras. 



BENARVILLE, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Lower Seine, 5 leagues N. E. of Montivilliers. 



BENASCHI, John Baptist, in Biography, a painter 

 and engraver, was born in Piedmont, A. D. 1C36, and be- 

 came a difciple of Fictro del Po. He imitated the works of 

 Lanfranchi fo fuccefsfuUy, that his piftures have been mif- 

 taken for the performances of that matter. He is reprefent- 

 ed as a man of great genius, and the freedom and facility, 

 which appear in his pidlures, are highly commended. He 

 died at Rome in 1690. He etched for his amufement " A 

 holy family," from Dominicus Ccrini, his intimate friend. 

 Strutt. 



BENATKY, orBENATEK, in Geography, a fmall town 

 of Bohemia, with a citadel, in the circle of Boleflaw, feated 

 on the Ifler, 22 miles N. E. of Prague. 



BENAVARRI, See Benabarri. 



BENAVENTE> a town of Spain, in the country of Leon> 



BEN 



feated on the Efla, and containing about 4000 inhabitanti ; 

 13 leagues S. of Leon. 



BENAVIDIO, Marcus Mantua Benavidius, in 

 Biography, A. celebrated civilian, was born at Padua in 1490, 

 and taught the civil and canon law in his native city for 60 

 years, with high reputation. He there received the honour 

 of knighthood, viz. from the emperors Charles V. and Ferdi- 

 nand I. and from pope Pius IV. He died in 1582, and 

 was the author of feveral works in his own profefilon ; among 

 which are " Colleftanea fuper jus Caefareum ;" " Obferva- 

 tionum Lecalium," hb. x. and " De Illullribus Jurifcon- 

 fultis." M-.reri. 



BENBECULA, in Gtography, is the name of one of thofe 

 ifiands of Scotland called the Hebrides. It lies between the 

 ides of N. and S. Ui'.l, from the laft of which it is feparated 

 by a narrow channel, nearly dry at low water. This ifland 

 is rather flat, and meafures only about nine miles in tranfverfe 

 diameter. Its foil is fandy and barren ; but the quantity of 

 fca weedconilantly driven on fhore, is appropriated to melio- 

 rate fome portions of the land. In one p^.rt of the ifland is 

 an ancient fort called Elvine Nean Ruarie, and feveral ftone 

 monuments are found in different parts of it. It has a har- 

 bour for fmall fifliing vefFcls, and feveral frefli water lakes, 

 ftored with fifli and fowl. 



BENFBRICK, a mountain of Scotland, in tlie county of 

 Perth ; 12 miles N. N.W. of Crieff. 



BENBAl^BEN, mountains of Ireland, in the county of 

 Sligo; 7 miles N. of Sligo. 



BENCH. See Banc, Bank, &c. 



Bench, Amicable. See Amicable. 



Bench, King's. See Court of King's Bench. 



BsttCH, free. See pREE-fenfi. 



Bench ijland, in Geography, lies within the fouth-eaft 

 point of what is called South-eaft; bay, in the fouthern part 

 of New Zealand. 



BENCH'a.'/V/oTy. See Widow. 



BENCHERS, in the Inns of Court, the fenior members 

 of the houfe, who have the government and dircftion thereof; 

 and out of whom is yearly chofen a treafurer, S:c. 



BENCOOLEN, in Geography, a fea-port town and fort 

 on the fouth-weft coaft of the ifland of Sumatra, where the 

 Englifli have a fettlemcnt and a failory. This is one of the 

 four Englifli prefidentfiu'ps, or governments, to which all the 

 other fa&ories are fubordinate ; the other three are Madras, 

 Bengal, and Bombay. Bencoolen, which is about 2 mile* 

 rn compafs, is known .it lea by a high flender mountain, 

 called the " Sugar Loaf," and rifing 20 miles beyond it in 

 the country. Before tlje town lies an ifland, within which 

 the fliips ufually ride, and with this, the point of SiUebar, 

 extending 2 or 3 leagues fouthward of it, forms a large and 

 commodious bay. A convenient river on its north-well fide 

 brings the pepper, of which the trade of the town chiefly 

 confills, from the inland country : but it is fliipped with in- 

 convenience, on account of a dangerous bar at tlie mouth of 

 the river. It is principally inhabited by natives, who build 

 their houfcs on pillars of bamboo wood. The Englifli, Por- 

 tuguefe, and Chinefe, have each a fcparate quarter. The 

 adjacent country is mountainous and woody, and there are 

 many volcanos in the ifland. Aa tbe town ftands upon a 

 morafs, the air is loaded with vapours, and the mountains 

 are covered with thick clouds, that produce lightning, 

 thunder, and rain. The climate of Bencoolen has proved 

 more fickly and fatal than that of any of the other Britifti 

 fettlements, not only to the Englifli, but to all who have 

 been accuftomed to live in a pure air. In 1763, upon the 

 ceflion of Manilla to the Spaniards, and the reftoration 0/ 

 Bencoolen to the Englifli, many Chinefe merchants, with 



Z 2 iheii 



