BEN 



?blc for feeling than force. His ftyle was fo truly canlc.llh, 

 tl'.at fcarce a palTage could be found in his compolitions, 

 which it would not have been in the power of the 

 human voice to fing ; and when lie was at his beil, he was 

 fo very affediiig a player, fo truly pathetic in an adagio, that 

 feveral able protcfTors declartd that he frequently drew tears 

 from them in performii-^; one. How he acquired this ftyle 

 of writing and playing, may be of feme ufc to mulical Un- 

 dents to trace and dtvelope. His ftyle was not that of 

 Tartiui, Somis, Veracini, nor that cf the head of any one 

 fchool or mulkal feci, of which we iiave the lead knowledjre : 

 it was his own, and formtd from tliat mcd;! which fhould 

 be ever ftudied by all inllrumental n.-rformcv;. ^ood fntg'ni-^. 



BENDALA, in Geogn^ply, a town of Africa, lying be- 

 tween the confines of Dar-fur and Wara, the o.-ipital of Ber- 

 goo. It is inhabited by the flaves of the fultan of Bergoo. 

 The people are idolaters. 



BENDALI, a town of Perfia, in the province of Ker- 

 man, 140 miks S. of Sircrian. 



BENDARMA LANKA, a town of Hindoftan, in the 

 circar of Rajamundry, fituate between the brar.clies of the 

 river Bain, at their outlet into the ocean, 50 imles S. of 

 Rajamundry, 50 N. E. of Mafulipatam, and 358 miles N.E. 

 of Madras. N. lat. 16" 30'. E. long. 82° 30'. 



BENDEIRG, a mountain of Scotland, in the county 

 of Perth, 7 miles N. of Blair Athol. 



BENDER, formerly called Tixhie, and denoting in the 

 Turkiih language " a pafs," a fortified town of European 

 Turkey, in Beflarabia, feated on the Dniefter. It is cele- 

 trated as the place of retreat and refidence of Charles XII. 

 of Sweden, when he put himfclf under the protcftion of 

 the Turks, after being defeated by the Ruffians at the 

 battle of Pultowa in 1709 ; but upon refufing to leave their 

 temtory, he was attacked, taken prifoner, anr' removed to 

 Adrianoplc, where, after a year's confinement, he returned 

 fecretly to his own dominions. It was belie-red by the 

 Ruffians in 1770, and after a refiftance of nearly three 

 months, furrendered to Panin, the Ruffian general ; and the 

 capture of this fortrefs was fucceeded by the fubmiffion of 

 the Tartars of Budziak and Otchakof to the Ruffian fceptrc. 

 The Cege which Bender, in 1770, fuftaincd from the Ruf- 

 fians was remarkable, on account of the defperate defence 

 made by the garrifon, the carnage which attended its reduc- 

 tion, and the adoption on the part of the befitgers, of that 

 dreadful inftrumcnt of modern warfare, the globe of com- 

 prtflion. The Ruffian army, commanded by count Panin, 

 opened their trenches on both fides of the river, the 30th July, 

 after which, a furious cannonade and bombardment were 

 begun from all quarters, and vij;orouny retunieu trom the 

 town. The garrifon and inhabitants defended themfelves, 

 with the utmoil bravery : in fixteen days they made feven 

 forties, with little advantage, but great lofs on both fides, 

 and held out for more than two months with ur.abated cou- 

 rage, even when the defeat of the main army by the Ruffian 

 general Romanzow feemed to deprive them of ever)' hope 

 of relief. The befiegers in the mean time pufhed foi-ward their 

 mines (See Mine) v.-ith induftry, particularly one of an 

 improved conftruftion lately invented by a French engineer, 

 and which has been fince denominated the globe of com- 

 preffion. In this labyrinth of mines, interwoven and in- 

 clofed one within another, it was maintained, that a certain 

 quantity of gunpowder would caufe a greater explofion, 

 and throw up a greater portion of earth than in any other 

 method. The globe of compreffion being brought to per- 

 fection, was charged with the amazing quantity of l6,ooolb. 

 of powder, and the garrrifon continuing obllinately to refufe 

 every propofal of furrcndcr, count Panin prepared for a 



BEN 



general aflault to take place on the night of the 27th of 

 Sept. The firing of the mine was to be the fiina! of attack, 

 and it was hoped, that befides ruining the outworks, it might 

 make a breach in fonie of the principal wall.; of the town, and 

 bury the defenders in the ruins. The Ruffians themfelves 

 were apprehenfive of the confequcnces, as it was net cafy to 

 define how far the effects of fuch an enormous niafs of powder 

 might extend, and tlie troops deftiised to make the aflhult in 

 that quarter were ilationed at a confiderab'.e dillaixe. In iaft, 

 the globe of compreffion, which was blown up at 10 o'clock 

 at night, with a moil hoirible concuffion, fliook the v.hole 

 adjacent country, and, amidll the alloiii(hment and confufion 

 excited by this dreadful phenomenon, the attack began in 

 three pLices with great fury. Nothing could rellrain the 

 impetuofity of tl'.e Ruffian foldiers, who pufhed forward at 

 the main point of affimlt. The double ditches before the 

 glacis were pafFed and filled up ; the double row of palli- 

 fadocs before the covered way dcftroyed ; the main ditch 

 fvirrmurted, and all the outworks canied in fucceffion. The 

 hody of the place could not oppofe an effectual refiilance 

 to enemies who had already overcome fuch difficulties : the 

 Ruffians got over the waUs in every quarter, and a new and 

 dreadiiil conttil commenced in the dark, as well among 

 the fortifications, as in the ftreets, lanes, and palTages, and 

 from the houtes. The defperate refillance of the garrifon 

 and inhabitants, obliged the Ruffians to fet fire to the town, 

 which they did in feveral places at the fame time, but the 

 conteit neverthelefs continurd, amidft the ruins and the 

 blazing houfes, for the whole of the night, nor feemed 

 decided, but by the almoft total extermination of the Turks. 

 At eight in the morning, the ftrafkier, with moil of thofe 

 that furvived, retired to the citadel, which the flames had 

 already reached. A feledl body of 1500 cavalry and 500 

 infantry, attempting to cut their way through the befiegers, 

 were fdrrounded and cut off to a man. As for the feraikier, 

 after demanding in vnin an honourable capitulation, the fury 

 of the flames, which had now reached every part of the 

 citadel, obliged him to furrcnder with his followers, as pri- 

 foners of war. The fire raged for three days, and could not 

 be reftrained till it had conlumed the whole city. The to- 

 tal number of prifoners, including the inhabitants of all ages, 

 amounted to 11,749, °^ whom 5,554 were janifaries and 

 fpahis, with their commanders, befides the ferailcier and two 

 bafhas. The refidue of a population of 30,000 fouls, of 

 whom one half were foldiers, perillied in the llorm. The 

 Ruffians found in the place a vail quantity of arms, bombs, 

 grenades, gun-powder, and other military llores, befides 

 above 200 pieces of brafs cannon, and 85 mortars. They 

 alfo took 4 horfe-tails, 14 batons of command, and 40 pair 

 of colours. 



Bender, hardly recovered from this blow, was again taken, 

 but not till after a long fiege, by pnnce Potemkin, in Novem- 

 ber 1789. It was, however, rellored to Turkey by the 

 fubfequeut treaty of peace in 1792. Bender is reckon- 

 ed to contain between 10 and 12,000 inhabitants; and its 

 governor is a bafhaw. It is diftant loo miles \V. of Otcha- 

 kof or Oczakow, and as many miles S. E. of Jaffy. N. lat. 

 47^ E. long. 29° 20'. 



BENDER.-.^ia/^. See Gombroon. 



BENDER-fonj^o. See Congo. 



BENDER-iJi-fcn, a town of Perua, in the province of Far- 

 fiilan, on the north coailof the Perlian gulf; 130 miles W. 

 of Schiras. 



Bender du Set; a town of Perfia, in the province of Ker- 

 man, 160 miles S. of Sirgian. 



Bender. Ibrakim, a town of Perfia, at the mouth of the 

 river Ibrahim, in the Perfian gulf. 



Bender 



