BEK 



{on of Rami-.ii's dauc^hter, htr own companiiiii in navei-y, 

 he fiicceeJ«l m his views of being publicly acknowledged as 

 the heir of Ramini. Under this charadter he was veiled 

 with fovereignty, formed alllanc;:''* with other tribes, made 

 war and peace, and received fiibmiffions from the vanqiiiflitd. 

 Bnt as his European refources were with-hclJ, he renounced 

 the fcrvicc of France, and ptrfuaded his fuhjeds to permit 

 him to return to Europe, f>n- the pnrpofe of forming an 

 alliance with France, or fomc otiier power, and for making 

 commercial arrangements with a vi^w to the improvement 

 of a fettlement on the ifland. Accordin^^ly, he departed 

 for Europe in November 1776, on board a brig which he 

 iiad freighted to the cape of Good tl ipr. With tliis event 

 his own narrative terminates. Among his ftate papers, 

 however, we find his propofal to the king of Great Britain, 

 dated Dec. 25, 1783 ; of which the preliminary article is 

 his being acknowledged fovereign of the iiland of Madagaf- 

 car ; under which charafter he offers terms for an ofFenfive 

 and defenlive alliance with this country. But it appears, 

 from a declaration prefixed to this paper, that he had pre- 

 vioufly applied, probably with finiilar views, to the emperor 

 of Germany. The application to the Britifli minillry, if it 

 was ever made, and if it was ever the fuhjeft of difeiinion, 

 as fome have alTcrtcd, was not attended with fuccefs. The 

 count, therefore, determined to return to M.idagafcar with 

 fuch fupplies as he coulJ obtain from individuals ; and having 

 procui-ed goods and merchandize in London to the amount 

 of 4000I. and finding it difficult to get the flag of any Euro- 

 pean power to fail beyond the cape of Good Hope, he de- 

 parted for Mnrj-lnnd in America, in April 17S4. A ref- 

 peflable commercial houfe engaged in his undertaking, 

 ai'.d fupplied him with a vefTel and goods to a conliderable 

 amount. In this veflTel he failed for Madagafcar ; and after 

 cfcapingthe hazard of fhipwreck on the lee fliore of Ame- 

 rica, and doubling the cape of Good Hope, he touched at 

 Sofalo, and on the 7th of July 17S5, anchored in Antangara 

 bay, 10 leagues S.W. of cape St. Seballian, in Madagafcar, 

 ■where the cargo was landed. Under an apprehenfion that 

 the count had been cut off by the natives, the party on 

 hoard the fliip fet fail for the ifland of Joanna, ajid at Oibo, 

 on the oppollte continent, fold the (hip. The count head- 

 ing a body of natives, commenced hoftilities againfl .the 

 French by fcizing their (lore-houfe at Angoutzi. Here he 

 began to build a town after the manner of the country, and 

 from thence he detached 100 men to feize their failory at 

 Foul Point, who defilled on feeing a frigate at anchor. In 

 confequence of thcfe tranfaftions, M. de Soullac, governor 

 of the ifle of France, feni a fhip with fixty regulars, who 

 landed, and attacked the count on the 23d of May 17S6, 

 in a redoubt which he had conftrufted, mounting two can- 

 non, and in which he, with two Europeans, and thirty natives, 

 xvaited their approach. The blacks fled, and Benyowfty,. 

 receiving a ball in his breatt, fell behind t)ie parapet, whence 

 he was dragged by the hair, and foon expired. 



Whilll none can queftion the ability and bravery of 

 count Benyowlky, the principles of his conduct are not eafily 

 afcertained. His enemies rcprefent him as a tyrant and a 

 robber ; and his friends, on the contrary, exhibit him as 

 dirtinguifhed by a noble, humane, and generous difpofition. 

 Mr. Nicholfon, the editor of his " Memoirs and Travels," 

 who had all the letters and documents before him, dcchres, 

 that he has " not yet ftcn any thing againft the count, 

 which will not bear two interpretations, or which has not 

 been written by men who contraditl each other, and had an 

 interell in traducing him." " His condnft in Madagafcar," 

 fays Wad'.lrom, in his " Eflay on Colonization," deferves no 

 fmall portion of admiration, and even of rcfpeft j and, all 



BEN 



things duly confidercd, I fee no reafon, why a monximert 

 might not be erefted to his memory, infciibed "Macnis Ta- 

 nks ExciDiT Ausis." A very difl"erent charafteris given of 

 him byM. de Lelleps, in his " Travels in Kamtfchatflca ;" 

 who reprefents him as perfidious and cruel, and by the Abbe 

 Rochon, in his " Voyage a Madagafcar, &c." who fays, 

 " that he aimed at the conqueft of Madagafcar by fire and 

 fword, and treated the natives with fuch cruelty, that he 

 was called bv no other name by them than the "- Wicked 

 White." Memoirs and Travels of count Benyowlky, 

 written by himfelf. 2 vols. .].to. 1 790. 



BENZELIUS, Eric, a learned Swedidi divine, was born 

 in 1(542, in Wellro-Gothland, and educated under the pa- 

 tronage of a rich uncle at Upfal. He watf firll preceptor 

 to the funs of the count de la Gardie, chancellor of Sweden ; 

 and having completed their education, he travelled through 

 various parts of Europe, cultivating an acquai.itance with the 

 learned, and confulting the principal libraries. Upon his 

 return to Lfpfal in 1665, he was appointed profeflbr of hif- 

 tory and morality in the univerfity, and afterwards promoted 

 to the theological chair, and to a feat in the conlillor)-. In 

 1675, he was made dotlor in theology ; in 1677, bidiop of ■ 

 Strengnes, and, in 1700, archbifliop of Upfal, occupying alfo 

 the vice-chancellorfliip of the univerfity. He died in 1 709; 

 and was the author of feveral differtations on the lives of the 

 patriarchs, and other parts of ecclefiaftical hillory. He 

 wrote alfo various theological works, and tranflated the 

 whole Bible into the Swedidi language. Moreri. 



Benzllius, Eric, fon of the former, was born at Upfal 

 in 1673, where he began and compltted his lludies. Having 

 travelled into Germany, England, and France, he returned 

 to Upfal in ) 702, and was appointed librarian to the uni- 

 verfity, an office which he held for 22 years. In 1724, he 

 was nominated pvofeffor of divinity ; and afterwards fuccef- 

 fively created biihop of Gotheborg, Lindkioping, and arcfi- 

 bifhop of Upfal. He died in 1743. Benzelius undertook, 

 in conjunftion with other learned men, a review, as well of 

 all hooks pubhftied in Sweden, or by Swedes abroad, as of 

 thofe works printed in other co\mtries, which had any rela- 

 tion to this kingdom. This publication, containing, befides 

 reviews, fome few original atls, was denominated " Afta* 

 Literaria Suecios," and condudled for 10 years on this plan 

 by a fociety of gentlemen, who afterv.-ards formed the royal 

 fociety of Upfal. See Society. 



BENZIE Island, in Geography., lies on a river of the 

 fame name, within Sierra Leone, on t!ie coalt of Africa. 



BENZOE, in Botany. See Crotona. 



BENZOIN. See Laurus. 



Benzoin, Bnjamin Gum, and Benzoic ^chl, in Chemjflry 

 and Pharmacy. 



Tne gum benzoin or benzoe, by fome called alfo Jfrt 

 Diik'is, is a very fragrant refin, procuied from a large tree 

 f)und in many parts of the Eaft Indies, Sumatra, Arabia, 

 Perfia, &c. See Styrax Benzoe. 



The refill is brought in large brittle mafTes of a light yel- 

 loA', interfperfed with white nodules, wliich laft are confi- 

 dercd as the fined, and called by fome Biiizoe j'lmygcLiloides. 

 Ttie fmell of benzoin is cxttemtly fragrant, efpecially when 

 rubbed or heated : it has fcarccly any tade, except previoufly 

 dilfolved in fpirit of wine, which it does with eafe, into a 

 yellowilh tinftnre. On adding water to this tinflure, the 

 refin again feparates into a white pulverulent mafs, which has 

 received the fingular name of Lac Firglnah, and alfo Ma- 

 gi/Ieiy of Benzoin. When gently dried, it forms a white pow- 

 der, formerly in great requcll as a cofmetic. It is at leafl 

 innocent, and its fcent is one of the mod; agreeable. But 

 the moft linking ing.redient of this refin is the 



Benzole 



