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they might be difTcfled during the fiimmer, and remain un- 

 der the dcmonftrator's hands for \vccl<.s, months, or years, 

 if nccefTary, without emitting any offentive fmcU. De Bils 

 had the art of gaining fo mucli credit to his profcfTions, that 

 he is faid, by Hallcr, to have fold his fecrct to the univerfity 

 ot Louvain for 22000 florins. He had demanded a much 

 larger fum, and certainly had his preparations anfwcred the 

 high clogia bellowed on them by his favourers, the fecret 

 would have defcrvcd it. Prior to the fale he had fent one of 

 his bodies to the theatre at Leyden, ar which Deulliigius, 

 one of his warmcft admirers fays, " fed fidem fuperat omnem, 

 exliccatum liomuiis cadaver, recenter mortuum diccres, tanto 

 thi.atro digniflimum opus." De admiranda anatomc, nobili- 

 flimi viri L. D. Bils, p. 362. But not contented with the 

 fa'no, and money acquired by his fecrct, fur he fold his pre- 

 pared bodies at high prices, he pretended to have made dif- 

 covcrles in the ftruClure of the liver, and in the lymphatics, 

 by which he expofed himfelf to deferved contempt, it ap- 

 pearing that he was totally ignorant of the art of anatomy, 

 in which lie afTccSed to be a mafter. He is faid to have died 

 phlhifical from the ed'eiSls of the putrid air inhaled while 

 preparing liis bodies, and in a few years his preparations, 

 which were to iiave hilled for ages, were totally deftroy- 

 ed. His produftions, which were numerous, and excited 

 much intcrell at the time, were collected and publifhed 

 in 1692, in 410. luidcr the title of, " De Bils invcnta 

 anatomica antiqao-uova cum c'ariffimorum virorum epillo- 

 lis, ct tellimonii', ubi adiiotationes Joaiinis ab Hoorne, 

 et Pauli Barbette, refutantur, iiiterprcte Gedeone Buenio. 

 Amil. 



BILSAH, in Geography, acity of Hindoftan, and capi- 

 tal of a circar in the MaKva cou.itry ; 416 miles S. W. of 

 Benares, 867 N. W. of Calcutta, by Gurry Mundlah, 560 

 N. VV. of Hydrabad, 367 S. W. of Lucknow, 249 N. \V. 

 of Nagpour, 140 nearly E. of Ougcin, and 496 N. E. of 

 Poonah. • Bilfah, which is almofl in the heart of India, 

 affords tobacco of the moll fragrant and delicious kind 

 throughout that whole region, and which is diftributed ac- 

 cordingly. N. lat. 23° 30'. E. long. 77° 53'. 



BILSEN. a town of Germany, in the circle of Weft- 

 phalia, a:id bifhopric of Liege, chief place of a canton in the 

 diftritt of Maeflricht, and department of tiie Lower Mtufe, 

 fcated on the Demer, pofTcning the privileges of a city, but 

 of no great confidci-ation, 14 miles N. of Liege. The town 

 contains 1925 perfons, and the population of the canton in- 

 cludes 9388. The territory comprehends 170 kiliomctres, 

 and 1 5 communes. 



BILsKOl, a town of Siberia, on the Bilaia, 00 miles 

 N. W. of Irkutflv. 



BILSON, Thomas, in B'wgraphy, a karned prelate of 

 the En'^'hfh church, was bom at Wincheder, and educated 

 at Wykcham's fchool near his native city. Li 1565, he was 

 admitted fellow of New College, Oxford, after having ferved 

 I wo years of probation. He took in due conrfe his fcveral 

 degrees of bachelor and mafttr of art, and alfo of bachelor 

 and doftor of divinity ; the lail of which was conferred on 

 hsm in 1580. In his earlier years he was fond of poetry, 

 philofophy, and phyfic; but after having entered into orders, 

 he confined hmifelf wiu lly to divinity, and became an excel- 

 lent preachir. His firlt preferment was the maHerfliip of 

 Wincheder fchool ; and he afterwards became prebendary of 

 Winchefter, and at length warden of the college, in which 

 office he was inllrumental in prLierving the revenues of it, 

 when they were hkJy to have been loll by forgery. In 1585,' 

 he publirticd a treatife entitled «' The true Difference be- 

 tween Chriilian Subjertion and u:ichrillian Rebellion," de- 

 dicated to queen Elizabeth, and compofed for the purpofe 



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of confuting thofe catholic writers who attacked her right 

 to the throne, and to the allegiance of her fubjcfts. In thia 

 treatife paffages occur that are favourable to relillance in cer- 

 tain cafes, and which have not efcaped the cenfures of later 

 advocates of pafTive obedience. This was iucceedcd, in 1593, 

 by his " Perpetual Government of Chrill's church, &c." de- 

 figned to fliew, that from the Mofaic inftitution to the mo- 

 dern ages of Chrillianity, the church has been governed by 

 pallors and teachers of diff'^rent ranks, I'upcriorand fubor- 

 dinate, and efleemed one of the bed books in favour of epif- 

 copacy. In confcquence of this publication he was promoted 

 to the fee of Worceder in 1596, from which he was tranf- 

 lated in 1597 to that of Winchefter, when he was alio ap- 

 pointed a privy counfellor. About this time he delivered a 

 courfe of fermons at Paul's crofs, again ft fome of the tenets 

 of the Puritans, on the fubieft of redemption, and the de- 

 fcentof Chrift into hell, which ocafioned a controverfy with 

 the leaders of that fed. In the courfe of this contioverfy 

 the bifhop maintained the actual defcent of Chrift into hell, 

 or the place of the damned, an opinion which was then deemed 

 orthodox, but which has fince been rejedcd by the bcft cx- 

 pofitors of the 39 articles, and by every rational divine. 

 This prelate took a lead in the Hampton-court conference, 

 where he was diftinguidied by his learning ; and in general 

 he was one of the moll able advocates in favour of the church 

 of England. To him, in conjunftion with Dr. Smith, after- 

 wards bifliop of Gloucefter, was committed the care of revi- 

 fing and finiftiing the new verfion of the Scriptures, called 

 king James's Bible. He was alfo one of the delegates who 

 pronounced the fentence of divorce between the earl of 

 EflTex and his countefs. This learned bidiop, whofe life was a 

 courfe of inceffant labour for the public good, and whofe pri- 

 vate charadler uniformly correfponded with his high ftation, 

 died in 16 16, and was buried in Weftminfter Abbey.' Biog. 

 Brit. 



BILSTEIN, in Geography, a town of Germany, in the 

 circle of the Lower Rhine, and capital of a bailiwick, in 

 the duchy of Wcllphalia, featedon a mountain j 42 miles E. 

 of Cqlogii. 



BfLSTON, a large village, orchapelrv, of StafTordlhire, 

 England, is remarkable for the number 'of its houfes and 

 inhabitants, without having the advantage of a chartered 

 market or fair. From its proximity to Birmingham and 

 Wolverhampton, and having the advntitage of a navigable 

 canal near it, Bilfton abounds with manufadlures, among 

 which tl><ife for japanned and enamelled goods arc the prin- 

 cipal. Furnaces for fmelting iron ore, forges and flitting 

 mills, moilly vwrked by fteam engines, alfo abound here. 

 In the vicinity of the town are feveral coal mines, which pro- 

 duce great quantities of that fofiil. An orange coloured 

 faiid is alfo abundant, and is in much requeft bv the artizans, 

 as a fand to call metals in. Here is a quarry of remark- 

 able ftones, lying horizontally in twelve ftrata, each pro- 

 grefTively increafuig in thicknefs from the top downwards. 

 The ftone is modly appropriated to the making of ciilerns, 

 troughs, &c. Bilfton is in the parilTi of Wolverhampton, 

 but IS a diftina towndiip for all parochial proceedings. There 

 IS a chapel of modern eredion ; alfo two mectiiig-houles, 

 and a free-fchool. This chapelry is witliin the exempt iurif- 

 dittion of the dean of Wolverhampton, and is a perpetual 

 curacy. Bilfton is 127 miles N. W. f^om London : it con- 



*r"o 'J°lJ\°"'^''' ^"'^ 6914 inhabitants. Shaw's Hiftory 

 of Staff^orddiire. ■' 



BiKSTON, or BiLDSTON, is a fmall manufafturing town of 



Suilolk, England. The making of blue cloths, blankets, 



and yarn, give employ to moft of the inhabita.ts. Here 



was formerly a conliderable market on Wedneldays, but it 



is 



