BON 



he excelled ; and his tranflation of Cicero's oration for Milo, 

 is reckoned one of the moll elegant pieces of Italian profe 

 which the century affords. His capital work is the " An- 

 nals of the republic of Genoa," written in Latin, and com- 

 prifing the hillory from 1528, where Giuftiniani Iirft off, to 

 February 1530. It was firll publifhed at Padua, in 15S6, 

 4to. and tranflated into Itahan by Palchetti. The ftyle is 

 elegantly fimple, the narrative lively, and the fcntiments 

 elevated. His Italian letters and poems were printed at 

 Brefcia in 1746—47. Gen. Dift. Nouv. Dia. Hill. 



BONFATTI, in Geogmphy, a town of Italy, in the king- 

 dom of Naples, and province of Calabria citra, 3 leagues 

 W. of St.Marcc. 



BONFINl, Anthony, in Biography, was born at Af- 

 eoli, and after being feme years protellor of belles-lettres, at 

 Recanati, was invited by Ivlatthias Corvinus king of Hun- 

 gary, in 1484, to his court, where he was employed in 

 writing the hillory of the Huns. Here he enjoyed the of- 

 fice of tutor to the queen, Beatrice ot Arragon, and received 

 many honours from Matthias, and his fucceffor Ladiflans. 

 He died in i ';o2, aged 75. Of the hillory of Hungary he 

 left 4^ decads, brought down to 1495 ; of which 3, or 5O 

 books were printed, by Martin Brenner, in J ';43, and the 

 remaining i ■" books were added to a new edition by Sam- 

 buc\i;, in 1568. This work is written with elegance, and 

 is clall'ed among the bell modern hillories in Latin. He 

 alfo wrote an account of the capture of Belgrade by Maho- 

 met II. ; and a work entided " Sympolion Beatricis, feu 

 dialogorum de lide conjngali et virginitate, lib. iii." He 

 likewife tranflated, from the Greek into Latin, the works ot 

 Philoftratus, Hcnnogtnes, and Herodian. Gen. Ditl. 



BONGARS, James, a polite fcholarand able negotiator, 

 was born of proteftant parentsat Orleans in i ^54. Having 

 lludied firft at Straftur;:;, and attended a courfe of law under 

 Cujacius, he entered into the fervice of the king of Navarre, 

 afterwards Henry IV. by whom he was errployed for 30 

 years in various negotiations, particularly with the German 

 princes. Being at Rome in 1585, he wrote a fevere reply 

 to the violent bull fulminated by pope Sixtus V. againll 

 Henry IV.; and he alio publifhed a fpirited anfwer to a Ger- 

 man piece, imputing the bad fuccefs of the joint expedition 

 in 1587, to the mifconduft of the French. He was dif- 

 tinguifhed by his knowledge of books, and had colle£led a 

 large library, a great part of which was at length annexed 

 to the public library of Bern. As a critic he became known 

 by a valuable edition of " Juflin," Paris, 1581, 8vo. He 

 alfo edited a eolleftion of the Hungarian writers, and the 

 " Gclla Dei per Francos." But his reputation was prin- 

 cipally owing to his Latin liftters, written during his nego- 

 tiations, and publifhed after his death, at I^eyden, in 1647, 

 and afterwards tranflated into French. The llyle is clear, 

 eafy, and pohfhed, and they feem to have been didtated by 

 an hont-il heart. A colk'Sion of his French letters, " Le 

 Secretaire fans fard," has alfo been publilhed. Although 

 a Calvinill, Bongars, difapproved of the religious wars of 

 that party. He died at Paris in 161 2. Gen. Di6l. 



BONGO, or Bunco, in Geography, one of the iflands 

 of Japan. The principal town, feated on the eaft fide of 

 the ifland, is called by the fame name. This is a port op- 

 pofite to Tonfa, and feparated from it only by a narrow 

 channel. N. lat. 32° 41'. E. long. 131° 57'. 



Bongo Pala, in Boiany, Pifo. See Myristica aromauca. 



BONGUATRORA, Serpens orHat'iJfima amhomenfis hon- 

 guatrora of Seba, in Zoology, the name the coluber ahatutla 

 bears among the natives in the ifland of Amboyna. See 

 Ah^etulla. 



BONHAMPTON, in Geography, a town of America, 



BON 



in Middlefex county, and flate of New Jerfey ; about 6 

 miles N. E. from New Brunfwick. 



BONI, a kingdom of the ifland of Celebes, which lies 

 on the weflern fide of a bay, called on that account the bay 

 of Boni, is the fecond kingdom, in point of importance, in 

 the ifland. Its extent from the river Chinrana to the river 

 Salenico is about 20 leagues ; and withni land it is bordered 

 upon Soping, Lamoere, Macatles, and Boelcboele. In 

 ancient times this kingdom was independent of, and uncou- 

 nefted with any other. It is flill in clofe alliance with the 

 two fmall kingdoms of Soping and Loeboe, or Lothoe. The 

 natives of Boni, that they may not appear inferior to the 

 Macatfers, deduce their origin in like manner from the goAs. 

 The iii ll king, they fay, defeendcd from heaven, and was 

 known by the name " Matta Salompo," that is, the all- 

 feeing. This fovereign, their firft monarch, inflituted the 

 laws of the country, which are ItiU obferved ; madp the 

 royal ftandard, called " VVorong Porong ;" and appointed 

 feven eledors, under the denomination of " Matoua petoes." 

 The prince or fovereign is called " pajong ;" and he isfkfled 

 for lile by feven nobles, which number is kept up by the 

 pajong, and they are appointed by him from certain free- 

 holders. The pajong is often reftrained by a fort of pariia- 

 mcnt, eleded by the freeholders ; it confills of 4C0 mem- 

 bers, 200 of which are called " mattoua," 100 are called 

 " pabicliarro," and 100 are called " galarang." The firfl 

 foverei-ii, after reigning 40 years, refigned the kingdom to 

 his Ton, and, with his wife, afcended again to heaven ; and 

 from him all the fucceeding kings of Boni are defcended ; 

 none others, befides his poflerity, born of marriages with 

 roj'al princefles, being entitled to the crown. Notwith- 

 flanding the common defcent of the rulers of Boni and Ma. 

 cafFer from the gods, thefe two nations are avov.-ed enemies. 

 About the beginning of the 17th century the Bougintfe, or 

 people of Boni, and their queen, were compelled to conform 

 to the mahometan religion; and the condition ij pofed upon 

 them was, that the enemies of MacaflTer fhould hkewife be the 

 enemies of Boni, but not the enemies of Boni thofe of Macaf- 

 fer. At this time Boni was able to bring 70,000 tightin" men 

 into the field. The hatred which was thus excited among 

 the Bouginefe againll the Macaflers, and their inceflant quar- 

 rels, enabled the Dutch, who, as their int rell required, 

 favoured fometinies the one party, and fometimes the other, 

 to make themfelves mailers of the ifland. The princes of 

 Boni, Soping, &c. \mited themfelves to the Dutch bv the 

 Boni contradl, which was concluded November j8th, 1667 ; 

 and to this the MacafTers were afterwards compelled to 

 accede. At prefentthe Bouginefe are the mofl powerful, as 

 the Macaflers were about a century ago. 



The Bouginefe, or Buggeflts as they are ufually called by 

 the Englifli, are of a middle fize, and have a brown, but not 

 dark, complexion. Among the female fex in particular, 

 fome are found almoll entirely fair. Their features in ge- 

 neral are agreeable, only that their nofe is a little flattened. 

 They arc lels open and more treacherous in their difpofitions 

 than the Macaflers ; and never attack their enemies openly, 

 but endeavour to fall upon them by furprife. Thofe who 

 never did them an injury are not fecure from being murdered 

 by them, when they can do it with privacy ; and they often 

 commit fuch aelions for no other rcafon, as they fay, than 

 to try the goodncfs of their krifles, or daggers. Many Ma- 

 caflers, as well as Europeans, have fallen fiicrifices to this 

 thirll for blood. Their daggers and affagays are commouly 

 poifoned, as v>ell as their fmall darts, which they can flioot 

 at their enemies to a confiderable diilance by blowing them 

 through a tube. Their clothing confills of a piece of red 

 or blue cotton cloth wrapped round the body, and drawn 

 5 D z between 



