B A L 
Jdfts he-painted a considerable number; and be procured 
both praife and riches by his landfcapes and hiftories. His 
.pi flu res were well conceived, his trees touched with fpi- 
•jit, and his herbage and verdure natural and lively. 
BA'LENBERG, a town of Germany, in the circle of 
the Lower Rhine, and deflorate of Mentz, two miles 
north-weft of Krautheim. 
BA'LENGER, Balengaria, in middle-age writers, 
a kind of veflel of war, but what in particular feems not 
well known. Blount fays, that by . te ftat. 28 Hen. VI. 
c. j. balenger feems to have been a kind of barge. 
BALES (Peter), a very extraordinary mafter in the art 
of penmanfhip, and one ol the firft inventors of fiiort- 
hand writing. He was born in 1547, and is recorded for 
his (kill in micrography, or miniature-writing, in Holling- 
ilied’s Chronicle, anno 1.575 ; and Mr. Evelyn has alfo 
celebrated his wonderful (kill in this delicate operation of 
the hand, informing us that in the year 1575 he wrote the 
Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, Decalogue, with two ftiort pray¬ 
ers in Latin, his own name, motto, day of the month, 
year of the Lord, and reign of the queen, to whom he 
prefented it at Hampton court, all within the circle of a 
Silver penny, inchaced in a ring and border of gold; and 
covered with a chryftal fo accurately wrought, as to be 
very plainly legible, to the great admiration of her majef- 
ty, the whole privy council, and leveral ambafladors then 
at court! He was farther very dextrous in imitating hand¬ 
writing, and, about 1686, was employed by Secretary 
-Walfingham in certain political manoeuvres. We find him 
at the head of a fchool near the Old Bailey, London, in 
1590; in which year he published his “ Writing School- 
mafter, in three parts: the firft teaching Swift writing; 
the Second, true writing; the third, fair writing.” In 
1597, he re-publiftred this work, which was in Such high 
reputation, that no lefs than eighteen copies of commen¬ 
datory verfes, compofed by learned and ingenious men of 
that time, were printed before it. We know little more 
of this curious perSon, but that he feems to have died a- 
bottt the year 1610. 
BALES'TRA (Antonio), an excellent hiftorical pain¬ 
ter, was born at Verona in 1666. At the age of twenty- 
one he went to Venice, in the fchool of Antonio Bellucci, 
from thence he vifited Bologna and Rome, and at the lat¬ 
ter became the difciple of Carlo Maratti. Under the tu¬ 
ition of So eminent a mafter, he made a great proficiency, 
and exerted himfelf in deligning after the antiquities, by 
which he fo effectually confirmed his tafte, that he ob¬ 
tained the prize of merit in the academy of St. Luke, in 
the year 1694, when he was only twenty-eight years of 
age. His ftyle is Sweet and agreeable, not unlike that of 
Maratti; and the judicious obferve in the works of Balef- 
tra, a certain mixture of the Several manners of Raphael, 
-Correggio, and Caracci. He died in 1740. In the church 
of Santa Maria Mater Domini, at Venice, there is one of 
the mod capital altar-pieces of Baleftra, representing the 
Nativity of our Saviour. It is defigned in a grand ftyle, 
the composition is excellent, and has a noble effeft. 
BALESTRI'NA, a town of Italy, in the (late of Ge¬ 
noa, a fief of the empire, nine miles north of Albenga. 
BALE'TUS, a Son of Hippo, who firft founded Corinth. 
BA'LEY (Walter), Son of Henry Baley of Warnwell 
in Dorfetfhire, was born at Potftiam in the Same county, 
and educated at Winchefter fchool. From thence he was 
Sent to Oxford ; and after two years probation, was ad¬ 
mitted perpetual fellow of New College. Having taken 
his degrees in arts, he praClifed phyfic, and in 1558 was 
prodtor of the univerlity. About this time he obtained a 
prebend of Wells, which he refigned in 1579. In the 
year 1563, he was appointed phyfician in ordinary to queen 
Elizabeth. He was thought (kilful in his profeftion, and 
had considerable practice. He died in 1592, aged (ixty- 
three ; and was buried in the inner chapel of New College. 
His works are, 1. A Difcourfe of three kinds of Pepper 
in common ufe, 1588, 8vo. 2. Brief Treatife of the Pre¬ 
servation of the Eye-Sight, 1654, 8vo. 3. Directions for 
Sat. II. No, 94. 
15 A L 
the Health Natural and Artificial, i6z6, 4to. 4. Expli¬ 
cate Galeni de Pot 11 Convalefcentium et Sentim, &c. ma¬ 
nuscript, formerly in lord Aylefbury’s library. 
BAL'GA, a town of Pruflia, in the province of Natan- 
gen, twenty-four miles South-weft of Konigfberg. 
BAL'GUY (Thomas), was the Son of the Reverend 
John Balguy, prebendary of South Grantham, in the ca¬ 
thedral church of Salisbury, and vicar of Northallerton ; 
who, befides Sermons, wrote Several trafts, the Subjects of 
which were, 1. A Letter to a Deift ; 2. A Second Letter 
to a Deift; 3. 1 he Foundation of Moral Goodnefs; 4. 
Divine ReCtitude ; 5. An Eflay on Redemption ; 6. The 
Law of Truth. His Son, Thomas Balguy, was born in 
Yorkshire, September 27, 1716. He was admitted into St. 
John’s College, Cambridge, about the year 1732. He took 
his degree of A.M. in 1741, and of S.T.P. in 175S. 
During his refidence at Cambridge, he was well known as 
a man of extraordinary penetration and quicknefs, in dis¬ 
criminating the niceft diftinCtions which could be made in 
the courfe of an argument. A lingular circumftance hap¬ 
pened to him during the Same period. He was appointed 
to preach before the duke of Newcaftle, who at that time 
was chancellor of the Univerlity of Cambridge. His dif¬ 
courfe on the occafion was that which now Stands firft in 
his Volume of Difcourfes. It is difficult to fay what paf- 
Sage in it the duke could poflibly apply to himfelf in par¬ 
ticular : but the faCt is, he really conceived the (ermon 
to be aimed at himfelf; expreffed much difpleafure, and 
relblved to impede Dr. Balguy’s promotion in the church. 
In 1757, his friend Mr. Hurd (the prefent bifliop of Wor¬ 
cester) published his Commentary and Notes on Horace's 
Art of Poetry, The note on v. 98, “ Non Satis eft, &c.” 
was written and communicated by Dr. Balguy to the Com¬ 
mentator. In that note, there is much more of metaphy¬ 
sical difquifition than of critical learning or refined tafte. 
Not that Dr. Balguy wanted found claffical learning, el¬ 
even imagination and relifh for works of genius : but the 
acute and precife reafoner was the prevailing character, 
which appears evident in all his writings. In 1757 Bifliop 
Hoadley appointed him a prebendary in thecathedral church 
of Winchefter; and in 1758, archdeacon of Winchefter. 
For more than thirty years Dr. Balguy made an annual vi¬ 
sitation of the clergy in his archdeaconry, and either 
preached, or delivered a charge, on every visitation. The 
Subjects of his charges are fome effential points of Chris¬ 
tianity, and Some unanswerable arguments in defence of 
a religious eftabliftiment after Some or another manner, in 
every Chriftian kingdom. Thefe charges are added t« 
the Difcourfes, which ho publiflied in 1785. In the vo¬ 
lume, which contains thefe works, will be found very 
evident traces of a mind that thought much and diverfely 
on important fubjebts. The ftyle, in which lie writes, is 
ftiort; but, in his brevity, he is uncommonly distinct and 
clear. Previouffy to the publication of his difcourfes, he 
gave to the world a treatiSe entitled ‘ Divine Benevolence 
Afferted,’ in 1781. So far as it goes, it exhibits a Sum¬ 
mary of arguments drawn from natural religion, in defence 
of God and Divine Providence, againft the prefumptuous 
impieties of a noted Sceptic. It is however rather an ana- 
lyfisof Some complete work intended, than a whole of it- 
Self. But it is a mafter-piece of clofe precision, methodi¬ 
cal arrangement, and perfpicuous expreflion, on mod ab- 
ftrufe Subjects. The name and talents of Dr. Balguy were 
not unknown to his prefent majefty, nor unnoticed by & 
monarch who loves to reward learning, abilities, and worth. 
In 1781 the king gracioufiy nominated him to the vacant 
fee of Gloucefter; which dignified preferment however 
Dr. Balguy, after very little consideration, begged leave 
to decline, contenting himfelf with the ftation he held in 
Winchefter cathedral, which indeed had been rendered to 
him more comfortable, by the addition of Alton vicarage 
in Hampshire. -The melfenger who came to announce to 
him the news of his intended elevation arrived at the doc¬ 
tor’s houfe in Winchefter about one o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing, and had him inftantly called up to acquaint him with 
8 C " the 
