BEN 
laon, and defending her eftabliffiments in India, as well 
as fee tiring new branches of commerce to that kingdom, 
which would have carried immenfe films into the royal 
treafury.” But whether tire count, whole commilTion 
only extended to open a friendly intercourfe with the na¬ 
tives, was abandoned by the minifter from the cruelty of 
negledt, whilfl he was in the regular execution of the com¬ 
mands of his fovereign, or becaufe his exorbitant fpirit 
and ambition began to foar to more than an ordinary pitch 
of power and greatnefs, the following curious and extra¬ 
ordinary narratiVe of his fubfequent conduct will manifeft- 
ly fhevv. 
The ifland of Madagafcar is of vail extent, and is inha¬ 
bited by a great variety of different nations. Among thefe 
is the nation of Sambarines, formerly governed by a chief 
of the name and titles of Rohaitdrian Ampanfacabt' Ramini 
Larizon ; whofe only child, a lovely daughter, had, it 
feems, been taken prifoner, and fold as a captive; and 
from this circuniftance, upon the death of Ramini, his fa¬ 
mily was fuppofed to be extindf. “ On the ad of Febru¬ 
ary,” fays the count, “ M. Corbi, one of my mod confi¬ 
dential officers, with the interpreter, informed me, that 
the old negrefs Sufanna, whom I had brought from the 
file of France, and who in her early youth had been fold 
to the French, and had lived upwards of fifty years at the 
ifle of France, had reported, that her companion the 
daughter of Ramini, having likewife been made a prifoner, 
was fold to foreigners, and that f’ne had certain marks that 
I was her fon. This officer likewife reprefented tome, 
that in confequence of her report the Sambarine nation 
had held feveral cabars to declare me the heir of Ramini, 
and confequently proprietor of the province of Manafiar, 
and fucceffor to the title of ampanfacdbe , or fupreme chief 
of the nation. This information appeared to me of the 
greateff confequence, and I determined to take the advan¬ 
tage of it, to conduct that brave and generous nation to a 
civilized ftate. But, as I had no perfon to whom I could 
entruft the fecret of my mind, I lamented to myfelf at the 
reflection how blind the miniffer of Verfailles was to the 
true interefts of France. On the lame day I interrogated 
Sufanna on the report Hie had fpread concerning my birth. 
The good old woman threw herfelf at my knees, and ex- 
cufed herfelf by confeffing that Ibe had aided entirely upon 
a conviction of the truth. For file faid that (lie had known 
my mother, whofe phyfiognomy rcfentbled mine, and that 
flie had herfelf been infpired in a dream by the Zahanhar 
to publiffi the fecret. Her manner of fpeaking convinced 
me that (lie really believed what (lie laid. I therefore em¬ 
braced her, and told her that I had reafons for keeping 
the fecret refpetting my birth ; but that nevertheless if 
flie had any confidential friends (lie might acquaint them 
with it. At thefe words (lie arofe, kilted my hands, and 
declared that the Sambrine nation was informed of the cir- 
cumftances, and that the Rohandrian Raft'angour waited 
only for a favourable moment to acknowledge the blood 
of Ramini.” 
The fallacy to which the old woman thus gave evi¬ 
dence, feeble as the texture of it may appear to enlight¬ 
ened and penetrating minds, was managed by the count 
with Inch profound dexterity and addrefs, that he was de¬ 
clared the heir of Ramini, inveffed with the fovereignty 
of the nation, received ambaffadors and formed alliances 
in the capacity of a king, with other tribes, made war 
and peace, led his armies in perfon into the field, and re¬ 
ceived fubmiffion from his vanquifiied enemies. In this 
fituation it is not wonderful that he Ihould forget the alle¬ 
giance he was under to the king of France; and, repre¬ 
senting to his fubjeCts the difficulties he had experienced 
from the negledt of the minuter, and the probable advan¬ 
tages that might refult by forming a new and national coin- 
pad either with that or fotne other powerful kingdom in 
Europe, he perfuaded them to permit him to return to 
Europe for that purpofe"; and “ on the nth of October 
1776,” fays the count, “ I took my leave to go on-board : 
and at this Angle moment of my life I experienced what a 
B E R 899 
heart is capable of fuffering, when torn from a beloved 
and affectionate fociety to which it is devoted.” 
This account concludes his narrative; but among the 
memoirs and papers which fill the remaining part of the 
volume, it appears, that on his arrival in Europe his pro- 
pofals to the court of France were rejedted ; that he made 
fubfequent offers of his fervice to the emperor of Germa¬ 
ny, which met with no better fuccefs; and that on the 
25th of December 1783 he offered, in the character of fo¬ 
vereign of the ifland of Madagafcar, terms for an offen- 
five and defenfive alliance with the king of Great Britain : 
but this propofal was alfo declined. The ardour of the 
count, however, was not abated by thefe difapointments; 
he looked with contempt on kings who could be fo blind 
to the interefts and advantages of their people ; and, fend¬ 
ing for his family from Hungary, he failed from London 
with fome of his aflbciates for Maryland, on the 14th of 
April 1784, with a.cargo of the value of near 4000!. (ler- 
ling, confiding of articles intended for the Madagafcar 
trade, A refpedable commercial lioule in Baltimore was 
induced to join in his fcheme, and (applied him with a 
fhip of 450 tons, vvliofe lading was eftimated at more than 
1000I. in which lie failed from that place on the 25th of 
October 1784, and landed at Antangara, on the ifland of 
Madagafcar, on the 7th of July 1785, from whence he 
departed to Angouci, and commenced hoftilities again!! 
the French by feizing their ftore-hotile. Here he bulled 
himfelf in erecting a town after the manner of the country, 
and from hence he fent a detachment of one hundred men- 
to take poffellion of the French factory at Foul Point; but 
they were prevented from carrying their purpofe into exe¬ 
cution by the fight of a frigate which was at anchor off the 
Point. In confequence of thefe movements, the governor 
of the ifle of France fent a fliip with lixty regulars on¬ 
board, who landed and attacked the count on the morning 
of the 23d of May 1786. He had conftrufded a fmall re¬ 
doubt defended by two cannon, in which himfelf, with 
two Europeans and thirty natives, waited the approach of 
the enemy. The blacks fled at the firlt fire, and Beny- 
owlky, having received a ball in his right bread, fell be¬ 
hind the parapet; whence he was dragged by the hair, 
and expired a few minutes afterwards. 
BENZO'E,_/i in botany. See Croton. 
BENZO'lN,yi in the materia medica, a concrete reli- 
nousjuice, obtained from a fpecies of ftyrax. See Styrax, 
and Laurus. 
BEOI.'CO (Angelo), furnamed Ruzzante, was born at 
Padua, and died in 1542. He applied himfelf early in life 
to ftudy the manners, gefture, and language, of villagers, 
and copied every particular that favoured of limplicity, 
drollery, and the grotefque. He was the Vade of the Ita¬ 
lians. His ruftic farces, though written in a low and vul¬ 
gar flyle, are yet pleafing to people of education, by the 
exactitude with which the countrymen are reprefented, 
and by the acute witticifms with which they are feafoned. 
He preferred being the firlt in this fpecies of compolition, 
to being the fecond in a more elevated line. His principal 
pieces are, la Vaccaria, PAnconitana, la Mofchetta, la 
Fiorina, la Piovana, &c. Thefe were printed with other 
poems of the fame kind in 1584 in i2mo, under this title : 
Tutte Ic Opere delfamojijjimo Ruzzante. 
To BE'PAINT, v. a. [from paint. ] To cover with paint: 
Thou know’ll, the malk of night is on my face, 
Elfe would a maiden bluffi bepaint my cheek. Shakefpeare. 
To BEPIN'CH, v. a. To mark with pinches.—Their 
fides, arms, ffioulders, all bepincht. Chapman. 
To BEP 1 SS', v. a. [from pi/s- ] To wet with urine.— 
One caufed at a feaft a bagpipe to be played, which made 
the knight bepifs himfelf, to the great diverfion of all them 
prelent, as well as confulion of himfelf. Derham. 
To BEQUE'ATH, v. a. [ ewithe , Sax. a will.] To leave 
by will to another.—Methinks this age feems refolved to 
bequeath pofterity fomewhat to remember it. Glanmlle. 
BEQUEATH'MENT, f. A legacy, 
EEQUEST'j 
