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by Mirzapore. It extends in N. lat. between 25° 7' | Indies, on the 19th August 1702, he
and 25° 32', and in E. long. between 82° 45′ and
83° 38'; and thus measuring about 30 miles by
about 55, it embraces an area of about 1000 square
miles. In 1848, the census gave a population of
741,426, or about 750 to a square mile, the Hindus
being 676,050, and all others, 65,376. The district
is traversed by the Ganges in a north-east direction
for about 45 miles. Besides other rivers, such as
the Karamnosa, the Goomtee, and the Burna, and
several inferior streams, lakes and tanks are numer-
ous, but small, the largest not exceeding a mile in
circuit. The annual rain-fall, though averaging less
than in the lower parts of the Ganges, is still con-
siderable, always exceeding 30 inches, and amount-
ing in 1823 to 89. Considering that the tract is
barely beyond the tropics, and but little elevated
above the sea, the range of the thermometer is
unusually great, being between 45° in January, and
111 in May. The mean temperature is stated at
77°, pretty near the middle point between the two
extremes. The soil, though here and there sterile,
is in general characterised by great fertility, more
particularly to the left of the Ganges. In the
growth of opium, indigo, and sugar-more especially
of the last the district surpasses nearly every other
portion of British India. In fact, the state of agri-
culture is such as may be expected from the density
of the population. The rich fields, the thriving
villages, and the luxuriant groves, render the aspect
of the country very delightful; and perhaps the
best proof of the presence of industry and civilisa-
tion is the fact, that elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes,
lions, and tigers, which were hunted in 1529, have
entirely disappeared. After a Hindu domination,
according to popular faith, of 2400 years, the district
sank under the Mussulman yoke in 1193; and, in
the first half of the 16th c., it was annexed by
Baber to the Mogul Empire. On the dismember-
ment of that dominion, it fell to the share of the
Nawab of Oude, whose grandson, in 1775, ceded it
to the East India Company, about ten years after
that body had acquired the sovereignty of Bengal.

with a superior French force under Admiral Du
Casse. For four days he kept up a running-fight
with the enemy, almost deserted by the rest of his
squadron. On the morning of the 24th, his right leg
was smashed by a chain-shot. His officers condoled
with him.

'I had rather have lost them both,' said the sturdy admiral, 'than have seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation. But, hark ye—if another shot should take me off, behave like men, and fight it out!' As soon as his wound was dressed, he was carried to the quarter-deck, and directed the fight while it lasted. The enemy sus tained severe loss; but the infamous cowardice of the other captains, who actually refused to obey the admiral's signals, made the contest hopeless, and B. sailed away to Jamacia. He died of his wound on the 4th November. The recusant officers were tried by court-martial, and two captains were shot. B.'s employment of explosive vessels at St Malo, seems to have been an anticipation of Lord Dundonald's method at Basque Roads.

BENA'TEK, a small town of Bohemia, on the right bank of the Iser, a few miles distant from Prague. It is worthy of note as being for a long time the residence of the celebrated astronomer Tycho Brahé.

BENBECU'LA, one of the Hebrides or Western Isles of Scotland, between North and South Uist, 20 miles west of Skye, and belonging to Invernessshire. It is 8 miles long, and 8 broad, low and flat, and consists chiefly of bog, sand, and lake, resting on a substratum of gneiss rock, with a very broken coast-line. Pop. 1718, consisting of fishermen and small farmers, who fertilise the soil with the seaweed which is cast ashore on the island.

BENBOW, JOHN, a brave English admiral, was He first distinguished horn in Shropshire in 1650. himself as captain of a merchantman, in a bloody action with Salle pirates. He attracted the notice of James II., who gave him a commission in the navy. After the Revolution, he obtained the command of a large ship, and in the course of a few years was made rear-admiral. The high confidence reposed in him by King William is borne in memory by a very bad pun on his name, said to have been perpetrated by the taciturn monarch. Objecting to several names proposed for the command of an expedition, he said: 'No; these are all fresh-water beaus, we need another kind of beau: we must send Benbow.' The most memorable of this gallant sailor's exploits was his last, where his stubborn valour contrasted nobly with the dastardly behaviour of his captains. Off St. Martha, in the West

BENCH, a hall or court where justice is administered. In this sense, however, it has in modern times received a more limited acceptation, signifying the dais or elevated part of a court-room or chamber where the judges sit to administer the laws. In English courts of justice, this seat is in form literally a bench or couch running along one end of the court-room, the number of judges and their places on this bench being marked by separate desks, one for each judge; but in Scotland and Ireland, the arrangement is different, the judges in these countries sitting on chairs placed at a long and, as in Scotland, a semicircular, table, which is in a raised position. The term B. is also applied, by class; thus, we speak of the B. and bar. way of distinction, to the judges themselves as a It has likewise, popularly and conventionally, an ecclesiastical' application, the bishops of the Church of England being, as a body, sometimes designated by it; hence the expression, 'B. of Bishops.' See BANC.

BENCH, COMMON, COURT OF. This is a technical name sometimes given to the Court of Common Pleas. See COURTS OF COMMON LAW.

BENCH, KING's or QUEEN's, the supreme court of common law in the kingdom. See COURTS OF COMMON LAW.

BENCH, UPPER, the name given to the Court of King's Bench, in the time of Cromwell. See preceding notice, and COURTS OF COMmon Law.

BE'NCHERS. The governing bodies of the four great Law Societies in England, or Inns of CourtLincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple, and They are generally Gray's Inn-are so called. Queen's counsel or barristers of distinction; and they annually elect a president or treasurer, as he is called, who takes the chair at their corporate See meetings, and speaks and acts in their name.

INNS OF COurt.

BENCH-WARRANT, is a warrant signed by a superior judge or two justices of the peace, during the assizes or sessions, to apprehend a defendant, against whom a bill of indictment has been found. See WARrant.

on the

BENCOO'LEN, a Dutch establishment south-west coast of Sumatra, near the outer entrance of the Strait of Sunda, being in lat. 3° 47′ S., and long. 102° 19′ E. It was founded by the English in 1685; but, in 1825, it was exchanged for the Dutch possessions in the peninsula of Malacca. Its population is said to be about 13,000. Its principal export is pepper; and its external trade is carried on chiefly with Batavia, Bengal, and Holland.

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BEND-BENEDICITE.

BEND, one of the honourable ordinaries, or more important figures in Heraldry. It is formed by two parallel lines, which may be either straight, or indented, engrailed, &c. (q. v.), drawn from the dexter to the sinister base, and consequently passing athwart the shield. The B. occupies a fifth part of the shield in breadth, if plain; and a third part, Bend. if charged. The B. is supposed to represent a shoulder-belt, or scarf worn over the shoulder. When heralds speak of the B., simply the B. dexter is understood, the B. sinister being always expressly mentioned.

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Bend Sinister is the bend dexter reversed, and passing from the left to the right side of the shield, as the dexter does from the right to the left. See BAR and BASTARD BAR.

There are four diminutives of the Bend-viz., the bendlet, the garter, the cost, and the ribbon.

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The terms in bend, per bend, bendy, &c., are of frequent occurrence in heraldic works, and signify that the charge is placed, or the shield divided, diagonally in the direction of the bend.

BEND is the name for one among many kinds of knot by which ropes are fastened on shipboard. Seamen imply this meaning when they speak of bending the cable,' 'bending a sail,' the carrickB.,' the fishermen's B.,' the 'sheet-B.,' &c.

BENDEMANN, EDUARD, one of the most distinguished painters of the Düsseldorf school, was born in Berlin in 1811. Although he had received a very careful scientific education, he devoted himself to art, became a pupil of Schadow's, and soon proved that he had not mistaken his vocation. As early as 1832, his great picture of the Captive Jews was exhibited at Berlin, and at once acknowledged to be a master-piece. His next important work, in 1833, represented Two Girls at a Fountain. It was followed, in 1837, by Jeremiah at the Ruins of Jerusalem, a very large picture, which excited universal enthusiasm in Paris, where it was exhibited, and for which he obtained a prize-medal. In 1838, B. was summoned to Dresden as member of the Academical Council, and professor of the Academy of Art; and the execution of the largest frescoes in the palace was intrusted to his skill. An affection of the eyes, from which he suffered for several years, interrupted the work, which is now, however, completed, and embraces a wide range of historical and mythological subjects. B.'s artistic bias is characteristic of the Düsseldorf school, his pictures being rather lyrical than dramatic. But he is distinguished by a peculiar grace and charm of his own, arising from a most perfect symmetry in drawing and composition, an exquisite naïveté in conception, and a tender, harmonious, yet always truthful colouring. He married, in 1838, a daughter

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of Schadow's, and his portrait of her is one of his best works.

BENDER, a fortified town, with a citadel, in the province of Bessarabia, Russia. The town is situated on the right bank of the Dniester, 48 miles from its mouth, and has paper-mills, tanneries, forges, and saltpetre-works. Pop. 15,000, including many Armenians, Tartars, Moldavians, and Jews. In 1770, the Russians captured the place, and put the garrison and inhabitants, then amounting to about 30,000, to the sword. It was restored to the Turks in 1774, and again stormed by the Russians in 1809. The peace of Jassy gave it back to the Turks, from whom it was again taken by the Russians in 1811, who were confirmed in the possession of it by the treaty of Bucharest in the following year.-Charles XII. of Sweden lived for some time, 1709-1712, at Varnitza, a village near Bender.

BENDIGO, one of the most productive goldfields in the colony of Victoria, having, in 1857, yielded, according to the official returns, 525,018 ounces. It is about 25 miles to the north of Mount Alexander, which, again, is about 75 miles inland from Melbourne.

BE'NÉ, a town of about 6000 inhabitants, in the province of Mondovi, Piedmont, 18 miles north-east of Coni. It occupies the site of the ancient Augusta Bagiennorum, destroyed by Alaric. Many interesting vestiges are found in the neighbourhood; and the ruins of an aqueduct, baths, and amphitheatre are still visible.

BENEDEK, LUDWIG VON, an Austrian general, born in 1804 at Odenburg, in Hungary, where his father was a physician of repute. He received his military education at the Neustädt Academy, and at its close entered the army as ensign in 1822. In 1843, he was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant, and on the occasion of the insurrection in Galicia in 1846, had several opportunities of distinguishing himself. In August 1817, as commandant of Count Gyulai's infantry-regiment, he moved to Italy, where a still more brilliant career awaited him. On the occasion of the retreat from Milan, and especially after Curtalone, where he had led on the assault with great skill and gallantry, his name was mentioned in the army reports by Marshal Radetsky in the highest terms; and, consequently, he received the cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. He afterwards distinguished himself at the taking of Mortara, and in the battle of Novara. In April 1849 he was made major-general and brigadier of the first body of reserve of the army of the Danube. He commanded the avantgarde at Raab and Oszony, and received a slight wound in the affair at Uj-Szegedin; which did not, however, prevent him from taking a most active part in the subsequent engagements of Szörny and Ozs Ivany, where he was wounded in the foot. At the close of the Hungarian campaign, he was ordered again, high in command, to Italy. In the Italian campaign of 1859, B. commanded the eighth corps of the Austrians. At Solferino, B. occupied the ground between Pozzolengo, and San Marino, and drove back the Piedmontese with great slaughter, but was ordered to retreat by the emperor, whom he obeyed with tears in his eyes. In the war with Prussia he commanded the Austrian army at the battle of Sadowa, July 3, 1866, but was soon after superseded by the Archduke Albert.

BENEDI'CITE, a hymn or song of the three children in the fiery furnace, sung in the Christian Church as early as the time of St. Chrysostom, and used in the Anglican Church in the morning-services when the Te Deum is not sung.

BENEDICT.

It is remarkable that the founder of the most learned of all the monastic orders was himself so little of a scholar, that St Gregory the great described him as being scienter nesciens, et sapienter indoctus'— St. B. learnedly ignorant, and wisely unlearned. died March 21, 543.

BENEDICT, SAINT, the founder of monachism, afterwards to many secular productions.

Of

in the west, was born of a rich and respected family at Nursia, in Umbria, Italy, 480 a. D. At an early age B. was sent to the schools of literature and jurisprudence at Rome, but soon grew dissatisfied with the sterile character of the instruction dispensed. The world was full of distractions, impurities, and ignorance, but the learned doctors, under BENEDICT is the name of fourteen popes. whom he studied, were like their heathen predeces- these only the following are historically important sors, serenely unconscious of the colossal evils by enough to deserve special mention.-BENEDICT which men were environed; only, therefore, in the VIII., son of Count Gregory of Tuscoli, was elected devotions of religion, in the holy silence of solitary in 1012; but was driven from Rome by the antimeditation, did B. see a safe refuge from the sins of pope Gregory. In 1014, he was restored to the the time, and the possibility of realising a spiritual popal chair by the Emperor Henry II., and afterstrength which would enable him to stem the tide wards defeated the Saracens, and took from them, of corruption that was setting in. He resolved to with the help of the Pisans and Genoese, the island leave the city, and betake himself to some deep of Sardinia; and also various places in Apulia from solitude in which the murmur of the world would be the Greeks, by the help of Henry. He distinguished inaudible, and alone in the rocky wilderness wrestle himself as a reformer of the clergy, and interdicted, with his own nature, until he had conquered it at the synod of Pavia, both clerical marriage and and laid it a sacrifice on the altar of God. In pur- concubinage. He died in 1024.-BENEDICT IX., a suance of this resolution, when he had only reached, nephew of the preceding, was elected pope during according to some, the age of 14, he departed from his boyhood, in 1033; but in 1038, the Romans Rome, accompanied for the first 24 miles by the rose in indignation, and banished him on account of He was nurse whom his parents had sent with him as an his almost unexampled licentiousness. attendant to the city. B. then left her, and retired reinstated by Conrad II.; again formally deposed to a deserted country lying on a lake, hence called by the faction of Consul Ptolemæus, and the antiSublacum (now Subiaco). Here, in a cavern (which pope, Sylvester III.; and after three months, was afterwards received the name of the Holy Grotto), once more installed as pope by means of bribery. he dwelt for three years, until his fame spread He sold his papal dignity to John Gratianusover the country, and multitudes came to see Gregory VI.-but was still regarded as pope. The him. He was now appointed abbot of a neigh- Emperor Henry III., to remove such gross scandals bouring monastery but soon left it, as the from the church, deposed all the three popes-B., morals of the half-wild monks were not severe Sylvester, and Gregory-at the synod of Sutri enough for his taste. This, however, only excited a in 1046; but after the death of Clement II., 1047 livelier interest in his character, and as he lived in-who was probably poisoned-the deposed B. IX. a period when the migration and interfusion of again gained the papal see by force of bribery, races and nations were being rapidly carried on, and held it eight months, until 1049, when he was he could not fail to draw crowds of wanderers displaced, first by Damasus II., and afterwards by about him. Wealthy Romans also placed their sons Leo IX. He then sank into obscurity, and died in under his care, anxious that they should be trained some convent.-BENEDICT XIII., 1724—1730, was a for a spiritual life. B. was thus enabled to found learned and well-disposed man, of simple habits and twelve cloisters, over each of which he placed a pure morals, though rather strict in his notions of superior. The savage Goths even were attracted the papal prerogative. He unfortunately yielded to him, and employed in the useful and civilising himself to the guidance of Cardinal Coscia, a greedy, practice of agriculture, gardening, &c. He now unscrupulous personage, who greatly abused the sought another retreat, and, along with a few confidence reposed in him. B. always exhibited followers, founded a monastery on Monte Cassino, great moderation in politics, and an honourable love near Naples, afterwards one of the richest and of peace, and was instrumental in bringing about the most famous in Italy. Here he extirpated the Seville treaty of 1729. During this pontificate, a lingering relics of paganism, and had his cele- remarkably large number of saints, chiefly from the brated interview with Totila, king of the Goths, to monastic orders, were added to the calendar.whom he spoke frankly and sharply on his errors. BENEDICT XIV. (PROSPERO LAMBERTINI), the most In 515, he is said to have composed his Regula worthy to be remembered of all the pontiffs so Monachorum, in which he aimed, among other named, was born at Bologna in 1675. Before his things, at repressing the irregular and licentious life elevation to the papal chair, he had distinguished of the wandering monks, by introducing stricter himself by extensive learning, and the faithful discipline and order. It eventually became the discharge of his duties in the several offices of common rule of all western monachism. The Promotor Fidei, Bishop of Ancona (1727,) cardinal monasteries which B. founded were simply religious (1728), and Archbishop of Bologna (1732). Succeedcolleges, intended to develop a high spiritual char- ing Clement XII., he began his pontificate, in 1740, acter, which might beneficially influence the world. with several wise and conciliatory measures; founded To the abbot was given supreme power, and he was chairs of physic, chemistry, and mathematics in told to acquit himself in all his relations with the Rome; revived the academy of Bologna, and instiwisdom of God, and of his Master. The discipline tuted others; dug out the obelisk in the Campus recommended by St B. is, nevertheless, milder than Martius, constructed fountains, rebuilt churches; that of oriental monachism with regard to food, caused the best English and French books to be clothing, &c.; but enjoins continual residence in the translated into Italian; and, in many other ways, monastery, and, in addition to the usual religious proved himself the zealous friend and munificent His piety was exercises, directs that the monks shall employ them- patron of literature and science. selves in manual labours, imparting instruction to sincere, enlightened, and tolerant, and his doctrines youth, copying manuscripts for the library, &c. By were well exemplified in his practice. this last injunction, St B., though without intending extremely anxious that the morals of the clergy so to do, preserved many of the literary remains should be untainted; and, to that effect, established of antiquity; for the injunction, which he gave a board of examiners for all candidates to vacant only with regard to religious books, was extended sees. In proof of his toleration, he shewed the

He was

27

BENEDICTINES-BENEDICTION.

Its

Several

Monks.' The institution of convents for nuns of this order cannot be traced back beyond the 7th c.

The rule of St Benedict was less severe than that

frankest kindness to all strangers visiting his capital, of Dunfermline, Coldingham, Kelso, Arbroath, whatever the nature of their religious opinions. The Paisley, Melrose, Newbottle, Dundrennan, and only accusation brought against him by his Roman others. In Germany, several Benedictine monks subjects was, 'that he wrote and studied too much, distinguished themselves as promoters of education but ruled too little,' or left affairs of business too in the 10th c.; while in the latter half of the much in the hands of the Cardinal Valentine. After 11th c., the B. Lanfranc and Anselm, archbishops a painful illness, B. XIV. died May 3, 1758.-His of Canterbury, laid the foundation of medieval most important work is that on Synods. A complete scholasticism. In Italy, also, the B. gained disedition of his writings was published under the care tinction as literati, jurists, and physicians; but of the Jesuit de Azevedo (12 vols., Rome, 1747- almost everywhere corruption of manners appears 1751), and in 16 vols., Venice, 1777. to have accompanied increasing wealth, until graduBENEDICTINES, the general name of all the ally it became the practice to receive, almost monks following the rule of St Benedict. The first exclusively, the sons of noble and wealthy persons Benedictine monastery was that founded at Monte as novices among the Black Monks.' Cassino, in the kingdom of Naples, about 529, by St of the popes attempted a reformation of the order, Benedict himself. The order increased so rapidly, and at the general Council of Constance, 1416, after the 6th c., that the B. must be regarded as the a plan of reform was laid down, but failed in In the 15th c., the B. main agents in the spread of Christianity, civilisa- being carried into practice. tion, and learning in the west. They are said at had 15,107 monasteries, of which only 5000 were one time to have had as many as 37,000 monasteries, left after the Reformation, and now not more than about 800 can be counted. As early as 1354, and counted among their branches the great order than about 800 can be counted. of Clugny, founded about 910; the still greater order this order could boast of having numbered among its followers 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7000 archof the Cistercians, founded in the following century; the congregations of Monte Cassino in 1408, bishops, 15,000 bishops. 1560 canonised saints, of St Vanne in 1600, and of St Maur on the Loire, and 5000 holy persons judged worthy of canonisain 1627. To this last congregation all the Benedic- tion, and 37,000 monasteries, besides 20 emperors, tine houses in France were affiliated. It had after- 10 empresses, 47 kings, above 50 queens, 20 sons of wards its chief seat at St Maur, near Vincennes, and emperors, 48 sons of kings, 100 princesses, and an immense number of the nobility. Tanner (Notit. more lately at St Germain-des-Prés, near Paris. fine conventual buildings at St Maur on the Loire, Monast.) enumerates 113 abbeys and other instituwere destroyed during the revolutionary troubles. tions of B. in England, and 73 houses of Benedictine nuns. From their dress-a long black Numbering among its monks such scholars as Mabillon, Montfaucon, Sainte-Marthe, D'Achery, gown, with a cowl or hood of the same, and a Martene, Durand, Rivet, Clemencet, Carpentier, scapulary-the B. were commonly styled 'Black Toustain, and Tassin, it has rendered services. to literature which it would be difficult to overestimate. Besides admirable editions of many of the fathers, the world of letters owes to the B. of St which the eastern ascetics followed. Besides implicit Maur, the Art de Vérifier les Dates (1783-1787, in 3 obedience to their superior, the B. were to shun vols. fol.); a much enlarged edition of Ducange's laughter, to hold no private property, to live sparely, Glossarium Media et Infimæ Latinitatis (1733— to exercise hospitality, and, above all, to be industri1736, in 6 vols. fol.), with a Supplement (1766, in 4 ous. Compared with the ascetic orders, the B., both vols. fol.); the De Re Diplomatica (1681 and 1709, in dress and manners, may be styled the gentlemanly fol.); the Nouveau Traité de Diplomatique (1750-order of monks; and whatever may be said of their 1765 in 6 vols. 4to); L'Antiquité Expliquée (1719-religion, they deserve a high tribute of respect for 1724, in 15 vols. fol.); the Monuments de la Monarchie their artistic diligence and literary undertakings. Francaise (1729-1733, in 5 vols. fol.); the Acta Sanctorum S. Benedicti (1688-1702, in 9 vols. fol.); the Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti (1713-1739, in 6 vols. fol.); a new and much improved edition of the Gallia Christiana (1715-1856, in 14 vols. fol.); the Veterum Scriptorum Spicilegium (1653-1677, in 13 vols. 4to); the De Antiquis Monachorum Ritibus (1690, in 2 vols. 4to); the De Antiquis Ecclesiæ Ritibus (1700-1702, in 3 vols. 4to); the Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum (1717, in 5 vols. fol.); the Veterum Scriptorum et Monumentorum Amplissima Collectio (1724-1733, in 9 vols. fol.); the "Histoire Litteraire de la France (1733-1749, in 9 vols. 4to). The B. were suppressed in France, along with the other monastic orders, at the Revolution in 1792; and their splendid conventual buildings at St Maur on the Loire were destroyed. They have lately been revived; and the B. of Solesme, established in 1837, aspiring to follow in the footsteps of the B. of St Maur, have resumed some of the works which that body left unfinished, and entered on literary enterprises of their own, such as the Spicilegium Solesmense, in 10 vols. 4to, of which three have already appeared. The chief B. houses in Germany were those of Prüm, Ratisbon, Fulda, Ellwang, and Saltzburg; in Spain, they had Valladolid, Burgos, and Montserrat; in Italy, Monte Cassino, Padua, and Capua. In England, most of the richest abbeys and all the cathedral priories (excepting Carlisle) belonged to this order. In Scotland the B. had the monasteries

Speaking of the great productions of the B. above
noticed, Sir Walter Scott characterises them as
'works of general and permanent advantage to
the world at large; shewing that the revenues
of the B. were not always spent in self-indul-
gence, and that the members of that order did
not uniformly slumber in sloth and indolence.'
Among the chief works on the history of the
B. are the Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti, and the
Acta Sanctorum S. Benedicti, already referred to;
Reyner's Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia
(Douai, 1626, fol.); the Bullarium Cassinense
(Venice, 1650, 2 vols. fol.); Tassin's Histoire de
la Congregation de St Maur (Paris, 1770);
Chronica de la Order de San Benito (Salamanca,
1609-1512, 7 vols. fol.); Regula S. Benedicti et
Constitutiones Congregationis S. Mauri (Paris, 1:70,
8vo).

BENEDICTION (from the Lat. benedicere, to
speak well), signifies a solemn invocation of the
Divine blessing upon men or things. The ceremony
in its simplest form may be considered almost coeval
with the earliest expressions of religious feeling. We
know from Holy Writ that the Jewish patriarchs
before they died invoked the blessing of God upon
their children, and at a later period the priests were
commanded to implore the Divine blessing upon the
Christ sanctioned the custom, which was
people.
consequently carried forward into the primitive
church, where it gradually developed itself in

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BENEDICTUS-BENEFIT SOCIETIES.

different forms, till, under the elaborate ritual of the papacy, it has come to be considered an essential preliminary to almost all important acts, and is often performed with great pomp. One of the most superb spectacles that a stranger at Rome can witness, occurs on Easter Sunday, when the pope, in his august robes of office, and attended by his cardinals, pronounces after mass, in the presence of worshipping thousands, a solemn B. urbi et orbi (on the city and the world). The B., however, is not confined to a form of prayer, but is accompanied with sprinkling of holy-water, use of incense, anointing, making the sign of the cross, &c. The cases in which a B. is bestowed are too numerous to mention, but the chief are as follows: The coronation of kings and queens, the confirmation of all church dignitaries, and the consecration of church vessels, bells, and sacred robes; the nuptial ceremony, the absolution of the sick penitent (called the Beatific B.), and the last sacrament. Besides these, lands, houses, cattle, &c., often receive a B. from the priest. In the English church-service, there are two benedictions; in the Scotch, only one. In the Greek Church, when the B. is being pronounced, the priest disposes his fingers in such a manner as to convey symbolically to those of the faithful who close enough to observe the arrangement, the doctrine of the Trinity and the twofold nature of

Christ.

are

BENEDI'CTUS, in Music, a portion of the service of the mass of the Roman Catholic Church, also introduced in the service of the Anglican Church, in the morning prayer, but with English words.

BE'NEFICE, or BENEFI'CIUM (Lat. 'a good deed,' also a favour,' and hence a grant,' or a provision' generally, and now more especially, a provision made for an ecclesiastical person), was a term formerly applied to feudal estates, but is now used to denote certain kinds of church preferment, such as rectories, vicarages, and other parochial cures, as distinguished from bishoprics, deaneries, and other ecclesiastical dignities or offices. In this sense a distinction is accordingly taken by the 1 and 2 Vict. c. 106, s. 124, between benefices and cathedral preferments; by the former being meant all parochial or district churches, and endowed chapels and chapelries; by the latter, all deaneries, archdeaconries, and canonries, and generally all dignities and offices in any cathedral or collegiate church, below the rank of a bishop. See note in 3. Stephen's Com., p. 27. By the 5 and 6 Vict. c. 27, s. 15, which is an act to enable incumbents to devise lands on farming leases, it is enacted that the word B. shall be construed to comprehend all such parochial preferment as we have above described, the incumbent of which, in right thereof, shall be a corporation sole' (q. v.); and by an act passed in the same session, chapter 108, being an act for enabling ecclesiastical corporations to grant long leases, it is, by section 31, declared that B. shall mean every rectory, with or without cure of souls, vicarage, &c., the incumbent or holder of which shall be a corporation sole. But by a later act, the 13 and 14 Vict. c. 98, which is an act to extend a former act, the 1 and 2 Vict. c. 106, against pluralities, the term B. is, by section 3, explained to mean B. with the cure of souls and no other, anything in any other act to the contrary notwithstanding. Benefices are also exempt or peculiar, by which is meant that they are not to be under the ordinary control and administration of the bishop; but, by section 108 of the 1 and 2 Vict. c. 106, above mentioned, it is provided that such exempt or peculiar benefices shall nevertheless, and so far as relates to pluralities and residence, be subject to the archbishop or

bishop within whose province or diocese they are locally situated.

There are, in general, four requisites to the enjoyment of a benefice. 1st, Holy orders, or ordination at the hands of a bishop of the established church or other canonical bishop (a Roman Catholic priest may hold a benefice in the Church of England on abjuring the tenets of his church, but he is not ordained again); 2d, Presentation, or the formal gift or grant of the B. by the lay or ecclesiastical patron; 3d, Institution at the hands of the bishop, by which the cure of souls is committed to the clergyman; and 4th, Induction, which is performed by a mandate from the bishop to the archdeacon to give the clergyman possession of the temporalities. Where the bishop is himself also patron, the preone and the same sentation and institution are act, and called the collation to the benefice. Scotland, the law on this subject is regulated by the 6 and 7 Vict. c. 61, passed in 1843, and commonly called Lord Aberdeen's Act. See ESTATE, LIVING, PARISH, PLURALITIES.

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BENEFICIARY is a legal term sometimes applied to the holder of a benefice. It may also denote a person who is in the enjoyment of any interest or estate held in trust by others, in which latter sense it is strictly and technically used in the law of Scotland, all having right or interest in trust-funds and estate being in that system called beneficiaries. The technical term in the law of England corresponding to this latter meaning of the word is cestui que trust (q. v.). Patent rights and copyrights are denominated B. privileges. See TRUST and TRUSTEE.

BE'NEFIT SOCIETIES, associations for mutual benefit chiefly among the labouring classes, and of which there are now great numbers; being better known under the name of FRIENDLY SOCIETIES, we refer for an account of them to that head. Meanwhile, we confine attention to that particular species of associations called BENEFIT BUILDING SOCIETIES. These are societies established for the purpose of raising, by periodical subscriptions, a fund to assist members in obtaining small portions of heritable property, freehold, or otherwise. They are now regulated by an act of parliament passed in 1836, the 6 and 7 Will. IV. c. 32, which, it is declared, shall extend to all societies established prior to June of the same year. This act declares it shall be lawful to establish such societies, for the purpose of enabling the members to erect and purchase dwelling-houses, or acquire other real or leasehold estate, but which shall be mortgaged to the society until the amount or value of the shares drawn on shall be fully repaid with interest and all other appropriate payments. A share is not to exceed in value £150, and the corresponding monthly subscription is not to be more than twenty shillings. A majority of the members may make rules and regulations for the government and guidance of the society, such rules not being repugnant to the provisions of the act, nor to the general laws of the realm; and for offences against these rules and regulations, fines, penalties, and forfeitures may be inflicted. No member shall be allowed to receive any interest or dividend on his share until the same has been realised, except on the withdrawal of such member according to the rules of the society.

The 4th section of the act appears to suggest, in the present state of the law, something like a difficulty as to the precise legal character and position of these societies, unless it may be held to be removed substantially by the enactments of a recent act, which we shall presently notice. By the 4th section referred to, all the provisions of two previous acts relating to friendly societies the 10 Geo. IV.

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