Benetier

A ve el to contain holy water; a font. Benevente, a sea-port town of Brazil. Beneven'to, (anc. Ben even tum,) a city of S. Italy, cap. of a prov. of same name, between and near the confluence of the Calore and Sabato, 32 m. N.E. of Naples. The modern town is almost entirely constructed out of the ruins of the ancient; and, in fact, hardly any Italian town can boast of so many remains of antiquity as B. Of these, the most perfect is the Arch of Trajan, erected about A. D. 114. - Near B. , 1266, was fought the great battle between Charles of Anjou and his rival Manfred, in which the latter was killed, and his army totally defeated. During the reign of Napoleon I., B. was formed into a principality conferred on M. de Talleyrand. In 1815, it again reverted to the Pope. In 1860, it was annexed to the kingdom of Italy. Pop . 16,500. Benev'ola, in Maryland , a post-office of Washington co. Benevolence, n. [Lat. benevolent i a - bene , well, and volo, to will or wish.] Good-will; the disposition to do good; kindne of heart; love to mankind; charitablene ; benignity. "Grasp the whole worlds of reason, life, and sense, In one close system of benevolence." - Pope . -An act of kindne ; good done; charity given. ( Hist .) A voluntary gratuity first granted to the king of England, Edward IV., by his subjects. Under the subsequent monarchs, B. became anything but a voluntary gift, and its illegal claim and collection was one of the prominently alleged causes of the rebellion of 1640. Benevolent, a. [Lat. bene volens .] Having good will, or a disposition to do good; kind; affectionate; charitable. "Thou good old man, benevolent as wise."- Pope . Benevolently, adv . In a kind or benevolent manner; with good-will. Ben'ezet, ANTONY, an American philanthropist, B. at St. Quentin, 1713. At an early age he removed with his family from France to Philadelphia, where they became members of the Society of Friends. This excellent man devoted his life to acts of charity. He published several valuable tracts in favor of the emancipation of the negroes, and of the civilizing and christian i zing the Indians, and also against the use of ardent spirits, on behalf of the Society of Friends, . Every step of his life was marked by a good action or a good thought. He used to say that "the highest act of charity in the world was to bear with the unreasonablene of mankind." He D. in 1784, and his funeral was attended by persons of all religious denominations. A fine eulogium was pronounced upon his remains by an American officer. "I would rather," said he, "be Antony Benezet in that coffin, than George Washington with all his fame."- B. was not a great man, in the worldly sense of the term, but he was a GOOD man, and, as such, he ranks, in our personal estimation, far above many celebrated persons of whom we write, but without approving their deeds. Ben'ezet, in Pennsylvania , a post-township of Elk co. Benford's Store, in Pennsylvania, a township of Somerset co. Ben Franklin, in Texas , a P. O. of Lamar co. Ben'gal, in Michigan , a post-office of Clinton co. Bengal, ( ben - gawl ' ,) a territory of Asia, in Hindostan, the most important and extensive of the 9 provinces of British India. It extends between Lat. 190 and 29° N., and Lon. 82° and 97° E., having N. Bootan, Nepaul, and the Indus; W. the latter river and the Sikh and Rajpoot territories; S. those of Berar, the Madras presidency, and the Bay of Bengal, and E. Burmah. Total area , 198,090 sq. m. The N.W. provinces were separated from it in 1833, and A am in 1874. It now comprises, 1st. The basin of the Ganges, including Bengal Proper, and Behar; and 2d. The ill-watered country of Chota Nag pore and Ori a, to the W. and S.W. The province is divided into 47 districts.- Desc. The surface of this vast territory has, in different parts, every variety of elevation and aspect. But by far the largest portion consists, notwithstanding, of immense plains, including the basins of the Ganges and Brahmapootra. Exclusive of the Himalaya and Garrows mountains, which bound it N. and E., it has no mountains of importance, with the exception of the Vindhyan range, S. of the Ganges. No part of India is so well stocked with rivers. Among them are the great streams of the Ganges, with its many tributaries, the Jumna, Chumbul, Gogra, ., and the Brahmapootra, in the E., which, as well as the Ganges, fall, in proximity to each other, into the Bay of Bengal. Every variety of scenery is met with in this province. In the N. is a vast congeries of mountains, backed by the Him a lay as, and covered generally with a dense forest vegetation. The W. parts of Delhi trench on the Indian desert, and partake of its characteristics accordingly; while other parts are flat, fertile, and highly cultivated. The Doab is flat, gra y, and deficient in timber. The central prov. are generally level, well wooded, and highly productive; while those towards the coast, as Ori a, ., are low, swampy, and in many parts form a dense jungle. The Burmese prov., further E., have dense forests and jungles, rice-plains, and a rocky coast. Geol., dc. Granite, porphyry, gnei , mica, hornblende, sandstone, limestone, and copper and iron ores abound in the N. Coal, in conjunction with iron, is found in many districts. In Behar, and other places, immense efflorescences of nitre and muriate of soda are found, and exported to a large extent. Salt is a government monopoly. Diamonds are obtained in Bundelcund, and silver and gold-dust in many of the rivers.- Clim . The upper prov. are, on the whole, temperate; the lower, subject to great heat and burning winds. Mean annual temperature at Calcutta, 78° 39 Fahr.-Veget. Prod., dc. Indigo is the principal staple, covering more than 1,000,000 acres, and yielding a return of about $20,000,000. Teak, saul, si oo, banyan, ebony, rattans, bamboos, are indigenous; oaks and pines abound in the hill forests; and along the coasts of the Bay of Bengal flourish the cocoa, areca, and other palms. Rice is extensively cultivated, and is the staple article of food to the na tensively cultured.- Inhab. A great variety of races exist in B. Hindoos, Mahrattas, Mongols, Sikhs, Rajpoots, Fig . 340. URDHABAHUS, or OODOOBAHOOS. (From "Les Hindous," by Solvyn.) Cooshes. Religions. The two prevailing creeds are the Mohammedan, and, chiefly, Brahmaism. The accompanying figure may give an idea of the voluntary tortures encouraged by the Hindoo religion. It represents devotees of the Urdhabahus or Oodoobahoos sect, whe extend one or both their arms above their heads till they remain of themselves thus elevated, and allow their nails to grow till they completely perforate the hand.The share of B. in the enormous exportations of British India may be estimated by its output, during the year 1895, of Rx. 4,054,280 of rice; Rx. 85,153 of wheat; Rx. 5,596,874 of opium; Rx. 3,477,582 of indigo; Rx. 431,591 of cotton, and Rx. 3,577,853 of seeds; its exports to Great Britain alone representing a sum of $65,000,000. At latest report, B. had 38,200,300 acres under rice, 1,620,200 acres under wheat, and 11,636,000 under other food grains; 1,083,400 under sugar cane, 110,800 under tea, 201,200 under cotton, 3,253,800 under oil seeds, 614,200 under indigo and 730,500 under tobacco. The land revenues then contributed by B. amounted to Rx. 3,871,432; the total government revenue being Rx. 19,022,243 as against an expenditure of Rx. 8,521,801. The army estimate for B., second only to that of the Punjab contingent, calls for 62,590 men. At the present date, B. has 4,156 miles of metalled and 31,392 of unmetalled roads maintained by public authority. Chief towns: Calcutta (British capital of India); Delhi, Benares, Moor shed a bad, Dacca, Behar, Patna, Agra, Allah a bad, Lucknow, Lahore, . Pop . (1895) 71,350,000.-HISTORY. See HINDOSTAN; INDIA, .