dola, and made it his request to be interred in the same grave with him, which was granted. 1

BENN (WILLIAM), a nonconformist clergyman of Dorsetshire, was born at or near Egremond, in Cumberland, Nov. 1600, and educated at St. Bees. Thence he entered Queen's college, Oxford, Wood thinks, as a servitor, but left the university without taking a degree, on obtaining a presentation to the living of Oakingham, in Berkshire; but upon Mr. Bateman's having got another presentation to the same living, a gentleman who was his contemporary at Oxford, they agreed jointly to perform the duty, and divide the profits, rather than contest the matter at law. Mr. Benn became afterwards chaplain to the marchioness. of Northampton, with whom he resided in Somersetshire, leaving Oakingham to Mr. Bateman. In 1629, the celebrated Mr. White, usually called the patriarch of Dorchester, invited him to that town, by whose interest he obtained the rectory of All Saints; and, excepting two years that he attended Mr. White at Lambeth, continued here until Bartholomew-day, when he was ejected for nonconformity. Not satisfied with his constant labours in the church, while he held his rectory, he preached gratis, on week-days, to prisoners in the gaol, and the room not being large enough for his auditory, he built a chapel within the prison limits, principally at his own expence. In 1654, he was one of the assistants to the cominissioners for ejecting such as were called scandalous, ignorant, and insufficient ministers, and school-masters. After his own ejectment, he continued to preach occasionally, and was sometimes fined and imprisoned. He died March 22, 1680, and was buried in All Saints church-yard. Wood records three particulars of him: the first, that he was, as already mentioned, assistant to the commissioners, &c.; secondly, that although he lived to be eighty, he never used spectacles, and yet read and wrote much, writing all his ser mons as he delivered them; and thirdly, that he prayed in his study seven times a day, and commemorated certain deliverances from dangers which he had experienced on certain days of his life. His only works were an "Answer to Mr. Francis Bampfield's Letter, in vindication of the Christian Sabbath against the Jewish," Lond. 1672, 8vo;

1 Dict. Hist.-Gresswell's Memoirs of Politian, &c.-Tiraboschi, edit. Mathias, 1803.-Ginguené Hist. Litt. d'Italie, vol. III. p. 550.

and a volume of sermons, on "Soul prosperity," 1683,

8vo.1

BENNET (BENJAMIN), a dissenting minister of considerable note in the beginning of the last century, was born at Temple-hall, in the hamlet of Whellesburgh in Leices tershire, in 1674; and educated, it is believed, at the neighbouring free-school of Market Bosworth. After going through a course of theological studies, he was first settled as a preacher at a meeting-house, erected in 1710, on Temple Farm, the place of his nativity, from which he was called to succeed Dr. Gilpin at Newcastle upon Tyne, where he continued until his death, Sept. 1, 1726, exercising his ministerial functions with success and popularity, and acquiring a high character among his brethren for his talents and piety. He wrote several books, 1. "A memorial of the Reformation," 1721, 8vo, an historical sketch of that event, full of prejudice against the church of England. 2. “A Defence" of the same, 1723, 8vo. 3. "Discourses on Popery," 1714, 8vo. 4. "Irenicum, or a review of some late controversies about the Trinity, &c." 1722, 8vo. Of this work one of his biographers says, that, "like many other good men, he was not aware of the pernicious effects of Arianism, and entertained a more favourable idea of the sentiments of some of the dissenting ministers than they deserved. The general principles of the book are good, but not suitably applied.” 5. "Sermons on the Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures." But his most popular work, and which has gone through many editions, is his "Christian Oratory," which the biographer just quoted calls the "Dissenters' Whole Duty of Man." Job Orton, a very eminent divine among the dissenters, appears by one of his letters, to have read this book at least ten times. 2

BENNET (CHRISTOPHER), an eminent physician of the seventeenth century, and a medical writer, was the son of John Bennet of Raynton in Somersetshire, and became a commoner of Lincoln college in Oxford, in Michaelmasterm, 1632, being then fifteen years of age. After he had taken the degrees of bachelor and master of arts, he entered upon the study of physic, but was created doctor in that faculty elsewhere. He was afterwards chosen a fellow of the college of physicians in London, where he prac

1 Wood's Ath. vol. II.-Hutchins's Dorsetshire.-Calamy.

2 Nichols's Leicestershire.-P. Dissenter's Mag. vol. V.-Bogue and Bennet's Hist. of Dissenters, vol. III.-Orton's Letters to Stedman, vol. I. p. 41.

tised with great success. Dr. Bennet died in April, 1655, and was buried on the 2d of May, in St. Gregory's church, near St. Paul's, in London. He gave the public a treatise on Consumptions, entitled "Theatri Tabidorum VestibuJum, &c." Lond. 1654, 8vo. Also "Exercitationes Diagnosticæ, cum historiis demonstrativis, quibus alimentorum et sanguinis vitia deteguntur in plerisque morbis, &c." Our author corrected and enlarged a book written originally by Dr. Thomas Moffet, and entitled "Health's Improvement, or rules comprising or discovering the nature, method, and manner of preparing all sorts of food used in this nation," Lond. 1655, 4to. Dr. Bennet had one or two more pieces ready for the press at the time of his death. It may be necessary to add that in his Latin works, he assumed the Latinized name of Benedictus. '

BENNET (HENRY), earl of Arlington, was descended from an ancient family, and was second son of sir John Bennet of Arlington in Middlesex, by Dorothy, daughter of sir John Crofts of Saxham in the county of Norfolk. He was born in 1618, and educated at Christ-church in the university of Oxford, where he took the degree of master of arts, and distinguished himself by his poetical compositions, several of which were occasionally inserted in books of verses published under the name of the university, and in others in that time. In the beginning the civil war, when king Charles I. fixed his chief residence at Oxford, he was appointed under-secretary to lord George Digby, secretary of state; and afterwards entered himself as a volunteer in the royal cause, and served very bravely, especially at the sharp encounter near Andover in Hampshire, where he received several wounds. When the wars were ended, he did not leave the king, when success did, but attended his interest in foreign parts; and, in order to qualify himself the better for his majesty's service, travelled into Italy, and made his observations on the several countries and states of Europe. He was afterwards made secretary to James, duke of York, and received the honour of knighthood from king Charles II. at Bruges in March, 1658, and was soon after sent envoy to the court of Spain; in which negociation he acted with so much prudence and success, that his majesty, upon his return to England, soon called him home, and made him keeper of his privy purse. On the 2d of October, 1662, he was appointed principal

1 Ath. Ox. vol. II.-Blog. Dict.

secretary of state in the room of sir Edward Nicholas; but by this preferment some advances were evidently made towards the interest of Rome; since the new secretary was one who secretly espoused the cause of popery, and had much influenced the king towards embracing that religion, the year before his restoration, at Fontarabia; on which account he had been so much threatened by lord Culpepper, that it was believed he durst not return into England, till after the death of that nobleman.

In March 14, 1664, he was advanced to the degree of a baron, by the title of Lord Arlington of Arlington in Middlesex, and in 1670, was one of the cabinet council, distinguished by the title of the Cabal*, and one of those ministers, who advised the shutting up of the exchequer. April 22, 1672, he was created viscount Thetford and earl of Arlington; and on the 15th of June following, was made knight of the garter. On the 22d of the same month he was sent to Utrecht, with the duke of Buckingham and lord Hallifax, as ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiaries, to meet jointly with such as should be appointed by the king of France, and with the deputies from the States-General, but this negociation had no great effect. In April 1673, he was appointed one of the three plenipotentiaries from the court of Great Britain to Cologne, in order to mediate a peace between the emperor and king of France. In January following, the house of commous resolving to attack him, as well as the dukes of Lauderdale and Buckingham, who were likewise members of the Cabal, the last endeavoured to clear himself by casting all the odium upon the earl of Arlington; who being admitted to make his defence in that house, answered some parts of the duke of Buckingham's speech, but was so far from giving them satisfaction with regard to his own conduct, that they immediately drew up articles of impeachment against him, in which he was charged to have been a constant and vehement promoter of popery and popish councils; to have been guilty of many undue practices in order to promote his own greatness; to have embezzled and wasted the treasure of the nation; and to have falsely

This name was composed of the initial letters of their titles, viz. Clifford, Ashley (afterwards Shaftesbury), Buckingham, Arlington, Lauderdale. They had all of them great presents

from France, besides what was openly given them. The French ambassador gave each of them a picture of the king of France, set in diamonds, to the value of 3,0094.

and traiterously betrayed the important trust reposed in him, as a counsellor and principal secretary of state. Upon this he appeared before the house of commons, and spoke much more than was expected; excusing himself, though without blaming the king. This had so good an effect, that though he, as secretary of state, was more exposed than any other, by the many warrants and orders which he had signed; yet he was acquitted by a small majority. But the care, which he took to preserve himself, and his success in it, lost him his high favour with the king, as the duke of York was greatly offended with him; for which reason he quitted his post, and was made lord chamberlain on the 11th. of September 1674, with this public reason assigned, that it was in recompence of his long and faithful service, and particularly for having performed the office of principal secretary of state for the space of twelve years to his majesty's great satisfaction. But finding, that his interest began sensibly to decline, while that of the earl of Danby increased, who succeeded lord Clifford in the office of lord high treasurer, which had ever been the height of lord Arlington's ambition, he conceived an implacable hatred against that earl, and used his utmost efforts to supplant him, though in vain. For, upon his return from his unsuccessful journey to Holland in 1674-5, his credit was so much sunk, that several persons at court took the liberty to mimic his person and behaviour, as had been formerly done against lord chancellor Clarendon; and it became a common jest for some courtier to put a black patch upon his nose, and strut about with a white staff in his hand, in order to divert the king. One reason of his majesty's disgust to him is thought to have been the earl's late inclining towards the popular opinions, and especially his apparent zealous proceedings against the papists, while the court knew him to be of their religion in his heart. In confirmation of this a remarkable story is told; that col. Richard Talbot, afterwards earl of Tyrconnel, having been some time absent from the court, upon his return found lord Arlington's credit extremely low; and seeing him one day acted by a person with a patch and a staff, he took occasion to expostulate this matter with the king, with whom he was very familiar, remonstrating, how very hard it was, that poor Harry Bennet should be thus used, after he had so long and faithfully served his majesty, and followed him every where in his