Paraphrase with Annotations upon the Book of Common Prayer, wherein the text is explained, objections are answered, and advice is humbly offered, both to the clergy and the laity, for promoting true devotion to the use of it. In 1710 these were tacitly vindicated by Bennet in A Letter to Mr. B. Robinson, occasioned by his Review of the Case of Liturgies and their Imposition,' and in a 'Second Letter to Mr. Robinson 'on the same subject (also 1710). The issue of one letter before the other was characteristic of the hurry with which Bennet addressed himself to his controversies. He dashed off what first offered itself, and accordingly committed strange blunders. In 1711 he published The Rights of the Clergy of the Christian Church; or a Discourse shewing that God has given and appropriated to the clergy authority to ordain, baptize, preach, preside in church-prayer, and consecrate the Lord's Supper. Wherein also the pretended divine right of the laity to elect either the person to be ordained or their own particular pastors is examined and disproved. Just after he had thus flouted the laity he was thank ful to transfer himself from Colchester to London on the invitation of the lord mayor and aldermen of the metropolis. By a singular repetition of his former good fortune, he preached on an emergency a funeral sermon at St. Olave's, in Southwark, and was unanimously chosen lecturer there. On leaving Colchester-which from various causes had declined until his living was mere genteel starvation--he became deputy chap lain to Chelsea Hospital. He was further appointed morning preacher at St. Lawrence Jewry under Dr. Mapletoft. Finally he was presented by the dean and chapter of St. Paul's to St. Giles, Cripplegate, of 5007. a year. This presentation, however, embittered his remaining years, as he was speedily involved in parochial disputes and tedious lawsuits in order to recover the proceeds of an alleged assigned tax on peas and beans. In 1711 he was created D.D. In 1714 he published 'Directions for Studying.' In 1715 appeared his Essay on the XXXIX Articles agreed on in 1562, and revised in 1571, and a Prefatory Epistle to Anthony Collins, Esq., wherein the egregious falsehoods and calumnies of the author of "Priestcraft in Perfection" are exposed.' In 1716 he assailed the extruded churchmen in 'The Nonjurors Separation from the Public Assemblies of the Church of England examined and proved to be schismatical upon their own Principles.' In 1717 he married Elizabeth Hunt of Salisbury, 'a gentlewoman of great merit,' and by her had three daughters. In 1718 he published A Discourse of the ever-blessed Trinity in Unity, with an Examination of Dr. Clarke's Scriptural Doctrine of the Trinity.' Like all his books, these were answered. His idea of the Trinity was undoubted Sabellianism. In 1726 he gave to the world a small memorial of his lifelong studies in 'A Hebrew Grammar.' He was always projecting polemical books, and especially designed a sequel to his 'Rights of the Clergy' of 1711, showing the independency of the church on the state.' But he died in the prime of his years 9 Oct. 1728. He is described by a contemporary as 'tall, strong, and haughty,' and 'a perfect master of Eastern and other learned languages. Emlyn praised him for his 'small respect to decrees of councils or mere church authority.' BENNET, WILLIAM (1746-1820), bishop of Cloyne, was born in the Tower of London 4 March 1745-6. He was educated at Harrow School, where he made the acquaintance of Dr. Parr, Gilbert Wakefield, and Sir William Jones, proceeding afterwards to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The dates of his degrees were: B.A. in 1767, M.A. in 1770, and D.D. in 1790. In 1773 a fellowship was conferred upon him, and for many years he was the chief tutor at the college. Among his pupils was the Earl of Westmorland, who, on his appointment as lord lieutenant of Ireland in 1790, nominated his old tutor as his chaplain. Bennet's promotion was then assured, and it came quickly: from 12 June 1790 to 1794 he held the see of Cork and Ross, and in the latter year was translated to the more lucrative bishopric of Cloyne. It was at one time proposed to appoint Bishop Bennet to an English see, and he was put in nomination for the provost ship of Trinity College, Dublin, but was rejected in favour of another candidate. Among the pulpit orators of his day he took a high place, and his services were in frequent requisition. His exertions whilst preaching a charity sermon at St. Michael's, Cornhill, are supposed to have hastened his death. He died at Montagu Square, London, 16 July 1820, and was buried at Plumstead, Kent, a monument to his memory being erected in Cloyne cathe dral. In 1791 he married Frances, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Mapletoft, of Boughton, in Northamptonshire, by Anna Maria, only daughter of Charles, fifth Viscount Cullen. Though they were of opposite politics, the friendship of Parr and Bishop Bennet lasted from school to college, and from college until the latter's death. The bishop's critical knowledge of the classics and his liberality towards the Irish peasantry are highly praised in Parr's 'Remarks on the Statement of Dr. Charles Combe' (1795), pp. 25-6. To the ill-fated Gilbert Wakefield the bishop showed his regard with uniform benevolence. He was elected F.S.A. in 1790, but does not seem to have contributed to the Archæologia.' His favourite pursuit was to trace the Roman roads in his native country, and he is said to have walked over nearly the whole of them from the north of England to the south. The brothers Lysons, in their advertisement to the 'Magna Britannia,' acknowledge their indebtedness to the bishop for his communications on the Roman roads and stations in each county. This work came to an end with the county of Devon, and the fate of the bishop's observations on the other shires is not known. His paper 'On the Roman Architecture and Castrametation is printed in Polwhele's Cornwall, supp. to vol. iii. 8287, and to Nichols's Leicestershire' he contributed some remarks on its Roman roads (i. pp. cxlix-cl), and his views on the Jewry wall of Leicester (i. 7). The translation of the work known as Richard of Cirencester's description of Britain, which was published in 1809, contained the bishop's opinions on the same subject. The register of Emmanuel College which he compiled is described in the Fourth Report of the Hist. MSS. Commission,' pp. 417-20. Bishop Bennet's probity and amiability were the subject of frequent praise. [Johnstone's Parr, vols. i. passim, and viii. 574648; Field's Parr, i. 20-43, ii. 288-93; Lord Teignmouth's Sir W. Jones, i. 114; Wakefield's Memoirs, i. 106, 200; Mant's Church of Ireland, ii. 718-20; Cotton's Fasti Eccl. Hibernica, i. 191, 276-8; Gent. Mag. 1791, p. 1061, 1820, pt. ii. 104, 184; Nichols's Lit. Illustrations. iv. 703-12, vi, 164-6, 444-54, vii. pp. xxxv, 64-5; Corresp. of Rt. Hon. John Beresford, ii. 44.] W. P. C. BENNET or BENNETT, WILLIAM (1767?-1833?), musician, was born about 1767 at Comteinteignhead, Devonshire, where his father possessed an estate. Bennet's first musical instructors were Bond and Jackson of Exeter, but he subsequently came to London, where he studied under John Christian Bach and Schroeter. He was an excellent pianist, and was noted for his extempore performances on the organ. He is said to have been the first to introduce grand pianofortes into Plymouth, where he was appointed organist of St. Andrew's in 1793. In 1797 he married a Miss Debell, of Guildford. Of his later life no information is forthcoming. In 1812 he was living in Barrack Street, Plymouth, where he still held the post of organist at St. Andrew's, a position he continued to occupy in 1824 (Dictionary of Musicians, 1824), and according to the Georgian Era' (1833) in 1833; but as the account of him in the latter work is practically a reprint of that in the former, the statement is not to be fully relied on. Bennet published several unimpor tant songs, glees, and pianoforte pieces, which are now entirely forgotten. [Georgian Era, iv. p. 547; Dictionary of Musicians, 1824; The Picture of Plymouth, 1812.] W. B. S. BENNETT, AGNES MARIA (d. 1808), novelist, was a married lady with many children, who survived her; but there is no evidence of her birth, her parentage, or her condition. In 1785 she was permitted to dedicate her first novel, 'Anna, or the Memoirs of a Welch Heiress,' 4 vols., to the princess royal. The whole impression of the work, though published anonymously, was sold on the day of publication (AIKIN's Athenæum, iii. 391). The novel was twice translated into French (DIDOT), first by Dubois Fontenelle, 1784 (which date must be an error, unless the translation was from the manuscript in advance of the English press), and secondly in 1800. Mrs. Bennett's second novel, again published anonymously, was Juvenile Indiscretions, 1788; it was attributed at first to Miss Burney (DIDOT), and translated into French the same year. In 1789 appeared 'Agnes de Courci, a Domestic Tale,' reviewed in the Monthly Review' (i. 215), and also popular enough to be translated. A fourth novel by Mrs. Bennett, entitled 'Ellen, Countess of Castle Howel,' 4 vols., issued from the Minerva Press, 12 March 1794, with the author's name, and with an 'Apology' prefixed, which indicated much distress of mind and circumstances. It obtained notice in the 'Monthly Review,' xiv. 74. In 1797 appeared, in 7 vols., price 318. 6d., 'The Beggar Girl,' supposed to be taken from existing characters at Tooting (Gent. Mag. lxxix. 108), and dedicated to the Duchess of York, near whom Mrs. Bennett was then residing (her own 'Dedication,' vol. i.) In 1806 Mrs. Bennett's popularity was immense; and producing a new novel that year in 6 vols., which she called 'Vicissitudes abroad, or the Ghost of my Father,' 2,000 copies of it were sold on the first day, though the price was 36: Mrs. Bennett died at Brighton on 12 Feb. 1808, and her body, being brought to London, was met at the Horns, Kennington Common, on 21 Feb. (European Mag. liii. 156), by a large circle of friends (AIKIN's Ath., supra). Another work by Mrs. Bennett was pubished after her death in 1816, under the title of 'Faith and Fiction, or Shining Lights in a Dark Generation,' 5 vols. (WATT'S Bibl. Brit.) She is also credited with the authorship of two French novels, 'L'Orphelin du Presbytère,' 1816; and 'Beauté et Laideur,' 1820 (DIDOT), but these were apparently portions of Faith and Fiction,' translated. In 1822 Defauconpret translated 'Ellen de Courci' (DIDOT); and in 1853 an attempt was made to reprint'Anna,'in penny numbers, by W. Strange, of Lovel's Court, Paternoster Row; but at the second number the issue stopped. [Watt's Bibl. Brit.; Didot's Nouvelle Biogr. Générale; Aikin's Athenæum, iii. 391, 392; European Magazine, liii. 156.] J. H. BENNETT, CHARLES HENRY (18291867), draughtsman on wood, was born in 1829. His first sketches appeared in 'Diogenes,' a comic paper started in 1853, which had but a brief existence. They speedily attracted attention, and his pencil was afterwards occupied with a series of slight outline portraits of members of parliament, which were published in the Illustrated Times.' Then came his 'Shadows' in 1856, followed by 'The Fables of Æsop and others translated into human nature' in 1858, and his 'Proverbs' in 1859. These were accompanied by many children's books, of which he was the author as well as the artist, and by some more serious work, amongst which was a series of illustrations to the Rev. Charles Kingsley's edition of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress,' issued in 1860. He likewise illustrated, in conjunction with George H. Thomas, Wills's 'Poets' Wit and Humour,' 1861, and, with Richard Doyle, Mark Lemon's Fairy Tales,' 1868. He also published, with Robert B. Brough, The Origin of Species,' and Shadow and Substance,' 1860. These were republished in 1872, together with a selection of his designs for Poets' Wit and Humour,' under the title of 'Character Sketches, Development Drawings, and Original Pictures of Wit and Humour.' Last of all came his engagement on 'Punch,' to which he contributed numerous sketches, distinguished by their facile execution and singular subtlety of fancy. He was of an extremely delicate constitution, and died in London on 2 April 1867. [Gent. Mag. 1867, i. 688.] VOL. IV. R. E. G. BENNETT, EDWARD TURNER (1797-1836), zoologist, was born at Hackney, London, 6 Jan. 1797. John Joseph Bennett, the botanist [q.v.], was his younger brother. He practised for some years as a surgeon near Portman Square, but his chief pursuit was zoology. His numerous papers in scientific journals are of minor importance, and imperfectly represent his attainments. In 1822 he actively promoted the establishment of an entomological society, of which he was secretary. Later, this society developed into a zoological club in connection with the Linnean Society. Under his management the zoological club became the starting-point of the Zoological Society of London in 1826, of which he was at first vice-secretary; he was elected secretary in 1831, and held the office till his death on 21 Aug. 1836. His zealous efforts greatly contributed to the firm establishment of the society. In 1835 he visited Selborne, and made large collections of interesting facts, which he embodied in his posthumous edition of White's 'Selborne' (1837). This work, which is little improved by the mass of matter added, was published with a preface by J. J. Bennett, the editor's brother. Bennett's only separate works were The Tower Menagerie,' 1829; 'The Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society Delineated, vol. i. Quadrupeds, 1830, vol. ii. Birds, 1831. Besides these he wrote the article on Fishes in 'Zoology of Captain Beechey's Voyage,' 1839, and many papers in 'Zool. Jour. 1825-34; 'Linn. Trans.' 1827; Mag. Nat. Hist.' 1831; 'Zool. Proc.' 1831-6; Zool. Trans.' 1835, 1841; 'Geol. Proc.' 1831. of White's Selborne, 1837.] BENNETT, GEORGE JOHN (18001879), actor, was born at Ripon, in Yorkshire, 9 March 1800. His father was for thirty years a member of the Norwich company. Bennett entered the navy in 1813, and quitted it in 1817. He made his first appearance at Lynn, in Norfolk, in 1818. After playing in different country towns he became in 1820 a member of the Bath company, and in 1822 came to London, making his appearance at Covent Garden, 27 Jan. 1823, as Richard III. The performance was a failure. In Hotspur he was more fortunate. On 23 July 1824, at the Lyceum, then called the English Opera House, he took part in the first presentation in England of 'Der Freyschütz, or the Seventh Bullet,' a rendering by Logan of Weber's famous opera. The part he played was Conrad. In 1830 he joined the Covent Garden company, appearing as Hubert in 'King John' B 6 to the Constance of Miss Fanny Kemble. At Covent Garden he remained through the successive managements of Charles Kemble, Laporte, and Macready, playing such characters as Grindoff in the Miller and his Men,' Macduff, Master Walter in the Hunchback,' and Caliban in Macready's revival of the 'Tempest,' October 1838. He accompanied Macready to Drury Lane, and remained with him till the close of his management, from 4 Oct. 1841 to 14 June 1843. On 27 May 1844 Phelps and Greenwood began their memorable campaign at Sadler's Wells. Bennett joined them, remaining with them during the eighteen years over which the management extended, and playing Sir Toby Belch, Pistol, Bessus in Beaumont and Fletcher's 'A King and No King,' Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra,' Bosola in Duchess of Malfi,' altered from Webster by R. H. Horne, Antonio in the 'Merchant of Venice,' Henry VIII, Apemantus in Timon of Athens.' When Phelps retired (1862) from the management of Sadler's Wells, Bennett left the stage. Subsequently he was, it is stated. established in Chepstow as a photographer. Bennett was a trustworthy actor of the second rank. His daughter, Miss Julia Bennett, has played with success at minor theatres. A five-act play by Bennett, entitled 'Retribution, or Love's Trials,' was successfully produced at Sadler's Wells on 11 Feb. 1850, the principal parts being supported by Phelps, Henry Marston, A. Younge, the author, and Miss Glyn. Bennett also wrote a drama called the 'Justiza,' produced by Miss Cushman at Birmingham. In earlier life he published an interesting volume called Pedestrian Tour through North Wales, with twenty etchings by A. Clint,' London, 1838. He died on 21 Sept. 1879, and was buried at Nunhead Cemetery. BENNETT, JAMES, D.D. (1774-1862), congregational minister, was born in London 22 May 1774, and educated there and at Gosport, where he was prepared for the ministry of the independent church under the Rev. Dr. Bogue. In 1797 he was ordained at Romsey, where he remained till 1813. While there he became an ardent supporter of the London Missionary Society, preaching the annual sermon on its behalf in 1804. He saw the first missionary ship, the Duff, sail from Spithead for foreign lands, and at home he was a coadjutor of Robert and James Haldane in some of their evange listic tours. He removed in 1813 to Rotherham, where he was both tutor in the college and pastor of the church. In 1828 he was transferred to London, where, first in Silver Street and then in Falcon Square, he exercised his ministry till 1860, when he resigned. He died in London, 4 Dec. 1862, at the age of eighty-eight. Bennett enjoyed in an unusual degree the esteem and confidence of his friends for the consistency of his character, the loftiness of his aims, the excellence of his judgment, and the laborious diligence which he exhibited as a minister and a supporter of all good public movements. Among the special objects to which he applied himself were the defence of christianity against the unbelievers of the day, especially against a certain Mr. R. Taylor, a popular lecturer; the promotion of christian missions, and the advancement of the ConAgregational Union. As one of the secretaries of the London Missionary Society he came much into contact with its missionaries, both while they were prosecuting their studies and after they engaged in active work. Among those who in their younger days were members of his church was David Livingstone, who spent some time in London after leaving Scotland, chiefly in medical study. [Genest's English Stage; The Drama, or Theatrical Pocket Magazine; Tallis's Dramatic Magazine; Era newspaper, 28 July 1879; Era Almanack.] J. K. BENNETT, JAMES (1785-1856), topographer, was born at Falfield in the parish of Thornbury, Gloucestershire, on 10 May 1785, and carried on the business of a printer and bookseller at Tewkesbury from 1810 till 1852, when he retired with a competent independence. He wrote the History of Tewkesbury' (Tewkesbury, 1830, 8vo), and abridged it in the form of a 'Guide' (1835). In 1830 he brought out the first part of the 'Tewkesbury Register and Magazine,' a useful annual, continued till 1849. He died at Tewkesbury on 29 Jan. 1856. Bennett was a voluminous author. The following are his principal works: 1. 'Memoirs of Risdon Darracott, of Wellington, Somerset' (whose granddaughter, Sarah Cowley, he married in 1797). 2. 'The History of Dissenters' from A.D. 1688 to 1808, in conjunction with Rev. Dr. Bogue (2nd ed. London, 1833, 3 vols.) 3. 'Lectures on the History of Christ,' 3 vols. 4. 'Memoirs of the Rev. Dr. Bogue.' 5. 'Lectures on the Preaching of Christ.' 6. Congregational lectures on 'The Theology of the Early Christian Church.' 7. 'Justification as re vealed in Scripture.' 8. 'Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles.' 9. 'Lectures on Infidelity.' [Memorials of the late James Bennett, D.D., including sermons preached on the occasion of his death, London, 1863; private information from his son, Sir J. Risdon Bennett, M.D., F.R.S.] W. G. B. ing year concluded terms of partnership with a young firm of printers, Messrs. Anderson & Smith. The result of this connection was the appearance on 6 May 1835 of the first number of the 'New York Herald,' a small sheet published daily at one cent. Bennett prepared the entire contents. He was his own BENNETT, JAMES GORDON (1800-reporter of the police cases, of the city news, 1872), founder of the 'New York Herald,' was born in 1800 at New Mill, Keith, Banffshire. | 'The Bennetts,' he wrote in after years,' were a little band of freebooters in Saxony, A.D. 896. . . . I have no doubt they robbed and plundered a good deal. . . . They emigrated to France, and lived on the Loire several hundred years. . . . The Earl of Tankerville is a Bennett, and sprang from the lucky side of the race.' The family being Roman catholic, James was sent to a seminary in Aberdeen to be educated for the priesthood. He became an omnivorous reader, was fascinated by the works of Lord Byron and Walter Scott, but toned down the romantic influence they exercised on his mind by the perusal of 'Benjamin Franklin's Life, written by himself,' which was published in Scotland in 1817. One day in the spring of 1819 he met a young friend in a street of Aberdeen, who said he was about to sail for America. After a short pause, Bennett said he would accompany him, as he wished to see the place where Franklin was born.' He first landed at Halifax, and began to earn a livelihood by teaching. Thence he went to Boston, and obtained employment as a printer's reader, a bookseller's clerk, and assistant in a newspaper office. In this last capacity he procured engagements successively on the Charleston Courier,' among the slave-owners, on the 'National Advocate,' the 'New York Courier,' and on the 'Enquirer.' He was at different times dramatic critic, Washington correspondent, leader-writer, editor. In the contentious times of General Jackson's election in 1828-9 as president of the United States, Bennett strongly supported the general in the Enquirer.' At Jackson's second election in 1832-3 a change of sides on the part of his employers took place, and Bennett quitted the Enquirer.' He then started a cheap paper, the New York Globe,' at two cents, which lived only a few months. Meanwhile he wrote literary articles and short lively stories for the New York Mirror.' In 1833 he bought part of the 'Pennsylvanian' of Philadelphia, and went to reside in that city; but he met with no support from his former political associates, and withdrew from the Pennsylvanian' in disgust. Returning to New York in 1834, he watched the growing success of the 'penny press,' and in the follow and of the money market, the last being a new feature in the ordinary American newspaper. He was up early and late, kept his own accounts, posted his own books, and made out his own bills. A fire destroyed his printing office, and his two partners died. His great endeavour was to make his paper amusing enough to attract buyers, for his want of capital prevented all competition with the rich sixpenny journals in obtaining genuine early intelligence. Paragraphs of fictitious news appeared in his paper, which he justified as legitimate hoaxes. 'I am always serious in my aims,' he said, 'but full of frolic in my means.' He quizzed and satirised most of his contemporaries, and suffered several personal assaults from rival editors. These he turned to account by narrating the circumstances in a tone of banter, which made his paper more and more popular. He had great skill, too, in ad captandum writing, and used it against the rude and rowdy habits that then prevailed in New York. His biographer, who writing in 1855 describes Mr. Bennett as a man with lofty views for the regeneration of the press, says of him in 1836, when the Herald' was in its infancy: 'He could attract no public attention till he caricatured himself morally and mentally.' One element of his prosperity was the systematic employment of newsboys in the distribution of his paper. In 1838 he visited France and England, and made liberal arrangements with men of literary attainments as regular correspondents for his paper. He extended the system to many of the important cities of America. His next visit to the British Isles in 1843 was marked by an unpleasant incident at Dublin. He went to hear O'Connell address a large meeting at the Corn Exchange in that city, and the liberator,' on seeing his card, exclaimed aloud: 'I wish he would stay where he came from; we don't want him here. He is one of the conductors of one of the vilest gazettes ever published by infamous publishers.' Bennett replied to this public insult by a dignified letter to the Times,' in which he attributed the agitator's ebullition of wrath to the fact that the Herald' had successfully opposed the demand made by the repealers on the Irish in America for rent. That I can surpass every paper in New York,' he wrote, 'every person will |