BEN JOC’HANAN, in the satire of Absalom and Achitophel, by Dryden and Tate, is meant for the Rev. Samuel Johnson, who suffered much persecution for his defence of the right of private judgment.

  Let Hebron, nay, let hell produce a man
  So made for mischief as Ben Jochanan. 
  A Jew of humble parentage was he,
  By trade a Levite, though of low degree.

  Part ii.

BENAI’AH (3 syl.), in Absalom and Achitophel, is meant for general George Edward Sackville.  As Benaiah, captain of David’s guard, adhered to Solomon against Adonijah, so general Sackville adhered to the duke of York against the prince of Orange (1590-1652).

  Nor can Benaiah’s worth forgotten lie,
  Of steady soul when public storms were high.

  Dryden and Tate, part ii.

BENAS’KAR or BENNASKAR, a wealthy merchant and magician of Delhi.—­James Ridley, Tales of the Genii ("History of Mahoud,” tale vii., 1751).

BENBOW (Admiral).  In an engagement with the French near St. Martha on the Spanish coast in 1701, admiral Benbow had his legs and thighs shivered into splinters by chain-shot, but supported in a wooden frame he remained on the quarter-deck till morning, when Du Casse sheered off.

Similar acts of heroism are recorded of Almeyda, the Portuguese governor of India, of Cynaegiros brother of the poet AEschylos, of Jaafer the standard-bearer of “the prophet” in the battle of Muta, and of some others.

Benbow, an idle, generous, free-and-easy sot, who spent a good inheritance in dissipation, and ended life in the workhouse.

  Benbow, a boon companion, long approved
  By jovial sets, and (as he thought) beloved,
  Was judged as one to joy and friendship prone,
  And deemed injurious to himself alone.

  Crabbe, Borough, xvi. (1810).

BEND-THE-BOW, an English archer at Dickson’s cottage.—­Sir W. Scott, Castle Dangerous (time, Henry I.).

BENEDICK, a wild, witty, and light-hearted young lord of Padua, who vowed celibacy, but fell in love with Beatrice and married her.  It fell out thus:  He went on a visit to Leonato, governor of Messina; here he sees Beatrice, the governor’s niece, as wild and witty as himself, but he dislikes her, thinks her pert and forward, and somewhat ill-mannered withal.  However, he hears Claudio speaking to Leonata about Beatrice, saying how deeply she loves Benedick, and bewailing that so nice a girl should break her heart with unrequited love.  This conversation was a mere ruse, but Benedick believed it to be true, and resolved to reward the love of Beatrice with love and marriage.  It so happened that Beatrice had been entrapped by a similar conversation which she had overheard from her cousin Hero.  The end was they sincerely loved each other, and became man and wife.—­Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing (1600).  BENEDICT [BELLEFONTAINE], the wealthiest