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sion, were assiduous in reading to amuse and instruct him. Bytheir aid, he acquired some knowledge of Latin . Poetry wasearly his delight, and at 12 years of age, he began to write poemshimself, of considerable merit. He had attained the age of 19 ,when his indulgent father, whose kindness made a grateful andindelible impression on his mind, was killed by the fall of a malt-kiln. This loss, severe to any one, but doubly so to one inhis circumstances and endued with his sensibility, paved the way,however, to his receiving advantages, which, perhaps had his fatherlived, he might never have obtained. lie had lived with his mo-ther about a year after his father's death, when lie began to bespoken of, as a young man of uncommon genius, and several of hispoetical productions were handed about, which enlarged the cir-cle of his friends and acquaintance. Some of these being shewnto Dr. Stevenson, of Edinburgh , that gentleman formed the bene-volent design of giving him a classical education. He accordinglycame, to Edinburgh in 1741, and entered as a student of divinityin the university. In 1746, he published a volume of his poem'sin 8vo. at Glasgow, and another edition in 1754, at Edinburgh .Mr. Spence, professor of poetry at Oxford , from regard to theauthor, prefixed an ingenious account of his life and writings, toa 4to. edition of his poems, published by subscription in the sameyear. This introduced him to more general notice, and in 1759>he was licensed a preacher by the Presbytery of Dumfries, andreceived the degree of D. D. in 1767, from the University ofAberdeen . He died in 1791, aged seventy. He is supposed tohave contributed several articles to the second edition of the En-cyclopaedia Britannica . Besides his poems, lie published, in 1767,“ Paraclesis, or Consolations deduced from Natural and RevealedReligion in two dissertations, Svo. and, in 1768, “ Two Dis-courses on the Spirit and Evidences of Christianity, ” translatedfrom the French of M. Armaud. He also wrote a treatise onMorals , which he left behind him in MS.

BLACK MAIL, a certain rate of money, corn, cattle, orother consideration, paid to men allied with robbers, to he by themprotected from the danger of .such as usually rob or steal.

BLACKMORE, Sir Richard, a physician, and voluminous.writer of theological, poetical, and physical works. Having de-clared himself early in favour of the Revolution, King William,in 1697, knighted him, and chose him one of his physicians inordinary. On Queen Anne ’s accession, Sir Richard was alsoappointed one of her physicians, and continued so for some time,Dryden and Pope treated his poetical performances with greatcontempt; but notwithstanding Blackmore was much ridiculedby the wits, he is not without merit; and both Addison andJohnson have praised his poem on the Creation. It is much to thehonour of Sir Richard, that he was a chaste writer, and a warmadvocate for virtue, at a time when an almost universal degene-racy prevailed. He had been very free in his censures on thelibertine writers of his age ; and it was owing to this, that hedrew upon himself the resentment of Dryden, as well as ofPope. He died October 9, 1729.

BLACK MOUNTAINS, a chain of mountains in Germany ,in the circle of Suabia .

Black Procession, in ecclesiastical writers, that which ismade in black habits, and with black ensigns and ornaments.See Procession. Anciently at Malta there was a black proces-sion every Friday, where the whole clergy walked with theirfaces covered with a black veil.

Blacks, in physiology. See Negroes.

Black Sea, anciently called the Euxine, lies between Europe and Asia . It communicates with the,Mediterranean, and is saidto he 3800 miles in circumference. It has no discernible (lux orreflux. See Euxine .

BLACKSTONE, Sir William, an eminent English judge,was born at London , in July, 1723. IIis father, Mr. CharlesBluckstone, a silk mercer‘and citizen of London , died somemonths before his birth. He was the youngest of four children ;and their mother died before he was 12 years old. The rare bothof his education and fortune was kindly undertaken by his mater-nal uncle Mr. Thomas Bigg, an eminent surgeon of London .In 1730, being about seven years old, he was put to school at theCharter-house; and in. 1735 was admitted upon the foundationthere. In this excellent seminary, he applied himself to everybranch of youthful education, with the same assiduity which ac-companied his studies through life. lie was entered a commoner

at Pembroke college in Oxford , in 1738. About this time alsohe obtained Mr. Benson’s gold prize-medal of Milton, for severalverses on that poet. In February 1739, the society of Pem-broke college unanimously elected him to one of Lady Holford’sexhibitions for Charier-house scholars in that house. Here heapplied himself with unremitting ardour, to the classics, logic,mathematics, and other sciences. At the early age of 20, hecompiled a treatise entitled “ Elements of Architecture,” in-tended tor his own use only, and not for publication ; but esteemedby those judges who have'perused it, in no respect unworthy hismaturer judgement and more exercised pen. Having made choiceof the law for his profession, he betook himself seriously to read-ing law. On this occasion he wrote a copy of verses, intitlcd,‘‘ The Lawyer’s Farewell to his Muse.” In Nov. 1743, he waselected into the society of All-Soul’s college ; and in the No-vember following, lie spoke the anniversary speech in comme-moration of archbishop Chicheley, the founder, and other bene-factors to that house of learning, and was admitted actual fellow,and in 1746, lie was called to the bar. In May, 1749, he waselected recorder of the borough of Wallingford in Berkshire, andreceived the king’s approbation on the 30th of May. April 26th,1750, he commenced doctor of civil law, and thereby became amember of the convocation, which enabled him to extend hisviews beyond the narrow circle of his own society, to thegeneral benelit of the university at large. In the summer of 1753,he took the resolution of wholly retiring to his fellowship andan academical life, still continuing the practice of his professionas a provincial council. His Lectures outlie Laws of Englandappear to have been an early and favourite idea ; for imme-diately after he quitted Westminster-hall, he entered on readingthem at Oxford ; and even at their commencement, such werethe expectations formed from the acknowledged abilities of thelecturer, that they were attended by a very crowded class ofyoung men of the first families, characters, and hopes; but itwas not till 1758, that the lectures in the form they now bearwere read at the university. Mr. Viner having by his wilt leftnot only the copy-right of his abridgement, but other propertyto a considerable amount, to the university of Oxford , to found aprofessorship, fellowships, and scholarships of common law, hewas on the 20th of October, 1758, unanimously elected Vinerianprotessor: and on the 25th, read his first introductory lecture,which he published at the request of the vice-chancellor and headsot houses, and afterwards prefixed to the first volume of his Com-mentaries. His lectures had now gained such univifsal applause,that he was requested by a noble personage who superintended theeducation of our present sovereign, then prince of Wales , to readthem to his Royal Highness; but as he was at that time engagedto a numerous class of pupils in the university, he thought hecould not, consistently with that engagement, comply with thisrequest, and therefore declined it. But he transmitted copies ofmany of them for the perusal of his Royal Highness ; who, farfrom being offended at an excuse grounded upon so honourablea motive, ordered him a handsome gratuity. It is doubtful whe-ther the Commentaries were originally intended for the press ; butmany imperfect and incorrect copies had got abroad, and apirated edition of them being either published, or preparing forpublication in Ireland , the learned lecturer thought proper toprint a correct edition himself; and in November, 1765, pub-lished the first volume, under the title of “ Commentaries onthe Laws of England;” and in the course of the lour succeedingyears, tlie remaining parts of this admirable work. It ought to Lieremarked, that before this period, the reputation his lectures de-servedly acquired him, had induced him to resume his practicein Wesfminster-hsll; and in a course somew hat inverted lrom thegeneral progress of his profession, he who had quitted the bartor an academic life, was sent back from the college to the bar,w ith a considerable increase of business. He was likew ise electedinto parliament, first for Hindoo, and afterwards for Westbury inWills ; but in neither of these departments did he equal the ex-pectations his writings had raised. 'I he part he took in the Mid-dlesex election drew upon him the attack of some persons ofability in the senate, and likewi.se a severe animadversion ofJunius, one of the keenest polemical writers in the paper war ofthat day. This circumstance probably' strengthened his aversionfrom parliamentary attendance; “ where, (hesaid) amidst the rageof contending parties, a man of moderation must expect to meet

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