ft LA

441 )

ft LA

visited Lisbon, Gibraltar, Minorca , and the principal cities inItaly, and several parts of France ; and returned with the duke inAugust 1 764. In 1768, lie published an improved edition of hisChronological '1 aides, which he dedicated to the Princess ofWales, who had expressed her earlv approbation of the formeredition. To the new edition were annexed, “ Fourteen Maps ofAncient and Modern Geography, for illustrating the 'Fables ofChronology and History. To which is prefixed a Dissertationon the progress of Geography.” In 1771, lie was presented tothe vicarage of St. Bride’s in London ; and in 177(3 to the rectoryof St. John in Westminster. He died June 24, 1782.

Blair, Dr. 11 ugh, an eminent divine, was the son of a merchantat Edinburgh , and born there in 1718. While a student at theuniversity of Edinburgh , he formed a comprehensive scheme ofchronological tables for his own rise, which being communicatedto his learned friend, afterwards Dr. John Blair, mentioned in thepreceding article, lie improved and extended the plan into a worko! great labour and value. In 1739 he took the degree of M. A.and in 1742 was ordained to the parish of Colessie in Fife , fromwhence lie was recalled to the second charge of the Ganongatechurch, at Edinburgh , where he officiated till 1738. He wasthru removed to the high church, which is the most importantecclesiastical charge in Scotland . The university of St. Andrewsconferred on him the degree of D. D. in 1737, a circumstancerather unusual from one university there to another. Jn 1739 liebegan a course of lectures on rhetoric and belles-lettres, whiehw ere so much applauded that the king endowed, in 1702, a pro-fessorship in favour of Dr. Blair, at Edinburgh , with a salary ot70/. a year. In 17(i3 he wrote a Dissertation on the Poems ofOsdan, in which lie urges many ingenious observations in behalfot their authenticity, "in 1777 appeared a volume ofjiis sermons,which attained so rapid a sale as to induce the author to publishanother volume in 1 779, which was as well received as the former,and these have been followed by three volumes more. They arenow, however, as much neglected as thev were formerly prized.The cause for this change in the public taste is properly account-ed for by a learned gentleman in the Eclectic Kt-view, for De-cember, 1807. In 1780 lie obtained a pension of 200 /. a year bythe particular interest of her majesty. About 1783 he quitted hisirofessorship through infirmities, but his salary was continue'] forife, and an addition was made of 100 /. a year to his pension. Inthat year he published his lectures, which have had an extensivecirculation, and have been translated into various languages. Dr.Blair died at Edinburgh , in 1 S 00 .

BLAISE, St. Knights of, a military order instituted bythe kings of Armenia, in honour of St. Blaise. Justinian call’sthem knights of St. Blaise and St. Mary, and places them not onlyin Armenia , but in Palestine.

BLA1SOIS, a late province of France. Blois was the capi-tal. It now forms the department of Loire and Cher.

BLAKE, Hobert, a famous English admiral, born in August1589, at Bridgewater in Somersetshire , where lie was educated,lie went from thence to Oxford, in 1(313, and in 1617, he tookthe degree of B. A. The puritan party returned him member forBridgewater, in 1640; and lie served in the parliament army withgreat courage during the civil war : but when the king was broughtto trial, he highly disapproved the measure as illegal, and said fre-quently, “ lie would as freely venture his life to save the king, asever he did to serve his parliament.” But this is thought to havebeen chiefly owing to the humanity of his temper, since after thedeath of the king he fell in wholly w ith the republican party, and,next to Cromwell, was the ablest officer the parliament had. In164S-9, he was appointed, in conjunction with Colonel Dean andColonel Popliam, to command the fleet; and soon after blockedup Prince Maurice and Prince Rupert in Kinsale harbour. Butthese getting out, Blake followed them from port to port: and atlast attacked them in that of Malaga, hnrnt and destroyed theirwhole fleet, two ships only excepted, the Reformation, in whichPrince Rupert himself was, and the Swallow, commanded bvPrince Maurice . In 1652, he was constituted sole admiral; whenhe defeated the Dutch fleet commanded by Van Trump, Ruyter,and De Wit, in three several engagements, in which tlu: Dutch lost eleven men of war, thirty merchant ships, and according totheir own accounts, had 15,000 men plain. Soon after, Blake, andhis colleagues, with a grand fleet of 100 sail, stood over to theDutch coast; and forced their fleet to fly into the Texel, where

VOL. i,— no. 29.

they were kept sometime bv Monk and Dean, while Blake him-self sailed northward. At last, however, 'Frump got out, and drewtogether a fleet of 120 men of war ; and, on the 3d of June, thegenerals Dean and Monk came to an engagement with the enemyoff the N. Foreland, with imlitlerent success: but the next dayBlake coming to (heir assistance with 18 ships,.gained a completevictory ; so that if the Dutch had not saved themselves on Calaissands, their whole fleet had been sunk or taken. In April 1653,Cromwell having turned out the parliament, and assumed the su-preme power, the states expected great advantages, but were dis-appointed. Blake said on this occasion to his officers, “ It is notfor us to mind stale-allairs, but to keep foreigners from fooling,us.” In November 1654, Cromwell sent him with a strong fleetinto the Mediterranean, where he destroyed the castle of Tunis --and the ships in the harbour, and compelled the Algerines to put.a stop to their piracies, and to deliver up the English prisoners.But Ids most dangerous exploit was his destruction of the Spanish _fleet in the hay of Teneriffe , which he accomplished without:-,loss, though the bay was surrounded by several strong forts. “ Ifwas so miraculous, (says the Earl of Clarendon,) that ail men,who knew the place, wondered that any sober man, with whatcourage so ever endowed, would ever have undertaken it; andthey could hardly persuade themselves to believe what they haddone ; whilst the Spaniards comforted themselves with the be-lief, that they were devils and not men, who had destroyed themin such a manner.” This was the last and greatest action of thegallant Blake. He was consumed with a dropsy ami scurvy ; andhastened home, that he might yield up his last breath in his na-tive country, which lie had so much adorned by his valour.As he came w ithin sight of land he expired. The Protector or-dered him a pompous funeral at the public charge : but the tear-,ot his countrymen were the most honourable panegyric on Ins'memory. Lord Clarendon observes “ that lie was the first manwho brought ships to contemn castles on shore, which had everbeen thought very formidable, and were discovered bv him tomake a noise only, and to fright those w ho could be rarely hurtby them. He was the lirst that infused that degree of courage'into seamen, by making them see by experience what might-/tilings they could do, if they were resolved ; and the first thattaught them to light in tire as well as in water,”

BLAKEA, in botany, a genus of the dodecandria monogvniaclass and order. Calyx inferior, six-leaved ; superior entire; pe-tals six ; capsules six-celled, many-seeded. It has two species,of which B. trinervia generally grows to the height of ten orfourteen feet. It is one of tiie" most beautiful productions ofAmerica .

BLAMOXT, a town of France , in the department of Meurlhe,12 miles S. of Luneville .

BLANC', a town of France , in the department of Indre, 35miles E. of Poictiers. Lon. 1 . 13. E. Lat. 46. 33. N.

Blanc, Mount, a department of France , formerly known bythe name and title of the Duchy of Savoy.

Blanc, Mount, [Fr. Mont Blanc , i. e. the white mountain,]a stupendous mountain in the above department, generally rec-koned the highest ot the Alps, and encompassed by those won-derful collections of snow and ice called the Glaciers . See Alls.Of these glaciers there are live, which extend almost to the plainof the vale of Chammmi, and are separated by wild forests, corn-fields, and rich meadows; so that immense tracts of ice are blend-ed with the highest cultivation, and perpetually succeed eachother in the most singular and striking vicissitude. All these se-veral valleys of ice, which lie chiefly in the hollows of the moun-tains, and are some leagues in length, unite together at the foot ofMount Blanc; the highest mountain in Europe , and probably ofthe ancient world. It was reckoned that the summit ot this moun-tain was inaccessible, before Dr. Paccard, a physician at C'ha-mouni, attempted to reach it in August, 1786, and succeeded inthe attempt. Soon after, the same undertaking was resolved uponand accomplished by M. de Sausstire, who published a narrativeof the journey. He ascended the mountain attended by a servantand eighteen guides. Atter describing the difficulties of theirjourney, &c. lie says, “When we came near the top, I couldnot walk 15 or 16 steps without stopping to take breath; and 1was frequently so faint, that I was under the necessity of sittingdown from time to time; and in projxortion as I recovered mybreath, 1 felt my strength renewed. All my guides experienced5 V -similar