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BLAIR

work highly considered throughout the 18th century.

Blair, John, Scotch chronologist and geographer: d. 24 June 1782. He went to London about the middle of the 18th century. In 1754 the publication of a work in folio, entitled The Chronology and History of the World from the Creation to 1753 A.D., gained him great reputation. He dedicated his work to Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, and in 1757 was appointed chaplain to the Princess Dowager of Wales, and mathematical tutor to the Duke of York, whom he accompanied, in 1763, on a tour to the Continent, having already received several ecclesiastical preferments. On his return to England he published, in 1768, a new edition of his Chronological Tables,' with 14 maps of ancient and modern geography annexed.

Blair, John Insley, American philanthropist: b. Belvidere, N. J., 22 Aug. 1802; d. 2 Dec. 1899. In early life he was a merchant and banker; subsequently becoming the individual owner of more miles of railroad property than any other man in the world. He acquired a very large fortune; loaned the Federal government more than $1,000,000 in the early part of the Civil War; built and endowed at a cost of more than $600,000 the Presbyterian Academy in Blairstown, N. J.; rebuilt Grinnell College, Iowa; erected Blair Hall and made other gifts to Princeton University; was equally liberal to Lafayette College; and had erected more than 100 churches in different parts of the West, besides laying out many towns and villages on the lines of his numerous railroads.

Blair, Montgomery, American lawyer: b. Franklin County, Ky., 10 May 1813; d. Silver Springs, Md., 27 July 1883. He was graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1835; resigned from the army, 1836; was admitted to the bar, 1839, and began practice in St. Louis. He was judge of the court of common pleas, 1843-9; removed to Maryland in 1852; was United States solicitor in the court of claims, 1855-8. He acted as counsel for the plaintiff in the widely known Dred Scott case. In 1861-4 he was postmaster-general. In 1876-7 he acted with the Democratic party in opposing Hayes' title to the office of President.

Blair, Robert, Scotch clergyman and poet: (eldest son of the Rev. David Blair, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and chaplain to the king) b. Edinburgh, 1699; d. Athelstaneford, 1746. He was ordained, in 1731, minister of Athelstaneford, in East Lothian, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a man of learning and of elegant taste and manners. A botanist and florist; he was also skilled in optical and microscopical knowledge, on which subjects he carried on a correspondence with some learned men in England. He was a man of sincere piety and very assiduous in discharging the duties of his clerical functions. His best-known poem, The Grave,' was chiefly composed before his ordination. It was first printed in 1743, and is now esteemed as one of the standard

classics of English poetical literature, in which rank it will probably remain longer than many works of greater contemporary or even present fame.

Blake, Edward, English statesman: b. Cairngorm, Ont., Canada, 13 Oct. 1833. He was

BLAKE

educated at Upper Canada College and Toronto University; was called to the bar in 1856 and engaged in practice in Toronto. He entered public life in 1867; was premier of Ontario, 1871-2; minister of justice, 1875-7, and the recognized leader of the Canadian Liberal party, 1880-91. He declined the appointments of chancellor of upper Canada in 1869, chief justice of Canada in 1875, and chief justice of Ontario in 1897, and also the honor of knighthood. In 1892 he was invited by the leaders of the AntiParnellites in Ireland to enter the British House of Commons as the representative of an Irish constituency. Consenting, he removed to South Longford, was elected for that district, and in 1895 was re-elected. In 1896 he was appointed a member of the judiciary committee of the privy council.

arms.

Blake, Eli Whitney, American inventor: b. Westboro, Mass., 27 Jan. 1795; d. New Haven, 17 Aug. 1886. He graduated at Yale University in 1816, and began business with his uncle, Eli Whitney, in the manufacture of fireIn 1834 he founded, near New Haven, Conn., the pioneer factory for the manufacture of domestic hardware. In 1857 he invented the widely-known stone- and ore-crusher called the Blake crusher, which introduced a new era in road-making and mining industries, and is used throughout the world.

Blake, Francis, American inventor: b. Needham, Mass., 25 Dec. 1850. He served for 13 years on the United States Coast Survey, part of the time engaged in field work and its reduction to determine differences of longitude between the observatories at Greenwich, Paris, Cambridge, and Washington. Having devoted himself to the study of experimental physics, in 1878 he invented the famous Blake transmitter, which is the telephonic transmitter now most widely used throughout the world. He has also patented other electrical devices.

Blake, John Laurie, American clergyman and author: b. Northwood, N. H., 21 Dec. 1788; d. Orange, N. J., 6 July 1867. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Brown University. He first entered the Congregational ministry, but in a short time became an Episcopalian and was ordained in that Church. He settled in Pawtucket, and later in Hopkinton, N. H., and in 1822 removed to Boston. He continued to teach in this school till 1830, then While a devoted himself to literary work. teacher he published several text-books, prepared for his own classes, and was editor of the Gospel Advocate.' His greatest work, a Biographical Dictionary,' was first published in 1835.

Blake, MRS. Lillie (DEVEREUX) Umstead, American advocate of woman's rights and novelist: b. Raleigh, N. C., 1835. Her first husband, Frank G. Quay Umstead, died in 1859; she married Grenfill Blake in 1866, who died in 1896. She has written and spoken much on woman suffrage, and her novels bear on this theme. She has written Southwold' (1859); 'Rockford (1863): Fettered for Life (new ed. 1885); Woman's Place To-Day) (1883), a reply to Dr. Morgan Dix's 'Lenten Lectures on Women,' which attracted attention; etc. In 1900 she was president of the Civic and Equality Union.

BLAKE

Blake, Mary Elizabeth MCGRATH, American poet and writer: b. Dungarven, Ireland, I Sept. 1840. In verse she has written (Poems (1882); "Youth in Twelve Centuries' (1886); etc. Of her travels may be named On the Wing' (1883); A Summer Holiday.'

Blake, Robert, British admiral: b. Bridgewater, Somerset, August 1599; d. 17 Aug. 1657. After attending the grammar school of his native place he was sent to Wadham college, Oxford, where he took the degree of B.A. in 1617. On his return to Bridgewater he lived quietly on the fortune left him by his father, and was led to embrace the principles of the Puritans, by whose interest he was elected member for Bridgewater in the Parliament of 1640. This being soon dissolved, he lost his election for the next, and immediately sought to advance the cause in a military capacity in the war which then broke out between the king and the Parliament. He soon distinguished himself by his activity. In 1649 he was sent to command the fleet in conjunction with Cols. Deane and Popham, and thus commenced the naval career which has given him so distinguished a place in British history. He immediately sailed to Kinsale in quest of Prince Rupert, whom he attempted to block up in that port. The prince escaped to Lisbon, where Blake followed him; and, being refused permission to attack him in the Tagus by the king of Portugal, he took several rich prizes from the Portuguese (against whom the Parliament declared war), and followed Rupert to Malaga, where, without asking permission of Spain, he attacked him and nearly destroyed the whole of his fleet. On his return to England he was made warden of the Cinque Ports, and soon after reduced the islands of Scilly and Guernsey. In 1652 he was made sole admiral, and on the 19th of May was attacked in the Downs by Van Tromp with a fleet of 45 sail, the force of Blake amounting only to 23. He fought so bravely, however, that Van Tromp was obliged to retreat. He then continued his cruise, took a number of Dutch merchantmen, and after several partial actions drove the enemy into their harbor and returned to the Downs. On 29 May he was again attacked by Van Tromp, whose fleet was now increased to 80 sail. Blake engaged this vast force with a very inferior number and an unfavorable wind; but, after every possible exertion, was obliged to retreat into the Thames, on which Van Tromp was so much elated that he sailed through the Channel with a broom at his masthead, to signify that he had swept the sea of British ships. In the February following, Blake, having with great diligence repaired his fleet, put to sea with 60 sail, and soon after met the Dutch admiral, who had 70 sail and 300 merchantmen under convoy. During three days a furious running fight up the Channel was maintained with obstinate valor on both sides, the result of which was the loss of II men-of-war and 30 merchant ships by the Dutch, while that of the English was only one man-of-war. It was in April of this year that Cromwell assumed the sovereignty, on which occasion Blake and his brother admirals issued a declaration that, notwithstanding this change, they resolved to persist in faithfully performing their duty to the nation. "It is not for us," said Blake to his officers, "to mind state affairs, but to keep the foreigners from fooling us." On 3

June he again engaged Van Tromp with dubious success; but, renewing the action the next day, he forced the Dutch to retire with a considerable loss in ships and men. On his return he was received by Cromwell with great respect, and returned member in the new Parliament for Bridgewater. Aware of his affection for a republican government, the protector was not displeased at having occasion to send him, with a strong fleet, to enforce a due respect to the British flag in the Mediterranean. He sailed first to Algiers, which submitted, and then_demolished the castles of Goletta and Porto Ferino, at Tunis, because the dey refused to deliver up the British captives. A squadron of his ships also blocked up Cadiz and intercepted a Spanish plate fleet. Being now very sick, he resolved to do one more service to his country before his death, and sailed with 24 ships to Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe, and, notwithstanding the strength of the place, burned the ships of another Spanish plate fleet which had taken shelter there, and by a fortunate change of wind came out without loss. His brother having failed in some part of duty during this service, he immediately removed him from his command. Finding his disorder making rapid progress he then sailed for England, and expired while the fleet was entering Plymouth Sound. His body was honored with a magnificent public funeral, and interred in Westminster Abbey, whence it was, with pitiful spite, removed at the Restoration and buried in St. Margaret's churchyard. So disinterested was he that, after all his rich captures and high posts, he scarcely left behind him $2,500 of acquired property, freely sharing all with his friends and seamen, into whom he infused that intrepidity and spirit of enterprise by which the British navy has been ever since so highly distinguished.

Blake, William, English poet, painter, and engraver: b. London, 28 Nov. 1757; d. 12 Aug. 1857. At the age of 10 he was sent to a drawing-school, and four years later he was apprenticed for seven years to the engraver James Basire, for whom he drew from the monuments in the older London churches and Westminster Abbey. In 1778 he studied in the Royal Academy, and about this time he began to engrave for the booksellers, among his chief productions being plates after Stothard for the Novelists' Magazine. To the first exhibition of the Royal Academy he sent a drawing entitled 'The Death of Earl Godwin.' He married in 1782, and for the three years 1784-7 carried on a printseller's shop in partnership with another engraver. From his earliest years Blake was a mystic. He believed that all things exist in the human imagination alone, and had a wonderful power of imaginative vision which enabled him to see angels in trees and in fields, great men of past times, etc. His (Songs of Innocence,' verse and designs (1789), and the companion (Songs of Experience) (1794), were reproduced by himself and his wife by a process which he believed to have been revealed to him in a dream by a dead brother. Between 1793 and 1800 he produced a large number of designs, among them 537 illustrations for Young's Night Thoughts. In 1800 he became acquainted, through Flaxman, with the poet William Hayley, who gave him artistic commissions, and for three years he lived in his neighborhood at Felpham. He next produced the designs to Blair's

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'Grave (engraved by Schiavonetti), which stand in the forefront of his artistic work. In 1808 he sent to the Royal Academy the pictures 'Christ in the Sepulchre Guarded by Angels,' and Jacob's Dream,' the last pictures he exhibited there. From 1813 till his death he had a staunch friend and patron in the painter John Linnell. It was about this time that he executed the series of pencil drawings known as 'Spiritual Portraits.' The highly prized woodcuts to Thornton's Virgil were executed in 1820, and in 1825 he produced for Linnell his wonderful Inventions to the Book of Job,' which, containing 22 engravings, 21 original designs in colors, with the original colored drawings by the artist (the property of the Earl of Crewe), sold in London, in 1903, for $28,000. He also executed a series of engravings and designs from the Divina Commedia.' At the sale just mentioned 12 drawings in colors for L'Allegro' and 'Il Penseroso' brought $9,800, and the original colored issue of America, a Prophecy, sold for $1,475. Among Blake's other writings are: Poetical Sketches (1783); "Gates of Paradise' (1793); Prophetic Books, sadly incoherent, but with splendid designs (1793-1804). The only complete edition of his works is that of E. J. Ellis and W. B. Yates (3 vols. 1893). Consult Gilchrist's 'Life' (1863), and Works' by Swinburne (1868), and Story (1893).

Blake, William Phipps, American mineralogist: b. New York, 1 June 1826. Graduating at the Sheffield Scientific School in 1852, he joined the United States Pacific Railroad exploring expedition (1853) as mineralogist and geologist. In 1861 he became mining engineer for the Japanese government, and with R. Pumpelly organized the first school of science in Japan. As an expert in his specialty he was connected in important capacities with the Paris Exposition of 1867, the Vienna Exposition (1873), United States Centennial Exhibition (1876), Paris Universal Exposition (1878), and drafted the system of classification of United States ores and minerals at the Columbian Exposition (1893). He has conducted important explorations in Alaska, California, and Nevada, and the chief mining districts of the United States, frequently publishing his results in valuable reports and scientific papers. Publications: Silver Ores and Silver Mines (1861); California Minerals' (1863); Production of the Precious Metals' (1867); Iron and Steel' (1873); Ceramic Art and Glass' (1878); History of the Town of Hamden, Conn.'; 'Life of Captain Jonathan Mix.

Blake, William Rufus, American actor: b. Halifax, N. S., 1805; d. Boston, 22 April 1863. His first appearance on the American stage was at the old Chatham Theatre, New York, under the management of Mr. Barrere, in 1824, as Frederic in The Poor Gentleman,' and in Elliston's favorite character in The Three Singles. His success was great. Jesse Rural, in Old Heads and Young Hearts,' was one of his best parts. Mr. Blake was a fluent and effective speaker. He was stage manager of the Tremont Theatre, Boston, joint manager of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, and stage manager of the Broadway Theatre, New York.

Blakeley, Johnston, American naval officer: b. near Seaford, County Down, Ireland,

BLANC

October 1781; lost at sea, 1814. His father emigrated to the United States in 1783, and eventually made his home in Wilmington, N. C. Johnston graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1800, and on 5 February of that year entered the navy as midshipman, and rose to the rank of captain. On 1 May 1814 he left Portsmouth, N. H., in command of the new sloop-of-war Wasp, and very shortly appeared in the English Channel, spreading terror among the merchant ships and seaport towns. On 28 June he fought and defeated the British sloop Reindeer, for which exploit Congress voted him a gold medal. On September he destroyed the Avon and on the 21st, near the Azores, took the Atlanta, which he sent home to Savannah. On 9 October the Wasp was spoken by the Swedish bark Adonis; and that was the last ever heard of the vessel and of those on board of her. It seems probable that, being heavily armed and sparred, the vessel foundered in a gale.

Blakelock, Ralph Albert, artist: b. New York, 15 Oct. 1847. He graduated at the College of the City of New York in 1867, and it was intended that he should follow his father's profession of medicine, but he developed a strong taste for music and the arts, and withpainted landscapes, moonlight scenes, and Inout a master taught himself painting. He has dian figures; one of the last-named represents the Ta-vo-kok-i, or circle-dance of the Kavavite Indians. His work is very striking on account of its harmonious color-schemes. His studio is in New York.

Blakesley, Joseph Williams, English clergyman: b. London, 6 March 1808; d. Lincoln, 18 April 1885. He graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1831; was Fellow there 1831-45, and select preacher 1840-3; became a member of the New Testament Committee on Bible Revision in 1870; became dean of Lincoln in 1872. His publications include 'Life of Aristotle' (1839); Conciones Academica (1843); and an edition of 'Herodotus' (2 vols., 1852-4).

Blakey, Robert, English writer: b. Morpeth, Northumberland, 18 May 1795; d. Belfast, 26 Oct. 1878. He bought the Newcastle Liberator in 1838, and got himself into trouble with the government on account of certain alleged seditious articles which he published. In 1848 he became professor of logic and metaphysics at Queen's College, Belfast. Among his works are Treatise on the Divine and Human Wills'; 'History of Moral Science'; 'Historical Sketch of Logic; Temporal Benefits of Christianity'; and 'The Angler's Song Book.'

Blanc, blon, Anthony, American clergyman: b. Sury, France, II Oct. 1792; d. New Orleans, 20 June 1860. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1816; went to Annapolis, Md., in 1817; was appointed bishop of New Orleans in 1835; and became archbishop there in 1850.

Blanc, Jean-Joseph-Louis, zhon-zhō-sěfloo-e. French historian, publicist, and socialist: b. Madrid, 29 Oct. 1811; d. 6 Dec. 1882. He studied with great success in the college at Rodez, and completed his education at Paris. He was for a short time an attorney's clerk, afterward a teacher of mathematics and a private tutor. Subsequently at Paris he devoted him

BLANC-BLANCHARD

self to the career of journalism, fighting stoutly
in the ranks of the militant democracy. In 1839
he founded the Revue du Progrès, in which first
appeared his great work on socialism, 'De l'Or-
ganisation du Travail' (separately published in
1840). In this work he condemns individual
and competitive rivalry in labor; society should
not be subjected to a perpetual combat, but
should form a harmonious whole, in which each
member should contribute according to his abili-
ties and be recompensed according to his needs.
In 1841-4 appeared his 'Histoire de Dix Ans'
(1830-40), in which he vigorously exposed the
trickery and jobbery of the government of Louis
Philippe, and which greatly contributed to bring
about its downfall. On the outbreak of the
revolution of 1848 Blane was elected a member
of the provisional government, and appointed
president of the commission for the discussion
of the question of labor. He has been unjustly
charged with creating and organizing the disas-
trous scheme of national workshops, a scheme
which he strenuously opposed. After the closing
of these workshops, and the June insurrection
of 1848, he was prosecuted for conspiracy, but
escaped to England, where he took up a length-
ened residence. During this period he wrote the
bulk of his famous 'Histoire de la Révolution
Française) (12 vols. 1847-62). His other
works are: Lettres sur l'Angleterre) (1865-7);
'Histoire de la Révolution de 1848) (1870);
'Questions d'Aujourd'hui et de Demain
(1873-4); etc. On the downfall of the second
empire (1870) Blanc returned to Paris and be-
came a member of the National Assembly in
1880.

the Journal des Débats. Two other novels, A Remorse' (1879), and (Tony) (1889), were crowned by the French Academy. Other stories are Georgette' and Jacqueline' (1893). The fruit of her first visit to the United States was Condition of Woman in the United States' (1895).

Blanc, Paul Joseph, pōl zhō-zef, French banel. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in genre painter. He studied under Bin and Ca1867; the first-class medal of the Paris Salon in 1872; the decoration of the Legion of Honor in 1878; and the first-class medal in the Paris Exposition of 1889. One of his best-known works is a decorative composition depicting the consecration, baptism, and triumph of Clovis.

Blanc, Mont. See MONT BLANC.

Blanchard, blăn-shard, Edward Laman, English dramatist and novelist: b. London, 1820; d. 1889. His novels, Temple Bar' and A Man Without a Destiny,' evinced no special talent for story-telling; on the other hand he composed for Drury Lane Theatre about 100 Christmas pantomimes in the vein of grotesque burlesque, among them (Sinbad the Sailor,' which were received with unbounded popular favor.

naturalist: b. Paris, 6 March 1819. He is espeBlanchard, Emile, ā-mēl blon-shär, French cially renowned as an entomologist, and is the author of many scientific works, including 'Researches into the Organization of Worms' (1837); 'Natural History of Orthopterous and Neuropterous Insects' (1837-40); History of Insects, etc. (1843-5).

aeronaut: b. 1753; d. 1809. He displayed great Blanchard, François, frän-swä, French ingenuity by the invention of a hydraulic main the construction of a flying ship, which, by chine in the 19th year of his age, and afterward means of a counterpoise of six pounds, was raised to more than 20 feet from the ground. the brothers Montgolfier, and the improvements He eagerly availed himself of the discoveries of of the same by Prof. Charles and M. Robert in Paris. After having made his first aërostatic voyage, 4 March 1784, he crossed the Channel from Dover to Calais, 1785, with Dr. Jeffries, a gentleman of Boston. For this exploit with a present of $2,400 and a pension of $240. he was rewarded by the king of France

Blanc, Ludwig Gottfried, lood'vig got'fred, German philologist. b. Berlin, 19 Sept. 1781; d. Halle, 18 April 1866. He was educated at the French Theological Seminary in Berlin and ordained as pastor at Halle. In 1811 he was accused of taking part in a conspiracy against the king of Westphalia, and was imprisoned at Magdeburg, and later at Kassel, until released in 1813 by a Russian skirmishing corps. He was chaplain in the Prussian army in the war of 1814-15; from 1822 was professor of the Romance languages at the University of Halle; and in 1860 was appointed preacher at the cathedral in that city. He was an authority on the Romance languages and especially on the works of Dante. In connection with his study of Dante he wrote a 'Dante Vocabulary' (in French): Attempt at a Philological Explana- In the same year, at London, he first made tion of Several Disputed Points in the "Divine use of a parachute invented by him, or, accordComedy; and translated the Divine Coming to others, by Etienne Montgolfier. After edy into German. He has written also Grammar of the Italian Language'; and a Handbook of the Most Remarkable Facts of Nature and the History of the Earth and Its Inhabi

tants.)

Blanc, Marie Thérèse, mä-rē tā-raz (THÉRÈSE BENTZON), French novelist and littérateur: b. Seine-Port, 21 Sept. 1840. She has been for many years on the editorial staff of the 'Revue des Deux Mondes, to which she has contributed notable translations and reviews of many American, English, and German authors. Her literary essays on these contemporaneous writers were collected in Foreign Literature and Customs' (1882), and Recent American Novelists (1885). Her first work to attract attention was 'A Divorce' (1871), published in

having performed many aërostatic voyages in foreign countries also, he was accused of propagating revolutionary principles, and imprisoned Having obtained his liberty, he made his 46th (1793) in the fortress of Kufstein, in the Tyrol. ascent in the city of New York in 1796. In 1798 he ascended with 16 persons in a large balloon at Rouen, and descended at a place 15 miles distant. In 1807 his aërostatic voyages amounted to more than 66. His wife continued to make aërial voyages. In 1811 she ascended in Rome, and after going a distance of 60 miles she rose again to proceed to Naples. In June 1819 having ascended from Tivoli, in Paris, her balloon took fire at a considerable height, from some fire-works which she carried with her. The car fell in the Rue de Provence, and the aëronaut was dashed to pieces.

BLANCHARD-BLANCHING

Blanchard, Jacques, zhäk, French painter: b. Paris, 1600; d. 1638. He received the first lessons of his art from Bellori, his maternal uncle, studied some time at Lyon, and in 1624 repaired to Rome. After two years he visited Venice, studied the works of Titian and the other great colorists of his school, and executed several paintings which gave him a name. After his return to Paris he executed a great number of works, which procured him the surname of "the French Titian." His best piece, a 'Descent of the Holy Spirit,' is in the cathedral at Nôtre Dame.

Blanchard, Jonathan, American educator: b. Rockingham, Vt., 19 Jan. 1811; d. Wheaton, Ill., 14 May 1892. He graduated at Lane Theological Seminary in 1832 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1838. He was American vice-president of the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1843; and in 1846 became president of Knox College at Galesburg, Ill. He was president of Wheaton College, Ill., 1880-2; and, on resigning, was chosen presidentemeritus, and subsequently gave most of his time to editing 'The Christian Cynosure.'

Blanchard, Thomas, American inventor: b. Sutton, Worcester County, Mass., 24 June 1788; d. 16 April 1864. He joined his brother in the manufacture of tacks by hand, and at the age of 18 commenced his invention of a tackmachine, which in six years he brought to such perfection that by placing in the hopper the iron to be worked, and applying the motive power, 500 tacks were made per minute with better finished heads and points than had ever been made by hand. He sold the patent for $5.000. About this time various attempts were made in the United States armories at Springfield and Harper's Ferry, to turn musket-barrels with a uniform external finish. Blanchard undertook the construction of a lathe to turn the whole of the barrel from end to end, by the combination of one single self-directing operation. About three inches of the barrel at the breech was partly cylindrical and partly with flat sides; these were all cut by the same machine, ingeniously changing to a vibrating motion as it approached the breech. The superintendent of the Springfield armory contracted with Mr. Blanchard for one of his machines. While it was in operation one of the workmen remarked that his own work of grinding the barrels was done away with. Another, employed on the wooden stocks, which were then all made by hand, said that Blanchard could not spoil his job, as he could not make a machine to turn a gunstock. Blanchard answered that he was not sure, but he would think about it, and as he was driving home the idea of his lathe for turning irregular forms suddenly struck him. The principle of this machine is, that forms are turned by a pattern the exact shape of the object to be produced, which in every part of it is successively brought in contact with a small friction-wheel; this wheel precisely regulates the motion of chisels arranged upon a cutting wheel acting upon the rough block, so that as the frictionwheel successively traverses every portion of the rotating pattern, the cutting wheel pares off the superabundant wood from end to end of the block, leaving a precise resemblance of the model. This remarkable machine, with modifications and improvements, is in use in the

national armories as well as in England, and in various forms is applied to many operations in making musket-stocks, such as cutting in the cavity for the lock, barrel, ramrod, butt-plates, and mountings, comprising, together with the turning of the stock and barrel, no less than 13 different machines. Beside gunstocks, it is also applied to a great variety of objects, such as busts, shoe lasts, handles, spokes, etc. Mr. Blanchard was also interested at an early day in the construction of railroads and locomotives, and in boats contrived to ascend rapid rivers. He also invented a machine for cutting and folding envelopes, a steam wagon, and a process for bending heavy timbers.

Blanche of Bourbon, Castilian queen: b. 1338. She was the daughter of Peter, Duke of Bourbon, and in 1353 married Peter, king of Castile, surnamed the Cruel. Don Frederick, Peter's natural brother, had been deputed to meet her at Narbonne and bring her into Spain, and she is said to have so far forgotten herself as to conceive a violent passion for him. Rumors to this effect had reached the king's ears, and though he celebrated the marriage he soon where. He shortly after declared the marriage showed that he had placed his affections elsenull, imprisoned the queen in the castle of Medina Sidonia, and is said to have gotten rid of her by poison.

Blanche of Castile, French queen: b. 1187; 1252. She was the d. Milan, November of France and became the mother of Louis IX. daughter of Alphonso IX., married Louis VIII. On the death of her husband ("St. Louis").

she anticipated the formal appointment of a regency by procuring the immediate coronation of her son, and during his minority held the reins of government in his name with distinIn 1244, when St. guished ability and success. Louis took his departure for the Holy Land she again became regent and gave new proofs of her talents and virtues. Her days are said to have been shortened by the long absence of her son, and a prevailing rumor that he had resolved to remain permanently in Palestine.

Blanche, August Théodor, ow'goost ta'ōdôr blänsh, Swedish dramatist and novelist: b. Stockholm, 17 Sept. 1811; d. Stockholm, 30 Nov. 1868. His comedies and farces,-more particularly Jenny, or the Steamboat Trip'; The Doctor); The Rich Uncle'; and The Foundling) have made all Sweden laugh; while his realistic fictions,— among them The Spectre'; Tales of a Cabman,' and 'Sons of North and South,'-are eagerly read.

Blan'chet, Joseph Goderick, Canadian He studied statesman: b. Saint Pierre, 1829. medicine, graduating from the College of Saint Anne; but has been especially active in public life; he has been mayor of Levis, speaker of the Provincial legislature of Quebec for seven years, and member of the Canadian Assembly, from which he resigned on account of the law on dual representation.

Blanching, the process which prevents or checks the formation of chlorophyll and other substances in plants by excluding light. It alters the flavor as well as lightens the color of celery, sea-kale, asparagus, etc., and is generally accomplished by covering the plants with earth, boards, straw, paper, etc., or, in a small way, by inverted flower-pots, kegs, barrels, etc.

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