[1] Besides being used for cotton goods, plate singeing is also
employed for certain classes of worsted goods (alpacas, bunting,
&c.), and for most union goods (cotton warp and worsted weft).
[2] A machine working on this principle has been constructed by F.
Binder, and the makers of the machine (Messrs Mather & Platt, Ltd.)
claim that it does better service than the machines constructed on
the older principle.
BLEAK, or BLICK (_Alburnus lucidus_), a small fish of the Cyprinid
family, allied to the bream and the minnow, but with a more elongate
body, resembling a sardine. It is found in European streams, and is
caught by anglers, being also a favourite in aquariums. The well-known
and important industry of "Essence Orientale" and artificial pearls,
carried on in France and Germany with the crystalline silvery colouring
matter of the bleak, was introduced from China about the middle of the
17th century.
BLEEK, FRIEDRICH (1793-1859), German Biblical scholar, was born on the
4th of July 1793, at Ahrensbok, in Holstein, a village near Lubeck. His
father sent him in his sixteenth year to the gymnasium at Lubeck, where
he became so much interested in ancient languages that he abandoned his
idea of a legal career and resolved to devote himself to the study of
theology. After spending some time at the university of Kiel, he went to
Berlin, where, from 1814 to 1817, he studied under De Wette, Neander and
Schleiermacher. So highly were his merits appreciated by his
professors--Schleiermacher was accustomed to say that he possessed a
special _charisma_ for the science of "Introduction"--that in 1818 after
he had passed the examinations for entering the ministry he was recalled
to Berlin as _Repetent_ or tutorial fellow in theology, a temporary post
which the theological faculty had obtained for him. Besides discharging
his duties in the theological seminary, he published two dissertations
in Schleiermacher's and G.C.F. Lucke's _Journal_(1819-1820,1822), one on
the origin and composition of the Sibylline Oracles "Uber die Entstehung
und Zusammensetzung der Sibyllinischen Orakel," and another on the
authorship and design of the Book of Daniel, "Uber Verfasser und Zweck
des Buches Daniel." These articles attracted much attention, and were
distinguished by those qualities of solid learning, thorough
investigation and candour of judgment which characterized all his
writings. Bleek's merits as a rising scholar were recognized by the
minister of public instruction, who continued his stipend as _Repetent_
for a third year, and promised further advancement in due time. But the
attitude of the political authority underwent a change. De Wette was
dismissed from his professorship in 1819, and Bleek, a favourite pupil,
incurred the suspicion of the government as an extreme democrat. Not
only was his stipend as _Repetent_ discontinued, but his nomination to
the office of professor extraordinarius, which had already been signed
by the minister Karl Altenstein, was withheld. At length it was found
that Bleek had been confounded with a certain Baueleven Blech, and in
1823 he received the appointment.
During the six years that Bleek remained at Berlin, he twice declined a
call to the office of professor ordinarius of theology, once to
Greifswald and once to Konigsberg. In 1829, however, he was induced to
accept Lucke's chair in the recently-founded university of Bonn, and
entered upon his duties there in the summer of the same year. For thirty
years he laboured with ever-increasing success, due not to any
attractions of manner or to the enunciation of novel or bizarre
opinions, but to the soundness of his investigations, the impartiality
of his judgments, and the clearness of his method. In 1843 he was raised
to the office of consistorial councillor, and was selected by the
university to hold the office of rector, a distinction which has not
since been conferred upon any theologian of the Reformed Church. He died
suddenly of apoplexy on the 27th of February 1859.
Bleek's works belong entirely to the departments of Biblical criticism
and exegesis. His views on questions of Old Testament criticism were
"advanced" in his own day; for on all the disputed points concerning the
unity and authorship of the books of the Old Covenant he was opposed to
received opinion. But with respect to the New Testament his position was
conservative. An opponent of the Tubingen school, his defence of the
genuineness and authenticity of the gospel of St. John is among the
ablest that have been written; and although on some minor points his
views did not altogether coincide with those of the traditional school,
his critical labours on the New Testament must nevertheless be regarded
as among the most important contributions to the maintenance of orthodox
opinions. His greatest work, his commentary on the epistle to the
Hebrews (_Brief an die Hebraer erlautert durch Einleitung, Ubersetzung,
und fortlaufenden Commentar_, in three parts, 1828, 1836 and 1840) won
the highest praise from men like De Wette and Fr. Delitzsch. This work
was abridged by Bleek for his college lectures, and was published in
that condensed form in 1868. In 1846 he published his contributions to
the criticism of the gospels (_Beitrage zur Evangelien Kritik_, pt. i.),
which contained his defence of St John's gospel, and arose out of a
review of J.H.A. Ebrard's _Wissenschaftliche Kritik der Evangelischen
Geschichte_ (1842).
After his death were published:--(1) His _Introduction to the Old
Testament_ (_Einleitung in das Alte Testament_), (3rd ed., 1869); Eng.
trans. by G.H. Venables (from 2nd ed., 1869); in 1878 a new edition
(the 4th) appeared under the editorship of J. Wellhausen, who made
extensive alterations and additions; (2) his _Introduction to the New
Testament_ (3rd ed., W. Mangold, 1875), Eng. trans. (from 2nd German
ed.) by William Urwick (1869, 1870); (3) his _Exposition of the First
Three Gospels_ (_Synoptische Erklarung der drei ersten Evangelien_),
by H. Holtzmann (1862); (4) his _Lectures on the Apocalypse_
(_Vorlesungen uber die Apokalypse_), (Eng. trans. 1875). Besides these
there has also appeared a small volume containing _Lectures on
Colossians, Philemon and Ephesians_ (Berlin, 1865). Bleek also
contributed many articles to the _Studien und Kritiken_. For further
information as to Bleek's life and writings, see Kamphausen's article
in Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_; Frederic Lichtenberger's
_Histoire des idees religieuses en Allemagne_, vol. iii.; Diestel's
_Geschichte des Allen Testamentes_ (1869); and T.K. Cheyne's _Founders
of Old Testament Criticism_ (1893).
BLEEK, WILHELM HEINRICH IMMANUEL (1827-1875), German philologist, son of
Friedrich Bleek, was born in 1827 at Berlin. He studied first at Bonn
and afterwards at Berlin, where his attention was directed towards the
philological peculiarities of the South African languages. In his
doctor's dissertation (Bonn, 1851), _De nominum generibus linguarum
Africae Australis_, he endeavoured to show that the Hottentot language
was of North African descent. In 1854 his health prevented him
accompanying Dr W.B. Baikie in the expedition to the Niger; but in the
following year he accompanied Bishop Colenso to Natal, and was enabled
to prosecute his researches into the language and customs of the
Kaffirs. Towards the close of 1856 he settled at Cape Town, and in 1857
was appointed interpreter by Sir George Grey. In 1859 he was compelled
by ill health to visit Europe, and on his return in the following year
he was made librarian of the valuable collection of books presented to
the colony by Sir George Grey. In 1869 he visited England, where the
value of his services was recognized by a pension from the civil list.
He died at Cape Town on the 17th of August 1875. His works, which are of
considerable importance for African and Australian philology, consist of
the _Vocabulary of the Mozambique Language_ (London, 1856); _Handbook of
African, Australian and Polynesian Philology_ (Cape Town and London, 3
vols., 1858-1863); _Comparative Grammar of, the South African Languages_
(vol. i., London, 1869); _Reynard the Fox in South Africa, or Hottentot
Fables and Tales_ (London, 1864); _Origin of Language_ (London, 1869).
BLENDE, or SPHALERITE, a naturally occurring zinc sulphide, ZnS, and an
important ore of zinc. The name blende was used by G. Agricola in 1546,
and is from the German _blenden_, to blind, or deceive, because the
mineral resembles lead ore in appearance but contains no lead, and was
consequently often rejected as worthless. Sphalerite, introduced by E.F.
Glocker in 1847, has the same meaning ([Greek: sphaleros], deceptive),
and so have the miners' terms "mock ore," "false lead," and "blackjack."
The term "blende" was at one time used in a generic sense, and as such
enters into the construction of several old names of German origin; the
species under consideration is therefore sometimes distinguished as
zinc-blende.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. ]
Crystals of blende belong to that subclass of the cubic system in which
there are six planes of symmetry parallel to the faces of the rhombic
dodecahedron and none parallel to the cubic faces; in other words, the
crystals are cubic with inclined hemihedrism, and have no centre of
symmetry. The fundamental form is the tetrahedron. Fig. 1 shows a
combination of two tetrahedra, in which the four faces of one
tetrahedron are larger than the four faces of the other: further, the
two sets of faces differ in surface characters, those of one set being
dull and striated, whilst those of the other set are bright and smooth.
A common form, shown in fig. 2, is a combination of the rhombic
dodecahedron with a three-faced tetrahedron y (311); the six faces
meeting in each triad axis are often rounded together into low conical
forms. The crystals are frequently twinned, the twin-axis coinciding
with a triad axis; a rhombic dodecahedron so twinned (fig. 3) has no
re-entrant angles. An important character of blende is the perfect
dodecahedral cleavage, there being six directions of cleavage parallel
to the faces of the rhombic dodecahedron, and angles between which are
60 deg.
When chemically pure, which is rarely the case, blende is colourless and
transparent; usually, however, the mineral is yellow, brown or black,
and often opaque, the depth of colour and degree of transparency
depending on the amount of iron present. The streak, or colour of the
powder, is brownish or light yellow, rarely white. The lustre is
resinous to adamantine, and the index of refraction high (2.369 for
sodium light). The substance is usually optically isotropic, though
sometimes it exhibits anomalous double refraction; fibrous zinc sulphide
which is doubly refracting is to be referred to the hexagonal species
wurtzite. The specific gravity is 4.0, and the hardness 4. Crystals
exhibit pyroelectrical characters, since they possess four uniterminal
triad axes of symmetry.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Crystals of blende are of very common occurrence, but owing to twinning
and distortion and curvature of the faces, they are often rather complex
and difficult to decipher. For this reason the mineral is not always
readily recognized by inspection, though the perfect dodecahedral
cleavage, the adamantine lustre, and the brown streak are characters
which may be relied upon. The mineral is also frequently found massive,
with a coarse or fine granular structure and a crystalline fracture;
sometimes it occurs as a soft, white, amorphous deposit resembling
artificially precipitated zinc sulphide. A compact variety of a pale
liver-brown colour and forming concentric layers with a reniform surface
is known in Germany as _Schalenblende_ or _Leberblende_.
A few varieties of blende are distinguished by special names, these
varieties depending on differences in colour and chemical composition. A
pure white blende from Franklin in New Jersey is known as cleiophane;
snow-white crystals are also found at Nordmark in Vermland, Sweden.
Black blende containing ferrous sulphide, in amounts up to 15 or 20%
isomorphously replacing zinc sulphide, is known as marmatite (from
Marmato near Guayabal in Colombia, South America) and christophite (from
St Christophe mine at Breitenbrunn near Eibenstock in Saxony).
Transparent blende of a red or reddish-brown colour, such as that found
near Holywell in Flintshire, is known as "ruby-blende" or "ruby-zinc."
Pribramite is the name given to a cadmiferous blende from Pribram in
Bohemia. Other varieties contain small amounts of mercury, tin,
manganese or thallium. The elements gallium and indium were discovered
in blende.
Blende occurs in metalliferous veins, often in association with galena,
also with chalcopyrite, barytes, fluorspar, &c. In ore-deposits
containing both lead and zinc, such as those filling cavities in the
limestones of the north of England and of Missouri, the galena is
usually found in the upper part of the deposit, the blende not being
reached until the deeper parts are worked. Blende is also found
sporadically in sedimentary rocks; for example, in nodules of
clay-ironstone in the Coal Measures, in the cement-doggers of the Lias,
and in the casts of fossil shells. It has occasionally been found on the
old timbers of mines. In these cases the zinc sulphide has probably
arisen from the reduction of sulphate by organic matter.
Localities for fine crystallized specimens are numerous. Mention may be
made of the brilliant black crystals from Alston Moor in Cumberland, St
Agnes in Cornwall and Derbyshire. Yellow crystals are found at
Kapnik-Banya, near Nagy-Banya in Hungary. Transparent yellow cleavage
masses of large size occur in limestone in the zinc mines at Picos de
Europa in the province of Santander, Spain. Beautiful isolated
tetrahedra of transparent yellow blende are found in the snow-white
crystalline dolomite of the Binnenthal in the Valais, Switzerland.
(L. J. S.)
BLENHEIM (Ger. _Blindheim_), a village of Bavaria, Germany, in the
district of Swabia, on the left bank of the Danube, 30 m. N.E. from Ulm
by rail, a few miles below Hochstadt. Pop. 700. It was the scene of the
defeat of the French and Bavarians under Marshals Tallard and Marsin, on
the 13th of August 1704, by the English and the Austrians under the duke
of Marlborough and Prince Eugene. In consideration of his military
services and especially his decisive victory, a princely mansion was
erected by parliament for the duke of Marlborough near Woodstock in
Oxfordshire, England, and was named Blenheim Palace after this place.
The battle of Blenheim is also called Hochstadt, but the title accepted
in England has the advantage that it distinguishes this battle from that
won on the same ground a year previously, by the elector of Bavaria over
the imperial general Styrum (9-20 September 1703), and from the fighting
between the Austrians under Krag and the French under Moreau in June
1800 (see FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS). The ground between the hills and
the marshy valley of the Danube forms a defile through which the main
road from Donauworth led to Ulm; parallel streams divide the narrow
plain into strips. On one of these streams, the Nebel, the French and
Bavarians (somewhat superior in numbers) took up their position facing
eastward, their right flank resting on the Danube, their left in the
under-features of the hilly ground, and their front covered by the
Nebel, on which were the villages of Oberglau, Unterglau and Blenheim.
The imperialist army of Eugene and the allies under Marlborough (52,000
strong) encamped 5 m. to the eastward along another stream, their flanks
similarly protected. On the 2nd-13th of August 1704 Eugene and
Marlborough set their forces in motion towards the hostile camps;
several streams had to be crossed on the march, and it was seven o'clock
(five hours after moving off) when the British of Marlborough's left
wing, next the Danube, deployed opposite Blenheim, which Tallard
thereupon garrisoned with a large force of his best infantry, aided by a
battery of 24-pounder guns. The French and Bavarians were taken somewhat
by surprise, and were arrayed in two separate armies, each with its
cavalry on the wings and its foot in the centre. Thus the centre of the
combined forces consisted of the cavalry of Marsin's right and of
Tallard's left.
Here was the only good ground for mounted troops, and Marlborough
followed Tallard's example when forming up to attack, but it resulted
from the dispositions of the French marshal that this weak point of
junction of his two armies was exactly that at which decisive action was
to be expected. Tallard therefore had a few horse on his right between
the Danube and Blenheim, a mass of infantry in his centre at Blenheim
itself, and a long line of cavalry supported by a few battalions forming
his left wing in the plain, and connecting with the right of Marsin's
army. This army was similarly drawn up. The cavalry right wing was in
the open, the French infantry near Oberglau, which was strongly held,
the Bavarian infantry next on the left, and finally the Bavarian cavalry
with a force of foot on the extreme left in the hills. The elector of
Bavaria commanded his own troops in person. Marlborough and Eugene on
their part were to attack respectively Tallard and Marsin. The right
wing under Eugene had to make a difficult march over broken ground
before it could form up for battle, and Marlborough waited, with his
army in order of battle between Unterglau and Blenheim, until his
colleague should be ready. At 12.30 the battle opened. Lord Cutts, with
a detachment of Marlborough's left wing, attacked Blenheim with the
utmost fury. A third of the leading brigade (British) was killed and
wounded in the vain attempt to break through the strong defences of the
village, and some French squadrons charged upon it as it retired; a
colour was captured in the _melee_, but a Hessian brigade in second line
drove back the cavalry and retook the colour. After the repulse of these
squadrons, in which some British cavalry from the centre took part,
Cutts again moved forward. The second attack, though pressed even more
fiercely, fared no better than the first, and the losses were heavier
than before. The duke then ordered Cutts to observe the enemy in
Blenheim, and concentrated all his attention on the centre. Here,
between Unterglau and Blenheim, preparations were being made, under
cover of artillery, for the crossing of the Nebel, and farther up-stream
a corps was sent to attack Oberglau. This attack failed completely, and
it was not until Marlborough himself, with fresh battalions, drove the
French back into Oberglau that the allies were free to cross the Nebel.
In the meanwhile the first line of Marlborough's infantry had crossed
lower down, and the first line of cavalry, following them across, had
been somewhat severely handled by Tallard's cavalry. The squadrons under
the Prussian general Bothmar, however, made a dashing charge, and
achieved considerable temporary success. Eugene was now closely engaged
with the elector of Bavaria, and both sides were losing heavily. But
Eugene carried out his holding attack successfully. Marsin dared not
reinforce Tallard to any extent, and the duke was preparing for the
grand attack. His whole force, except the detachment of Cutts, was now
across the Nebel, and he had formed it in several lines with the cavalry
in front. Marlborough himself led the cavalry; the French squadrons
received the attack at the halt, and were soon broken. Marsin's right
swung back towards its own army. Those squadrons of Tallard's left which
retained their order fell back towards the Danube, and a great gap was
opened in the centre of the defence, through which the victorious
squadrons poured. Wheeling to their left the pursuers drove hundreds of
fugitives into the Danube, and Eugene was now pressing the army of
Marsin towards Marlborough, who re-formed and faced northward to cut off
its retreat. Tallard was already a prisoner, but in the dusk and
confusion Marsin slipped through between the duke and Eugene. General
Churchill, Marlborough's brother, had meanwhile surrounded the French
garrison of Blenheim; and after one or two attempts to break out,
twenty-four battalions of infantry and four regiments of dragoons, many
of them the finest of the French army, surrendered.
The losses of the allies are stated at 4500 killed and 7500 wounded
(British 670 killed and 1500 wounded). Of the French and Bavarians
11,000 men, 100 guns and 200 colours and standards were taken; besides
the killed and wounded, the numbers of which vere large but
uncertain--many were drowned in the Danube. Marsin's army, though it
lost heavily, was drawn off in good order; Tallard's was almost
annihilated.
BLENNERHASSETT, HARMAN (1765-1831), Irish-American lawyer, son of an
Irish country gentleman of English stock settled in Co. Kerry, was born
on the 8th of October 1765. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin,
and in 1790 was called to the Irish bar. After living for several years
on the continent, he married in 1796 his niece, Margaret Agnew, daughter
of Robert Agnew, the lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man. Ostracised
by their families for this step the couple decided to settle in America,
where Blennerhassett in 1798 bought an island in the Ohio river about 2
m. below Parkersburg, West Virginia. Here in 1805 he received a visit
from Aaron Burr (q.v.), in whose conspiracy he became interested,
furnishing liberal funds for its support, and offering the use of his
island as a rendezvous for the gathering of arms and supplies and the
training of volunteers. When the conspiracy collapsed, the mansion and
island were occupied and plundered by the Virginia militia.
Blennerhassett fled, was twice arrested and remained a prisoner until
after Burr's release. The island was then abandoned, and Blennerhassett
was in turn a cotton planter in Mississippi, and a lawyer (1819-1822) in
Montreal, Canada. After returning to Ireland, he died in the island of
Guernsey on the 2nd of February 1831. His wife, who had considerable
literary talent and who published _The Deserted Isle_ (1822) and _The
Widow of the Rock and Other Poems_ (1824), returned to the United States
in 1840, and died soon afterward in New York City while attempting to
obtain through Congress payment for property destroyed on the island.
See William H. Safford, _Life of Harman Blennerhassett_ (Cincinnati,
1853); W.H. Safford (editor), _The Blennerhassett Papers_ (Cincinnati,
1864); and "The True Story of Harman Blennerhassett," by Therese
Blennerhassett-Adams, in the _Century Magazine_ for July 1901, vol.
lxii.
BLERA (mod. _Bieda_), an ancient Etruscan town on the Via Clodia, about
32 m. N.N.W. of Rome. It was of little importance, and is only mentioned
by geographers and in inscriptions. It is situated on a long, narrow
tongue of rock at the junction of two deep glens. Some remains of the
town walls still exist, and also two ancient bridges, both belonging to
the Via Clodia, and many tombs hewn in the rock--small chambers
imitating the architectural forms of houses, with beams and rafters
represented in relief. See G. Dennis, _Cities and Cemeteries of
Etruria_, i. 207. There was another Blera in Apulia, on the road from
Venusia to Tarentum.
BLESSINGTON, MARGUERITE, COUNTESS OF (1789-1849), Irish novelist and
miscellaneous writer, daughter of Edmund Power, a small landowner, was
born near Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, on the 1st of September 1789.
Her childhood was made unhappy by her father's character and
poverty,--and her early womanhood wretched by her compulsory marriage at
the age of fifteen to a Captain Maurice St Leger Farmer, whose drunken
habits brought him at last as a debtor to the king's bench prison,
where, in October 1817, he died. His wife had left him some time before,
and in February 1818 she married Charles John Gardiner, earl of
Blessington. Of rare beauty, charm and wit, she was no less
distinguished for her generosity and for the extravagant tastes which
she shared with her husband, which resulted in encumbering his estates
with a load of debt. In the autumn of 1822 they went abroad, spent four
months of the next year at Genoa in close intimacy with Byron, and
remained on the continent till Lord Blessington's death in May 1829.
Some time before this they had been joined by Count D'Orsay, who in 1827
married Lady Harriet Gardiner, Lord Blessington's only daughter by a
former wife. D'Orsay, who had soon separated from his wife, now
accompanied Lady Blessington to England and lived with her till her
death. Their home, first at Seamore Place, and afterwards Gore House,
Kensington, became a centre of attraction for whatever was distinguished
in literature, learning, art, science and fashion. After her husband's
death she supplemented her diminished income by contributing to various
periodicals as well as by writing novels. She was for some years editor
of _The Book of Beauty_ and _The Keepsake_, popular annuals of the day.
In 1834 she published her _Conversations with Lord Byron_. Her _Idler in
Italy_ (1839-1840), and _Idler in France_ (1841) were popular for their
personal gossip and anecdote, descriptions of nature and sentiment.
Early in 1849, Count D'Orsay left Gore House to escape his creditors;
the furniture and decorations were sold, and Lady Blessington joined the
count in Paris, where she died on the 4th of June 1849.
Her _Literary Life and Correspondence_ (3 vols.), edited by R.R.
Madden, appeared in 1855. Her portrait was painted in 1808 by Sir
Thomas Lawrence.
BLIDA, a town of Algeria, in the department of Algiers, 32 m. by railway
S.W. from Algiers, on the line to Oran. Pop. (1906) 16,866. It lies
surrounded with orchards and gardens, 630 ft. above the sea, at the base
of the Little Atlas, on the southern edge of the fertile plain of the
Metija, and the right bank of the Wad-el-Kebir affluent of the Chiffa.
The abundant water of this stream provides power for large corn mills
and several factories, and also supplies the town, with its numerous
fountains and irrigated gardens. Blida is surrounded by a wall of
considerable extent, pierced by six gates, and is further defended by
Fort Mimieh, crowning a steep hill on the left bank of the river. The
present town, French in character, has well-built modern streets with
many arcades, and numbers among its buildings several mosques and
churches, extensive barracks and a large military hospital. The
principal square, the place d'Armes, is surrounded by arcaded houses and
shaded by trees. The centre of a fertile district, and a post on one of
the main routes in the country, Blida has a flourishing trade, chiefly
in oranges and flour. The orange groves contain over 50,000 trees, and
in April the air for miles round is laden with the scent of the orange
blossoms. In the public gardens is a group of magnificent olive trees.
The products of the neighbouring cork trees and cedar groves are a
source of revenue to the town. In the vicinity are the villages of
Joinville and Montpensier, which owe their origin to military camps
established by Marshal Valee in 1838; and on the road to Medea are the
tombs of the marabout Mahommed-el-Kebir, who died in 1580, and his two
sons.
Blida, _i.e. boleida_, diminutive of the Arab word _belad_, city,
occupies the site of a military station in the time of the Romans, but
the present town appears to date from the 16th century. A mosque was
built by order of Khair-ed-din Barbarossa, and under the Turks the town
was of some importance. In 1825 it was nearly destroyed by an
earthquake, but was speedily rebuilt on a site about a mile distant from
the ruins. It was not till 1838 that it was finally held by the French,
though they had been in possession for a short time eight years before.
In April 1906 it was chosen as the place of detention of Behanzin, the
ex-king of Dahomey, who died in December of that year.
Blida is the chief town of a commune of the same name, having (1906) a
population of 33,332.
BLIGH, WILLIAM (1754-1817), English admiral, was born of a good Cornish
family in 1754. He accompanied Captain Cook in his second expedition
(1772-1774) as sailing-master of the "Resolution." During the voyage,
the bread-fruit, already known to Dampier, was found by them at
Otaheite; and after seeing service under Lord Howe and elsewhere,
"Bread-fruit Bligh," as he was nicknamed, was despatched at the end of
1787 to the Pacific in command of H.M.S. "Bounty," for the purpose of
introducing it into the West Indies from the South Sea Islands. Bligh
sailed from Otaheite, after remaining there about six months; but, when
near the Friendly Islands, a mutiny (April 28, 1789) broke out on board
the "Bounty," headed by Fletcher Christian, the master's mate, and
Bligh, with eighteen others, was set adrift in the launch. The mutineers
themselves settled on Pitcairn Island (q.v.), but some of them were
afterwards captured, brought to England and in three cases executed.
This mutiny, which forms the subject of Byron's Island, did not arise so
much from tyranny on the part of Bligh as from attachments contracted
between the seamen and the women of Otaheite. After suffering severely
from hunger, thirst and storms, Bligh and his companions landed at Timor
in the East Indies, having performed a voyage of about 4000 m. in an
open boat. Bligh returned to England in 1790, and he was soon afterwards
appointed to the "Providence," in which he effected the purpose of his
former appointment by introducing the bread-fruit tree into the West
India Islands. He showed great courage at the mutiny of the Nore in
1797, and in the same year took part in the battle of Camperdown, where
Admiral Duncan defeated the Dutch under De Winter. In 1801 he commanded
the "Glatton" (54) at the battle of Copenhagen, and received the
personal commendations of Nelson. In 1805 he was appointed "captain
general and governor of New South Wales." As he made himself intensely
unpopular by the harsh exercise of authority, he was deposed in January
1808 by a mutiny headed by Major George Johnston of the 102nd foot, and
was imprisoned by the mutineers till 1810. He returned to England in
1811, was promoted to rear-admiral in that year, and to vice-admiral in
1814. Major Johnston was tried by court martial at Chelsea in 1811, and
was dismissed the service. Bligh, who was an active, persevering and
courageous officer, died in London in 1817.
BLIND, MATHILDE (1841-1896), English author, was born at Mannheim on the
21st of March 1841. Her father was a banker named Cohen, but she took
the name of Blind after her step-father, the political writer, Karl
Blind (1826-1907), one of the exiled leaders of the Baden insurrection
in 1848-1849, and an ardent supporter of the various 19th-century
movements for the freedom and autonomy of struggling nationalities. The
family was compelled to take refuge in England, where Mathilde devoted
herself to literature and to the higher education of women. She produced
also three long poems, "The Prophecy of St Oran" (1881), "The Heather on
Fire" (1886), an indignant protest against the evictions in the
Highlands, and "The Ascent of Man" (1888), which was to be the epic of
the theory of evolution. She wrote biographies of George Eliot (1883)
and Madame Roland (1886), and translated D.F. Strauss's _The Old Faith
and the New_ (1873-1874) and the _Memoirs of Marie Bashkirtseff_ (1890).
She died on the 26th of November 1896, bequeathing her property to
Newnham College, Cambridge.
A complete edition of her poems was edited by Mr Arthur Symons in
1900, with a biographical introduction by Dr Richard Garnett.
BLIND HOOKEY, a game of chance, played with a full pack of cards. The
deal, which is an advantage, is decided as at whist, the cards being
shuffled and cut as at whist. The dealer gives a parcel of cards to each
player including himself. Each player puts the amount of his stake on
his cards, which he must not look at. The dealer has to take all bets.
He then turns up his parcel, exposing the bottom card. Each player in
turn does the same, winning or losing according as his cards are higher
or lower than the dealer's. Ties pay the dealer. The cards rank as at
whist. The suits are of no importance, the cards taking precedence
according to their face-value.
BLINDING, a form of punishment anciently common in many lands, being
inflicted on thieves, adulterers, perjurers and other criminals. The
inhabitants of Apollonia (Illyria) are said to have inflicted this
penalty on their "watch" when found asleep at their posts. It was
resorted to by the Roman emperors in their persecutions of the
Christians. The method of destroying the sight varied. Sometimes a
mixture of lime and vinegar, or barely scalding vinegar alone, was
poured into the eyes. Sometimes a rope was twisted round the victim's
head till the eyes started out of their sockets. In the middle ages the
punishment seems to have been changed from total blindness to a
permanent injury to the eyes, amounting, however, almost to blindness,
produced by holding a red-hot iron dish or basin before the face. Under
the forest laws of the Norman kings of England blinding was a common
penalty. Shakespeare makes King John order his nephew Arthur's eyes to
be burnt out.
BLINDMAN'S-BUFF (from an O. Fr. word, _buffe_, a blow, especially a blow
on the cheek), a game in which one player is blindfolded and made to
catch and identify one of the others, who in sport push him about and
"buffet" him.
BLINDNESS, the condition of being blind (a common Teutonic word), i.e.
devoid of sight (see also VISION; and EYE: _Diseases_). The data
furnished in various countries by the census of 1901 showed generally a
decrease in blindness, due to the progress in medical science, use of
antiseptics, better sanitation, control of infectious diseases, and
better protection in shops and factories. Blindness is much more common
in hot countries than in temperate and cold regions, but Finland and
Iceland are exceptions to the general rule.[1] In hot countries the eyes
are affected by the glaring sunlight, the dust and the dryness of the
air. From statistics in Italy, France and Belgium, localities on the
coast seem to have more blind persons than those at a distance from the
sea.
The following table gives the number of blind persons as reported in the
census of each country. Unless otherwise stated, it refers to the
statistics of 1900.
+----------------------------------+--------+----------------+
| | Total | Number |
| Country. | Number.| per Million |
| | | of Population. |
+----------------------------------+--------+----------------+
| Austria | 14,582 | 540 |
| Belgium | 3448 | 487 |
| Canada | 3279 | 610 |
| Denmark | 1047 | 427 |
| England | 25,317 | 778 |
| France | 27,174 | 698 |
| Finland[2] | 3229 | 1191 |
| Germany | 34,334 | 609 |
| Hungary | 19,377 | 1006 |
| Ireland | 4263 | 954 |
| Italy | 38,160 | 1175 |
| Holland (1890) | 2114 | 414 |
| Norway | 1879 | 838 |
| Portugal | 5650 | 1040 |
| Sweden | 3413 | 664 |
| Switzerland (1895) | 2107 | 722 |
| Scotland | 3253 | 727 |
| Spain (1877) | 24,608 | 1006 |
| Russia | . . | about 2000 |
| United States (corrected census) | 85,662 | 1125 |
+----------------------------------+--------+----------------+