This must -articles of -particles = metallic al will be should it mall thin der. By le metals aped his reduced, -nic, cad ined by from Napoleon: but, though repulsed with great loss, returned to the combat, as usual, on the following day, and succeeded in getting some advantage. The rash and reckless rapidity of his movements at this time having obliged him to make a retreat, and exposed his army to disasters which prudence might have avoided, an alarm began to arise in England about the final result of the contest; when, after various battles lost and won on the way to Paris, he finally entered that metropolis, March 31, 1814, and, but for the intervention of the other commanders, it would, by him, have been made a scene of revengeful retribution. Among his less extravagant demands, he firmly insisted upon the restitution of every picture and work of art which had been plundered from Prussia to adorn the Louvre. As field-marshal and prince of Wahlstadt he accompanied the allied sovereigns to England, where his personal appearance excited intense curiosity. All the most illustrious military orders of Europe having already been conferred upon him, the king of Prussia created for him a new one, with the badge of a cross of iron, in compliment to his invincible courage. The Prince Regent of England gave him his portrait; and the university of Oxford, not to he deficient in proof of admiration, bestowed upon the veteran warrior the academical degree of LL.D. In possession of these honours he retired to his Silesian estate, residing there until the return of Napoleon from Elba in 1815, when again he returned to the great theatre of war, and assumed the command of the Prussian army in Belgium. His characteristic over-confidence and precipitancy occasioned his defeat at the battle of Ligny, June 16th. It was at the close of this desperate engagement, in which the fighting continued until ten at night, that his horse was shot dead, and fell upon him, so that he lay in that position unable to move, whilst several regiments of French cuirassiers passed over him in charging his troops. A report of his death was soon in circulation; and Napoleon, who commonly named him le vieux diable (the old devil), made the most of it in cheering the hopes of his soldiers in the struggle at Waterloo on the 18th. But late in the evening of that memorable day, when victory seemed to hang doubtful, Prince Blücher, who on the night of his accident had, owing to the darkness, escaped unhurt, appeared suddenly emerging from the forest of Frichemont at the head of a great portion of his Prussian army. At first Napoleon took it for the French division of Marshal Grouchy arriving from Wavre; that illusion however was quickly dispelled, and a simultaneous panic having seized upon the whole of the French forces and produced the utmost confusion, a general attack was ordered by the Duke of Wellington, which at once terminated in their perfect defeat. Blücher, although his troops had been marching all day, immediately gave orders to pursue the flying enemy; and the moon being bright, a fierce and hot pursuit by sixteen regiments of Prussians was kept up the whole night, until the roads were choked with the dying and the dead. Having arrived with his army at Paris, and assisted in the reinstatement of the Bourbon dynasty, he remained there several months, very frequently attending the tables for rouge et noir. When the Prussians returned to Germany, Blucher, on the anniversary of the battle of Katzbach, paid a visit to Rostock, his native place, where all the inhabitants united to raise a public monument to his fame: those of Berlin presented to him a medal with a representation of the angel Raphael trampling upon a dragon. His health now beginning to decline, he finally retired to his chateau of Kriblowitz in Silesia, where the king of Prussia visited and took leave of him in his latest moments. I know I shall die,' said the old general; I am not sorry for it, because I can be no longer of any use. Having requested that he might be buried without any parade, in a neighbouring field by the roadside, under three linden trees, he died on the 12th of September, 1819, aged 77. The whole army went into mourning for eight days. He had been in the service of Prussia during forty-five years, and at the battle of Waterloo was at the age of 73. In the year 1826 his statue in bronze, twelve feet in height, modelled by the sculptor Rauch, was erected in Berlin. The merit of Blücher lay nearly altogether in his fearless courage and his personal advantages: as a prudent, scientific, general he has no claims at all to distinction. With a piercing eye, a loud and sonorous voice, a bold outline of figure, accoutred and armed as a cossack, and a masterly style of manoeuvring his horse, his presence, as he role in front of his men, never failed to inspire them with hope of hussars as ensign. In a campaign against the Prussians, success in following a captain so daring and full of energy. | methods of procuring the colour from the plant and the The astonishing celerity of his movements got him the various substances with which it is mixed, we refer to the appellation of Marshal Forwards, by which he was gene- article INDIGO, here merely stating the properties of the rally known in Germany and Russia; but equally well known blue pigment usually met with by that name in small was the fact, that to the able plans of General Gneisenau, cubic pieces. The colour is extremely deep, the fracone of his officers, he owed almost all his success. ture is earthy, but becomes brilliant and of a copper red BLUE, as a pigment. The substances used for this colour when rubbed by a hard body, and according to the purpose are of very different natures, and derived from degree to which this effect is produced, the better is the various sources: they are all compound bodies, some are indigo reckoned. Even in this state however it is mixed natural and others artificial. They are derived almost with some foreign matters, which may generally be separated entirely from the vegetable and mineral kingdoms, though by water, alcohol, solution of potash and dilute acid, in all the first which we shall describe is partly prepared from of which pure indigo is insoluble. It may also be purified animal matter, viz. :by sublimation, but the process is difficult of management, for if the heat be rather greater than necessary the indigo is decomposed. Another method of procuring pure indigo is to take the solution of indigo prepared by dyers, and agitate it in contact with atmospheric air. This solution is prepared by mixing blue indigo in powder with lime and a solution of protosulphate of iron; the lime decomposes the sulphate of iron, precipitating its protoxide; this acting upon the indigo takes oxygen from it, and then it is rendered colourless and also soluble in water by the action of the excess of lime; this solution when agitated with atmospheric air, the indigo regaining oxygen and colour, is precipitated, and when washed with a little dilute muriatic acid and dried, it is pure. Indigo, except when used as a water-colour, requires white lead to give it body; it is a colour of considerable permanency. Strong nitric acid decomposes it, but it differs from most vegetable products, and especially vegetable colours, in being perfectly soluble and without decomposition in concentrated sulphuric acid. The colour is most intense, and this solution is employed in dyeing what is called Saxon blue. Chemists are not agreed as to the exact nature of this solution. Chlorine immediately destroys the colour of indigo. Prussian Blue.-This beautiful pigment was discovered by accident in 1710 by Diesbach, a manufacturer of Berlin; but the method of preparing it was first described by Woodward in the Philosophical Transactions of 1724. The first step in the operation is to calcine a mixture of potash or its carbonate, with animal matter that contains azote, as blood, hoofs, or horns, in an iron vessel, till it ceases to burn with flame. The residual matter is then suffered to cool, the soluble portion of it dissolved in water, and the solution when sufficiently concentrated yields fine yellow crystals on cooling. This salt was formerly called phlogisticated alkali, and triple prussiate of potash: according to Berzelius it is a double cyanide of potassium and iron, consisting of Cyanide of potassium Water 62. • 25.3 12.7 100. When a solution of this salt is poured into one of proto- 59.3. 40.7 100. Very commonly the solution of cyanide of potassium and iron, procured from the residue of the calcination, is not put to crystallize, but is added at once to the solution of sulphate of iron. In this case, on account of the excess of potash which it contains, a portion of iron in a state of oxide is precipitated uncombined with the colouring matter; in order to prevent this from injuring the colour of the pigment, either dilute sulphuric acid is added, which dissolves it without acting on the Prussian blue; or alum is mixed with the sulphate of iron, and the uncombined potash uniting with its sulphuric acid, alumina is precipitated instead of oxide of iron, which merely dilutes without otherwise injuring the colour of the product. When a solution of a persalt of iron, such as the nitrate, is used, the precipitate is immediately obtained of a fine blue; but this process does not answer in manufacturing. Prussian blue is inodorous, tasteless, insoluble in water, alcohol, æther, and oils. It is hygrometric, attracting water strongly from the air, which it retains until heated to nearly 280°. Diluted acids do not act upon this substance, but strong sulphuric acid dissolves it, forming a white compound similar to that of starch and water in appearance. On the addition of water the blue colour is restored. Nitric acid and muriatic acid, when concentrated, both decompose it, and the same effect is produced by the alkalis and alkaline earths, but with different results. It is also decomposed by a strong heat. Prussian blue is employed both as a water colour and in oil; in the latter case, on account of the deficiency of what is termed body, it is usually mixed with white lead, and it will bear admixture with a large portion of this on account of the intensity of its colour. Its stability is very considerable, and it is not only used as a pigment but also as a dye. According to Berzelius it was used in Sweden instead of smalt, to give writing-paper a blue tint, but the paper was found to acquire a disagreeable greenish hue. Indigo.-This fine blue is extracted from different species of indigofera in the East Indies and Guatimala in South America, of which the latter is most esteemed. For the Blue Verditer.-This pigment is used as a water-colour, and chiefly in the manufacture of paper-hangings. It is a gritty powder of a very fine light blue. It is a carbonate of copper, composed of nearly Peroxide of copper Carbonic acid Water 70. 25.4 4.6 100.0 It is prepared by precipitation from the solution of nitrate of copper which results from the refining of silver by precipitating the silver by copper. The exact mode of operating is not generally known, and success probably depends upon some minute circumstance in the manipulation. This colour is readily acted upon by the acids even in their dilute state; they evolve its carbonic acid, and dissolve the peroxide of copper; the alkalis, potash and soda, and lime water, combine with the carbonic acid, and separate peroxide of copper; it is blackened by sulphuretted hydrogen, and it is decomposed at a high temperature. Ultra-marine.-This splendid and permanent blue pigment was originally, and indeed until within a few years exclusively, prepared from a mineral called Azure Stone, or Lapis Lazuli, the finest kinds of which are brought from China, Persia, and Great Bucharia. In the 89th vol. of the Annales de Chimie, M. Tassaert has noticed the accidental formation of ultra-marine in a furnace used for the manufacture of soda; and about the year 1828, M. Gmelin of Tübingen, and M. Guimet of Lyons, both succeeded in forming this colour artificially, and it is now prepared in large quantity, of quality equal to the natural product. The former of these chemists has given the following process for making this pigment, and he asserts that it will infallibly succeed:-Prepare hydrate of silica and alumina, the first by fusing powdered quartz with four times its weight of carbonate of potash, dissolving the fused mass in water and precipitating the silica by muriatic acid; the second by decomposing a solution of alum with ammonia. Wash these two earths carefully with boiling water; and by drying portions of the moist precipitates, ascertain the quantity of dry earths which they contain. Then dissolve as much of the hydrate of silica as a solution of soda will take up, and determine the quantity. Lastly, for 72 parts of anhydrous silica take 70 parts of dry alumina, add them to the alkaline solution of silica, and evaporate, constantly stirring till the residue is nearly dry: this is the basis of the colour. Put into a Hessian crucible, which has a cover that fits closely, a mixture of two parts of sulphur and one part of an hydrous carbonate of soda; cover and heat the mixture mo- | This pigment loses its colour totally by being put into an acid, and although there is no perceptible effervescence, a slight smell of sulphuretted hydrogen gas is recognised; the residue is of a dirty white colour; the alkalis do not act upon this colour, nor is it destroyed by exposure to a red heat. It has hitherto, on account of its high price, been used almost exclusively by artists, both as a water-colour and in oil; but on account of the reduced charge at which it will probably be hereafter obtained, it will doubtless be rendered much more extensively useful. Cobalt Blue. This was proposed as a substitute for ultramarine before the invention above described had rendered this latter colour easily obtainable at a moderate price. According to Thenard (Traité de Chimie, tome i.) this pigment, the base of which is either a phosphate or arseniate of cobalt, is prepared by adding a solution of phosphate of soda to one of nitrate of cobalt; the precipitated phosphate of cobalt, after due washing, is to be mixed with moist hydrate of alumina, the proportions being one of the phosphate to eight parts of the hydrate; or half the quantity of arseniate of cobalt may be substituted for the phosphate. These substances are to be thoroughly mixed and then dried in a stove, and when the mass has become brittle it is to be calcined in a covered crucible at a cherry-red heat for half an hour. This colour is one of great permanence, but is not so fine as the ultramarine, and will hereafter be probably little employed. Smalt is a blue colour also prepared from cobalt, but is BLUE-BIRD (zoology), the American name for the Wilson, as much confidence in man by associating with him in summer, as the other by his familiarity in winter.' 'So early as the middle of February, if the weather be open, he usually makes his appearance about his old haunts, the barn, orchard, and fence-posts. Storms and deep snows sometimes succeeding, he disappears for a time; but about the middle of March is again seen accompanied by his mate, visiting the box in the garden, or the hole in the old apple-tree, the cradle of some generations of his ancestors." correct observer, it is pleasing to behold his courtship, his solicitude to please and to secure the favour of his beloved female. He uses the tenderest expressions, sits close by her, caresses and sings to her his most endearing warblings. When seated together, if he espies an insect delicious to her taste, he takes it up, flies with it to her, spreads his wing over her, and puts it in her mouth.' The food of the blue-bird consists principally of insects, particularly large beetles and other coleoptera, frequently of spiders, and sometimes of fruits and seeds. The nest is built in holes in trees and similar situations. The bird is very prolific, for though the eggs, which are of a pale-blue colour, seldom exceed six, and are more frequently five in number, two and sometimes three broods are produced in a season. Its song is cheerful, continuing with little interruption from March to October, but is most frequently heard in the serene days of the spring. With regard to its geographical distribution, Catesby says, These birds are common in most parts of North America; for I have seen them in Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and the Bermuda Islands. Wilson gives the United States, the Bahamas, Mexico, Brazil, and Guiana, as its localities. About November it takes its departure from the United States. The whole upper part of the bird, which is about seven inches and a half long, is of a rich sky-blue shot with purple. The bill and legs are black. Shafts of the wing and tail, feathers black. Throat, neck, breast, and sides, partially under the wings, reddish chestnut. Wings dusky black at the tips. Belly and vent white. The female is duller in its colours. It is said to be much infested with tape-worms. This bird must not be confounded with the Arctic Bluebird (Erythaca Arctica, Swainson, Sialia Arctica, Nuttall), another species of Swainson's subgenus Sialia. The latter has no red or chestnut about it, the colours being ultramarine-blue above, greenish-blue beneath, and whitish on the posterior part of the belly and under tail-coverts. The specimen figured in the Fauna Boreali-Americana was shot at Fort Franklin in July, 1825. Swainson mentions another species, his Sialia Mexicana, from the Table-land of Mexico. BLUE-BOTTLE, a pretty wild flower, commonly found in corn-fields. It is the Centaurea cyanus of botanists. BLUE-BREAST (zoology), the English name for the pretty bird, which, as Bechstein observes, may be considered Like our red-breast, this harbinger of spring to the Amelicans is known to almost every child, and shews,' says VOL. V.-D as the link between the redstart and common wagtail, having strong points of resemblance to both. It is the Gorge-bleue of the French, the Blaukehlein of the Germans, Petto turchino of the Italians, the Cyanecula of Brisson, Motacilla Suecica of Linnæus, Sylvia cyanecula of Meyer, the Blue-throated warbler and Sylvia Suecica of Latham. According to Temminck, the blue-breast is found in the same countries which are inhabited by the red-breast, and particularly on the borders of forests, but is more rare in France and Holland than the latter bird. Bonaparte notes it as accidental and very rare in the neighbourhood of Rome, and as only appearing in severe winters. Bechstein says, I often hear it said that the blue-breast is a rare bird; that in some parts of Germany it appears only every five or even ten years, but I can declare that this opinion arises from a want of observation. Since I have taught my neighbours to be more attentive to the time of their passage, they every year catch as many as they please. If in the first fortnight of April, up to the 20th, cold and snow return, plenty may be found by merely following the streams, rivers, and ponds, especially in the neighbourhood of a wood.' In England it is very rarely seen. The food of the blue-breast, according to Temminck, consists of flies, the larvæ of insects, and worms. Bechstein says that it also eats elderberries. It is one of those unfortunate birds which is called by some a Beccafico. The nest is said to be built in bushes and in the holes of trees. The eggs, of a greenish-blue, are six in number. The following is Bechstein's accurate description of the male:Its length is five inches and a half, of which the tail occupies two and a quarter. The beak is sharp and blackish, yellow at the angles; the iris is brown; the shanks are fourteen lines high, of a reddish-brown, and the toes blackish; the head, the back, and the wing-coverts are ashy-brown, mottled with a darker tint; a reddish-white line passes above the eyes; the cheeks are dark-brown, spotted with rust-red, and edged at the side with deep ashgrey; a brilliant sky-blue covers the throat and half-way down the breast; this is set off by a spot of the most dazzling white, the size of a pea, placed precisely over the larynx, which, enlarging and diminishing successively by the movement of this part when the bird sings, produces the most beautiful effect. The blue passes into a black band, and the latter into a fine orange; the belly is dusky-white, yellowish towards the vent; the thighs and sides are reddish; the quill-feathers dark-brown; the tail-feathers red at the base, and half the summit black; the two intermediate ones are entirely dark-brown. Some males have two little white spots on the throat, some even have three, while others have none; these latter are probably very old, for I have observed that, as the bird grows older the blue deepens, and the orange band becomes almost maroon.' Temminck describes the very old male as having a white streak above the eyes, followed by a black one; no white space on the throat, and some blueish-black between the eye and the beak; the red band of the breast much larger, and that, as well as the origin of the tail-feathers, of a more lively red. The female resembles the male in the upper parts. On each side of the neck is a blackish longitudinal streak passing on the upper parts of the breast into a large blackish space tinged with ash-colour. On the middle of the neck is a great spot of pure white. Flanks clouded with olive, the rest of the lower parts white. The very old females have the throat sometimes of a very bright blue. This is probably a sign that they have done laying, and are putting on the plumage of the male. Bechstein says that the females, when young, are of a celestial blue tint on the sides of the throat, which deepens with age and forms the two longitudinal lines. The young, according to Temminck, are brown spotted with white, and have all a large white space upon the throat. Its song,' says Bechstein, is very agreeable; it sounds like two voices at once; one deep, resembling the gentle humming of a violin string, the other the soft sound of a flute.' BLUE MOUNTAINS, in Australia, may be considered as beginning at Bass's Strait with the rocks of Cape Wilson, and running in a north-eastern direction parallel to the shore as far as Cape Howe. We are not acquainted with the distance of the range from the sea in this part of the country. Opposite Cape Howe the mountain-chain changes its direction and again extending parallel to the shore runs nearly due north, declining one or two points to the east, as far as the sources of the Morrumbidgee river, between 35' and 30° S. lat. In this tract the distance of the mountains from the sea seems to vary between seventy and eighty miles. To the south of the upper branches of the Morrumbidgee river the principal range of the mountains extends eastward and approaches the sea within forty miles or perhaps less: it then suddenly turns to the north, encloses Lake George, and continues north of it in the same direction under the name of Cullarin Range. At nearly an equal distance from 35° and 34° the chain again turns to the east and approaches the sea within forty or fifty miles. Running at this distance parallel to the shore (that is N.N.E),it extends as far as 33 and perhaps a little to the north of it, where it again turns northward, and continues in that direction till it has passed the 32nd parallel and attained a distance of about 140 miles from the sea. Here it meets with another extensive chain, the Liverpool Range, which runs east and west and seems to be the southern part of a mountain system which extends over a greater space than the Blue Mountains, in the direction from west to east, and whose continuation northward is not farther known. It is possible that it continues up to Cape York, the north-eastern cape of Australia on Torres Strait. The highest part of this mountain-range is the Warragong Mountains, between 36 and 35°, whose peaks being covered with perpetual snow, have received the name of the Australian Alps. But the chain extending from these alps to the Liverpool Range, which is more properly called the Blue Mountains, does not attain a very great elevation. Its average height may be 3000 feet, and though doubtless several of its summits approach 4000 feet, it does not seem that any of them exceed that height. These mountains are difficult to be crossed on account of the steep rocks which crown the upper part of the chain, and which are only broken by narrow and deep ravines. Twenty-five years elapsed after the foundation of the colony of Port Jackson before our countrymen succeeded in passing over these mountains. The Liverpool Range attains a much greater height, its summits rising to 6500 feet above the sea; but the passes can be traversed with greater ease. The country between the Blue Mountains and the sea is partly filled with its lower branches, and partly with sandy plains between them and the sea. In some places the hills come down to the very shores, as at Illawarra and Newcastle; at other places they terminate at a distance of thirty miles and upwards from the sea. On the western side the mountains are less steep, and descend in terraces of considerable extent till they terminate in the low plains which occupy the interior of Australia. In order to go from the coast to these plains, the mountains of course must be passed. Up to the present time this has been effected at two places only. One of the mountain passes lies a little to the north of the parallel of Sydney, and a carriage-road has been made through it. It begins on the banks of the Nepean River, the principal branch of Hawkesbury River, at Emu Ford, and ascending the steep Lapstone Hill continues rising to Spring-wood, twelve and a half miles distant from Emu Ford. Farther on to Weather-Board Hut, sixteen miles from Spring-wood, the ascent is not considerable. Weather-Board Hut is on Kingsland Table, 2727 feet above the sea. Hence the road passes through the vale of Clwdd, on the eastern side of Mount York, which vale is 2496 feet above the sea: :-Mount York rises to 3292 feet. From this vale the road skirts the southern declivity of Mount York and leads to Cox's Pass, on the banks of Cox's River, which pass is twenty-one miles distant from Weather-Board Hut, and may be regarded as the western extremity of the mountain pass: the remainder of the road to Bathurst leads over an undulating plain. Bathurst is 1970 feet above the sea, according to Oxley. This portion of the mountains is formed of sandstone, which extends to Mount York and even to Cox's River, where it is succeeded by granite, which afterwards at Molong, to the N.W. of Bathurst, gives way to a limestone formation with numerous caves, and at the junction of the Bell River with the Macquarie is superseded by freestone. But as the country falls rapidly from that point, the free-stone formation soon disappears and is succeeded by the flat country. The second mountain pass lies farther to the south, near the 35th parallel, beginning at the point where the Wolondilly River turns to the north. It ascends along the course of this river to Goulburn Plains, then passes through a This range is not rich in metals. Copper has been found sequence to the bishops of Durham in former times, and are named in their records with the Tyne, Wear, and Tees, as being subject to their jurisdiction. The prelates of that diocese still have jurisdiction over the river and the wastes between high and low water marks. The river Blyth rises about twenty-five miles inland, and its general course is east by north, from which it makes one great bend to the north after it has passed Stamfordham. On resuming its general course it receives its largest tributary from the north-west, after which it goes on nearly in the same direction for about nine miles, when it receives anBLUE RIDGE. [See APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS.] other stream from the north-west, after which it inclines to BLUNDELL MUSEUM, an assemblage of choice spe- the south-east, and enters the ocean, after a total course of cimens of sculpture, consisting of statues, busts, bas-re- about thirty-seven miles. The Blyth abounds with sea fish liefs, sarcophagi, cinerary urns, and other antient marbles, near its mouth; and those fresh-water fish that frequent the collected by the late Henry Blundell, Esq., and preserved at higher parts of the stream are of very fine quality. The his seat at Ince-Blundell in the parish of Sefton in Lanca- shore near its æstuary affords abundance of muscles, which shire, about nine miles north of Liverpool. A large por- are used for bait by the fishermen of the neighbouring places. tion are placed in a building attached to the mansion called Blyth harbour is so safe that an instance rarely occurs the Pantheon, exactly resembling the edifice of that name of a vessel sustaining damage in entering it in the most in Rome, though one-third less in lineal dimensions, erected tempestuous weather. In full tides there are ten feet of for the purpose of containing them; a few modern sculp-water on the bar; when there are only eight feet, statures are also in this collection, among which a Psyche by tionary lights are exhibited in the harbour. The tide flows Canova is the most valuable. up to the dam at the Bedlington iron-works, four miles and a half from the mouth of the river. The place was of very trifling consequence previously to the Restoration, when it appears to have contained scarcely any houses. It must after that have rapidly increased, as we find that in 1728 not fewer than 200 vessels are entered in the custom-house books as having sailed from this port. Its trade would seem to have declined after this: towards the latter part of the last century there were only a few small sloops belonging to the port; but the opening of the Cowpen colliery, near the end of the century, materially contributed to the increase of its trade, which consists chiefly in the export of coal and iron from Bedlington, and sometimes corn. Thirty or forty sail of laden vessels sometimes sail in one tide. They usually return in ballast; few articles are imported, except such timber and stores as are required for the shipping. About 100 vessels now belong to the port, which is regarded as a sort of creek to that of Newcastle. Two folio volumes of Engravings and Etchings,' from the principal of these marbles, were prepared by Mr. Blundell for distribution among his friends in 1809: some of these had been made at Rome, before the marbles left that city, and others were executed in London. Mr. Blundell was in Italy at the same time with his friend Mr. Charles Townley, and not only collected with a kindred taste, but was frequently guided in his choice of purchases by Mr. Townley's advice. Blyth is a pleasant and well built little place. It has a custom-house, subject to that of Newcastle; two ship insurance companies, and several dock-yards, in which vessels of 430 tons have been built. There is a neat chapel of ease, which was erected in 1751 by Sir M. W. Ridley, the proprietor of the estate; and to which a Sunday-school has since been annexed. Different denominations of dissenters have four places of worship at Blyth. Among the statues of highest character in the Blundell Museum are-1. A Minerva found at Ostia, for many years in the Lanti palace, and afterwards the property of Mr. Jenkins, from whom it was bought; larger than life. 2. Diana, found in the ruins of the Emperor Gordian's villa; the full size of life: bought of the sculptor Albacini. 3. Theseus, seven feet two inches high; found in Hadrian's villa purchased from the Duke of Modena, in the centre of the saloon at whose villa at Tivoli it stood. 4. Esculapius, from the Villa Mattei, nearly seven feet high. 5. A consular figure, in good preservation, nearly resembling that called Cicero in the Arundelian Collection at Oxford; this also was bought from the Prince Mattei. 6. Another Minerva, seven feet high, which formerly belonged to Pope Sixtus V.; bought out of the Negroni collection. 7. A statue representing the province Bithynia, bought out of the Villa D'Este from the Duke of Modena. 8. Faustina, The township of South Blyth and Newsham contained the wife of Marcus Aurelius; the head, feet, and hands 248 houses in 1831, when the population was 1769, of whom of Parian marble; the drapery in Lesbian marble, a 977 were females. This however does not convey a true kind of opaque basalt. 9. A group of two statues, an old idea of the extent and population of the town, as it only faun and an hermaphrodite, the work of Bupalus, whose comprehends that part of it which lies in the parish of Earsname is upon the plinth; it was found by Niccola la Pic-don, but, adding to the account that part in the township of cola in an excavation on the Preneste road, 1776; small Cowpen, parish of Horton, the actual population must exlife, about three feet high. Among the busts are those of ceed 3000. Septimius Severus and Otho, both bought out of the Mattei Villa; Augustus and Marciana, found at Ostia; and Ælius Cæsar, the adopted heir of Hadrian, which was also purchased from the Prince Mattei. Among the miscellaneous marbles of this collection are three tragic masks of rare and unusual size; two from the Villa Negroni, three feet each in height; the third from the Altieri Villa. Some idea may be formed of the extent of this collection from the fact that it consists of near 100 statues, 150 busts, above 100 basreliefs, 90 sarcophagi and cinerary urns, besides stela, and other miscellaneous antiquities. (See the Beauties of England and Wales, vol. ix. Lancashire, pp. 308, 309; the Engravings and Etchings already quoted; and Dallaway's Anecdotes of the Arts, 8vo. 1800.) BLUNDERBUSS. [See ARMS.] BLYTH, or SOUTH BLYTH, or BLYTH NOOK, a small seaport town in the county of Northumberland, partly in the parish of Horton, but chiefly in that of Earsdon, and in the east division of Castle ward, distant from London 257 miles, N. by W., and from Newcastle 12 miles N. by E. It derives its name from its situation on the south side of the river Blyth, at its confluence with the German Ocean. The town owes its origin and prosperity to its commodious and safe haven for small vessels. The navigable river and port of Blyth are mentioned as of con (Hutchinson's View of Northumberland; Historical and Descriptive View of Northumberland, &c.) BOA (zoology), the name of a family of serpents which are without venom, the absence of which is amply compensated by immense muscular power, enabling some of the species to kill large animals by constriction, preparatory to swallowing them whole. There are few fables which have not some truth for their origin. The voyages of Sinbad have become proverbial; but the stories of the monstrous serpents in the valley of diamonds, and of the serpent of surprising length and thickness, whose scales made a rustling as he wound himself along,' that swallowed up two of his companions, probably had their foundation in traditions of the size and strength of a family of serpents belonging to the old world, but nearly allied in their organization and babits to those which we are about to consider. Sinbad's description indeed of the fate of the first of the two victims brings to our memory a terrible anecdote of the murderous power and voracity of the Indian boas or pythons related in modern times, and recorded on canvas by Daniell. [See PYTHON.] It (the serpent) swallowed up,' says the fictitious sailor, one of my comrades, notwithstanding his loud cries and the efforts he made to extricate himself." Of the same race probably were the monsters to which the following allusions are made by antient writers. |