Blakey, Robert

PH.D., an English author; B. at Morpeth, North umber land, 1795. Devoting himself early in life to literature and philosophy, he published in 1829 his first regular work on The Freedom of the Divine and Human Wills, which was favorably received, and brought him into notice among abstract thinkers. It was followed in 1833 by his History of Moral Science. This work has since become a text-book in many of the colleges in the U. States In 1834 he wrote his E ay on Logic, chiefly with a view to popularize this branch of knowledge. Dr. B. published several other volumes, among which may be mentioned The Lives of the Primitive Fathers of the Church, and The History of the Phi losophy of Mind. For the last the author received commendations from MM. Victor Cousin, Gioberti, Gruyer, and numerous German savans, and a gold medal from the King of the Belgians. In 1835 he was appointed Profe or of Logic and Metaphysics in Queen's College, Belfast, which he relinquished on account of ill health. His Temporal Benefits of Christianity, and his Historical Sketch of Logic, appeared in rapid succe ion, followed by the History of Political Literature. Dr. B. is the author of several volumes on angling and sporting topics, and a contributor to the Encyclopædia Bri tannic a, etc. The University of Jena conferred upon lum the honorary degree of Ph.D. in recognition of the merits of his philosophical writings. D. Oct. 6, 1878. Blam'able, a. Deserving of blame or censure. "Two extremes are equally blamable."-Dryden. Blamʼablene , n. The state of being liable to blame; culpablene . Blam'ably, adv. Culpably; in a manner deserving of censure. Blame, ( blām ,) v. a. [Fr. blamer; Gr. blasphemeō , from blapsis - blapto , to damage, to hurt, and phēmi , to speak.] To speak disparagingly or reproachfully of; to censure; to find fault with; to disparage; to condemn; to upbraid; to reprimand; to pa an unfavorable judgment upon. -n. Imputation of a fault; expre ion of disapprobation; censure; reprehension; fault; crime; sin. Blame'ful, a. Culpable; blamable. Blame'fully, adv . In a culpable manner; blamably. Blamele , n. Free from blame; guiltle ; innocent. Blamele ly, adv . Innocently; without fault. Blamele ne , n. Quality of being blamele ; in- nocence; a state of being not worthy of censure. Blam'er, a. One who blames; a censurer. Blame'worthine , n. The quality of deserving blame. Blame'worthy, a . That is worthy of blame. Blanc, J JOSEPT LOUIS, a French historian and political writer, B. at Madrid, Oct. 28, 1813, is of Corsican extraction, his mother, née Estelle Pozzo di Borgo, belonging to the same family as the celebrated diplomatist of that name. When 19 years old, he went to Paris, and wrote for several daily journals Afterwards, at Arras, he contributed to one of the most important republican papers of the Department-the Progrès du Pus de Ca lars . In 1839 he founded the Revue du Progrès , in which he first published "The Organization of Labor." As he was returning home, one evening in Oct., 1839, he was suddenly a ailed from behind by some ruffian, who inflicted a violent blow with a stick on his right eye. The author of this cowardly a ault, which was made the day after L. B. had published a review of Louis Bonaparte's work, Les Idées Napoléoniénnes, was never discovered. L. B. had a brother younger one year than himself, who was at that time at Rodez, in the department of l'Aveyron, and who entertained so strong a conviction that his brother was being a aulted at the preci e moment when it really occurred, that he was induced to write at once for information to Paris. This incident was the origin of Dumas's "Corsican Brothers," the main subject of which is the preternatural sympathy between two brothers. L. B. having become a clerk in a notary's office, soon found more congenial occupation as tutor in a private family, and shortly afterwards made his way to eminence among the journalists of Paris. The important part that he played in the stormy days of 1848 has become a matter of history. He was elected a member of the Provisional Government, and it has been erroneously a erted that, while serving his country in that capacity, he created and organized the famous National Workshops , a scheme that he strenuously deprecated and opposed, and which, to use the words of Lamartine, "was the device of his adversaries." This calumny was so ingeniously and industriously di eminated, to serve the purpose of political intrigues, that it was long credited, in spite of many unquestionable proofs of its fallacy. M Louis Blanc, when a member of the Provisional Government, prevailed upon his colleagues to abolish capital punishment for political offences; and on being returned one of the representatives of Paris by 120,000 votes, after the Provisional Government had surrendered its power into the hands of the National A embly, he brought forward and carried the motion for a repeal of the law by which the family of the Bonapartes was doomed to perpetual exile. To the abrogation of this law, Lonis Napoleon was indebted for permi ion to return to France, and consequently for his subsequent wonderful good fortune. The circumstances that led to L. B.'s quitting France, and taking up his abode in England, may be briefly stated A violent demonstration was made, May 15, 1848, in favor of Poland, by numbers of people, who invaded the hall of the National A embly. L. B. exerted himself to check this unwarrantable attempt at popular dictation. Although the workingmen who took part in the demonstration did not follow his advice. they showed him sympathy and respect, which his enemies turned against him, making them the pretext for an attempt to proscribe him. This unfounded charge fell to the ground, and it was not until amid the excitement that prevailed after the sanguinary insurrection of June in the same year, when the minds of many were under the influence of a frantic reactionary movement, that the charge already disproved was revived, and his proscription resolved upon, and voted by the very men, indeed, who had but a short time before proclaimed his innocence. One of the most prominent of L. B.'s literary undertakings was his His to ire de Diz Ans , (1830-1840,) which pa ed through several editions and exercised great influence on political events in France, during the latter portion of the reign of Louis Philippe. His larger and more important production, the History of the French Revolution , written during his residence in England, has recently been completed, and consists of 12 vols. Historical Revelations , intended to expose the misrepresentations in Lord Norman by's narrative of events that occurred in Paris after the fall of Louis Philippe's govt., was published in 1859. B. , who while in England had acted as correspondent to several French journals, published Letters on England , 1866. In 1871, after the fall of the 2d empire, B. returned to Paris, and was elected to the Nat. A embly. D. 1882. Blanc, (Mont,) ('White Mountain,') the highest summit in Europe, belonging to the Alps of Savoy; extending from S.W. to N.E. bet. 45° 46' and 45° 57′ N. Lat. In this direction it may have a length of abt. 13 m.; its breadth varies from five to six miles. This enormous ma of primitive rock rises far above the line of perpetual congelation, and descends with great steepne and to a vast depth on the N.W. and S.E.; the valleys, which bound the mountain on these sides, being only between 3,000 and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. The valley to the north-west consists properly of two valleys, those of Montjoie and of Chamouni, which are separated by a lateral branch of the mountain for some distance, but afterwards join one another. The valley of Chamouni is the larger, and the place to which travellers commonly resort to have a view of Mont Blanc, or to ascend it; the village of Chamouni, or the Prieuré, which is nearly in the centre of the valley, is 3,403 feet above the level of the sea. The valley to the southeast of the mountain ma , called the Valley of Entreves, consists properly of two valleys, which lie in the same direction, and open one into the other, which takes place nearly at equal distances from the extremities of the mountain-ma . The lowest point of this valley is Cormaggiore, situated 3,900 feet above the level of the sea. The southern extremity of the mountain is both united to and separated from the high mountain-range which extends in a southern direction to the very shores of the Mediterranean Sea, by the Col de Seigne. This mountain-pa , the highest part of which is below the point of eternal snow, rising only to 8,083 ft., unites the Valley of Bonneval in Savoy with the Valley of Entreves in Piedmont, and presents one of the grandest views of Mont Blanc. The northern extremity of the mountain is connected with the high range which, running to the east, separates the Valais (or Wallis) from Piedmont; and with another, which, extending in a northwestern direction, divides Savoy from the Valais, and terminates at no great distance from the Lake of Geneva. From the former range it is separated by the Col de Ferret, or Ferrex, a mountain-pa , 7,764 feet above the sea, which connects the Valley of Ferret, or Ferrex, with that of Entreves. From the range of mountains extending to the Lake of Geneva, Mont Blanc is divided by the Col de Balme, which unites the Valley of Chamouni with that of Trent in the Valais, and rises to 7,552 ft. The whole mountain ma enclosed between the valleys and these three mountain-pa es probably rises to upwards of 10,000 feet; and, as in this parallel the snow-line does not extend beyond 9,000 or 9,300 feet, it probably is about 1,000 feet above it. It is consequently all covered with snow, except in a few places where the steepne of the rock does not allow the snow to lie. The upper surface is extremely irregular, and a considerable number of rocks rise from it, which, from their resemblance to pyramids or steeples, are called aiguilles , or needles. Towards its southern extremity this extensive ma of rocks rises to its greatest elevation in that mountain pinnacle properly called Mont Blanc, whose summit attains the height of about 15,777 feet above the sea, in 45° 41′ 52" N. Lat., and 6° 44′ 22" E. Lon. When seen from the north or south, it presents the form of a pyramid, descending nearly perpendicularly to the south. When seen from the N.E. or the Valley of Chamouni, it resembles the back of a dromedary, and is called by the inhabitants of that valley Bo e de Dromadaire . Near it rises the Aiguille de Goute to the height of 12,204 feet. Farther to the N.E. the Aiguille du Midi attains 12,854 feet, and its neighbor, the Aiguille de Géant, 13,902 feet. Still farther to the N.W. stands the Aiguille d'Argentier, 13,400 feet high, and to the west of it the Aiguille de Dru, 12,460 feet. The most northern and lowest is the Aiguille de Tour, whose summit is only 11,036 feet above the level of the sea. There are still more of these peaks, but they have not been noticed by travellers. Mont Blanc exhibits all the grandeur of the Alps on a large scale. High tapering pyramids covered with eternal snow; extensive fields of ice, split to a great depth by wide cracks; glaciers of green color descending from its sides between bare dark-colored perpendicular rocks, and skirted by forests of fir; and grottos formed in the ma es of eternal ice, -in addition to all the other varieties of mountain scenery, -attract great numbers of curious and scientific travellers. The waterfalls are numerous, and some of them magnificent, particularly the Cascade des Pelerins, of which we give an illustration, situated near Chamouni, and which is one of the most curious and beautiful scenes in the Alps. A torrent i ues from the Glacier des Pélerins, high up the mountain, above the Glacier des Bo ons, and descends, by a succe ion of leaps, into a deep gorge, from precipice to precipice, almost in one continual cataract; but it is all the while merely gathering force, and preparing for its last magnificent deep plunge and recoil of beauty. Springing in one round condensed column out of the gorge, over a perpendicular cliff, it strikes, at its fall, with its whole body of water, into a sort of vertical rock basin, which one would suppose its prodigious velocity and weight would split into a you sand pieces; but the whole cataract, thus arrested, at once suddenly rebounds in a parabolic arch, at least 60 feet into the air; and then, having made this splendid airy curvature, falls with great noise and beauty into the natural channel below. It is beyond measure beautiful. The first men IMG:content-0646.jpg:[graphic] Fig . 369. CASCADE OF THE PELERINS, (MONT BLANC.) tion made of Mont Blanc does not go back a century. If we are not mistaken, this mountain was first noticed by Richard Pococke, who, in his travels to the East, being struck by its extraordinary height and appearance, described it in his account of the glaciers of Switzerland. Nearly fifty years elapsed after Pococke's description, before it was ascended, for the first time, by Dr. Paccard and James Balmat, with great difficulty and danger, in August, 1786. A year afterwards, Sau ure succeeded in reaching the summit, where he remained for five hours, and made a great number of observations. The pulse of the whole company, which was composed of 12 persons, beat with extreme quickne , and all of them felt great thirst and exhaustion, without any desire to take food. The color of the sky was dark blue; the stars were visible in the shade; the barometer sank to 16 inch 1 line, while at Geneva it stood at 27 inch. 1 line; the thermometer indicated in the shade + 26160, and in the sun + 290, while at Geneva it was + 87° of Fahrenheit. Water consequently froze even when exposed to the sun. Since Sau ure's ascent, Mont Blanc has been often ascended, but no very important observations have been made since that date. Blanc, (Le,) a town of France, dep. Indre, on the Creuse, 33 m. W.S.W. of Chateau roux. It is an ill-built and precipitously situated town, is very ancient, and was often frequented by the Roman legions.