Savant." In the meantime his incessant activity was rewarded in 1683 with the post of surgeon-in-ordinary to the duke of Orleans, and in 1687 he even succeeded by his intrigues in pushing himself into the position of physician-in-ordinary to the king, to the great astonishment of all his contemporaries. But this state of prosperity was not destined to be of long duration. His elevation appears to have turned his head. His first folly consisted in his attempts to revive the ancient order of the Saint-Esprit, which was formerly established at Montpellier, and of which he called himself a knight commander, bringing actions against those whom he considered to have usurped the revenues of the order. He then resolved to establish a hospital at Pincourt; but the king, being informed that this pretended hospital was only a place of debauchery, had him arrested on the 4th June, 1693, and conveyed to Fort l'Evêque. He was afterwards removed to the Chateau d'Angers, where he was confined no less than eight years, and on his discharge established himself in Avignon, and practised medicine there with some reputation until his death. The published works of Blegny are of little importance, and for the most part only prove the ignorance of their author. The most important of them relate to the cure of venereal diseases and hernia; but that which does most credit to the author's talents is entitled "La Doctrine des Rapports, Fondées sur les Maximes d'Usage, et sur les Disposition des Nouvelles Ordonnances," was published at Paris in 1684, and contains some sagacious remarks on medical jurisprudence.—W. S. D.
BLEIN, François-Ange Alexandre, Baron, a French general of engineers, born in 1767. He took an active part in the various revolutionary wars from 1794 to 1815, and was present at the sieges of Maestricht, Breslau, and Schweidnitz, as well as at the battles of Austerlitz, Jena, &c. He was severely wounded by the explosion of Fièschi's infernal machine in 1835, and was compensated by a pension of 3000 francs from the chamber of deputies. Baron Blein is the author of numerous works on military, scientific, and political subjects.—J. T.
BLEKERS, N., a Dutch historical landscape painter, born at Haerlem in 1635. He was patronized by the prince of Orange. The figure of Venus in his "Triumphs of Beauty," was much gloated over by burgomasters, as was his "Danae." Vondel sings of him as Pope does of Jervas.—W. T.
BLENNERHASSET, Herman, chiefly known from his connection with Aaron Burr's mysterious enterprise against the Spanish dominions bordering on the United States, was the heir of a wealthy Irish family, but was born in Hampshire, England, in 1767, and educated at Trinity college, Dublin. Having emigrated to America, he selected for his home an island in the Ohio river, fourteen miles below Marietta, the country around being then almost an unbroken wilderness. Here he erected, at great expense, a spacious mansion, with a garden, and richly-ornamented grounds; and having purchased a fine library, and considerable apparatus for philosophical experiments, he prepared to live the life of an English country gentleman, on a spot singularly chosen for such a purpose. He appears to have been an amiable person, of cultivated taste, but strangely deficient in judgment and good sense. Aaron Burr accidentally made his acquaintance in 1805, and easily persuaded him, then tired of inaction and solitude, to enter into the wild and criminal enterprise which he was then projecting. The government became alarmed, and a body of militia that had been called out to arrest Burr's expedition, visited the island in Blennerhasset's absence, and committed great outrages there, burning the furniture, devastating the grounds, and insulting his wife. She, with her children, escaped down the river in a miserable flat-boat, and rejoined her husband in the Mississippi territory. He was soon arrested, together with Burr, but, when the latter was acquitted from lack of evidence, Blennerhasset was discharged without a trial. He then collected the remains of his fortune, and became a cotton planter in Mississippi. But he was again unfortunate, and having become very poor, he returned to England, and spent many years in prosecuting, without success, an old claim upon the government. He finally withdrew to the island of Guernsey, where he died in poverty in 1831. His name has become famous chiefly through an eloquent passage in the speech made by Mr. Wirt, one of the counsel upon the trial of Aaron Burr; and "Blennerhasset's island" is still pointed out upon the Ohio river as the scene of a sad and romantic story.—F. B.
BLESS, Henry de, a Flemish painter of landscape and history. He was born at Bovines, near Dinant, in 1480. He imitated the dry hard style of Joachim Patenier, and crowded his landscapes with small neatly-finished scriptural figures. In one picture he put many different scenes, after the old somewhat ludicrous and unreasonable convention. He annihilates time by showing us binocularly "the Disciples at Emmaus" and "the Passion of Christ," anything but contemporaneous scenes. His works, however, for delicate careful variety are esteemed even in Italy, and were known by his humorous symbol of an owl painted in the corner. Died in 1550.—W. T.
BLESSEBOIS, Pierre Corneille. The date of birth and the personal history of the author of a number of books published under this name, is uncertain. Nodier thought the name altogether fictitious, and that we might as reasonably inquire into the particulars of the life of Cid Hamet Ben Engeli. Corneille Blessebois! why, the very name betrays its unreality; the words themselves tell you of the crow enacting the part of the woodpecker. However plausibly this may be stated it seems disproved by the language of the royal license to print the books, and we have to look for our author in one of an actual family of the name. A French refugee, of the name of Blessebois, whose protestantism prevented his being suffered to live in his native country, is found, after a youth of adventure at sea, in Holland, striving to make out life by manufacturing books and pamphlets for the Dutch publishers. It does not appear probable that this was our author; but he was probably a crow of the same feather. Normandy appears to have been their original nest, as in some satirical poems, persons and localities are mentioned not likely to be introduced into verse by the native of any other province. Among his poems, published at Chatillon sur Seine, 1615, are "Legends of Ste. Genevieve," and also several imitations of old mysteries and moralities, as dull as if they were genuine. His "Œuvres Satiriques," 1676, is a book of great rarity, and diligently sought after by book-fanciers. There seems no object in giving a catalogue of his other works; most of them are indecent, and all are high-priced.—J. A., D.
BLESSENDORF, Samuel, a Prussian enamel painter and engraver, born at Berlin in 1670. He executed some portraits of Charles XII. and the electors of Brandenburg for Puffendorf's History of Sweden. His brother Constantine also worked for the booksellers.—W. T.
BLESSINGTON, Marguerite, countess of, second daughter of Edmond Power of Knockbirt, in the county of Tipperary in Ireland, a gentleman of ancient family originally settled in the neighbouring county of Waterford. Marguerite was born at her father's house on the 1st September, 1789, and not 1790, as sometimes stated. Through her mother she was descended from the celebrated but unfortunate family of the Sheehys. In her earlier years Marguerite's health was extremely delicate, but she exhibited that remarkable precocity of intellect and sensitiveness of perception so often the concomitant of physical weakness, and her imaginative powers were early developed. When about six years old the family removed to Clonmel, and the change operated beneficially upon the health and spirits of the girl. Ere she attained her fifteenth year she had proposals of marriage from Captain Murray and Captain Farmer, and though she entertained a strong indisposition towards the latter, she yielded to the solicitations of her family, and united herself to a man whose violent temper and cruelty forced her to leave him forever within three months after their marriage. After living for a time with her parents, and subsequently in Dublin and Hampshire, Marguerite settled in 1816 in Manchester Square, London. The following year her husband died, and in 1818 she became the wife of the earl of Blessington. Lady Blessington and her husband spent the intervals between 1823 and 1829 in an extensive tour through the continent of Europe; and she seems to have studied largely, and improved her taste and judgment by intercourse with the celebrities of her day, and the great works of art to which she had access. The result of her observations are given in two works subsequently published by her, "The Idler in Italy" and "The Idler in France." By the death of the earl in 1829, Lady Blessington was again thrown upon her own resources. She accordingly returned to London in the end of the following year, and took up her residence in 1831 in Leamore Place, May Fair. At this period the coteries of London, following the example of Paris, were mainly guided by the genius of woman. Of these, three were especially remarkable, and divided the empire of fashion, and shared amongst themselves, as subjects, all the intellectual celebrities of
