elanter_ (1853), followed by _Epullia_ (1855), _The Bugle of
the Black Sea_ (1855), etc.; but he soon found that fiction, not poetry,
was his true vocation. Beginning with _Clara Vaughan_ in 1864, he
produced fifteen novels, all of more than average, and two or three of
outstanding merit. Of these much the best in the opinion of the public,
though not of the author, is _Lorna Doone_ (1869), the two which rank
next to it being _The Maid of Sker_ (1872) (the author's favourite) and
_Springhaven_ (1887). Others are _Cradock Nowell_ (1866), _Alice
Lorraine_ (1875), _Cripps the Carrier_ (1876), _Mary Anerley_ (1880), and
_Christowell_ (1882). One of the most striking features of B.'s writings
is his marvellous eye for, and sympathy with, Nature. He may be said to
have done for Devonshire what Scott did for the Highlands. He has been
described as "proud, shy, reticent, strong-willed, sweet-tempered, and
self-centred."

BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM (1723-1780).--Legal Writer, posthumous _s._ of a
silk mercer in London, was _ed._ at Charterhouse School and Oxf., and
entered the Middle Temple in 1741. His great work is his _Commentaries on
the Laws of England_, in 4 vols. (1765-1769), which still remains the
best general history of the subject. It had an extraordinary success, and
is said to have brought the author L14,000. B. was not a man of original
mind, nor was he a profound lawyer; but he wrote an excellent style,
clear and dignified, which brings his great work within the category of
general literature. He had also a turn for neat and polished verse, of
which he gave proof in _The Lawyer's Farewell to his Muse_.

BLAIR, HUGH (1718-1800).--Divine, and man of letters, _b._ and _ed._ at
Edin. After being minister at Collessie in Fife, he was translated to
Edinburgh, where he filled various pulpits, latterly that of the High
Church. In 1759 he commenced a series of lectures on composition, and
soon after the Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres was founded, to which
he was appointed. His _Lectures_ were _pub._ on his resignation of the
chair in 1783. His chief fame, however, rests upon his _Sermons_, in 4
vols., which had an extraordinary popularity, and obtained for him a
pension of L200. Time has not sustained the opinion of his
contemporaries: they have been described as feeble in thought though
elegant in style, and even as "a bucket of warm water." B. was amiable,
kind to young authors, and remarkable for a harmless, but