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512 



B L E 



_.,' anniversary of the victory at Blenheim ' the inheritors 

 of the duke's honour* and titles should render at Windsor 

 to her Mau-sty. lu-r heir* and successors, one standard or 

 colours, with three lleurs-de-lU painted thereon, in aequit- 

 tani-e for all manner of rents, suits, and services due to the 

 crown.' Notwithstanding the liberality of parliament, the 

 money \oti"l was inadr(iuato to complete this noble strur- 

 lure. 'and largo additional sums were expended by the 

 family for the purpose. The architect was Sir John Van- 

 burgh. Every person has not been able to study the works 

 ut this distinguished, man, hut every one remember* the 

 satirical epitaph. 



I.!.- hravy on him wrlb. for lie 

 I-aiil mauy a hrvy load on tlicc ;' 



and hence most unscientific visiters came to examine the 

 mansion at Blenheim with a. predisposition to assign it a 

 ponderosity and massiveness ill suited to a domestic struc- 

 ture. It is certainly not a light building; ' but,' says Mr. 

 Brewer, ' the palace appears to he august rather than pon- 

 derous, and it would perhaps be diiiicult to show how so 

 extensive a pile could be less weighty without losing essen- 

 tial disinity.' Dr. Mavor, in his detailed description of 

 Blenheim, had many years before expressed a similar 

 opinion : ' He (VanburKh) deserves very considerable ap- 

 plause for his judgment in a circumstance which has prin- 

 cipally exposed him to the censure of pretended critics ; he 

 has rendered this structure characteristic and expressive of 

 its destination. Its massy grandeur, its spacious portals, 

 and its lofty towers, recall the ideas of defence and security ; 

 with these we naturally associate the hero for whom it was 

 erected, and thus find it emblematic of his talents and 

 pursuits.' It was a remark of Sir Joshua Reynolds that 

 no architect understood the picturesque of building so well 

 as Vanburgh ; and in the opinion of Mr. Brewer, Blenheim 

 House might be adduced in proof of the accuracy of this 

 observation. This writer, speaking with a particular re- 

 ference to the grand northern front of the edifice, charac- 

 terizes the whole display as august and impressive. ' The 

 eye," lie says, ' without taking leisure to examine the various 

 features which conduce to the result, is at once struck by a 

 combination productive of unspeakable grandeur.' lie 

 allows however that on a more minute examination, sharp- 

 sighted and captious observers will not be without grounds 

 for objection. ' Such will point to elevations which hesitate 

 between cupolas and towers, and properly are neither. They 

 will direct the eye to the central compartment and observe, 

 that, if measured with the lateral portions of the edifice, it 

 will be found to want height though by no means deficient 

 in weight. These objections may hold good when the critic 

 examines Blenheim as an architectural dniu-iiig, but when 

 it is viewed as a building, we discover so much sublimity of 

 effect, that little disposition remains to analyze the sources 

 whence gratification is derived.' This result is no doubt 

 owing to what the same writer calls ' the consummate skill 

 in the perspective of architecture possessed by the designer.' 

 The spot on which the mansion stands is remarkably well 

 chosen, being sulliriuiitly elevated to display the structure 

 to great advantage, without detracting from its comparative 

 magnitude. The local guides and minute descriptions ex- 

 patiate upon the alternate grandeur and beauty of the ap- 

 proaches, and the admirable arrangement of the spacious 

 .grounds in which the castle stands. Omitting this, we ob- 

 serve that the usual entrance to the grounds from Woodstock 

 is through a triumphal arch or gateway, with two posterns. 

 This was erected by Sarah, duchess of Mirlbotoogh, in 

 memory of her husband. It is of the Corinthian order, with 

 both fronts alike, and contains a Latin inscription on the 

 side next Woodstock, and a translation on the other side. 

 At some distance in front of the palace a fine piece of water, 

 partly river, partly lake, which winds through a deep valley, 

 is crossed by a very stately bridge of stone, the effort of 

 which is particularly good, as it unites t .vo hills and gives 

 consistency and uniformity to the scene. The centre arch 

 of this bridge is 101 feet in span. Beyond this bridge, on a 

 incnce in the middle of a line lawn, is 

 placed a tinted Corinthian pillar, KiO feet high, which is 

 surmounted by a statue, in a Roman dress and triumphal 

 attitude, of the conqueror whose glory all things hrn- were- 

 designed to commemorate. The side of the nede-tal in \t 

 the house is covered with a long inscription, describing the 

 duke's public services. It is believed to have been written 

 by Lord Bolingbrukc. The other three sides of the pedestal 

 are inscribed with acts of piulumcnt declarative of the sense 



which the public entertained of Marl borough'* merits, to- 

 gether with an abstract of the entail of his estates and 

 honours on the descendants of his daughter*. 



In the general view the bin 1 . :'.lenheim House 



occupy three sides of a parallelogram, open to the north, to 

 expose the north front of the main or state building, while 

 the east and west sides form wings, als.i with courts, which 

 contain domestic offices, stables, and a chapel, and from 

 which there are colonnades leading to the principal floor of 

 the house itself. The principal or northern IVout of this has 

 already been generally characterized in slating the impres- 

 sion which the view of it conveys. It is a noble piece uj 

 architecture, in a mixed, original style, extending 3 is feet 

 from wing to wing, and highly enriched, particularly in the 

 centre. Mr. Carter, who was certainly not < ien- 



dcr praise where praise was not due, concurs hilly in the 

 approbation with which our pi. .uhonties have 



spoken of this magnificent specimen of Sir John Vanburgh's 

 talents. We take, with some verbal alteration, part of his 

 description of this front, as given in No. ecru, of a series 

 of papers contributed by him, in a long seru ^ of vi 

 the ' Gentleman's Magazine :' 'In the centre of the five 

 divisions of the house is the hall; a llight of steps with 

 pedestals conduct to the portico with Corinthian columns 

 and pilasters ; double height of doors and windows, a pedi- 

 ment enclosing armorial bearings; above this an attic 

 story, having breaks, window*, and pediment, the last sur- 

 mounted by tiers of balls with foliage, &c. T' 



us, left and right, are run out in line by Corinthian 

 pilasters, circular-headed windows, &c. in two stories, sur- 

 mounted by entablature and balustrade : the sweeping aug- 

 mentations are in two stories, the first with Doric coli;; 

 circular and square-headed windows, with entablature and 

 balustrade above. The third divisions, right and left, ad- 

 vance considerably by means of the sweeping augmenta- 

 tions: they are in two stories, with the ground rusticated, 

 circular-headed windows, and an entablature, the frieze 

 having a series of scrolls. Here the chimneys, as attics, 

 are most imposingly introduced in one great pedestal with 

 open arches, pilasters, parapet, and ball-ornamented fun h- 

 ings. The windows to the ground-story are circular. Ti:e 

 general terrace, with its several (lights of steps, sided by 

 pedestals and vases, afford a fine introduction to the eleva- 

 tions. On the introductory colonnade from the wings to 

 the house are vases and military trophies ; there are trophies 

 also on the pedestals of the portico, statues on the entabla- 

 ture of the first story of the sweeping augmentations, as 

 also on the second pediment and balustrade uf the centre 

 division." 



The south or garden front of the building has a less florid 

 character than that we have noticed in detail. It has five 

 divisions corresponding with those of the grand front, but 

 tho breaks do not advance much beyond the general lino. 

 In the centre, a (light of steps here also conducts to a por- 

 tico with Corinthian columns and pilasters, but without a 

 pediment. It was originally intended that the entablature 

 should sustain an equestrian statue of Marlborough, but 

 instead of this it bears, with appropriate military emblems, 

 a colossal bust of Louis XIV., taken from the gates of 

 Tonrnay. 



We must refer to architectural works for descriptions of 

 the other elevations, and to the local ' Guides' for accounts 

 of the magnificent interior, with ils painted ceilings by 

 Thornhill, La Guerre, and Hakewill; ils sculptures, its 

 tapestry, and its splendid collection of pictures, ennlaiiiiiig 

 specimens of the works of almost every eminent master of 

 every school. 



( Brewer's 0.rfi>rJ*?iirr in nenutifx ifr./i^lmid iiiid IJ'ulfi ; 

 Mavor' s Blenheim (iiiide; ( 'arlcr's .[n-hitectural I/niura- 

 tii'H in (!' >i/!i'iiiin/\ M,::;:i,;i>ii\ vol. Ixxxvi.) 



BLK'NMl'S (Ilf''H>iii:\- ; French, }!,:i-ri,.<'.\), a genus of 

 fUhes of the section Acanthopterygii and family Gobioid;o 



-v) : both the Greek and the French names have 

 applied to this genus, from the mucous matter with which 



dies of tlicac fishes are covered. They mnv be 

 distinguished by their having the ventral fin placed before 

 the pectoral, and containing generally but two rajs. The 



is short and rounded; teeth l.ng and slendei-. 

 placed in a single row : body long, compressed, smooth, and 

 one d"r.-:il fin, which extends nearly tho 

 whole length of the back : they have no air-bladder. 



The species ol this genus are small, live in shoals, but not 

 in great number* : th< \ are very active and tenacious, ef life, 





