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fpcclfiil and juft tribute to his memory clofes his fon's ac- 

 count of his Hfe and writings : " Such was Francis Black- 

 bunig ; a beheverof Chriftianity, from the deepell conviction 

 of its truth ; a Proteftaiit on the genuine principles of the 

 reformation from popery ; a ftrenuous adverfary of fuperlli- 

 lijn and intolerance, and of every corruption of the fimpli- 

 city or the fpirit of the gofpel ; a zealous promoter of civil 

 liberty ; a clofe and perfpicacious reafoner ; a keen and 

 energetic writer; an attentive, benevolent, and venerable 

 archdeacon ; an eloquent and perfuafive preacher ; a faith- 

 ful paftor and exemplary guide ; of unblemifhed purity of 

 life, of fimple dignity of manners ; a fincere and cordial 

 friend ; an affectionate hufbano, and an indulgent father ; 

 ill (hort, a juft, humane, pious, temperate, and independent 

 man." 



BLACKBURNIA, fo named by Forfter, in honour of 

 John BIac!<buriie efq. and his daughter Anne, of Orford 

 in Laiicalhire, in Z^^.'rtnji. L.in. gen. Schreb. n. 199. Forfter 

 s;cn. 6. Clafs and order, tetrnndria motiot;ynia. Gen. Char. 

 CuL perianth very (hort, four-toothed, inferior ; teeth fhort, 

 acute, horizontal. Cor. petals four, elliptic. Stam. filaments 

 fjur, fubulate, rather (horter than the petals ; anthers heart- 

 fliaped, ercfl. Pijl. g;crm conic ; llyle filiform., ereft, 

 length of the ftamens ; lligma fimple. Per. berry. Scr^/, 

 liiigle. 



EIT. Char. Cd/. four-toothed ; pcf. four, elliptic ; arif/y. 

 I'.eart-lliapcd ; gi-'mt conic ; Jligma fimple. Per. berry, with a 

 iingle feed. 



Species i. Y> . p'.nnala. Forft. gen. 6. t. 6. fl. Auftr. n. 53. 

 Ptelea pinnata. Linn, fuppl. 126. A native of Norfolk 

 illand ; found there in I7''4. Martyn. 



BLACKBURNIjE, in Ornithology, a fpecies of MoTA- 

 ciLLA, drfcribcd in tlie Arftic Zoology under the name of 

 the blackburnian warbler. The crown is black, with a 

 yellow line in the middle ; band through or acrofs the ej'e 

 black, as are alfo the leifer wing-coverts ; greater wing- 

 coverts, vent, and lateral tail feathers white, the middle 

 cues being diiflcy black ; fides of the neck, chin, 'and 

 niiddle ef the belly yellow. A native of New York. 



BLACKHEAD, in Geography, a cape on the eaft coaft 

 of Ireland, ?.t the north entrance into Belfait Lough. N. lat. 

 34=45'. W. long. 5- 35'. 



Blackhead, a cape on the weftern coaft of Ireland, in 

 the county of Clare, on the fouth lide of the entrance into 

 CJalway bay. N. lat. 53= 7'. W. long, (f 1 1'. 



Blackhead, a cape on the fouth coaft of Ireland, 

 within the old head of Kinfale, and on the well fide of 

 Kinfale harbour. N. lat. 51° 38'. W. long. 8° 30'. 



Blackhead, a cape on the weft coaft of Scotland, in 

 the county of Wigton ; 6 miles W.S.W. of Stranraer. 



Blackhead, a point of land between Falmouth liaven 

 and the Lizard point. — Alfo, one of the peaks between 

 Fermovve's harbour on the eaft coaft of Newfoundland, 

 and Agua fort ; bald head being the other. — Alfo, a 

 point on the fouth coaft of Newfoundland, weft of cape 



Race, and half a league further weft from cape Pine 



Alfo, a poi;it on the eaft coaft of the northern illand 

 of New Zealand, N.N.E. of cape Turnagain, in about ^0° 

 iS' ri. I AX. 



BLACKING, in the Arts, fee. is fomctimcs ufed for a 

 faftitiouB black, as lamp-black, flioe-black, &c. A mi.-iture 

 of ivory or lamp-black with linfeed oil, makes the common 

 oil-blacking. For a Ihir.ing blacking, fmall-beer or water is 

 ufed inftead of oil, in the proportion of about a pint to 

 an ounce of the ivory-black, with the addition of half an 

 ounce of brown fugar, and as much gum Arabic. The 

 ■white of an egg, fubllituted for the gum, makes the black 



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more fliining ; but is fuppofed to hurt the leather, and 

 make it apt to crack. 



In 1771 a patent was granted to Mr, William Bayley for 

 preparing a compofition in cakes, rolls, or balls, which, with 

 the addition of water only, makes an excellent ftiining liquid 

 blacking fcr flioes, boots. Sec. The recipe for this purpofe 

 is as follows : take one part of the gummy juice that ifl'ucs, 

 in the months of June, July, and Auguft, from the ftirub 

 called the goat's thorn, foiir parts of river water, two parts 

 of neat's foot, or fome other foftening lubricating oi', tw» 

 parts of luperfine ivory-black, two parts of deep blue, pre- 

 pared from iron and copper, and four parts of brown fugar- 

 candy. Evaporate the water ; and, when the compofition is 

 of a proper confiftence, let it be formed into cakes of fuch 

 a fize, that each cake may make a piiit of liquid blacking. 



BLACKLOCK, Thomas, in Biography, was born in 

 1721, at Annan in Scotland, of parents, who were natives 

 of Cumberland, and who occupied a liumble ftation. At 

 tlie age of 6 months he was deprived of his fight by the 

 fmall-pox ; and thus becoming incapable of any mechanical 

 employment, he was in the probable courfe of nature dcftined 

 to be a perpetual charge to his parenf;. His difpofition. 

 however, as he advanced towards maturity, engaged the 

 moll affcdlionate attention ; and the kindnefs of Ir.s father 

 was fuch as to imprefs his youthful mind, and to engage 

 exprefiions of ardent gratitude. The powers of his mind 

 were no Icfs diftinguifiied than the amiablenefs of his temper ; 

 and he improved the cafual opportunities of cultivating 

 them, which were afforded him by the attention of his 

 fatlier and friends, who read to him feveral paflages out of 

 Englifii author?, and particularly from the works of our 

 moll approved and popular poets. Thefe he heard with 

 avidity and delight ; and at the early period of his 1 2th year, 

 he began to imitate what he admired. His performances, 

 as he advanced towards maturity, became the fubjecls of 

 general converfation ; and having the misfortune to lofe his 

 father in his 19th year, he was invited, at the age of 2C, by 

 Dr. Stephenfon, phyfician at Edinburgli, to remove thitlier 

 and to purfue his ftudiesatthe univerfity. Notwithftanding 

 the perfonal difadvantagcs under which lie labouied, he 

 made very confiderable progrefs in the Latin, Greek, and 

 French languages ; but upon the breaking out of the rebel- 

 lion in 1745, his ftudies were interrupted, and he retired 

 into the country. On this occafion he was folicitcd by his 

 friends to publiih a faiall coUeftion of his poems at Glafgow. 

 When the tumult of the rebellion fubfided, he returned 

 to Edinburgh, aad to tlie profecution of his ftudies for 6 

 years more, during which period he not only perfetled him- 

 felf in the languages, but made confiderable progrefs in all 

 the fciences, and particularly in polite literature. In 1 754 

 he publilhed a fecoiid edition of his poem.s, much improved 

 ai.d enlarged ; and thus gained the patronage of JSIr, Spence, 

 v.lu), by an account of his life, characler, and poems, brought 

 him into general notice. By means of a fubfcriptioii to a 

 ato edition of his poems, his circumftances were rendered 

 eafy and comfortable ; and applying iiinifclf to the iludy of 

 theology, he palled the ulual trials, and was liceuffd in 

 1759 to be a preacher by the prefbytery of Dumfries. From 

 the difeharge of the duties of his oltice he derived great fa- 

 tisfaction and reputation. On th.- alarm of a Frencli in- 

 vafion in 1 761, he publilhed a diicourfe " On the right im- 

 provement of time ;" and in the fame year he contributed 

 fome poems to the firft volume of DcnaJdlon's colledtion of 

 original poems. In 1762 he formed a matriir.onial connec- 

 tion, which he regarded as the chief fource of the felicity of 

 his future life. About this time he was ord.iincd minifter 

 of Kircudbright, on the prefentation of the earl of Selkirk ; 

 but in cor.fcquence of fome litigations that enfued, he 

 3X2 thought 



