128 B L O 
nfe of it here no fuch objection takes place. • In Tome 
countries we are told, that the barbarians were accuftomed 
to intoxicate themfelves by drinking the warm blood of 
animals; and, as it has been fhown that this fluid is the 
immediate ref'ervoir of the vital principle, it feems by no 
means improbable that it may be poffeffed of an inebriating 
quality. Many expreflions in Scripture feem to counte¬ 
nance this hypothelis. Among the ancients blood was 
ufed for the fealing and ratifying covenants and alliances, 
which was done by the contracting parlies drinking a little 
of each others blood ; and for appeafing the manes of the 
dead, in order to which blood was offered on their tombs 
as part of the funeral ceremony. The blood of victims 
was anciently the portion of the gods; and accordingly 
was poured or fprinkled on the altars in oblation to them. 
The priefls made another ufe of blood, viz. for divina¬ 
tion : the ft reaming of blood from the earth, fire, and the 
like, was held a prodigy or omen of evil. The Roman 
catholic priefls were not unacquainted with the ufe of 
blood in miracles ; they had their fluxes of blood from 
images, ready to ferve a turn; witnefs that faid to have 
Areamed from the flatue of Minerva at Modena, before 
the battle at that place. But we know not whether in 
this their fucceflbrs have not gone beyond them. How 
many relations in ecclefiaftic.al writers of Madonas, cruci¬ 
fixes, and wafers, bleeding ? At leaft the liquefaction of 
the blood of St. Januarius at Naples, repeated annually 
for fo many ages, feems to tranfcend by far all the frauds 
of the Grecian or Roman prieflhood. But the chemifls 
at laft got into the fecret; and we find M. Neumann, at 
Berlin, to have performed the miracle of the liquefaCfion 
of dried blood, with all the circumftances of the Neapoli¬ 
tan experiment. 
To BLOOD, v. a. To ftain with blood : 
Then all approach the flain with vaft furprjfe. 
And, fcarce fecure, reach out their fpears afar, 
And blood their points, to prove their partnerfhip in war. 
Dry den. 
To enter; to enure to blood, as a hound ; 
Fairer than faireft, let none ever fay, 
That ye were blooded in a yielded prey. Spenfer. 
To Broop, is fometimes to let blood medically. To 
heat; to exafperate.— By this means, matters grew more 
exafperate; the auxiliary forces of French and Englifh 
were much blooded one againft another. Bacon. 
“Like Blood, like good.” This fliort proverbial rhime 
alludes to equality in marriage, and teaches us, that, where 
people of a different ftate or condition |we may add age, 
temper, religion, principles, &c.) come together, nothing 
but jarring and un.eafmefs enfues. The Latins fay : ALqua- 
Icm uxorem queer c. Or according to Ovid : Si qua voles 
opte nubere, nubepari. Juvenal cenfures the marrying a 
woman fuperior in riches as an infufferable evil: Intolera- 
bilius nihil ejl quam fzmina dives. 
Avenger of BLOOD, among the Jews, was the next of 
kin to the perfon murdered, who was entitled to purfue 
the murderer. In England, ecclefiaftical judges retire, 
when judgment is to be given in cafes of blood, by reafon 
the church is fuppofed to abhor blood : it condemns no 
perfon to death ; and its members become irregular, or 
difablcd from their functions, by the effufion of blood. 
BLOOD (Thomas), generally known by the appellation 
of colonel Blood, a dilbanded officer of Oliver Cromwell, 
famous for his daring crimes and good fortune. He was 
firft diftinguifhed by engaging in a confpiracy to furprife 
the eaftleof Dublin; which was defeated by the vigilance 
of the duke of Ormond; and fome of his accomplices 
were executed. Efcaping to England, he meditated re¬ 
venge againft Ormond ; and actually feized him one night 
in his coach in St. James’s-ftreet, where he might have 
finifhed his purpofe if he had not ftudied refinements in 
his vengeance. He bound him on horfeback behind one of 
Ids affociates, refolving to hang him at Tyburn, with a paper 
pinned to his bread; but, when the got into the fields, the 
B L O 
duke, in his efforts for liberty, threw himfelf and the af- 
faflin, to whom he was fattened, to the ground; and, while 
they were ftruggling in the mire, he was refeued by his 
fervants ; but the authors of this attempt were not then 
djlcovered. A little after, in 1671, Blood formed a de- 
figo of carrying off the crown and regalia from the Tower ; 
a defign to which he was prompted, as well by the fur- 
prifingboldnefsof the enterprize, as by the views of profit. 
He was very near fucceeding. He had bound and wounded 
Edwards the keeper of the jewel office, and had got ..out 
of the Tower with his prey ; but was overtaken and feized, 
with fome of his affociates. One of them was known to 
have been concerned in the attempt upon Ormond ; and 
Blood was immediately concluded to be the ringleader. 
When queftioned, he frankly avowed the enterprize; but 
refufed to difeover his accomplices: “ The fear of death 
(he faid) fliould never engage him either to deny a guilt 
or betray a friend.” All thefe extraordinary circumftan¬ 
ces made him the general fubject of converfation ; and 
the king was moved with an idle curioftty to fee and fpeak 
with a perfon fo noted for his courage and his crimes. 
Blood might now efteem himfelf fecure of pardon ; and 
he wanted not addrefs to improve the opportunity. He 
accordingly told Charles, that he had been engaged, with 
others, in a defign to kill him with a carabine above Bat- 
terfea, where his majefty often went to bathe; that the 
caufe of this refolution was the feverity cxercifed over 
the confciences of the godly, by reftraining the liberty of 
their religious affemblies ; that, when he had taken his 
ftand, among the reeds, full of thefe bloody refolutions, 
he found his heart checked with an awe of majefty ; and 
he not only relented himfelf, but diverted his alfociates 
from their purpofe ; that lie had long ago brought him¬ 
felf to an entire indifference about life, which he now gave 
for loft ; yet could not he forbear warning the king of the 
danger which might attend his execution ; that his affo¬ 
ciates had bound themfelves by ftrift oaths to revenge the 
deaths of any of their confederacy, and that no precau¬ 
tion or power could fecure anyone from the effects of their 
defperate refolutions. Whether thefe conliderations ex¬ 
cited fear in the mind of the king, or admiration, they 
confirmed his refolution of granting a pardon to Blood ; 
but lie thought it a requifite point of decency firft; to ob¬ 
tain the duke of Ormond’s conlent. Arlington came to 
Ormond in the king’s name, and defired that lie would not 
profecute Blood, for reafons which he was commanded to 
give him. The duke replied, that his majefty’s com¬ 
mands were the only reafon that could be given ; and, be¬ 
ing fufficient, he might therefore fpare the reft. Charles 
carried his kindnefs to Blood (fill farther: he granted him 
an eftate of 500I. a-\car in Ireland; he encouraged his 
attendance about his perfon, he fhewed him great coun¬ 
tenance, and many applied to him for promoting their in- 
terefts at court. And, while old Edwards, who had ven¬ 
tured his life, and had been wounded, in defending the 
crown and regalia, was forgotten and negledted, this man, 
who deferved only to be flared at and detefted as a mon- 
fter, became a kind of favourite. Blood enjoyed his pen- 
fion about ten years, till, being charged with fixing an 
imputation of a fcandalous nature on the duke of Buck¬ 
ingham, he was thrown into prifon, where he died on the 
24th of Auguft, 1680. 
BLOOD OF CHRIST, the name of a military order 
inftituted at Mantua in 1608. The number of knights 
was reftrifted to twenty, befides the grand mafter. Their 
device was, Domine, probajli me ; or, Nihil hoc, trifle, re- 
cepto: “ Lord, thou haft proved me ; ” or, “ Fortified 
by this, no evil can prevail.” 
Field of BLOOD, in Syriac aceldama, was a field pur- 
chafed by the Jews with the thirty pieces of filver which 
had been given to Judas for betraying his Mafter, and 
which he had reftored. It ftill ferves fora burial-ground, 
in which all pilgrims who die in their pilgrimage at Jeru- 
falem are interred. 
Spitting of BLOOD, or FIjemoptoe. See Medicine. 
3 BLOOD* 
