Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 05.djvu/199

 High Commission Court in the Diocese of Durham (Surtees Society), p. 155). He was fined 100l. and excommunicated till he submitted. On 30 Jan. 1641 he was voted member for Newcastle in place of Sir J. Melton, whose election was annulled. When the Scots captured Newcastle he was also appointed mayor, in place of Sir John Marlay (, p. 469). He suffered losses during the war, and was accordingly, on 3 June 1645, voted an allowance of 4l. a week, which was continued till 20 Aug. 1646. According to Noble he was also granted the sum of 14,000l. and given the post of coal meter at Newcastle, worth 200l. a year. Holles in his ' Memoirs ' describes Blakiston as one of the 'little northern beagles' set on to stir up public feeling against the Scots by exaggerating the contributions they had levied on the country. He was appointed one of the king's judges, was present at every sitting during the trial, and signed the death-warrant. In April 1649 the corporation of Newcastle found it necessary to write to the speaker to vindicate their representative from the charges brought against nim in the 'humble remonstrance' of George Lilbum. They praise Blakiston as 'unapt to cram himself with the riches of his ruined country, or seek after great things' (Tanner MSS. lvi. 22). He died shortly afterwards, for his will is dated 1 June 1649, and he is spoken of as deceased in the Commons Journals of 6 June. On 16 Aug. 1649 the house voted 3,000l. to provide for his widow and children.

 BLAMIRE, SUSANNA (1747–1794), the 'Muse of Cumberland,' was the daughter of a Cumberland yeoman, and was born in 1747 at Cardew Hall, about six miles from Carlisle. At the age of seven she lost her mother, and on her father's second marriage was committed to the charge of her widowed aunt, Mrs. Simpson of Thackwood. Mrs. Simpson seems to have been an excellent example of the qualities engendered by the life of a yeoman farmer. With an independent character, strongly marked individuality, and great practical sense, she led a busy life in the management of her farm and household. Susanna Blamire's education was conducted according to these principles. She went to the village school at Haughton Head, where the fee was a shilling a quarter. There she learned the rudiments of knowledge, and her own taste for reading enabled her to grow up with a cultivated mind. She was fond of poetry, and began to write in imitation of her favourite authors. Her earliest poem, written at the age of nineteen, was suggested by Gray's 'Elegy,' as is shown by its title: 'Written in a Churchyard, on seeing a number of cattle grazing in it.'

Susanna Blamire's life was uneventful, and there are scarcely any records of it left. She lived in an obscure part of England amongst her own relatives, and her correspondence has not been preserved. Her poems were fugitive pieces, some of which appeared in magazines, but were never signed by her name, They were not collected till long after her death, when her memory had almost faded away, and personal details were vague. She is described as of 'graceful form, somewhat above the middle size, and a countenance, though slightly marked with the smallpox, beaming with good nature; her dark eyes sparkled with animation.' Her country neighbours called her a 'bonnie and varra lish young lass.' She lived among the rustics, entered into their enjoyments, and sympathised with their troubles. She was fond of society, and was in great request at the 'merrie-neets,' or social gatherings, where she mixed with every class. A good farmer said sadly after her death: 'The merrie-neets won't be worth going to since she is no more.' The genuine gaiety and sprightliness of her disposition may be judged by the fact that if she met a wandering musician on the road she was known to dismount from her pony, ask for the music of a jig, and dance, till she was weary, on the grass.

Susanna's eldest sister married Colonel Graham of Gartmore, in 1767. A Graham of Gartmore was the author of the song, 'Oh, tell me how to woo thee,' and the traditions of culture were common to the family of Graham. Through her sister's marriage Susanna was introduced into a circle which sympathised with her poetical tastes. She often paid visits to Scotland. Once she went to see a relation who lived at Chillingham, and while there she attracted the attention of Lord Tankerville and his family. At his request she wrote one of her mast characteristic sketches of rustic life, a dialogue beginning, 'Why, Ned, man, thou luiks sae down-hearted.' Her poems were mostly written in this way, on the spur of the moment, and very few were revised with a view to publication. Her poetical gift was, in fact, regarded by her as an accomplishment which she sometimes used to please her friends. It was the custom for the wealthier families in Cumberland to take lodgings in Carlisle for the winter months. There Susanna Blamire made the acquaintance of one like-minded with herself,