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* BLOEMrONTEIN. 188 BLOMSTBAND. chief are tlie President's house, the town-hall, and the museum. Bloemfontein contains also several educational institutions, includinf; col- leges and a theological school. Its favorable cli- mate has made tlie town of importance as a health resort. A considerable trade, particularly in wool, is carried on. Population, in 1899, about 12,000. During the war between Great Britain and the South African Republics, Bloem- fontein attained considerable importance as one of the chief centres of the Boer strength. After the forces of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State had been twice defeated in the neighbor- hood of the town, it surrendered to Lord Roberts on March 13, 1900. BLOIS, blwil (Med. Lat. Blesum, Blesis, Blezu ). The capital of the Department of Loir- et-Cher, France, finely situated on the slopes of a hill, on the right bank of the Loire, 35 miles southwest of Orleans (Map: France, H 4). The main street traverses a hollow, flanked by eleva- tions, dominated respectively by the castle and the cathedral. The streets in the upper part of the town are narrow and tortuous, and the houses mean and ill built. Besides the Cathedral of Saint Louis, a structure in bastard Gothic, the most notable ecclesiastical edifice is the abbey Church of Saint Nicolas, built in 1138-1210. Blois's educational establishments comprise a col- lege, teachers' school, two seminaries, a museum, and library. It has manufactures of wearing ap- parel, porcelain, and chocolate. A fine aqueduct of F.oman origin, cut in the solid rock, supplies the city with water. A bridge across the Loire connects Blois with the suburb of Vienne. The most interesting edifice of the city is the old cas- tle, situated on the highest ground. The earliest part dates from the Thirteenth Century, while the finest portion, the Francis I. wing, with its admirable staircase, ascending within a project- ing pentagonal tower, adorned with exquisite carvings both outside and inside, was built in the Sixteenth Century, and is a masterpiece of the early French Renaissance. The outer as well as the inner facades are richly decorated. The cas- tle has been the scene of many interesting his- torical events. Louis XII. was born in it, and under its roof Charles, Due d'Alen^on, and Margaret of Anjou were married. The courts of Francis I., Henry II., Charles IX., and Henry III. were held here occasionally, and in the cas- tle the Duke of Guise and his brother were murdered, by order of Henry IIL. on December 23, 1588. Isabella, queen of Charles VI., here found a retreat; it served as a prison for Maria de' Medici ; Catharine dc' Medici died within its walls; and Maria Louisa held her Court here in 1814, after Paris had capitulated. Population, in 1896, 23.542. Consult Le Nail, Le Chateau de Blois (Paris. 1874). BLOK, blAk, Petrus Johannes (1855 — ). A Dutch historian, born at Holder. He studied at Leyden, and in 1884 was made professor of his- tory at Croningen. He later oc(U))ied the same position at the University of Leyden. and dur- ing Queen Wilhelmina's historical studies acted as her instructor. Blok's researches have been in connection with the social-political history of the Netherlands, especially during the Middle Ages. Among his works are: licnc JloUandschc stad in dc middelreuwcn (Hague, 1883) ; Ecnc Hollandsche stad onder de BourrjnndisrhOosten- rijksche heerschappij (Hague, 1884) ; Geschiede- nis con het y ederlandsche Volk (Ci'oningcn, 1892), translated by Miss Ruth Putnam, as the History of the People of the Netherlands (New York, 1898-1902). BLOMFIELD, blum'feld, Charles James (1780-1857). Bishop of London; a learned and influential' prelate of the Church of Knglaiid. He was born May 29, 178(i, at Bury Saint Edmunds, in Sufl'olk, CO miles northeast of London, where his father was schoolmaster. Being well ground- ed by his father in the classics. Blomfield went to Cambridge, where he took high honors, B.A., 1808, and became fellow of Trinit3' College. After he had filled several curacies, the Bishop of Lon- don appointed him his chaplain, in recognition of his acknowledged philological and theological acquirements. Shortly after, he was called to the living of Saint IJotolph ; in 1824 he was made Bishop of Chester, and in 1828 he was promoted to the See of London, on the transla- tion of Bishop Howley to Canterbury. Bloni- field's reputation for classical scholarship rests chiefly on his editions of Callimachiis (London, 1815), and of several of the dramas of .T^sclii/lus. In connection with Rennel, he published the .l/»- s(S Cantabrigienses, and with Monk (1812), Posthumous Tracts of Porson, and in 1814 the Adversarin Porsoni. He also published lectures on the Gospel of John and on the Acts ( 1823- 28, 3d ed. 1838). Blomfield was exceedingly active in the superintendence of his diocese, and was a prime mover in the agitation for the erec- tion of new churches. Under his presidency more churches were erected in London than un- der any other bishop since the Reformation. He died in London. August 5, 1857. For his biog- raphy, consult Blomfield (London, 1803, 2 vols., 2d ed. 1804). BLOMMAEET, blom'miirt, Piiiupp (1809- 71). A Flemish historian and philologist. His most noted work is Histor;/ of the Belgians (Aloude geschiedcnis der Belgen, Ghent, 1849), urging a German policy as opposed to the French. He jjublished also mediocre poems (1834), a Flemish translation of the Xibcliingcn- lied (q.v. ), and learned editions of old Flemish poems of the period from the Twelfth to the Fourteenth Century, Oudvhiemselie gedichten (Ghent, 1838-51), and Theophilus (ib. 1858). BLOMMAERT, Samuel (1590-1670). A Colonial patroon. He bought from the Indians a large trad of land, extending from Cape Hen- lopen to the mouth of the Delaware Kivei" — a, tract almost the size of the ])rc.scnt State of Dela- ware. The purchase was ratified by Peter Minuit and his Council at Fort Amsterdam in 1030, and is the oldest deed for land in Delaware. The other owner of th(! land, Sanmel Godyn, with Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, De Laet, and De Vries (q.v.), formed a company to settle this tract, and a colony of thirty was started at Lewes Creek under the governorship of (iillis Hosset. In the same year twelve square miles were added to the company's land by a purchase recorded at Fort Amsterdam. The colony, which had been named Swaanendale, was after a few years de- stroyed by the Indians in revenge for an act of Hosset's. BLOMSTBAND. bldm'strflnd. Cjiristian WiLHELM (1826-97). A Swedish chemist, born at We.xiti. He studied at the University of Lund, and from 1802 to 1895 was professor of