BLENNY. 171 BLESSON. rayed fishes, remarkable for the abundance of slimy matter with which their skin is covered, ^lany are scaleless. The body is generally of an elongated form. They have only one dorsal fin, which. however, in many is deeply divided. They are distributed in the seas of all parts of the world. The true blennies are small fishes living in small shoals, frequenting rocky coasts, and often found in pools left dry by the tide," or even among the wet seaweeds, where they are capable of subsisting for a much longer time than that of the absence of* the tide. They possess the power of using their ventral fins to aid them in moving about among rocks and seaweeds. They are hardly edible, but are much in request for the aquarium on account of their tenacity of life and their activity. They feed chiefly on small <'riistaceans. ilany of the Blennida> family re- tain their eggs M'ithin the oviduct until they are hatched, so that the young are produced alive and capable of seeking their own food. Com- pare article GoBT. BLEPH'AEI'TIS (from Gk. pxi^apcv, hle- phuron, eyelid). A chronic inflammation of the margins of the eyelids. It is very common, par- ticularly in children, and occurs in persons who are debilitated, with poor hygienic surroimdings or uncleanly habits. It is also a result of insuf- ficient sleep, or may follow measles, chronic con- junctivitis, or exposure to dust, smoke, or wind. Very frequently it shows the presence of errors of refraction, requiring correction by eyeglasses. The superficial form is characterized by redness, itching, soreness, and swelling of the margins of the lids, with a formation of white scales between the lashes, which are loose. There is sensitive- ness to light. If ulceration occurs, the lashes are glued together by yellowish crusts, which cover the ulcers. As in the other form, the lashes fall out, but in eases with ulceration they are not replaced. Ectropion (q.v. ) or trichiasis (q.v. ) may follow. The aflfection is chronic and very obstinate, but will usually yield to treatment. BLEPH'AROPLAST' (Gk. ^i4>apov, hlepha- roil, eyelid— 7rXa(7T6s. filnstos, formed, molded; referring to the cilia; see below). In plants, a name given by Webber to certain bodies oc- curring in connection with the formation of the male cells of one of the Cycads (Zamia). Homologous structures have been found in other Cycads {Cycas, etc.), in the Maiden-hair Tree (Ginkffo), and in various fern-plants. In the (S'cads two blepharoplasts appear at opposite poles of the nucleus of the cell that is to pro- duce the two male cells, and when it divides, each male cell receives a single blepharoplast. In all cases the function of the blepharoplast is the formation of cilia, by means of which the male cells may swim. Originally spherical in form, it becomes drawn out into a narrow band, which disposes itself in a. spiral against the inner sur- face of the w^U of the male cc]i, and from which ■cilia are developed which pierce the wall. The radiations which surround the blepharoplasts, and their position at opposite poles of the nu- tleus, have suggested that they are concerned in the formation of the spindle which precedes cell- division, but more evidence is needed before this view can be accepted. Many believe that the blepharoplast, while only a transient structure, is a genuine Centrosome (q.v.), while others con- tend that it is a unique organ of the cell. Ho- VoL. Ill —12. mologous bodies have been described under the names "Hoekor,' "Komchen,' 'Nebenkern,' 'attrac- tion sphere,' 'directive sphere,' and 'centrosome- like body.' BLERE', blA'ra'. A tomi in the Department of [ndre-et-Loire, France, situated on the left bank of the Cher, about 15 miles east-south- east of Tours (Map: France, G 4). Blere is the entrepot for most of the trallie on the Cher, and is noted for a handsome Sixteenth-Century chapel. Population, in 180G, 3'2G!). The famous castle of Chenonceaux (q.v.) is 4 miles distant. BLES, bles, Hexri (c.USO-looO). A notable Flemish painter, about whose life and works very little is known. He is supposed to have been born near Dinant, and to have traveled in Italy. The "Adoration of the Magi," in Dresden, is his only signed picture; but paintings are accredited to him in nearly all the galleries of Europe. His brush was prolific, and there is great variety in his subjects. Mth .Joachim Patinet he is by some considered a founder of the Dutch school of landscape. BLESBOK, bles'bok. A hartbeest (Alcepha- lux alliifroiis) , "of a beautiful violet color." See H.RTnr:KST. BLESSING OF JACOB, The. A painting liy Rembrandt (ICotJ) in the Museum at Cassel, Germany. It is a fine conception, and a masterly delineation of the biblical account of the blessing bestowed by .Tacob on E]>hraim and Manasseh. BliES'SINGTON, Marguerite, Countess of (1789-184!)). An English leader of society and autlior. She was born September 1, 1780, at Knockbrit, near Clonmel. Tipperary, Ireland, where her father, Edmund Power, was settled. At the age of 15 she was married to Captain Farmer, and shortly after his death to Charles John Gardiner, Earl of Blessington. With him she took several extensive journeys on the Conti- nent, where, as well as in London, she gathered around her all the most distinguished men of the time. In Genoa slie formed an intellectual friendship with Lord Byron, and afterwards re- sided in Paris iintil the death of her husband, in 1829, He left her a good fortune, which enabled her to gratify her literary tastes. She held a lit- tle court of her own at her family mansion. Gore House, Kensington, a suburb in the West End of London. Her celebrated soirees were frequented by main' of her distinguished contemporaries. Her subsequent connection with Count d'Orsay placed her in an equivocal position as regards society, and consequently, on the accession to power of Louis Xapoleon, with whom both were intimate, they left England for France. She died in Paris, June 4, 184'J. Besides editing The Keeptsalce for ten years and doing other mi.scel- laneous literary work, she wrote several novels and sketches of life and .scenes in France and in Italy. Her most valuable production is the Coti- rersations with Lord Byrun (1834), which helped to place the poet in a more favorable light before his countrvnien. Consult Madden, Life of the Countess of Blessington (3 vols., Lon- don, 1855), BLES'SON, JoiiANN LtDwio Urban (1790- 1S(!1), A Prussian military writer, born in Ber- lin. He entered the Pioneer Corps in 1813, served in the War of Liberation as an olTiccr of engi- neers, was for some time a teacher in the mili-
