nfluence that was felt in the Southern group of colonies
before the Revolution." He died on the 18th of April 1743, and was
buried at Jamestown, Va. He published a collection of 117 discourses
under the title _Our Saviour's Divine Sermon on the Mount_ (4 vols.,
1722; second edition, 1732), and, in collaboration with Henry Hartwell
and Edward Chilton, a work entitled _The Present State of Virginia and
the College_ (1727; written in 1693), probably the best account of the
Virginia of that time.

See Daniel E. Motley's _Life of Commissary James Blair_ (Baltimore,
1901; series xix. No. 10, of the Johns Hopkins University Studies in
Historical and Political Science), and, for a short sketch and an
estimate, M.C. Tyler's _A History of American Literature, 1607-1765_
(New York, 1878).

BLAIR, ROBERT (1699-1746), Scottish poet, eldest son of the Rev. Robert
Blair, one of the king's chaplains, was born at Edinburgh in 1699. He
was educated at Edinburgh University and in Holland, and in 1731 was
appointed to the living of Athelstaneford in East Lothian. He married in
1738 Isabella, daughter of Professor William Law. The possession of a
small fortune gave him leisure for his favourite pursuits, gardening and
the study of English poets. He died at Athelstaneford on the 4th of
February 1746. His only considerable work, _The Grave_ (1743), is a poem
written in blank verse of great vigour and freshness, and is much less
conventional than its gloomy subject might lead one to expect. Its
religious subject no doubt contributed to its great popularity,
especially in Scotland; but the vogue it attained was justified by its
picturesque imagery and occasional felicity of expression. It inspired
William Blake to undertake a series of twelve illustrative designs,
which were engraved by Louis Schiavonetti, and published in 1808.

See the biographical introduction prefixed to his _Poetical Works_, by
Dr Robert Anderson, in his _Poets of Great Britain_, vol. viii.
(1794.)

BLAIR ATHOLL (Gaelic _blair_, "a plain"), a village and parish of
Perthshire, Scotland, 35-1/4 m. N.W. of Perth by the Highland railway.
Pop. (1901) 367; of parish, 1722. It is situated at the confluence of
the Tilt and the Garry. The oldest part of Blair Castle, a seat of the
duke of Atholl, dates from 1269; as restored and enlarged in 1869-1872
from the plans of David Bryce, R.S.A., it is a magnificent example of
the Scottish baronial style. It