BLOIS, a 1. of France, capital of the department of Loire-et-Cher, has a remarkably fine situation on the of a hill, and is built chiefly on the right bank of theLoire, over which there is here a good stone bridge. It is about 35 m. s.w. of Orleans, on the railway between that place and Tours. The houses; in -the upper part of the town especially, are mean and ill-built, and the. streets are crooked and narrow, but they are kept clean by water from the public fountains, which are supplied by a splendid aqua duct supposed to have been constructed by the Romans. 13. has a handsome cathedral; but its chief glory is its old - castle, which has been. the scene of -many interesting historical events. Louis XII was born in it, and under its roof Charles, due d'Alencon, and Margaret of Anjou, and Henri IV. and Margaret of Valois were married. Here also were sometimes held the. courts of Francois I., Henri IL, Charles. IX., and Henri III. Here also the
due de Guise and his brother were murdered, by order of Henri III., on the 23d Dec., 1388. Isabella, queen of Charles here found a it- served as a prison for Mary de' Medici ; Catharine de' Medici died within .its walls; bud Maria Louisa here held her court in 1814, after Paris had capitulated. 13. is a place of great antiquity. Ste phen, who usurped the crown of England on the death oLlIenry I., was the son of one of the counts of B., by Adele the daughter of William the conqueror. 13. is an arch bishop's see, has a tribunal of commerce, a communal college, a public library of 20,000 vols., a botanic garden, etc.. and manufactures of porcelain and gloves, with a trade in brandy, wine, aud wood. Pop. '76, 18,188.