judged it madness to defend, they received so rude a check that the contented themselves with investing it andy waiting for famine to do their work. From time to time more energetic attempts were made, but through all, against sword and iitmine and repeated bombardments, the place was held for nearly a year, till after the battle of Naseby, 14 June, 1645, had left the parliament free to undertake the suhjugution of the west. When the siege was finally raised, Blake continued to act as governor of Taunton. The town was little more than a heap of rubbish, the land round about was desolate, the people were impoverished. Money was granted by the parliament to meet the immediate necessities, and public collections were made for rebuilding the ruined houses; but through the autumn and winter Blake was fully occupied with the task of administering relief an restoring order, and though returned to parliament he did not at that time take any part in the parliamentary proceedings. His reputationin Somerset stgod exetremely high, and has been supposed to have excited the jealousy of Cromwell himself Of this there is no evidence ; but it appears certain that Blake was not of Cromwell s party, and, unlike a large majority of the loremost men of the time, he was neither relation nor connection of Cromwell. lt is said that he openly declared that ‘he would as freely venture his life to save the king as ever he had done it to serve the parliament' (History and Life, 28). This is utter nonsense, and would, had he said it, have been a strong condemnation of Blake, a dark stain on his character; for it is perfectly certain that he took no active measures, either in word or deed, to stay the kings execution. It is probable enough that e considered it as a blunder; but his appointment 27 Feb. 1648-9, a very few days after the king’s death, to share in the chief command of the fleet, is a proof that the dominant faction had neither doubt of his goodwill nor jealousy of his reputation. The events of 1648 had indeed shown that it was necessary to have in command of the fleet a man whom the council of state could trust [see Batten, Sir William ; and it is very probuble that some familiarity with ships an maritime affairs, gained as a merchant of Bridgwater, may have directed the appointment of Blake, as one of the admirals und generals at sea, to command the fleet during the summer of 1649. The duty immediately before them was to suppress Prince Rupert, who, with the revolted ships and some others, had begun a naval war against the parliament on a system scarcely, if at all, distinguishable from priacy (Warburton, Prince Rupert, iii. 275 n.), and had meantime established his headquarters at Kinsale. Here Blake blockaded him, and the summer of 1619 slipped away without his being able to stir out of the port; but so far was Cromwell from the jealousy with which he is commonly credited, that he suggested and procured for Blake the offer of a command with himself in the army in Ireland as major-general of foot. The choice was left with Blake (Calendar S. P., Dom. 2 Oct. 1649), was preferred the more adventurous service, and continued in command of the fleet.
Towards the end of October a gale of wind blew Blake’s squadron off shore, and Prince Russert, taking hasty advantage of the chance, made good his escape to the coast of Portugal and the straits of Gibraltar, where he was on the main line of all foreign trade, and his piracies rapidly filled his treasury. A winter fleet was at once ordered to be got ready, and, Deane being sick, the sole command was, in the first instance, given to Blake (ibid. 4 Dec.), who was ordered to reside at Plymouth to expedite matters, and to get to sea as soon as possible ; while Popham, the third of the generals, was to follow with reinforcements. He was directed to himt down the princes as public enemies, to seize or destroy them wherever he should come up with them, and to treat as enemies any foreign powers who might support them (17 Jan. 1649-50; Thurloe, State Papers, i. 136). It was not till the beginning of March that Blake got to sea, and when he arrived at the mouth of the Tagus he found that the princes were in the river, and had obtained a promise of support from the king of Portugal. The English resident in vain urged that these were pirates, in vain demanded satisfaction for the insults they received from the princes, whose men fought with, and even killed, the English sailors on shore ; whilst Rupert, always distinguished for his mechanical genius, attempted to shorten matters by sending, 23 April, a species of torpedo-not very dissimilar from those of our own time-on board the vice-admiral, in hopes to set tire to his ship (Warburton, iii. 305; Thurloe, i. 146). Suspicion was excited, and the thing was not received on board ; but though the attempt was patent enopégh, and though the murder of some of the English seamen was publicly known, the king refused to give the English any satisfaction. The case was provided for in Blake's instructions, and was rendered more pressing by the belief that it French squadron was expected, which was to act in concert with the princes. Accordingly, on 21 May, he seized nine ships ing out of the river, bound for the Brazils with rich cargoes.
