690 BLAKE till 1830, having charge also of St. Matthew's church in Boston most of the time. Subse- quently, he was editor for a time of the " Lite- rary Advertiser " and the " Gospel Advocate." In 1814 he published a "Text Book of Geography and Chronology," which passed through several editions. In 1835 appeared his "Biographical Dictionary," of which a sec- ond edition was published in 1856 (1 vol. large 8vo). He was the writer or compiler of nearly 50 different works, of which the greater part were text books for schools. There were also two or three volumes on rural economy, the "Family Cyclopaedia," "Letters on Confirma- tion," a volume on prayer, sermons and ad- dresses, &c. BLAKE, Robert, an English admiral, born at Bridgewater, Somersetshire, in August, 1599, died off Plymouth, Aug. 17, 1657. He was the eldest son of a wealthy merchant, and was ed- ucated at Oxford. Although attached to the principles of the Puritans and theoretically a republican, he took no active part in politics, but in 1640 was returned to parliament for Bridgewater. Upon the outbreak of the civil war lie raised forces in Somersetshire, and op- erated against the royalists in the western coun- ties. In 1643 he commanded a fort at Bristol during the siege of that city, and having been appointed governor of Tatmton, distinguished himself by his successful defence of that place in 1645 against a superior force. In 1649, after the execution of the king, the navy under Prince Rupert, which had continued loyal, had full control of the seas. At this juncture Blake was appointed to the command of a squadron, with the title of "general of the sea," and blockaded Prince Rupert in the har- bor of Kinsale for several months. The prince, having broken through the blockading line with a loss of three ships, proceeded to the Tagus, whither he was soon followed by Blake, who by seizing a large number of richly laden Portuguese ships compelled the king of Por- tugal, who favored Rupert, to expel him. The two squadrons met off Malaga in January, 1651, when the royal fleet, except two ships, was de- stroyed. Upon returning home Blake receiv- ed the thanks of parliament for these exploits, and was made warden of the Cinque Ports. He subsequently took Jersey, Guernsey, and the Scilly islands from the royalists, again received the thanks of parliament, and was elected a member of the council of state. In March, 1652, in anticipation of a war with Holland, Blake was appointed sole admiral, and on May 19, 1652, fought a battle in Dover roads with the Dutch fleet under Admiral Van Tromp, which was terminated only by night, when the Dutch withdrew, with the loss of two ships and 30 guns. He again met the enemy under De "Witt on Sept. 28, and cap- tured the Dutch flag ship and three others. Subsequently Blake divided his fleet into sev- eral squadrons, retaining himself only 37 ships, and was attacked near the Goodwin Sands, Nov. 29, by Van Tromp, at the head of twice that number. The battle, during which Blake was wounded, was stubbornly contested, and at night the English, having destroyed one of the enemy's ships and disabled two oth- ers, and lost six of their own, retired to the Thames. This success so elated Van Tromp that he sailed through the channel with brooms at his mast-heads. The English immediately strengthened their fleet, and embarked two regiments of infantry as marines; and in Feb- ruary, 1653, Blake put to sea with over 70 vessels. On the 18th he intercepted Van Tromp, with 76 ships of war, convoying a fleet of 300 merchantmen, off Portland island, and immediately attacked him. A running fight was maintained for three days, when the Dutch found refuge in the shallow water of their own coast, having lost 11 ships of war, with 2,000 men killed and 1,500 prisoners, besides 50 of their merchantmen. Blake lost hut one ship; his slain were about 2,000. When Cromwell dissolved the long parliament and assumed absolute control of the govern- ment, Blake gave his support to the protector, and kept his men firm in their duty to the de facto government, saying to his officers, " It is not our business to mind state affairs, but to keep foreigners from fooling us." He sat in the first two parliaments summoned by Cromwell. On June 3 and 4, 1653, he fought again with the Dutch, driving them, with the loss of 20 ships, to their own shore. After this Blake was obliged by ill health to leave the sea, and was not present at the battle (end of July) which closed the war. In November, 1654, he was sent to the Mediterranean, at the head of a strong fleet, to exact reparation for injuries done to British commerce during the civil war. So great was his reputation that the duke of Tuscany and the knights of Malta at once made compensation, and Algiers and Tripoli submit- ted to his terms. Tunis, which resisted, was compelled to conclude a peace, Upon the breaking out of war with Spain in 1656, he was sent to blockade the bay of Cadiz, and on April 20, 1657, he cut out from under the guns of Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe, a fleet of Spanish galleons laden with silver, defended by a strong naval force. This was perhaps the greatest of his achievements. He died of scur- vy while entering Plymouth sound on his re- turn. The career of Blake was remarkable. Without experience in war, he distinguished himself as a commander ; without training at sea, he became at once the foremost admiral of his time. As a man he was of a blunt and fearless temper, and distinguished for straight- forwardness and honesty of character. BLAKE, William, an English artist and poet, born in London, Nov. 28, 1757, died there, Aug. 12, 1827. He was the son of a hosier, and at the age of 14 was apprenticed to an engraver, and when 21 began to make engravings for the booksellers. He also succeeded now and then in finding a purchaser for a drawing. He had
