made governor in 1696, and remained in office four years. His appointment was a concession to popular feeling, made in the hope of reconciling the embittered feelings and jarring interests of churchmen and dissenters, proprietaries and colonists; and it was a successful measure, Carolina seeming at length to enjoy some internal peace. Blake showed his liberal and tolerant spirit by procuring an act from the assembly enfranchising the Huguenots, and consenting to another, which endowed the episcopal church at Charleston with a parsonage and an annual stipend.—F. B.
BLAKE, Robert, one of the most celebrated of England's admirals, and the genuine founder of England's naval supremacy, was born at Bridgewater in Somersetshire about August or September, 1599. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on the 27th of September, 1599. Assuming that the ceremony of baptism was performed at the usual period, Blake would be four months younger than Oliver Cromwell, who was born on the 25th of April of the same year. His father was Humphrey Blake of Plainsfield, and his grandfather was Robert Blake of Tuxwell, who was mayor of Bridgewater. Humphrey, the admiral's father, besides being a landed proprietor, was an adventurous merchant—a seafaring trader, who embarked in his own ship, and traded with his own cargoes to Spain. He may thus have implanted in the mind of the young Robert, those seeds of naval heroism which were only to germinate in after years.
Blake's life may be conveniently divided into four periods—his university career—his civil career at Bridgewater—his military career, and his naval career.
Blake went to Oxford in 1615, when he was sixteen years of age, with the intention of devoting himself permanently to letters, as his taste was bent in that direction. He is said to have been a diligent student, and also to have been much given to field sports. He had matriculated as a member of St. Alban's hall, but afterwards removed to Wadham college at the request of his father's friend, Nicholas Wadham, a Somersetshire man, who had then recently founded the edifice which bears his name. There he completed his education, and his portrait is still seen in the dining-hall of Wadham. As Blake intended to devote himself to learning as a profession, he competed for a fellowship at Merton college, but was unsuccessful—Sir Henry Savile, the warden of Merton, having a distaste for men of low stature. He took his degree, however, as master of arts, and remained altogether at Oxford nine years. He was then twenty-five years of age. Humphrey Blake appears to have been too adventurous in his speculations, and he had not prospered. His health was failing, and Robert was called home to attend to the family affairs; and, as it soon proved, to attend his father to the tomb. Robert, as the eldest son, now found himself in a position of no ordinary responsibility. His widowed mother was left with a numerous family, for whose education and support it was Robert's duty to provide. Well and manfully did Blake perform these duties. He proved himself a man of unflinching nature, and at once took the family affairs into his own hands. After paying the whole of his father's debts, he found that he inherited £200 a year, and the house at Bridgewater. With this income he constituted himself the father of the family—took care of his mother—reared and educated his brothers and sisters—planted them all out in life, and had the satisfaction of seeing them all attain to positions of independence—some of them to wealth and consideration. The man had begun well; in fact, during the whole of Blake's career, we may describe his conduct in a single sentence—"This man was faithful to his trust." While at Bridgewater, Blake was the moving spirit of the liberal party, and one of those who signed a remonstrance praying the king to put an end to religious persecution, and to what the puritans called the popish rites and ceremonies of Laud. He was a thorough puritan and a thorough republican. In the short parliament which met in April, 1640, and was dismissed three weeks after, Blake sat as member for Bridgewater, and there he first met the great leaders of the reforming party. In November, 1640, Charles was obliged by his difficulties to summon a new parliament—the Long Parliament—which dragged out its existence for many years. Blake became a member of the Long Parliament in 1645, and sat in it for Taunton.
In 1642 the civil war broke out, not unexpectedly to Blake it would seem, as he appears to have been organizing a party in the west—collecting arms—devising watchwords—procuring horses—and, in general, getting ready for the fray. His was one of the first troops in the field, and he appears to have played his part more or less in almost every action fought in the west country. His first prominent appearance was at the siege of Bristol in July, 1643. Bristol, at that period, was a town of much more relative importance than at present—a sort of capital of the west. It was commanded by Colonel Fiennes—was well provisioned—had plenty of arms and ammunition—perhaps 2000 regular troops, and was capable of making a stout defence. Its lines were strengthened by small forts, and one of these, called Prior's hill, was commanded by Captain Blake. Prince Rupert and his brother, Maurice, appeared before the town, and made immediate preparations for storming it. The first day's action was indecisive. On the second day Rupert again advanced his troops. His design was to pass the curtain between Prior's hill and the next position. No sooner did his troops advance, however, than they were taken in flank by the steady fire of Blake's men, so that Prior's hill became the key of the day's operations. Detachment after detachment advanced, and still they found the pestiferous little fort firing away with steady resolution. Lord Grandison, who commanded this portion of the attack, was at last convinced that nothing could be done so long as Blake held Prior's hill, and he summoned his whole force to storm it. On they went, gallantly enough, up to the very wall, but in vain. Blake knew the value of good marksmen in such cases, and the officers went down one after another. At last the men ran away, and to the utter astonishment of the royalists, out rushed Blake and pursued them. Grandison was now desperate, and shouting to his men to follow him, he led a third attack. He also went down. His next colonel—Colonel Owen—took his place, and he also went down. Blake would not be beaten, and so, by sheer hard fighting, he drove back the whole attack—swept the line—cleared the hill—and withdrew to his little fort, ready to fight them again. Colonel Fiennes, however, parleyed with Rupert, and agreed to surrender the city—for which he was afterwards tried by court-martial, and condemned to be shot, but was pardoned by the lord-general Essex.
After this Blake was appointed lieutenant-colonel of Popham's regiment—a picked body of 1500 men, well-equipped and strong roundheads. With a portion of this force he endeavoured to surprise Bridgewater, and while there he lost his brother Samuel, who was killed in a foolish expedition after a royalist officer. On being informed of his brother's death, Blake only remarked, "Sam had no business there; "but Sam had left two children, and to these children Blake was ever afterwards a father. He took charge of them as his own—made one of them a seaman, and at his death, left him the great gold chain which parliament had voted for his services.
After the fall of Bristol, Rupert went northward with the king, while Prince Maurice remained in the west to subdue the few towns that remained faithful to the parliament. Dorchester, Weymouth, Barnstaple, Dartmouth, and Exeter, soon fell into the hands of the cavaliers. Plymouth, Lyme, and Poole, were almost the only places that remained. The first was too strong to be taken, and Maurice, leaving a portion of his forces to blockade the town, marched onward to chastise the garrisons of Lyme and Poole. Lyme was a small seaport town with scarcely a thousand inhabitants—with very insufficient defences—overlooked by the high ground on the land side; and, in fact, as indefensible a place as can be conceived. Blake occupied it, however, with about 500 men of his own, and some volunteers, and determined to defend it. Maurice advanced with a large force, and summoned the place to surrender. Blake returned a haughty answer, and a general charge was sounded, as if the capture was a matter of course. Cavalry and infantry advance upon the town, but soon retire in confusion. Maurice must sit down to a siege, and there he remained for two months, losing his men and losing his time, but making no impression on the "little vile fishing town." Essex was approaching with an army from London, and Maurice was obliged to break up his quarters, and retire to Exeter. This was in the early summer of 1644, the time when the affairs of the parliament—had it not been for the assistance of the Scottish army—were in a very critical position. Dugdale says, that at the beginning of the year all the north of England beyond Trent, excepting Hull in Yorkshire and some few inconsiderable places, being by the marquis of Newcastle reduced to the king's obedience, as also the west by Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice, excepting Poole and Lyme in Dorsetshire, and Plymouth in Devonshire, the members sitting at
