nate claims of this description, on the part of Charles I. and his advisers, should always be borne in mind, in judging of the conduct and motives of men so undeniably disinterested and honourable as Blake; for it was not surprising that individuals of that class, who conscientiously maintained the religious tenets so undisguisedly assailed, should pass over limited monarchy, in their theoretical march to political liberty. It may be said that these observations will only apply to the first part of the reign of Charles I. it may be so, to a certain degree; but the conduct of the family, when restored, too powerfully justified the distrust always entertained of it by those who were convinced that it would never willingly govern under the restraint of a well-regulated constitutional system, or sincerely give up the dangerous pretensions which its final expulsion alone terminated.

It was doubtless under the impulse of convictions, more or less akin to those alluded to, that Blake chose his party on the commencement of the disastrous conflict; and it is therefore highly to his credit and consistency, that he took no share in any of the measures which gradually changed the complexion of a contest for civil and religious liberty, into a struggle for personal interest and ambitious aggrandisement. Thus, for some time after the relief of Taunton, he took little part in public business, disliking the proceedings of the Independents and the army; and the expulsion of the Presbyterians. Nor, though inclined to a commonwealth, did he approve of the trial of Charles I., the execution of whom he deemed barbarous and illegal. He even went so far as to assert that he would as freely venture his life to save the king, as he had done to serve the Parliament.* But, however much opposed to the arbitrary and vindictive measures against the life of the king, Blake seems entirely to have given up all hopes of agreement with Charles, after his refusal to accept the terms proposed to him while with the Scottish army. He had therefore joined the borough of Taunton in a petition to the House of Commons, never again to address the king; but he was invariably averse to any stronger measure than his deposition. His disapprobation of harsher proceedings indeed, was so well understood by Crom

• Lives, English and Foreign, vol. ii. p. 85.

well, that, when the trial of the king was determined upon, a part of the forces, under Blake, was disbanded; and, to conceal the motive, the order was accompanied with a parliamentary compliment, and a donation of 500l. This aversion to every thing sanguinary, out of the field, was conspicuous in the whole of his conduct; and it forms the brightest part of his brilliant character that in all parleys and negotiations with the royalists, and especially in the treatment of the vanquished, he was invariably feeling and considerate. This humane disposition, added to the fact, that the whole of his career was rather that of an open and honourable warrior,than of an interested politician, has rendered him comparatively a favourite, even with the royalists. No man on the parliamentary side has been treated so tenderly by the numerous vindicators of Charles I., as Blake; owing partly, no doubt, to so many of his subsequent exploits, redounding to the honour of the country; but also, in no mean degree, to the frank and sincere character of the man.

But although personally averse to the trial and condemnation of the king, having strongly imbibed republican sentiments, Blake had no objection to the abolition of kingly government, and therefore after the unfortunate monarch's execution, he quickly fell in with the views of the prevailing party; and next to Cromwell, and possibly Ireton, was considered to be one of the most able and efficient officers of the commonwealth. Unlike the former leader, although doubtless anxious for glory, his services were no other way connected with views of self aggrandisement; and he seems to have aspired rather to be useful to his country, within the sphere of his acknowledged abilities, than to sway either as a legislator or politician. It has been alleged, and most probably with justice, that he formally adopted the principle, common to several of the most virtuous public characters of Greece and Rome, that it was a duty to serve his country under all circumstances; and he seems to have satisfied himself in the various changes of the times, by adhering to what he deemed its true interests. It is one of the unavoidable results of this line of conduct, that it renders honourable men occasionally subservient to the more interested views and purposes of others; and in this manner, the exertions of Blake were made conducive to the

advancement of Cromwell. He was not, however, such a man as that wily politician wished to have in his councils, and it is therefore conjectured, that his destination, which was from this time exclusively to the sea service, originated in Cromwell's anxiety to employ him where his talents would at once be efficient for the country, and powerless for the acquirement of any influence that might be directed against himself. Whether this supposition be justly founded or not, the well-judged appropriation of Blake to the navy, led to consequences of no small moment in the naval history of Great Britain.

CHAPTER II.

Union of Military and Naval Command -Blake, Deane, and Popham up pointed Commissioners of the Navy -Blake ordered to pursue the Fleet under Prince Rupert--Transactions in the Tagus-War with PortugalProceedings at Carthagena and Malaga-Defeat of Prince Rupert

Reprisals on France-Blake's Treatment of a French Captain-Services against the Isles of Scilly and Guernsey-Causes of War with the Dutch-First Engagement with Van Tromp-Expedition to the North. FOR nearly a century and a half, the naval service of Great Britain has been rendered so strictly nautical, that the appointment of a soldier, nearly fifty years of age, to the command of a fleet, will be deemed extraordinary by those who are unacquainted with the progress of our maritime power towards its present superiority. In the reign of Elizabeth, such were the circumstances of the period, that men of great maritime experience were necessarily called into naval service; as for instance, Hawkins, Drake, Frobisher, and others; none of whom had been originally officers of the navy in the present sense of the term. In the same manner, the conduct of the fleet was often given to any nobleman, or officer possessed of general abilities for command; and this continued to be the case until towards the close of the reign of Charles II. During the Commonwealth, indeed, nearly all the most distinguished naval commanders had previously served in the army; although from the comparative perfection to which naval tactics have since been brought, and from the sea

manship required in the manœuvres, on which they entirely depend, the conduct of a sea engagement, by a landsman, would, naturally enough, at this time be condemned as a very hazardous experiment. There was nothing, therefore, remarkable in the appointment of an officer of the talents and energy of Blake to the sea service: the genuine ground of surprise is, that he at once became the most able and successful naval commander of his day; but, promptness, decision, intrepidity, and enterprise, must at all times, form the chief ingredients of naval as well as of military heroism.

On the 12th February, 1649, the Colonels Blake, Deane, and Popham were appointed commissioners of the navy, and Blake himself was nominated ordered to sail in pursuit of the Princes to the command of a squadron, and Rupert and Maurice, who were in the Irish sea with that part of the fleet which had adhered to the king, and which was endeavouring to assist the Marquis of Ormond, then in arms for

Charles II. in Ireland. Blake arrived with his fleet off Kinsale, in the following June, where the two princes lay in harbour. At the same time, Deane cruised off Plymouth, Popham between the Downs and Portsmouth, and Sir George Ayscue in the Bay of Dublin; by which several squadrons, the Parlia ment became completely masters of the sea. Such was the popularity of Blake, whom henceforward we shall call Admiral,* that the crews of the ships of Prince Rupert deserted to him daily, which induced the prince to execute ten seamen whom he detected in the attempt. Blake kept the royal ships blockaded until the following October, when despairing of relief by sea, and Cromwell being about to capture the town by land, Rupert and Maurice resolved to force their way through the blockading squadron, which, with the loss of three ships, sunk by Blake, they effected, and steered for Lisbon. Here they were kindly received, and sheltered by the King of Portugal; a duty of hospitality scarcely to be evaded by a monarch who had been in strict alliance with Charles I.

Blake rapidly followed the two princes

He is indifferently called General or Admiral, in the original authorities: it has been thought better in the subsequent narrative, to adhere to the official designation which, in modern estimation, will be deemed most appropriate,

to the mouth of the Tagus, and by order of the Parliament demanded the ships of Prince Rupert, as belonging to the Commonwealth of England. This requisition extremely embarrassed the Portuguese Cabinet; as policy exacted a compliance, while honour and hospitality dictated a refusal. The latter in this instance prevailed; and as the Portuguese had reason, from the spirit and promptitude of Parliament, to anticipate immediate war, a squadron of thirteen Portuguese ships was rapidly equipped by them to join that of Prince Rupert and to attack the English, anywhere between the two capes of Finisterre and St. Vincent, that it might appear the King of Portugal sought only to secure his own coasts.

Aware of the above junction, Blake and his squadron sailed away; soon after which he was joined by another under Popham, when (in October, 1650) they fell in with a Portuguese fleet of twenty-three sail, richly laden and bound from Brazil for Lisbon. Of these they captured twelve, containing 10,000 casks of sugar, and burnt three; when find ing themselves in want of stores, they sailed for England with their prizes. The coast being thus clear, Prince Rupert, after having involved the King of Portugal in an embarrassing war with the Commonwealth, quitted the Tagus, and proceeded to Carthagena. He was quickly followed by Blake, who in his way homewards having fallen in with five transports on their passage to him with provisions and stores, immediately returned to the pursuit of the royal squadron. On his arrival at Carthagena, he came to an anchor before the fort, and announced that he was sent by the Commonwealth to pursue the enemy who had taken shelter there; and, the King of Spain being in amity with England, he requested either that the fleet might be given up to him, or that he might be permitted to attack it. A refusal, on similar grounds to those alleged by the King of Portugal, was given; but on being further pressed, a promise was made by the Commandant to send for orders to Madrid. Blake, not thinking the prince would venture out, proceeded on a cruise, on which Rupert, with the ships under him, left Carthagena, and went into Malaga, where he was so ill advised as to sink and capture some English merchantmen. Informed of this transaction, Blake sailed immediately for Malaga, where he arrived

in January 1651, and regarding the manner in which the prince had been allowed to act as dispensing with all ceremony, he attacked the royal squadron without reference to the Spanish authorities, and burnt or destroyed all but four or five ships, with which the two princes escaped to the West Indies, and supported themselves by capturing English and Spanish merchantmen. At length, Prince Maurice was cast away, and Rupert contrived with two or three ships to return to France, where he sold them with his prizes, on behalf of Charles II., to the French government. Such was the fate of a fleet of twentyfive finely-equipped ships, which on the execution of Charles I. had declared in favour of his son.*

A sort of equivocal warfare existed at this time, between the Commonwealth and France, brought on by the secret encouragement of French privateering, which proved very injurious to English commerce. Reprisals having been ordered, Blake had captured a French man-of-war of great value, previously to his first engagement with Prince Rupert. Soon after that victory, he fell in with another of forty guns, the commander of which, not apprized of the war between the two countries, was invited to visit the ship of Admiral Blake. He accepted the invitation without suspicion, and when he came on board he was informed of the war by the Admiral, who asked him if he would willingly resign his sword. The Frenchman spiritedly answered, No! on which, detesting all appearance of treachery, Blake told him to return to his ship, and fight it as long as he could, which he bravely did for two hours, and then surrendered. This species of gallantry is attended with too great a carelessness of human life, to entitle it to the full acquiescence of reason and humanity; but it is highly characteristic of a frank and fearless nature, disdaining all advantages not obtained in an open and honourable manner. Not long after this exploit, the Admiral sailed for Plymouth, and on his arrival received the thanks of Parliament, and was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports. His return to England took place in February, 1651; and in the following month an Act

• Life of Prince Rupert. Heath's Chronicle of Civil Wars, p. 275. Wood's Fasti. Oxou. vol. ii.

col. 204.

† Life of Blake, in Gent, Mag., by Dr. Johnson.

passed to make Blake, Deane, and Popham, or any two of them, Admirals and Generals of the Fleet, for the year ensuing.

The next service intrusted to this able commander was the reduction of the Isles of Scilly, which still held out for the king. These islands not only afforded shelter for privateers, but it had been discovered that the Dutch were forming views upon them, and had despatched Admiral Van Tromp and a squadron of twelve ships of war, with instructions either to purchase or reduce them. On the arrival of Blake, with a body of eight hundred troops on board, Sir John Greenville, who commanded for the king, after some little resistance submitted upon terms; and retired to Guernsey, which had also been preserved for Charles II. by Sir George Carteret, aided by a garrison of four thousand men. The reduction of this island was forthwith undertaken by Blake, assisted by a strong body of troops commanded by Colonel Haynes. They reached Guernsey in October, 1651, but the defence was so spirited, that in spite of the most active exertions both by the squadron and troops, the various forts could not be mastered until the following January, when the Governor capitulated, and was treated by the Admiral with all the respect due to his bravery and honourable character. For these services, the two Commanders were thanked by the House of Commons. It was during this stay of Blake before Guernsey, that he was appointed one of the Council of State for the ensuing year. The schemes of Cromwell were now reaching maturity, and he felt all the value of the support of such an able officer and national favourite.

The following year, Blake was constituted sole Admiral for nine months, in the prospect of a Dutch war; and here a period of the naval history of England and Holland commences, which, while it strongly exhibits the spirit and energy of the people of both countries, affords a melancholy proof of the barren and futile nature of much of the warfare which has distracted the world. The enmity between the English and Dutch at this period, originated principally in commercial and maritime rivalry, directed in each state to party and personal purposes. It is difficult

• Hist. of Rebellion, vol. iii. p, 265,

were

now to ascertain which of the governments was the first aggressor; but there is no doubt that both grievously to blame and that the hostilities which followed exhausted and weakened both sides, without proving in any essential respect serviceable to either. Hitherto indeed national emulation has been but another name for national enmity; but are there not some signs to show that a gradual improvement is taking place? And though it would be too sanguine to expect that powerful states will soon cease to be dan gerous to their weaker neighbours, is it too much to anticipate, that with the increasing diffusion of knowledge, the gratification of mere personal ambition will be restrained; and that all those fancied necessities for war, which originate in mistaken views of political expediency, will yield to more enlightened principles, and more humane feelings? Highly indebted as were the United Provinces to the policy of Queen Elizabeth, for their emancipation from the intolerable yoke of Spain, the perpetually recurring stimulus of mercantile rivalry gradually overcame the recollection of those eminent services; especially as it was easy to interpret them into a political interference, which, considering the designs of Spain against England, it was as expedient for the latter to grant, as for the United Provinces to accept. Whatever the reason, their rapid growth into a maritime and commercial power was accompanied by envy of all correspondent advancement, on the part of a nation so admirably situated for the acquirement of that kind of superiority as Great Britain. This was exhibited in various ways during the reign of James I., whose anxiety for a close alliance with their formidable enemy, Spain, had still further excited their jealousy. Charles I. also obliged them to pay for a license for the right of herring fishing on the British coast, which claim, however reasonable, they resented, and resisted to the utmost of their power. The subsequent marriage of the Princess Mary, eldest daughter of Charles, with the Prince of Orange, likewise formed a strong party against the English Commonwealth, and (after the execution of that prince) in favour of Charles II.; a circumstance of itself quite sufficient to produce a disposition to war on the part of the English rulers.

Thus, on the death of Charles I. in 1649, satisfied that no molestation

contradiction only proves that nothing is more vague and inconsistent than conjectures respecting the designs of artful politicians. The real state of the case probably was, that Cromwell deemed it necessary to lower the naval predominance of the Dutch; and to defeat their grasping endeavours at a commercial monopoly. The latter of these objects was still more effectually promoted by the celebrated Navigation Act, which prohibited the importation of all foreign commodities, except in Engdish bottoms, or in those of the country where the goods were produced. By this Act, which took place the first of December, 1651, the parliament quietly transferred a large share of the carrying trade from the Dutch shipping to that of Great Britain, and effected a most serious blow by an apparently simple and domestic regulation. Parliament also granted letters of marque to those merchants, who complained of Dutch aggression, so that it soon became evident to the government of the United Provinces that war was resolved upon.

would ensue from France or Spain, the attention of the Independent leaders was drawn strongly towards the United Provinces, the strength of whose navy might render their espousal of the cause of the exiled king a source of considerable annoyance. Under these impressions, therefore, they sent Dr. Dorislaus, a civilian of Leyden, who had been naturalized in England, to the Hague, in order to produce a good understanding between the two republics; but unfortunately, he was assassinated by some Scottish royalists in that town the very evening of his arrival.* A suspected connivance at the escape of the murderers, produced a considerable sensation in England; but as the Parliament wished to form an alliance with the United Provinces, and as the death of the Prince of Orange afforded a favourable opportunity, the assassination of Dorislaus produced no interruption of these overtures, and in March, 1651, Oliver St. John, and Walter Strickland, were sent to the Hague, in the place of Dorislaus, to complete a treaty of union. This negotiation altogether failed, owing, as the Dutch writers affirm, to the unreasonable conditions insisted upon by the English; but more probably in consequence of an opinion that the affairs of Charles II. were not entirely hopeless, he being about to head his final expedition into Scotland, whither, indeed, the states themselves conveyed him. The Orange party was also strongly against any alliance which might defeat the future ascendancy of the infant prince; and thus the English envoys returned, not only disappointed, but incensed at the insults they had received from the common people at the Hague. No notice of this was however taken, until after the battle of Worcester, and the success of Monk in Scotland, which left the English government at leisure to follow the dictates of its resentment. The mere gratification of revenge, in a national sense, being a poor motive for war, it has been thought that the enemies of Cromwell sought to promote it, in hopes that such great expenses at sea might lead to the reduction of the army, which was visibly conducting him to the summit of power on land. On the other side, it has been argued, that Cromwell himself promoted the war in order to retain the very army it was thus proposed to reduce; which

Hist. of the Rebellion, vol. iii. p. 229.

The conflicting authorities of the English and Dutch historians, leave it doubtful to this day which of the countries was really most anxious for war; for there is much plausible evidence to show, that jealous of the rising spirit and energy of the English Commonwealth, the Dutch were resolved to strike a blow that might cripple its navy and lessen its increasing reputation. But whatever was the real inclination, on either side, as if conscious that it could scarcely be vindicated, each party was solicitous to throw the odium of commencing the war upon the other. On the passing of the Navigation Act, therefore, the Dutch sent an embassy to London, which was received with great apparent respect; but instead of a revocation of the Act complained of, the Dutch ambassadors encountered a formidable recapitulation of all the injuries received from the United Provinces, at Amboyna, in India, Persia, Muscovy, Greenland, and other places, for the last thirty years, terminating with a demand of 1,700,000l. by way of reparation. The murder of Dorislaus was also adverted to; and satisfaction required for

The policy and expediency of this measure were as evident at the time, as the necessity of some relaxation has been since. Possibly one of the most useful accomplishments for a modern politician is the art of discovering, when that which was ouce wise is wise no longer.