se he is one of the most worthy men the Parliament could
find," he answered. "His great talents, his undaunted bravery, are
well-known, and although he had not before been to sea, the Government
felt sure that he would be able to fill the post, and seeing him as we
do now at the head of naval affairs, no one would suppose that he was
fifty years of age before he set his foot on the deck of a ship as
commander, taking precedence of such men as Captains Penn, Jordan,
Ascue, Stayner, and Lawson, while Admirals Deane and Popham, though of
the same rank, yield to his judgment."

For the benefit of those who may not be acquainted with the history of
one of the most famous of England's sea commanders, I may here note that
Admiral Blake, eldest son of a highly-esteemed merchant, Humphrey Blake,
trading with Spain and other foreign parts, was born at Bridgwater in
the year of grace 1598, and that he had many brothers and sisters.

When a boy he studied navigation and the routine of sea duties from his
father and some of his captains who had come to live on shore, but at
that time his own taste made him wish to obtain a knowledge of
literature, and at sixteen he entered as an undergraduate at Saint
Alban's Hall, Oxford, whence he removed to Wadham College. Here he
remained several years, until his father being reduced in circumstances
from the failure of many of his enterprises, he returned home to watch
over the interests of his family. He had, I should have said, offered
himself as a candidate for a scholarship then vacant at Merton, but Sir
Henry Saville, the warden, who delighted in tall men, objecting to him
on account of his height which fell below his standard of manly
perfection, refused to admit him, and the admiral, after he had been
summoned to the death-bed of his father, did not again return to Oxford.

For some years he remained at Bridgwater, chiefly occupied with the care
of his mother and brothers and sisters. At the same time he was a keen
observer of passing events. His indignation was aroused by the
persecutions of Bishop Laud and his attempt to impose the Papal system
on his country. When the King, after a lapse of many years, summoned a
parliament, the admiral, then Mr Blake, went up as member for
Bridgwater. Soon afterwards came the outbreak in Ireland, when forty
thousand Protestants were murdered by the Papists, who asserted that the
King sanctioned their bloody acts. Although this might not have