BLAKE, William, an engraver of high but wild genius, was born in Ireland, Nov. 18. 1757. He early evinced a decided predilection for drawing, and his father, a hosier, allowed him to follow his natural bias, and devote himself to the fine arts. He was accordingly sent to London, where he served his apprenticeship with Bazire, at that time one of the most noted engravers of the metropolis. He received instructions in drawing from Flaxman and Fuseli; and though much of his time was engrossed in professional pursuits, he found means to compose many odes, sonnets, and ballads, which gained him a temporary reputation in the world of letters. He was subject to extraordinary hallucinations from time to time, during which he believed that he saw and conversed with the heroes of ancient and modern history. These visions he reproduced with pen and pencil. His conceptions have much grandeur, yet too frequently they bear the impress of the morbid condition of his mind, especially in the latter years of his life. His best works are his illustrations of Young's Night Thoughts, and of Blair's Grave.