We would acknowledge our indebtedness, in common with all students of Blake, to the patient and sympathetic labours of Messrs. Ellis and Yeats, and our personal obligation to the latter for his ready help and kindness. Our gratitude to Mr. Swinburne for the brilliant essay in which he was the first to divine the sanity as well as the splendour of the poet, has been further increased by his gracious acceptance of the dedication of this book.