mit it; the name of Milton was, in his opinion, too deteftable to be; read on the wall of a building dedicated to devotion. Atterbury, who fucceeded him, being author of the infcription, permitted its reception. "And "fuch has been the change of publick opi"nion," faid Dr. Gregory, from whom I heard this account, "that I have feen erected "in the church a ftatue of that man, whofe "name I once knew confidered as a pollution "of its walls."

Milton has the reputation of having been in his youth eminently beautiful, fo as to have been called the Lady of his college.. His hair, which was of a light brown, parted at the foretop, and hung down upon his fhoulders, according to the picture which he has given of Adam. He was, however, not of the heroick ftature, but rather below the middle fize, according to Mr. Richardfon, who mentions him as having narrowly escaped from being short and thick. He was vigorous and active, and delighted in the exercife of the fword, in which he is related to have, been eminently fkilful. His weapon was, I believe, not the rapier, but the backfword,

of

of which he recommends the ufe in his book on Education.

His eyes are faid never to have been bright; but, if he was a dexterous fencer, they must have been once quick.

His domeftick habits, fo far as they are known, were those of a fevere ftudent. He drank little strong drink of any kind, and fed without excefs in quantity, and in his earlier years without delicacy of choice. In his youth he ftudied late at night; but afterwards changed his hours, and rested in bed from nine to four in the fummer, and five in winter. The courfe of his day was best known after he was 'blind. When he firft rofe, he heard a chapter in the Hebrew Bible, and then studied till twelve; then took fome exercise for an hour; then dined; then played on the organ, and fung, or heard another fing; then studied to fix; then entertained his vifiters till eight;. then fupped, and, after a pipe of tobacco and a glass of water, went to bed.

So is his life defcribed; but this even tenour appears attainable only in Colleges,

He

1

He that lives in the world will fometimes have the fucceffion of his practice broken and confufed. Vifiters, of whom Milton is reprefented to have had great numbers, will come and stay unfeafonably; business, of which every man has fome, must be done when others will do it. of,,dawdo

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When he did not care to rife early, he had fomething read to him by his bedfide; per haps at this time his daughters were employed. He compofed much in the morning, and dictated in the day, fitting obliquely in an elbow-chair, with his leg thrown over the

arm.

d viidil di Fortune appears not to have had much of his care. In the civil wars he lent his per fonal eftate to the parliament; but when, after the conteft was decided, he folicited re payment, he met not only with neglect, but Sharp rebuke; and, having tired both himself and his friends, was given up to poverty and hopeless indignation, till he fhewed how able he was to do greater fervice. He was then made Latin fecretary, with two hundred pounds a year; and had a thousand pounds

for

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for his Defence of the People. His widow, who, after his death, retired to Namptwich -Jin Cheshire, and died about 1729, is faid to have reported that he lost two thousand 2 pounds by entrusting it to a fcrivener; and that, in the general depredation upon the Church, he had grafped an eftate of about fixty pounds a year belonging to WestminsterAbbey, which, like other tharers of the plunder of rebellion, he was afterwards obliged to return. Two thousand pounds, which he had placed in the Excife-office, were also lost. There is yet no reason to believe that he was ever reduced to indigence. His wants, being few, were competently fupplied. He fold his library before his death, and left his fa mily fifteen hundred pounds, on which his widow laid hold, and only gave one hundred 2 to each of his daughters.

His literature was unquestionably great. He read all the languages which are confidered either as learned or polite; Hebrew, ded with its two dialects, Greek, Latin, Italian,

French, and Spanish. In Latin his skill was 17 fuch as places him in the first rank of writers

and criticks; and he appears to have culti

vated Italian with uncommon diligence. The books in which his daughter, who used to read to him, reprefented him as moft delighting, after Homer, which he could almost repeat, were Ovid's Metamorphofes and Euripides. His Euripides is, by Mr. Cradock's kindness, now in my hands: the margin is fometimes noted; but I have found nothing remarkable.

Of the English poets he fet most value upon Spenfer, Shakspeare, and Cowley. Spenfer was apparently his favourite: Shakfpeare he may eafily be fuppofed to like, with every other skilful reader; but I fhould not have expected that Cowley, whofe ideas of excellence were different from his own, would have had much of his approbation, His character of Dryden, who sometimes visited him, was, that he was a good rhymist, but no poet.

f

His theological opinions are faid to have been first Calviniftical; and aftewards, perhaps when he began to hate the Prefbyterians, to have tended towards Arminianifm. In the mixed queftions of theology and go

vernment,