poems, Greek and Latin and English, sacred to his memory. The Greek by H. More, &c; the Latin by T. Farnaby, J. Pearson, &c; the English by H. King, J. Beaumont, J. Cleaveland, with several others; and judiciously the last of all, as the best of all, is Milton's Lycidas. "On such sacrifices the Gods themselves "strow incense;" and one would almost wish so to have died, for the sake of having been so lamented. But this poem is not all made up of sorrow and tenderness; there is a mixture of satire and indignation; for in part of it the poet taketh occasion to inveigh against the corruptions of the clergy, and seemeth to have first discovered his acrimony against Archbishop Laud, and to have threatened him with the loss of his head, which afterwards happened to him through the fury of his enemies. At least I can think of no sense so proper to be given to the following verses in Lycidas,

Besides what the grim wolf with privy paw
Daily devours apace, and nothing said;
But that two-handed engine at the door

Stands ready to smite once, and smite no more.

About this time, as we learn from one of his familiar epistles, he had some thoughts of taking chambers at one of the Inns of Court, for he was not very well pleased with living so obscurely in the country: but

The letter is dated from London, and only expresses that his quarters there appeared to him aukward, and inconvenient. Dicam jam nunc serio quid cogitem, in hospitium juridicorum aliquod immigrare, sicubi amœna et umbrosa ambulatio est, quod

et inter aliquot sodales, commodior illic habitatio, si domi manere, et όρμητηριον ευπρεπέστερον quocunque libitum erit excurrere: ubi nunc sum, ut nosti, obscure et anguste sum. Hayley.

The passage immediately preceding this has been represented

his mother dying, he prevailed with his father to let him indulge a desire, which he had long entertained, of seeing foreign countries, and particularly Italy: and having communicated his design to Sir Henry Wotton, who had formerly been ambassador at Venice, and was then Provost of Eton College, and having also sent him his Mask, of which he had not yet publicly acknowledged himself the author, he received from him the following friendly letter, dated from the College the 10th of April 1638.

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"SIR,

"It was a special favour, when you lately bestowed

upon me here the first taste of your acquaintance, "though no longer than to make me know, that I "wanted more time to value it, and to enjoy it rightly. “And in truth, if I could then have imagined your "farther stay in these parts, which I understood after"wards by Mr. H., I would have been bold, in our

as intimating that the object of Milton's thoughts was already an immortality of fame. It expresses this, no doubt, but in a jesting manner. Multa solicitè quæris, etiam quid cogitem. Audi, Theodote, verum in aurem ut ne rubeam, et sinito paulisper apud te grandia loquar; quid cogitem quæris? ita me bonus Deus, immortalitatem. Quid agam vero? gouw, et volare meditor: sed tenellis admodum adhuc pennis evehit se noster Pegasus, humilè sapiamus. Dicam jam nunc serio quid cogitem, &c. He afterwards speaks of his studies. Græcorum res continuata lectione deduximus us

quequo illi Græci esse sunt desiti: Italorum in obscura re diu versati sumus sub Longobardis, et. Francis, et Germanis, ad illud tempus quo illis ab Rodolpho Germaniæ Rege concessa libertas est; exinde quid quæque civitas suo marte gesserit, separatim legere præstabit. Pr. W. ii. 570. ed. 1753. E.

Abeuntem vir clarissimus, Henricus Woottonus, qui ad Venetos orator Jacobi regis diu fuerat, et votis et præceptis eunti peregre utilissimis, eleganti epistola perscriptis, amicissime prosequutus est. Def. Sec. p. 383. vol. ii. ed. 1753.

❝ vulgar phrase, to mend my draught, for you left me "with an extreme thirst, and to have begged your "conversation again jointly with your said learned "friend, at a poor meal or two, that we might have "banded together some good authors of the ancient "time, among which I observed you to have been fa"miliar.

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"Since your going, you have charged me with new obligations, both for a very kind letter from you, "dated the sixth of this month, and for a dainty piece "of entertainment, that came therewith; wherein I "should much commend the tragical part, if the lyrical "did not ravish with a certain Doric delicacy in your

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songs and odes, wherein I must plainly confess to "have seen yet nothing parallel in our language, Ipsa "mollities. But I must not omit to tell you, that I "now only owe you thanks for intimating unto me, "how modestly soever, the true artificer. For the "work itself I had viewed some good while before "with singular delight, having received it from out "common friend Mr. R." in the very close of the late

Samuel Hartlib, whom I have seen mentioned in some of the pamphlets of this period as well acquainted with Sir H. Wotton. T. Warton.

Sir H. Wotton was himself a writer of English odes, and with some degree of elegance. He had also written a tragedy called Tancredo. See his Life by Walton. Cowley wrote an elegy on his death. Donne has testified his friendship for Wotton in three copies of verses; and he is celebrated, both as a

scholar and a patron, by Bastard the Epigrammatist. T. Warton. Mr. R." was probably Rouse, the Bodley Librarian, see note (†) on the ode Ad J. Rousium. The late R." may be T. Randolph, see note p, p. viii. supra. "M. B." Dr. Symmons suspects should be " W. B." for William Bedell, who was chaplain to Sir H. Wotton during his embassy to Venice, and afterwards became Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and Bishop of Kilmore. E.

"R.'s poems printed at Oxford; whereunto it is added, "as I now suppose, that the accessory might help out "the principal, according to the art of stationers, and "leave the reader çon la bocca dolce.

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"Now, Sir, concerning your travels, wherein I may challenge a little more privilege of discourse with you; I suppose, you will not blanch Paris in your way. Therefore I have been bold to trouble you "with a few lines to Mr. M. B. whom you shall easily "find attending the young Lord S. as his governor; and

you may surely receive from him good directions for "shaping of your farther journey into Italy, where he "did reside by my choice some time for the king, after "mine own recess from Venice.

"I should think, that your best line will be through "the whole length of France to Marseilles, and thence "by sea to Genoa, whence the passage into Tuscany "is as diurnal as a Gravesend barge. I hasten, as

you do, to Florence or Sienna, the rather to tell you "a short story, from the interest you have given me in your safety.

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"At Sienna I was tabled in the house of one Al"berto Scipione, an old Roman courtier in dangerous "times, having been steward to the Duca di Pagliano, "who with all his family were strangled, save this only "man, that escaped by foresight of the tempest. With "him I had often much chat of those affairs; into "which he took pleasure to look back from his native "harbour; and at my departure toward Rome, which "had been the centre of his experience, I had won "confidence enough to beg his advice, how I might carry myself securely there, without offence of others,

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"or of my own conscience: Signor Arrigo meo, says "he, i pensieri stretti, et il viso sciolto, that is, your thoughts close, and your countenance loose, will go safely over the whole world. Of which Delphian "oracle (for so I have found it) your judgment doth "need no commentary; and therefore, Sir, I will "commit you with it to the best of all securities, "God's dear love, remaining your friend, as much at "command as any of longer date.

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"H. WOTTON.

"P. S. Sir, I have expressly sent this by my footboy to prevent your departure, without some acknowledgment from me of the receipt of your obliging "letter, having myself through some business, I know "not how, neglected the ordinary conveyance. In any "part where I shall understand you fixed, I shall be "glad and diligent to entertain you with home-no"velties, even for some fomentation of our friendship, "too soon interrupted in the cradle.".

Soon after this he set out upon his travels, being of an age to make the proper improvements, and not barely to see sights and to learn the languages, like most of our modern travellers, who go out boys, and return such as we see, but such as I do not choose to name. He was attended by only one servant, who accompanied him through all his travels; and he went first to France, where he had recommendations to the Lord Scudamore, the English ambassador there at that time; and as soon as he came to Paris, he waited upon his Lordship, and was received with wonderful civility;