in his studies at home, he was sent to St. Paul's school, to be fitted for the university under the care of Mr. Gill, who was the master at that time, and to whose son are addressed some of his familiar epistles. In this early time of his life fuch was his love of learning, and so great was his ambition to furpass his equals, that from his twelfth year he commonly continued his studies till midnight, which (as he says himself in his second Defense) was the first ruin of his eyes, to whose natural debility were added too frequent head-akes: but all could not extinguish or abate his laudable paffion for letters. It is very feldom seen, that such application and such a genius meet in the same person. The force of either is great, but both together must perform wonders. He was now in the 17th year of his age, and was a very good classical scholar and master of several languages, when he was sent to the university of Cambridge, and admitted at Christ's College (as appears from the register) on the 12th of February 1624-5, under the tuition of Mr. William Chappel, afterwards Bishop of Cork and Rofs in Ireland. He continued above seven years at the university, and took two degrees, that of Bachelor of Arts in 1628-9, and that of Mafter in 1632. It is somewhat remarkable, that tho' the merits of both our universities are perhaps equally great, and tho' poetical exercises are rather more encouraged at Oxford, yet most of our greatest poets have been bred at Cambridge, as Spenfer, Cowley, Waller, Dryden, Prior, not to mention any of the leffer ones, when there is a greater than all, Milton. He had given early proofs of his poetic genius before he went to the university, and and there he excelled more and more, and diftinguished himself by feveral copies of verses upon occafional subjects, as well as by all his academical exercises, many of which are printed among his other works, and show him to have had a capacity above his years: and by his obliging behaviour added to his great learning and ingenuity he deservedly gained the affection of many, and admiration of all. We do not find however that he obtained any preferment in the university, or a fellowship in his own college; which seemeth the more extraordinary, as that society has always encouraged learning and learned men, had the most excellent Mr. Mede at that time a fellow, and afterwards boasteth the great names of Cudworth, and Burnet author of the Theory of the Earth, and feveral others. And this together with fome Latin verses of his to a friend, reflecting upon the university seemingly on this account, might probably have given occafion to the reproach which was afterwards cast upon him by his adversaries, that he was expelled from the university for irregularities committed there, and forced to fly to Italy: but he sufficiently refutes this calumny in more places than one of his works; and indeed it is no wonder, that a person so engaged in religious and political controverfies, as he was, should be calumniated and abused by the contrary party. He was designed by his parents for holy orders; and among the manuscripts of Trinity College in Cambridge there are two draughts in Milton's own hand of a letter to a friend, who had importuned him to take orders, when he had attained the age of twenty three: but the truth is, he had conceived early : early prejudices against the doctrin and difciplin of the Church, and subscribing to the Articles was in his opinion subscribing flave. This no doubt was a disappointment to his friends, who though in comfortable were yet by no means in great circumstances: and neither doth he seem to have had any inclination to any other profeffion; he had too free a spirit to be limited and confined; and was for comprehending all sciences, but profeffing none. And therefore after he had left the university in 1632, he retired to his father's house in the country; for his father had by this time quitted business, and lived at an estate which he had purchased at Horton near Colebrooke in Buckinghamshire. Here he resided with his parents for the space of five years, and, as he himself has informed us, (in his second Defense, and the 7th of his familiar epistles) read over all the Greek and Latin authors, particularly the historians; but now and then made an excursion to London, sometimes to buy books or to meet his friends from Cambridge, and at other times to learn fomething new in the mathematics or music, with which he was extremely delighted. His retirement therefore was a learned retirement, and it was not long before the world reaped the fruits of it. It was in the year 1634 that his Mask was presented at Ludlow-castle. There was formerly a president of Wales, and a fort of a court kept at Ludlow, which has fince been abolished; and the president at that time was the Earl of Bridgwater, before whom Milton's Mask was presented on Michaelmás night, and the principal parts, those of the two brothers were performed by his Lordship's fons the the Lord Brackly and Mr. Thomas Egerton, and that of the lady by his Lordship's daughter the Lady Alice Egerton. The occafion of this poem seemeth to have been merely an accident of the two brothers and the lady having loft one another in their way to the caftle: and it is written very much in imitation of Shakespear's Tempest, and the Faithful Shepherdess of Beaumont and Fletcher; and though one of the first, is yet one of the most beautiful of Milton's compositions. It was for fome time handed about only in manufcript; but afterwards to fatisfy the importunity of friends and to fave the trouble of tranfcribing, it was printed at London, though without the author's name, in 1637, with a dedication to the Lord Brackly by Mr. H. Lawes, who compos'd the music, and played the part of the attendent Spirit. It was printed likewife at Oxford at the end of Mr. R's poems, as we learn from a letter of Sir Henry Wotton to our author; but who that Mr. R. was, whether Randolph the poet or who else, is uncertain. It has lately, tho' with additions and alterations, been exhibited on the stage several times; and we hope the fine poetry and morality have recommended it to the audience, and not barely the authority of Milton's name; and we wish for the honor of the nation, that the like good taste prevailed in every thing. In 1637 he wrote another excellent piece, his Lycidas, wherein he laments the untimely fate of a friend, who was unfortunately drowned that fame year in the month of August, on the Irish seas, in his paffage from Chester. This friend was Mr. Edward King, fon of Sir John King, Secretary of Ireland Ireland under Queen Elizabeth, King James I, and King Charles I; and was a fellow of Christ's Col lege, and was so well beloved and esteemed at Cambridge, that some of the greatest names in the university have united in celebrating his obsequies, and published a collection of 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 feveral others; and judicioufly the last of all, as the best of all, is Milton's Lycidas. "On such facrifices the Gods themselves strow in"cense;" and one would almost wish so to have died, for the fake of having been so lamented. But this poem is not all made up of forrow and tenderness; there is a mixture of satir and indignation; for in part of it the poet taketh occafion to inveigh against the corruptions of the clergy, and seemeth to have first discovered his acrimony against Archbishop Laud, and to have threaten'd him with the loss of his head, which afterwards happened to him thro' 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 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 |