who are all now dead. This Mrs. Fofter is a plain decent looking woman.

Mr. John Ward, fellow of the royal-fociety, and profeffor of rhetoric in Grefham-college, London, faw the above Mrs. Clark, Milton's daughter, at the house of one of her relations, not long before her death; "when the informed me," fays that gentleman, " that the and her fifters used to read to their father in eight languages; which, by practice, they were capable of doing with great readiness and accuracy, though they understood no language but English; and their father used often to say in their hearing, one tongue was enough for a woman.

"None of them were ever fent to school, but all taught at home by a mistress kept for that purpofe. Ifaiah, Homer, and Ovid's Metamorphofes, were books which they wereoften called to read to their father; and, at my defire, fhe repeated a great number of verfes from the beginning of both these poets with great readiness. I knew who he was upon the first fight of her, by the fimilitude of her countenance with her father's picture; and. upon my telling her fo, fhe informed me, that Mr. Addifon told her the fame thing, on her going to wait on him; for he, on hearing the was living, fent for her, and defired, if she had any papers of her father's, fhe would bring them with her, as an evidence of her being Milton's daughter; but immediately on

her.

her being introduced to him, he faid, Madam, you need no other voucher; your face is a fufficient teftimonial whofe daughter you are' and he then made her a handsome prefent of a purse of guineas, with a promise of procuring her an annual provifion for life; but he dying foon after, the loft the benefit of his generous defign. She appeared to be a woman of good fenfe and genteel behaviour, and to bear the inconveniences of a low fortune with decency and prudence."

Her late majefty, queen Caroline, fent her fifty pounds, and the received prefents of money from feveral gentlemen not long before her death.

Milton had a brother, Mr. Chriftopher Milton, who was knighted, and made one of the barons of the Exchequer, in the reign of king James II. but he does not appear to have been a man of any abilities at least, if be had any, they are loft to pofterity in the luftre of his brother's.

There is now alive a grand-daughter of this Chriftopher Milton, who is married to one Mr. George Lookup, advocate at Edinburgh, remarkable for his knowledge of the Hebrew tongue. The lady, fays Theo. Cibber, whom I have often feen, is extremely corpulent, has in her youth been very handsome, and is not deftitute of poetical genius. She has written feveral copies of verfes, published in the Edin burgh Magazines; and her face bears fome refemblance to the picture of Milton.

Mr.

Mr. Wood, and after him Mr. Fenton, has given us the following defcription of Milton's perfon.

"He was of a moderate fize, well proportioned, and of a ruddy complexion, light brown hair, and had handfome features; yet his eyes were none of the quickest: When he was a ftudent at Cambridge, he was fo fair and clear, that many called him the lady of Chrift's college. His deportment was affable, and his gait erect and manly, befpeaking courage and undauntédness.

While he had

his fight, he wore a fword, and was well fkilled in using it. He had a delicate tunea ble voice, an excellent ear, could play on the organ, and bear a part in vocal and inftrumental mufic."

The great learning and genius of Milton, have fcarce raised him more admirers, than the part he acted upon the political ffage hath procured him enemies. He was in his inclination a thorough republican; and in this he thought like a Greek or a Roman, as he was very converfant with their writings and one day, Sir Robert Howard, who was a friend of Milton's, and a well wither to the liberty of his country, afked him, How he came to fide with the Republicans? Milton answered, among other things, "Because theirs was the moft frugal government; for the trappings of a monarchy might fet up an ordinary commonwealth." But then his attachment to Cromwell must be condemned, as being nei

ther

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ther confiftent with his republican principles, nor with his love of liberty. It may be reafonably prefumed, that he was far from ap. proving of Cromwell's proceeding; but confidered him as the only person who could refcue the nation from the tyranny of the Prefbyterians, who, he faw, was about to erect a worse dominion of their own upon the ruins of prelatical epifcopacy; for, if experience may be allowed to teach us, the prefbyterian government carries in it more of ecclefiaftical authority, and approaches more to the thunder of the Vatican, than any other government under the fun.

Milton was an enemy to fpiritual flavery, he thought the chains thrown upon the mind were the leaft tolerable; and, in order to hake the pillars of mental ufurpation, he clofed with Cromwell and the Independants, as he expected under them a greater liberty of confcience. In matters of religion too, Milton has likewise given great offence, but infi. dels have no reason to glory. No fuch man was ever amongst them. He was perfuaded of the truth of the Chriftian religion; he studied and admired the holy fcriptures, and, in alt his writings, he plainly difcovers a religious turn of mind.

When he wrote the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, he appears to have been a Calvinift; but afterwards he entertained a more favourable opinion of Arminius. Some have thought that he was an Arian, but there are

more

more exprefs paffages in his works to overthrow this opinion, than any there are to confirm it; for, in the conclufion of his treatise on Reformation, he thus folemnly invokes the Trinity:

"Thou therefore that fitteft in light and glory unapproachable, parent of angels and of men! next Thee I implore, omnipotent king, redeemer of that loft remnant, whofe nature Thou didst affume, ineffable and everlasting love! and Thee the third fubfiftence of the Divine Infinitude, illuminating fpirit, the joy and folace of created things! one Tri-perfonal God-head."

In the latter part of his life he was not a profeffed member of any particular fect of Chriftians; he frequented no public worship, nor ufed any religious rites in his family. He was an enemy to all kinds of form, and thought that all Chriftians had, in fome things, corrupted the fimplicity and purity of the Gofpel. He believed that inward religion was the best, and that public communion had more of fhew in it, than any tendency to promote genuine piety and unaffected goodness. The circumftances of our author were never very mean nor very affluent; he lived above want, and was content with competency. His father fupported him during his travels. When he was appointed Latin fecretary, his falary. amounted to two hundred pounds per annum; and, though he was of the victorious party, yet he was far from fharing the spoils of his

country.