Mil

his fight; and the Introduction to the feventh, that the return of the king had clouded him with discountenance; and that he was offended by the licentious feftivity of the Reftoration. There are no other internal notes of time. ton, being now cleared from all effects of his difloyalty, had nothing required from him but the common duty of living in quiet, to be rewarded with the common right of protection: but this, which, when he fculked from the approach of his king, was perhaps more than he hoped, feems not to have fatisfed him; for no fooner is he fafe than he finds himself in danger, fallen on evil days and evil tongues, and with darknefs and with danger compass'd round.

This darkness, had his eyes been better employed, had undoubtedly deferved: compaffion; but to add the mention of danger was ungrateful and unjuft. He was fallen indeed on evil days; the time was come in which regicides could no longer boaft their wickedness. But of evil tongues for Milton to complain, required impudence at leaft equal to his other powers; Milton, whofe warmeft: advocates muft allow, that he never: spared any afperity of reproach or brutality of infolence.

But the charge itself feems to be false; for it would be hard to recollect any reproach cast upon him, either serious or ludicrous, through the whole remaining part of his life. He perfued his ftudies,

or

or his amufements, without perfecution, moleftation, or infult. Such is the reverence paid to great abilities, however mifufed they who contemplated in Milton the scholar and the wit, were contented to forget the reviler of his king.

When the plague (1665) raged in London, Milton took refuge at Chalfont in Effex; where Elwood, who had> taken the house for him, firft faw a complete copy of Paradife Loft, and, having. perufed it, faid to him, "Thou haft "faid a great deal upon Paradife Loft; "what haft thou to fay upon Paradife "Found?"

Next year, when the danger of infection had ceafed, he returned to Bunhill

Bunhill-fields, and defigned the publication of his poem. A licenfe was neceffary, and he could expect no great kindnefs from a chaplain of the archbishop of Canterbury. He feems, however, to have been treated with tendernefs; for though objections were made to particular paffages, and among them to the fimile of the fun eclipfed in the first book, yet the licenfe was granted; and he fold his copy, April 27, 1667, Samuel Simmons for an immediate ment of five pounds, with a ftipulation to receive five pounds more when thir-teen hundred fhould be fold of the firft edition; and again, five pounds after the fale of the fame number of the fecond edition, and another five pounds:

i

pay

after

after the fame fale of the third. None of the three editions were to be extended beyond fifteen hundred copies.

The first edition was of ten books, in a small quarto. The titles were varied from year to year; and an advertisement and the arguments of the books were omitted in fome copies, and inferted in others.

The fale gave him in two years a right to his fecond payment, for which the receipt was figned April 26, 1669. The fecond edition was not given till 1674; it was printed in fmall octavo; and the number of books was encreased to twelve, by a divifion of the seventh and twelfth; and fome other fmall improvements were made. The

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third