represents himself as a man of moderate stature, not particularly flender, and fo far endued with ftrength and fpirit, that as he always wore a fword, he wanted not, in his healthy season of life, either skill or courage to use it; having practifed fencing with great affiduity, he confidered himself as a match for any antagonist, however fuperior to him in muscular force; his countenance (he fays) was fo far from being bloodlefs, that when turned of forty he was generally allowed to have the appearance of being ten years younger; even his eyes (he adds) though utterly deprived of fight, did not betray their imperfection, but on the contrary appeared as fpeckless and as lucid as if his powers of vifion had been peculiarly acute-“ In this "article alone" (fays Milton)" and much against my " will, I am an hypocrite." Such is the interesting portrait, which this great writer has left us of himself. Those who had the happiness of knowing him perfonally, speak in the higheft terms even of his perfonal endowments, and seem to have regarded him as a model of manly grace and dignity in his figure and deportment. "His harmonical and ingenuous foul" (fays Aubrey) "dwelt in a beautiful and well proportioned body." "In toto nufquam corpore menda fuit." His hair was a light brown, his eyes dark grey, and his complexion fo fair, that at college, according to his own expreffion, he was styled "The Lady," an appellation which he could not relifh; but he confoled himself under abfurd raillery on the delicacy of his perfon, by recollecting that fimilar raillery had been lavished on those manly and eminent characters of the ancient world, Demofthenes and Hortenfius. His general appearance approached not in any degree to effeminacy. "His deportment" (fays Anthony Wood) was affable, and his gait erect and manly, be"fpeaking courage and undauntednefs." Richardfon, who laboured with affectionate enthusiasm to acquire and communicate all poffible information concerning the perfon and manners of Milton, has left the two following sketches of his figure at an advanced period of life. “An ancient clergyman of Dorsetshire (Dr. Wright) found John Milton in a small chamber hung with rufty green, fitting in an elbow chair, and dressed neatly in black, pale but not cadaverous, his hands and fingers gouty and with chalk ftones." "He used alfo to fit, in a grey coarse cloth coat, at the door of his house near Bunhill-fields, in warm funny weather, to enjoy the fresh air, and fo, as well as in his room, received the vifits of people of distinguished parts as well as quality." It is probable, that Milton, in his youth, was, in fome measure, indebted to the engaging graces of his perfon for that early introduction into the politest society, both in England and abroad, which improved the natural sweetness of his character. (fo vifible in all his genuine portraits) and led him to unite with profound erudition, and with the fublimest talents, an endearing and cheerful delicacy delicacy of manners, very rarely attained by men, whose application to study is continual and intenfe. The enemies of Milton indeed (and his late biographer I must reluctantly include under that description) have laboured to fix upon him a fictitious and most unamiable character of aufterity and harshness. "What we know (fays Johnson) of Milton's character in domeftic relations "is, that he was severe and arbitrary. His family confifted “of women, and there appears in his books fomething like Turkish contempt of females, as fubordinate and infe"rior beings; that his own daughters might not break the "ranks, he fuffered them to be depreffed by a mean and "penurious education. He thought woman made only "for obedience, and man for rebellion." This is affuredly the intemperate language of hatred, and very far from being confonant to truth. As it was thought a fufficient defence of Sophocles, when he was barbarously accused of mental imbecility by his unnatural children, to read a portion of his recent dramatic works, fo, I am confident, the citation of a few verses from our English bard may be enough to clear him from a charge equally groundless, and almost as ungenerous. No impartial reader of genuine sensibility will deem it poffible, that the poet could have entertained a Turkish ̧ ̧ contempt of females, who has thus delineated woman: All higher knowledge in her presence falls Authority Authority and reason on her wait, As one intended firft, not after made A description so complete could arise only from such exquifite feelings in the poet, as infured to every deferving female his tendereft regard. This argument might be still more enforced by a paffage in the speech of Raphael; but the preceding verses are, I truft, fufficient to counteract the uncandid attempt of the acrimonious biographer to prejudice the fairest part of the creation against a poet, who has surpassed his peers in delineating their charms, whose poetry, a more enchanting mirror than the lake that he describes in Paradise, represents their mental united to their personal graces, and exhibits in perfection all the loveliness of woman. As to Milton's depreffing his daughters by a mean and penurious education, it is a calumny resting only` on a report, that he would not allow them the advantage of learning to write. This is evidently falfe, fince Aubrey, who was perfonally acquainted with the poet, and who had probably confulted his widow in regard to many particulars of his life, expressly affirms, that his youngest daughter was his amanuenfis; a circumftance of which my friend Romney has happily availed himself to decorate the folio edition of this life with a production of his pencil. The youngest daughter daughter of Milton had the most frequent opportunities of knowing his temper, and the happens to be the only one of his children who has delivered a deliberate account of it; but her account, instead of confirming Johnson's idea of her father's domestic severity, will appear to the candid reader to refute it completely. "She spoke of him (says Richardfon) with great tenderness; fhe faid he was delightful company, the life of the conversation, and that on account of a flow of subject, and an unaffected cheerfulness and civility." It was this daughter who related the extraordinary circumftance, that she and one of her fifters read to their father several languages, which they did not understand: it is remarkable, that she did not fpeak of it as a hardship; nor could it be thought an intolerable grievance by an`af-` fectionate child, who thus affifted a blind parent in labouring for the maintenance of his family. Such an employment, however, muft have been irkfome; and the confiderate father, in finding that it was fo, "fent out his children (according to the expreffion of his nephew) to learn fome curious and ingenious forts of manufacture, particularly embroideries in gold or filver." That he was no penurious parent is strongly proved by an expreffion that he made use of in speaking of his will, when he declared, that "he had made provifion for his children in his life-time, and had spent the greatest part of his estate in providing for them.” It is the more barbarous to arraign the poet for domestic cruelty, because he appears to have fuffered from the fingular tenderness and generofity of his nature. He had reason to lament that excess of indulgence, with which he |