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FOR he was now grown

An. Etat. 41. famous by his polemical writ ings of various kinds, and held in great favour and esteem, by those who had power to dispose of all preferments in the ftate. 'Tis in vain to diffemble, and far be it from me to defend, his engaging with a party combined in the destruction of our church and monarchy. Yet, leaving the juftification of a mif-guided fincerity to be debated in the schools, may I prefume to obferve in his favour, that his zeal, distempered and furious as it was, does not appear to have been infpirited by felf-interested views. For it is affirmed, that though he lived always in a frugal retirement, and before his death had dif pofed of his library (which we may suppose to have been a valuable collection) he left no more than fifteen hundred pounds behind him for the support of his family: and whoever confiders the pofts to which

he

he was advanced, and the times in which he enjoyed them, will, I believe, confess he might have accumulated a much more plentiful fortune: in a difpaffionate mind it will not require any extraordinary mea fure of candour to conclude, that though he abode in the heritage of oppreffors, and the spoils of his country lay at his feet, neither his confcience, nor his honour, could stoop to gather them.

An. Etat. 42.

A COMMISSION to conftitute him adjutant-general to Sir William Waller was promised; but foon fuperfeded by Waller's being laid aside, when his masters thought it proper to newmodel their army. However, the keenness of his pen had fo effectually recommended him to Cromwell's esteem, that when he took the reins of government into his own hand, he advanced him to be Latin fecretary, both to himself and the Parliament :

the

the former of these preferments he enjoyed both under the ufurper, and his fon; the other, 'till king Charles II. was restored. For fome time he had an apartment for his family in Whitehall; but his health requiring a freer acceffion of air, he was obliged to remove from thence to lodgings which opened into St. James's park. Not long after his fettlement there, his wife died in child-bed: and much about the time of her death, a Gutta Serena, which had for feveral years been gradually increafing, totally extinguished his fight. In this melancholic condition he was eafily prevailed with to think of taking another wife; who was Catharine the daughter of captain Woodcock of Hackney: and fhe too, in lefs than a year after their marriage, died in the fame unfortunate manner as the former had done; and in his twenty third fonnet he does honour to

her memory.

THESE

THESE private calamities An. Etat. 52.

were much heightened, by

the different figure he was likely to make in the new scene of affairs, which was going to be acted in the ftate. For, all things now confpiring to promote the king's restoration, he was too confcious of his own activity during the ufurpation, to expect any favour from the crown and therefore he prudently abfconded 'till the act of oblivion was published; by which he was only rendered incapable of bearing any office in the nation. Many had a very juft efteem of his admirable parts and learning, who detefted his principles; by whofe interceffion his pardon paffed the feals and I wish the laws of civil hiftory could have extended the benefit of that oblivion to the memory of his guilt, which was indulged to his perfon; nè tanti facinoris immanitas aut extitiffe, aut non vindicata fuiffe, videatur.

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HAVING

HAVING thus gained a full protection from the government (which was in truth more than he could have reasonably hop'd) he appeared as much in public as he formerly used to do; and employing his friend Dr. Paget to make choice of a third confort, on his recommendation he married Elizabeth the daughter of Mr. Minshul a Cheshire gentleman, by whom he had no iffue. Three daughters by his first wife were then living; the two elder of whom are faid to have been very serviceable to him in his ftudies. For, having been instructed to pronounce not only the modern, but alfo the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, languages; they read in their respective originals whatever authors he wanted to confult; though they understood none but their mother-tongue. This employment, however, was too unpleasant to be continued for any long procefs of time; and therefore

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