the name of Manfo, was near eighty when Milton became his gueft: he seems to have been en deared to the imagination of our poet by the liberal and affectionate tribute he had paid to the memory of his illuftrious poetical friends; a tribute very feelingly defcribed by Milton in the following lines, addreffed to the noble and generous biographer-they fpeak first of Marini:

Ille itidem moriens tibi foli debita vates
Offa, tibi foli, fupremaque vota reliquit :
Nec manes pietas tua chara fefellit amici;
Vidimus arridentem operofo ex ære poetam :
Nec fatis hoc vifum eft in utrumque; & nec pia
ceffant

Officia in tumulo; cupis integros rapere orco,
Qua potes, atque avidas Parcarum eludere leges:
Amborum genus, & varia fub forte peractam,
Defcribis vitam, morefque, & dona Minervæ,
Emulus illius, Mycalen qui natus ad altam,
Retulit Æolii vitam facundus Homeri.

To thee alone the poet would intrust
His latest vows, to thee alone his dust :
And thou with punctual piety haft paid,
In labor'ds brafs, thy tribute to his fhade;
Nor this contented thee; thy zeal would fave
Thy bards uninjur'd from the whelming grave;
In more induring hiftory to live ⚫

An endless life is alfo thine to give!

And thou haft given it them; and deigned to teach

The manners, fortunes, lives, and gifts of each,
Rival to him, whofe pen, to nature true,

The life of Homer eloquently drew!

66

If the two Latin verses, in which this amiable old man expreffed his admiration of the young English bard, deserve the name of a " forry diftich, which Johnfon beftows upon them, they still prefent. Milton to our fancy in a moft favorable light. A traveller, fo little diftinguished by birth or opulence, would hardly have obtained fuch a compliment from a nobleman of Manfo's experience, age, and dignity, had he not been peculiarly formed to engage the good opinion and courtesy of ftrangers, by the expreffive comelinefs of his perfon, the elegance of his manners, and the charm of his converfation.

In Manfo, fays Milton, I found a moft friendly guide, who fhowed me himself the curiofitics of Naples, and the palace of the Viceroy. He came more than once to vifit me, while I continued in that city; and when I left it, he earneftly excused himself, that although he greatly wifhed to render me more good offices, he was unable to do fo in Naples, because in my religion I had disdained all disguise *.

*Neapolim perrexi: illic per eremitam quendam, quicum Roma iter feceram, ad Joannem Baptiftam Manfum, Marchionem Villenfem, virum nobiliffimum atque graviffimum (ad quem Torquatus Taffus, infignis poeta Italus, te amicitia feripfit) fum introductus; eodemque ufus, quamdiu illuc fui,

Pleafing and honorable as the civilities were that our young countryman received from this Neftor of Italy, he has amply repaid them in a poem, which, to the honor of English gratitude and English genius, we may justly pronounce fuperior to the compliments beftowed on this engaging character by the two celebrated poets, who wrote in his own language, and were peculiarly attached to him.

Of the five fonnets, indeed, that Taffo addreffed to his courteous and liberal friend, two are very beautiful; but even these are furpaffed, both in energy and tenderness, by the following conclufion of a poem, infcribed to Manfo, by Milton.

Diis dilecte fenex, te Jupiter æquus oportet
Nafcentem, & miti luftrarit lumine Phoebus,
Atlantifque nepos; neque enim, nifi charus ab ortu
Dii fuperis, poterit magno faviffe poetæ.
Hinc longæva tibi lento fub flore fenectus
Vernat, & Æfonios lucratur vivida fufos;
Nondum deciduos fervans tibi frontis honores,
Ingeniumque vigens', & adultum mentis acumen.
O mihi fi mea fors talem concedat amicum,
Phœbæos decoraffe viros qui tam bene norit,

fane amiciffimo; qui & ipfe me per urbis loca & proregis aulam circumduxit, & vifendi gratia haud femel ipfe ad hofpitium venit difcedenti ferio excufavit fe, tametfi multo plura detuliffe mihi officia maxime cupiebat, non potuiffe illa in urbe, propterea quod nolebam in religione effe tectior. -Defenfio fecunda.

}

Siquando indigenas revocabo in carmina reges
Arturumque etiam fub terris bella moventem!
Aut dicam invictæ fociali fœdere menfæ
Magnanimos heroas; &, O modo fpiritus adfit,
Frangam Saxonicas Britonum fub marte phalanges!
Tandem ubi non tacitæ permenfus tempora vitæ,
Annorumque fatur, cineri fua jura relinquam,
Ille mihi lecto madidis aftaret ocellis,
Aftanti fat erit fi dicam, fim tibi curæ;
Ille meos artus, liventi morte folutos,
Curaret parva componi molliter urna;
Forfitan & noftros ducat de marmore vultus,
Nectens aut Paphia myrti aut Parnaffide lauri
Fronde comas; at ego fecura pace quiefcam.
Tum quoque, fi qua fides, fi præmia certa bonorum,
Ipfe ego cœlicolum femotus in æthera divum,
Quo labor & mens pura vehunt, atque ignea virtus,
Secreti hæc aliqua Mundi de parte videbo,
Quantum fata finunt : & tota mente ferenum
Ridens, purpureo fuffundar lumine vultus,
Et fimul æthereo plaudam mihi lætus olympo.

Well may we think, O dear to all above,

Thy birth diftinguish'd by the smile of Jove,
And that Apollo fhed his kindliest power,
And Maia's fon, on that propitious hour;
Since only minds fo born can comprehend
A poet's worth, or yield that worth a friend:
Hence on thy yet unfaded cheek appears
The lingering freshness of thy greener years;
Hence in thy front and features we admire

Nature unwither'd, and a mind entire.
O might fo true a friend to me belong,
So fkill'd to grace the votaries of fong,
Should I recal hereafter into rhyme
The kings and heroes of my native clime,
Arthur the chief, who even now prepares
In fubterraneous being future wars,
With all his martial knights to be reftor'd,
Each to his feat around the fed'ral board;
And O! if spirit fail me not, difperfe
Our Saxon plunderers in triumphant verfe;
Then after all, when with the past content,
A life I finish, not in filence spent,

Should he, kind mourner, o'er my death bed bend,

I fhall but need to fay "be ftill my friend!
He, faithful to my duft, with kind concern,
Shall place it gently in a modest urn;
He too, perhaps, fhall bid the marble breathe
To honor me, and with the graceful wreath,
Or of Parnaffus, or the Paphian Isle,

Shall bind my brows-but I fhall reft the while.
Then also, if the fruits of faith endure,
And virtue's promis'd recompence be sure,
Borne to those feats, to which the bleft afpire,
By purity of foul and virtuous fire,

Thefe rites, as fate permits, I fhall furvey
With eyes illumin'd by celeftial day,
And, every cloud from any pure spirit driven,
Joy in the bright beatitude of heaven.