with whom he liv'd fome years, in an easy and no contemptible fervice. Here, by the Indulgence of a kind Mafter, he had fufficient leifure to apply himself to whatever Learning his Inclinations led him, which were chiefly History and Poetry; to which, for his Diverfion, he joined Mufick and Painting; and I have seen some Pictures, said to be of his Drawing, which remained in that Family; which I mention not for the Excellency of them, but to fatisfy the Reader of his early Inclinations to that noble Art; for which also he was afterwards entirely belov'd by Mr. Samuel Cooper, one of the moft Eminent Painters of his time.

He was, after this, recommended to that great Encourager of Learning, Elizabeth Countess of Kent, where he had not only the Opportunity to confult all manner of learned Books, but to converse also with that living Library of Learning, the great Mr. Selden.

Our Author liv'd fome time also with Sir Samuel Luke, who was of an ancient Family in Bed fordshire; but, to his Difhonour, an eminent Commander under the Ufurper Oliver Cromwell and then it was, as I am inform'd, he compofed this Loyal Poem, For tho' Fate, more than Choice, feems to have placed him in the service of

a Knight so notorious, both in his Perfon and Po-

liticks, yet by the Rule of Contraries, one may

obferve throughout his whole Poem, that he was

most Orthodox, both in his Religion and Loy-

alty. And I am the more induced to believe he

wrote it about that time, because he had then the

opportunity to converse with those living Cha-

racters of Rebellion, Nonsense, and Hypocrify,

which he fo lively and pathetically expofes

throughout the whole Work.

After the Restoration of King Charles II. those

who were at the Helm, minding Money more

than Merit, our Author found those Verses of

Juvenal to be exactly verify'd in himself:

Haud facilè emergunt, quorum Virtutibus obftat.
Res angufta Domi :-----

And being endued with that innate Modesty,
which rarely finds Promotion in Princes Courts;
he became Secretary to Richard Earl of Carbury,
Lord Prefident of the Principality of Wales, who
made him Steward of Ludlow-Castle, when the
Court there was reviv'd. About this time, he
married one Mrs. Herbert, a Gentlewoman of a
very good Family, but no Widow, as our Oxford
Antiquary has reported: She had a competent
Fortune, but it was most of it unfortunately loft,
by being put out on ill Securities, fo that it was

little advantage to him. He is reported by our
Antiquary to have been Secretary to his Grace
George Duke of Buckingham, when he was Chan-
cellor to the University of Cambridge: but whe-
ther that be true or no, 'tis certain, the Duke
had a great kindness for him, and was often a Be-
nefactor to him. But no man was a more gene-
rous Friend to him, than that Mecanas of all
Learned and Witty Men, Charles Lord Buck-
burst, the late Earl of Dorfet and Middlefex,
who, being himself an excellent Poet, knew how
to set a juft value upon the Ingenious Perform-
ances of others, and has often taken care privately
to relieve and supply the Neceffities of those,
whose Modefty would endeavour to conceal them:
of which our Author was a fignal Inftance, as
feveral others have been, who are now living. In
fine, the Integrity of his Life, the Acuteness of
his Wit, and Eafinefs of his Conversation, had
rendered him most acceptable to all Men; yet he
prudently avoided multiplicity of Acquaintance,
and wifely chofe fuch only whom his discerning
Judgment could diftinguish, (as Mr. Cowley ex-
preffeth it)

From the Great Vulgar or the Small.

And having thus liv'd to a good old age, ad-
mir'd by all, though perfonally known to few,

he

a

he departed this Life in the Year 1680, and was

buried at the Charge of his good Friend Mr.

L-vil of the T-le, in the Yard belonging

to the Church of St. Paul, Covent-Garden, at the
Weft-End of the said Yard, on the North-Side,
under the Wall of the faid Church, and under
that Wall which parts the Yard from the com-
mon Highway. And fince he has no Monument
yet fet up for him, give me Leave to borrow his
Epitaph from that of Michael Drayton the Poet,
as the Author of Mr. Cowley's has partly done
before me:

And tho' no Monument can claim

To be the Treasurer of thy Name;

This Work, which ne'er will die, shall be
An everlasting Monument to thee.

The Characters of this Poem are for the most
part obvious, even to the meanest Pretenders to

66

a "Mr. W. Longueville would fain have buried Butler in Weft-

"minfter Abbey; and spoke in that view to fome of those Wealthy

Persons, who had admired him so much in his life-time; offering

to pay
his Part, but none of them would contribute. Upon which

"Mr. Longueville buried him with the greatest privacy (but at the

"fame time very decently) in Covent-Garden Church-yard at his

"own expence; himself and seven or eight perfons more following

"the Corps to the Grave." (Hudibras's Life, Gen. Hift. Dict. vol. 6.

pag. 299. Marg. Note.) and I will beg leave to add, that the Bu-

rial Service was read over him, by the learned and Pious Dr.

Patrick, (afterwards Lord Bishop of Ely) then Minifter of the Parish.

Learning

Learning or History; nor can scarce any one be
fo ignorant, as not to know, that the chief Design
thereof is a Satire against those Incendiaries of
Church and State, who in the late Rebellion, un-
der pretence of Religion, murder'd the best of
Kings, to introduce the worst of Governments;
destroy'd the best of Churches, that Hypocrify,
Novelty, and Nonsense, might be predominant
amongst us; and overthrew our wholesome Laws
and Conftitutions, to make way for their Blessed
Anarchy and Confufion, which at last ended in
Tyranny. But fince, according to the Proverb,
None are fo blind as they that will not see; so those
who are not refolv'd to be invincibly ignorant, I
refer, for their farther fatisfaction, to the Histo-
ries of Mr. Fowlis of Prefbytery, and Mr. Walker
of Independency; but more efpecially to that in-
comparable History lately published, wrote by
Edward Earl of Clarendon, which are fufficient
to fatisfy any unbiass'd Person, that his general
Characters are not fictitious: And I could heartily
wish these Times were fo reformed, that they
were not applicable to fome even now living.
However, there being feveral particular Perfons
reflected on, which are not commonly known,
and fome old Stories and uncouth Words which
want explication, we have thought fit to do that