About Whitsuntide, in 1643, Milton took a journey into the country, apparently for the mere object of re creation ; and, without having communicated his de sign of marriage to any of his friends, returned, rather to their surprise, at the end of a month, with his Mary Powell, the daughter of a country gentleman, at Forest Hill, near Shotover, in Oxfordshire. His matri monial choice seemed to be hasty, and was not fortu nate. His spouse, strongly attached, like all her family, to the royalist party, and accustomed to the affluent hospitality of her father's house, was soon tired of a studious, recluse, and republican husband. After a month's experience of her new life, she sighed for the gaieties she had left behind, and by the earnest request of her relations obtained permission to pay a short visit to Forest Hill. But when the period returned, (Michaelmas,) when she should have arrived, she sheaved no disposition to keep her word ; but, on the contrary, treated his letters with silence, and sent back his messenger with disdain. The king at this periol was defeating the parliamentary forces, and the Pewells were disposed to break as well as they could an inau spicious connexion. On the other hand, Milton de termined to repudiate a wife who left hint nothing of matrimony but the chain. To justify the intended measure, he published, in 1644, an essay on the Doc trine and Discipline of Divorce. This treatise, which was incribed to the parliament, was soon followed by The judgment of Martin Bucer concerning divorce," and by Tetrachordon and Colasterion. The two last of these tracts were written in 1645—the latter of them as a reply to an anonymous antagonist, the former as an exposition of the four passages in scripture, which are supposed to relate more immediately to the perma nence of the marriage obligation. By these writings, the fury of the presbyterian clergy was instantly ex cited ; they endeavoured to infuse their passion into the legislature, and occasioned Milton to be cited be fore the House of Lords. But he was speedily and honourably dismissed from this tribunal, and the Pres byterians lost an able friend, and excited a formidable enemy. Milton was serious in his opinions, and pre.
pared to act upon' them. Conceiving himself released in conscience from the marriage bond, he paid his ad dresses to an accomplished and beautiful young lady, the daughter of a Dr. Davis. The lady, it has been intimated, was rather averse from the proposal, but her objections (and her friends seem not to have stated any,) were apparently slight, when the match was prevented by the return of his delinquent spouse. Public affairs ‘vere now changed. The tide of fortune was against the royalists, and the Powells, foreseeing, what the event proved, that Milton might protect and assist them, hastened to propitiate his resentment. They concerted with Milton's friends to introduce his wife unexpectedly into his presence at a friend's house, and she supplicated for her pardon upon her knees so effectually as to obtain it. He admitted, along with her, to his house, the family of the Powells, who were now in danger and distress, and saved the bulk of their property by his interest with the victorious party. Whatever gratitude the Powells felt, they never did him the justice to pay his wife's fortune out of their rescued estate. But, it is possible, that in such times the recovery of property might be more nominally than really complete. They remained under his roof for
many years, which, unless their spirit was extremely abject, would argue that they were late in regaining their estate, and in the interval it must have suffered much deduction. In the mean time, to accommodate his enlarged family, our author hired a house in Bar bican. In the year 1644, whilst immersed in his con troversy about divorce, he published his ideas on the subject of education, and not long after sent forth his work Areopagitua, in which he defended the freedom of the press with a degree of intelligence and spirit which has never been surpassed.
The Presbyterians, on their at riving at power, forgot the principles which they had professed in their rising to it, and placed the press under the same controul of which they had of late so indignantly complained. Milton came forward as the champion of free discus sion, and made his weapons of reason and fancy as ef fective by their weight and edge, as they were daz zling by their brightness. Though the presbyterians could practically resist the adoption of his principles, they could not prevent his arguments being heard and felt. The office of licenser of the press was indeed continued throughout the whole duration of their power, but at a subsequent period, (in 1649,) we find the conscientious Gilbert Mabot resigning this invidi ous office, and in stating the grounds and motives of his conduct, repeating the arguments for a free press contained in Milton's Arcopagitua.
In 1645, Milton once more courted the Muses, whom he had so long deserted. From the period of his re turn to England to this year, his pastoral on Deodati, and some occasional sonnets, were the only poetical fruits of his genius. He now prepared an edition of all his English, Italian, and Lain poems. The small vo lume which they formed was published with his name, and with a preface by their publisher, Humphrey Mosely. The sonnets were the most important novel ties of the collection.* In 1646, his wife brought him their first child, a daughter, named Anne, who was lame, either from her birth, or in consequence of some accident in her early infancy. In 1647, his venerable father died under his roof, having conic to live with him since the year 1643, when at the capture of Reading, he left his residence with his younger son in that city. The Powells left him not long after, and his house, (says Phillips,) looked once more like a house of the muses. In this same habitation, in the Barbican, his second daughter Mary was born. In the spring of 1647, he removed to a smaller one in High Holborn, the back part of which looked into Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Phillips relates, that in the course of the civil wars there was a proposal for .Milton embracing the military life ; and says that, if he was not much mistaken, there was a design of making him an adjutant-general in Sir William Waller's army. Dr. Johnson ridicules this vague allusion to an unfulfilled intention. Yet we may ask, what there is ridiculous, either in the rumour, or in Phillips's taking notice of it. If Milton was not em ployed in the field, it was because he could fill the post of intellectual warfare with more advantage. his lau rels at that post were more honorable than the field of battle could afford him; and in that field there was no combatant but himself who was capable of earning them.