and delight of all the men of letters, and Spenfer him-
felf hath borrowed more from that fource than from
almoft any other, and fometimes hath tranflated two
or three stanzas together. Mr. Richardfon likewise
hath continued his good offices, and communicated
his comment upon Lycidas and his marginal notes
and observations
upon the other poems, together with
a very fine head of Milton done by his father after a
drawing of Cooper: and both the Richardsons father
and fon deferve the thanks of all lovers of the fifter
arts, for their inftructive effays on painting, as well as
for several ingenious remarks on Milton. I had the
honor of all these for my affociates and affiftants be-
fore, but I have been farther ftrengthen'd by fome
new recruits, which were the more unexpected, as
they were sent me from gentlemen, with whom I ne-
ver had the pleasure of a perfonal acquaintance. The
reverend Mr. Meadowcourt, Canon of Worcester,
in 1732 published a Critical Differtation with notes
upon the Paradife Regain'd, a fecond edition of which
was printed in 1748; and he likewife tranfmitted to
me a fheet of his manufcript remarks, wherein he
hath happily explained a moft difficult paffage in Ly-
cidas better than any man had done before him. The
reverend Mr. Calton of Marton in Lincolnshire hath
contributed much more to my affiftance: he favor'd
me with a long correfpondence; and I am at a lofs
which to commend moft, his candor as a friend, of
his penetration and learning as a critic and divine.
Befides all these helps I have pickt out fome grain
from among the chaff of Mr. Peck's remarks, and
have gleaned up every thing which I thought might

any

1

any ways be useful towards illuftrating our author; and in the conclufion have added an index of the lefs common words occafionally explained in the notes.

The Latin poems I cannot fay are equal to several of his English compofitions: but yet they are not without their merit; they are not a Cento like most of the modern Latin poetry; there is spirit, invention, and other marks and tokens of a rifing genius; for it should be confidered, that the greater part of them were written while the author was under twenty. They are printed correctly according to his own editions in 1645 and 1673; and as they can be read only by the learned, there is the lefs occafion for any notes and obfervations upon them. Some few are added, which were thought no more than neceffary. But it is time to have done with these things, and to apply to other works, more important and more useful, if the execution prove answerable to the intention,