תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

Thy wit's chief virtue, is become its vice
For every beauty thou haft rais'd fo high,
That now coarfe faces carry fuch a price,

As muft undo a lover that would buy.

0000000

Sir HENRY WOTTON.

TH

HIS great man was born in the year 1568, at Bocton Hall in the county of Kent, defcended of a very ancient family, who diftinguished themfelves in the wars between the Scotch and English before the union of crowns. The father

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

of Sir Henry Wotton, (according to the account of the learned bishop Walton,) was twice married, and after the death of his fecond wife, fays he bishop, his inclination, though naturally averse to all contentions, yet neceffitated he was to have feveral fuits of law, which took up much of his time; he was by divers of his friends perfwaded to remarriage, to whom he often anfwered, that if he did put on a refolution to marry, he seriously refolved to avoid three forts of perfons, namely,

[ocr errors]

6

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

• And yet following his own law fuit, he met in • Weftminster Hall with one Mrs. Morton, the widow of a gentleman of Kent, who was engaged in feveral fuits in law, and obferving her comportment, the time of her hearing one of her caufes before the judges, he could not but at the

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

⚫ fame

fame time compaffionate her condition, and fo affect her perfon, that though there were in her a concurrence of all thofe accidents, against which he had fo feriously refolved, yet his affection grew fo ftrong, that he then refolved to • follicit her for a wife, and did, and obtained her.' By this lady he had our author, who received the rudiments of his education from his mother, who was it feems a woman of tafte, and capable of infpiring him with a love of polite accomplishments. When he became fit for an academical education, he was placed in New College in Oxford, in the beginning of the year 1584, where living in the condition of a Gentleman Commoner, he contracted an intimacy with Sir Richard Baker, afterwards an eminent hiftorian. Sir Henry did not long continue there, but removed to Queen's College, where, fays Walton, he made a great progrefs in logic and philofophy, and wrote a Tragedy for the ufe of that college, called Tarroredo. Walton tells us, that this tragedy was fo interwoven with fentences, and for the exact perfonating those paffions and humours he propofed to reprefent, he fo performed, that the graveft of the fociety declared, that he had in a flight employment, given an early and folid teftimony of his future abilities.'

On the 8th of June, fays Wood, 1588, he as a member of Queen's College, fupplicated the venerable congregation of regents, that he might be admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, which defire was granted conditionally, that he fhould determine the Lent following, but whether he was admitted, or did determine, or took any degree, does not appear in any of the university registers; though Mr. Walton fays, that about the twentieth year of his age, he proceeded Mafter of Arts, and at that time read in Latin three lectures de Ocello.

!

During the time he was at the university, and gaining much upon mankind by the reputation of his abilities, his father, for whom he had the highest veneration, died, and left him a hundred marks a year, to be paid out of one of his manors of great value. Walton proceeds to relate a very aftonishing circumftance concerning the father of our author, which as it is of the vifionary fort, the reader may credit, or not, as he pleases; it is however too curious to be here omitted, especially as the learned prelate Walton already mentioned has told it with great earneftnefs, as if he was perfuaded of its reality.

In the year 1553, Nicholas Wotton, dean of Canterbury, uncle to our author's father, being ambaffador in France in the reign of queen Mary, dreamed, that his nephew Thomas Wotton, was difpofed to be a party in a very hazardous project, which if not fuddenly prevented, would iffue in the lofs of his life, and the ruin of his family; the dean, who was perfuaded of the importance of his own dream, was very uneafy; but left he fhould be thought fuperftitious, he refolved to conceal the circumftance, and not to acquaint his nephew, or any body elfe with it, but dreaming the fame a fecond time, he determined to put fomething in execution in confequence of it; he accordingly wrote to the Queen to fend for his nephew Thomas Wotton out of Kent, and that the Lords of the Council might examine him about fome imaginary confpiracy, fo as to give colour for his being committed to Jail, declaring that he would acquaint her Majefty with the true reason of his request, when he should next be fo happy to pay his duty to her. The Queen complied with the dean's defire, who at that time it feems had great influence with that bigotted Princefs,

About

About this time a marriage was concluded between the Queen of England, and Philip, King of Spain, which not a little difobliged fome of the nobility, who were jealous left their country by fuch a match fhould be fubjected to the dominion of Spain, and their independent rights invaded by that imperious monarch. These fufpicions produced an infurrection, which was headed by the duke of Suffolk and Sir Thomas Wyat, who both loft their lives in the attempt to prevent the match by feizing the Queen; for the defign was foon difcovered, eafily defeated, and those two perfons, with many more, suffered on a fcaffold.

Between Sir Thomas Wyat and the Wotton's family, there had been a long intimacy, and Sir Thomas had really won Mr. Wotton over to his intereft, and had he not been prevented by imprifonment, he afterwards declared that he would have joined his friend in the infurrection, and in all probability would have fallen a facrifice to the Queen's refentment, and the votaries of the Spanish match.

After Sir Henry quitted the university of Oxford, he travelled into France, Germany and Italy, where he refided above nine years, and returned to his own country perfectly accomplished in all the polite improvements, which men of sense acquire by travelling, and well acquainted with the temper and genius of the people with whom he had converfed, and the different policy of their governments. He was foon taken notice of after his return, and became fecretary to the famous Robert Devereux, earl of Effex, that unfortunate favourite, whose story is never exhibited on the ftage, fays Mr. Addifon, without affecting the heart in the moft fenfible manner. With his lordship he continued in the character of

fecre

[ocr errors]

fecretary 'till the earl was apprehended for his mutinous behaviour towards the Queen, and put upon his trial. Wotton, who did not think it fafe to continue in England after the fall of his mafter, retired to Florence, became acquainted with the Great Duke of Tuscany, and rofe fo high in his favour, that he was entrusted by him to carry letters to James VI. King of Scots, under the name of Octavio Baldi, in order to inform that king of a defign against his life. Walton informs us, that though Queen Elizabeth was never willing to declare her fucceffor, yet the King of Scots was generally believed to be the perfon, on whom the crown of England would devolve.

The Queen declining very fast, both through age and visible infirmities, "thofe that were of the Romish perfuafion, in point of religion, knowing that the death of the Queen, and establishing her fucceffion, was the crifis for deftroying or fupporting the Protestant religion in this nation, did therefore improve all opportunities for preventing a Proteffant Prince to fucceed her; and as the pope's excommunication of Queen Elizabeth had both by the judgment and practice of the jefuited Papifts, expofed her to be warrantably destroyed, fo about that time, there were many endeavours first to excommunicate, and then to shorten the life of King James VI."

Immediately after Wotton's return from Rome to Florence, which was about a year before the death of Queen Elizabeth; Ferdinand, the Great Duke, had intercepted certain letters, which difcovered a defign against the life of the King of Scots. The Duke abhorring the fcheme of af faffination, and refolving to prevent it, advifed with his fecretary Vietta, by what means a caution fhould be given to the Scotch Prince. Vietta recommended Wotton as a perfon of the highest a

bilities

« הקודםהמשך »