and Happy would it be if in these little Patriarchal Monarchies the Subjects would Obey Such Laws, Rigid though they may Seem to be to Green Years, or Green Minds; it would be Happiness to Themselves More than to their Governors, Otherwife than as Rejoycing in Their Joy.

'tis however very Natural for an Old Man, Enur'd to Strict Vertue, and One whofe Paffions are Weakened with Continual Affaults and Repulfes, to Expect Too much from his Dependants in Such Different Circumstances; He fhould Practife that Superiority of Wisdom He Pretends to, in making Allowances as Reafon Dictates, and remember This Sort of Prudence is alfo Vêrtue; He fhould Thus as it were Set up Another Perfon within Himfelf, and let Him make Proper Abatements. to his Own Laws of Perfection. Thefe New Laws would Then be Such, Relatively Confider'd, (which Surely is the Right way of Confidering All things) as the Other are Abftractedly; and Thus fave Himself a great deal of Uneafinefs, Anger, and Sorrow, and Preferve Love and Peace, and Joy in his Own Mind, and all This Milton did for Ought We, or Any that Accufe him know to the Contrary. his Behaviour to his First Wife on a Most remarkable Occafion, (as fhall Appear in its Place) makes it exceeding Probable he Conducted Himself by Thefe Kind Reafonings; that he Exacted not from Others what Himfelf

Himself would have done, but what He ought to Suppofe They were Capable of doing.

but there is One very Particular Inftance of Severity he is Charg'd with. the Fact is Certain, the Severity is Apparent; but Whether 'tis a Fault or no is the Queftion. what I mean, is his Compelling Two of his Daughters to Learn to Read, without Underftanding One Word, Several Languages, and to Read To, and Write For him Continually. I fpeak here of Two Thus Employ'd, though Some fay but One, She that dy'd a few Years Since, and was fo much Spoke of, and Visited, and So Nobly Reliev'd for His Sake. An Accident Prevented My Secing her, but I was not Unmindful of what was Due to the Memory of her Father. 'tis One of the Unhappineffes of Age to be Blam'd as Morofe and Severe, when the Perfon is not Guilty of it, or not to the Degree he is Charged with, and that Partly because 'tis Probable, and therefore Expected. the World is what we are not tempted to be Better pleas'd with by Long Knowing it; Difappointments, Ingratitude, Bafeness, Villany, &c. put us Somtimes out of Humour in fpite of all our Philofophy; to fay nothing of Other Difagreeable Circumftances from Within, Incident to Old Age. Younger People fhould make Allowances to Us, as They Expect We should Indulge Them in Their Weakneffes; but they are not Ufually Arriv'd to That Degree of Wisdom tillThemfelves be

come

come of Our Number, and cease to Reproach Us. When Things are Wrong, as Both Parties are Somtimes in Fault, Both are Blam'd; becaufe, though it may be One Only is juftly Blameable, the World knows not Which That is, and therefore, always inclin'd to Judge Unkindly, they fpread Cenfure as Wide as they Can. This Doubles the Injury on the Guiltlefs Perfon; and This is Many times the Case in Family Disputes, particularly betwixt Parents and Children; and Such is the Byas towards the Young People, for what Reasons I will not Stay to Enquire, (I fhould have faid Prejudices, for Reafon directs rather to the Other Side) if Any thing is Amifs, and the Question is Whether the Father or the Children are to Blame, All, or the Greater Part falls to the Share of the Old Man. Would to God I could produce Milton, his Own Advocate on the Present, as on Other Occafions! He would do Himself Right, whether by Owning, or Denying the Juftice of the Charge; He would Clear his Own Honour by Acquiring the Greatest, That of Scrupulously Adhering to Truth; but as for Ought we can learn, This Reflection on his Mind is Pofthumous, I beg Leave to appear in His Stead, and hope to be heard with Patience and Candour defending an Orphan-Reputation, by Imagining, as well as I can, what He would have faid; though far Otherwise than if he was Dictating to Me. Perhaps He would not have Condefcended to b z have

have Anfwer'd Thefe Cavillers, Unless by Roughly Asking them what Business they had to Concern themfelves with, much lefs to Cenfure His Conduct in his Domestick Affairs; there being Secrets in All Families which no Body has a Right to Enquire into, and yet without Knowing Thefe Throughly, and in Every Particular, no Solid Judgment can be made? He Probably would have put These Bufy-Bodies in Mind of the Spanish Proverb, A Fool is Wifer in his Own Houfe, than a Wife Man in That of his Neighbour. and then have Appeal'd to the reft of his Character, Recommending them to the Great Rule of Charity, the Sum of Moral and Evangelical Vertue.

but if he had Condefcended to give them Explicit Satisfaction, we may Imagine him telling them that thefe Daughters were born about the time his Sight firft fail'd him, that is, about the Year 50. it cannot be Suppos'd they were capable of having Learnt before they were 12 years Old, till When they might as well be Thus employ'd as any how Elfe, not being kept to it too Strictly, which is not Pretended. We are Now therefore in the Year 62. Then, and Soon after we are Affur'd he had Plenty of Other Affiftance, and in a few Years after, by that time they were about 20 Years of Age, their Father, Partly from Their Complaints, Partly from his Own Reflections, Acquitted them of This Duty. What is there in All This Much more than

what

what is done very Commonly, That of requiring a Child to read what He or She as little Understands, or takes Pleasure in as thefe Girls did his Latin, Greek, Hebrew, &c? 'tis true, they were kept from what was More Delightful. and Happy would it be were Young People kept, even Thus, from What Moft Nowadays are Educated in; Happy to Themselves, as well as to Thofe who in Reality Love them Beft; and That, not Only for the Prefent, but Throughout every Stage of their Future Life.

but Admitting it was a Hardship; let the Father be taken into the Account,let Some regard be had to Him. Here was an Old Man, Blind, Infirm, near Ruin'd, Afflicted; Standing in great Need therefore ofAffistance from Thofe of Whom he had reafon to Expect it, and of what Confolation They could Afford; One of the Principal Branches of which was Reading, and Writing for him. he was not in a Condition to Hire a Proper Perfon Always to Attend as his Own Children, or, if he would have done That, he must have Leffen'd his Provifion for his Family. They were Then at Work for Themselves. and was it Nothing (think ye) no Hardfhip upon Him to Teach Girls as These were Taught? Confider His Distress, Either way; and Pity Him you have been Blaming, and Who was by Much the Greater Sufferer, whether They Affifted Him or did not; and Confider Withall that They Deferv'd b 3

the