40 THOMAS KEN AND IZAAK WALTON 



lay down in their small boarded beds at night. He 

 soon began to be distinguished for his peculiar 

 eloquence in the pulpit. Pepys frequently speaks 

 of his impressive oratory. 

 Hawkins says 



" That neither his study might be the 

 aggressor on his hours of instruction, or what 

 he judged duty prevent his improvement, he 

 strictly accustomed himself to but one hour's 

 sleep, which obliged him to rise at one or two 

 o'clock in the morning, or sometimes earlier." 



Mr. Bowles leaves one to suppose, though he 

 does not distinctly say so, that Ken in his collected 

 works omitted these two Hymns, as being unworthy 

 of a place in his poetical writings, on account of 

 their simplicity! His collected poems being, in 

 fact, far inferior : " Elaborate, metaphysical, affected, 

 and full of the most ludicrous associations, meant to 

 be sublime." 



About the year 1674 Ken was made chaplain to 

 the Comptroller of the Royal Household. 



King Charles II. occasionally visited Winchester, 

 where he afterwards laid the foundation of that 

 magnificent palace which he never saw completed. 



