LIFE OF WALTON. S3 



chosen preacber to the honourable society of Lincoln's- 

 Inn, and soon after appointed a King's chaplain. His 

 attachment to the above society, and his love of a town 

 residence among his friends, were so strong, that al- 

 though, as Walton assures us, he had within the first 

 year after his ordination, offers of no fewer than fourteen, 

 country benefices, he declined them all. In his station 

 of chaplain he drew on him the eyes of the king, who, 

 with some peculiar marks of. favour, preferred him to 

 the deanery of St. Paul's ; and shortly after he was, on 

 the presentation of his friend, the Earl of Dorset, in- 

 ducted into the vicarage of St. Dunstan's in the West : 

 but the misfortunes attending his marriage had not only 

 broken his spirit, but so impaired his constitution, that 

 lie fell into a lingering consumption, of which he died 

 in 1631. Besides a great number of Sermons, and a 

 Discourse on Suicide, he has left, of his writing ; 

 Letters to several persons of honour, in Quarto, 1651 ; 

 and a volume of Poews~first published, and as there 

 is reason to suppose, by Walton himself, in 1635, but 

 last, in 17 J 9 among which are six most spirited 

 Satires, several whereof Mr. Pope has modernized. 

 Walton compares him to St. Austin, as having, like 

 him, been converted to a life of piety and holiness ; and 

 adds, that for the greatneFS of his natural endowments, 

 he had been said to resemble Picus of Mirantlula, of 

 whom story says, that he was rather born than made 

 WISE by study. 



Sir HENRY WOTTON was born 1S68. After he 

 had finished his studies at Oxford, he resided in France, 

 Germany, and Italy ; and at his return attended the 

 Earl of Essex. He was employed by king James the 

 First in several foreign negociations, atid went ambassa- 

 dor to Venice. Towards the end of his life, he was 

 made (having first been admitted to deacon's orders) 

 provost of Eton College, a dignity well suited to a 

 mind like his, that had withdrawn itself from the world 

 for the purpose of religious contemplation. He was 

 skilled in painting, sculpture, musick, architecture, me- 

 dals, chemistry, and languages. In the arts of negoci- 



