360 LIFE OF COTTON. 



unlikely circumstances must concur to render such a 

 report credible, great imprudence in himself, and want 

 of charity in her ; and there is no such offensive pas- 

 sage to be found in any of his writings ; we may pre- 

 sume the tradition to be groundless. 



Of the future fortunes of his descendants little is 

 known, save that, to his son Beresford Cotton, was 

 given a company in a regiment of foot, raised, by the 

 Earl of Derby, for the service of King William ; and 

 that one of his daughters became the wife of that emi- 

 nent divine Dr. George Stanhope, dean of Canterbury, 

 who from his name, the same with that of Mr. Cot- 

 ton's mother is conjectured to have been distantly al- 

 lied to the family. 



The above are the most remarkable particulars, that 

 at this time are recoverable, of the life of Mr. Cotton. 

 His moral character is to be collected, and indeed does 

 naturally arise, out of the several sentiments contained 

 in his writings ; more especially, those in the Collection 

 of his Poems above-mentioned : Which, consisting of all 

 such Verses of his as the publishers could get together ; 

 as namely, Eclogues, Odes, and Epistles to his friends, 

 and Translations from Ausonius, Catullus, Martial, 

 Mons. Maynard, Corneille, Benserade, Guarini, and 

 others ; if pursued with a severe and indiscriminating 

 eye may, perhaps, be thought to reflect no great credit 

 on his memory, for many of them are so inexcusably 

 licentious as to induce a suspicion, that the author was 

 but too well practised in the vices of the town : and 

 yet it may be said of the book, that it contains the only 

 good POEMS he ever wrote. 



It is true, that for the looseness of his writings, and 

 if we may judge by them, of his manners, he deserves 

 censure : but, at the same time, it is to be noted, that he 

 was a warm and steady friend^ and a lover of such as 

 he thought more worthy than himself ; of which last 

 quality, his attachment to Mr. Walton affords the 

 clearest proof. 



Nor did it derogate from the character of honest old 

 Isaac, to contract and cherish an intimacy with one, 

 why being of the cavalier party, might have somewhat 



