one,

when Mr. Newton was here, and we made it a rule to pass four days in the week together. We dined at and it was Mr. Newton's rule for tea to be on the table at four o'clock, for at six we broke up.' 'Well, then,' said I, 'if you had your time to yourself after six you would have good time for an evening's walk, I should have thought.' 'No,' said he; after six we had service, or lecture, or something of that kind, which lasted till supper.' I made no reply, but could not and cannot help thinking they might have made a better use of a fine summer's evening than by shutting themselves up to make long prayers.'

Thus Lady Hesketh ; but others have gone much farther, and even laid the cause of Cowper's mental depression at Newton's door, which, together with other charges, has been ably confuted by the Rev. J. H. Overton. Mr. Overton, after pointing out that the germs of this distressing melancholy, which cast a gloom over Cowper's latter years, are clearly traceable before his acquaintance with Newton began, makes the assertion that the most that can be said is, that the depression of spirits was increased by his intimacy with the pious and energetic curate of Olney, and then inquires whether there is any real foundation for this supposition. To answer this question, Mr. Overton examines the nature of the relationship which subsisted between Cowper and Newton, and points out that, although at first sight no two men could be more opposite in character, yet the differences were really! superficial. Cowper's apparent effeminacy was all on the surface; his mind, when not unstrung, was, as his letters as well as his poems testify, of an essentially

masculine and vigorous type; while, on the other side, despite Newton's hard and rough exterior, his heart was as tender and delicate as that of a child. "Newton," continues Mr. Overton, " had a point of contact with every side of Cowper's character. He had at least as strong a sympathy with the author of 'John Gilpin' as with the author of the 'Task.' For one of the most marked features of John Newton's intellectual character was his strong sense of humour. Many of his Ana' rival those of Dr. Johnson himself; and now and then, even in his sermons, glimpses of his humorous tendency peep forth. (See Fourth Sermon on 'The Messiah'.) Again, he could fully appreciate Cowper's taste for classical literature; considering how utterly Newton's education had been neglected, it is surprising that he managed, under the most unfavourable circumstances, to acquire no contemptible knowledge of the great classical authors. Add to all this that Newton's native kindness of heart made him feel very deeply for the misfortune of his friend, and it will be no longer a matter of wonder that there should have been so close a friendship between the two men. It is readily granted that there was a certain amount of awe mingled with the love which Cowper bore to Newton, but Newton was the very last man in the world to abuse the gentle poet's confidence."

Mr. Overton next examines seriatim the various counts of the indictment brought against Newton, pointing out, in the first place, that Cowper's mental depression was not even aggravated by Newton's Calvinistic views; for, in the first place, although Newton was a Calvinist, it was only in a very modified

sense-the gloomy, repulsive side of Calvinism found no place in Newton's system; in the second place, Cowper never regarded himself as one of those predestined to be lost, do what they would, but, on the contrary, always held that he had once been a child of God. "To follow all the aberrations of a disordered intellect is of course impossible, but it is quite clear that the dreadful hallucination which possessed Cowper's mind had nothing to do with any of the five points of Calvinism ;" and, in the third place, there is no evidence to show that either hymn-writing or visiting the poor tended in any way to induce a return of Cowper's malady. "Newton may well have thought that the consciousness of being usefully employed was the the very best means of diverting Cowper's mind from the gloomy thoughts in which a want of occupation would have given him leisure to indulge."

The various other charges that have been brought against Newton are dealt with in a subsequent chapter.

48. The Removal of Unwin to Stock, and other Incidents of 1769.

After his conversion at St. Albans, and especially after his renunciation of the idea of becoming a clergyman, we find Cowper nursing the hope that God might permit him to be an "instrument of turning many to the truth in a private way: consequently it was with great joy that he seized any opportunity that presented itself of pointing out to others the importance of the

life in Christ. To help Newton in visiting the pcor and ministering to the sick was a real pleasure, but not only to his humble neighbours did he seek to do good, he endeavoured likewise to promote the eternal happiness of his friends and relations. In January, 1769, Joseph Hill had just recovered from a dangerous illness, and Cowper, in a congratulatory letter to him (dated Jan. 21st), though half afraid of giving offence, takes upon himself to speak in a solemn strain. "My dear friend,” he winds up, "I desire and pray, that when this last enemy shall come to execute an unlimited commission upon us, we may be found ready, being established and rooted in a well-grounded faith in His name, who conquered and triumphed over him upon the Cross."

To Cowper's joy " Hill" looked at the letter in the right light; and in his next to the same, the poet says, "I do assure you, the gentleness and candour of your manner engages my affection to you very much. You answer with mildness to an admonition which would have provoked many to anger."

To his brother John, Cowper also wrote in similar style on various occasions, though, unfortunately, the letters have been lost; and he was ultimately, as we shall by and by see, the means of being of great assistance to him. But it must be noticed that Cowper subsequently regarded in a different light the spirit with which he was then actuated (April 3, 1786). "This eagerness of spirit," he says, "natural to persons newly informed, and the less to be wondered at in me, who had just emerged from the horrors of despair, made me imprudent, and, I doubt not, troublesome to

many. . . . Good is intended, but harm is done, too often by the zeal with which I was at that time animated."

Meanwhile an event happened which made a great change in the Olney household, for young Unwin, with whom Cowper had become linked in the strongest bonds of friendship, now (July, 1769) quitted Olney, having been instituted to the Rectory of Stock, near Ramsden, in Essex. Educated at Christ College, Cambridge, Mr. Unwin, like his father, had attached himself to the Evangelical party, of which, though never a distinguished member, he was at all times a very diligent and conscientious one.

At the end of July 31st Hill invited the poet to London, which invitation, however, was declined, "Sir Cowper," as he was called at Olney, preferring "his home to any other spot of earth in the world."

"My dear friend," he says, "I am obliged to you for your invitation; but being long accustomed to retirement, which I was always fond of, I am now more than ever unwilling to re-visit those noisy and crowded scenes, which I never loved, and which I now abhor. I remember you with all the friendship I ever professed, which is as much as I ever entertained for any man. But the strange and uncommon incidents of my life have given an entirely new turn to my whole character and conduct, and rendered me incapable of receiving pleasure from the same employments and amusements of which I could readily partake in former days."

After his settlement at Olney, Cowper necessarily saw his brother less frequently. They now exchanged