William Hayley.
The Life and posthumous writings of William Cowper, Esq. : with an introductory letter to the Right Honourable Earl Cowper online
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THE
LIFE
POSTHUMOUS WRITINGS
WILLIAM COWPERy Esq,
THE
LIFE
POSTHUMOUS WRITINGS
WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ.
WITH AN
INTRODUCTORY LETTER
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL COWPER.
BY AVILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ.
" Obversatur oculis ille vir, quo neminem setas nostra graviorem, sanc-
" tiorem, subtiliorem denique tulit : quern ego quum ex admiratione dili-
" gere coepissem, quod evenire contra solet, magis admiratus sum, post-
" quam penitus inspexi. Inspexi enim penitus : nihil a me ille secretum,
* non joculare, non serium, non triste, non Ixtum."
Plinii Epist. Lib. iv. Ep. 17-
VOL. L
NEW-VORK:
PnlNTED AND SOLD BY T. AND J. SWORDS,
Nu. 160 Tearl-Street.
ISOS.
CONTENTS
OF THE
FIRST VOLUME.
Introductory Letter.
The Life, Part the First — the Family, Birth, and first Residence of Cow-
per — his Eulogy on the Tenderness of his Mother, pages 1, 2. Her
Portrait — her Epitaph by her Niece, 2, 3. The Schools that Cowper
attended — his Sufferings in Childhood, 4, 5, 6. Leaves Westminster,
and is stationed in the House of an Attorney, 6, 7. Verses on his early
Afflictions, 7, 8. Setdes in the Inner Temple — his Acquaintance with
eminent Authors, 8. His Epistle to Lloyd, 9. His Translations in
Duncomhe's Horace, 11. His own Account of his early Life, 11.
Stanzas on reading Sir Charles Grandison, 12. Verses written at Bath,
1748 — his Nomination to the Office of Reading Clerk in the House of
Lords, 13, 14. His extreme dread of appearing in Public, 15. His
Healtli deranged — his Retirement to the House of Dr. Cotton, at St.
Alban's, 15. His Recovery, 16. He settles at Huntingdon, to be near
his Brother residing in Cambridge, 17. The two Brothers employed
on a Translation of Voltaire's Henriade, 17. The Origin of Cowper's
Acquaiiitance with the Family of Unwin, 18. He becomes a Part of
that Family, 19. His early Friendship with Lord Thurlow and Joseph
Hill, Esq. 19.
Letter 1
To Joseph Hill,
Esq.
June 24,
1765
Page 20
2
To Major Cowper
Oct. 18,
1765
21
o
To Joseph Hill,
Esq.
Oct. 25,
1765
22
4
To Mrs. Cowper
March 11,
1766
23
5
To the same
April 4,
1766
24
6
To the same
April 17,
1766
25
7
To the same
April 18,
1766
27
8
To the same
Sept. 3,
1766
29
9
To the same
Oct. 20,
1766
31
10
To the same
March 11,
1767
32
11
To the same
March 14,
1767
34
12
To the same
April 3,
1767
ib.
13
To the same
July 13,
1767
36
14
To Joseph Hill,
Esq.
July 16,
1767
ib.
The Origin of Cowper's Acquaintance with the Rev. Mr. Newton, 37-
His Removal with Mrs. Unwin, on the Death of her Husband, to Ol-
ney, in Buckinghamshire — his Devotion and Charity in his new Resi-
dence, 37-
vi CONTENTS.
Letter 15 To Joseph Hill, Esq. June 16,1768 Page 38
16 To the same 1769 ib.
A Poem in Memory of John Thornton, Esq. 39. Cowper's Beneficence
to a Necessitous Child, 40. Composes a Series of Hymns, 41.
Letter 17 To Mrs. Cowper without date Page 41
18 To the same Aug. 31, 1769 42
Cowper is hurried to Cambridge by the dangerous Illness of his Brother, 43
Letter 19 To Mrs. Cowper March 5, 1770 Page 44
A brief Account of the Rev. John Cowper, who died March 20, 1770—
and the Tribute paid to his Memory by his Brother the Poet, 44, 45.
Letter 20 To Joseph HiU, Esq. â– May 8, 1770 Page 46
21 To Mrs. Cowper June 7, 1770 47
22 To Joseph Hill, Esq. Sept. 25, 1770 49
The Collection of the Olney Hymns interrupted by the Illness of Cowper,
49. His long and severe Depression — his tame Hares one of his first
Amusements on his revival, 50, 51, 52.
Letter 23
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
May
6,
1780
Page 53
24
To Mrs. Cowper '
May
10,
1780
54,
25
To Joseph HUl, Esq.
July
8,
1780
ib.
26
To Mrs. Cowper
July
20,
1780
55
27
To the same
Aug.
31,
1780
56
28
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
Dec.
25,
1780
57
29
To the same
Feb.
15,
1781
59
30
To the same
May
9,
1781
60
31
To Mrs. Cowper
Oct.
19,
1781
61
The Publication of his first Volume — not immediately successful— probable
Reasons of the Neglect that it seemed for some Time to experience —
an E.\ample of the Poet's amiable Ingenuousness in speaking of him-
self — the various kinds of Excellence in liis first Volume, 62 to 65.
PART THE SECOND.
The Origin of Cowper's Acquaintance with Lady Austin — a Poetical
Epistle to that Lady, 67, 68. A Billet to the same Lady, and three
Songs, written for her Harpsichord, 71 to 74. She relates to Cowper
the Story of John Gilpin, 75.
Letter 32 To Joseph Hill, Esq. Feb. 13, 1783 Page 76
23 To the same, enclosing a Let-
ter from Benjamin Franklin Feb. 20,1783 ib.
34 To the same without date 77
35 To the same May 26, 1783 78
56 To the same Oct. 20, 1783 ib.
The Origin of the Task, 79. Extracts from Cowper's Letters to the Rev.
Ml-. Bull, relating to the Progress of that Poem, 79, 80. A sudden
end of the Poet's Intercourse v/ith Lady Austin, 81.
CONTENTS. vii
Letter 37 To Joseph Hill, Esq. Sept. 11, 1784 Page 81
38 To the same without date 82
39 To tlie same June 25, 1785 83
The Publication of Cowper's second Volume, in 1785, leads to a renewal
of his Correspondence with his Relation, I.ady Hesketh, 83.
Letter 40
To Lady Hesketh
Oct.
12,
1785
Page
• 84
41
To the same
Nov.
9,
1785
85
42
To the same
without date
88
43
To the same
Dec.
24,
1785
89
44
To the same
Jan.
10,
, 1786
90
45
To the same
Jan.
31,
1786
91
46
To the same
Feb.
9,
, 1785
93
47
To the same
Feb.
11,
1786
94
48
To the same
Feb.
19,
1786
95
49
To the same
March 6,
1786
98
50
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
April
5,
1786
100
51
To Lady Hesketh
April
17,
1786
101
52
To the same
April
24,
1786
103
5^
To the same
May
8,
1786
104
54
To the same
May
15,
1786
107
55
To the same
May
25,
1786
110
56
To the same
May
29,
1786
112
57
To the same
June
4,
1786
114
58
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
June
9,
1786
116
59
To the same
June
9,
1786
117
60
To the same
Oct.
6,
1786
ib.
Cowper receives at Olney his Relation Lady
Hesketh, 118.
E.xtracts
from his Letters to the Rev. Mr. Bull — Poem
on Friendship,
from 119
to 128.
Extract from the Rev. Mr. Newton's ]
Memoirs of Cowper,
129.
The Removal of Mrs. Unwin and Cowper fi
rom
the To\v'n
. of Olney
to the Village of Weston, 130.
Letter 61
To Lady Hesketh
Nov.
26,
1786
Page
130
62
To the same
Dec.
4,
1786
131
63
To the same
Dec.
9,
1786
133
64
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
Dec.
9,
1786
ib.
65
To Lady Hesketh
Dec.
21,
1786
134
66
To the same
Jan.
8,
1787
135
67
To the same
Jan.
8,
1787
136
68
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
July
24,
1787
137
69
To the same
Aug.
27,
1787
138
70
To Lady Hesketh
Aug.
30,
1787
139
71
To the same
Sept.
4,
1787
140
72
To the same
Sept.
15,
1787
141
73
To the same
Sept.
29,
1787
142
74>
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Oct.
19,
1787
143
75
To Lady Hesketh
Nov.
10,
1787
ib.
viii
CONTENTS.
The retired Cat, an occasional Poem, page 144,
Letter 76
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
Nov.
16,
1787
Page 147
77
To Lady Hesketh
Nov.
27,
1787
148
78
To the same
Dec.
4,
1787
149
79
To the same
Dec.
10,
1787
150
80
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Dec.
13,
1787
151
81
To Lady Hesketh
Jan.
1,
1788
153
82
To the same
Jan.
19,
1788
154
83
To the same
Jan.
30,
1788
155
84
To the same
Feb.
1,
1788
156
85
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Feb.
14,
1788
157
85
To Lady Hesketh
Feb.
16,
1788
159
87
To the same
Feb.
22,
1788
160
88
To the same
March 3,
1788
162
89
To the same
March 12,
1788
163
90
To General Cowper
Dec.
13,
1787
164
The Morning Dream, a ]
Ballad,
page
â– 164.
91
To Samiiel Rose, Esq.
March 29,
1788
166
92
To Lady Hesketh
March 31,
1788
167
93
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
May
8,
1788
168
94
To Lady Hesketh
May
12,
1788
ib.
95
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
May
24,
1788
169
96
To Lady Hesketh
May
27,
1788
170
97
To the same
June
j>
1788
171
98
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
June
8,
1788
172
99
To Lady Hesketh
June
10,
1788
173
100
To the same
June
15,
1788
ib.
101
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
June
23,
1788
174
102
To Lady Hesketh
JiJy
28,
1788
176
103
To the same
Aug.
9,
1788
177
104
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Aug.
18,
1788
'b.
105
To the same
Sept.
11,
1788
179
Two Poems on a favourite
Spaniel
, page 180.
105
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Sept.
25,
1788
181
107
To the same
Nov.
30,
1788
182
108
To the same
Jan.
19,
1789
183
109
To the same
Jan.
24,
1789
184
110
To the same
M.iy
20,
1789
ib.
A Poem on the Queen's Visit to Londor
!, the IS!
-ight
of March 17, 1789,
page 185
Letter 111
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
June
5,
1789
Page 188
112
To the same
June
20,
1789
ib.
113
To Mrs. Throckmorton
Julv
18,
1789
189
114
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Julv
23,
1789
190
115
To the same
Aug.
8,
1789
191
iir.
To the same
Sept.
24,
1789
i!>.
CONTENTS.
Letter 117 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
118 To Joseph Hill, Esq.
119 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
120 To Lady Hesketh
121 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
122 To Lady Hesketh
Verses to Mrs. Throckmorton, on her
Ode, Ad Librum sun
Letter 123 To Lady Hesketh
124 To Mrs. Bodham
125 To John Johnson, Esq.
126 To Lady Hesketh
127 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
128 To Mrs. Throckmorton
129 To Lady Hesketh
130 To John Johnson, Esq.
131 To the same
132 To Lady Hesketh,
133 To the same
134 To Mrs. Throckmorton
135 To Lady Hesketh
136 To the same
137 To John Johnson, Esq.
138 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
139 To Mrs. Bodham
140 To Lady Hesketh
141 To John Johnson, Esq.
142 To the same
143 To Mrs. Bodham
144 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
145 To Mrs. Bodham
146 To John Johnson, Esq.
147 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
148 To John Johnson, Esq.
149 To the same
150 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
151 To Lady Hesketh
152 To John Johnson, Esq.
153 To Joseph Hill, Esq.
154 To the same
155 To John Johnson, Esq.
156 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
157 To Mrs. Throckmorton
158 To John Johnson, Esq.
159 To Samuel Rose. Esq.
160 To John Johnson, Esq.
VOL, I. A
Sept.
11,
1788
Page 192
Dec.
18,
1789
193
Jan.
3,
1790
ib.
Jan.
23,
1790
194
Feb.
2,
1790
195
Feb.
9,
1790
196
beautiful
1 Transcript
of Horace's
im, page
197
Feb.
26,
1790
Page 197
Feb.
27,
1790
198
Feb.
28,
1790
200
March 8,
1790
202
March 11,
1790
ib.
March 21,
1790
203
INIarch 22,
1790
204
March 23,
1790
205
April
17,
1790
206
April
19,
1890
208
April
30,
1790
ib.
May
10,
1790
209
May
28,
1790
210
June
•Ji
1790
ib.
June
7,
1790
211
June
8,
1790
212
June
29,
1790
213
July
7,
1790
214
July
8,
1790
215
July
31,
1790
216
Sept.
9,
1790
ib.
Sept.
13,
1790
217
Nov.
21,
1790
2J8
Nov.
26,
1790
219
Nov.
30,
1790
220
Dec.
18,
1790
ib.
Jan.
21,
1791
221
Feb.
5,
1791
222
Feb.
13,
1791
ib.
Feb.
27,
1791
223
March 6,
1791
224
March 10,
1791
ib.
March 19,
1791
ib-
March 24,
1791
225
April
1,
1791
226
April
6,
1791
ib.
April
29,
1791
127
May
23,
1791
ib.
X CONTENTS.
The Judgment of the Poets, an occasional Poem, page 228.
Letter 161 To Samuel Rose, Esq. June 15, 1791 Page 229
The first Publication of Covvper's Homer — the Pleasure he derived from
that Work — Extract of a Letter on the Subject to his Kinsman, of
Norfolk, page 230, to the end of the Volume.
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.
The Portrait of Cowper as a Frontispiece to Vol. I.
The Portrait of Mrs. Cowper to face Page 3, Vol. I.
llW
INTRODUCTORY LETTER
Right Honourable Earl COWPER.
Y OUR family, my Lord, our country itself, and the whole
literary world, sustained such a loss in the death of that
amiable man and enchanting author who forms the subject
of these volumes, as inspired the friends of genius and virtue
with universal concern. It soon became a general wish, that
some authentic and copious memorial of a character so highly
interesting should be produced with all becoming dispatch ;
not only to render due honour to the dead, but to alleviate
the regret of a nation taking a just and liberal pride in the
reputation of a poet, who had obtained and deserved her
applause, her esteem, her affection. If this laudable wish
was very sensibly felt by the public at large, it glowed with
peculiar warmth and eagerness in the bosom of the few who
had been so fortunate as to enjoy an intimacy with Cowper
in some vmclouded periods of his life, and who knew, from
such an intimacy, that a lively sweetness and sanctity of
spirit were as truly the characteristics of his social enjoy-
ments, as they arc allowed to constitute a principal charm in
his poetical productions. — It has justly been regarded as a
signal blessing, to have possessed the perfect esteem and
confidence of such a man : and not long after his decease,
one of his particular friends presumed to suggest to an ac-
complished lady, nearly related both to him and to your
Lordship, that she herself might be the biographer the most
worthy of the poet. The long intimacy and correspondence
which she enjoved with him, from their lively hours of in-
xii INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
fantile friendship to the dark evening of his wonderfully
chequered life ; her cultivated and affectionate mind, which
led her to take peculiar delight and interest in the merit
and the reputation of his writings ; and, lastly, that generous
attachment to her afflicted relation which induced her to
watch over his disoi'dered health, in a period of its most
calamitous depression ; — these circumstances, united, seemed
to render it desirable that she should assume the office of
Cowper's biographer; having such advantages for the perfect
execution of that very delicate office as, perhaps, no other
memorialist could possess in an equal degree. For the in-
terest of literature, and for the honour of many poets, whose
memories have suffered from some biographers of a very
different description, we may wish that the extensive series
of poetical biography had been frequently enriched by the
memoirs of such remembrancers as feel only the influence
of tenderness and truth. Some poets, indeed, of recent
times, have been happy in this most desirable advantage.
The Scottish favourite of nature, the tender and impetuous
Burns, has found, in Dr. Currie, an ingenuous, eloquent,
affectionate biographer; and in a lady also (whose memoir
of her friend, the bard, is very properly annexed to his life)
a zealous and graceful advocate, singularly happy in vindi-
cating his character from invidious detraction. We may
observe, to the honour of Scotland, that her national enthu-
siasm has, for some years, been very laudably exerted in
cherishing the memory of her departed poets. — But to
return to the lady who gave rise to this remark. The na-
tural diffidence of her sex, uniting with extreme delicacy of
health, induced her, eager as she is to promote the celebrity
of her deceased relation, to shrink from the idea of submit-
ting herself, as an author, to the formidable eye of the public.
Her knowledge of the very cordial regard wi^h which Cowper
has honoured me, as one of his most confidential friends,
led her to request that she might assign to me that arduous
office, which she candidly confessed she had not the resolu-
tion to assume. She confided to my care such materials for
the work in question, as her affinity to the deceased had
INTRODUCTORY LETTER. xUi
thrown into her hands. In receiving a collection of many-
private letters, and of several posthumous little poems, in
the vi'ell-known characters of that beloved correspondent, at
the sight of whose hand I have often exulted, I felt the
blended emotions of melancholy regret, and of awful plea-
sure. Yes, I was pleased that these aflFecting papers were
entrusted to my care, because some incidents induce me to
believe that, if their revered author had been solicited to
appoint a biographer for himself, he would have assigned to
me this honourable task. Yet, honourable as I considered it,
I was perfectly aware of the difficulties and the dangers at-
tending it. One danger, indeed, appeared to me of such a
nature as to require perpetual caution as I advanced : I
mean the danger of being led, in writing as the biographer
of my friend, to speak infinitely too much of myself. To
avoid the offensive failing of egotism, I had resolved, at first,
to make no inconsiderable sacrifice, and to suppress, in his
letters, every particle of praise bestowed upon myself. I
soon found it impossible to do so without injuring the tender
and generous spirit of my friend. I have, therefore, sufilered
many expressions of his affectionate partiality towards me to
appear, at the hazard of being censured for inordinate vanity.
To obviate such a censure, I will only say, that I have en-
tleavoured to execute what I regard as a mournful duty, as
if I were under the immediate and visible direction of the
most pure, the most truly modest, and the most gracefully
virtuous mind, that I had ever the happiness of knowing in
the form of a manly friend. It is certainly my wish that
these volumes may obtain the entire approbation of the
world ; but it is infinitely more my desire and ambition to
render them exactly such as I think most likely to gratify
the conscious spirit of Cowper himself in a superior exist-
ence. The person who recommended it to his female relation
to continue her exemplary regard to the poet, by appearing
as his biographer, advised her to relate the particulars of his
life in the form of letters addressed to your Lordship. He
cited, on the occasion, a striking passage from the memoirs
of Gibbon, in which that great historian pnys a just and a
xiv INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
splendid compliment to one of the early English poets, who,
in the tenderness and purity of his heart, and in the vivid
powers of description, may be thought to resemble Cowper.
The passage I allude to is this: " The nobility of the Spen-
cers has been illustrated and enriched by the trophies of
Marlborough ; but T exhort them to consider the Fairy Queen
as the most precious jewel of their coronet." If this lively
metaphor is just in every point of view, we inay regard The
Task as a jewel of pre-eminent lustre in the coronet belong-
iiig to the noble family of Cowper. Under the influence of
this idea, allow me, my Lord, to address to you such me-
moirs of your admirable relation, as my own intimacy with
him, and the kindness of those who knew and loved him
most truly, have enabled me to compose. I will tell you,
with perfect sincerity, all my motives for addressing them to
your Lordship. First, I flatter myself it may be a pleasing,
and, permit me to say, not an unuseful occupation to an in-
g-envious young nobleman, to trace the steps by which a re-
tired man, of the most diffident modesty, whose private vir-
tues did honour to his name, arose to peculiar celebrity.
iVIy second motive is, I ov/n, of a more selfish nature; for I
amt persuaded, that, in addressing my v/ork to you, I give
the public a satisfactory pledge for the authenticity of my
materials. I \n\\ not pretend to say that I hold it in the
power of any title, or affinity, to reflect an additional lustre
on the memory of the departed poet : for I think so highly
of poetical distinction, when that distinction is pre-eminently
obtained by genius, piety, and benevolence, that all common
honours appear to be eclipsed by a splendour more forcible
and extensive. Great poets, my Lord, and that I may speak
of thcni as they deserve, let me say, in the words of Horace,
Frimum me illorum, dederim qulbus esse Poetas,
Excerpam numero —
Great poets have generally united in their destiny those ex-
tremes of good and evil, which liomer, their immortal pre-
sident, assigns to the bard he describes, and v/hich he ex-
emplified himself in his own person. — Their lives have been
INTRODUCTORY LETTER. xv
frequently chequered by the darkest shades of calamity ; but
their personal infelicities are nobly compensated by the pre-
valence and the extent of their renown. To set this in the
most striking point of view, allow me to compare poetical
celebrity with the fame acquired by the exertion of different
mental powers in the highest department of civil life. The
Lord Chancellors of England may be justly regarded among
the personages of the modern world, peculiarly exalted by
intellectual endowments : with two of these illustrious cha-
racters, the poet, whose life I have endeavoured to delineate,
was in some measure connected; being related to one, the
immediate ancestor of your Lordship, and being intimate,
in early life, with a Chancellor of the present reign, whose
elevation to that dignity he has recorded in rhyine. Much
respect is due to the legal names of Cowper, and of Thurlow.
Knowledge, eloquence, and political importance, conspired
to aggrandize the men who added those names to the list of
English nobility: yet, after the lapse of a few centuries, they
.will shine only like very distant constellations, merely visi-
ble in the vast expanse of history ! But, at that time, the
poet of whom I speak, will continue to sparkle in the eyes
of all men, like the radiant star of the evening, perpetually
hailed by the voice of gratitude, affection, and delight. There
is a principle of unperishablc vitality (if I may use such an
expression) in the compositions of Cowper, which must en-
sure to them in future ages, what we have seen them so
happily acquire and maintain in the present — universal admi-
ration and love ! His poetry is to the heart and the fancy,
what the moral essays of Bacon are to the understanding, a
never-cloying feast !
" As if increase of appetite had grown
" By what it fed on."
Like them it comes " home to the business and bosom of
every man ;" by possessing the rare and double talent to fami-
liarize and endear the most awful subjects, and to dignify
the most familiar, the poet naturally becomes a favourite
with readers of every description. His works must interest
xvi INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
every nation under heaven, where his sentiments are under-
stood, and where the feelings of humanity prevail. Yet
their author is eminently an EngUshman, in the noblest
sense of that honourable appellation. He loved the consti-
tution; he revered the I'eligion of his country; he was ten-
derly, and generously alive to her real interest and honour;
and perhaps of her many admirable poets, not one has
touched her foibles, and celebrated her perfections, with a
spirit so truly filial. — But I perceive that I am in danger of
going far beyond my design in this introductory letter, for it
in (glemorg of
3ubge ^amuef (gtiffer QSrecHinribge
^reeenfc^ 6l?
^dmuef (gtiffer (jSrecftinribge feon^
fo f ^e &i6raifi? of
(Princeton C^eofo^icaf ^eminarg
sec
inf
THE
LIFE
POSTHUMOUS WRITINGS
WILLIAM COWPERy Esq,
THE
LIFE
POSTHUMOUS WRITINGS
WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ.
WITH AN
INTRODUCTORY LETTER
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL COWPER.
BY AVILLIAM HAYLEY, ESQ.
" Obversatur oculis ille vir, quo neminem setas nostra graviorem, sanc-
" tiorem, subtiliorem denique tulit : quern ego quum ex admiratione dili-
" gere coepissem, quod evenire contra solet, magis admiratus sum, post-
" quam penitus inspexi. Inspexi enim penitus : nihil a me ille secretum,
* non joculare, non serium, non triste, non Ixtum."
Plinii Epist. Lib. iv. Ep. 17-
VOL. L
NEW-VORK:
PnlNTED AND SOLD BY T. AND J. SWORDS,
Nu. 160 Tearl-Street.
ISOS.
CONTENTS
OF THE
FIRST VOLUME.
Introductory Letter.
The Life, Part the First — the Family, Birth, and first Residence of Cow-
per — his Eulogy on the Tenderness of his Mother, pages 1, 2. Her
Portrait — her Epitaph by her Niece, 2, 3. The Schools that Cowper
attended — his Sufferings in Childhood, 4, 5, 6. Leaves Westminster,
and is stationed in the House of an Attorney, 6, 7. Verses on his early
eminent Authors, 8. His Epistle to Lloyd, 9. His Translations in
Duncomhe's Horace, 11. His own Account of his early Life, 11.
Stanzas on reading Sir Charles Grandison, 12. Verses written at Bath,
1748 — his Nomination to the Office of Reading Clerk in the House of
Lords, 13, 14. His extreme dread of appearing in Public, 15. His
Healtli deranged — his Retirement to the House of Dr. Cotton, at St.
Alban's, 15. His Recovery, 16. He settles at Huntingdon, to be near
his Brother residing in Cambridge, 17. The two Brothers employed
on a Translation of Voltaire's Henriade, 17. The Origin of Cowper's
Acquaiiitance with the Family of Unwin, 18. He becomes a Part of
that Family, 19. His early Friendship with Lord Thurlow and Joseph
Hill, Esq. 19.
Letter 1
To Joseph Hill,
Esq.
June 24,
1765
Page 20
2
To Major Cowper
Oct. 18,
1765
21
o
To Joseph Hill,
Esq.
Oct. 25,
1765
22
4
To Mrs. Cowper
March 11,
1766
23
5
To the same
April 4,
1766
24
6
To the same
April 17,
1766
25
7
To the same
April 18,
1766
27
8
To the same
Sept. 3,
1766
29
9
To the same
Oct. 20,
1766
31
10
To the same
March 11,
1767
32
11
To the same
March 14,
1767
34
12
To the same
April 3,
1767
ib.
13
To the same
July 13,
1767
36
14
To Joseph Hill,
Esq.
July 16,
1767
ib.
The Origin of Cowper's Acquaintance with the Rev. Mr. Newton, 37-
His Removal with Mrs. Unwin, on the Death of her Husband, to Ol-
ney, in Buckinghamshire — his Devotion and Charity in his new Resi-
dence, 37-
vi CONTENTS.
Letter 15 To Joseph Hill, Esq. June 16,1768 Page 38
16 To the same 1769 ib.
A Poem in Memory of John Thornton, Esq. 39. Cowper's Beneficence
to a Necessitous Child, 40. Composes a Series of Hymns, 41.
Letter 17 To Mrs. Cowper without date Page 41
18 To the same Aug. 31, 1769 42
Cowper is hurried to Cambridge by the dangerous Illness of his Brother, 43
Letter 19 To Mrs. Cowper March 5, 1770 Page 44
A brief Account of the Rev. John Cowper, who died March 20, 1770—
and the Tribute paid to his Memory by his Brother the Poet, 44, 45.
Letter 20 To Joseph HiU, Esq. â– May 8, 1770 Page 46
21 To Mrs. Cowper June 7, 1770 47
22 To Joseph Hill, Esq. Sept. 25, 1770 49
The Collection of the Olney Hymns interrupted by the Illness of Cowper,
49. His long and severe Depression — his tame Hares one of his first
Amusements on his revival, 50, 51, 52.
Letter 23
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
May
6,
1780
Page 53
24
To Mrs. Cowper '
May
10,
1780
54,
25
To Joseph HUl, Esq.
July
8,
1780
ib.
26
To Mrs. Cowper
July
20,
1780
55
27
To the same
Aug.
31,
1780
56
28
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
Dec.
25,
1780
57
29
To the same
Feb.
15,
1781
59
30
To the same
May
9,
1781
60
31
To Mrs. Cowper
Oct.
19,
1781
61
The Publication of his first Volume — not immediately successful— probable
Reasons of the Neglect that it seemed for some Time to experience —
an E.\ample of the Poet's amiable Ingenuousness in speaking of him-
self — the various kinds of Excellence in liis first Volume, 62 to 65.
PART THE SECOND.
The Origin of Cowper's Acquaintance with Lady Austin — a Poetical
Epistle to that Lady, 67, 68. A Billet to the same Lady, and three
Songs, written for her Harpsichord, 71 to 74. She relates to Cowper
the Story of John Gilpin, 75.
Letter 32 To Joseph Hill, Esq. Feb. 13, 1783 Page 76
23 To the same, enclosing a Let-
ter from Benjamin Franklin Feb. 20,1783 ib.
34 To the same without date 77
35 To the same May 26, 1783 78
56 To the same Oct. 20, 1783 ib.
The Origin of the Task, 79. Extracts from Cowper's Letters to the Rev.
Ml-. Bull, relating to the Progress of that Poem, 79, 80. A sudden
end of the Poet's Intercourse v/ith Lady Austin, 81.
CONTENTS. vii
Letter 37 To Joseph Hill, Esq. Sept. 11, 1784 Page 81
38 To the same without date 82
39 To tlie same June 25, 1785 83
The Publication of Cowper's second Volume, in 1785, leads to a renewal
of his Correspondence with his Relation, I.ady Hesketh, 83.
Letter 40
To Lady Hesketh
Oct.
12,
1785
Page
• 84
41
To the same
Nov.
9,
1785
85
42
To the same
without date
88
43
To the same
Dec.
24,
1785
89
44
To the same
Jan.
10,
, 1786
90
45
To the same
Jan.
31,
1786
91
46
To the same
Feb.
9,
, 1785
93
47
To the same
Feb.
11,
1786
94
48
To the same
Feb.
19,
1786
95
49
To the same
March 6,
1786
98
50
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
April
5,
1786
100
51
To Lady Hesketh
April
17,
1786
101
52
To the same
April
24,
1786
103
5^
To the same
May
8,
1786
104
54
To the same
May
15,
1786
107
55
To the same
May
25,
1786
110
56
To the same
May
29,
1786
112
57
To the same
June
4,
1786
114
58
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
June
9,
1786
116
59
To the same
June
9,
1786
117
60
To the same
Oct.
6,
1786
ib.
Cowper receives at Olney his Relation Lady
Hesketh, 118.
E.xtracts
from his Letters to the Rev. Mr. Bull — Poem
on Friendship,
from 119
to 128.
Extract from the Rev. Mr. Newton's ]
Memoirs of Cowper,
129.
The Removal of Mrs. Unwin and Cowper fi
rom
the To\v'n
. of Olney
to the Village of Weston, 130.
Letter 61
To Lady Hesketh
Nov.
26,
1786
Page
130
62
To the same
Dec.
4,
1786
131
63
To the same
Dec.
9,
1786
133
64
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
Dec.
9,
1786
ib.
65
To Lady Hesketh
Dec.
21,
1786
134
66
To the same
Jan.
8,
1787
135
67
To the same
Jan.
8,
1787
136
68
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
July
24,
1787
137
69
To the same
Aug.
27,
1787
138
70
To Lady Hesketh
Aug.
30,
1787
139
71
To the same
Sept.
4,
1787
140
72
To the same
Sept.
15,
1787
141
73
To the same
Sept.
29,
1787
142
74>
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Oct.
19,
1787
143
75
To Lady Hesketh
Nov.
10,
1787
ib.
viii
CONTENTS.
The retired Cat, an occasional Poem, page 144,
Letter 76
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
Nov.
16,
1787
Page 147
77
To Lady Hesketh
Nov.
27,
1787
148
78
To the same
Dec.
4,
1787
149
79
To the same
Dec.
10,
1787
150
80
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Dec.
13,
1787
151
81
To Lady Hesketh
Jan.
1,
1788
153
82
To the same
Jan.
19,
1788
154
83
To the same
Jan.
30,
1788
155
84
To the same
Feb.
1,
1788
156
85
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Feb.
14,
1788
157
85
To Lady Hesketh
Feb.
16,
1788
159
87
To the same
Feb.
22,
1788
160
88
To the same
March 3,
1788
162
89
To the same
March 12,
1788
163
90
To General Cowper
Dec.
13,
1787
164
The Morning Dream, a ]
Ballad,
page
â– 164.
91
To Samiiel Rose, Esq.
March 29,
1788
166
92
To Lady Hesketh
March 31,
1788
167
93
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
May
8,
1788
168
94
To Lady Hesketh
May
12,
1788
ib.
95
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
May
24,
1788
169
96
To Lady Hesketh
May
27,
1788
170
97
To the same
June
j>
1788
171
98
To Joseph Hill, Esq.
June
8,
1788
172
99
To Lady Hesketh
June
10,
1788
173
100
To the same
June
15,
1788
ib.
101
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
June
23,
1788
174
102
To Lady Hesketh
JiJy
28,
1788
176
103
To the same
Aug.
9,
1788
177
104
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Aug.
18,
1788
'b.
105
To the same
Sept.
11,
1788
179
Two Poems on a favourite
Spaniel
, page 180.
105
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Sept.
25,
1788
181
107
To the same
Nov.
30,
1788
182
108
To the same
Jan.
19,
1789
183
109
To the same
Jan.
24,
1789
184
110
To the same
M.iy
20,
1789
ib.
A Poem on the Queen's Visit to Londor
!, the IS!
-ight
of March 17, 1789,
page 185
Letter 111
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
June
5,
1789
Page 188
112
To the same
June
20,
1789
ib.
113
To Mrs. Throckmorton
Julv
18,
1789
189
114
To Samuel Rose, Esq.
Julv
23,
1789
190
115
To the same
Aug.
8,
1789
191
iir.
To the same
Sept.
24,
1789
i!>.
CONTENTS.
Letter 117 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
118 To Joseph Hill, Esq.
119 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
120 To Lady Hesketh
121 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
122 To Lady Hesketh
Verses to Mrs. Throckmorton, on her
Ode, Ad Librum sun
Letter 123 To Lady Hesketh
124 To Mrs. Bodham
125 To John Johnson, Esq.
126 To Lady Hesketh
127 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
128 To Mrs. Throckmorton
129 To Lady Hesketh
130 To John Johnson, Esq.
131 To the same
132 To Lady Hesketh,
133 To the same
134 To Mrs. Throckmorton
135 To Lady Hesketh
136 To the same
137 To John Johnson, Esq.
138 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
139 To Mrs. Bodham
140 To Lady Hesketh
141 To John Johnson, Esq.
142 To the same
143 To Mrs. Bodham
144 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
145 To Mrs. Bodham
146 To John Johnson, Esq.
147 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
148 To John Johnson, Esq.
149 To the same
150 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
151 To Lady Hesketh
152 To John Johnson, Esq.
153 To Joseph Hill, Esq.
154 To the same
155 To John Johnson, Esq.
156 To Samuel Rose, Esq.
157 To Mrs. Throckmorton
158 To John Johnson, Esq.
159 To Samuel Rose. Esq.
160 To John Johnson, Esq.
VOL, I. A
Sept.
11,
1788
Page 192
Dec.
18,
1789
193
Jan.
3,
1790
ib.
Jan.
23,
1790
194
Feb.
2,
1790
195
Feb.
9,
1790
196
beautiful
1 Transcript
of Horace's
im, page
197
Feb.
26,
1790
Page 197
Feb.
27,
1790
198
Feb.
28,
1790
200
March 8,
1790
202
March 11,
1790
ib.
March 21,
1790
203
INIarch 22,
1790
204
March 23,
1790
205
April
17,
1790
206
April
19,
1890
208
April
30,
1790
ib.
May
10,
1790
209
May
28,
1790
210
June
•Ji
1790
ib.
June
7,
1790
211
June
8,
1790
212
June
29,
1790
213
July
7,
1790
214
July
8,
1790
215
July
31,
1790
216
Sept.
9,
1790
ib.
Sept.
13,
1790
217
Nov.
21,
1790
2J8
Nov.
26,
1790
219
Nov.
30,
1790
220
Dec.
18,
1790
ib.
Jan.
21,
1791
221
Feb.
5,
1791
222
Feb.
13,
1791
ib.
Feb.
27,
1791
223
March 6,
1791
224
March 10,
1791
ib.
March 19,
1791
ib-
March 24,
1791
225
April
1,
1791
226
April
6,
1791
ib.
April
29,
1791
127
May
23,
1791
ib.
X CONTENTS.
The Judgment of the Poets, an occasional Poem, page 228.
Letter 161 To Samuel Rose, Esq. June 15, 1791 Page 229
The first Publication of Covvper's Homer — the Pleasure he derived from
that Work — Extract of a Letter on the Subject to his Kinsman, of
Norfolk, page 230, to the end of the Volume.
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.
The Portrait of Cowper as a Frontispiece to Vol. I.
The Portrait of Mrs. Cowper to face Page 3, Vol. I.
llW
INTRODUCTORY LETTER
Right Honourable Earl COWPER.
Y OUR family, my Lord, our country itself, and the whole
literary world, sustained such a loss in the death of that
amiable man and enchanting author who forms the subject
of these volumes, as inspired the friends of genius and virtue
with universal concern. It soon became a general wish, that
some authentic and copious memorial of a character so highly
interesting should be produced with all becoming dispatch ;
not only to render due honour to the dead, but to alleviate
the regret of a nation taking a just and liberal pride in the
reputation of a poet, who had obtained and deserved her
applause, her esteem, her affection. If this laudable wish
was very sensibly felt by the public at large, it glowed with
peculiar warmth and eagerness in the bosom of the few who
had been so fortunate as to enjoy an intimacy with Cowper
in some vmclouded periods of his life, and who knew, from
such an intimacy, that a lively sweetness and sanctity of
spirit were as truly the characteristics of his social enjoy-
ments, as they arc allowed to constitute a principal charm in
his poetical productions. — It has justly been regarded as a
signal blessing, to have possessed the perfect esteem and
confidence of such a man : and not long after his decease,
one of his particular friends presumed to suggest to an ac-
complished lady, nearly related both to him and to your
Lordship, that she herself might be the biographer the most
worthy of the poet. The long intimacy and correspondence
which she enjoved with him, from their lively hours of in-
xii INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
fantile friendship to the dark evening of his wonderfully
chequered life ; her cultivated and affectionate mind, which
led her to take peculiar delight and interest in the merit
and the reputation of his writings ; and, lastly, that generous
attachment to her afflicted relation which induced her to
watch over his disoi'dered health, in a period of its most
calamitous depression ; — these circumstances, united, seemed
to render it desirable that she should assume the office of
Cowper's biographer; having such advantages for the perfect
execution of that very delicate office as, perhaps, no other
memorialist could possess in an equal degree. For the in-
terest of literature, and for the honour of many poets, whose
memories have suffered from some biographers of a very
different description, we may wish that the extensive series
of poetical biography had been frequently enriched by the
memoirs of such remembrancers as feel only the influence
of tenderness and truth. Some poets, indeed, of recent
times, have been happy in this most desirable advantage.
The Scottish favourite of nature, the tender and impetuous
Burns, has found, in Dr. Currie, an ingenuous, eloquent,
affectionate biographer; and in a lady also (whose memoir
of her friend, the bard, is very properly annexed to his life)
a zealous and graceful advocate, singularly happy in vindi-
cating his character from invidious detraction. We may
observe, to the honour of Scotland, that her national enthu-
siasm has, for some years, been very laudably exerted in
cherishing the memory of her departed poets. — But to
return to the lady who gave rise to this remark. The na-
tural diffidence of her sex, uniting with extreme delicacy of
health, induced her, eager as she is to promote the celebrity
of her deceased relation, to shrink from the idea of submit-
ting herself, as an author, to the formidable eye of the public.
Her knowledge of the very cordial regard wi^h which Cowper
has honoured me, as one of his most confidential friends,
led her to request that she might assign to me that arduous
office, which she candidly confessed she had not the resolu-
tion to assume. She confided to my care such materials for
the work in question, as her affinity to the deceased had
INTRODUCTORY LETTER. xUi
thrown into her hands. In receiving a collection of many-
private letters, and of several posthumous little poems, in
the vi'ell-known characters of that beloved correspondent, at
the sight of whose hand I have often exulted, I felt the
blended emotions of melancholy regret, and of awful plea-
sure. Yes, I was pleased that these aflFecting papers were
entrusted to my care, because some incidents induce me to
believe that, if their revered author had been solicited to
appoint a biographer for himself, he would have assigned to
me this honourable task. Yet, honourable as I considered it,
I was perfectly aware of the difficulties and the dangers at-
tending it. One danger, indeed, appeared to me of such a
nature as to require perpetual caution as I advanced : I
mean the danger of being led, in writing as the biographer
of my friend, to speak infinitely too much of myself. To
avoid the offensive failing of egotism, I had resolved, at first,
to make no inconsiderable sacrifice, and to suppress, in his
letters, every particle of praise bestowed upon myself. I
soon found it impossible to do so without injuring the tender
and generous spirit of my friend. I have, therefore, sufilered
many expressions of his affectionate partiality towards me to
appear, at the hazard of being censured for inordinate vanity.
To obviate such a censure, I will only say, that I have en-
tleavoured to execute what I regard as a mournful duty, as
if I were under the immediate and visible direction of the
most pure, the most truly modest, and the most gracefully
virtuous mind, that I had ever the happiness of knowing in
the form of a manly friend. It is certainly my wish that
these volumes may obtain the entire approbation of the
world ; but it is infinitely more my desire and ambition to
render them exactly such as I think most likely to gratify
the conscious spirit of Cowper himself in a superior exist-
ence. The person who recommended it to his female relation
to continue her exemplary regard to the poet, by appearing
as his biographer, advised her to relate the particulars of his
life in the form of letters addressed to your Lordship. He
cited, on the occasion, a striking passage from the memoirs
of Gibbon, in which that great historian pnys a just and a
xiv INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
splendid compliment to one of the early English poets, who,
in the tenderness and purity of his heart, and in the vivid
powers of description, may be thought to resemble Cowper.
The passage I allude to is this: " The nobility of the Spen-
cers has been illustrated and enriched by the trophies of
Marlborough ; but T exhort them to consider the Fairy Queen
as the most precious jewel of their coronet." If this lively
metaphor is just in every point of view, we inay regard The
Task as a jewel of pre-eminent lustre in the coronet belong-
iiig to the noble family of Cowper. Under the influence of
this idea, allow me, my Lord, to address to you such me-
moirs of your admirable relation, as my own intimacy with
him, and the kindness of those who knew and loved him
most truly, have enabled me to compose. I will tell you,
with perfect sincerity, all my motives for addressing them to
your Lordship. First, I flatter myself it may be a pleasing,
and, permit me to say, not an unuseful occupation to an in-
g-envious young nobleman, to trace the steps by which a re-
tired man, of the most diffident modesty, whose private vir-
tues did honour to his name, arose to peculiar celebrity.
iVIy second motive is, I ov/n, of a more selfish nature; for I
amt persuaded, that, in addressing my v/ork to you, I give
the public a satisfactory pledge for the authenticity of my
materials. I \n\\ not pretend to say that I hold it in the
power of any title, or affinity, to reflect an additional lustre
on the memory of the departed poet : for I think so highly
of poetical distinction, when that distinction is pre-eminently
obtained by genius, piety, and benevolence, that all common
honours appear to be eclipsed by a splendour more forcible
and extensive. Great poets, my Lord, and that I may speak
of thcni as they deserve, let me say, in the words of Horace,
Frimum me illorum, dederim qulbus esse Poetas,
Excerpam numero —
Great poets have generally united in their destiny those ex-
tremes of good and evil, which liomer, their immortal pre-
sident, assigns to the bard he describes, and v/hich he ex-
emplified himself in his own person. — Their lives have been
INTRODUCTORY LETTER. xv
frequently chequered by the darkest shades of calamity ; but
their personal infelicities are nobly compensated by the pre-
valence and the extent of their renown. To set this in the
most striking point of view, allow me to compare poetical
celebrity with the fame acquired by the exertion of different
mental powers in the highest department of civil life. The
Lord Chancellors of England may be justly regarded among
the personages of the modern world, peculiarly exalted by
intellectual endowments : with two of these illustrious cha-
racters, the poet, whose life I have endeavoured to delineate,
was in some measure connected; being related to one, the
immediate ancestor of your Lordship, and being intimate,
in early life, with a Chancellor of the present reign, whose
elevation to that dignity he has recorded in rhyine. Much
respect is due to the legal names of Cowper, and of Thurlow.
Knowledge, eloquence, and political importance, conspired
to aggrandize the men who added those names to the list of
English nobility: yet, after the lapse of a few centuries, they
.will shine only like very distant constellations, merely visi-
ble in the vast expanse of history ! But, at that time, the
poet of whom I speak, will continue to sparkle in the eyes
of all men, like the radiant star of the evening, perpetually
hailed by the voice of gratitude, affection, and delight. There
is a principle of unperishablc vitality (if I may use such an
expression) in the compositions of Cowper, which must en-
sure to them in future ages, what we have seen them so
happily acquire and maintain in the present — universal admi-
ration and love ! His poetry is to the heart and the fancy,
what the moral essays of Bacon are to the understanding, a
never-cloying feast !
" As if increase of appetite had grown
" By what it fed on."
Like them it comes " home to the business and bosom of
every man ;" by possessing the rare and double talent to fami-
liarize and endear the most awful subjects, and to dignify
the most familiar, the poet naturally becomes a favourite
with readers of every description. His works must interest
xvi INTRODUCTORY LETTER.
every nation under heaven, where his sentiments are under-
stood, and where the feelings of humanity prevail. Yet
their author is eminently an EngUshman, in the noblest
sense of that honourable appellation. He loved the consti-
tution; he revered the I'eligion of his country; he was ten-
derly, and generously alive to her real interest and honour;
and perhaps of her many admirable poets, not one has
touched her foibles, and celebrated her perfections, with a
spirit so truly filial. — But I perceive that I am in danger of
going far beyond my design in this introductory letter, for it
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