Secretary of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth, King James Befides what the grim wolf with privy paw About this time, as we learn from one of his familiar epistles, he had some thoughts of taking chambers at one of the Inns of Court, for he was not very well pleased with living so obscurely in the country: but his mother dying, he prevailed with his father to let him indulge a defire, which he had long entertained, of fecing foreign countries, and particularly Italy: and having communicated his design to Sir Henry Wotton, who had formerly been embaffador at Venice, and was then provost of Eton College, College, and having also fent him his Mafk of which he had not yet publicly acknowledged himself the author, he received from him the following friendly letter dated from the College the 10th of April 1638. SIR, "It was a special favor, when You lately bestowed upon me here the firft tafte of Your acquaintance, tho' "no longer than to make me known, that I wanted more “ time to value it, and to enjoy it rightly. And in truth, "if I could then have imagin'd Your farther flay in these parts, which I understood afterwards by Mr. H. I "would have been bold, in our vulgar phrafe, to mend my draught, for You left me with an extreme thirst, and "to have begged Your converfation again jointly with "Your faid learned friend, at a poor meal or two, that "we might have banded together fome good authors of "the ancient time, among which I obferved You to have "been familiar. "Since Your going, You have charged me with new obligations, both for a very kind letter from You, dated "the fixth of this month, and for a dainty piece of entertainment, that came therewith; wherein I fhould much "commend the tragical part, if the lyrical did not ravish "with a certain Doric delicacy in Your fongs and odes, "wherein I must plainly confefs to have feen yet nothing parallel in our language, Ipfa mollities. But I must not "omit to tell You, that I now only owe you thanks for intimating unto me, how modeftly foever, the true "artificer. For the work itfelf I had view'd fome good while before with fingular delight, having received it " from our common friend Mr. R. in the very close of the "late R's poems printed at Oxford; whereunto it is added, as I now suppose, that the acceffory might help out "the principal, according to the art of ftationers, and "leave the reader con la bocca dolce. "Now, tr Now, Sir, concerning Your travels, wherein I may challenge a little more privilege of discourse with You; "I fuppofe, You will not blanch Paris in Your way. Therefore I have been bold to trouble You with a few lines to Mr. M. B. whom you fhall eafily find attending (6 the young Lord S. as his governor; and you may surely receive from him good directions for fhaping of your "farther journey into Italy, where he'did refide by my "choice fome time for the king, after mine own recess "from Venice. "I fhould think, that Your beft line will be thro' the "whole length of France to Marseilles, and thence by fea "to Genoa, whence the paffage into Tuscany is as diurnal "as a Gravefend barge. I haften, as You do, to Florence "or Sienna, the rather to tell You a fhort ftory, from the intereft You have given me in Your fafety. "At Sienna I was tabled in the houfe of one Alberto Scipione, an old Roman courtier in dangerous times, having been steward to the Duca di Pagliano, who with "all his family were ftrangled, fave this only man, that escaped by forefight of the tempeft. With him I had "often much chat of thofe affairs; into which he took pleasure to look back from his native harbor; and at my departure toward Rome, which had been the center. "of his experience, I had won confidence enough to beg "his advice, how I might carry myfelf fecurely there, "without offense of others, or of my own conscience: '' ર Signor Arrigo meo, fays he, i penfieri ftretti, et il vifo Of sciolto, that is, Your thoughts close, and Your counteแ nance loose, will go fafely over the whole world. "which Delphian oracle (for so I have found it) Your แ judgment doth need no commentary; and therefore, Sir, I will commit You with it to the beft of all fecuri ties, God's dear love, remaining Your friend, as much "at command as any of longer date. H. Wotton. P: S: "Sir, 66 P. S. Sir, I have exprefly fent this by my foot-boy "to prevent Your departure, without fome acknowledg "ment from me of the receipt of Your obliging letter, having myself thro' fome business, I know not how, neglected the ordinary conveyance. In any part where "I fhall understand You fixed, I fhall be glad and diligent to entertain you with home-novelties, even for "fome fomentation of our friendship, too foon interrupt"ed in the cradle." Soon after this he fet out upon his travels, being of an age to make the proper improvements, and not barely to fee fights and to learn the languages, like most of our modern travellers, who go out boys, and return fuch as we fee, but fuch as I do not choose to name. He was attended by only one fervant, who accompanied him through all his travels; and he went first to France, where he had recommendations to the Lord Scudamore, the English embassador there at that time; and as foon as he came to Paris, he waited upon his Lordship, and was received with wonderful civility; and having an earnest defire to vifit the learned Hugo Grotius, he was by his Lordship's means introduced to that great man, who was then embassador at the French court from the famous Christina Queen of Sweden; and the vifit was to their mutual fatisfaction; they were each of them pleased to fee a perfon, of whom they had heard fuch commendations. But at Paris he stayed not long; his thoughts and his wishes hastened into Italy; and fo after a few days he took leave of the Lord Scudamore, who very kindly gave him letters to the English merchants in the several places thro' which he was to travel, requesting them to do him all the good offices which lay in their power. From Paris he went directly to Nice, where he took fhipping for Genoa, from whence he went to Leghorn, and thence to Pisa, and so to Florence, in which city he b found found fufficient inducements to make a stay of two months. For befides the curiofities and other beauties of the place, he took great delight in the company and conversation there, and frequented their academies as they are called, the meetings of the moft polite and ingenious perfons, which they have in this, as well as in the other principal cities of Italy, for the exercise and improvement of wit and learning among them. And in these conversations he bore fo good a part, and produced so many excellent compofitions, that he was foon taken notice of, and was very much courted and careffed by several of the nobility and prime wits of Florence. For the manner is, as he fays himself in the preface of his fecond book of the Reafon of Church-government, that every one must give fome proof of his wit and reading there, and his productions were received with written encomiums which the Italian is not forward to beftow on men of this fide the Alps. Jacomo Gaddi, Antonio Francini, Carlo Dati, Beneditto Bonmatthei, Cultellino, Frescobaldi, Clementilli are reckoned among his particular friends. At Gaddi's house the academies were held, which he constantly frequented. Antonio Francini compofed an Italian ode in his commendation. Carlo Dati wrote a Latin eulogium of him, and correfponded with him after his return to England. Bonmatthei was at that time about publifhing an Italian grammar; and the eighth of our author's familiar epiftles, dated at Florence Sept. 10, 1638, is addreffed to him upon that occafion, commending his defign, and advifing him to add fome obfervations concerning the true pronunciation of that language for the use of foreigners. So much good acquaintance would probably have detained him longer at Florence, if he had not been going to Rome, which to a curious traveller is certainly the place the most worth feeing of any in the world. And fo he took leave of his friends at Florence, and went from thence |