Whence MILTON drew fome HINTS for his COMUS. [121]

story. I cannot but add, that Gray esembles Milton in many inftances. Among others, in their youth they

were both ftrongly, attached to the cultivation of Latin poetry."

Whence MILTON drew fome HINTS for his COMUS.

[From the fame Work. ]

IN Fletcher's Faithful Shep

fpecies of entertainment.

But

"Iherdes, an Arcadian comedy Charles's mafks did not, like Co

recently published, Milton found many touches of paftoral and fuperftitious imagery, congenial with his own conceptions. Many of thefe, yet with the higheft improvements, he has transferred into Comus; together with the general caft and colouring of the piece. He catched also from the lyric rhymes of Fletcher, that Dorique delicacy, with which fir Henry Wootton was fo much delighted in the fongs of Milton's drama. Fletcher's comedy was coldly received the first night of its performance. But it had ample revenge in this confpicuous and indifputable mark of Milton's approbation. It was afterwards reprefented as a mask at court, before the king and queen on twelfthnight, in 1633. I know not, indeed, if this was any recommendation to Milton; who in the Paradife Loft fpeaks contemptuoutly of these interludes, which were among the chief diverfions of an elegant and liberal monarch. B. iv. 767.

Court amours, Mix'd dance, and wanton mask, or midnight-ball, &c.

I believe the whole compliment was paid to the genius of Fletcher. Yet it should be remembered that Milton had not yet completed his career of puritanifm. In the mean time, it is true that Milton, as an author, gave countenance to this

mus, abound with Platonic recommendations of the doctrine of chaftity.

The ingenious and accurate Mr. Reed has pointed out a rude outline, from which Milton feems partly to have sketched the plan of the fable of Comus. See Biograph. Dramat. ii. p. 441. It is an old play, with this title, "The Old Wives Tale, a pleafant conceited Comedie, plaied by the Queenes Maicfties players. Written by G. P. [i. e. George Peele.] Printed at London by John Danter, and are to be fold by Ralph Hancock and John Hardie, 1595." In quarto. This very fcarce and curious piece exhibits, among other parallel incidents, two brothers wandering in queft of their fifter, whom an enchanter had imprisoned. This má gician had learned his art from his mother Meroe, as Comus had been instructed by his mother Circe. The brothers call out on the lady's name, and Echo replies. The enchanter had given her a potion which fufpends the powers of reafon, and fuperinduces oblivion of herself. The brothers afterwards meet with an old man who is also fkilled in magic; and by liftening to his foothfayings, they recover their loft fifter; but not till the enchanter's wreath had been torn from his head, his fword wrested from his hand, a glass broken, and

a light

either by the authority of others or by his own experience: indeed, this author's teftimony is much more to be credited when he informs us, that the "negroes in the northern parts of Africa, are used to catch lions in pits, but do not dare to eat any of the flesh, for fear left the other lions fhould be revenged on them." In this particular, however, I have not found the Hottentots, or inhabitants of the fouthern parts of Africa, equally fuperftitious, as they told me, that they ate the flesh of lions, and looked upon it to be both good and wholefome. They likewife in formed me, that the lions as well as hyænas, had been formerly much bolder than they are at prefent, as they used to feize them at night, and carry them off from their cottages: at the fame time they affured me, that a lion that had once tafted human fleth would never after, if he could help it, prey upon any other. They added, that for the fame reason they were obliged to fix benches up in trees to tleep on; fo that they could not fo readily be caught unawares by the lions, and might likewife the easier defend themselves when they were attacked by them.

"So that, in fact, they were obliged to acknowledge, that with the affiftance of the Chriftians and their fire-arms, they are at prefent much lefs expofed to the ravages of this fierce animal; while, on the other hand, I could not but agree with them, that the colonifts themselves were a much greater fcourge to them than all the wild beafts of their country put together; as the Hottentot nations, fince the arrival of the colonists in this part of the world, have found themselves reduced to a much narrower fpace in their pot feflions, and their numbers very much decreased.

"In thefe times, at leaft, the lion does not willingly attack any animal openly, unlefs provoked, or extremely hungry; in which latter cafe he is faid to fear no danger, and to be repelled by no refiftance. The method in which the lion takes his prey, is almost always to fpring or throw himself on it, with one vaft leap from the place of his concealment; yet, if he chances to mifs his leap, he will not, as the Hottentots unanimously affured me, follow his prey any farther; but, as though he were afhamed, turning round towards the place where he lay in ambush, flowly, and ftep by step, as it were, measures the exact length between the two points, in order to find how much too short of, or beyond the mark he had taken his leap. One of these animals, however, was once known to pur fue an elk-antilope with the greateit eagernefs and ardour, without any one getting to fee the end of the chace. It is fingular, that the foxes in Europe, according to M. Collonn's Hift. Nouv. de l'Univers, tom. iv. p. 20. when they have leaped fhort of their mark, and their prey has got away from them, meafure the length of their leap, in the fame manner as the lion does.

"It is particularly near rivers and fprings, that the lion finds it beft anfwers his purpose to lie in wait. Any animal whatever that is obliged to go thither in order to quench its thirst, is in danger, tanquam canis ad Nilum, of becoming a victim to the irrefiftible power of this blood-thirty tyrant.

"It fhould feem, that in cafe gazels, and other fuch animals, had fcent of the lion when he was near them, as ftrong as it appeared to be in my horfes and oxen, they might easily avoid the danger. I do not know how the fact really ftands;

on the edge of one of these precipices, he found, to his great joy, that the lion likewife made a halt, and kept the fame distance as before. As foon as it grew dark, the Hottentot fliding a little forwards, let himself down below the upper edge of the precipice upon fome projecting part or cleft of the rock, where he could just keep himself from falling. But in order to cheat the lion ftill more, he fet his hat and cloak on the stick, making with it at the fame time a gentle motion just over his head, and a little way from the edge of the mountain. This crafty expedient had the defired fuccefs. He did not stay long in that fituation, before the lion came creeping foftly towards him like a cat, and miftaking the fkincloak for the Hottentot himself, took his leap with fuch exactnefs and precifion, as to fall headlong down the precipice, directly clote to the fnare which had been fet up for him; when the Hottentot is faid, in his great joy, exultingly to have called out, t'katfi! an interjection of very extenfive import and fignification.

"This is not the only inftance of lions in Africa being enfnared in the midst of their leap. In the outhoufes and wafte grounds about farms, where a lion has been upon the watch for fome animal and miffed it, or where they have other reafons to expect him, they fet up the figure of a man close by the fide of feveral loaded guns; fo that these difcharge themfelves into the body of the beast, at the very inftant that he fprings or throws himself upon the dreffed figure.

"As this is done with fo much eafe and fuccefs, and as they hardly ever think it worth while in Africa to take lions alive, they feldom give themfelves the trouble of catching

them by means of pit-falls. From all the most credible accounts I could collect concerning the lions, as well as from what I faw myself, I think I may fafely conclude, that this wild beat is frequently a great coward; that is, very deficient in point of courage comparatively to his ftrength. On the other hand, however, he often fhews an unufual degree of intrepidity, of which I will just mention the following inftance, as it was related to me.

"A lion had broken into a walled inclofure for cattle through the latticed gate, and done a good deal of damage. The people belonging to the farm, were well affured of his coming again by the fame way; in confequence of which, they ftretched a line directly across the entrance, fo thick fet with loaded guns, that they muft neceffarily difcharge themfelves into the lion's body as foon as ever he fhould come, which they firmly expected he would, to difplace the line with his breast. But the lion, which came in the daytime before it was yet dark, and probably had fome fufpicions with refpect to the line, ftruck it away with his foot; and without betraying the leaft fear in confequence of the reports made by the loaded pieces, went on steadily and careless of every thing, and devoured the prey it had left untouched before.

M. Buffon (tom. ix. p. 7.) tells us, on the authority of Marmol and Thevenot, that the lions, which in the more cultivated and inhabited parts of Barbary and India, are ufed to experience man's fuperiority, fometimes fuffer themfelves to be intimidated with a few strokes of a stick (and that even by women and children) from carrying off their prey. This accords with feveral accounts that I heard at the Cape, of flaves who had had cou

rage

rage enough, with a knife or fome other weapon ftill more infignificant, to defend their master's cattle, which had been attacked in the dark by a lion.

"It is fingular, that the lion, which, according to many, always kills his prey iminediately if it belongs to the brute creation, is reported frequently, although provoked, to content himself with merely wounding the human fpecies; or at least to wait fome time before he gives the fatal blow to the unhappy victim he has got under him. A farmer, who the year before had the misfortune to be a fpectator of a lion's feizing two of his oxen, at the very inftant he had taken them out of the waggon, told me, that they immediately fell down dead upon the fpot close to each other; though, upon examining the carcafes afterwards, it appeared that their backs only had been broken. In feveral places through which I paffed, they mentioned to me by name a father and his two fons, who were faid to be ftill living, and who being on foot near a river on their estate in fearch of a lion, this latter had rufhed out upon them, and thrown one of them under his fcet: the two others, however, had time enough to fhoot the lion dead upon the fpot, which had lain almoft across the youth fo nearly and dearly related to them, without having done him any particular

hurt.

"I myself faw, near the upper part of Duyven-hoek-rivier, an elderly Hottentot, who at that time (his wounds being fill open) bore under one eye and underneath his cheek-bone the ghafly marks of the bite of a lion, which did not think it worth his while to give him any other 'chaftifement for having, together with his mafter (whom I

alfo knew) and several other Chrif tians, hunted him with great intrepidity, though without fuccefs. The converfation ran every where in this part of the country upon one Bota, a farmer and captain in the militia, who had lain for fome time under a lion, and had received feveral bruifes from the beast, having been at the fame time a good deal bitten by him in one arm, as a token to remember him by; but, upon the whole, had, in a manner, had his life given him by this noble animal. The man was faid then to be living in the district of Artaquas-kloof.

"I do not rightly know how to account for this merciful difpofition towards mankind. Does it proceed from the lion's greater refpect and veneration for man, as being equal to, or even a mightier tyrant than himself among the animal creation? or is it merely from the fame caprice, which has fometimes induced him not only to fpare the lives of men or brute creatures who have been given up to him for prey, but even to carefs them, and treat them with the greatest kindness? Whims and freaks of this kind, have, perhaps, in a great meafure, acquired the lion the reputation it has for generofity; but I cannot allow this fpecious name, facred only to virtue, to be lavished upon a wild beaft. Slaves, indeed, and wretches of fervile minds, are wont with this attribute to flatter their greatest tyrants; but with what fhew of rea fon can this attribute be bestowed upon the most powerful tyrant among quadrupeds, because it does not exercife an equal degree of cruelty upon all occafions?

That the lion does not2 like the wolf, tiger, and fome other beafls of prey, kill a great deal of game or cattle at one time, perhaps, proceeds from this, that while he is