In 1660, when Milton was fifty-two years old, there came another change in the government, and Milton’s life was in danger. He was obliged to hide for several months. Life seemed very gloomy to the blind man. His friends were dead or in exile, he had lost a large share of his property, and his work during the last twenty years seemed thrown away.
Many years before, Milton had planned to write his great poem of “Paradise Lost.” He now devoted himself to this work, dictating it to Dorothy, his youngest and favorite child, who bore some resemblance to her father, and who was most in sympathy with him.
Milton married for the third time during his fifty-fifth year. This wife proved a blessing to him. She was a lover of music, and sang to him while he accompanied her upon the organ or bass viol. They walked together and talked about his favorite books and men of learning. His poem “Paradise Lost” was finished during the next two years. He loaned a copy to a friend, who suggested his writing “Paradise Regained,” which was published about four years later.
These poems rank as the grandest works of one of the greatest minds that the world has ever known. The poet’s humble home became an attraction for many visitors, who wished to look upon and talk with the man whose genius was so great.