<Acquaintance and studies.>
Amongst other of his acquaintance I must not forget our common friend, Mr. Samuel Cowper, the prince of limners of this last age, who drew his picture[CXII.] as like as art could afford, and one of the best pieces that ever he did: which his majesty, at his returne, bought of him, and conserves as one of his great rarities in his closet at Whitehall.
[CXII.] This picture I intend[1338] to be borrowed of his majesty, for Mr. <David> Loggan to engrave an accurate piece by, which will sell well both at home and abroad. Mr. Loggan is well acquainted.—MS. Aubr. 9, fol. 39v.
[1339]1659. In 1659 his lord was—and some yeares before—at Little Salisbury-house (now turned to the Middle-Exchange), where he wrot, among other things, a poeme, in Latin hexameter and pentameter, of the encroachment of the clergie (both Roman and reformed) on the civil power[FS]. I remember I saw then 500 + verses, for he numbred every tenth as he wrote. I remember he did read Cluverius's Historia Universalis, and made-up his poeme from thence. His amanuensis remembers this poeme, for he wrote them out, but knows <not what became of it>.
His place of meditation was then in the portico in the garden.
His manner[1340] of thinking:—he sayd that he sometimes would sett his thoughts upon researching[1341] and contemplating, always with this rule[1342] that he very much and deeply considered one thing at a time (scilicet, a weeke or sometimes a fortnight).
There was a report[CXIII.] (and surely true) that in parliament, not long after the king was setled, some of the bishops made a motion to have the good old gentleman burn't for a heretique. Which he hearing, feared that his papers might be search't by their order, and he told me he had burn't part of them.—I have received word[1343] from his amanuensis and executor that he 'remembers there were such verses[1344] for he wrote them out, but knowes not what became of them, unlesse he presented them to Judge Vaughan[1345], or burned them as I did seeme to intimate.' ☞ But I understand since by W. Crooke, that he can retrive a good[1346] many of them.
[CXIII.] Quaere[1347] the bishop of Sarum de hoc, i.e. pro tempore.—MS. Aubr. 9, fol. 41v.
<Secures the protection of Charles II.>
[1348]1660. The[1349] winter-time of 1659 he spent in Derbyshire. In[FT]March following was the dawning of the coming in of our gracious soveraigne, and in April the Aurora.