Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 02.djvu/185

Ashmole held. His marriage must have been prudent or his employments profitable, for about this time 'it pleased God to put me in mind that I was now placed in the condition I had always desired, which was that I might be enabled to live to myself and studies without being forced to take pains for a livelihood in the world.' This did not, however, prevent his seeking to improve his fortunes still further by marriage with a lady twenty years older than himself, the widow of three husbands, the mother of grown-up sons, and in all probability a relative of his first wife. On 1 March 1647 'I moved the Lady Mainwaring in the way of marriage, and received a fair answer, though no condescension.' In July the lady's second son, disapproving of the match, 'broke into my chamber, and had like to have killed me.' He was not deterred, however, from prosecuting his suit, the progress of which is amusingly recorded in his diary. At length, on 16 Nov. 1649, his perseverance was triumphant, and he 'enjoyed his wife's estate, though not her company for altogether;' and notwithstanding family jars, subpœnas, sequestrations, and frequent sicknesses, all faithfully noted, he vigorously pushed forward his studies in astrology, chemistry, and botany. In 1650 he edited an alchemical work by Dr. Dee, together with an anonymous tract on the same subject, under the anagram of James Hasolle. In 1652 he published the first volume of his 'Theatrum Chemicum,' a collection of ancient metrical treatises on alchemy. He procured his friend Wharton's deliverance from prison, and made him steward of the estates in Berkshire which he had acquired by his second marriage. He also formed the acquaintance of Master Backhouse, a venerable Rosicrucian, who called him son [see ], and 'opened himself very freely touching the great secret;' as well as that of John Tradescant, keeper of the botanic garden at Chelsea, an intimacy which has indirectly contributed more than anything else to his celebrity with posterity. He studied Hebrew, engraving, and heraldry, and manifested in every way an insatiable curiosity for knowledge, justifying Selden's opinion of him as one 'affected to the furtherance of all good learning.' On 13 May 1653 Backhouse 'told me, in syllables, the true matter of the philosopher's stone, which he bequeathed to me as a legacy.' But Ashmole has omitted to bequeath it to us. His domestic troubles came to a head in October 1657, when his wife's petition for a separation and alimony, though fortified by eight hundred sheets of depositions, was dismissed by the court, and she returned to live with him. The Restoration marks a great turning-point in his life. His loyalty had entitled him to Charles II's favour, and being introduced to the king by no less influential a person than Chiffinch, he was appointed Windsor herald, 'and had Henry VIII's closet assigned for my use.' From this time antiquarian pursuits predominated with him, and we hear comparatively little of astrology, in which, however, he never lost his belief or interest, and nothing of alchemy. His favour at court continued to grow, and places were showered upon him. He successively became commissioner, comptroller, and accountant-general of excise, and held at the same time the employments of commissioner for Surinam, and comptroller of the White office. He was about this time engaged in litigation with the widow of his old friend Tradescant, who had bequeathed his museum to him. A friendly arrangement was at length concluded, and Ashmole became possessed of the curiosities which formed the nucleus of the institution by which he is best remembered. In 1668 his wife died, and in the course of the same year he married a much younger lady, the daughter of his friend the herald Dugdale. All this time he was diligently engaged upon his great work, the 'Institution, Laws, and Ceremonies of the Order of the Garter,' which was published in 1672, and brought him many tokens of honour both from his own and foreign countries. It is certainly a noble example of antiquarian zeal and research. He soon afterwards retired from his post as Windsor herald, receiving a pension of four hundred pounds secured upon the paper duty; and he subsequently declined the appointment of Garter king-at-arms in favour of his father-in-law, Sir William Dugdale. In 1677 he determined to bestow the museum he had inherited from Tradescant, with his own additions to it, upon the university of Oxford, on condition of a suitable building being provided for its reception. The gift was accepted on these terms, and the collection was removed to Oxford upon the completion of the building in 1682, Dr. Plot being appointed curator. According to Anthony à Wood the curiosities filled twelve wagons. Ashmole quaintly notes in his diary, 17 Feb. 1683: 'The last load of my rarities was sent to the barge, and this afternoon I relapsed into the gout.' In 1685 he was invited to represent his native city in parliament, but desisted from his candidature to gratify James II. In 1690 he was magnificently entertained by the university of Oxford, which had conferred upon him the degree of M.D., and to which he ultimately bequeathed his library, invaluable as regards manuscripts, but greatly damaged in