Page:Life of Edmond Malone.djvu/183

Rh as I could have wished. If Sacharissa was not handsomer than the portrait which is shown for her at Hill-barn, she was not worth half the verses bestowed upon her.

“There is a very good library here, partly consisting of the poet’s collection, which has been greatly increased by his successors. I found his name written in many of the books. As he is said to have formed his versification on Fairfax’s Tasso, I was curious to examine it. But it contained not a single remark in the margin, nor even his name. It was the second edition of 1624, it was remarkably clean, and had no appearance of being much read.

“In the first leaf of the Duchess of Newcastle’s Philosophical and Physical Opinions, folio 1663, he has written these lines which describe her book very truly:—

“In his Chaucer, folio, 1560:—

“Sidney’s Arcadia one should suppose would have been read by him at an early period of life; but he does not appear to have read it till he was near seventy; for in the title-page of his copy, which is in folio, printed by Ponsonby in 1613, he has written ‘Ed. Waller, 10s. 1674.’ In the title-page of his copy of Sir William Davenant’s works, I found ‘Edw. Waller, 01l. 00s., 1673,’ which I mention only as it ascertains the price of the book.