assuming a composed air, retired to another apartment. Here he became sensible of the crime he had attempted to commit, and still meditated; and, in a moment of indignation, poured away the drug, and threw the phial out of the window. But this was only a transitory impulse; and the whispers of conscience and reason were immediately stifled amidst the workings of the fell despair which now took possession of his enfee bled and disordered intellects. In the evening an inti. mate friend paid him a visit, and congratulated him on the resolution he understood he had formed of repairing to the House, and boldly maintaining his office to the last. This impression Cowper did not remove, but said within himself, "I shall see him no more."

At three o'clock next morning, he awoke from sleep; and having, by the help of a rushlight, found his penknife, he placed it under his left breast, and leant his weight several times upon it; but as the point was broken, it did not penetrate. At seven it occurred to him that no time was to be lost; for as the hour of opening the chambers was at hand, his friend would soon be at his bedside impatient to hurry him away to Westminster. But the sequel to this most distressing portion of his personal history must be given in his own graphic words: "I arose, and, as I thought, bolted the inner door of my chambers, but was mistaken: my touch deceived me, and I left it as I found it. My preservation indeed, as it will appear, did not depend upon that incident; but I mention it to show that the good providence of God watched over me to keep open every way of deliverance, that nothing might be left to hazard. Not one hesitating thought now remained, but I fell greedily to the execution of my purpose. My garter was made of a broad scarlet binding, with a sliding buckle, being sewed together at the end: by the help of the buckle I made a noose, and fixed it about my neck,

straining it so tight, that I hardly left a passage for my breath, or for the blood to circulate; the tongue of the buckle held it fast. At each corner of the

bed was placed a wreath of carved work, fastened by an iron pin, which passed up through the midst of it; the other part of the garter, which made a loop, I slipped over one of these, and hung by it some seconds, drawing up my feet under me, that they might not touch the floor; but the iron bent, and the carved work slipped off, and the garter with it. I then fastened it to the frame of the tester, winding it round, and tying it in a strong knot. The frame broke short, and let me down again. The third effort was more likely to succeed. I set the door open, which reached within a foot of the ceiling, and by the help of a chair I could command the top of it; and the loop being large enough to admit a large angle of the door, was easily fixed, so as not to slip off again. I pushed away the chair with my feet, and hung at my whole length. While I hung there, I distinctly heard a voice say three times, "Tis over!' Though I am sure of the fact, and was so at the time, yet it did not at all alarm me, or affect my resolution. I hung so long that I lost all sense, all consciousness of existence. When I came to myself again, I thought myself in hell; the sound of my own dreadful groans was all that I heard; and a feeling like that produced by a flash of lightning, just beginning to seize upon me, passed over my whole body. In a few seconds I found myself fallen with my face to the floor. In about half a minute I recovered my feet, and, reeling and staggering, stumbled into bed again. The stagnation of the blood under one eye, in a broad crimson spot, and a red circle about my neck, showed plainly that I had been on the brink of eternity. The latter, indeed, might have been occasioned by the pressure of the garter, but the former was

certainly the effect of strangulation; for it was not attended with the sensation of a bruise, as it must have been, had I, in my fall, received one in so tender a part."

He had not lain long, when his laundress, who heard him fall while lighting a fire in an adjoining room, entered his chamber, and said she feared he had been seized with a fit. He instantly despatched her for a friend, to whom he disclosed the whole affair, and afterwards made the same communication to his kinsmari. The latter, on seeing the broken garter, exclaimed, "My dear Mr Cowper, to be sure you cannot hold the office at this rate. Where is the deputation ?" On receiving the document, his busi-、 ness called him immediately away; and thus the affair ended, and with it all the poet's expectations of obtaining a lucrative appointment.

But the resignation of an office which had awakened such dreadful apprehensions brought no peace to his mind. On the contrary, his malady increased every day; and when his brother arrived, who had been called to his assistance, the invalid exhibited all the symptoms of confirmed madness. In walking along the street, it was a prevailing fancy, that every one he met instantly turned round to stare and laugh at him; and as long as this fit prevailed, he took good care, while dining at his tavern, to sit in the darkest corner of the room, imagining, as he says, that the voice of conscience was loud enough for every one to hear it." He no longer, it is true, dwelt upon the painful circumstance that had been the origin of his present misery, but he gave himself up to a train of ideas still more gloomy and alarming. Although he had failed in his attempts at self-destruction, he believed his guilt to have been the same as if he had actually succeeded; and, recurring to the feelings he experienced at Southampton, he again declared, that he had com

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mitted the unpardonable sin, which completely ex

His brother, although reason him out of this

cluded every hope of mercy. unceasing in his attempts to delusion, found all his efforts unavailing, and willingly allowed him to send for his religious friend Martin Madan, whom he formerly thought an enthusiast, but from whose conversation he now derived a slight degree of consolation.

Cowper's friends, on finding his disorder had taken this melancholy turn, determined to place him under the care of Dr Cotton, who had opened a house at St Albans for the reception of a limited number of such patients, and whose qualities as a man and a Christian, not less than his skill as a physician, peculiarly fitted him for the task he had undertaken. It is proper, as our author himself remarks, to draw a veil over the secrets of this his prison-house; but we may briefly mention that his disorder, the prime feature of which was religious despair, began, at the end of the seventh month, to yield to time and the kind attentions of his physician.' Of these attentions he was himself so sensible, and derived so much comfort from the friendship and conversation of Dr Cotton, that he remained

*

If

*The crisis of his recovery seems also to have been hastened by the conversation and endearing attentions of his brother, who revisited him about this time. "As soon as we were left alone (he says), my brother asked me how I found myself. I answered, As much better as despair can make me.' We went together into the garden. Here, on expressing a settled assurance of sudden judgment, he protested to me that it was all a delusion, and protested so strongly, that I could not help giving some attention to him. I burst into tears, and cried out, it be a delusion, then am I the happiest of beings!' Something like a ray of hope was shot into my heart, but still I was afraid to indulge it. We dined together, and I spent the afternoon in a more cheerful manner. ** *I went to bed and slept well. In the morning I dreamed, that the sweetest boy I ever saw came dancing up to my bedside; he seemed just out of leading-strings, yet I took particular notice of the firmness and steadiness of his tread. The sight affected me with pleasure, and served at least to harmonize my spirits; so that I awoke for the first time with a sensation of delight on my mind."-Memoir published in 1816.

in his house very nearly twelve months after his cure had been completed. At the end of that time, the necessity of living in a manner more suited to his limited means forced him to look out for a new residence; and, with a view to be near his brother, he expressed an anxious wish to settle in the immediate neighbourhood of Cambridge. Convinced of

his utter incapacity for business, he determined to renounce London for ever; and that no temptation might remain to interfere with this resolution, he resigned an office which he had held for some time as Commissioner of Bankrupts, the profits of which amounted to about £60 a-year. By this step he reduced his already scanty income so much, that even with the strictest economy it could not have sufficed for his maintenance; but his friends subscribed amongst themselves such a sum annually as enabled him to enjoy such comforts, as from his recent illness, had become more necessary than ever. No suitable abode having been found for him in the vicinity of Cambridge, his brother, although equally anxious with himself that their intercourse should be frequent and regular, hired lodgings for him at Huntingdon, distant about sixteen miles. To this place he immediately removed, attended by his relation and a man-servant, who had waited upon him while at St Albans, and who in a few months had become so much attached to him, that he requested to be continued in his service upon any terms. This person is described as the very mirror of fidelity and affection, and the remark is at least generally true, that good masters make good servants. The Turkish spy kept none because he dreaded the possible presence of an enemy; but Cowper continued his, because he required and valued the attentions of a steady friend.

During the few days his brother remained with him at Huntingdon, the time seems to have passed hap

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