universally supposed, persecution only served to increase his zeal; for he entered, some time afterwards, into holy orders, and became, as Antony Wood informs us, "a grave minister of the gospel."
Jonson was a posthumous child, and "made his first entry (the Oxford Antiquary says,) on the stage of this vain world, about a month after his father's death, within the city of Westminster." Fuller observes, that though he could not, with all his inquiry, find him in his cradle, he could fetch him from his long coats
- ↑ * The edition of Shakspeare referred to here, and elsewhere, is uniformly that in fifteen vol. 8vo. published in MDCCXCIII.
lines addressed to all the ancient family of the Lucys, in which the writer describes himself as a 'little stream from their clear spring;' a fact (continues he) which adds support to Dr. Bathurst's account" (the impossible story just quoted from Aubrey) "of his father's birth place." Shak vol. ii. p. 311.* This is a strange passage. Young Jonson died before his father, in 1635, and the collection of which Mr. Malone speaks, contains several pieces written after the Restoration. The very first poem in the book is addressed by the author to John, earl of Rutland, and his son, lord Roos, who was not born till both young Jonson and his father were dead! Had Mr. Malone even looked at the title page of this little volume, he must have seen that the name of Ben Jonson, Jun. was a mere catch-word; for the poems are there expressly said to be "composed by W. S. gent."
