John Milton was three times married. With his first wife, Mary Powell, he was most unhappy, and of the three daughters born of this marriage, two were most unkind to their father. Milton bore his trials with a beautiful serenity and fortitude, and would not condescend to little things. Deborah, his one affectionate and faithful daughter, speaks of his cheerfulness and describes him as the soul of a conversation. His second wife, Katherine Woodcock, to whom he pays a noble tribute, died after little more than a year’s marriage. His- third wife, Elizabeth Mins-hull, whom he married in 1664, survived him more than half a century.
