The magnificent prose of Milton, long neglected, is now perhaps as frequently read as his great epic; but the writings of his friend and fellow secretary, devoted like his own to the cause of freedom and the rights of the people, are scarcely known to the present generation.

It is true that Marvell's political pamphlets were less elaborate and profound than those of the author of the glorious _Defence of Unlicensed Printing_.

He was light, playful, witty, and sarcastic; he lacked the stern dignity, the terrible invective, the bitter scorn, the crushing, annihilating retort, the grand and solemn eloquence, and the devout appeals, which render immortal the controversial works of Milton.

But he, too, has left his foot-prints on his age; he, too, has written for posterity that which they "will not willingly let die." As one of the inflexible defenders of English liberty, sowers of the seed, the fruits of which we are now reaping, he has a higher claim on the kind regards of this generation than his merits as a poet, by no means inconsiderable, would warrant.
Andrew Marvell was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, in 1620.

At the age of eighteen he entered Trinity College, whence he was enticed by the Jesuits, then actively seeking proselytes.