“ In that year he was formally deprived of his Cambridge fellowship as a “malignant.” He was judge-advocate in the garrison at Newark, and under the governor defended the town until in 1646 Charles I. ordered the surrender of the place to Leslie; when there is a curious story that the Scottish general contemptuously dismissed him as a mere ballad-monger. ”

“ Cleveland’s poems were more highly esteemed than Milton’s by his contemporaries, and his popularity is attested by the very numerous editions of his works. His poems are therefore of great value as an index to the taste of the 17th century. His verse is frequently obscure and full of the far-fetched conceits of the “metaphysical” poets, none of whom surpassed the ingenuity of “Fuscara, or the Bee Errant.” His satires are vigorous personal attacks, the interest of which is, from the nature of the subject, often ephemeral ”