e of Edward Cooke, but in
1655 he was arrested as being of no particular occupation, and moreover
a man whose great abilities "rendered him able to do the greater
disservice." He spent three months in prison at Yarmouth, but was
released by order of Cromwell, to whom he addressed a manly appeal, in
which he declared his fidelity to the royal house, pointing out at the
same time that his poverty and inoffensiveness were sufficient assurance
that his freedom was no menace to Cromwell's government. He was released
early in 1656, and seems to have renewed his wanderings, finding his way
eventually to Gray's Inn, where Aubrey says he and Samuel Butler had a
"club" every night. There he died on the 29th of April 1658.

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; but the energy of his
invective leaves no room for obscurity in such pieces as "Smectymnuus,
or the Club Divines," "Rupertismus" and "The Rebel Scot."

Cleveland's works are: "Character of a London Diurnal," a broadside;
_Monumentum regale ..._ (1649), chiefly by Cleveland, containing three
of his elegies on the king; "The King's Disguise" (1646); "On the Memory
of Mr Edward King," in the collection of verse which also included
Milton's "Lycidas," and many detached poems.

For a bibliographical account of Cleveland's peoms see J.M. Berdan,
_The Poems of John Cleveland_ (New York, 1903), in which there is a
table of the contents of twenty-three editions, of which the chief
are: _The Character of a London Diurnal, with Several Select Poems_
(1647); _Poems. By John Cleavland. With additions, never before
printed_ (1659); _J. Cleaveland Revived ..._ (1659), in which the
editor, E. Williamson, says he inserted poems by other authors,
trusting to the critical faculty of the readers to distinguish
Cleveland's work from the rest; _Clievelandi Vindiciae ..._ (1677),
edited by two of Cleveland's former pupils, Bishop Lake and S. Drake,
who profess to take out the spurious pieces;