COTTON, CHARLES (1630-1687).—­Poet and translator, succeeded to an embarrassed estate, which his happy-go-lucky methods did not improve, wrote burlesques on Virgil and Lucian, and made an excellent translation of Montaigne’s Essays, also a humorous Journey to Ireland.  C. was the friend of Izaak Walton, and wrote a second part of The Complete Angler.  He was apparently always in difficulties, always happy, and always a favourite.

COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE (1571-1631).—­Antiquary, b. at Denton, Hunts, and ed. at Camb., was a great collector of charters and records throwing light upon English history, and co-operated with Camden (q.v.).  Among his works are a history of the Raigne of Henry III. (1627).  He was the collector of the Cottonian library, now in the British Museum, and was the author of various political tracts.

COUSIN, ANNE ROSS (CUNDELL) (1824-1906).—­Poetess, only dau. of D.R.  Cundell, M.D., Leith, m. 1847 Rev. Wm. Cousin, minister of the Free Church of Scotland, latterly at Melrose.  Some of her hymns, especially “The Sands of Time are sinking,” are known and sung over the English-speaking world.  A collection of her poems, Immanuel’s Land and Other Pieces, was pub. in 1876 under her initials A.R.C., by which she was most widely known.

COVERDALE, MILES (1488-1568).—­Translator of the Bible, b. in Yorkshire, and ed. at Camb.  Originally an Augustinian monk, he became a supporter of the Reformation.  In 1535 his translation of the Bible was pub., probably at Zurich.  It bore the title, Biblia, the Bible:  that is the Holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament faithfully and newly translated out of the Doutche and Latyn into English.  C. was made Bishop of Exeter in 1551, but, on the accession of Mary, he was imprisoned for two years, at the end of which he was released and went to Denmark and afterwards to Geneva.  On the death of Mary he returned to England, but the views he had imbibed in Geneva were adverse to his preferment.  He ultimately, however, received a benefice in London, which he resigned before his death.  Besides the Bible he translated many treatises of the Continental Reformers.

COWLEY, ABRAHAM (1618-1667).—­Poet, s. of a grocer or stationer in London, where he was b. In childhood he was greatly influenced by reading Spenser, a copy of whose poems was in the possession of his mother.  This, he said, made him a poet.  His first book, Poetic Blossoms (1633), was pub. when he was only 15.  After being at Westminster School he went to Camb., where he was distinguished for his graceful translations.  On the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the Royalists, was turned out of his college, and in 1646 followed the Queen to Paris, where he remained for 10 or 12 years, during which he rendered unwearied service to the royal family.