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diff --git a/old/10622.txt b/old/10622.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..089b402 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10622.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10964 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and +Ireland (1753), by Theophilus Cibber + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753) + Vol. III + +Author: Theophilus Cibber + +Release Date: January 7, 2004 [EBook #10622] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIVES OF THE POETS OF *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed +Proofreaders + + + + + + THE + + LIVES + + OF THE + + POETS + + OF + + GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND. + +Compiled from ample Materials scattered in a Variety of Books, and +especially from the MS. Notes of the late ingenious Mr. COXETER and +others, collected for this Design, + +By Mr. CIBBER, and other Hands. + + +VOL. III. + +MDCCLIII. + + +VOLUME III. + +Contains the + +LIVES + +OF + +Denham +Killegrew +Howard +Behn, Aphra +Etherege +Mountford +Shadwell +Killegrew, William, +Howard +Flecknoe +Dryden +Sedley +Crowne +Sackville, E. Dorset +Farquhar +Ravenscroft +Philips, John +Walsh +Betterton +Banks +Chudley, Lady +Creech +Maynwaring +Monk, the Hon. Mrs. +Browne Tom. +Pomfret +King +Sprat, Bishop +Montague, E. Hallifax +Wycherley +Tate +Garth +Rowe +Sheffield, D. Buck. +Cotton +Additon +Winshelsea, Anne +Gildon +D'Urfey +Settle + + + THE + + LIVES + + OF THE + + POETS. + + * * * * * + + +Sir JOHN DENHAM. + +An eminent poet of the 17th century, was the only son of Sir John +Denham, knight, of Little Horsley in Essex, and sometime baron of the +Exchequer in Ireland, and one of the lords justices of that kingdom. +He was born in Dublin, in the year 1615[1]; but was brought over from +thence very young, on his father's being made one of the barons of the +Exchequer in England 1617. + +He received his education, in grammar learning, in London; and in +Michaelmas term 1631 he was entered a gentleman commoner in Trinity +College, Oxford, being then 16 years of age; where, as Wood expresses +it, 'being looked upon as a slow dreaming young man, and more addicted +to gaming than study, they could never imagine he could ever enrich the +world with the issue of his brain, as he afterwards did.' + +He remained three years at the university, and having been examined +at the public schools, for the degree of bachelor of arts, he entered +himself in Lincoln's-Inn, where he was generally thought to +apply himself pretty closely to the study of the common law. But +notwithstanding his application to study, and all the efforts he was +capable of making, such was his propensity to gaining, that he was +often stript of all his money; and his father severely chiding him, and +threatening to abandon him if he did not reform, he wrote a little essay +against that vice, and presented it to his father, to convince him of +his resolution against it[2]. But no sooner did his father die, than +being unrestrained by paternal authority, he reassumed the practice, and +soon squandered away several thousand pounds. + +In the latter end of the year 1641 he published a tragedy called the +Sophy, which was greatly admired, and gave Mr. Waller occasion to say +of our author, 'That he broke out like the Irish rebellion, threescore +thousand strong, when no body was aware, nor in the Ieast expected it.' +Soon after this he was pricked for high sheriff for the county of Surry, +and made governor of Farnham-Castle for the King; but not being well +skilled in military affairs, he soon quitted that post and retired to +his Majesty at Oxford, where he published an excellent poem called +Cooper's-hill, often reprinted before and since the restoration, with +considerable alterations; it has been universally admired by all good +judges, and was translated into Latin verse, by Mr. Moses Pengry of +Oxford. + +Mr. Dryden speaking of this piece, in his dedication of his Rival +Ladies, says, that it is a poem, which, for the Majesty of the stile, +will ever be the exact standard of good writing, and the noble author of +an essay on human life, bestows upon it the most lavish encomium[3]. But +of all the evidences in its favour, none is of greater authority, or +more beautiful, than the following of Mr. Pope, in his Windsor Forest. + + Ye sacred nine, that all my soul possess, + Whose raptures fire me, and whose visions bless; + Bear me, O bear me, to sequester'd scenes, + The bow'ry mazes, and surrounding greens; + To Thames's bank which fragrant breezes fill, + Or where the muses sport on Cooper's-hill. + (On Cooper's hill eternal wreaths shall grow, + While lasts the mountain, or while Thames shall flow.) + I seem thro' consecrated walks to rove, + I hear soft music die along the grove, + Led by the found, I roam from shade to shade, + By god-like poets venerable made: + Here his last lays majestic Denham sung, + There the last numbers flow'd from Cowley's tongue. + +In the year 1647 he was entrusted by the Queen with a message to the +King, then in the hands of the army, and employed in other affairs, +relating to, his Majesty. In his dedication of his poems to Charles II. +he observes, that after the delivery of the person of his royal father +into the hands of the army, he undertook for the Queen-mother, to get +access to his Majesty, which he did by means of Hugh Peters; and upon +this occasion, the King discoursed with him without reserve upon the +state of his affairs. At his departure from Hampton-court, says he, +'The King commanded me to stay privately in London, to send to him and +receive from him all his letters, from and to all his correspondents, at +home and abroad, and I was furnished with nine several cyphers in order +to it. Which I trust I performed with great safety to the persons with +whom we corresponded; but about nine months after being discovered by +their knowledge of Mr. Cowley's hand, I happily escaped both for myself +and those who held correspondence with me.' + +In April 1648 he conveyed away James duke of York, then under the +tuition of Algernon earl of Northumberland, from St. James's, and +carried him into France, to the prince of Wales and Queenmother. +This circumstance is related by Wood, but Clarendon, who is a higher +authority, says, that the duke went off with colonel Bamfield only, +who contrived the means of his escape. Not long after, he was sent +embassador to the King of Poland, in conjunction with lord Crofts, +to whom he addresses a poem written on their journey; from whence he +brought ten thousand pounds for his Majesty, by the decimation of his +Scottish subjects there. + +About the year 1652, he returned into England, and was well received by +the earl of Pembroke at Wilton, and continued with that nobleman about a +year; for his own fortune by the expence he was at during the civil war, +and his unconquerable itch of gaming was quite exhausted. From that year +to the restoration, there are no accounts of our author; but as soon +as his Majesty returned, he entered upon the office of surveyor of his +Majesty's buildings, in the room of Inigo Jones, deceased; and at the +coronation of King Charles II. was created a knight of the Bath. Upon +some discontent arising from his second marriage he lost his senses, +but soon recovering from that disorder, he continued in great esteem at +court for his poetical writings. In the dedication of his poems to King +Charles II. he tells us that he had been discouraged by King Charles I. +from writing verses. + +'One morning (says he) when I was waiting upon the King at Causham, +smiling upon me, he said he could tell me some news of myself, which was +that he had seen some verses of mine the evening before (being those to +Sir Robert Fanshaw) and asking me when I made them, I told him two or +three years since; he was pleased to say, that having never seen them +before, he was afraid I had written them since my return into England; +and though he liked them well he would advise me to write no more: +alledging, that when men are young, and having little else to do, they +might vent the over-flowings of their fancy that way, but when they were +thought fit for more serious employments, if they still persisted in +that course, it would look as if they minded not the way to any better; +whereupon I stood corrected as long as I had the honour to wait upon +him.' This is a strong instance of his duty to the King; but no great +compliment to his Majesty's taste: nor was the public much obliged to +the Monarch for this admonition to our author. + +But King Charles II being of an humour more sprightly than his father, +was a professed encourager of poetry, and in his time a race of wits +sprung up, unequalled by those of any other reign. + +This monarch was particularly delighted with the poetry of our author, +especially when he had the happiness to wait upon him, in Holland and +Flanders; and he was pleased sometimes to give him arguments to write +upon, and divert the evil hours of their banishment, which now and then, +Sir John tells us, he acquitted himself not much short of his Majesty's +expectation. + +In the year 1688 Sir John Denham died, at his office in Whitehall, and +was interred in Westminster-Abbey, near the tombs of Chaucer, Spenser, +and Cowley. + +Our author's works are, + +1. Cooper's-hill, of which we have already taken some notice. + +2. The Destruction of Troy, an Essay on the second book of Virgil's +AEneis, written 1636. + +3. On the Earl of Strafford's Trial and Death. + +4. On my Lord Crofts's Journey into Poland. + +5. On Mr. Thomas Killegrew's return from Venice; and Mr. William +Murrey's from Scotland. + +6. To Sir John Mennis, being invited from Calais to Bologne to eat a +pig. + +7. Natura Naturata. + +8. Sarpedon's Speech to Glaucus, in the twelfth book of Homer. + +9. Out of an Epigram of Martial. + +10. Friendship and Single Life, against Love and Marriage. + +11. On Mr. Abraham Cowley's Death and Burial. + +12. A Speech against Peace at the Close Committee. + +13. To the Five Members of the honourable House of Commons: The humble +Petition of the Poets. + +14. A Western Wonder. + +15. A Second Western Wonder. + +16. News from Colchester; or, a proper new Ballad, of certain carnal +Passages betwixt a Quaker and a Colt, at Horsley in Essex. + +17. A Song. + +18. On Mr. John Fletcher's Works. + +19. To Sir Richard Fanshaw, on his translation of Pastor Fido. + +20. A Dialogue between Sir John Pooley, and Mr. Thomas Killegrew. + +21. An occasional Imitation of a modern Author, upon a Game at Chess. + +22. The Passion of Dido for AEneas. + +23. Of Prudence, of Justice. + +24. The Progress of Learning. + +25. Cato Major of old Age, a Poem: It is taken from the Latin of Tully, +though much alter'd from the original, not only by the change of the +stile, but by addition and subtraction. Our author tells us, that +intending to translate this piece into prose (where translation ought to +be strict) finding the matter very proper for verse, he took the liberty +to leave out what was only necessary, to that age and place, and to take +or add what was proper to this preset age and occasion, by laying the +scene clearer and in fewer words, according to the stile and ear of the +times. + +26. The Sophy, a Tragedy; the above pieces have been several times +printed together, in one volume in 12mo. under the Title of Poems and +Translations; with the Sophy, a Tragedy, written by Sir John Denham. + +Besides these, Wood mentions a Panegyric on his excellency general Monk +1659, in one sheet quarto. Though Denham's name is not to it, it is +generally ascribed to him. A Prologue to his majesty, at the first play +represented at the Cock-pit in White-hall, being part of that noble +entertainment, which their majesties received, November 19, 1660, from +his grace the duke of Albemarle. A new Version of the Psalms of +David. The True Presbyterian, without Disguise; or, a Character of a +Presbyterian's Ways and Actions, London 1680, in half a sheet in folio. +In the year 1666 there were printed by stealth, in octavo, certain +Poems, intitled Directions to a Painter, in four copies or parts, each +dedicated to King Charles the IId. They were very satyrically written +against several persons engaged in the Dutch war, in 1661. At the end of +them was a piece entitled Clarendon's Housewarming; and after that his +Epitaph, both containing bitter reflexions against that earl. Sir John +Denham's name is to these pieces, but they were generally thought to +be written by Andrew Marvel, Esq; a Merry Droll in Charles the IId's +Parliaments, but so very honest, that when a minister once called at +his lodgings, to tamper with him about his vote, he found him in mean +apartments up two pair of stairs, and though he was obliged to send out +that very morning to borrow a guinea, yet he was not to be corrupted by +the minister, but denied him his vote. The printer of these poems being +discovered, he was sentenced to stand in the pillory for the same. + +We have met with no authors who have given any account of the moral +character of Sir John Denham, and as none have mentioned his virtues, so +we find no vice imputed to him but that of gaming; to which it appears +he was immoderately addicted. If we may judge from his works, he was +a good-natur'd man, an easy companion, and in the day of danger and +tumult, of unshaken loyalty to the suffering interest of his sovereign. +His character as a poet is well known, he has the fairest testimonies +in his favour, the voice of the world, and the sanction of the critics; +Dryden and Pope praise him, and when these are mentioned, other +authorities are superfluous. + +We shall select as a specimen of Sir John Denham's Poetry, his Elegy on +his much loved and admired friend Mr. Abraham Cowley. + + Old mother Wit and nature gave + Shakespear, and Fletcher all they have; + In Spencer and in Johnson art, + Of slower nature, got the start. + But both in him so equal are, + None knows which bears the happiest share. + To him no author was unknown, + Yet what he wrote was all his own: + He melted not the ancient gold, + Nor, with Ben Johnson, did make bold. + To plunder all the Roman stores + Of poets and of orators. + Horace's wit, and Virgil's state, + He did not steal, but emulate; + And he would like to them appear, + Their garb, but not their cloaths did wear. + He not from Rome alone but Greece, + Like Johnson, brought the golden fleece. + And a stiff gale, (as Flaccus sings) + The Theban swan extends his wings, + When thro' th' aethereal clouds he flies, + To the same pitch our swan doth rise: + Old Pindar's flights by him new-reach'd, + When on that gale, his wings are stretch'd. + + +[Footnote 1: Ath. Oxon. vol. ii.] + +[Footnote 2: Wood.] + +[Footnote 3: In the preface to 2d edition, 1736, 4to.] + + * * * * * + + +THOMAS KILLEGREW, + +A Gentleman, who was page of honour to king Charles I. and groom of the +bed-chamber to king Charles II. with whom he endured twenty-years exile. +During his abode beyond sea, he took a view of France, Italy and Spain, +and was honoured by his majesty, with the employment of resident at the +state of Venice, whither he was sent in August 1651. During his exile +abroad, he applied his leisure hours to the study of poetry, and the +composition of Several plays, of which Sir John Denham. in a jocular +way takes notice, in his copy of verses on our author's return from his +embassy from Venice. + +I. + + Our resident Tom, + From Venice is come, + And hath left the statesman behind him. + Talks at the same pitch, + Is as wise, is as rich, + And just where you left him, you find him. + +II. + + But who says he was not, + A man of much plot, + May repent that false accusation; + Having plotted, and penn'd + Six plays to attend, + The farce of his negotiation. + +Killegrew was a man of very great humour, and frequently diverted +king Charles II, by his lively spirit of mirth and drollery. He was +frequently at court, and had often access to king Charles when admission +was denied to the first peers in the realm. Amongst many other merry +stories, the following is related of Killegrew. Charles II, who hated +business as much as he loved pleasure, would often disappoint the +council in vouchsafing his royal presence when they were met, by which +their business was necessarily delay'd and many of the council much +offended by the disrespect thrown on them: It happened one day while the +council were met, and had sat some time in expectation of his majesty, +that the duke of Lauderdale, who was a furious ungovernable man, quitted +the room in a passion, and accidentally met with Killegrew, to whom he +expressed himself irreverently of the king: Killegrew bid his grace be +calm, for he would lay a wager of a hundred pounds, that he would make +his majesty come to council in less than half an hour. Lauderdale being +a little heated, and under the influence of surprize, took him at his +word;--Killegrew went to the king, and without ceremony told him what +had happened, and added, "I know that your majesty hates Lauderdale, +tho' the necessity of your affairs obliges you to behave civilly to him; +now if you would get rid of a man you hate, come to the council, for +Lauderdale is a man so boundlessly avaricious, that rather than pay +the hundred pounds lost in this wager, he will hang himself, and never +plague you more." The king was pleased with the archness of this +observation, and answered, 'then Killegrew I'll positively go,' which +he did.--It is likewise related, that upon the king's suffering his +mistresses to gain so great an ascendant over him as to sacrifice for +them the interest of the state, and neglect the most important affairs, +while, like another Sardanapalus, he wasted his hours in the apartments +of those enchantresses: Killegrew went one day into his apartment +dress'd like a pilgrim, bent upon a long journey. The king being +surprized at this extraordinary frolic, asked him the meaning of it, +and to what distant country he was going, to which Killegrew bluntly +answered, the country I seek, may it please your majesty, is hell; and +what to do there? replies the king? to bring up Oliver Cromwel from +thence, returned the wag, to take care of the English affairs, for his +successor takes none.--We cannot particularly ascertain the truth +of these relations, but we may venture to assert that these are not +improbable, when it is considered how much delighted king Charles the +IId. was with a joke, however severe, and that there was not at court a +more likely person to pass them than Killegrew, who from his long exile +with the king, and being about his person, had contracted a kind of +familiarity, which the lustre that was thrown round the prince upon his +restoration was not sufficient to check. + +Tho' Sir John Denham mentions but six, our author wrote nine Plays in +his travels, and two at London, amongst which his Don Thomaso, in two +parts, and his Parson's Wedding, will always be valued by good judges, +and are the best of his performances. The following is a list of his +plays. + +1. Bellamira's Dream, or Love of Shadows, a Tragi-Comedy; the first part +printed in folio 1663, written in Venice, and dedicated to the lady Mary +Villiers, duchess of Richmond and Lennox. + +2. Bellamira's Dream, the second part, written in Venice; printed in +folio, London 1663, and dedicated to the lady Anne Villiers, countess of +Essex. + +3. Cicilia and Clorinda, or Love in Arms, a Tragi-comedy; the first part +printed in folio, London, 1663, written in Turin. + +4. Cicilia and Clorinda, the second part, written at Florence 1651, and +dedicated to the lady Dorothy Sidney, countess of Sunderland. + +5. Claracilla, a Tragi-comedy, printed in folio, London 1663; written at +Rome, and dedicated to his sister in-law lady Shannon; on this play and +another of the author's called the Prisoners, Mr. Cartwright has written +an ingenious copy of verses. + +6. The Parson's Wedding, a Comedy, printed in folio, London 1663; +written at Basil in Switzerland. This play was revived at the old +Theatre, at little Lincoln's Inn-Fields, and acted all by women; a new +prologue and epilogue, being spoken by Mrs. Marshal in Man's cloaths, +which Mr. Langbain says is printed in the Covent-Garden Drollery. +This was a miscellaneous production of those times, which bore some +resemblance to our Magazines; but which in all probability is now out of +print. + +7. The Pilgrim, a Tragedy, printed in folio, London 1663; written in +Paris in the year 1651, and dedicated to the countess of Carnarvon. + +8. The Princess, or Love at first Sight, a Tragi-Comedy, printed in +folio, London 1663; written at Naples, and dedicated to his niece, the +lady Anne Wentworth, wife to lord Lovelace. + +9. The Prisoners, a Tragi-Comedy, printed in folio; London 1663; written +at London and dedicated to the lady Crompton. + +10. Don Thomaso, or the Wanderer, a Comedy in two parts, printed in +folio, London 1663; and dedicated to the fair and kind friends of prince +Palatine Polexander. In the first part of this play, the author has +borrowed several ornaments from Fletcher's play called the Captain. He +has used great freedom with Ben Johnson, for not only the characters of +Lopus, but even the very words are repeated from Johnson's Fox, where +Volpone personates Scoto of Mantua. I don't believe that our author +designed to conceal his assistance, since he was so just as to +acknowledge a song against jealousy, which he borrowed from Mr. Thomas +Carew, cup-bearer to king Charles the Ist, and sung in a masque at +Whitehall, anno 1633. This Chorus, says he, 'I presume to make use of +here, because in the first design it was written at my request, upon +a dispute held between Mrs. Cicilia Crofer and myself, when he was +present; she being then maid of honour. This I have set down, lest any +man should imagine me so foolish as to steal such a poem, from so famous +an author.' If he was therefore so scrupulous in committing depredations +upon Carew, he would be much more of Ben Johnson, whose fame was so +superior to Carew's. All these plays were printed together in one volume +in folio, London 1664. + + * * * * * + + +EDWARD HOWARD, _Esq_; + +Was descended from the noble family of the earl of Berkshire, and was +more illustrious by his birth than his genius; he addicted himself to +the study of dramatic poetry, and produced four plays, but gained no +reputation by any of them. + +1. The Man of New-Market, a Comedy, acted at the Theatre-Royal; and +printed in quarto, London 1678. + +2. Six Days Adventure, or the New Utopia, a Comedy, acted at his royal +highness the duke of York's Theatre, printed in quarto 1671. This play +miscarried in the action, as he himself acknowledges in his preface; +and the earl of Rochester, with his usual virulence, writ an invective +against it; but, Mrs. Behn, Mr. Ravenscroft, and some other poets, +taking compassion on him, sent the author recommendatory verses, which +are printed before that play, and in return he writ a Pindarique to Mrs. +Behn, which she printed in a Collection of Poems 1685. + +3. The Usurper, a Tragedy, acted at the Theatre-Royal, and printed 1668, +in which the character of Damocles, is said to have been drawn for +Oliver Cromwel, and that the play is a parallel of those times. + +4. Women's Conquest, a Tragi-Comedy, acted at the Duke's Theatre 1677. + +Besides these plays, Mr. Howard has published an Epic Poem in octavo, +called the British Princes, which the earl of Rochester likewise handled +pretty severely. There is likewise ascribed to him another Book of +Poems and Essays, with a Paraphrase on Cicero's Laelius, or Tract of +Friendship, printed in 8vo. The Earl of Dorset, who was called by +cotemporary writers, the best good man, with the worst natured Muse, +has dedicated a few lines to the damnation of this extraordinary epic +production of Mr. Howard's. + +The Spectator observes, that this epic piece is full of incongruity, +or in other words, abounds with nonsense. He quotes the two following +lines, + + A coat of mail Prince Vortiger had on, + Which from a naked pict his grandsire won. + +Who does not see the absurdity of winning a coat from a naked man? + +The earl of Dorset thus addresses him; + +To Mr. EDWARD HOWARD, on his incomparable, incomprehensible POEM called +the BRITISH PRINCES. + + Come on, ye critics, find one fault who dare, + For, read it backward like a witch's prayer, + 'Twill do as well; throw not away your jests + On solid nonsense that abides all tests. + Wit, like tierce-claret, when't begins to pall, + Neglected lies, and's of no use at all, + But, in its full perfection of decay, + Turns vinegar, and comes again in play. + Thou hast a brain, such as it is indeed; + On what else mould thy worm of fancy feed? + Yet in a Filbert I have often known + Maggots survive when all the kernel's gone. + This simile shall stand, in thy defence, + 'Gainst such dull rogues as now and then write sense. + Thy style's the same, whatever be thy theme, + As some digestion turns all meat to phlegm. + He lyes, dear Ned, who says, thy brain it barren, + Where deep conceits, like vermin breed in carrion. + Thy stumbling founder'd jade can trot as high + As any other Pegasus can fly. + So the dull Eel moves nimbler in the mud, + Than all the swift-finn'd racers of the flood. + As skilful divers to the bottom fall, + Sooner than those that cannot swim at all, + So in the way of writing, without thinking, + Thou hast a strange alacrity in sinking. + Thou writ'st below ev'n thy own nat'ral parts, + And with acquir'd dulness, and new arts + Of studied nonsense, tak'st kind readers hearts. + Therefore dear Ned, at my advice forbear, + Such loud complaints 'gainst critics to prefer, + Since thou art turn'd an arrant libeller: + Thou sett'st thy name to what thyself do'st write; + Did ever libel yet so sharply bite? + + * * * * * + + +Mrs. APHRA BEHN, + +A celebrated poetess of the last age, was a gentlewoman by birth, being +descended, as her life-writer says, from a good family in the city of +Canterbury. She was born in Charles Ist's reign[1], but in what year is +not known. Her father's name was Johnson, whose relation to the lord +Willoughby engaged him for the advantageous post of lieutenant general +of Surinam, and six and thirty islands, to undertake a voyage, with his +whole family, to the West-Indies, at which time our poetess was very +young. Mr. Johnson died at sea, in his passage thither; but his family +arrived at Surinam, a place so delightfully situated, and abounding +with such a vast profusion of beauties, that, according to Mrs. Behn's +description, nature seems to have joined with art to render it perfectly +elegant: her habitation in that country, called St. John's Hill, she has +challenged all the gardens in Italy, nay, all the globe of the world, to +shew so delightful a recess. It was there our poetess became acquainted +with the story and person of the American Prince Oroonoko, whose +adventures she has so feelingly and elegantly described in the +celebrated Novel of that name, upon which Mr. Southern has built his +Tragedy of Oroonoko, part of which is so entertaining and moving, that +it is almost too much for nature. Mrs. Behn tells us, that she herself +had often seen and conversed with that great man, and been a witness to +many of his mighty actions, and that at one time, he, and Imoinda his +wife, were scarce an hour in a day from her lodgings; that they eat +with her, and that she obliged them in all things she was capable of, +entertaining them with the lives of the Romans and great men, which +charmed him with her company; while she engaged his wife with teaching +her all the pretty works she was mistress of, relating stories of Nuns, +and endeavouring to bring her to the knowledge of the true God. This +intimacy between Oroonoko and Mrs. Behn occasioned some reflexions on +her conduct, from which the authoress of her life, already quoted, +justified her in the following manner; 'Here, says she, I can add +nothing to what she has given the world already, but a vindication of +her from some unjust aspersions I find are insinuated about this town, +in relation to that prince. I knew her intimately well, and I believe +she would not have concealed any love affair from me, being one of her +own sex, whose friendship and secrecy she had experienced, which makes +me assure the world that there was no intrigue between that Prince and +Astraea. She had a general value for his uncommon virtues, and when +he related the story of his woes, she might with the Desdemona of +Shakespear, cry out, That it was pitiful, wondrous pitiful, which never +can be construed into an amour; besides, his heart was too violently set +on the everlasting charms of his Imoinda, to be shook with those more +faint (in his eye) of a white beauty; and Astrea's relations there +present kept too watchful an eye over her, to permit the frailty of her +youth, if that had been powerful enough.' After this lady's return to +London, she was married to Mr. Behn, a Merchant there, but of Dutch +extraction. This marriage strengthening her interest, and, perhaps, +restoring her character, gave her an opportunity of appearing with +advantage at court. She gave King Charles II. so accurate and agreeable +an account of the colony of Surinam, that he conceived a great opinion +of her abilities, and thought her a proper person to be entrusted with +the management of some important affairs, during the Dutch war; which +occasioned her going into Flanders, and residing at Antwerp. Here, by +her political intrigues, she discovered the design formed by the Dutch, +of sailing up the river Thames, and burning the English ships in their +harbours, which she communicated to the court of England; but her +intelligence, though well grounded, as appeared by the event, being only +laughed at and slighted, she laid aside all other thoughts of state +affairs, and amused herself during her stay at Antwerp with the +gallantries in that city. But as we have mentioned that she discovered +the design of the Dutch to burn our ships, it would be injustice to the +lady, as well as to the reader, not to give some detail of her manner +of doing it. She made this discovery by the intervention of a Dutchman, +whom her life-writer calls by the name of Vander Albert. As an +ambassador, or negociator of her sex could not take the usual means of +intelligence; of mixing with the multitude, and bustling in the cabals +of statesmen, she fell upon another way, perhaps more efficacious, of +working by her eyes. This Vander Albert had been in love with her before +her marriage with Mr. Behn, and no sooner heard of her arrival at +Antwerp, than he paid her a visit; and after a repetition of his former +vows, and ardent professions for her service, pressed her to receive +from him some undeniable proofs of the vehemence and sincerity of his +passion, for which he would ask no reward, 'till he had by long and +faithful services convinced her that he deserved it. This proposal was +so suitable to her present aim in the service of her country, that she +accepted it, and employed Albert in such a manner, as made her very +serviceable to the King. The latter end of the year 1666, he sent +her word, by a special messenger, that he would be with her at a day +appointed, at which time, he revealed to her, that Cornelius de Wit, +who, with the rest of that family, had an implacable hatred to the +English nation and the house of Orange, had, with de Ruyter, proposed to +the States the expedition abovementioned. This proposal, concurring with +the advice which the Dutch spies in England had given them, of the total +neglect of all naval preparations, was well received, and was resolved +to be put in execution, as a thing neither dangerous nor difficult. +Albert having communicated a secret of this importance, and with such +marks of truth, that she had no room to doubt of it: as soon as the +interview was at an end, she dispatched an account of what she had +discovered, to England[2]. + +But we cannot conclude Mrs. Behn's gallantries at Antwerp, without being +a little more particular, as we find her attacked by other lovers, and +thought she found means to preserve her innocence, yet the account +that she herself gives of her affairs there, is both humorous and +entertaining. + +In a letter to a friend she proceeds thus, 'My other lover is about +twice Albert's age, nay and bulk too, tho' Albert "be not the most +Barbary shape you have seen, you must know him by the name of Van Bruin, +and he was introduced to me by Albert his kinsman, and was obliged by +him to furnish me in his absence, with what money and other things I +should please to command, or have occasion for. This old fellow had not +visited me often, before I began to be sensible of the influence of my +eyes upon this old piece of touchwood; but he had not the confidence +to tell me he loved me, and modesty you know is no common fault of +his countrymen. He often insinuated that he knew a man of wealth and +substance, though striken indeed in years, and on that account not +so agreeable as a younger man, was passionately in love with me, and +desired to know whether my heart was so far engaged, that his friend +should not entertain, any hopes. I replied that I was surprized to hear +a friend of Albert's making an interest in me for another, and that if +love were a passion, I was any way sensible of, it could never be for an +old man, and much to that purpose. But all this would not do, in a +day or two I received this eloquent epistle from him." Here Mrs. Behn +inserts a translation of Van Bruin's letter, which was wrote in French, +and in a most ridiculous stile, telling her, he had often strove to +reveal to her the tempests of his heart, and with his own mouth scale +the walls of her affections; but terrified with the strength of her +fortifications, he concluded to make more regular approaches, to attack +her at a farther distance, and try first what a bombardment of letters +would do; whether these carcasses of love thrown into the sconces of her +eyes, would break into the midst of her breast, beat down the out-guard +of her aversion, and blow up the magazine of her cruelty, that she might +be brought to a capitulation, and yield upon, reasonable terms. He then +considers her as a goodly ship under sail for the Indies; her hair is +the pennants, her fore-head the prow, her eyes the guns, her nose the +rudder. He wishes he could once see her keel above water, and desires +to be her pilot, to steer thro' the Cape of Good-Hope, to the Indies of +love. + +Our ingenious poetess sent him a suitable answer to this truly +ridiculous and Dutchman like epistle. She rallies him for setting out in +so unprofitable a voyage as love, and humorously reckons up the expences +of the voyage; as ribbons, and hoods for her pennants, diamond rings, +lockets, and pearl-necklaces for her guns of offence and defence, silks, +holland, lawn, cambric, &c. for her rigging. + +Mrs. Behn tells us she diverted herself with Van Bruin in Albert's +absence, till he began to assume and grow troublesome to her by his +addresses, so that to rid himself of him, she was forced to disclose the +whole affair to Albert, who was so enraged that he threatened the death +of his rival, but he was pacified by his mistress, and content to +upbraid the other for his treachery, and forbid him the house, but this +says Mrs. Behn, 'produced a very ridiculous scene, for 'my Nestorian +lover would not give ground to Albert, but was as high as he, challenged +him to sniker-snee for me, and a thousand things as comical; in short +nothing but my positive command could satisfy him, and on that he +promised no more to trouble me. Sure as he thought himself of me, he +was thunder-struck, when he heard me not only forbid him the house, but +ridicule all his addresses to his rival Albert; with a countenance full +of despair, he went away not only from my lodgings, but the next day +from Antwerp, unable to stay in a place where he had met so dreadful a +defeat.' + +The authoress of her life has given us a farther account of her affairs +with Vander Albert, in which she contrived to preserve her honour, +without injuring her gratitude. There was a woman at Antwerp, who had +often given Astraea warning of Albert's fickleness and inconstancy, +assuring her he never loved after enjoyment, and sometimes changed even +before he had that pretence; of which she herself was an instance; +Albert having married her, and deserted her on the wedding-night. Our +poetess took the opportunity of her acquaintance with this lady to put +an honest trick upon her lover, and at the same time do justice to an +injured woman. Accordingly she made an appointment with Albert, and +contrived that the lady whose name was Catalina, should meet him in +her stead. The plot succeeded and Catalina infinitely pleased with the +adventure, appointed the next night, and the following, till at last +he discovered the cheat, and resolved to gratify both his love and +resentment, by enjoying Astaea even against her will. To this purpose he +bribed an elderly gentlewoman, whom Mrs. Behn kept out of charity, to +put him to bed drest in her night-cloaths in her place, when Astraea was +passing the evening in a merchant's house in the town. The merchant's +son and his two daughters waited on Astraea home; and to conclude the +evening's mirth with a frolick, the young gentleman proposed going to +bed to the old woman, and that they should all come in with candles and +surprize them together. As it was agreed so they did, but no sooner was +the young spark put to bed, but he found himself accosted with ardour, +and a man's voice, saying, 'have I now caught thee, thou malicious +charmer! now I'll not let thee go till thou hast done me justice for all +the wrongs thou hast offered my dealing love.' The rest of the company +were extremely surprized to find Albert in Astraea's bed instead of the +old woman, and Albert no less surprized to find the young spark instead +of Astraea. In the conclusion, the old woman was discarded, and Albert's +fury at his disappointment appeased by a promise from Mrs. Behn, of +marrying him at his arrival in England; but Albert returning to Holland +to make preparations for his voyage to England, died of a Fever +at Amsterdam[3]. From this adventure it plainly appears, that the +observation of a Dutchman's not being capable to love is false; for both +Albert, and the Nestorian wooer, seem to have been warm enough in their +addresses. + +After passing some time in this manner at Antwerp, she embarked at +Dunkirk for England; and in her passage, was near being lost, for the +ship being driven on the coast, foundered within sight of land, but by +the assistance of boats from the shore, they were all saved; and Mrs. +Behn arriving in London, dedicated the rest of her life to pleasure and +poetry. Besides publishing three volumes of miscellany poems, she +wrote seventeen plays, and some histories and novels. She translated +Fontenelle's History of Oracles, and plurality of worlds, to which +last she annexed an Essay on Translation, and translated Prose. The +Paraphrase of Oenone's, Epistle to Paris, in the English Translation +of Ovid's Epistles is Mrs. Behn's; as are the celebrated Love Letters +between a Nobleman and his Sister. Her wit gained her the esteem of Mr. +Dryden, Mr. Southern, &c. and at the same time the love and addresses of +several gentlemen, in particular one, with whom she corresponded under +the name of Lycida, who it seems did not return her passion with equal +warmth, and with the earnestness and rapture, she imagined her beauty +had a right to command. + +Mrs. Behn died after a long indisposition, April 16, 1689, and was +buried in the cloister of Westminster Abbey. We shall beg leave to +exhibit her character, as we find it drawn by some of her cotemporaries, +and add a remark of our own. 'Mr. Langbain 'thinks her Memory will +be long fresh among all lovers of dramatic poetry, as having been +sufficiently eminent, not only for her theatrical performances; but +several other pieces both in prose and verse, which gained her an esteem +among the wits almost equal to that of the incomparable Orinda, Mrs. +Katherine Phillips.' + +There are several encomiums on Mrs. Behn prefixed to her lover's watch; +among the rest, Mr. Charles Cotton, author of Virgil Travesty, throws in +his mite in her praise; though the lines are but poorly writ. But of all +her admirers, Mr. Charles Gildon, who was intimately acquainted with our +poetess, speaks of her with the highest encomiums. + +In his epistle dedicatory to her histories and novels, he thus expresses +himself. 'Poetry, the supreme pleasure of the mind, is begot, and born +in pleasure, but oppressed and killed with pain. This reflexion ought to +raise our admiration of Mrs. Behn, whose genius was of that force, to +maintain its gaiety in the midst of disappointments, which a woman of +her sense and merit ought never to have met with. But she had a great +strength of mind, and command of thought, being able to write in the +midst of company, and yet have the share of the conversation: which I +saw her do in writing Oroonoko, and other parts of her works, in every +part of which you'll find an easy stile and a peculiar happiness of +thinking. The passions, that of love especially, she was mistress of, +and gave us such nice and tender touches of them, that without her name +we might discover the author.' To this character of Mrs. Behn may be +very properly added, that given of her by the authoress of her life and +memoirs, in these words. + +'She was of a generous humane disposition, something passionate, very +serviceable to her friends in all that was in her power, and could +sooner forgive an injury than do one. She had wit, humour, good-nature +and judgment. She was mistress of all the pleasing arts of conversation: +She was a woman of sense, and consequently a lover of pleasure. For my +part I knew her intimately, and never saw ought unbecoming the just +modesty of our sex; though more gay and free, than the folly of the +precise will allow.' + +The authors of the Biographia Brittanica say, that her poetry is none of +the best; and that her comedies, tho' not without humour, are full +of the most indecent scenes and expressions. As to the first, with +submission to the authority of these writers, the charge is ill-founded, +which will appear from the specimen upon which Dryden himself makes +her a compliment; as to the latter, I'm afraid it cannot be so well +defended; but let those who are ready to blame her, consider, that her's +was the sad alternative to write or starve; the taste of the times was +corrupt; and it is a true observation, that they who live to please, +must please to live. + +Mrs. Behn perhaps, as much as any one, condemned loose scenes, and too +warm descriptions; but something must be allowed to human frailty. She +herself was of an amorous complexion, she felt the passions intimately +which she describes, and this circumstance added to necessity, might be +the occasion of her plays being of that cast. + + The stage how loosely does Astrea tread, + Who fairly puts, all characters to bed. + +Are lines of Mr. Pope: + +And another modern speaking of, the vicissitudes to which the stage is +subjected, has the following, + + Perhaps if skill could distant times explore, + New Behn's, new Durfey's, yet remain in store, + Perhaps, for who can guess th' effects of chance, + Here Hunt[4] may box, and Mahomet[5] may dance. + +This author cannot be well acquainted with Mrs. Behn's works, who makes +a comparison between them and the productions of Durfey. There are marks +of a fine understanding in the most unfinished piece of Mrs. Behn, and +the very worst of this lady's compositions are preferable to Durfey's +bell. It is unpleasing to have the merit of any of the Fair Sex +lessened. Mrs. Behn suffered enough at the hands of supercilious prudes, +who had the barbarity to construe her sprightliness into lewdness; +and because she had wit and beauty, she must likewise be charged with +prostitution and irreligion. + +Her dramatic works are, + +1, 2. The Rover: Or, the banished Cavalier. In two parts, both comedies; +acted at the duke's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1677 and 1681. Those +plays are taken in a great measure from Killegrew's Don Thomaso, or the +wanderer. + +3. The Dutch Lover, a Comedy, acted at the Duke's theatre, and printed +in 4to, 1673. The plot of this play is founded upon a Spanish Comedy +entitled, Don Fenise, written by Don Francisco de las Coveras. + +4. Abdelazer; or the Moor's Revenge, a Tragedy, acted at the duke's +theatre, and printed in 4to. 1671. It is taken from an old play of +Marlow's, intitled, Lust's Dominion; or the Lascivious Queen, a Tragedy. + +5. The Young King; or the Mistake, a Tragi-Comedy, acted at the duke's +theatre, and printed in 4to. in 1683. The design of this play is taken +from the story of Alcamenes and Menalippa, in Calprenede's Cleopatra. + +6. The Round-Heads; or the Good Old Cause, a Comedy; acted at the +duke's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1682. It is dedicated to Henry +Fitzroy--duke of Grafton. + +7. The City Heiress; or Sir Timothy Treatwell, a Comedy; acted at the +duke's theatre, and printed in 4to. in 1682, dedicated to Henry Earl +of Arundel, and Lord Mowbray. Most of the characters in this play +are borrowed, according to Langbaine, from Massinger's Guardian, and +Middleton's Mad World my Masters. + +8. The Town Fop, or Sir Timothy Tawdry, a Comedy, acted at the duke's +theatre, and printed in 4to. 1677. This play is founded on a comedy +written by one George Wilkins, entitled, the Miseries of inforced +Marriage. + +9. The False Count, or a New Way to play an old Game, a Comedy; acted at +the duke's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1682 Isabella's being deceived +by the Chimney Sweeper is borrowed from Mollier's precieuse Ridicules. + +10. The Lucky Chances; or an Alderman's Bargain, a Comedy, acted by the +King's company, and printed in 4to. in 1687. It is dedicated to Hyde +Earl of Rochester. This play was greatly condemned by the critics; some +incidents in it are borrowed from Shirley's Lady of Pleasure. + +11. The forced Marriage; or the jealous Bridegroom, a Tragi-Comedy, +acted at the duke's theatre, and printed in 4to, 1671. + +12. Sir Patient Fancy; a Comedy, acted at the duke's theatre, and +printed in 4to. 1678. The plot of this play, and some of the characters, +particularly Sir Patient, is borrowed from Moliere's Malades +Imaginaires. + +13. The Widow Ranter; or the History of Bacon in Virginia, a +Tragi-Comedy, acted by the King's company, and printed 1690. It is +uncertain where she had the history of Bacon; but the catastrophe seems +founded on the story of Cassius, who died by the hand of his freed man. +This play was published after Mrs. Behn's death by one G.I., her friend. + +14. The Feigned Courtezan; or a Night's Intrigue, a Comedy, acted at the +duke's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1679. It is dedicated to the famous +Ellen Gwyn, King Charles IId's mistress, and is esteemed one of Mrs. +Behn's best plays. + +15. Emperor of the Moon, a Farce, acted at the Queen's theatre, and +printed 4to. 1687. It is dedicated to the Marquis of Worcester. The Plot +is taken from an Italian piece translated into French, under the title +of Harlequin Empereur, Dans le Monde de la Lune, and acted at Paris +above eighty nights without intermission. + +16. The Amorous Prince; or the Curious Husband, a Comedy, acted at the +duke of York's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1671. The plot is borrowed +from the novel of the Curious Impertinent in Don Quixote. + +17. The younger Brother; or the Amorous Jilt; a Comedy, published after +her death by Mr. Gildon. It was taken from a true story of colonel Henry +Martin, and a certain lady. + +Mrs. Behn's plays, all but the last, were published together in two +volumes 8vo. But the edition of 1724 is in four volumes 12mo. including +the Younger Brother. + +The following is an account of her novels, and histories, + +They are extant in two volumes 12mo. Lond. 1735, 8th edition, published +by Mr. Charles Gildon, and dedicated to Simon Scroop, Esq; to which is +prefixed the history of the Life and Memoirs of our authoress, written +by one of the fair sex. + +1. The History of Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave: This was founded on a +true story, the incidents of which happened during her residence at +Surinam. It gave birth to Mr. Southern's celebrated play of that name; +who in his dedication of it, speaking of his obligation to Mrs. Behn for +the subject, says, + +'She had a great command of the stage, and I have often wondered that +she would bury her favorite hero in a novel, when she might have revived +him in the scene. She thought either, that no actor could represent him, +or she could not bear him represented; and I believe the last, when I +remember what I have heard from a friend of her's, that she always told +a story more feelingly than she writ.' + +2. The Fair Jilt; or the Amours of Prince Tarquin and Miranda. This is +likewise said to be derived from a true story, to a great part of which +she tells she was an eye witness; and what she did not see, she learned +from some of the actors concerned in it, the Franciscans of Antwerp, +where the scene is laid. + +3. The Nun, or the perjured Beauty, a true novel. + +4. The History of Agnes de Castro. + +5. The Lover's Watch; or the Art of making love. It is taken from M. +Bonnecourte's le Montre, or the Watch. It is not properly a novel. A +lady, under the name of Iris, being absent from her lover Damon, is +supposed to send him a Watch, on the dial plate of which the whole +business of a lover, during the twenty-four hours, is marked out, and +pointed to by the dart of a Cupid in the middle.-- + +"Thus eight o'clock is marked agreeable to reverie; nine o'Clock, design +to please no body; ten o'clock, reading of letters, &c." + +To which is added, as from Damon to Iris, a description of the case of +the watch. + +6. The Lady's Looking-Glass, to dress themselves by. Damon is supposed +to send Iris a looking-glass, which represents to her all her charms, +viz. her shape, complexion, hair, &c. This likewise, which is not +properly a novel, is taken from the French. + +7. The Lucky Mistake, a new novel. + +8. The Court of the King of Bantam. + +9. The Adventures of the Black Lady. The reader will distinguish the +originals from translations, by consulting the 2d and 3d tomes of +Recueil des pieces gallantet, en prose et en verse. Paris 1684. + +We have observed, that in the English translation of Ovid's Epistles, +the paraphrase of Oenone's Epistle to Paris is her's. In the preface to +that work Mr. Dryden pays her this handsome compliment. + +"I was desired to say, that the author, who is of the fair sex, +understood not Latin; but if she does not, I'm afraid she has given us +occasion to be ashamed who do." + +Part of this epistle transcribed will afford a specimen of her +verification. + + Say lovely youth, why wouldst thou, thus betray, + My easy faith, and lead my heart away. + I might some humble shepherd's choice have been, + Had I not heard that tongue, those eyes not seen; + And in some homely cot, in low repose, + Liv'd undisturb'd, with broken vows and oaths; + All day by shaded springs my flocks have kept, + And in some honest arms, at night have slept. + Then, un-upbraided with my wrongs thou'dit been, + Safe in the joys of the fair Grecian queen. + What stars do rule the great? no sooner you + Became a prince, but you were perjured too. + Are crowns and falsehoods then consistent things? + And must they all be faithless who are Kings? + The gods be prais'd that I was humble born, + Ev'n tho' it renders me my Paris' scorn. + And I had rather this way wretched prove, + Than be a queen, dishonest in my love. + + +[Footnote 1: Memoirs prefixed to her Novels, by a lady.] + +[Footnote 2: Memoires ubi supra.] + +[Footnote 3: Memoirs ubi supra.] + +[Footnote 4: A noted boxer.] + +[Footnote 5: A Turk, famous for his performances on a wire, after the +manner of rope-dancers.] + + * * * * * + + +Sir GEORGE ETHEREGE, + +A Celebrated wit in the reign of Charles and James II. He is said to +have been descended of an ancient family of Oxfordshire, and born about +the year 1636; it is thought he had some part of his education at the +university of Cambridge, but in his younger years he travelled into +France, and consequently made no long stay at the university. Upon his +return, he, for some time, studied the Municipal Law at one of the Inns +of Court, in which, it seems, he made but little progress, and like +other men of sprightly genius, abandoned it for pleasure, and the gayer +accomplishments. + +In the year 1664 the town was obliged with his first performance for +the stage, entitled the Comical Revenge, or Love in a Tub, the writing +whereof brought him acquainted, as he himself informed us, with the earl +of Dorset, to whom it is by the author dedicated. The fame of this play, +together with his easy, unreserved conversation, and happy address, +rendered him a favourite with the leading wits, such as the duke of +Buckingham, Sir Charles Sedley, the earl of Rochester, Sir Car Scroop. +Being animated by this encouragement, in 1668, he brought another comedy +upon the stage, entitled She Would if She Could; which gained him no +less applause, and it was expected, that by the continuance of his +studies, he would polish and enliven the theatrical taste, and be no +less constant in such entertainments, than the most assiduous of his +cotemporaries, but he was too much addicted to pleasure, and being +impelled by no necessity, he neglected the stage, and never writ, till +he was forced to it, by the importunity of his friends. In 1676, his +last comedy called the Man of Mode, or Sir Fopling Flutter, came on the +stage, with the most extravagant success; he was then a servant to +the beautiful duchess of York, of whom Dryden has this very singular +expression, 'that he does not think, that at the general resurrection, +she can be made to look more charming than now.' Sir George dedicates +this play to his Royal Mistress, with the most courtly turns of +compliment. In this play he is said to have drawn, or to use the modern +cant, taken off, some of the cotemporary coxcombs; and Mr. Dryden, in +an Epilogue to it, has endeavoured to remove the suspicion of personal +satire, and says, that the character of Flutter is meant to ridicule +none in particular, but the whole fraternity of finished fops, the +idolaters of new fashions. + +His words are, + + True fops help nature's work, and go to school, + To file and finish God Almighty's fool: + Yet none Sir Fopling, him, or him, can call, + He's Knight o'th' Shire, and represents you all. + +But this industry, to avoid the imputation of personal satire, but +served to heighten it; and the town soon found out originals to his +characters. Sir Fopling was said to be drawn for one Hewit, a beau of +those times, who, it seems, was such a creature as the poet ridiculed, +but who, perhaps, like many other coxcombs, would never have been +remembered, but for this circumstance, which transmits his memory to +posterity. + +The character of Dorimant was supposed to represent the earl of +Rochester, who was inconstant, faithless, and undetermined in his +amours; and it is likewise said, in the character of Medley, that the +poet has drawn out some sketch of himself, and from the authority of Mr. +Bowman, who played Sir Fopling, or some other part in this comedy, it +is said, that the very Shoemaker in Act I. was also meant for a real +person, who, by his improvident courses before, having been unable +to make any profit by his trade, grew afterwards, upon the public +exhibition of him, so industrious and notable, that he drew a crowd of +the best customers to him, and became a very thriving tradesman. Whether +the poet meant to display these characters, we cannot now determine, but +it is certain, the town's ascribing them to some particular persons, was +paying him a very high compliment; and if it proved no more, it at least +demonstrated, a close imitation of nature, a beauty which constitutes +the greatest perfection of a comic poet. + +Our author, it seems, was addicted to some gay extravagances, such as +gaming, and an unlicensed indulgence in women and wine, which brought +some satirical reflexions, upon him. Gildon in his Lives of the Dramatic +Poets, says, that upon marrying a fortune, he was knighted; the +circumstances of it are these: He had, by his gaming and extravagance, +so embarrassed his affairs, that he courted a rich widow in order to +retrieve them; but she being an ambitious woman, would not condescend to +marry him, unless he could make her a lady, which he was obliged to +do by the purchase of a knighthood; and this appears in a Consolatary +Epistle to captain Julian, from the duke of Buckingham, in, which this +match is reflected on. We have no account of any issue he had by this +lady, but from the information of Mr. Bowman we can say, that he +cohabited, for some time, with the celebrated Mrs. Barry the actress, +and had one daughter by her; that he settled 5 or 6000 l. on her, but +that she died young. + +From the same intelligence, it also appears, that Sir George was, in his +person, a fair[1], slender, genteel man, but spoiled his countenance +with drinking, and other habits of intemperance. In his deportment he +was very affable and courteous, of a generous disposition, which, with +his free, lively, and natural vein of writing, acquired him the general +character of gentle George, and easy Etherege, in respect of which +qualities, we often find him compared to Sir Charles Sedley. His courtly +and easy behaviour so recommended him to the Duchess of York, that +when on the accession of King James II. she became Queen, she sent him +ambassador abroad, Gildon says, to Hamburgh; but it is pretty evident, +that he was in that reign a minister at Ratisbon, at least, from the +year 1686, to the time his majesty left this kingdom, if not later, but +it appears that he was there, by his own letters wrote from thence to +the earl of Middleton. + +After this last comedy, we meet with no more he ever wrote for the +stage; however, there are preserved some letters of his in prose, +published among a collection of Familiar Letters, by John earl of +Rochester; two of which, sent to the duke of Buckingham, have particular +merit, both for the archness of the turns, and the acuteness of the +observations. He gives his lordship a humorous description of some of +the Germans, their excessive drunkenness; their plodding stupidity and +ostensive indelicacy; he complains that he has no companion in that part +of the world, no Sir Charles Sedleys, nor Buckinghams, and what is still +worse, even deprived of the happiness of a mistress, for, the women +there, he says, are so coy, and so narrowly watched by their relations, +that there is no possibility of accomplishing an intrigue. He mentions, +however, one Monsieur Hoffman, who married a French lady, with whom he +was very great, and after the calamitous accident of Mr. Hoffman's being +drowned, he pleasantly describes the grief of the widow, and the methods +he took of removing her sorrow, by an attempt in which he succeeded. +These two letters discover the true character of Etherege, as well as +of the noble person to whom they were sent, and mark them as great +libertines, in speculation as in practice. + +As for the other compositions of our author, they consist chiefly of +little airy sonnets, smart lampoons, and smooth panegyrics. All that we +have met with more than is here mentioned, of his writing in prose, is +a short piece, entitled An Account of the Rejoicing at the Diet of +Ratisbon, performed by Sir George Etherege, Knight, residing there from +his Majesty of Great Britain, upon Occasion of the Birth of the Prince +of Wales; in a Letter from himself, printed in the Savoy 1688. When our +author died, the writers of his life have been very deficient; Gildon +says, that after the Revolution, he followed his master into France, and +died there, or very soon after his arrival in England from thence. But +there was a report (say the authors of the Biograph. Brit. which they +received from an ingenious gentleman) 'that Sir George came to an +untimely death, by an unlucky accident at Ratisbon, for, after having +treated some company with a liberal entertainment at his house there, +when he had taken his glass too freely, and, being through his great +complaisance too forward, in waiting on his guests at their departure, +flushed as he was, he tumbled down stairs, and broke his neck, and so +fell a martyr to jollity and civility.' + +One of the earliest of our author's lesser poems, is that addressed to +her Grace the Marchioness of Newcastle, after reading her poems, and as +it is esteemed a very elegant panegyric, we shall give the conclusion of +it as a specimen. + + While we, your praise, endeavouring to rehearse, + Pay that great duty in our humble verse; + Such as may justly move your anger, now, + Like Heaven forgive them, and accept them too. + But what we cannot, your brave hero pays, + He builds those monuments we strive to raise; + Such as to after ages shall make known, + While he records your deathless fame his own: + So when an artist some rare beauty draws, + Both in our wonder there, and our applause. + His skill, from time secures the glorious dame, + And makes himself immortal in her fame. + +Besides his Songs, little panegyrical Poems and Sonnets, he wrote two +Satires against Nell Gwyn, one of the King's mistresses, though there is +no account how a quarrel happened between them; the one is called Madam +Nelly's Complaint, beginning, + + If Sylla's ghost made bloody Cat'line start. + +The other is called the Lady of Pleasure, with; its Argument at the Head +of it, whereof the first line is, + + The life of Nelly truly shewn. + +Sir George spent a life of ease, pleasure, and affluence, at least +never was long, nor much, exposed to want. He seems to have possessed +a sprightly genius, to have had an excellent turn for comedy, and very +happy in a courtly dialogue. We have no proof of his being a scholar, +and was rather born, than made a poet. He has not escaped the censure of +the critics; for his works are so extremely loose and licentious, as to +render them dangerous to young, unguarded minds: and on this account our +witty author is, indeed, justly liable to the severest censure of the +virtuous, and sober part of mankind. + + +[Footnote 1: Biogr. Brit. p. 1844.] + + * * * * * + + +THE LIFE OF + +WILLIAM MOUNTFORD. + +This gentleman, who was very much distinguished as a player, was born in +the year 1659, but of what family we have no account, farther than that +they were of Staffordshire; the extraordinary circumstances of Mr. +Mountford's death, have drawn more attention upon him, than he might +otherwise have had; and though he was not very considerable as a poet, +yet he was of great eminence as an actor. Mr. Cibber, in his Apology for +his own Life, has mentioned him with the greatest respect, and drawn his +character with strong touches of admiration. After having delineated +the theatrical excellences of Kynaston, Sandford, &c. he thus speaks of +Mountford. 'Of person he was tall, well made, fair, and of an agreeable +aspect, his voice clear, full, and melodious; in tragedy he was the +most affecting lover within my memory; his addresses had a resistless +recommendation from the very tone of his voice, which gave his words +such softness, that as Dryden says, + + --'Like flakes of feather'd snow, + 'They melted as they fell. + +All this he particularly verified in that scene of Alexander, where +the hero throws himself at the feet of Statira for pardon of his past +infidelities. There we saw the great, the tender, the penitent, the +despairing, the transported, and the amiable, in the highest perfection. +In comedy he gave the truest life to what we call the fine gentleman; +his spirit shone the brighter for being polished by decency. In scenes +of gaiety he never broke into the regard that was due to the presence +of equal, or superior characters, tho' inferior actors played them; he +filled the stage, not by elbowing and crossing it before others, or +disconcerting their action, but by surpassing them in true and masterly +touches of nature; he never laughed at his own jest, unless the point +of his raillery upon another required it; he had a particular talent +in giving life to bons mots and repartees; the wit of the poet seemed +always to come from him extempore, and sharpened into more wit from his +brilliant manner of delivering it; he had himself a good share of it, +or what is equal to it, so lively a pleasantness of humour, that when +either of these fell into his hands upon the stage, he wantoned with +them to the highest delight of his auditors. The agreeable was so +natural to him, that even in that dissolute character of the Rover, he +seemed to wash off the guilt from vice, and gave it charms and merit; +for though it may be a reproach to the poet to draw such characters, not +only unpunished, but rewarded, the actor may still be allowed his due +praise in his excellent performance; and this was a distinction which, +when this comedy was acted at Whitehall, King William's Queen Mary +was pleased to make in favour of Mountford, notwithstanding her +disapprobation of the play; which was heightened by the consideration +of its having been written by a lady, viz. Mrs. Behn, from whom more +modesty might have been expected. + +'He had, besides all this, a variety in his genius, which few capital +actors have shewn, or perhaps have thought it any addition of their +merit to arrive at; he could entirely change himself, could at once +throw off the man of sense, for the brisk, vain, rude, lively coxcomb, +the false, flashy pretender to wit, and the dupe of his own sufficiency; +of this he gave a delightful instance, in the character of Sparkish, in +Wycherley's Country Wife: in that of Sir Courtly Nice, by Crown, his +excellence was still greater; there his whole man, voice, mien, and +gesture, was no longer Mountford, but another person; there, the +insipid, soft civility, the elegant and formal mien, the drawling +delicacy of voice, the stately flatness of his address, and the empty +eminence of his attitudes, were so nicely observed, that had he not been +an entire matter of nature, had he not kept his judgment, as it were a +centinel upon himself, not to admit the least likeness of what he used +to be, to enter into any part of his performance, he could not possibly +have so compleatly finished it.' + +Mr. Cibber further observes, that if, some years after the death of +Mountford, he himself had any success in those parts, he acknowledges +the advantages he had received from the just idea, and strong +impressions from Mountford's acting them.' 'Had he been remembered (says +he) when I first attempted them, my defects would have been more easily +discovered, and consequently my favourable reception in them must have +been very much, and justly abated. If it could be remembered, how much +he had the advantage of me in voice and person, I could not here be +suspected of an affected modesty, or overvaluing his excellence; for he +sung a clear, counter-tenor, and had a melodious, warbling throat, +which could not but set off the last scene of Sir Courtly with uncommon +happiness, which I, alas! could only struggle through, with the faint +excuses, and real confidence of a fine singer, under the imperfection of +a feigned, and screaming treble, which, at least, could only shew you. +what I would have done, had nature been more favourable to me.' + +This is the amiable representation which Mr. Cibber makes of his old +favourite, and whose judgment in theatrical excellences has been ever +indisputed. But this finished performer did not live to reap the +advantages which would have arisen from the great figure he made upon +the stage. + +He fell in the 33d year of his age, by the hand of an assassin, who +cowardly murdered him, and slid from justice. As we imagine it will not +be unpleasing to the reader to be made acquainted with the most material +circumstances relating to that affair, we mail here insert them, as they +appear on the trial of lord Mohun, who was arraigned for that murder, +and acquitted by his peers. Lord Mohun, it is well known, was a man of +loose morals, a rancorous spirit, and, in short, reflected no honour on +his titles. It is a true observation, that the temper and disposition of +a man may be more accurately known by the company he keeps, than by any +other means of reading the human heart: Lord Mohun had contracted a +great intimacy with one captain Hill, a man of scandalous morals, and +despicable life, and was so fond of this fellow, whom, it seems, nature +had wonderfully formed to be a cut throat, that he entered into his +schemes, and became a party in promoting his most criminal pleasures. + +This murderer had long entertained a passion for Mrs. Bracegirdle, so +well known, as an excellent actress, and who died not many years ago, +that it would be superfluous to give a particular account of her; his +passion was rejected with disdain by Mrs. Bracegirdle, who did not think +such a heart as his worth possessing. The contempt with which she +used captain Hill fired his resentment; he valued himself for being a +gentleman, and an officer in the army, and thought he had a right, at +the first onset, to triumph over the heart of an actress; but in this he +found himself miserably mistaken: Hill, who could not bear the contempt +shewn him by Mrs. Bracegirdle, conceived that her aversion must proceed +from having previously engaged her heart to some more favoured lover; +and though Mr. Mountford was a married man, he became jealous of him, +probably, from no other reason, than the respect with which he observed +Mr. Mountford treat her, and their frequently playing together in the +same scene. Confirmed in this suspicion, he resolved to be revenged on +Mountford, and as he could not possess Mrs. Bracegirdle by gentle means, +he determined to have recourse to violence, and hired some ruffians to +assist him in carrying her off. His chief accomplice in this scheme was +lord Mohun, to whom he communicated his intention, and who concurred +with him in it. They appointed an evening for that purpose, hired a +number of soldiers, and a coach, and went to the playhouse in order to +find Mrs. Bracegirdle, but she having no part in the play of that night, +did not come to the house. They then got intelligence that she was gone +with her mother to sup at one Mrs. Page's in Drury-Lane; thither they +went, and fixed their post, in expectation of Mrs. Bracegirdle's coming +out, when they intended to have executed their scheme against her. She +at last came out, accompanied with her mother and Mr. Page: the two +adventurers made a sign to their hired bravo's, who laid their hands on +Mrs. Bracegirdle: but her mother, who threw her arms round her waist, +preventing them from thrusting her immediately into the coach, and Mr. +Page gaining time to call assistance, their attempt was frustrated, and +Mrs. Bracegirdle, her mother, and Mr. Page, were safely conveyed to her +own house in Howard-street in the Strand. Lord Mohnn and Hill, enraged +at this disappointment, resolved, since they were unsuccessful in one +part of their design, they would yet attempt another; and that night +vowed revenge against Mr. Mountford. + +They went to the street where Mr. Mountford lived, and there lay in wait +for him: Old Mrs. Bracegirdle and another gentlewoman who had heard them +vow revenge against Mr. Mountford, sent to his house, to desire his wife +to let him know his danger, and to warn him not to come home that night, +but unluckily no messenger Mrs. Mountford sent was able to find him: +Captain Hill and lord Mohun paraded in the streets with their swords +drawn; and when the watch made enquiry into the cause of this, lord +Mohun answered, that he was a peer of the realm, and dared them to touch +him at their peril; the night-officers being intimidated at this threat, +left them unmolested, and went their rounds. Towards midnight Mr. +Mountford going home to his own house was saluted in a very friendly +manner, by lord Mohun; and as his lordship seemed to carry no marks of +resentment in his behaviour, he used the freedom to ask him, how he came +there at that time of night? to which his lordship replied, by asking if +he had not heard the affair of the woman? Mountford asked what woman? to +which he answered Mrs. Bracegirdle; I hope, says he, my lord, you do not +encourage Mr. Hill in his attempt upon Mrs. Bracegirdle; which however +is no concern of mine; when he uttered these words, Hill, behind +his back, gave him some desperate blows on his head, and before Mr. +Mountford had time to draw, and stand on his defence, he basely run him +thro' the body, and made his escape; the alarm of murder being given, +the constable seized lord Mohun, who upon hearing that Hill had escaped +expressed great satisfaction, and said he did not care if he were hanged +for him: When the evidences were examined at Hicks's-Hall, one Mr. +Bencroft, who attended Mr. Mountford, swore that Mr. Mountford declared +to him as a dying man, that while he was talking to lord Mohun, Hill +struck him, with his left hand, and with his right hand run him thro' +the body, before he had time to draw his sword. + +Thus fell the unfortunate Mountford by the hand of an assassin, without +having given him any provocation; save that which his own jealousy had +raised, and which could not reasonably be imputed to Mountford as a +crime. + +Lord Mohun, as we have already observed, was tried, and acquitted by +his peers; as it did not appear, that he immediately assisted Hill, in +perpetrating the murder, or that they had concerted it before; for tho' +they were heard to vow revenge against Mountford, the word murther was +never mentioned. It seems abundantly clear, that lord Mohun, however, +if not active, was yet accessary to the murther; and had his crime been +high treason, half the evidence which appeared against him, might have +been sufficient to cost him his head. This nobleman himself was killed +at last in a duel with the duke of Hamilton.[1] + +Mr. Mountford, besides his extraordinary talents as an actor, is author +of the following dramatic pieces. + +1. The Injured Lovers, or the Ambitious Father, a Tragedy, acted at the +Theatre-Royal 1688, dedicated to James earl of Arran, son to the duke of +Hamilton. + +2. The Successful Strangers, a Tragi-Comedy, acted at the Theatre-Royal +1690; dedicated to lord Wharton. The plot is taken from the Rival +Brothers, in Scarron's Novels. + +3. Greenwich-Park, a Comedy, acted at the Theatre-Royal 1691; dedicated +to Algernon earl of Essex. + +Besides these, he turned the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus into a Farce, +with the Humours of Harlequin and Scaramouch, acted at the +queen's theatre in Dorset-Garden, and revived at the Theatre in +Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 1697. + +Mr. Mountford has written many Prologues and Epilogues, scattered in +Dryden's Miscellanies; and likewise several Songs. He seems to have had +a sprightly genius, and possessed a pleasing gaiety of humour.--He was +killed in the year 1692; and was buried in St. Clement Danes. + + +[Footnote 1: The foundation of the quarrel between lord Mohun and the +duke (however it might be improved by party suggestions) was a law suit +between these noblemen, on account of part of the earl of Macclesfield's +estate, which Mr. Savage would have been heir to, had not his mother, to +facilitate her designed divorce from that earl (with the pleasing view +of having her large fortune restored to her, and the no less pleasing +prospect of being freed from an uncomfortable husband) declared unhappy +Savage to be illegitimate, and natural son of the then earl Rivers. Of +this farther notice will be taken in Savage's Life.] + + * * * * * + + +THOMAS SHADWELL. + +This celebrated poet laureat was descended of a very antient family in +Staffordshire; the eldest branch of which has enjoyed an estate there +of five-hundred pounds per ann. He was born about the year 1640, at +Stanton-Hall in Norfolk, a seat of his father's, and educated at Caius +College in Cambridge[1], where his father had been likewise bred; and +then placed in the middle Temple, to study the law; where having +spent some time, he travelled abroad. Upon his return home he became +acquainted with the most celebrated persons of wit, and distinguished +quality, in that age; which was so much addicted to poetry and polite +literature, that it was not easy for him, who had no doubt a native +relish for the same accomplishments, to abstain from these the +fashionable studies and amusements of those times. He applied himself +chiefly to the dramatic kind of writing, in which he had considerable +success. At the revolution, Mr. Dryden, who had so warmly espoused the +opposite interest, was dispossessed of his place of Poet Laureat, and +Mr. Shadwell succeeded him in it, which employment he possessed till his +death. Mr. Shadwell has been illustrious, for nothing so much as the +quarrel which subsisted between him and Dryden, who held him in the +greatest contempt. We cannot discover what was the cause of Mr. +Dryden's aversion to Shadwell, or how this quarrel began, unless it was +occasioned by the vacant Laurel being bellowed on Mr. Shadwell: But it +is certain, the former prosecuted his resentment severely, and, in +his Mac Flecknoe, has transmitted his antagonist to posterity in no +advantageous light. It is the nature of satire to be biting, but it +is not always its nature to be true: We cannot help thinking that Mr. +Dryden has treated Shadwell a little too unmercifully, and has +violated truth to make the satire more pungent. He says, in the piece +abovementioned, + + Others to some saint meaning make pretence, + But Shadwell never deviates into sense. + +Which is not strictly true. There are high authorities in favour of many +of his Comedies, and the best wits of the age gave their testimony for +them: They have in them fine strokes of humour, the characters are often +original, strongly mark'd, and well sustained; add to this, that he had +the greatest expedition in writing imaginable, and sometimes produced +a play in less than a month. Shadwell, as it appears from Rochester's +Session of the Poets, was a great favourite with Otway, and as they +lived, in intimacy together, it might perhaps be the occasion of +Dryden's expressing so much contempt for Otway; which his cooler +judgment could never have directed him to do. + +Mr. Shadwell died the 19th of December 1692, in the fifty-second year +of his age, as we are informed by the inscription upon his monument in +Westminster Abbey; tho' there may be some mistake in that date; for it +is said in the title page of his funeral sermon preached by Dr. Nicholas +Brady, that he was interred at Chelsea, on the 24th of November, that +year. This sermon was published 1693, in quarto, and in it Dr. Brady +tells us, 'That our author was 'a man of great honesty and integrity, +an inviolable fidelity and strictness in his word, an unalterable +friendship wherever he professed it, and however the world maybe +mistaken in him, he had a much deeper sense of religion than many who +pretended more to it. His natural and acquired abilities, continues the +Dr. made him very amiable to all who knew and conversed with him, a very +few being equal in the becoming qualities, which adorn, and fit off a +complete gentleman; his very enemies, if he have now any left, will +give him this character, at least if they knew him so thoroughly as I +did.--His death seized him suddenly, but he could not be unprepared, +since to my certain knowledge he never took a dose of opium, but he +solemnly recommended himself to God by prayer.' + +When some persons urged to the then lord chamberlain, that there were +authors who had better pretensions to the Laurel; his lordship replied, +'He did not pretend to say how great a poet Shadwell might be, but was +sure he was an honest man.' + +Besides his dramatic works, he wrote several other pieces of poetry; the +chief of which are his congratulatory poem on the Prince of Orange's +coming to England; another on queen Mary; his translation of the 10th +Satire of Juvenal, &c. Shadwell in his Comedies imitated Ben Johnson, +and proposed him as his model of excellence, with what degree of success +we shall not take upon us to determine, but proceed to give an account +of his plays. + +1. The Sullen Lovers, or the Impertinent, a Comedy; acted at the duke's +theatre, dedicated to William duke of Newcastle: the dedication is dated +September 1st, 1668. + +2. The Humorist, a Comedy; acted by his royal highest servants, +dedicated to Margaret duchess of Newcastle. + +3. The Royal Shepherdess, a Tragi-Comedy; acted by the duke of York's +servants, printed at London 1669, in quarto. This play was originally +written by Mr. Fountain of Devonshire, but altered throughout by Mr. +Shadwell. + +4. The Virtuoso, a Comedy; acted at the duke's theatre, printed at +London 1676, in quarto, dedicated to the duke of Newcastle. + +Mr. Langbaine observes, that no body will deny this play its due +applause; at least I know, says he, that the university of Oxford, who +may be allowed competent judges of comedy, especially such characters as +Sir Nicholas Gimcrack, and Sir Formal Trifle, applauded it. And as no +man ever undertook to discover the frailties of such pretenders to this +kind of knowledge before Mr. Shadwell, so none since Johnson's time, +ever drew so many different characters of humour, and with such success. + +5. Pysche, a Tragedy; acted at the duke's theatre, printed in London +1675 in 4to, and dedicated to the duke of Monmouth. In the preface he +tell us, that this play was written in five weeks. + +6. The Libertine, a Tragedy; acted by his royal highness's servants, +printed in London 1676, in quarto, and dedicated to the duke of +Newcastle. In the preface Mr. Shadwell observes, that the story from +which he took the hint of this play, is famous all over Spain, Italy, +and France. It was first used in a Spanish play, the Spaniards having a +tradition of such a vicious Spaniard, as is represented in this play; +from them the Italian comedians took it; the French borrowed it from +them, and four several plays have been made upon the story. + +7. Epsom Wells, a comedy; acted at the duke's theatre; printed at London +1676, in 4to, and dedicated to the duke of Newcastle. Mr. Langbaine +says, that this is so diverting and so true a comedy, that even +foreigners, who are not in general kind to the wit of our nation, have +extremely commended it. + +8. The History of Timon of Athens the Manhater; acted at the duke's +theatre, printed at London 1678, in 4to. In the dedication to George +duke of Buckingham he observes, that this play was originally +Shakespear's, who never made, says he, more masterly strokes than in +this; yet I can truly say, I have made it into a play. + +9. The Miser, a Comedy; acted at the theatre royal, dedicated to +the earl of Dorset. In the preface our author observes, he took the +foundation of it from Moliere's L'Avare. + +10. A true Widow, a Comedy; acted at the duke's theatre, printed in +1679, in 4to, dedicated to Sir Charles Sidley. The prologue was written +by Mr. Dryden; for at this time they lived in friendship. + +11. The Lancashire Witches, and Teague O Divelly, the Irish priest, a +comedy; acted at the duke's theatre, printed at London 1682. Our author +has a long preface to this play, in which he vindicates his piece from +the charge of reflecting upon the church, and the sacred order. He +apologizes for the magical part, and observes, that he had no hopes of +equaling Shakespear in his fancy, who created his Witches for the most +part out of his imagination; in which faculty no man ever excelled led +him, and therefore, says he, I resolve to take mine from authority. + +12. The Woman Captain, a Comedy; acted by his royal highness's servants. + +13. The Squire of Alsatia, a Comedy; acted by his Majesty's servants, +printed at London 1688, in 4to. and dedicated to the earl of Dorset and +Middlesex. + +14. Bury-Fair, a Comedy; acted by his Majesty's servants, printed +at London 1689 in 4to. and dedicated to the earl of Dorset. In the +dedication he observes, 'That this play was written during eight months +painful sickness, wherein all the several days in which he was able to +write any part of a scene amounted not to one month, except some few, +which were employed in indispensible business.' + +15. Amorous Bigot, with the second part of Teague O Divelly, a Comedy, +acted by their Majesties servants, printed 1690 in 4to. dedicated to +Charles earl of Shrewsbury. + +16. The Scowerers, a Comedy, acted by their Majesties servants, and +printed in 4to. 1690. + +17. The Volunteers, or the Stock-Jobbers, a Comedy, acted by their +Majesties servants, dedicated to the Queen by Mrs. Anne Shadwell, our +author's widow. + +In the epilogue the character of Mr. Shadwell, who was then dead, was +given in the following lines. + + Shadwell, the great support o'th'comic stage, + Born to expose the follies of the age, + To whip prevailing vices, and unite, + Mirth with instruction, profit with delight; + For large ideas, and a flowing pen, + First of our times, and second but to Ben; + Whose mighty genius, and discerning mind, + Trac'd all the various humours of mankind; + Dressing them up, with such successful care + That ev'ry fop found his own picture there. + And blush'd for shame, at the surprising skill, + Which made his lov'd resemblance look so ill. + Shadwell who all his lines from nature drew, + Copy'd her out, and kept her still in view; + Who never sunk in prose, nor soar'd in verse, + So high as bombast, or so low as farce; + Who ne'er was brib'd by title or estate + To fawn or flatter with the rich or great; + To let a gilded vice or folly pass, + But always lash'd the villain and the ass. + + +[Footnote 1: General Dictionary. See the article Shadwell.] + + * * * * * + + +Sir WILLIAM KILLEGREW. + +The eldest son of Sir Robert Killegrew, Knt. chamberlain to the Queen, +was born at the Manor of Hanworth, near Hampton-Court, in the month +of May, 1605. He became a gentleman commoner in St. John's College in +Midsummer term 1622; where continuing about three years he travelled +beyond seas, and after his return, was made governor of Pendennis +castle, and of Falmouth haven in Cornwall, with command of the militia +in the west part of that county. After this he was called to attend King +Charles I. as one of his gentlemen ushers of his privy chamber; in which +employment he continued till the breaking out of the great rebellion; +and had the command given him of one of the two great troops of horse +that guarded the King's person, during the whole course of the war +between his Majesty and his Parliament. Our author was in attendance +upon the King when the court resided at Oxford, and was created doctor +of the civil laws 1642;[1] and upon the ruin of the King's affairs, he +suffered for his attachment to him, and compounded with the republicans +for his estate. + +Upon the restoration of King Charles II. he was the first of +his father's servants that he took any notice of, and made him +gentleman-usher of his privy chamber: the same place he enjoyed under +the deceased King. Upon Charles IId's marriage with Donna Catherina of +Portugal, he was created his Majesty's first vice chamberlain, in which +honourable station he continued twenty-two years. + +His dramatic works are, + +1. Orinasdes, or Love and friendship, a tragi-comedy. + +2. Pandora, or the Converts, a Comedy. + +3. Siege of Urbin, a Tragi-Comedy. + +4. Selindra, a Tragi-Comedy. + +All these plays were printed together in folio, Oxon 1666. There is +another play ascribed to our author, called the Imperial Tragedy, +printed in 1699; the chief part was taken out of a Latin play, and much +altered by him for his own diversion; tho' upon the importunity of his +friends, he was prevailed upon to publish it, but without his name. +The plot is founded upon the history of Zeno, the 12th emperor of +Constantinople after Constantine. Sir William Killegrew's plays have +been applauded by men very eminent in poetry, particularly Mr. Waller, +who addresses a copy of verses to him upon his altering Pandora from a +tragedy into a comedy, because not approved on the stage. + +Sir William has also a little poem extant, which was set to music by Mr. +Henry Lawes, a man in the highest reputation of any of his profession in +his time. Mr. Wood says, that after our author had retired from court in +his declining age, he wrote + +The Artless Midnight Thoughts of a Gentleman at Court; who for many +years built on sand, which every blast of cross fortune has defaced; +but now he has laid new foundations, on the rock of his salvation, +&c. London 1684. It is dedicated to King Charles II. and besides 233 +thoughts in it, there are some small pieces of poetry. + +Midnight and Daily thoughts in verse and prose, Lond. 1694, with +commendatory verses before it, by H. Briket. He died 1693, and was +buried in Westminster Abbey. + + +[Footnote 1: Wood, Athen. Oxon. vol. 2.] + + * * * * * + + +Sir ROBERT HOWARD. + +This gentleman was a younger son of Thomas earl of Berkshire, by +Elizabeth his wife, one of the daughters and coheirs of William lord +Burghley, and received his education at Magdalen-college, Oxford, under +the tuition of Dr. E. Drope. During the civil wars, he suffered with the +rest of his family, who maintained their loyalty to the unfortunate King +Charles I. Upon the restoration, our author was made a knight, and was +chosen one of the burgesses for Stockbridge in Hampshire, to serve +in the Parliament which began at Westminster 8th of May 1661; he was +quickly preferred to the place of auditor of the Exchequer, then worth +some thousand pounds per annum, and was reckoned one of King Charles's +creatures, whom he advanced, on account of his faithful services in +cajoling the Parliament for Money. + +In the year 1679 he was chosen burgess for Castle-rising in Norfolk, +to serve in that Parliament which began at Westminster on the 17th +of October 1680. When the revolution was effected, and King William +ascended the throne, he was elected burgess again for Castle-rising, to +fit in the Parliament which began the 22d of January 1688, was made one +of the privy council, about the 16th of February took the usual oaths, +and commenced from that moment a violent persecutor of the Non-jurors, +and disclaimed all manner of conversation and intercourse with any of +that character. He is said to have been a man extremely positive, and a +pretender to a more general understanding than he really possessed. His +obstinacy and pride procured him many enemies, amongst whom the duke of +Buckingham was the first; who intended to have exposed Sir Robert under +the name of Bilboa in the Rehearsal; but the plague which then prevailed +occasioned the theatres to be shut up, and the people of fashion to quit +the town. In this interval he altered his resolution, and levelled his +ridicule at a much greater name, under that of Bayes. + +Thomas Shadwell the poet, tho' a man of the same principles with Sir +Robert, concerning the revolution and state matters, was yet so angry +with the knight for his supercilious domineering manner of behaving, +that he points him out under the name of Sir Positive At All, one of his +characters in the comedy called the Sullen Lovers, or the Impertinents; +and amongst the same persons is the lady Vain, a Courtezan, which the +wits then understood to be the mistress of Sir Robert Howard, whom he +afterwards thought proper to marry. + +In February 1692, being then in the decline of life, he married one Mrs +Dives, maid of honour to the Queen. The merit of this author seems to +have been of a low rate, for very little is preserved concerning him, +and none of his works are now read; nor is he ever mentioned, but when +that circumstance of the duke of Buckingham's intending to ridicule him, +is talked of. + +Had Sir Robert been a man of any parts, he had sufficient advantages +from his birth and fortune to have made a figure, but the highest +notice which he can claim in the republic of letters, is, that he was +brother-in-law to Dryden. + +His works are, + +Poems, containing a panegyric on the King, and songs and sonnets, Lond. +1660, and a panegyric on general Monk. + +His plays are six in number, viz. + +1. The Blind Lady, a Comedy. + +2. The Committee, or the Faithful Irishman, a Comedy, printed folio, +London 1665. This comedy is often acted, and the success of it chiefly +depends upon the part of Teague being well performed. + +3. The Great Favourite, or the Duke of Lerma, a Tragi-Comedy, acted at +the theatre-royal 1668. This play was criticised by Mr. Dryden. + +4. The Indian Queen, a Tragedy. + +5. Surprizal, a Tragi-comedy, acted at the theatre royal 1665. + +6. The Vestal Virgin; or the Roman Ladies, a Tragedy, 1665. In his +prologue to this play, Sir Robert has the following couplet, meant as an +answer to Dryden's animadversions on the Duke of Lerma. + + This doth a wretched dearth of wit betray, + When things of kind on one another prey. + +He has written likewise, + +The History of the Reigns of Edward and Richard II. with Reflections and +Characters on their chief ministers and favourites. As also a comparison +between these princes Edward and Richard II. with Edward I. and Edward +III. London printed 1690. + +A Letter to Mr. Samuel Johnson, occasioned by a scurrilous pamphlet, +entitled, Animadversions on Mr. Johnson's Answer to Jovian, in three +Letters to a country friend, Lond. 1692. At the end of this letter is +reprinted the preface before the history of the reigns of Edward and +Richard II. before mentioned. + +The History of Religion, Lond. 1694. + +The 4th book of Virgil translated into English, which contains the loves +of Dido and AEneas, 1660. + +Likewise P. Papinius Statius, his Achilles, in five books; to each of +which he has subjoined Annotations. + + * * * * * + + +RICHARD FLECKNOE + +This poet lived in the reign of King Charles II. and is more remarkable +for having given name to a satire of Mr. Dryden's, than for all his own +works. He is said to have been originally a jesuit, and to have had +connexions in consequence thereof, with such persons of distinction in +London as were of the Roman Catholic persuasion, Langbaine says, his +acquaintance with the nobility was more than with the mules, and he had +a greater propensity to rhiming, than genius to poetry. + +Tho' he wrote several plays, yet he never could obtain the favour to +have more than one of them acted. + +His dramatic works are: + +1. Damoiselles a-la-mode, a Comedy, printed 8vo, Lond. 1667, and +addressed to the duke and duchess of Newcastle. This comedy was designed +by the author to have been acted by his Majesty's servants, which they +thought proper however to refuse, we know not for what reason,--The poet +indeed has assigned one, whether true or false is immaterial; but it may +serve to shew his humour. + +For the acting this comedy (says he) those who have the government of +the stage have their humours, and would be intreated; and I have mine, +and won't entreat them; and were all dramatic writers of my mind, they +should wear their old plays thread-bare, er'e they should have any new, +till they better understood their own interest, and how to distinguish +between good and bad.' + +This anger of Mr. Flecknoe's at the players for refusing the piece, +bears some resemblance to that of Bayes, when the players went to dinner +without his leave. 'How! are the players gone to dinner? If they are +I will make them know what it is to injure a person who does them the +honour to write for them, and all that; a company of proud, conceited, +humorous, cross-grain'd persons, and all that; I'll make them the most +contemptible, despicable, inconsiderable persons, and all that; &c. &c. +&c. + +2. Ermina, or the chaste lady; printed in octavo, London 1665. + +3. Love's Dominion; a dramatic piece, which the author says, is full of +excellent morality; and is written as a pattern of the reformed stage, +printed in octavo, London 1654, and dedicated to the lady Elizabeth +Claypole. In this epistle the author insinuates the use of plays, and +begs her mediation to gain license to act them. + +4. Love's Kingdom, a Tragi-Comedy; not as it was acted at the theatre +in Lincoln's-Inn; but as it was written and since corrected, printed +in octavo, London 1664, and dedicated to his excellency William lord +marquis of Newcastle. This is no more than the former play a little +alter'd, with a new title; and after the king's return, it seems the +poet obtained leave to have it acted, but it had the misfortune to be +damned by the audience, which Mr. Flecknoe stiles the people, and calls +them judges without judgment, for want of its being rightly represented +to them; he owns it wants much of the ornaments of the stage, but that, +he says, by a lively imagination may be easily supplied. 'To the same +purpose he speaks of his Damoiselles a la Mode: + +That together with the persons represented, he had set down the +comedians he had designed should represent them; that the reader might +have half the pleasure of seeing it acted, and a lively imagination +might have the pleasure of it all entire. + +5. The Marriage of Oceanus and Britannia, a Masque. + +Our author's other works consist of Epigrams and Enigmas. There is a +book of his writing, called the Diarium, or the Journal; divided into +twelve jornadas, in burlesque verse. + +Dryden, in two lines in his Mac Flecknoe, gives the character of our +author's works. + + In prose and verse was own'd without dispute, + Thro' all the realms of nonsense absolute. + +We cannot be certain in what year Mr. Flecknoe died: Dryden's satire +had perhaps rendered him so contemptible, that none gave themselves the +trouble to record any particulars of his life, or to take any notice of +his death. + + * * * * * + + +JOHN DRYDEN, Esq; + +This illustrious Poet was son of Erasmus Dryden, of Tickermish in +Northamptonshire, and born at Aldwincle, near Oundle 1631[1], he had his +education in grammar learning, at Westminster-school, under the +famous Dr. Busby, and was from thence elected in 1650, a scholar of +Trinity-College in Cambridge. + +We have no account of any extraordinary indications of genius given by +this great poet, while in his earlier days; and he is one instance how +little regard is to be paid to the figure a boy makes at school: Mr. +Dryden was turned of thirty before he introduced any play upon the +stage, and his first, called the Wild Gallants, met with a very +indifferent reception; so that if he had not been impelled by the force +of genius and propension, he had never again attempted the stage: +a circumstance which the lovers of dramatic poetry must ever have +regretted, as they would in this case have been deprived of one of the +greatest ornaments that ever adorned the profession. + +The year before he left the university, he wrote a poem on the death of +lord Hastings, a performance, say some of his critics, very unworthy of +himself, and of the astonishing genius he afterwards discovered. + +That Mr. Dryden had at this time no fixed principles, either in religion +or politics, is abundantly evident, from his heroic stanzas on Oliver +Cromwel, written after his funeral 1658; and immediately upon the +restoration he published Astraea Redux, a poem on the happy restoration +of Charles the IId; and the same year, his Panegyric to the king on his +coronation: In the former of these pieces, a remarkable distich has +expos'd our poet to the ridicule of the wits. + + An horrid stillness first invades the ear, + And in that silence we the tempest hear. + +Which it must be owned is downright nonsense, and a contradiction in +terms: Amongst others captain Radcliff has ridiculed this blunder in the +following lines of his News from Hell. + + Laureat who was both learn'd and florid, + Was damn'd long since for silence horrid: + Nor had there been such clutter made, + But that his silence did invade. + Invade, and so it might, that's clear; + But what did it invade? An ear! + +In 1662 he addressed a poem to the lord chancellor Hyde, presented on +new-year's-day; and the same year published a satire on the Dutch. His +next piece, was his Annus Mirabilis, or the Year of Wonders, 1668, an +historical poem, which celebrated the duke of York's victory over the +Dutch. In the same year Mr. Dryden succeeded Sir William Davenant as +Poet Laureat, and was also made historiographer to his majesty; and that +year published his Essay on Dramatic Poetry, addressed to Charles earl +of Dorset and Middlesex. Mr. Dryden tells his patron, that the writing +this Essay, served as an amusement to him in the country, when he was +driven from town by the violence of the plague, which then raged in +London; and he diverted himself with thinking on the theatres, as lovers +do by ruminating on their absent mistresses: He there justifies the +method of writing plays in verse, but confesses that he has quitted the +practice, because he found it troublesome and slow[2]. In the preface +we are informed that the drift of this discourse was to vindicate the +honour of the English writers from the censure of those who unjustly +prefer the French to them. Langbaine has injuriously treated Mr. Dryden, +on account of his dramatic performances, and charges him as a licentious +plagiary. The truth is, our author as a dramatist is less eminent than +in any other sphere of poetry; but, with all his faults, he is even in +that respect the most eminent of his time. + +The critics have remarked, that as to tragedy, he seldom touches the +passions, but deals rather in pompous language, poetical flights, and +descriptions; and too frequently makes his characters speak better than +they have occasion, or ought to do, when their sphere in the drama is +considered: And it is peculiar to Dryden (says Mr. Addison) to make his +personages, as wise, witty, elegant and polite as himself. That he could +not so intimately affect the tender passions, is certain, for we find no +play of his, in which we are much disposed to weep; and we are so often +inchanted with beautiful descriptions, and noble flights of fancy, that +we forget the business of the play, and are only attentive to the poet, +while the characters sleep. Mr. Gildon observes in his laws of poetry, +that when it was recommended to Mr. Dryden to turn his thoughts to a +translation of Euripides, rather than of Homer, he confessed that he had +no relish for that poet, who was a great master of tragic simplicity. +Mr. Gildon, further observes, as a confirmation that Dryden's taste for +tragedy was not of the genuine sort, that he constantly expressed great +contempt for Otway, who is universally allowed to have succeeded very +happily in affecting the tender passions: Yet Mr. Dryden, in his preface +to the translation of M. Du Fresnoy, speaks more favourably of Otway; +and after mentioning these instances, Gildon ascribes this taste in +Dryden, to his having read many French Romances.--The truth is, if a +poet would affect the heart, he must not exceed nature too much, nor +colour too high; distressful circumstances, short speeches, and pathetic +observations never fail to move infinitely beyond the highest rant, or +long declamations in tragedy: The simplicity of the drama was Otway's +peculiar excellence; a living poet observes, that from Otway to our own +times, + + From bard to bard, the frigid caution crept, + And declamation roar'd while passion slept. + +Mr. Dryden seems to be sensible, that he was not born to write comedy; +for, says he, 'I want that gaiety of humour which is required in it; +my conversation is slow and dull, my humour saturnine and reserved. In +short, I am none of those who endeavour to break jests in company, and +make repartees; so that those who decry my comedies, do me no injury, +except it be in point of profit: Reputation in them is the last thing to +which I shall pretend[3].' + +This ingenuous confession of inability, one would imagine were +sufficient to silence the clamour of the critics against Mr. Dryden +in that particular; but, however true it may be, that Dryden did not +succeed to any degree in comedy, I shall endeavour to support my +assertion, that in tragedy, with all his faults, he is still the most +excellent of his time. The end of tragedy is to instruct the mind, as +well as move the passions; and where there are no shining sentiments, +the mind may be affected, but not improved; and however prevalent the +passion of grief may be over the heart of man, it is certain that he may +feel distress in the acutest manner, and not be much the wiser for it. +The tragedies of Otway, Lee and Southern, are irresistibly moving, but +they convey not such grand sentiments, and their language is far from +being so poetical as Dryden's; now, if one dramatic poet writes to +move, and another to enchant and instruct, as instruction is of greater +consequence than being agitated, it follows naturally, that the latter +is the most excellent writer, and possesses the greatest genius. + +But perhaps our poet would have wrote better in both kinds of the drama, +had not the necessity of his circumstances obliged him to comply with +the popular taste. He himself, in his dedication to the Spanish Fryar, +insinuates as much. 'I remember, says he, some verses of my own Maximin +and Almanzor, which cry vengeance upon me for their extravagance. All +that I can say for those passages, which are I hope not many, is, that +I knew they were bad when I wrote them. But I repent of them amongst my +sins, and if any of their fellows intrude by chance, into my present +writings, I draw a veil over all these Dalilahs of the theatre, and am +resolved, I will settle myself no reputation upon the applause of fools. +'Tis not that I am mortified to all ambition, but I scorn as much to +take it from half witted judges, as I should to raise an estate by +cheating of bubbles. Neither do I discommend the lofty stile in tragedy, +which is naturally pompous and magnificent; but nothing is truely +sublime that is not just and proper.' He says in another place, 'that +his Spanish Fryar was given to the people, and that he never wrote any +thing in the dramatic way, to please himself, but his All for Love.' + +In 1671 Mr. Dryden was publicly ridiculed on the stage, in the duke of +Buckingham's comedy, culled the Rehearsal, under the character of Bays: +This character, we are informed, in the Key to the Rehearsal, was +originally intended for Sir Robert Howard, under the name of Bilboa; +but the representation being put a stop to, by the breaking out of the +plague, in 1665, it was laid by for several years, and not exhibited on +the stage till 1671, in which interval, Mr. Dryden being advanced to the +Laurel, the noble author changed the name of his poet, from Bilboa to +Bays, and made great alterations in his play, in order to ridicule +several dramatic performances, that appeared since the first writing it. +Those of Mr. Dryden, which fell under his grace's lash, were the Wild +Gallant, Tyrannic Love, the Conquest of Granada, Marriage A la-Mode, and +Love in a Nunnery: Whatever was extravagant, or too warmly expressed, or +any way unnatural, the author has ridiculed by parody. + +Mr. Dryden affected to despise the satire levelled at him in the +Rehearsal, as appears from his dedication of the translation of Juvenal +and Persius where speaking of the many lampoons, and libels that had, +been written against him, he says, 'I answered not to the Rehearsal, +because I knew the author sat to himself when he drew the picture, and +was the very Bays of his own farce; because also I knew my betters were +more concerned than I was in that satire; and lastly, because Mr. Smith +and Mr. Johnson, the main pillars of it, were two such languishing +gentlemen in their conversation, that I could liken them to nothing but +their own relations, those noble characters of men of wit and pleasure +about town.' + +In 1679 came out an Essay on Satire, said to be written jointly by Mr. +Dryden and the earl of Mulgrave; this piece, which was handed about in +manuscript, containing Reflexions on the Duchess of Portsmouth, and the +Earl of Rochester; who suspecting, as Wood says, Mr. Dryden to be the +author, hired three ruffians to cudgel him in Wills's coffee-house at +eight o'clock at night. This short anecdote, I think, cannot be told +without indignation. It proved Rochester was a malicious coward, and, +like other cowards, cruel and insolent; his foul was incapable of any +thing that approached towards generosity, and when his resentment was +heated, he pursued revenge, and retained the most lasting hatred; he had +always entertained a prejudice against Dryden, from no other motive than +envy, Dryden's plays met with success, and this was enough to fire the +resentment of Rochester, who was naturally envious. In order to hurt the +character, and shake the interest of this noble poet, he recommended +Crown, an obscure man, to write a Masque for the court, which was +Dryden's province, as poet-laureat, to perform. Crown in this succeeded, +but soon after, when his play called the Conquest of Jerusalem met with +such extravagant applause, Rochester, jealous of his new favourite, not +only abandoned him, but commenced from that moment his enemy. + +The other person against whom this satire was levelled, was not superior +in virtue to the former, and all the nation over, two better subjects +for satire could not have been found, than lord Rochester, and the +duchess of Portsmouth. As for Rochester, he had not genius enough to +enter the lists with Dryden, so he fell upon another method of revenge; +and meanly hired bravoes to assault him. + +In 1680 came out a translation of Ovid's Epistles in English verse, by +several hands, two of which were translated by Mr. Dryden, who also +wrote the preface. In the year following our author published Absalom +and Achitophel. It was first printed without his name, and is a severe +satire against the contrivers and abettors of the opposition against +King Charles II. In the same year that Absalom and Achitophel was +published, the Medal, a Satire, was likewise given to the public. This +piece is aimed against sedition, and was occasioned by the striking of a +medal, on account of the indictment against the earl of Shaftsbury for +high treason being found ignoramus by the grand jury, at the Old Bailey, +November 1681: For which the Whig party made great rejoicings by ringing +of bells, bonfires, &c. in all parts of London. The poem is introduced +with a very satirical epistle to the Whigs, in which the author says, +'I have one favour to desire you at parting, that when you think of +answering this poem, you would employ the same pens against it, who have +combated with so much success against Absalom and Achitophel, for then +you may assure yourselves of a clear victory without the least reply. +Rail at me abundantly, and not break a custom to do it with wit. By this +method you will gain a considerable point, which is wholly to wave the +answer of my arguments. If God has not blessed you with the talent of +rhiming, make use of my poor stock and welcome; let your verses run upon +my feet, and for the utmost refuge of notorious blockheads, reduced to +the last extremity of sense, turn my own lines against me, and in utter +despair of my own satire, make me satirize myself.' The whole poem is a +severe invective against the earl of Shaftsbury; who was uncle to that +earl who wrote the Characteristics. Mr. Elkanah Settle wrote an answer +to this poem, entitled the Medal Reversed. However contemptible Settle +was as a poet, yet such was the prevalence of parties at that time, +that, for some years, he was Dryden's rival on the stage. In 1682 came +out his Religio Laici, or a Layman's Faith; this piece is intended as a +defence of revealed religion, and the excellency and authority of the +scriptures, as the only rule of faith and manners, against Deists, +Papists, and Presbyterians. He acquaints us in the preface, that it +was written for an ingenious young gentleman, his friend; upon his +translation of Father Simons's Critical History of the Old Testament, +and that the stile of it was epistolary. + +In 1684 he published a translation of M. Maimbourg's. History of the +League, in which he was employed by the command of King Charles II. on +account of the plain parallel between the troubles of France, and those +of Great Britain. Upon the death of Charles II. he wrote his Threnodia +Augustalis, a Poem, sacred to the happy memory of that Prince. Soon +after the accession of James II. our author turned Roman Catholic, and +by this extraordinary step drew upon himself abundance of ridicule from +wits of the opposite faction; and in 1689 he wrote a Defence of the +Papers, written by the late King of blessed memory, found in his +strong box. Mr. Dryden, in the abovementioned piece, takes occasion to +vindicate the authority of the Catholic Church, in decreeing matters of +faith, upon this principle, that the church is more visible than the +scriptures, because the scriptures are seen by the church, and to +abuse the reformation in England, which he affirms was erected on +the foundation of lust, sacrilege, and usurpation. Dr. Stillingfleet +hereupon answered Mr. Dryden, and treated him with some severity. +Another author affirms, that Mr. Dryden's tract is very light, in some +places ridiculous; and observes, that his talent lay towards controversy +no more in prose, than, by the Hind and Panther, it appeared to do in +verse. This poem of the Hind and Panther is a direct defence of the +Romish Church, in a dialogue between a Hind, which represents the Church +of Rome, and a Panther, which supports the character of the Church of +England. The first part of this poem consists most in general characters +and narration, which, says he, 'I have endeavoured to raise, and give it +the majestic turn of heroic poetry. The second being matter of dispute, +and chiefly concerning church authority, I was obliged to make as plain +and perspicuous as possibly I could, yet not wholly neglecting the +numbers, though I had not frequent occasion for the magnificence of +verse. The third, which has more of the nature of domestic conversation, +is, or ought to be, more free and familiar than the two former. There +are in it two episodes or fables, which are interwoven with the main +design, so that they are properly parts of it, though they are also +distinct stories of themselves. In both of these I have made use of the +common places of satire, whether true or false, which are urged by the +members of the one church against the other.' + +Mr. Dryden speaks of his own conversion in the following terms; + + But, gracious God, how well dost thou provide, + For erring judgments, an unerring guide. + Thy throne is darkness, in th' abyss of light, + A blaze of glory that forbids the sight. + O teach me to believe thee, thus concealed, + And search no further than thyself revealed; + But her alone for my director take, + Whom thou hast promis'd never to forsake! + My thoughtless youth was wing'd with vain desires; + My manhood, long misled by wand'ring fires, + Follow'd false lights; and when their glimpse was gone, + My pride struck out new sparkles of her own. + Such was I, such by nature still I am, + Be thine the glory, and be mine the shame, + Good life be now my talk, my doubts are done.[4] + +This poem was attacked by Mr. Charles Montague, afterwards Earl of +Hallifax, and Mr. Matthew Prior, who joined in writing the Hind and +Panther, transversed to the Country Mouse, and City Mouse, Lond. 1678, +4to. In the preface to which, the author observes, 'that Mr. Dryden's +poem naturally falls into ridicule, and that in this burlesque, nothing +is represented monstrous and unnatural, that is not equally so in the +original.' They afterwards remark, that they have this comfort under the +severity of Mr. Dryden's satire, to see his abilities equally lessened +with his opinion of them, and that he could not be a fit champion +against the Panther till he had laid aside his judgment. + +Mr. Dryden is supposed to have been engaged in translating M. Varillas's +History of Heresies, but to have dropped that design. This we learn from +a passage in Burnet's reflexions on the ninth book of the first volume +of M. Varillas's History, being a reply to his answer. + +I shall here give the picture the Dr. has drawn of this noble poet, +which is, like a great many of the doctor's other characters, rather +exhibited to please himself than according to the true resemblance. + +The doctor says, 'I have been informed from England, that a gentleman +who is famous both for poetry, and several other things, has spent +three months in translating Mr. Varillas's history; but as soon as my +reflexions appeared, he discontinued his labours, finding the credit of +his author being gone. Now if he thinks it is recovered by his answer, +he will, perhaps, go on with his translation; but this may be, for ought +I know, as good an entertainment for him, as the conversation he has set +on foot between the Hinds and Panthers, and all the rest of the animals; +for whom M. Varillas may serve well enough as an author; and this +history and that poem are such extraordinary things of their kind, that +it will be but suitable to see the author of the worst poem become the +translator of the worst history, that the age has produced. If his grace +and his wit improve so proportionably, we shall hardly find, that he has +gained much by the change he has made, from having no religion, to chuse +one of the worst. It is true he had somewhat to sink from in matter of +wit, but as for his morals, it is scarce possible for him to grow a +worse man than he was. He has lately wreaked his malice on me for +spoiling his three months labour; but in it he has done me all the +honour a man can receive from him, which is to be railed at by him. If I +had ill-nature enough to prompt me to wish a very bad wish for him, it +should be that he would go and finish his translation. By that it will +appear whether the English nation, which is the most competent judge of +this matter, has upon seeing this debate, pronounced in M. Varillas's +favour or me. It is true, Mr. Dryden will suffer a little by it; but at +least it will serve to keep him in from other extravagancies; and if he +gains little honour by this work, yet he cannot lose so much by it, as +he has done by his last employment.' + +When the revolution was compleated, Mr. Dryden having turned Papist, +became disqualified for holding his place, and was accordingly +dispossessed of it; and it was conferred on a man to whom he had a +confirmed aversion; in consequence whereof he wrote a satire against +him, called Mac Flecknoe, which is one of the severest and best; written +satires in our language. + +Mr. Richard Flecknoe, the new laureat, with whose name it is inscribed, +was a very indifferent poet of those times; or rather as Mr. Dryden +expresses it, and as we have already quoted in Flecknoe's life. + + In prose and verse was own'd without dispute, + Thro' all the realms of nonsense absolute. + +This poem furnished the hint to Mr. Pope to write his Dunciad; and it +must be owned the latter has been more happy in the execution of his +design, as having more leisure for the performance; but in Dryden's Mac +Flecknoe there are some lines so extremely pungent, that I am not quite +certain if Pope has any where exceeded them. + +In the year wherein he was deprived of the laurel, he published the life +of St. Francis Xavier, translated from the French of father Dominic +Bouchours. In 1693 came out a translation of Juvenal and Persius; in +which the first, third, sixth, tenth, and fifteenth satires of Juvenal, +and Persius entire, were done by Mr. Dryden, who prefixed a long and +ingenious discourse, by way of dedication, to the earl of Dorset. In +this address our author takes occasion a while to drop his reflexions +on Juvenal; and to lay before his lordship a plan for an epic poem: he +observes, that his genius never much inclined him to the stage; and that +he wrote for it rather from necessity than inclination. He complains, +that his circumstances are such as not to suffer him to pursue the bent +of his own genius, and then lays down a plan upon which an epic poem +might be written: to which, says he, I am more inclined. Whether the +plan proposed is faulty or no, we are not at present to consider; one +thing is certain, a man of Mr. Dryden's genius would have covered by the +rapidity of the action, the art of the design, and the beauty of the +poetry, whatever might have been defective in the plan, and produced a +work which have been the boast of the nation. + +We cannot help regretting on this occasion, that Dryden's fortune was +not easy enough to enable him, with convenience and leisure, to pursue +a work that might have proved an honour to himself, and reflected a +portion thereof on all, who should have appeared his encouragers on this +occasion. + +In 1695 Mr. Dryden published a translation in prose of Du Fresnoy's Art +of Painting, with a preface containing a parallel between painting and +poetry. Mr. Pope has addressed a copy of verses to Mr. Jervas in praise +of Dryden's translation. In 1697 his translation of Virgil's works came +out. This translation has passed thro' many editions, and of all the +attempts which have been made to render Virgil into English. The +critics, I think, have allowed that Dryden[5] best succeeded: +notwithstanding as he himself says, when he began it, he was past the +grand climacteric! so little influence it seems, age had over him, that +he retained his judgment and fire in full force to the last. Mr. Pope in +his preface to Homer says, if Dryden had lived to finish what he began +of Homer, he, (Mr. Pope) would not have attempted it after him, +'No more, says he, than I would his Virgil, his version of whom +(notwithstanding some human errors) is the most noble and spirited +translation I know in any language.' + +Dr. Trap charges Mr. Dryden with grossly mistaking his author's sense in +many places; with adding or retrenching as his turn is best served with +either; and with being least a translator where he shines most as a +poet; whereas it is a just rule laid down by lord Roscommon, that a +translator in regard to his author should + + "Fall as he falls, and as he rises rise" + +Mr. Dryden, he tells us, frequently acts the very reverse of this +precept, of which he produces some instances; and remarks in general, +that the first six books of the AEneis, which are the best and most +perfect in the original, are the least so in the translation. Dr. Trap's +remarks may possibly be true; but in this he is an instance how easy it +is to discover faults in other men's works, and how difficult to avoid +them in our own. + +Dr. Trap's translation is close, and conveys the author's meaning +literally, so consequently may be fitter for a school-boy, but men of +riper judgment, and superior taste, will hardly approve it; if Dryden's +is the most spirited of any translation, Trap's is the dullest that ever +was written; which proves that none but a good poet is fit to translate +the works of a good poet. + +Besides the original pieces and translations hitherto mentioned, Mr. +Dryden wrote many others, published in six volumes of Miscellanies, and +in other collections. They consist of translations from the Greek and +Latin poets, Epistles to several persons, prologues, and epilogues to +several plays, elegies, epitaphs, and songs. His last work was his +Fables, ancient and modern, translated into verse from Homer, Ovid, +Boccace, and Chaucer. To this work, which is perhaps, one of his most +imperfect, is prefixed by way of preface, a critical account of the +authors, from whom the fables are translated. Among the original pieces, +the Ode to St. Cecilia's day is justly esteemed one of the most elevated +in any language. It is impossible for a poet to read this without being +filled with that sort of enthusiasm which is peculiar to the inspired +tribe, and which Dryden largely felt when he composed it. The turn +of the verse is noble, the transitions surprizing, the language and +sentiments just, natural, and heightened. We cannot be too lavish in +praise of this Ode: had Dryden never wrote any thing besides, his name +had been immortal. Mr. Pope has the following beautiful lines in its +praise.[6] + + Hear how Timotheus varied lays surprize, + And bid alternate passions fall and rise! + While, at each change, the son of Lybian Jove + Now burns with glory, and then melts with love: + Now his fierce eyes with sparkling fury glow; + Now sighs steal out, and tears begin to flow; + Persians and Greeks like turns of nature found, + And the world's victor flood subdued by sound: + The power of music all our hearts allow; + And what Timotheus was, is Dryden now. + +As to our author's performances in prose, besides his Dedications and +Prefaces, and controversial Writings, they consist of the Lives of +Plutarch and Lucian, prefixed to the Translation of those Authors, by +several Hands; the Life of Polybius; before the Translation of that +Historian by Sir Henry Sheers, and the Preface to the Dialogue +concerning Women, by William Walsh, Esquire. + +Before we give an account of the dramatic works of Dryden, it will be +proper here to insert a story concerning him, from the life of Congreve +by Charles Wilson esquire, which that gentleman received from the lady +whom Mr. Dryden celebrates by the name of Corinna, of whom it appears he +was very fond; and who had the relation from lady Chudleigh. Dryden with +all his undemanding was weak enough to be fond of Judicial Astrology, +and used to calculate the nativity of his children. When his lady was in +labour with his son Charles, he being told it was decent to withdraw, +laid his watch on the table, begging one of the ladies then present, in +a most solemn manner, to take exact notice of the very minute the child +was born, which she did, and acquainted him with it. About a week after, +when his lady was pretty well recovered, Mr. Dryden took occasion +to tell her that he had been calculating the child's nativity, and +observed, with grief, that he was born in an evil hour, for Jupiter, +Venus, and the sun, were all under the earth, and the lord of his +ascendant afflicted with a hateful square of Mars and Saturn. If he +lives to arrive at his 8th year (says he) 'he will go near to die a +violent death on his very birth-day, but if he should escape, as I see +but small hopes, he will in the 23d year be under the very same evil +direction, and if he should escape that also, the 33d or 34th year is, I +fear'--here he was interrupted by the immoderate grief of his lady, who +could no longer hear calamity prophecy'd to befall her son. The time at +last came, and August was the inauspicious month in which young Dryden +was to enter into the eighth year of his age. The court being in +progress, and Mr. Dryden at leisure, he was invited to the country seat +of the earl of Berkshire, his brother-in-law, to keep the long vacation +with him in Charlton in Wilts; his lady was invited to her uncle +Mordaunt's, to pass the remainder of the summer. When they came to +divide the children, lady Elizabeth would have him take John, and suffer +her to take Charles; but Mr. Dryden was too absolute, and they parted in +anger; he took Charles with him, and she was obliged to be content +with John. When the fatal day came, the anxiety of the lady's spirits +occasioned such an effervescence of blood, as threw her into, so violent +a fever, that her life was despaired of, till a letter came from Mr. +Dryden, reproving her for her womanish credulity, and assuring her, +that her child was well, which recovered her spirits, and in six weeks +after she received an ecclaircissement-of the whole affair. Mr. Dryden, +either thro' fear of being reckoned superstitious, or thinking it a +science beneath his study, was extremely cautious of letting any one +know that he was a dealer in Astrology; therefore could not excuse his +absence, on his son's anniversary, from a general hunting match lord +Berkshire had made, to which all the adjacent gentlemen, were invited. +When he went out, he took care to set the boy a double exercise in the +Latin tongue, which he taught his children himself, with a strict charge +not to stir out of the room till his return; well knowing the task he +had set him would take up longer time. Charles was performing his duty, +in obedience to his father, but as ill fate would have it, the stag +made towards the house; and the noise alarming the servants, they hasted +out to, see the sport. One of them took young Dryden by the hand, and +led him out to see it also, when just as they came to the gate, the stag +being at bay with the dogs, made a bold push and leaped over the court +wall, which was very low, and very old; and the dogs following, threw +down a part of the wall ten yards in length, under which Charles Dryden +lay buried. He was immediately dug out, and after six weeks languishing +in a dangerous way he recovered; so far Dryden's prediction was +fulfilled: In the twenty-third year of his age, Charles fell from the +top of an old tower belonging to the Vatican at Rome, occasioned by a +swimming in his head, with which he was seized, the heat of the day +being excessive. He again recovered, but was ever after in a languishing +sickly state. In the thirty-third year of his age, being returned to +England, he was unhappily drowned at Windsor. He had with another +gentleman swam twice over the Thames; but returning a third time, it was +supposed he was taken with the cramp, because he called out for help, +tho' too late. Thus the father's calculation proved but too prophetical. + +Mr. Dryden died the first of May 1701, and was interred in Westminster +Abby. On the 19th of April he had been very bad with the gout, and +erisipelas in one leg; but he was then somewhat recovered, and designed +to go abroad; on the Friday following he eat a partridge for his supper, +and going to take a turn in the little garden behind his house in +Gerard-street, he was seized with a violent pain under the ball of the +great toe of his right foot; that, unable to stand, he cried out +for help, and was carried in by his servants, when upon sending for +surgeons, they found a small black spot in the place affected; he +submitted to their present applications, and when gone called his +son Charles to him, using these words. 'I know this black spot is a +mortification: I know also, that it will seize my head, and that they +will attempt to cut off my leg; but I command you my son, by your filial +duty, that you do not suffer me to be dismembered:' As he foretold, +the event proved, and his son was too dutiful to disobey his father's +commands. + +On the Wednesday morning following, he breathed his last, under the most +excruciating pains, in the 69th year of his age; and left behind him the +lady Elizabeth, his wife, and three sons. Lady Elizabeth survived him +eight years, four of which she was a lunatic; being deprived of her +senses by a nervous fever in 1704. + +John, another of his sons, died of a fever at Rome; and Charles as has +been observed, was drowned in the Thames; there is no account when, or +at what place Harry his third son died. + +Charles Dryden, who was some time usher to pope Clement II. was a young +gentleman of a very promising genius; and in the affair of his father's +funeral, which I am about to relate, shewed himself a man of spirit and +resolution.[7] + +The day after Mr. Dryden's death, the dean of Westminster sent word to +Mr. Dryden's widow, that he would make a present of the ground, and all +other Abbey-fees for the funeral: The lord Halifax likewise sent to +the lady Elizabeth, and to Mr. Charles Dryden, offering to defray the +expences of our poet's funeral, and afterwards to bestow 500 l. on a +monument in the Abbey: which generous offer was accepted. Accordingly, +on Sunday following, the company being assembled, the corpse was put +into a velvet hearse, attended by eighteen mourning coaches. When they +were just ready to move, lord Jefferys, son of lord chancellor Jeffreys, +a name dedicated to infamy, with some of his rakish companions riding +by, asked whose funeral it was; and being told it was Mr. Dryden's, he +protested he should not be buried in that private manner, that he +would himself, with the lady Elizabeth's leave, have the honour of the +interment, and would bestow a thousand pounds on a monument in the Abbey +for him. This put a stop to their procession; and the lord Jefferys, +with several of the gentlemen, who had alighted from their coaches, went +up stairs to the lady, who was sick in bed. His lordship repeated the +purport of what he had said below; but the lady Elizabeth refusing her +consent, he fell on his knees, vowing never to rise till his request +was granted. The lady under a sudden surprise fainted away, and lord +Jeffery's pretending to have obtained her consent, ordered the body to +be carried to Mr. Russel's an undertaker in Cheapside, and to be left +there till further orders. In the mean time the Abbey was lighted up, +the ground opened, the choir attending, and the bishop waiting some +hours to no purpose for the corpse. The next day Mr. Charles Dryden +waited on my lord Halifax, and the bishop; and endeavoured to excuse his +mother, by relating the truth. Three days after the undertaker having +received no orders, waited on the lord Jefferys; who pretended it was a +drunken frolic, that he remembered nothing of the matter, and he might +do what he pleased with the body. Upon this, the undertaker waited on +the lady Elizabeth, who desired a day's respite, which was granted. Mr. +Charles Dryden immediately wrote to the lord Jefferys, who returned for +answer, that he knew nothing of the matter, and would be troubled no +more about it. Mr. Dryden hereupon applied again to the lord Halifax, +and the bishop of Rochester, who absolutely refused to do any thing in +the affair. + +In this distress, Dr. Garth, who had been Mr. Dryden's intimate friend, +sent for the corpse to the college of physicians, and proposed a +subscription; which succeeding, about three weeks after Mr. Dryden's +decease, Dr. Garth pronounced a fine latin oration over the body, which +was conveyed from the college, attended by a numerous train of coaches +to Westminster-Abbey, but in very great disorder. At last the corpse +arrived at the Abbey, which was all unlighted. No organ played, no +anthem sung; only two of the singing boys preceded the corpse, who sung +an ode of Horace, with each a small candle in their hand. When the +funeral was over, Mr. Charles Dryden sent a challenge to lord Jefferys, +who refusing to answer it, he sent several others, and went often +himself; but could neither get a letter delivered, nor admittance to +speak to him; which so incensed him, that finding his lordship refused +to answer him like a gentleman, he resolved to watch an opportunity, +and brave him to fight, though with all the rules of honour; which +his lordship hearing, quitted the town, and Mr. Charles never had an +opportunity to meet him, though he sought it to his death, with the +utmost application. + +Mr. Dryden had no monument erected to him for several years; to which +Mr. Pope alludes in his epitaph intended for Mr. Rowe, in this line. + + Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies. + +In a note upon which we are informed, that the tomb of Mr. Dryden was +erected upon this hint, by Sheffield duke of Buckingham, to which was +originally intended this epitaph. + + This Sheffield raised.--The sacred dust below, + Was Dryden once; the rest who does not know. + +Which was since changed into the plain inscription now upon it, viz. + + J. DRYDEN, + Natus Aug. 9. 1631. + Mortus Maii 1. 1701. + Johannes Sheffield, Dux Buckinghamienfis secit. + +The character of Mr. Dryden has been drawn by various hands; some have +done it in a favourable, others in an opposite manner. The bishop of +Sarum in the history of his own times, says, that the stage was defiled +beyond all example. 'Dryden, the great master of dramatic poetry, being +a monster of immodesty and impurities of all sorts.'[8] The late lord +Lansdown took upon himself to vindicate Mr. Dryden's character from this +severe imputation; which was again answered, and apologies for it, by +Mr. Burnet, the bishop's son. But not to dwell on these controversies +about his character, let us hear what Mr. Congreve says in the +dedication of Dryden's works to the duke of Newcastle: Congreve knew him +intimately, and as he could have no motive to deceive the world in that +particular; and being a man of untainted morals, none can suspect his +authority; and by his account we shall see, that Dryden was indeed as +amiable in private life, as a Man, as he was illustrious in the eye of +the public, as a Poet. + +Mr. Dryden (says Congreve) 'had personal qualities, to challenge love +and esteem from all who were truly acquainted with him. He was of a +nature exceeding humane and compassionate, easily forgiving injuries, +and capable of a prompt and sincere reconciliation with those who had +offended him.--His friendship, where he professed it, went much beyond +his professions.--As his reading had been very extensive, so was he very +happy in a memory, tenacious of every thing he had read. He was not more +possessed of knowledge, than he was communicative of it; but then, +his communication of it was by no means pedantic, or imposed upon the +conversation, but just such, and went so far, as by the natural turns of +the discourse in which he was engaged, it was necessarily prompted, or +required. He was extremely ready and gentle in the correction of the +errors of any writer, who thought fit to consult him, and full as ready +and patient to admit of the reprehension of others in respect of his +own oversight or mistakes. He was of a very easy, I may say, of very +pleasing access; but something slow, and as it were dissident in his +advances to others. He had something in his nature that abhorred +intrusion in any society whatsoever; and indeed, it is to be regretted, +that he was rather blameable on the other extreme. He was of all men I +ever knew, the most modest, and the most easy to be discountenanced +in his approaches, either to his superiors or his equals.--As to his +writings--may venture to say in general terms, that no man hath written +in our language so much, and so various matter; and in so various +manners so well. Another thing I may say, was very peculiar to him, +which is, that his parts did not decline with his years, but that he was +an improving writer to the last, even to near 70 years of age, improving +even in fire and imagination as well as in judgment, witness his Ode +on St. Cecilia's Day, and his fables, his latest performances. He was +equally excellent in verse and prose: His prose had all the clearness +imaginable, without deviating to the language or diction of poetry, and +I have heard him frequently own with pleasure, that if he had any talent +for writing prose; it was owing to his frequently having read the +writings of the great archbishop Tillotson. In his poems, his diction +is, wherever his subject requires it, so sublime and so truly poetical, +that it's essence, like that of pure gold cannot be destroyed. Take his +verses, and divest them of their rhimes, disjoint them of their numbers, +transpose their expressions, make what arrangement or disposition you +please in his words; yet shall there eternally be poetry, and something +which will be found incapable of being reduced to absolute prose; what +he has done in any one species, or distinct kind of writing, would +have been sufficient to have acquired him a very great name. If he had +written nothing but his Prefaces, or nothing but his Songs, or his +Prologues, each of them would have entitled him to the preference and +distinction of excelling in its kind.' + +Besides Mr. Dryden's numerous other performances, we find him the author +of twenty-seven dramatic pieces, of which the following is an account. + +1. The Wild Gallant, a Comedy, acted at the theatre-royal, and printed +in 4to, Lond. 1699. + +2. The Indian Emperor; or the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, acted +with great applause, and written in verse. + +3. An Evening's Love; or the Mock Astrologer, a Comedy, acted at the +theatre-royal, and printed in 4to. 1671. It is for the most part taken +from Corneille's Feint Astrologue, Moliere's Depit Amoreux, and Precieux +Ridicules. + +4. Marriage A-la-mode, a Comedy, acted at the theatre-royal, and printed +in 4to. 1673, dedicated to the earl of Rochester. + +5. Araboyna, a Tragedy, acted at the theatre-royal, and printed in 4to +1673. It is dedicated to the lord Clifford of Chudleigh. The plot of +this play is chiefly founded in history, giving an account of the +cruelty of the Dutch towards our countrymen at Amboyna, A.D. 1618. + +6. The Mistaken Husband, a Comedy, acted at the theatre-royal, and +printed in 4to. 1675. Mr. Langbaine tells us, Mr. Dryden was not the +author of this play, tho' it was adopted by him as an orphan, which +might well deserve the charity of a scene he bestowed on it. It is +in the nature of low comedy, or farce, and written on the model of +Plautus's Menaechmi. + +7. Aurenge-zebe; or the Great Mogul, a Tragedy, dedicated to the earl +of Mulgrave, acted 1676. The story is related at large in Taverner's +voyages to the Indies, vol. i. part 2. This play is written in heroic +verse. + +8. The Tempest; or the inchanted Island, a Comedy, acted at the duke of +York's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1676. This is only an alteration +of Shakespear's Tempest, by Sir William Davenant and Dryden. The new +characters in it were chiefly the invention and writing of Sir William, +as acknowledged by Mr. Dryden in his preface. + +9. Feigned Innocence; or Sir Martin Mar-all, a Comedy, acted at the duke +of York's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1678. The foundation of this +is originally French, the greatest part of the plot and some of the +language being taken from Moliere's Eteurdi. + +10. The Assignation; or Love in a Nunnery, a Comedy, acted at the +theatre-royal, and printed in 4to. 1678, addressed to Sir Charles +Sedley. This play, Mr. Langbain tells us, was damned on the stage, or as +the author expresses it in the epistle dedicatory, succeeded ill in the +representation; but whether the fault was in the play itself, or in +the lameness of the action, or in the numbers of its enemies, who came +resolved to damn it for the title, he will not pretend any more than the +author to determine. + +11. The State of Innocence; or the Fall of Man, an Opera, written in +heroic verse, and printed in 4to. 1678. It is dedicated to her royal +highness the duchess of York, on whom the author passes the following +extravagant compliment. + +'Your person is so admirable, that it can scarce receive any addition +when it shall be glorified; and your soul which shines thro' it, finds +it of a substance so near her own, that she will be pleased to pass an +age within it, and to be confined to such a palace.' + +To this piece is prefixed an apology for heroic poetry, and poetic +licence. The subject is taken from Milton's Paradise Lost, of which it +must be acknowledged, it is a poor imitation. + +12. The Conquest of Granada by the Spaniards, in two parts, two +Tragi-Comedies, acted at the theatre-royal, and printed 1678. These two +plays are dedicated to the duke of York, and were received on the stage +with great applause. The story is to be found in Mariana's history of +Spain, B. 25. chap. 18. + +These plays are written in rhime. To the first is prefixed an essay on +heroic plays, and to the second an essay on the dramatic poetry of the +last age. + +13. All for Love, or the World well Lost, a Tragedy, acted at the +theatre-royal, and printed in quarto, 1678. It is dedicated to the earl +of Danby. + +This is the only play of Mr. Dryden's which he says ever pleased +himself; and he tells us, that he prefers the scene between Anthony and +Ventidius in the first act, to any thing he had written in this kind. +It is full of fine sentiments, and the most poetical and beautiful +descriptions of any of his plays: the description of Cleopatra in her +barge, exceeds any thing in poetry, except Shakespear's, and his own St. +Cecilia. + +14. Tyrannic Love; or the Royal Martyr, a Tragedy, acted at the +theatre-royal 1679. It is written in rhime, and dedicated to the duke of +Monmouth. + +15. Troilus and Cressida; or Truth found too late; a Tragedy, acted at +the duke's theatre, and printed in 4to. 1679. It is dedicated to the +earl of Sunderland, and has a preface prefixed concerning grounds +of criticism in tragedy. This play was originally Shakespear's, and +revised, and altered by Mr. Dryden, who added several new scenes.--The +plot taken from Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida, which that poet +translated from the original story written in Latin verse, by Lollius, a +Lombard. + +17. Secret Love; or the Maiden Queen, a Tragi-Comedy, acted at the +theatre-royal, and printed in 4to, 1697. The serious part of the plot is +founded on the history of Cleobuline, Queen of Corinth. + +18. The Rival Ladies, a Tragi-Comedy, acted at the theatre-royal 1679. +It is dedicated to the earl of Orrery. The dedication is in the nature +of a preface, in defence of English verse or rhime. + +19. The Kind Keeper; or Mr. Limberham, a Comedy, acted at the duke's +theatre, printed in 4to. 1680. It is dedicated to John lord Vaughan. Mr. +Langbain says, it so much exposed the keepers about town, that all the +old letchers were up in arms against it, and damned it the third night. + +20. The Spanish Fryar; or the Double Discovery, a Tragi Comedy, acted +at the duke's theatre, and printed 1681. It is dedicated to John lord +Haughton. This is one of Mr. Dryden's best plays, and still keeps +possession of the stage. It is said, that he was afterwards so much +concerned for having ridiculed the character of the Fryar, that it +impaired his health: what effect bigotry, or the influence of priests, +might have on him, on this occasion, we leave others to determine. + +21. Duke of Guise, a Tragedy, acted 1688. It was written by Dryden and +Lee, and dedicated to Hyde earl of Rochester. This play gave great +offence to the Whigs, and engaged several writers for and against it. + +22. Albion and Albanius, an Opera, performed at the Queen's theatre in +Dorset-Gardens, and printed in folio 1685. The subject of it is wholly +allegorical, and intended to expose my lord Shaftfbury and his party. + +23. Don Sebastian King of Portugal, a Tragedy, acted 1690, dedicated to +the earl of Leicester. + +24. King Arthur; or the British worthy, a Tragedy, acted 1691, dedicated +to the marquis of Hallifax. + +25. Amphytrion; or the two Socias, a Comedy, acted 1691, dedicated to +Sir Leveson Gower, taken from Plautus and Moliere. + +26. Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy, acted at the theatre-royal, +and printed in 4to. 1692, dedicated to the earl of Rochester. There is +prefixed to it the Life of Cleomenes, translated from Plutarch by Mr. +Creech. This play was first prohibited by the lord Chamberlain, but +upon examination being found innocent of any design to satirize the +government, it was suffered to be represented, and had great success. +In the preface, the author tells us, that a foolish objection had been +raised against him by the sparks, for Cleomenes not accepting the +favours of Cassandra. 'They (says he) would not have refused a fair +lady; I grant they would not, but let them grant me, that they are no +heroes.' + +27. Love Triumphant; or Nature will prevail, a Tragi-comedy, acted 1694. +It is dedicated to the earl of Shaftsbury, and is the last Mr. Dryden +wrote, or intended for the theatre. It met with but indifferent success, +tho' in many parts the genius of that great man breaks out, especially +in the discovery of Alphonfo's successful love, and in the catastrophe, +which is extremely effecting. + + In Obitum JOHAN. DRYDENI, + poetarum Anglorum facile principis. + + Pindarus Anglorum magnus, cujusque senilem + Ornavit nuper frontem Parnissia laurus, + Sive cothurnatum molitur musa laborem, + Sive levem ludit foccum, seu grande Maronis + Immortalis epos tentat, seu carmine pingit + Mordaci mores homitium, nunc occidit, eheu! + Occidit, atque tulit secum Permessidos undas; + Et fontem exhausit totum Drydenius Heros. + + Heu! miserande senex! jam frigida tempora + circum + Marcessit laurus, musae, maestissima turba! + Circumstant, largoque humeclant imbre cadaver; + Sheffeildum video, in lacrymis multoque dolore + Formosum, aetatis Flaccum, vatisque patronum; + Te Montacute, te, cujus musa triumphos + Carmine Boynaeos cucinit, magnumque Wilhelmum + AEternavit, et olim Boynam, ignobile flumen; + Teque, O! et legum et musarum gloria! et alter + Maecenas; cui lingua olim facunda labantem + Defendit mitrae causam; nee teruit aula + Prava jubens--vos, O jam tanguni funera vatis! + + Jamque dies aderat, magna stipante caterva, + Quo Phoebea cohors facras comitatur ad urnam + Reliquias, et supremum pia solvit honorem; + Jamque graves planctus, jamque illaetabile murmur + Audio Melpomenis late, dum noster Apollo + Flebilis ante omnes, Sacvillus, tristia ducit + Agmina Pieridum, Cytharamqueaccommodatodae; + Ipse ego, dum totidem comitentur funera musae, + Ipse sequor maestus; bustum venerabile fletu + Carminibufque struam multis, animumque poetae + His faltem donis cumulabo, et fungar inani + Munere.---- + + At te musa mori vetat, O post sata, vel ipsa + Marmora, cum annorum fuerint rubigine scabra; + Major eris vivo; tibi scripta perennius aere + Aut faxo, condent monumentum illustre per orbem, + Secula cuncta legant, et te mirentur in illis. + +JOHAN. PHILIPS, + +1700. AEtat. 24. Interioris templi alumnus. + +The above were thrown in Dryden's grave. We are assured they were never +in print before. + + +[Footnote 1: Athen. Oxon.] + +[Footnote 2: He might have added, 'twas unnatural.] + +[Footnote 3: Defence, or the Essay on Dramatic Poetry.] + +[Footnote 4: Original Poems.] + +[Footnote 5: This was written before Mr. Dodsley's edition of Virgil in +English appeared.] + +[Footnote 6: Essay on Criticism.] + +[Footnote 7: Life of Congreve.] + +[Footnote 8: In Millar's edition of the bishop's work, we have the +following note upon this passage. 'This (says the editor) must be +understood of his performances for the stage; for as to his personal +character, there was nothing remarkably vicious in it: but his plays +are, some of them, the fullest of obscenity of any now extant.'] + + * * * * * + + +Sir CHARLES SEDLEY, Bart. + +This gentleman, who obtained a great name in the world of gallantry, was +son of Sir John Sedley, of Aylesford in Kent. When our author was about +the age of 17, he became a fellow of Wadham college 1656, but he took no +degree. When he quitted the university, he retired into his own country, +and neither went to travel nor to the inns of court. As soon as the +restoration was effected, Sir Charles came to London, in order to join +in the general jubilee, and then commenced wit, courtier, poet, and +gallant. + +He was so much applauded in all conversations that he began to be the +oracle of the poets; and it was by his judgment every performance was +approved or condemned; which made the King jest with him, and tell +him, that nature had given him a patent to be Apollo's viceroy. Lord +Rochester bears testimony to this, when he puts him foremost among the +judges of poetry. + + I loath the rabble, tis enough for me, + If Sedley, Shadwell, Shepherd, Wycherly, + Godolphin, Butler, Buckhurst, Buckingham, + And some few more, whom I omit to name, + Approve my sense, I count their censure same. + +It happened by Sir Charles, in respect of the king, as is said of the +famous cardinal Richlieu, viz. That they who recommended him to the +Royal savour, thereby supplanted themselves, and afterwards envied him; +but with this difference between the Cardinal and Sir Charles, that the +latter was never ungrateful. When he had a taste of the court, as the +King never would part with him, so he never would part from the King; +and yet two things proved particularly detrimental to him in it, first +his estate, so far from being improved was diminished; and secondly his +morals were debauched. The King delighted in his conversation, and he +was the dearer to his Majesty on this account, that he never asked a +favour; whereas some other courtiers by their bold importunity exhausted +that prince's treasures, who could not deny a man who craved, tho' he +hated his forwardness; nor could remember the silent indigence of his +friend, tho' he applauded the modesty of it. He was deeply immersed in +the public distractions of the times, and is said to have committed many +debaucheries, of which the following instance has been recorded. + +In the month of June 1663 our author, Charles lord Buckhurst, and +Sir Thomas Ogle, were convened at a public house in Bow-street, +Covent-Garden, and being enflamed with strong liquors, they went up to +the balcony belonging to that house, and there shewed very indecent +postures, and gave great offence to the passengers in the street by very +unmannerly discharges upon them; which done, Sedley stripped himself +naked, and preached to the people in a gross and scandalous manner; +whereupon a riot being raised, the mob became very clamorous, and would +have forced the door next to the street; but being opposed, the preacher +and his company were driven off the balcony, and the windows of a room +into which they retired were broken by the mob. The frolic being soon +spread abroad, and as persons of fashion were concerned in it, it was so +much the more aggravated. The company were summoned to appear before a +court of justice in Westminster-Hall, where being indicted for a riot +before Sir Robert Hyde, lord chief justice of the Common Pleas, they +were all fined, and Sir Charles being sentenced to pay 500 l. he used +some very impertinent expressions to the judge; who thereupon asked him +if he had ever read a book called the Compleat Gentleman; to which Sir +Charles made answer, that he had read more books than his lordship. + +The day for payment being appointed, Sir Charles desired Mr. Henry +Killegrew, and another gentleman to apply to his Majesty to have the +fine remitted, which they undertook to do; but in place of supplicating +for it, they represented Sir Charles's frolic rather in an aggravating +light, and not a farthing was abated. + +After this affair, Sir Charles's mind took a more serious turn, and he +began to apply himself to the study of politics, by which he might be of +some service to his country. He was chosen, says Wood, a recruiter of +that long parliament, which began at Westminster the 8th of May 1661, +to serve for New Romney in Kent, and sat in three succeeding Parliments +since the dissolution of that. + +Sir Charles, considered as an author, has great delicacy in his turns, +and Eachard observes in his dedication of Plautus's three comedies to +Sir Charles, that the easiness of his stile, the politeness of his +expressions in his Bellamira, and even those parts of it which are +purely translation, are very delightful, and engaging to the reader. + +Lord Rochester, in his imitation of the 10th satire of the first book of +Horace, has the following verses in his commendation. + + Sedley has that prevailing gentle art, + That can with a resistless charm impart. + The loosest wishes to the chastest heart: + Raise such a conflict, kindle such a fire, + Betwixt declining virtue and desire; + That the poor vanquish'd maid dissolves away + In dreams all night, in sighs and tears all day. + +Before we give an account of our author's works, it will not be amiss to +observe, that he was extremely active in effecting the revolution, which +was thought the more extraordinary, as he had received favours from King +James II. That Prince, it seems, had fallen in love with a daughter of +Sir Charles's, who was not very handsome; for James was remarkable for +dedicating his affections to women who were not great beauties; in +consequence of his intrigue with her, and in order to give her greater +lustre in life, he created Miss Sedley countess of Dorchester. This +honour, so far from pleasing, greatly shocked Sir Charles. However +libertine himself had been, yet he could not bear the thoughts of his +daughter's dishonour; and with regard to this her exaltation, he only +considered it as rendering her more conspicuously infamous. He therefore +conceived a hatred to James, and readily joined to dispossess him of his +throne and dominions. + +Being asked one day, why he appeared so warm against the King, who had +created his daughter a Countess? It is from a principle of gratitude +I am so warm, returns Sir Charles; for since his Majesty has made +my daughter a Countess, it is fit I should do all I can to make his +daughter a Queen. + +Our author's works are, + +1. The Mulberry Garden, a Comedy, acted by his Majesty's servants at the +theatre-royal 1668, dedicated to the duchess of Richmond and Lennox. + +2. Anthony and Cleopatra, a Tragedy, acted at the Duke of York's theatre +1667. This play was acted with great applause. The Story from Plutarch's +Life of Anthony. + +3. Bellamira; or the Mistress, a Comedy, acted by his Majesty's +servants, 1687. It is taken from Terence's Eunuch. While this play was +acting, the roof of the play-house fell down, but very few were hurt, +except the author: whose merry friend Sir Fleetwood Shepherd told him, +that there was so much fire in the play, that it blew up the poet, house +and all: Sir Charles answered, No, the play was so heavy it brought down +the house, and buried the poet in his own rubbish. + +4. Beauty the Conqueror; or the Death of Mark Anthony, a Tragedy. + +Besides these plays, Mr. Coxeter says, he is author of the two +following, which were never printed till with his works in 2 vols. 8vo. +1719, dedicated by Briscoe the bookseller to the duke of Chandois. + +The Grumbler, a Comedy of three acts, scene Paris. + +The Tyrant King of Crete, a Tragedy. + +Sedley's poems, however amorously tender and delicate, yet have not much +strength; nor do they afford great marks of genius. The softness of his +verses is denominated by the Duke of Buckingham, Sedley's Witchcraft. It +was an art too successful in those days to propagate the immoralities +of the times, but it must be owned that in point of chastity he excels +Dorset, and Rochester; who as they conceived lewdly, wrote in plain +English, and did not give themselves any trouble to wrap up their +ribbaldry in a dress tollerably decent. But if Sedley was the more +chaste, I know not if he was the less pernicious writer: for that +pill which is gilded will be swallowed more readily, and with less +reluctance, than if tendered in its own disgustful colours. Sedley +insinuates gently into the heart, without giving any alarm, but is no +less fraught with poison, than are those whose deformity bespeaks their +mischief. + +It would be tedious to enumerate here all the poems of Sir Charles +Sedley; let it suffice to say, that they are printed in two small +volumes along with his plays, and consist of translations of Virgil's +Pastorals, original Pastorals, Prologues, Songs, Epilogues, and little +occasional pieces. + +We shall present the reader with an original pastoral of Sir Charles's, +as a specimen of his works. + +He lived to the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, and died at an age near +90; his wit and humour continuing to the last. + +A Pastoral Dialogue between THIRSIS and STREPHON. + + THIRSIS. + + Strephon, O Strephon, once the jolliest lad, + That with shrill pipe did ever mountain glad; + Whilome the foremost at our rural plays, + The pride and envy of our holidays: + Why dost thou sit now musing all alone, + Teaching the turtles, yet a sadder moan? + Swell'd with thy tears, why does the neighbouring brook + Bear to the ocean, what she never took? + Thy flocks are fair and fruitful, and no swain, + Than thee, more welcome to the hill or plain. + +STREPHON. + + I could invite the wolf, my cruel guest, + And play unmov'd, while he on all should feast: + I cou'd endure that very swain out-run, + Out-threw, out-wrestled, and each nymph shou'd shun + The hapless Strephon.---- + + THIRSIS. + + Tell me then thy grief, + And give it, in complaints, some short relief. + +STREPHON. + + Had killing mildews nipt my rising corn, + My lambs been all found dead, as soon as born; + Or raging plagues run swift through every hive, + And left not one industrious bee alive; + Had early winds, with an hoarse winter's found + Scattered my rip'ning fruit upon the ground: + Unmov'd, untoucht, I cou'd the loss sustain, + And a few days expir'd, no more complain. + +THIRSIS. + + E'er the sun drank of the cold morning dew, + I've known thee early the tuskt boar pursue: + Then in the evening drive the bear away, + And rescue from his jaws the trembling prey. + But now thy flocks creep feebly through the fields, + No purple grapes, thy half-drest vineyards yields: + No primrose nor no violets grace thy beds, + But thorns and thistles lift their prickly heads. + What means this change? + +STREPHON + + Enquire no more; + When none can heal, 'tis pain to search the sore; + Bright Galatea, in whose matchless face + Sat rural innocence, with heavenly grace; + In whose no less inimitable mind, + With equal light, even distant virtues shin'd; + Chaste without pride, and charming without art, + Honour the tyrant of her tender heart: + Fair goddess of these fields, who for our sports, + Though she might well become, neglected courts: + Belov'd of all, and loving me alone, + Is from my sight, I fear, for ever gone. + +THIRSIS. + + Thy case indeed is pitiful, but yet + Thou on thy loss too great a price dost set. + Women like days are, Strephon, some be far + More bright and glorious than others are: + Yet none so gay, so temperate, so clear, + But that the like adorn the rowling year, + Pleasures imparted to a friend, increase, + Perhaps divided sorrow may grow less. + +STREPHON. + + Others as fair, to others eyes may seem, + But she has all my love and my esteem: + Her bright idea wanders in my thought, + At once my poison, and my antidote. + +THIRSIS. + + Our hearts are paper, beauty is the pen, + Which writes our loves, and blots 'em out agen. + Phillis is whiter than the rising swan, + Her slender waist confin'd within a span: + Charming as nature's face in the new spring, + When early birds on the green branches sing. + When rising herbs and buds begin to hide, + Their naked mother, with their short-liv'd pride, + Chloe is ripe, and as the autumn fair, + When on the elm the purple grapes appear, + When trees, hedge-rows, and every bending bush, + With rip'ning fruit, or tasteful berries blush, + Lydia is in the summer of her days, + What wood can shade us from her piercing rays? + Her even teeth, whiter than new yean'd lambs, + When they with tender cries pursue their dams. + Her eyes as charming as the evening sun, + To the scorch'd labourer when his work is done, + Whom the glad pipe, to rural sports invites, + And pays his toil with innocent delights. + On some of these fond swain fix thy desire, + And burn not with imaginary fire. + +STREPHON. + + The flag shall sooner with the eagle soar, + Seas leave their fishes naked on the shore; + The wolf shall sooner by the lamkin die, + And from the kid the hungry lion fly, + Than I abandon Galatea's love, + Or her dear image from my thoughts remove. + +THIRSIS. + + Damon this evening carries home his bride, + In all the harmless pomp of rural pride: + Where, for two spotted lambkins, newly yean'd, + With nimble feet and voice, the nymphs contend: + And for a coat, thy Galatea spun, + The Shepherds wrestle, throw the bar, and run. + +STREPHON. + + At that dear name I feel my heart rebound, + Like the old steed, at the fierce trumpet's sound; + I grow impatient of the least delay, + No bastard swain shall bear the prize away. + +THIRSIS. + + Let us make haste, already they are met; + The echoing hills their joyful shouts repeat. + + * * * * * + + +JOHN CROWNE + +Was the son of an independent minister, in that part of North America, +which is called Nova Scotia. The vivacity of his genius made him soon +grow impatient of the gloomy education he received in that country; +which he therefore quitted in order to seek his fortune in England; but +it was his fate, upon his first arrival here, to engage in an employment +more formal, if possible, than his American education. Mr. Dennis, in +his Letters, vol. i. p. 48, has given us the best account of this poet, +and upon his authority the above, and the succeeding circumstances are +related. His necessity, when he first arrived in England, was extremely +urgent, and he was obliged to become a gentleman usher to an old +independent lady; but he soon grew as weary of that precise office, as +he had done before of the discipline of Nova Scotia. One would imagine +that an education, such as this, would be but an indifferent preparative +for a man to become a polite author, but such is the irresistable +force of genius, that neither this, nor his poverty, which was very +deplorable, could suppress his ambition: aspiring to reputation, and +distinction, rather than to fortune and power. His writings soon made +him known to the court and town, yet it was neither to the savour of the +court, nor to that of the earl of Rochester, that he was indebted to the +nomination the king made of him, for the writing the Masque of Calypso, +but to the malice of that noble lord, who designed by that preference to +mortify Mr. Dryden. + +Upon the breaking out of the two parties, after the pretended discovery +of the Popish plot, the favour he was in at court, and the gaiety of +his temper, which inclined him to join with the fashion, engaged him to +embrace the Tory party. About that time he wrote the City Politicks, in +order to satirize and expose the Whigs: a comedy not without wit and +spirit, and which has obtained the approbation of those of contrary +principles, which is the highest evidence of merit; but after it was +ready for the stage, he met with great embarrassments in getting it +acted. Bennet lord Arlington (who was then lord chamberlain, was +secretly in the cause of the Whigs, who were at that time potent in +Parliament, in order to support himself against the power of lord +treasurer Danby, who was his declared enemy) used all his authority +to suppress it. One while it was prohibited on account of its being +dangerous; another while it was laid aside upon pretence of its being +flat and insipid; till Mr. Crowne, at last, was forced to have recourse +to the King himself, and engage him to lay his absolute commands on +the lord chamberlain to have it no longer delayed. This command he was +pleased to give in his own person, for Charles II. loved comedy above +all other amusements, except one which was both more expensive, and +less innocent, and besides, had a very high opinion of Mr. Crowne's +abilities. While he was thus in favour with the King and court, Mr. +Dennis declares, he has more than once heard him say, that though he +had a sincere affection for the King, he had yet a mortal hatred to the +court. The promise of a sum of money made him sometimes appear there, +to sollicit the payment of it, but as soon as he received the sum, he +vanished, and for a long time never approached it. + +It was at the latter end of King Charles's reign, that Mr. Crowne, tired +with the fatigue of writing, shocked with the uncertainty of theatrical +success, and desirous to shelter himself from the resentment of those +numerous enemies he had made, by his City Politics, immediately +addressed the King himself, and desired his Majesty to establish him +in some office, that might be a security to him for life: the King +answered, he should be provided for; but added, that he would first see +another comedy. Mr. Crowne endeavouring to excuse himself, by telling +the King he plotted slowly and awkwardly, his Majesty replied, that he +would help him to a plot, and so put in his hand the Spanish Comedy +called Non Poder Esser. Mr. Crowne was obliged immediately to go to +work upon it, but after he had written three acts of it, found, to his +surprize, that the Spanish play had some time before been translated, +and acted and damned, under the title of Tarugo's Wiles, or the +Coffee-House: yet, supported by the King's command, he went briskly on, +and finished it. + +Mr. Crowne, who had once before obliged the commonwealth of taste, with +a very agreeable comedy in his City Politics, yet, in Sir Courtly Nice +went far beyond it, and very much surpassed himself; for though there is +something in the part of Crack, which borders upon farce, the Spanish +author alone must answer for that: for Mr. Crowne could not omit the +part of Crack, that is, of Tarugo, and the Spanish farce depending upon +it, without a downright affront to the King, who had given him the play +for his ground-work. All that is of English growth in Sir Courtly Nice +is admirable; for though it has neither the fine designing of Ben +Johnson, nor the masculine satire of Wycherley, nor the grace, delicacy, +and courtly air of Etherege, yet is the dialogue lively and spirited, +attractively diversified, and adapted to the several characters. Four +of these characters are entirely new, yet general and important, drawn +truly, and graphically and artfully opposed to each other, Surly to Sir +Courtly, and Hot-head to Testimony: those extremes of behaviour, the +one of which is the grievance, and the other the plague of society and +conversation; excessive ceremony on the one side, and on the other +rudeness, and brutality are finely exposed in Surly and Sir Courtly: +those divisions and animosities in the two great parties of England, +which have so long disturbed the public quiet, and undermined the +general interest, are happily represented and ridiculed in Testimony and +Hot-head. Mr. Dennis, speaking of this comedy, says, 'that though he +has more than twenty times read it, yet it still grows upon him, and he +delivers it as his opinion, that the greatest comic poet, who ever lived +in any age, might have been proud to have been the author of it.' + +The play was now just ready to appear to the world. Every one that had +seen it rehearsed, was highly pleased with it. All who had heard of it +conceived great expectations, and Mr. Crowne was delighted with the +flattering hope of being made happy for the remaining part of his life, +by the performance of the King's promise: But upon the very last day of +the rehearsal, he met Underhill coming from the playhouse, as he himself +was going towards it, upon which the poet reprimanding the player for +neglecting so considerable a part as he had in the comedy, and on a day +of so much consequence, as the very last of the rehearsal. Oh Lord, says +Underhill, we are all undone! how! says Crowne, is the Playhouse on +fire? the whole nation, replies the player, will quickly be so, for +the King is dead; at the hearing of which dismal words, the author +was thrown almost into distraction; for he who the moment before was +ravished with the thought of the pleasure he was about to give the King, +and the favours which he was afterwards to receive from him, this moment +found, to his unspeakable sorrow, that his Royal patron was gone for +ever, and with him all his hopes. The King indeed revived from this +apoplectic fit, but three days after died, and Mr. Crowne by his death +was replunged into the deepest melancholly. + +Thus far Mr. Dennis has traced the life of Crowne; in the same letter +he promises a further account of him upon another occasion, which, it +seems, never occurred, for we have not been able to find that he has any +where else mentioned our author. + +The King's death having put a period to Mr. Crowne's expectations of +court-favour (for the reign of his successor was too much hurried with +party designs, to admit of any leisure to reward poetical merit, though +the Prince himself, with all his errors about him, was a man of taste, +and had a very quick discernment of the power of genius) he, no doubt, +had recourse to writing plays again for bread, and supporting himself +the best way he could by his wits, the most unpleasing, and precarious +manner of life, to which any man can be exposed. We cannot be absolutely +certain when Mr. Crowne died; Mr. Coxeter in his notes says, he was +alive in the year 1703, and as he must then have been much advanced in +years, in all probability he did not long survive it. He is the author +of 17 Plays. + +1. Juliana, or the Princess of Poland, a Tragi-Comedy; acted at the duke +of York's theatre 1671, dedicated to the earl of Orrery. + +2. Andromache, a Tragedy; acted at the duke's theatre in Covent Garden, +1675. This play was only a translation of M. Racine, by a young +gentleman, chiefly in prose, and published by Mr. Crown. It was brought +upon the stage, but without success. + +3. Calisto, or the Chaste Nymph, a masque, 1675; written by command of +the queen, and oftentimes performed at court by persons of quality. It +is founded on a story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, lib. 2. + +4. The Country Wit, a Comedy; acted at the duke's theatre 1675. This +play contains a good deal of low humour; and was approved by king +Charles the IId. + +5. The Destruction of Jerusalem, by Titus Vespasian, in two parts, acted +1677; addressed to the duchess of Portsmouth. These Tragedies met with +extravagant applause, which excited the envy of lord Rochester so much, +that on this account he commenced an enemy to the bard he before had so +much befriended. + +6. The Ambitious Statesman, or the Royal Favourite, a Tragedy; acted at +the theatre-royal 1679. This play had but indifferent success, though +esteemed by the author one of the best he ever wrote. + +7. Charles the VIIIth King of France, or the Invasion of Naples by the +French; this play is written in heroic verse. + +8. Henry the VIth, the first part, with the murther of Humphrey duke of +Gloucester; acted 1681, dedicated to Sir Charles Sedley. This play was +at first acted with applause; but at length, the Romish faction opposed +it, and by their interest at court got it suppressed. Part of this play +was borrowed from Shakespear's Henry the VIth. + +9. Henry the VIth, the second part; or the Miseries of Civil War; a +Tragedy, acted 1680. + +10. Thyestes, a Tragedy; acted at the theatre-royal 1681. The plot from +Seneca's Thyestes. + +11. City Politics, a Comedy, 1683; of this already we have given some +account. + +12. Sir Courtly Nice, or It Cannot be; dedicated to the duke of Ormond, +of which we have given an account in the author's life. + +13. Darius King of Persia, a Tragedy; acted in 1688. For the plot, see +Quint. Curt. lib. 3, 4, and 5. + +14. The English Fryar, or the Town Sparks, a Comedy; printed in quarto +1690, dedicated to William earl of Devonshire. This play had not the +success of the other pieces of the same author. + +15. Regulus, a Tragedy; acted at the theatre-royal 1694. The design of +this play is noble; the example of Regulus being the most celebrated +for honour, and constancy of any of the Romans. There is a play of +this name, written by Mr. Havard, a comedian now belonging to the +theatre-royal in Drury-lane. + +16. The Married Beaux, or the Curious Impertinent, a Comedy; acted at +the theatre-royal, 1694, dedicated to the marquis of Normanby. To this +play the author has prefixed a preface in vindication of himself, from +the aspersions cast on him by some persons, as to his morals. The story +is taken from Don Quixot. + +17. Caligula, Emperor of Rome, a Tragedy; acted at the theatre-royal, +1698. + +Our author's other works are, Pandion and Amphigenia, or the coy Lady of +Thessalia; adorned with sculptures, printed in octavo, 1665. + +Daeneids, or the noble Labours of the great Dean of Notre-Dame in Paris, +for the erecting in his choir, a Throne for his Glory; and the eclipsing +the pride of an imperious usurping Chanter, an heroic poem, in four +Canto's; printed in quarto 1692. It is a burlesque Poem, and is chiefly +taken from Boileau's Lutrin. + +We shall shew Mr. Crown's versification, by quoting a speech which he +puts into the mouth of an Angel, in the Destruction of Jerusalem. The +Angel is represented as descending over the altar prophesying the fall +of that august city. + + Stay, stay, your flight, fond men, Heaven does despise + All your vain incense, prayers, and sacrifice. + Now is arriv'd Jerusalem's fatal hour, + When she and sacrifice must be no more: + Long against Heav'n had'st thou, rebellious town, + Thy public trumpets of defiance blown; + Didst open wars against thy Lord maintain, + And all his messengers of peace have slain: + And now the hour of his revenge is come, + Thy weeks are finish'd, and thy slumb'ring doom, + Which long has laid in the divine decree, + Is now arous'd from his dull lethargy; + His army's rais'd, and his commission seal'd, + His order's given, and cannot be repeal'd: + And now thy people, temple, altars all + Must in one total dissolution fall. + Heav'n will in sad procession walk the round, + And level all thy buildings with the ground. + And from the soil enrich'd with human blood, + Shall grass spring up, where palaces have stood, + Where beasts shall seed; and a revenge obtain + For all the thousands at thy altars slain. + And this once blessed house, where Angels came + To bathe their airy wings in holy flame, + Like a swift vision or a flash of light, + All wrapt in fire shall vanish in thy sight; + And thrown aside amongst the common store, + Sink down in time's abyss, and rise no more. + + * * * * * + + +CHARLES SACKVILLE, Earl of DORSET, + +Eldest son of Richard earl of Dorset, born the 24th of January 1637, was +one of the most accomplished gentlemen of the age in which he lived, +which was esteemed one of the most courtly ever known in our nation; +when, as Pope expresses it, + + The soldiers ap'd the gallantries of France, + And ev'ry flow'ry courtier writ romance. + +Immediately after the restoration, he was chosen member of parliament +for East-Grimstead, and distinguished himself while he was in the +House of Commons. The sprightliness of his wit, and a most exceeding +good-nature, recommended him very early to the favour of Charles the +IId, and those of the greatest distinction in the court; but his mind +being more turned to books, and polite conversation, than public +business, he totally declined the latter, tho' as bishop Burnet[1] says, +the king courted him as a favorite. Prior in his dedication of his +poems, observes, that when the honour and safety of his country demanded +his assistance, he readily entered into the most active parts of life; +and underwent the dangers with a constancy of mind, which shewed he had +not only read the rules of philosophy, but understood the practice of +them. He went a volunteer under his royal highness the duke of York in +the first Dutch war, 1665, when the Dutch admiral Opdam was blown up, +and about thirty capital ships taken and destroyed; and his composing +a song before the engagement, carried with it in the opinion of many +people to sedate a presence of mind, and such unusual gallantry, that it +has been much celebrated. + +This Song, upon so memorable an occasion, is comprised in the following +stanzas. + + I. + + To all you ladies, now at land, + We men at sea indite, + But first would have you understand, + How hard it is to write; + The Muses now, and Neptune too, + We must implore to write to you, + With a fa, la, la, la, la. + + II. + + For tho' the Muses should prove kind, + And fill our empty brain; + Yet if rough Neptune rouze the wind, + To wave the azure main, + Our paper, pen and ink, and we, + Roll up and down our ships at sea, + With a la fa, &c. + III. + + Then if we write not, by each post, + Think not, we are unkind; + Nor yet conclude our ships are lost, + By Dutchmen or by wind: + Our tears, we'll send a speedier way, + The tide shall waft them twice a day. + With a fa, &c. + + IV. + + The king with wonder, and surprize, + Will swear the seas grow bold; + Because the tides will higher rise, + Then e'er they did of old: + But let him knew it is our tears, + Bring floods of grief to Whitehall-Stairs. + With a fa, &c. + + V. + + Should foggy Opdam chance to know; + Our sad and dismal story; + The Dutch would scorn so weak a foe, + And quit their fort at Goree: + For what resistance can they find, + From men who've left their hearts behind. + With a fa, &c. + + VI. + + Let wind, and weather do its worst, + Be you to us but kind; + Let Dutchmen vapour, Spaniards curse, + No sorrow we shall find; + 'Tis then no matter, how things go, + Or who's our friend, or who's our foe. + With a fa, &c. + + VII. + + To pass our tedious hours away, + We throw a merry main; + Or else at serious Ombre play; + But why should we in vain + Each other's ruin thus pursue? + We were undone, when we left you. + With a fa, &c. + + VIII. + + But now our fears tempestuous grow, + And cast our hopes away; + Whilst you, regardless of our woe, + Sit carelessly at play; + Perhaps permit some happier man, + To kiss your hand, or flirt your fan. + With a fa, &c. + + IX. + + When any mournful tune, you hear, + That dies in every note; + And if it sigh'd with each man's care, + For being so remote; + Think then, how often love we've made + To you, when all those tunes were play'd. + With a fa, &c. + + X. + + In justice, you cannot refuse, + To think of our distress; + When we for hopes of honour lose, + Our certain happiness; + All those designs are but to prove, + Ourselves more worthy of your love. + With a fa, &c. + + XI. + + And, now we've told you all our loves, + And likewise all our fears; + In hopes this declaration moves, + Some pity for our tears: + Let's hear of no inconstancy, + We have too much of that at sea. + With a fa, &c. + +To maintain an evenness of temper in the time of danger, is certainly +the highest mark of heroism; but some of the graver cast have been apt +to say, this sedate composure somewhat differs from that levity of +disposition, or frolic humour, that inclines a man to write a song. +But, let us consider my lord's fervour of youth, his gaiety of mind, +supported by strong spirits, flowing from an honest heart, and, I +believe, we shall rather be disposed to admire, than censure him on this +occasion. Remember too, he was only a volunteer. The conduct of the +battle depended not on him. He had only to shew his intrepidity and +diligence, in executing the orders of his commander, when called on; as +he had no plans of operation to take up his thoughts why not write a +song? there was neither indecency, nor immorality in it: I doubt not, +but with that chearfulness of mind he composed himself to rest, with as +right feelings, and as proper an address to his maker, as any one of a +more melancholly disposition, or gloomy aspect. + +Most commanders, in the day of battle, assume at least a brilliancy of +countenance, that may encourage their soldiers; and they are admired +for it: to smile at terror has, before this, been allowed the mark of a +hero. The dying Socrates discoursed his friends with great composure; he +was a philosopher of a grave cast: Sir Thomas Moore (old enough to be +my lord's father) jok'd, even on the scaffold; a strong instance of his +heroism, and no contradiction to the rectitude of his mind. The verses +the Emperor Adrian wrought on his death-bed (call them a song if you +will) have been admired, and approved, by several great men; Mr. Pope +has not only given his opinion in their favour, but elegantly translated +them, nay, thought them worthy an imitation, perhaps exceeding the +original. If this behaviour of my lord's is liable to different +constructions, let good nature, and good manners, incline us to bestow +the most favourable thereon. + +After his fatigues at sea, during the remainder of the reign of Charles +the IId, he continued to live in honourable leisure. He was of the +bed-chamber to the king, and possessed not only his master's favour, but +in a great degree his familiarity, never leaving the court but when he +was sent to that of France, upon some short commission, and embassies of +compliment; as if the king designed to rival the French in the +article of politeness, who had long claimed a superiority in that +accomplishment, by shewing them that one of the most finished gentlemen +in Europe was his subject; and that he understood his worth so well, +as not to suffer him to be long out of his presence. Among other +commissions he was sent in the year 1669, to compliment the French king +on his arrival at Dunkirk, in return of the compliment of that monarch, +by the duchess of Orleans, then in England. + +Being possessed of the estate of his uncle the earl of Middlesex, who +died in the year 1674, he was created earl of that county, and baron of +Cranfield, by letters patent, dated the fourth of April, 1675. 27 C. II; +and in August 1677 succeeded his father as earl of Dorset; as also, in +the post of lord lieutenant of the county of Sussex, having been joined +in the commission with him in 1670[2]. Also the 20th of February 1684 he +was made custos rotulorum for that county. + +Having buried his first lady, Elizabeth, daughter of Harvey Bagot, of +Whitehall in the county of Warwick, Esq; widow of Charles Berkley, earl +of Falmouth, without any issue by her, he married, in the year 1684, the +lady Mary, daughter of James Compton, earl of Northampton, famed for her +beauty, and admirable endowments of mind, who was one of the ladies of +the bed-chamber to Queen Mary, and left his lordship again a widower, +August 6, 1691, leaving issue by him one son, his grace Lionel now duke +of Dorset, and a daughter, the lady Mary, married in the year 1702 to +Henry Somerset duke of Beaufort, and dying in child-bed, left no issue. + +The earl of Dorset appeared in court at the trial of the seven bishops, +accompanied with other noblemen, which had a good effect on the jury, +and brought the judges to a better temper than they had usually shewn. +He also engaged with those who were in the prince of Orange's interest; +and carried on his part of that enterprize in London, under the eye of +the court, with the same courage and resolution as his friend the duke +of Devonshire did in open arms, at Nottingham. When prince George of +Denmark deserted King James, and joined the prince of Orange, the +princess Anne was in violent apprehensions of the King's displeasure, +and being desirous of withdrawing herself, lord Dorset was thought the +properest guide for her necessary flight[3]. She was secretly brought +to him by his lady's uncle, the bishop of London: who furnished the +princess with every thing necessary for her flight to the Prince of +Orange, and attended her northward, as far as Northampton, where he +quickly brought a body of horse to serve for her guard, and went from +thence to Nottingham, to confer with the duke of Devonshire. After +the misguided monarch had withdrawn himself, lord Dorset continued +at London, and was one of those peers who sat every day in the +Council-chamber, and took upon them the government of the realm, in this +extremity, till some other power should be introduced. In the debates in +Parliament immediately after this confusion, his lordship voted for the +vacancy of the throne, and that the prince and princess of Orange should +be declared King and Queen of England, &c. When their Majesties had +accepted the crown of these realms, his lordship was the next day sworn +of the privy-council, and declared lord chamberlain of the household, +'A place, says Prior, which he eminently adorned by the grace of his +person, the fineness of his breeding, and the knowledge and practice of +what was decent and magnificent.' It appears by the history of England, +that he had the honour to stand godfather, with King William to a son of +the prince and princess of Denmark, born at Hampton-court, the 24th of +July 1689, and christened the 27th by the name of William, whom his +Majesty declared duke of Gloucester. When the King had been earnestly +entreated by the States of Holland, and the confederate princes in +Germany, to meet at a general congress to be held at the Hague, in +order to concert matters for the better support of the confederacy, and +thereupon took shipping the 16th of January 1692, his lordship was +among the peers, who to honour their King and Country, waited on their +sovereign in that cold season. When they were two or three leagues off +Goree, his Majesty having by bad weather been four days at sea, was so +impatient to go on shore, that taking boat, and a thick fog rising soon +after, they were surrounded so closely with ice, as not to be able +either to make the shore, or get back to the ship; so that lying +twenty-two hours, enduring the most bitter cold, and almost despairing +of life, they could hardly stand or speak at their landing; and his +lordship was so lame, that for some time he did not recover; yet on +his return to England, he neither complained of the accident nor the +expence. + +On the 2d of February 1691, at a chapter of the most noble order of the +garter, held at Kensington, his lordship was elected one of the knights +companions of this order, with his highness John-George, the fourth +elector of Saxony, and was installed at Windsor on the February +following. He was constituted four times one of the regents of the +kingdom in his Majesty's absence. About the year 1698, his health +sensibly declining, he left public business to those who more delighted +in it, and appeared only sometimes at council, to shew his respect to +the commission which he bore, for he had already tasted all the comfort +which court favour could bestow; he had been high in office, respected +by his sovereign and the idol of the people; but now when the evening +of life approached, he began to look upon such enjoyments with less +veneration, and thought proper to dedicate some of his last hours to +quiet and meditation. Being advised to go to Bath for the recovery of +his health, he there ended his life on the 29th of January 1705-6, and +was buried at Witham on the 17th of February following. + +Lord Dorset was a great patron of men of letters and merit. Dr. Sprat, +bishop of Rochester, celebrated for his polite writings, appealed to him +when under a cloud, for the part he acted in the reign of King James +II. and by his lordship's interest preserved himself. To him Mr. Dryden +dedicated his translation of Juvenal, in which he is very lavish in his +lordship's praise, and expresses his gratitude for the bounty he had +experienced from him. + +Mr. Prior (among others who owed their life and fortune to my lord +Dorset) makes this public acknowledgment, 'That he scarce knew what life +was, sooner than he found himself obliged to his favour; or had reason +to feel any sorrow so sensibly as that of his death.' Mr. Prior then +proceeds to enumerate the valuable qualities of his patron; in which the +warmth of his gratitude appears in the most elegant panegyric. I cannot +imagine that Mr. Prior, with respect to his lordship's morals, has +in the least violated truth; for he has shewn the picture in various +lights, and has hinted at his patron's errors, as well as his graces and +virtues. Among his errors was that of indulging passion, which carried +him into transports, of which he was often ashamed; and during these +little excesses (says he) 'I have known his servants get into his way, +that they might make a merit of it immediately after; for he who had the +good fortune to be chid, was sure of being rewarded for it.' + +His lordship's poetical works have been published among the minor +poets 1749, and consist chiefly of a poem to Mr. Edward Howard, on his +incomprehensible poem called the British Princes, in which his lordship +is very satyrical upon that author. + +Verses to Sir Thomas St. Serfe, on his printing his play called Tarugo's +Wiles, acted 1668. + +An Epilogue to Moliere's Tartuff. + +An epilogue on the revival of Ben Johnson's play called Every Man in his +Humour. + +A Song writ at Sea, in the time of the Dutch war 1665, the night before +an engagement. + +Verses addressed to the Countess of Dorchester. + +A Satirical piece, entitled, A Faithful Catalogue of our most eminent +Ninnies; written in the year 1683. + +Several Songs. + +From the specimens lord Dorset has given us of his poetical talents, we +are inclined to wish, that affairs of higher consequence had permitted +him to have dedicated more of his time to the Muses. Though some critics +may alledge, that what he has given the public is rather pretty than +great; and that a few pieces of a light nature do not sufficiently +entitle him to the character of a first rate poet; yet, when we +consider, that notwithstanding they were merely the amusement of his +leisure hours, and mostly the productions of his youth, they contain +marks of a genius, and as such, he is celebrated by Dryden, Prior, +Congreve, Pope, &c. + +We shall conclude his life with the encomium Pope bestows on him, in the +following beautiful lines. + + Dorset, the grace of courts, the muses pride, + Patron of arts, and judge of nature, dy'd: + The scourge of pride, the sanctify'd or great, + Of fops in learning, and of knaves in state. + Yet soft his nature, tho severe his lay, + His anger moral, and his wisdom gay. + Blest satyrist, who touch'd the mean so true, + As shew'd vice had his hate and pity too. + Blest courtier! who could King and Country please, + Yet sacred keep his friendship, and his ease. + Blest peer! his great forefathers ev'ry grace + Reflecting, and reflected in his race; + Where other Buckhursts, other Dorsets thine. + And patriots still, or poets deck the line + + +[Footnote 1: History of his own times; p. 264.] + +[Footnote 2: Collin's Peerage, p. 575. vol. I.] + +[Footnote 3: Burnet's Hist. of his own times.] + + * * * * * + + +Mr. GEORGE FARQUHAR + +Was descended of a Family of no mean rank in the North of Ireland; we +have been informed that his father was dean of Armagh, but we have not +met with a proper confirmation of this circumstance; but it is on +all hands agreed, that he was the son of a clergyman, and born at +London-Derry in that kingdom, in the year 1678, as appears from Sir +James Ware's account of him. There he received the rudiments of +education, and discovered a genius early devoted to the Muses; Before he +was ten years of age he gave specimens of his poetry, in which, force of +thinking, and elegance of turn and expression are manifest; and if +the author, who has wrote Memoirs of his life, may be credited, the +following stanza's were written by him at that age, + + The pliant soul of erring youth, + Is like soft wax, or moisten'd clay; + Apt to receive all heavenly truth + Or yield to tyrant ill the sway. + + Slight folly in your early years, + At manhood may to virtue rise; + But he who in his youth appears + A fool, in age will ne'er be wise. + +His parents, it is said, had a numerous family, so could bestow no +fortune upon him, further than a genteel education. When he was +qualified for the university, he was, in 1694, sent to Trinity College +in Dublin: here, by the progress he made in his studies, he acquired a +considerable reputation[1], but it does not appear, that he there took +his degree of bachelor of arts; for his disposition being volatile and +giddy, he soon grew weary of a dull collegiate life; and his own opinion +of it, in that sense, he afterwards freely enough displayed in several +parts of his comedies, and other writings. Besides, the expence of it, +without any immediate prospect of returns, might be inconsistent with +his circumstances. The polite entertainments of the town more forcibly +attracted his attention, especially the diversions of the Theatre, for +which, he discovered a violent propension. When Mr. Ashbury, who then +was manager of Dublin Theatre, had recruited his company with the +celebrated Mr. Wilks (who had for some seasons engaged with Mr. +Christopher Rich at Drury-Lane, from whom his encouragement was not +equal to his merit) Farquhar having acquaintance with him, Mr. Wilks, +was soon introduced upon the stage by his means, where he did not long +continue, nor make any considerable figure. His person was sufficiently +advantageous, he had a ready memory, proper gesture, and just elocution, +but then he was unhappy in his voice, which had not power enough to +rouse the galleries, or to rant with any success; besides, he was +defective in point of assurance, nor could ever enough overcome his +natural timidity. His more excellent talents however might, perhaps, +have continued the player at Dublin, and lost the poet at London; but +for an accident, which was likely to turn a feigned tragedy into a real +one: The story is this. + +Mr. Farquhar was extremely beloved in Ireland; having the advantage of +a good person, though his voice was weak; he never met with the least +repulse from the audience in any of his performances: He therefore +resolved to continue on the stage till something better should offer, +but his resolution was soon broke by an accident. Being to play the part +of Guyomar in Dryden's Indian Emperor, who kills Vasquez, one of the +Spanish generals; and forgetting to exchange his sword for a foil, in +the engagement he wounded his brother tragedian, who acted Vasquez, very +dangerously; and though it proved not mortal, yet it so shocked the +natural tenderness of Mr. Farquhar's temper, that it put a period to his +acting ever after. + +Soon after this, Mr. Wilks received from Mr. Rich a proposal of four +pounds a week, if he would return to London (such was the extent of the +salaries of the best players in that time, which, in our days, is not +equal to that of a second rate performer) which he thought proper to +accept of; and Mr. Farquhar, who now had no inducement to remain at +Dublin, accompanied Mr. Wilks to London, in the year 1696. Mr. Wilks, +who was well acquainted with the humour and abilities of our author, +ceased not his solicitation 'till he prevailed upon him to write a play, +assuring him, that he was considered by all who knew him in a much +brighter light than he had as yet shewn himself, and that he was fitter +to exhibit entertaining compositions for the stage, than to echo those +of other poets upon it. + +But he received still higher encouragement by the patronage of the earl +of Orrery, who was a discerner of merit, and saw, that as yet, Mr. +Farquhar's went unrewarded. His lordship conferred a lieutenant's +commission upon him in his own regiment then in Ireland, which he +held several years[2] and, as an officer, he behaved himself without +reproach, and gave several instances both of courage and conduct: +Whether he received his commission before or after he obliged the town +with his first comedy, we cannot be certain. + +In the year 1698, his first Comedy called Love and a Bottle appeared +on the stage, and for its sprightly dialogue, and busy scenes was well +received by the audience, though Wilks had no part in it. In 1699 +the celebrated Mrs. Anne Oldfield was, partly upon his judgment, and +recommendation, admitted on the Theatre. + +Now we have mentioned Mrs. Oldfield, we shall present the reader with +the following anecdote concerning that celebrated actress, which +discovers the true manner of her coming on the stage; the account we +have from a person who belonged to Mr. Rich, in a letter he wrote to the +editor of Mrs. Oldfield's Life, in which it is printed in these words; + + SIR, + + In your Memoirs of Mrs. Oldfield, it may + not be amiss to insert the following facts, on the + truth of which you may depend. Her father, + captain Oldfield, not only run out all the military, + but the paternal bounds of his fortune, having + a pretty estate in houses in Pall-mall. It was + wholly owing to captain Farquhar, that Mrs. + Oldfield became an actress, from the following + incident; dining one day at her aunt's, who kept + the Mitre Tavern in St. James's Market, he + heard miss Nanny reading a play behind the bar, + with so proper an emphasis, and so agreeable + turns suitable to each character, that he swore + the girl was cut out for the stage, for which she + had before always expressed an inclination, being + very desirous to try her fortune that way. + Her mother, the next time she saw captain Vanburgh, + who had a great respect for the family, + told him what was captain Farquhar's opinion; + upon which he desired to know whether in the + plays she read, her fancy was most pleased with + tragedy or comedy; miss being called in, said + comedy, she having at that time gone through all + Beaumont and Fletcher's comedies, and the play + she was reading when captain Farquhar dined + there, was the Scornful Lady. Captain Vanburgh, + shortly after, recommended her to Mr. + Christopher Rich, who took her into the house + at the allowance of fifteen shillings a week. However, + her agreeable figure, and sweetness of voice, + soon gave her the preference, in the opinion of the + whole town, to all our young actresses, and his grace + the late duke of Bedford, being pleased to speak, + to Mr. Rich in her favour, he instantly raised her + allowance to twenty shillings a week; her fame + and salary at last rose to her just merit, + + Your humble servant, + + Nov. 25, 1730[3]. + + CHARLES TAYLOUR.' + +In the beginning of the year 1700, Farquhar brought his Constant Couple, +or Trip to the Jubilee, upon the stage, it being then the jubilee year +at Rome; but our author drew so gay, and airy a figure in Sir Harry +Wildair, so suited to Mr. Wilks's talents, and so animated by his +gesture, and vivacity of spirit, that it is not determined whether the +poet or the player received most reputation by it. Towards the latter +end of this year we meet with Mr. Farquhar in Holland, probably upon +his military duty, from whence he has given a description in two of his +letters dated that year from Brill, and from Leyden, no less true than +humorous, as well of those places as the people; and in a third, dated +from the Hague he very facetiously relates how merry he was there, at +a treat made by the earl of Westmoreland, while, not only himself, but +king William, and other of his subjects were detained there by a violent +storm, which he has no less humorously described, and has, among his +poems, written also an ingenious copy of verses to his mistress on the +same subject. Whether this mistress was the same person he calls his +charming Penelope, in several of his love letters addressed to her, we +know not, but we have been informed by an old officer in the army, who +well knew Mr. Farquhar, that by that name we are to understand Mrs. +Oldfield, and that the person meant by Mrs. V---- in one of them, said +to be her bedfellow, was Mrs. Verbruggen the actress, the same who was +some years before Mrs. Mountfort, whom Mrs. Oldfield succeeded, +(when Mrs. V---- died some years after in child-bed) with singular +commendation, in her principal parts; and from so bright a flame it was +no wonder that Farquhar was more than ordinarily heated. The author of +Mrs. Oldfield's life says, that she has often heard her mention some +agreeable hours she spent with captain Farquhar: As she was a lady of +true delicacy, nor meanly prostituted herself to every adorer, it +would be highly ungenerous to suppose, that their hours ever passed in +criminal freedoms. And 'tis well known, whatever were her failings, she +wronged no man's wife; nor had an husband to injure. + +Mr. Farquhar, encouraged by the success of his last piece, made a +continuation of it in 1701, and brought on his Sir Harry Wildair; in +which Mrs. Oldfield received as much reputation, and was as greatly +admired in her part, as Wilks was in his. + +In the next year he published his Miscellanies, or Collection of Poems, +Letters, and Essays, already mentioned, and which contain a variety of +humorous, and pleasant sallies of fancy: There is amongst them a copy of +verses addressed to his dear Penelope, upon her wearing her Masque the +evening before, which was a female fashion in those days, as well at +public walks, as among the spectators at the Playhouse. These verses +naturally display his temper and talents, and will afford a very clear +idea of them; and therefore we shall here insert them. + +'The arguments you made use of last night for keeping on your masque, I +endeavoured to defeat with reason, but that proving ineffectual, I'll +try the force of rhyme, and send you the heads of our chat, in a +poetical dialogue between You and I.' + + You. + + Thus images are veil'd which you adore; + Your ignorance does raise your zeal the more. + + I. + + All image worship for false zeal is held; + False idols ought indeed to be conceal'd. + + You. + + Thus oracles of old were still receiv'd; + The more ambiguous, still the more believ'd. + + + I. + + But oracles of old were seldom true, + The devil was in them, sure he's not in you. + + You. + + Thus mask'd in mysteries does the godhead stand: + The more obscure, the greater his command. + + I. + + The Godhead's hidden power would soon be past, + Did we not hope to see his face at last. + + You. + + You are my slave already sir, you know, + To Shew more charms, would but increase your + woe, + I scorn an insult to a conquer'd foe. + + I. + + I am your slave, 'tis true, but still you see, + All slaves by nature struggle to be free; + But if you would secure the stubborn prize, + Add to your wit, the setters of your eyes; + Then pleas'd with thraldom, would I kiss my + chain + And ne'er think more of liberty again.[4] + +It is said, some of the letters of which we have been speaking, were +published from the copies returned him at his request, by Mrs. Oldfield, +and that she delighted to read them many years after they were printed, +as she also did the judicious essay at the end of them, which is called +a Discourse upon Comedy, in Reference to the English Stage; but what +gives a yet more natural and lively representation of our author still, +is one among those letters, which he calls the Picture, containing a +description and character of himself, which we should not now omit +transcribing, if his works were not in every body's hands. + +In 1703 came out another Comedy, entitled the Inconstant, or the Way to +Win Him, which had sufficient merit to have procured equal success to +the rest; but for the inundation of Italian, French, and other farcical +interruptions, which, through the interest of some, and the depraved +taste of others, broke in upon the stage like a torrent, and swept down +before thorn all taste for competitions of a more intrinsic excellence. +These foreign monsters obtained partisans amongst our own countrymen, in +opposition to English humour, genuine wit, and the sublime efforts of +genius, and substituted in their room the airy entertainments of dancing +and singing, which conveyed no instruction, awakened no generous +passion, nor filled the breast with any thing great or manly. Such was +the prevalence of these airy nothings, that our author's comedy was +neglected for them, and the tragedy of Phaedra slid Hippolitus, which for +poetry is equal to any in our tongue, (and though Mr. Addison wrote +the prologue, and Prior the epilogue) was suffered to languish, while +multitudes flocked to hear the warblings of foreign eunuchs, whose +highest excellence, as Young expresses it, was, + + 'Nonsense well tun'd with sweet stupidity.' + +Very early in the year 1704, a farce: called the Stage Coach, in the +composition whereof he was jointly concerned with another, made its +first appearance in print, and it has always given satisfaction. + +Mr. Farquhar had now been about a twelve-month married, and it was at +first reported, to a great fortune; which indeed he expected, but was +miserably disappointed. The lady had fallen in love with him, and so +violent was her passion, that she resolved to have him at any rate; and +as she knew Farquhar was too much dissipated in life to fall in love, or +to think of matrimony unless advantage was annexed to it, she fell upon +the stratagem of giving herself out for a great fortune, and then took +an opportunity of letting our poet know that she was in love with him. +Vanity and interest both uniting to persuade Farquhar to marry, he did +not long delay it, and, to his immortal honour let it be spoken, though +he found himself deceived, his circumstances embarrassed, and his family +growing upon him, he never once upbraided her for the cheat, but behaved +to her with, all the delicacy, and tenderness of an indulgent husband. + +His next comedy named the Twin-Rivals, was played in 1705. + +Our poet was possessed of his commission in the army when the Spanish +expedition was made under the conduct of the earl of Peterborough, tho' +it seems he did not keep it long after, and tho' he was not embarked in +that service, or present at the defeat of the French forces, and +the conquest of Barcelona; yet from some military friends in that +engagement, he received such distinct relations of it in their +epistolary correspondency, that he wrote a poem upon the subject, in +which he has made the earl his hero. Two or three years after it was +written, the impression of it was dedicated by the author's widow to the +same nobleman, in which are some fulsome strains of panegyric, which +perhaps her necessity excited her to use, from a view of enhancing her +interest by flattery, which if excusable at all, is certainly so in a +woman left destitute with a family, as she was. + +In 1706 a comedy called the Recruiting Officer was acted at the +theatre-royal. He dedicates to all friends round the Wrekin, a noted +hill near Shrewsbury, where he had been to recruit for his company; and +where, from his observations on country-life, the manner that serjeants +inveigle clowns to enlist, and the behaviour of the officers towards the +milk-maids and country-wenches, whom they seldom fail of debauching, he +collected matter sufficient to build a comedy upon, and in which he +was successful: Even now that comedy fails not to bring full houses, +especially when the parts of Captain Plume, Captain Brazen, Sylvia, and +Serjeant Kite are properly disposed of. + +His last play was the Beaux--Stratagem, of which he did not live to +enjoy the full success. + +Of this pleasing author's untimely end, we can give but a melancholy +account. + +He was oppressed with some debts which obliged him to make application +to a certain noble courtier, who had given him formerly many professions +of friendship. He could not bear the thought that his wife and family +would want, and in this perplexity was ready to embrace any expedient +for their relief. His pretended patron persuaded him to convert his +commission into the money he wanted, and pledged his honour, that in a +very short time he would provide him another. This circumstance appeared +favourable, and the easy bard accordingly sold his commission; but when +he renewed his application to the nobleman, and represented his needy +situation, the latter had forgot his promise, or rather, perhaps, had +never resolved to fulfil it. + +This distracting disappointment so preyed upon the mind of Mr. Farquhar, +who saw nothing but beggary and want before him, that by a sure, tho' +not sudden declension of nature, it carried him off this worldly +theatre, while his last play was acting in the height of success at that +of Drury-lane; and tho' the audience bestowed the loudest applauses upon +the performance, yet they could scarce forbear mingling tears with their +mirth for the approaching loss of its author, which happened in the +latter end of April 1707, before he was thirty years of age. + +Thus having attended our entertaining dramatist o'er the contracted +stage of his short life, thro' the various characters he performed in +it, of the player, the lover, and the husband, the soldier, the critic, +and the poet, to his final catastrophe, it is here time to close the +scene. However, we shall take the liberty to subjoin a short character +of his works, and some farther observations on his genius. + +It would be injurious to the memory of Wilks not to take notice here, of +his generous behaviour towards the two daughters of his deceased friend. +He proposed to his brother managers, (who readily came into it) to give +each of them a benefit, to apprentice them to mantua-makers; which is an +instance amongst many others that might be produced, of the great worth +of that excellent comedian. + +The general character which has been given of Mr. Farquhar's comedies +is, 'That the success of the most of them far exceeded the author's +expectations; that he was particularly happy in the choice of his +subjects, which he took care to adorn with a variety of characters +and incidents; his style is pure and unaffected, his wit natural and +flowing, and his plots generally well contrived. He lashed the vices of +the age, tho' with a merciful hand; for his muse was good-natured, not +abounding over-much with gall, tho' he has been blamed for it by the +critics: It has been objected to him, that he was too hasty in his +productions; but by such only who are admirers of stiff and elaborate +performances, since with a person of a sprightly fancy, those things are +often best, that are struck off in a heat[5]. It is thought that in all +his heroes, he generally sketched out his own character, of a young, +gay, rakish spark, blessed with parts and abilities. His works are +loose, tho' not so grossly libertine, as some other wits of his time, +and leave not so pernicious impressions on the imagination as other +figures of the like kind more strongly stampt by indelicate and heavier +hands.' + +He seems to have been a man of a genius rather sprightly than great, +rather flow'ry than solid; his comedies are diverting, because his +characters are natural, and such as we frequently meet with; but he has +used no art in drawing them, nor does there appear any force of thinking +in his performances, or any deep penetration into nature; but rather a +superficial view, pleasant enough to the eye, though capable of leaving +no great impression on the mind. He drew his observations chiefly +from those he conversed with, and has seldom given any additional +heightening, or indelible marks to his characters; which was the +peculiar excellence of Shakespear, Johnson, and Congreve. + +Had he lived to have gained a more general knowledge of life, or had his +circumstances not been straitened, and so prevented his mingling with +persons of rank, we might have seen his plays embellished with more +finished characters, and with a more polished dialogue. + +He had certainly a lively imagination, but then it was capable of no +great compass; he had wit, but it was of no peculiar a sort, as not +to gain ground upon consideration; and it is certainly true, that his +comedies in general owe their success full as much to the player, as to +any thing intrinsically excellent in themselves. + +If he was not a man of the highest genius, he seems to have had +excellent moral qualities, of which his behaviour to his wife and +tenderness to his children are proofs, and deserved a better fate than +to die oppressed with want, and under the calamitous apprehensions of +leaving his family destitute: While Farquhar will ever be remembered +with pleasure by people of taste, the name of the courtier who thus +inhumanly ruined him, will be for ever dedicated to infamy. + + +[Footnote 1: Memoirs of Wilks by Obrian, 8vo. 1732.] + +[Footnote 2: Memoirs of Mr. Farquhar, before his Works.] + +[Footnote 3: For the moral character of Mrs. Oldfield, see the Life of +Savage.] + +[Footnote 4: Farquhar's Letters.] + +[Footnote 5: Memoirs, ubi. supra.] + + * * * * * + +EDWARD RAVENSCROFT. + +This gentleman is author of eleven plays, which gives him a kind of +right to be named in this collection. Some have been of opinion, he was +a poet of a low rate, others that he was only a wit collector; be this +as it may, he acquired, some distinction by the vigorous opposition he +made to Dryden: And having chosen so powerful an antagonist, he has +acquired more honour by it, than by all his other works put together; he +accuses Dryden of plagiary, and treats him severely. + +Mr. Dryden, indeed, had first attacked his Mamamouchi; which provoked +Ravenscroft to retort so harshly upon him; but in the opinion of Mr. +Langbain, the charge of plagiarism as properly belonged to Ravenfcroft +himself as to Dryden; tho' there was this essential difference between +the plagiary of one and that of the other; that Dryden turned whatever +he borrowed into gold, and Ravenscroft made use of other people's +materials, without placing them in a new light, or giving them any +graces, they had not before. + +Ravenscroft thus proceeds against Mr. Dryden: 'That I may maintain +the character of impartial, to which I pretend, I must pull off his +disguise, and discover the politic plagiary that lurks under it. I know +he has endeavoured to shew himself matter of the art of swift writing, +and would persuade the world that what he writes is extempore wit, +currente calamo. But I doubt not to shew that tho' he would be thought +to imitate the silk worm that spins its webb from its own bowels, yet I +shall make him appear like the leech that lives upon the blood of men, +drawn from the gums, and when he is rubbed with salt, spues it up again. +To prove this, I shall only give an account of his plays, and by that +little of my own knowledge, that I shall discover, it will be manifest, +that this rickety poet, (tho' of so many years) cannot go without others +assistance; for take this prophecy from your humble servant, or Mr. +Ravenscroft's Mamamouchi, which you please, + + 'When once our poet's translating vein is past, + From him, you can't expect new plays in haste. + +Thus far Mr. Ravenscroft has censured Dryden; and Langbain, in order to +prove him guilty of the same poetical depredation, has been industrious +to trace the plots of his plays, and the similarity of his characters +with those of other dramatic poets; but as we should reckon it tedious +to follow him in this manner, we shall only in general take notice of +those novels from which he has drawn his plots. + +We cannot ascertain the year in which this man died; he had been bred +a templer, which he forsook as a dry unentertaining study, and much +beneath the genius of a poet. + +His dramatic works are, + +1. The Careless Lovers, a Comedy, acted at the duke's theatre, 4to. +1673. The scene Covent-Garden, part of this play is borrowed from +Moliere's Monsieur de Pourceaugnac. + +2. Mamamouchi; or the Citizen turned Gentleman, a Comedy, acted at the +duke's theatre, 4to. 1675, dedicated to his Highness prince Rupert. Part +of this play is taken from Moliere's le Bourgeois Gentilliome. Scene +London. + +3. Scaramouch a Philosopher, Harlequin a schoolboy, Bravo Merchant and +Magician; a Comedy, after the Italian manner, acted at the theatre-royal +1677. The poet in his preface to this play boasts his having brought a +new sort of Comedy on our stage; but his critics will not allow any one +scene of it to be the genuine offspring of his own brain, and denominate +him rather the midwife than the parent of this piece; part of it is +taken from le Burgeois Gentilhome, & la Marriage Force. + +4. The Wrangling Lovers; or the Invisible Mistress, a Comedy, acted at +the duke's theatre, 4to. 1677. This play is founded upon Corneille's Les +Engagements du Hazard, and a Spanish Romance, called, Deceptio visus; or +seeing and believing are two things. + +5. King Edgar, and Alfreda, a Tragedy, acted at the theatre-royal 1677. +The story is taken from the Annals of Love, a novel, and Malmesbury, +Grafton, Stow, Speed, and other English chronicles. + +6. The English Lawyer, a Comedy; acted at the theatre-royal 1678; this +is only a translation of the celebrated latin comedy of Ignoramus, +written by Mr. Ruggle of Clare-hall, Cambridge. Scene Bourdeaux. + +7. The London Cuckolds, a Comedy; acted at the duke of York's theatre. +This play is collected from the novels of various authors, and is +esteemed one of the most diverting, though perhaps the most offensive +play of the author's; it was first acted 1682. This play has hitherto +kept possession of the flags, a circumstance owing to the annual +celebration of the lord mayor's inauguration: Though it seems to be +growing into a just disesteem. It was deprived of its annual appearance +at Drury-Lane Theatre, in the year 1752, by Mr. Garrick; whose good +sense would not suffer him to continue so unwarrantable and ridiculous +an insult, upon so respectable a body of men as the magistrates of the +city of London. + +The citizens are exposed to the highest ridicule in it; and the scenes +are loose and indecent. The reason why the comic poets have so often +declared themselves open enemies to the citizens, was plainly this: The +city magistrates had always opposed the court, on which the poets had +their dependance, and therefore took this method of revenge. + +8. Dame Dobson, or the Cunning Woman, a Comedy; acted and damn'd at the +duke's theatre, printed in quarto, 1684. This is a translation of a +French comedy. + +9. The Canterbury Guests, or a Bargain Broken, a Comedy; acted at the +theatre-royal, in 1695. + +10. The Anatomist, or the Sham Doctor, a Comedy; acted at the +theatre-royal in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, 1697. + +11. The Italian Husband, a Tragedy; acted at the theatre in +Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 1698. To this play, besides the prologue, is +prefixed a dialogue, which the author calls the prelude, managed by the +poet, a critic, and one Mr. Peregrine the poet's friend. The author here +seems to be under the same mistake with other modern writers, who are +fond of barbarous and bloody stories. The Epilogue is written by Jo. +Haynes. + + * * * * * + + +JOHN PHILIPS, + +A poet of very considerable eminence, was son of Dr. Stephen Philips, +arch-deacon of Salop, and born at Brampton in Oxfordshire, December 30, +1676. After he had received a grammatical education at home, he was sent +to Winchester school, where he made himself master of the Latin and +Greek languages, and was soon distinguished for an happy imitation of +the excellences which he discovered in the best classical authors. With +this foundation he was removed to Christ's Church in Oxford, where he +performed all his university exercises with applause, and besides other +valuable authors in the poetical way, he became particularly acquainted +with, and studied the works of Milton. The ingenious Mr. George Sewel, +in his life and character of our author, observes, 'that there was not +an allusion in Paradise Lost, drawn from the thoughts and expressions of +Homer or Virgil, which Mr. Philips could not immediately refer to, and +by that he perceived what a peculiar life and grace their sentiments +added to English poetry; how much their images raised its spirit, +and what weight and beauty their words, when translated, gave to its +language: nor was he less curious in observing the force and elegance of +his mother tongue; but by the example of his darling Milton, searched +backwards into the works of our old English poets, to furnish him with +proper sounding, and significant expressions, and prove the due extent, +and compass of the language. For this purpose he carefully read over +Chaucer and Spencer, and afterwards, in his writings, did not scruple +to revive any words or phrases which he thought deserved it, with that +modesty, and liberty which Horace allows of, either in the coining of +new, or the restoring of ancient expressions.' Our author, however, +was not so much enamoured of poetry, as to neglect other parts of +literature, but was very well acquainted with the whole compass of +natural philosophy. He seems in his studies, as well as his writings, to +have made Virgil his pattern, and often to have broken out with him in +the following rapturous wish, in the Second Book of the Georgies which, +for the sake of the English reader, we shall give in Mr. Dryden's +translation. + + 'Give me the ways of wand'ring stars to know, + The depths of heav'n above, or earth below; + Teach me the various labours of the moon, + And whence proceed the eclipses of the sun. + Why slowing tides prevail upon the main, + And in what dark recess they shrink again. + What shakes the solid earth, what cause delays + The summer-nights, and the short winter days.' + +Mr. Philips was a passionate admirer of nature, and it is not improbable +but he drew his own character in that description which he gives of a +philosophical and retired life, at the latter end of the first Book of +his Cyder. + + --He to his labour hies, + Gladsome intent on somewhat that may ease + Unearthly mortals and with curious search + Examine all the properties of herbs, + Fossils, and minerals, that th' embowell'd earth + Displays, if by his industry he can + Benefit human race. + +Though the reader will easily discover the unpoetical flatness of the +above lines, yet they shew a great thirst after natural knowledge, and +we have reason to believe, that much might have been attained, and many +new discoveries made, by so diligent an enquirer, and so faithful a +recorder of physical operations. However, though death prevented the +hopes of the world in that respect, yet the passages of that kind, which +we find in his Poem on Cyder, may convince us of the niceness of his +observations in natural causes. Besides this, he was particularly +skilled in antiquities, especially those of his own country; and part +of this study too, he has with much art and beauty intermixed with his +poetry. + +While Mr. Philips continued at the university, he was honoured with the +acquaintance of the best and politest men in it, and had a particular +intimacy with Mr. Edmund Smith, author of Phaedra and Hippolitus. The +first poem which got him reputation, was his Splendid Shilling, which +the author of the Tatler has stiled the best burlesque poem in the +English Language; nor was it only, says Mr. Sewel, 'the finest of that +kind in our tongue, but handled in a manner quite different from what +had been made use of by any author of our own, or other nation, the +sentiments, and stile being in this both new; whereas in those, the jest +lies more in allusions to the thoughts and fables of the ancients, than +in the pomp of expression. The same humour is continued thro' the whole, +and not unnaturally diversified, as most poems of that nature had been +before. + +Out of that variety of circumstances, which his fruitful invention must +suggest to him, on such a subject, he has not chosen any but what are +diverting to every reader, and some, that none but his inimitable dress +could have made diverting to any: when we read it, we are betrayed +into a pleasure which we could not expect, tho' at the same time the +sublimity of the stile, and the gravity of the phrase, seem to chastise +that laughter which they provoke.' Mr. Edmund Smith in his beautiful +verses on our Author's Death, speaks thus concerning this poem; + + 'In her best light the comic muse appears, + When she with borrowed pride the buskin + wears.' + +This account given by Mr. Sewel of the Splendid Shilling, is perhaps +heightened by personal friendship, and that admiration which we +naturally pay to the productions of one we love. The stile seems to +be unnatural for a poem which is intended to raise laughter; for that +laboured gravity has rather a contrary influence; disposing the mind to +be serious: and the disappointment is not small, when a man finds he +has been betrayed into solemn thinking, in reading the description of a +trifle; if the gravity of the phrase chastises the laughter, the purpose +of the poem is defeated, and it is a rule in writing to suit the +language to the subject. Philips's Splendid Shilling may have pleased, +because, its manner was new, and we often find people of the best sense +throw away their admiration on monsters, which are seldom to be seen, +and neglect more regular beauty, and juster proportion. + +It is with reserve we offer this criticism against the authority of Dr. +Sewel, and the Tatler; but we have resolved to be impartial, and the +reader who is convinced of the propriety and beauty of the Splendid +Shilling, has, no doubt, as good a right to reject our criticism, as we +had to make it. + +Our author's coming to London, we are informed, was owing to the +persuasion of some great persons, who engaged him to write on the Battle +of Blenheim; his poem upon which introduced him to the earl of Oxford, +and Henry St. John, esq; afterwards lord viscount Bolingbroke, and other +noble patrons. His swelling stile, it must be owned, was better suited +to a subject of this gravity and importance, than to that of a light and +ludicrous nature: the exordium of this piece is poetical, and has an +allusion to that of Spencer's Fairy Queen: + + From low and abject themes the grov'ling muse + Now mounts aerial to sing of arms + Triumphant, and emblaze the martial acts + Of Britain's hero. + +The next poem of our author was his Cyder, the plan of which he laid at +Oxford, and afterwards compleated it in London. He was determined to +make choice of this subject, from the violent passion he had for the +productions of nature, and to do honour to his native country. The poem +was founded upon the model of Virgil's Georgics, and approaches pretty +near it, which, in the opinion of critics in general, and Mr. Dryden in +particular, even excels the Divine AEneid: He imitates Virgil rather like +a pursuer, than a follower, not servilely tracing, but emulating his +beauties; his conduct and management are superior to all other copiers +of that original; and even the admired Rapin (says Dr. Sewel) is much +below him, both in design and success, 'for the Frenchman either fills +his garden with the idle fables of antiquity, or new transformations +of his own; and, in contradiction of the rules of criticism, has +injudiciously blended the serious, and sublime stile of Virgil, with the +elegant turns of Ovid in his Metamorphosis; nor has the great genius of +Cowley succeeded better in his Books of Plants, who, besides the same +faults with the former, is continually varying his numbers from one sort +of verse to another, and alluding to remote hints of medicinal writers, +which, though allowed to be useful, are yet so numerous, that they +flatten the dignity of verse, and sink it from a poem, to a treatise of +physic,' Dr. Sewel has informed us, that Mr. Philips intended to have +written a poem on the Resurrection, and the Day of Judgment, and we may +reasonably presume, that in such a work, he would have exceeded his +other performances. This awful subject is proper to be treated in a +solemn stile, and dignified with the noblest images; and we need not +doubt from his just notions of religion, and the genuine spirit of +poetry, which were conspicuous in him, he would have carried his readers +through these tremendous scenes, with an exalted reverence, which, +however, might not participate of enthusiasm. The meanest soul, and the +lowest imagination cannot contemplate these alarming events described +in Holy Writ, without the deepest impressions: what then might we not +expect from the heart of a good man, and the regulated flights and +raptures of a christian poet? Our author's friend Mr. Smith, who had +probably seen the first rudiments of his design, speaks thus of it, in a +poem upon his death. + + + O! had relenting Heaven prolong'd his days, + The tow'ring bard had sung in nobler lays: + How the last trumpet wakes the lazy dead; + How saints aloft the cross triumphant spread; + How opening Heav'ns their happier regions, shew, + And yawning gulphs with flaming vengeance glow, + And saints rejoice above, and sinners howl below. + Well might he sing the day he could not fear, + And paint the glories he was sure to wear. + +All that we have left more of this poet, is a Latin Ode to Henry St. +John, esq; which is esteemed a master-piece; the stile being pure and +elegant, the subject of a mixt nature, resembling the Jublime spirit, +and gay facetious humour of Horace. He was beloved, says Dr. Sewel, 'by +all who knew him; somewhat reserved and silent amongst strangers, but +free, familiar, and easy with his friends; he was averse to disputes, +and thought no time so ill spent, and no wit so ill used, as that which +was employed in such debates; his whole life was distinguished by a +natural goodness, and well-grounded and unaffected piety, an universal +charity, and a steady adherence to his principles; no one observed the +natural and civil duties of life with a stricter regard, whether a son, +a friend, or a member of society, and he had the happiness to fill every +one of these parts, without even the suspicion either of undutifulness, +insincerity, or disrespect. Thus he continued to the last, not owing his +virtues to the happiness of his constitution, but the frame of his +mind, insomuch, that during a long sickness, which is apt to ruffle the +smoothest temper; he never betrayed any discontent or uneasiness, the +integrity of his life still preserving the chearfulness of his spirits; +and if his friends had measured their hopes of his life, only by his +unconcern in his sickness, they could not but conclude, that either his +date would be much longer, or that he was at all times prepared for +death.' He had long been troubled with a lingering consumption, attended +with an asthma; and the summer before he died, by the advice of his +physicians, he removed to Batly, where he got only some present ease, +but went from thence with but small hopes of recovery; and upon the +return of the distemper, he died at Hereford the 15th of February, +1708. He was interred in the Cathedral church of that city, with an +inscription upon his grave-stone, and had a monument erected to his +memory in Westminster-abbey by Sir Simon Harcourt, afterwards lord +chancellor; the epitaph of which was written by Dr. Friend. + + * * * * * + + +WILLIAM WALSH, Esq; + +This poet was the son of Joseph Walsh, of Aberley in Worcestershire. He +became a gentleman-commoner of Wadham-College Oxford, in Easter-Term, +1678, when he was only fifteen years of age; he left it without a +degree, retired to his native county, and some time after went to +London. He wrote a Dialogue concerning Women, being a Defence of the +Fair-Sex, addressed to Eugenia, and printed in the year 1691. This +is the most considerable of our author's productions, and it will be +somewhat necessary to take further notice of it, which we cannot +more effectually do, than by transcribing the words of Dryden in its +commendation.--That great critic thus characterises it. 'The perusal of +this dialogue, in defence of the Fair-Sex, written by a gentleman of my +acquaintance, much surprised me: For it was not easy for me to imagine, +that one so young could have treated so nice a subject with so much +judgment. It is true, I was not ignorant that he was naturally +ingenious, and that he had improved himself by travelling; and from +thence I might reasonably have expected, that air of gallantry which is +so visibly diffused through the body of the work, and is, indeed, the +soul that animates all things of this nature; but so much variety of +reading, both in ancient and modern authors, such digestion of that +reading, so much justness of thought, that it leaves no room for +affectation or pedantry; I may venture to say, are not over common +amongst practised writers, and very rarely to be found amongst +beginners. It puts me in mind of what was said of Mr. Waller, the father +of our English numbers, upon the sight of his first verses, by the wits +of the last age; that he came out into the world forty-thousand +strong, before they had heard of him. Here in imitation of my friend's +apostrophes, I hope the reader need not be told, that Mr. Waller is only +mentioned for honour's sake, that I am desirous of laying hold on his +memory on all occasions, and thereby acknowledging to the world, that +unless he had written, none of us all could write. My friend, had not it +seems confidence enough to send this piece out into the world, without +my opinion of it, that it might pass securely, at least among the fair +readers, for whose service it was principally designed. I am not so +presuming, as to think my opinion can either be his touch-stone, or his +passport; but, I thought I might send him back to Ariosto, who has made +it the business of almost thirty stanza's, in the beginning of the +thirty-seventh book of his Orlando Furioso; not only to praise that +beautiful part of the creation, but also to make a sharp satire on their +enemies; to give mankind their own, and to tell them plainly, that from +their envy it proceeds, that the virtue and great actions of women are +purposely concealed, and the failings of some few amongst them exposed, +with all the aggravating circumstances of malice. For my own part, who +have always been their servant, and have never drawn my pen against +them, I had rather see some of them praised extraordinarily, than any +of them suffer by detraction, and that at this age, and at this time +particularly, wherein I find more heroines, than heroes; let me +therefore give them joy of their new champion: If any will think me more +partial to him, than I really am, they can only say, I have returned his +bribe; and he word I wish him is, that he may receive justice from the +men, and favour only from the ladies.' + +This is the opinion of Mr. Dryden in favour of this piece, which is +sufficient to establish its reputation. Mr. Wood, the antiquarian, +observes, that this Eugenia was the mistress of Walsh; but for this +he produces no proof, neither is it in the lead material whether the +circumstance is true or no. Mr. Walslh is likewise author of several +occasional poems, printed 1749, amongst the works of the Minor Poets, +and which he first published in the year 1692, with some letters +amorous, and gallant, to which is prefixed the following address to the +public. + + Go, little book, and to the world impart + The faithful image of an amorous heart; + Those who love's dear deluding pains have known, + May in my fatal sorrows read their own: + Those who have lived from all its torments free, + May find the things they never, felt by me. + Perhaps advis'd avoid the gilded bait, + And warn'd by my example shun my fate. + Whilst with calm joy, safe landed on the coast + I view the waves, on which I once was tost. + Love is a medley of endearments, jars, + Suspicions, quarrels, reconcilements, wars; + Then peace again. O would it not be best, + To chase the fatal poison from our breast? + But since, so few can live from passion free, + Happy the man, and only happy he, + Who with such lucky stars begins his love, + That his cool judgment does his choice approve. + Ill grounded passions quickly wear away; + What's built upon esteem can ne'er decay. + + +Mr. Walsh was of an amorous complexion, and in one of his letters +mentions three of his amours, in pretty singular terms. 'I valued (says +he) one mistress, after I left loving her; I loved another after I left +valuing her; I love and value the third, after having lost all hopes of +her; and according to the course of my passions, I should love the next +after having obtained her. However, from this time forward, upon what +follies soever you fall, be pleased, for my sake, to spare those of +love; being very well satisfied there is not one folly of that kind +(excepting marriage) which I have not already committed. I have been, +without raillery, in love with the beauty of a woman whom I have never +seen; with the wit of one whom I never heard speak, nor seen any thing +she has written, and with the heroic virtues of a woman, without knowing +any one action of her, that could make me think; she had any; Cupid will +have it so, and what can weak mortals do against so potent a god?' Such +were the sentiments of our author when he was about 30 years of age. + +Queen Anne constituted Mr. Walsh her master of the horse. On what +account this place, in particular, was allotted him, we know not; but, +with regard to his literary abilities, Mr. Dryden in his postscript to +his translation of Virgil, has asserted, that Mr. Walsh was the best +critic then living; and Mr. Pope, speaking of our author, thus concludes +his Essay on Criticism, viz. + + To him, the wit of Greece, and Rome was known, + And ev'ry author's merit, but his own. + Such late was Walsh: the muses judge and friend, + Who justly knew to blame, or to commend; + To failings mild, but zealous for desert, + The clearest head, and the sincerest heart. + +In the year 1714 the public were obliged with a small posthumous piece +of Mr. Walsh's, entitled AEsculapius, or the Hospital of Fools, in +imitation of Lucian. There is printed amongst. Mr. Walsh's other +performances, in a volume of the Minor Poets, an Essay on Pastoral +Poetry, with a Short Defence of Virgil, against some of the reflexions +of M. Fontenelle. That critic had censured Virgil for writing his +pastorals in a too courtly stile, which, he says, is not proper for the +Doric Muse; but Mr. Walsh has very judiciously shewn, that the Shepherds +in Virgil's time, were held in greater estimation, and were persons of a +much superior figure to what they are now. We are too apt to figure the +ancient countrymen like our own, leading a painful life in poverty, +and contempt, without wit, or courage, or education; but men had quite +different notions of these things for the first four thousand years +of the world. Health and strength were then more in esteem, than the +refinements of pleasure, and it was accounted, more honourable to till +the ground, and keep a flock of sheep, than to dissolve in wantonness, +and effeminating sloth. + +Mr. Walsh's other pieces consist chiefly of Elegies, Epitaphs, Odes, and +Songs; they are elegant, tho' not great, and he seems to have had a well +cultivated, tho' not a very extensive, understanding. Dryden and Pope +have given their sanction in his favour, to whom he was personally +known, a circumstance greatly to his advantage, for had there been no +personal friendship, we have reason to believe, their encomiums would +have been less lavish; at least his works do not carry so high an idea +of him, as they have done. Mr. Walsh died about the year 1710. + + * * * * * + + +THOMAS BETTERTON. + +(Written by R.S.[1]) + +Almost every circumstance relating to the life of this celebrated actor, +is exposed to dispute, and his manner of first coming on the stage, as +well as the action of his younger years have been controverted. He was +son of Mr. Betterton, undercook to king Charles the Ist, and was born in +Tothill-street Westminster, some time in the year 1635. Having received +the rudiments of a genteel education, and discovering a great propensity +to books, it was once proposed he should have been educated to some +learned profession; but the violence and confusion of the times putting +this out of the power of his family, he was at his own request bound +apprentice to a bookseller, one Mr. Holden, a man of some eminence, and +then happy in the friendship of Sir William Davenant. In the year 1656 +it is probable Mr. Betterton made his first appearance on the +stage, under the direction of Sir William, at the Opera-house in +Charter-house-yard. It is said, that going frequently to the stage about +his mailer's business, gave Betterton the first notion of it, who shewed +such indications of a theatrical genius, that Sir William readily +accepted him as a performer. Immediately after the restoration two +distinct companies were formed by royal authority; the first in virtue +of a patent granted to Henry Killegrew, Esq; called the king's company, +the other in virtue of a patent granted to Sir William Davenant, which +was stiled the duke's company.[2] The former acted at the theatre royal +in Drury-lane, the other at that in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. In order that +the theatres might be decorated to the utmost advantage, and want none +of the embellishments used abroad, Mr. Betterton, by command of Charles +II. went to Paris, to take a view of the French stage, that he might the +better judge what would contribute to the improvement of our own. Upon +his return, Mr. Betterton introduced moving scenes into our theatre, +which before had the stage only hung with tapestry. The scenes no doubt +help the representation, by giving the spectator a view of the place, +and increase the distress, by making the deception more powerful, +and afflicting the mind with greater sensibility. The theatre in +Lincoln's-Inn-Fields being very inconvenient, another was built for them +in Dorset-Garden, called the duke's theatre, to which they removed and +followed their profession with great success, during all that reign of +pleasure. + +The stage at this time was so much the care of the state, that when any +disputes arose, they were generally decided by his majesty himself or +the duke of York, and frequently canvassed in the circle. Mr. Cibber +assigns very good reasons, why at this time, theatrical amusements were +so much in vogue; the first is, that after a long eclipse of gallantry +during the rage of the civil war, people returned to it with double +ardour; the next is, that women were then introduced on the stage, their +parts formerly being supplied by boys, or effeminate young men, of which +the famous Kynaston possessed the capital parts. When any art is carried +to perfection, it seldom happens, that at that particular period, the +profits arising from it are high; and at this time the advantages of +playing were very inconsiderable: Mr. Hart the greatest performer at the +king's theatre, had but three pounds a week, and Mr. Betterton, then but +young, very probably had not so much, and besides, benefits then were +things unheard of. + +In 1670 Mr. Betterton married a gentlewoman on the same stage, one Mrs. +Saunderson, who excelled as an actress, every thing but her own conduct +in life. In her, he was compleatly happy, and by their joint endeavours +even in those days, they were able not only to acquire a genteel +subsistence, but also to save what might support them in an advanced +age[3]. + +After Sir William Davenant's death, the patent came into the hands +of his son, Dr. Charles Davenant, so well known to the world by his +political, writings; but, whether his genius was less fit than his +father's for such an administration, or the king's Company were really +superior to his in acting, we cannot determine; but they gained upon +the town, and Dr. Davenant was obliged to have recourse to the dramatic +opera, rich scenes, and fine music, to support the stage on which +Betterton played. The Dr. himself wrote the Opera of Circe, which came +first on the stage in 1675, and was received with, such applause, as +gave hopes of succeeding in this new way. The same year a Pastoral, +called Calista, or the Chaste Nymph, written by Mr. Crowne, at the +desire of queen Katherine, was represented at court; and the ladies, +Mary and Anne, daughters to the duke of York, played parts in it. On +this occasion Mr. Betterton instructed the actors, and Mrs. Betterton +gave lessons to the princesses; in grateful remembrance of which queen +Anne settled a pension of 100 l. per annum upon her. During this time an +emulation subsisted between the two companies, and a theatrical war was +proclaimed aloud, in which the town reaped the advantage, by seeing +the parts performed with the greater life. The duke's company however +maintained it's superiority, by means of the new-invented artillery, of +music, machines, and scenery, and other underhand dealings, and bribing +of actors in the opposite faction from performing their duty. By these +measures, a coalition was effected, and the two companies joined +together, and being united formed one of the perfectest that ever filled +a stage, in 1682. It was in this united company that the merit of +Betterton shone with unrivalled lustre, and having survived the great +actors on whose model he had formed himself he was at liberty to +discover his genius in its full extent, by replacing many of them with +advantage in these very characters, in which, during their life-times, +they had been thought inimitable; and all who have a taste for scenical +entertainments cannot but thank the present laureat, for preserving for +them so lively a portrait of Betterton, and painting him in so true a +light, that without the imputation of blind adulation, he may be justly +stiled the British Roscius. + +This account is too important and picturesque to be here omitted; and +it would be an injury to Betterton not to shew him in that commanding +light, in which the best judge of that species of excellence has placed +him. + +"Betterton was an actor, as Shakespear was an author, both without +competitors! form'd for the mutual assistance, and illustration of each +others genius! how Shakespear wrote, all men who have a taste for nature +may read, and know--but with what higher rapture would he still be read, +could they conceive how Betterton play'd him! then might they know, the +one was born alone to speak what the other only knew to write! Pity it +is, that the momentary beauties flowing from an harmonious elocution +cannot, like those of poetry, be their own record! that the animated +graces of the player can live no longer than the instant breath and +motion that presents them; or at belt can but faintly glimmer through +the memory, or imperfect attestation of a few surviving spectators. +Could how Betterton spoke, be as easily known as what he spoke; then +might you see the muse of Shakespear in her triumph, with all their +beauties in their belt array, rising into real life, and charming her +beholders. But alas! since all this is so far out of the reach of +description, how shall I shew you Betterton? Should I therefore tell +you, that all the Othellos, Hamlets, Hotspurs, Mackbeths, and Brutus's, +whom you may have seen since his time have fallen far short of him: This +still would give you no idea of his particular excellence. Let us see +then what a particular comparison may do! whether that may yet draw him +nearer to you? + +You have seen a Hamlet perhaps, who, on the first appearance of his +father's spirit, has thrown himself into all the straining vociferation +requisite to express rage and fury, and the house has thundered with +applause; tho' the misguided actor was all the while (as Shakespear +terms it) tearing a passion into rags--am the more bold to offer you +this particular instance, because the late Mr. Addison, while I sate by +him, to see this scene acted, made the same observation, asking me with +some surprize, if I thought Hamlet should be in so violent a passion +with the Ghost, which though it might have astonished, it had not +provok'd him? for you may observe that in this beautiful speech, the +passion never rises beyond an almost breathless astonishment, or an +impatience, limited by filial reverence, to enquire into the suspected +wrongs that may have rais'd him from his peaceful tomb! and a desire +to know what a spirit so seemingly distress, might wish or enjoin a +sorrowful son to execute towards his future quiet in the grave? this was +the light into which Betterton threw this scene; which he open'd with +a pause of mute amazement! then rising slowly, to a solemn, trembling +voice, he made the Ghost equally terrible to the spectator, as to +himself! and in the descriptive part of the natural emotions which the +ghastly vision gave him, the boldness of his expostulation was still +governed by decency, manly, but not braving; his voice never rising into +that seeming outrage, or wild defiance of what he naturally rever'd. But +alas! to preserve this medium, between mouthing, and meaning too little, +to keep the attention more pleasingly awake, by a tempered spirit, than +by meer vehemence of voice, is of all the master-strokes of an actor the +most difficult to reach. In this none yet have equall'd Betterton. But +I am unwilling to shew his superiority only by recounting the errors +of those, who now cannot answer to them; let their farther failings +therefore be forgotten! or rather shall I in some measure excuse them? +for I am not yet sure, that they might not be as much owing to the false +judgment of the spectator, as the actor. While the million are so apt to +be transported, when the drum of their ear is so roundly rattled; while +they take the life of elocution to lie in the strength of the lungs, +it is no wonder the actor, whose end is applause, should be so often +tempted, at this easy rate, to excite it. Shall I go a little farther? +and allow that this extreme is more pardonable than its opposite error. +I mean that dangerous affectation of the monotone, or solemn sameness of +pronunciation, which to my ear is insupportable; for of all faults that +so frequently pass upon the vulgar, that of flatness will have the +fewest admirers. That this is an error of ancient standing seems evident +by what Hamlet says, in his instructions to the players, viz. + + Be not too tame, neither, &c. + +The Actor, doubtless, is as strongly ty'd down to the rule of Horace, as +the writer. + + Si vis me flere, dolendum est + Primum ipsi tibi---- + +He that feels not himself the passion he would raise, will talk to a +sleeping audience: But this never was the fault of Betterton; and it has +often amaz'd me, to see those who soon came after him, throw out in +some parts of a character, a just and graceful spirit, which Betterton +himself could not but have applauded. And yet in the equally shining +passages of the same character, have heavily dragg'd the sentiment +along, like a dead weight; with a long ton'd voice, and absent eye, as +if they had fairly forgot what they were about: If you have never made +this observation, I am contented you should not know where to apply it. + +A farther excellence in Betterton, was that he could vary his spirit to +the different characters he acted. Those wild impatient starts, that +fierce and flaming fire, which he threw into Hotspur, never came from +the unruffled temper of his Brutus (for I have more than once seen a +Brutus as warm as Hotspur) when the Betterton Brutus was provoked, in +his dispute with Cassius, his spirit flew only to his eye; his steady +look alone supply'd that terror, which he disdain'd, an intemperance in +his voice should rise to. Thus, with a settled dignity of contempt, like +an unheeding rock, he repell'd upon himself the foam of Cassius. Perhaps +the very words of Shakespear will better let you into my meaning: + + Must I give way, and room, to your rash choler? + Shall I be frighted when a madman flares? + +And a little after, + + There is no terror, Cassius, in your looks! &c. + +Not but, in some part of this scene, where he reproaches Cassius, his +temper is not under this suppression, but opens into that warmth which +becomes a man of virtue; yet this is that hasty spark of anger, which +Brutus himself endeavours to excuse. + +But with whatever strength of nature we see the poet shew, at once, the +philosopher and the heroe, yet the image of the actor's excellence will +be still imperfect to you, unless language cou'd put colours in our +words to paint the voice with. + +Et si vis similem pingere, pinge sonum, is enjoining an impossibility. +The most that a Vandyke can arrive at, is to make his portraits of great +persons seem to think; a Shakespear goes farther yet, and tells you what +his pictures thought; a Betterton steps beyond 'em both, and calls them +from the grave, to breathe, and be themselves again, in feature, speech, +and motion. When the skilful actor shews you all these powers united, +he gratifies at once your eye, your ear, and your understanding. To +conceive the pleasure rising from such harmony, you must have been +present at it! 'tis not to be told you! + +Thus was Betterton happy in his fortune, in the notice of his sovereign, +in his fame and character, and in a general respect of all ranks of +life; thus happy might he have continued, had he not been persuaded to +attempt becoming rich, and unluckily engaged in a scheme that swept away +all his capital, and left him in real distress. This accident fell +out in 1692; and is of too particular a kind to pass unnoticed. Mr. +Betterton had a great many friends amongst the wealthy traders in the +city, and so amiable was his private life, that all who knew him were +concerned, and interested in his success: Amongst these, there was a +gentleman, whose name the author of his life thinks proper to conceal, +who entered into the strictest amity with this actor. This gentleman in +the year 1692 was concerned in an adventure to the East-Indies, upon the +footing then allowed by the company's charter, which vessels so employed +were stiled interlopers. The project of success was great, the gain +unusually high; and this induced Mr. Betterton, to whom his friend +offered any share in the business he pleased, to think of so large a sum +as eight-thousand pounds; but it was not for himself, as he had no such +sum in his power: and whoever considers the situation of the stage at +that time will need no other argument to convince him of it. Yet he had +another friend whom, he was willing to oblige, which was the famous Dr. +Radcliffe; so Mr. Betterton advanced somewhat more than two-thousand +pounds, which was his all, and the Dr. made it up eight-thousand. The +vessel sailed to the East-Indies, and made as prosperous a voyage as +those concerned in her could wish, and the war with France being then, +very warm, the captain very prudently came home north about, and arrived +safe in Ireland; but in his passage from thence he was taken by the +French. His cargo was upwards of 120,000 l. which ruined Mr. Betterton, +and broke the fortune and heart of his friend in the city: As for doctor +Radcliffe, he expressed great concern for Mr. Betterton, but none for +himself; the Dr. merrily consoled himself with observing, 'that it was +only trotting up 200 pair of stairs more, and things are as they were.' + +This accident, however fatal to Mr. Betterton's fortune, yet proved +not so to his peace, for he bore it without murmur, and even without +mention; so far from entertaining resentment against his friend in the +city, who doubtless meant him well, he continued his intimacy till +his death, and after his decease took his only daughter under his +protection, and watched over her education till she thought proper to +dispose of herself in marriage to Mr. Bowman the player, whose behaviour +was such, as to gain the esteem of all that knew him; he has not been +many years dead, and reflected credit on the reports of the excellency +of the old stage. + +Such the virtue, such the honour of Mr. Betterton! who in his private +character was as amiable as any he borrowed from the poets, and +therefore was always deservedly considered as the head of the theatre, +though vetted there with very little power. The managers, as the +companies were now united, exercised the mod despotic stage-tyranny; and +obliged our author to remonstrate to them the hardships they inflicted +on their actors, and represent that bad policy of the few, forgetting +their obligations to the many. This language in the ears of the +theatrical ministry, sounded like treason; and therefore, instead of +considering how to remedy the mischiefs complained of, they bent their +thoughts to get rid of their monitor: as if the not hearing of faults +was equivalent to mending them. It was with this view they began to give +away some of Betterton's first parts to young actors,[4] supposing this +would abate his influence. This policy ruined them, and assisted him: +The public resented their having plays ill acted when they knew they +might have better. + +The best players attached themselves wholly to Betterton, and desired +him to turn his thoughts on some method of procuring himself and them +justice. Thus theatrical despotism produced its own definition, and the +very steps taken to render Betterton desperate, pointed out the way for +his deliverance. Mr. Betterton, who had a general acquaintance with +people of fashion, represented his case to them, and at last by the +interposition of the earl of Dorset, a patent was granted him for +building a new play-house in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, which he effected by +a subscription. The patentees, in order to make head against them, got +over to their party Mr. Williams, and Mrs. Mountford, both eminent +players; they had also recruits from the country, but with all the +art of which they were capable, they continued still unequal to Mr. +Betterton's company. The new theatre was opened in 1695, with very great +advantages: Mr. Congreve accepted of a share with this company, as Mr. +Dryden had formerly with the king's; and the first play they acted +was Congreve's Comedy of Love for Love. The king honoured it with his +presence, there was a large and splendid audience, Mr. Betterton spoke a +Prologue, and Mrs. Bracegirdle an Epilogue suited to the occasion, and +it appeared by the reception they met with, that the town knew how to +reward the merit of those the patentees used so ill. But with all these +vast advantages, Betterton's company were not able to maintain this flow +of prosperity, beyond two or three seasons: Mr. Congreve was a slow +writer, Vanbrugh, and Mr. Cibber, who wrote for the other house, were +more expeditious; and if they did not finish, they at least writ +pleasing Comedies. + +The frequency of new pieces, however, gave such a turn in their favour, +that Betterton's company with all their merit, had been undone, had not +the Mourning Bride, and the Way of the World, come like reprieves, and +saved them from the last gasp[5]. In a few years however, it appearing +plainly, that without a new support from their friends, it was +impossible for them to maintain their superiority, or independance; the +patrons of Mr. Betterton set about a new subscription, for building a +theatre in the Hay-market, under the direction of Sir John Vanbrugh, +which was finished in 1706[6]; and was to be conducted upon a new plan; +music and scenery to be intermixed with the drama, which with the +novelty of a new house, was likely to retrieve Mr. Betterton's affairs. +This favour was kindly received by Mr. Betterton; but he was now grown +old, his health and strength much impaired by constant application, +and his fortune still worse than his health; he chose therefore (as a +mutinous spirit, occasioned by disappointments, grew up amongst the +actors) to decline the offer, and so put the whole design under the +conduct of Sir John Vanbrugh, and Mr. Congreve, the latter of whom soon +abandoned it entirely; and Mr. Betterton's strength failing, many of the +old players dying, and other accidents intervening, a reunion of the +companies became absolutely necessary, and soon after took place. + +Hitherto, Betterton is considered as at the head of his company, and +the affairs of the stage are naturally connected with his, as the +transactions of a nation are interwoven with the life of a prince. After +our author reached seventy, his infirmities grew upon him greatly, his +fits of the gout were more lasting, and more severe: His circumstances +also, which had not been mended since he took upon him the conduct of +the theatre, grew more necessitous, and all this joined to his wife's +ill state of health, made his condition melancholy, at a time when the +highest affluence could not have made them chearful. Yet under all these +pressures, he kept up his spirit, and though less active, was as serene +as ever. The public in those days, had a grateful remembrance of +the pleasure Betterton had given them, and would not suffer so +distinguished, and so deserving a man, after fifty-years service, to +withdraw, till he had received from them some marks of their favour. + +In the spring of 1709 a benefit was granted to Mr. Betterton, and the +play of Love for Love was acted for that purpose. Two of the best +actresses that ever graced the stage appeared on it upon that occasion, +tho' they had long quitted it, to render the benefit more advantageous: +The part of Valentine was performed by Mr. Betterton, Angelica by Mrs. +Bracegirdle, and Mrs. Barry performed that of Frail. The epilogue was +written by Mr. Rowe. Mrs. Bracegirdle, Mrs. Barry, and Mr. Betterton, +appeared on the stage together, and the ladies taking hold of him, +represented his infirmities of age, and pleaded his ancient merit, in a +very natural and moving manner: This epilogue is exquisite in its kind. +The profits arising from that benefit, we are told, amounted to 500 l. +He had also a promise that the favour should be annually continued. + +These extraordinary acts of public gratitude had a proper effect upon +Mr. Betterton; who instead of indulging himself on their bounty, exerted +the spirit given by this generosity, in their service, and appeared and +acted as often as his health would permit[7]. On the 20th of September +following, in particular, he performed the part of Hamlet, with such +vivacity, as well as justice, that it gave ample satisfaction to the +best judges. This activity in the winter kept off the gout longer than +usual, but the fit returning in the spring, was the more unlucky, as it +happened at the time of his benefit, when the success of his play was +sure to depend in a great measure upon his own performance. The play he +made choice of was the Maid's Tragedy, in which he acted the part of +Melantius; and notice was accordingly given by his good friend the +Tatler; but the fit intervened; and that he might not disappoint the +town, Mr. Betterton was forced to submit to outward applications, to +reduce the swelling of his feet: Which had such an effect, that he was +able to appear on the stage, though he was obliged to use a slipper. He +acted that day, says the Laureat, with unusual spirit, and briskness, +by which he obtained universal applause; but this could not prevent his +paying a very dear price for these marks of approbation, since the gouty +humour, repelled by fomentations, soon seized upon the nobler parts; +which being perhaps weakened by his extraordinary fatigue on that +occasion, he was not able to make a long resistance: But on the 28th of +April, 1710, he paid the debt to nature; and by his death occasioned the +most undissembled mourning amongst people of rank and fashion. + +His behaviour as a man, and his abilities as a player, raised his +character, and procured him the esteem of all worthy and good men; and +such honours were paid his memory, as only his memory could deserve. + +On the second of May, his corpse was with much ceremony interred in +Westminster Abbey, and the excellent author of the Tatler, has given +such an account of the solemnity of it, as will outlast the Abbey +itself. And it is no small mortification to us, that it is inconsistent +with our proposed bounds, to transcribe the whole: It is writ with a +noble spirit; there is in it an air of solemnity and grandeur; the +thoughts rise naturally from one another; they fill the mind with an +awful dread, and consecrate Mr. Betterton to immortality, with the +warmth of friendship, heightened by admiration. + +As to the character of this great man in his profession, the reader need +but reflect on Mr. Colley Cibber's account here inserted, who was well +qualified to judge, and who, in his History of the Stage, has drawn the +most striking pictures that ever were exhibited; even the famous lord +Clarendon, whose great excellence is characterising, is not more happy +in that particular, than the Laureat; no one can read his portraits of +the players, without imagining he sees the very actors before his eyes, +their air, their attitudes, their gesticulations. + +Mr. Betterton was a man of great study and application; and, with +respect to the subjects that employed his attention, he was as much a +master of them as any man. He was an excellent critic, more especially +on Shakespear, and Fletcher. Mr. Rowe, who was a good judge, and also +studied the same authors with deep attention, gives this testimony in +his favour, and celebrates, in the warmest manner, Betterton's critical +abilities. His knowledge of Shakespear's merit, gave him so strong, +and so perfect an esteem for him, that he made a pilgrimage into +Staffordshire to visit his tomb, and to collect whatever particulars +tradition might have preserved in relation to his history; and these he +freely communicated to the same friend, who candidly acknowledges, that +the Memoirs of Shakespear's Life he published, were the produce of that +journey, and freely bestowed upon him by the collector. Mr. Booth, who +knew him only in his decline, frequently made mention of him, and said, +he never saw him either off, or on the stage, without learning something +from him; he frequently observed, that Mr. Betterton was no actor, but +he put on his part with his clothes, and was the very man he undertook +to be, 'till the play was over, and nothing more. So exact was he in +following nature, that the look of surprize he assumed in the character +of Hamlet so astonished Booth (when he first personated the Ghost) as +to disable him for some moments from going on. He was so communicative, +that in the most capital parts, he would enter into the grounds of his +action, and explain, the principles of his art. He was an admirable +master of the action of the stage, considered as independent of +sentiment; and knew perfectly the connection, and business of the +scenes, so as to attract, preserve, and satisfy the attention of art +audience: An art extremely necessary to an actor, and very difficult to +be attained. + +What demonstrated his thorough skill in dramatic entertainments, +was, his own performance, which was sufficient to establish a high +reputation, independent of his other merit. As he had the happiness to +pass through life without reproach, a felicity few attain, so he was +equally happy in the choice of a wife, with whom he spent his days in +domestic quiet, though they were of very different tempers; he was +naturally gay and chearful, she of a melancholy reserved disposition. +She was so strongly affected by his death, which was, in some measure, +sudden, that she ran distracted, tho' she appeared rather a prudent and +constant, than a fond and passionate wife: She was a great ornament to +the stage, and her death, which happened soon after, was a public loss. + +The Laureat, in his Apology, thus characterises her: 'She was, says he, +though far advanced in years, so great a mistress of nature, that even +Mrs. Barry, who acted Lady Macbeth after her, could not in that part, +with all her superior strength, and melody of voice, throw out those +quick and careless strokes of terror, from the disorder of a guilty +mind, which the other gave us, with a facility in her manner that +rendered them at once tremendous and delightful. Time could not impair +her skill, though it brought her person to decay: she was to the last +the admiration of all true judges of nature, and lovers of Shakespear, +in whose plays she chiefly excelled, and without a rival. When she +quitted the stage, several good actresses were the better for her +instruction. She was a woman of an unblemished and sober life, and had +the honour to teach Queen Anne, when Princess, the part of Semandra in +Mithridates, which she acted at court in King Charles's time. After the +death of Mr. Betterton, that Princess, when Queen, ordered her a pension +for life, but she lived not to receive more than the first half year of +it.' Thus we have seen, that it is not at all impossible for persons +of real worth, to transfer a reputation acquired on the stage, to the +characters they possess in real life, and it often happens, as in the +words of the poet, + + That scenic virtue forms the rising age, + And truth displays her radiance from the stage. + +The following are Mr. Betterton's dramatic works; + +1. The Woman made a Justice; a Comedy. + +2. The Unjust Judge, or Appius and Virginia; a Tragedy, written +originally by Mr. John Webster, an old poet, who lived in the reign of +James I. It was altered only by Mr. Betterton, who was so cautious, and +reserved upon this head, that it was by accident the fact was known, at +least with certainty. + +3. The Amorous Widow, or the Wanton Wife, a Play, written on the plan of +Moliere's George Dandin. The Amorous Widow has an under-plot interwoven, +to accommodate the piece to the prevailing English taste. Is was acted +with great applause, but Mr. Betterton, during his life, could never be +induced to publish it; so that it came into the world as a posthumous +performance. + +The chief merit of this, and his other pieces, lies in the exact +disposition of the scenes; their just length, great propriety, and +natural connexions; and of how great consequence this is to the fate of +either tragedy or comedy, may be learned from all Banks's plays, which, +though they have nothing else to recommend them, yet never fail to move +an audience, much more than some justly esteemed superior. Who ever saw +Banks's earl of Essex represented without tears; how few bestow them +upon the Cato of Addison. + +Besides these pieces, Betterton wrote several occasional Poems, +translations of Chaucer's Fables, and other little exercises. In a word, +to sum up all that we have been saying, with regard to the character of +this extraordinary person, as he was the most perfect model of dramatic +action, so was he the most unblemished pattern of private and social +qualities: Happy is it for that player who imitates him in the one, and +still more happy that man who copies him in the other.[8] + + +[Footnote 1: Mr. Theophilus Cibber being about to publish, in a work +entirely undertaken by himself the Lives and Characters of all our +Eminent Actors and Actresses, from Shakespear to the present time; +leaves to the other Gentlemen concerned in this collection, the accounts +of some players who could not be omitted herein, as Poets.] + +[Footnote 2: Cibber's apology.] + +[Footnote 3: Biograph. Brittan. from the information of Southern.] + +[Footnote 4: Cibber's Life.] + +[Footnote 5: Cibber's Life.] + +[Footnote 6: Memoirs of Vanbrugh's Life.] + +[Footnote 7: History of the stage.] + +[Footnote 8: We acknowledge a mistake, which we committed in the life +of Mavloe, concerning Betterton. It was there observed that he formed +himself upon Alleyn, the famous founder of Dulwich-Hospital, and copied +his theatrical excellencies: which, upon a review of Betterton's life, +we find could not possibly happen as Alleyn was dead several years +before Betterton was born: The observation should have been made of +Hart.] + + * * * * * + + +JOHN BANKS. + +This gentleman was bred a lawyer, and was a member of the society at New +Inn. His genius led him to make several attempts in dramatic poetry, in +which he had various success; but even when he met with the greatest +encouragement, he was very sensible of his error, in quitting the +profitable practice of the law, to pursue the entertainments of the +stage, but he was fired with a thirst of fame which reconciled to his +mind the many uneasy sensations, to which the precarious success of his +plays, and the indigence of his profession naturally exposed him: Mr. +Banks no doubt has gained one part of his design by commencing poet, +namely, that of being remembered after death, which Pope somewhere calls +the poor estate of wits: For this gentleman has here a place amongst +the poets, while nine tenths of the lawyers of his time, now sleep with +their fathers secure in oblivion, and of whom we can only say, they +lived, and died. + +Mr. Banks's genius was wholly turned for tragedy; his language is +certainly unpoetical, and his numbers unharmonious; but he seems not to +have been ignorant of the dramatic art: For in all his plays he has very +forcibly rouzed the passions, kept the scene busy, and never suffered +his characters to languish. + +In the year 1684 Mr. Banks offered a tragedy to the stage called the +Island Queens, or the Death of Mary Queen of Scots, which, it seems, +was rejected, whether from its want of merit, or motives of a political +kind, we cannot now determine, but Mr. Banks thought proper then to +publish it. In the year 1706, he obtained the favour of Queen Anne +to command it to be acted at the Theatre-Royal, which was done with +success, for it is really a very moving tragedy. It has been often +revived, and performed at the Theatres, with no inconsiderable applause. + +His dramatic works are, + +1. The Rival Kings, or the Loves of Oroondates and Statira, a Tragedy, +acted at the Theatre-Royal 1677. This play is dedicated to the Lady +Catherine Herbert, and is chiefly formed on the Romance of Cassandra. + +2. The Destruction of Troy, a Tragedy, acted 1679. This play met with +but indifferent success. + +3. Virtue Betrayed, or Anna Bullen, a Tragedy, acted 1682. This play has +been often acted with applause. + +4. The Earl of Essex, or the Unhappy Favourite, acted 1682, with the +most general applause. Mr. Dryden wrote the Prologue, and Epilogue. It +will be naturally expected, that, having mentioned the earl of Essex by +Banks, we should say something of a Tragedy which has appeared this +year on the Theatre at Covent-Garden, of the same name. We cannot but +acknowledge, that Mr. Jones has improved the story, and heightened the +incident in the last act, which renders the whole more moving; after +the scene of parting between Essex, and Southampton, which is very +affecting, Rutland's distress upon the melancholy occasion of parting +from her husband, is melting to the last degree. It is in this scene Mr. +Barry excells all his cotemporaries in tragedy; he there shews his power +over our passions, and bids the heart bleed, in every accent of anguish. +After Essex is carried out to execution, Mr. Jones introduces the queen +at the tower, which has a very happy effect, and her manner of behaving +on that occasion, makes her appear more amiable than ever she did in any +play on the same subject. Mr. Jones in his language (in this piece) +does not affect being very poetical;--nor is his verification always +mellifluent, as in his other writings;--but it is well adapted for +speaking: The design is well conducted, the story rises regularly, the +business is not suspended, and the characters are well sustained. + +5. The Island Queens, a Tragedy, of which we have already given some +account; the name of it was afterwards changed to the Albion Queens. + +6. The Innocent Usurper, or the Death of Lady Jane Gray, a Tragedy, +printed 1694. It was prohibited the stage, on account of some groundless +insinuations, that it reflected upon the government. This play, in +Banks's own opinion, is inferior to none of his former. Mr. Rowe has +written likewise a Tragedy on this subject, which is a stock play at +both houses; it is as much superior to that of our author, as the genius +of the former was greater than that of the latter. + +7. Cyrus the Great, a Tragedy. This play was at first rejected, but it +afterwards got upon the stage, and was acted with great success; the +plot is taken from Scudery's Romance of the Grand Cyrus. + +We cannot ascertain the year in which Banks died. He seems to have been +a man of parts; his characteristic fault as a writer, was aiming at the +sublime, which seldom failed to degenerate into the bombast; fire he +had, but no judgment to manage it; he was negligent of his poetry, +neither has he sufficiently marked, and distinguished his characters; he +was generally happy in the choice of his fables, and he has found a way +of drawing tears, which many a superior poet has tried in vain. + + * * * * * + + +LADY CHUDLEIGH + +Was born in the year 1656, and was daughter of Richard Lee of Winslade, +in the county of Devon, esq; She had an education in which literature +seemed but little regarded, being taught no other language than her +native tongue; but her love of books, incessant industry in the reading +of them, and her great capacity to improve by them, enabled her to make +a very considerable figure in literature. + +She was married to Sir George Chudleigh of Ashton in the county of +Devon, Bart, by whom she had issue Eliza Maria, who died in the bloom of +life, (much lamented by her mother, who poured out her griefs on that +occasion, in a Poem entitled a Dialogue between Lucinda and Marissa) and +George, who succeeded to the title and estate, Thomas, and others. + +She was a lady of great virtue, as well as understanding, and she made +the latter of these subservient to the promotion of the former, which +was much improved by study; but though she was enamoured of the charms +of poetry, yet she dedicated some part of her time to the severer study +of philosophy, as appears from her excellent essays, which discover an +uncommon degree of piety, and knowledge, and a noble contempt of those +vanities which the unthinking part of her sex so much regard, and so +eagerly pursue. + +The works which this lady produced, are, + +The Ladies Defence, or the Bride-Woman's Counsellor answered, a Poem; in +a Dialogue between Sir John Brute, Sir William Loveall, Melissa, and a +Parson. This piece has been several times printed; the writing it was +occasioned by an angry sermon preached against the fair sex, of which +her ladyship gives the following account; 'Mr. Lintot, says she, some +time since, intending to reprint my poems, desired me to permit him +to add to them a Dialogue I had written in the year 1700, on a Sermon +preached by Mr. Sprint, a Nonconformist, at Sherbourne in Dorsetshire; +I refusing, for several reasons, to grant his request, he, without my +knowledge, bought the copy of the Bookseller who formerly printed it, +and, without my consent, or once acquainting me with his resolution, +added to it the second edition of my poems; and that which makes the +injury the greater, is, his having omitted the Epistle Dedicatory, and +the Preface, by which means he has left the reader wholly in the dark, +and exposed me to censure. When it was first printed I had reason to +complain, but not so much as now: Then the Dedication was left entire as +I had written it, but the Preface so mangled, altered, and considerably +shortened, that I hardly knew it to be my own; but being then published +without a name, I was the less concerned, but since, notwithstanding the +great care I took to conceal it, it is known to be mine; I think myself +obliged, in my own defence, to take some notice of it[1].' The omission +of this Preface, which contained an answer to part of the sermon, and +gave her reasons for writing the poem, had occasioned some people to +make ill-natured reflexions on it: this put her ladyship on justifying +herself, and assuring her readers, that there are no reflexions in it +levelled at any particular persons, besides the author of the Sermon; +him (says she) I only blame for being too angry, for his not telling us +our duty in a softer more engaging way: address, and good manners render +reproofs a kindness; but where they are wanting, admonitions are always +taken ill: as truths of this sort ought never to be concealed from us, +so they ought never to be told us with an indecent warmth; a respectful +tenderness would be more becoming a messenger of peace, the disciple of +an humble, patient, meek, commiserating Saviour.' + +Besides this lady's poems, of which we shall give some account when we +quote a specimen; she wrote Essays upon several subjects, in prose and +verse, printed in 8vo. 1710. These Essays are upon Knowledge, Pride, +Humility, Life, Death, Fear, Grief, Riches, Self-love, Justice, Anger, +Calumny, Friendship, Love, Avarice, Solitude, and are much admired for +the delicacy of the stile, there being not the least appearance of false +wit, or affected expression, the too common blemishes of this sort of +writing: they are not so much the excursions of a lively imagination, +which can often expatiate on the passions, and actions of men, with +small experience of either, as the deliberate result of observations on +the world, improved with reading, regulated with judgment, softened by +good manners, and heightened with sublime thoughts, and elevated piety. +This treatise is dedicated to her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia, +Electress, and Duchess Dowager of Brunswick, on which occasion that +Princess, then in her 80th year, honoured her with the following +epistle, written by the Electress in French, but which we shall here +present to the reader in English. + + Hanover June 25, 1710. + + LADY CHUDLEIGH, + + You have done me a very great pleasure in letting + me know by your agreeable book, that there + is such a one as you in England, and who has so + well improved herself, that she can, in a fine manner, + communicate her sentiments to all the world. + As for me I do not pretend to deserve the commendations + you give me, but by the esteem which I + have of your merit, and of your good sense, I will + be always entirely + + Your affectionate friend + + to serve you, + + SOPHIA ELECTRICE. + +At the end of the second volume of the duke of Wharton's poems, are five +letters from lady Chudleigh, to the revd. Mr. Norris of Bemmerton, and +Mrs. Eliz. Thomas, the celebrated Corinna of Dryden. + +She wrote several other things, which, though not printed, are carefully +preserved in the family, viz. two Tragedies, two Operas, a Masque, some +of Lucian's Dialogues, translated into Verse, Satirical Reflexions on +Saqualio, in imitation of one of Lucian's Dialogues, with several small +Poems on various Occasions. + +She had long laboured under the pains of a rheumatism, which had +confined her to her chamber a considerable time before her death, which +happened at Ashton in Devonshire, December 15, 1710, in the 55th year of +her age, and lies buried there without either monument or inscription. + +The poetical Works of this Lady consist chiefly in the Song of the Three +Children Paraphrased, some Pindaric Odes, Familiar Epistles, and Songs. +We shall select as a specimen, a Dialogue between Lucinda and Marissa, +occasioned by the death of her Ladyship's Daughter, in the early bloom +of her youth. It is of a very melancholy cast, and expressive of the +grief me must have felt upon that tender occasion. Her ladyship has +informed us in her preface to her poems, that she generally chose +subjects suited to her present temper of mind. 'These pieces (says she) +were the employments of my leisure hours, the innocent amusements of a +solitary life; in them the reader will find a picture of my mind, my +sentiments all laid open to their view; they will sometimes see me +chearful, pleased, sedate, and quiet; at other times, grieving, +complaining, and struggling with my passions, blaming myself, +endeavouring to pay homage to my reason, and resolving for the future +with a decent calmness, an unshaken constancy, and a resigning temper, +to support all the troubles, all the uneasiness of life, and then, +by unexpected emergencies, unforeseen disappointments, sudden, and +surprising turns of fortune, discomposed, and shock'd, 'till I have +rallied my scattered fears, got new strength, and by making unwearied +resistance, gained the better of my afflictions, and restored my mind to +its former tranquility. Would we (continues her ladyship) contract our +desires, and learn to think that only necessary, which nature has made +so; we should be no longer fond of riches, honours, applauses, and +several other things, which are the unhappy occasions of much mischief +to the world; and doubtless, were we so happy as to have a true notion +of the dignity of our nature, of those great things for which we were +designed, and of the duration and felicity of that state to which we are +hastening, we should scorn to stoop to mean actions, and blush at the +thoughts of doing any thing below our character.' In this manner does +our authoress discover her sentiments of piety. We now shall subjoin the +specimen; + +DIALOGUE. + +MARISSA. + + O my Lucinda! O my dearest friend! + Must my afflictions never, never end! + Has Heav'n for me, no pity left in store, + Must I! O must I ne'er be happy more! + Philanda's loss had almost broke my heart, + From her alas! I did but lately part: + And must there still be new occasions found + To try my patience, and my soul to wound? + Must my lov'd daughter too be snatch'd away, + Must she so soon the call of fate obey? + In her first dawn, replete with youthful charms, + She's fled, she's fled, from my deserted arms. + Long did she struggle, long the war maintain, + But all th' efforts of life, alas! were vain. + Could art have saved her, she had still been + mine, + Both art and care together did combine: + But what is proof against the will divine? + Methinks I still her dying conflict view, + And the sad sight does all my grief renew; + Rack'd by convulsive pains, she meekly lies, + And gazes on me with imploring eyes; + With eyes which beg relief, but all in vain, + I see but cannot, cannot ease her pain. + She must the burden unassisted bear, + I cannot with her in her tortures share: + Would they were mine, and me flood easy by; + For what one loves, sure 'twere not hard to die. + See how me labours, how me pants for breath, + She's lovely still, she's sweet, she's sweet in + death! + Pale as she is, me beauteous does remain, + Her closing eyes their lustre still retain: + Like setting suns with undiminish'd light, + They hide themselves within the verge of night. + She's gone, she's gone, she sigh'd her soul away! + And can I, can I any longer stay? + My life alas has ever tiresome been, + And I few happy easy days have seen; + But now it does a greater burden grow, + I'll throw it off, and no more sorrow know, + But with her to calm peaceful regions go. + Stay, thou dear innocence, retard thy flight, + O stop thy journey to the realms of light; + Stay 'till I come: to thee I'll swiftly move, + Attracted by the strongest passion, love. + +LUCINDA. + + No more, no more let me such language hear, + I can't, I can't the piercing accents bear: + Each word you utter stabs me to the heart, + I could from life, not from Marissa part: + And were your tenderness as great as mine, + While I were left, you would net thus repine. + My friends are riches, health, and all to me; + And while they're mine I cannot wretched be. + +MARISSA. + + If I on you could happiness bestow, + I still the toils of life would undergo, + Would still contentedly my lot sustain, + And never more of my hard fate complain: + But since my life to you will useless prove, + O let me hasten to the joys above: + Farewel, farewel, take, take my last adieu, + May Heaven be more propitious still to you, + May you live happy when I'm in my grave, + And no misfortunes, no afflictions have: + If to sad objects you'll some pity lend + And give a sigh to an unhappy friend, + Think of Marissa, and her wretched state, + How's she's been us'd by her malicious fate; + Recount those storms which she has long sustain'd, + And then rejoice that she the part has gain'd; + The welcome haven of eternal rest, + Where she shall be for ever, ever bless'd; + And in her mother's, and her daughter's arms + Shall meet with new, with unexperienc'd charms, + O how I long those dear delights to taste; + Farewel, farewel, my soul is much in haste. + Come death; and give the kind releasing blow, + I'm tir'd of life, and overcharg'd with woe: + In thy cool silent, unmolested shade + O let me be by their dear relics laid; + And there with them from all my troubles free, + Enjoy the blessing of a long tranquillity. + +LUCINDA. + + O thou dear sufferer, on my breast recline + Thy drooping head, and mix thy tears with + mine: + Here rest awhile, and make a truce with grief: + Consider; sorrow brings you no relief. + In the great play of life, we must not chuse, + Nor yet the meanest character refuse. + Like soldiers we our general must obey, + Must stand our ground, and not to fear give + way, + But go undaunted on'till we have won the day. + Honour is ever the reward of pain, + A lazy virtue no applause will gain. + All such as to uncommon heights would rise, + And on the wings of fame ascend the skies, + Must learn the gifts of fortune to despise; + They to themselves their bliss must still confine, + Must be unmoved, and never once repine: + But few to this perfection can attain, + Our passions often will th' ascendant gain, + And reason but alternately does reign; + Disguised by pride we sometimes seem to bear + A haughty port, and scorn to shed a tear; + While grief within still acts a tragic part, + And plays the tyrant in the bleeding heart. + Your sorrow is of the severest kind, + And can't be wholly to your soul confin'd, + Losses like yours may be allowed to move + A gen'rous mind, that knows what 'tis to love. + These afflictions;-- + Will teach you patience, and the careful skill + To rule your passions, and command your will; + To bear afflictions with a steady mind, + Still to be easy, pleas'd, and still resign'd, + And look as if you did no inward sorrow find. + +MARISSA. + + I know Lucinda this I ought to do, + But oh! 'tis hard my frailties to subdue; + My headstrong passions will resistance make, + And all my firmed resolutions make. + I for my daughter's death did long prepare, + And hop'd I should the stroke with temper bear, + But when it came grief quickly did prevail, + And I soon found my boasted courage fail: + Yet still I strove, but 'twas alas! in vain, + My sorrow did at length th' ascendant gain: + But I'm resolv'd I will no longer yield; + By reason led, I'll once more take the field, + And there from my insulting passions try, + To gain a full, a glorious victory: + Which 'till I've done, I never will give o'er + But still fight on, and think of peace no more; + With an unwearied courage still contend, + 'Till death, or conquest, doth my labour end. + + +[Footnote 1: Preface to her Essays.] + + * * * * * + +THOMAS CREECH. + +This gentleman was born near Sherborne in Dorsetshire, and bred up at +the free school in that town, under Mr. Carganven, a man of eminent +character, to whom in gratitude he inscribes one of the Idylliums of +Theocritus, translated by him. His parents circumstances not being +sufficient to bestow a liberal education upon him, colonel Strangeways, +who was himself a man of taste and literature, took notice of the early +capacity of Creech, and being willing to indulge his violent propensity +to learning, placed him at Wadham College in Oxford, in the 16th year +of his age, anno 1675, being then put under the tuition of two of the +fellows. In the year 1683 he was admitted matter of arts, and +soon elected fellow of All-soul's College; at which time he gave +distinguished proofs of his classical learning, and philosophy, before +those who were appointed his examiners. The first work which brought +our author into reputation, was his translation of Lucretius, which +succeeded so well, that Mr. Creech had a party formed for him, who +ventured to prefer him to Mr. Dryden, in point of genius. Mr. Dryden +himself highly commended his Lucretius, and in his preface to the second +volume of Poetical Miscellanies thus characterises it. 'I now call to +mind what I owe to the ingenious, and learned translator of Lucretius. +I have not here designed to rob him of any part of that commendation, +which he has so justly acquired by the whole author, whose fragments +only fall to my portion. The ways of our translation are very different; +he follows him more closely than I have done, which became an +interpreter to the whole poem. I take more liberty, because it best +suited with my design, which was to make him as pleasing as I could. He +had been too voluminous, had he used my method, in so long a work; and +I had certainly taken his, had I made it my business to translate the +whole. The preference then is justly his; and I join with Mr. Evelyn in +the confession of it, with this additional advantage to him, that his +reputation is already established in this poet; mine is to make its +fortune in the world. If I have been any where obscure in following +our common author; or if Lucretius himself is to be condemned, I refer +myself to his excellent annotations, which I have often read, and always +with some pleasure.' + +Many poets of the first class, of those times, addressed Mr. Creech in +commendatory verses, which are prefixed to the translation of Lucretius: +but this sudden blaze of reputation was soon obscured, by his failing +in an arduous task, which the success of his Lucretius prompted him to +attempt. This was a translation of the works of Horace, an author more +diversified, and consequently more difficult than Lucretius. Some have +insinuated, that Mr. Dryden, jealous of his rising fame, and willing +to take advantage of his vanity, in order to sink his reputation, +strenuously urged him to this undertaking, in which he was morally +certain Creech could not succeed. Horace is so, various, so exquisite, +and perfectly delightful, that he who culls flowers in a garden so +replenished with nature's productions, must be well acquainted with her +form, and able to delineate her beauties. In this attempt Creech failed, +and a shade was thrown over his reputation, which continued to obscure +it to the end of his life. It is from this circumstance alleged, that +Mr. Creech contracted a melancholy, and moroseness of temper, which +occasioned the disinclination of many towards him, and threw him into +habits of recluseness, and discontent. To this some writers likewise +impute the rash attempt on his own life, which he perpetrated at Oxford, +in 1701. This act of suicide could not be occasioned by want, for Mr. +Jacob tells us, that just before that accident, he had been presented by +the college to the living of Welling in Hertfordshire. Mr. Barnard +in his Nouvelles de la Republiques de Lettres, assigns another cause +besides the diminution of his fame, which might occasion this disastrous +fate. Mr. Creech, though a melancholy man, was yet subject to the +passion of love. It happened that he fixed his affections on a lady who +had either previously engaged hers, or who could not bestow them upon +him; this disappointment, which was a wound to his pride, so affected +his mind, that, unable any longer to support a load of misery, he hanged +himself in his own chamber. Which ever of these causes induced him, +the event was melancholy, and not a little heightened by his being a +clergyman, in whose heart religion should have taken deeper root, and +maintained a more salutary influence, than to suffer him thus to stain +his laurels with his own blood. + +Mr. Creech's works, besides his Lucretius already mentioned, are chiefly +these, + +The Second Elegy of Ovid's First Book of Elegies. The 6th, 7th, 8th, and +12th Elegies of Ovid's Second Book of Elegies. The 2d and 3d Eclogue of +Virgil. The Story of Lucretia, from Ovid de Fastis. B. ii. The Odes, +Satires, and Epistles of Horace already mentioned, dedicated to John +Dryden, esq; who is said to have held it in great contempt, which gave +such a shock to Mr. Creech's pride. The author in his preface to +this translation has informed us, that he had not an ear capable of +distinguishing one note in music, which, were there no other, was a +sufficient objection against his attempting the most musical poet in any +language. + +The same year he published his Translation of the Idylliums of +Theocritus, with Rapin's Discourse on Pastorals, as also the Life of +Phelopidas, from the Latin of Cornelius Nepos. + +In Dryden's Translation of Juvenal and Persius, Mr. Creech did the 13th +Satire of Juvenal, and subjoined Notes. He also translated into English, +the verses before Mr. Quintenay's Compleat Gardiner. The Life of Solon, +from the Greek of Plutarch. Laconic Apophthegms, or Remarkable Sayings +of the Spartans, printed in the first Volume of Plutarch's Morals. +A Discourse concerning Socrates's Daemon. The two First Books of the +Symposiacs. + +These are the works of Mr. Creech: A man of such parts and learning, +according to the accounts of all who have written of him, that, had he +not by the last act of his life effaced the merit of his labours, he +would have been an ornament as well to the clerical profession, as his +country in general. He well understood the ancients, had an unusual +penetration in discovering their beauties, and it appears by his own +translation of Lucretius, how elegantly he could cloath them in an +English attire. His judgment was solid; he was perfectly acquainted with +the rules of criticism, and he had from nature an extraordinary genius. +However, he certainly over-rated his importance, or at lead his friends +deceived him, when they set him up as a rival to Dryden! but if he was +inferior to that great man in judgment, and genius, there were few of +the same age to whom he needed yield the palm. Had he been content to be +reckoned only the second, instead of the first genius of the times, he +might have lived happy, and died regreted and reverenced, but like Caesar +of old, who would rather be the lord of a little village, than the +second man in Rome, his own ambition overwhelmed him. + +We shall present the reader with a few lines from the second Book of +Lucretius, as a specimen of our author's versification, by which it will +be found how much he fell short of Dryden in point of harmony, though he +seems to have been equal to any other poet, who preceded Dryden, in that +particular. + + 'Tis pleasant, when the seas are rough, to stand, + And view another's danger, safe at land: + Not 'cause he's troubled, but 'tis sweet to see + Those cares and fears, from which our selves are free. + 'Tis also pleasant to behold from far + How troops engage, secure ourselves from war. + But above all, 'tis pleasantest to get + The top of high philosophy, and sit + On the calm, peaceful, flourishing head of it: + Whence we may view, deep, wondrous deep below, + How poor mistaken mortals wand'ring go, + Seeking the path to happiness: some aim + At learning, wit, nobility, or fame: + Others with cares and dangers vex each hour + To reach the top of wealth, and sov'reign pow'r: + Blind wretched man! in what dark paths of strife + We walk this little journey of our life! + While frugal nature seeks for only ease; + A body free from pains, free from disease; + A mind from cares and jealousies at peace. + And little too is needful to maintain + The body sound in health, and free from pain: + Not delicates, but such as may supply + Contented nature's thrifty luxury: + She asks no more. What tho' no boys of gold + Adorn the walls, and sprightly tapers hold, + Whose beauteous rays, scatt'ring the gawdy light, + Might grace the feast, and revels of the night: + What tho' no gold adorns; no music's sound + With double sweetness from the roofs rebound; + Yet underneath a loving myrtle's shade, + Hard by a purling stream supinely laid, + When spring with fragrant flow'rs the earth has spread, + And sweetest roses grow around our head; + Envy'd by wealth and pow'r, with small expence + We may enjoy the sweet delights of sense. + Who ever heard a fever tamer grown + In cloaths embroider'd o'er, and beds of down. + Than in coarse rags? + Since then such toys as these + Contribute nothing to the body's ease, + As honour, wealth, and nobleness of blood, + 'Tis plain they likewise do the mind no good: + If when thy fierce embattell'd troops at land + Mock-fights maintain; or when thy navies Hand + In graceful ranks, or sweep the yielding seas, + If then before such martial fights as these, + Disperse not all black jealousies and cares, + Vain dread of death, and superstitious fears + Not leave thy mind; but if all this be vain, + If the same cares, and dread, and fears remain, + If Traytor-like they seize thee on the throne, + And dance within the circle of a crown; + If noise of arms, nor darts can make them fly, + Nor the gay sparklings of the purple dye. + If they on emperors will rudely seize, + What makes us value all such things as these, + But folly, and dark ignorance of happiness? + For we, as boys at night, by day do fear + Shadows as vain, and senseless as those are. + Wherefore that darkness, which o'erspreads our fouls, + Day can't disperse; but those eternal rules, + Which from firm premises true reason draws, + And a deep insight into nature's laws. + + * * * * * + + +ARTHUR MAYNWARING, Esq; + +A Gentleman distinguished both for poetry and politics, as well as the +gay accomplishments of life. He was born at Ightfield, in the year 1668, +and educated at the grammar-school at Shrewsbury, where he remained +four or five years; and at about seventeen years of age, was removed to +Christ's Church in Oxford, under the tuition of Mr. George Smalridge, +afterwards bishop of Bristol. After he removed from Oxford, he went +into Cheshire, where he lived several years with his uncle, Mr. Francis +Cholmondley, a gentleman of great integrity and honour; but by a +political prejudice, very averse to the government of William the IIId, +to whom he refused to take the oaths, and instilled anti-revolution +principles into his nephew,[1] who embraced them warmly; and on his +first entry into life, reduced to practice what he held in speculation. +He wrote several pieces in favour of James the IId's party: amongst +which was a Panegyric on that King. He wrote another intitled the King +of Hearts, to ridicule lord Delamere's entry into London, at his first +coming to town after the revolution. This poem was said to be Dryden's, +who was charged with it by Mr. Tonson; but he disowned it, and told him +it was written by an ingenious young gentleman, named Maynwaring, then +about twenty two years of age. + +When our author was introduced to the acquaintance of the duke of +Somerset, and the earls of Dorset, and Burlington, he began to entertain +(says Oldmixon) very different notions of politics: Whether from the +force of the arguments made use of by those noblemen; or, from a +desire of preferment, which he plainly saw lay now upon the revolution +interest, cannot be determined; but he espoused the Whig ministry, as +zealously as he had formerly struggled for the exiled monarch. + +Our author studied the law till he was five or six and twenty years +old, about which time his father died, and left him an estate of near +eight-hundred pounds a year, but so incumbred, that the interest money +amounted to almost as much as the revenue. Upon the conclusion of the +peace of Ryswick, he went to Paris, where he became acquainted with +Monsieur Boileau, who invited him to his country house, entertained him +very elegantly, and spoke much to him of the English poetry, but all by +way of enquiry; for he affected to be as ignorant of the English Muse, +as if our nation had been as barbarous as the Laplanders. + +A gentleman, a friend of Mr. Maynwaring, visiting him some time after, +upon the death of Mr. Dryden 'Boileau, said that he was wonderfully +pleased to see by the public papers, that the English nation had paid so +extraordinary honours to one of their poets, burying him at the public +charge;' and then asked the gentleman who that poet was, with as much +indifference as if he had never heard Dryden's name; which he could no +more be unacquainted with, than our country was with his; for he often +frequented lord Montague's house, when he was embassador in France, and +being also an intimate friend of Monsieur De la Fontaine, who had spent +some time in England, it was therefore impossible he could be ignorant +of the fame of Dryden; but it is peculiar to that nation to hold all +others in contempt. The French would as fain monopolize wit, as the +wealth and power of Europe; but thanks to the arms and genius of +Britain, they have attempted both the one and the other without success. + +Boileau's pretending not to know Dryden, to use the words of Milton, +'argued himself unknown.' But perhaps a reason may be assigned, why the +wits of France affected a contempt for Mr. Dryden, which is this. That +poet, in many of his Prefaces and Dedications, has unanswerably shewn, +that the French writers are really deficient in point of genius;' that +the correctness for which they are remarkable, and that even pace which +they maintain in all their dramatic compositions, is a proof that they +are not capable of sublime conceptions; that they never rise to any +degree of elevation, and are in truth uninspired by the muses:--Judgment +they may have to plan and conduct their designs; but few French poets +have ever found the way of writing to the heart. Have they attained the +sublime height of Shakespear, the tenderness of Otway, or the pomp of +Rowe? and yet these are names which a French versifier will pretend, +with an air of contempt, never to have heard of. + +The truth is, our poets have lately done the French too much honour, by +translating their pieces, and bringing them on the stage; as if our own +stock was exhausted and the British genius had failed: But it is some +satisfaction that these attempts seem now to be discouraged; we have +seen a late play of theirs (we call it a play, for it was neither a +tragedy nor a comedy) translated by a languid poet of our own, received +with the coolness it deserved. + +But to return to Mr. Maynwaring. Upon his arrival in England, from +France, he was made one of the commissioners of the customs, in which +post he distinguished himself by his skill and fidelity. Of the latter +of these qualities we have an instance, in his treatment of a man, who +sollicited to be a tide-waiter: Somebody had told him that his best way +to succeed would be to make a present. The advice had been perhaps +good enough if he had not mistaken his man. For understanding that +Mr. Maynwaring had the best interest at the board of any of the +commissioners, with the lords of the treasury; he sent him a letter, +with a purse of fifty-guineas, desiring his favour towards obtaining the +place he sollicited: Afterwards he delivered a petition to the board, +which was read, and several of the commissioners having spoke to it, Mr. +Maynwaring took out the purse of fifty guineas, and the letter, telling +them that as long as he could prevent it, that man should never have +this, or any other place in the revenue[2]. + +Mr. Maynwaring was admitted a member of the Kit-Kat Club, and was +considered as one of the chief ornaments of it, by his pleasantry and +wit. + +In the beginning of queen Anne's reign, lord treasurer Godolphin, +engaged Mr. Donne, to quit the office of auditor of the imprests, his +lordship paying him several thousand pounds for his doing it, and he +never let Mr. Maynwaring know what he was doing for him, till he made +him a present of a patent for that office, worth about two-thousand +pounds a year in time of business. In the Parliament which met in 1705, +our author was chosen a burgess for Preston in Lancashire[3]. + +He had a considerable share in the Medley, and was author of several +other pieces, of which we shall presently give some account. + +He died at St. Albans, November the 13th, 1712, having some time before +made his will; in which he left Mrs. Oldfield, the celebrated actress +his executrix, by whom he had a son, named Arthur Maynwaring. He divided +his estate pretty equally between that child, Mrs. Oldfield, and his +sister; Mr. Oldmixon tells us, that Mr. Maynwaring loved this actress, +for nine or ten years before his death, with the strongest passion: +It was in some measure owing to his instructions that she became so +finished a player; for he understood the action of the stage as well +as any man, and took great pleasure to see her excell in it. He wrote +several Prologues and Epilogues for her, and would always hear her +rehearse them in private, before she spoke them on the stage. His +friends of both sexes quarrelled with him for his attachment to her, and +so much resented it, that Mrs. Oldfield frequently remonstrated to him, +that it was for his honour and interest to break off the intrigue: which +frankness and friendship of hers, did, as he often confessed, but engage +him the more firmly; and all his friends at last gave over importuning +him to leave her, as she gained more and more upon him. + +In honour of our author, Mr. Oldmixon observes, that he had an +abhorrence of those that swore, or talked profanely in conversation. +He looked upon it as a poor pretence to wit, and never excused it in +himself or others.--I have already observed, that our author had a +share in the Medley, a paper then set up in favour of the Hanoverian +succession, in which he combats the Examiner, who wrote on the opposite, +or, at least, the High-Church Interest. + +He also wrote the following pieces. + +1. Remarks on a late Romance, intitled the Memorial of the Church of +England, or the History of the Ten Champions. + +2. A Translation of the second Ode, of the first book of Horace. + +3. A Translation of the fifth Book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. + +4. A Character of the new Ministers, 1710. + +5. Several Songs, Poems, Prologues and Epilogues. + +6. There was a Manuscript given him to peruse, which contained Memoirs +of the duke of Marlborough's famous march to Blenheim: It was written by +a chaplain of the duke's, with great exactness as to the incidents, but +was defective in form. Mr. Maynwaring was desired to alter and improve +it, which he found too difficult a task; but being greatly pleased with +the particular account of all that pass'd in that surprizing march, +he resolved that it should not be lost, and to give it a new and more +perfect form himself, by reducing a kind of diary into a regular +history. These papers fell into the hands of Sir Richard Steel. + +7. A Translation of part of Tully's Offices. + +8. Four Letters to a Friend in North-Britain, written upon the +publishing Dr. Sacheveral's Trial. + +9. The History of Hannibal, and Hanno, from the best authors: In this +piece he is supposed to intend by Hannibal, the duke of Marlborough; by +Hanno, the lord treasurer Oxford, by Valerius Flaccus, count Tallard, +and by Asdrubal, Dr. Robinson, bishop of Bristol. + +10. The Speech of Alcibiades to the Athenians, printed in the +Whig-Examiner, Numb. 3. + +11. The French King's Promise to the Pretender. + +12. A Short Account, and Defence of the Barrier Treaty. + +13. Remarks upon the present Negotiation of Peace, begun between +Great-Britain and France. + +14. The Bewdley Cafe. + +15. He had a considerable hand in a Letter to a High-Churchman. + +16. He revived and published a treatise called Bouchain, in a Dialogue +between the Medley and the Examiner, about the management of the war in +1711. + +17. He wrote a Letter to the Free-holders, a little before the election +of the new Parliament. + +18. He had a great hand in a pamphlet, entitled the British Academy, +wherein he rallied Dr. Swift's Letter to the lord treasurer Oxford, +about altering the English language. + +19. The Letter from Doway, was written by him, or some friend of his, +with his assistance. + +These are chiefly the works of Maynwaring, who was a gentleman of +genius, and appears to have been a good-natur'd honest man. His moral +life has only been blamed for his intrigue with Mrs. Oldfield; but I +am persuaded when the accomplishments of that lady are remembered, (so +bright) is employed in the composition of one book, a bookseller may +publish twenty; so that in the very nature of things, a bookseller +without oppression, a crime which by unsuccessful writers is generally +imputed to them, may grow rich, while the most industrious and able +author can arrive at no more than a decent competence: and even to that, +many a great genius has never attained. + +No sooner had Mr. Head a little recovered himself, than we find him +cheated again by the syren alurements of pleasure and poetry, in the +latter of which, however, it does not appear he made any proficiency. +He failed a second time, in the world, and having recourse to his pen, +wrote the first part of the English Rogue, which being too libertine, +could not be licensed till he had expunged some of the most luscious +descriptions out of it. + +Mr. Winstanley, p. 208, has informed us, that at the coming out of this +first part, he was with him at the Three Cup tavern in Holborn drinking +a glass of Rhenish, and made these verses upon him, + + What Gusman, Buscan, Francion, Rablais writ, + I once applauded for most excellent wit; + But reading thee, and thy rich fancy's store, + I now condemn, what I admir'd before. + Henceforth translations pack away, be gone, + No Rogue so well writ, as the English one. + +We cannot help observing, that Winstanley has a little ridiculously +shewn his vanity, by informing the world, that he could afford to drink +a glass of Rhenish; and has added nothing to his reputation by the +verses, which have neither poetry nor wit in them. + + +[Footnote 1: Oldmixon's Life of Maynwaring.] + +[Footnote 2: Life, p. xviii. xix.] + +[Footnote 3: Ibid. p. xxii.] + + * * * * * + + +The HON. Mrs. MONK. + +This Lady was the daughter of the Right Hon. the Lord Molesworth, a +nobleman of Ireland, and wife of George Monk, Esq; By the force of her +natural genius, she learnt the Latin, Italian, and Spanish tongues, and +by a constant reading of the best authors in those languages, became so +great a proficient, especially in poetry, that she wrote many pieces +that were deemed worthy of publication, and soon after her death, were +printed and published with the following title, Marinda. Poems, and +Translations upon several occasions, printed in London, 1716. The book +is addressed to her Royal Highness Carolina Princess of Wales, in a +long dedication, dated March 26, 1716, written by her father, who thus +affectionately speaks of the poems and their author. + +'Most of them (says he) are the product of the leisure hours of a young +gentlewoman lately deceased; who in a remote country retirement, without +omitting the daily care due to a large family, not only perfectly +acquired the several languages here made use of; but the good morals and +principles contained in those books, so as to put them in practice, as +well during her life and languishing sickness, as the hour of her death; +in short she died not only like a Christian, but a Roman lady, and so +became at once the object of the grief, and comfort of her relations. As +much as I am obliged to be sparing in commending what belongs to me, I +cannot forbear thinking some of these circumstances uncommon enough to +be taken notice of: I loved her more, because she deserved it, than +because she was mine, and I cannot do greater honour to her memory, than +by consecrating her labours, or rather diversion to your Royal Highness, +as we found most of them in her escrutore, after her death, written with +her own hand, little expecting, and as little desiring the public should +have any opportunity, either of applauding or condemning them.' + +Mr. Jacob tells us, that these Poems and Translations, shew the true +spirit, and numbers of poetry, a delicacy of turn, and justness of +thought and expression. They consist of Ecclogues; the Masque of the +Virtues against Love, from Guarini; some translations from the French +and Italians; Familiar Epistles, Odes and Madrigals. + +Her poetry has great warmth, and tenderness of sentiment. The following +Epitaph on a lady of pleasure, was written by her, + + O'er this marble drop a tear, + Here lies fair Rosalinde, + All mankind was pleas'd with her, + And she with all mankind. + +And likewise this Epigram upon another lady of the same character. + + Chloe, her gossips entertains, + With stories of her child-bed pains, + And fiercely against Hymen rails: + But Hymen's not so much to blame; + She knows, unless her memory fails, + E'er she was wed, 'twas much the same. + +The following verses, which breathe a true spirit of tenderness, were +written by her, on her death-bed at Bath, when her husband was in +London, + + Thou, who dost all my worldly thoughts employ, + Thou pleasing source of all my earthly joy: + Thou tenderest husband, and thou best of friends, + To thee, this first, this last adieu I send. + At length the conqueror death asserts his right, + And will forever veil me from thy sight. + He wooes me to him, with a chearful grace; + And not one terror clouds his meagre face. + He promises a lasting rest from pain; + And shews that all life's fleeting joys are vain. + Th' eternal scenes of Heaven he sets in view, + And tells me, that no other joys are true. + But love, fond love, would yet resist his power; + Would fain a-while defer the parting hour: + He brings the mourning image to my eyes, + And would obstruct my journey to the skies. + But say thou dearest, thou unwearied friend; + Say should'st thou grieve to see my sorrows end? + Thou know'st a painful pilgrimage I have past, + And should'st thou grieve, that rest is come at last; + Rather rejoice to see me shake off life, + And die as I have liv'd, thy faithful wife. + + * * * * * + + +Mr. THOMAS BROWN. + +This humorous poet was the son of a considerable Farmer of Shiffnall, +in Shropshire, and educated at Newport-school in that county, under the +reverend and learned Dr. Edwards, a gentleman who had the honour to +qualify many persons of distinction for the university. Under the +tuition of this master, he attained a knowledge of the Latin, Greek, +French, Italian, and Spanish languages, and his exercises were generally +so well performed, that the Dr. was filled with admiration of his parts. +From Newport school he removed to Christ's-Church College in Oxford, and +distinguished himself there for his easy attainments in literature; but +some little irregularities of his life would not suffer him to +continue long at the university. It is probable he became sick of that +discipline, which they who spend their life in the recluseness of a +college, are in some measure obliged to submit to. The father of Mr. +Brown, who intended to have him educated to some profession, was not +made acquainted with his design of quitting the university, and having +remitted him a sum of money, to be appropriated for the promotion of his +studies, his son thought proper to defeat his kind intentions. With this +money, our author plann'd a scheme of going to London, which he soon +after executed, not very advantageously.--'My first business, says he, +was to apply myself to those few friends I had there, who conjecturing +I had left the university, exclusive of my father's knowledge, gave but +slender encouragement to a young beginner. However, no whit daunted (my +first resolution still standing by me) I launched forth into the world, +committing myself to the mercy of fortune, and the uncertain temper of +the town. I soon acquired a new set of acquaintance; and began to have +a relish of what I had only tasted before by hearsay; and indeed, every +thing served to convince me, I had changed for the better, except that +my slender subsistance began to waste extremely; and ruminating upon the +difficulty of obtaining a supply, I was then laid under the necessity +of thinking what course to steer. I knew how justly I had incurred the +displeasure of an indulgent father, and how far I had put myself from +retrieving his favour. Amidst this serious contemplation! I resolved to +go through stitch with my enterprize, let what will come on't: However, +that I might use discretion, to palliate an unforeseen event, I +determined 'twere better to trust to the flexibility of a father's +temper, than to lay too great a stress upon the humanity of fortune, +who would let a man of morals starve if he depended on her favours. +Therefore, without more ado (having taken my sorrowful leave of my last +guinea, and reduced Carolus Secundus, from a whole number, to decimal +fractions) I dispatched a letter into the country, full of excuse, and +penitence, baited with all the submissive eloquence imaginable. In the +mean time, I was no less sedulous to find out some employment, that +might suit with my genius, and with my dependencies at home, render my +life easy.' + +Whether his father was touched by the epistle which our author in +consequence of this resolution wrote to him, we cannot ascertain, as +there is no mention made of it. Soon after this, we find him school +master of Kingston upon Thames, and happy for him, had he continued in +that more certain employment, and not have so soon exchanged it for +beggary and reputation. Mr. Brown, impatient of a recluse life, quitted +the school, and came again to London; and as he found his old companions +more delighted with his wit, than ready to relieve his necessities, he +had recourse to scribbling for bread, which he performed with various +success. Dr. Drake, who has written a defence of our author's character, +prefixed to his works, informs us, that the first piece which brought +him into reputation, was an account of the conversion of Mr. Bays, in a +Dialogue, which met with a reception suitable to the wit, spirit, and +learning of it. But though this raised his fame, yet it added very +little to his profit: For, though it made his company exceedingly +coveted, and might have recommended him to the great, as well as to +the ingenious, yet he was of a temper not to chuse his acquaintance by +interest, and slighted such an opportunity of recommending himself to +the powerful and opulent, as, if wisely improved, might have procured +him dignities and preferments. The stile of this dialogue, was like that +of his ordinary conversation, lively and facetious. It discovered no +small erudition, but managed with a great deal of humour, in a burlesque +way; which make both the reasoning and the extensive reading, which are +abundantly shewn in it, extremely surprizing and agreeable. The same +manner and humour runs through all his writings, whether Dialogues, +Letters, or Poems. + +The only considerable objection, which the critics have made to his +works is, that they want delicacy. But in answer to this, it may be +affirmed, that there is as much refinement in his works, as the nature +of humorous satire, which is the chief beauty of his compositions, will +admit; for, as satire requires strong ideas, the language will sometimes +be less polished. But the delicacy so much demanded, by softening the +colours weakens the drawing. Mr. Brown has been charged with inequality +in his writings: which is inseparable from humanity. + +Our author's letters, though written carelesly to private friends, bear +the true stamp and image of a genius. The variety of his learning may be +seen in the Lacedaemonian Mercury, where abundance of critical questions +of great nicety, are answered with much solidity and judgment, as +well as wit, and humour. But that design exposing him too much to the +scruples of the grave and reserved, as well as to the censure, and +curiosity of the impertinent, he soon discontinued it. Besides, as this +was a periodical work, he who was totally without steadiness, was very +ill qualified for such an undertaking. When the press called upon him +for immediate supply, he was often found debauching himself at a tavern, +and by excessive drinking unable to perform his engagements with the +public, by which no doubt the work considerably suffered. + +But there is yet another reason why Mr. Brown has been charged with +inequality in his writings, viz. that most of the anonymous pieces which +happened to please the town, were fathered upon him. This, though in +reality an injury to him, is yet a proof of the universality of his +reputation, when whatever pleased from an unknown hand was ascribed +to him; but by these means he was reputed the writer of many things +unworthy of him. In poetry he was not the author of any long piece, for +he was quite unambitious of reputation of that kind. They are generally +Odes, Satires, and Epigrams, and are certainly not the best part of his +works. His Translations in Prose are many, and of various kinds. His +stile is strong and masculine; and if he was not so nice in the choice +of his authors, as might be expected from a man of his taste, he must be +excused; for he performed his translations as a talk, prescribed him +by the Booksellers, from whom he derived his chief support. It was the +misfortune of our author to appear on the stage of the world, when +fears, and jealousies had soured the tempers of men, and politics, and +polemics, had almost driven mirth and good nature out of the nation: +so that the careless gay humour, and negligent chearful wit, which +in former days of tranquility, would have recommended him to the +conversation of princes, was, in a gloomy period, lost upon a people +incapable of relishing genuine humour. + +An anonymous author who has given the world some account of Mr. Brown, +observes, 'that it was not his immorality that hindered him from +climbing to the top of poetry, and preferment; but that he had a +particular way of sinning to himself. To speak in plain English (says +he) Tom Brown had less the spirit of a gentleman than the rest of +the Wits, and more of a Scholar. Tom thought himself as happy with a +retailer of damnation in an obscure hole, as another to have gone to +the devil with all the splendour of a fine equipage. 'Twas not the +brightness of Caelia's eyes, nor her gaudy trappings that attracted his +heart. Cupid might keep his darts to himself; Tom always carried his +fire about him. If he had but a mouth, two eyes, and a nose, he never +enquired after the regularity of her dress, or features. He always +brought a good stomach with him, and used but little ceremony in the +preface. As of his mistresses, so he was very negligent in the choice of +his companions, who were sometimes mean and despicable, a circumstance +which never fails to ruin a man's reputation. He was of a lazy temper, +and the Booksellers who gave him credit enough as to his capacity, had +no confidence to put in his diligence. The same gentleman informs us, +that though Tom Brown was a good-natured man, yet he had one pernicious +quality, which eternally procured him enemies, and that was, rather to +lose his friend, than his joke. + +One of his lampoons had almost cost him a procession at the cart's tail; +nor did he either spare friend or foe, if the megrim of abuse once +seized him. He had a particular genius for scandal, and dealt it out +liberally when he could find occasion. He is famed for being the author +of a Libel, fixed one Sunday morning on the doors of Westminster-abbey, +and many others, against the clergy and quality. As for religion, Brown +never professed any, and used to say, that he understood the world +better than to have the imputation of righteousness laid to his charge: +and the world, to be even with him, really thought him an Atheist. But +though Brown never made any professions of religion, yet it proceeded +more from affectation than conviction. When he came upon his death-bed, +he expressed remorse for his past life, and discovered at that period, +sentiments which he had never before suffered to enter his mind. This +penitential behaviour, in the opinion of some, was the occasion why all +his brethren neglected him, and did not bestow on his memory one elegiac +song, nor any of the rites of verse. We find no encomiums upon him, but +what appeared in a Grubstreet Journal, which, however, are much superior +to what was usually to be found there. + + ----A mournful muse from Albion swains produce, + Sad as the song a gloomy genius chuse, + In artful numbers let his wit be shewn, + And as he sings of Doron's speak his own; + Such be the bard, for only such is fit, + To trace pale Doron thro' the fields of wit. + +Towards the latter end of our author's life, we are informed by Mr. +Jacob, that he was in favour with the earl of Dorset, who invited him to +dinner on a Christmas-day, with Mr. Dryden, and some other gentlemen, +celebrated for ingenuity, (according to his lordship's usual custom) +when Mr. Brown, to his agreeable surprize, found a Bank Note of 50 l. +under his plate, and Mr. Dryden at the same time was presented with +another of 100 l. Acts of munificence of this kind were very common with +that generous spirited nobleman. + +Mr. Brown died in the year 1704, and was interred in the Cloyster of +Westminster-abbey, near the remains of Mrs. Behn, with whom he was +intimate in his life-time. His whole works consisting of Dialogues, +Essays, Declamations, Satires, Letters from the Dead to the Living, +Translations, Amusements, &c. were printed in 4 vol. 12mo, 1707. In +order that the reader may conceive a true idea of the spirit and humour, +as well as of the character of Tom Brown, we shall here insert an +Imaginary Epistle, written from the Shades to his Friends among the +Living; with a copy of Verses representing the Employment of his +poetical Brethren in that fancied Region. + +TOM. BROWN to his Friends among the Living. + +GENTLEMEN, + +I bear it with no little concern to find myself so soon forgot among ye; +I have paid as constant attendance to post-hours, in expectation to hear +from ye, as a hungry Irish Man (at twelve) to a three-penny ordinary, or +a decayed beau for nice eating to a roasting-cock's. No amorous-keeping +fool, banished from his Chloris in town, to his country solitude, has +waited with greater impatience for a kind epistle from her, than I for +one from you. I have searched all private packets, and examined every +straggling ghost that came from your parts, without being able to get +the least intelligence of your affairs. This is the third since my +arrival in these gloomy regions, and I can give myself no reason why I +have received none in answer, unless the packet-boat has been taken +by the French, or that so little time has quite excluded me from your +memories. In my first I gave you an account of my journey hither, and my +reception among the ingenious in these gloomy regions. + +I arrived on the Banks of Acheron, and found Charon scooping his wherry, +who seeing me approach him, bid me sit down a little, for he had been +hard worked lately, and could not go with a single passenger: I was +willing enough to embrace the proposal, being much fatigued and weary. +Having finished what he was about, he cast his rueful aspect up to +the clouds, and demonstrating from thence (as I suppose) it was near +dinner-time, he took from out a locker or cupboard in the stern of his +pinnace, some provender pinned up in a clean linnen clout, and a jack of +liquor, and fell too without the least shew of ceremony, unless indeed +it were to offer me the civility of partaking with him. He muttered +something to himself, which might be grace as far as I know; but if it +were, 'twas as short as that at an Auction-dinner, nor did he devour +what was before him with less application than I have seen some there. +For my part, I could not but contemplate on his shaggy locks, his +wither'd sun-burnt countenance, together with the mightiness and +sanctity of his beard; but above all, his brawny chopt knuckles employed +my attention: In short, having satisfied the cormorant in his guts, +he had time to ask me what country-man I was? to which I submissively +answered, an English-man: O, says he, those English-men are merry +rogues, and love mischief; I have sometimes a diverting story from +thence: What news have you brought with you? truly I told his highness +I came away a little dissatisfied, and had not made any remarks on the +world for some time before my death; and for news I had not leisure to +bring any thing of moment. But ere we had talked much more, we saw +two other passengers approach us, who, by their often turning to one +another, and their laying down arguments with their hands, seemed to be +in warm debate together; which was as we conjectured; for when they +drew nearer to us, they proved to be a termagant High-Flyer, and a +puritanical Scripturian, a fiery Scotchman: Occasional Conformity was +their subject; for I heard the Scot tell him 'twas all popery, downright +popery, and that the inquisition in Spain was christianity to it, by +retarding the sons of grace from partaking of the gifts of the Lord; he +said it was the building of Babel, and they were confounded in the works +of their hands by the confusion of tongues; such crys, says he, went +forth before the desolation of the great city. + +Thou the son of grace, says the other, thou art a son of Satan, and hast +preached up iniquity; ye are the evil tares, and the land can never +prosper 'till ye are rooted out from among the good corn. + +Thou art an inventer of lies, said the disciple of John Calvin, and the +truth is not in thee; ye are bloody minded wretches, and your fury is +the only sign of your religion, as the steeple is to the church; your +organs are the prophane tinkling of the cimbals of Satan, that tickle +the ears with vanity. + +Thus the dispute lasted till they came to us, and getting into the boat, +they jostled for preeminence, which might have proved a sharp conflict, +had not the old fellow took up a stretcher and parted them. After which +we parted peaceably over to the other side: being-landed, the Scot and I +took our way together, and left the furious churchman to vent his spleen +by himself. We had not travelled long before we came to a populous +village, where, from the various multitude, our eyes encountered at a +distance, we might easily conjecture that something more than ordinary +had gathered them together in that manner; it resembled (as near as +I can describe it) that famous place called Sherrick-fair, or a +Staffordshire-Wake. While we were applying our admiration that way, we +arrived at a small hut erected for that purpose, where Nero the tyrant, +like a blind fiddler, was surrounded by a confused tribe of all sorts +and sexes, like another Orpheus among the beasts. + +The various remarks I made (some dancing, some prancing; some clapping, +some knapping; some drinking, some winking; some kissing, some pissing; +some reeling, some stealing) urged my curiosity to enquire for what +it was possible those noble sports might be ordained, and was soon +satisfied it was the Anniversary Feast of their Great Lady Proserpine's +birth-day. But these things that I took to be diverting, so elevated the +spleen of my Puritan companion, that he began loudly to exclaim against +those prophane exercises: he said, they were impure, and lifted up +the mind to lewdness; that those that followed them, were the sons of +Belial, and wore the mark of the beast in their foreheads. I endeavoured +to pacify the sanctified brother, by putting him in mind where we were, +and that his rashness might draw us into danger, being in a strange +place; but all was in vain, I but stirred up his fury more; for, turning +his rebukes upon me, he told me, I was myself one of the wicked, and did +rejoice in my heart at the deeds of darkness: no, says he, I will not be +pacified, I will roar aloud to drown their incantations; yea, I will set +out a throat even as the beast that belloweth! so that perceiving the +mob gather about him, I thought it prudence to steal off, and leave him +to the fury of those, whose displeasure he was about to incur. + +I had not gone far, but I 'spied two brawney champions at a rubbers +of cuffs, which by the dexterity of their head's, hands, and heels, +I judged could be no other than Englishmen: nor were my sentiments +groundless, for presently I heard the mob cry out, O! rare Jo! O! rare +Jo! and attentively Surveying the combatants, I found it to be the merry +Jo Haynes, fallen out with Plowden the famous Lawyer, about a game +at Nine-holes; and that shout had proclaimed Joe victorious. I was +something scrupulous of renewing my acquaintance, not knowing how the +conqueror, in the midst of his success, might use me for making bold +with his character in my letters from the read; though I felt a secret +desire to discover myself, yet prudence withstood my inclination, 'till +a more convenient season might so that I brushed off to a place where I +saw a concourse of the better sort of people; there I found Millington +the famous Auctioneer, among a crowd of Lawyers, Physicians, Scholars, +Poets, Critics, Booksellers, &c. exercising his old faculty; for which, +gentlemen, he is as particularly famed in these parts, as Herostratus +for firing the famous Temple, or Barthol Swarts, for the invention of +Gunpowder. He is head journey-man to Ptolemy, who keeps a Bookseller's +shop here, and rivals even Jacob Tonson in reputation among the great +wits. + +But most of all I was obliged to admire my friend Millington, who, by +his powerful knack of eloquence, to the wonder of the whole company, +sold Cave's Lives of the Fathers to Solomon the Magnificent, and the +Scotch Directory to the Priests of the Sun; nay, he sold-Archbishop +Laud's Life to Hugh Peters, Hob's Leviathan to Pope Boniface, and pop'd +Bunyan's Works upon Bellarmine for a piece of unrevealed Divinity; After +the sale was over, I took an opportunity of making myself known to him, +who caressed me with all the freedom imaginable, asking me, how long +I had been in these parts? and what news from the other world? and a +thousand particular questions about his old friends; to all which I +responded as well as I could: and having given me a caution to avoid +some people, by whom I was threatened, for exposing them in my letters, +we went to take a bottle together. + +Now I presume, gentlemen, you will conclude it high time for me to take +my leave; nor shall I tire your patience much longer, only permit me +to give ye the trouble of some particular services to those honest +gentlemen whose generosity gave me the reputation of a funeral above +what I e'er expected, especially to Dr. S----t for bestowing the ground +I never frequented, to Dr. Garth and the rest for the charge of a hearse +and mourning coaches, which I could not have desired, and to Dr. D----ke +for designing me a monument I know the world will reflect I never +deserved; but for that, let my works testify for me. And though ye are +satisfied my genius was never over-fruitful in the product of verse, +yet knowing these favours require something a little uncommon to make a +suitable return, I shall take my leave in metre, and, if contrary to my +opinion, it meets with a kind acceptance from the town, honest Sam. may +clap it in the next edition of the State Poems, with Buckingham's name +to it. + + When a scurvy disease had lain hold of my carcase, + And death to my chamber was mounting the stair-case. + I call'd to remembrance the sins I'd committed, + Repented, and thought I'd for Heaven been fitted; + But alas! there is still an old proverb to cross us, + I found there no room for the sons of Parnassus; + And therefore contented like others to fare, + To the shades of Elizium I strait did repair; + Where Dryden and other great wits o' the town, + To reward all their labours, are damn'd to write on. + Here Johnson may boast of his judgment and plot, + And Otway of all the applause that he got; + Loose Eth'ridge presume on his stile and his wit, + And Shadwell of all the dull plays he e'r writ; + Nat. Lee here may boast of his bombast and rapture, + And Buckingham rail to the end of the chapter; + Lewd Rochester lampoon the King and the court, + And Sidley and others may cry him up for't; + Soft Waller and Suckling, chaste Cowley and others, + With Beaumont and Fletcher, poetical brothers, + May here scribble on with pretence to the bays, + E'en Shakespear himself may produce all his plays, + And not get for whole pages one mouth full of praise. + + To avoid this disaster, while Congreve reforms, + His muse and his morals fly to Bracegirdle's arms; + Let Vanbrugh no more plotless plays e'er impose, + Stuft with satire and smut to ruin the house; + Let Rowe, if he means to maintain his applause, + Write no more such lewd plays as his Penitent was. + O Satire! from errors instruct the wild bard, + Bestow thy advice to reclaim each lewd bard; + Bid the Laureat sincerely reflect on the matter; + Bid Dennis drink less, but bid him write better; + Bid Durfey cease scribbling, that libelling song-ster; + Bid Gildon and C----n be Deists no longer; + Bid B----t and C----r, those wits of the age, + Ne'er expose a dull coxcomb, but just on the stage; + Bid Farquhar (tho' bit) to his consort be just, + And Motteux in his office be true to his trust; + Bid Duffet and Cowper no longer be mad, + But Parsons and Lawyers mind each their own trade. + To Grubster and others, bold satire advance; + Bid Ayliffe talk little, and P----s talk sense; + Bid K----n leave stealing as well as the rest; + When this can be done, they may hope to be blest. + + * * * * * + + +The Revd. Mr. JOHN POMFRET. + +This Gentleman's works are held in very great esteem by the common +readers of poetry; it is thought as unfashionable amongst people of +inferior life, not to be possessed of the poems of Pomfret, as amongst +persons of taste not to have the works of Pope in their libraries. The +subjects upon which Pomfret wrote were popular, his versification is far +from being unmusical, and as there is little force of thinking in his +writings, they are level to the capacities of those who admire them. + +Our author was son of the rev. Mr. Pomfret, rector of Luton in +Bedfordshire, and he himself was preferred to the living of Malden in +the same county. He was liberally educated at an eminent grammar school +in the country, from whence he was sent to the university of Cambridge, +but to what college is not certain. There he wrote most of his poetical +pieces, took the degree of master of arts, and very early accomplished +himself in most kinds of polite literature. A gentleman who writes under +the name of Philalethes, and who was an intimate friend of Pomfret's, +has cleared his reputation from the charge of fanaticism, which some +of his malicious enemies brought against him. It was shortly after his +leaving the university, that he was preferred to the living of Malden +abovementioned, and was, says that gentleman, so far from being +tinctured with fanaticism, that I have often heard him express his +abhorrence of the destructive tenets maintained by that people, both +against our religious and civil rights. This imputation it seems was +cast on him by there having been one of his sur-name, though not any way +related to him, a dissenting teacher, and who published some rhimes upon +spiritual subjects, as he called them, and which sufficiently proved him +an enthusiast. + +About the year 1703 Mr. Pomfret came up to London, for institution and +induction, into a very considerable living, but was retarded for some +time by a disgust taken by dr. Henry Compton, then bishop of London, at +these four lines, in the close of his poem entitled The Choice. + + And as I near approach'd the verge of life, + Some kind relation (for I'd have no wife) + Should take upon him all my worldly care, + While I did for a better state prepare. + +The parenthesis in these verses was so maliciously represented to the +bishop, that his lordship was given to understand, it could bear no +other construction than that Mr. Pomfret preferred a mistress before a +wife; though the words may as well admit of another meaning, and import +no more, than the preference of a single life to marriage; unless the +gentlemen in orders will assert, that an unmarried Clergyman cannot +live without a mistress. But the bishop was soon convinced that this +aspersion against him, was no more than an effort of malice, as Mr. +Pomfret at that time was really married. The opposition which his +enemies made to him, had, in some measure, its effect; for by the +obstructions he met with, he was obliged to stay longer in London than +he intended, and as the Small-pox then raged in the metropolis, he +sickened them, and died in London in the 36th year of his age. + +The above-mentioned friend of Mr. Pomfret, has likewise shewn the +ungenerous treatment he met with in regard to his poetical compositions, +in a book entitled Poems by the Earl of Roscommon, and Mr. Duke, printed +1717, in the preface to which, the publisher has peremptorily inserted +the following paragraph. 'In this collection says he, of my lord +Roscommon's poems, care has been taken to insert all I possibly could +procure, that are truly genuine, there having been several things +published under his name, which were written by others, the authors of +which I could set down if it were material. Now, says the gentleman, +this arrogant editor would have been more just, both to the public, and +to the earl of Roscommon's memory, in telling us what things had been +published under his lordship's name by others, than by concealing the +authors of any such gross impositions. Instead of which, he is so much a +stranger to impartiality, that he has been guilty of the very crime he +exclaims against; for he has not only attributed the prospect of death +to the earl of Roscommon, which was wrote by Mr. Pomfret, after the +decease of that lord; but likewise another piece entitled the Prayer of +Jeremy Paraphrased, prophetically representing the passionate grief of +the Jewish people, for the loss of their town, and sanctuary, written by +Mr. Southcot, a gentleman who published it in the year 1717, so that it +is to be hoped, in a future edition of the earl of Roscommon's, and Mr. +Duke's poems, the same care will be taken to do these gentlemen justice, +as to prevent any other person from hereafter injuring the memory of his +lordship.' + +Mr. Pomfret published his poems in the year 1690, to which he has +prefixed a very modest and sensible preface, 'I am not so fond of fame, +says he, as to desire it from the injudicious many; nor as so mortified +a temper as not to wish it from the discerning few. 'Tis not the +multitude of applauders, but the good fame of the applauders, which +establishes a valuable reputation.' + +His poetical compositions consist chiefly of + +1. The Choice, which we shall insert as a specimen. + +2. Cruelty and Lust, an Epistolary Essay, founded upon the famous +Story which happened in the reign of King James II. Kirk, who was that +Prince's general against the duke of Monmouth. was sollicited by a +beautiful lady in behalf of her husband, who then lay under sentence of +death. The inhuman general consented to grant his fair petitioner her +request; but at no less a price than that of her innocence. The lady +doated on her husband, and maintained a hard struggle between virtue, +and affection, the latter of which at last prevailed, and she yielded to +his guilty embraces. The next morning Kirk, with unparalleled brutality, +desired the lady to look out at the window of his bedchamber, when she +was struck with the horrid sight of her husband upon a scaffold, ready +to receive the blow of the executioner; and before she could reach the +place where he was, in order to take a last embrace, her husband was no +more. + +How far the lady may be justified in this conduct, is not our business +to discuss: if it is called by the name of guilt, none ever had more +pressing motives; and if such a crime could admit of an excuse, it must +be upon such an occasion. + +3. Several Epistles to his Friends under affliction. + +4. Upon the Divine Attributes. + +5. A Prospect of Death. + +5. Upon the General Conflagration, and the ensuing Judgment. There were +two pieces of our author's, published after his death by his friend +Philalethes; the first of these entitled Reason, was wrote by him in the +year 1700, when the debates concerning the doctrine of the Trinity were +carried on with so much heat by the Clergy one against another, that the +royal authority was interposed in order to put an end to a controversy, +which could never be settled, and which was pernicious in its +consequences. This is a severe satire, upon one of the parties engaged +in that dispute, but his not inserting it amongst his other poems when +he collected them into a volume, was, on account of his having received +very particular favours, from some of the persons therein mentioned. The +other is entitled Dies Novissima, or the Last Epiphany, a Pindaric Ode +on Christ's second Appearance to judge the World. In this piece the poet +expresses much heart-felt piety: It is animated, if not with a poetical, +at least with so devout a warmth, that as the Guardian has observed of +Divine Poetry, 'We shall find a kind of refuge in our pleasure, and our +diversion will become our safety.' + +This is all the account we are favoured with of the life and writings +of Mr. Pomfret: A man not destitute either of erudition or genius, of +unexceptionable morals, though exposed to the malice of antagonists. As +he was a prudent man, and educated to a profession, he was not subject +to the usual necessities of the poets, but his sphere being somewhat +obscure, and his life unactive, there are few incidents recorded +concerning him. If he had not fortune sufficient to render him +conspicuous, he had enough to keep his life innocent, which he seems to +have spent in ease and tranquillity, a situation much more to be envied +than the highest blaze of fame, attended with racking cares, and +innumerable sollicitudes. + +The CHOICE. + + If Heav'n the grateful liberty would give, + That I might chuse my method how to live. + And all those hours propitious fate should lend, + In blissful ease and satisfaction spend, + + Near some fair town I'd have a private seat, + Built uniform; not little, nor too great: + Better if on a rising ground it flood + On this side fields, on that a neighb'ring wood. + It should within no other things contain, + But what were useful, necessary, plain: + Methinks 'tis nauseous, and I'd ne'r endure + The needless pomp of gawdy furniture. + A little garden, grateful to the eye, + And a cool rivulet run murm'ring by: + On whose delicious banks a slately row + Of shady Lymes or Sycamores should grow. + At th' end of which a silent study plac'd, + Should be with all the noblest authors grac'd. + Horace and Virgil, in whose mighty lines + Immortal wit and solid learning shines. + Sharp Juvenal, and am'rous Ovid too, + Who all the turns of love's soft passion knew: + He that with judgment reads his charming lines, + In which strong art with stronger nature joins, + Must grant his fancy, does the best excel; + His thoughts so tender, and express'd so well. + With all those moderns, men of steady sense, + Esteem'd for learning, and for eloquence. + In some of these, as fancy should advise. + I'd always take my morning exercise: + For sure no minutes bring us more content, + Than those in pleasing, useful studies spent. + + I'd have a clear, and competent estate, + That I might live genteely, but not great: + As much as I could moderately spend, + A little more, sometimes t' oblige a friend. + Nor should the sons of poverty repine + Too much at fortune, they should taste of mine; + And all that objects of true pity were + Should be reliev'd with what my wants could spare: + For that, our Maker has too largely giv'n, + Should be return'd, in gratitude to Heav'n, + A frugal plenty mould my table spread; + With healthy, not luxurious, dimes fed: + Enough to satisfy, and something more + To feed the stranger, and the neighb'ring poor: + Strong meat indulges vice, and pamp'ring food + Creates diseases, and inflames the blood. + But what's sufficient to make nature strong, + And the bright lamp of life continue long, + I'd freely take, and, as I did possess, + The bounteous author of my plenty bless. + + I'd have a little vault, but always stor'd + With the best wines each vintage could afford. + Wine whets the wit, improves its native force, + And gives a pleasant flavour to discourse: + By making all our spirits debonair, + Throws off the lees, the sediment of care, + But as the greatest blessing Heav'n lends, + May be debauch'd and serve ignoble ends: + So, but too oft, the Grape's refreshing juice + Does many mischievous effects produce. + My house should no such rude disorders know, + As from high drinking consequently flow: + Nor would I use what was so kindly giv'n + To the dishonour of indulgent Heav'n. + If any neighbour came, he should be free, + Us'd with respect, and not uneasy be, + In my retreat, or to himself or me. + What freedom, prudence, and right reason give, + All men may with impunity receive: + But the least swerving from their rule's too much; + For what's forbidden us, 'tis death to touch. + + That life might be more comfortable yet, + And all my joys resin'd, sincere, and great; + I'd chuse two friends, whose company would be + A great advance to my felicity. + Well born, of humour suited to my own; + Discreet, and men, as well as books, have known. + Brave, gen'rous, witty, and exactly free + From loose behaviour, or formality. + Airy, and prudent, merry, but not light; + Quick in discerning, and in judging right. + Secret they should be, faithful to their trust; + In reas'ning cool, strong, temperate, and just. + Obliging, open, without huffing, brave, + Brisk in gay talking, and in sober, grave. + Close in dispute, but not tenacious; try'd + By solid reason, and let that decide. + Not prone to lust, revenge, or envious hate; + Nor busy medlers with intrigues of state. + Strangers to slander, and sworn foes to spight: + Not quarrelsome, but stout enough to fight. + Loyal, and pious, friends to Caesar, true + As dying martyrs, to their Maker too. + In their society I could not miss + A permanent, sincere, substantial bliss. + + Would bounteous Heav'n once more indulge; I'd chuse + (For who would so much satisfaction, lose, + As witty nymphs in conversation, give) + Near some obliging, modest fair to live; + For there's that sweetness in a female mind, + Which in a man's we cannot hope to find: + That by a secret, but a pow'rful art, + Winds up the springs of life, and does impart + Fresh vital heat, to the transported heart. + + I'd have her reason all her passions sway; + Easy in company, in private gay: + Coy to a fop, to the deserving free, + Still constant to herself, and just to me. + A soul she should have, for great actions fit; + Prudence and wisdom to direct her wit: + Courage to look bold danger in the face, + No fear, but only to be proud, or base: + Quick to advise, by an emergence prest, + To give good counsel, or to take the best. + I'd have th' expression of her thoughts be such + She might not seem reserv'd, nor talk too much. + That shew a want of judgment and of sense: + More than enough is but impertinence. + Her conduct regular, her mirth resin'd, + Civil to strangers to her neighbours kind, + Averte to vanity, revenge, and pride, + In all the methods of deceit untry'd. + So faithful to her friend, and good to all, + No censure might upon her actions fall: + Then would e'en envy be compell'd to say, + She goes the least of woman kind astray. + + To this fair creature I'd sometimes retire, + Her conversation would new joys inspire; + Give life an edge so keen, no surly care + Would venture to assault my soul, or dare + Near my retreat to hide one secret snare. + But so divine, so noble a repast + I'd seldom, and with moderation taste, + For highest cordials all their virtue lose + By a too frequent, and too bold an use: + And what would cheer the spirit in distress; + Ruins our health, when taken to excess. + + I'd be concern'd in no litigious jar, + Belov'd by all, not vainly popular. + Whate'er assistance I had pow'r to bring + T' oblige my country, or to serve my King, + Whene'er they call'd, I'd readily afford + My tongue, my pen, my counsel, or my sword. + Law suits I'd shun, with as much studious care, + As I would dens where hungry lions are: + And rather put up injuries, than be + A plague to him, who'd be a plague to me. + I value quiet at a price too great, + To give for my revenge so dear a rate: + For what do we by all our bustle gain, + But counterfeit delight, for real pain; + + If Heav'n a date of many years would give, + Thus I'd in pleasure, ease, and plenty live. + And as I near approach'd the verge of life, + Some kind relation (for I'd have no wife) + Should take upon him all my worldly care, + While I did for a better state prepare. + Then I'd not be with any trouble vex'd; + Nor have the evening of my days perplex'd. + But by a silent, and a peaceful death, + Without a sigh, resign my aged breath: + And when committed to the dust, I'd have + Few tears, but friendly, dropt into my grave. + Then would my exit so propitious be, + All men would wish to live and die, like me. + + * * * * * + +The LIFE of + +Dr. WILLIAM KING. + +This ingenious gentleman, was son of Ezekiel King, of London. He +received the rudiments of his education in Westminster-school, under +Dr. Busby, and was removed from thence to Christ's-Church in Oxford, in +Michaelmas term, 1681, when at the age of eighteen. He studied the civil +law, and practiced it at Doctor's Commons, with very great reputation; +but the natural gaiety of his temper, and the love of company, betrayed +him into those pleasures, which were incompatible with his profession. + +Our author, by the reputation of his abilities obtained a patron in +the earl of Pembroke, who upon his being appointed lord Lieutenant of +Ireland, press'd him to go over to that kingdom. + +Upon Dr. King's arrival in Ireland, his excellency appointed him judge +advocate, sole commissioner of the prizes, and record keeper. There, he +was well received, and countenanced by persons of the most distinguished +rank, and could he have changed his disposition with the climate, had +then an opportunity of making his fortune; but so far was he from +improving this occasion to the purposes of his interest, that he +returned back to England, with no other treasure, than a few merry +Poems, and humorous Essays. He was naturally of a courteous behaviour, +and very obliging: His conversation was chearful, and his wit pleasant +and entertaining. But at length he chiefly subsisted on his fellowship +in Christ-Church College: Before this time, he had published his most +ingenious Poem, called the Art of Cookery, in imitation of Horace's +Art of Poetry, with some Letters to Dr. Lister and others; occasioned +principally by the title of a book, published by the Dr. being the works +of Apicius Coelius, concerning the soups and sauces of the ancients, +with an extract of the greatest curiosities contained in that book. +Amongst his Letters, is one upon the Denti Scalps, or Tooth-picks of the +Antients: Another contains an imitation of Horace: Epist. 5. Book I. +being his invitation of Torquatus to supper. And a third, contains +remarks on lord Grimston's play, called the Lawyer's Fortune; or Love in +a Hollow-Tree. + +At his leisure hours he wrote likewise, The Art of Love, an imitation of +Ovid, De Arte Amandi. To which he prefixed an account of Ovid. In +the latter part of his life, about the year 1711, he published an +Historical Account of the Heathen Gods, and Heroes, for the use +of Westminster, and other schools; for the better and more easy +understanding of the Classics. Besides these performances, we likewise +find three numbers of a project, entitled, the Transactioner, or, Useful +Transactions: Containing a great number of small pieces, which it would +be tedious here to enumerate.[1] + +We have already observed, that our author while in Ireland, neglected +the best opportunity of encreasing his fortune; and the circumstance +which occasioned it we find to be this: He had contracted an intimacy +which soon grew into friendship, with judge Upton, a man of the same +temper with himself, who delighted in retirement and poetical amusement. +He had a country villa called Mountown, near Dublin, where he and Dr. +King used to retire, and spend most of their time without any regard to +their public offices; and by these means neglecting to pay court to the +lord lieutenant, they fell under his displeasure. These two poetical +companions, indulged no other thoughts but those of living and dying in +their rural retreat. Upon this occasion, Dr. King wrote a Pastoral Poem, +called Mully of Mountown: Mully was the name of a Red-Cow which gave him +milk, whom he made the chief subject of his Poem; which at that time the +critics would have imposed upon the word as a political allegory, +tho' this was a manner of writing, with which the Dr. was totally +unacquainted. + +When Dr. King, after his return from Ireland, had retired to live upon +his fellowship at Oxford, he was sollicited by the earl of Anglesey to +come to town, and undertake a cause of his, then before the House of +Lords, (in relation to some cruelties he was accused of using to his +lady) back'd by the violent prosecution of his mother-in-law, the +countess of Dorchester. Upon this occasion the Doctor shook off the +indolence of his nature, and so strenuously engaged in the cause of his +patron, that he gained the reputation of an able lawyer as well as a +poet. He naturally hated business, especially that of an advocate; but +when appointed as a delegate, made a very discerning and able judge, yet +never could bear the fatigue of wrangling. His chief pleasure consisted +in trifles, and he was never happier, than when hid from the world. Few +people pleased him in conversation, and it was a proof of his liking +them, if his behaviour was tolerably agreeable. He was a great +dissembler of his natural temper, which was fallen, morose, and peevish, +where he durst shew it; but he was of a timorous disposition and +the least slight or neglect offered to him, would throw him into a +melancholy despondency. He was apt to say a great many ill-natur'd +things, but was never known to do one: He was made up of tenderness, +pity, and compassion; and of so feminine a disposition, that tears would +fall from his eyes upon the smallest occasion. + +As his education had been strict, so he was always of a religious +disposition, and would not enter upon the business of the day, till he +had performed his devotion, and read several portions of scripture out +of the Psalms, the Prophets, and the New-Testament. + +It appears from his loose papers, which he calls Adversaria, that he +had been such an arduous student, that before he was eight-years in the +university, he had read over and made reflections on twenty-two thousand +books and manuscripts; a few of which, we shall give as specimen, in +order to let the reader into the humour and taste of our author. + +'Diogenes Laertius, Book I.----Thales, being asked how a man might most +easily brook misfortunes? answered, if he saw his enemies in a worse +condition. It is not agreed, concerning the wisemen; or whether indeed +they were seven.' + +'There is a very good letter of Pisistratus to Solon, and of the same +stile and character with those of Phalaris.' + +'Solon ordained, that the guardians of orphans should not cohabit with +their mothers: And that no person should be a guardian to those, whose +estate descended to them at the orphan's decease. That no seal-graver +should keep the seal of a ring that was sold: That, if any man put out +the eye of him who had but one, he should lose both, his own: That, +where a man never planted, it should be death to take away: That, it +should be death for a magistrate to be taken in drink. Solon's letters +at the end of his life, in Laertius, give us a truer Idea of the man, +than all he has written before, and are indeed very fine: Solon's to +Craesus are very genteel; and Pitaccus's on the other side, are rude and +philosophical; However, both shew Craesus to have been a very good man. +These epistles give a further reason to believe, that the others were +written by Phalaris. There is a letter from Cleobulus to Solon, to +invite him to Lindus.' + +'Bion used to say, it was more easy to determine differences, between +enemies than friends; for that of two friends, one would become an +enemy; but of two enemies, one would become a friend.' + +'Anacharsis has an epistle to Craesus, to thank him for his invitation; +and Periander one to all the wise men, to invite them to Corinth to him, +after their return from Lydia. Epimenides has an epistle to Solon, to +invite him to Crete, under the tyranny of Pisistratus.' + +'Epimenides often pretended that he rose from death to life.' + +The above notes are sufficient to shew that he read the ancients with +attention, and knew how to select the most curious passages, and most +deserving the reader's observation. + +About the year 1711 the Dr. published a piece called the British +Palladium, or a welcome of lord, Bolingbroke from France. Soon after +this, Dr. Swift, Dr. Friend, Mr. Prior, with some others of lord +Bolingbroke's adherents, paid a visit to Dr. King, and brought along +with them, the key of the Gazetteer's office, together with another key +for the use of the paper office. The day following this friendly visit, +the Dr. entered upon his new post; and two or three days after waited on +his benefactor lord Bolingbroke, then secretary of state. + +The author of the Doctor's life, published by Curl, has related an +instance of inhumanity in alderman Barber, towards Dr. King. This +magistrate was then printer of the Gazette, and was so cruel as to +oblige the Dr. to sit up till three or four o'clock in the morning, +upon those days the Gazette was published, to correct the errors of the +press; which was not the business of the author, but a corrector, who is +kept for that purpose in every printing-office of any consequence. This +slavery the Dr. was not able to bear, and therefore quitted the office. +The alderman's severity was the more unwarrantable, as the Dr. had been +very kind in obliging him, by writing Examiners, and some other papers, +gratis, which were of advantage to him as a printer. Those writings at +that juncture made him known to the ministry, who afterwards employed +him in a state paper called the Gazettee. + +About Midsummer 1712 the Dr. quitted his employ, and retired to a +gentleman's house on Lambeth side the water; where he had diverted +himself a summer or two before: Here he enjoyed his lov'd tranquility, +with a friend, a bottle, and his books; he frequently visited lord +Clarendon, at Somerset-house, as long as he was able. It was the autumn +season, and the Dr. began insensibly to droop: He shut himself up +entirely from his nearest friends, and would not so much as see lord +Clarendon; who hearing of his weak condition, ordered his sister to go +to Lambeth, and fetch him from thence to a lodging he had provided for +him, in the Strand, over against Somerset-house where next day +about noon he expired, with all the patience, and resignation of a +philosopher, and the true devotion of a christian; but would not be +persuaded to go to rest the night before, till he made such a will, as +he thought would be agreeable to lord Clarendon's inclinations; who +after his death took care of his funeral. He was decently interred in +the cloisters of Westminster-Abbey, next to his master Dr. Knipe, to +whom a little before, he dedicated his Heathen Gods.----The gentleman +already mentioned, who has transmitted some account of our author to +posterity, delineates his character in the following manner. 'He was +a civilian, exquisitely well read; a skillful judge, and among the +learned, an universal scholar, a critic, and an adept; in all sciences +and languages expert; and our English. Ovid, among the poets: In +conversation, he was grave and entertaining, without levity or spleen: +As an author, his character may be also summ'd up in the following +lines.' + + Read here, in softest sounds the sweetest satire, + A pen dipt deep in gall, a heart good-nature; + An English Ovid, from his birth he seems, + Inspired alike with strong poetic dreams; + The Roman, rants of heroes, gods, and Jove, + The Briton, purely paints the art of love. + +As a specimen of our author's versification, we shall select a Poem of +his called, the Art of making Puddings; published in his Miscellanies. + + I sing of food, by British nurse design'd, + To make the stripling brave, and maiden kind. + Delay not muse in numbers to rehearse + The pleasures of our life, and sinews of our verse. + Let pudding's dish, most wholsome, be thy theme, + And dip thy swelling plumes in fragrant cream. + Sing then that dim so fitting to improve + A tender modesty, and trembling love; + Swimming in butter of a golden hue, + Garnish'd with drops of Rose's spicy dew. + Sometimes the frugal matron seems in haste, + Nor cares to beat her pudding into paste: + Yet milk in proper skillet she will place, + And gently spice it with a blade of mace; + Then set some careful damsel to look to't; + And still to stir away the bishop's-foot; + For if burnt milk shou'd to the bottom stick, + Like over-heated-zeal, 'twould make folks sick. + Into the Milk her flow'r she gently throws, + As valets now wou'd powder tender beaus: + The liquid forms in hasty mass unite, + Both equally delicious as they're white. + In mining dish the hasty mass is thrown, + And seems to want no graces but its own. + Yet still the housewife brings in fresh supplies, + To gratify the taste, and please the eyes. + She on the surface lumps of butter lays, + Which, melting with the heat, its beams displays; + From whence it causes wonder to behold + A silver soil bedeck'd with streams of gold! + +[Footnote 1: The design of this work, was to ridicule Sir Hans Sloan's +writings, in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal-Society; of +which Dr. Sloan was secretary. This work, of Dr. King's, which is now +become very scarce, is one of the severest and merriest Satires that +ever was written in Prose.] + + * * * * * + + +THOMAS SPRAT (Bishop of ROCHESTER) + +Was descended from a very worthy, though obscure family, being the son +of a private country minister; but his great merit raised him to that +eminent station in the church, wherein he long presided, and was +deservedly accounted one of the most considerable prelates of his time. +The Oxford antiquary informs us, that on the 16th of January 1654, he +was entered in Wadham-College, where he pursued his studies with the +closest application, and distinguished himself by his prudent and +courteous behaviour. + +On the 3d of July 1669, Mr. Sprat took his master of arts degree, and +the same day, commenced doctor in divinity. He had not long been in +holy orders, till he was introduced at court, and by a happy power in +conversation, so attracted the regard of Charles the IId. that he was +considered as a man standing fair for preferment. In 1683, broke out the +Rye-house Plot, a relation of the particulars of which, Charles the IId. +commanded Dr. Sprat to draw up. This the Dr. in a letter to lord Dorset, +informs us, he did with great unwillingness, and would have been +impelled by no other consideration, than that of a royal command. The +reason he executed these orders with so much reluctance, was, because +many of the most popular men in the nation were either concerned +themselves, or had some relations engaged, so that an account of a plot +thus supported, must expose he writer to partial or popular resentments. + +He requested the king, that he might be permitted to spare some names, +and to represent the behaviour of others in as candid a light as +possible, in which request his majesty indulged him; but notwithstanding +all the candour he observed, and the most dispassionate representation +of facts, yet his composing this relation, was brought against him as a +crime, for which an opposite party endeavoured, and had almost effected +his ruin. This work, tho' finished in the year 1683 was not published +till 1685, when it came into the world, under the immediate direction +of king James the IId. It was no doubt in consequence of this court +service, that he was made dean of Westminster, Anno 1683; and bishop of +Rochester the year following. Another step he took in the short reign of +king James, likewise exposed him to the resentment of that power +which took place at the revolution, which was his sitting in the +ecclesiastical commission. By this he drew upon himself almost an +universal censure, which he acknowledges to be just; as appears by a +letter he wrote upon that occasion to the earl of Dorset, in the year +1689; which thus begins. + +'My Lord, + +I think I should be wanting to myself at this time, in my own necessary +vindication, should I forbear any longer to give my friends a true +account of my behaviour in the late ecclesiastical commission. Though I +profess what I now say, I only intend as a reasonable mitigation of the +offence I have given, not entirely to justify my sitting in that court; +for which I acknowledge I have deservedly incurred the censure of many +good men; and I wish I may ever be able to make a sufficient amends to +my country for it.' + +His crime in this particular was somewhat alleviated, by his renouncing +the commission, when he perceived the illegal practices they were going +to put in execution. His offences were strenuously urged against him, +and had not the earl of Dorset warmly espoused his interest, he had +probably been stript of his ecclesiastical preferments. His lordship +charged the ill-conduct of both these affairs upon king James and his +ministry; and thereby brought the bishop's opponents to a perfect +reconciliation with him. + +Notwithstanding this accommodation, such was the inquietude of the +times, that his lordship had not long enjoyed this tranquility, before +there was hatched a most villainous contrivance; not only to take away +his life, but, the lives of archbishop Sancroft, lord Marlborough, +and several other persons of honour and distinction; by forging an +instrument under their hands, setting forth, that they had an intent +to restore king James, and to seize upon the person of the princess of +Orange, dead or alive; to surprize the tower, to raise a mighty army; +and to bring the city of London into subjection. This black conspiracy +to murther so many innocent persons, was by the providence of God soon +detested; and his lordship drew up, and published an account of it, +under this title, A Relation of the Wicked Contrivance of Stephen +Blackhead, and Robert Young, against the Lives of several Persons, by +forging an Association under their Hands. In two parts. The first being +a Relation of what passed at the three Examinations of his Lordship, by +a Committee of Lords of the Privy-Council. The second, being an Account +of the two Authors of the Forgery; printed in quarto, in the year 1692. + +His lordship was honourably acquitted; and he ever after looked upon +this escape, as one of the most remarkable blessings of his life. 'In +such 'critical times (says he) how little evidence would have sufficed +to ruin any man, that had been accused with the least probability of +truth? I do therefore, most solemnly oblige myself, and all mine, to +keep the grateful remembrance of my deliverance, perpetual and sacred.' + +Hitherto, we have considered Dr. Sprat in his episcopal, and public +character; in which if he fell into some errors, he has a right to our +candour, as they seem rather to have proceeded from misinformation, and +excess of good-nature, than any malevolent, or selfish principle: We +shall now take a view of him as an author. + +His first appearance in that sphere, was in the year 1659, when in +concert with Mr. Waller, and Mr. Dryden, he printed a Pindarique Ode, +to the Memory of the most renowned Prince, Oliver, Lord Protector, &c. +printed in quarto, which he dedicated to the reverend Mr. Wilkin's, then +warden of Wadham-College; by whose approbation and request, it was made +public, as the author designed it only for a private amusement. This was +an unfavourable circumstance for our author, as it more particularly +shews the fickleness of his disposition in state-matters, and gave him +less credit with those parties he afterwards espoused. + +His next production in poetry, was an Ode on the Plague of Athens; which +happened in the second year of the Pelopponesian war, first described +by Thucydides, afterwards by Lucretius: This Mr. Sprat dedicated to his +worthy and learned friend, Dr. Walter Pope. The performance stood the +test of the severest critics; and in the opinion of the best judges, the +manner of his great original was judiciously imitated. Soon after this, +he proceeded to give the public a specimen of his abilities in +another kind, and succeeded with the greatest applause; which was his +Observations on Monsieur de Serbiere's Voyage into England, written to +Dr. Wren, professor of astronomy in Oxford; printed in octavo, in the +year 1665. + +Mr. Sprat in the beginning of his letter acquaints the Dr. with the +motives of his engaging with Monsieur Serbiere, 'Having now (says he) +under my hands, the history of the Royal-Society, it will be in vain for +me to try to represent its design to be advantageous to the glory of +England, if my countrymen shall know, that one who calls himself a +member of that society, has escaped unanswered in the public disgraces, +which he has cast on our whole nation.'--In this performance Mr. Sprat +has given an undeniable proof, that the strength and solidity of an +English pen, is infinitely superior to the gallant air of a French +author, who is sprightly without propriety, and positive without truth. + +About two years after, 1667, our author published his incomparable +History of the Royal Society of London, for the improvement of natural +knowledge; a work which has acquired him very great reputation, and has +ranked him with the most elegant and polite writers of that age. Soon +after this, Mr. Sprat lost his amiable and much esteemed friend Mr. +Abraham Cowley, who by his will recommended to the care of his reverend +friend, the revising of all his works that were printed, and the +collecting of those papers which he had designed for the press. This +truth Mr. Sprat faithfully discharged, and to the new edition of Mr. +Cowley's Works, he prefixed an account of his life and writings, +addressed to Mr. Martin Clifford. Happy is it for a good man, when he +has such a friend to close his eyes: This is a desire peculiar to all, +and the portion of few to enjoy. + + For who to dumb forgetfulness a prey, + This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd; + Left the warm precincts of the chearful day, + Nor cast one longing lingring look behind. + + On some warm breast the parting soul relies, + Some pious drops the closing eye requires; + E'en from the tomb, the voice of nature cries, + Awake! and faithful to her wonted fires[1]. + +This life of Cowley, by Dr. Sprat has been esteemed one of the most +elegant compositions in our language; there are several extracts from it +in our account of the life of that amiable Poet. + +These are the most material performances of Dr. Sprat: a man, who was +early introduced into an elevated station in life, which he held not +without enemies to his dying moments. Villiers duke of Buckingham was +his first patron, who notwithstanding his fickleness, and inconsistent +levity, never forsook him; a circumstance which has induced many to +believe, that that nobleman owed much to the refinement of our author; +and that his Rehearsal had never been so excellent, nor so pungent a +satire, had it not first passed under Dr. Sprat's perusal. + +This learned prelate died of an apoplexy, May the 20th, 1713, at his +episcopal feat in Bromly in Kent, in the 79th year of his age; and was +interred in the Abbey-Church of Westminster. + +As he lived esteemed by all his acquaintance, as well as the clergy of +his diocese, so he died regretted by them, and indeed by all men of +taste; for it is the opinion of many, that he raised the English tongue +to that purity and beauty, which former writers were wholly strangers +to, and which those who have succeeded him, can but imitate[2]. + +The benevolence of our author is very conspicuous in his last will, in +favour of his widow and son; in which he commands them to extend that +beneficence to his poor relations, which they always found from him; and +not to suffer any of those to want, whose necessitous merit, had shared +in all the external advantages he possessed. As he may be proposed +(considered meerly as a writer) for an example worthy of imitation; so +in the character of a dignified clergyman, he has likewise a claim to +be copied in those retired and private virtues, in those acts of +beneficence and humility, and that unaffected and primitive piety, for +which he was justly distinguished. + + +[Footnote 1: Elegy in a Country Church-Yard, by Mr. Grey.] + +[Footnote 2: Mr. Cooper, in his ingenious work entitled the Life of +Socrates, speaks in a very different strain of the bishop's History of +the Royal Society, which he calls a 'Fustian History!' and adds, that +'it was esteemed an excellent competition by the metaphor-hunting mob of +silly writings in Charles II's reign.'] + + * * * * * + + +CHARLES MONTAGUE (Earl of HALLIFAX) + +Was born the 16th of April 1661, and received the rudiments of his +education at Westminster-school: From thence he was removed to +Trinity-College in Cambridge, where by the brightness of his parts he +was early distinguished; and coming to town soon after the death of king +Charles the IId. he contracted an intimacy with the earl of Dorset, Sir +Charles Sedley, and other wits of the age. After the accession of king +William and queen Mary, having attached himself to the revolution +interest, he was sworn one of the council: He served in parliament +for the cities of Durham, and Westminster, at different times, and +distinguished himself by his speeches in the House of Commons, on +several important affairs. He was constituted one of the lords +commissioners of the treasury, on the 21st of March 1691, and soon after +sworn of the privy-council. In 1694 he was made chancellor and under +treasurer of the exchequer.[1] In the year 1695, when the nation was +distress'd, by the ill-state of the current coin of this kingdom, +he projected the new coining of the silver money; and by his great +prudence, and indefatigable industry brought it to bear. He likewise +proposed the issuing exchequer bills, to supply the great scarcity of +money, which has since been made use of to the great benefit of the +nation. On the 16th of February, 1697.8, the House of Commons, came to a +resolution, 'That it is the opinion of this house, that the honourable +Charles Montague, Esq; chancellor of the exchequer, for his good +services to this government, does deserve his majesty's favour.' His +next concern, was the trade to the East-Indies; the settlement of which +had been long depending, and was looked on as so nice, and difficult, +that it had been referred to the king and council, and from them to the +parliament; who on May the 26th, 1698, ordered a bill for settling the +trade to that place: Mr. Montague transacted this whole affair; and by +his industry and skill, in touching the affections of the people, raised +two-millions, by only doubling the duties on paper, parchment, and salt; +which to have done by any other means, was at that time matter of the +utmost difficulty. These proofs of affection and zeal to his majesty's +person and government, induced the king to declare him first: lord +commissioner of the treasury; and on the 16th of July, 1698, appointed +him one of the persons to whose fidelity, and honour, he reposed the +trust of lords justices of England, for the administration of government +during his absence. In the year 1700 his lordship resigned the place of +first lord commissioner of the treasury, having obtained a grant of the +office of auditor of the receipts of the exchequer, vacant by the death +of Sir Robert Howard; and on the 4th of December, the same year, was +advanced to the dignity of baron Hallifax, in the county of York. + +On the accession of queen Anne, he was concerned in vindicating the +memory of king William, and on all occasions shewed a disinterested zeal +in the service of his country. He first projected the equivalent, which +was given to the Scots, in order to promote the Union between the +nations; and without which it had never been effected. And as his +lordship first moved for appointing commissioners to treat of an Union +between the two kingdoms; so he had not only a great share in that +treaty, as one of the commissioners, but causing it to be ratified in +parliament, and answered, with all the force of which he was master, +the various objections made against it. And further, to strengthen the +interest of the Whigs, which he thought was essentially connected +with the protestant religion, his lordship proposed the bill for the +naturalization of the illustrious house of Hanover, and for the better +security of the succession of the crown in the protestant line; which +being pass'd into an act, her majesty made choice of him to carry the +news to our late sovereign; and to invest his son with the ensigns of +the most noble order of the Garter. On his arrival at Hanover, he was +received with extraordinary marks of distinction, and honour. During his +residence there, the prince-royal of Prussia was married to his present +majesty's sister; and soon aster that prince set out with his lordship +for the confederate army. Hallifax then went to the Hague, where he laid +the foundation of a stricter alliance between Great-Britain, and the +United Provinces: On his return to England he was graciously received by +the-queen, and continued in her favour till the change of the ministry, +in the year 1710. + +On her majesty's death, our author was one of the regency nominated by +king George the Ist. till his arrival; who was no sooner possessed of +the crown, but he shewed him distinguishing marks of his favour, having +so strenuously promoted his succession to the British throne. He had his +majesty's leave to resign his poll of auditor of the exchequer, to his +nephew the honourable George Montague; and after being made first lord +commissioner of the Treasury, and sworn of the privy-council, he was +advanced to the dignity of earl of Hallifax, and viscount Sunbury, by +letters patent, bearing date the 26th of October, 1714; and before the +end of that year, was installed one of the knights companions of the +most noble order of the garter, and made lord lieutenant of the county +of Surry. + +Lord Hallifax died in the 54th year of his age, on the 19th of May 1715, +and on the 26th of the same month, was interred in general Monk's vault +in Westminster-Abbey: leaving no issue, his titles devolved on his +nephew, George late earl of Hallifax.--Considered as a poet, his +lordship makes a less considerable figure than the earl of Dorset; there +is a languor in his verses, which seems to indicate that he was not born +with a poetical genius. That he was a lover of the muses, there is not +the lead doubt, as we find him patronizing the poets so warmly; but +there is some difference between a propensity to poetry, and a power of +excelling in it. His lordship has writ but few things, and those not of +the utmost consequence. + +Among others are the following, printed in Tonsen's Minor Poets. + +1. Verses On the death of Charles the IId. + +2. An Ode on the Marriage of the Princess Anne, and Prince George of +Denmark. + +3. The Man of Honour, occasioned by a Postscript to Penn's Letter. + +4. An Epistle to Charles earl of Dorset; occasioned by King William's +Victory in Ireland. + +5. Verses written for the toasting Glasses of the Kit-Cat-Club, 1703; +which consisted of persons of the first fashion, who were in the +interest of the house of Hanover. These Verses are by far the +compleatest of lord Hallifax's, and, indeed, genteel compliments to the +radiant beauties, who were the chief toasts amongst the Whigs. I shall +here present the reader with them. + + +DUCHESS of BEAUFORT. + + Offspring of a tuneful fire, + Blest with more than mortal sire: + Likeness of a mother's face, + Blest with more than mortal grace: + You with double charms surprize, + With his wit, and with her eyes. + + + LADY MARY CHURCHILL. + + Fairest, latest of the beauteous race, + Blest with your parents wit, and her first blooming + face; + Born with our liberties in William's reign, + Your eyes alone that liberty restrain. + + + DUCHESS of RICHMOND. + + Of two fair Richmonds diff'rent ages boast, + Their's was the first, and our's the brighter + toast; + Th' adorers offspring prove who's most divine, + They sacrific'd in water, we in wine. + + + LADY SUNDERLAND. + + All nature's charms in Sunderland appear, + Bright as her eyes, and as her reason clear; + Yet still their force, to men not safely known, + Seems undiscover'd to herself alone. + + + MADAMOISELLE SPANHEIME. + + Admir'd in Germany, ador'd in France, + Your charms to brighter glory, here advance; + The stubborn Britons own your beauty's claim, + And with their native toasts enroll your name. + + +[Footnote 1: Collins's Peerage. See Article Hallifax.] + + * * * * * + + +WILLIAM WYCHERLEY, Esq; + +This Gentleman was son of Daniel Wycherley, of Cleve in Shropshire, Esq; +and was born (says Wood) in the year 1640. + +When he was about fifteen years of age, he was sent to France, in the +western parts of which he resided upon the banks of the Charante; where +he was often admitted to the conversation of the most accomplished +ladies of the court of France, particularly madam de Montaufieur, +celebrated by mons. Voiture in his letters[1]. + +A little before the restoration of Charles the IId, he became a +gentleman commoner of queen's college in Oxford, and lived in the +provost's lodgings; and was entered in the public library, under the +title of philosophiae studiosus, in July 1660. He quitted the university +without being matriculated, having, according to the Oxford antiquary, +been reconciled to the protestant religion, which he had renounced +during his travels, probably by the person of those gay ladies, with +whom he conversed in France. This circumstance shews how dangerous it +is to engage in a debate with a female antagonist, especially, if that +antagonist joins beauty with understanding. + +Mr. Wycherley afterwards entered himself in the Middle-Temple; but +making his first appearance in town, in a reign when wit and gaiety were +the favourite distinctions, he relinguished the study of the law, and +engaged in pursuits more agreeable to his own genius, and the gallant +spirit of the times. + +Upon writing his first Play, entitled Love in a Wood, or St. James's +Park; and acted at the Theatre-royal, in 1672, he became acquainted with +several of the most celebrated wits, both of the court and town; and +likewise with the duchess of Cleveland. Mr. Dennis, in his Letters +quoted above, has given a particular relation of the beginning of his +acquaintance with this celebrated beauty of the times, which is singular +enough.--One day Mr. Wycherley riding in his chariot through St. James's +Park, he was met by the duchess, whose chariot jostled with his, upon +which she looked out of her chariot, and spoke very audibly, "You +Wycherley, you are a son of a whore," and then burst into a fit of +laughter. Mr. Wycherley at first was very much surprized at this, but +he soon recovered himself enough to recollect, that it was spoke in +allusion to the latter end of a Song in his Love in a Wood; + + When parents are slaves, + Their brats cannot be any other; + Great wits, and great braves, + Have always a punk for their mother. + +During Mr. Wycherley's surprize, the chariots drove different ways, they +were soon at a considerable distance from each other; when Mr. Wycherley +recollecting, ordered his coachman to drive back, and overtake the lady. +As soon as he got over against her, he said to her, "Madam, you was +pleased to bestow a title upon me, which generally belongs to the +fortunate. Will your ladyship be at the play to night? Well, she +replied, what if I should be there? Why then, answered he, I will be +there to wait on your ladyship, though I disappoint a fine woman, who +has made me an assignation. So, said she, you are sure to disappoint a +woman who has favoured you, for one who has not. Yes, he replied, if she +who has not favoured me is the finer woman of the two: But he who will +be constant to your ladyship, till he can find a finer woman, is sure to +die your captive." + +The duchess of Cleveland, in consequence of Mr. Wycherley's compliment, +was that night, in the first row of the king's box in Drury-Lane, and +Mr. Wycherley in the pit under her, where he entertained her during the +whole play; and this was the beginning of a correspondence between these +two persons, which afterwards made a great noise in the town. + +This accident, was the occasion of bringing Mr. Wycherley into favour +with George duke of Buckingham, who was passionately in love with that +lady, but was ill-treated by her, and who believed that Mr. Wycherley +was his happy rival. The duke had long sollicited her, without obtaining +any favour: Whether the relation between them shocked her, for she was +his cousin-german; or, whether she apprehended that an intrigue with a +person of his rank and character, must necessarily in a short time come +to the king's ears; whatever was the cause, she refused so long to admit +his visits, that at last indignation, rage, and disdain took place of +love; and he resolved to ruin her. When he took this resolution, he had +her so narrowly watched by his spies, that he soon discovered those whom +he had reason to believe were his rivals; and after he knew them, he +never failed to name them aloud, in order to expose the lady to all +those who visited her; and among others, he never failed to mention Mr. +Wycherley. As soon as it came to the knowledge of the latter, who had +all his expectations from court, he apprehended the consequences of such +a report, if it should reach the King; and applied himself therefore to +Wilmot earl of Rochester, and Sir Charles Sedley, entreating them to +remonstrate to the duke of Buckingham, the mischief he was about to do +to one who had not the honour to know him, and who had not offended him. +Upon opening the matter to the duke, he cried out immediately, that +he did not blame Wycherley, he only accused his cousin. 'Ay, but they +replied, by rendering him suspected of such an intrigue, you are +about to ruin him; that is, your grace is about to ruin a man, whose +conversation you would be pleased with above all things.' + +Upon this occasion, they said so much of the shining qualities of Mr. +Wycherley, and the charms of his conversation, that the duke, who was as +much in love with wit, as he was with his cousin, was impatient, till +he was brought to sup with him, which was in two or three nights. After +supper, Mr. Wycherley, who was then in the height of his vigour, both +in body and mind, thought himself obliged to exert his talents, and the +duke was charmed to that degree, that he cried out with transport, and +with an oath, 'My cousin's in the right of it.' and from that very +moment made a friend of a man he before thought his rival. + +In the year 1673 a comedy of his called the Gentleman Dancing-Master, +was acted at the duke's Theatre, and in 1678 his Plain Dealer was acted +with general applause. In 1683 his Country Wife was performed at the +same Theatre. These Plays raised him so high in the esteem of the world, +and so recommended him to the favour of the duke of Buckingham, that as +he was master of the horse, and colonel of a regiment, he bestowed two +places on Wycherley: As master of the horse, he made him one of his +equeries; and as colonel of a regiment, a captain lieutenant of his own +company. King Charles likewise gave our author the most distinguishing +marks of favour, perhaps beyond what any sovereign prince had shewn +before to an author, who was only a private gentleman: Mr. Wycherley +happened to be ill of a fever, at his lodgings in Bow-Street, +Covent-Garden; during his sickness, the king did him the honour of a +visit; when finding his fever indeed abated, but his body extremely +weakened, and his spirits miserably shattered, he commanded him to +take a journey to the south of France, believing that nothing could +contribute more to the restoring his former state of health, than the +gentle air of Montpelier, during the winter season: at the same time, +the king assured him, that as soon as he was able to undertake that +journey, he would order five-hundred pounds to be paid him, to defray +the expences of it. + +Mr. Wycherley accordingly went to France, and returned to England the +latter end of the spring following, with his health entirely restored. +The king received him with the utmost marks of esteem, and shortly after +told him, he had a son, whom he resolved should be educated like the son +of a king, and that he could make choice of no man so proper to be his +governor as Mr. Wycherley; and, that for this service, he should have +fifteen-hundred pounds a year allotted him; the King also added, that +when the time came, that his office should cease, he would take care to +make such a provision for him, as should set him above the malice of the +world and fortune. These were golden prospects for Mr. Wycherley, but +they were soon by a cross accident dashed to pieces. + +Soon after this promise of his majesty's, Mr. Dennis tells us, that Mr. +Wycherley went down to Tunbridge, to take either the benefit of the +waters, or the diversions of the place; when walking one day upon the +wells-walk, with his friend Mr. Fairbeard of Grey's-Inn, just as he came +up to the bookseller's, the countess of Drogheda, a young widow, rich, +noble and beautiful, came to the bookseller, and enquired for the Plain +Dealer. 'Madam, says Mr. Fairbeard, since you are for the Plain Dealer, +there he is for you,' pushing Mr. Wycherley towards her. 'Yes, says Mr. +Wycherley, this lady can bear plain dealing, for she appears to be so +accomplished, that what would be a compliment to others, when said to +her, would be plain dealing.--No truly Sir, said the lady, I am not +without my faults more than the rest of my sex; and yet, notwithstanding +all my faults, I love plain dealing, and never am more fond of it, then +when it tells me of a fault:' Then madam, says Mr. Fairbeard, you and +the plain dealer seem designed by heaven for each other. In short, Mr. +Wycherley accompanied her upon the walks, waited upon her home, visited +her daily at her lodgings whilst she stayed at Tunbridge; and after she +went to London, at her lodgings in Hatton-Garden: where in a little +time he obtained her consent to marry her. This he did by his father's +command, without acquainting the king; for it was reasonably supposed +that the lady having a great independent estate, and noble and powerful +relations, the acquainting the king with the intended match, would be +the likeliest way to prevent it. As soon as the news was known at court, +it was looked upon as an affront to the king, and a contempt of his +majesty's orders; and Mr. Wycherley's conduct after marriage, made the +resentment fall heavier upon him: For being conscious he had given +offence, and seldom going near the court, his absence was construed into +ingratitude. + +The countess, though a splendid wife, was not formed to make a husband +happy; she was in her nature extremely jealous, and indulged it to such +a degree, that she could not endure her husband should be one moment out +of her sight. Their lodgings were in Bow-street, Covent Garden, over +against the Cock Tavern; whither if Mr. Wycherley at any time went, he +was obliged to leave the windows open, that his lady might see there was +no woman in the company. + +This was the cause of Mr. Wycherley's disgrace with the King, whose +favour and affection he had before possessed in so distinguished a +degree. The countess settled all her estate upon him, but his title +being disputed after her death, the expence of the law, and other +incumbrances, so far reduced him, that he was not able to satisfy the +impatience of his creditors, who threw him at last into prison; so that +he, who but a few years before was flourishing in all the gaiety of +life, flushed with prospects of court preferment, and happy in the most +extensive reputation for wit and parts, was condemned to suffer all the +rigours of want: for his father did not think proper to support him. In +this severe extremity, he fell upon an expedient, which, no doubt, was +dictated by his distress, of applying to his Bookseller, who had got +considerably by his Plain Dealer, in order to borrow 20 l. but he +applied in vain; the Bookseller refused to lend him a shilling; and in +that distress he languished for seven years: nor was he released 'till +one day King James going to see his Plain-Dealer performed, was so +charmed with it, that he gave immediate orders for the payment of the +author's debts, adding to that bounty a pension of 200 1. per annum, +while he continued in England. But the generous intention of that Prince +to him, had not the designed effect, purely through his modesty; he +being ashamed to tell the earl of Mulgrave, whom the King had sent to +demand it, a full state of his debts. He laboured under the weight of +these difficulties 'till his father died, and then the estate that +descended to him, was left under very uneasy limitations, he being only +a tenant for life, and not being allowed to raise money for the payment +of his debts: yet, as he had a power to make a jointure, he married, +almost at the eve of his days, a young gentlewoman of 1500 l. fortune, +part of which being applied to the uses he wanted it for, he died eleven +days after the celebration of his nuptials in December 1715, and was +interred in the vault of Covent Garden church. + +Besides the plays already mentioned, he published a volume of poems +1704, which met with no great success; for, like Congreve, his strength +lay only in the drama, and, unless on the stage, he was but a second +rate poet. In 1728 his posthumous works in prose and verse were +published by Mr. Lewis Theobald at London in 8vo. + +Mr. Dennis, in a few words, has summed up this gentleman's character; +'he was admired by the men for his parts, in wit and learning; and +he was admired by the women for those parts of which they were more +competent judges.' Mr. Wycherley was a man of great sprightliness, +and vivacity of genius, he was said to have been handsome, formed for +gallantry, and was certainly an idol with the ladies, a felicity which +even his wit might not have procured, without exterior advantages. + +As a poet and a dramatist, I cannot better exhibit his character than +in the words of George lord Lansdowne; he observes, 'that the earl of +Rochester, in imitation of one of Horace's epistles, thus mentions our +author; + + Of all our modern wits none seem to me, + Once to have touch'd upon true comedy + But hasty Shadwel, and slow Wycherley. + Shadwel's unfinish'd works do yet impart + Great proofs of nature's force; tho' none of art. + 'But Wycherley earns hard whate'er he gains, + He wants no judgment, and he spares no pains.' + +'Lord Lansdowne is persuaded, that the earl fell into this part of the +character (of a laborious writer) merely for the sake of the verse; if +hasty, says he, would have stood as an epithet for Wycherley, and slow, +for Shadwel, they would in all probability have been so applied, but the +verse would have been spoiled, and to that it was necessary to submit. +Those, who would form their judgments only upon Mr. Wycherley's +writings, without any personal acquaintance with him, might indeed be +apt to conclude, that such a diversity of images and characters, such +strict enquiries into nature, such close observations on the several +humours, manners, and affections of all ranks and degrees of men, and, +as it were, so true and perfect a dissection of humankind, delivered +with so much pointed wit, and force of expression, could be no other +than the work of extraordinary diligence, labour, and application; but +in truth, we owe the pleasure and advantage of having been so well +entertained, and instructed by him, to his facility of doing it; if it +had been a trouble to him to write, I am much mistaken if he would +not have spared that trouble. What he has performed, would have been +difficult for another; but a club, which a man of an ordinary size could +not lift, was a walking staff for Hercules. To judge by the sharpness, +and spirit of his satires, you might be led into another mistake, and +imagine him an ill-natur'd man, but what my lord Rochester said of lord +Dorset, is applicable to him, the best good man with the worst natured +muse. As pointed, and severe as he is in his writings, in his temper +he had all the softness of the tenderest disposition; gentle and +inoffensive to every man in his particular character; he only attacks +vice as a public enemy, compassionating the wound he is under a +necessity to probe, or grieving, like a good natured conqueror, at the +occasions which provoke him to make such havock. King Charles II. a +nice discerner of men, and himself a man of wit, often chose him for a +companion at his leisure hours, as Augustus did Horace, and had very +advantageous views for him, but unluckily an amorous inclination +interfered; the lover got the better of the courtier, and ambition fell +a sacrifice to love, the predominant passion of the noblest mind. Many +object to his versification; it is certain he is no master of numbers, +but a Diamond is not less a Diamond for not being polished.' + +Mr. Pope, when very young, made his court to Mr. Wycherley, when very +old; and the latter was so well pleased with the former, and had such +an opinion of his rising genius, that he entered into an intimate +correspondence with him, and submitted his works to Mr. Pope's +correction. See the letters between Pope and Wycherley, printed in +Pope's works. + + +[Footnote 1: Dennis's Letters, vol. i. p. 213.] + + * * * * * + + +NAHUM TATE + +Was born about the middle of the reign of Charles II. in the kingdom of +Ireland, and there received his education. He was a man of learning, +courteous, and candid, but was thought to possess no great genius, as +being deficient in what is its first characteristic, namely, invention. +He was made poet laureat to King William, upon the death of Shadwell, +and held that place 'till the accession of King George I, on whom he +lived to write the first Birth-Day Ode, which is executed with unusual +spirit. Mr. Tate being a man of extreme modesty, was never able to make +his fortune, or to raise himself above necessity; he was obliged to have +recourse to the patronage of the earl of Dorset, to screen him from +the persecution of his creditors. Besides several other poetical +performances, which will be afterwards enumerated and a Version of the +Psalms, in conjunction with Dr. Brady, Mr. Tate has been the author of +nine plays, of which the following is the list; + +1. Brutus of Alba, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke's Theatre 1678, +dedicated to the Earl of Dorset. This play is founded on Virgil's AEneid, +b. iv, and was finished under the name of Dido and AEneas, but by the +advice of some friends, was transformed to the dress it now wears. + +2. The Loyal General, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke's Theatre 1680. + +3. Richard II. revived, and altered from Shakespear, under the title +of the Sicilian Usurper; a Tragedy, with a Prefatory Epistle, in +Vindication of the Author, occasioned by the Prohibition of this Play on +the Stage. The scene is in England. + +4. The Ingratitude of a Commonwealth, or the Fall of Caius Marius +Coriolanus; this was printed in 4to. 1682, and dedicated to the Marquis +of Worcester; it is founded on Shakespear's Coriolanus. + +5. Cuckold's Haven, or an Alderman no Conjuror; a Farce; acted at the +Queen's Theatre in the Dorset-Garden 1685. Part of the plot of this +piece seems to be taken from Ben. Johnson's Eastward Hoe or the Devil is +an Ass. + +6. A Duke, and No Duke, a Farce, acted 1684. The plot from Trappolin +supposed a Prince. + +7. The Island Princess, a Tragi-Comedy; acted at the Theatre Royal 1687, +dedicated to Henry Lord Waldegrave. This is the Island Princess of +Fletcher revived, with alterations. + +8. Lear King of England, and his Three Daughters, an Historical Play, +acted at the Duke s Theatre 1687. It is one of Shakespear's most moving +tragedies revived, with alterations. + +9. Injured Love, or the Cruel Husband, a Tragedy, acted at the +Theatre-Royal 1707. + +His other works are chiefly these, + +The Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel. Mr. Dryden, author of the +first, assisted in this, he being himself pressed to write it, but +declined the task, and encouraged Mr. Tate in the performance. + +The Rise and Progress of Priestcraft. + +Syphilis, or a Poetical History of the French Disease. + +Jephtha's Vow. + +In Memory of his Grace the Illustrious Duke of Ormond, 1688. + +On the Death of the Countess of Dorset. + +The Characters of Virtue and Vice described, in the Person of the Wise +Man and the Hypocrite; attempted in Verse, from a Treatise of Jos. Hall, +Bishop of Exeter. + +A Poem upon Tea. + +The Triumph, or Warriors Welcome; a Poem on the glorious Success of the +last Year, with the Ode for New-Year's-Day, 1705. + +Thoughts on Human Life. + +The Kentish Worthies. + +The Monitor, intended for the promoting Religion and Virtue, and +suppressing Vice and Immorality; containing forty one Poems on several +Subjects, in pursuance of her Majesty's most gracious directions, +performed by Mr. Tate, Mr. Smith, and others. This paper was published +on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in the years 1712, and 1713. + +The Triumph of Peace, a Poem on the Magnificent, Public Entry of his +Grace the Duke of Shrewsbury, Ambassador from the Queen of Great Britain +to the Most Christian King, and the Magnificent Entry of his Excellency +the illustrious Duke D'Aumont, Ambassador from his Most Christian +Majesty to the Queen of Great Britain, with the Prospect of the Glorious +Procession for a General Thanksgiving at St. Paul's. + +The Windsor Muse's Address, presaging the taking of Lisle; presented +to her Majesty at the Court's departure from the Castle, September 28, +1708, 4to. + +The Muses Memorial of the Right Hon. the Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, +Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain, 1713. Funeral Poems on Queen Mary, +Archbishop of Canterbury, &c. 8vo. 1700. + +A Poem occasioned by the late Discontents, and Disturbances in the +State; with Reflections upon the Rise and Progress of Priestcraft. + +An Elegy on the much esteemed, and truly worthy Ralph Marshall, Esq; one +of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, &c. fol. 1700. + +Comitia Lyrica, five carmen Panegyricum, in quo, ad exornandas Magni +Godolphini laudes, omnes omnium Odarum modi ab Horatio delegantur (per +Ludovicum Maidvellium) Paraphrased in English, fol. 1707. + +On the Sacred Memory of our late Sovereign; with a Congratulation to his +present Majesty, fol. 1685, second edition. + +Mausoleum, a Funeral Poem on our late Gracious Sovereign Queen Mary, of +blessed memory. + +An Elegy on the most Rev. Father in God, his Grace John, late Archbishop +of Canterbury; written in the year 1693. + +A Poem in Memory of his Grace the illustrious Duke of Ormond, and of the +Right Hon. the Earl of Offory; written in the year 1688. + +An Elegy in Memory of that most excellent Lady, the late Countess of +Dorset; written in the year 1691. + +A Consolatory Poem to the Right Hon. John Lord Cutts, upon the Death of +his most accomplished Lady. + +A Poem on the last Promotion of several eminent Persons in Church and +State; written in the year 1694, fol. dedicated in Verse to the Right +Hon. Charles Earl of Middlesex, &c. These are all printed under the +title of Funeral Poems on her late Majesty of blessed memory, &c. 8vo, +1700. + +Miscellanea Sacra; or Poems on Divine and Moral Subjects, collected by +Mr. Tate. He also gave the public a great many translations from Ovid, +Horace, Juvenal, Virgil. + +His song on his Majesty's birth-day has the following stanza, + + When Kings that make the public good their care + Advance in dignity and state, + Their rise no envy can create; + Their subjects in the princely grandeur share: + For, like the sun, the higher they ascend, + The farther their indulgent beams extend. + + Yet long before our royal sun + His destin'd course has run, + We're bless'd to see a glorious heir, + That shall the mighty loss repair; + When he that blazes now shall this low sphere resign + In a sublimer orb eternally to shine. + + A Cynthia too, adorn'd with every grace + Of person and of mind; + And happy in a starry race, + Of that auspicious kind, + As joyfully presage, + No want of royal heirs in any future age. + + CHORUS. + + Honour'd with the best of Kings, + And a set of lovely springs, + From the royal fountain flowing, + Lovely streams, and ever growing, + Happy Britain past expressing, + Only learn to prize thy blessing. + +We shall give some further account of the translation of the Psalms in +the life of Dr. Brady. This author died in the Mint 1716, was interred +in St. George's church, Southwark, and was succeeded in the laurel by +Mr. Eusden. + + * * * * * + + +Sir SAMUEL GARTH. + +This gentleman was descended from a good family in Yorkshire; after he +had passed through his school education, he was removed to Peter-house +in Cambridge, where he is said to have continued till he was created Dr. +of Physic July 7, 1691[1]. + +In 1696 Dr. Garth zealously promoted the erecting the Dispensary, being +an apartment, in the college for the relief of the sick poor, by giving +them advice gratis, and dispensing medicines to them at low rates. This +work of charity having exposed him, and many other of the most eminent +Physicians to the envy and resentment of several persons of the same +faculty, as well as Apothecaries, he ridiculed them with peculiar +spirit, and vivacity, in his poem called the Dispensary in 6 Cantos; +which, though it first stole into the world a little hastily, and +incorrect, in the year 1669, yet bore in a few months three impressions, +and was afterwards printed several times, with a dedication to Anthony +Henley, esquire. This poem, gained our author great reputation; it is +of the burlesque species, and executed with a degree of humour, hardly +equal'd, unless in the Rape of the Lock. + +Our author's poetical character, joined with his skill in his +profession, his agreeable conversation, and unaffected good nature, +procured him vast practice, introduced him to the acquaintance, and +established him in the esteem of most of the nobility and gentry. Much +about the same time he gave a distinguishing instance of his profound +knowledge in his profession, his perfect acquaintance with antiquity, +and correct taste in Roman eloquence by a Latin oration, pronounced +before the Faculty in Warwick-Lane, September 17, 1697, to the great +satisfaction of the audience, and the raising his own reputation, as the +college register testifies. Pieces of this kind are often composed with +peculiar attention to the phrase, the sound of the periods in speaking, +and their effect upon the ear; these advantages were by no means +neglected in Dr. Garth's performance, but the sentiments, the spirit, +and stile appeared to still greater advantage in the reading; and the +applause with which it was received by its hearers, was echoed by those +who perused it; this instance is the more singular, as few have been +distinguished both as orators and poets. + +Cicero, who was not heard by his cotemporaries with greater applause, +than his works are now read with admiration, attempted poetry without +success; reputation in that kind of writing the Roman orator much +desired, but never could compose a line to please himself, or any of his +friends. + +Upon the death of Dryden in May 1701, by a very strange accident his +burial[2] came to depend on the piety of Dr. Garth, who caused the body +to be brought to the College of Physicians, proposed and encouraged by +his generous example a subscription for defraying the expence of the +funeral, and after pronouncing over the corpse a suitable oration, he +attended the solemnity to Westminster-Abbey, where at last the remains +of that great man were interred in Chaucer's grave. For this memorable +act of tenderness and generosity, those who loved the person, or who +honoured the parts of that excellent poet, expressed much gratitude to +Dr. Garth. He was one of the most eminent members of a famous society +called the Kit-Kat Club, which consisted of above thirty noblemen and +gentlemen, distinguished by their zealous affection to the Protestant +succession in the House of Hanover[3]. October 3, 1702 he was elected +one of the Censors of the College of Physicians. In respect to his +political principles, he was open and warm, and which was still more to +be valued, he was steady and sincere. In the time of lord Godolphin's +administration, nobody was better received of his rank than Dr. Garth; +and nobody seemed to have a higher opinion of that minister's integrity, +and abilities in which he had, however, the satisfaction of thinking +with the public. + +In 1710, when the Whig ministry was discarded, and his lordship had an +opportunity of distinguishing his own friends, from those which were +only the friends of his power, it could not fail of giving him sensible +pleasure to find Dr. Garth early declaring for him, and amongst the +first who bestowed upon him the tribute of his muse, at a time when +that nobleman's interest sunk: A situation which would have struck a +flatterer dumb. There were some to whom this testimony of gratitude +was by no means pleasing, and therefore the Dr's. lines were severely +criticised by the examiner, a paper engaged in the defence of the new +ministry; but instead of sinking the credit either of the author, or the +verses, they added to the honour of both, by exciting Mr. Addison to +draw his pen in their defence. In order to form a judgment both of the +Criticism, and the Defence, it will be necessary first of all to read +the poem to which they refer, more especially as it is very short, and +may be supposed to have been written suddenly, and, at least, as much +from the author's gratitude to his noble patron, as a desire of adding +to his reputation. + + To the EARL of GODOLPHIN. + + While weeping Europe bends beneath her ills, + And where the sword destroys not, famine kills; + Our isle enjoys by your successful care, + The pomp of peace amidst the woes of war. + So much the public to your prudence owes, + You think no labours long, for our repose. + Such conduct, such integrity are shewn, + There are no coffers empty, but your own. + From mean dependence, merit you retrieve; + Unask'd you offer, and unseen you give. + Your favour, like the Nile, increase bestows; + And yet conceals the source from whence it flows. + So poiz'd your passions are, we find no frown, + If funds oppress not, and if commerce run, + Taxes diminish'd, liberty entire, + These are the grants your services require. + Thus far the State Machine wants no repair, + But moves in matchless order by your care. + Free from confusion, settled, and serene; + And like the universe by springs unseen. + + But now some star, sinister to our pray'rs; + Contrives new schemes, and calls you from affairs. + + No anguish in your looks, nor cares appear, + But how to teach th' unpractic'd crew to steer. + Thus like some victim no constraint; you need, + To expiate their offence, by whom you bleed. + Ingratitude's a weed in every clime; + It thrives too fast at first, but fades in time. + The god of day, and your own lot's the same; + The vapours you have rais'd obscure your flame + But tho' you suffer, and awhile retreat, + Your globe of light looks larger as you set. + +These verses, however they may express the gratitude, and candour of the +author, and may contain no more than truth of the personage to whom they +are addressed, yet, every reader of taste will perceive, that the verses +are by no means equal to the rest of Dr. Garth's poetical writings. +Remarks upon these verses were published in a Letter to the Examiner, +September 7, 1710. The author observes, 'That there does not appear +either poetry, grammar, or design in the composition of this poem; the +whole (says he) seems to be, as the sixth edition of the Dispensary, +happily expresses it, a strong, unlaboured, impotence of thought. I +freely examine it by the new test of good poetry, which the Dr. himself +has established. Pleasing at first sight: Has this piece the least title +even to that? or if we compare it to the only pattern, as he thinks, of +just writing in this kind, Ovid; is there any thing in De Tristibus so +wild, so childish, so flat? what can the ingenious Dr. mean, or at what +time could he write these verses? half of the poem is a panegyric on a +Lord Treasurer in being, and the rest a compliment of condolance to an +Earl that has lost the Staff. In thirty lines his patron is a river, the +primum mobile, a pilot, a victim, the sun, any thing and nothing. He +bestows increase, conceals his source, makes the machine move, teaches +to steer, expiates our offences, raises vapours, and looks larger as he +sets; nor is the choice of his expression less exquisite, than that of +his similies. For commerce to run[4], passions to be poized, merit to be +received from dependence, and a machine to be serene, is perfectly +new. The Dr. has a happy talent at invention, and has had the glory +of enriching our language by his phrases, as much as he has improved +medicine by his bills.' The critic then proceeds to consider the poem +more minutely, and to expose it by enumerating particulars. Mr. Addison +in a Whig Examiner published September 14, 1710, takes occasion to rally +the fierce over-bearing spirit of the Tory Examiner, which, he says, has +a better title to the name of the executioner. He then enters into the +defence of the Dr's. poem, and observes, 'that the phrase of passions +being poized, and retrieving merit from dependence, cavilled at by the +critics, are beautiful and poetical; it is the same cavilling spirit, +says he, that finds fault with that expression of the Pomp of Peace, +among Woes of War, as well as of Offering unasked.' This general piece +of raillery which he passes on the Dr's. considering the treasurer in +several different views, is that which might fall upon any poem in +Waller, or any other writer who has diversity of thoughts and allusions, +and though it may appear a pleasant ridicule to an ignorant reader, is +wholly groundless and unjust. + +Mr. Addison's Answer is, however, upon the whole, rather a palliation, +than a defence. All the skill of that writer could never make that +poetical, or a fine panegyric, which is in its own nature removed +from the very appearance of poetry; but friendship, good nature, or a +coincidence of party, will sometimes engage the greatest men to combat +in defence of trifles, and even against their own judgment, as Dryden +finely expresses it in his Address to Congreve, "Vindicate a friend." + +In 1711 Dr. Garth wrote a dedication for an intended edition of +Lucretius, addressed to his late Majesty, then Elector of Brunswick, +which has been admired as one of the purest compositions in the Latin +tongue that our times have produced. + +On the accession of that King to the throne, he had the honour of +knighthood conferred upon him by his Majesty, with the duke of +Marlborough's sword[5]. He was likewise made Physician in ordinary to +the King, and Physician General to the army. As his known services +procured him a great interest with those in power, so his humanity and +good nature inclined him to make use of that interest, rather for the +support, and encouragement of men of letters who had merit, than for the +advancement of his private fortune; his views in that respect having +been always very moderate. He lived with the great in that degree of +esteem and independency, and with all that freedom which became a man +possessed of superior genius, and the most shining and valuable talents. +His poem entitled Claremont, addressed to the duke of Newcastle, printed +in the 6th volume of Dryden's Miscellanies, met with great approbation. +A warm admirer of the Doctor's, speaking of Claremont, thus expresses +himself; 'It will survive, says he, the noble structure it celebrates, +'and will remain a perpetual monument of its author's learning, taste, +and great capacity as a poet; since, in that short work, there are +innumerable beauties, and a vast variety of sentiments easily and +happily interwoven; the most lively strokes of satire being intermixed +with the most courtly panegyric, at the same time that there appears the +true spirit of enthusiasm, which distinguishes the works of one born +a poet, from those of a witty, or learned man, that has arrived at no +higher art, than that of making verse[6].' His knowledge in philosophy, +his correct taste in criticism, and his thorough acquaintance in +classical literature, with all the advantages that can be derived from +an exact, but concealed method, an accurate, though flowing stile, and +a language pure, natural, and full of vivacity, appear, says the same +panegyrist in the preface he prefixed to a translation of Ovid's +Metamorphoses, which would have been sufficient to have raised him an +immortal reputation, if it had been the only product of his pen. + +Dr. Garth is said to have been a man of the most extensive benevolence; +that his hand and heart went always together: A circumstance more +valuable than all the lustre which genius can confer. We cannot however, +speak of his works with so much warmth, as the author just quoted seems +to indulge. His works will scarce make a moderate volume, and though +they contain many things excellent, judicious, and humorous, yet they +will not justify the writer, who dwells upon them in the same rapturous +strain of admiration, with which we speak of a Horace, a Milton, or a +Pope. He had the happiness of an early acquaintance with some of the +most powerful, wisest, and wittiest men of the age in which he lived; he +attached himself to a party, which at last obtained the ascendant, and +he was equally successful in his fortune as his friends: Persons in +these circumstances are seldom praised, or censured with moderation. + +We have already seen how warmly Addison espoused the Dr's. writings, +when they were attacked upon a principle of party, and there are many of +the greatest wits of his time who pay him compliments; amongst the rest +is lord Lansdowne, who wrote some verses upon his illness; but as the +lines do no great honour either to his lordship, or the Dr. we forbear +to insert them. + +The following passage is taken from one of Pope's Letters, written upon +the death of Dr. Garth, which, we dare say, will be more acceptable. +'The best natured of men (says he) Sir Samuel Garth has left me in +the truest concern for his loss. His death was very heroical, and yet +unaffected enough to have made a saint, or a philosopher famous. But ill +tongues, and worse hearts have branded his last moments, as wrongfully +as they did his life, with irreligion: you must have heard many tales +upon this subject; but if ever there was a good christian, without +knowing himself to be so, it was Dr. Garth.' + +Our author was censured for his love of pleasure, in which perhaps it +would be easier to excuse than defend him; but upon the whole, his +character appears to have been very amiable, particularly, that of his +bearing a tide of prosperity with so much, evenness of temper; and his +universal benevolence, which seems not to have been cramped with party +principles; as appears from his piety towards the remains of Dryden. + +He died after a short illness, January 18, 1718-19, and was buried the +22d of the same month in the church of Harrow on the Hill, in the county +of Middlesex, in a vault he caused to be built for himself and his +family[7], leaving behind him an only daughter married to the honourable +colonel William Boyle, a younger son of colonel Henry Boyle, who was +brother to the late, and uncle to the present, earl of Burlington[8]. +His estates in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, are now +possessed by his grandson, Henry Boyle, Esq; whose amiable qualities +endear him to all who have the happiness of his acquaintance. His works +are collected, and printed in one volume, published by Tonson. + + +[Footnote 1: Biog. Brit, p. 2129.] + +[Footnote 2: See Dryden's Life.] + +[Footnote 3: History of the Stewarts, vol. ii. p. 479.] + +[Footnote 4: The line here referred to, was omitted in the later +editions of these verses.] + +[Footnote 5: Chronol. Diary for A.D. 1714-15.] + +[Footnote 6: Biog. Britan, p, 2135.] + +[Footnote 7: Chronol. Diary, A.D. 1719.] + +[Footnote 8: Collins's Peerage, vol. iv. p. 259.] + + * * * * * + + +NICHOLAS ROWE, Esq; + +This excellent poet was descended from an ancient family in Devonshire, +which had for many ages made a very good figure in that county, and was +known by the name of the Rowes of Lambertowne. Mr. Rowe could trace his +ancestors in a direct line up to the times of the holy war, in which one +of them so distinguished himself, that at his return he had the arms +given him, which the family has born ever since, that being in those +days all the reward of military virtue, or of blood spilt in those +expeditions. + +From that time downward to Mr. Rowe's father, the family betook +themselves to the frugal management of a private fortune, and the +innocent pleasures of a country life. Having a handsome estate, they +lived beyond the fear of want, or reach of envy. In all the changes of +government, they are said to have ever leaned towards the side of public +liberty, and in that retired situation of life, nave beheld with grief +and concern the many encroachments that have been made in it from time +to time. + +Our author was born at Little Berkford in Bedfordshire, at the house of +Jasper Edwards, Esq; his mother's father, in the year 1673[1]. He began +his education at a private grammar-school in Highgate; but the taste he +there acquired of the classic authors, was improved, and finished under +the care of the famous Dr. Busby of Westminster school; where, about the +age of 12 years, he was chosen one of the King's scholars. Besides +his skill in the Latin and Greek languages, he had made a tolerable +proficiency in the Hebrew; but poetry was his early bent, and darling +study. He composed, at different times, several copies of verses upon +various subjects both in Greek and Latin, and some in English, which +were much admired, and the more so, because they were produced with so +much facility, and seemed to flow from his imagination, as fast as from +his pen. + +His father, who was a Serjeant at Law, designing him for his own +profession, took him from that school when he was about sixteen years of +age, and entered him a student in the Middle Temple, whereof himself +was a member, that he might have him under his immediate care and +instruction. Being capable of any part knowledge, to which he thought +proper to apply, he made very remarkable advances in the study of the +Law, and was not content to know it, as a collection of statutes, or +customs only, but as a system founded upon right reason, and calculated +for the good of mankind. Being afterwards called to the bar, he +promised as fair to make a figure in that profession, as any of his +cotemporaries, if the love of the Belles Lettres, and that of poetry in +particular, had not stopped him in his career. To him there appeared +more charms in Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschilus, than in all the +records of antiquity, and when he came to discern the beauties of +Shakespear and Milton, his soul was captivated beyond recovery, and he +began to think with contempt of all other excellences, when put in the +balance with the enchantments of poetry and genius. Mr. Rowe had the +best opportunities of rising to eminence in the Law, by means of the +patronage of Sir George Treby, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, +who was fond of him to a very great degree, and had it in his power to +promote him; but being overcome by his propension to poetry, and his +first tragedy, called the Ambitious Step-mother, meeting with universal +applause, he laid aside all thoughts of the Law. The Ambitious +Step-mother was our author's first attempt in the drama, written by him +in the 25th year of his age, and dedicated to the earl of Jersey. +'The purity of the language (says Mr. Welwood) the justness of his +characters, the noble elevation of the sentiments, were all of them +admirably adapted to the plan of the play.' + +The Ambitious Step-mother, being the first, is conducted with less +judgment than any other of Rowe's tragedies; it has an infinite deal of +fire in it, the business is precipitate, and the characters active, and +what is somewhat remarkable, the author never after wrote a play with so +much elevation. Critics have complained of the sameness of his poetry; +that he makes all his characters speak equally elegant, and has not +attended sufficiently to the manners. This uniformity of versification, +in the opinion of some, has spoiled our modern tragedies, as poetry +is made to supply nature, and declamation characters. Whether this +observation is well founded, we shall not at present examine, only +remark, that if any poet has a right to be forgiven for this error, Mr. +Rowe certainly has, as his cadence is the sweetest in the world, his +sentiments chaste, and his language elegant. Our author wrote several +other Tragedies, but that which he valued himself most upon, +says Welwood, was his Tamerlane; acted at the Theatre in +Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, and dedicated to the marquis of Hartington. + + In this play, continues Welwood, 'He aimed at + a parallel between the late king William and + Tamerlane, and also Bajazet, and a monarch who + is since dead. That glorious ambition in Tamerlane, + to break the chains of enslaved nations, and + set mankind free from the encroachments of lawless + power, are painted in the most lively, as well + as the most amiable colours. On the other side, + his manner of introducing on the stage a prince, + whose chief aim is to perpetuate his name to posterity, + by that havock and ruin he scatters through + the world, are all drawn with that pomp of horror, + and detestation, which such monstrous actions + deserve. And, since nothing could be more + calculated for raising in the minds of the audience + a true passion for liberty, and a just abhorrence of + slavery, how this play came to be discouraged, + next to a prohibition, in the latter end of queen + Anne's reign, I leave it to others to give a reason.' + +Thus far Dr. Welwood, who has endeavoured to point out the similiarity +of the character of Tamerlane, to that of king William. Though it is +certainly true, that the Tamerlane of Rowe contains grander sentiments +than any of his other plays; yet, it may be a matter of dispute whether +Tamerlane ought to give name to the play; for Tamerlane is victorious, +and Bajazet the sufferer. Besides the fate of these two monarchs, there +is likewise contained in it, the Episode of Moneses, and Arpasia, which +is of itself sufficiently distressful to make the subject of a tragedy. +The attention is diverted from the fall of Bajazet, which ought to have +been the main design, and bewildered in the fortunes of Moneses, and +Arpasia, Axalla and Selima: There are in short, in this play, events +enough for four; and in the variety and importance of them, Tamerlane +and Bajazet must be too much neglected. All the characters of a play +should be subordinate to the leading one, and their business in the +drama subservient to promote his fate; but this performance is not the +tragedy of Bajazet, or Tamerlane only; but likewise the tragedies of +Moneses and Arpasia, Axala and Selima. It is now performed annually, on +the 4th and 5th of November, in commemoration of the Gun-powder Treason, +and the landing of king William in this realm, when an occasional +prologue is spoken. + +Another tragedy of Mr. Rowe's is the Fair Penitent, acted at the Theatre +in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields; and dedicated to the duchess of Ormond: This is +one of the most finished performances of our author. The character of +Sciolto the father is strongly marked; Horatio's the most amiable of all +characters, and is so sustained as to strike an audience very forcibly. +In this, as in the former play, Mr. Rowe is guilty of a mis-nomer; for +his Calista has not the least claim to be called the Fair Penitent, +which would be better changed to the Fair Wanton; for she discovers not +one pang of remorse till the last act, and that seems to arise more +from the external distress to which she is then exposed, than to any +compunctions of conscience. She still loves and doats on her base +betrayer, though a most insignificant creature. In this character, Rowe +has been true to the sex, in drawing a woman, as she generally is, fond +of her seducer; but he has not drawn drawn a Penitent. The character +of Altamont is one of those which the present players observe, is the +hardest to represent of any in the drama; there is a kind of meanness in +him, joined with an unsuspecting honest heart, and a doating fondness +for the false fair one, that is very difficult to illustrate: This part +has of late been generally given to performers of but very moderate +abilities; by which the play suffers prodigiously, and Altamont, who is +really one of the most important persons in the drama, is beheld with +neglect, or perhaps with contempt; but seldom with pity. Altamont, +in the hands of a good actor, would draw the eyes of the audience, +notwithstanding the blustering Lothario, and the superior dignity of +Horatio; for there is something in Altamont, to create our pity, and +work upon our compassion. + +So many players failing of late, in the this character, leaves it a +matter of doubt, whether the actor is more mistaken in his performance; +or the manager in the distribution of parts. + +The next tragedy Mr. Rowe wrote was his Ulysses, acted at the queen's +Theatre, in the Hay Market, and dedicated to the earl of Godolphin. This +play is not at present in possession of the stage, though it deserves +highly to be so, as the character of Penelope, is an excellent example +of conjugal fidelity: Who, though her lord had been ten years absent +from her, and various accounts had been given of his death, yet, +notwithstanding this, and the addresses of many royal suitors, she +preserved her heart for her Ulysses, who at last triumphed over his +enemies, and rescued his faithful queen from the persecution of her +wooers.--This play has business, passion, and tragic propriety to +recommend it.--. + +The next play Mr. Rowe brought upon the stage, was his Royal Convert, +acted at the queen's Theatre, in the Haymarket, and dedicated to the +earl of Hallifax. + +His next was the Tragedy of Jane Shore, written in imitation of +Shakespear's stile; acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, and +dedicated to the duke of Queensberry and Dover. How Mr. Rowe could +imagine that this play is written at all in imitation of Shakespear's +stile, we cannot conceive; for so far as we are able to judge, it bears +not the least resemblance to that of Shakespear. The conduct of the +design is regular, and in that sense it partakes not of Shakespear's +wildness; the poetry is uniform, which marks it to be Rowe's, but in +that it is very different from Shakespear, whose excellency does +not consist merely in the beauty of soft language, or nightingale +descriptions; but in the general power of his drama, the boldness of the +images, and the force of his characters. + +Our author afterwards brought upon the stage his Lady Jane Grey, +dedicated to the earl of Warwick; this play is justly in posession of +the stage likewise. Mr. Edmund Smith, of Christ's-Church, author of +Phaedra and Hyppolitus, designed writing a Tragedy on this subject; and +at his death left some loose hints of sentiments, and short sketches of +scenes. From the last of these, Mr. Rowe acknowledges he borrowed +part of one, and inserted it in his third act, viz. that between lord +Guilford, and lady Jane. It is not much to be regretted, that Mr. Smith +did not live to finish this, since it fell into the hands of one so much +above him, as a dramatist; for if we may judge of Mr. Smith's abilities +of writing for the stage, by his Phaedra and Hyppolitus, it would not +have been so well executed as by Rowe. Phaedra and Hyppolitus, is a play +without passion, though of inimitable versification; and in the words +of a living poet, we may say of it, that not the character, but poet +speaks. + +It may be justly said of all Rowe's Tragedies, that never poet painted +virtue, religion, and all the relative and social duties of life, in a +more alluring dress, on the stage; nor were ever vice or impiety, better +exposed to contempt and abhorrence. + +The same principles of liberty he had early imbibed himself, seemed a +part of his constitution, and appeared in every thing he wrote; and he +took all occasions that fell in his way, to make his talents subservient +to them: His Muse was so religiously chaste, that I do not remember, +says Dr. Welwood, one word in any of his plays or writings, that might +admit of a double meaning in any point of decency, or morals. There is +nothing to be found in them, to flatter a depraved populace, or humour a +fashionable folly. + +Mr. Rowe's Plays were written from the heart. He practised the virtue he +admired, and he never, in his gayest moments, suffered himself to talk +loosely or lightly upon religious or moral subjects; or to turn any +thing sacred, or which good men reverenced as such, into ridicule. + +Our author wrote a comedy of three acts, called the Biter. It was +performed at the Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields; but without success, +for Rowe's genius did not lie towards Comedy.--In a conversation he had +with Mr. Pope, that great poet advised him to rescue the queen of Scots, +from the hands of Banks; and to make that lady to shine on the stage, +with a lustre equal to her character. Mr. Rowe observed in answer to +this, that he was a great admirer of queen Elizabeth; and as he +could not well plan a play upon the queen of Scots's story, without +introducing his favourite princess, who in that particular makes but an +indifferent figure, he chose to decline it: Besides, he knew that if he +favoured the northern lady, there was a strong party concerned to crush +it; and if he should make her appear less great than she was, and throw +a shade over her real endowments, he should violate truth, and incur +the displeasure of a faction, which though by far the minority, he knew +would be yet too powerful for a poet to combat with. + +The late duke of Queensberry, when secretary of state, made Mr. Rowe +secretary for public affairs; and when that nobleman came to know him +well, he was never more delighted than when in his company: After the +duke's death, all avenues were stopt to his preferment; and during the +rest of queen Anne's reign, he passed his time with the Muses and his +books, and sometimes with the conversation of his friends. + +While Mr. Rowe was thus without a patron, he went one day to pay his +court to the earl of Oxford, lord high treasurer of England, then at the +head of the Tory faction, who asked him if he understood Spanish well? +He answered no: but imagining that his lordship might intend to send him +into Spain on some honourable commission, he presently added, that in +a short time he did not doubt but he should presently be able, both to +understand it, and speak it. The earl approving of what he said, Mr. +Rowe took his leave, and immediately retired out of town to a private +country farm; where, within a few months, he learned the Spanish +tongue, and then waited again on the earl to give him an account of his +diligence. His lordship asking him, if he was sure he understood it +thoroughly, and Mr. Rowe answering in the affirmative, the earl burst +into an exclamation; 'How happy are you Mr. Rowe, that you can enjoy the +pleasure of reading, and understanding Don Quixote in the original!' + +This wanton cruelty inflicted by his lordship, of raising expectations +in the mind, that he never intended to gratify, needs only be told to +excite indignation. Upon the accession of king George the 1st. to the +throne, Mr. Rowe was made Poet-Laureat, and one of the surveyors of the +customs, in the port of London. The prince of Wales conferred on him, +the place of clerk of his council, and the lord chancellor Parker, made +him his secretary for the presentations, the very day he received the +seals, and without his asking it. + +He was twice married, first to a daughter of Mr. auditor Parsons; +and afterwards to a daughter of Mr. Devenish of a good family in +Dorsetshire. By his first wife, he had a son, and by his second a +daughter. + +Mr. Rowe died the 6th of December 1718, in the 45th year of his age, +like a christian and a philosopher, and with an unfeigned resignation +to the will of God: He preferred an evenness of temper to the last, and +took leave of his wife, and friends, immediately before his last agony, +with the same tranquility of mind, as if he had been taking but a short +journey. + +He was interred in Westminster-Abbey, over against Chaucer; his body +being attended with a vast number of friends, and the dean and chapter +officiating at the funeral. A tomb was afterwards erected to his memory, +by his wife, for which Mr. Pope wrote an epitaph, which we shall here +insert; not one word of which is hyperbolical, or more than he deserves. +Epitaph on ROWE, by Mr. POPE. + + Thy reliques, Rowe! to this sad shrine we trust, + And near thy Shakespear place thy honour'd bust, + Oh next him skill'd, to draw the tender tear, + For never heart felt passion more sincere: + To nobler sentiment to fire the brave. + For never Briton more disdain'd a slave! + Peace to thy gentle shade, and endless rest, + Blest in thy genius, in thy love too blest! + And blest, that timely from our scene remov'd + Thy soul enjoys the liberty it lov'd. + + To these, so mourn'd in death, so lov'd in life! + The childless parent and the widow'd wife + With tears inscribes this monumental stone, + That holds their ashes and expects her own + +Mr. Rowe, as to his person, was graceful and well made, his face regular +and of a manly beauty; he had a quick, and fruitful invention, a deep +penetration, and a large compass of thought, with a singular dexterity, +and easiness in communicating his opinions. He was master of most parts +of polite learning, especially the Classic Authors, both Greek and +Latin; he understood the French, Italian and Spanish languages. He had +likewise read most of the Greek and Roman histories in their original +languages; and most that are written in English, French, Italian and +Spanish: He had a good taste in philosophy, and having a firm +impression of religion upon his mind, he took delight in divinity, and +ecclesiastical history, in both which he made great advances in the +times he retired to the country, which were frequent. He expressed upon +all occasions, his full perswasion of the truth of revealed religion; +and being a sincere member of the established church himself, he +pitied, but condemned not, those who departed from him; he abhorred the +principle of persecuting men on account of religious opinions, and being +strict in his own, he took it not upon him to censure those of another +persuasion. His conversation was pleasant, witty, and learned, without +the least tincture of affectation or pedantry; and his inimitable manner +of diverting, or enlivening the company, made it impossible for any one +to be out of humour when he was in it: Envy and detraction, seemed to be +entirely foreign to his constitution; and whatever provocation he met +with at any time, he passed them over, without the least thought of +resentment or revenge. There were not wanting some malevolent people, +and some pretenders to poetry too, that would sometimes bark at his best +performances; but he was too much conscious of his own genius, and had +so much good-nature as to forgive them, nor could however be tempted to +return them an answer.' + +This is the amiable character of Mr. Rowe, drawn by Mr. Welwood, to +which we shall add the words of Mr. Pope, in a letter to Edward Blount, +Esq; dated February the 10th, 1715. + +'There was a vivacity and gaiety of disposition almost peculiar to +Mr. Rowe, which made it impossible to part with him, without that +uneasiness, which generally succeeds all our pleasures.' + +It would perhaps be injurious to the memory of Rowe, to dismiss his +life, without taking notice of his translations of Lucan, and Quillet's +Callipaedia; the versification in both is musical, and well adapted to +the subject; nor is there any reason to doubt but that the true meaning +of the original, is faithfully preserved throughout the whole. These +translations, however, with Mr. Rowe's Occasional Poems, and Birth-Day +Odes, are but little read, and he is only distinguished as a dramatist; +for which we shall not pretend to assign a reason; but we may observe, +that a Muse capable of producing so many excellent dramatic pieces, +cannot be supposed to have executed any plan indifferently; however, it +may charm a reader less than that kind of composition, which is set off +on the Theatre, with so many advantages. + +He published likewise an edition of the works of Shakespear, and +prefixed the life of that great man, from materials which he had been +industrious to collect, in the county where Shakespear was born, and to +which, after he had filled the world with admiration of his genius, he +retired. + +We deem it unnecessary to give any specimen of Mr. Rowe's poetry; the +most celebrated speeches in his plays, which are beautifully harmonious; +are repeated by every body who reads poetry, or attends plays; and to +suppose the reader ignorant of them, would be to degrade him from that +rank of intelligence, without which he can be little illuminated by +perusing the _Lives of the Poets_. + + +[Footnote 1: Welwood's preface to Rowe's Lucan] + + * * * * * + + +JOHN SHEFFIELD, Duke of BUCKINGHAM. + +This nobleman, who made a very great figure in the last age, as an +author, a statesman, and a soldier; was born about the year 1650. He +lost his father when he was about nine years of age, and his mother +soon after marrying lord Ossulton; the care of his education was left +entirely to a governor, who though a man of letters, did not much +improve him in his studies [1]. Having parted with his governor, with +whom he travelled into France; he soon found by conversing with men of +genius, that he was much deficient in many parts of literature, and that +while he acquired the graces of a gentleman, he was yet wanting in those +higher excellencies; without which politeness makes but an indifferent +figure, and can never raise a man to eminence. + +He possessed an ample fortune, but for a while laid a restraint upon his +appetites, and passions, and dedicated for some time a certain number of +hours every day to his studies, by which means he acquired a degree of +learning, that entitled him to the character of a fine scholar. But not +content with that acquisition, our noble author extended his views yet +farther, and restless in the pursuit of distinction, we find him at a +very early age entering himself a volunteer in the second Dutch war; and +accordingly was in that famous naval engagement, where the duke of York +commanded as admiral, on which occasion his lordship behaved himself so +gallantly, that he was appointed commander of the royal Katherine, a +second rate man of war. + +His lordship in his own Memoirs, tells us, that when he entered himself +a volunteer under his royal highness the duke of York, he was then +deeply engaged, and under the soft influence of love: He says, he never +shall forget the tenderness of parting from his mistress. On this +account double honour is due to him:--To enter the bustle of war, +without any other call, but that of honour, at an age when most young +noblemen are under the tuition of a dancing master, argued a generous +intrepid nature; but to leave the arms of his mistress, to tear himself +from her he doated on, in order to serve his country, carries in it yet +a higher degree of merit, and ought to put all young men of fortune to +the blush, who would rather meanly riot in luxurious ease at home, than +do honour to themselves and their country, by endeavouring to serve it. + +His lordship acknowledges in the above-mentioned Memoirs, that the duke +of York did wonders in the engagement; and that he was as intrepid in +his nature, as some of his enemies supposed him to be of an opposite +character; though, says he, alluding to what afterwards happened, +misfortunes, age, and other accidents, will make a great man differ from +himself. We find our young nobleman while he was aboard a ship, amidst +the noise of the crew, could yet indulge his genius for poetry. One +would imagine that the ocean is too boisterous an element for the Muses, +whose darling wish is for ease and retirement; yet, we find him amidst +the roaring of winds and waves, open his Poem with these soothing lines. + + Within the silent shades of soft repose, + Where fancy's boundless stream for ever flows; + Where the enfranchis'd soul, at ease can play, + Tir'd with the toilsome bus'ness of the day, + Where princes gladly rest their weary heads, + And change uneasy thrones for downy beds: + Where seeming joys delude despairing minds, + And where even jealousy some quiet finds; + There I, and sorrow, for a while could part, + Sleep clos'd my eyes, and eas'd a sighing heart. + +Our author afterwards made a campaign in the French service. + +As Tangier was in danger of being taken by the Moors, he offered to head +the forces which were to defend it; and accordingly he was appointed +commander of them. He was then earl of Mulgrave, and one of the lords +of the bed-chamber to king Charles the IId. In May 28, 1674, he was +installed knight of the Garter. + +As he now began to be eminent at court, it was impossible but he must +have enemies, and these enemies being mean enough to hint stories to +his prejudice, in regard to some ladies, with whom the king was not +unconcerned; his lordship's command was not made so agreeable as it +otherwise would have been. The particulars of this affair have been +disputed by historians, some have imagined it to refer to some +celebrated courtezan, whose affections his lordship weaned from the +king, and drew them to himself; but Mrs. Manly, in her new Atalantis, +and Boyer, in his History of queen Anne, assign a very different cause. +They say, that before the lady Anne was married to prince George of +Denmark, she encouraged the addresses which the earl of Mulgrave was +bold enough to make her; and that he was sent to Tangier to break off +the correspondence. + +Mrs. Manly in her Atalantis, says many unhandsome things of his +lordship, under the title of count Orgueil. Orgueil. Boyer says, some +years before the queen was married to prince George of Denmark, the earl +of Mulgrave, a nobleman of Singular accomplishments, both of mind and +person, aspired so high as to attempt to marry the lady Anne; but though +his addresses to her were checked, as soon as discovered, yet the +princess had ever an esteem for him. + +This account is more probably true, than the former; when it is +considered, that by sending the earl to Tangier[2], a scheme was laid +for destroying him, and all the crew aboard the same vessel. For the +ship which was appointed to carry the general of the forces, was in such +a condition, that the captain of her declared, he was afraid to make the +voyage. Upon this representation, lord Mulgrave applied both to the lord +admiral, and the king himself: The first said, the ship was safe enough, +and no other could be then procured. The king answered him coldly, that +he hoped it would do, and that he should give himself no trouble about +it. His lordship was reduced to the extremity either of going in a leaky +ship, or absolutely refusing; which he knew his enemies would impute to +cowardice, and as he abhorred the imputation, he resolved, in opposition +to the advice of his friends, to hazard all; but at the same time +advised several volunteers of quality, not to accompany him in the +expedition, as their honour was not so much engaged as his; some of whom +wisely took his advice, but the earl of Plymouth, natural son of the +king, piqued himself in running the same danger with a man who went to +serve his father, and yet was used so strangely by the ill-offices of +his ministers. + +Providence, however defeated the ministerial scheme of assassination, +by giving them the finest weather during the voyage, which held three +weeks, and by pumping all the time, they landed safe at last at Tangier, +where they met with admiral Herbert, afterwards earl of Torrington, who +could not but express his admiration, at their having performed such a +voyage in a ship he had sent home as unfit for service; but such was the +undisturbed tranquility and native firmness of the earl of Mulgrave's +mind, that in this hazardous voyage, he composed the Poem, part of which +we have quoted. + +Had the earl of Mulgrave been guilty of any offence, capital, or +otherwise, the ministry might have called him to account for it; but +their contriving, and the king's consenting to so bloody a purpose, is +methinks such a stain upon them, as can never be wiped off; and had that +nobleman and the ship's crew perished, they would have added actual +murther, to concerted baseness. + +Upon the approach of his lordship's forces, the Moors retired, and the +result of this expedition was, the blowing up of Tangier. Some time +after the king was appeased, the earl forgot the ill offices, that +had been done him; and enjoyed his majesty's favour to the last. He +continued in several great ports during the short reign of king James +the IId, till that prince abdicated the throne. As the earl constantly +and zealously advised him against several imprudent measures, which were +taken by the court, the king, some months before the revolution, began +to grow cooler towards him; but yet was so equitable as not to remove +him from his preferments: And after the king lost his crown, he had +the inward satisfaction, to be conscious, that his councils had not +contributed to that prince's misfortunes; and that himself, in any +manner, had not forfeited his honour and integrity. + +That his lordship was no violent friend to, or promoter of, the +revolution, seems to appear from his conduct during that remarkable aera: +and particularly from the unfinished relation he left concerning it, +which was suppressed some years ago, by order of the government. + +In a passage in his lordship's writings, it appears he was unwilling +that king James should leave England[3]. Just as the king was stepping +into bed the night before his going away, the earl of Mulgrave came into +the bed-chamber, which, being at so late an hour, might possibly give +the king some apprehensions of that lord's suspecting his design, with +which he was resolved not to trust him, nor any protestant: He therefore +stopped short, and turned about to whisper him in the ear, that his +commissioners had newly sent him a very hopeful account of some +accommodation with the Prince of Orange; to which that lord only replied +with a question, asking him if the Prince's army halted, or approached +nearer to London? the King owned they still marched on; at which the +earl shook his head, and said no more, only made him a low bow, with +a dejected countenance, humbly to make him understand that he gave no +credit to what the King's hard circumstances at that time obliged him to +dissemble. It also appears that the earl of Mulgrave was one of those +lords, who, immediately after the King's departure, sent letters to the +fleet, to the abandoned army of King James, and to all the considerable +garrisons in England, which kept them in order and subjection, not only +to the present authority, but that which should be settled afterwards. + +To his lordship's humanity was owing the protection King James obtained +from the Lords in London, upon his being seized, and insulted by the +populace at Feversham in Kent; before which time, says he, 'the Peers +sat daily in the council chamber in Whitehall, where the lord Mulgrave +one morning happened to be advertised privately that the King had been +seized by the angry rabble at Feversham, and had sent a poor countryman +with the news, in order to procure his rescue, which was like to come +too late, since the messenger had waited long at the council door, +without any body's being willing to take notice of him. This sad account +moved him with great compassion at so extraordinary an instance of +worldly uncertainty; and no cautions of offending the prevailing party +were able to restrain him from shewing a little indignation at so mean a +proceeding in the council; upon which, their new president, the marquis +of Hallifax, would have adjourned it hastily, in order to prevent him. +But the lord Mulgrave earnestly conjured them all to sit down again, +that he might acquaint them with a matter that admitted no delay, and +was of the highest importance imaginable. + +Accordingly the Lords, who knew nothing of the business, could not but +hearken to it; and those few that guessed it, and saw the consequence, +yet wanted time enough for concerting together about so nice, and very +important a matter, as saving, or losing a King's life. The Lords then +sat down again, and he represented to them what barbarity it would be, +for such an assembly's conniving at the rabble's tearing to pieces, +even any private gentleman, much more a great Prince, who, with all his +popery, was still their Sovereign; so that mere shame obliged them to +suspend their politics awhile, and call in the messenger, who told them +with tears, how the King had engaged him to deliver a letter from him to +any persons he could find willing to save him from so imminent a danger. +The letter had no superscription, and was to this effect; + +'To acquaint the reader of it, that he had been discovered in his +retreat by some fishermen of Kent, and secured at first there by the +gentry, who were afterwards forced to resign him into the hands of an +insolent rabble. + +Upon so pressing an occasion, and now so very publickly made known, +the council was surprized, and under some difficulty, for as there was +danger of displeasing by doing their duty, so there was no less +by omitting it, since the Law makes it highly criminal in such an +extremity; besides that most of them as yet unacquainted with the Prince +of Orange, imagined him prudent, and consequently capable of punishing +so base a desertion, either out of generosity, or policy. These found +afterwards their caution needless, but at present it influenced the +council to send 200 of the life guards under their captain the earl +of Feversham; first to rescue the King from all danger of the common +people, and afterwards to attend him toward the sea side; if he +continued his resolution of retiring, which they thought it more decent +to connive at, than to detain him here by force.' + +Whoever has the least spark of generosity in his nature, cannot but +highly applaud this tender conduct of his lordship's, towards his +Sovereign in distress; and look with contempt upon the slowness of the +council in dispatching a force to his relief, especially when we find it +was only out of dread, lest they should displease the Prince of Orange, +that they sent any: this shewed a meanness of spirit, a want of true +honour, to such a degree, that the Prince of Orange himself could not, +consistently with good policy, trust those worshippers of power, who +could hear, unconcerned, that their late Sovereign was in the hands of a +vile rabble, and intreating them in vain for rescue. + +The earl of Mulgrave made no mean compliances to King William, +immediately after the revolution, but when he went to pay his addresses +to him, he was well received; yet did he not accept of a post in the +government till some years after. + +May 10, in the 6th year of William and Mary, he was created marquis of +Normanby, in the county of Lincoln. When it was debated in Parliament, +whether the Prince of Orange should be proclaimed King, or the Princess +his wife reign solely in her own right, he voted and spoke for the +former, and gave these reasons for it. That he thought the title of +either person was equal; and since the Parliament was to decide the +matter, he judged it would much better please that Prince, who was now +become their Protector, and was also in itself a thing more becoming so +good a Princess, as Queen Mary, to partake with her husband a crown so +obtained, than to possess it entirely as her own. After long debates in +Parliament, the crown at last was settled upon William and Mary. Burnet +lord bishop of Salisbury, whose affection for the revolution none I +believe can doubt, freely acknowledges that the King was resolved not to +hold the government by right of his wife; 'he would not think of holding +any thing by apron strings:' he was jealous of the friends of his wife, +and never, forgave them; and, last of all, he threatened to leave them +in the lurch, that is, to retire to Holland, with his Dutch army; so +restless, says Mulgrave in another place, is ambition, in its highest +scenes of success. + +During the reign of King William however, he enjoyed some considerable +posts, and was generally pretty well in his favour, and confidence. +April 21, 1702, he was sworn Lord Privy Seal, and the same year +appointed one of the commissioners to treat of an union between England +and Scotland, and was made Lord Lieutenant, and Custos Rotulorum for the +North Riding of Yorkshire, and one of the governors of the Charterhouse. + +March 9, 1703, he was created duke of Normanby, having been made marquis +of Normanby by King William, and on the 19th of the same month duke of +Buckingham. In 1711 he was made Steward of her Majesty's Houshold, and +President of the Council; and on her decease, was one of the Lords +Justices in Great Britain, 'till King George arrived from Hanover. + +In 1710 the Whig ministry began to lose ground, and Mr. Harley, since +earl of Oxford, and the Lord Treasurer made the proper use of those +circumstances, yet wanting some assistance, applied to the duke of +Buckingham. The duke, who was not then on good terms with Mr. Harley, at +first slighted his proposal, but afterwards joined with him and others, +which produced a revolution in the ministry, and shook the power of +the duke and duchess of Marlborough, while Mr. Harley, the earl of +Shrewsbury, lord Bolingbroke, &c. came into the administration. The +duke was attached to Tory principles. Her Majesty offered to make him +chancellor, which he thought proper to refuse. He was out of employment +for some time, during which, he did not so much as pay his compliments +at court, 'till he married his third wife, and then went to kiss her +Majesty's hand. + +The duke of Buckingham, though reckoned haughty, and ill natured, was +yet of a tender, compassionate disposition; but as the best characters +have generally some allay, he is allowed to have been very passionate; +but after his warmth subsided, he endeavoured to atone for it by acts +of kindness and beneficence to those upon whom his passion had vented +itself. Several years before his grace died, he was well known to have +expressed some concern for the libertinism of his youth, especially +regarding the fair sex, in which he had indulged himself himself very +freely. He was survived only by one legitimate son, but left several +natural children; + +Our noble author has been charged by some of his enemies, with the +sordid vice of covetousness, but without foundation; for, as a strong +indication that he was not avaritious, he lost a considerable part of +his fortune, merely by not taking the pains to visit, during the space +of 40 years, his estates at some distance from London; and whoever is +acquainted with human nature knows, that indolence and covetousness are +incompatible. + +His grace died the 24th of February 1720, in the 75th year of his age, +and after lying in state for some days at Buckingham-House, was +carried from thence with great funeral solemnity, and interred in +Westminster-Abbey, where a monument is erected to his memory, upon which +the following epitaph is engraved, by his own direction, as appears from +a passage in his will. + +'Since something is usually written on monuments, I direct that the +following lines shall be put on mine, viz. + +'In one place. + +Pro Rege saepe, pro Republica semper. + +'In another. + + Dubius, sed non improbus vixi. + Incertus morior, sed inturbatus. + Humanum est nescire & errare. + Christum adveneror, Deo confido + Omnipotenti, benevolentissimo. + Ens Entium miserere mihi.' + +The words Christum adveneror are omitted at the desire of the late +bishop Atterbury, who thought them not strong enough in regard to +Christ; under the whole are the following words, + + Catharina Buckinghamicae: Ducissa + Maerens extrui curavit Anno MDCCXXI. + +Edmund, the duke's eldest son, already mentioned, was snatched away +in his bloom; a youth from whom the greatest things might have been +expected, as he was untainted with the vices of the age: he was very +remarkable for his modesty, which vulgar minds imputed to want of +powers, but those who knew him best, have given a different testimony +concerning him, and have represented him as possessed of all the genius +of his father, with more strict and inviolable morals. With this young +nobleman the titles of the Sheffield family expired. + +The duke, his father, informs us of a duel he was to have fought with +the witty earl of Rochester, which he thus relates; after telling us +that the cause of the quarrel happened between the first and second +Dutch war. + +'I was inform'd (says his grace) that the earl of Rochester had said +something very malicious of me; I therefore sent colonel Aston, a very +mettled friend of mine, to call him to account for it; he denied the +words, and indeed I was soon convinced he had never said them. But +a mere report, though I found it to be false, obliged me (as I then +foolishly thought) to go on with the quarrel; and the next day was +appointed for us to fight on horseback: a way in England a little +unusual, but it was his part to chuse. Accordingly I and my second lay +the night before at Knightsbridge privately, to avoid being secured at +London on any suspicion, which we found ourselves more in danger of +there, because we had all the appearance of highwaymen, that had a mind +to lye skulking in an odd inn for one night. In the morning we met the +lord Rochester at the place appointed, who, instead of James Porter, +whom he assured Aston he would make his second, brought an errant +life-guard-man, whom nobody knew. To this Mr. 'Aston took exception, as +being no suitable adversary, especially considering how extremely well +he was mounted, whereas we had only a couple of pads; upon which we all +agreed to fight on foot. But as my lord Rochester and I were riding into +the next field in order to it, he told me that he had at first chosen +to fight on horseback, because he was so weak with a certain distemper, +that he found himself unfit to fight at all any way, much less a foot. +I was extremely surprized, because no man at that time had a better +reputation for courage; and my anger against him being quite subsided, +I took the liberty to represent to him what a ridiculous story it would +make, should we return without fighting; and told him, that I must in my +own defence be obliged to lay the fault on him, by telling the truth of +the matter. His answer was, that he submitted to it, and hoped I would +not take the advantage in having to do with any man in so weak a +condition: I replied, that by such an argument he had sufficiently tied +my hands, upon condition, I might call our seconds to be witnesses of +the whole business, which he consented to, and so we parted. Upon our +return to London, we found it full of this quarrel, upon our being +absent so long; and therefore Mr. Aston thought fit to write down every +word and circumstance of this whole matter, in order to spread every +where the true reason of our returning without having fought; which +being not in the least contradicted, or resented by the lord Rochester, +entirely ruined his reputation for courage, though nobody had still +a greater as to wit, which supported him pretty well in the world, +notwithstanding some more accidents of the same kind, that never fail to +succeed one another, when once people know a man's weakness.' The duke +of Buckingham's works speak him a beautiful prose writer, and a very +considerable poet, which is proved by the testimony of some of the best +writers, his cotemporaries. + +His prose works consist chiefly of + +Historical Memoirs, Speeches in Parliament, Characters, Dialogues, +Critical Observations, Speeches and Essays, which, with his poetical +compositions, were printed by Alderman Barber in 1723. in two splendid +4to volumes. The first volume containing pieces in most species of +poetry, the epic excepted, and also imitations from other authors. His +Grace wrote some Epigrams, a great number of lyric pieces, some in the +elegiac strain, and others in the dramatic. Amongst his poems, an Essay +on Poetry, which contains excellent instructions to form the poet, is +by far the most distinguished. He wrote a play called Julius Caesar and +another called Brutus: or rather altered them from Shakespear. + +His grace was a great lover of the polite arts in general, as appears +from the fondness he expresses for them in several parts of his works; +particularly Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture; of the two former +he made several curious collections, and his house, built under his +direction in St. James's Park, speaks him not unacquainted with the +latter. It would be superfluous to enumerate all the writers who have +given testimony in his grace's favour as an author. Dryden in several of +his Dedications, while he expresses the warmth of his gratitude, fails +not to convey the most amiable idea of his lordship, and represents him +as a noble writer. He lived in friendship with that great poet, who has +raised indelible monuments to his memory. I shall add but one other +testimony of his merit, which if some should think unnecessary, yet +it is pleasing; the lines are delightfully sweet and flowing. In his +Miscellanies thus speaks Mr. Pope; + + 'Muse 'tis enough, at length thy labour ends, + And thou shalt live; for Buckingham commends. + Let crowds of critics now my verse assail, + Let Dennis write, and nameless numbers rail. + This more than pays whole years of thankless pain, + Time, health, and fortune, are not lost in vain. + Sheffield approves: conferring Phoebus bends; + And I, and malice, from this hour are friends.' + +The two plays of Julius Caesar, which he altered from Shakespear, are +both with Chorusses, after the manner of the Ancients: These plays were +to have been performed in the year 1729, and all the Chorusses were set +to music by that great master in composition, Signor Bononcini; but +English voices being few, the Italians were applied to, who demanded +more for their nightly performance, than the receipts of the house could +amount to at the usual raised prices, and on that account the design was +dropt. + +It appears that our noble author had conceived a great regard for Mr. +Pope, on his earliest appearance in the literary world; and was among +the first to acknowledge the young bard's merit, in commendatory verses +upon his excellence in poetry. The following compliment from the duke is +prefixed to the first volume of Mr. Pope's works. + +On Mr. POPE, and his POEMs, by his Grace JOHN SHEFFIELD, Duke of +BUCKINGHAM. + + With age decay'd, with courts and bus'ness tir'd, + Caring for nothing, but what ease requir'd; + Too dully serious for the muses sport, + And from the critics safe arriv'd in port; + I little thought of launching forth agen, + Amidst advent'rous rovers of the pen; + And after so much undeserv'd success, + Thus hazarding at last to make it less. + Encomiums suit not this censorious time, + Itself a subject for satyric rhime; + Ignorance honour'd, wit and mirth defam'd, + Folly triumphant, and ev'n Homer blam'd! + But to this genius, join'd with so much art, + Such various learning mix'd in ev'ry part, + Poets are bound a loud applause to pay; + Apollo bids it, and they must obey. + And yet so wonderful, sublime a thing, + As the great ILIAD, scarce cou'd make me sing; + Except I justly cou'd at once commend + A good companion, and as firm a friend. + One moral, or a mere well-natur'd deed + Can all desert in sciences exceed. + 'Tis great delight to laugh at some men's ways, + But a much greater to give merit praise. + + +[Footnote 1: Character of the Duke of Buckingham, p. 2. London, 1739.] + +[Footnote 2: General Dictionary. See Article Sheffield.] + +[Footnote 3: Vol, ii, p. 106.] + + * * * * * + + +CHARLES COTTON, Esq; + +This ingenious gentleman lived in the reigns of Charles and James II. +He resided for a great part of his life at Beresford in the county of +Stafford. He had some reputation for lyric poetry, but was particularly +famous for burlesque verse. He translated from the French Monsieur +Corneille's Horace, printed in 4to. London 1671, and dedicated to his +dear sister Mrs. Stanhope Hutchinson. This play was first finished in +1665, but in his prefatory epistle he tells us, + + 'that neither at that time, nor for several years after, was it + intended for the public view, it being written for the private + divertisement of a fair young lady, and, ever since it had the + honour first to kiss her hands, was so entirely hers, that the + author did not reserve so much as the Brouillon to himself; + however, she being prevailed upon, though with some difficulty, + it was printed in 8vo. 1670.' + +As to the merit of this play in the original, it is sufficient to +observe, that the critics have allowed it to be the best tragedy of +Corneille, and the author himself is of the same opinion, provided the +three last acts had been equal to the two first. As to the translation +by Mr. Cotton, we have very considerable authority to pronounce it +better than that of Mrs. Katherine Philips, who could not number +versification among her qualities. The plot of this play, so far +as history is concerned, may be read in Livy, Florus, Dionysius +Halicarnasseus, &c. Our stage has lately had a play founded upon this +story, added to the many it has received, called the Roman Father, by +Mr. W. Whitehead. + +Besides this translation, Mr. Cotton is author of many other works, such +as his poem called the Wonders of the Peak, printed in 8vo. London 168; +[1] His burlesque Poem, called Scarronides, or Virgil Travestie, a mock +Poem, on the first and fourth Books of Virgil's AEneid, printed in 8vo. +London 1678. Though the title seems to imply as if his poem was in +imitation of Scarron, who has translated eight books of Virgil in the +same manner, yet they who will compare both these pieces, will possibly +find, that he has not only exceeded the French, but all those who have +made any attempts on that kind of poetry, the incomparable author of +Hudibras excepted. Mr. Cotton likewise translated several of Lucian's +Dialogues into burlesque verse, printed in 8vo. London 1675, under +the title of the Scoffer Scoff'd. In 1689 a volume of poems, with Mr. +Cotton's name prefixed, was published in London: on these poems colonel +Lovelace, Sir Alton Cockaine, Robert Harrick, esq; and Mr. Alexander +Brome, complimented the author by copies of verses prefixed; but Mr. +Langbain observes, that the truest picture of Mr. Cotton's mind is to +be seen in a little piece published at the end of these poems called +Retirement; but the chief of Mr. Cotton's production, seems to be his +translation of Montaigne's Essays, dedicated to George Lord Saville, +Marquis of Hallifax; his lordship in a letter to him, thus express his +esteem for the translator, and admiration of his performance. This +letter is printed amongst the other pieces of the marquis's in a thin +12mo. + + 'Sir, I have too long delayed my thanks to you for giving me such an + obliging evidence of your remembrance: that alone would have been a + welcome present, but when joined with the book in the world I am the + best entertained with, it raiseth a strong desire in me to be better + known, where I am sure to be much pleased. I have, 'till now, thought + wit could not be translated, and do still retain so much of that + opinion, that I believe it impossible, except by one, whose genius + cometh up to the author. You have so kept the original strength of his + thought, that it almost tempts a man to believe the transmigration of + souls. He hath by your means mended his first edition. To transplant + and make him ours, is not only a valuable acquisition to us, but a just + censure of the critical impertinence of those French scriblers, who + have taken pains to make little cavils and exceptions, to lessen the + reputation of this great man, whom nature hath made too big to confine + himself to the exactness of a studied stile. He let his mind have its + full flight, and shewed by a generous kind of negligence, that he + did not write for praise, but to give to the world a true picture of + himself, and of mankind. He scorned affected periods to please the + mistaken reader with an empty chime of words; he hath no affectation to + set himself out, and dependeth wholly upon the natural force of what is + his own, and the excellent application of what he borroweth. + + 'You see, sir, I have kindness enough for Monsieur de Montaigne to be + your rival, but nobody can pretend to be in equal competition with you. + I do willingly yield, which is no small matter for a man to do to a + more prosperous lover, and if you will repay this piece of justice with + another, pray believe, that he who can translate such an author without + doing him wrong, must not only make me glad, but proud of being his + + most humble servant,' + * * *. + + + +Thus far the testimony of the marquis of Hallifax in favour of our +author's performance, and we have good reason to conclude, that the +translation, is not without great merit, when so accomplished a judge +has praised it. + +We cannot be certain in what year our author died, but it was probably +some time about the revolution. He appears to have been a man of very +considerable genius, to have had an extraordinary natural vein of +humour, and an uncommon flow of pleasantry: he was certainly born a +poet, and wrote his verses easily, but rather too loosely; his numbers +being frequently harsh, and his stile negligent, and unpolished. The +cause of his Life being inserted out of chronological order, was an +accident, the particulars of which are not of importance enough to be +mentioned. + + +[Footnote 1: M. Cotton's works are printed together in one volume, 12mo. +The thirteenth edition is dated 1751.] + + * * * * * + + +The Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; + +This elegant writer, to whom the world owes so many obligations, was +born at Milton near Ambrosbury in the county of Wilts (of which place +his father, Mr. Lancelot Addison, was then rector) on the 6th of May +1672; and being not thought likely to live, was baptized on the same +day, as appears from the church register. When he grew up to an age fit +for going to school, he was put under the care of the rev. Mr. Naish at +Ambrosbury. He afterwards removed to a school at Salisbury, taught by +the rev. Mr. Taylor, thence to the Charter-house, where he was under the +tuition of the learned Dr. Ellis, and where he contracted an intimacy +with Mr. Steel, afterwards Sir Richard, which continued as long as Mr. +Addison lived. He was not above fifteen years old when he was entered of +Queen's College, Oxford, in which his father had been placed: where he +applied himself so closely to the study of classical learning, that in +a very short time he became master of a very elegant Latin stile, even +before he arrived at that age when ordinary scholars begin to write good +English. + +In the year 1687 a copy of his verses in that tongue fell into the hands +of Dr. Lancaster dean of Magdalen College, who was so pleased with them, +that he immediately procured their author's election into that house +[1]; where he took the degrees of bachelor, and matter of arts. In the +course of a few years his Latin poetry was justly admired at both the +universities, and procured him great reputation there, before his name +was so much as known in London. When he was in the 22d year of his +age, he published a copy of verses addressed to Mr. Dryden, which soon +procured him the notice of some of the poetical judges in that age. The +verses are not without their elegance, but if they are much removed +above common rhimes, they fall infinitely short of the character Mr. +Addison's friends bestowed upon them. Some little space intervening, he +sent into the world a translation of the 4th Georgic of Virgil, of which +we need not say any more, than that it was commended by Mr. Dryden. He +wrote also that discourse on the Georgics, prefixed to them by way of +preface in Mr. Dryden's translation, and chose to withhold his name from +that judicious composition, because it contained an untried strain of +criticism, which bore hard upon the old professors of that art, and +therefore was not so fit for a young man to take upon himself; and Mr. +Dryden, who was above the meanness of fathering any one's work, owns +the Essay on the Georgics to have come from a friend, whose name is not +mentioned, because he desired to have it concealed. + +The next year Mr. Addison wrote several poems of different kinds; +amongst the rest, one addressed to Henry Sacheverel, who became +afterwards so exceedingly famous. The following year he wrote a poem to +King William on one of his Campaigns, addressed to the Lord Keeper (Sir +John Somers.) That excellent statesman received this mark of a young +author's attachment with great humanity, admitted Mr. Addison into the +number of his friends, and gave him on all occasions distinguishing +proofs of a sincere esteem [2]. While he was at the university, he had +been pressingly sollicited to enter into holy orders, which he seemed +once resolved on, probably in obedience to his father's authority; but +being conscious of the importance of the undertaking, and deterred by +his extreme modesty, he relinquished, says Mr. Tickell, all views that +way; but Sir Richard Steel in his letter to Mr. Congreve prefixed to +the Drummer, who had a quarrel with Tickell, on account of an injurious +treatment of him, says, that those were not the reasons which made Mr. +Addison turn his thoughts to the civil world, 'and as you were the +inducement (says he) of his becoming acquainted with my lord Hallifax, +I doubt not but you remember the warm instances that noble lord made +to the head of the college, not to insist on Mr. Addison's going into +orders; his arguments were founded on the general pravity and +corruption of men of business, who wanted liberal education; and I +remember, as if I had read the letter yesterday, that my lord ended with +a compliment, that however he might be represented as no friend to the +church, he would never do it any other injury than by keeping +Mr. Addison out of it.' + +Mr. Addison having discovered an inclination to travel, the +abovementioned patron, out of zeal, as well to his country, as our +author, procured him from the crown an annual pension of 300 l. which +enabled him to make a tour to Italy the latter end of 1699. His Latin +poems dedicated to Mr. Montague, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, were +printed before his departure, in the Musaae Anglicanae, and were as much +esteemed in foreign countries, as at home, particularly by that +noble wit of France, Boileau. It is from Mr. Tickell we learn this +circumstance in relation to Boileau, and we shall present it to the +reader in his own words; 'his country owes it to Mr. Addison, that the +famous Monsieur Boileau first conceived an opinion of the English +genius for poetry, by perusing the present he made him of the Musae +Anglicanae. It has been currently reported, that this famous French +poet, among the civilities he shewed Mr. Addison on that occasion, +affirmed, that he would not have written against Perrault, had he +before seen such excellent pieces by a modern hand. The compliment +he meant, was, that these books had given him a very new idea of the +English politeness, and that he did not question, but there were +excellent compositions in the native language of a country, which +possessed the Roman genius in so eminent a degree.' + +In 1701 Mr. Addison wrote an epistolary poem from Italy to lord +Hallifax, which is much admired as a finished piece in its kind, and +indeed some have pronounced it the best of Mr. Addison's performances. +It was translated by the Abbot Antonio Mario Salvini, Greek Professor +at Florence into Italian verse, which translation is printed with the +original in Mr. Tickell's 4to. edition of Mr. Addison's works. This poem +is in the highest esteem in Italy, because there are in it the best +turned compliments on that country, that, perhaps, are to be found +any where: and the Italians, on account of their familiarity with +the objects it describes, must have a higher relish of it. This poem +likewise shews his gratitude to lord Hallifax, who had been that year +impeached by the Commons in Parliament, for procuring exorbitant grants +from the crown to his own use; and further charged with cutting down, +and wasting the timber in his Majesty's forests, and with holding +several offices in his Majesty's Exchequer, that were inconsistent, and +designed as checks upon each other: The Commons had likewise addressed +the King to remove him from his councils, and presence for ever. These +were the causes of his retiring, and Mr. Addison's address at this time, +was a noble instance of his fidelity, and stedfastness to his friends. +On his return to England, he published an account of his travels, +dedicated to lord Somers; he would have returned earlier than he did, +had not he been thought of as a proper person to attend prince Eugene, +who then commanded for the emperor in Italy, which employment would much +have pleased him; but the death of king William intervening caused a +cessation of his pension and his hopes. + +For a considerable space of time he remained at home, and as his +friends were out of the ministry, he had no opportunity to display his +abilities, or to meet a competent regard for the honour his works had +already done his country. He owed both to an accident: In the year 1704 +lord treasurer Godolphin happened to complain to the lord Hallifax, that +the duke of Marlborough's victory at Blenheim, had not been celebrated +in verse, in the manner it deserved, and told him, that he would take +it kind, if his lordship, who was the patron of the poets, would name a +gentleman capable of writing upon so elevated a subject. Lord Hallifax +replied with some quickness, that he was well acquainted with such a +person, but that he would not name him; and observed, that he had long +seen with indignation, men of little or no merit, maintained in pomp and +luxury, at the expence of the public, while persons of too much modesty, +with great abilities, languished in obscurity. The treasurer answered, +very coolly, that he was sorry his lordship had occasion to make such an +observation; but that in the mean time, he would engage his honour, that +whoever his lordship should name, might venture upon this theme, without +fear of losing his time. Lord Hallifax thereupon named Mr. Addison, but +insisted the treasurer should send to him himself, which he promised. +Accordingly he prevailed upon Mr. Boyle, then chancellor of the +exchequer, to go in his name to Mr. Addison, and communicate to him the +business, which he did in so obliging a manner, that he readily entered +upon the task [3]. The lord treasurer saw the Poem before it was +finished, when the author had written no farther than the celebrated +simile of the Angel, and was so much pleased with it, that he +immediately made him commissioner of appeals, in the room of Mr. Locke, +who was promoted to be one of the lords commissioners for trade, &c. + +His Poem, entitled the Campaign, was received with loud and general +applause: It is addressed to the duke of Marlborough, and contains a +short view of the military transactions in the year 1704, and a very +particular description of the two great actions at Schellemberg and +Blenheim. + +In 1705 Mr. Addison attended the lord Hallifax to Hanover; and in the +succeeding year he was made choice of for under-secretary to Sir Charles +Hedges, then appointed secretary of state. In the month of December, in +the same year, the earl of Sunderland, who succeeded Sir Charles in that +office, continued Mr. Addison in the post of under secretary. + +Operas being now much in fashion, many people of distinction and true +taste, importuned him to make a trial, whether sense and sound were +really so incompatible, as some admirers of the Italian pieces would +represent them. He was at last prevailed upon to comply with their +request, and composed his Rosamond: This piece was inscribed to the +duchess of Marlborough, and met with but indifferent success on the +stage. Many looked upon it as not properly an Opera; for considering +what numbers of miserable productions had born that title, they were +scarce satisfied that so superior a piece should appear under the same +denomination About this time our author assisted Sir Richard Steel, in a +play called the Tender Husband; to which he wrote a humorous Prologue. +Sir Richard, whose gratitude was as warm and ready as his wit, surprized +him with a dedication, which may be considered as one of the few +monuments of praise, not unworthy the great person to whose honour it +was raised. + +In 1709 he went over to Ireland, as secretary to the marquis of Wharton, +appointed lord lieutenant of that kingdom. Her majesty also, was +pleased, as a mark of her peculiar favour, to augment the salary annexed +to the keeper of the records in that nation, and bestow it upon him. +While he was in Ireland, his friend Sir Richard Steel published the +Tatler, which appeared for the first time, on the 12th of April 1709: +Mr. Addison (says Tickell) discovered the author by an observation on +Virgil he had communicated to him. This discovery led him to afford +farther assistance, insomuch, that as the author of the Tatler well +exprest it, he fared by this means, like a distrest prince, who calls +in a powerful neighbour to his aid: that is, he was undone by his +auxiliary. + +The superiority of Mr. Addison's papers in that work is universally +admitted; and being more at leisure upon the change of the ministry, he +continued assisting in the Tatler till 1711, when it was dropt. + +No sooner was the Tatler laid down, but Sir Richard Steel, in concert +with Mr. Addison, formed the plan of the Spectator. The first paper +appeared on the first of March 1711, and in the course of that great +work, Mr. Addison furnished all the papers marked with any Letters of +the Muse CLIO; and which were generally most admired. Tickell, who had +no kindness for Sir Richard Steel, meanly supposes that he marked his +paper out of precaution against Sir Richard; which was an ill-natur'd +insinuation; for in the conclusion of the Spectators, he acknowledges to +Mr. Addison, all he had a right to; and in his letter to Congreve, he +declares that Addison's papers were marked by him, out of tenderness to +his friend, and a warm zeal for his fame. Steel was a generous grateful +friend; it therefore ill became Mr. Tickell in the defence of Mr. +Addison's honour, which needed no such stratagem, to depreciate one of +his dearest friends; and at the expence of truth, and his reputation, +raise the character of his Hero. Sir Richard had opposed Mr. Addison, +in the choice of Mr. Tickell as his secretary; which it seems he could +never forget nor forgive. + +In the Spectators, Sir Roger de Coverly was Mr. Addison's favourite +character; and so tender was he of it, that he went to Sir Richard, upon +his publishing a Spectator, in which he made Sir Roger pick up a woman +in the temple cloisters, and would not part with his friend, until he +promised to meddle with the old knight's character no more. However, Mr. +Addison to make sure, and to prevent any absurdities the writers of the +subsequent Spectators might fall into, resolved to remove that character +out of the way; or, as he pleasantly expressed it to an intimate friend, +killed Sir Roger, that no body else might murther him. When the old +Spectator was finished, a new one appeared; but, though written by men +of wit and genius, it did not succeed, and they were wise enough not to +push the attempt too far. Posterity must have a high idea of the taste +and good sense of the British nation, when they are informed, that +twenty-thousand of these papers were sometimes sold in a day. [4] + +The Guardian, a paper of the same tendency, entertained the town in the +years 1713 and 1714, in which Mr. Addison had likewise a very large +share; he also wrote two papers in the Lover. + +In the year 1713 appeared his famous Cato. He entered into a design of +writing a Tragedy on that subject, when he was very young; and when +he was on his travels he actually wrote four acts of it: However, he +retouched it on his return, without any design of bringing it on the +stage; but some friends of his imagining it might be of service to the +cause of liberty, he was prevailed upon to finish it for the theatre, +which he accordingly did. When this play appeared, it was received with +boundless admiration; and during the representation on the first night, +on which its fate depended, it is said that Mr. Addison discovered +uncommon timidity; he was agitated between hope and fear, and while he +remained retired in the green-room, he kept a person continually going +backwards and forwards, from the stage to the place where he was, to +inform him how it succeeded, and till the whole was over, and the +success confirmed, he never ventured to move. + +When it was published, it was recommended by many Copies of Verses +prefixed to it, amongst which the sincerity of Mr. Steele, and the +genius of Eusden, deserve to be distinguished: But, as I would not omit +any particulars relative to this renowned play, and its great author, I +shall insert a letter of Mr. Pope's to Sir William Turnbull, dated +the 30th of April 1713, in which are some circumstances that merit +commemoration. + +SIR, + +'As to poetical affairs, I am content at present to be a bare looker on, +and from a practitioner turn an admirer; which as the world goes, is not +very usual. Cato was not so much the wonder of Rome in his Days, as he +is of Britain in ours; and though all the foolish industry possible had +been used to make it thought a party play, yet what the author once said +of another, may the most properly in the world be applied to him on this +occasion. + + Envy itself is dumb, in wonder lost, + And factions strive who shall applaud him most. + +The numerous and violent claps of the Whig party, on the one side of the +theatre, were ecchoed back by the Tories on the other; while the +author sweated behind the scenes, with concern to find their applause +proceeding more from the hand than the head. This was the case too with +the Prologue writer, who was clapp'd into a staunch Whig at the end of +every two lines. I believe you have heard, that after all the applauses +of the opposite faction, my lord Bolingbroke sent for Booth, who played +Cato, into the box, between one of the acts, and presented him with +fifty guineas, in acknowledgment as he expressed it, for defending the +cause of liberty so well against a perpetual dictator. The Whigs are +unwilling to be distanced this way, and therefore design a present to +the same Cato very speedily; in the mean time, they are getting ready +as good a sentence as the former on their side, so betwixt them it is +probable, that Cato (as Dr. Garth exprest it) may have something to live +upon after he dies.' + +Immediately after the publication of this Tragedy, there came abroad a +pamphlet, entitled, Observations on Cato; written by the ingenious Dr. +Sewel: The design of this piece was to show that the applause this +Tragedy met with was founded on merit. It is a very accurate and +entertaining criticism, and tends to secure the poet the hearts of his +readers, as well as of his audience. + +Our author was not however without enemies, amongst whom was Mr. Dennis, +who attacked it, first in a pamphlet, and then in a subsequent work, in +which he employed seven letters in pulling it to pieces: In some of his +remarks he is candid, and judicious enough, in others he is trifling and +ill natur'd, and I think it is pretty plain he was agitated by envy; for +as the intent of that play was to promote the Whig interest, of which +Mr. Dennis was a zealous abettor, he could not therefore disesteem it +from party principles. + +Another gentleman, who called himself a scholar at Oxford, considered +the play in a very different light; and endeavoured to serve his party +by turning the cannon upon the enemy. The title of this pamphlet is, Mr. +Addison turned Tory: It is written with great spirit and vivacity. Cato +was speedily translated into French by Mr. Boyer, but with no spirit: It +was translated likewise into Italian. + +Voltaire has commended, and condemned Mr. Addison by turns, and in +respect to Cato, he admires, and censures it extravagantly. The +principal character he allows superior to any before brought upon the +stage, but says, that all the love-scenes are absolutely insipid: He +might have added unnecessary, as to the plot; and the only reason that +can be assigned for the poet's introducing them was, the prevalence +of custom; but it must be acknowledged, that his lovers are the most +sensible, and address each other in the best language, that is to be +found in any love dialogues of the British stage: It will be difficult +to find a more striking line, or more picturesque of a lover's passion. +than this pathetic exclamation; + +A lover does not live by vulgar time. + +Queen Anne was not the last in doing justice to our author and his +performance; she was pleased to signify an inclination of having it +dedicated to her, but as he intended that compliment to another, it came +into the world without any dedication. + +If in the subsequent part of his life, his leisure had been greater, we +are told, he would probably have written another tragedy on the death of +Socrates; but the honours accruing from what he had already performed +deprived posterity of that production. + +This subject was still drier, and less susceptible of poetical ornament +than the former, but in the hands of so great a writer, there is no +doubt but genius would have supplied what was wanting in the real +story, and have covered by shining sentiments, and noble language, the +simplicity of the plot, and deficiency in business. + +Upon the death of the Queen, the Lords Justices appointed Mr. Addison +their secretary. This diverted him from the design he had formed of +composing an English Dictionary upon the plan of a famous Italian +one: that the world has much suffered by this promotion I am ready +to believe, and cannot but regret that our language yet wants the +assistance of so great a master, in fixing its standard, settling its +purity, and illustrating its copiousness, or elegance. + +In 1716 our author married the countess of Warwick; and about that time +published the Freeholder, which is a kind of political Spectator. This +work Mr. Addison conducted without any assistance, upon a plan of his +own forming; he did it in consequence of his principles, out of a desire +to remove prejudices, and contribute all he could to make his country +happy; however it produced his own promotion, in 1717, to be one of +the principal secretaries of state. His health, which had been +before impaired by an asthmatic disorder, suffered exceedingly by an +advancement so much to his honour, but attended with such great fatigue: +Finding, that he was not able to manage so much business as his station +led him to, he resigned, and in his leisure hours began a work of a +religious nature, upon the Evidence of the Christian religion; which he +lived not to finish. He likewise intended a Paraphrase on some of the +Psalms of David: but a long and painful relapse broke all his designs, +and deprived the world of one of its brightest ornaments, June 17, 1719, +when he was entering the 54th year of his age. He died at Holland-house +near Kensington, and left behind him an only daughter by the countess of +Warwick. + +After his decease, Mr. Tickell, by the authority and direction of the +author, collected and published his works, in four volumes 4to. In this +edition there are several pieces, as yet unmentioned, which I shall +here give account of in order; the first is a Dissertation upon Medals, +which, though not published 'till after his death; was begun in 1702, +when he was at Vienna. + +In 1707 there came abroad a pamphlet, under the title of The Present +State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation Considered. The +Whig Examiner came out September 14 1710, for the first time: there were +five papers in all attributed to Mr. Addison; these are by much the +tartest things he ever wrote; Dr. Sacheverel, Mr. Prior, and many other +persons are severely treated. The Examiner had done the same thing on +the part of the Tories, and the avowed design of this paper was to make +reprisals. + +In the year 1713 was published a little pamphlet, called The Late Trial, +and Conviction of Count Tariff; it was intended to expose the Tory +ministry on the head of the French Commerce Bill: This is also a severe +piece. + +The following have likewise been ascribed to our author; + +Dissertatio de insignioribus Romanorum Poetis, i. e. A Dissertation upon +the most Eminent Roman Poets: This is supposed to have been written +about 1692. + +A Discourse on Ancient and Modern Learning; the time when it was written +is uncertain, but probably as early as the former. It was preserved +amongst the manuscripts of lord Somers, which, after the death of Sir +Joseph Jekyl, being publickly sold, this little piece came to be printed +1739, and was well received. To these we must add the Old Whig, No. 1 +and 2. Pamphlets written in Defence of the Peerage Bill: The scope of +the Bill was this, that in place of 16 Peers sitting in Parliament, as +Representatives of the Peerage of Scotland, there were for the future to +be twenty five hereditary Peers, by the junction of nine out of the body +of the Scotch nobility, to the then 16 sitting Peers; that six English +Peers should be added, and the peerage then remain fixed; the crown +being restrained from making any new lords, but upon the extinction of +families. This gave a great alarm to the nation, and many papers were +wrote with spirit against it; amongst the rest, one called the Plebeian, +now known to have been Sir Richard Steele's. In answer to this came out +the Old Whig N deg.. 1. on the State of the Peerage, with some Remarks on +the Plebeian. This controversy was carried on between the two friends, +Addison and Steele, at first without any knowledge of one another, but +before it was ended, it appears, from several expressions, that the +author of the Old Whig was acquainted with his antagonist. + +Thus we have gone through the most remarkable passages of the life +of this great man, in admiration of whom, it is but natural to be +an Enthusiast, and whose very enemies expressed their dislike with +diffidence; nor indeed were his enemies, Mr. Pope excepted, (if it be +proper to reckon Mr. Pope Mr. Addison's enemy) in one particular case, +of any consequence. It is a true, and an old observation, that the +greatest men have sometimes failings, that, of all other human +weaknesses, one would not suspect them to be subject to. It is said of +Mr. Addison, that he was a slave to flattery, that he was jealous, and +suspicious in his temper, and, as Pope keenly expresses it, + + Bore, like the Turk, no rival near the + throne. + +That he was jealous of the fame of Pope, many have believed, and perhaps +not altogether without ground. He preferred Tickel's translation of the +first Book of Homer, to Pope's. His words are, + + 'the other has more of Homer', + +when, at the same time, in a letter to Pope, he strenuously advises him +to undertake it, and tells him, there is none but he equal to it; which +circumstance has made some people conjecture, that Addison was himself +the author of the translation, imputed to Mr. Tickell: Be this as it +may, it is unpleasing to dwell upon the failings, and quarrels of great +men; let us rather draw a veil over all their errors, and only admire +their virtues, and their genius; of both which the author, the incidents +of whose life we have now been tracing, had a large possession. He added +much to the purity of the English stile in prose; his rhime is not so +flowing, nervous, or manly as some of his cotemporaries, but his prose +has an original excellence, a smoothness and dignity peculiar to it. His +poetry, as well as sentiments, in Cato, cannot be praised enough. + +Mr. Addison was stedfast to his principles, faithful to his friends, a +zealous patriot, honourable in public stations, amiable in private life, +and as he lived, he died, a good man, and a pious Christian. + + +[Footnote 1: Tickell's Preface to Addison's works.] + +[Footnote 2: Tickell. Ubi supra.] + +[Footnote 3: Budgel's Memoirs of the Boyles.] + +[Footnote 4: Tickell's Preface.] + + * * * * * + + +ANNE, Countess of WINCHELSEA. + +This lady, deservedly celebrated for her poetic genius, was daughter of +Sir William Kingsmill of Sidmonton, in the county of Southampton. She +was Maid of Honour to the Duchess of York, second wife to King James II. +and was afterwards married to Heneage earl of Winchelsea, who was in his +father's life-time Gentleman of the Bed-chamber to the Duke of York. + +One of the most considerable of this lady's poems, is that upon the +Spleen, published by Mr. Charles Gildon, 1701, in 8vo. That poem +occasioned another of Mr. Nicholas Rowe's, entitled an Epistle to +Flavia, on the sight of two Pindaric Odes on the Spleen and Vanity, +written by a Lady to her Friend. This poem of the Spleen is written +in stanzas, after the manner of Cowley, and contains many thoughts +naturally expressed, and poetically conceived; there is seldom to be +found any thing more excellently picturesque than this poem, and it +justly entitles the amiable countess to hold a very high station amongst +the inspired tribe. Nothing can be more happily imagined than the +following description of the pretended influence of Spleen upon surly +Husbands, and gay Coquetes. + + Patron thou art of every gross abuse; + The sullen husband's feign'd excuse, + When the ill humours with his wife he spends, + And bears recruited wit, and spirits to his friends + The son of Bacchus pleads thy pow'r + As to the glass he still repairs + Pretends but to remove thy cares, + Snatch from thy shades, one gay, and smiling hour, + And drown thy kingdom in a purple show'r. + When the coquette (whom ev'ry fool admires) + Would in variety be fair; + And changing hastily the scene, + From light, impertinent, and vain, + Assumes a soft, a melancholy air + And of her eyes rebates the wand'ring fires, + The careless posture, and the head reclin'd + (Proclaiming the withdrawn, the absent mind) + Allows the fop more liberty to gaze; + Who gently for the tender cause enquires; + The cause indeed is a defect of sense, + Yet is the Spleen alledged, and still the dull pretence. + +The influence which Spleen has over religious minds, is admirably +painted in the next stanza. + + By spleen, religion, all we know; + That should enlighten here below, + Is veiled in darkness, and perplext + With anxious doubts, with endless scruples vext + And some restraint imply'd from each perverted text; + Whilst touch not, taste not what is freely given, + Is but thy niggard voice disgracing bounteous Heaven. + From speech restrain'd, by the deceits abus'd, + To desarts banish'd; or in cells reclus'd, + Mistaken vot'ries, to the powers divine, + Whilst they a purer sacrifice design, + Do but the spleen obey, and worship at thy shrine. + +A collection of this lady's poems was published at London 1713 in 8vo. +containing likewise a Tragedy never acted, entitled Aristomenes, or the +Royal Shepherd. The general scenes are in Aristomenes's camp, near the +walls of Phaerea, sometimes the plains among the Shepherds. A great +number of our authoress's poems still continue unpublished, in the hands +of the rev. Mr. Creake, and some were in possession of the right hon. +the countess of Hertford. + +The countess of Winchelsea died August 9, 1720, without issue. She was +happy in the friendship of Mr. Pope, who addresses a copy of verses to +her, occasioned by eight lines in the Rape of the Lock: they contain a +very elegant compliment. + + In vain you boast poetic names of yore, + And cite those Saphoes we admire no more: + Fate doom'd the fall of ev'ry female wit, + But doom'd it then, when first Ardelia writ. + Of all examples by the world confest, + I knew Ardelia could not quote the best, + Who like her mistress on Britannia's throne + Fights and subdues in quarrels not her own. + To write their praise, you but in vain essay; + E'en while you write, you take that praise away: + Light to the stars, the sun does thus restore, + And shines himself 'till they are seen no more. + +The answer which the countess makes to the above, is rather more +exquisite than the lines of Mr. Pope; he is foil'd at his own weapons, +and outdone in the elegance of compliment. + + Disarm'd with so genteel an air, + The contest I give o'er; + Yet Alexander have a care, + And shock the sex no more. + We rule the world our life's whole race, + Men but assume that right; + First slaves to ev'ry tempting face, + Then martyrs to our spite. + You of one Orpheus sure have read, + Who would like you have writ + Had he in London-town been bred, + And polish'd too his wit; + But he poor soul, thought all was well + And great should be his fame, + When he had left his wife in hell + And birds, and beasts could tame. + Yet venturing then with scoffing rhimes + The women to incense, + Resenting heroines of those times + Soon punished his offence. + And as the Hebrus roll'd his skull, + And Harp besmeared with blood, + They clashing as the waves grew full + Still harmoniz'd the flood. + But you our follies gently treat, + And spin so fine the thread, + You need not fear his awkward fate, + The lock won't cost the head. + Our admiration you command + For all that's gone before; + What next we look for at your hand + Can only raise it more. + Yet sooth the ladies, I advise + (As me too pride has wrought) + We're born to wit, but to be wise + By admonitions taught. + +The other pieces of this lady are, + +An Epilogue to Jane Shore, to be spoken by Mrs. Oldfield the night +before the Poet's day. + +To the Countess of Hertford with her Volume of Poems. + +The Prodigy, a Poem, written at Tunbridge-Wells 1706, on the Admiration +that many expressed on a Gentleman's being in love, and their Endeavours +to dissuade him from it, with some Advice to the young Ladies how +to maintain their natural Prerogative. If all her other poetical +compositions are executed with as much spirit and elegance as these, the +lovers of poetry have some reason to be sorry that her station was such, +as to exempt her from the necessity of more frequently exercising a +genius so furnished by nature, to have made a great figure in that +divine art. + + * * * * * + + +CHARLES GILDON. + +This gentleman was born at Gillingham near Shaftsbury, in the county of +Dorset. His parents, and family were all of the Romish persuasion, but +they could not instil their principles into our author, who, as soon as +he began to reason, was able to discover the errors, and foppery of +that church. His father was a member of the society of Grays-Inn, and +suffered much for the Royal cause. The first rudiments of learning Mr. +Gildon had at the place of his nativity; thence his relations sent him +to the English college of secular priests at Doway in Hainault, with +a design of making him a priest; but after five years study there, he +found his inclination direct him to a quite different course of life. +When he was nineteen years old he returned to England, and as soon as he +was of age, and capable of enjoying the pleasures of gaiety, he came +to London, where he spent the greatest part of his paternal estate. +At about the age of twenty-three, to crown his other imprudences, he +married, without improving his reduced circumstances thereby. + +During the reign of King James II. he dedicated his time to the study +of the prevailing controversies, and he somewhere declares, it cost him +above seven years close application to books, before he could entirely +overcome the prejudices of his education. He never believed the absurd +tenets of the church of Rome; nor could he embrace the ridiculous +doctrine of her infallibility: But as he had been taught an early +reverence to the priesthood, and a submissive obedience to their +authority, it was a long while before he assumed courage to think freely +for himself, or declare what he thought. + +His first attempt in the drama, was not till he had arrived at his 32d +year; and he himself in his essays tells us, that necessity (the general +inducement) was his first motive of venturing to be an author. + +He is the author of three plays, viz. + +1. The Roman Bride's Revenge, a Tragedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal +1697. This play was written in a month, and had the usual success of +hasty productions, though the first and second acts are well written, +and the catastrophe beautiful; the moral being to give us an example, in +the punishment of Martian, that no consideration ought to make us delay +the service of our country. + +2. Phaeton, or the Fatal Divorce; a Tragedy, acted at the Theatre-Royal +1698, dedicated to Charles Montague, Esq; This play is written in +imitation of the ancients, with some reflexions on a book called a Short +View of the Immorality of the English Stage, written by Mr. Collier, a +Non-juring Clergyman, who combated in the cause of virtue, with success, +against Dryden, Congreve, Dennis, and our author. The plot of this play, +and a great many of the beauties, Mr. Gildon owns in his preface, he has +taken from the Medea of Euripides. + +3. Love's. Victim, or the Queen of Wales; a Tragedy, acted at the +Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. + +He introduced the Play called the Younger Brother, or the Amorous Jilt; +written by Mrs. Behn, but not brought upon the stage 'till after her +decease. He made very little alteration in it. Our author's plays have +not his name to them; and his fault lies generally in the stile, which +is too near an imitation of Lee's. + +He wrote a piece called the New Rehearsal, or Bays the Younger; +containing an Examen of the Ambitious Step-mother, Tamerlane, The Biter, +Fair Penitent, The Royal Convert, Ulysses, and Jane Shore, all written +by Mr. Rowe; also a Word or Two on Mr. Pope's Rape of the Lock, to which +is prefixed a Preface concerning Criticism in general, by the Earl of +Shaftsbury, Author of the Characteristics, 8vo. 1714. Scene the Rose +Tavern. The freedom he used with Mr. Pope in remarking upon the Rape of +the Lock, it seems was sufficient to raise that gentleman's resentment, +who was never celebrated for forgiving. Many years after, Mr. Pope took +his revenge, by stigmatizing him as a dunce, in his usual keen spirit of +satire: There had arisen some quarrel between Gildon and Dennis, upon +which, Mr. Pope in his Dunciad, B. iii. has the following lines, + + Ah Dennis! Gildon ah! what ill-starr'd rage + Divides a friendship long confirm'd by age? + Blockheads with reason wicked wits abhor, + But fool with fool is barb'rous civil war. + Embrace; embrace my sons! be foes no more, + Nor glad vile poets with true critics gore. + +This author's other works are chiefly these, + +The Post-Boy Robb'd of his Mail, or the Packet Broke Open; consisting of +Five Hundred Letters to several Persons of Quality, &c. 1692. + +He published the Miscellaneous Works of Charles Blount, Esq; to which he +prefixed the Life of the Author, and an Account, and Vindication of his +Death, in 12mo. 1695. In this volume are several of the publisher's own +letters. + +Likewise Letters, and Essays, on several Subjects, philosophical, +historical, critical, amorous, &c. in Prose and Verse, to John Dryden, +Esq; George Granville, Esq; Walter Moyle, Esq; Mr. Congreve, Mr. Dennis, +and other ingenious gentlemen of the age. + +Miscellaneous Poems, on several Occasions, and Translations from Horace, +Persius, Petronius Arbiter, &c. with an Essay upon Satire, by the famous +M. Dacier, 8vo. 1692. + +A Review of Her Royal Highness Princess Sophia's Letters to the Lord +Archbishop of Canterbury, and that of Sir Rowland Gwynn's, to the Right +Hon. the Earl of Stamford, 8vo. 1706. + +Canons, or the Vision; a Poem, addressed to the Right Hon. James Earl of +Carnarvon, &c. 1717. + +The Laws of Poetry, as laid down by the Duke of Buckingham in his Essay +on Poetry, by the Earl of Roscommon in his Essay upon Translated Verse; +and by Lord Lansdown on Unnatural Flights in Poetry, explained and +illustrated, &c. 8vo. 1721. + +A Continuation of Langbain's Lives of the Poets. + +Mr. Coxeter has imputed to him a piece called Measure for Measure, or +Beauty the best Advocate; altered from Shakespear, and performed at +the Theatre in Lincoln's Inn-Fields 1700, with the addition of several +Entertainments of Music. Prologue and Epilogue by Mr. Oldmixon. + +The Deist's Manual, or Rational Enquiry into the Christian Religion, +with some Animadversions on Hobbs, Spinosa, the Oracles of Reason, +Second Thoughts, &c. to which is prefixed a Letter from the Author of +the Method with the Deists, 1705. + +Complete Art of Poetry. + +Mr. Gildon died on the 12th of January 1723, and in the words of Boyer's +Political State, vol. xxvii. p. 102. we shall sum up his character. + +'On Sunday, January 12, died Mr. Charles Gildon, a person of great +literature, but a mean genius; who having attempted several kinds of +writing, never gained much reputation in any. Among other treatises, he +wrote the English Art of Poetry, which he had practised himself very +unsuccessfully in his dramatic performances. He also wrote an English +Grammar, but what he seemed to build his chief hopes of fame upon, +was, his late Critical Commentary on the Duke of Buckingham's Essay +on Poetry, which last piece was perused, and highly approved, by his +grace.' + + * * * * * + + +THOMAS D'URFEY, + +Was born in the county of Devon, and was first bred to the law; but we +have not heard from what family he was descended, nor in what year he +was born. He has written upwards of thirty plays, with various success, +but had a genius better turned to a ballad, and little irregular odes, +than for dramatic poetry. He soon forsook the profession of the law, and +threw himself upon the public, by writing for the stage.----That D'Urfey +was a man of some abilities, and, enjoyed the esteem and friendship +of men of the greatest parts in his time, appears from the favourable +testimony of the author of the Guardian: And as the design of this work +is to collect, and throw into one view, whatever may be found concerning +any poet of eminence in various books, and literary records, we +shall make no scruple of transcribing what that ingenious writer has +humorously said concerning our author. + +In Numb. 29. Vol. I. speaking of the advantages of laughing, he thus +mentions D'Urfey. 'A judicious author, some years since published a +collection of Sonnets, which he very successfully called Laugh and be +Fat; or Pills to purge Melancholy: I cannot sufficiently admire the +facetious title of these volumes, and must censure the world of +ingratitude, while they are so negligent in rewarding the jocose labours +of my friend Mr. D'Urfey, who was so large a contributor to this +Treatise, and to whose humorous productions, so many rural squires in +the remotest parts of this island are obliged, for the dignity and state +which corpulency gives them. It is my opinion, that the above pills +would be extremely proper to be taken with Asses milk, and might +contribute towards the renewing and restoring decayed lungs.' + +Numb. 67. He thus speaks of his old friend.--'It has been remarked, by +curious observers, that poets are generally long lived, and run beyond +the usual age of man, if not cut off by some accident, or excess, as +Anacreon, in the midst of a very merry old age, was choaked with a grape +stone. The same redundancy of spirits that produces the poetical flame, +keeps up the vital warmth, and administers uncommon fuel to life. I +question not but several instances will occur to my reader's memory, +from Homer down to Mr. Dryden; I shall only take notice of two who have +excelled in Lyrics, the one an antient, the other a modern. The first +gained an immortal reputation by celebrating several jockeys in the +Olympic Games; the last has signalized himself on the same occasion, +by the Ode that begins with----To horse brave boys, to New-market, to +horse. The reader will by this time know, that the two poets I have +mentioned are Pindar, and Mr. D'Urfey. The former of these is long since +laid in his urn, after having many years together endeared himself to +all Greece, by his tuneful compositions. Our countryman is still living, +and in a blooming old age, that still promises many musical productions; +for if I am not mistaken our British Swan will sing to the last. The +best judges, who have perused his last Song on the moderate Man, do not +discover any decay in his parts; but think it deserves a place among the +finest of those works, with which he obliged the world in his more early +years. + +'I am led into this subject, by a visit which I lately received from my +good old friend and cotemporary. As we both flourished together in king +Charles the IId's reign, we diverted ourselves with the remembrance of +several particulars that pass'd in the world, before the greatest part +of my readers were born; and could not but smile to think how insensibly +we were grown into a couple of venerable old gentlemen. Tom observed +to me, that after having written more Odes than Horace, and about four +times as many Comedies as Terence; he was reduced to great difficulties, +by the importunities of a set of men, who of late years had furnished +him with the accommodations of life, and would not, as we say, be paid +with a song. In order to extricate my old friend, I immediately sent for +the three directors of the Play-house, and desired they would in their +turn, do a good office for a man, who in Shakespear's phrase, often +filled their mouths; I mean with pleasantry and popular conceits. They +very generously listened to my proposal, and agreed to act the Plotting +Sisters (a very taking play of my old friends composing) on the 15th of +next month, for the benefit of the author. + +'My kindness to the agreeable Mr. D'Urfey, will be imperfect, if, after +having engaged the players in his favour, I do not get the town to come +into it. I must therefore heartily recommend to all the young ladies +my disciples, the case of my old friend, who has often made their +grand-mothers merry; and whose Sonnets have perhaps lulled asleep many a +present toast, when she lay in her cradle. The gentleman I am speaking +of, has laid obligations on so many of his countrymen, that I hope they +will think this but a just return to the good service of a veteran Poet. + +'I myself, remember king Charles the IId. leaning on Tom D'Urfey's +shoulder more than once, and humming over a song with him. It is +certain, that monarch was not a little supported, by joy to great Caesar; +which gave the Whigs such a blow, as they were not able to recover +that whole reign. My friend afterwards attacked Popery, with the same +success, having exposed Beliarmine, and Portocarero, more than once, in +short satirical compositions, which have been in every body's mouth. He +made use of Italian Tunes and Sonato's, for promoting the Protestant +interest; and turned a considerable part of the Pope's music against +himself. In short, he has obliged the court with political Sonnets; the +country with Dialogues, and Pastorals; the city with Descriptions of a +lord Mayor's Feast; not to mention his little Ode upon Stool-Ball; with +many others of the like nature. + +'Should the very individuals he has celebrated, make their appearance +together, they would be sufficient to fill the play-house. Pretty Peg of +Windsor, Gilian of Croydon; with Dolly and Molly; and Tommy and Johny; +with many others to be met with in the musical Miscellanies, would make +a great benefit. + +'As my friend, after the manner of the old Lyrics, accompanies his works +with his own voice; he has been the delight of the most polite companies +and conversions, from the beginning of king Charles the IId's reign, +to our own times: Many an honest gentleman has got a reputation in his +country, by pretending to have been in company with Tom D'Urfey. + +'I might here mention several other merits in my friend, as his +enriching our language with a multitude of rhimes, and bringing +words together, that without his good offices, would never have been +acquainted with one another, so long as it had been a tongue; but I must +not omit that my old friend angled for a trout, the best of any man in +England. + +'After what I have said, and much more that I might say, on this +subject, I question not but the world will think that my old friend +ought not to pass the remainder of his life in a cage, like a singing +bird; but enjoy all that Pindaric liberty, which is suitable to a man of +his genius. He has made the world merry, and I hope they will make him +easy, as long as he stays amongst us. This I will take upon me to say, +they cannot do a kindness, to a more diverting companion, or a more +chearful, honest, good-natur'd man.'---- + +The same author, Numb. 82. puts his readers in mind when D'Urfey's +benefit came on, of some other circumstances favourable to him. 'The +Plotting Sisters, says he, is this day to be acted for the benefit of +the author, my old friend Mr. D'Urfey. This comedy was honoured with the +presence of King Charles II. three of the first five nights. My +friend has in this work shewn himself a master, and made not only the +characters of the play, but also the furniture of the house contribute +to the main design. He has made excellent use of a table with a carpet, +and the key of a closet; with these two implements, which would perhaps +have been over-looked by an ordinary writer, he contrives the most +natural perplexities (allowing only the use of these houshold goods +in poetry) that ever were represented on a stage. He also made good +advantage of the knowledge of the stage itself; for in the nick of being +surprized, the lovers are let down, and escape at a trap door. In a +word, any who have the curiosity to observe what pleased in the last +generation, and does not go to a comedy with a resolution to be grave, +will find this evening ample food for mirth. Johnson, who understands +what he does as well as any man, exposes the impertinence of an old +fellow who has lost his senses, still pursuing pleasures with great +mastery. The ingenious Mr. Pinkethman is a bashful rake, and is +sheepish, without having modesty with great success. Mr. Bullock +succeeds Nokes in the part of Bubble, and, in my opinion, is not much +below him, for he does excellently that kind of folly we call absurdity, +which is the very contrary of wit; but next to that is, of all things, +properest to excite mirth. What is foolish is the object of pity, +but absurdity often proceeds from an opinion of sufficiency, and +consequently is an honest occasion for laughter. These characters in +this play, cannot but make it a very pleasant entertainment, and the +decorations of singing and dancing, will more than repay the good-nature +of those, who make an honest man a visit of two merry hours, to make his +following year unpainful.' + +These are the testimonies of friendship and esteem, which this great +author has given in favour of D'Urfey, and however his genius may be +turned for the Sing-song, or Ballad, which is certainly the lowest +species of poetry, yet that man cannot be termed contemptible, who was +thus loved, and, though in jocular terms, praised by Mr. Addison. + +There are few, or no particulars relating to the life of this poet +preserved. He was attached to the Tory interest, and in the latter part +of Queen Anne's reign frequently had the honour of diverting her with +witty catches, and songs of humour suited to the spirit of the times. He +died, according to Mr. Coxeter, February 26, 1723, in a good old age, +and was buried in the Church-yard of St. James's, Westminster. His +dramatic works are, + +1. The Siege of Memphis, or the Ambitious Queen; a Tragedy acted at the +Theatre-royal, printed in quarto 1676. Mr. Langbain says that this play +is full of bombast and fustian, and observes, 'That there goes more +to the making a poet, than copying verses, or tagging rhimes, and +recommends to the modern poetasters, the following lines from a Prologue +to a Play called the Atheist.' + + 'Rhimsters get wit, e're ye pretend to shew it, + Nor think a game at Crambo makes a poet.' + +2. Madam Fickle, or the Witty False One; acted at the duke of York's +Theatre, printed in quarto, 1677, dedicated to the duke of Ormond. This +play is compiled from several other Comedies; the scene is laid in +Covent-Garden. + +3. Trick for Trick, or the Debauched Hypocrite; a Comedy acted at the +Theatre-Royal 1678: This is the only one of Fletcher's plays, called +Monsieur Thomas revived. + +4. The Fool turn'd Critic; acted at the Theatre-Royal, 1678. Several of +the characters of this play are borrowed; as Old-wine-love, Trim and +Small-wit, seem to be taken from Senio Asotus, and Ballio, in Randolph's +Jealous Lovers. + +5. Fond Husband, or the Plotting Sisters, a Comedy. Of this we have +already given some account, in the words of Mr. Addison. + +6. Squire Old-Sap, or the Night-Adventures; a Comedy; acted at the +duke's Theatre, printed in quarto, 1679. Several incidents in this play +are taken from Francion's Comic. Hist. Boccace's Novels, les Contes de +M. de la Fontaine. + +7. The Virtuous Wife, or Good-Luck at last; a Comedy acted at the duke's +Theatre 1680. Several hints are taken from the Town, Marriage A-la-mode, +&c. the Scene Chelsea. + +8. Sir Barnaby Whig, or no Wit like a Woman's; a Comedy acted at the +Theatre-Royal 1681. Dedicated to the right honourable George Earl of +Berkley. The plot of this play is taken from a Play of Marmion's, called +the Fine Companion; and part from the Double Cuckold, a Novel, written +by M. St. Evremond. Scene London. + +9. The Royalist, a Comedy; acted at the Duke's Theatre 1682. This play, +which is collected chiefly from novels, succeeded on the stage; printed +in 4to. 1644. + +10. The Injured Princess, or the Fatal Wager; a Tragi-Comedy; acted +at the Theatre-Royal 1682. The foundation of this play is taken from +Shakespear's Cymbeline. + +11. A Common-wealth of Women, a Tragi-Comedy; acted at the Theatre Royal +1686, dedicated to Christopher Duke of Albemarle. This play is chiefly +borrowed from Fletcher's Sea Voyage. The scene is in Covent Garden. + +12. The Banditti, or a Lady's Distress; a Comedy; acted at the +Theatre-Royal 1688. This play met with great opposition during the +performance, which was disturbed by the Catcalls. This occasioned the +author to take his revenge upon the town, by dedicating it to a certain +Knight, under the title of Sir Critic Cat-call. The chief plot of this +play is founded on a Romance written by Don Francisco de las Coveras, +called Don Fenise, translated into English in 8vo. See the History of +Don Antonio, b. iv. p. 250. The design of Don Diego's turning Banditti, +and joining with them to rob his supposed father, resembles that of +Pipperollo in Shirley's play called the Sisters. Scene Madrid. + +13. A Fool's Preferment, or the Three Dukes of Dunstable; a Comedy; +acted at the Queen's Theatre in Dorset-Garden 1688, dedicated to Charles +Lord Morpeth, in as familiar a way as if the Author was a man of +Quality. The whole play is little more than a transcript of Fletcher's +Noble Gentlemen, except one scene, which is taken from a Novel called +The Humours of Basset. Scene the Court, in the time of Henry IV. The +songs in this play were all composed by the celebrated Musician Mr. +Henry Purcell. + +14. Bussy D'Amboise, or the Husband's Revenge; a Tragedy; acted at the +Theatre-Royal, 4to. 1691, addressed to Edward Earl of Carlisle. This +is a play of Mr. Chapman's revis'd, and the character of Tamyra, Mr. +D'Urfey tells us, he has altered for the better. The scene Paris. + +15. Love for Money, or the Boarding School; a Comedy; acted at the +Theatre-Royal 1691, dedicated to Charles Lord Viscount Lansdown, Count +of the Sacred Roman Empire, &c. This play met with opposition in the +first day's representation, but afterwards succeeded pretty well. The +scene Chelsea. + +16. The Richmond Heiress, or a Woman once in the Right; a Comedy, acted +at the Theatre-Royal 1693. + +17. The Marriage-Hater Matched, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal +1693, addressed to James Duke of Ormond. Mr. Charles Gildon, in an +epistle prefixed to the play, tells us, that this is much the best of +our author's performances. Mr. Dogget was first taken notice of as an +excellent actor, from the admirable performance of his part in this +play. Scene the Park, near Kensington. + +18. The Comical History of Don Quixot, Part the First; acted at the +Queen's Theatre in Dorset-Garden 1694, dedicated to the Duchess of +Ormond. This play was acted with great applause; it is wholly taken from +the Spanish Romance of that name. Scene Mancha in Spain. + +19. The Comical History of Don Quixot, Part the Second; acted at the +Queen's Theatre 1694, dedicated by an Epistle, in heroic Verse, to +Charles Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, &c. This play was likewise acted +with applause. + +20. Don Quixot, Part the Third, with the Marriage of Mary the Buxom, +1669; this met with no success. + +21. The Intrigues at Versailles, or A Jilt in all Humours; a Comedy; +acted at the Theatre-Royal in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 1697, dedicated to +Sir Charles Sedley the Elder, Bart. and to his much honoured Friend Sir +Charles Sedley, his Son. Scene Versailles. The author complains of the +want of success in this play, when he asserts, the town had applauded +some pieces of his of less merit. He has borrowed very liberally from a +play of Mrs. Behn's called The Amorous Jilt. + +22. Cynthia and Endymion, or The Lover of the Deities, a Dramatic Opera; +acted at the Theatre-Royal 1697, dedicated to Henry Earl of Romney; this +was acted with applause; and the author tells us, that King William's +Queen Mary intended to have it represented at Court. 'There are many +lines (says Jacob) in this play, above the genius which generally +appears in the other works of this author; but he has perverted the +characters of Ovid, in making Daphne, the chaste favourite of Diana, +a whore, and a jilt; and fair Syrene to lose her reputation, in the +unknown ignominy of an envious, mercenary, infamous woman.' Scene Ionia. + +23. The Campaigners, or The Pleasant Adventures at Brussels; a Comedy; +with a familiar Preface upon a late Reformer of the Stage, ending with a +Satirical Fable of the Dog, and the Otter, 1698. This play is dedicated +to Thomas Lord Wharton, and part of it is borrowed from a Novel called +Female Falsehood. Scene Brussels. 24. Massanello, or a Fisherman Prince, +in two Parts; acted at the Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 1700. + +25. The Modern Prophets, or New Wit for a Husband; a Comedy. + +26. The Old Mode and the New, or Country Miss with her Furbelo; a +Comedy. Scene Coventry. + +27. Wonders in the Sun, or The Kingdom of Birds; a Comic Opera; +performed at the Queen's Theatre in the Hay-Market. + +28. Bath, or The Western Lass; a Comedy; dedicated to John Duke of +Argyle. + +29. The Two Queens of Brentford, or Bays no Poetaster; a Musical Farce, +or Comical Opera; being the Sequel of the Rehearsal, written by the Duke +of Buckingham; it has five Acts. Scene Inside of the Playhouse. + +30. The Grecian Heroine, or The Fate of Tyranny; a Tragedy; written +1718. Scene Corinth. + +31. Ariadne, or The Triumph of Bacchus; the Scene Naxos, an Island in +the Archipelago. These last were published with a Collection of Poems +1721. + +These are the dramatic performances of D'Urfey, by which his incessant +labours for the stage are to be seen; though not one of his numerous +issue is now in possession of it. He was author of many poems, and +songs, which we need not here enumerate. Mr. Coxeter takes particular +notice of a piece of his called Gloriana, a Funeral Pindarique Poem to +the memory of Queen Mary, 4to. 1695. + +The Trophies, or Augusta's Glory; a triumphant Ode, made in honour of +the City, and upon the Trophies taken from the French at the Battle +of Ramillies, May 25, 1706, by the Duke of Marlborough, and fixed in +Guildhall, London, dedicated to the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen +and Sheriffs, and also to the President. and Court of Managers for the +united Trade to the East Indies. + +Honor & Opes, or The British Merchant's Glory; a Poem Congratulatory, on +the happy Decision, and Conclusion of all Difficulties between the Old +and New Company in the Trade to the East Indies. As a specimen of his +poetry take the following lines. + +VERSES Congratulatory, to the Honourable WILLIAM BROMLEY, Esq; on his +being chosen SPEAKER of this present Parliament. + + As when Hyperion with victorious light + Expels invading Pow'rs of gloomy night, + And vernal nature youthful dress'd and gay, + Salutes the radiant power that forms the day; + The mounting Lark exalts her joyful note, + And strains with harmony her warbling throat: + So now my muse that hopes to see the day, + When cloudy faction, that do's Britain sway, + Shall be o'ercome by reason's dazling ray; + Applauding senates for their prudent choice, + The will of Heaven by the Peoples voice, + First greets you Sir, then gladly do's prepare, + In tuneful verse, your welcome to the chair. + Awful th' assembly is, august the Queen, + In whose each day of life are wonders seen: + The nation too, this greatest of all years, + Who watch to see blest turns in their affairs, + Slighting the tempest on the Gallic shore, + Hope from the senate much, but from you more: + Whose happy temper judgment cultivates, + And forms so fit to aid our three estates. + The change of ministry late ordered here, + Was fated sure for this auspicious year; + That you predestin'd at a glorious hour, + To be chief judge of legislative power, + Might by your skill that Royal right asserts, + Like Heaven, reconcile the jarring parts. + Nor shines your influence, Sir, here alone, + The Church must your unequall'd prudence own, + Firm to support the cause, but rough to none. + Eusebia's sons, in laws divine possest, + Can learn from you how truth should be exprest; + Whether in modest terms, like balm, to heal; + Or raving notions, falsly counted zeal. + Our holy writ no rule like that allows, + No people an enrag'd apostle chose, + Nor taught Our Saviour, or St. Paul, like those. + Reason was mild, and calmly did proceed, + Which harsh might fail to make transgressors heed; + This saint your rhet'ric best knows how to prove, + Whose gracious method can inform, and move; + Direct the elders that such errors make, + And shew both how to preach, and how to speak. + Oh! sacred gift! in public matters great, + But in religious tracts divinely sweet; + Since to this grace they only have pretence + Whose happy learning join with a caelestial sense. + That Sir, you share both these, the muse forgive, + If I presume to write what all believe, + Your candour too, and charming courtesy, + Rever'd by them is justly so by me, + Let me not then offend your modesty, + If now my genius to a height I raise, + Such parts, and such humanity to praise. + This ancient [1]Baginton can witness well, + And the rich [2]library before it fell; + The precious hours amongst wise authors past, + Your Soul with their unvalued wealth possest; + And well may he to heights of knowledge come, + Who that Panthaeon always kept at home. + Thus once, Sir, you were blest, and sure the fiend + That first entail'd a curse on human-kind, + And afterwards contriv'd this fatal cross, + Design'd the public, by your private loss. + Oh! who had seen that love to learning bore, + The matchless authors of the days of yore; + The fathers, prelates, poets, books where arts + Renown'd explain'd the men of rarest parts, + Shrink up their shrivell'd bindings, lose their names, + And yield immortal worth to temporary flames, + That would not sigh to see the ruins there, + Or wish to quench 'em with a flowing tear. + But as in story, where we wonders view, + As there were flames, there was a Phoenix too; + An excellence from the burnt pile did rise, + That still aton'd for past calamities; + So my prophetic genius in its height, + Viewing your merit, Sir, foretels your fate. + Your valiant [3]ancestors, that bravely fought, + And from the foe the Royal standard got; + Which nobly now adorn your houshold coat, + Denotes the former grandeur of your race; + Your present worth fits you for present grace. + The Sovereign must esteem what all admire, + Bromley and Baginton shall both raise higher, + Fate oft contrives magnificence by fire. + + +[Footnote 1: The ancient seat of the Bromleys in Warwickshire.] + +[Footnote 2: A famous Library burnt there.] + +[Footnote 3: Vide History of Warwickshire.] + + * * * * * + + +ELKANAH SETTLE, Son of Joseph Settle of Dunstable in Bedfordshire, was +born there; and in the 18th year of his age, 1666, was entered commoner +of Trinity College, Oxon, and put under the tuition of Mr. Abraham +Champion, fellow of that house; but he quitted the university without +taking any degree, and came to London[1], where he addicted himself to +the study of poetry, in which he lived to make no inconsiderable figure. +Finding the nation divided between the opinions of Whig and Tory, and +being sensible that a man of parts could not make any considerable +figure, unless he attached himself to one of these parties; Settle +thought proper, on his first setting out in life, to join the Whigs, who +were then, though the minor, yet a powerful party, and to support whose +interest he employed his talents. + +About the year 1680, when the debates ran high concerning the exclusion +of the Duke of York from the succession, on account of his religious +principles, our author wrote a piece called the Character of a Popish +Successor, and what may be expected from such an one, humbly offered to +the consideration of both the Houses of Parliament appointed to meet at +Oxon, on March 21, 1681. This essay it seems was thought of consequence +enough to merit an answer, as at that time the Exclusion Bill employed +the general conversation. The answer to it was entitled The Character +of a Rebellion, and what England may expect from One; printed 1682. The +author of this last piece, is very severe on the character of Settle; he +represents him as an errant knave, a despicable coward, and a prophane +Atheist, and seems amazed that any party should make choice of a +champion, whose morals were so tainted; but as this is only the language +of party violence, no great credit is to be given to it. + +The author of this pamphlet carries his zeal, and ill manners still +farther, and informs the world of the meanness of our author's birth, +and education, 'most of his relations (says he) are Barbers, and of the +baseness, falseness, and mutability of his nature, too many evidences +may be brought. He closed with the Whigs, contrary to the principles +he formerly professed, at a time when they took occasion to push their +cause, upon the breaking out of Oates's plot, and was ready to fall off +from, and return to them, for his own advantage.' + +To the abovementioned pamphlet, written by Settle, various other answers +were published, some by writers of distinction, of which Sir Roger +L'Estrange was one; and to this performance of Sir Roger's, which was +entitled The Character of a Papist in Masquerade, supported by Authority +and Experience, Mr. Settle made a Reply, entitled The Character of a +Popish Successor Compleat; this, in the opinion of the critics, is the +smartest piece ever written upon the subject of the Exclusion Bill, and +yet Sir Roger, his antagonist, 'calls it a pompous, wordy thing, made +up of shifts, and suppositions, without so much as an argument, either +offered, or answered in stress of the question, &c.' Mr. Settle's cause +was so much better than that of his antagonist's, that if he had not +possessed half the powers he really did, he must have come off the +conqueror, for, who does not see the immediate danger, the fatal +chances, to which a Protestant people are exposed, who have the +misfortune to be governed by a Popish Prince. As the King is naturally +powerful, he can easily dispose of the places of importance, and trust, +so as to have them filled with creatures of his own, who will engage +in any enterprise, or pervert any law, to serve the purposes of the +reigning Monarch. Had not the nation an instance of this, during the +short reign of the very Popish Prince, against whom Settle contended? +Did not judge Jeffries, a name justly devoted to everlasting infamy, +corrupt the streams of justice, and by the most audacious cruelty, +pervert the forms of law, that the blood of innocent persons might be +shed, to gratify the appetite of a suspicious master? Besides, there +is always a danger that the religion which the King professes, will +imperceptibly diffuse itself over a nation, though no violence is used +to promote it. The King, as he is the fountain of honour, so is he the +fountain of fashion, and as many people, who surround a throne, are of +no religion in consequence of conviction; it is but natural to suppose, +that fashion would influence them to embrace the religion of the Prince, +and in James II's reign, this observation was verified; for the people +of fashion embraced the Popish religion so very fast, in order to please +the King, that a witty knight, who then lived, and who was by his +education, and principles, a Papist, being asked by a nobleman what +news? he made answer, I hear no news my lord, only, God's Papists can +get no preferment, because the King's Papists swarm so thick. This was a +sententious, and witty observation, and it will always hold true, that +the religion of the King will become the religion of people of fashion, +and the lower stations ape their superiors. + +Upon the coronation of King James II. the two Parts of the Character of +a Popish Successor, were, with the Exclusion Bill, on the 23d of April, +1685, burnt by the sub-wardens, and fellows of Merton College, Oxon, in +a public bonfire, made in the middle of their great quadrangle. During +these contentions, Mr. Settle also published a piece called The Medal +Revers'd, published 1681; this was an answer to a poem of Dryden's +called The Medal, occasioned by the bill against the earl of Shaftsbury +being found ignoramus at the Old Baily, upon which the Whig party made +bonfires, and ordered a medal to be struck in commemoration of that +event. Shaftsbury, who was by his principles a Whig, and who could +not but foresee the miseries which afterwards happened under a Popish +Prince, opposed the succession with all his power; he was a man of very +great endowments, and being of a bustling tumultuous disposition, was +admirably fitted to be the head of a party. He was the leading man +against the succession of the Duke of York, and argued in the House +of Lords with great force against him, and what was more remarkable, +sometimes in the Duke's presence. It is related, that at the +Council-table, when his Majesty, and his Royal Brother were both +present, something concerning the succession was canvassed, when +Shaftsbury, not in the least intimidated, spoke his opinion with great +vehemence against the Duke, and was answered with equal heat, but with +less force, by the then lord chamberlain. During this debate, the Duke +took occasion to whisper the King, that his Majesty had a villain of a +chancellor, to which the King merrily replied, oddsfish, York, what a +fool you have of a chamberlain: by which it appears, his Majesty was +convinced that Shaftsbury's arguments were the strongest. + +In consequence of Shaftsbury's violent opposition to the Duke, and the +court party, there was a Bill of Indictment of High Treason, read before +his Majesty's Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer in the Sessions-House +at the Old Bailey, but the Jury found it Ignoramus; upon which, all the +party rejoiced at the deliverance of their head. These disturbances gave +Mr. Settle an opportunity to display his abilities, which he did +not neglect to improve, by which means he procured so formidable an +antagonist as Mr. Dryden, who was obliged by his place of laureat, to +speak, and write for the court. Dryden had formerly joined Mr. Settle, +in order to reduce the growing reputation of Shadwell, but their +interest being now so opposite, they became poetical enemies, in which +Settle was, no doubt, over-matched. He wrote a poem, however, called +Azaria and Hushai, in five sheets, 4to. designed as an answer to Mr. +Dryden's poem called Absalom and Achitophel. + +Soon after this, if we may credit the Oxford Antiquary, Settle changed +sides, and turned Tory, with as much violence as he had formerly +espoused the interest of the Whigs. He published in 1683, in eight meets +in folio, a Narrative; the first part of which is concerning himself, +as being of the Tory side; the second to shew the inconsistency, and +contradiction of Titus Oates's Narrative of the Plot of the Popish +Party, against the Life of King Charles II. at the time when that +Monarch intended to alter his ministry, to have consented to the +exclusion of his brother, and taken measures to support the Protestant +interest. This Oates was in the reign of James II. tried, and convidled +of perjury, upon the evidence chiefly of Papists, and had a severe +sentence pronounced, and inflicted upon him, viz. Imprisonmehd for life, +twice every year to stand on the pillory, and twice to be severely +whipt; but he received a pardon from King William, after suffering his +whippings, and two years imprisonment, with amazing fortitude, but was +never allowed again to be an evidence. While Settle was engaged in the +Tory party, he is said, by Wood, to have been author of Animadversions +on the Last Speech and Confession of William Lord Russel, who fell a +sacrifice to the Duke of York, and whose story, as related by Burnet, +never fails to move the reader to tears. Also Remarks on Algernon +Sidney's Paper, delivered to the Sheriffs at his Execution, London, +1683, in one sheet, published the latter end of December the same year. +Algernon Sidney was likewise murdered by the same kind of violence, +which popish bigotry had lifted up against the lives of some other +British worthies. + +He also wrote a heroic poem on the Coronation of the High and Mighty +Monarch James II. London 1685, and then commenced a journalist for the +Court, and published weekly an Essay in behalf of the Administration. If +Settle was capable of these mean compliances of writing for, or against +a party, as he was hired, he must have possessed a very sordid mind, +and been totally devoid of all principles of honour; but as there is no +other authority for it than Wood, who is enthusiastic in his temper, and +often writes of things, not as they were, but as he would wish them to +be, the reader may give what credit he pleases to the report. + +Our author's dramatic works are + +1. The Empress of Morocco, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke of York's +Theatre. This play was likewise acted at court, as appears by the two +Prologues prefixed, which were both spoken by the Lady Elizabeth Howard; +the first Prologue was written by the Earl of Mulgrave, the other by +Lord Rochester; when it was performed at court, the Lords and Ladies of +the Bed-chamber played in it. Mr. Dryden, Mr. Shadwell, and Mr. Crowne, +wrote against it, which began a famous controversy betwixt the wits +of the town, wherein, says Jacob, Mr. Dryden was roughly handled, +particularly by the lord Rochester, and the duke of Buckingham, and +Settle got the laugh upon his side. + +2. Love and Revenge, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke of York's Theatre, +4to. 1675, dedicated to William Duke of Newcastle. + +3. Cambyses King of Persia, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke's Theatre, +dedicated to Anne Duchess of Monmouth. This tragedy is written in heroic +verse; the plot from Justin, lib. i. c. 9. Herodotus, &c. The Scene is +in Suza, and Cambyses's camp near the walls of Suza. + +4. The Conquest of China by the Tartars, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke's +Theatre, 4to. 1676, dedicated to the Right Hon. the Lord Howard of +Castle-rising. This play is likewise written in heroic verse, and +founded on history. + +5. Ibrahim, the Illustrious Bassa, a Tragedy in heroic verse; acted at +the Duke's Theatre 1677, dedicated to the Duchess of Albemarle. Plot +from the Illustrious Bassa, a Romance, by Scuddery. The Scene Solyman's +Seraglio. + +6. Pastor Fido, or The Faithful Shepherd; a Pastoral; acted at the Duke +of York's Theatre. This is Sir Richard Fanshaw's translation from the +Italian of Guarini Improved. Scene Arcadia. + +7. Fatal Love, or The Forced Inconstancy; a Tragedy; acted at the +Theatre-Royal, 1680, dedicated to Sir Robert Owen. + +8. The Female Prelate, being the History of the Life and Death of Pope +Joan; a Tragedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal, 4to. 1680, dedicated to +Anthony Earl of Shaftsbury. + +9. The Heir of Morocco, with the Death of Gyland, a Tragedy; acted at +the Theatre-Royal 1682. + +10. Distressed Innocence, or the Princess of Persia; a Tragedy; acted +at the Theatre-Royal, dedicated to John Lord Cutts. This play was acted +with applause; the author acknowledges his obligations to Betterton, for +some valuable hints in this play, and that Mr. Mountford wrote the last +scene of it. + +11. The Ambitious Slave, or a Generous Revenge; a Tragedy; acted at the +Theatre Royal, 4to. 1694. This play met with ill success. + +12. The World in the Moon, a Dramatic, Comic Opera; performed at the +Theatre in Dorset-Garden, by his Majesty's Servants, 1698. + +13. City Rambler, or The Playhouse Wedding; a Comedy; acted at the +Theatre-Royal. + +14. The Virgin Prophetess, or The Fate of Troy; an Opera; performed +1701. + +15. The Ladies Triumph, a Comic Opera; presented at the Theatre in +Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, by Subscription, 1710. + +Our poet possessed a pension from the City Magistrates, for an +annual Panegyric to celebrate the Festival of the Lord Mayor, and +in consequence wrote various poems, which he calls Triumphs for the +Inauguration of the Lord Mayors, which are preserved in his works, and +which it would be needless to enumerate. Besides his dramatic pieces, +he published many occasional poems, addressed to his patrons, and some +funeral elegies on the deaths of his friends. It is certain Settle did +not want learning, and, in the opinion of some critics, in the early +part of his life, sometimes excelled Dryden; but that was certainly +owing more to a power he had of keeping his temper unruffled, than any +effort of genius; for between Dryden and Settle, there is as great +difference, as between our modern versifiers, and Pope. + +Whatever was the success of his poetry, he was the best contriver of +machinery in England, and for many years of the latter part of his life +received an annual salary from Mrs. Minns, and her daughter Mrs. Leigh, +for writing Drolls for Bartholomew, and Southwark Fairs, with proper +decorations, which were generally so well contrived, that they exceeded +those of their opponents in the same profession. + +Our author died in the Charterhouse 1724; some months before his +decease, he offered a play to the managers of the Theatre-Royal in +Drury-Lane, but he lived not to introduce it on the stage; it was called +The Expulsion of the Danes from Britain. + +End of the Third Volume. + + +[Footnote 1: Wood's Athen. Oxon. vol, ii. p. 1076.] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lives of the Poets of Great +Britain and Ireland (1753), by Theophilus Cibber + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIVES OF THE POETS OF *** + +***** This file should be named 10622.txt or 10622.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/6/2/10622/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed +Proofreaders + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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