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deferted the Prince, and thereupon mentioned the Queen's difpleafure against the Chancellor ; to which the King faid, The Chancellor was an honeft man, and would never defert him nor the Prince, nor the Church; and that he was forry he was not with his fon, but that his wife was mistaken.'

Davenant then offering fome reasons of his own, in which he treated the church with indignity, his Majefty was fo tranfported with anger, that he gave him a fharper rebuke than he ufually gave to any other man, and forbad him again, ever to prefume to come into his prefence; upon which poor Davenant was deeply affected, and returned into France to give an account of his ill fuccefs to those who sent him.

Upon Davenant's return to Paris, he affociated with a fet of people, who endeavoured to alleviate the diftreffes of exile by fome kind of amufement. The diverfion, which Sir William chofe was of the literary fort, and having long indulged an inclination of writing an heroic poem, and having there much leifure, and fome encourage. ment, he was induced to undertake one of a new kind; the two first books of which he finished at the Louvre, where he lived with his old friend Lord Jermyn; and these with a preface, addreffed to Mr. Hobbs, his answer, and some commendatory poems, were published in England; of which we fhall give fome further account in our animadverfions upon Gondibert.

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While he employed himself in the service of the mufes, Henrietta Maria, the queen dowager of England whofe particular favour te he was found out business for him of another ture. She had heard that vaft improvements might be made in the loyal colony of Virginia, in cafe proper artificers were fent there; and there being many of thefe in France who were deftitute of employment,

employment, the encouraged Sir William to collect these artificers together, who accordingly embarked with his little colony at one of the ports in Normandy; but in this expedition he was likewife unfortunate; for before the veffel was clear of the French coaft, fhe was met by one of the Parliament fhips of war, and carried into the ifle of Wight, where our disappointed projector was fent close prifoner to Cowes Caftle, and there had leifure enough, and what is more extraordinary, wanted not inclination to refume his heroic poem, and having written about half the third book, in a very gloomy prifon, he thought proper to ftop fhort again, finding himself, as he imagined under the very fhadow of death. Upon this occafion it is reported of Davenant, that he wrote a letter to Hobbes, in which he gives fome account of the progrefs he made in the third book of Gondibert, and offers fome criticisms upon the nature of that kind of poetry; but why, fays he, fhould I trouble you or myfelf, with thefe thoughts, when I am pretty certain I fhall be hanged next week. This gaiety of temper in Davenant, while he was in the most deplorable circumftances of diftrefs, carries fomething in it very fingular, and perhaps could proceed from no other caufe but conscious innocence; for he appears to have been an inoffenfive good natured man. He was conveyed from the Isle of Wight to the Tower of London, and for fome time his life was in the utmost hazard; nor is it quite certain by what means he was preserved from falling a facrifice to the prevailing fury. Some conjecture that two aldermen of York, to whom he had been kind when they were prifoners, interpofed their influence for him; others more reafonably conjecture that Milton was his friend, and prevented the utmost effects of party rage from defcending on the head of this fon of the muses. But by whatever means VOL. II. No. 7. E

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his life was faved, we find him two years after a prifoner of the Tower, where he obtained fome indulgence by the favour of the Lord Keeper Whitlocke; upon receiving which he wrote him a letter of thanks, which as it ferves to illuftrate how eafily and politely he wrote in profe, we fhall here infert. It is far removed either from meannefs or bombaft, and has as much elegance in it as any letters in our language.

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MY LORD,

"I am in fufpense whether I should prefent my thankfulness to your lordship for my liber66 ty of the Tower, because when I confider how "much of your time belongs to the public, I "conceive that to make a requeft to you, and "to thank you afterwards for the fuccefs of it, " is to give you no more than a fucceffion of "trouble; unless you are refolved to be conti"nually patient, and courteous to afflicted men, "and agree in your judgment with the late wife "Cardinal, who was wont to fay, If he had not

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fpent as much time in civilities, as in business, he had undone his matter. But whilft I en"deavour to excufe this prefent thankfulnefs, I fhould rather ask your pardon, for going about to make a prefent to you of myself; for it may argue me to be incorrigible, that, after "fo many afflictions, I have yet fo much am"bition, as to defire to be at liberty, that I "may have more opportunity to obey your lordfhip's commands, and fhew the world how much

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Our author was fo far happy as to obtain by this letter the favour of Whitlocke, who was, perhaps, a man of more humanity and gentleness of difpofition, than fome other of the covenanters. He at laft obtained his liberty entirely, and was delivered from every thing but the narrowness of his circumftances, and to redress thefe, encouraged. by the intereft of his friends, he likewife made a bold effort. He was confcious that a play-houfe was entirely inconfiftent with the gloominefs, and feverity of these times ; and yet he was certain that there were people of tafte enough in town, to fill one, if fuch a scheme could be managed; which he conducted with great addrefs, and at laft brought to bear, as he had the countenance of lord Whitlocke, Sir John Maynard, and other perfons of rank, who really were afhamed of the cant and hypocrify which then prevailed. In confequence of this, our poet opened a kind of theatre at Rutland Houfe, where feveral pieces were acted, and if they did not gain him reputation, they procured him what is more folid, and what he then more wanted, money. Some of the people in power, it seems, were lovers of mufic, and tho' they did not care to own it, they were wife enough to know that there was nothing fcandalous or immoral in the diverfions of the theatre. Sir William therefore, when he applied for a permiffion called what he intended to represent an opera; but when he brought it on the ftage, it appeared quite another thing, which when printed had the following title:

Firft day's entertainment at Rutland-Houfe by declamation and mufic, after the manner of the ancients.

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This being an introductory piece, it demanded all the author's wit to make it anfwer different intentions; for firft it was to be fo pleafing as to gain applaufe; and next it was to be be fo remote from the very appearance of a play, as not to give any offence to that pretended fanctity that was then in fashion. It began with mufic, then followed a prologue, in which the author rallies the oddity of his own performance. The curtain being drawn up to the found of flow and folemn mufic, there followed a grave declamation by one in a guilded roftrum, who perfonated Diogenes, and fhewed the ufe and excellency of dramatic entertainments. The fecond part of the entertainment confifted of two lighter declamations; the first by a citizen of Paris, who wittily rallies the follies of London; the other by a citizen of London, who takes the fame liberty with Paris and its inhabitants. To this was tacked a fong, and after that came a fhort epilogue. The mufic was compofed by Dr. Coleman, Capt. Cook, Mr. Henry Laws, and Mr. George Hudfon.

There were feveral other pieces which Sir William introduced upon this ftage of the fame kind, which met with as much fuccefs, as could be expected from the nature of the performances themselves, and the temper and difpofition of the audience. Being thus introduced, he at laft grew a little bolder, and not only ventured to write, but to act feveral new plays, which were also fomewhat in a new tafte; that is, they were more regular in their ftructure, and the language generally speaking, fmoother, and more correct than the old tragedies. Thefe improvements were in a great measure owing to Sir William's long refidence in France, which gave him an opportunity of reading their best writers, and hearing the fentiments

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