Page images
PDF
EPUB

plan; of a Poem on the Death of Sir Ifaac Newton, which he was enabled to perform as an exact philofopher by the inftruction of Mr. Gray; and of Britannia, a kind of poetical invective against the ministry, whom the nation then thought not forward enough in refenting the depredations of the Spaniards. By this piece he declared himself an adherent to the oppofition, and had therefore no favour to expect from the Court.

Thomfon, having been fome time entertained in the family of the lord Binning, was defirous of teftifying his gratitude by making him the patron of his Summer; but the fame kindness which had firft difpofed lord Binning to encourage him, determined him to refufe the dedication, which was by his advice addreffed to Mr. Dodington, a man who had more power to advance the reputation and fortune of a poet.

Spring was published next year, with a dedication to the countess of Hertford; whofe practice it was to invite every summer fome poet into the country, to hear her verses, and affift her studies. This honour was one Summer conferred on Thomson, who took more delight in carousing with lord Hertford and his friends than affifting her ladyfhip's poetical operations, and therefore never received another fummons.

Autumn, the feafon to which the Spring and Summer are preparatory, ftill remained unfung, and was delayed till he publifhed (1730) his works collected.

He produced in 1727 the tragedy of Sophonista, which raised fuch expectation, that every rehearsal was dignified with a fplendid audience, collected to anticipate the delight that was preparing for the publick.

It was obferved, however, that nobody was much af fected, and that the company rofe as from a moral lecture.

It had upon the stage no unufual degree of fuccefs. Slight accidents will operate upon the taste of pleasure. There was a feeble line in the play;

O Sophonisba, Sophonisba, O!

This gave occafion to a waggish parody;

O, Jemmy Thomfon, Jemmy Thomfon, O! which for a while was echoed through the town.

I have been told by Savage, that of the Prologue to Sopbonifba the first part was written by Pope, who could not be perfuaded to finish it; and that the concluding lines were added by Mallet.

Thomfon was not long afterwards, by the influence of Dr. Rundle, fent to travel with Mr. Charles Talbot, the eldest fon of the Chancellor. He was yet young enough to receive new impreffions, to have his opinions rectified, and his views enlarged; nor can he be fuppofed to have wanted that curiofity which is infeparable from an active and comprehenfive mind. He may therefore now be fuppofed to have revelled in all the joys of intellectual luxury; he was every day feasted with inftructive novelties; he lived fplendidly without expence; and might expect when he returned home a certain eftablishment.

At this time a long courfe of oppofition to Sir Robert Walpole had filled the nation with clamours for liberty, of which no man felt the want, and with care for liberty, which was not in danger. Thomson, in his travels on the continent, found or fancied fo many evils arifing from the tyranny of other govern

ments,

ments, that he refolved to write a very long poem,

in five parts, upon Liberty.

While he was bufy on the firft book, Mr. Talbot died; and Thomson, who had been rewarded for his attendance by the place of fecretary of the Briefs, pays in the initial lines a decent tribute to his memory.

Upon this great poem two years were spent, and the author, congratulated himself upon it as his nobleft work; but an author and his reader are not always of a mind. Liberty called in vain upon her votaries to read her praises, and reward her encomiaft: her praises were condemned to harbour fpiders, and to gather duft; none of Thomson's performances were fo little regarded.

The judgement of the publick was not erroneous; the recurrence of the fame images must tire in time; an enumeration of examples to prove a pofition which nobody denied, as it was from the beginning fuperfluous, must quickly grow disgusting.

The poem of Liberty does not now appear in its original state; but, when the author's works were collected after his death, was fhortened by Sir George Lyttelton, with a liberty which, as it has a manifest tendency to leffen the confidence of fociety, and to confound the characters of authors, by making one man write by the judgement of another, cannot be juftified by any fuppofed propriety of the alteration, or kindness of the friend.-I wish to fee it exhibited as its author left it.

Thomson now lived in eafe and plenty, and feems for a while to have fufpended his poetry; but he was oon called back to labour by the death of the Chan

cellor,

cellor, for his place then became vacant; and though the lord Hardwicke delayed for fome time to give it away, Thomfon's bafhfulnefs, or pride, or fome other motive perhaps not more laudable, withheld him from foliciting; and the new Chancellor would not give him what he would not afk.

He now relapfed to his former indigence; but the prince of Wales was at that time struggling for popularity, and by the influence of Mr. Lyttelton profeffed himself the patron of wit; to him Thomson was introduced, and being gaily interrogated about the ftate of his affairs, faid that they were in a more poetical posture than formerly; and had a penfion allowed him of one hundred pounds a year.

Being now obliged to write, he produced (1738) the tragedy of Agamemnon, which was much fhortened in the reprefentation. It had the fate which most commonly attends mythological ftories, and was only endured, but not favoured. It ftruggled with fuch difficulty through the first night, that Thomson, coming late to his friends with whom he was to fup, excufed his delay by telling them how the fweat of his diftrefs had fo difordered his wig, that he could not come till he had been refitted by a barber.

He fo interested himfelf in his own drama, that, if Iremember right, as he fat in the upper gallery, he accompanied the players by audible recitation, till a friendly hint frighted him to filence. Pope countenanced Agamemnon, by coming to it the first night, and was welcomed to the theatre by a general clap; he had much regard for Thomfon, and once expreffed it in a poetical Epiftle fent to Italy, of which however 3

he

he abated the value, by transplanting fome of the lines into his Epistle to Arbuthnot.

About this time the Act was paffed for licensing plays, of which the first operation was the prohibition of Gustavus Vafa, a tragedy of Mr. Brooke, whom the publick recompenfed by a very liberal fubfcription; the next was the refufal of Edward and Eleonora, offered by Thomson. It is hard to difcover why either、 play fhould have been obftructed. Thomfon likewife endeavoured to repair his lofs by a fubfcription, of which I cannot now tell the fuccefs.

When the publick murmured at the unkind treatment of Thomson, one of the minifterial writers remarked, that be bad taken a Liberty which was not agreeable to Britannia in any Seafon.

He was foon after employed, in conjunction with Mr. Mallet, to write the mafque of Alfred, which was acted before the Prince at Cliefden-house.

His next work (1745) was Tancred and Sigifmunda, the most successful of all his tragedies; for it still keeps its turn upon the ftage. It may be doubted whether he was, either by the bent of nature or habits of study, much qualified for tragedy. It does not appear that he had much fenfe of the pathetick; and his diffufive and defcriptive ftyle produced declamation ra ther than dialogue.

His friend Mr. Lyttelton was now in power, and conferred upon him the office of furveyor-general of the Leeward Islands; from which, when his deputy was paid, he received about three hundred pounds a year.

The laft piece that he lived to publifh was the Cafile of Indolence, which was many years under his hand, but

was

« PreviousContinue »