"my father; but I give you warning, if by 66 any means he come to a violent end, I fhall 66 not be at a lofs to know the author; I fhall "confider you as the affaffin, I shall treat you as fuch; and wherever I meet you I fhall "piftol you, though you stood behind the king's "chair; and I tell you in his majesty's prefence, "that you may be fure I fhall not fail of per"formance." Mr. Hume obferves, if there was any indecorum in this fpeech, it was eafily excufed in a generous youth, when his father's life was to be expofed to the dangerous attempts of affaffins *. While the duke took an active part in the political contests of his country, he alfo endeavoured to augment her literary reputation; in his travels he took particular notice of the decorum of foreign theatres, efpecially the French, under * If the Duke of Buckingham joined Colonel Blood in the attempt against Ormond, in 1680, Blood requited him by fuborning evidences to fwear fodomy against his grace. The duke brought an action of fcandalum magnatum against this defperado, laying his damages at ten thousand pounds. This profecution threw Blood into an illness which deprived him of his life. the the regulation of M. Corneille, then in its greatest glory. The English ftage at this period exhibited scenes of lewd and fenfelefs jargon. The duke on all occafions expreffed his contempt and hatred of this fulfome new way of writing. He narrowly escaped with life from oppofing the exhibition on the ftage of the United Kingdoms; the author having numerous friends in the house, fome of them perceiving his grace heading a party who were very active in damning the play, by hiffing and laughing immoderately at the ftrange conduct of it; fome perfons were laid in wait for him as he came out, but he luckily escaped through the crowd; he was afterwards hard threatened, but friends fettled the matter amicably. The duke refolved however to expofe to the people thefe new-fashioned plays, and to exhibit in a clear light the trash of which they were fo fond. He therefore wrote the celebrated Rehearsal; this play, as it is the best known of all our noble author's productions, fo it has ever since been held in great repute, and efteemed a piece of the most poignant ridicule and entertaining taining banter. It is alledged that his grace was aflifted in writing this play by his chaplain Dr. Thomas Sprat, Martin Clifford, Efq. mafter of the charter-house, and Mr. Samuel Butler, author of Hudibras. A confummate judge * makes it a standard in the way of ridicule; he remarks, "we may obferve, that in our own nation the moft fuccessful criticism or me"thod of refutation, is that which borders moft 66 on the manner of the earliest Greek comedy.. The highly rated burlefque poem written on the fubject of our religious controversies in the laft age, is a fufficient token of this kind; -“ and that justly admired piece of comic wit 46 given us fome time after by an author of the highest quality, has furnished our best wits, in all their controverfies even in religion and 66 politics, as well as in the affairs of wit and learning, with the most effectual and enter"taining method of expofing folly, pedantry, falfe reafon and ill writing. And without "fome fuch tolerated manner of criticism as "this, how grossly we might have been imposed on, and fhould continue to be for the future, * Lord Shaftesbury. by by many pieces of dogmatical rhetorick and pedantic wit, may eafily be apprehended by "those who know any thing of the state of "letters in our nation, or are in the leaft fitted to judge of the manner of the common poets, 66 or formal authors of the times." It had been finifhed before the end of 1664, and had been feveral times rehearfed; the players were perfect in their parts, and all things in readiness for acting, before the great plague in 1665, which then prevented it: but what was then intended was very different from what now appears. In that he called his poet Bilboa, by which name Sir Robert Howard was the perfon pointed at. But from that time till the year 1671, when it was firft acted, many plays came forth writ in heroic rhyme; and on the death of Sir William d'Avenant in 1669, whom Mr. Dryden fucceeded as laureat, thefe became ftill in greater vogue from Mr. Dryden's example, who was much admired and highly applauded, though he fell into the wild and licentious humour of thofe times. The duke therefore refolved to change the name of his poet from Bilboa to Bayes, and through the whole play he miffes no no opportunity of expofing the hero and his works. Mr. Dryden was fenfibly touched thereby, and in revenge for the ridicule thrown upon him in this piece, he expofed the duke under the name of Zimri, in his Abfalom and Achitophel, in the following beautiful lines: A man fo various, that he feem'd to be That every man with him was god or devil. In fquandering wealth was his peculiar art; Beggar'd by fools, whom ftill he found too late, He laugh'd himself from court, then fought relief For |