minds are not levelled in their powers but when they are first levelled in their defires. Dryden and Settle had both placed their happiness in the claps of multitudes.

An Evening's Love, or The Mock Aftrologer, a comedy (1671) is dedicated to the illuftrious Duke of Newcastle, whom he courts by adding to his praises thofe of his lady, not only as a lover, but a partner of his ftudies. It is unpleafing to think how many names, once celebrated, are fince forgotten. Of Newcastle's works nothing is now known but his Treatife on Horfemanship.

The Preface feems very elaborately written, and contains many just remarks on the Fathers of the English drama. Shakfpeare's plots, he says, are in the hundred novels of Cinthio; thofe of Beaumont and Fletcher in Spanish Stories; Jónfon only made them for himself. His criticifms upon tragedy, comedy, and farce, are judicious and profound. He endeavours to defend the immorality of fome of his comedies by the example of former writers; which is only to fay, that he was not the firft nor perhaps the greatest offender. Against thofe that accused him of plagiarifm he alleges a favourable expreffion of the king: "He only defired that they, who ac"cufe me of thefts, would steal him plays like mine;" and then relates how much labour he fpends in fitting for the English stage what he borrows from others.

Tyrannick Love, or the Virgin Martyr (1672), was another tragedy in rhyme, confpicuous for many paffages of ftrength and elegance, and many of empty noife and ridiculous turbulence. The rants of Maximin have been always the sport of criticism; and were at length, if his own confeffion may be trufted, the fhame of the writer.

Of this play he has taken care to let the reader know, that it was contrived and written in feven weeks. Want of time was often his excufe, or perhaps fhortnefs of time was his private boast in the form of an apology.

It was written before The Conquest of Granada, but published after it. The defign is to recommend piety. "I

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"confidered that pleasure was not the only end of Poefy; and "that even the instructions of morality were not fo wholly "the business of a poet, as that the precepts and examples " of piety were to be omitted; for to leave that employment "altogether to the clergy, were to forget that religion was "first taught in verfe, which the lazinefs or dullness of fucceeding priesthood turned afterwards into profe." Thus foolishly could Dryden write, rather than not fhew his malice to the parfons*.

The two parts of The Conquest of Granada (1672), are written with a feeming determination to glut the publick with dramatick wonders, to exhibit in its highest elevation a theatrical meteor of incredible love and impoffible valour, and to leave no room for a wilder flight to the extravagance of pofterity. All the rays of romantick heat, whether amorous or warlike, glow in Almanzor by a kind of concentration. He is above all laws; he is exempt from all restraints; he ranges the world at will, and governs wherever he appears. He fights without enquiring the caufe, and loves in spight of the obligations of justice, of rejection by his miftrefs, and of prohibition from the dead. Yet the scenes are, for the most part, delightful; they exhibit a kind of illuftrious depravity, and majestick madness, such as, if it is fometimes despised, is often reverenced, and in which the ridiculous is mingled with the astonishing.

In the Epilogue to the fecond part of The Conqueft of Granada, Dryden indulges his favourite pleasure of difcre

So fond was he of opportunity to gratify his fpleen against the clergy, that he fcrupled not to convert Chaucer's images, in the Knightes Tale, of "The smiler with the knif under the cloke," and of "Conteke with blody knif," into these fatires on the church. See Warton's Hift. Eng. Poetry, vol. 1. p. 358.

"Next food Hypocrify with holy leer,

"Soft-fmiling, and demurely looking down,
"But hid the dagger underneath the gown."
"Contest with sharpened knives in cloysters drawn,
"And all with blood befpread the holy lawn." T.

diting his predeceffors; and this Epilogue he has defended by a long poftfcript. He had promised a second dialogue, in which he should more fully treat of the virtues and faults of the English poets, who have written in the dramatick, epick, or lyrick way. This promife was never formally performed; but, with respect to the dramatick writers, he has given us in his prefaces, and in this poftfcript, fomething equivalent; but his purpose being to exalt himself by the comparison, he fhews faults diftinctly, and only praises excellence in general terms.

A play thus written, in profeffed defiance of probability, naturally drew upon itself the vultures of the theatre. One of the criticks that attacked it was Martin Clifford, to whom Sprat addreffed the Life of Cowley, with fuch veneration of his critical powers as might naturally excite great expectations of inftructions from his remarks. But let honeft credulity beware of receiving characters from contemporary writers. Clifford's remarks, by the favour of Dr. Percy, were at last obtained; and, that no man may ever want them more, I will extract enough to fatisfy all reasonable defire.

In the firft Letter his obfervation is only general; "You "do live," fays he, "in as much ignorance and darkness as

you did in the womb; your writings are like a Jack-of-all"trade's fhop; they have a variety, but nothing of value; "and if thou art not the dulleft plant-animal that ever the "earth produced, all that I have conversed with are strangely "mistaken in thee."

In the fecond he tells him that Almanzor is not more copied from Achilles than from Ancient Pistol. "But I am," fays he, "ftrangely mistaken if I have not feen this very Almanzor of yours in fome disguise about this town, and pass❝ing under another name. Pr'ythee tell me true, was not "this Huffcap once the Indian Emperor? and at another "time did he not call himself Maximin? Was not Lynda66 raxa once called Almeria? I mean under Montezuma "the Indian Emperor. I protest and vow they are either "the fame, or fo alike, that I cannot, for my heart, diftin

guish one from the other. You are therefore a strange "unconscionable thief; thou art not content to steal from "others, but doft rob thy poor wretched felf too."

Now was Settle's time to take his revenge. He wrote a vindication of his own lines; and, if he is forced to yield any thing, makes his reprisals upon his enemy. To say that his anfwer is equal to the cenfure, is no high commendation. To expofe Dryden's method of analyfing his expreffions, he tries the fame experiment upon the fame description of the fhips in the Indian Emperor, of which however he does not deny the excellence; but intends to fhew, that by studied mifconftruction every thing may be equally reprefented as ri→ diculous. After fo much of Dryden's elegant animadverfions, juftice requires that fomething of Settle's should be exhibited. The following obfervations are therefore extracted from a quarto pamphlet of ninety-five pages:

"Fate after him below with pain did move,

"And victory could scarce keep pace above.

"These two lines, if he can fhew me any fenfe or thought in,

or any thing but bombaft and noise, he shall make me be"lieve every word in his observations on Morocco sense. In The Empress of Morocco were these lines:

"I'll travel then to fome remoter sphere,

"Till I find out new worlds, and crown you there."

On which Dryden made this remark:

"I believe our learned author takes a sphere for a coun try; the sphere of Morocco; as if Morocco were the "globe of earth and water; but a globe is no sphere neither, by his leave, &c." "So fphere must not be sense, unless "it relates to a circular motion about a globe, in which sense "the aftronomers use it. I would defire him to expound "thofe lines in Granada:

"I'll to the turrets of the palace go,

"And add new fire to thofe that fight below.
b

VOL. I.

"Thence, Hero-like, with torches by my fide,
"(Far be the omen though) my Love I'll guide.
"No, like his better fortune I'll appear,

"With open arms, loofe veil, and flowing hair,
"Juft flying forward from my rowling sphere.

}

"I wonder, if he be fo ftrict, how he dares make fo bold "with sphere himself, and be fo critical in other men's writ"ings. Fortune is fancied ftanding on a globe, not on a Sphere, as he told us in the first act.

"Becaufe Elkanah's Similies are the most unlike things "to what they are compared in the world, I'll venture to start "a fimile in his Annus Mirabilis: he gives this poetical de"fcription of the fhip called the London :

"The goodly London in her gallant trim,
"The Phoenix-daughter of the vanquisht old,
"Like a rich bride does on the ocean fwim,
"And on her fhadow rides in floating gold.
"Her flag aloft spread ruffling in the wind,

"And fanguine ftreamers feem'd the flood to fire:
"The weaver, charm'd with what his loom defign'd,
"Goes on to fea, and knows not to retire.

"With roomy decks her guns of mighty ftrength
"Whofe low-laid mouths each mounting billow laves,
"Deep in her draught, and warlike in her length,
"She feems a fea-wafp flying in the waves.

"What a wonderful pother is here, to make all these poetical "beautifications of a fhip; that is, a phenir in the first ❝ftanza, and but a wasp in the last; nay, to make his hum"ble comparison of a wasp more ridiculous, he does not "fay it flies upon the waves as nimbly as a wasp, or the "like, but it seemed a wafp. But our author at the writing "of this was not in his altitudes, to compare fhips to floating "palaces: a comparison to the purpose, was a perfection he "did not arrive to till the Indian Emperor's days. But perhaps his fimilitude has more in it than we imagine; this