Mr. Hughes was happy in the acquaintance and friendship of several of
the greatest men, and most distinguished genius's of the age in which
he lived; particularly of the nobleman just now mentioned, the present
lord bishop of Winchester, lord chief baron Gilbert, Sir Godfrey
Kneller, Mr. Congreve, Mr. Addison, Sir Richard Steele, Mr. Southern,
Mr. Rowe, &c. and might have justly boasted in the words of Horace
----me
Cum magnis vixisse, invita fatebitu usque
Invidia.----
Having given this short account of his life, which perhaps is all
that is preserved any where concerning him; we shall now consider him,
first, as a poet, and then as a prose writer.
The Triumph of Peace was the earliest poem he wrote of any length,
that appeared in public. It was written on occasion of the peace
of Ryswick, and printed in the year 1677. A learned gentleman at
Cambridge, in a letter to a friend of Mr. Hughes's, dated the 28th
of February 1697-8, gives the following account of the favourable
reception this poem met with there, upon its first publication.
'I think I never heard a poem read with so much admiration, as the
Triumph of Peace was by our best critics here, nor a greater character
given to a young poet, at his first appearing; no, not even to Mr.
Congreve himself. So nobly elevated are his thoughts, his numbers so
harmonious, and his turns so fine and delicate, that we cry out with
Tully, on a like occasion,
'Nostræ spes altera Romæ!'
The Court of Neptune, was written on king William's return from
Holland, two years after the peace, in 1699. This Poem was admired
for the verification, however, the musical flow of the numbers is its
least praise; it rather deserves to be valued for the propriety, and
boldness of the figures and metaphors, and the machinery.
The following lines have been justly quoted as an instance of the
author's happy choice of metaphors.
As when the golden god, who rules the day,
Drives down his flaming chariot to the sea,
And leaves the nations here, involved in night,
To distant regions he transports his light;
So William's rays by turns, two rations cheer,
And when he sets to them, he rises here.
A friend of Mr. Hughes's soon after the publication of this poem,
complimented him upon the choice of his subject, and for the moral
sentiments contained in it. 'I am sure (says he) virtue is most for
the interest of mankind; and those poets have ever obtained the most
honour in the world, who have made that the end and design of their
works. A wanton Sappho, or Anacreon, among the ancients, never had the
same applause, as a Pindar, or Alexis; nor in the judgment of Horace
did they deserve it. In the opinion of all posterity, a lewd and
debauch'd Ovid, did justly submit to the worth of a Virgil; and, in
future ages, a Dryden will never be compared to Milton. In all times,
and in all places of the world, the moral poets have been ever the
greatest; and as much superior to others in wit, as in virtue. Nor
does this seem difficult to be accounted for, since the dignity of
their subjects naturally raised their ideas, and gave a grandeur to
their sentiments.'
The House of Nassau, a Pindaric Ode (printed in 1702) was occasioned
by the death of king William. 'In Pindaric and Lyric Poetry (says
Mr. Duncomb) our author's genius shines in its full lustre. Tho' he
enjoyed all that fire of imagination, and divine enthusiasm, for which
some of the ancient poets are so deservedly admired, yet did his fancy
never run away with his reason, but was always guided by superior
judgment; and the music of his verse is exquisite.'
The Translation of the third Ode of the third Book of Horace, and
the Paraphrase of the twenty-second Ode, of the first book, were both
written when he was very young; and the latter of them was his first
poetical Essay, which appeared in print. Mr. Hughes, in a private
letter sent to one of his friends, gives it as his opinion, that the
Odes of Horace, are fitter to be paraphrased, than translated.
The Tenth Book of Lucan, was translated by Mr. Hughes, long before Mr.
Rowe undertook that author. The occasion of it was this: Mr. Tonson
the bookseller, sollicited a translation of Lucan, by several hands.
Mr. Hughes performed his part, but others failing in their promises,
the design was dropp'd; and Mr. Rowe was afterwards prevailed upon to
undertake the whole, which he performed with great success.
In the year 1709 Mr. Hughes obliged the publick, with an elegant
translation of Moliere's celebrated Comedy, the Misantrope. This has
been since reprinted, with the other plays of that admirable author,
translated by Mr. Ozell; but care is taken to distinguish this
particular play.
In the year 1712 his Opera of Calypso and Telemachus, was performed at
the Queen's Theatre in the Hay-Market. Perhaps it may be worth while
to mention here, one circumstance concerning this Opera, as it relates
to the History of Music in England, and discovers the great partiality
shewn at that time to Opera's performed in Italian. After many such
had been encouraged by large subscriptions, this, originally written,
and set in English, after the Italian manner, was prepared with the
usual expence of scenes and decorations; and being much crowded and
applauded at the rehearsals, a subscription was obtained for it as
usual.
This alarmed the whole Italian band, who, apprehending that their
profession would suffer thereby, procured an order from the duke of
Shrewsbury, then lord chamberlain, the day before the performing of
this Opera, to take off the subscription for it, and to open the house
at the lowest prices, or not at all. This was designed to sink it, but
failed of its end. It was performed, formed, though under such
great discouragement; and was revived afterwards at the theatre
in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. Mr. Addison, in the Spectator, Numb. 405,
speaking of the just applause given this opera, by Signior Nicolini
(who he says was the greatest performer in dramatic music, that
perhaps ever appeared upon a stage) has these words,
'The town is highly obliged to that excellent artist, for having shewn
us the Italian music in its perfection, as well as for that generous
approbation he gave to an Opera of our own country, in which Mr.
Galliard the composer endeavoured to do justice to the beauty of the
words, by following that noble example which has been set him by the
greatest foreign masters of that art.'
The Ode to the Creator of the World, occasioned by the fragments of
Orpheus, was printed in the year 1713, at the particular instance of
Mr. Addison; and is mentioned with applause in the Spectator. This,
and the Extasy, (published since the death of the author) are justly
esteemed two of the noblest Odes in our language. The seventh Stanza
of the last mentioned piece, is so sublimely excellent, that it would
be denying ourselves, and our poetical readers, a pleasure not to
transcribe it. The whole of this Ode is beautifully heightened, and
poetically conceived. It furnished a hint to a living Poet to write
what he entitles the Excursion, which tho' it has very great merit,
yet falls infinitely short of this animated Ode of Mr. Hughes.
After having represented the natural and artificial calamities to
which man is doomed, he proceeds,
But why do I delay my flight?
Or on such gloomy objects gaze?
I go to realms serene, with ever-living light.
Haste, clouds and whirlwinds, haste a raptured bard to raise;
Mount me sublime along the shining way,
Where planets, in pure streams of Aether driven,
Swim thro' the blue expanse of heav'n.
And lo! th' obsequious clouds and winds obey!
And lo! again the nations downward fly;
And wide-stretch'd kingdoms perish from my eye.
Heav'n! what bright visions now arise!
What op'ning worlds my ravish'd sense surprize!
I pass Cerulian gulphs, and now behold
New solid globes; their weight self-ballanc'd, bear
Unprop'd amidst the fluid air,
And all, around the central Sun, incircling eddies roll'd.
Unequal in their course, see they advance
And form the planetary dance!
Here the pale Moon, whom the same laws ordain
T' obey the earth, and rule the main;
Here spots no more in shadowy streaks appear;
But lakes instead, and groves of trees,
The wand'ring muse, transported sees,
And their tall heads discover'd mountains rear.
And now once more, I downward cast my sight,
When lo! the earth, a larger moon displays,
Far off, amidst the heav'ns, her silver face,
And to her sister moons by turns gives light!
Her seas are shadowy spots, her land a milky white.
The author of an Essay on Criticism, printed in the year 1728, informs
us, that the Tragedy of Cato being brought upon the stage in 1713 was
owing to Mr. Hughes. The circumstances recorded by this author are so
remarkable, that they deserve to be related; and as they serve to shew
the high opinion Mr. Addison entertained of our author's abilities as
a Poet, I shall therefore transcribe his own words.--
'It has been often said by good judges, that Cato was no proper
subject for a dramatic poem: That the character of a stoic
philosopher, is inconsistent with the hurry and tumult of action,
and passions which are the soul of tragedy. That the ingenious author
miscarried in the plan of his work, but supported it by the dignity,
the purity, the beauty, and justness of the sentiments. This was so
much the opinion of Mr. Maynwaring, who was generally allowed to be
the best critic of our time; that he was against bringing the play
upon the stage, and it lay by unfinished many years. That it was
play'd at last was owing to Mr. Hughes. He had read the four acts
which were finished, and really thought it would be of service to
the public, to have it represented at the latter end of queen
Anne's reign, when the spirit of liberty was likely to be lost. He
endeavoured to bring Mr. Addison into his opinion, which he did, and
consented it should be acted if Mr. Hughes would write the last act;
and he offered him the scenery for his assistance, excusing his
not finishing it himself, upon account of some other avocations. He
press'd Mr. Hughes to do it so earnestly, that he was prevailed upon,
and set about it. But, a week after, seeing Mr. Addison again, with
an intention to communicate to him what he thought of it, he was
agreeably surprized at his producing some papers, where near half of
the act was written by the author himself, who took fire at the hint,
that it would be serviceable; and, upon a second reflexion, went
through with the fifth act, not that he was diffident of Mr. Hughes's
abilities; but knowing that no man could have so perfect a notion of
his design as himself, who had been so long, and so carefully thinking
of it. I was told this by Mr. Hughes, and I tell it to shew, that it
was not for the love-scenes, that Mr. Addison consented to have his
Tragedy acted, but to support public spirit; which in the opinion of
the author was then declining.'
In the year 1720 the Siege of Damascus was acted at the Theatre-Royal
in Drury-Lane, with universal applause. His present majesty honoured
it with his presence, and the late queen distinguished it with marks
of favour.
Mr. Hughes drew up the dedication of this Tragedy to the late Earl
Cowper, about ten days before he died. It is indeed surprising, that
he should be able to form a piece so finely turned, and at such
an hour; when death was just before him, and he was too weak to
transcribe it himself.
Mr. Pope, in a letter to Mr. Hughes's brother, written soon after his
death, in answer to one received from him, with the printed copy of
the play, has the following pathetic passage.
'I read over again your brother's play, with more concern and sorrow,
than I ever felt in the reading any Tragedy. The real loss of a good
man may be called a distress to the world, and ought to affect us
more, than any feigned distress, how well drawn soever. I am glad
of an occasion of giving you under my hand this testimony, both how
excellent I think this work to be, and how excellent I thought the
author.'
It is generally allowed that the characters in this play are finely
varied and distinguished; that the sentiments are just, and
well adapted to the characters; that it abounds with beautiful
descriptions, apt allusions to the manners, and opinions of the times
where the scene is laid, and with noble morals; that the diction is
pure, unaffected, and sublime; and that the plot is conducted in a
simple and clear manner.
Some critics have objected, that there is not a sufficient ground
and foundation, for the distress in the fourth and fifth acts. That
Phocyas only assists the enemy to take Damascus a few days sooner,
than it must unavoidably have fallen into the hands of the Saracens
by a capitulation, which was far from dishonourable. If Phocyas is
guilty, his guilt must consist in this only, that he performed the
same action from a sense of his own wrong, and to preserve the idol
of his soul from violation, and death, which he might have performed
laudably, upon better principles. But this (say they) seems not
sufficient ground for those strong and stinging reproaches he casts
upon himself, nor for Eudocia's rejecting him with so much severity.
It would have been a better ground of distress, considering the
frailty of human nature, and the violent temptations he lay under; if
he had been at last prevailed upon to profess himself a Mahometan: For
then his remorse, and self-condemnation, would have been natural, his
punishment just, and the character of Eudocia placed in a more amiable
light. In answer to these objections, and in order to do justice to
the judgment of Mr. Hughes, we must observe, that he formed his play
according to the plan here recommended: but, over-persuaded by some
friends, he altered it as it now stands.
When our author was but in the nineteenth year of his age, he wrote
a Tragedy, entitled, Amalasont Queen of the Goths, which displays
a fertile genius, and a masterly invention. Besides these poetical
productions Mr. Hughes is author of several works in prose,
particularly, The Advices from Parnassus, and the Poetical Touchstone
of Trajano Boccalini, translated by several hands, were printed
in folio 1706. This translation was revised and corrected, and the
preface to it was written by Mr. Hughes.
Fontenelle's Dialogues of the Dead, translated by our author; with two
original Dialogues, published in the year 1708. The greatest part of
this had lain by him for six years.
Fontenelle's Discourse concerning the ancients, and moderns, are
printed with his conversations with a Lady, on the Plurality of
Worlds, translated by Glanville.
The History of the Revolutions in Portugal, written in French, by
Monsieur L'Abbé de Vertot, was translated by Mr. Hughes.
The Translation of the Letters of Abelard and Heloise, was done by Mr.
Hughes; upon which Mr. Pope has built his beautiful Epistle of Heloise
to Abelard.
As Mr. Hughes was an occasional contributor to the Tatler, Spectator,
and Guardian, the reader perhaps may be curious to know more
particularly what share he had in those papers, which are so justly
admired in all places in the world, where taste and genius have
visited. As it is the highest honour to have had any concern in
works like these, so it would be most injurious to the memory of this
excellent genius, not to particularize his share in them.
In the Tatler he writ,
Vol. II. Numb. 64. A Letter signed Josiah Couplet.
Numb. 73. A Letter against Gamesters,
signed William Trusty.
Mr. Tickell alludes to this Letter, in a Copy of Verses addressed to
the Spectator, Vol. VII. No. 532.
From Felon Gamesters, the raw squire is free,
And Briton owes her rescued oaks to thee.
Numb. 113. The Inventory of a Beau.
In the Spectator.
Vol. I. Numb. 33. A Letter on the Art of improving
beauty.
Numb. 53. A Second Letter on the same
subject.
Numb. 66. Two Letters concerning fine
breeding.
Vol. II. Numb. 91. The History of Honoria, or
the Rival Mother.
Numb. 104. A Letter on Riding-Habits for
Ladies.
Numb. 141. Remarks on a Comedy, intitled
the Lancashire-Witches.
Vol. III. Numb. 210. On the immortality of the
Soul.
Numb. 220. A Letter concerning expedients
for Wit.
Numb. 230. All, except the last Letter.
Numb. 231. A Letter on the awe of appearing
before public assemblies.
Numb. 237. On Divine Providence.
Vol. IV. Numb. 252. A Letter on the Eloquence of
Tears, and fainting fits.
Numb. 302. The Character of Emilia.
Numb. 311. A Letter from the Father of
a great Fortune.
Vol. V. Numb. 57. A Picture of Virtue in Distress.
Vol. VII. Numb. 525. On Conjugal Love.
Numb. 537. On the Dignity of Human
Nature.
Numb. 541. Rules for Pronunciation and
Action, chiefly collected from Cicero.
Vol. VII. Numb. 554. On the Improvement of the Genius, illustrated
in the characters of Lord Bacon, Mr. Boyle, Sir Isaac Newton, and
Leonardo da Vinci.--We have not been able to learn, what papers in
the Guardian were written by him, besides Number 37, Vol. I. which
contains Remarks on the Tragedy of Othello.
In the year 1715 Mr. Hughes published a very accurate edition of the
works of our famous poet Edmund Spenser, in six volumes, 12mo. to
this edition are prefixed the Life of Spenser; an Essay on Allegorical
poetry; Remarks on the Fairy Queen; on the Shepherd's Calendar, and
other writings of Spenser; and a Glossary explaining the Old and
obsolete Words.
In 1718 he published a piece called Charon, or The Ferry-Boat, a
Vision. This, and Mr. Walsh's Æsculapius, or Hospital of Fools, are
perhaps two of the finest dialogues we have in English, as well as the
most lively imitations of Lucian.
Sir Richard Steele, in a paper called The Theatre, No. 15. has paid a
tribute to the memory of Mr. Hughes, with which as it illustrates his
amiable character, we shall conclude his life.
'I last night (says he) saw the Siege of Damascus, and had the
mortification to hear this evening that Mr. Hughes, the author of it,
departed this life within some few hours after his play was acted,
with universal applause. This melancholy circumstance recalled into
my thought a speech in the tragedy, which very much affected the
whole audience, and was attended to with the greatest, and most solemn
instance of approbation, and awful silence.' The incidents of the
play plunge a heroic character into the last extremity; and he is
admonished by a tyrant commander to expect no mercy, unless he changes
the Christian religion for the Mahometan. The words with which the
Turkish general makes his exit from his prisoner are,
Farewel, and think of death.
Upon which the captive breaks into the following soliloquy,
Farewel! and think of death!--was it not so?
Do murtherers then, preach morality?
But how to think of what the living know not,
And the dead cannot, or else may not tell!
What art thou? O thou great mysterious terror!
The way to thee, we know; diseases, famine,
Sword, fire, and all thy ever open gates,
That day and night stand ready to receive us.
But what, beyond them? who will draw that veil?
Yet death's not there.----No, 'tis a point of time;
The verge 'twixt mortal, and immortal Being.
It mocks our thought----On this side all is life;
And when we've reach'd it, in that very instant,
'Tis past the thinking of----O if it be
The pangs, the throes, the agonizing struggle,
When soul and body part, sure I have felt it!
And there's no more to fear.
'The gentleman (continues Sir Richard) to whose memory I devote this
paper, may be the emulation of more persons of different talents,
than any one I have ever known. His head, hand, or heart, was always
employed in something worthy imitation; his pencil, his bow (string)
or his pen, each of which he used in a masterly manner, were always
directed to raise, and entertain his own mind, or that of others, to a
more chearful prosecution of what is noble and virtuous. Peace be with
thy remains, thou amiable spirit! but I talk in the language of our
weakness, that is flown to the regions of immortality, and relieved
from the aking engine and painful instrument of anguish and sorrow,
in which for many tedious years he panted with a lively hope for his
present condition.' We shall consign the trunk, in which he was so
long imprisoned, to common earth, with all that is due to the merit of
its inhabitant[A].
[Footnote A: There are several copies of verses written to the memory
of Mr. Hughes, prefixed to Mr. Duncomb's edition of his poems, of
which one by a lady who has withheld her name, deserves particular
distinction.]
* * * * *
MATTHEW PRIOR, Esq;
This celebrated poet was the son of Mr. George Prior, citizen of
London, who was by profession a Joiner. Our author was born in 1664.
His father dying when he was very young, left him to the care of an
uncle, a Vintner near Charing-Cross, who discharged the trust that was
reposed in him, with a tenderness truly paternal, as Mr. Prior always
acknowledged with the highest professions of gratitude. He received
part of his education at Westminster school, where he distinguished
himself to great advantage, but was afterwards taken home by his
uncle in order to be bred up to his trade. Notwithstanding this mean
employment, to which Mr. Prior seemed now doomed, yet at his leisure
hours he prosecuted his study of the classics, and especially his
favourite Horace, by which means he was soon taken notice of, by the
polite company, who resorted to his uncle's house. It happened one
day, that the earl of Dorset being at his Tavern, which he often
frequented with several gentlemen of rank, the discourse turned upon
the Odes of Horace; and the company being divided in their sentiments
about a passage in that poet, one of the gentlemen said, I find we are
not like to agree in our criticisms, but, if I am not mistaken, there
is a young fellow in the house, who is able to set us all right: upon
which he named Prior, who was immediately sent for, and desired to
give his opinion of Horace's meaning in the Ode under consideration;
this he did with great modesty, and so much to the satisfaction of
the company, that the earl of Dorset, from that moment, determined to
remove him from the station in which he was, to one more suited to his
genius; and accordingly procured him to be sent to St. John's College
in Cambridge, where he took his degree in 1686, and afterwards became
fellow of the College.
During his residence in the university, he contracted an intimate
friendship with Charles Montague, esq; afterwards earl of Hallifax,
in conjunction with whom he wrote a very humorous piece, entitled The
Hind and Panther transversed to the story of the Country Mouse, and
the City Mouse, printed 1687 in 4to. in answer to Mr. Dryden's Hind
and the Panther, published the year before.
Upon the revolution Mr. Prior was brought to court by his great patron
the earl of Dorset, by whose interest he was introduced to public
employment, and in the year 1690 was made secretary to the earl
of Berkley, plenipotentiary to King William and Queen Mary at the
Congress at the Hague.
In this station he acquitted himself so well, that he was afterwards
appointed secretary to the earls of Pembroke, and Jersey, and Sir
Joseph Williamson, ambassadors, and plenipotentiaries, at the treaty
of Ryswick 1697, as he was likewise in 1698 to the earl of Portland,
ambassador to the court of France. While he was in that kingdom, one
of the officers of the French King's houshold, shewing him the royal
apartments, and curiosities at Versailles, especially the paintings of
Le Brun, wherein the victories of Lewis XIV. are described, asked him,
whether King William's actions are to be seen in his palace? 'No Sir,
replied Mr. Prior, the monuments of my master's actions are to be seen
every where, but in his own house.'
In the year 1697 Mr. Prior was made secretary of state for Ireland,
and in 1700 was created master of arts by Mandamus, and appointed
one of the lords commissioners of trade and plantations, upon the
resignation of Mr. Locke. He was also Member of Parliament for
East-Grimstead in Sussex. In 1710 he was supposed to have had a share
in writing the Examiner, and particularly a Criticism in it upon a
Poem of Dr. Garth to the earl of Godolphin, taken notice of in the
life of Garth.
About this time, when Godolphin was defeated by Oxford, and the Tories
who had long been eclipsed by the lustre of Marlborough, began again
to hold up their heads, Mr. Prior and Dr. Garth espoused opposite
interests; Mr. Prior wrote for, and Garth against the court. The Dr.
was so far honest, that he did not desert his patron in distress; and
notwithstanding the cloud which then hung upon the party, he addressed
verses to him, which, however they may fail in the poetry, bear strong
the marks of gratitude, and honour.
While Mr. Prior was thus very early initiated in public business, and
continued in the hurry of affairs for many years, it must appear not
a little surprizing, that he should find sufficient opportunities to
cultivate his poetical talents, to the amazing heights he raised them.
In his preface to his poems, he says, that poetry was only the product
of his leisure hours; that he had commonly business enough upon his
hands, and, as he modestly adds, was only a poet by accident; but we
must take the liberty of differing from him in the last particular,
for Mr. Prior seems to have received from the muses, at his nativity,
all the graces they could well bestow on their greatest favourite.
We must not omit one instance in Mr. Prior's conduct, which will
appear very remarkable: he was chosen a member of that Parliament
which impeached the Partition Treaty, to which he himself had been
secretary; and though his share in that transaction was consequently
very considerable, yet he joined in the impeachment upon an honest
principle of conviction, that exceptionable measures attended it.
The lord Bolingbroke, who, notwithstanding many exceptions made both
to his conduct, and sentiments in other instances, yet must be allowed
to be an accomplished judge of fine talents, entertained the highest
esteem for Mr. Prior, on account of his shining abilities. This noble
lord, in a letter dated September 10, 1712, addressed to Mr. Prior,
while he was the Queen's minister, and plenipotentiary at the court of
France, pays him the following compliment; 'For God's sake, Matt. hide
the nakedness of thy country, and give the best turn thy fertile brain
will furnish thee with, to the blunders of thy countrymen, who are not
much better politicians, than the French are poets.' His lordship thus
concludes his epistle; 'It is near three o'clock in the morning, I
have been hard at work all day, and am not yet enough recovered to
bear much fatigue; excuse therefore the confusedness of this scroll,
which is only from Harry to Matt, and not from the secretary to the
minister. Adieu, my pen is ready to drop out of my hand, it being now
three o'clock in the morning; believe that no man loves you better, or
is more faithfully yours, &c.
'BOLINGBROKE.'
There are several other letters from Bolingbroke to Prior, which, were
it necessary, we might insert as evidences of his esteem for him; but
Mr. Prior was in every respect so great a man, that the esteem even of
lord Bolingbroke cannot add much to the lustre of his reputation,
both as a statesman, and a poet. Mr. Prior is represented by those who
knew, and have wrote concerning him, as a gentleman, who united the
elegance and politeness of a court, with the scholar, and the man of
genius. This representation, in general, may be just, yet it holds
almost invariably true, that they who have risen from low life, still
retain some traces of their original. No cultivation, no genius, it
seems, is able entirely to surmount this: There was one particular in
which Mr. Prior verified the old proverb.
The same woman who could charm the waiter in a tavern, still
maintained her dominion over the embassador at France. The Chloe of
Prior, it seems, was a woman in this station of life; but he never
forsook her in the heighth of his reputation. Hence we may observe,
that associations with women are the most lasting of all, and
that when an eminent station raises a man above many other acts of
condescension, a mistress will maintain her influence, charm away the
pride of greatness, and make the hero who fights, and the patriot
who speaks, for the liberty of his country, a slave to her. One would
imagine however, that this woman, who was a Butcher's wife, must
either have been very handsome, or have had something about her
superior to people of her rank: but it seems the case was otherwise,
and no better reason can be given for Mr. Prior's attachment to her,
but that she was his taste. Her husband suffered their intrigue to go
on unmolested; for he was proud even of such a connexion as this, with
so great a man as Prior; a singular instance of good nature.
In the year 1715 Mr. Prior was recalled from France, and upon his
arrival was taken up by a warrant from the House of Commons; shortly
after which, he underwent a very strict examination by a Committee of
the Privy Council. His political friend, lord Bolingbroke, foreseeing
a storm, took shelter in France, and secured Harry, but left poor
Matt. in the lurch.
On the 10th of June Robert Walpole, esq; moved the House against
him, and on the 17th Mr. Prior was ordered into close custody, and no
person was admitted to see him without leave from the Speaker. For
the particulars of this procedure of the Parliament, both against Mr.
Prior, and many others concerned in the public transactions of the
preceding reign, we refer to the histories of that time. In the year
1717 an Act of Grace was passed in favour of those who had opposed
the Hanoverian succession, as well as those who had been in open
rebellion, but Mr. Prior was excepted out of it. At the close of this
year, however, he was discharged from his confinement, and retired to
spend the residue of his days at Downhall in Essex.
The severe usage which Mr. Prior met with, perhaps was the occasion of
the following beautiful lines, addressed to his Chloe;
From public noise, and factious strife,
From all the busy ills of life,
Take me, my Chloe, to thy breast;
And lull my wearied soul to rest:
For ever, in this humble cell,
Let thee and I, my fair one, dwell;
None enter else, but Love----and he
Shall bar the door, and keep the key.
To painted roofs, and shining spires
(Uneasy feats of high desires)
Let the unthinking many croud,
That dare be covetous, and proud;
In golden bondage let them wait,
And barter happiness for state:
But oh! my Chloe when thy swain
Desires to see a court again;
May Heav'n around his destin'd head
The choicest of his curses shed,
To sum up all the rage of fate.
In the two things I dread, and hate,
May'st thou be false, and I be great.
In July 1721, within two months of his death, Mr. Prior published the
following beautiful little tale on the falshood of mankind, entitled
The Conversation, and applied it to the truth, honour, and justice of
his grace the duke of Dorset.
The CONVERSATION. A Tale.
It always has been thought discreet
To know the company you meet;
And sure, there may be secret danger
In talking much before a stranger.
Agreed: what then? then drink your ale;
I'll pledge you, and repeat my tale.
No matter where the scene is fix'd,
The persons were but odly mix'd,
When sober Damon thus began:
(And Damon is a clever man)
I now grow old; but still from youth,
Have held for modesty and truth,
The men, who by these sea-marks steer,
In life's great voyage, never err;
Upon this point I dare defy
The world; I pause for a reply.
Sir, either is a good assistant,
Said one, who sat a little distant:
Truth decks our speeches, and our books,
And modesty adorns our looks:
But farther progress we must take;
Not only born to look and speak,
The man must act. The Stagyrite
Says thus, and says extremely right;
Strict justice is the sovereign guide,
That o'er our actions should preside;
This queen of virtue is confess'd
To regulate and bind the rest.
Thrice happy, if you can but find
Her equal balance poise your mind:
All diff'rent graces soon will enter,
Like lines concurrent to their center.
'Twas thus, in short, these two went on,
With yea and nay, and pro and con,
Thro' many points divinely dark,
And Waterland assaulting Clarke;
'Till, in theology half lost,
Damon took up the Evening-Post;
Confounded Spain, compos'd the North,
And deep in politics held forth.
Methinks, we're in the like condition,
As at the treaty of partition;
That stroke, for all King William's care,
Begat another tedious war.
Matthew, who knew the whole intrigue,
Ne'er much approv'd that mystic league;
In the vile Utrecht treaty too,
Poor man! he found enough to do.
Sometimes to me he did apply;
But downright Dunstable was I,
And told him where they were mistaken,
And counsell'd him to save his bacon:
But (pass his politics and prose)
I never herded with his foes;
Nay, in his verses, as a friend,
I still found something to commend.
Sir, I excus'd his Nut-brown maid;
Whate'er severer critics said:
Too far, I own, the girl was try'd:
The women all were on my side.
For Alma I return'd him thanks,
I lik'd her with her little pranks;
Indeed, poor Solomon, in rhime,
Was much too grave to be sublime.
Pindar and Damon scorn transition,
So on he ran a new division;
'Till, out of breath, he turn'd to spit:
(Chance often helps us more than wit)
T'other that lucky moment took,
Just nick'd the time, broke in, and spoke.
Of all the gifts the gods afford
(If we may take old Tully's word)
The greatest is a friend, whose love
Knows how to praise, and when reprove;
From such a treasure never part,
But hang the jewel on your heart:
And pray, sir (it delights me) tell;
You know this author mighty well--
Know him! d'ye question it? ods fish!
Sir, does a beggar know his dish?
I lov'd him, as I told you, I
Advis'd him--here a stander-by
Twitch'd Damon gently by the cloke,
And thus unwilling silence broke:
Damon, 'tis time we should retire,
The man you talk with is Matt. Prior.
Patron, thro' life, and from thy birth my friend,
Dorset, to thee this fable let me send:
With Damon's lightness weigh thy solid worth;
The foil is known to set the diamond forth:
Let the feign'd tale this real moral give,
How many Damons, how few Dorsets live!
Mr. Prior, after the fatigue of a length of years past in various
services of action, was desirous of spending the remainder of his days
in rural tranquility, which the greatest men of all ages have been
fond of enjoying: he was so happy as to succeed in his wish, living a
very retired, and contemplative life, at Downhall in Essex, and found,
as he expressed himself, a more solid, and innocent satisfaction among
woods, and meadows, than he had enjoyed in the hurry, and tumults
of the world, the courts of Princes, or the conducting foreign
negotiations; and where as he melodiously sings,
The remnant of his days he safely past,
Nor found they lagg'd too slow, nor flew too fast;
He made his wish with his estate comply,
Joyful to live, yet not afraid to die.
This great man died on the 18th of September, 1721, at Wimple in
Cambridgshire, the seat of the earl of Oxford, with whose friendship
he had been honoured for some years. The death of so distinguished a
person was justly esteemed an irreparable loss to the polite world,
and his memory will be ever dear to those, who have any relish for the
muses in their softer charms. Some of the latter part of his life was
employed in collecting materials for an History of the Transactions of
his own Times, but his death unfortunately deprived the world of what
the touches of so masterly a hand, would have made exceeding valuable.
Mr. Prior, by the suffrage of all men of taste, holds the first rank
in poetry, for the delicacy of his numbers, the wittiness of his
turns, the acuteness of his remarks, and, in one performance, for the
amazing force of his sentiments. The stile of our author is likewise
so pure, that our language knows no higher authority, and there is an
air of original in his minutest performances.
It would be superfluous to give any detail of his poems, they are in
the hands of all who love poetry, and have been as often admired, as
read. The performance however, for which he is most distinguished, is
his Solomon; a Poem in three Books, the first on Knowledge, the second
on Pleasure, and the third on Power. We know few poems to which this
is second, and it justly established his reputation as one of the best
writers of his age.
This sublime work begins thus,
Ye sons of men, with just regard attend,
Observe the preacher, and believe the friend,
Whose serious muse inspires him to explain,
That all we act, and all we think is vain:
That in this pilgrimage of seventy years,
O'er rocks of perils, and thro' vales of tears
Destin'd to march, our doubtful steps we tend,
Tir'd of the toil, yet fearful of its end:
That from the womb, we take our fatal shares,
Of follies, fashions, labours, tumults, cares;
And at approach of death shall only know,
The truths which from these pensive numbers flow,
That we pursue false joy, and suffer real woe.
After an enquiry into, and an excellent description of the various
operations, and effects of nature, the system of the heavens, &c. and
not being fully informed of them, the first Book concludes,
How narrow limits were to wisdom given?
Earth she surveys; she thence would measure Heav'n:
Thro' mists obscure, now wings her tedious way;
Now wanders dazl'd, with too bright a day;
And from the summit of a pathless coast
Sees infinite, and in that sight is lost.
In the second Book the uncertainty, disappointment, and vexation
attending pleasure in general, are admirably described; and in the
character of Solomon is sufficiently shewn, that nothing debases
majesty, or indeed any man, more than ungovernable passion.
When thus the gath'ring storms of wretched love
In my swoln bosom, with long war had strove;
At length they broke their bounds; at length their force
Bore down whatever met its stronger course:
Laid all the civil bounds of manhood waste.
And scatter'd ruin, as the torrent past.
The third Book treats particularly of the trouble and instability
of greatness and power, considers man through the several stages and
conditions of life, and has excellent reasoning upon life and death.
On the last are these lines;
Cure of the miser's wish, and cowards fear,
Death only shews us, what we knew was near.
With courage therefore view the 'pointed hour;
Dread not death's anger, but expect its power;
Nor nature's laws, with fruitless sorrow mourn;
But die, O mortal man! for thou wast born.
The poet has likewise these similies on life;
As smoke that rises from the kindling fires
Is seen this moment, and the next expires:
As empty clouds by rising winds are tost,
Their fleeting forms no sooner found than lost:
So vanishes our state; so pass our days;
So life but opens now, and now decays;
The cradle, and the tomb, alas! so nigh;
To live is scarce distinguished from to die.
We shall conclude this account of Mr. Prior's life with the following
copy of verses, written on his Death by Robert Ingram, esq; which is a
very successful imitation of Mr. Prior's manner.
1.
Mat. Prior!--(and we must submit)
Is at his journey's end;
In whom the world has lost a wit,
And I, what's more, a friend.
2.
Who vainly hopes long here to stay,
May see with weeping eyes;
Not only nature posts away,
But e'en good nature dies!
3.
Should grave ones count these praises light,
To such it may be said:
A man, in this lamented wight,
Of business too is dead.
4.
From ancestors, as might a fool!
He trac'd no high-fetch'd stem;
But gloriously revers'd the rule,
By dignifying them.
5.
O! gentle Cambridge! sadly say,
Why fates are so unkind
To snatch thy giant sons away,
Whilst pigmies stay behind?
6.
Horace and he were call'd, in haste,
From this vile earth to heav'n;
The cruel year not fully past,
Ætatis, fifty seven.
7.
So, on the tops of Lebanon,
Tall cedars felt the sword,
To grace, by care of Solomon,
The temple of the Lord.
8.
A tomb amidst the learned may
The western abbey give!
Like theirs, his ashes must decay,
Like theirs, his fame shall live.
9.
Close, carver, by some well cut books,
Let a thin busto tell,
In spite of plump and pamper'd looks,
How scantly sense can dwell!
10.
No epitaph of tedious length
Should overcharge the stone;
Since loftiest verse would lose its strength,
In mentioning his own.
11.
At once! and not verbosely tame,
Some brave Laconic pen
Should smartly touch his ample name,
In form of--O rare Ben!
* * * * *
Mrs. SUSANNA CENTLIVRE,
This lady was daughter of one Mr. Freeman, of Holbeack in
Lincolnshire. There was formerly an estate in the family of her
father, but being a Dissenter, and a zealous parliamentarian, he was
so very much persecuted at the restoration, that he was laid under a
necessity to fly into Ireland, and his estate was confiscated; nor was
the family of our authoress's mother free from the severity of those
times, they being likewise parliamentarians. Her education was in the
country, and her father dying when she was but three years of age,
and her mother not living 'till she was twelve, the improvements our
poetess made were merely by her own industry and application. She was
married before the age of fifteen, to a nephew of Sir Stephen Fox.
This gentleman living with her but a year, she afterwards married Mr.
Carrol, an officer in the army, and survived him likewise in the space
of a year and a half. She afterwards married Mr. Joseph Centlivre,
yeoman of the mouth to his late Majesty. She gave early discoveries of
a genius for poetry, and Mr. Jacob in his Lives of the Poets tells us,
that she composed a song before she was seven years old. She is
the author of fifteen plays; her talent is comedy, particularly the
contrivance of the plots, and incidents. Sir Richard Steele, in one of
his Tatlers, speaking of the Busy Body, thus recommends it. 'The plot,
and incidents of the play, are laid with that subtilty, and spirit,
which is peculiar to females of wit, and is very seldom well performed
by those of the other sex, in whom craft in love is an act of
invention, and not as with women, the effect of nature, and instinct'.
She died December 1, 1723; the author of the Political State thus
characterizes her. 'Mrs. Centlivre, from a mean parentage and
education, after several gay adventures (over which we shall draw
a veil) she had, at last, so well improved her natural genius by
reading, and good conversation, as to attempt to write for the stage,
in which sh had as good success as any of her sex before her. Her
first dramatic performance was a Tragi-Comedy, called The Perjured
Husband, but the plays which gained her most reputation were, two
Comedies, the Gamester, and the Busy Body. She wrote also several
copies of verses on divers subjects, and occasions, and many ingenious
letters, entitled Letters of Wit, Politics, and Morality, which I
collected, and published about 21 years ago[A].'
Her dramatic works are,
1. The Perjured Husband, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal 1702,
dedicated to the late Duke of Bedford. Scene Venice.
2. The Beau's Duel, or a Soldier for the Ladies, a Comedy; acted at
the Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, 1703; a Criticism was written
upon this play in the Post-Angel for August. 3. The Stolen Heiress, or
The Salamancha Doctor Out-plotted; a Comedy; acted at the Theatre in
Lincolns-Inn-Fields 1704. The scene Palermo.
4. The Gamester, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre in Lincolns-Inn-Fields
1704, dedicated to George Earl of Huntingdon. This play is an improved
translation of one of the same title in French. The prologue was
written by Mr. Rowe.
5. The Basset Table, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal in
Drury-Lane, dedicated to Arthur Lord Altham, 4to. 1706.
6. Love's Contrivance, or Le Medicin Malgre lui; a Comedy; acted
at Drury-Lane 1705, dedicated to the Earl of Dorset. This is a
translation from Moliere.
7. Love at a Venture, a Comedy; acted at Bath, 4to. 1706, dedicated to
the Duke of Beaufort.
8. The Busy Body, acted at the Theatre-Royal 1708, dedicated to Lord
Somers. This play was acted with very great applause.
9. Marplot, or the Second Part of the Busy Body; acted at the
Theatre-Royal 1709, dedicated to the Earl of Portland.
10. The Perplex'd Lovers, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal 1710,
dedicated to Sir Henry Furnace.
11. The Platonic Lady, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal 1711. 12.
The Man's Bewitch'd, or The Devil to do about Her; a Comedy; acted
at the Theatre in the Haymarket 1712, dedicated to the Duke of
Devonshire.
13. The Wonder, a Woman keeps a Secret, a Comedy; acted at the
Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. This play was acted with success.
14. The Cruel Gift, or The Royal Resentment; a Tragedy; acted at the
Theatre-Royal 1716, for the story of this play consult Sigismonda and
Guiscarda, a Novel of Boccace.
15. A Bold Stroke for a Wife, a Comedy; acted at the Theatre in
Lincoln's-Inn-Fields 1717, dedicated to the Duke of Wharton. Besides
these plays Mrs. Centlivre has written three Farces; Bickerstaff's
Burying, or Work for the Upholders. The Gotham Election. A Wife well
Managed.
[Footnote A: See Bayer's Political State, vol. xxvi. p.670.]
* * * * *
Dr. NICHOLAS BRADY,
This revd. gentleman was son of Nicholas Brady, an officer in the
King's army, in the rebellion 1641, being lineally descended from Hugh
Brady, the first Protestant bishop of Mieath[A]. He was born at Bandon
in the county of Cork, on the 28th of October 1659, and educated
in that county till he was 12 years of age, when he was removed
to Westminster school, and from thence elected student of Christ's
Church, Oxford. After continuing there about four years, he went to
Dublin, where his father resided, at which university he immediately
commenced bachelor of arts. When he was of due standing, his Diploma
for the degree of doctor of divinity was, on account of his uncommon
merit, presented to him from that university, while he was in
England, and brought over by Dr. Pratt, then senior travelling-fellow,
afterwards provost of that college. His first ecclesiastical
preferment was to a prebend, in the Cathedral of St. Barry's in the
city of Cork, to which he was collared by bishop Wettenhal, to whom
he was domestic chaplain. He was a zealous promoter of the revolution,
and suffered for it in consequence of his zeal. In 1690, when the
troubles broke out in Ireland, by his interest with King James's
general, Mac Carty, he thrice prevented the burning of Bandon town,
after three several orders given by that Prince to destroy it. The
same year, having been deputed by the people of Bandon, he went
over to England to petition the Parliament, for a redress of some
grievances they had suffered, while King James was in Ireland. During
his stay here, and to the time of his death, he was in the highest
esteem among all ranks of persons in this kingdom, for his eminent
attachment to the true interest of his country. Having quitted
his preferments in Ireland, he settled in London, where he, being
celebrated for his abilities in the pulpit, was elected minister of
St. Catherine-Cree Church, and lecturer of St. Michael's Woodstreet.
He afterwards became minister of Richmond in Surry, and Stratford upon
Avon in Warwickshire, and at length, rector of Clapham in the county
above-mentioned; which last, together with Richmond, he held to the
time of his death. He was also chaplain to the duke of Ormond's troop
of Horse-guards, as he was to their Majesties King William, and Queen
Anne. He died on the 20th of May 1726, in the 67th year of his age,
leaving behind him the reputation of a good man; he was of a most
obliging, sweet, affable temper, a polite gentleman, an excellent
preacher, and no inconsiderable poet.
His compositions in poetry are chiefly these,
1. A New Version of the Psalms of David, performed by him, in
conjunction with Mr. Tate, soon after he settled in London; now sung
in most churches of England, and Ireland, instead of that obsolete
and ridiculous Version made by Sternhold, and Hopkins, in the reign of
King Edward VI. As the 104th Psalm is esteemed one of the most sublime
in the whole book, we shall present the reader with the two first
Parts of his Version of that Psalm as a specimen. There have not been
less than forty different Versions, and Paraphrases of this Psalm, by
poets of very considerable eminence, who seem to have vied with one
another for the superiority. Of all these attempts, if we may trust
our own judgment, none have succeeded so happily as Mr. Blackclock, a
young gentleman now resident at Dumfries in Scotland. This Paraphrase
is the more extraordinary, as the author of it has been blind from
his cradle, and now labours under that calamity; it carries in it such
elevated strains of poetry, such picturesque descriptions, and such a
mellifluent flow of numbers, that we are persuaded, the reader cannot
be displeased at finding it inserted here.
Dr. Brady also translated the Æneid of Virgil, which were published
by subscription in four volumes octavo, the last of which came out in
1726, a little before the author's death.
He also published in his life-time three Volumes of Sermons in 8vo.
each consisting of 14, all printed in London; the first in 1704, the
second in 1706, and the third in 1713. After the Dr's. death, his
eldest son, who is now a clergyman, published three other Volumes of
his father's Sermons, each also consisting of 14, printed in London
1730, 8vo. Amongst his sermons there is one preached on St. Cecilia's
day, in vindication of Church-music, first printed in 1697, in 4to.