traordinary fuccefs. This comedy, with fome more of our author's, was fmartly criticifed by the ingenious Mr. Collier, as containing leffons of immorality, and a reprefentation of loofe characters, which can never, in his opinion, appear on a stage without corrupting the audience.

Meffrs, Congreve, Dennis, and Dryden, engaged in a vigorous defence of the English ftage, and endeavoured to fhew the neceflity of fuch characters being introduced in order to be expofed, and laughed at. To all their defences Mr. Collier replied, and managed the point with fo much learning, wit, and keennefs, that in the opinion of many, he had the better of his antagonists, efpecially Mr. Congreve, whofe comedies it must be owned,. though they are admirably written, and the characters ftrongly marked, are fo loofe, that they have given great offence: and furely we pay too dear for pleasure, when we have it at the expence of morality.

The fame year he diftinguifhed himself in ano. ther kind of poetry, viz. an irregular Ode on the taking Namure, which the critics have allowed to contain fine fentiments, gracefully expreffed. His reputation as a comic poet being fufficiently eftablished, he was defirous of extending his fame, by producing a tragedy. It has been alledged, that fome, who were jealous of his growing reputation, put him upon this task, in order, as they imagined, to diminith it, for he feemed to be of too gay and lively a difpofition for tragedy, and in all likelihood would mifcarry in the attempt. However,

In 1697, after the expectation of the town had been much raifed, the Mourning Bride appeared on the New Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields: few plays ever excited fo great an ardour of expecta-. tion as this, and very few ever fucceeded to fuch an extravagant degree. There is fomething new in the management of the plot; after moving the

paffions

paffions of the audience to the greatest commiferation, he brings off his principal characters, punifhes the guilty, and makes the play conclude happily.

we

The contro have juft now mentioned,

was thought to

occafioned a diflike in Mr. Congreve towards the ftage; yet he afterwards produced another comedy called The Way of the World, which was fo juft a picture of the world, that, as an author prettily fays,

་

The world could not bear it.

The reception this play met with, compleated our author's difguft to the theatre; upon which Mr. Dennis, who was a warm friend to Congreve, made this fine obfervation, that Mr. Congreve quitted the ftage early, and that comedy left it with him."

him.

It is faid that when Congreve found his play met with but indifferent fuccefs, he came in a paffion on the ftage, and defired the audience to fave the themfelves the trouble of fhewing their diflike; for he never intended to write again for the Theatre, nor fubmit his works to the cenfure of impotent critics. In this particular he kept his word with them, and as if he had forefeen the fate of his play, he took an ample revenge, in his Epilogue, of the race of Little Snarlers, who excited by envy, and fupported by falfe ideas of their own importance, dared to conftitute themfelves judges of wit, without any juft pretenfions to it. This play has long ago triumphed over its enemies, and is now in great efteem amongst the best judges of Theatrical Enter

tainments.

Though Mr. Congreve quitted the ftage, yet did not he give up the caufe of poetry; for on the death of the marquis of Blandford, the only fon of the duke of Marlborough, which happened in

1705, we find him compofing a paftoral to foften the grief of that illuftrious family, which he addreffed to the lord treasurer Godolphin.

About the fame time, the extraordinary fuccefs of the duke of Marlborough's arms, furnished him with materials for an Ode to Queen Anne. In another Pindaric Ode he celebrates the lord Godolphin; taking occafion from that nobleman's delight in horfe-racing to imitate the Greek Poet in his favourite manner of writing, by an elegant digreffion; to which he added a criticism on that fpecies of poetry.

As in the early part of his life, Mr. Congreve had received favours from people of a lefs exalted ftation, fo of thefe he was highly fenfible, and never let flip any opportunity of fhewing his gratitude. He wrote an Epilogue to his old friend Southern's Tragedy of Oroonoko; and Mr. Dryden has acknowledged his affiftance in the tranflation of Virgil: He contributed by his Version of the eleventh Satire of Juvenal, to the tranflation of that poet, published alfo by Mr. Dryden, to whom Mr. Congreve wrote a copy of Verfes on his Tranflation of Perfius. He wrote likewife a Prologue for a Play of Mr. Charles Dryden's, full of kindness for that young gentleman, and of refpect for his father.

But the nobleft teftimony he gave of his filial regard to the memory of his poetical father, Mr. John Dryden, was the Panegyric he wrote upon his works, contained in the dedication of Dryden's plays to the duke of Newcastle.

Mr. Congreve tranflated the third Book of Ovid's Art of Love; fome favourite paffages from the Iliad, and writ fome Epigrams, in all which he was not afuccefsful, though at the fame time he has been exseeded by his cotemporaries in the fame attempts. The author of the elegant Letters, not long ago ablished under the name of Fitz Osborne, has taken fome pains to fet before his readers the ver

fion of thofe parts of Homer, tranflated by our author, and the fame paffages by Pope and Tickell, in which comparison the palm is very deservedly yielded to Pope.

Our author wrote a Satire called Doris, celebrated by Sir Richard Steele, who was a warm friend to Mr. Congreve. He alfo wrote the Judgment of Paris, a Mafque; and the Opera of Semele; of thefe, the former was acted with great applaufe, and the latter is finely fet to mufic by Mr. Eccles. 'The laft of his Poetical Works, is his Art of Pleafing, addreffed to Sir Richard Temple, the late viscount Cobham. He has written many Profe Epiftles, dif. perfed in the works of other writers, and his Effay on Humour in Comedy, published in a Collection of Dennis's Letters, is an entertaining, and correct piece of criticism: All his other Letters are written with a great deal of wit and fpirit, a fine flow of language; and are fo happily intermixt with a lively and inoffenfive raillery, that it is impoffible not to be pleased with them at the firft reading we may be fatisfied from the perufal of them, that his converfation must have been very engaging, and therefore we need not wonder that he was careffed by the greatest men of his time, or that they courted his friendship by every act of kindness in their power.

It is faid of Mr. Congreve, that he was a particular favourite with the ladies, fome of whom were of the first diftinction. He indulged none of thofe reveries, and affected abfences to peculiar to men of wit: He was sprightly as well as elegant in his manner, and fo much the favourite of Henrietta duchefs of Marlborough, that even after his death, fhe caufed an image of him to be every day placed at her toilet-table, to which he would talk as to the living Mr. Congreve, with all the freedom of the most polite and unreferved converfation.

Mrs.

Mrs. Bracegirdle likewife had the highest veneration for our author, and joined with her Grace in a boundless profufion of forrow upon his death. Some think, he had made a better figure in his Laft Will, had he remembered his friendship he profeffed for Mrs. Bracegirdle, whofe admirable performance added fpirit to his dramatic pieces; but he forgot her, and gratified his vanity by chufing to make a rich duchess his fole legatee,

and executrix.

Mr. Congreve was the fon of fortune, as well as of the mufes. He was early preferred to an affluent fituation, and no change of miniftry ever affected him, nor was he ever removed from any poft he enjoyed, except to a better.

His place in the custom-house, and his office of fecretary in Jamaica, are faid to have brought him in upwards of 1200 l. a year; and he was fo far an economist, as to raife from thence a competent eftate. No man of his learning ever pafs'd thro' life with more eafe, or less envy; and as in the dawn of his reputation he was very dear to the greateft wits of his time, fo during his whole life he preferved the utmost respect of, and received continual marks of efteem from, men of genius and letters, without ever being involved in any of their quarrels, or drawing upon himself the leaft mark of diftaste, or, even diffatisfaction. The greatest part of the last twenty years of his life were fpent in eafe and retirement, and he gave himself no trouble about reputation. When the celebrated Voltaire was in England, he waited upon Congreve, and pafs'd fome compliments upon him, as to the putation and merit of his works; Congreve anked him, but at the fame time told that ingebus foreigner, he did not chufe to be confidered an author, but only as a private gentleman, and that light expected to be vifited.! Voltaire answered,