vation. His writings exhibit many paffages, which, with all the allowance that can be made for characters and occafions, are fuch as piety would not have admitted, and fuch as may vitiate light and unprincipled minds. But there is no reafon for fuppofing that he difbelieved the religion which he disobeyed. He forgot his duty rather than difowned it. His tendency to profaneness is the effect of levity, negligence, and loose conversation, with a defire of accommodating himself to the corruption of the times, by venturing to be wicked as far as he durft. When he profeffed himself a convert to Popery, he did not pretend to have received any new conviction of the fundamental doctrines of Chriftianity.

The perfecution of criticks was not the worst of his vexations; he was much more difturbed by the importunities of want. His complaints of poverty are fo frequently repeated, either with the dejection of weakness finking in helplefs mifery, or the indignation of merit claiming its tribute from mankind, that it is impoffible not to deteft the age which could impofe on fuch a man the neceffity of fuch folicitations, or not to defpife the man who could fubmit to fuch folicitations without neceffity.

Whether by the world's neglect, or his own imprudence, I am afraid that the greatest part of his life was paffed in exigencies. Such outcries were furely never uttered but in fevere pain. Of his fupplies or his expences no probable estimate can now be made. Except the falary of the Laureate, to which king James added the office of Hiftoriographer, perhaps with fome additional emoluments, his whole

revenue

revenue feems to have been cafual; and it is well known that he feldom lives frugally who lives by chance. Hope is always liberal, and they that trust her promises make little scruple of revelling to-day on the profits of the

morrow.

Of his plays the profit was not great, and of the produce of his other works very little intelligence can be had. By difcourfing with the late amiable Mr. Tonfon, I could not find that any memorials of the tranfactions between his predeceffor and Dryden had been preferved, except the following papers:

"I do hereby promise to pay John Dryden, Efq; or order, on the 25th of March 1699, "the fum of two hundred and fifty guineas, "in confideration of ten thousand verses, "which the faid John Dryden, Efq; is to de"liver to me Jacob Tonfon, when finished, "whereof feven thousand five hundred verfes, "more or less, are already in the faid Jacob "Tonfon's poffeffion. And I do hereby far"ther promise, and engage myself, to make

up the said sum of two hundred and fifty guineas three hundred pounds fterling to "the faid John Dryden, Efq; his executors, administrators, or affigns, at the beginning "of the fecond impression of the said ten thou"fand verses.

"In witness whereof I have hereunto fet my hand and feal, this 20th day of March, 1698.

Jacob Tonfon.

"Sealed

"Sealed and delivered, being first stampt,
"pursuant to the acts of parliament for
"that purpose, in the presence of
"Ben. Portlock.

"Will. Congreve."

March 24th, 1698,

"Received then of Mr. Jacob Tonfon the "fum of two hundred fixty-eight pounds fif"teen fhillings, in pursuance of an agreement "for ten thoufand verfes, to be delivered by "me to the faid Jacob Tonfon, whereof I "have already delivered to him about seven "thousand five hundred, more or lefs; he "the faid Jacob Tonfon being obliged to "make up the forefaid fum of two hundred "fixty-eight pounds fifteen fhillings three "hundred pounds, at the beginning of the "fecond impreffion of the forefaid ten thou"fand verfes

;

I say, received by me

"Witness Charles Dryden."

Two hundred and fifty guineas, at 17. 1s. 6d. is 2681. 155.

It is manifeft from the date of this contract, that it relates to the volume of Fables, which contains about twelve thousand verfes, and for which therefore the payment must have been afterwards enlarged.

I have been told of another letter yet remaining, in which he defires Tonfon to bring him money, to pay for a watch which he had ordered for his fon, and which the maker would not leave without the price.

The inevitable confequence of poverty is dependence. Dryden had probably no re

2

courfe

courfe in his exigencies but to his bookfeller. The particular character of Tonson I do not know; but the general conduct of traders was much less liberal in thofe times than in our own; their views were narrower, and their manners groffer. To the mercantile ruggednefs of that race, the delicacy of the poet was fometimes expofed. Lord Bolingbroke, who in his youth had cultivated poetry, related to Dr. King of Oxford, that one day, when he vifited Dryden, they heard, as they were converfing, another perfon entering the house. "This, faid Dryden, is Tonfon. You will "take care not to depart before he goes away; "for I have not completed the sheet which I promised him; and if you leave me unpro"tected, I muft fuffer all the rudeness to "which his refentment can prompt his tongue."

What rewards he obtained for his poems, befides the payment of the bookfeller, cannot be known: Mr. Derrick, who confulted fome of his relations, was informed that his Fables obtained five hundred pounds from the dutchefs of Ormond; a prefent not unsuitable to the magnificence of that fplendid family; and he quotes Moyle, as relating that forty pounds were paid by a mufical fociety for the use of Alexander's Feaft.

In those days the economy of government was yet unfettled, and the payments of the Exchequer were dilatory and uncertain: of this disorder there is reafon to believe that the Laureat sometimes felt the effects; for in one of his prefaces he complains of those, who, being intrufted with the diftribution of the

Prince's

Prince's bounty, suffer those that depend upon it to languish in penury.

Of his petty habits or flight amusements, tradition has retained little. Of the only two men whom I have found to whom he was perfonally known, one told me that at the house which he frequented, called Will's Coffeehouse, the appeal upon any literary difpute was made to him; and the other related, that his armed chair, which in the winter had a fettled and prescriptive place by the fire, was in the fummer placed in the balcony, and that he called the two places his winter and his fummer feat. This is all the intelligence which his two furvivors afforded me.

Of one opinion he is very reasonably fufpected, which will do him no honour in the present age, though in his own time, at least in the beginning of it, he was far from having it confined to himself. There is little doubt that he put confidence in the prognostications of judicial aftrology. In the Appendix to the Life of Congreve is a narrative of fome of his predictions wonderfully fulfilled; but I know not the writer's means of information, or character of veracity; and, without authority, it is useless to mention what is fo unlikely to be true. That he had the configurations of the planets in his mind, and confidered them as influencing the affairs of men, he does not forbear to hint.

The utmost malice of the ftars is past.—
Now frequent trines the happier lights

among,

And high-rais'd Jove, from his dark prison

freed,