all laws; he is exempt from all restraints; he ranges the world at will, and governs wherever he appears. He fights without en-. quiring the caufe, and loves in fpight of the obligations of juftice, 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 sometimes defpifed, is often reverenced, and in which the ridiculous is mingled with the aftonishing. In the Epilogue to the fecond part of the Conqueft of Granada, Dryden indulges his favourite pleasure of difcrediting his predeceffors; and this Epilogue he has defended by a long postscript. 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 promise was never formally performed; but, with refpect 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 comparifon, he fhews 'faults diftin&tly, distinctly, 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 honest 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. 3 In the first Letter his obfervation is only general: "You do live," fays he, in as "much ignorance and darknefs as you did "in the womb: your writings are like a "Jack-of-all-trade's shop; they have a va"riety, but nothing of value; and if thou "art not the dullest plant-animal that ever the "earth produced, all that I have conversed "with are ftrangely mistaken in thee.' " In the fecond he tells him that Almanzor is not more copied from Achilles than from Ancient Piftol. "But I am," fays he, strangely mistaken if I have not seen this 66 very Almanzor of yours in fome disguise ❝ about this town, and paffing under another 66 name. Pr'ythee tell me true, was not "this Huffcap once the Indian Emperor? "and at another time did he not call him"felf Maximin? Was not Lyndaraxa 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, diftinguish one "from the other. You are therefore a "ftrange unconfcionable 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 reprifals upon his enemy. fay that his answer is equal to the cenfure, is no high commendation. To expose Dryden's method of analyfing his expreffions, Το he 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 ftudied mifconftruction every thing may be equally reprefented as ridiculous. After fo much of Dryden's elegant animadverfions, justice requires that fomething of Settle's fhould 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 bom"baft and noife, he fhall make me believe 66 every word in his obfervations on Morocco " fenfe. "In the Empress of Morocco were these << lines: "I'll travel then to fome remoter sphere, there. On On which Dryden made this remark: "I believe our learned author takes a. "fphere for a country; the fphere of Mo"rocco, as if Morocco were the globe of "earth and water; but a globe is no sphere "neither, by his leave," &c." So Sphere "muft not be fenfe, unless it relate to a cir"cular motion about a globe, in which "fenfe the aftronomers ufe it. I would de"fire him to expound those lines in Gra"nada: "I'll to the turrets of the palace go, "And add new fire to thofe that fight below. "Thence, Hero-like, with torches by my fide, (Far be the omen tho') my Love I'll guide. No, like his better fortune I'll appear, "With open arms, loose 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 writings. Fortune is fancied ftanding on a globe, not on a Sphere, as he told us in the first act. " "Because |