"defign (they both having, out of refpect to the fa

66

mily, enjoined the lady Elizabeth and her fon to "keep their favour concealed to the world, and let it "pafs for their own expence), readily came out of "the coaches, and attended lord Jefferies up to

the lady's bedfide, who was then fick; he re"peated the purport of what he had before faid; "but the abfolutely refufing, he fell on his knees, "vowing never to rife till his request was granted. "The reft of the company by his defire kneeled alfo ; "and the lady, being under a fudden furprize, fainted "away. As foon as the recovered her fpeech, fhe "cried, No, no. Enough, gentlemen, replied he; my "lady is very good, fhe fays, Go, go. She repeated "her former words with all her ftrength, but in vain; "for her feeble voice was loft in their acclamations "of joy; and the lord Jefferies ordered the hearfemen "to carry the corpfe to Mr. Ruffel's, an undertaker's "in Cheapfide, and leave it there till he fhould fend "orders for the embalment, which, he added, fhould 86 be after the royal manner. His directions were obeyed, the company difperfed, and lady Eliza"beth and her fon remained inconfolable. The next

day Mr. Charles Dryden waited on the lord Halifax "and the bishop, to excufe his mother and himself,

by relating the real truth. But neither his lordship nor the bishop would admit of any plea; espe"cially the latter, who had the Abbey lighted, the "ground opened, the choir attending, an anthem ready

fet, and himself waiting for fome time without any "corpfe to bury. The undertaker, after three days 66 expectance of orders for embalment without receiv

ing any, waited on the lord Jefferies; who pretending "ignorance of the matter, turned it off with an ill"natured

"natured jeft, faying, that thofe who obferved the "orders of a drunken frolick deferved no better; that "he remembered nothing at all of it; and that he "might do what he pleased with the corpfe. Upon "this, the undertaker waited upon the lady Elizabeth "and her fon, and threatened to bring the corpfe "home, and fet it before the door. They defired a "day's refpite, which was granted. Mr. Charles "Dryden wrote a handfome letter to the lord Jef"feries, who returned it with this cool answer, "That he knew nothing of the matter, and would "be troubled no more about it.' He then addreffed "the lord Halifax and the bishop of Rochester, who

abfolutely refused to do any thing in it. In this "diftrefs Dr. Garth fent for the corpfe to the College "of Physicians, and propofed a funeral by fub66 fcription, to which himself set a most noble ex"ample. At laft a day, about three weeks after "Mr. Dryden's decease, was appointed for the inter"mment: Dr. Garth pronounced a fine Latin oration, at "the College, over the corpfe; which was attended "to the Abbey by a numerous train of coaches. "When the funeral was over, Mr. Charles Dryden "fent a challenge to the lord Jefferies, who refusing "to anfwer it, he fent feveral others, and went often "himself; but could neither get a letter delivered, "nor admittance to speak to him: which fo incenfed “him, that he refolved, fince his lordship refused to "anfwer him like a gentleman, that he would watch "an opportunity to meet, and fight off-hand, though "with all the rules of honour; which his lordship hear"ing, left the town: and Mr. Charles Dryden could "never have the fatisfaction of meeting him, though he fought it till his death with the utmost application."

This story I once intended to omit, as it appears with no great evidence; nor have I met with any confirmation, but in a letter of Farquhar, and he only relates that the funeral of Dryden was tumultuary and confufed *.

Suppofing the ftory true, we may remark, that the gradual change of manners, though imperceptible in the process, appears great when different times, and those not very diftant, are compared. If at this time a young drunken Lord fhould interrupt the pompous regularity of a magnificent funeral, what would be the event, but that he would be juftled out of the way, and compelled to be quiet? If he should thruft himself into a houfe, he would be fent roughly away; and what is yet more to the honour of the prefent time, I believe that thofe who had fubfcribed to the funeral of a man like Dryden, would not, for fuch an accident, have withdrawn their contributions.

He was buried among the poets in Westminster Abbey, where, though the duke of Newcastle had, in a general dedication prefixed by Congreve to his dra

* An earlier account of Dryden's funeral than that above cited, though without the circumstances that preceded it, is given by Edward Ward, who in his London Spy, published in 1706, relates, that on the occafion there was a performance of folemn Music at the College, and that in the proceffion which himself faw, standing at the end of Chancery-lane, Fleet-ftreet, there was a concert of hautboys and trumpets. The day of Dryden's interment, he says, was Monday the 13th of May, which according to Johnfon was twelve days after his decease, and fhews how long his funeral was in fufpenfe. Ward knew not that the expence of it was defrayed by fubfcription; but compliments lord Jefferies for fo pious an undertaking. He also fays, that the cause of Dryden's death was an inflammation in his toe, occafioned by the filefn growing over the nail, which being neglected, produced a mortification in his leg.

matick works, accepted thanks for his intention of erecting him a monument, he lay long without diftinction, till the duke of Buckinghamshire gave him a tablet, infcribed only with the name of DRYDEN *.

. He married the lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the earl of Berkshire, with circumftances, according to the fatire imputed to lord Somers, not very honourable to either party: by her he had three fons, Charles, John, and Henry, Charles was ufher of the palace to pope Clement the XIth; and, visiting England in 1704, was drowned in an attempt to fwim cross the Thames at Windfor,

John was author of a comedy called The Hufband his own Cuckold. He is faid to have died at Rome, Henry entered into fome religious order. It is fome proof of Dryden's fincerity in his fecond religion, that he taught it to his fons. A man confcious of hypocritical profeffion in himself, is not likely to convert others; and as his fons were qualified in 1693 to appear among the tranflators of Juvenal, they must have been taught fome religion before their father's change.

My author's meaning here is very obfcure. We know of no other tablet than that which makes part of an expensive and very elegant monument, which, if the infcription thereon speaks truth, was erected by Sheffield duke of Buckingham, who was moved to it by a hint in Mr. Pope's epitaph for Rowe; the following infcription was intended for it:

This Sheffield rais'd; the facred duft below

Was Dryden once: the reft who does not know?

but the author changed it to this:

J. DRYDEN,

Natus 1632, Mortuus Maij 1, 1700.

JOANNES SHEFFIELD, DUX BUCKINGHAMIENSIS, POSUIT, 1710.

Of

66

Of the perfon of Dryden I know not any account; of his mind, the portrait which has been left by Congreve, who knew him with great familiarity, is such as adds our love of his manners to our admiration of his genius. "He was," we are told, " of a nature exceedingly humane and compaffionate, ready to forgive "injuries, and capable of a fincere reconciliation with "those that had offended him. His friendship, "where he profeffed it, went beyond his profeffions. "He was of a very eafy, of very pleafing accefs; but "fomewhat flow, and, as it were, diffident in his ad"vances to others: he had that in his nature which "abhorred intrusion into any fociety whatever. He "was therefore lefs known, and confequently his cha"racter became more liable to misapprehenfions and "mifrepresentations: he was very modeft, and very ❝eafily to be discountenanced in his approaches to his "equals or fuperiors. As his reading had been very

extensive, fo was he very happy in a memory tenaci"ous of every thing that he had read. He was not "more poffeffed of knowledge than he was communi"cative of it; but then his communication was by no

66

means pedantick, or impofed upon the converfation, "but just such and went so far as, by the natural turn "of the converfation in which he was engaged, it was "neceffarily promoted or required. He was extremely "ready, and gentle in his correction of the errors "of any writer who thought fit to confult him, and "full as ready and patient to admit of the reprehen"fions of others, in refpect of his own overfights or "mistakes."

To this account of Congreve nothing can be objected but the fondness of friendship; and to have excited that fondnefs in fuch a mind is no fmall degree

of