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which, fays Dryden, my latter swarm is hardly worth the hiving.

About the fame time he compofed the arguments prefixed to the feveral books of Dryden's Virgil; and produced an Effay on the Georgicks, juvenile, fuperficial, and uninftructive, without much either of the scholar's learning or the critick's penetration.

His next paper of verfes contained a character of the principal English poets, infcribed to Henry Sacheverell, who was then, if not a poet, a writer of verfes *; as is fhewn by his verfion of a small part of Virgil's Georgicks, published in the Mifcellanies, and a Latin encomium on queen Mary, in the Mufa Anglicane. These verses exhibit all the fondness of friendship; but on one fide or the other, friendship was afterwards too weak for the malignity of faction.

In this poem is a very confident and discriminative character of Spenfer, whofe work he had then never read. So little fometimes is criticism the effect of

* A letter which I found among Dr. Johnfon's papers, dated in January 1784, from a lady in Wiltshire, contains a discovery of some importance in literary hiftory, viz. that by the initials H. S. prefixed to this poem, we are not to understand the famous Dr. Henry Sacheverell, whofe trial is the most remarkable incident in his life. The information thus communicated is, that the verses in queftion were not an addrefs to the famous Dr. Sacheverell, but to a very ingenious gentleman of the fame name, who died young, fuppofed to be a Manksman, for that he wrote the history of the Isle of Man.That this perfon left his papers to Mr. Addison, and had formed a plan of a tragedy upon the death of Socrates.-The lady fays, fhe had this information from a Mr. Stephens, who was a fellow of Merton college, a contemporary, and intimate with Mr. Addison in Oxford, who died near 50 years ago, a prebendary of Winchester. + Spence.

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judgement. It is necessary to inform the reader, that about this time he was introduced by Congreve to Montague, then Chancellor of the Exchequer: Addifon was then learning the trade of a courtier, and fubjoined Montague as a poetical name to thofe of Cowley and of Dryden.

By the influence of Mr. Montague, concurring, according to Tickell, with his natural modefty, he was diverted from his original defign of entering into holy orders. Montague alleged the corruption of men who engaged in civil employments without liberal education; and declared, that, though he was reprefented as an enemy to the Church, he would never do it any injury but by withholding Addifon from it.

Soon after (in 1695) he wrote a poem to king William, with a rhyming introduction addreffed to lord Somers. King William had no regard to elegance or literature; his ftudy was only war; yet by a choice of ministers, whose difpofition was very different from his own, he procured, without intention, a very liberal patronage to poetry. Addison was careffed both by Somers and Montague.

In 1697 appeared his Latin verfes on the peace of Ryfwick, which he dedicated to Montague, and which was afterwards called by Smith the beft Latin poem fince the Eneid. Praise must not be too rigorously examined; but the performance cannot be denied to be vigorous and elegant.

Having yet no publick employment, he obtained (in 1699) a pension of three hundred pounds a year, that he might be enabled to travel. He ftaid a year at Blois, probably to learn the French language; and

* Spence.

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then proceeded in his journey to Italy, which he furveyed with the eyes of a poet.

While he was travelling at leifure, he was far from being idle; for he not only collected his obfervations on the country, but found time to write his Dialogues on Medals, and four Acts of Cato. Such at least is the relation of Tickell. Perhaps he only collected his materials, and formed his plan.

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Whatever were his other employments in Italy, he there wrote the letter to lord Halifax, which is juftly confidered as the most elegant, if not the most sublime, of his poetical productions. But in about two years he found it neceffary to haften home; being, as Swift informs us, diftreffed by indigence, and compelled to become the tutor of a travelling Squire, because his penfion was not remitted.

At his return he published his Travels, with a dedication to lord Somers. As his ftay in foreign countries was fhort, his obfervations are fuch as might be fupplied by a hafty view, and confift chiefly in comparifons of the prefent face of the country with the descriptions left us by the Roman poets, from whom he made preparatory collections, though he might have fpared the trouble, had he known that fuch collections had been made twice before by Italian authors.

The most amufing paffage of his book is his account of the minute republick of San Marino; of many parts it is not a very fevere cenfure to fay that they might have been written at home. His elegance of language, and variegation of profe and verfe, however, gains upon the reader; and the book, though a while neglected, became in time fo much the favourite

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of the publick, that before it was reprinted it rofe to five times its price.

When he returned to England (in 1702), with a meanness of appearance which gave teftimony of the difficulties to which he had been reduced, he found his old patrons out of power, and was, therefore, for a time, at full leifure for the cultivation of his mind, and a mind so cultivated gives reason to believe that little time was lost.

But he remained not long neglected or useless. The victory at Blenheim (1704), fpread triumph and confidence over the nation; and lord Godolphin, lamenting to lord Halifax, that it had not been celebrated in a manner equal to the fubject, defired him to propose it to fome better poet. Halifax told him that there was no encouragement for genius; that worthless men were unprofitably enriched with publick money, without any care to find or employ those whofe appearance might do honour to their country. To this Godolphin replied, that fuch abuses fhould in time be rectified; and that if a man could be found capable of the tafk then proposed, he should not want an ample recompense. Halifax then named Addifon, but required that the Treasurer fhould apply to him in his own person. Godolphin fent the meffage by Mr. Boyle, afterwards lord Carleton; and Addison having undertaken the work, communicated it to the Treasurer, while it was yet advanced no further than the fimile of the Angel, and was immediately rewarded by fucceeding Mr. Locke in the place of Commiffioner of Appeals.

In the following year he was at Hanover with lord Halifax; and the year after was made under-secretary of state, first to Sir Charles Hedges, and in a few months more to the earl of Sunderland,

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About this time the prevalent tafte for Italian operas inclined him to try what would be the effect of a mufical Drama in our own language. He therefore wrote the opera of Rofamond, which, when exhibited on the stage, was either hiffed or neglected; but trusting that the readers would do him more juftice, he published it, with an infcription to the dutchefs of Marlborough; a woman without skill, or pretensions tó fkill, in poetry or literature. His dedication was therefore an inftance of fervile abfurdity, to be exceeded only by Joshua Barres's dedication of a Greek Anacreon to the Duke,

His reputation had been fomewhat advanced by The Tender Husband, a comedy which Steele dedicated to him, with a 'confeffion that he owed to him feveral of the most successful fcenes: To this play Addifon fupplied a prologue.

When the marquis of Wharton was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, Addifon attended him as his fe cretary; and was made keeper of the records in Birmingham's Tower; with a falary of three hundred pounds a year. The office was little more than nominal, and the salary was augmented for his accommodation.'

Intereft and faction allow little to the operation of particular difpofitions, or private opinions. Two menj

* It was very defervedly rejected by the town for the badnefs of the mufic, which was compofed by Mr. Thomas Clayton, of whom ar atcount, and alfo fome fpecimens of his ftyle, are given in the "Ce "neral History of the Science and Practice of Mutic, vol. V. p. 135 "et feqq." One of the airs in Rofamond is made to fing thus:

O the pleafing, pleafing, pleafing, pleafing pleafing, anguish." Mr. Addison had no relish for mufic, and is nevet so much out of his way as when he talks about it. VOL: III!

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