it contains nothing very striking or difficult, he has been envied the reputation; and plagiarism has been boldly charged, but never proved.

Not long afterwards he published the Excurfion (1728); a defultory and capricious view of such scenes of Nature as his fancy led him, or his knowledge enabled him, to defcribe. It is not devoid of poetical spirit. Many of the images are striking, and many of the paragraphs are elegant. The caft of diction feems to be copied from Thomson, whose Seasons were then in their full blossom of reputation. He has Thomfon's beauties and his faults.

His poem on Verbal Criticism (1733) was written to pay court to Pope, on a subject which he either did not understand or will ingly mifrepresented; and is little more than an improvement, or rather expanfion, of a fragment which Pope printed in a Miscellany long before he engrafted it into a regular poem. There is in this piece more pertnefs than wit, and more confidence than know

Ff 3

knowledge. The verfification is tolerable, nor can criticism allow it a higher praise.

His first tragedy was Eurydice, acted at Drury-Lane in 1731; of which I know not the reception nor the merit, but have heard it mentioned as a mean performance. He was not then too high to accept a Prologue and Epilogue from Aaron Hill, neither of which can be much commended.

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Having cleared his tongue from his native pronunciation fo as to be no longer diftinguished as a Scot, he feems inclined to difencumber himself from all adherences of his original, and took upon him to change his name from Scotch Malloch to English Mallet, without any imaginable reafon of preference which the eye or ear can discover. What other proofs he gave of difrefpect to his native country I know not; but it was remarked of him, that he was the only Scot whom Scotchmen did not commend.

About this time Pope, whom he vifited familiarly, publifhed his Effay on Man, but concealed the author; and when Mallet entered

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tered one day, Pope asked him flightly what there was new. Mallet told him, that the newest piece was fomething called an Essay on Man, which he had inspected idly; and seeing the utter inability of the author, who had neither skill in writing nor knowledge of his fubject, had toffed it away. Pope, to punish his felf-conceit, told him the fecret.

A new edition of the works of Bacon being prepared (1740) for the press, Mallet was employed to prefix a Life, which he has written with elegance, perhaps with fome affectation; but with so much more knowledge of history than of science, that when he afterwards undertook the Life of Marlborough, Warburton remarked, that he might perhaps forget that Marlborough was a general, as he had forgotten that Bacon was a philofopher.

When the Prince of Wales was driven from the palace, and, fetting himself at the head of the oppofition, kept a feparate Court, he endeavoured to increase his popularity by the patronage of literature, and made Mallet his under-fecretary, with a falary of two hun

dred pounds, a year: Thomfon likewife had a penfion; and they were affociated in the compofition of the Mafque of Alfred, which in its original state was played at Cliefden in 1740; it was afterwards almost wholly changed by Mallet, and brought upon the stage at Drury-Lane in 1751, but with no great fuccefs.

Mallet, in a familiar converfation with Garrick, difcourfing of the diligence which he was then exerting upon the Life of Marlborough, let him know that in the feries of great men, quickly to be exhibited, he should find a nich for the hero of the theatre. Garrick profeffed to wonder by what artifice he could be introduced; but Mallet let him know, that, by a dexterous anticipation, he fhould fix him in a confpicuous place. "Mr. "Mallet," fays Garrick, in his gratitude of exultation, " have you left off to write for "the ftage?" Mallet then confessed that he had a drama in his hands. Garrick promised to act it; and Alfred was produced.

The long retardation of the Life of the duke of Marlborough fhews, with strong conviction,

viction, how little confidence can be placed in pofthumous renown. When he died, it was foon determined that his story should be delivered to pofterity; and the papers supposed to contain the neceffary information were delivered to the lord Molefworth, who had been his favourite in Flanders. When Molefworth died, the fame papers were tranfferred with the fame defign to Sir Richard Steele, who in fome of his exigencies put them in pawn. They then remained with the old dutchefs, who in her will affigned the task to Glover and Mallet, with a reward of a thousand pounds, and a prohibition to infert any verses. Glover rejected, I fuppofe, with disdain the legacy, and devolved the whole work upon Mallet; who had from the late duke of Marlborough a penfion to promote his industry, and who talked of the difcoveries which he made; but left not, when he died, any hiftorical labours behind him.

While he was in the Prince's fervice he published Mustapha, with a Prologue by Thomson, not mean, but far inferior to that which he had received from Mallet for

Agamemnon.