Sooth'd with the sound, the king grew vain;

Fought all his battles o'er again;

And thrice he routed all his foes; and thrice he slew the slain.

The master saw the madness rise;
His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes;
And, while he heav'n and earth defied,
Chang'd his hand, and check'd his pride.

He chose a mournful Muse,
Soft pity to infuse:

He sung Darius great and good,
By too severe a fate,
Fallen, fallen, fallen, fallen,

Fallen from his high estate,
And welt'ring in his blood;

Deserted, at his utmost need,
By those his former bounty fed;
On the bare earth expos'd he lies,
With not a friend to close his eyes.

70

80

With downcast looks the joyless victor sate, Revolving in his alter'd soul

[Heroic Love, a tragedy by George Granville, based on the story of Briseis in the Iliad, was probably first acted in 1697; it had great success on the stage (Downes). Dryden's epistle, with heading as above, was printed with the first edition of the play, which was published on February 19, 1698 (Malone, I, 1, 310, on the authority of an advertisement in the London Gazette). Granville, who was created Lord Lansdowne in 1711, is known in literature as the friend of Pope as well as of Dryden.]

AUSPICIOUS poet, wert thou not my friend, How could I envy, what I must commend! But since 't is nature's law, in love and wit,

:

That youth should reign, and with'ring age submit,

With less regret those laurels I resign, Which, dying on my brows, revive on thine.

With better grace an ancient chief may yield

The long contended honors of the field,
Than venture all his fortune at a cast,
And fight, like Hannibal, to lose at last. 10
Young princes, obstinate to win the prize,
Tho' yearly beaten, yearly yet they rise;
Old monarchs, tho' successful, still in
doubt,

Catch at a peace, and wisely turn devout.
Thine be the laurel then; thy blooming

age

Can best, if any can, support the stage;

Mr. Dryden bowed to the good old lady, and spoke extempore the f[ollowing verses]:

So much religion in your name doth dwell,
Your soul must needs with piety excel.
Thus names, like [well-wrought] pictures drawn of old,
Their owners' nature and their story told. -
Your name but half expresses; for in you
Belief and practice do together go.

My prayers shall be, while this short life endures,
These may go hand in hand with you and yours;
Till faith hereafter is in vision drown'd,
And practice is with endless glory crown'd.

THE MONUMENT OF A FAIR MAIDEN LADY WHO DIED AT BATH AND IS THERE INTERR'D

[This epitaph was first printed, with title as above, in the volume of Fables, 1700. It is found on a mural tablet in Bath Abbey, where it is preceded by the following words:

"Here lyes the Body of Mary, third Daughter of Richard Frampton of Moreton in Dorsetshire, Esq and of Iane his Wife, sole Daughter of S Francis Cottington of Founthill in Wilts, who was born Ianuary ye J 167%. And Dyed after Seven Weeks sickness on the 6 of 7ber 1698. This Monument was Erected by Cath. Frampton, her second Sister and Executress in testimony of her Grief, Affection, and Gratitude."

The tablet is surmounted by a bust of Mary Frampton.

The text above is from a copy of the tablet, kindly furnished the present editor by the Reverend S. A. Boyd, Rector of Bath. The text of the poem follows that printed in the Fables.]