defirous of extending his fame by producing a tragedy. It has been alleged that some, who were jealous of his growing reputation, put him upon this task, in order, as they imagined, to diminish it; for he feemed to be of too gay and lively a disposition for tragedy, and in all likelihood would mifcátry in the attempt. However,"

In 1697, after the expectation of the Town had been much raised, The Mourning Bride appeared on the New Theatre în Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. Few plays ever excited so great an ardour of expectation as this, and very few ever fucceeded to fuch an extravagant degree. There is fomething new in the management of the plot: after moving the paffions of the audience to the greatest commiferation, he brings off his prinéipal characters, punishes the guilty, and makes the play conclude happily. ovigadet

The controverfy we have juft now mentioned was thought to have occafioned a dislike in Mr. Congreve towards the stage; yet he afterwardsproduced another comedy, called The Way of the World, which was fo just a picture of the world, that, as an author prettily fays, The World could not bear ity 11 grama 24. sunde

The réception this play met with completed our Author's difguft to the theatre; upon which Mr. Dennis, who was a warm friend to Congreve, made this fine obfervation, “ That Mr. Congreve quitted"the ftage early, and that Comedy left it with him."

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It is faid, that when Congreve found his play met with but indifferent fuccefs, he came in a paffion on the stage, and defired the audience to fave themselves the trouble of fhewing their dislike, for he never intended to write again for the theatre, nor submit his works to the cenfure of impotent criticks. In this par ticular he kept his word with them; and, as if he had forefeen the fate of his play, he took an ample revenge, in his Epilogue, of the race of little fnarlers, who, excited by envy, and supported by falfe ideas of their own importance, dared to constitute themfelves judges of wit without any juft pretenfions to it. This play has long ago triumphed over its enemies, and is now in great esteem amongst the best judges of theatrical entertainments.

Though Mr. Congreve quitted the stage, yet did not he give up the cause of poetry; for on the death of the Marquis of Blandford, the only fon of the Duke of Marlborough, which happened in 1705, we find him compofing a Pastoral to sosten the grief of that illuftrious family, which he addreffed to the Lord Treasurer Godolphin.: '

About the fame time the extraordinary fuccefs of the Duke of Marlborough's arms furnished him with materials for an Ode to Queen Anne. In another Pindarick Ode he celebrates the Lord Godolphin, taking occafion, from that nobleman's delight in horferacing, to imitate the Greek poet in his favourite man

ner of writing by an elegant digreffion, to whịch hè added a criticism on that fpecies of poetry.

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As in the early part of his life Mr. Congreve had received favours from people of a less exalted station, so of these he was highly sensible, and never let flip any opportunity of fhewing his gratitude. He wrote an Epilogue to his old friend Southern's Tragedy of Oroonoko; and Mr. Dryden has acknowledged his affiftance in the tranflation of Virgil. Hecontributed; by his verfion of the eleventh Satire of Juvenal to the tranflation of that poet, published alfo by Mr. Drys den, to whom Mr. Congreve wrote a copy of verfes on his tranflation of Perfius. He wrote, likewife, a Prologue for a play of Mr. Charles Dryden's; full of kindness for that young gentleman, and of respect for his father.of me ho

But the nobleft teftimony he gave of his filial res gard to the memory of his poetical father, Mr John Dryden, was the Panegyrick he wrote upon his works, contained in the Dedication of Dryden's Plays to the Duke of Newcastle.

Mr. Congreve tranflated the third book of Ovid's Art of Love, and some favourite paffages from the Miad.

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The author of the elegant Letters not long ago published under the name of Fitzosborne, has taken? fome pains to fet before his readers the version of thofe parts of Homer tranflated by our Author, and the

fame paffages by Pope and Tickell, in which comparifon the palm is very defervedly yielded to Pope.

Our Author wrote a fatire called Doris, celebrated by Sir Richard Steele, who was a warm friend to Mr. Congreve; he also wrote The Judgment of Paris, a Mafk, and the Opera of Semele; of these the formeriwas acted with great applause, and the latter is finely fet to mufick by Mr. Eccles. The last of his poe→ tical works is his Art of Pleafing, addressed to Sir Richard Temple, the late Viscount Cobham. He has written many profe epiftles, difperfed in the works of other writers, and his Effay on Humour in Comedy, published in a collection of Dennis's Letters, is an entertaining and correct piece of criticism. All his ather letters are written with a great deal of wit and fpirit, a fine flow of language, and are so happily intermixed with a lively and inoffenfive raillery, that it is impoffible not to be pleased with them at the first reading we may be fatisfied from the perusal of them, that his converfation must have been very engaging, and therefore we need not wonder that he was ca reffed by the greatest men of his time, or that they courted hisfriendship by every act of kindness in their

power.

It is faid of Mr. Congreve, that he was a particular favourite with the ladies, fome of whom were of the first dillinction. He indulged none of those reveries and affected absences fo peculiar to men of wit; he

was sprightly as well as elegant in his manner, and fo much the favourite of HenriettaDutchefs of Marl borough, that even after his death the caused an image of him to be every day placed at her toilet-table, to which she would talk, as to the living Mr.Congreve, with all the freedom of the most polite and unreferved converfation. Mrs. Bracegirdle, likewife, had the highest veneration for our Author, and joined with her Grace in a boundless profusion of forrow upon his death. Some think he had made a better figure in his laft will, had he remembered the friendship he profeffed for Mrs. Bracegirdle, whofe admirable performance added spirit to his dramatick pieces; but he forgot her, and gratified his vanity, by chufing to make a rich Dutchess his fole legatee and executrix.

Mr. Congreve was the son of Fortune as well as of the Mufes. He was early preferred to an affluent fituation, and no change of miniftry ever affected him, nor was he ever removed from any poft he enjoyed, except to a better.

His place in the Customhouse, and his office of Secretary in Jamaica, are faid to have brought him in upwards of 2col. a-year: and he was so far an economist as to raise from thence a competent estate. No man of his learning ever paffed through life with more ease or lefs envy; and as in the dawn of his reputation he was very dear to the greatest wits of his time, fo during his whole life he preferved the utmost re