"The character of Lothario feems to have been expanded by Richardson into Lovelace; but he has excelled his original in the moral effect of the fiction. Lothario with gaiety which cannot be hated, and bravery which cannot be defpifed, retains too much of the Spectator's kindness. It was in the power of Richardfon alone to teach us at once esteem and detestation, to make virtuous refentment overpower all the benevolence which wit, and elegance, and courage, naturally excite, and lofe at laft the Hero in the Villain. "The fifth act is not equal to the former; the events of the Drama are exhausted, and little remains but to talk of what is paft. It has been obferved, that the title of the play does not fufficiently correfpond with the behaviour of Califta, who at last shews no evident figns of repentance, but may be reasonably fufpected of feeling pain from detection rather than from guilt, and expreffes more fhame than forrow, and more rage than fhame." His next play (1706) was "Ulyffes," which is now neglected, as is alfo the "Royal Convert" which appeared in 1708. He once ventured on a Comedy, and produced the "Biter" (1706); but finding the little fuccefs it had, he tried at lighter fcenes no more. After the "Royal Convert" appeared (1714) "Jane Shore," written, as its Author profeffes, in imitation of Shakespeare's file. Johnfon denies that it in the leaft refembles Shakespeare's manner of writing; but fays, "This play, confifting chiefly of domestick scenes and private diftrefs, lays hold upon the heart. The wife is forgiven because the repents, and the husband is honoured because he forgives. This therefore is one of thofe pieces which we ftill welcome on the stage." His laft tragedy (1715) was "Lady Jane Grey," but it has now funk into oblivion. From this time he gave nothing more to the Stage. In 1709 he undertook an edition of Shakespeare's Works, from which he did not receive much addi tional fame. Being Under Secretary for three years, when the Duke of Queenfberry was Secretary of State, he afterwards applied to the Earl of Oxford for fome publick employment. Oxford enjoined him to study Spanish, and when fome time afterwards he came again, and faid he had mastered it, the Earl difmiffed him with this congratulation, "Then, Sir, I envy you the pleasure of reading "Don Quixotte" in the original." At the acceffion of King George the first he was made Poet-laureat, it is faid, by the ejection of poor Nahum Tate, who (1716) died in the Mint, where he was forced to feek fhelter for extreme poverty. He was made likewife one of the Land Surveyors of the Cuftoms of the Port of London. The Prince of Wales chofe him Clerk of his council; and the Lord Chancellor Parker, as foon as he received the feals, appointed him, unasked, Secretary of the Presentations. Having already tranflated fome parts of "Lucan's Pharfalia," he undertook a verfion of the whole work, which he lived to finish, but not to publish. It seems to have been printed under the care of Dr. Welwood. Rowe died the 6th of December 1718, in the forty-fifth year of his age. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. "Rowe is chiefly to be confidered as a tragick wri ter and a tranflator. In his attempt at Comedy he failed fo ignominiously, that his " Biter" is not inferted in his works; and his occafional poems and fhort compofitions are rarely worthy of either praise or cenfure; for they feem the casual sports of a mind seeking rather to answer its leisure than to exercise its power. "I know not that there can be found in his plays any deep fearch into nature, any accurate difcrimination of kindred qualities, or nice difplay of paffion paffion in its progrefs; all is general and undefined. Nor does he much intereft or affect the auditor, except in" Jane Shore," who is always feen and heard with pity. Alicia is a character of empty noise, with no refemblance to real forrow or to natural madness. "Whence then has Rowe his reputation? From the reasonableness and propriety of fome of his fcenes, from the elegance of his diction, and the fuavity of his verfe. He feldom moves either pity or terror, but he often elevates the fentiments; he feldom pierces the breaft, but he always delights the ear, and often improves the understanding. "His tranflation of the "Golden Verfes," and of the first book of "Quillet's Poem" have nothing in them remarkable. The "Golden Verses" are tedious. The verfion of "Lucan" is one of the greatest productions of English poetry; for there is perhaps none that fo completely exhibits the genius and fpirit of the original." Lucan" is diftinguished by a kind of dictatorial or philofophick dignity, rather, as Quintilian obferves, declamatory than poetical; full of ambitious morality and pointed fentences, comprised in vigorous and animated lines. This character Rowe has very diligently and fuccefsfully preferved. His verfification, which is fuch as his contemporaries practifed, without any attempt at innovation or improvement, feldom wants either melody or force. His Author's fenfe is fometimes a little dilated by additional infufions, and fometimes weakened by too much expanfion. But fuch faults are to be expected in all translations, from the constraint of measures and diffimilitude of languages. The "Pharfalia" of Rowe deferves more notice than it obtains, and as it is more read will be more esteemed. " TICKELL TH TICKELL. HOMAS TICKELL, the fon of the Reverend Richard Tickell, was born in 1686 at Bridekirk in Cumberland; and in April 1701 became a member of Queen's College in Oxford; in 1708 he was made Mafter of Arts, and two years afterwards was chofen Fellow; for which, as he did not comply with the statutes by taking orders, he obtained a difpenfation from the Crown. He held his fellowship till 1726, and then vacated it, by marrying, in that year, at Dublin. He entered early into the world, and was long bufy in publick affairs, in which he was initiated under the patronage of Addifon, whofe notice he is faid to have gained by his verfes in praife of "Rofamond.” "Among the innumerable poems of the fame kind (fays Johnson) it will be hard to find one with which they need to fear a comparison." He produced another piece of the fame kind at the appearance of "Cato," with equal fkill, but not equal happiness. When the Minifters of Queen Anne were negatiating with France, Tickell published The Profpect of Peace," a poem; of which the tendency was to reclaim the Nation from the pride of conqueft to the pleafures of tranquillity. Addifon in the "Spectator" fpeaks of it in the higheft terms, but Johnfon thought it unequal to the honours which it had received. At the arrival of King George he fung the "Royal Progrefs;" but the most important poetical incident in his life was his publication of the first book of the "Iliad," as tranflated by himself, in apparent oppofi. tion to 66 Pope's Homer," of which the first part made its entrance into the world at the fame time. Pope alconfidered Addifon as the writer of "Tickell's ways When When the Hanover fucceffion was difputed, Tickell published his “Letter to Avignon," which ftands high among party-poems. He was now intimately united to Mr. Addison, who, when he went into Ireland as Secretary to the Lord Sunderland, took him thither, and employed him in publick bufinefs, and when afterwards (1717) he rofe to be Secretary of State, made him under Secretary. Their friendship feems to have continued without abatement; for when Addifon died, he left him the charge of publishing his works, with a folemn recommendation to the patronage of Craggs. To thefe works he prefixed an elegy on the Author ---and Johnson fays, that "there is not a more fublime or more elegant funeral poem to be found in the whole compafs of English literature." He was afterwards (about 1725) made Secretary to the Lords Juftices of Ireland, in which he continued till 1740, when he died on the 23d of April at Bath. "Of the poems yet unmentioned, the longest is "Kenfington Gardens," of which the verfification is fmooth and elegant, but the fiction unfkilfully compounded of Grecian Deities and Gothick Fairies. Neither fpecies of thofe exploded beings could have done much; and when they are brought together, they only make each other contemptible. To Tickell, however, cannot be refufed a high place among the Minor Poets; nor should it be forgotten that he was one of the contributors to the "Spectator." With refpect to his perfonal character, he is faid to have been a man of gay converfation, at least a temperate lover of wine and company, and in his domeftick relations without cenfure." CONGREVE. |