not known.

The report is, that he was foon weary of either the restraint or servility of his occupation, and easily perfuaded his master to discharge him.

The dutchefs of Monmouth, remarkable for inflexible perfeverance in her demand to be treated as a princess, in 1712 took Gay into her fervice as fecretary: by quitting a fhop for such service, he might gain leifure, but he certainly advanced little in the boaft of independence. Of his leifure he made fo good use, that he published next year a poem on Rural Sports, and infcribed it to Mr. Pope, who was then rifing faft into reputation. Pope was pleased with the honour; and when he became acquainted with Gay, found fuch attractions in his manners and converfation, that he feems to have received him into his inmoft confidence; and a friendship was formed between them which lafted to their feparation by death, without any known abatement on either part. Gay was the general favourite of the whole affociation of wits; but they regarded him as a play-fellow rather than a partner, and treated him with more fondness than respect,

Next year he published The Shepherd's Week, fix English Pastorals, in which the images are drawn from real life, fuch as it appears among the rufticks in parts of England remote from London, Steele in fome papers of the Guardian had praised Ambrofe Philips, as the Pastoral writer that yielded only to Theocritus, Virgil, and Spenfer. Pope, who had alfo published Paftorals, not pleased to be overlooked, drew up a comparison of his own compofitions with those of Philips, in which he covertly gave himself the preference, while he feemed to difown it. Not content with this, he is supposed to have incited Gay to write the Shepherd's Week, to fhew, that if it be neceffary to copy nature with minuteness, rural life must be exhibited fuch as groffnefs and ignorance have made it. So far the plan was reasonable; but the Paftorals are introduced by a Proeme, written with fuch imitation as they could attain of obfolete language, and by confequence in a ftyle that was never spoken nor written in any age or in any place.

But the effect of reality and truth became confpicuous, even when the intention was to fhew them groveling and degraded. Thefe

Paftorals

Paftorals became popular, and were read with delight as just representations of rural manners and occupations by thofe who had no interest in the rivalry of the poets, nor knowledge of the critical dispute.

In 1713 he brought a comedy called The Wife of Bath upon the stage, but it received no applause; he printed it, however; and seventeen years after, having altered it, and, as he thought, adapted it more to the publick taste, he offered it again to the town; but, though he was flushed with the fuccess of the Beggar's Opera, had the mortification to fee it again rejected.

In the laft year of queen Anne's life, Gay was made fecretary to the earl of Clarendon, ambaffador to the court of Hanover. This was a station that naturally gave him hopes of kindness from every party; but the Queen's death put an end to her favours, and he had dedicated his Shephera's Week to Bolingbroke, which Swift confidered as the crime that obftructed all kindness from the houfe of Ha

nover.

He

He did not, however, omit to improve the right which his office had given him to the notice of the royal family. On the arrival of the princess of Wales he wrote a poem, and obtained fo much favour that both the Prince and Princess went to fee his What d'ye call it, a kind of mock-tragedy, in which the images were comick, and the action grave; so that, as Pope relates, Mr. Cromwell, who could not hear what was faid, was at a lofs how to reconcile the laughter of the audience with the folemnity of the scene.

Of this performance the value certainly is but little; but it was one of the lucky trifles that give pleasure by novelty, and was fo much favoured by the audience that envy appeared against it in the form of criticism; and Griffin a player, in conjunction with Mr. Theobald, a man afterwards more remarkable, produced a pamphlet called the Key to the What d'ye call it; which, fays Gay, calls me a blockhead, and Mr. Pope a knave.

But Fortune has always been inconftant. Not long afterwards (1717) he endeavoured to entertain the town with Three Hours after

Mar

Marriage; a comedy written, as there is fufficient reason for believing, by the joint affiftance of Pope and Arbuthnot. One purpofe of it was to bring into contempt Dr. Woodward the Foffilift, a man not really or juftly contemptible. It had the fate which fuch outrages deferve: the fcene in which Woodward was directly and apparently ridiculed, by the introduction of a mummy and a crocodile, difgufted the audience, and the performance was driven off the stage with general condemnation.

Gay is reprefented as a man eafily incited to hope, and deeply depreffed when his hopes were disappointed. This is not the character of a hero; but it may naturally fupply fome thing more generally welcome, a foft and civil companion. Whoever is apt to hope good from others is diligent to please them; but he that believes his powers ftrong enough to force their own way, commonly tries only to please himself.

He had been fimple enough to imagine that those who laughed at the What a'ye call it would raise the fortune of its author; and