for punishment; and, that he might not be deceived by any artifice, locked the door. Yalden, as it happened, had been lately reading on the fubject given, and produced with little difficulty a compofition which so pleased the prefident, that he told him his former fufpicions, and promised to favour him.

Among his contemporaries in the college were Addison and Sacheverell, men who were in those times friends, and who both adopted Yalden to their intimacy. Yalden continued, throughout his life, to think as probably he thought at firft, yet did not lofe the friendship of Addison.

When Namur was taken by king William, Yalden made an ode. There was never any reign more celebrated by the poets than that of William, who had very little regard for song himself, but happened to employ ministers who pleased themselves with the praise of patronage.

Of this ode mention is made in an humorous poem of that time, called The Oxford Laureat; in which, after many claims had

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been made and rejected, Yalden is reprefented as demanding the laurel, and as being called to his trial, instead of receiving a reward.

His crime was for being a felon in verse,

And prefenting his theft to the king;
The first was a trick not uncommon or fcarce,
But the laft was an impudent thing:

Yet what he had ftol'n was fo little worth stealing,
They forgave him the damage and coft;

Had he ta'en the whole ode, as he took it piece-mealing,

They had fin'd him but ten pence at most.

The poet whom he was charged with robbing was Congreve.

He wrote another poem on the death of the duke of Gloucefter.

In 1710 he became fellow of the college; and next year, entering into orders, was Presented by the fociety with a living in Warwickshire, confiftent with his fellowship, and chofen lecturer of moral philosophy, a very honourable office.

On the acceffion of queen Anne he wrote another poem; and is faid, by the author of the Biographia, to have declared himfelf of the party who had the honourable diftinction of High-churchmen.

In 1706 he was received into the family of the duke of Beaufort. Next year he became doctor in divinity, and foon after refigned his fellowship and lecture; and, as a token of his gratitude, gave the college a picture of their founder.

He was made rector of Chalton and Cleanville, two adjoining towns and benefices in Hertfordshire; and had the prebends, or finecures, of Deans, Hains, and Pendles in Devonshire. He had before been chofen, in 1698, preacher of Bridewell Hofpital, upon the refignation of Dr. Atterbury.

From this time he feems to have led a quiet and inoffenfive life, till the clamour was raised about Atterbury's plot. Every loyal eye was on the watch for abettors or partakers of the horrid confpiracy; and Dr. Yalden, having fome acquaintance with the

bishop, and being familiarly converfant with Kelly his fecretary, fell under fufpicion, and was taken into cuftody.

Upon his examination he was charged with a dangerous correfpondence with Kelly, The correfpondence he acknowledged; but maintained, that it had no treasonable tendency. His papers were feized; but nothing was found that could fix a crime upon him, except two words in his pocket-book, thorough-paced doctrine. This expreffion the imagination of his examiners had impregnated with treafon, and the doctor was enjoined to explain them. Thus preffed, he told them that the words had lain unheeded in his pocket-book from the time of queen Anne, and that he was afhamed to give an account of them; but the truth was, that he had gratified his curiofity one day, by hear ing Daniel Burgefs in the pulpit, and those words was a memorial hint of a remarkable fentence by which he warned his congrega tion to beware of thorough-paced doctrine, that doctrine, which, coming in at one ear, paces through the head, and goes out at the other.

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Nothing worse than this appearing in his papers, and no evidence arifing against him, he was fet at liberty.

It will not be fuppofed that a man of this character attained high dignities in the church; but he ftill retained the friendship, and frequented the converfation, of a very numerous and fplendid body of acquaintance. He died July 16, 1736, in the 66th year of his age..

Of his poems, many are of that irregular kind, which, when he formed his poetical character, was fuppofed to be Pindarick. Having fixed his attention on Cowley as a model, he has attempted in fome fort to rival him, and has written a Hymn to Darkness, evidently as a counter-part to Cowley's Hymn to Light.

This hymn feems to be his best performance, and is, for the most part, imagined with great vigour, and expreffed with great propriety. I will not transcribe it. The feven first stanzas are good; but the third, fourth, and seventh are the best: the eighth feems

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