Angel. Have a care—If you -If you remember, the Strongest Sampson of your name pull'd an old boufe over his head at laft.

"Here you have the Sacred History burlefqued, and Sampfon once more brought "into the house of Dagon, to make sport "for the Philiftines!"

Congreve's laft play was The Way of the World; which, though, as he hints in his dedication, it was written with great labour and much thought, was received with fo little favour, that, being in a high degree offended and disgusted, he refolved to commit his quiet and his fame no more to the caprices of an audience.

From this time his life ceafed to be pub

lick; he lived for himself, and for his friends; and among his friends was able to name every man of his time whom wit and ele gance had raised to reputation. It may be therefore reasonably fuppofed that his manwere polite, and his conversation

ners

pleafing,

He

4

He feems not to have taken much pleasure in writing, as he contributed nothing to the Spectator, and only one paper to the Tatler, though published by men with whom he might be fuppofed willing to affociate; and though he lived many years after the publi cation of his Mifcellaneous Poems, yet he added nothing to them, but lived on in literary indolence; engaged in no controversy, contending with no rival, neither foliciting flattery by publick, commendations, nor provoking enmity by malignant criticism, but paffing his time among the great and fplendid, in the placid enjoyment of his fame and fortune, immos of bovios al bamb

Having owed his fortune to Halifax," he continued always of his patron's party, but, as it feems, without violence or acrimony; and his firmnefs was naturally esteemed, as his abilities were reverenced. His fecurity therefore was never violated; and when, upon the extrufion of the Whigs; fome interceffion was used left Congreve should be displaced, the earl of Oxford made this answer:

Non

Non obtufa adeo geftamus pectora Pœni,
Nec tam averfus equos Tyriâ fol jungit ab urbe.

He that was thus honoured by the adverse party, might naturally expect to be advanced when his friends returned to power, and he was made fecretary for the ifland of Jamaica; a place, I fuppofe, without truft or care, but which, with his poft in the customs, is faid to have afforded him twelve hundred pounds a year.

His honours were yet far greater than his profits. Every writer mentioned him with respect; and, among other teftimonies to his merit, Steele made him the patron of his Mifcellany, and Pope infcribed to him his tranflation of the Iliad.

r

But he treated the Mufes with ingratitude; for, having long converfed familiarly with the great, he wished to be confidered rather as a man of fashion than of wit; and, when he received a vifit from Voltaire, difgufted him by the despicable foppery of defiring to be confidered not as an author but a gentleman; to which the Frenchman replied, that,

"if

"if he had been only a gentleman, he should "not have come to vifit him."

Hav

`In his retirement he may be supposed to have applied himself to books; for he difcovers more literature than the poets have commonly attained. But his ftudies were in his latter days obftructed by cataracts in his eyes, which at last terminated in blindnefs. This melancholy ftate was aggravated by the gout, for which he fought relief by a journey to Bath; but being overturned in his chariot, complained from that time of a pain in his fide, and died, at his house in Surrystreet in the Strand, Jan. 29, 1728-9. ing lain in state in the Jerufalem-chamber, he was buried in Westminster-Abbey, where a monument is erected to his memory by Henrietta dutchess of Marlborough, to whom, for reafons either not known or not mentioned, he bequeathed a legacy of about ten thousand pounds; the accumulation of attentive parcimony, which, though to her superfluous and ufelefs, might have given great affiftance to the ancient family from which he defcended, at that time by the imprudence of his relation, reduced to difficulties and diftrefs,

CONGREVE has merit of the highest kind; he is an original writer, who borrowed neither the models of his plot, nor the manner of his dialogue. Of his plays I cannot fpeak diftinctly; for fince I infpected them many years have paffed; but what remains upon my memory is, that his characters are commonly fictitious and artificial, with very little of nature, and not much of life. He formed a peculiar idea of comick excellence, which he supposed to confist in gay remarks and unexpected answers; but that which he endeavoured, he feldom failed of performing. His fcenes exhibit not much of humour, imagery, or paffion: his perfonages are a kind of intellectual gladiators; every fentence is to ward or ftrike; the contest of smartness is never intermitted; his wit is a meteor playing to and fro with alternate corufcations. His comedies have therefore, in fome degree, the operation of tragedies; they surprise rather than divert, and raise admiration oftener than merriment. But they are the works of a mind replete with images, and quick in combination.

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