transaction; and teftified that the earl of Northumber land had declared himself favourable to any attempt which might check the violence of the parliament, and reconcile them to the king. Tomkins partook of his cowardice, for he gave notice of Crifpe's commiffion of array; and Pym was fent to tell the citizens of their happy escape. Their defign was, to feize the lordmayor and all the committee of militia, and deliver the parliament and city into the hands of the cavaliers. Waller immerfed himself still deeper in ignominy. The earl of Portland and lord Conway denied the charge; and there was no evidence against them but the confef fion of Waller, who endeavoured to perfuade Portland to a declaration like his own; but it had little effect upon his ftronger mind; and the lords ordered them to be confronted together, when the one repeated his charge, and the other his denial; and no teftimony but Waller's appearing, Portland and Conway were admitted, after a long imprisonment, to bail. The earl of Northumberland was too great for profecution; and Tomkins was hanged near his own door. Waller, though confeffedly the moft guilty, with incredible diffimulation, (fays Clarendon) affected fuch remorfe, that his trial was put off out of Chriftian compaffion, till he might recover his understanding. What ufe he made of this interval, with what liberality and fuccefs he diftributed flattery and money, and how he confeffed and lamented when he was brought before the house, may be read in the Hiftory of the Rebel lion, b. vii. The fpeech to which Clarendon ascribes the prefervation of his dear-bought life is inferted in his works. After a year's imprisonment, in which time refentment grew lefs acrimonious, by paying a fine of 10,000l. he was permitted to recollect himself in another country.

Of his behaviour, in this part of life, it is not neceffary to direct an opinion. "Let us not," fays his ingenious biographer, "condemn him with untempered feverity,

because

because he was not a prodigy which the world hath feldom feen; becaufe his character included not the poet, the orator, and the hero." He chofe France for the place of his exile, and lived with great fplendor and hofpitality at Paris; amufing himself with poetry, in which he fpeaks of rebels (of whom he had fo obfequiously begged his life) with the vehemence of a loyalift.

Of Cromwell, now protector, he folicited permiffion to return to England; and obtained it through the intereft of his fifter, married to colonel Scroop. Cromwell received him as his kinfman, and he repaid his favour by the famous panegyric which has always been confidered as the firft of his poetical productions. His choice of encomiaftic topics is very judicious; for he regards Cromwell, in his exaltation, without inquiring how he attained it; confequently there is no mention of the rebel or the regicide; nothing is brought to view but "the defender of England's glory, and the enlarger of her dominion." The poem on his death feems to have been dictated by real veneration for his memory.

Soon afterwards the Restoration fupplied him with another fubje&; and he exerted his imagination, his elegance, and his melody, with equal alacrity for Charles 11. It is not poffible to read, without indignation and contempt, poems of the fame author, afcribing the highest degree of power and piety to Charles I.; then transferring the fame power and piety to Oliver Cromwell; now inviting Oliver to take the crown, and then congratulating Charles II. on recovering his right. Neither could value his teftimony as the effect of conviction, or receive his praises as the effufions of reverence; they could confider them but as the labour of invention, and the tribute of dependence.

Poets indeed prefer fiction; but the legitimate end of fiction is the confequence of truth; and he that has flattery ready for all whom the viciffitudes of the world

happen

happen to exalt, must be fcorned as a prostituted mind, which may retain the glitter of wit, but has loft the dignity of virtue.

The account of Waller's parliamentary eloquence is attefted by Burnet, who calls him "the delight of the houfe;" but adds, "he was only concerned to say, that which should make him be applauded; he never laid the bufinefs of the house to heart, being a vain and empty, though a witty man." Clarendon, to whom he was familiarly known, records, " that he appeared in these affemblies with great advantage, having a graceful way of fpeaking; and, by thinking much on feveral arguments, he feemed to speak upon the fudden, when the occafion had only adminiftered the opportunity, which gave a high luftre to what he said, which yet was rather of delight than weight."-There needs no more be faid to extol the excellence and power of his wit, and pleasantness of his conversation, than that it was of magnitude enough to cover a world of very great faults; that is, fo to cover them, that they were not taken notice of to his reproach, viz. a narrowness in his nature to the lowest degree; an abjectnefs and want of courage to fupport him in any virtuous undertaking; an infinuation and fervile flattery to the height: that it preferved and won his life from those who were moft refolved to take it, and on an occafion in which he ought to have been ambitious to have loft it; and then preferved him again from the contempt which was due to him in fo preferving it, and vindicating it at fuch a price, that it had power to reconcile him to thofe whom he had most offended; and continued to his age, with that rare felicity, that his company was acceptable where his fpirit was odious; and he was pitied even where he was moft detefted.

At the acceffion of king James he was chofen a member of parliament, being then fourfcore, and treated by his majesty with kindness and familiarity.

Having

Having now attained an age beyond which the laws of nature seldom fuffer life to be extended, otherwife than by a future ftate, he feemed to have turned his mind on preparations for the decifive hour, and confecrated his poetry to devotion. It is pleafing to difcover that his piety was without weaknefs, and that the lines which he compofed when

"He for age could neither fee nor write"

are not inferior to the effufions of his youth.

As his disease increafed upon him, he compofed himfelf for his departure; and calling upon Dr. Birch to give him the holy facrament, he defired his children to take it with him, and made an earnest declaration in favour of Christianity. He died in 1687, and was buried at Beaconsfield.

The general character of his poetry is elegance and gaiety; he is never pathetic, and very rarely fublime. He feems neither to have had a mind much elevated by nature, nor amplified by learning; his thoughts are fuch as a liberal converfation, and large acquaintance with life, would eafily fupply; they had, however, then that grace of novelty which they are now fuppofed to want, by thofe who, having found them in later books, do not inquire who produced them firft.

Of his airy and light productions, the chief fource is gallantry; that attentive reverence of female excellence which has defcended to us from the Gothic ages. As his poems are commonly occafional, and his addreffes perfonal, he was not fo liberally furnished with grand as with foft images; for beauty is more easily found than magnanimity. The delicacy which he cultivated reftrains him to a certain nicety and caution, even when he writes on the lighteft matter. He has nothing bur-" lefque, and feldom any thing ludicrous. He feems always to do his beft, though his fubjects are not worth his care. Little things are made too important, and the em1800.

d

pire

pire of beauty is reprefented as exerting its influence further than can be allowed by the multiplicity of human paffions, and the variety of human wants.

He feldom brings an amorous fentence from the depths of fcience; his thoughts are easily understood; and he has a juft claim to popularity, because he writes to common degrees of knowledge.

Amongst his little poems, are fome which their excellence ought to fecure from oblivion: As that to Amoret, comparing the different modes of regard with which he looks on her and Sachariffa, and the Verfes on Love, beginning

"Anger in hafty words or blows."

Of the full refounding line he has given few examples; critical decifion has allotted the praife of ftrength to Denham, and sweetness to Waller. His harmony of verfifica tion has fome abatement: he ufes the expletive do very frequently; and, though he lived to fee it almoft univerfally rejected, was not more careful to avoid it in his laft compofitions than his firft. Reputation had given him confidence; and finding the world fatisfied with his productions, he fatisfied himself. His rhymes are fometimes weak words: fo, makes the rhyme twice in ten lines, and occurs often through the book.

Of his nobler and more weighty performances, the greater part is panegyric; for of praife he was very lavish: his verses upon Cromwell have obtained their just share of commendation. Such a series of lines had then rarely ap peared in the English language. Some are grand, others graceful; all are mufical.

His facred poems do not please like fome of his other works; but, before the fatal fifty-five, when his political conduct fo much dishonoured his literary powers, had he written on the fame fubjects, his fuccefs would hardly have been better.

But