which while they ftood fingle had paffed with little notice, when they were accumulated and exposed together, excited horror; the wife and the pious caught the alarm, and the nation wondered why it had so long fuffered irreligion and licentiousness to be openly taught at the publick charge.

Nothing now remained for the poets but to refift or fly. Dryden's confcience, or his prudence, angry as he was, withheld him from the conflict; Congreve and Vanbrugh attempted answers. Congreve, a very young man, elated with fuccefs, and impatient of cenfure, affumed an air of confidence and fecurity. His chief artifice of controverfy is to retort upon his adversary his own words: he is very angry, and, hoping to conquer Collier with his own weapons, allows himself in the use of evey term of contumely and contempt; but he has the fword without the arm of Scanderbeg; he has his antagonist's coarseness, but not his ftrength. Collier replied; for conteft was his delight, he was not to be frighted from his purpose or his prey.

The caufe of Congreve was not tenable : whatever gloffes he might use for the defence or palliation of fingle paffages, the general tenour and tendency of his plays must always be condemned. It is acknowledged, with univerfal conviction, that the perufal of his works will make no man better; and that their ultimate effect is to reprefent pleasure in alliance with vice, and to relax thofe obligations by which life ought to be regulated.

The ftage found other advocates, and the difpute was protracted through ten years; but at laft Comedy grew more modeft, and Collier lived to fee the reward of his labour in the reformation of the theatre.

Of the powers by which this important victory was atchieved, a quotation from Love for Love, and the remark upon it, may afford a fpecimen.

Sir Sampf. Sampfon's a very good name; for your Sampfens were strong dogs from the beginning.

Angel. Have a care-If you remember, the Strongest Sempfon 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 so 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 publick; he lived for himself and for his friends; and among his friends was able to name every man of his time whom wit and elegance had raised to reputation. It may be therefore reasonably fuppofed that his manners were polite, and his conversation pleafing.

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 publication 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 splendid, in the placid enjoyment of his fame and for

tune.

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

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

He

He that was thus honoured by the adverfe party, might naturally expect to be advanced when his friends returned to power, and he was accordingly made secretary for the island of Jamaica; a place, I fuppofe, without trust 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,

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 visit from Voltaire, disgusted him by the despicable foppery of defiring to be confidered not as an author but a gentleman; to which the Frenchman replied, "that "if he had been only a gentleman, he should "not have come to vifit him."