He fung the embryo's growth within the womb, FENTON. THE brevity with which I am to write the ac count of ELIJAH FENTON, is not the effect of indifference or negligence. I have fought intelligence among his relations in his native country, but have not obtained it. He was born near Newcastle in Staffordshire, of an ancient family, whofe eftate was very confiderable; but he was the youngest of twelve children, and be ing therefore neceffarily deftined to fome lucrative employment, was fent firft to fchool, and afterwards to Cambridge, but, with many other wife and other virtuous men, who at that time of difcord and debate confulted confcience, whether well or ill informed, more than intereft, he doubted the legality of the government, and refufing to qualify himself for public employment by the oaths * He was entered of Jefus College, and took a Bachelor's de gree in 1704. H. required, required, left the university without a degree; but I never heard that the enthufiafm of oppofition impelled him to feparation from the church. By this perverfeness of integrity he was driven out a commoner of Nature, excluded from the regular modes of profit and prosperity, and reduced to pick up a livelihood uncertain and fortuitous: but it must be remembered that he kept his name unfullied, and never fuffered himself to be reduced, like too many of the fame fect, to mean arts and difhonourable shifts. Whoever mentioned Fenton, mentioned him with honour. The life that paffes in penury, muft neceffarily pafs in obfcurity. It is impoffible to trace Fenton from year to year, or to difcover what means he ufed for his fupport. He was a while fecretary to Charles earl of Orrery in Flanders, and tutor to his young fon, who afterwards mentioned him with' great esteem and tenderness. He was at one time affiftant in the fchool of Mr. Bonwicke in Surrey; and at another kept a school for himself at Seven. oaks in Kent, which he brought into reputation; but was perfuaded to leave it (1710) by Mr. St. John, with promifes of a more honourable employment. His opinions, as he was a Nonjuror, feem not to have been remarkably rigid. He wrote with great zeal and affection the praifes of queen Anne, and very willingly and liberally extolled the duke of Marlborough, when he was (1707) at the height of his glory. He expreffed ftill more attention to Marlborough and his family by an elegiac Paftoral on the marquis of Blandford, which could be prompted only by refpect or kindness; for neither the duke nor duchefs duchefs defired the praife, or liked the coft of patronage. The elegance of his poetry entitled him to the company of the wits of his time, and the amiablenefs of his manners made him loved wherever he was known. Of his friendship to Southern and Pope there are lasting monuments. He published in 1707 a collection of poems. By Pope he was once placed in a station that might have been of great advantage. Craggs, when he was advanced to be fecretary of ftate, (about 1720,) feeling his own want of literature, defired Pope to procure him an inftructor, by whofe help he might fupply the deficiencies of his education. Pope recommended Fenton, in whom Craggs found all that he was feeking. There was now a profpect of eafe and plenty, for Fenton had merit, and Craggs had generofity: but the fmallpox fuddenly put an end to the pleafing expectation. When Pope, after the great fuccefs of his Iliad, undertook the Odyssey, being, as it feems, weary of tranflating, he determined to engage auxiliaries. Twelve books he took to himself, and twelve he diftributed between Broome and Fenton: the books allotted to Fenton were the firft, the fourth, the nineteenth, and the twentieth. It is obfervable, that he did not take the eleventh, which he had before tranflated into blank verfe; neither did Pope claim it, but committed it to Broome. How the two affociates performed their parts is well known to the readers of poetry, who have never been able to distinguish their books from thofe of Pope In 1723 was performed his tragedy of Mariamne; to which Southern, at whofe house it was written, written, is faid to have contributed fuch hints as his theatrical experience fupplied. When it was fhewn to Cibber, it was rejected by him, with the additional infolence of advifing Fenton to engage himself in fome employment of honeft Ibour, by. which he might obtain that fupport which he could never hope from his poetry. The play was acted at the other theatre; and the brutal petulance of Cibber was confuted, though, perhaps, not fhamed, by general applaufe. Fenton's profits are faid to have amounted to near a thousand pounds, with which he difcharged a debt contracted by his attendance at court. Fenton feems to have had fome peculiar fyftem of verification. Mariamne is written in lines of ten fyllables, with few of thofe redundant terminations which the drama not only admits but requires, as more nearly approaching to real dialogue. The tenor of his verfe is fo uniform that it cannot be thought cafual; and yet upon what principle he fo conftructed it, is difficult to dif cover. The mention of his play brings to my mind a very trifling occurrence. Fenton was one day in the company of Broome his affociate, and Ford, a clergyman, at that time too well known, whofe abilities, instead of furnishing convivial merriment to the voluptuous and diffolute, might have enabled him to excel among the virtuous and the wife. They determined all to fee the Merry Wives of Windfor, which was acted that night; and Fenton, as a dramatic poet, took them to the ftage-door; where the door-keeper inquiring who they were, was told that they were three very ne ceffary men, Ford, Broome and Fenton. The name name in the play, which Pope restored to Brook, was then Broome. It was perhaps after this play that he undertook to revife the punctuation of Milton's Poems, which, as the author neither wrote the original copy nor corrected the prefs, was fuppofed capable of amendment. To this edition he prefixed a short and elegant account of Milton's life, written at once with tenderness and integrity. He published likewife (1729) a very fplendid edition of Waller, with notes often useful, often entertaining, but too much extended by long quotations from Clarendon. illuftrations drawn from a book fo easily confulted, fhould be made by reference rather than tranfcription, The latter part of his life was calm and pleasant. The relict of Sir William Trumbull invited him, by Pope's recommendation, to educate her fon; whom he first inftructed at home, and then attended to Cambridge. The lady afterwards detained him with her as the auditor of her accounts. He often wandered to London, and amused himself with the converfation of his friends. He died in 1730, at Easthampftead in Berkshire, the feat of lady Trumbull; and Pope, who had been always his friend, honoured him with an epitaph, of which he borrowed the two first lines from Crafhaw. Fenton was tall and bulky, inclined to corpulence, which he did not leffen by much exercife; for he was very fluggish and fedentary, rofe late, and when he had rifen, fat down to his book or papers. A woman that once waited on him in a lodging, told him, as the faid, that he would lie "a-bed, |