of contest and turbulence steady to his party, and obtained that esteem which is always conferred upon firmnefs and confiftency. With thofe advantages, having learned the art of verfifying, he declared himself a poet; and his claim to the laurel was allowed.

But by a critic of a latter generation who takes up his book without any favourable prejudices, the praife already received will be thought fufficient; for his works do not fhew him to have had much comprehenfion from nature, or illumination from learning. He feems to have had no ambition above the imitation of Waller, of whom he has copied the faults, and very little more. He is for ever amufing himself with the puerilities of mythology; his King is Jupiter, who, if the Queen brings no children, has a barren Juno. The Queen is compounded of Juno, Venus, and Minerva. His poem on the dutchefs of Grafton's law-fuit, after having rattled a while with Juno and Pallas, Mars and Alcides, Caffiope, Niobe, and the Propetides, Hercules, Minos, and Rhadamanthus, at laft concludes its folly with profaneness.

His verfes to Mira, which are most frequently mentioned, have little in them of either art or nature, of the fentiments of a lover or the language of a poet there may be found, now and then, a happier effort; but they are commonly feeble and unaffecting, or forced and extravagant.

His little pieces are feldom either fprightly or elegant, either keen or weighty. They are trifles written by idlenefs, and publifhed by vanity. But his Prologues and Epilogues have a juft claim to praife.

The Progress of Beauty feems one of his most elaborate pieces, and is not deficient in fplendor and gaiety; but the merit of original thought is wanting. Its highest praife is the spirit with which he celebrates king James's confort, when he was a queen no longer.

The Effay on unnatural Flights in Poetry is not inelegant nor injudicious, and has fomething of vigour beyond most of his other performances: his precepts are juft, and his cautions proper; they are indeed not new, but in a didactic poem novelty is to be expected only in the ornaments and illuftrations. His poetical precepts are accompanied with agreeable and inftructive notes.

The Mafque of Peleus and Thetis has here and there a pretty line; but it is not always melodious, and the conclufion is wretched.

In his British Enchanters he has bidden defiance to all chronology, by confounding the inconfiftent manners of different ages; but the dialogue has often the air of Dryden's rhyming plays; and the fongs are lively, though not very correct. This is, I think, far the best of his works; for if it has many faults, it has likewife paffages, which are at leaft pretty, though they do not rife to any high degree of excellence.

YALDE N.

THOMAS

HOMAS YALDEN, the fixth son of Mr. John Yalden of Suffex, was born in the city of Exeter in 1671. Having been educated in the grammar-fchool belonging to Magdalen College in Oxford, he was in 1690, at the age of nineteen, admitted commoner of Magdalen Hall, under the tuition of Jofiah Pullen, a man whose name is ftill remembered in the university. He became next year one of the scholars of Magdalen College, where he was diftinguifhed by a lucky accident.

It was his turn, one day, to pronounce a decla-` mation; and Dr. Hough, the prefident, happening to attend, thought the compofition too good to be the speaker's. Some time after, the doctor finding him a little irregularly bufy in the library, fet him an exercise 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 subject given, and produced with little difficulty a compofition which fo pleafed 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 first, yet did not lofe the friendship of Addifon.

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 fong himself, but happened to employ minifters who pleased themfelves with the praife 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 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 verfe,
And prefenting his theft to the king;
The firft was a trick not uncommon or scarce,
But the laft was an impudent thing;

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

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 prefented by the fociety with a living in Warwickshire, confiftent with the fellowship, and chofen lecturer of moral philofophy, 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 himself 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 Hertfordfhire; and had the prebends, or finecures, of Deans, Hains, and Pendles, in Devon fhire. He had before been chofen, in 1698, preacher of Bridewell Hospital, upon the refignation of Dr. Atterbury +

From this time he seems 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 custody.

Upon his examination he was charged with a dangerous correfpondence with Kelly. The cor refpondence he acknowledged; but maintained, that it had no treasonable tendency. His papers were seized; but nothing was found that could fix a crime upon him, except two words in his pocketbook, thorough paced doctrine. This expreffion the imagination of his examiners had impregnated with treafon, and the doctor was enjoined to explain

Not til long after. N.

+ Dr. Atterbury retained the office of preacher at Bridewell, till his promotion to the Bishoprick of Rochefter. Dr. Yalden fucceeded him as preacher in June 1713. N.

1