court pander and parasite. And bitter was the punishment arising from the consciousness of his own powers and worth, combined with the bondman's feeling that his servitude was so confirmed that it was too late to cancel the agreement. After the distinguished four we have particularized, the other poets of the period may be dismissed with a brief notice. And first of these we may mention Sir William Davenant, born at Oxford in 1605, and who died in 1668. Not only his whole life was a poetical medley of change and adventure, but he wished to make its very commencement poetical also, by countenancing the report that he was the son of William Shakspeare, although by adultery, thus sacrificing the fame of his mother and his own legitimacy to a crazy selfish vanity. While a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, and with a halter in prospect, for his adherence to the cause of Charles I., he composed the greater part of Gondibert, a heroic poem, which he never completed; and afterwards, on being pardoned and set at large, he became theatrical manager and dramatic writer, in which offices he continued till he died. With all its merits, and they are not few, Gondibert, from its general style, and the structure of its versification, is an unwieldy poem, and as such, it speedily found its way to the lowest depths of oblivion. A better, or at least a more popular poet was Edmund Waller, who was also born in 1605, but who lived till 1687. These stirring times produced in many cases a precocious manhood; and it has been alleged that Waller was admitted into parliament when only in the eighteenth, or, as some even say, the sixteenth year of his age. At the age of eighteen, also, he commenced authorship, by a poem on the escape of Prince Charles (afterwards Charles I.) from shipwreck at the port of San Andero, in the Bay of Biscay. Neither as poet nor statesman, however, was his political consistency of much value; for after trimming between king and parliament until he was distrusted by the former and heavily fined by the latter, he wrote a panygeric upon Cromwell at the death of the protector, and was ready with a new song in welcome of Charles II. at the Restoration. Little praise can be accorded to his poetry, except mere smoothness of versification, in which he followed the French model; and this, with the triviality of his subjects, and low tone of sentiment, seems to have recommended him to the flippant courtiers of the day, with whom his works were in high favour. From this general censure, however, his eulogy on Oliver Cromwell, written while his heart was evidently glowing with unaffected gratitude, must be excepted, as it rises to the height of impassioned as well as graceful poetry. the rank as well as notoriety of the Duke of Buckingham entitles him to the first place, although he was not the best of the "titled rhymers" of the day. Besides writing the "Rehearsal," he is supposed to have aided in the composition of the "Town Mouse and Country Mouse," which is generally included among the poems of Prior. The Earl of Rochester, like Buckingham, a universal genius, has shown by a few of his fugitive pieces, and especially his poem "On Nothing," to what excellence in poetic art he might have attained, but for his profligacy and wild excesses, which cut him off in the prime of his strength at the age of thirty-four. Another of this courtly Comus crew was Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset, a statesman and naval soldier, who was so fortunate as to be in favour sucessively with Charles II., James II., and William, thus showing the versatility both of his talents and public principles. His poetry consisted of only a few fugitive pieces, among which his celebrated song, said to have been written on the evening previous to the naval victory of the 3d of June (1665) and commencing with "To all you ladies now on land,” long retained its popularity, not only on account of its poetical smartness and simplicity, but the occasion on which it was produced, and its nautical character, so congenial to the national spirit of Britain. Not dissimilar to the preceding in poetical worth, was Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Roscommon, who, after accomplishing himself by travel in Italy, and distinguishing himself by collecting relics of classical antiquity, returned to England after the Restoration, plunged into the excesses of the English court, and, finally, disgusted with such a kind of life, resumed a course of decorous regularity and study till his | death in 1684. His poems are few, while their character is scarcely above mediocrity; but to his honour it may be said that he was the very Abdiel of the poets of his age, so that "In all Charles's days Roscommon only boasts unspotted lays." He alone had the virtue and self-denial to struggle successfully against the tide to which men of higher genius than himself so shamefully succumbed. In this enumeration of the second and third rate English poets of the seventeenth century, we must not omit Sir John Denham, the friend of Cowley, and who shares with Waller the honour of having been one of the fathers of English verse, on account of the regularity and harmony of which he was the first to set the example. This, however, is his highest praise, as his poems, with the exception, perhaps, of "Cooper's Hill," published in 1643, scarcely rise Of the high-titled courtier-poets of this period, above mediocrity. with a niche in Absalom and Achitophel, under the character of Doeg. It speaks little for the taste of the age, that the last two were not only for a time set up as rivals to Dryden, but that their plays, which expired at last before their own paternal eyes, were preferred to his. But apart from these altogether, and worthy of separate mention, was Thomas Otway, incontestably the best dramatic writer of the age. Even his life, of which little is known, is itself a mournful heart-moving tragedy. He was born about 1651, at Trottin in Sussex, and was the son of an English clergyman. He was educated at Oxford; but having left the university without a degree, he came to London, and betook himself to the precarious life of an actor. A gleam of good fortune afterwards fell upon him when he obtained a commission in the army in Flanders; but this did not long continue, for he was cashiered, and once more thrown loose upon the world. He then became a dramatic writer; but owing either to his own imprudence, or the scanty remuneration of the managers of the day, he was continually in poverty, and often in utter want, although several of his plays were very favourably received. At length he is said to have died in the street, in consequence of voraciously swallowing a morsel of bread that choked him, after one of his long compulsory fasts. Such was his fate, which has often been used to "point a moral." During this short life, which terminated at the age of thirty-four, he wrote a considerable amount of miscellaneous poetry; but his chief productions were six tragedies and four comedies. In looking over the earliest of his tragic compositions, we are astonished at the amount of his plagiarisms from Shakspeare, not only of entire speeches, but almost of whole scenes As has been already noticed, the drama of the | gave Shadwell to unenviable immortality in his present period, in its externals at least, had satire of "MacFlecnoe"-and honoured Settle greatly improved upon the preceding age. But very different was the fate of dramatic poetry itself, so that while the stage was amplified, and adorned with every allurement that could captivate the senses, the living soul had departed. So far from producing a Shakspeare, a Marlow, or a Jonson, their writings were now scarcely even tolerated, on account of the French taste, frivolity, and licentiousness which the Restoration had introduced, as well as the rhyme by which blank verse was for a time superseded. Dramatic writing, therefore, was either abandoned, or only adopted by those who were willing to write after the new fashion, and become the mere playwrights of the day. It was in this spirit that Dryden himself was compelled to write his plays; and who then can wonder that they are so greatly inferior to his other productions? Even in their highest flight, he seldom goes beyond the artificial sublime, that is, bombast, while his pathos is little better than puling. All this, however, was popular with the king and court, and consequently with the public, so that Dryden was obliged to toil on against his better judgment; and he has himself confessed, that of all his dramatic productions, "All for Love" was the only one which he wrote according to his own taste and sense of fitness. Another prolific play-writer was Sir William Davenant, who produced twentyfive tragedies, comedies, and masques. But of those who were exclusively dramatic poets, this period presents us with the names of William Wycherly, Sir George Etheridge, Nathaniel Lee, and Thomas Southerne, most of them prolific writers, and all of them evincing such genuine talent in the midst of their perversity as makes us regret the bondage to which they had submitted. It is needless to add that they are all more or less tainted with that indecency and sensuality without which they could scarcely have obtained possession of the stage. But the worst offender in this particular was no other than a woman, who far distanced her male competitors, and proved herself the very Atalanta in the race of dramatic profligacy. This was Mrs. Aphra or Aphora Behn, whose plays in four volumes no one would now adventure to read, unless he wished to be "written down an ass"--and something worse besides. And yet she was eulogized in her day as the "divine Astræa!" Descending In looking over the distinguished literary to the very bathos of the dramatic writers, we names of the age, the mournful conviction strikes are stopped by the names of Thomas Shadwell, us that never-in England at least-was iniquity Elkanah Settle, and Nahum Tate, beyond which so strongly supported, and licentiousness so abunwe can go no lower. The memory of these men dantly pampered. A sovereign who was emiwould have perished for ever but for Dryden, nently the king of profligates, was certain to call who consigned to Tate the execution of the forth into the light of day, and the sunshine of second part of his Absalom and Achitophel-royal favour, those swarms of "obscene birds" and still more so at the general ignorance of the audiences, who could not detect and condemn such literary felonies. This alone may sufficiently show the general neglect into which the writings of Shakspeare for the time had fallen. Otway, however, had evidently caught inspiration from his model; and in his later productions, especially the "Orphan" and "Venice Preserved," he has exhibited an originality, truthfulness, and depth of feeling which Shakspeare himself would have regarded almost with envy. whose uncouth presence would otherwise have been condemned to everlasting darkness and oblivion. But it is gratifying to think that they were the representatives, not of the nation at large, but of its Frenchified king and courtiers, and that the bulk of the people remained untouched by the contagion that was mainly confined to Whitehall and its purlieus. If the present period was also renowned for intellectual iniquity, it was still more distinguished by genius that was consecrated for its highest and holiest mission, so that the virulence of the bane was exceeded by the strength of the antidote. An account of the eminent theological writers of this period, whether Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Independent, or sectarian, would of itself require a lengthened history, and the choice of a few illustrative examples becomes a work of difficulty. From this fertility, especially remarkable in the Church of England at this its period of depression and recovery, we are compelled reluctantly to pass unnoticed the writings of such men as the profound and acute Owen-Barrow, whose sermons are a complete body of divinity in all its fulness and minuteness-and many more whose names are still endeared to the religious world as if they had lived but yesterday, and whose works are still the sources of general instruction as well as the text-books of modern theologians. Of those few to whom we can but briefly advert, the first place is perhaps due to Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor. This illustrious ornament of the English church was born at Cambridge in 1613. After he had completed the clerical course of education, as a sizar, or poor scholar, at Caius College, he was admitted to holy orders before the age of twentyone; and was soon so distinguished for the remarkable power and eloquence of his discourses, as well as the graces of his person and elocution, as to obtain the patronage of Laud, in consequence of which he became chaplain to the primate, and subsequently to Charles I. On the breaking out of the Civil war, his connection by office with royalty, and his strenuous efforts as a disputant and apologist in the cause of Episcopacy, exposed him to those manifold hardships with which the adherents of church and state were visited, so that at one time he was a fugitive, and at another a schoolmaster in Caermarthenshire. But if he had at any time sympathized with the intolerance of his patron, Laud, the wandering and precarious life which he led for years had the effect of purifying, instead of hardening his gentle spirit, as was manifested in the tolerant and comprehensive character of his writings, and especially of his "Discourse on the liberty of Prophesying; showing the unreasonableness of prescribing to other men's faith, and the iniquity in the year following his "Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying." His next important work, which was published in 1653, was "The Great Exemplar; or the Life and Death of the Holy Jesus," a folio which speedily obtained universal notice and general approval. This was succeeded within two years by a "Treatise against Transubstantiation;" and "Unum Necessarium; or the Doctrine and Practice of Repentance," a work too Arminian even for his own brethren. Besides these, he wrote various other tracts, which were collected and published in one volume; and a course of sermons for the whole year. After such labours, achieved not in tranquil ease and comfort, but a shifting and precarious life, in which his temporary home appears more than once to have been exchanged for a prison, Jeremy Taylor, like his brethren, obtained relief by the Restoration, very soon after which he published his elaborate and remarkable work, entitled "Ductor Dubitantium; or, the Rule of Conscience in all her general measures;" and in the same year (1660) was promoted to the bishopric of Down and Connor. Being now in Ireland, where the Romish church had complete popular predominance, Taylor published, in 1663, "A Dissuasive from Popery;" and in consequence of the answers that appeared to it, he prepared a second part, which, however, did not appear till after his death. He died in 1667; and although he had written so much and so well, he was only in his fifty-fourth year when he entered into his rest. His polemical works, distinguished though they were by learning and profound thought, were only suited for the age, and are now seldom consulted. But this cannot be said of his practical works, and especially of his "Holy Living," and "Holy Dying," which still hold, and long will continue to occupy the foremost place among the religious classics of English literature. In one word, Jeremy Taylor stands alone as the Milton of theology. Another name renowned among the religious writers of the period, was that of Richard Baxter, the pride of English Presbyterianism, as Jeremy Taylor was of English Episcopacy. Baxter was born at Rowton in Shropshire, in 1615; and after having prosecuted his studies at Wroxeter, he repaired to London at the age of eighteen, to seek employment at court. He applied at Whitehall, and obtained for his patron Sir Henry Herbert, master of the revels, to whom he was recommended-but in little more than a month he turned his back upon a court life, and hastened away to his obscure but peaceful home. Devoting himself to the clerical profession, he became minister of Kidderminster; and on the outbreak of the Civil war, he joined the parliamentarians, London. Barrow, "his practical writings were never mended, and his controversial ones seldom refuted." Similar, too, was the testimony of Dr. Johnson, when Boswell inquired of him which of Baxter's works he should peruse :-" Read any of them," replied the doctor, "they are all good." Their effect also has been such, that, according to Dr. Adam Clarke, they "have done more to improve the understanding and mend the hearts of his countrymen, than those of any other writer of his age." Amidst such a variety of writings, Baxter's Call to the Unconverted was so popular, that 20,000 copies of it were sold in one year; it was speedily translated into most of the languages of Europe, and it still continues to be a cherished household book in Britain among every rank and religious denomination. and became an army chaplain; but his feeble RICHARD BAXTER. From the original in Dr. Williams' library, health obliged him to return to his parish and its peaceful duties. Here, however, he had a conflict to maintain more trying than mere military campaigning; for his sensitive mind could not join in the violent measures of his party, against which he both protested and preached; and his recommendations of a return to loyalty when that cause was at the lowest, were so conspicuous, that after the Restoration he was appointed one of the king's chaplains in ordinary. But evil days were now in store for Presbyterianism, and in these Richard Baxter had an ample share. Being hindered by the dominant party from returning to Kidderminster, where he was all but worshipped by the people, he preached occasionally in the neighbourhood of London; but on the passing of the act against conventicles in 1662, he was deprived of even that limited opportunity of doing good, and obliged to betake himself to retirement, where, however, he could not escape from persecution, for he was repeatedly imprisoned although suffering from sickness, and visited with heavy fines. But in spite of these punishments he persisted to the close of his life in preaching wherever he had an opportunity; and he died in 1691, aged seventy-six years. Nothing but the most careful and abstemious course of life could have enabled him to work so incessantly and live so long, for his constitution had been weak and sickly from childhood. The productions of Baxter from the press were so numerous, as to comprise 145 separate treatises, of which four were folios, and seventythree quartos, independently of sermons, prefaces, Another illustrious divine, one of the masterspirits of the age, and whose writings are still cherished, was John Howe, the Independent. He was born at Loughborough, in 1630, in which parish his father was minister, until he was dismissed for his Puritanical sentiments by Laud, his patron, by whom he had been appointed to the living. After a diligent course of study, both at Cambridge and Oxford, John Howe, at an early age, became minister of Great Torrington, in Devonshire, and was soon noted as one of the most eloquent Puritan preachers of the day, in which character he became known to Oliver Cromwell, who at a glance saw his worth, and selected him for his private chaplain, although he had only reached the age of twenty-six. In this situation, Howe's conduct was marked by such disinterestedness, that the protector at last was obliged to say to him, "You have obtained many favours for others; but I wonder when the time is to come that you will move for anything for yourself, or your family." At the Restoration, Howe returned to his charge at Torrington; but, in consequence of the passing of the act of uniformity, he was one of the 2000 sufferers who preferred the abandonment of their livings, to the violation of their consciences. As yet he appears to have published nothing except two sermons; but, now that the pulpit was generally closed against him, he had recourse to the press, by his remarkable volume, the Blessedness of the Righteous, which was published in 1668, and welcomed by the religious portion of the community with cordial admiration. After this, Howe's career was one of uncertainty, not only owing to the restrictions laid upon Nonconformists, but the attempts in the reign of James II. to establish Popery in England; and, accordingly, Ireland, London, and Utrecht became successively his home, until 1687, when James's declaration for liberty of conscience enabled him to return to his own country. He heartily sympathized with the bishops in their stand against the infatuated sovereign; and when William was seated in Whitehall, it was Howe who headed the deputation of Dissenting ministers to the new king, and delivered their congra JOHN HOWE.-From a print by R. White. tulatory address. Esteemed, honoured, and beloved, and with a reputation which continued to increase to the close, John Howe died in 1705. His numerous productions, which he published at various periods of his changeful life in single volumes, tracts, and sermons, were afterwards collected by Dr. Edmund Calamy into two folio volumes, which were published in 1724. But in this form they have not been suffered to remain: the popular admiration they first excited, without diminishing in intensity, has been widened in extent, and in single treatises or collective volumes, they have been repeatedly published in our own day-a proof of their still abiding influence, as well as superior excellence. An age so distinguished by the extremes of Popery and religious unbelief, and so ripe for debate and disputation, not only needed an able controversialist for the defence of pure Christianity as established in England, but was certain to call one into the field. And such a man was found in Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, who was born at Cranbourne in Dorsetshire, A.D. 1635. He studied at Cambridge, where his proficiency was so remarkable, that at the age of seventeen he obtained the degree of bachelor of arts, and in the year following was chosen a fellow of his college. While a tutor, he commenced his learned work, entitled Irenicum, which was published in 1659; and such was its amount of learning and depth of thought, that it was reckoned a wonderful production, even by those who were not aware that its author had only reached his twenty-fourth year. It was a defence of Episcopacy; but so moderate were his views, and so little in accordance with the highchurch extravagance of the period, that it was decried as an attack upon, rather than a defence of the cause which it professed to advocate. Yet, angry though both extremes of the church were at its calm, dispassionate moderation, "the argument was managed with so much learning and skill, that none of either side ever undertook to answer it." Two years before the Irenicum was given to the press, Stillingfleet entered into holy orders; and while performing the duties of a faithful and laborious pastor in the diocese of Lincoln, he wrote Origines Sacra, which was published in 1662. This was a more important theme than the Divine right of Episcopacy, for it was, as its title-page expressed it, "a rational account of the Christian faith, as to the truth and Divine authority of the Scriptures, and the matters therein contained." A work against Popery was his next production, which, under the title of "A Vindication of Archbishop Laud's Conference with Fisher the Jesuit," was a masterly defence of Protestantism, and a complete establishment of the fact that the charge of schism rests, not upon the Reformation, but the Church of Rome itself. Stillingfleet's course of ministerial duty was now exclusively confined to London, where he was one of the royal chaplains, and canon residentiary of St. Paul's. In 1669, having published a series of sermons, in 1 1 Burnet. |