But to return to our author's plays; The Alexandræan Tragedy is built upon the differences about the fucceffion, that rose between Alexander's captains after his deceafe; he has borrowed many thoughts, and translated whole fpeeches from Seneca, Virgil, &c. In this play his lordship feems to mistake the very effence of the drama, which confits in action, for there is scarce one action performed in view of the audience, but feveral perfons are introduced upon the itage, who relate atchievements done by themselves and others: the two firft acts are entirely foreign to the business of the play. Upon the whole it must be allowed that his lordship was a very good hiftorian, for the reader may learn from it a great deal of the affairs of Greece and Rome; for the plot fee Quintus Curtius, the thirteenth Book of Juftin. Diodorus Siculus, Jofephus, Raleigh's Hiftory, &c. The Scene is in Babylon. Cræfus, a Tragedy; the Scene of this Play is laid in Sardis, and is reckoned the most moving of the four; it is chiefly borrowed from Herodotus, Clio, Juftin, Plutarch's Life of Solon, Salian, Torniel. In the fifth Act there is an Epifode of Abradates and Panthæa, which the author has taken from Xenophon's Cyropædeia, or The Life and Education of Cyrus, lib. vii. The ingenious Scudery has likewife built upon this foundation, in his diverting Romance called the Grand Cyrus. Darius, a Tragedy; this was his lordship's firft dramatic performance; it was printed at Edinburgh in 4to. in the year 1603; it was firft compofed of a mixture of English and Scotch dialed, and even then was commended by feveral copies. of verses. The Scene of this Play is laid in Babylon. The author afterwards not only polifhed his native language, but altered the Play itself; as to the plot confult Q Curtius, Diodorus Siculus, Juftin, Plutarch's Life of Alexander, &c. P 3 Julius Julius Cæfar, a Tragedy. In the fifth Act of this Play, my lord brings Brutus, Caffius, Cicero, Anthony, &c. together, after the death of Cæfar, almost in the fame circumftances Shakespear has done in his Play of this name; but the difference between the Anthony and Brutus of Shakespear, and these characters drawn by the earl of Stirling, is as great, as the genius of the former tranfcended the latter. This is the most regular of his lordhip's plays in the unity of action. The ftory of this Play is to be found in all the Roman Histories written fince the death of that Emperor. His lordship has acknowledged the file of his dramatic works not to be pure, for which in excufe he has pleaded his country, the Scotch dialect then being in a very imperfect state. Having mentioned the Scotch dialect, it will not be improper to obferve, that it is at this time much in the fame degree of perfection, that the English language was, in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth; there are idioms peculiar to the Scotch, which fome of their beft writers have not been able entirely to forget, and unless they refide in England for fome time, they feldom overcome them, and their language is greatly obfcured by these means; but the reputation which fome Scotch writers at prefent enjoy, make it fufficiently clear, that they are not much wanting in perfpicuity or elegance, of which Mr. Hume, the ingenious author of Effays Moral and Political, is an inftance. In the particular quality of fire, which is indifpenfible in a good writer, the Scotch authors have rather too much of it, and are more apt to be extravagantly animated, than correctly dull. Befides thefe Plays, our author wrote feveral other Poems of a different kind, viz. Doomsday, or the Great Day of the Lord's Judgment, first printed 1614, and a Poem divided into 12 Book, which the author calls Hours; In this Poem is the following emphatic line, line, when fpeaking of the divine vengeance falling upon the wicked; he calls it. 6 A weight of wrath, more than ten worlds could bear. A very ingenious gentleman of Oxford, in a converfation with the author of this Life, took occafion to mention the above line as the best he had ever read confifting of monyfyllables, and is indeed one of the most affecting lines to be met with in any poet. This Poem, fays Mr. Coxeter, in his MS. notes, was reprinted in 1720, by A. Johnfton, who in his preface fays, that he had the Lonour of tranfmitting the author's works to the great Mr. Addison, for the perufal of them, and he was pleased to fignify his approbation in "these candid terms, That he had read them with the greateft fatisfaction, and was pleased to give it as his judgment, that the beauties of our ancient English poets are too flightly paffed over by the modern writers, who, out of a peculiar fingularity, had rather take pains to find fault, 'than endeavour to excel.' A Parænæfis to Prince Henry, who dying before it was published, it was afterwards dedicated to King Charles I. †. Jonathan; intended to be an Heroic Poem, but the firft Book of it is only extant. He wrote all thefe Poems in the Ottavo Rima of Taffo, or a Stanza of eight lines, fix interwoven, and a Couplet in Bafe. His Plays and Poems were all printed together in folio, under the title of Recreations with the Muses, 1637, and dedicated to the King. The earl of Stirling lived in friendship with the moft eminent wits of his time, except Ben John + Langbaire. P 4 fon, fon, who complained that he was neglected by him; but there are no particulars preferved concerning any quarrel between them. My lord feems to have often a peculiar inclination to punning, but this was the characteriftic vice of the times. That he could fometimes write in a very elegant ftrain will appear by the following lines, in which he defcribes love. Love is a joy, which upon pain depends; A drop of fweet, drowned in a fea of fours : What folly does begin, that fury ends; They hate for ever, who have lov'd for hours. HIS prelate was born, according to his own within the parish of Afhby de la Zouch, a town in Leicestershire *. His father was an officer under Henry Earl of Huntingdon, prefident of the North, who from his infancy had devoted him to the fervice of the church; and his mother, whom he has celebrated for her exemplary and diftinguifhed piety, was extremely follicitous that her favourite fon fhould be of a profeffion, fhe herfelf held fo much in veneration. Our author, who feems to have been very credulous in his difpofition, rather religious than wife, or poffeffing any attainments equal to the dignity to which he rofe, has preferved in his Specialities, fome vifions of his mother's, which he relates with an air of ferioufnefs, fufficient to evidence his own *Specialities of this bishop's life prefixed to his works. conviction conviction of their reality; but as they appear to have been the offspring of a difordered imagination, they have no right to a place here. In order to train him up to the miniftry, his father at first resolved to place him under the care of one Mr. Pelfet, lately come from Cambridge to be the public preacher at Leicester, who undertook to give him an education equally finished with that of the univerfity, and by thefe means fave much expence to his father: This refolution, however, was not executed, fome other friends advifing his father to fend him to Cambridge, and perfuaded him that no private tuition could poffibly be equal to that of the academical. When our author had remained fix years at Cambridge, he had a right to preferment, and to ftand for a fellowship, had not his tutor Mr. Giby been born in the fame county with him, and the ftatutes not permitting two of the fame fhire to enjoy fellowships, and as Mr. Gilby was fenior to our author, and already in poffeffion, Mr. Hall could not be promoted. In confequence of this, he propofed to remove, when the Earl of Huntingdon, being made acquainted with this circumftance, and hearing very favour, able accounts of our author,interested himself to prevent his removal. He made application to Mr. Gil, by, promised to make him his chaplain, and promote him in the church, provided he would relinquish his place in the college, in favour of Mr. Hall. Thefe promifes being made with feeming fincerity, and as the Earl of Huntingdon was a man of reputation for probity, he complied with his lordship's requeft, and relinquished his place in the college. When he was about to enter upon his office of chaplain, to his great mortification, the nobleman on whofe promiles he confided, and on whom he immediately depended, fuddenly died, by which accident he was thrown unprovided upon the world. This not a little affected Mr. Hall, who was |