Dorfet. He was principally concerned in bringing about the revolution; was lord-chamberlain to King William and Queen Mary; chosen a knight of the garter in 1691, and several times appointed one of the regents, when the affairs of Europe demanded the absence of the king. He died at Bath in 1706, aged fixty-nine, lamented by every clafs of people, and the most oppofite parties. Mr. Pope gives him these lines: "Dorset, the grace of courts, the muse's pride, Dull as Ned Howard, whom his brifker times Edward Howard, Efq; a gentleman of the Berkshire family, confequently related to Sir Robert Howard. He wrote four plays, called, ift. The Man of Newmarket, a comedy, 2d. Six Days Adventure; or, The New Utopia, a comedy. 3d. The Ufurper, a tragedy. 4th. Women's Conqueft, a tragi-comedy: but none of them fucceeded on the stage, nor procured him any reputation. He also published an Epic poem, called The British Princes, for which he was feverely ridiculed by all the wits of his age: Lord Rochester, Lord Dorset, Mr. Waller, the Duke of Buckingham, Dr. Spratt, Lord Vaughan, published lampoons upon it, most of them printed in the fix volumes of Mifcellanies published by Dryden. Mulgrave had much ado to 'Scape the fnare, We shall speak of Lord Mulgrave elsewhere. And little Sid. for fimile renown'd, Pleafure has always fought but never found. This Sidney, brother of Algernoon Sidney and the Earl of Leicester, was rather a man of pleasure than of business; his talents were great, but his indolence was greater; his appearance was graceful; he was a favorite with the ladies, had a turn for intrigue, and was of a difpofition exactly fitted to Charles's court, eafy, affable, and infinuating; free from any guile, and a friend to mankind. In 1679 he went envoy to the Hague, where he contracted an intimacy with the Prince of Orange, whose friends he heartily affifted in raifing him to the throne, being himself a meffenger from England to Holland upon that very business in 1688. He was raised to the dignity of Lord Sidney, and Earl of Rumney, in 1688; declared secretary of ftate, mafter of the ordnance, and lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1 1689; and was removed from the latter poft in 1693, it being thought that he held the reins of power with too flack a hand. Till be take Hewit and Jack Hall for wits. Sir George Hewit, a man of quality, famous for gallantry, and often named in the State Poems. Sir George Etherege intended for him the celebrated character of Sir Fopling Flutter. "Scarce will there greater grief pierce every heart, To ftay and tie the cravat-ftring at home; State Poems, Vol. I. p. 155 The above lines are addreffed by Rochester to Lord Mulgrave, when bound for Tangier. Jack Hall, a courtier, whom I take to be the fame with Uzza in the fecond part of Abfalom and Achitophel, is thus mentioned in the State Poems, vol. II. p. 135. Jack Hall -left town, "But first writ something he dare own, "Of prologue lawfully begotten, And full nine months maturely thought on: "Born with hard labor, and much pain, Oufely was Dr. Chamberlain. "At length from stuff and rubbish pick'd, "Yet Swan fays, he admir'd it 'cap'd, "Since 'twas Jack Hall's, without being clapp'd. Swan was a notorious punster. Rochefter I defpife, &c. Wilmot, Earl of Rochefter, was naturally modeft, till the court corrupted him. His wit had in it a brightnefs, to which few could ever arrive. He gave himself up to all forts of extravagance, and to the wildeft frolics that a wanton wit could devife. He went about the ftreets as a beggar; made love as a porter; fet up a stage as an Italian mountebank; was, for fome years, al ways drunk, ever doing mifchief. The king loved his company for the diverfion it afforded, better than his perfon; and there was no love loft between them. He took his revenges in many libels: he found out a footman that knew all the court, whom he furnished with a red coat and a musket, as a centinel, and kept him all the winter long every night, at the doors of such ladies as he fufpected of intrigues. In the court a centinel is little minded, and is believed to be posted by a captain of the guards to hinder a combat; fo this man faw who walked about, and vifited at forbidden hours. By this means Lord Rochester made many difcoveries; and when he was well furnished with materials, he used to retire into the country for a month or two to write libels. Once, being drunk, he intended to give the king a libel that he had wrote on fome ladies; but, by a mistake, he gave him one written on himself, which brought him for that time into difgrace. He fell into an ill habit of body, and in feveral fits of fickness he had deep remorfes, for he was guilty of much impiety, and of great immoralities; but as he recovered he threw thefe off, and returned again to his former ill courses. This is the account given of Lord Rochester by Bishop Burnet, who attended him in his illness; and who fays, he is fure he would have continued to live a regular religious life, in case he had furvived. He had ferved as a volunteer in the Dutch war, and behaved with fuch undaunted refolution, that it can scarcely be reconciled to his daftardly conduct afterwards in private life; for it is certain, that he was not only capable of fatirizing in the feverest manner, but of fuftaining the due reward of his abufe without refentment: fo that he is said to have His own kickings notably contriv'd. And we can only reconcile these contradictions in conduct, by remembering his uninterrupted courfe of riot and debauchery. which had enervated all mental as well as corporeal faculties, and eradicated every virtue; befides, it is a juft obfervation, that no two things can be more oppofite, than one and the same man at different times. He envied Dryden's great fuccefs, while he acknowledged his fuperior abilities, and fupported Crown against him, whom he forfook, and opposed with equal virulence, when his Conquest of Jerufalem procured him some reputation. This is one reason for his being introduced here, in a light so very unpleafing, tho not untrue; for the picture resembles him in every thing but want of wit, which is a mifreprefentation. As he was one of the lewdeft writers of his time, several collections of obscene poems, many of which he never faw, have been published under his name. He was looked upon to be master of fo much infinuation, that no woman was seen talking to him three times, without losing her reputation; and if he did not make himself master of her perfon, he fcrupled not fcandalizing her to the world. Indeed, in his latter days it was only talk; for his debaucheries had disabled him from action, and his inability was univerfally known. A very Killigrew without good nature. Thomas Killigrew, of whom we hear daily fo many pleasant ftories related, had good natural parts, but no regular education. He was brother to Sir William Killigrew, vice-chamberlain to King Charles the IId's queen; had been some time page of honor to King Charles I. and was, after the restoration, many years mafter of the revels, and groom of the chamber to King Charles II. in whofe exile he fhared, being his refident at Venice in 1651. During his travels abroad he wrote feveral plays, none of which are much talked of. His itch of writing, and his character as a wit and companion, occafioned this diftich from Sir John Denham: "Had Cowley ne'er spoke, Killigrew ne'er writ, "Combin❜d in one they'd made a matchlefs wit.” The fame knight wrote a ballad on him. ⚫ Killigrew was a moft facetious companion; his wit was lively and spirited; and he had a manner of faying the bittereft things, without provoking refentment; he tickled you while he made you smart, and you overlooked the pain, charmed by the pleafure. He died at Whitehall in March 1682, aged feventy-one, bewailed by his friends, and truly wept for by the poor. For what a Beffus has he always liv'd. Beffus is a remarkable cowardly character in Beaumont and Fletcher. ABSALOM ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. TH A POEM, published 1681. The Occafion of it explained. HE Earl of Shaftesbury feemed bent upon the ruin of the Duke of York. It was mostly thro his influence in both houfes, that thofe infamous witneffes, Oates, Tongue, Bedloe, &c. were fo ftrenuously encouraged, and the Popish plot, if not fchemed by him, was at least by him cherished and supported. He had been heard to fay with fome exultation, I won't pretend to pronounce who started the game, but I am fure I have had the full bunting. At this day that plot appears, to impartial and difcerning eyes, to have been a forgery contrived to inflame the minds of the people against Popery, a religion now profeffed by the duke, that the bill for excluding him from the throne, might meet with more countenance and greater certainty of fuccefs; and it went very near having the defired effect. The indiscreet zeal, and imprudent conduct of the Roman Catholics, for fome time past, had given too much room for fufpicion; they having often openly, and in defiance of the established laws of the kingdom, fhewn a thorough contempt for the established religion of their country, propagated as much as poffible their own tenets, loudly triumphed in their progrefs, and daily acquifition of profelytes among all ranks of people, without the leaft fecrecy or caution. Hence was the nation ripe for alarm when given, it spread like wild-fire; and the Duke of York, as head of the party at which it was aimed, was obliged to withdraw to Bruffels to avoid the impending storm. The king being fome time after taken ill, produced his highnefs's fudden return, before his enemies and those in the oppofition to the court-measures, could provide for his reception; so that their schemes were thus for a while difconcerted. Leaft his prefence might revive commotion, he returned again to Bruff-is, and was then permitted (previously) to retire to Scotland, having received the ftrongest affurances of his brother's affection and refolution to fecure him and his heirs the fucceffion. He had before this the fatisfaction of feeing the turbulent Earl of Shaftesbury removed from his feat and precedence in the privy-council, as well as all fhare in the miniftry; and now prevailed to have the |