At tary Craggs had made him a present during the same year. least we find him, before a twelvemonth elapsed, calcu ating that his interest in this gamble would sell for 20,000l. and resisting the importunities of his friends, who eagerly counselled him to seize the favourable moment and secure enormous gain. But he was not to be affected by prudential motives: as the price of the stock had risen, he imagined it would still continue to rise, and so prognosticated that he would shortly roll in riches. Nay, so intensely was he bent upon this golden prospect, that he refused to sell out as much as would buy him an annuity of a hundred a year, although reminded by Fenton that he would thus 'make sure of a clean shirt and a shoulder of mutton for life.' How this bubble burst it is needless to describe; but it is distressing to have to mention that Gay fell into such a state of despondency in consequence of it, that his life was despaired of. Time, however, and the tenderness of his friends, amongst whom Pope was particularly active, brought his mind back to its former state, and being again necessitated to write for a subsistence, he resumed his studies, and produced the Captives,' a tragedy, which he read before the Princess of Wales, with all the awkwardness of an author. It was acted at Drury lane Theatre, and played seven nights, of which the third, commar ded by the Princess, was for the author's benefit. His profit from the performance has not been specified. Standing thus well placed for Court favour, he availed himself of some hints to write his Fables for the improvement of the Duke of Cumberlard, and as promises of reward for the trouble were held out, again plumed himself with all the exaggerations of an ardent mind. They were published in 1726, and in the very next year the Prince and Princess ascended the throne. Once more did he now imagine the climax of his fortune had supervened, and once more were his hopes deceived. The only appointment he obtained in the multiplied arrangements of the new household was to the place of Gentleman Usher to the Princess Amelia. This, in the first heat of disappointment, he conceived an insult, and sent the Queen word that he was too old for the duties it required of him. Nothing better, however, was offered, though solicitations seem not to have been spared by his friends according to Dr. Johnson, verses and flattery were alike thrown away his interest; every thing being heard, and nothing done. for Of the Fables, by which he mainly hoped in this instance to improve his fortune, Dr. Johnson observes that he seems to have always thought favourably himself, for he left a second volume finished at his death. In this respect the public and an author have for once been of the same mind. That these poems are as well written as any thing of the sort in our language, is admitted on all hands; neither can it be denied that, as long as it shall be deemed best for children to be unnaturally instructed by finding birds and beasts talking and acting like mortals, the allegories of Gay may be usefully read; and no one can fail to perceive that the tales of which these fables are in part compounded are really good. The language is sprightly, the versification easy, and the thoughts oftener just and pertinent than might have been expected. The Hare with many Friends,' was read with general sympathy, as an expressive detail of the many disappointments to which expectations from the great had subjected the author. Such was the state in which Gay was again driven to the theatres for a resource, and in no other effort of his life was he so successful. The Beggar's Opera,' for the first idea of which he is said to have stood indebted to Swift, was refused at Drury Lane, but acted in Lincoln's Inn Fields, during the season of 1727, for a series of sixty-three nights; and, perhaps, upon no other drama, if we except the works of Shakspeare, has so much criticism passed. Condemned in the closet for its utter violation of all the rules of dramatic propriety, and denounced from the pulpit for a direct excitement to immorality, it has risen superior to all objection, and ranked eminently popular through every fluctuation of taste and fashion. Nor ought any reader to be indignant at the triumph; for, however the classical may disrelish the licenses it takes with all established rules, they must, nevertheless, admit that happy wit and just satire deserve applause, even though the mode or form in which they are delivered may vary from prescribed dogmas; and perhaps the most virtuous may concede, that as we cannot turn into any path of life, or retreat into a corner of the earth without seeing vice advancing, and crimes unpunished, there is even a moral to be drawn from the portraiture, which strips deception of its false colours, and exposes depravity in naked fensiveness. That this was the purpose for which Gay wrote the piece, and that it excites corresponding inpressions, it were, if not hypocritical, at least hypercritical to deny. The strongest claim it had upon public favour was the levelling tact with which it laid bare the sins of men in office, but it had gentler charms in the exquisite music which breathed through its scenes. It was the parent of the ballad or comic operas of the English stage. The profits of the Beggar's Opera' amounted to 400l. and the author forthwith set to work upon a sequel to it, which he called 'Polly' but, before the latter was completed, the former was cried up to the honours of a political satire, and the Lord Chamberlain refused his sanction to the performance of a coun terpart. From any loss consequent upon this new discomfiture, however, the attention of Gay's friends secured his purse. They came forward with a proposal for printing the opera by subscription, which was so well received that he realised 1:00. by the publication. Before dismissing 'Polly,' it is only fair to state, that she deserved no patronage whatever, and would never have reaped honours in her destined sphere. George Colman, the younger, attempted to revive the opera at the Haymarket Theatre, but the audience refused to hear it. The luck, therefore, by which Gay made so much money by a bad piece, may be set off as a balance against the disappointments to which he had been previously subjected. Nor did his prosperity close here: the Duke and Duchess of Queensbury received him into their house, and even condescended to superintend his pecuniary interests. But it was with him as with many others: when his good fortune seemed to be established, his health declined. He relapsed into a depression of spirits, the result of habitual indolence, and a want of mental energy, and died at Queensbury House, in Burlington Gardens, at the age of 45. His funeral was most honourably attended. A short time previous to his demise, he produced 'Acis and Galatea,' a sonata, which was set to music by Handel, and represented at the Haymarket Theatre. He left behind him 3000l. which was divided between his sisters; and three plays in manuscript The Distressed Wife,' Achilles,' a burlesque opera, acted for eighteen nights at Covent-garden Theatre, and the Rehearsal of Goatham,' a farce. The virtues of his disposition are recorded on his epitaph, and have never suffered from detraction. The pretensions of his literary character have also been estimated with unanimity. He possessed moderate, but pleasing talents, was a minor versifier, and in comedy was rather ludicrous than a wit. His poems are incorporated in all the editions of the British Poets, but are seldom read, and never quoted. Two ballads, however, All in the Downs,' and 'Twas when the Seas were roaring,' are to be excepted from this odium: they are spirited and happy. As for his dramas, with the exception of the 'Beggar's Opera,' they have long been out of print, and off the stage, and, in all probability, will never be republished or revived. EARL OF GODOLPHIN In the south aisle of Westminster Abbey, is a good half-body bust by Bird, on a semicircular pedestal, which diminishes under a curtain, and is distinguished by this inscription :- SIDNEY, Earl of GODOLPHIN, on the 15th day of September, Aged 67, HENRIETTA GODOLPHIN. The life of Sidney Godolphin, Earl of Godolphin, was so strictly political, and all that is either interesting or memorable in his conduct is so closely interwoven with the actions of other men and the affairs of the State, that this sketch, to do justice to his character, ought to contain a history of England during the period of his ministerial career. Such a course would obviously swell the bulk of this work far beyond its legitimate purposes: it must therefore suffice to recapitulate merely personal facts. Descended from an ancient Cornish family, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford, he became a member of Parliament, and |