tions which he had formerly received from Anne, the poet appears to aim at something of the same sort from George. Of the poem the intention seems to have been, to show that he had the same extravagant strain of praise for a king as for a queen. To discover, at the very onset of a foreigner's reign, that the gods bless his new subjects in such a king, is something more than praise. Neither was this deemed one of his excusable pieces. We do not find it in his works. "Young's father had been well acquainted with Lady Anne Wharton, the first wife of Thomas Wharton, Esq. afterwards Marquis of Wharton; a lady celebrated for her poetical talents by Burnet and by Waller. "To the Dean of Sarum's visitation sermon, already mentioned, were added some verses by that excellent poetess Mrs. Ann Wharton,' upon its being translated into English, at the instance of Waller, by Atwood. Wharton, after he became ennobled, did not drop the son of his old friend. In him, during the short time he lived, Young found a patron, and in his dissolute descendant a friend and a companion. The marquis died in April, 1715. In the beginning of the next year the young marquis set out upon his travels, from which he returned in about a twelvemonth. The beginning of 1717 carried him to Ireland; (where, says the Biographia,') 'on the score of his extraordinary qualities, he had the honour done him of being admitted, though under age, to take his seat in the House of Lords.' "With this unhappy character, it is not unlikely that Young went to Ireland. From his Letter to Richardson on Original Composition,' it is clear he was, at some period of his life, in that country. 'I remember, (says he, in that letter, speaking of Swift) as I and others were taking with him an evening walk, about a mile out of Dublin, he stopped short; we passed on; but perceiving he did not follow us, I went back and found him fixed as a statue, and earnestly gazing upward at a noble elm, which in its uppermost branches was much withered and decayed. Pointing at it, he said, "I shall be like that tree, I shall die at top." Is it not probable, that this visit to Ireland was paid when he had an opportunity of going thither with his avowed friend and patron? "From The Englishman' it appears that a tragedy by Young was in the theatre so early as 1713. Yet Busiris' was not brought upon Drury Lane stage, till 1719. It was inscribed to the Duke of Newcastle, because the late instances he had received of his Grace's undeserved and uncommon favour, in an affair of some consequence, foreign to the theatre, had taken from him the privilege of choosing a patron.' The Dedication he afterwards suppressed. "Busiris was followed in the year 1721 by The Revenge.' He dedicated this famous tragedy to the Duke of Wharton. Your Grace, (says the Dedication) has been pleased to make yourself accessary to the following scenes, not only by suggesting the most beautiful incident in them, but by making all possible provision for the success of the whole.' "That his grace should have suggested the inciIdent to which he alludes, whatever that incident might have been, is not unlikely. The last mental exertion of the superannuated young man, in his quarters at Lerida, in Spain, was some scenes of a tragedy on the story of Mary Queen of Scots. "Dryden dedicated Marriage à la Mode' to Wharton's infamous relation Rochester, whom he acknowledges not only as the defender of his poetry, but as the promoter of his fortune. Young concludes his address to Wharton thus- My present fortune is his bounty, and my future his care; which I will venture to say will be always remembered to his honour, since he, I know, intended his generosity as an encouragement to merit, though through his very pardonable partiality to one who bears him so sincere a duty and respect, I happen to receive the benefit of it.' That he ever had such a patron as Wharton, Young took all the pains in his power to conceal from the world, by excluding this dedication from his works. He should have remembered that he at the same time concealed his obligation to Wharton for the most beautiful incident in what is surely not his least beautiful composition. The passage just quoted is, in a poem afterwards addressed to Walpole, literally copied : Be this thy partial smile from censure free! Love of Fame,' comdedications wash an an amiable Duke of "While Young, who in bis plains grievously how often Æthiop white,' was painting Wharton in perishable prose, Pope was, perhaps, beginning to describe the scorn and wonder of his days' in lasting verse. "To the patronage of such a character, had Young studied men as much as Pope, he would have known how little to have trusted. Young, however, was certainly indebted to it for something material; and the Duke's regard for Young, added to his lust of praise,' procured to All Soul's College a donation, which was not forgotten by the poet when he dedicated The Revenge.' "It will surprise you to see me cite second of Atkins, Case 136, Stiles versus the Attorney-General, March 14, 1740, as authority for the life of a poet. But biographers do not always find such certain guides as the oaths of the persons whom they record. Chancellor Hardwicke was to determine whether two annuities, granted by the Duke of Wharton to Young, were for legal considerations. One was dated the 24th of March, 1719, and accounted for his grace's bounty in a style princely and commendable, if not legal—' considering that the public good is advanced by the encouragement of learning and the polite arts, and being pleased therein with the attempts of Dr. Young, in consideration thereof, and of the love I bear him, &c.' The other was dated the 10th of July, 1722. 66 Young, on his examination, swore that he quitted the Exeter family, and refused an annuity of 1007. which had been offered him for life if he would continue tutor to Lord Burleigh, upon the pressing solicitations of the Duke of Wharton, and his grace's assurances of providing for him in a much more ample manner. It also appeared that the duke had given him a bond for 600l. dated the 15th of March, 1721, in consideration of his taking several journeys, and being at great expenses, in order to be chosen member of the House of Commons, at the duke's desire, and in consideration of his not taking two livings of 2001. and 4007. in the gift of All Souls College, on his grace's promises of serving and advancing him in the world. "Of his adventures in the Exeter family I am unable to give any account. The attempt to get into Parliament was at Cirencester, where Young stood a contested election. His grace discovered in him talents for oratory as well as for poetry. Nor was this judgment wrong. Young, after he took orders, became a very popular preacher, and was much followed for the grace and animation of his delivery. By his oratorical talents he was once in his life, acccording to the Biographia,' deserted. As he was preaching in his turn at St. James's, he plainly perceived it was out of his power to command the attention of his audience. This so affected the feelings of the preacher, that he sat back in the pulpit, and burst into tears. But we must pursue his poetical life. "In 1719 he lamented the death of Addison, in a Letter addressed to their common friend Tickell. For the secret history of the following lines, if they contain any, it is now vain to seek : In joy once join'd, in sorrow, now, for years- 6 "From your account of Tickell it appears that he and Young used to communicate to each other whatever verses they wrote, even to the least things.' 66 “In 1719 appeared a 'Paraphrase on Part of the Book of Job. Parker, to whom it is dedicated, had not long, by means of the seals, been qualified for a patron. Of this work the author's opinion may be known from his Letter to Curll: You seem, in the Collection you propose, to have omitted what I think may claim the first place in it: I mean a Translation from Part of Job," printed by Mr. Tonson.' The Dedication, which was only suffered to appear in Mr. Tonson's edition, while it speaks with satisfaction of his present retirement, seems to make an unusual struggle to escape from retirement. But every one who sings in the dark does not sing from joy. It is addressed, in no common strain of flattery, to a chancellor of whom he clearly appears to have had no kind of knowledge. "Of his Satires it would not have been possible to fix the dates without the assistance of first editions, which, as you had occasion to observe in your account of Dryden, are with difficulty found. must then have referred to the poems, to discover when they were written. For these internal notes of time we should not have referred in vain. The We |