a musician as well as a poet. He was a great favourite of his father, whose tenderness and affection for all his children form a distinguishing trait GENT. JOURN. for February, 1691-2. p. 32. "A Song to a Lady who discovered a new star in Cassiopeia. The words and tune [of which the notes are there given,] by Mr. C. Dryden." As this Miscellany is now seldom met with, I subjoin these verses, which have not, I be. lieve, been preserved in any of our poetical collections: "As Ariana, young and fair, By night the starry charge did tell, Perhaps was kindled from her eyes, "And made for mortals to adore Bright omen! what dost thou portend, "Whether to thy foreboding fire "Let Strephon's early fate suffice." of his character. From some obscure passages in the letters of both his parents, he appears to have met with some accidental fall at Rome in the year 1697, which, beside a contusion in his head, was attended with other alarming symptoms. This mischance, however, did not prevent his return to England about the end of that year, or early in 1698, where we find him accompanying our author in his visits to his relations in Northamptonshire;" and after the death of his father, intestate, on Lady Elizabeth Dryden's renouncing, he administered (June 10th) to his effects, which probably did little more than pay his debts. In the following year... Mr. George Granville having altered and formed Shakspeare's MERCHANT OF VENICE into a drama which he entitled THE JEW OF VENICE, he gave the profits of that piece to Charles Dryden; and two representations of it, (the third and the sixth,) were performed for his benefit.' A few years afterwards, "See our author's Letters to Mrs. Steward. 'Mr. Granville intended this play for Dryden's be nefit; but on his death, the profits of it were given to his eldest son. It is very probable that he had, in like manner, given Dryden the profits of his play entitled HEROICK LOVE, which was acted in January, 1697-8. At that time this was not uncommon. Sir Charles Sidley gave Shadwell the bencfit of his BELLAMIRA in 1687. The prologue to THE JEW OF VENICE, which, with this slight change of title, usurped the place of the original play for above forty years, was spoken by the Ghosts of Shakspeare and Dryden, who ascended from beneath the unfortunately attempting to swim across the Thames near Datchet, he was drowned, and was buried at Windsor, August 20th, 1704.* On Dryden's known confidence in the pretended science of judicial astrology, and his eldest son's accidental death, Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas, whom I have already had occasion to introduce to the reader's acquaintance, formed a tale not less curious than that which we have lately examined: "a narrative," says Dr. Johnson, " of some of Dryden's predictions wonderfully fulfilled; but I know not the writer's means of information or character of veracity." However questionable her veracity may be, she certainly was furnished with some stage, crowned with laurel; and Mr. Bevil Higgons, the writer of it, ventured to make the representative of our great dramatick poet speak these lines! "These scenes in their rough native dress were mine; "But now, improved, with nobler lustre shine: "The first rude sketches Shakspeare's pencil drew, "But all the shining master-strokes are new. "This play, ye criticks, shall your fury stand, "Adorn'd and rescued by a faultless hand." To which our author replies, "I long endeavour'd to support the stage, 66 They starv'd me living; nay, denied me fame, "And scarce, now dead, do justice to my name. 46 Would you repent? Be to my ashes kind; "Indulge the pledges I have left behind." Register of New Windsor, Berks. } information very convenient and well suited to her purpose, by writing about thirty years after some of these supposed predictions were fulfilled yet, even with this advantage, such is the nature of falsehood, that we shall find as many absurdities and inconsistencies in this as in her former tale. "As Dryden (says Corinna) was a man of a versatile genius, he took great delight in judicial astrology, though only by himself. There were some incidents which proved his great skill, that were related to Lady Chudleigh' at the Bath, and which she desired me to ask Lady Elsabeth about, as 1 after did; which she not only confirmed by telling me the exact matter of fact, but added another, which has never been told to any, and which, I can solemnly aver, was some years before it came to pass. I purposely omitted these narratives in the Memoirs of Mr. Dryden, lest that this over-witty age, which so much ridicules prescience, should think the worse of all the rest: but if you desire particulars, they shall be freely at your service." These particulars being of course desired by the person here addressed, (Curll, or his writer of Memoirs,) the following Narrative was transmitted: "Notwithstanding Mr. Dryden was a great master of that branch of astronomy, called judicial The wife of Sir George Chudleigh, of Ashton, in Devonshire, Bart. The second edition of a volume of poems by this lady was published in 1709. astrology, there were very few, scarce any, the most intimate of his friends, who knew of his amusements that way, except his own family. In the year 1707, that deservedly celebrated Lady Chudleigh, being at the Bath, was told by the Lady Elsabeth, of a very surprising instance of this judgement on his eldest son Charles's horoscope. Lady Chudleigh, whose superiour genius rendered her as little credulous on the topick of prescience, as she was on that of apparitions, yet withal was of so candid and curious a disposition, that she neither credited an attested tale on the quality or character of the relater, nor did she altogether despise it, though told by the most ignorant: her steady zeal for truth always led her to search to the foundation of it; and on that principle, at her return to London, she spoke to a gentlewoman of her acquaintance, that was well acquainted in Mr. Dryden's family, to ask his widow about it; which she accordingly did. It is true, report had added many incidents to matter of fact; but the real truth take from Lady Elsabeth's own mouth, in these words: "When I was in labour of Charles, Mr. Dryden being told it was decent to withdraw, laid his watch on the table, begging one of the ladies, then present, in a most solemn manner, to take an exact • From what has preceded and what follows, it appears that this gentlewoman was Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas herself. |