At page 112 of these poems are some verses to his "Honoured friend Benjamin Garfield, Esq. on his excellent Tragi-Comedy, entitled, "The Unfortunate Fortunate ;" an author whom I do not find mentioned in the Biographia Dramatica.

ART. XII. JOHN CROWN.

Oldys gives the following account of this author's birth, which however, I must premise, differs from that of the compiler of the Biographia Dramatica, who must have been aware of what Oldys had written, because he continually through his work makes use of Oldys's materials, and therefore had probably some reason for rejecting his authority in the present instance.

"John Crown," says Oldys, "was the son of William Crown, who travelled under the Earl of Arundel to Vienna, and published " A Relation of the remarkable Places and Passages observed in the Travels of the Lord Howard, Earl of Arundel, in his Embassy to the Emperor Ferdinand II. Lond. 1637, 4to." but full of imperfections and errors. This William afterwards succeeded H. Lilley as Rouge-Dragon in the Heralds' Office, and was continued in 1660: but selling to Mr. Sandford, went over with his family to one of the plantations, and there died t. Of his son John the

best

I think this fact is not sufficiently explained in the Introduction to that useful work. Oldys's very words are repeatedly used, where his name is not mentioned.

Oldys says, "There is some order or paper of instructions I once

saw

best account is in one of Mr. Dennis's letters. This John Dennis makes him the son of a clergyman.

The compiler of the Biographia Dramatica, following Cibber, calls him "the son of an independent minister in that part of America called Nova Scotia, but whether born there or not is uncertain." To reconcile these accounts, perhaps when the father retired to America, he took on him the functions of a clergyman. An anecdote related by Malone from Spence seems to confirm Oldys's account that the poet was born in England. "Notwithstanding Dryden's confidence in his own powers," observes Malone, "and the just value which he set on his performances, trádition informs us that he was not wholly free from jealousy of rivals. He would compliment Crowne (as old Jacob Tonson told Mr. Spence) when a play of his failed, but was cold to him if he met with success. He sometimes used to say, that Crowne had some genius; but then he always added, that his father and Crowne's mother were very well acquainted *.”

Oldys says, Crown was living in 1703, and was buried at St. Giles's in the Fields. He left behind him seventeen dramatic pieces, besides one not printed.

"Of Crowne's being set up in opposition to Dryden, see St. Evremont's letter to the duchess of Mazarine concerning the earl of Rochester."

Lord Rochester calls him "starch Johnny Crowne." "Many a cup of metheglin" (says the writer of

saw in the Harl. Library from Charles II. as I remember, either to the Lord Baltimore, or some other possessors or governors in one of the American settlements, to inquire into, recover, or restore, for or on behalf of Mr. John Crowne or his father."

• Malone's Life of Dryden, 500.

N 3

a curious

a curious memoir in the Gent. Mag. for 1745, p. 99) "have I drank with little starch Johnny Crowne. We called him so from the stiff unalterable primness of his long cravat."

To the Masque of Calisto, 1675, 4to. frequently presented at court, the author has prefixed the personators or persons of quality who acted the several parts, which may serve to throw light on the history of the court at that time. Calisto was by the princess Mary; Nyphe, the princess Anne; Mercury, by Mrs. Jennings (afterwards duchess of Marlborough), then maid of honour to the duchess of York. The duke of Monmouth danced, &c.*

The Tragedy of Darius, 4to. 1688, was dedicated to sir George Hewytt, bart. one of the lieutenants of his Majesty's horse-guard; who in 1689 was made Baron of James-Town and Viscount Gowran in Ireland. He was son of sir Thomas Hewit of Pisheobury in Hertfordshire, bart. and was probably the same who was called Beau Hewit, from whom was drawn the character of Sir Fopling in sir George Etherege's Man of Mode, 1676; in which all or most of the characters were taken from real persons, as Dorimant for lord Rochester, and even the shoemaker, who got vast trade by the poet's representation of him. Sir George drew himself under the character of Young Bellair †.

"John Oldmixon" (I am copying from my usual authority, Oldys), " in one of his histories, says, Crowne the poet told him, that king Charles II.

* I learn this from a copy of the note of a venerable and dignified critic, now living, who remarks that the edition of Henry VI. in 1681, is only a new title page.

† Oldys's MSS,

gave him two Spanish plays, and bade him join them together to form one; which he did, and shewed his majesty the plan for his comedy of "Sir Courtly Nice*." He afterwards read the acts to him scene by scene, as he wrote them. When he had finished the three first, which are by much the best of the play, he read them over to the king, who liked them very well; only he said, " 'Tis not merry enough." I do not say smutty, though worse might be said with truth. Crown could easily have mended that fault; but the king dying a month after, he let the three acts pass as they are; and there does not seem to be that deficiency of which his majesty complained.”

Crown wrote, besides his dramatic works, "Doneids, or, the noble Labours of the great Dean of Notre Dames in Paris, for erecting in his Choir a Throne for his Glory; and the eclipsing the Pride of an imperious usurping Chanter: an heroic poem, in four cantos," 4to. 1692. It is a burlesque poem, partly imitated from Boileau's Lutrin.

He also translated Boileau's Lutrin, which was printed in Dryden's Miscellany.

He was author also of a Romance entitled "Pandion and Amphigenia; or, the Coy Lady of Thessalia, adorned with Sculptures," 8vo. 1665.

"See quotations," says Oldys, "from this play in my friend Hayward's "British Muse;" to which book I wrote the introduction, but the penurious publishers (to contract it within a sheet) left out a third part of the best matter in it, and made more faults than there were in the original.”

ART. XIII, NATHANIEL LEE.

Nathaniel Lee was son of Dr. Lee, minister of Hatfield in Hertfordshire, for whom there is the following epitaph in the church of that parish on a marble in the middle of the chancel.

"Depositum Richardi Lee, S. T. P. nuper Hatfieldi Episcopalis, alias Regalis, cum capella de Totteridge Rectoris, qui obiit A. D. 1684, ætat. suæ 73. Hic requiescit spe læta resurrectionis."

Nathaniel was "educated at Westminster school, and Trinity Hall,* Cambridge. He was a very handsome as well as ingenious man; but given to debauchery which necessitated a milk-diet, when some of his university comrades visiting him, he fell to drinking with them out of all measure, which flying up into his head, caused his face to break out into those carbuncles which were afterwards observed there; and also touched his brain, occasioning that madness so much lamented in so rare a genius. Tom Brown says he wrote while he was in Bedlam a play of twenty-five acts; and Mr. Bowman tells me that going once to visit him there, Lee shewed him a scene, "in which," says he, " I have done a miracle for you." "What's that?" said Bowman. "I have made you a good priest."

Oldys mentions another of his mad sayings, but does not mention with whom it passed.

So says Oldys; but he has this note in another place. "There is a copy of English verses signed Nat. Lee, A. B. Trin. Coll. Vide Musarum Cantabrigiarum Threnodia, 4to. 1670.”

"I have