in the thirteenth year of his age when he died. It is the 120th of his Epigrams.

The tragedy of Sejanus fucceeds the Poetafter. It was acted in 1603, and the players were the king's fervants. These were the company belonging to the Globe, and were at firft the fervants of the Lord Chamberlain. But in the beginning of this year, they had a patent or licence for playing, granted them by James the First, who at the fame time honoured them with the title of his fervants. It appears from the preface to this play, that Shakespear, who was an actor in it, wrote alfo, as we fuppofe, fome parts of the tragedy; but when Jonfon publifhed it in 1605, thofe parts or Speeches were omitted by him.

After an intermiffion of two years, he wrote his comedy of Volpone or the Fox, which was acted in 1605, by the fame performers as the tragedy of Sejanus; only we may obferve, that as Shakespear's name is not in the lift of the principal comedians, it is probable he had now left the ftage, to close his life in an easy and honourable retirement. The enemies of Jonfon induftriously gave out, that all he wrote was produced with extreme pains and labour, and that he was not lefs than a year about every play. This objection, had it been true, was really no difgrace to him; for the best authors know by experience, that what appeareth to be the most natural and easy writing, is frequently the effect of study, and the clofeft application; but their design was to infinuate, that Jonfon had no parts, and a poor unfruitful imagination. To this objection, he hath retorted in the prologue to this play: and from thence we learn, that the whole was finifhed by him in five weeks. About this time he joined with Chapman and Marston, in writing a comedy called Eastward-Hoe, wherein they were accused of reflecting on the Scots. For this they were committed to prifon, and were in danger of lofing their cars and nofes: however,

however, they received a pardon; and Jonfon, on his releasement from prifon, gave an entertainment to his friends, amongst whom were Camden and Selden. In the midft of the entertainment, his mother, more an antique Roman than a Briton, drank to him, and fhewed him a paper of poifon, which fhe intended to have given him in his liquor, having first taken a potion of it herself, if the sentence for his punishment had paffed.

A longer interval fucceeded before the appearance of his next play; and it was not till the year 1609, that Epicane, or the Silent Woman was first acted; but in these intervals his mufe did not enjoy a perfect leifure, or ceffation from business.

In the reigns of James the First, and his fucceffor Charles, the exhibition of Masques became a principal diverfion of the court. The queens to both these princes, not being natives of England, could not perhaps at first so readily understand the language; fo that the mufick and dancing and decorations of a mafque, were to them a higher entertainment than what they could receive from any other dramatic compofition; and their pleasure was increased, as they of ten condefcended themselves to take a part in the performance. But Jonson was the chief factor for the court; most of these Masques and Entertainments were written by him; and there seldom paffed a year in which he did not furnish one or two poetical pieces of this kind. In March 1603 he compofed a part of the Device, intended to entertain king James, as he paffed thro' the city, from the Tower, to his coronation in Weftminster-abbey; and in the month of June in the fame year, a particular entertainment of his was performed at the lord Spencer's houfe at Althorp in Northamptonshire, for the diverfion of the queen and prince, who refted there fome days, as they came firft into the kingdom. In 1604 there was a private entertainment

of

of the king and queen, on May-day morning, at fir William Cornwallis's houfe at Highgate, and of this likewife Jonfon was the author. His firft mafque, which he hath called Of Blackness, was performed at court on the twelfth-night in 1605; and this mafque, as all the others, was exhibited with the utmoft magnificence and fplendor, which the luxuriant elegance of a court could fupply. In 1606, a marriage was folemnized between the earl of Effex, and the lady Frances, fecond daughter to the earl of Suffolk. This marriage had a much more aufpicious beginning, than it proved in the iffue. It was celebrated by a masque on one day, and by barriers on the day following. Jonfon was the author of both. No expence was wanting on this occafion; and the poet hath lavifhed the profufions of his art and learning, to dignify the fubject. In the fame year the king of Denmark came into England, on a visit to his fifter, confort to James the First: they were entertained on the 24th of July, by the earl of Salisbury at Theobalds; and Jonton contributed his fhare of the festival, in Epigrams and Verfes which were affixed to the walls of the house. The fituation of Theobalds was particularly agreeable to the king, who in the next year exchanged his palace at Hatfield for this feat. Accordingly on the 22d of May 1607, the house with poffeffion was delivered up by the earl of Salisbury to the queen. At this ceremony the king himself was prefent, with fome foreign princes, and the chief nobility of his court. Jonfon again follicited his mufe, who fupplied him with a compliment becoming the appearance. A fecond mafque, which he hath tiled Of Beauty, was prefented in 1608: this was a counterpart to the first, and had the queen and her ladies for the performers, as that alfo had. On Shrove-tuefday in the fame year, the lord Haddington was married, and Jonfon was entrufted with the honour of adorning the folemnity

by

by the celebration of a mafque. The entrance of the following year gave him an employment of the like kind when the queen called upon him for the third time, to ferve her in the reprefentation of another mafque; and this he hath intitled the Mafque of Queens, celebrated from the house of Fame. In the fcenical decoration of thefe feveral entertainments, Jonfon had Inigo Jones for an affociate; and the neceffary devices for each seem to have been defigned and ordered by him with delicacy, and grandeur of tafte. But these fervants of the mufes could not preferve an harmony with each other, and Discord fubfifted between them during the greater part of thirty years, in which they adminiftred to the pleasures of two fucceffive fovereigns and their

court.

But these lighter efforts were only the recreations of his muse; and we now return to thofe weightier labours which he dignified with the title of works. The Alchemist, a comedy, was acted in 1610; and though seemingly the freeft from perfonal cenfure and reflection, it could not fecure him the general applauses of the people. A contemporary author, and a friend to Jonfon, hath told us, that on fome account or other, they expreffed a diflike either to the poet, or his play. The fcriblers of the age, had indeed a loud and numerous party at their call; and they were conftantly let loofe on Jonfon, whenever he brought a new play upon the stage. But their cenfure was his fame, whilft he was loved and refpected by genius, wit, and candour; and could number in the lift of his friends, the prodigies of poetry, and miracles of learning and fcience. Shakespear had cherished his infant mufe, Beaumont and Fletcher esteemed and revered him, Donne had commended his merit, and Camden, the Strabo of Britain, and Selden a living library, knew how to prize his literature and judgment.

Mr.

Mr. Dryden hath fuppofed that the Alchemist of Jonfon was wrote in imitation of the comedy intitled, Albumazer. I can oppofe nothing certain to this tradition. The author of Albumazer is unknown; but the earliest edition of that play is feveral years later than the Alchemift; and as the filence of Jonfon's enemies is a prefumption in his favour, it is poffible that Dryden might be misinformed or mistaken.

The tragedy of Catiline was his next labour, which appeared in 1611. The long and frequent tranflations in this play, from Salluft and Tully, were fresh matter of calumny and malice to his railing adverfaries; but the manner in which he appears to have received these attacks, fheweth us that he thought himself in no great danger of being hurt by them. There was now an intermiffion of three years, before the performance of his next play: but he had full employment for his mufe at court, though he denied her labours to the people. The annual custom of a masque at Christmass, and fome intervening marriages of the nobility, contributed to keep his hand in ufe: fo that we have a fucceffion of these pieces, though fome of them indeed without date, from the year 1609 to 1615. Two of them were written for the entertainment of prince Henry; and the reft were presented by the queen and her ladies, or by the lords and others, fervants of the king.

It appears that in 1613 Jonfon was in France; but the occafion of his going, and the ftay he made, are alike uncertain. During his continuance there, he was admitted to an interview and converfation with cardinal Perron their difcourfe, we may imagine, turned chiefly upon literary fubjects; the cardinal fhewed him his tranflation of Virgil; and Jonfon, with his ufual openness and freedom, told him it was a bad one.

His next play was the comedy called Bartholomew Fair, acted in 1614; and that was fucceeded by the Devil is an Afs, in 1616. In this year he pub