to higher scenes than thefe-conduct him to his feat in parliament, and describe his behaviour in the councils of his country.

He lived in the crifis of honefty, when, as Sir William Temple well expreffed it, a brave man had a hard part to act, and it was dishonourable at Court to have truth and integrity. He lived when party rage and prieftly pride ran high: when the church was in danger, and the rabble were orthodox:

While the provoking ideot vows
Her lover fairer much than spouse.
Great Socrates but vainly try'd,
To footh the paffions of his bride;
Her female empire ftill fhe holds,
And as he preaches peace, the fcolds:
"In vain he talks, in vain he writes;
One kiffing, while the other bites;
Precepts with her, and moral rules,
Are only ginns to hamper focls;
And, preach and dictate what he will,
Madam perfifts Xantippe ftil!.
But wedlock by thy art is got
To be a foft and easy knot;

Which fmiling spouse and kinder bride
Now feldom with fhould be unty'd;
Think parting now the greatest fin,
And ftrive more close to draw the ginn:
Taught by thofe rules thy pen inftills,
Nobly to conquer human ills;
The female fufferer now fuftains
Each mournful lofs with leffen'd pains;
A week is now enough to pine,
When puking lap-dog cannot dine;
While grief as real fwells her eyes
When fpoufe, as when her parrot, dies.
The fop no longer fhall believe
Senfe ty'd to every modifh fleeve,

Nor,

orthodox: when religious mobbings and factious
incendiaries laboured to overthrow the conftitu-
tion, and prevailed against an Administration,
great in their abilities and uncommon fuccefs;
a Ministry the boast of our nation, the glory of
their own times, and the veneration of thefe.
Nor did the faction ftop at this; they even
fhocked the fucceffion itself; and that illustrious
Family, now on our throne, had a doubtful
fpect whilft we were fo divided a people.

Nor, confcious of his wants, prefume
To measure merit by perfume;
That courage in Pulvilio dwells,
The boldeft he, who strongest smells;
To prove his sense, no longer bring
The doughty proofs of box and ring;
Strongly profeffing ne'er to know
An afs conceal'd beneath a beau ;
Each taught by thee, fhall hence confefs
Virtue has no regard for drefs;
That the bright nymph as often dwells
In homely bays as rural cells;
And in a ruff as fairly thin'd,
As now to modern peak confin'd;
Blushing, thus half expos'd to view,
Both herself and miftrefs too.

The widow, pining for her dear,
Shall curfe no more the tedious year;
In fighs confume each penfive day,
Nor think it long from June to May.
See how the penfive relict lies,
Opprefs'd with spouse's fate, and dies;
That Betty with her drops in vain
Recalls her flying foul again;
No colour now fo fair appears,
As is the fable veft she wears,
To be her only garment vow'd,
Till death exchange it for a shroud,
L 1 2

pro

And

And

And here the worthy perfon, to whom we pay deferved honours, rofe with noble courage in that dangerous conjuncture: he thought inactivity infamous whilst ALL was at stake; and his private intereft was below his regard, when his country's happiness became precarious: he did not, like little temporizing patriots, ftay till hisplace was taken from him, he bravely refigned it before he commenced his oppofition; and his Letter to the then Lord Treafurer, fince pub. lished to the world*, may fhew how much he difdained any intereft which might biafs his judgement, or pervert his duty to the publick.

And her cold ashes kindly place

Once more within her lord's embrace.

The ladies, pleas'd with thee to dwell,
Afpire to write correct, and fpell:
We scarce behold, though writ in hafte,
Five letters in a fcore mifplac'd;
Marshal'd in rank they all appear,
With no front vowels in the rear,
Nor any, out of shame or dread,
Skulking behind, that should have led;
In every line they now demur,
'Tis now no longer Wurtkee Surr;
With half our ufual sweat and pain,
We both unravel and explain,
Nor call-in foreign aid to find,

In myftic terms, the fair-one's mind.

Maintain, great Sage, thy deathlefs name,
Thou canst no wider ftretch thy fame,

Till, gliding from her native skies,
Virtue once more delighted flies;

By each adoring Patriot own'd,

And boafts herself by thee enthron'd!"
* See it in p. 371.

In this proceeding he acted worthy of himself; he spoke in parliament, and appeared from the prefs, with a warm and generous freedom: he differed from thofe in authority, without libelling their perfons; no fcandalous parallels, no ungentlemanlike invectives, or womanifh railings, are to be found in his writings: he spoke to facts, and things of public concern; nor invented, nor revived any little ftories to blacken the reputation of others: in fhort, he was at war with no man's fortunes or places; and he greatly despised all lucrative confiderations.

Add this to his character, he had an enthufiafm of honour, infomuch, that he was always most ready to appear for the truth when it was moft difficult and dangerous: he thought himfelf obliged to ftand in the breach when no man elfe would; and his intrepidity was a public advantage.

Witness his memorable Address to the Clergy in defence of the Revolution; I mean his "Crifis," for which he was immortalized by the refentment of his enemies, and by the noble ftand he made against them in his brave defence: For this he was expelled the House of Commons, whilst he triumphed in the judgement of his country; and raised fuch a spirit in the people by his writings, as greatly contributed to

* See p. 390.

fave our declining liberties, and establish the precarious fucceffion.

Such was his conduct, fuch his character, which was invariably honeft; he flattered not his friends in their power, nor infulted his enemies in their distress: he oppofed any measures which he could not approve, and exactly adhered to that excellent fentence, fari quæ fentiat.

This, indeed, was his principle; and if ever man always acted inviolably by his opinion, or dared to preferve his integrity upon all occafions, Sir Richard Steele was the perfon.

And here we leave our common friend, here we drop the facred pall on his laft remains. It is not our business to fhew his foibles, or expose the blemishes of an excellent man to whom we owe fo much; those who loved him lefs will be fond of this but we have pronounced his elogium, and. honoured his virtues. Let his warm heart for liberty and virtue, his great benevolence, that never faw distress without compaffion, or fpared to lend his hand when he could give affistance-Let thefe engage our attention, and become our great example. Vice and Folly are always to be lamented; we heartily with them out of the world, and can have no delight to lay them to the charge of our departed friends, whofe actions fhould only furvive them whilst they may influence pofterity in the pursuits of Virtue.

THE E N D.