the prefent Earl of Sunderland. The opera of Rofamond was written, while he poffeffed that employment. What doubts foever have been raised about the merit of the mufic, which, as the Italian taste at that time begun wholly to prevail, was thought fufficiently inexcufable, because it was the compofition of an Englishman; the poetry of this piece has given as much pleasure in the clofet, as others have afforded from the ftage, with all the affiftance of voices and inftruments.

The comedy called The Tender Hufband appeared much about the fame time, to which Mr. Addison wrote the prologue. Sir Richard Steele furprised him with a very handfom dedication of this play, and has fince acquainted the public, that he owed fome of the most taking scenes of it to Mr. AddiSon.

His next step in his fortune, was to the poft of Secretary under the late Marquis

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Marquis of Wharton, who was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in the year 1709. As I have proposed to touch but very lightly on those parts of his life, which do not regard him as an author, I fhall not enlarge upon the great reputation he acquired by his turn to business and his unblemished integrity, in this and other employments. It must not be omitted here, that the falary of keeper of the records in Ireland was confi-. derably raised, and that post bestowed upon him, at this time, as a mark of the Queen's favour. He was in that kingdom, when he firft difcovered Sir Richard Steele to be author of The Tatler, by an obfervation upon Virgil, which had been by him communicated to his friend. The affiftance, he occafionally gave him afterwards in the courfe of the paper, did not a little contribute to advance its reputation; and, upon the change of the miniftry, he found leifure to

engage

engage more constantly in that work, which however was dropt at laft, as it had been taken up, without his participation.

The plan of the Spectator, as far as it regards the feigned person of the author, and of the feveral characters that compose his club, was projected in concert with Sir Richard Steele. But for the distinct papers, they were never or seldom fhown to each other by their respective authors; who fully answered the promise they had made, and far out-went the expectation they had raised, of pursuing their labour in the fame spirit and ftrength, with which it was begun. It would have been impoffible for Mr. Addison, who made little or no ufe of letters fent in by the numerous correfpondents of the Spectator, to have executed his large fhare of this task, in fo exquifite a manner; if he had not ingrafted into it many pieces, that had lain by him in little hints and minutes, which

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which he from time to time collected, and ranged in order, and moulded into the form in which they now appear. Such are the effays upon Wit, the Pleafures of the Imagination, the Critic upon Milton, and fome others.

The tragedy of Cato appeared in public in the year 1713, when the greatest part of the laft act was added by the author to the foregoing, which he had kept by him for many years. He took up a defign of writing a play upon this subject, when he was very young at the univerfity, and even attempted fomething in it there, though not a line as it now ftands. The work was performed by him in his travels, and retouched in England, without any formed refolution of bringing it upon the stage, until his friends of the first quality and diftinction prevailed with him to put the last finishing to it, at a time when they thought the doctrine of liberty very feafonable. It is in every body's

memory,

memory, with what applause it was received by the public; that the first run of it lafted for a month; and then stopped, only because one of the performers became incapable of acting a principal part. The author received a meffage, that the Queen would be pleased to have it dedicated to her: But as he had defigned that compliment elsewhere, he found himfelf obliged by his duty on the one fide, and his honour on the other, to fend it into the world without any dedication. The fame of this tragedy foon spread through Europe, and it has not only been tranflated, but acted in most of the languages of chriftendom. The tranflation of it into Italian, by Signor Salvini, is very well known; but I have not been able to learn, whether that of Signor Valetta, a young Neapolitan nobleman, has ever been made public.

If he had found time for the writeing of another tragedy, the death of Socrates