In 1682, Dryden had published the Religio Laici, or Layman's Faith, a poem written to defend the English Church against Dissenters, on the one hand, and Romanists on the other; now having joined the Romish Church, he issued, in 1687, an allegorical poem called the Hind and Panther, in which he attacked the Established Church. There will of course always be differences of opinion respecting the arguments made use of in these poems; but the manner in which they are stated is admirable. The language is forcible, concise, and clear, the illustrations happy, and the verse flowing and harmonious. His power of reasoning in verse is unrivalled.

The Revolution of 1688 deprived Dryden of his laureateship, which was bestowed on his rival, Shadwell. But the want of independent means only stimulated his faculties, and in this period of his life he produced some of his noblest works. He resumed writing for the stage, and between 1690 and 1694 he produced four plays. For the next three years he was busy with a translation of Virgil's Æneid, which appeared in 1697, and about the same time appeared his Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, commonly called Alexander's Feast. This noble poem, one of the finest specimens of lyrical poetry in the language, was written in a single night. It displays all the vigour, freshness, and fire, characteristic of youth, though the poet was now in the sixty-seventh year of his age, 1699, he published his Fables, which are free translations from Chaucer and Boccaccio. These are in some respects the most beautiful of his poems, and have always been among the most popular.

In

He went on writing to the end; his last work was a masque written about three weeks before his death. He died on the 1st of May 1700, after a short illness, arising from neglected inflammation of the foot. A subscription was raised for a public funeral; and his remains, after being embalmed, and lying in state for twelve days, were interred with great pomp in Westminster Abbey, where he lies between Chaucer and Cowley.

The works of Dryden range over a period of about

forty years; but those composed in the latter half of that period are superior in every respect to those written in the earlier years. During the first twenty years his chief productions were the dramas, which were not suited to his powers, and besides were disfigured by false taste, negligence, and licentiousness. The latter part of the period was that in which he composed his keen and polished satires, his brilliant didactic poems, his noble lyrics, and his beautiful fables. His poetical faculty, like generous wine, seemed to improve with age, and his last years have been compared to a glorious sunset.

JOHN LOCKE.-1632-1704.

JOHN LOCKE was born at Wrington, near Bristol, in August 1632. His father was educated for a lawyer. and acted as steward to Colonel Popham. He belonged to a Puritan family, and when the Civil War broke out in 1642, he became a captain in the army of the Parliament. Through the interest of Colonel Popham, young Locke was sent to Westminster School, where he remained about two years, and then, in 1651, proceeded to Christ College, Oxford. At the university he applied himself with great diligence to classical literature, and to a study of Bacon's works. Having taken his degree he commenced the study of medicine, and went through the usual course preparatory to practice. The weakness of his constitution prevented him from following the medical profession, but he continued through life to take an interest in chemical and medical researches.

In 1664, Locke, in the capacity of secretary, accompanied Sir Walter Vane, who was sent by Charles II. as envoy to the elector of Brandenburg and other German princes during the Dutch war. In the course of his journey, Locke visited Cleves and other places on the Rhine, and returned to Oxford in the following year. He does not seem, however, to have conceived any great

liking for the diplomatic service, and a friend now offered to procure him, through the Duke of Ormond, the lordlieutenant of Ireland, considerable preferment in the Irish Church, if he would take orders; but this offer, after some consideration, he declined.

In 1666, Locke became acquainted with Lord Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury. His lordship was at the time on a visit to Oxford and in ill health. His physician, happening to be in London, sent Locke in his place. A friendship from this time sprung up between them, and Locke accepted the invitation of the noblemen to reside in his house. He was now brought into contact with Buckingham, Halifax, and other great wits and politicians of the time, and was by them treated on a footing of perfect equality. It is said that on one occasion, when several of them were assembled at Lord Ashley's house, the party sat down to cards, so that scarcely any conversation took place. Locke, after looking on for some time, took out his note book and began to write in it. One of the company observing this, asking him what he was writing, "My lord," he replied, "I am endeavouring to profit as much as I can in your company; for having waited with impatience for the honour of being admitted in an assembly of the greatest geniuses of the age, and having at length obtained this good fortune, I thought that I could not do better than write down your conversation; and indeed I have set down the substance of what has been said for an hour or two." The party took the hint, the cards were thrown aside, and all engaged in rational discourse.

When, in 1672, Lord Ashley was created Earl of Shaftesbury, and made lord chancellor, Locke was appointed secretary of presentations. This situation he held till Shaftesbury resigned the great seal, when he exchanged it for that of secretary to the board of trade, where the earl still retained the post of president. In 1675, the delicate state of his health-he was threatened with consumption-induced him to visit France, where he resided some years first at Montpellier, and afterwards

at Paris; and at this time he formed the acquaintance of some of the most eminent French literary men of the day. In 1679, Locke was recalled to England by the Earl of Shaftesbury, who had been restored to favour, and appointed president of the council. Six months later, however, Shaftesbury was again in disgrace, and after a short imprisonment in the Tower, was at length obliged to retire to Holland, to escape prosecution for high treason. Here he died in 1683.

After the accession of James II., Locke himself was obliged to take refuge in Holland, but even here the rancour of the court party did not leave him in peace. He was accused, with a number of others, of having been concerned in Monmouth's unfortunate expedition, and was obliged to live in concealment for nearly a year. It was during this period of seclusion that he wrote his Letter on Toleration. It was written in Latin, and was printed in Holland in 1689; but in the course of the year, translations of it appeared in Dutch, French, and English. In 1686, it became safe for Locke to appear in public, and in the following year he instituted at Amsterdam a literary society, which met weekly for conversation at the houses of the different members. After the revolution of 1688, Locke returned to England, where he was already known as a champion of civil and religious liberty. He left Holland in the beginning of 1689, and came over in the fleet which conveyed the Princess of Orange to our shores. Locke's most celebrated work, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, appeared in 1690. He was engaged upon this work nearly twenty years, the first rough draft in manuscript is dated 1671. Numerous editions passed rapidly through the press; it was translated into French and Latin, and the author became celebrated throughout Europe as a philosophic writer. In the same year in which this essay appeared, Locke published a second letter on Toleration, in answer to an attack upon his first letter by a clergyman of Oxford; and also two Treatises on Civil Government, in defence of the principles of the Revolution.

Very soon after his return to England, Locke was offered the post of ambassador to one of the great German courts, but he declined the appointment chiefly on the ground of ill health. He however accepted the office of commissioner of appeals, which brought him a salary of about £200 a-year. He now resided for some time in London, in familiar intercourse with statesmen and men of letters, especially with Lord Pembroke and the Earl of Peterborough. The air of London, however, always disagreed with him, and he often availed himself of the welcome that awaited him at Lord Peterborough's seat in Fulham. At length the asthma, with which he was troubled, became so distressing, that he felt he must abandon the metropolis, at any rate in winter. He had at different times visited his friend Sir Francis Masham, at his seat at Oates, in the parish of High Laver in Essex; and as he found the air very agreeable, he at length, in 1691, asked Sir Francis to take him into his family. He was readily received on his own terms, and in this pleasant retreat, varied by occasional visits to London, he spent the last fourteen years of his life. It was probably about the time of his retirement to Essex that he became acquainted with Sir Isaac Newton.

In 1693, Locke published his Thoughts on Education, which was soon translated into French and Dutch. Two years later appeared a treatise on the Reasonableness of Christianity. This was attacked by Dr. Edwards, and drew from the author two Vindications of his opinions. The last four years of Locke's life were much devoted to the study of the Scriptures, and especially the epistles of St. Paul; and it is said that he found so much pleasure in these biblical studies, that he regretted he had not given more time to them earlier in life. In the summer of 1703, his health, never robust, became sensibly weaker, and continued to decline for a twelvemonth. For some weeks before his death he could not walk, and was moved about the house in a chair. His last hours were tenderly watched by Lady Masham, who, on the day of his death, was reading to him from the Psalms of David. "He