there fo abounding, had not convinced me that it would deprive the public of a great pleafure to fupprefs that opera, which the great Queen thought worthy her protection and encouragement. It was in this opera Mr. Handel first gained public favour, and laid a foundation for his future fame. About this time Mr. Hill married the only daughter of Edmund Morris, Efq; of Stratford in Effex. By her he had nine children, four of whom (a fon and three daughters) are ftill living. Soon after Mr. Hill bent his thoughts on ftudies* much differing from his former ones, but more contributing to public good; and tho' indefatigable in his attempts, he did not always meet the fuccefs he deferved. In the year 1716 he wrote another tragedy, called the Fatal Vision, or the Fall of Siam, for which he caufed new fcenes to be painted, and gave the whole benefit to the company of the Play-house in Lincoln's-Inn-fields. The fame year he published the firft part of an epic poem called Gideon, which had many admirers. His poetical pieces were the produce of leisure hours, when he relaxed his thoughts from the serious ftudy of History, Geography, Phyfic, Commerce, &c. He was well verfed in the theory of the Law, but little inclined to the practice, tho' few perfons had equal reafon to use the advantages of it, in order to repoffefs his family of their ancient rights. Soon after his marriage Mr. Hill bought of Sir Robert Montgomery, a vaft tract of land, fituate to the fouth of Carolina, with an intent to form plantations in that warm climate; but the execution was weakly attempted through his want of fortune equal to the undertaking. Since which time the Government has thought that country worth cultivation, and has peopled it under the royal name of Georgia. In Cibber's Lives of the Poets, many facts relative to the Life of Mr. Hill, are related by one who had ocular demonftration, or proof almost equal to it, of his tranfactions. Thus the Poet is there described: "His perfon was (in youth) extremely fair and handfome; his eyes were a dark blue, both bright and penetrat The extracting oil from beech nuts; particulars of which are to be found in Cibber's Lives of the Poets. Pp 3 ing; 1 ing; brown hair, and vifage oval; which was enlivened with a smile, the moft agreeable in converfation, where his addrefs was affably engaging; to which was joined a dignity which rendered him at once refpected and admired, by thofe of either sex who were acquainted with him.-He was tall, genteelly made, and not thin.-His voice was fweet, his converfation elegant, and capable of entertaining upon various fubjects. He had fortitude of mind fufficient to fupport with calmnefs great misfortune; and from his birth it may be truly faid, he was obliged to meet it." His temper, though by nature warm (when injuries were done him) was as nobly forgiving; mindful of that great leffon in religion, of returning good for evil; which he fulfilled often to the prejudice of his own circumstances. About the year 1718, he wrote the Northern Star, a poem, celebrating the actions of the Czar Peter the Great, for which he fome time afterwards received a golden medal, fent him by the Royal Widow the Emprefs Catherine, agreeable to the will of her Imperial Confort. At the fame time Mr. Hill was engaged to write the Life of that fuper-eminent Prince, from fome papers of the Czar's, which were agreed fhould be fent over from Ruffia; but the execution of this undertaking was prevented by the death of the Czarina, which happened foon after. The following lines will fhew the noble style in which he handled that Imperial fubject. Northward, unbridled Mufe, direct thy flight; Perish that narrow pride to custom grown, Briton and Ruffian differ but in name, In Nature's fenfe all nations are the fame; And Man is Reason's fubject every where. In 1723 he brought his tragedy of King Henry the fifth upon the flage in Drury-lane, which play varies much from Shakefpear's; but where the characters have fimilitude, thofe parts parts may be faid to be an improvement of the great ShakeIpear. For this play Mr. Hill caufed moft grand and elegant fcenes to be painted, which, with the profits of the performance, he gave to the Managers of Drury-lane house. In 1728 Mr. Hill made a journey into the North of Scotland, in order to procure timber for the ufe of the Royal, Navy. There he found materials for fhip-building in abundance; and tho' he met with unexpected and almost infurmountable difficulties in bringing the large trees to the feafide, he was equal to the undertaking, and furprized the natives when he caufed thofe trees to be dragged from the mountains of Abernethy, and put into the adjacent river Spey,, and then chained them together into floats. Whilft in Scotland, the Magiftrates of Inverness made anelegant entertainment for Mr. Hill, and at the fame time complimented him with the freedom of that place; which favour was likewise offered him at Aberdeen. During his stay in the North he wrote a poem entitled, the Progrefs of Wit, full of genteel praise, but not a little tinged with farcafm and keen allegorical fatire, which much chagrined Mr. Pope, who deferved it, as being the aggreffor in his Dunciad. This brought on a paper war, which might be called the Battle of the Poets, and ended not much to the reputation of Mr. Pope. The following lines may ferve as a fpecimen of the poem. Tuneful Alexis on the Thames' fair fide, And wants the foul to fpread the worth he loves. Mr. Pope, by way of recantation, fays, in a letter to Mr. Hill; That the letters A. H. were applied to you in the papers • I did not know, for I feldom read them. I heard it only from Mr. Savage, as from yourself, and fent my affurances to the contrary: but I don't see how the Annotator on the D. could have rectified that mistake publicly, without par Mr. Pope and Mr. Hill had been for many years on a friendly footing. • ticularizing PP 4 C ticularizing your name in a book where I thought it too good to be inferted,' &c. And in another place he fays, I fhould imagine the Dunciad meant you a real compliment, and fo it has been thought by many who have afked to whom that paffage made that oblique panegyric. As to the notes, I am weary of telling a great truth, which is, that I am not the author of them,' &c. To which Mr. Hill made this reply: As to your oblique panegyric, I am not under fo blind an attachment to the goddefs I was devoted to in the Dunciad, but that I know it was a commendation; tho' a dirtier one than I wifhed for; who am neither fond of fome of the company in which I was lifted-the noble reward, for which I was to become a diver ;-the allegorical muddinefs in which I was to try my skill;-nor the inftitutor of the games you were fo kind to allow me a share in, &c.' In 1731, he brought on Drury-lane ftage, his favourite Tragedy of Athelwold, which is highly finished, abounds with moral inftruction, forcible expreffion, and good fenfe. It is founded on the fame fubject with his tragedy of Elfrid, which he called, an unpruned wilderness of fancy, with here and there a flower among the leaves; but without < any fruit of judgment.' He was a man fufceptible of love, in its fublimeft fenfe; as may be seen by his letters, and in a poetical description of that paffion, which he has given in his poem called, The Picture of Love; (from whence the following lines are taken) No wild defire can this proud blifs beftow, Souls must be match'd in heav'n, tho' mix'd below. In 1735, he was concerned in a paper called the Prompter, calculated to inftruct the actors, and to reform theatrical amufements. The fame year he formed a play chiefly, founded on the Zara of Monfieur Voltaire; this performance is executedin a masterly manner, and worthy the perufal of every Chriftian. It was firft exhibited in York-buildings, where Mr. Bond, to whom Mr. Hill gave the profits arifing from the performance, filled the character of Lufignan, and put the audience in fear, left in reality he fhould die when he attempted 1 attempted only a mock death. Before the run of the play was over, he convinced them that their fears were not groundlefs, for he died, never more to die, and left his heirs to fhare the profits he could not carry with him. The fame winter this play was brought on the stage in Drury-lane, where the part of Zara was filled, by Mrs. Cibber, at which time the first fhewed the public how the could excel in Tragedy. The Poet, instead of taking the ufual advantages arifing from his copy-right of this Play, then worth one hundred guineas, compliments the bookfeller with it in the following letter to Mr. Chetwood. • SIR, I have an invincible objection, against leaving you the ‹ refusal of Zara, (which my nephew tells me you defire :) and that is, because it is certainly much more reafonable I fhould offer you the acceptance of it. Please, therefore, to receive it as a prefent: for under the bookfellers' want of a law, as things now ftand, to < secure them in the property of their copies, it were a kindof poetical felony to make you pay for a chance of being plundered without remedy. I am, Sir, your most humble fervant, A. HILL. Westminster, Nov. 8th, 1735. In 1736, he brought on at the Theatre in Lincoln's-InnFields another Tragedy, called Alzira, originally wrote by the fame French author. These two plays have been deemed an improvement of the French ones, as was acknowledged by Voltaire himself. In 1737, he published a poem, called, The Tears of the Mufes, compofed of general fatire, which fets, the vices and follies of mankind in a proper light. The year following he grew tired of the noife and hurry. attendant on the inhabitants of London; and fettled at Plaiftow in Effex, where he lived to his own tafte, purfued his ftudies without interruption, and amufed himself at leifure hours with his wife and children, or his garden. Many ex-.. periments he made, and spent much time and money in order to bring to perfection the Art of making Pot-afh, bought with vaft fums from Ruffia, but the much hoped fruits of his toil died with the improver of this art. In 1743, he published the Fanciad, an Heroic Poem, In |