* lies, either to Mr. Thomas Betterton, or to “ Mr. William Smith, at the Theatre Royal, 66 shall be well rewarded for his pains*.

Dr. Goldsmith, in noticing this circumstance, exclaims, “ What an invaluable treasure was there irretrievably lost, by the ignorance and neglect of the age he lived int!" And, certainly, if we judge from the progressive, and almost daily improvement his powers seemed to undergo, the loss which the drama has sustained is irreparable.

The person of Otway is thus described by the writer to whom we have alluded in an early part of this narrative: “ His person was of the middle size, about five feet seven inches in height, inclinable to fatness. He had a thoughtful, speaking eye, and that was allt." This account, as far as the portraits of him will enable us to judge, appears to be correct.

* An attempt was made in 1719, to pass off a contemptible tragedy, called " Heroic Friendship," as the long-sought production of Otway. The MS, was not in his hand-writing; but the internal evidence of the play was, alone, sufficient to induce the public to reject it as an impudent imposture. It was printed, but never performed.

t'« The Bee," NO. VII.

I Gent. Mag. for 1745. The writer adds, “ He gave himself up to early drinking; and, like the unhappy wits of that VOL. I.

d

.

Of the private character of Otway, we have too little upon record to enable us to speak with certainty. It would be unjust to gather our conception of his morals, from what we find in his comedies. Necessity, as we have before urged, was his only plea for his gross deviations from propriety. Nor should we determine, that because his life was sullied by scenes of profligacy, bis principles must necessarily be debauched.. Let us remember, that as virtue, in that age, was deemed rather a reproach than an ornament, he who was needy of preferment, would desire to shew as little of it as possible in his outward actions. Those who saw Otway, judged him to be as vicious as his companions ; but it would be difficult to shew that his heart was depraved, or that the sources of action were polluted. That he often indulged his appetites beyond what even the desire to promote his interest required, is probable: for no man who throws up the reins of passion can speedily, or at will, regain them. The fairest view of Otway's character we obtain from his tragedies; for such was the peculiarity

age, passed his days between rioting and fasting, ranting jollity, and abject penitence; carousing one week with Lord Plath, and then starving a month, in low company, at an ale-house on Tower-hill."

of his genius, that he transferred his own feelings, motives

, and sentiments, into the page before ) him: or, to use Dr. Johnson's phrase, “ he consulted nature in his own breast." His characters are, therefore, faithful tránscripts of himself. Carlos, Castalio, Jaffier, and Otway in his let. ters, appear all members of the same family. With this impression upon our minds, we cannot but regret, that neglect and desertion slionld have blasted a character so eminently fitted for social life. The steadiness of his political attachments, the warmth and sincerity of his private affections, evinced in his uninterrupted friendship with Lee, Shadwell, and Duke*, and to which he finally fell a sacrifice, concur to exalt our opinion of the virtues of his heart. His flattery of the great has been objected to him as a crime, but in this, as

* It is impossible to determine, with accuracy, at what time our author commenced his acquaintance with Duke; but from the ardent and affectionate terms employed by both writers, the friendship seems to have been remarkably strong. Duke, in particular, speaks of it with uncommon fervour. The

poems of this author are neglected, rather unjustly; for they contain many excellent passages, and are by no means so libertine as might be inferred from Dr. Johnson's censure of them. He entered into orders some time before the death of Otway; and Dr. Felton has very highly coinmended the sermons which he afterwards composed.

in other cases, he was borne away by custom. As a companion, his cheerful qualities greatly endeared him to his associates, from whom he received the familiar, yet affectionate designation of Tom Otway. It is reported, that he was remarkably fond of punch ; and that the last thing he composed before his death, was a song in praise of that liquor*.

We have now to consider Otway as an author. To speak of him favourably as a writer of comedy, is impossible. Tbat species of composi. tion, which, while it presents a decent picture of life and manners, is a source of rational delight, reflects in Otway the distorted image of vice and deformity. His sentiments are loose, his language coarse, and his wit without delicacy. Such were, indeed, the fashionable ingredients of conversation in that dissolute aget.

-« in all Charles's days, Roscommon only boasts unspotted lays."

POPE.

* Gildon's Drum. Poets, p. 107.
† The morals of the actors in that age,

it
may

bc

supposed, were exceedingly corrupt; and among

other

expedients subsequently employed to purify the stage, a fine was imposed upon every performer who should utter an indecent expression, Betterton and Mrs. Bracegirdle were among the

. first subjected to the penalty.

As a comic writer, Otway ranks below many of his contemporaries ; Shadwell and Crowne not excepted. This inferiority has exposed him,

' somewhat justly, to the satire of Rochester, although the judgment formed by that writer was rather hasty, considering that Otway. had at that time produced but one comedy.

Tho' ev'n that talent merits, in some sort,
That can divert the rabble and the court,
Which blund'ring Settle never could obtain,
And puzzling Otway labours at in vain.

“ Allusion to Horace, Sat. 10, lib. 1.” In tragedy, his two admirable works, “ The Orphan,” and “ Venice Preserved,” deservedly place him “ among the first names in the Eng. lish drama.' As the merits of Otway have been ably discussed by some of our most elegant writers, it will not be uninteresting to detail their respective opinions, which will also assist us in the formation of our own.

Dryden, after the death of our author, gave the following very honourable testimony of his excellencies : “ To express the passions which are seated in the heart, by outward signs, is one great precept of the painters, and very difficult to perform. In poetry, the sanie passions and motions of the mind are to be expressed ; and in this consists the principal difficulty, as well as the excel