correfpondence with you from the banks of Cam. Is not that a poetical beginning? I pher Jeffreys, efq; of Weldron in Northamptonshire, and nephew to James lord Chandos. He was admitted of Trinity-college, Cambridge, in 1694, where he took the degrees in arts, was elected fellow in 1701, and prefided in the philofophy-fchools as moderator in 1706. He was alfo fub-orator for Dr. Ayloffe, and not going into orders within eight years, as the ftatutes of that college require, he quitted his fellowship in 1709. In the words of one of his contemporaries, (the late vice-mafter, Dr. Walker,) "he performed his exercifes in the college and uni"verfity with applaufe; which, with a genteel modeft deportment, gained him much esteem." Though Mr. Jeffreys was called to the bar, he never practifed the law, but, after acting as fecretary to Dr. Hartftonge bishop of Derry, at the latter end of queen Anne's and the beginning of king George the I's reign, spent most of the remainder of his life in the families of the two laft dukes of Chandos, his relations. In 1754 he published, by fubfcription, a 4to volume of "mifcellanies, in verfe and profe," among which are two tragedies, (viz. "Edwin" and "Me"rope," both acted at the theatre-royal in Lincoln'sinn-fields) and "The triumph of truth," an oratorio. All that the compiler of "The companion "to the playhoufe" fays of Mr. Jeffreys, is, that "he enjoyed fome poft in the custom-houfe, and was "author of one' dramatic piece, which met with "little have but very little news to tell you; for all college-news I am mortally fick of; 'tis very nauseous at the first hand; and 'tis no wonder a commodity, that is bad upon the place, fhould very ill bear the carriage... Bentley is preparing an "anfwer to the "articles" against next year; and, as an little fuccefs, entitled Edwin'." And Dr. Francklin, the tranflator of "Voltaire's dramatic works," published in 1762, fuppofes his author "miftaken "in afferting, that an English Merope was acted at "London in 1731, as, by all the enquiry he (the "tranflator) had made amongst perfons concerned in "the theatres at that time, he could not discover "that any such tragedy was ever exhibited." Yet Quin, Ryan, Milward, &c. acted in it, and the names of Dr. Francklin himself (then Greek profeffor,) and above twenty other members of Trinitycollege, appear in the lift of subscribers to Mr. Jeffreys's "works." "This collection" (as the author obferves in his dedication to the prefent duke of Chandos, then marquefs of Carnarvon,)" includes "an uncommon length of time from the verfes on "the duke of Gloucester's death in 1700 to those on his lordship's marriage in 1753." Mr. Jeffreys died in 1755, aged 77. * Of complaint, exhibited against him by the college, in June, 1729, before the bishop of Ely, their vifitor. appendix to it, his "Homer" is to come out, which he is hard at work at. I hope your "Scacchia +" is finished and ready for the prefs; I thank you for the fight of it. Befides the pleasure it gave me, it made me understand a very unintelligible book, at least to me. I am at present doing little elfe, but cleaning my books, and accommodating my tafte to this very It does not appear that this (if written) was ever published, nor is it mentioned by Dr. Bentley's biographers. Perhaps the letter-writer meant his “ Milton.” † A" poem on chefs," tranflated from Vida at the defire of the first duke of Chandos. "It was a happy choice," fays Dr. Warton, "to write a poem on chefs, nor is the execution less happy. "The various stratagems and manifold intricacies of "this ingenious game, fo difficult to be defcribed in "Latin, are here expreffed with the greateft perfpi. cuity and elegance, fo that perhaps the game might be learned from this description." 66 "Effay on Pope," p. 192. Pope's "game at ombre," in his "rape of the "lock," (as this writer alfo obferves, p. 232,) is certainly imitated from it. dull dull place; and to do the latter of these, confidering the prefent divifions, and continual bones of contention, is not an eafy matter. However, that you may not think I wholly neglect reading, I must tell you I have, with great pleasure, been reading over a French book, called Mélanges d' biftoire et de literature, by Vigneul Marville*, 3 vols. I never read it before, though I have often seen and heard of the book. There are many curious anecdotes in it, and a great knowledge of books and authors. His judgment is not always certain, but has fometimes a little of the coxcomb. I'll give you an inftance, in a comparison, he makes, between Virgil and Homer; but, on fecond thoughts, it will be too long for this letter; I will very soon give it you, with my reflections, in an other.-- I dipped lately into Cowley's "Davi"dëis," and read one book of it, and found there, what I thought, I could not A fictitious name. Dom. Noel Dargonne was the real author. have met with in English, twenty monofyllables together, in two very well-founding verfes. I remember that Vaugelas, and the French academy, both agree, that there is even a sweetness in joining twelve monofyllables, and produce a verfe of Malherbe to justify it: Et moi, je ne vois rien, quand je ne la vois pas. This, they fay, is one of the sweetest, and runs the best, of any he has made. For my part, with my foreign ear, I cannot think fo; but, if it be fo, I think I can fay almost as much for these English ones : His birth, great fir, fo much to mine is tied, Again, there is another couplet, where all, but one word, are monofyllables, and yet they are harmonious enough: Forbid it GoD, that, where thy right is try'd, *For Mr. Jeffreys's opinion of monofyllable verfes, fee an effay in the "appendix." Pray |