in 
and Art. 
Litemture 
387 
the fon of the favourite of king James I., and equally celebrated for his 
talents and his proiiigacy. Buckingham is faid to have planned and 
begun his fatirical comedy of " The Rehearfal " as early as the year I663, 
and to have had it ready for reprefentation towards the December of 
I665, when the breaking out of the great plague caufed the theatresto 
be clofed. After this interruption its author, who was a defultory Writer, 
appears to have laid it afide for fome time and then, new objects for 
fatire having prefented themfelves, he altered and modified it, and it was 
finally completed in 1671, when it was brought out at the Theatre 
Royal in Covent Garden. It is faid that Buckingham was allilted in the 
Cotnpolition of this fatire, but it is not {tated in what manner, by Butler, 
and by Martin Clifford, of the Charter-ihoufe. It is unclerftood that, in 
the firlt form of his fatire, Buckingham had chofen the Hon. Edward 
Howard for its hero, and that he afterwards exchanged him for Sir 
William Davenant, but he finally fixed upon Dryden, whofe tragedies 
and comedies are certainly not the belt of his writings_poIT1bly fome 
perfonal pique may have had an iniiuence in the feleelion. N everthelefs, 
with Dryden, the Howards, Davenant, and one or two other writers of 
comedy, come in for their {hare of ridicule. Dryden, under the name of 
Bayes, has compofed a new drama, and a friend named Johnfon goes to 
witnels the rehearfal of this play, taking with him a country friend of the 
name of Smith. The play itfelf is a piece of mockery throughout, made 
up of parodies, often very happy, on the different play-writers of the day, 
and efpecially upon Dryden; and it is mixed up with a running converfation 
between Bayes, the author, and his two vilitors, which is full of fatirical 
humour. The firlt part of the prologue explains to us fufliciently the 
fpirit in which this fatire was written. 
hVe might -"well call thisfborl mack-play qfours 
A pgfe made qf weed: irgflead offawers ; 
Tet fuch have hem prefentzd ta your nofes, 
And there are fuch, I fiar, who thought "em rqkg. 
PVuu1d fimz of "em -were hzrz, tajize this night 
lVhat_[iu_f it is in which they rook delight, 
Herz, brij, irgfzfid rogues, far 1-wit, letfall 
Samerime: dull frznfe, hut rffner mm: at all  
The! e