he honourable Henry Howard. Our
author spent the next eight years of his life in a constant attendance
upon court, where he was highly caressed by the most shining
characters of the times, particularly by the earl of Dorset, Edward
Hyde, and Lord Treasurer Weston: during these gay moments, spent in
the court amusements, an unlucky accident happened to our author,
which not a little deformed his face, which, from nature, was very
handsome. Wood has affirmed, that this accident arose from libidinous
dalliance with a handsome black girl in Axe-yard, Westminster. The
plain fact is this, Davenant was of an amorous complexion, and was so
unlucky as to carry the marks of his regular gallantries in the
depression of his nose; this exposed him to the pleasant raillery of
cotemporary wits, which very little affected him, and to shew that he
was undisturbed by their merriment, he wrote a burlesque copy of
verses upon himself. This accident happened pretty early in his life,
since it gave occasion to the following stanzas in Sir John Suckling's
Sessions of the Poets, which we have transcribed from a correct copy
of Suckling's works.

Will Davenant ashamed of a foolish mischance,
That he had got lately travelling in France,
Modestly hop'd the handsomness of his muse,
Might any deformity about him excuse.

Surely the company had been content,
If they cou'd have found any precedent,
But in all their records in verse, or prose,
There was none of a laureat, who wanted a nose.

Suckling here differs from the Oxford historian, in saying that Sir
William's disorder was contracted in France, but as Wood is the
highest authority, it is more reasonable to embrace his observation,
and probably, Suckling only mentioned France, in order that it might
rhime with mischance.

Some time after this, Davenant was rallied by another hand, on account
of this accident, as if it had been a jest that could never die; but
what is more extraordinary, is, that Sir William himself could not
forget the authoress of this misfortune, but has introduced her in his
Gondibert, and, in the opinion of some critics, very improperly. He
brings two friends, Ulfinore the elder, and Goltho the younger, on a
journey to the court of Gondibert, but in this passage to shew, as he
would insinuate the extream frailty of youth, they were arrested by a
very unexpected accident, notwithstanding the wife councils, which
Ulfinore had just received from his fath