l not
impute it to any other reason, than only the due respect which I have
for so noble an opponent.

THE INDIAN EMPEROR.

The Indian Emperor is the first of Dryden's plays which exhibited, in
a marked degree, the peculiarity of his stile, and drew upon him the
attention of the world. Without equalling the extravagancies of the
Conquest of Granada, and the Royal Martyr, works produced when our
author was emboldened, by public applause, to give full scope to
his daring genius, the following may be considered as a model of the
heroic drama, A few words, therefore, will not be here misplaced, on
the nature of the kind of tragedies, in which, during the earlier part
of his literary career, our author delighted and excelled.

The heroic, or rhyming, plays, were borrowed from the French, to whose
genius they are better suited than to the British. An analogy may be
observed between all the different departments of the belles lettres;
and none seem more closely allied, than the pursuits of the dramatic
writer, and those of the composer of romances or novels. Both deal in
fictitious adventure; both write for amusement; and address themselves
nearly to the same class of admirers. Nay, although the pride of the
dramatist may be offended by the assertion, it would seem, that the
nature of his walk is often prescribed by the successful impression
of a novel upon the public mind. If we laugh over low adventures in a
novel, we soon see low comedy upon the stage: If we are horror-struck
with a tale of robbers and murder in our closet, the dagger and the
green carpet will not long remain unemployed in the theatre; and if
ghosts haunt our novels, they soon stalk amongst our scenes. Under
this persuasion, we have little doubt that the heroic tragedies were
the legitimate offspring of the French romances of Calprenede and
Scuderi. Such as may deign to open these venerable and neglected
tomes, will be soon convinced of their extreme resemblance to the
heroic drama. A remarkable feature in both, is the ideal world which
they form for themselves. Every sentiment is lofty, splendid, and
striking; and no apology is admitted for any departure from the
dignity of character, however natural or impressive. The beauty of the
heroine, and the valour of the hero, must be alike resistless; and the
moving spring, through the whole action, is the overbearing passion
of love. Their language and manners are as peculiar to themselves,
as their pr