dministration. If
Settle was capable of these mean compliances of writing for, or against
a party, as he was hired, he must have possessed a very sordid mind,
and been totally devoid of all principles of honour; but as there is no
other authority for it than Wood, who is enthusiastic in his temper, and
often writes of things, not as they were, but as he would wish them to
be, the reader may give what credit he pleases to the report.

Our author's dramatic works are

1. The Empress of Morocco, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke of York's
Theatre. This play was likewise acted at court, as appears by the two
Prologues prefixed, which were both spoken by the Lady Elizabeth Howard;
the first Prologue was written by the Earl of Mulgrave, the other by
Lord Rochester; when it was performed at court, the Lords and Ladies of
the Bed-chamber played in it. Mr. Dryden, Mr. Shadwell, and Mr. Crowne,
wrote against it, which began a famous controversy betwixt the wits
of the town, wherein, says Jacob, Mr. Dryden was roughly handled,
particularly by the lord Rochester, and the duke of Buckingham, and
Settle got the laugh upon his side.

2. Love and Revenge, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke of York's Theatre,
4to. 1675, dedicated to William Duke of Newcastle.

3. Cambyses King of Persia, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke's Theatre,
dedicated to Anne Duchess of Monmouth. This tragedy is written in heroic
verse; the plot from Justin, lib. i. c. 9. Herodotus, &c. The Scene is
in Suza, and Cambyses's camp near the walls of Suza.

4. The Conquest of China by the Tartars, a Tragedy; acted at the Duke's
Theatre, 4to. 1676, dedicated to the Right Hon. the Lord Howard of
Castle-rising. This play is likewise written in heroic verse, and
founded on history.

5. Ibrahim, the Illustrious Bassa, a Tragedy in heroic verse; acted at
the Duke's Theatre 1677, dedicated to the Duchess of Albemarle. Plot
from the Illustrious Bassa, a Romance, by Scuddery. The Scene Solyman's
Seraglio.

6. Pastor Fido, or The Faithful Shepherd; a Pastoral; acted at the Duke
of York's Theatre. This is Sir Richard Fanshaw's translation from the
Italian of Guarini Improved. Scene Arcadia.

7. Fatal Love, or The Forced Inconstancy; a Tragedy; acted at the
Theatre-Royal, 1680, dedicated to Sir Robert Owen.

8. The Female Prelate, being the History of the Life and Death of Pope
Joan; a Tragedy; acted at the Theatre-Royal, 4to. 1680, dedicated to
Anthony Earl of Shaftsbury.

9. The H