CONGREVE, WILLIAM (1670-1729).--Dramatist, was _b._ in Yorkshire. In boyhood he was taken to Ireland, and _ed._ at Kilkenny and at Trinity Coll., Dublin. In 1688 he returned to England and entered the Middle Temple, but does not appear to have practised, and took to writing for the stage. His first comedy, _The Old Bachelor_, was produced with great applause in 1693, and was followed by _The Double Dealer_ (1693), _Love for Love_ (1695), and _The Way of the World_ (1700), and by a tragedy, _The Mourning Bride_ (1697). His comedies are all remarkable for wit and sparkling dialogue, but their profanity and licentiousness have driven them from the stage. These latter qualities brought them under the lash of Jeremy Collier (_q.v._) in his _Short View of the English Stage_. Congreve rushed into controversy with his critic who, however, proved too strong for him. C. was a favourite at Court, and had various lucrative offices conferred upon him. In his latter years he was blind; otherwise his life was prosperous, and he achieved his chief ambition of being admired as a fine gentleman and gallant. _Life_, Gosse (1888). _Works_, ed. by Henley (1895), also Mermaid Series (1888). CONINGTON, JOHN (1825-1869).--Translator, _s._ of a clergyman at Boston, Lincolnshire, where he was _b._, _ed._, at Rugby and Magdalen and Univ. Coll., Oxf., and began the study of law, but soon relinquished it, and devoting himself to scholarship, became Prof. of Latin at Oxf. (1854-1869). His chief work is his translation of Virgil's _Æneid_ in the octosyllabic metre of Scott (1861-68). He also translated the _Satires_ and _Epistles_ of Horace in Pope's couplets, and completed Worsley's _Iliad_ in Spenserian stanza. He also brought out valuable ed. of Virgil and Perseus. C. was one of the greatest translators whom England has produced. CONSTABLE, HENRY (1562-1613).--Poet, _s._ of Sir Robert C., _ed._ at Camb., but becoming a Roman Catholic, went to Paris, and acted as an agent for the Catholic powers. He _d._ at Liège. In 1592 he _pub._ _Diana_, a collection of sonnets, and contributed to _England's Helicon_ four poems, including _Diaphenia_ and _Venus and Adonis_. His style is characterised by fervour and richness of colour. COOKE, JOHN ESTEN (1830-1886).--Novelist, _b._ in Virginia, illustrated the life and history of his native state in the novels, _The Virginia Comedians_ (1854), and _The Wearing of the Gray_, a tale of the Civil War, and more formally in an excellent History of the State. His style was somewhat high-flown.