We have to decide on the credibility of two opposite statements, as made in the publications about to be enumerated:-- 1. "The works of John Sheffield, earl of Mulgrave, marquis of Normanby, and duke of Buckingham. LONDON: printed for John Barber, 1723. 4º. 2 vols." 2. "The works of John Sheffield, earl of Mulgrave, marquis of Normanby, and duke of Buckingham. Printed for John Barber, alderman of LONDON, 1726. Small 8º. 2 vols." 3. "Original poems and translations, by John Dryden, Esq. LONDON: printed for J. and R. Tonson, 1743. 12º. 2 vols." In the two former publications, the poem appears as the entire composition of the noble author, and is said to have been "written in the year 1675." In the latter publication it appears without date, and is said to be "by Mr. Dryden and the earl of Mulgrave." The publications were posthumous, and as the editors afford no explanation of the point in dispute, we must consult the reputed authors. In the year 1691, as an advertisement to _King Arthur_, a dramatic opera, Dryden printed a catalogue of his "plays and poems in quarto," in order to prevent future mis-ascriptions. The catalogue comprises ten poems, but no _Essay on satire_. The publisher of _King Arthur_ was Mr. Jacob Tonson. In 1682, the earl of Mulgrave published, anonymously, through the agency of Mr. Joseph Hindmarsh, an _Essay upon poetry_. It contains these lines:-- "The laureat here may justly claim our praise, Crown'd by _Mac-Fleckno_ with immortal bays; Though prais'd and punish'd for another's rimes, His own deserve that glorious fate sometimes, Were he not forc'd to carry now dead weight, Rid by some lumpish minister of state." In 1717, Mr. Tonson published _Poems by the earl of Roscommon_; and added thereto the _Essay on poetry_, "with the leave and with the corrections of the author." The lines shall now be given in their amended state, as they appear in that volume, with the accompanying notes:-- "The _Laureat_[2] here may justly claim our praise, Crown'd by _Mack-Fleckno_[3] with immortal bays; Tho' _prais'd_ and _punish'd_ once for other's[4] rhimes, His own deserve as great applause sometimes; Yet _Pegasus_[5], of late, has born _dead weight_, Rid by some _lumpish_ ministers of state." Next to Dryden and the earl of Mulgrave, as authorities on this question, comes the elder Jacob Tonson. Both writers were contributors to his _Poetical miscellanies_. In 1701 he published _Poems on various occasions, etc. By Mr. John Dryden_. The volume has not the _Essay on satire_. The same {163} Tonson, as we have just seen, gave currency to the assertion that Dryden was "ignorant of the whole matter."