6 DECEMBER 1884, Page 13

DRYDEN'S PROPHECY.

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR. 'J

Six,—Was Dryden a prophet ? The following portrait from "The Hind and the Panther" surely requires no identification to-day :—

" Prompt to assail, and careless of defence,

Invulnerable in his impudence, He dares the world, and, eager of a name, He thrusts about and jostles into fame.

Frontless and satire-proof, he scours the streets, And runs an Indian muck at all he meets.

So fond of loud report, that not to miss Of being known (his last and utmost bliss), He rather would be known for what he is."