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THE
Lives and Characters
OF THE
English Dramatick Poets:
WITH AN
ACCOUNT
OF ALL THE
PLAYS,
Printed to the Year, 1698.
A
William Alexander, Earl of Sterline.
The Title of this Nobleman makes it evident that he derives his Birth from Scotland, as the Dedication of his Works affords us a Proof that he liv'd in the Time of King James the First, for there he has this Stanza:
Of this dived Isle the Nurselings brave
Earst from intestine Wars cou'd not desist,
Yet did in Foreign Fields their Names engrave,
Whilst whom one spoil'd, the other wou'd assist.
These now have One; whilst such a Head they have,
What World of Words were able to resist?
Thus
