v._), and then at the age of fifteen to Oxford where he had a
distinguished career, being specially noted for his Latin verse. Intended
at first for the Church, various circumstances combined to lead him
towards literature and politics. His first attempts in English verse took
the form of complimentary addresses, and were so successful as to obtain
for him the friendship and interest of Dryden, and of Lord Somers, by
whose means he received, in 1699, a pension of L300 to enable him to
travel on the continent with a view to diplomatic employment. He visited
Italy, whence he addressed his _Epistle_ to his friend Halifax. Hearing
of the death of William III., an event which lost him his pension, he
returned to England in the end of 1703. For a short time his
circumstances were somewhat straitened, but the battle of Blenheim in
1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing himself. The
government wished the event commemorated by a poem; A. was commissioned
to write this, and produced _The Campaign_, which gave such satisfaction
that he was forthwith appointed a Commissioner of Appeals.
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