The occasional poetry of Dryden is marked strongly by masculine character.  The Epistles vary with the subject; and are light, humorous, and satirical, or grave, argumentative, and philosophical, as the case required.  In his Elegies, although they contain touches of true feeling, especially where the stronger passions are to be illustrated, the poet is often content to substitute reasoning for passion, and rather to show us cause why we ought to grieve, than to set us the example by grieving himself.  The inherent defect in Dryden’s composition becomes here peculiarly conspicuous; yet we should consider, that, in composing elegies for the Countess of Abingdon, whom he never saw, and for Charles II., by whom he had been cruelly neglected, and doubtless on many similar occasions, Dryden could not even pretend to be interested in the mournful subject of his verse; but attended, with his poem, as much in the way of trade, as the undertaker, on the same occasion, came with his sables and his scutcheon.  The poet may interest himself and his reader, even to tears, in the fate of a being altogether the creation of his own fancy, but hardly by a hired panegyric on a real subject, in whom his heart acknowledges no other interest than a fee can give him.  Few of Dryden’s elegiac effusions, therefore, seem prompted by sincere sorrow.  That to Oldham may be an exception; but, even there, he rather strives to do honour to the talents of his departed friend, than to pour out lamentations for his loss.  Of the Prologues and Epilogues we have spoken fully elsewhere.[19] Some of them are coarsely satirical, and others grossly indelicate.  Those spoken at Oxford are the most valuable, and contain much good criticism and beautiful poetry.  But the worst of them was probably well worth the petty recompence which the poet received.[20] The songs and smaller pieces of Dryden have smoothness, wit, and when addressed to ladies, gallantry in profusion, but are deficient in tenderness.  They seem to have been composed with great ease; thrown together hastily and occasionally; nor can we doubt that many of them are now irrecoverably lost.  Mr. Malone gives us an instance of Dryden’s fluency in extempore composition, which was communicated to him by Mr. Walcott.  “Conversation, one day after dinner, at Mrs. Creed’s, running upon the origin of names, Mr. Dryden bowed to the good old lady, and spoke extempore the following verses:—­

  “So much religion in your name doth dwell,
  Your soul must needs with piety excel. 
  Thus names, like [well-wrought] pictures drawn of old,
  Their owners’ nature and their story told.—­
  Your name but half expresses; for in you
  Belief and practice do together go. 
  My prayers shall be, while this short life endures,
  These may go hand in hand, with you and yours;
  Till faith hereafter is in vision drowned,
  And practice is with endless glory crowned.”