This is greatly to Dryden's shame, as it is to Waller's, who did the same
thing; but it must be clearly pointed out that in this the poets were
really a type of all England, for whose suffrages they wrote thus. From
this time the career of Dryden was intimately associated with that of the
restored king. He wrote an ode for the coronation in 1661, and a poetical
tribute to Clarendon, the Lord High Chancellor, the king's better self.
To Dryden, as a writer of plays, we shall recur in a later chapter, when
the other dramatists of the age will be considered.
A concurrence of unusual events in 1665, brought forth the next year the
"Annus Mirabilis," or _Wonderful Year_, in which these events are recorded
with the minuteness of a chronicle. This is indeed its chief value; for,
praised as it was at the time, it does not so well bear the analysis of
modern criticism.
ANNUS MIRABILIS.--It describes the great naval battle with the Dutch; the
fire of London; and the ravages of the plague. The detail with which these
are described, and the frequent felicity of expression, are the chief
charm of the poem.
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