It was plain, therefore, that he must be some other sort of hero, and so he evolved the brilliant satire of "The Funeral," to "enliven his character, and repel the sarcasms of those who abused him for his declarations relative to religion." [Illustration: SIR RICHARD STEELE By Sir GODFREY KNELLER] In the twinkling of an eye Steele became the spoiled darling of the day.

The comedy, which was produced at Drury Lane in 1702, was the talk of the enthusiastic town, and the playwright arose from his beer-mugs, his wine-flagons, and his contemplation of ideal Christianity, to find himself famous.

He had opened a new vein of satire, and a vein moreover which upheld virtue and laughed to scorn hypocrisy and vice.

That was a moral which the dramatists of his epoch seldom taught.[A] And so the people crowded to the theatre, applauded the sentiment of the play, guffawed at the keen wit of the dialogue, and swore that this young rascal Steele was the prince of bright fellows.

Then they went home--and revelled, as before, in the funerals of their friends.
[Footnote A: The "Funeral" is the merriest and most perfect of Steele's comedies.