His men are gallants neither from love or passion, but from the custom of the age, of which it is said, "it would break Mr.Tattle's heart to think anybody else should be beforehand with him;" and Mr.Tattle was the type of a thousand fine gentlemen in the best English society of that day.
His only tragedy, _The Mourning Bride_, although far below those of Shakspeare, is the best of that age; and Dr.Johnson says he would go to it to find the most poetical paragraph in the range of English poetry.
Congreve died in 1729, leaving his gains to the Duchess of Marlborough, who cherished his memory in a very original fashion.

She had a statue of him in ivory, which went by clockwork, and was daily seated at her table; and another wax-doll imitation, whose feet she caused to be blistered and anointed by physicians, as the poet's gouty extremities had been.
Congreve was not ashamed to vindicate the drama, licentious as it was.

In the year 1698, Jeremy Collier, a distinguished nonjuring clergyman, published _A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage_; a very vigorous and severe criticism, containing a great deal of wholesome but bitter truth.

Congreve came to the defence of the stage, and his example was followed by his brother dramatists.

But Collier was too strong for his enemies, and the defences were very weak.