But everybody loved him; and he seems to have been the inventor of that flying literature which, with many changes in form and manner, has done so much for the amusement and edification of readers ever since his time.

He was always commencing, or carrying on,--often editing,--some one of the numerous periodicals which appeared during his time.
Thackeray mentions seven: _The Tatler_, _The Spectator_, _The Guardian_, _The Englishman_, _The Lover_, _The Reader_, and _The Theatre_; that three of them are well known to this day,--the three first named,--and are to be found in all libraries, is proof that his life was not thrown away.
I almost question Prior's right to be in the list, unless indeed the mastery over well-turned conceits is to be included within the border of humour.

But Thackeray had a strong liking for Prior, and in his own humorous way rebukes his audience for not being familiar with _The Town and Country Mouse_.

He says that Prior's epigrams have the genuine sparkle, and compares Prior to Horace.

"His song, his philosophy, his good sense, his happy easy turns and melody, his loves and his epicureanism bear a great resemblance to that most delightful and accomplished master." I cannot say that I agree with this.