David Mallet Biography
David Mallet (or Malloch) (c.1705–1765) was a Scottish dramatist.
He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and went to London in 1723 to work as a private tutor. There he became friendly with Alexander Pope, James Thomson, and other literary figures. His best-known work was written in the same year: William and Margaret, adapted from a traditional ballad. In 1740, he collaborated with Thomson on a masque, Alfred, which was the vehicle for "Rule, Britannia!". His other plays and poetry (e.g. Amyntor and Theodora), popular at the time, are largely forgotten (see Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets), but he was a significant enough figure to be chosen by Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke as his literary executor. Bolingbroke's writings were edited and published by Mallet in 1754.
'Twas at the silent, solemn hour,
When night and morning meet;
In glided Margaret's grimly ghost,
And stood at William's feet.
...
Among the numerous fools, by Fate design'd
Oft to disturb, and oft divert, mankind,
The reading coxcomb is of special note,
...
Astrea, eldest born of Jove,
Whom all the gods revere and love,
Was sent, while man deserv'd their care,
On earth to dwell, and govern there:
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