English poet and diplomatist, born near Wimborne, East Dorset; studied at Cambridge; became Fellow of Trinity College; was ambassador to France; involved himself in an intrigue, was imprisoned, and on his release lived in retirement; he is remembered as a poet; wrote in 1687 a parody of Dryden's "Hind and Panther," entitled "The Story of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse," and afterwards, "Solomon on the Vanity of the World," "Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind," after Butler, as well as tales, lyrics, and epigrams; Professor Saintsbury calls him "the king of 'verse of society'" (1664-1721).