JOHN (1685-1732).-Poet and dramatist, _b._ near Barnstaple of a good but decayed family. His parents dying while he was a child he was apprenticed to a silk-mercer in London, but not liking the trade, was released by his master. In 1708 he _pub._ a poem, _Wine_, and in 1713 _Rural Sports_, which he dedicated to Pope, whose friendship he obtain