them in the order juft contrary to that they were pu blifhed in. I imitate thofe cunning tradefmen, who fhow their best filks laft; or (to give you a truer idea, tho' it founds too proudly) my works will in one refpect be like the works of Nature, much more to be liked and understood, when confidered in the relation they bear with each other, than when ignorantly looked upon one by one; and often thofe parts which attract most at firft fight, will appear to be not the most, but the leaft confiderable. I am pleafed and flattered by your expreffion of Orna me. The chief pleafure this work can give me is, that I can in it, with propriety, decency, and justice, infert the name and character of every friend I have, and every man that deferves to be loved or adorned. But I fmile at your applying that phrafe to my vifiting you in Ireand; a place where I might have fome apprehenfion, from their extraordinary paffion for poetry, and their boundless hofpitality, of being adorned to death, and buried under the weight of garlands, like one I have read of fomewhere or other. My mother lives, (which an anfwer to that point), and I thank God, tho' her memory be in a manner gone, is yet awake, and senible to me, tho' fcarce to any thing else; which doubles he reafon of my attendance, and at the fame time weetens it. I wish (beyond any other with) you could as a fummer here; I might (too probably) return ith you, unless you preferred to fee France first, to hich country, I think, you would have a ftrong intation. Lord Peterborow has narrowly efcaped death, d yet keeps his chamber. He is perpetually fpeaking the moft affectionate manner of you. He has written you two letters, which you never received, and by that as been difcouraged from writing more. I can well believe the poft office may do this, when fome letters of is to me have met the fame fate, and two of mine to him. Yet let not this difcourage you from writing to me, or to him, inclofed in the common way, as I do to Innocent men need fear no detection of their thoughts; and, for my part, I would give them free you. loofe things fometimes fall from them, by which, cenforious fools judge as ill of them as poffibly they can, for their own comfort. And indeed, when fuch unguarded and trifling jeux d'efprit have once got abroad, all that prudence or repentance can do, fince they cannot be denied, is, to put them fairly upon that foot; and teach the public, (as we have done in the preface to the four volumes of mifcellanies), to diftinguish betwixt our studies and our idleneffes, our works and our weakneffes. That was the whole end of the last volume of mifcellanies, without which our former declaration in that preface, "That these volumes contained all that we have ever offended in that way," would have been discredited. It went indeed to my heart to omit what you called the libel on Dr D, and the beft panegyric on myself, that either my own times, or any other, could have afforded, or will ever afford to me. book, as you obferve, was printed in great hafte; the cause whereof was, that the bookfellers here were doing the fame, in collecting your pieces, the corn with the chaff: "I don't mean that any thing of yours is chaff, but with other wit of Ireland, which was fo, and the whole in your name. I meant principally to oblige them to separate what you writ ferioufly from what you writ carelessly; and thought my own weeds might pafs for a fort of wild flowers, when bundled up with them. The Ir was I that fent you those books into Ireland, and fo I did my epiftle to Lord Bathurst, even before it was published; and another thing of mine, which is a parody from Horace *, writ in two mornings. I never took more care in my life of any thing than of the former of thefe, nor less than of the latter: yet every friend has forced me to print it, tho' in truth my own fingle motive was about twenty lines toward the latter end, which you will find out. I have declined opening to you by letters the whole fcheme of my prefent work, expecting ftill to do it in a better manner in perfon. But you will fee pretty foor, that the letter to Lord Bathurst is a part of it; and you will find a plain connection between them, if you read them *Sat. i. lib. ii. vol. 4. of Warburton's edition of Pop's works. them in the order juft contrary to that they were pu blished in. I imitate thofe cunning tradefmen, who fhow their best filks laft; or (to give you a truer idea, tho' it founds too proudly) my works will in one refpect be like the works of Nature, much more to be liked and understood, when confidered in the relation they bear with each other, than when ignorantly looked upon one by one; and often thofe parts which attract most at first fight, will appear to be not the moft, but the least confiderable. I am pleafed and flattered by your expreffion of Orna me. The chief pleafure this work can give me is, that I can in it, with propriety, decency, and juftice, infert the name and character of every friend I have, and every man that deferves to be loved or adorned. But I fmile at your applying that phrafe to my vifiting you in Ire land; a place where I might have fome apprehenfion, from their extraordinary paffion for poetry, and their boundless hofpitality, of being adorned to death, and buried under the weight of garlands, like one I have read of fomewhere or other. My mother lives, (which is an anfwer to that point), and I thank God, tho' her memory be in a manner gone, is yet awake, and fenfible to me, tho' scarce to any thing elfe; which doubles the reason of my attendance, and at the fame time fweetens it. I with (beyond any other with) you could pass a fummer here; I might (too probably) return with you, unless you preferred to fee France first, to which country, I think, you would have a ftrong invitation. Lord Peterborow has narrowly efcaped death, and yet keeps his chamber. He is perpetually fpeaking in the moft affectionate manner of you. He has written you two letters, which you never received, and by that has been difcouraged from writing more. I can well believe the poft office may do this, when fome letters of his to me have met the fame fate, and two of mine to him. Yet let not this difcourage you from writing to me, or to him, inclofed in the common way, as I do to you. Innocent men need fear no detection of their thoughts; and, for my part, I would give them free leave to fend all I write to Curl, if most of what I write was not too filly. I defire my fincere fervices to Dr Delany, who, I agree with you, is a man every way efteemable. My Lord Orrery is a moft virtuous and good-natured Nobleman, whom I should be happy to know. Lord B. received your letter thro' my hands. It is not to be told you how much he wishes for you. The whole list of perfons to whom you fent your fervices, return you theirs, with proper fenfe of the distinction.- -Your lady-friend is femper eadem; and I have written an epistle to her on that qualification, in a female character; which is thought by my chief critic, in your abfence, to be my chief d'oeuvre. But it cannot be printed perfectly, in an age fo fose of fatire, and fo willing to mifapply chara &ters. As to my own health, it is as good as ufual.. I have lain ill feven days of a flight fever, (the complaint here); but recovered by gentle fweats, and the care of Dr Ars buthnot. The play Mr Gay left fucceeds very well It is another original in its kind. Adieu. God preferve your life, your health, your limbs, your spirits, and your friendships! LETTER LXVI... April 2. 1733... You fay truly, that death is only terrible to us, as it feparates us from those we love; but I really think thofe have the worst of it who are left by us, if we are true friends. I have felt more, I fancy, in the lofs of Mr Gay, than I fhall fuffer in the thought of going away myself into a ftate that can feel none of this fort of loffes. I wifhed vehemently to have feen him in a condition of living independent, and to have lived in perfect indolence the reft of our days together, the two moft idle, most innocent, undefigning poets of our age. I now as vehemently with you and I might walk into the grave together, by as flow fteps as you pleafe, but contentedly contentedly and chearfully. Whether that ever can be, or in what country, I know no more, than into what country we shall walk out of the grave. But it fuffices me to know, it will be exactly what region or fiate our Maker appoints, and that whatever is, is right. Our poor friend's 's papers are partly in my hands; and for as much as is fo, I will take care to fupprefs things unworthy of him. As to the epitaph, I am forry you gave a copy: for it will certainly by that means come into print; and I would correct it more, unless you would do it for me, and that I fhall like as well. Upon the whole, I earnestly with your coming over hither; for this reafon, among many others, that your influence may be joined with mine, to fupprefs whatever we may judge proper of his papers. To be plunged in my neighbour's and my papers, will be your inevitable fate as foon as you come. That I am an author whofe characters are thought of fome weight, appears from the great noise and buftle that the court and town make about any I give: and I will not render them lefs important, or lefs interesting, by fparing vice and folly, or by betraying the cause of truth and virtue. I will take care they fhall be fuch as no man can be angry at, but the perfons I would have angry. You are fenfible with what decency and justice I paid homage to the Royal family, at the fame time that I fatirized falfe courtiers, and spies, &c. about them. I have not the courage, however, to be fuch a fatirist as you; but I would be as much, or more, a philofopher. You call your fatires libels; I would rather call my fatires epiftles. They will confift more of morality than of wit, and grow graver, which you will call duller. I fhall leave it to my antagonists to be witty, if they can, and content myself to be useful and in the right. Tell me your opinion as to Lady's or Lord**'s performance. They are certainly the top wits of the court; and you may judge by that fingle piece what can be done against me; for it was laboured, corrected, precommended, and poft-difapproved, fo far as to be difowned by themfelves, after each had highly cried it up, for the others. I have met with fome complaints, and heard See Pope's epiftle written on this occafion, at the end of the ad volume of his letters, the 8th volume in Warburton's edition. |