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My spleen was not occafioned, however, by any thing an abufive angry critic could write of me. I take very kindly your heroic manner of congratulation upon this scandal; for I think nothing more honourable, than to be involved in the fame fate with all the great and the good that ever lived; that is, to be envied and cenfured by bad writers:

You do no more than answer my expectations of you, in declaring how well you take my freedom, in fometimes neglecting, as I do, to reply to your letters fo foon as I ought. Those who have a right tafte of the fubftantial part of friendship, can wave the ceremonial: a friend is the only one that will bear the omiffion; and one may find who is not fo, by the very trial of it.

As to any anxiety I have concerning the fate of my Homer, the care is over with me: the world must be the judge, and I fhall be the first to confent to the juftice of its judgment, whatever it be. I am not fo arrant an Author as even to defire, that if I am in the wrong, all mankind should be fo.

I am mightily pleas'd with a faying of Monfieur Tourreil: "When a man writes, he ought to ani"mate himself with the thoughts of pleafing all "the world: but he is to renounce that defire or "hope, the very moment the book goes out of his "hands."

I write this from Binfield, whither I came yefterday, having pafs'd a few days in my way with my Lord Bolingbroke; I go to London in three days time, and will not fail to pay a visit to Mr. M—, whom I faw not long fince at my Lord Hallifax's. I hoped from thence he had fome hopes of advantage from the prefent adminiftration: for few people (I think) but I, pay refpects to great men without any profpects. I am in the fairelt way in the world of not being worth a groat, being born both a Papift and a Poet. This puts me in mind of re-acknow.. ledging

ledging your continued endeavours to enrich me. But, I can tell you, 'tis to no purpose, for without the Opes, æquum mi animum ipfe parabo.

LETTER XXVIII.

To Mr. CONGREVE.

March 19, 1714-15.

HE Farce of the What-d'ye-call it has oc

Tcafioned many different speculations in the

town. Some look'd upon it as a mere jest upon the Tragic poets, others as a fatire upon the late War. Mr. Cromwell, hearing none of the words, and feeing the action to be tragical, was much astonished to find the audience laugh; and fays the Prince and Princess must doubtless be under no less amazement on the fame account. Several templars and others of the more vociferous kind of critics, went with a refolution to hifs, and confefs'd they were forced to laugh fo much, that they forgot the defign they came with. The Court in general has in a very particular manner come into the jeft, and the three first nights (notwithstanding two of them were court-nights) were diftinguished by very full audiences of the firft Quality. The common people of the pit and gallery received it at firft with great gravity and fedatenefs, fome few with tears; but after the third day they alfo took the hint, and have ever fince been very loud in their claps. There are still some sober men who cannot be of the general opinion; but the laughers are so much the majority, that one or two critics feem determined to undeceive the town at their proper cost, by writing grave differtations against it: to encourage them in which laudable defign, it is re* Written by Gay.

3

folved

folved a Preface fhall be prefix'd to the Farce, in vindication of the nature and dignity of this new way of writing.

Yesterday Mr. Steele's affair was decided: I am forry I can be of no other opinion than yours, as to his whole carriage and writings of late. But certainly he has not only been punished by others, but fuffered much even from his own party in the point of character, nor (I believe) received any amends in that of intereft, as yet, whatever may be his profpects for the future.

This Gentleman, among a thousand others, is a great inftance of the fate of all who are carried away by party-fpirit, of any fide. I wish all violence may fucceed as ill: but am really amazed that fo much of that four and pernicious quality fhould be joined with so much natural good humour as, I think, Mr. Steele is poffeffed of.

I am, &c.

MR

LETTER XXIX.

To Mr. CONGREVE.

April 7, 1715.

R. Pope is going to Mr. Jervas's, where Mr. Addison is fitting for his picture; in the mean time amidst clouds of Tobacco at a coffee-house I write this letter. There is a grand revolution at Will's; Morice has quitted for a coffee-house in the city, and Titcomb is reftored, to the great joy of Cromwell, who was at a great loss for a perfon to converse with upon the fathers and church-history; the knowledge I gain from him, is entirely in painting and poetry; and Mr. Pope owes all his skill in aftronomy to him and Mr. Whiston, so celebrated

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of late for his difcovery of the longitude in an extraordinary copy of verfes *. Mr. Rowe's Jane Gray is to be play'd in Eafter-week, when Mrs. Oldfield is to perfonate a character directly oppofite to female nature; for what woman ever defpised Sovereignty? You know Chaucer has a tale where a knight faves his head, by discovering it was the thing which all women moft coveted. Mr. Pope's Homer is retarded by the great rains that have fallen of late, which caufes the fheets to be long a drying: this gives Mr. Lintot great uneafinefs, who is now endeavouring to corrupt the Curate of his parifh to pray for fair weather, that his work may go on. There is a fix-penny Criticism lately published upon the tragedy of the What-d'ye call-it, wherein he with much judgment and learning calls me a blockhead, and Mr. Pope a knave. His grand charge is against the Pilgrim's Progress being read, which, he fays, is directly levell'd at Cato's reading Plato; to back this cenfure, he goes on to tell you, that the Pilgrim's Progrefs being mentioned to be the eighth edition, makes the reflection evident, the Tragedy of Cato having juft eight times (as he quaintly expreffes it) vifited the prefs. He has alfo endeavoured to fhow, that every particular paffage of the play alludes to fome fine part of tragedy, which, he fays, I have injudiciously and profanely abufed +. Sir Samuel Garth's poem upon my Lord Clare's house, I believe, will be published in the Eafter-week.

Thus far Mr. Gay, who has in his letter foreftall'd all the fubjects of diverfion; unless it fhould

* Call'd, An Ode on the Longitude, in Swift and Pope's Miscellanies.

P.

+ This curious piece was entituled, A compleat Key to the What-d'ye call-it, written by one Griffin a Player, affifted by Lewis Theobald.

P.

be

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be one to you to fay, that I fit up till two a clock over Burgundy and Champagne; and am become fo much a rake, that I fhall be afhamed in a short time to be thought to do any fort of bufinefs. I fear I must get the gout by drinking; purely for a fa shionable pretence to fit ftill long enough to tranflate four books of Homer. I hope you'll by that time be up again, and I may fucceed to the bed and couch of my predeceffor: pray cause the stuffing to be repaired, and the crutches fhorten'd for me. calamity of your gout is what all your friends, that is to fay, all that know you, must share in; we defire you in your turn to condole with us, who are under a perfecution, and much afflicted with a diftemper which proves mortal to many poets, a Criticifm. We have indeed fome relieving intervals of laughter (as you know there are in fome diseases) and it is the opinion of divers good gueffers, that the laft fit will not be more violent than advantageous; for poets affail'd by critics, are like men bitten by Tarantula's, they dance on fo much the fafter.

Mr. Thomas Burnet hath play'd the precurfor to the coming of Homer, in a treatife called Homerides. He has fince rifen very much in his criticifms, and, after affaulting Homer, made a daring attack upon the What-d'ye-call-it. Yet is there not a Proclamation iffued for the burning of Homer and the Pope by the common hangman; nor is the Whatd'ye-call it yet filenced by the Lord chamberlain.

*

Your, &c.

In one of his papers called The Grumbler.

P.

LET

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