I LETTER XVII. From Mr. WY CHERLEY. May 13, 1708. Have receiv'd yours of the first of May. Your As for Paftoral mufe outfhines in her modeft and natural drefs all Apollo's court-ladies, in their more artful, labour'd, and coftly finery. Therefore I am glad to find by your letter you design your countrybeauty of a mufe fhall appear at court and in public to out-fhine all the farded, lewd, confident, affected Town-dowdies, who aim at being honour'd only to their fhame: but her artful innocence (on the contrary) will gain more honour as fhe becomes public; and, in spite of custom, will bring modesty again into fashion, or at least make her fister-rivals of this age blufh for fpite, if not for shame. my ftale, antiquated, poetical pufs, whom you would keep in countenance by faying fhe has once been tolerable, and wou'd yet pafs mufter by a little licking over; it is true that (like moft vain antiquated jades which have once been paffable) she yet affects youthfulness in her age, and would still gain a few admirers (who the more fhe feeks or labours for their liking, are but more her contemners.) Nevertheless fhe is refolved henceforth to be fo cautious as to appear very little more in the world, except it be as an Attendant on your Mufe, or as a foil, not a rival to her wit, or fame: fo that let your Country-gentlewoman appear when she will in the world*, * This, and what follows, is a full Confutation of John Dennis and others, who afferted that Mr. Pope wrote thefe verfes on himself (tho' published by Mr. Wycherley fix years before his death.) We find here, it was a voluntary Act of his, promis'd before-hand, and my my old worn-out jade of a loft reputation fhall be her attendant into it, to procure her admirers; as an old whore, who can get no more friends of her own, bawds for others, to make sport or pleasure yet, one way or other, for mankind. I approve of your making Tonfon your mufe's introductor into the world, or mafter of the ceremonies, who has been fo long a pimp, or gentleman-ufher to the Muses. I wish you good fortune; fince a man with store of wit, as store of money, without the help of good fortune, will never be popular; but I wish you a great many admirers, which will be fome credit to my judgment as well as your wit, who always thought you had a great deal, and am Your, &c. LETTER XVIII. From Mr. WY CHERLEY. May 17, 1709. Muft thank you for a book of your Mifcellanies, I which Tonfon fent me, 1 fuppofe, by your order; and all I can tell you of it is, that nothing has lately been better received by the public, than your part of it. You have only difpleas'd the critics by pleafing them too well; having not left them a word to fay for themselves, against you and your written while Mr. Pope was abfent. The first Broüillon of thofe verfes, and the fecond Copy with corrections, are both yet extant in Mr. Wycherley's own hand: In another of his letters of May 18, 1708, are thefe words. "I have made a damn'd Compliment in verfe upon the printing your Paftorals, which you fhall fee when you fee me. P. perform performances; fo that, now your hand is in, you muft perfevere, 'till my prophecies of you be fulfill'd. In earneft, all the beft judges of good sense or poetry, are admirers of yours; and like your part of the book fo well, that the reft is lik'd the worse. This is true upon my word, without compliment; fo that your firft fuccefs will make you for all your life a poet, in spite of your wit; for poet's fuccefs at first, like a gamefter's fortune at firft, is like to make him a lofer at laft, and to be undone by his good fortune and merit. But hitherto your mifcellanies have fafely run the gantlet, thro' all the coffee-houses; which are now entertain'd with a whimsical new news-paper, call'd the TATLER, which I fuppofe you have seen. This is the newest thing I can tell you of, except it be of the Peace, which now (moft people fay) is drawing to fuch a conclufion, as all Europe is, or must be fatisfy'd with; fo Poverty, you fee, which makes peace in Westminster-hall, makes it likewife in the camp or field, throughout the world. Peace then be to you, and to me, who am now grown peaceful, and will have no contest with any man, but him who says he is more your friend or humble fervant, than Your, &c. I LETTER XIX. May 20, 1709. AM glad you receiv'd the * Mifcellany, if it were only to fhow you that there are as bad poets in this nation as your fervant. This modern cuftom of appearing in mifcellanies, is very useful to the poets, who, like other thieves, escape by getting * Jacob Tonfon's fixth Vol. of Mifcellany Poems. P. into a crowd, and herd together like Banditti, fafe only in their multitude. Methinks Strada has given a good description of these kind of collections; Nullus hodie mortalium aut nafcitur, aut moritur, aut præliatur, aut rufticatur, aut abit peregre, aut redit, aut nubit, aut est, aut non eft, (nam etiam mortuis ifti canunt) cui non illi extemplo cudant Epicedia, Genethliaca, Protreptica, Panegyrica, Epithalamia, Vaticinia, Propemptica, Soterica, Parænetica, Nanias, Nugas. As to the fuccefs which, you fay, my part has met with, it is to be attributed to what you was pleas'd to say of me to the world; which you do well to call your prophecy, fince whatever is faid in my favour, muft be a prediction of things that are not yet; you, like a true Godfather, engage on my part for much more than ever I can perform. My paftoral Mufe, like other country girls, is but put out of countenance, by what you courtiers fay to her; yet I hope you would not deceive me too far, as knowing that a young fcribler's vanity needs no recruits from abroad: for nature, like an indulgent mother, kindly takes care to fupply her fons with as much of their own, as is neceffary for their fatisfaction. If my verses should meet with a few flying commendations, Virgil has taught me, that a young author has not too much reason to be pleas'd with them, when he confiders that the natural confequence of praise is envy and calumny. -Si ultra placitum laudarit, baccare frontem When once a man has appear'd as a poet, he may give up his pretenfions to all the rich and thriving arts: those who have once made their court to those mistresses without portions, the Mufes, are never like to fet up for fortunes. But for my part, I fhall be fatisfy'd if I can lofe my time agreeably this way, without lofing my reputation: as for gaining any, I am as indifferent in the matter as Falstaffe was, and may fay of fame as he did of honour, "If it comes, it comes unlook'd for; and there's an end on't." I can be content with a bare saving game, without being thought an eminent hand, (with which title Jacob has gracioufly dignify'd his adventurers and voluntiers in poetry.) Jacob creates poets, as Kings fometimes do knights, not for their honour, but for their money. Certainly he ought to be esteem'd a worker of miracles, who is grown rich by poetry. What Authors lofe, their Bockfellers have won, TH LETTER XX. From Mr. WY CHERLEY. May 26, 1709. -- HE laft I receiv'd from you was dated the 22d of May. I take your charitable hint to me very kindly, wherein you do like a true friend, and a true christian, and I shall endeavour to follow your advice, as well as your example. As for your wifhing to fee your friend an Hermit with you, I cannot be faid to leave the world, fince I fhall enjoy in your converfation all that I can defire of it; nay, can learn more from you alone, than from my long experience of the great, or little vulgar in it. As to the fuccefs of your poems in the late mifcellany, which I told you of in my laft; upon my word I made you no compliment, for you may be affur'd that all forts of readers like them, except they are writers too; but for them (I muft needs fay) the more they like them, they ought to be the lefs pleas'd |