performances; fo that, now your hand is in, you muft perfevere, till my prophecies of you be fulfilled. In earnest, all the beft judges of good fenfe or poetry, are admirers of yours; and, like your part of the book fo well, that the reft is lik'd the worfe. 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 a poet's fuccefs at firft, like a gamefter's fortune at first, is like to make him a loser at last, and to be undone by his good fortune and merit. But hitherto your miscellanies have fafely run the gantlet, thro' all the coffee-houfes; which are now entertain'd with a whimfical new news-paper, call'd the TATLER, which I suppose 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 Weftminster-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 conteft with any man, bur him who fays 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 fhew 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 Miscellany Poems. P. into into a crowd, and herd together like Banditti, safe only in their multitude. Methinks Strada has given a good defcription of thefe kind of collections; Nullus hodie mortalium aut nafcitur, aut moritur, aut præliatur, aut rufticatur, aut abit peregre, aut redit, aut nubit, aut eft, 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 fay of me to the world; which you do well to call your prophecy, fince whatever is said in my favour, must 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 verfes fhould meet with a few flying commendations, Virgil has taught me, that a young author has not too much reafon 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 Cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro. When once a man has appeared 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 mistreffes without portions, the Muses, 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 Falltaffe 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 faving game, without being thought an eminent hand, (with which title Jacob has graciously dignify'd his adventurers and volunteers in poetry.) Jacob creates poets, as Kings fometimes do knights, not for their honour, but for their money. Čertainly he ought to be esteem'd a worker of miracles, who is grown rich by poetry. What Authors lofe, their Bookfellers have won, I am your, &c. TH LETTER XX. From Mr. WYCHERLEY. May 26, 1709. HE laft I received 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 must needs fay) the more they like them, they ought to be the lefs pleas'd' with with 'em fo that you do not come off with a bare faving game (as you call it) but have gain'd fo much credit at first, that you must needs fupport it to the laft: fince you set up with so great a stock of good fense, judgment, and wit, that your judgment enfures all that your wit ventures at. The falt of your wit has been enough to give a relifh to the whole infipid hotch-potch it is mingled with; and you will make Jacob's Ladder raife you to immortality, by which others are turned off fhamefully to their damnation (for poetic thieves as they are) who think to be faved by others good works, how faulty foever their own are: but the coffee-house wits, or rather anti-wits the critics, prove their judgments by approving your wit; and even the news-mongers and poets will own, you have more invention than they; nay, the detracters or the envious, who never fpeak well of any body (not even of those they think well of in their abfence) yet will give you even in your abfence their good word; and the critics only hate you, for being forced to speak well of you whether they will or no: All this is true upon the word of Your, &c. M% LETTER XXI. From Mr. WYCHERLÊ Y. Aug. 11, 1709. Y letters, fo much inferior to yours, can only make up their fcarcity of fenfe by their number of lines; which is like the Spaniards paying debt of gold with a load of brafs money. But to be a plain dealer, I muft tell you, I will revenge the. raillery of your letters by printing them (as Dennis did mine) without your knowledge too, which would be a revenge upon your judgment for the raillery of your wit; for fome dull rogues (that is the most in the world) might be fuch fools as to think what you faid of me was in earneft: It is not the first time your great wits have gained reputation by their paradoxical or ironical praifes; your forefathers have done it, Erafmus and others. For all mankind who know me muft confess, he must be no ordinary genius, or little friend, who can find out any thing to commend in me ferioufly; who have given no fign of my judgment but my opinion of yours, nor mark of my wit, but my leaving off writing to the public now you are beginning to fhew the world what you can do by yours: whose wit is as fpiritual as your judgment infallible in whofe judgment I have an implicit faith, and shall always fubfcribe to it to fave my works, in this world, from the flames and damnation. Pray, prefent my most humble service to Sir William Trumbull; for whom and whose judgment I have so profound a respect, that his example had almoft made me marry, more than my nephew's ill carriage to me; having once refolved to have revenged myself upon him by my marriage, but now am refolv'd to make venge greater upon him by His marriage. my re I LETTER XXII. From Mr. WYCHERLEY. April 1, 1710. Have had yours of the 30th of the last month, which is kinder than I defire it fhould be, fince it tells me you could be better pleas'd to be fick again in Town in my company, than to be well in the Country |