MY GREAT LITTLE FRIEND,-I have Receiv'd yours of the 17th Instant yesterday, being the 21 and your letter was the best and most Wellcome thing I have Receiv'd since I came down, tho' I have receiv'd some Monny. But I must confess, you try my patience (as you say) in the beginning of your Letter; not by the many Lines in it, but the too many Compliments you make me for nothing; in which you prove yourselfe (tho' a sincere Friend) a man of too much fiction; for I have not seen so much Poetry in Prose a great while, since your Letter is filled with so many fine words and acknowledgments of your Obligations to me (the only asseverations of yours I dare contradict) for I must tell you your Letter is like an Author's Epistle before his Book, written more to shew his wit to the World that [than] his Sincerety, or gratitude to his Friend, whom he Libells with Praise, so that you have provok'd my modesty ev'n whilst you have soôth'd my Vanity for I know not whether I am more Complimented than abused; since too much praise turns Irony, as too great thanks for smal favors turns ingratitude, or too much Cerimony in Re

1 Transcribed from the MSS. in the possession of the Marquis of Bath at Longieat.

ligion, Hipocricy; but if you woud have cumanded my Judgment you should only have sayd you thought me y' true Friend, and if you woud have layd some Wit to my Charge, you must have told me I show'd (att least) some when I intended to submitt all I writ to the infallibility of your Wit, Judgment, and Sensure who are my Pope.

I have had no sort of Pleasure since I came from you, and hardly expect any till I return back to you; which I feare will not be as soon as I hopd, or Immagind; for I have some thoughts of going from hence to the Bath, being advisd to it by Dr. Radcliff when I was at London as likewise by my Doctor here (if I woud be thouroughly well,) but you may be assurd, I will make hast to you, to be better. In the meantime, pray present my humble Service to your Mother and Father, as likewise to that factious young Gentleman Mr. Englefield and tell him, if I come into Berkshire, I will make him hollow as lowd in the Tavern at Reading as he did at the Coffee House in London till he dances wth his own Dayry Mayds.

Pray let me hear from you the only Satisfaction I can have in this place.

'Now after all I must lay a peñance upon you which is to desire you to look over that Damnd Miscellany of Madrigals of mine to pick out (if possible) some that may be so alterd that they may yet apeare in print again I hope with better Success than they hitherto have done. I will give you my Reason for this request of mine when I see you which I am resolvd shall be when I have done here and at the Bath where I designe to goe and afterwards to spend two Months (God Willing) with you at Binfield, or near it, or at Epsham, or elsewhere. [In the meantime once more farwell, My Deare Little Infallible.]'

1 This paragraph is printed by Pope as if it were an entire letter; but the date of the letter from which it is extracted is correctly given.

The words in [ ] are omitted in the paragraph of the letter published by Pope.

2.

WYCHERLEY TO POPE.

LONDON, Norr. the 11th, 1707.

DEAR MR. POPE,-I reced yours of the 9th yesterday; which has, like the rest of your Letters, at once pleas'd and instructed me; so that I can assure you, you can no more write too much to your absent Friends than speak too much to the present; which is a truth that all men own, who have either seen your writings, or heard your discourse,-enough to make others show their Judgment in ceasing to write, or talk, especially to you, or in your Company. However I speak, or write to you, not to please you but myself, since by speaking or writing to you I provoke your Answers, which, whilst they humble me, give me Vanity; tho' I am lessend by you, ev'n when you commend me; since you commend you commend my little Sense, with somuch more of yours, that you put me out of countenance,. whilst you would keep me in it. So that you have found a Way (against the Custom of you great Wits) to show even a great deal of good nature with a great deal of good Sense. I thank you for the Book you promis'd me. I find you would not. only correct my Lines, but my Life, and save me here and hereafter from Damnation. Now as to the Damn'd verses you say I intrusted you with, I hope you will let them undergo. your Purgatory, to save them from other People's damning them, since the Criticks who are generally the first damn'd in this Life, like the damn'd below, never leave to bring those above them under their damn'd Circumstances; '[whose works. having suffer'd the Flames themselves, will have those of all others share their Fates; for their presumption in seeking their Immortality, which themselves, by pretending too much to it, the sooner miss'd.

I am sorry your Father is averse to your coming to Town at this time, when ev'ry Body of the two Nations, almost, are in it, and there is likely to be so much Comedy acted by the two great Play-Houses of the Nation, the House of Lords, and that of the Commons; that methinks all People should come

1 The passages in [ ] are omitted in the letter as published by Pope,

to Town but for their diversion,' but I fear my Company has given you a Surfit of it; wherefore, when my man returns from the Country, I hope to come to yours, which will be within a fortnight at farthest. In the meantime] I beg you to peruse my [damn'd] Papers, and select what you think best, or most tollerable. Look over them again, for I resolve suddenly to print some of them, who, like a harden'd old Gamster, will (in spight of all former ill usage by Fortune) push on an ill hand in expectation of recovering himself, especially since I have such a Croupier, or second to stand by me, as Mr. Pope, [the Infallible; who shall have with me the Pow'r of the tother Infallible, to damn or save us by our works, as t'other Infallible of Rome; since I believe in your Infallibility who am (Dear Mr. Pope) your obliged real Poetick penitent and humble Servant.

My service pray to your Good Father and Mother, and let me beg of you to use my Follies with unmerciful kindness. Mr. Cromwel is your humble Servant as he tells me.]

3.

WYCHERLEY TO POPE.

LONDON, Decemr. the 6th, 1707. DEAR MR. POPE,-I have reced yours of the 29th of Novem which has so much overpaid mine in kindness that, (as Voiture says) I doubt whether the best Effects of those fine expressions of Friendship to me can be more obligeing than they themselves: and for my humility you talk of you have lessen'd, while you magnify it, as, by commending my good Nature with so much more of yours, you have made me almost incapable of being grateful to you: for you have said so many kind things of me, you have left me hardly anything of the same kind to return you; and the best actions are not capable of making you amends for so many good words you have given me; by which you justly magnify them, and yourself, by saying they are Sincere, so that you have obliged me to be vain rather than not think you a Plain-dealer.'

1 The substance of this paragraph was inserted by Pope in the published letter of Wycherley, dated Nov. 5, 1705.

This description of Pope's letter of November 29th, does not at all tally with the letter of that date published by himself.