to whom the faid verfes were originally addreffed, of Hugh Bethel, Efq; and others, who knew them as our author's, long before the faid gentleman compofed his play; it is hoped, the ingenuous, that affect not error, will rectify their opinion by the fuffrage of fo honourable perfonages. And yet followeth another charge, infinuating no less than his enmity both to church and ftate, which could come from no other informer than the faid Mr. JAMES-MOORE SMITH. "The Memoirs of a Parish Clerk was a very "dull and unjust abuse of a person who wrote in "defence of our religion and conftitution, and who " has been dead many years." This feemeth also moft untrue; it being known to divers that these Memoirs were written at the feat of the Lord Harcourt in Oxfordshire, before that excellent perfon (bishop Burnet's) death, and many years before the appearance of that history, of which they are pretended to be an abuse. Moft true it is, that Mr. Moore had fuch a defign, and was himself the man who preft Dr. Arbuthnot and Mr. Pope to affift him therein; and that he borrowed those Memoirs of our Author, when that history came forth, with intent to turn them to fuch abuse. But being able to obtain from our Author but one fingle hint, and either changing his mind, or having more mind than ability, he contented himself to keep the faid Memoirs, a Daily Journa., April 3, 1728. and read them as his own to all his acquaintance. A noble perfon there is, into whose company Mr. Pope once chanced to introduce him, who well remembereth the conversation of Mr. Moore to have turned upon the “ contempt he had for the work of "that reverend prelate, and how full he was of a defign he declared himself to have of expofing "it." This noble person is the Earl of PETER BOROUGH. Here in truth should we crave pardon of all the forefaid right honourable and worthy perfonages, for having mentioned them in the same page with fuch weekly riff-raff railers and rhymers; but that we had their ever-honoured commands for the fame; and that they are introduced not as witneffes in the controversy, but as witneffes that cannot be controverted: not to difpute; but to decide. Certain it is, that dividing our writers into two claffes, of fuch who were acquaintance, and of fuch who were ftrangers to our Author; the former are those who speak well, and the other those who speak evil of him. Of the first class, the most noble JOHN DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM fums up his character in these lines: "b And yet fo wondrous, fo fublime a thing, "As the great Iliad, scarce could make me fing, "Unless I justly could at once commend "A good companion, and as firm a friend; b Verfes to Mr. P. on his translation of Homer. "One moral, or a mere well-natur'd deed, So alfo is he decypher'd by the honourable Say, wondrous youth, what column wilt thou « chufe, "What laurel'd arch, for thy triumphant Mufe ? Though each great ancient court thee to his " fhrine, "Though every laurel through the dome be thine, "Go to the good and juft, and awful train! Recorded in like manner for his virtuous difpofition, and gentle bearing, by the ingenious Mr. WALTER HART, in this apostrophe : ❝d Oh! ever worthy, ever crown'd with praise ! "Bleft in thy life, and bleft in all thy lays, "Add, that the Sifters every thought refine,. "And ev❜n thy life be faultlefs as thy line, "Yet ftill with fiercer rage pursues, envy "Obfcures the virtue, and defames the Muse, "A foul like thine, in pain, in grief, refign'd, "Views with just scorn the malice of mankind." The witty and moral fatirist Dr. EDWARD YOUNG, wishing fome check to the corruption and evil man c Poem prefixed to his works. In his Poems, printed for B. Lintot. ners of the times, calleth out upon our Poet to undertake a task so worthy of his virtue : • Why flumbers Pope, who leads the Mufes "train, "Nor hears that Virtue, which he loves, complain?" Mr. MALLET, in his Epistle on Verbal Criticism: "Whose life, feverely fcann'd, tranfcends his lays; "For wit fupreme, is but his fecond praise;" Mr. HAMMOND, That delicate and correct imitator of Tibullus, in his Love Elegies, Elegy xiv. "Now, fir'd by Pope and Virtue, leave the age, "In low purfuit of felf-undoing wrong, "And trace the author through his moral page, "Whose blameless life still answers to his fong." Mr. THOMSON, in his elegant and philofophical Poem of the Seafons: Although not sweeter his own Homer fings, "Yet is his life the more endearing song." To the fame tune also fingeth that learned clerk, of Suffolk, Mr. WILLIAM BROOME, " Thus, nobly rifing in fair Virtue's caufe, "From thy own life transcribe th' unnerring laws." And, to close all, hear the reverend dean of St. Patrick's: e Univerfal Paffion, Sat. i. f In his Poems, and at the end of the Odyssey. "A foul with every virtue fraught, "By Patriots, Priefts, and Poets taught. "Whatever Grecian ftory tells. "A genius for each business fit, Let us now recreate thee by turning to the other fide, and fhewing his character drawn by those with whom he never converfed, and whose countenances he could not know, though turned against him: first again commencing with the high voiced and never enough quoted Mr. JOHN DENNIS, Who, in his Reflections on the Effay on Criticism, thus defcribeth him: "A little affected hypocrite, "who has nothing in his mouth but candour, truth, friendship, good-nature, humanity, and magna65 nimity. He is fo great a lover of falsehood, “that, whenever he has a mind to calumniate his contemporaries, he brands them with fome de"fect which was just contrary to fome good qua દ lity, for which all their friends and acquaintance "commend them. He feems to have a particular pique to people of quality, and authors of that "rank. He muft derive his religion from St. "Omer's."-But in the character of Mr. P. and his writings (printed by S. Popping, 1716) he faith, "Though he is a profeffor of the worst religion, yet he laughs at it;" but that, "nevertheless, |