old; an age at which the mind begins lefs easily to admit new confidence, and the will, to grow lefs flexible, and when therefore the departure of an old friend is very acutely felt.....

In the next year he loft his mother, not by an unexpected death, for fhe had lafted to the age of ninety-three; but fhe did not die unlamented. The filial piety of Pope was in the highest degree amiable and exemplary; his parents had the happiness of living till, he was at the fummit of poetical reputation, till he was at cafe in his fortune, and without a rival in his fame, and found no diminution of his refpect or tendernefs. Whatever was his pride, to them he was obedient; and whatever was his irrita

K

irritability, to them he was gentle. Life

has, among its foothing and quiet comforts, few things better to give than

fuch a fon.

One of the paffages of Pope's life, which feems to deserve some enquiry, was a publication of Letters between him and many of his friends, which falling into the hands of Curll, a rapacious bookfeller of no good fame, were by him printed and fold. This volume containing fome Letters from noblemen, Pope incited a profecution against him in the Houfe of Lords for breach of privilege, and attended himself to ftimulate the refentment of his friends. Curll appeared at the bar, and, knowing himself in no great dan

ger,

ger, fpoke of Pope with very little reverence. He has, faid Curll, a knack at verfifying; but in profe I think myself a match for him. When the orders of the House were examined, none of them appeared to have been infringed; Curll went away triumphant, and Pope was left to feek fome other remedy.

Curll's account was, that one evening a man in a clergyman's gown, but with a lawyer's band, brought and offered to fale a number of printed volumes, which he found to be Pope's epiftolary correfpondence; that he afked no name, and was told none, but gave the price demanded, and thought himself authorifed to use his purchafe to his own advantage.

That Curll

gave a true account of the tranfaction, it is reafonable to believe, because no falfhood was ever detected; and when fome years afterwards I mentioned it to Lintot, the fon of Bernard, he declared his opinion to be, that Pope knew better than any body else how Curl obtained the copies, becaufe another parcel was at the fame time fent to himself, for which no price had ever been demanded, as he made known his refolution not to pay a porter, and confequently not to deal with a nameless agent.

Such care had been taken to make them publick, that they were fent at once to two bookfellers; to Curll, who was likely to feize them as a prey, and to Lin

tot,

tot, who might be expected to give Pope information of the feeming injury.

Lintot, I believe, did nothing; and Curll did what was expected. That to make them publick was the only purpofe may be reafonably fuppofed, be

cause the numbers offered to sale by the private messengers fhewed that hope of gain could not have been the motive of the impreffion.

It seems that Pope, being defirous of printing his Letters, and not knowing how to do, without imputation of vanity, what has in this country been done very rarely, contrived an appearance of compulfion; that when he could complain that his Letters were furreptitiously published, he might de